Outwit Your Adversaries with Love

When you are treated poorly, when you are not respected, when you are ignored or mocked or scorned, recognize that the way someone treats you says far less about you than it does about them. As Wayne Dyer so beautifully pointed out, “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”

Keep your consciousness high by responding to such unloving treatment with love. Respond to being excluded with an attitude of inclusion. Poet Edwin Markham eloquently addressed this issue in a poem from his 1913 book, The Shoes of Happiness, and Other Poems:

OUTWITTED

He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But

Viktor Frankl Defines Despair

VIKTOR FRANKL INTERVIEW (1 OF 3)

Dr. Viktor Frankl

In this three-part interview, Dr. Viktor Frankl explains many of the key concepts in his groundbreaking book, Man’s Search for Meaning.

In his book and in this video, Frankl explains that concentration camp prisoners whose minds were fixated on an all-consuming reason to live—reuniting with loved ones, completing unfinished work, alerting the world to atrocities—were most apt to survive.

I particularly like the way Frankl defines despair, which he said can be expressed via a mathematical formula:

D = S – W

What does it

The Ultimate Security Guard

The odds of this story happening without divine intervention are about three gazillion to one, and that’s a conservative estimate. It was written by Dorothy Nicholas of Asheboro, North Carolina, and featured in a Guideposts e-letter. Click here to sign up for Guideposts‘ free Mysterious Ways newsletter. You’ll also be able to download a free e-book, Mysterious Ways: 9 Inspiring Stories That Show Evidence of God’s Love and God’s Grace.

ALWAYS ON THE JOB
Our neighbor told me he’d once tried to rob a store. Until one thing stopped him . . .

We were sitting at the table in our Florida home and talking to our next-door neighbors. This young couple had helped us a lot in the past year and a half, after my stroke and my husband’s leg injury.

Unexpectedly, the husband began telling us the story of his troubled past. At 16 he’d fallen in with the wrong crowd in his hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina, and had spent a year in a reformatory. When he was released he’d had good intentions but, because of his record, he couldn’t find a job.

He became desperate and decided to rob a local service station so he could have enough money to leave the state. He stole his father’s car and gun and just before closing time, drove up to the service window of a gasoline station. He was about to demand all the money from the woman manager.

“But just then,” he explained, “I looked up and saw the sign overhead. It read,

You Are Part of a Larger Family

This four-minute video may be a bit on the amateurish side but its message is right on: It’s not all about you. As soon as you awaken to that truth—when your shift from self-centered to other-centered clicks into place—you cannot look anywhere without seeing opportunities to help, comfort or inspire others.

Be kind, for everyone you

Can’t Cope? Don’t Mope. Choose Hope!

The old saw is true: If you’re moping around, the best thing you can do for yourself is to do something nice for somebody else. Why? When you lift up someone else’s spirit, you lift up your own as well.

Moping around is a luxury you

Wings of Love

My friend Paul Streitz posted this on his blog today. Its’s such a wonderful story that I wanted to share it here.

My dad called me this morning to tell me he had gone for a drive last night to think about my mother, who had passed away in June. Partly because my mom’s heritage was American Indian, she highly valued bald eagles. She and my dad would often go for a drive to see if they could spot any, with only occasional success. Last night, after driving for a while, my father popped in the CD I had made for him shortly after my mom died; all that was on it were the two songs they had dedicated to each other. As soon as the song that my mom had dedicated to my dad began playing, a bald

Dream a Little Dream for Me

Dreams may be a last refuge of hope and comfort when life presents us with a nightmare. A good example is this story by Pat Cook of Leavittsburg, Ohio, which was featured in a Guideposts e-letter. Click here to sign up for Guideposts‘ free Mysterious Ways newsletter. You’ll also be able to download a free e-book, Mysterious Ways: 9 Inspiring Stories That Show Evidence of God’s Love and God’s Grace.

A DREAM COME TRUE
When my daughter was hospitalized with a head injury, I prayed for a sign she’d be well again

Sleep is supposed to release you from your worries, your worst fears. Yet as much as I wanted and needed sleep, I doubted it would ease me. My 12-year-old daughter, June, had just emerged from a coma. Now the doctors were telling my husband and me that she’d need a series of brain surgeries if she were to survive.

Lying in bed, wrung out after another long day sitting at her bedside in the hospital, my mind replayed the horrific accident. One moment, June was riding on the

Wonders of the South Pacific

I never cease to be astonished at what lies beneath the waves of the ocean. There are worlds upon worlds of strange and beautiful creatures. According to the Bubblevision YouTube channel, this four-minute video was shot while scuba diving in the Fiji islands and Tonga. You can see for yourself that the coral reefs of the South Pacific are alive with a huge variety of tropical fish and marine critters.

Click here to visit the Bubblevision website.

Click here to visit the

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words . . . and a Few Tears

If this photo doesn’t lift your spirits and move you, I don’t know what will.

