My wife and I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to spend last week in Barbados. I'll be writing more about the culture of happiness in that country in a blog soon. The day we were leaving we got in the elevator to head to our final lunch on the island, really not wanting at all to have to get on a plane and fly out soon. A staff member was on the elevator and as a greeting I said "How are you"... her answer was: "I am blessed"... 

Wow. It hit both of us like a ton of bricks because we were feeling the same thing, what a great life we have, what an awesome opportunity we had to be in Barbados, how blessed we are. Instead of just answering that question with standard "fine", or "doing good"... I am blessed. Aren't we all?

I think it's a great new answer to the age old question "How are you?". Reaffirms to the Universe that you truly are looking at life from an attitude of gratitude for all that you have :)

How are YOU?... 

I have an appointment coming up later in March with someone I see as very negative and I haven't been looking forward to the meeting at all, saw it in my schedule today and started getting all worked up about it again, which to me says "this is a teaching moment, there's something to learn here"...

So I decided to take some time to read, meditate and calm myself, try to see things in a different light.

Go to my daily reading books, open the first one "Living the Wisdom of the Tao" by Wayne Dyer.  As God is my witness, this is the chapter I was on and this is what I read:

"There is no greater misfortune than feeling I have an enemy, for when I have an enemy, there is no room for God"...

69th Verse

There is a saying among soldiers:
I dare not make the first move
but would rather play the guest;
I dare not advance an inch
but would rather withdraw a foot.

This is called
going forward without advancing,
pushing back without using weapons.

There is no greater misfortune
than feeling "I have an enemy";
for when "I" and "enemy" exist together,
there is no room left for my treasure.

Thus, when two opponents meet,
the one without an enemy
will surely triumph.

When armies are evenly matched,
the one with compassion wins.
--

I'll be going into this meeting with a different mindset now.  I think I have an inkling what I needed to learn here.  Thanks once again to two of my favorite spiritual guides, Wayne Dyer & Lao Tzu :)

If you could go back and talk to yourself as a little boy or girl, what would you say?  How would you approach it?  What are the most important things you would want to let yourself know at that age?  Taking some time to put some thought into this RIGHT NOW might be helpful before reading on… Here is how I see my conversation going:

“Little Dave, you are SO special, you’re smart and funny and you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to.  Don’t EVER underestimate the power of your own thoughts!  It’s what you believed was possible that eventually created who you are today, which is me.  We all miss some opportunities, everyone makes mistakes.  I’m really happy with the results so far, but since I’ve been given the chance to come back and give you some advice, here goes”:

1 – THOUGHTS CREATE THINGS – Be VERY conscious of what you focus on.  SEE yourself succeeding!  You will become what you think about, so focus on positive, uplifting thoughts that stir passion within you.  Don’t allow other people’s negativity to change any thought or belief you know in your heart is right for you.  You can do ANYTHING IN LIFE that you believe, TRULY BELIEVE, for yourself.  Belief alone isn’t enough.  Once you’ve set a goal, move ahead and let your passion inspire you to do so confidently and in a manner that will be so uplifting to others they will want to help you.  You can get anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what THEY want.

EVERYTHING YOU DO from this point forward originates in thought.  Get rid of bad, negative thoughts and do not allow negative, cancerous people into your life.  Whether you live in light or darkness is your choice.  Choose light!  Whenever you feel darkness overcome you, look for a light switch – there are times it will be well hidden, but light is ALWAYS available.

2 – DEFEATS ARE STRENGTHS – Defeats are temporary, success is a state of mind.  There will be times in life where nothing will seem to be working, where demons will seem to have taken a foothold and darkness falls over your thoughts.  These times are the biggest opportunities life has to offer!  It is from the darkest of times, our greatest defeats, that we discover our strengths.  Always look for the hidden opportunity in every defeat.  It’s there; you just have to look for it.  Demons try to control your thoughts by handing you defeats in life.  They look for weaknesses.  But YOU control your reactions, YOU control your thoughts, YOU control your destiny.  It’s how you react to setbacks that will show what you’re really feeling internally.  Always look for the opportunities in any setback.

