The Buddha: All that we are is the result of what we have thought

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
– The Buddha

Perspective - do you always look at life from the same point-of-view?

Perspective - do you always look at life from the same point-of-view? Consider viewing a situation as another might view it. Look from behind, underneath, from the distant heavens. View the situation as someone of a different religion, race, or nationality might view it. Pretend you are an alien from a distant galaxy - that should be good for a laugh. Troubles only appear troubling to those close to them.

Anais Nin: Don't let one cloud obliterate the whole sky

Don't let one cloud obliterate the whole sky.

 - Anaïs Nin

Simply An Inspired Life - Jonathan Lockwood Huie and Mary Anne Radmacher

The Eight Points of Simply An Inspired Life are the core values that form the basis of our book Simply An Inspired Life - Consciously Choosing Unbounded Happiness in Good Times and Bad by Jonathan Lockwood Huie and Mary Anne Radmacher

Eight Points of An Inspired Life - Keys to Happiness

• HONOR for true self. • FORGIVENESS for self and all. • GRATITUDE in everything. • CHOICE with open mind and heart. • VISION with powerful intention. • ACTION with bold courage; • CELEBRATION with joy; • UNITY with all creation.

The Eight Points of An Inspired Life work together to enable us to take charge of our life and make intentional choices for joyful living.

Consider making these Affirmations of an Inspired Life a part of your daily expression of intent:

• HONOR - I Honor My True Self • FORGIVENESS - I Forgive Myself and All Others with Compassion • GRATITUDE - I Receive ALL of Life with Thanksgiving • CHOICE - I CHOOSE with Open Mind and Open Heart • VISION - I Dream with Powerful Intention • ACTION - I Act with Bold Courage • CELEBRATION - I Dance with a Light Heart • UNITY - I Am One With Spirit and All Creation

Here are extended versions of these affirmations.

HONOR: I Honor My True Self - I grant myself the Honor of being ME. I am unique in all time and space. I am beyond perceived scarcity, obligation, and the need for approval. I am Honored that Spirit has chosen to create ME.

FORGIVENESS: I Forgive Myself and All Others with Compassion - I forgive everyone, especially myself, for all actions and all inactions throughout my entire life. I accept that no one else has ever been to blame for either my joy or my suffering. The entire cause of all my joys and all my sufferings is my own emotional response to the events of my life, and I am committed to consistently distinguishing between my feelings about events and the physical occurrence of those events. I declare that everyone who has ever played any role in any of the events of my life is entirely without fault.

GRATITUDE: I Receive ALL of Life with Thanksgiving - I have gratitude for EVERYTHING that has ever occurred to bring me to this moment. I give thanks for the joys and the sufferings, the moments of peace and the flashes of anger, the compassion and the indifference, the roar of my courage and the cold sweat of my fear. I accept gratefully the entirety of my past and my present life.

CHOICE: I CHOOSE with Open Mind and Open Heart - I renounce all assumptions and expectations, and I declare that I will thoughtfully consider all possibilities. I will CHOOSE with courage, awareness, consciousness, and compassion toward all.

VISON: I Dream with Powerful Intention - Opening my mind to Spirit, I trust my intuition to deliver powerful visions of my inspired future, and I empower my intent to transform those visions into reality.

ACTION: I Act with Bold Courage - Taking inspiration from the powerful vision of my future, I boldly set sail with courage and intent. I hold my course with focused attention and relentless commitment, as I weather the storms of life.

CELEBRATION: I Dance with a Light Heart - I play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life’s only true lessons are writ small in the margin.

UNITY: I Am One With Spirit and All Creation - I give thanks for the unity of all creation and for EVERYTHING that has brought me to this moment. I release my entire being to the gentle nurture of Spirit.

What or who do you trust, or depend upon?

What or who do you trust, or depend upon? In this photo, my wife Suze is trusting a thin strand of wire and its connection to a couple of tropical trees to keep her from crashing to the ground. Most of the time it is not as obvious where we are placing our trust. Every time you drive down the highway, you are trusting thousands of people to stay in their own lane, stop at red lights, keep to the right of oncoming traffic (in the United States), and follow a myriad of other conventions.

Perhaps you trust your doctor, your lawyer, your boss - perhaps not. Perhaps you trust in a "Higher Power" - perhaps you don't. Trust is something that we become aware of in unusual situations, such as a once-in-a-lifetime ride on a zip-line, but most of the time, we become oblivious to the trust we have, or don't have.

Take time today, and often, to consciously examine what and who you trust. Especially focus on WHY you do or do not trust something or someone. Blind trust is a bad habit - conscious trust is one of the underpinnings of a great life.