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The Buck Stops Here

Posted on by Terry Minion
 “The best years of your life are the ones in which
you decide your problems are your own. You do not
blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president.
You realize that you control your own destiny.”
 
— Albert Ellis
 
 
“Your life is the fruit of your own doing.
You have no one to blame but yourself.”
 
— Joseph Campbell
 
 
 
[Classic post from 4-9-11]
 
These are indeed the best years of my life, and I also believe they are the best because I have come to the point of accepting full responsibility for where I am, what I have or do not have, who I've become and who I will be. There is a real excitement about that in me that I have charge of my life and that if it is not to my liking, I am to blame and I am also the only one who can elect to change it. I don't think there is any more power than in that realization.
 
It is also a cause for celebration and for joy. Even though there are a number of circumstances in my life right now that I am not pleased with, I find joy in the celebration that I created these circumstances out of my previous thinking habits. All I need do then is to change that thinking to be more of what I want and maintain it habitually and new circumstances will prevail.
 
It doesn't matter if it is financial, spiritual, business-related, or any other facet of life. They are all affected in the same way by my habitual thinking and each one can be (and will only be) changed by a modification of that thinking.
 
 
The Blame Game Is Over. The Buck Stops Here.
 
Spread Some Joy Today–Responsibility can be joyous. Accept yours and find out.

Stream Of Well-Being

Posted on by Terry Minion

I’ve been pondering something that Abraham stated which was that there is only a source of well-being and everything else is the absence of that and that it is always our choice of which to give our attention.

We have all these duality points such as good and bad, right and wrong, legal and illegal, good and evil, love and fear, and so many more. In lining these up with what Abraham stated, we have given so many names for the source of well-being and also the absence of it. As an example, it seems to me that there really isn’t anything such as fear except that we have branded it so. To think that fear is the opposite of love seems logical, but in Abraham’s statement, fear is only the absence of love because love is well-being after all. And so on. Evil then would only be the absence of good but not something that is in and of itself a thing.

That reminds me of a quote I put in the Daily Inspirations from Dale Carnegie: “You can conquer almost any fear if you will make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.” In other words, it is not something in and of itself but a perspective, a thought, an interpretation based on history, etc. Although in this quote, I am not in agreement with the idea of conquering fear because I think it is much more along the lines of letting it go, releasing it, or turning toward love which is our source of well-being.

A Kind Face

Posted on by Terry Minion

“Joy is the greatest cleanser, and it is
the greatest testimony to our
faith.

“Toil with happiness,” my Lord once
said to me.

God sent a servant on an errand
through a dangerous part
of the world.

The servant, having received in hand
what God wanted
delivered,

turned to the Holy and said,
“My Beloved Master, do you have a final instruction?”
and God replied,

“A kind face is a
precious
gift.”

— St. Francis of Assisi

The Bad News And The Good News

Posted on by Terry Minion

“The bad news is that we have fallen into an ego belief system that other people’s shit causes all our unhappiness, stress, and lack of peace.

The good news is that we can discover that it’s not other people’s shit causing the turmoil in the world, it’s our own shit that’s the culprit.

Another way of looking at it is to notice that other people’s shit smells so awful that it makes us want to puke, yet the smell of our own shit doesn’t seem to bother us. Dear reader, consider the possibility that if we all took responsibility for smelling our own shit and got rid of it, we could bring peace and harmony into a world that is filled with darkness and conflict.

We take a giant step in our journey when we become aware that it’s only our own thoughts that hurt us.”

Gerald G. Jampolsky
The “Oh Shit” Factor
Waste Management For Our Minds

Daily Inspiration 4-18-20

Posted on by Terry Minion

“Perception is a mirror, not a fact.” 

— A Course in Miracles

[Classic post from 12-20-15]

Alan Cohen says, “The universe is simultaneously infinite in its capacity to support you, and ingenious in the ways it can find to do it.” It might be difficult, even challenging for us to really believe something like this from our perspective of living in a finite world.

So. . . it is really good, I think, to take a little bit of time periodically to see just a tiny morsel of the vastness of the space that we live in.