3 – BE A FORCE FOR GOOD – In the same way that you always have to be on the lookout for opportunities in any setback and control your own thoughts by focusing on what’s going RIGHT in life, you also need to bring that positive outlook to everything you do.  Be a force for GOOD in the world!  Help others see the potential in themselves.  Change people’s perceptions of what is possible.  Just as you can attain whatever you believe is possible for yourself, you can impact any group or organization in life in a similar fashion:

-         AT WORK: No matter what the job is, always do your best.  If the atmosphere is negative, be a force for the other side.  Point out what’s great, look for ways to improve the company and always remember you’re a free agent and can change jobs any time you want to if the circumstances aren’t conducive to a positive mental state.  NO job is ever worth doing if you’re just there for the money and dread going in every day.  This is one of the most common areas for darkness to sneak into the minds of people.  Be aware of this and always look at things from an attitude of doing the best you can and changing things at work for the better.

-         FAMILY: Not everyone in your family will be supportive of everything you do.  There will be times when other family members are dealing with defeats of their own.  Emotional issues with other family members can get heated at times.  RELAX… center yourself, and look for ways to change your ENTIRE family’s thought patterns and lives for the better.  We first learn to FEED OUR ANGEL and be aware of our personal thought patterns, but families have thought patterns of their own (as do businesses and communities), so align yourself with the angels.  Look for what’s going RIGHT, don’t let the naysayers bring you down.  Be a leader in your family.

-         COMMUNITY: Every community needs leaders.  Every community has organizations that help others, where people can volunteer and make a positive impact not only on themselves and their personal families, but the lives of others.  A community can be a city, state, country or the world.  How many people’s lives would you like to impact?  Always look for ways to serve the community.  Do what you can to help others align with angels.  We can change the world one thought pattern at a time!

“So, little Dave, please take these words to heart.  You’re capable of SO many things… really ANYTHING, but you just need to believe it.  Setbacks are inevitable, but once you really understand the power of thoughts NOTHING can stop you! And I KNOW because I’m YOU!”…

Unfortunately, none of us can go back and give ourselves advice based on our current levels of knowledge.  If we did, we might not be here because the choices we made that brought us here might change because of the impact we had on that awesome little kid that was us so many years ago…

Here’s what we CAN do:

1 – Make sure every child in your life knows these things!  You can’t tell yourself, but there are millions of children who need to know what you wish you knew. We can ABSOLUTELY change the world one child at a time!  “Be a force for good” in the lives of every child you meet!

2 – You can’t go back and talk to yourself as a child, but… what would the future you tell yourself if he or she visited today?  Probably the same types of things!  We are ALL capable of SO MUCH MORE than we realize!  Find ways to spread LOVE to the world!  Learn to love yourself, to FEED YOUR ANGEL every day, then take that love, take that positive, can-do “I can’t be defeated” attitude into EVERYTHING YOU DO!  Have a conversation with your future self, they’ll tell you.  No matter where life finds you today, you can and must leave a legacy of love.  FEED THE ANGELS OF THE WORLD.  As we all focus on what’s right, the world will change with us.

YOU CAN DO THIS.
WE ALL CAN!

Any discussion on feeding our mind the proper nutrition would be remiss without discussing the mind/body connection.  Take a look in the mirror… REALLY take a look and be honest.  Do you like what you see?  If you do, that’s great!  Well done!  What follows will help you retain that feeling indefinitely.  If you DON’T like what you see, why not?  Flabby, fat, wrinkly, frown lines, age spots, most people are extremely self-critical.  Many of us have health problems directly related to how we’ve taken care of ourselves up to this point.  What are the chances an overweight, sick person taking medication to treat the symptoms of poor nutrition can maintain a positive mental attitude?  Very slim.  If you’re unhappy with your physical body, we need to examine the thought patterns that got you here.

Food can be one of those things in life that just slips into auto-pilot at some point.  We find foods we like, things that can fit into our schedules (fast food) in many cases, and never think too much about what we’re doing to our bodies until it becomes blatantly obvious there’s a problem.  Once we’re physically sluggish our minds tend to follow.  It’s a great place for demons to creep into our thought patterns with demoralizing thoughts about how we look.  Those thoughts lead to guilt and fear which can cause more overeating and a vicious cycle is formed that continues until at some point a bottom is hit.  When you’re at a low point in life always remember that every defeat brings with it the seeds of an equal or greater accomplishment!  Our biggest weaknesses can become our strengths in life by changing our thoughts.  Thoughts can be changed in an instant!

