Have you ever heard the expression” God is watching you”? Growing up, this phrase was mentioned every time that there was a suspicion of me getting into mischief. The idea of some all powerful “giant” celestial being that was keeping note of everything I did, like Santa Claus. The only exception though was that if you were “bad” , Santa wouldn’t bring you any toys, but , with God , the consequences for “badness” were far worse, possibly permanent. Growing up, I always believed in a higher power even if I didn’t regularly go to a church or was e member for that matter.In my early 20’s , I went through a phase where I got extremely religious and judgemental of those who didn’t share my convictions. This phase lasted for about 11 years. Out of nowhere, I started questioning my belief system. I started asking myself why I was doing what I was doing and how was I truly benefitting from it. To this day, I have no idea why I started to quesion myself. I simply started asking questions which led to more questions. No one had answers that satisfied me not even the leadership. It was like scales falling off of my eyes. Throughout the process, I never questioned the idea of a “higher power” . I questioned organized religion. The same institution that previously provided me with “salvation” became my prison. I came to the conclusion that it was time to move on and inward for the answers. It is a daily conscious journey that I have been on for the past 10+ years. In that time, I have experienced a lot of healing,enlightened and empowerment. I have also experienced numerous challenges as well which , without fail, have always lead me to more healing,enlightenment and empowerment. Ultimately, I have come to several conclusions:1) There is a higher power ,but that power resides in me . It is the source of my life and every life form . 2) We are all connected to this source. It is not only in us, but IS us. We are all individual manifestations of the Source.3) This higher power is not gender specific ,but is represented through both genders( i.e. he,she , it, etc)4) It is my conviction that the natural state of this higher power is love…unconditional love.

    The love that I am writing about is not the Hallmark card commercialized love that you might find familiar. I mean love that is the most creative,resilient , unrelenting, therefore , most powerful force in the universe. The bible , if you believe in it, identifies love as God with a capital “G”. It is the indominitable force that not only created you , but lives through you whether you acknowledge it or not. It is non-judgemental. It is the presence that , if you remain still in order to look within yourself , is observing you while you are observing it. It gives you the power to reason while keeping your heart beating.You wouldn’t exist without it. It connects each one of us while being the cause of our uniqueness. We are each a unique expression of this one Source.There are no exceptions. It gives us life yet it exists to serve us. It dwells in our subconscious expressing who we truly are in our thoughts and feelings . The individual circumstances of our lives are a manifestation brought to life by this power due to our thoughts. The power makes no judgements. Rather it responds to our deepest thoughts and emotions. There is no hiding from it , yet when we are acknowledge it and “align” ourselves with it, we become all powerful. When we realize that we are one as well as condition ourselves to be  monitor our thoughts this power becomes a most valuable ally. It will always “manifest” based on our truest desires. This key for us to live an authentic life. The Source never fails. It is not limited by time nor present circumstances. The more focused you are on what you truly desire, the more deliberate it gets. It always delivers. It controls the details. We only need to stay certain of what we desire without concerning ourselves with how it’s going to happen. The “how” is none of our business:) You can’t fool it. It is not intelligent rather it is the source of intelligence. Nothing exist outside of it. It is your highest self. No one knows you better than it does because it is a direct reflection of you , therefore, it is both the observer and the observed. For each of us to have the best relationship with it , we must be true to ourselves about who we are and what we truly desire out of life. The power ( God,Source , Universe, “Ralph”,whatever!!!) will reflect it  without judgement, therefore, do not be afraid to express your authentic self. You exist for that purpose. Don’t settle for mediocrity. There is truly no such thing as failure. You are limited only by your thinking. There is no more meaningful task than living to your potential which is literally limitless. In the process of doing so, you give others the “permission” to do it themselves. Simply be yourself. We’re all connected remember?

   I’m sure that we can all agree that life happens to all of us .The good, bad and ugly parts. Each of us have our share of each category with arguably different amounts of the three. We may seem to not have control over certain circumstances, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t control our reactions . It is normal to get upset when faced with a challenge or unexpected hardship yet we have the ability to conditon our minds to look for the opportunity within the challenge. It can be debated that “blessing” and challenge are opposite sides of the same coin. At certain times, the blessing(s) might not be as obvious  therefore requiring us to do some “digging” in order to find it. Depending on the circumstances, we might have to regain our composure in order to think clearly. There might be some “mental wrestling involved ,initially, but , with perseverence and patience, we can win. I am not saying that it will be easy , but it is , by far , worth it. Consider this, at our core, we our energy. Our emotional states serve as magnets attracting both people and circumstances that directly match with our current emotional state. Despite  your current situation ,perservere with focusing on the brighter side of things while making the effort to change your circumstances without stressing over it. Eventually, better opportunities will present themselves. Training your mind to be generally optimistic about life overall leads to establishing a more consistent state of genuine happiness. This state has the added benefit of contributing towards both improved mental and physical health as well as emotional. It affects not only how you react to certain situations , but also how you respond to others as well. The more you “practice” happiness, the more it will become natural for you. It will become contagious to others around you. It will change how you talk, walk and carry on your daily activities. People are drawn to you because they are impacted by your positive attitude. They will tend to open up to you. They will like having you around. Happy people have a greater work ethic. They are pleasant work with and don’t complain. Overall, they are more successful both personally and professionally. People who are sincerely and consistently happy make more money. The practice of happiness has long reaching benefits that improve every area of life. Happiness not only changes your attitude, it changes your world as well as impacting everyone in it. Here’s to your happiness:)

    The French writer ,Antoine de Saint-Exupery, was quoted as saying,” A goal without a plan is just wish.” You can’t be truly focused without a plan. Write it down on paper and be as detailed as possible. Post it where you can look at it constantly. Writing out your plan helps the idea to etched not only in your consciousness, but, most importantly, your subconscious. Our subconscious minds determine our actions, outcomes and what we attract into our lives.This why positive affirmations are so effect because they assist us in reconditioning our subconscious. Be consistent with following your plan, yet patient . Remember that life happens with all of its unexpected twist and turns. In every situation, there is an opportunity to grow and ,at times, it may seem overwhelming, but be always remember that it is temporary. Try your best to stick to your plan, but don’t drive yourself crazy over it. Learn to take a deep breath whether literally, figuratively or both. Whichever is needed at the moment to settle you down. You have to train yourself to be “still” in order to learn the lesson in the challenge and there is always one to learn. The one who is focused on the realization of their vision will not only identify the lesson in the seemingly insurmountable challenge, but will use it as a stepping stone to move him/her further towards their destination. No experience is wasted.Establish your plan without obsessing about the details. Life has it’s own way of working those out. Once you have see your vision realized from the end , engage yourself in the work that is in front of you. The rest will take care of itself. Believe it. Know it.

Do you know the difference between 99% of the population and the 1%? The 1% choose not to settle. The “self made” among them know exactly want they want and never give up until their goal is met. What happens after that? The next goal. As God “being human”(which is who we are), we are designed to evolve , to grow continuously in every way possible. We each are unique in our own way. We all have “gifts” to share. For many of us, these gifts remain “untapped” . Some gifts or talents are more obvious, yet regardless of what your talents are, if you do not use or develop them , if you decide to settle for status quo you will never realize your full potential. Most of us never do. In order to do so takes constant practice and a willingness to be uncomfortable. To persevere even when it seems hopeless. When ALL odds seem against you yet something in you absolutely refuses to give up.No matter what. in order to truly realize our potential in any area of our life, we must become both immersed and obsessed  with success on our own terms. We can never ever give up!!!