NO SUCH THING AS SECURITY

I have a wonderful friend who told me a long time ago that there's no such thing as security. It took me some time wrap my head around what exactly he meant. My friend is a veteran of Vietnam, and has some of the greatest insights to share about life, and the events that contribute to the formation of the way we perceive our world. One of the greatest lessons he has ever taught me comes from the insight that only a veteran can teach, and that is the nature of our reality living in a country like ours. When you have seen the things he has seen, when you have lived moment to moment with the knowledge that the next could absolutely be your last, when you have ducked your head momentarily only to watch a friend get his skull blown off, you come to a place that is decidedly real.

We constantly fill our lives with ideas of importance, and perceived needs. We place layers upon layers of seemingly harmless desires over necessity. He has often said, "to see the deer, you must look between the trees." How often do we find ourselves looking in the right direction, but focusing on the wrong thing. It is the space in between that is important and gives definition to life. Without the space in between the trees, the trees would have no form.

Security is false hope, it is the notion that if I do "X" I will be okay, and some how I have insured a future moment of existence. The fact is, no matter how many layers of perceived security we layer on to our lives, stocks, bonds, 401k's, jobs, friends, life insurance (which should be called death insurance,) we are no closer to security than the man who shakes his cup on the corner. I can exercise, and eat well, I can take supplements, and fortify my body, however, none of these things guarantees anything. Security is a fallacy we use to hide the true nature of life.

The sooner we come to expect uncertainty, the quicker we tune in to being alive. The only moment that exists is the moment you're in, and therefore what is to be cherished is now. It is my chief aim and purpose to experience each "now" as the greatest event of my life. Those experiences that came before have served their purpose, and any yet to come will be exactly as they were meant to be, based on the appreciation of "now."

It is not a pessimistic attitude that says, each breath could be my last, but rather the total opposite. When one truly embraces the moment as the last, true living, appreciation, and gratitude are experienced. Life is a precious gift, as cliche as that may sound. However, most of us are so busy building a perceived future, that what escapes us is the perfection and beauty of being exactly where we are in the moment we are experiencing. Every cherished now will take care of the busy tomorrow, and when we get out of our planning, and out of our head, we come to reality. Every abundant future started with seeing and appreciating what was presented at the moment. As my friend also says to me, "sometimes you have to go out of your mind, to come to your senses."

Be well, and live inspired,

Michael
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My 5 Minute Tour

Snow Days: 3 Reasons to be Grateful

I was outside shoveling my rather short driveway which still seems rather big. I got to thinking as shoveling doesn't require as much brain as it does brawn.

Gratitude can be found at any moment at any time. I found myself being grateful for the following while shoveling:

1) I have the strength and health to shovel.
2) Shoveling the drive way makes it easier for my wife and kids to get in and out of the house, keeping them safer.
3) Shoveling is a perfect opportunity to let negative thoughts go and feel the beautiful cold air, allowing for almost perfect meditative conditions.

There are an abundance of opportunities to embrace reflection and let negativity go. We are given unlimited moments to stop and restart our day. Will you take the chance to abandon a bad moment?

How do you let the negativity go? Simple. You just do. Ask yourself, does my current state of mind make me feel the way I want to feel? If it does not, then why do you persist in holding on?

Go forth and be productive, live fully and with passion! Much love and serenity,

Michael
mcordin73@gmail.com
http://afterthebeeppeople.blogspot.com

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Informal Poll

So I am curious. I've been doing a ton of work on my perspective and I am trying to fill my brain with only positive messages. Yes, that means I watch almost no news and need to avoid most people! I jest, (sort of.)

Why are we drawn so easily to negative thinking? (The caveat to this is that your responses should not focus on external circumstances.)

Wishing you an abundance of peace and prosperity!

Michael
mcordin73@gmail.com
http://mikesfunandeasy.5minutetour.com



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All Areas Abundant

To have abundance we must condition our minds to think abundantly. How many times have I said, "at least I have what counts." This in always in relationship to love and family, and even to extent my teaching career. However, this abundance has never been connected to my net worth, financially speaking.

Why not abundance in all areas? Why don't we ALWAYS demand abundance financially? I have always thought for myself that money will be something other people will have, but me, I'm just destined to be a working Joe, a 9-5, hard and tireless working man. This attitude has served to define my beliefs on work to a tee, until recently.

It doesn't make sense to hold this belief. In fact no one should hold this belief. Not that hard work isn't a good quality of strong moral character, but rather that money is something others can have, and I can only hope for what is given and determined by an other. I may always be receiving a check from a company, but who's to say that that is the only way I will get paid? Why can't I generate more financial abundance, using my talents and skills? What many people forget to remember is that what we are capable of doing is amazing, but what we will do is rather limiting.

The fact is, we all deserve monetary abundance as much as we deserve family and love in abundance. We can continue to use our God given gifts at current capacity, through work or jobs, or we can develop and hone our talents in pursuit of the creation of the life and financial wealth that our dreams so often tell us are unrealistic.

This does require some major shifts in our mental orientation, and that is, we must believe in the power of self and our talents. This is scary; not only for me, but for the hundreds of others I know that are filled with amazing talents and gifts. In order to achieve our greatness we must believe in ourselves. This is often the most difficult part, self-belief or self-worth. I know for myself, that trusting that I have something amazing to share with the world is hard concept to swallow. The doubting voice of, "what makes you special, what can you possibly offer others," immediately screams out and wants to knock me down. We must remember that our net worth will never exceed our self-worth. We must trust that God has given us something amazing to share with others, and each second that we don't put this gift to work in maximum capacity we are living in the bondage of human limitations. When I work on myself and trust that I am a creation of infinite goodness, I believe that I can achieve anything and do anything.