For those of you unhappy with yourself physically – what got you here?  Answering this question might take some time, but it usually boils down to thoughts in some form – thoughts about food, about yourself, about priorities… or possibly it can be looked at as LACK of thought in these areas.  Auto-pilot… drifting… Maybe even knowing that you have poor nutritional habits but failing to allow yourself to look at them.  The only way to change your life is to change your thoughts.  Here are the steps to take if you feel negative emotions about your body and/or nutritional habits:

STEP 1:  Become aware that there is a problem and develop a burning desire to change.  Without a serious burning desire in your heart what you have is a “whim” to change.  NOT GOOD ENOUGH!  You will only be able to change when you have a serious desire to do so.  Do you?  It has to become an obsession.  “I will get healthy” has to absolutely take over your thoughts.  Ask for help from the Universe, connect with God and have some faith that once you start moving in the direction of your dreams NOTHING can stop you.  Desire alone isn’t enough, though.  You need a SERIOUS, BURNING DESIRE packed with emotions to make any positive long term changes here.

STEP 2:  Advance confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Watch your thought pattern closely here.  Demons never give up control without a fight.  When thoughts start creeping in like, “I’ve done pretty well this week, I can eat a large pizza by myself as a reward”, catch yourself right then and realize that’s the OLD you talking.  Thank the subconscious mind for sharing and remind it that we are no longer thinking that way.

Moving forward here means making some changes.  Your thoughts and attitudes regarding food need to change.  Start looking at what you eat, when you eat, if and when you exercise, and do some research on what changes you can make to become healthier.  There are many different ways to go about this, but in the end most revolve around “eat right and exercise”.  Start doing things that make you feel GOOD about your health, such as:

• Take nutritional supplements/vitamins.  Learn about what supplements would benefit you.  The act of taking vitamins every day says to yourself and the Universe that you care enough to take precautionary measures.

• Learn portion control and what foods are good for you, which foods need to be cut down or wiped out completely.  Start to watch portions and calories.  Remember, this is a BURNING DESIRE, an OBSESSION to change.  Read and watch everything you can about nutrition and follow your heart – it will find the best plan for you.

• Start an exercise program.  This can be as simple as going for a walk every day at first.  What matters is that you START.  While you’re exercising FEEL the emotion of doing something good for your body.  Give yourself all the credit you can as often as you can – replacing the thought patterns is as important as changing the physical activities.  FEEDING YOUR ANGEL positive mental thoughts about what you’re doing is critical here!  The balance of power needs to shift!

Demons and angels… Good vs. evil… We all struggle with decisions in life.  Demons don’t usually take control because you wanted them too.  They look for areas of weakness and take control because we have a tendency to drift through life without self analyzing what we’re doing very often.  If demons have been controlling your thoughts and actions regarding nutrition take the steps TODAY to change.  Develop an obsession to change, make it a burning desire, then do something every day to FEED YOUR ANGEL regarding physical health.  Your future physical being will reflect your thoughts and actions starting TODAY.  Stop drifting and start living!  You absolutely can do this!

Most of us realize that our body needs nutrition and we choose to feed ourselves physically at least three times a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner.  WHAT we feed ourselves is just as important as how often we eat.  A diet of bacon and potato chips three times a day would have some side effects, as would eating full meals SIX times a day instead of three. QUALITY and QUANTITY matter.  Your body will reflect the type and amount of fuel you give it.

Equally important is what we feed our minds.  What do you say when you talk to yourself?  “Talking to yourself” implies two people, and if you’re the one listening, who are you listening to?  It’s your subconscious mind, which can be trained to help and support you, but when left alone can be overrun by demons.  Most of us have some areas of our lives that are controlled by demons.  We need to become conscious about our own thoughts, beliefs and attitudes which are the fuels that feed our subconscious minds.  What are we feeding it, and how often are we feeding it?

Just as breakfast is the most important meal of the day, “mental breakfast” is equally important, if not more so.  How do you start your day?  Are you happy?  Angry?  Sad?  Really get in touch with your emotions from the second you wake up.  Train yourself to wake up happy and thankful. 

A simple way to do this is to say “thank you” to the Universe three times as SOON as you wake up.  You can be laying in bed and just think the thought… “Thank you, thank you, thank you”, or sit up and take a second or two, it doesn’t matter.  FEEL the emotion of truly being thankful for what you have and where you are in life.  You have SO much to be thankful for.  If this is difficult for you, then it is very important that you start to look for reasons to be thankful today and every day for the rest of your life. This one change alone can make a huge difference!