Thank you to all the servicemen and servicewomen who so loyally serve our country. Just the other day at the co-op, I approached a female

A Block Away

Paramahansa Yogananda's Hermitage

Hi, everybody! I made a quick three-minute video to show you where I live and what I’m a block away from: the Self-Realization Fellowship temple and Paramahansa Yogananda‘s Hermitage and

The Pitcher Cries for Water to Carry

This poem by Marge Piercy perfectly illustrates Robert Byrne‘s maxim, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” There’s no better feeling than immersing yourself in work that is important, that calls to you, that feeds your soul. What a dreadful experience life would be without finding some way to be of use!

TO BE OF USE
by Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to

Laurie Baum on Creating the Best Possible 2012

Laurie Baum

My good friend, astrologer and psychotherapist Laurie Baum, delivered this 105-minute presentation at the Harmony Grove Spiritualist Association in Escondido, California, on January 22, 2012. Following Laurie’s talk is a question-and-answer session and a guided meditation and visualization exercise for setting positive intentions.

In this insightful and informative lecture, Laurie explains how to interpret the planetary signs being presented to us as we speed toward a higher age—and what to do about these signs. She also discusses the dynamic changes we are going through personally and societally. She then covers fascinating subjects such as poles shifts, magnetic pole reversals and the Mayan Calendar, followed by astrological predictions for every sign and advice that all of us can use to prepare for these dynamic times.

Click here to read Laurie’s forecast for 2012 and for more information about Laurie.

Click here to read Laurie’s 2012 predictions for each individual zodiac sign.

To make an appointment with Laurie, click here to e-mail her or call her at (760) 753-7676. Click here to visit Laurie’s website.

LAURIE’S INTRODUCTION TO HER 2012 TALK

The Mayan word for 2012 is “Ik Manik.” Ik means “winds of change.” Manik means “self-realization through self-knowledge.”

Indeed, the wind literally will be stronger in 2012 due to a shift of the earth’s polar axis, sun spots and climate change. The year 2012 also provides the opportunity for the winds of internal change to blow due to highly activating planetary patterns that have not come together with such force at any previous time in our lives.

The higher reason for the upheavals and change many people are experiencing at this time is the need for a collective rise to a higher state of consciousness. The external “winds of change” are merely a catalyst for the advent of internal “self-realization through self-knowledge.”

The ancient Greek saying, “Know thyself,” means to know oneself as the ineffable soul, the higher consciousness to which we are eternally connected, in addition to the more widely accepted interpretation of knowing oneself psychologically by recognizing personal patterns and tendencies.

Click on the audio players below to hear Laurie’s entire presentation, which I’ve broken up into seven sections for your listening convenience.

GLOBAL OVERVIEW
SECTION 1 OF 7
(36 MINUTES)

Global Changes • Magnetic Pole Reversal • Pole Shift • Financial and Political Changes • Rise of the Southern Hemisphere

PLANETARY CROSSROADS
SECTION 2 OF 7
(13 MINUTES)

From the 1930s to the 1960s to

The Whisper Test

I can’t find any evidence that The Whisper Test is an actual published book, but this purported story from it (which I received in an e-mail) is an outstanding reminder of the power that a few kind words can have on a child.

The author, Mary Ann Bird, was born with multiple birth defects: deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose and lopsided feet. As a child, she dreaded other children staring at her and asking the embarrassing question: “What happened to your lip?” “I cut it on a piece of glass,” she would lie.

Each year the children had their hearing tested at school. The classroom teacher would call each child to the front desk and have the child cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would then whisper some simple phrase to the child, such as, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” This was the whisper test. If the child could repeat the phrase, then their hearing was apparently fine and they passed the test. To avoid humiliation, Mary Ann always cheated on

Charice Honors Whitney Houston

Charice

Charice‘s tribute to Whitney Houston (which occurred before Houston’s passing on February 11, 2012), is Exhibit A of why the soon-to-be twenty-year-old Filipina singer is destined for superstardom. The raw power and emotion that characterize all of Charice’s performances are fully on display. Much of Charice’s appeal can be attributed to her organic authenticity; she sings with such honesty and passion that even a casual listener cannot help but be moved.

The context behind this performance only grew more dramatic with

David Ellzey: Drink from the Fountain of NOW

David Ellzey

Earlier this month, I met a number of fascinating people at a three-day seminar in Los Angeles. Here’s one more: author David Ellzey, an international lead trainer for the life-changing personal growth technique, The Sedona Method.

David performed a one-minute version of the video for our group and received a rousing ovation. In the video, he demonstrates the illusory nature of thoughts and feelings that can hinder your happiness. It’s so

A Saint Helps My Mom Cross Over

This moving story by my friend Judy is both a reminder of the promise and power of prayer and the infinite love and compassion of those to whom we pray. Even when prayer doesn’t seem to be accomplishing anything, the loving energy you transmit may ease the recipient’s pain, comfort their soul, and bolster their strength and resolve.

A SAINT HELPS MY MOM CROSS OVER

“The hospice nurse was just here,” my sister told me over the phone. “She said Mom will probably last another month.” As a public health nurse, I knew that hospice nurses were skilled at recognizing the signs and symptoms of approaching death and predicting how much time a patient had left.

My mom was two thousand miles away in St. Louis and there was nothing I could do to help her. She lay suffering, short of breath and wheezing. She had always told us that she could not handle being “an invalid.” Even the thought of using