I set forward a task to any who reads this: what would you do for a living if you had the choice? If you could put yourself to work, in the way that you know you were meant to be of service, what would you give to this world and how would you deliver it? When we see that "thing" that creates happiness and inspires others and ourselves, our abundance begins! Mix in desire and purpose of aim, and your future becomes a series of limitless possibilities. You need only to remain receptive to the universe and its calling.

Be well, and treat others kindly!

Michael
http://mikesfunandeasy.5minutetour.com
mcordin73@gmail.com



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Service to others

-Lou Holtz : "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."

Every night I fall asleep and I can see the attitude I left on the table. While most of the day I cultivate a "can do, grateful" attitude, I will slip into the dealing in minor things as if somehow I can change the circumstance to fit my need, rather than looking at circumstance and seeing how I can change.

We are often given to these lapses where where the minutia of life is too much to handle and we give in. I suggest that while we are in such frames of mind that we stop and examine our larger goal or purpose; we will find that they are are often incongruent. So the question becomes, how do I more quickly get back to harmonizing my thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

The fastest and easiest way to return to this harmony is by helping others. I get out of my mind and into some form of service.

Right now I am trying to introduce people to new ways to lose weight, http://mikesfunandeasy.5minutetour.com however, at other moments I am listening and sharing experience strength and hope in the area of addiction. When we stop and look for where we can be of service to others we naturally drop the preoccupations that cause us the greatest discomfort.

I still get lost in moments and couldn't think myself out of a paper bag, but the duration and intensity of these moments diminishes as I learn to apply the attitude of gratitude to others in all facets of my life.

Be well, and find ways to be useful to those around you,

Michael




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More to come

I recently decided to change or focus my blog writing. Please keep an eye out for future posts. It is my hope that anyone who follows my blog will be excited to get more consistent posts, that I will try to keep shorter and more frequent.

Be well and enjoy this amazing day!

Michael


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Low self esteem or the negative internal monologue

Saturday, August 7, 2010
6:25am

Where? My mind.

It's interesting the internal monologue that each of uses on a daily basis, and I use the word uses very liberally, most of us don't use our internal monologue, but rather are controlled by this negative part of our psyche. The internal monologue is the conversation that occurs between your ears. It is the voice that is constantly pecking at you, and directing your actions. It is the you that most people never see, and most likely don't want to see. In an ideal world our internal monologue would be our greatest champion, it would believe anything is possible, and constantly tell you to go for it. As a kid our internal monologue is quiet, it's there, but it's pretty much in sync with who we are - it says lets have some fun, and we have some fun; it says we can do anything, and we believe that we can do anything (even hang upside down from branches in trees that are 20 feet up! Or fly space ships to distant galaxies named after famous thinkers! What adult would do that?)

Ultimately our internal monologue gets more sophisticated as we develop, and that is the problem. It begins to limit us, and tell us that we can't do something versus we can do anything. It becomes our biggest critic versus our biggest advocate. If you think about it logically, wouldn't you like your internal self talk to tell you something positive instead of constantly telling you how ugly you are, how fat you are, how poor and broke you are, how stupid you are, how you shouldn't try, how you'll never be good enough, how you're never going to find happiness or love. Why do we allow such an intricate part of who we are remain so negative and run our lives?

A family member recently responded to something I wrote about my job and my new business by saying the following, "Dude no offense but they call it work for a reason and its not what you love to do. Someone once told me if you love what you do then your not working hard enough. Dan Sainz millionaire!!!" I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to prove, other than he has been programed to believe that you're not working unless you're angry or resentful. His internal monologue is so negative that he can't help but be affected by a positive message or statement about work. I believe in working smarter not harder. Just because I can work an 18 hour day doesn't mean I should; and quite frankly during the school year I work 18 hours days, and I don't like it - it pulls me away from spending time with my family and friends.

Our internal monologue is shaped as we grow, and is heavily influenced by who and what plugs into us, and programs us - our parents, our family, our teachers, our TV habits, our music... All of these people sat at the keyboard in our mind and hammered away on our keys - they told you what you were worth, they told you what to value, what de-value, what to like and what to hate, etc. etc.

It is amazing that as adults, and "independent" people, to realize just how much we are still controlled by the voice that was programmed into us so long ago (or not so long ago depending on how old you are.) It's amazing that so many of us accept this voice as an unchangeable immutable force and piece of who we are. I remember when I was in my twenties, out there (and I mean out there,) and I was using alcohol and drugs (and becoming a slave to them,) my internal monologue became a voice that continually told me I was worthless, that I wasn't going to achieve anything, that I couldn't achieve anything, that I shouldn't be happy, that I didn't deserve to be happy, that I ought to just die. This is a part of me, telling me that I should die. How insane is that? I am lucky enough to be given life, and somewhere along the lines things get so bad that a part of me begins to tell me to kill my self.

However, there is good news! You can change. I changed, and I continue to change every day (it is the one constant in a rather inconsistent life.) You can change that little voice in your head or at least learn to evaluate it's message and make better choices. You CAN DO amazing things, and quit listening to the internal voice tells you that you WILL DO mediocre or safe things. I don't know if there is a secret recipe to changing the internal monologue, however, recognizing it's message and strength is the first step. When that voice turns up the volume, and is controlling your thinking, you need to ask yourself, why? Be aware of this voice, and evaluate it's message. If you don't like its message then simply say, "I don't like your message," and move on - go for it.

I don't know how to make the world a better place, however, I know that I can be a better person. If I change, the world changes - even if just by a fraction. Pay attention to your internal monologue, don't let it inhibit the person you could be or want to be - tell the inner monologue to shove it, and do the opposite of what it tells you to do. This is a practice that will take time and repetition, and won't be changed over night. It took years to program it to where it is now, the reverse process can be quicker, especially if we want change! Just remember - change yourself, change your world.