Seemingly unending galaxies, each with billions if not trillions of planets with millions if not billions of stars like our own Sun. Even the closest ones with us traveling at the speed of light would take more years than we have to give to get there. Of course, we currently have no way to travel that fast, so the vastness remains. The other perspective is that the light that we are receiving in our view is light that left those galaxies millions of years ago. It’s just mind-boggling to consider how big and vast this all is.

Closer to home, we have the oceans and why our Earth is called the Blue Planet. Some years ago, this photo was taken by my late wife, Nancy as I gazed at the vastness of all that I could see of the Pacific Ocean at Muir Lookout above San Francisco. I can only see a few miles of ocean, yet even that is so vast that I can’t get my head around it. As I consider the number of drops of water in that space, my brain cannot do it. I just have to accept this view as it is.

The planet has many vast deserts, some covered with so much sand. Consider the number of granules of sand in this one view. It’s a crazy number that we may not even be able to write, let alone the whole of that one desert. You could walk for days and not find anything more than more of this.

So. . . it is really good, I think, to take a little bit of time periodically to see how small we are, how small our problems are, in relation–in perspective to the vast space that we live in. Then, when we turn our focus back on our much more limited views of our lives, a bit of the magic of that vastness may remain to help us to feel oh so good about where we are in our lives. It’s a great way to add more joy to your life. I know it does for me. When I contemplate these vast things for a few minutes, I feel refreshed in my perception, giving me a delightful perspective by knowing that I am simultaneously significant and insignificant and that all of my so-called problems are not that at all.

Whatever Problems We Think We Have Completely Disappear In The Vastness Of The Creation Around Us. 

Spread Some Joy Today–by letting go of your current perceptions for just a little while until your joy returns.

Daily Inspiration 4-17-20

Posted on by Terry Minion
“Wisdom is merely the movement 
from
fighting life to embracing it.” 
— Rasheed Ogunlaru 

Audio version

[Classic post from 12-17-15]

The more I looked at this wonderful quote, the more I think I have to agree with it. So much of my life was some sort of struggle with life, swimming upstream, trying to make things happen with my actions alone, and much more.

It’s only in the last ten years, and the last five or so in particular, where I feel the wisdom of embracing life rather than being at odds with it.

Alan Cohen, one of my favorite authors, said it similarly this way: “I always end up making the right decision. The length of time, and degree of ease or difficulty that it takes me to get there, is the subject of my spiritual practice.”

Wisdom is something to move into by embracing life, and our ability to make choices and all of it is a spiritual journey, so it is a work in progress; although, I like the word journey better.

Here’s To All Of Us Embracing Life On Our Mutual Spiritual Journey. 

Spread Some Joy Today–What a valuable journey that is!

Daily Inspiration 4-16-20

Posted on by Terry Minion
“Before we can salute 
 the greatness within others, 
we need to salute 
the greatness within ourselves.” 
— Kevin Hall 

Audio version

[Classic post from 12-16-15]

Celebrating people where they are as if they were all that any one of us could be is a very effective and loving way to consider others.

In America, in particular, we celebrate celebrity with a passion. If we were to actually sit down and talk with one of those holy icons, I think that a majority would feel less than, when equal to would be the most appropriate comparison, if we compare at all, which is a given in the human nature of our ego-affected lives.

I ran across a great quote by Wayne Dyer that helps here:

“Release your need to feel superior by seeing the unfolding of Spirit in everyone. Don’t assess others on the basis of their appearance, achievements, and possessions. It’s an old saw, but nonetheless true: We are all equal in the eyes of God.” 

Now take the word superior and interchange it with the word, inferior, and read it again.

Being more than, less than, better than, worse than, winning, losing, success and failure are all temporary illusions influenced by temporary situations and circumstances–and most of it is severely prejudiced by our own ego. As we are able to see the Spirit unfolding in each other and in ourselves, we are all on the same journey with individual paths, and every path is good and perfect.

Seeing The Greatness Or The Unfolding Spirit Is Exactly The Same As Loving. 

Spread Some Joy Today–Happy Thursday to all of you. Take some of that joy spilling over in your life and find a way to share it. There are plenty craving it.

Daily Inspiration 4-15-20

Posted on by Terry Minion
“The grass always looks greener 
on the other side of the fence.” 
— Common phrase 

Audio version

[Classic post from 12-15-15]

The reason why “the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence” is that many people have developed very strong tendencies toward complaining about what is on their side of the fence.” — Abraham, Esther Hicks

I’m Making Lists Of What Is Good, Right, Enjoyable, Fun, Interesting, Delightful About What Is On My Side Of The Fence Today. 