If we go back to our “bacon and potato chips” physical diet and replace the first meal of the day with a healthy breakfast you would start to see some physical improvement even though the rest of the day we’re filling ourselves with junk.  It’s the same concept here – we need to start somewhere and first thing in the morning is the best place to make a change.

Take some time to READ, MEDITATE and/or JOURNAL every morning.  It doesn’t have to take long, but remember – we’re FEEDING OUR ANGEL so make it something uplifting!  Get a book of daily motivations, sign up for daily motivational e-mails, get calendars that have motivational sayings on every day – FEED YOUR ANGEL by reading something positive every morning!  What you feed yourself today is what you’ll see in your life in the future!

Meditation takes a bit longer, but just waking up and thanking God or the Universe for what you have is an easy, simple form of meditation that can be done every day without taking up too much time.  Fill your time thanking the Universe with genuine emotion.  Teach yourself to be grateful if you aren’t already – the rewards are HUGE.  Whenever possible spend a bit more time on meditation in the morning.  Don’t think about it too much, don’t worry about “doing it right”, the Universe doesn’t care.  Just get quiet and tap into whatever the God force is in your life as often as possible.

Journaling is another great way to start the day.  You can learn a lot about yourself and what you’re REALLY feeling by journaling.  Once again, no right or wrong way to journal, just DO IT!  Get some paper and start writing about anything and everything going on inside you.  Look for areas of weakness where demons love to creep in and be aware of situations and people that stir negative emotions.  At some point you’ll have to determine whether you need to eradicate them from your life or learn to view them differently.

Here are a few ideas I use as starting points when I’m taking time in the morning to do some soul searching:

• Ask yourself, “What would I do on a daily basis if money wasn’t a concern?”  Really think about this and try to picture what you’d do if money wasn’t anything you needed to worry about.  Travel?  Fix up old cars?  Learn to play the piano?  The answer is different for each of us, but usually this exercise will show you an area or two that will have great emotion for you.  Sometimes it’s an old dream long forgotten.  Maybe it’s a project you always wanted to do, but never started.  The things that you would do if money wasn’t a concern are usually things you can start doing NOW in some form.  Get in touch with your passions again, and start moving in the direction of your dreams!

• If you knew today would be your last day on earth, what would you do?  Would you work a regular day, then go to bed normally and that’s that?  Or would you take these last few hours to grab the people you love and tell them how you feel, make amends whenever possible, and squeeze every last drop of joy out of the day you could?  Choose JOY!  DO NOT WAIT!  We are all on borrowed time, so make the most of every day.  Use this exercise to show you the people and places you want to spend your time with.  Surprise someone with a phone call just to say thanks, make amends or tell them how you feel.  Live each day like there’s no tomorrow because tomorrow is guaranteed to no-one.

• Picture your perfect day.  Write down what that day looks like, then read it to yourself every day.  I do this by picturing what my day would look like if I was living my ideal lifestyle.  It’s just a couple paragraphs, and I tweak it periodically as things change.  I start by thinking “What would a successful person do if they moved into my body today?”  Right away you might start thinking’ “Ah-ha!  He doesn’t think he’s successful! Demons!”… which is not the case at all.  By “successful person” I am just looking to create my ideal daily guidelines.  You can do this however you want, but this is the format that works for me.  To give you an idea what mine looks like and a possible template to use in constructing yours, here is a portion of my “perfect day”:

A successful person moved into my body today.  He wakes up at 6AM with enthusiasm for the day.  He works out for an hour every evening.  He reads at least an hour every day.  He always does the right thing.  He lives on 80% of his income, saving 15% and giving away 5%.  He pays cash for everything and avoids debt at all costs.  His love for life and outgoing, positive attitude are infectious and everyone he meets wants to do business with him.  He has always been there, today I step back and let him take control of my life.  He is my true identity.  He IS David Geschke.

THAT, my friends – is mental breakfast!  START TODAY!!!

One of my favorite stories, a classic:

An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, & ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, & truth." The boy thought about it, and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?" The old man quietly replied, "The one you feed".

The dichotomy exists within us all... GOOD VS. EVIL.  An angel on one side, a demon on the other.  In most cases it's portrayed as evenly matched, a yin-yang 50/50 split, but that isn't how it usually works.  One or the other has taken a majority rule.  Realizing this fact is step #1 to awakening.  It's what you do with that knowledge that will determine your future.