Spread Some Joy Today–Here I am complaining about…nothing!

Daily Inspiration 4-14-20

Posted on by Terry Minion
“I wanna know what you were like growing up. 
What was your favorite pair of shoes? 
What was your favorite cereal? 
What was the first car you drove? 
I mean, I’m just getting started here. 
I wanna know everything about you.” 
— Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper) 
to Captain Ng (Emma Stone) 
in the movie, Aloha 

Audio version

[Classic post from 12-14-15]

I’m almost done listening to Carole King’s autobiography, A Natural Woman. I have been really enjoying it and learning so much about her that I would have never known. What a special treat this is.

Having breakfast on Sunday with a dear friend, I told him how much I was enjoying the audiobook, and then said something I didn’t plan on. I said, “You know, I just realized that listening to this book and the autobiography of John Fogerty has caused me to appreciate every other person on this planet more.”

I have always loved biographies and autobiographies. Some are so fascinating that it is almost sad to get to the end. And yet, at best, each one is a few snippets out of a much, much longer life full of experiences.

Part of what fascinated me is that Carole, John, and all the others who wrote autobiographies took the time (lots of it) and the energy (lots of that too) to stop what they were doing in life and focus on writing down their stories. That is powerful.

The other thing that I said at breakfast was, “Every person on this planet has interesting stories about their lives, and I would love to hear all of them.”

I was married for 16 years the first time and knew her for five years prior to that, and 26 years the second time, and in spending that much time together, I learned much, but I also realize that there is so much more about them that I did not know. That would be true especially about how we felt about things we never talk about and more.

Some say that God experiences life through all of his Creation. Can you imagine the fascination with that? Wow.

After these realizations, I don’t think I will ever look at any other person the same again. I will now realize that each and every individual has wonderful and fascinating stories inside them. How delightful it would be to take the time to get to know them more.

We have this tendency to deal with the immediate, talk in superficial language that is meant to be light and remain unattached, yet beneath that in every single life on this planet is so much depth and so many experiences. I could learn from them. I would love to learn from them. I would love to read the autobiography of everyone.

This Has Caused Me To Have A Whole New Appreciation Of All That I See And All That I Meet. 

Spread Some Joy Today–by appreciating that which others bring to your experience.

Daily Inspiration 4-13-20

Posted on by Terry Minion
“It’s easy to be a critic, 
but being a doer 
 requires effort, risk, and change.” 
— Wayne Dyer 

Audio version

[Classic post from 12-13-15]

The whole quote from Wayne Dyer is this: “A non-doer is very often a critic; that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It’s easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.”

Let me ask a question. You see a young black man driving a brand new top of the line Lexus or Mercedes. What is your first thought about that? I think a high percentage might think, drug dealer, or some other lucrative, yet seedy, and probably illegal enterprise.

Was your answer different? We have a tendency to make quick judgments from our collective knowledge and our collected prejudices. Some might say, “I’m not prejudiced!” But, prejudice simply means expressing an opinion prior to actually knowing. We pre-judge without actually knowing for sure.

Now consider this from Abraham, Esther Hicks: “Feel appreciation for those who provide examples of financial Well-Being. How would you know prosperity was possible if there was not evidence of it around you? It is all part of the contrast. Money is not the root of happiness, but it is not the “root of evil,” either. Money is the result of how somebody lines up Energy. If you do not want money, do not attract it, but your criticism of others who have money holds you in a place where things you do want such as wellness, clarity, and Well-Being, cannot come to you, either.

We love seeing you applauding someone else’s success because when you are genuinely thrilled by another’s success, that means you are right on the track of your own. 

Many think success means getting everything they want. And we say that is what dead is. and there is no such thing as that kind of dead. Success is not about getting it done. It is about still dreaming and feeling positive in the unfolding. The standard of success in life is not the money or the stuff–rather, it is absolutely the amount of joy you feel.” 

Joy And Appreciation Are In Alignment And Interchangeable With Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today–by finding your appreciation of that which is all around you and within you.

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Mesa, AZ

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