The Benefits of a Positive Mind

Well well well! Haven't been here in a while. i can truly say that my life has been extremely hectic these past few months.

The primary reason for this missive is just to take a moment of self-reflection. i could concentrate on all of the things that i "don't" have, but that's not where i want to put my energy. Energy goes where attention flows. i want to focus on the positive stuff that i have going on.

First of all, i still draw breath independent of machinery. For that i am grateful. A very close family member is in the hospital with just about all manner of physical ailments. i visit as often as i can primarily because we are family and i got mad love for this person and also because i find motivation to "eat an apple a day." i don't subscribe to Western medicine for a lot of reasons. The primary one being that there is nothing positive that the doctor will tell you about your health. i worked in the healthcare industry for 6 years and know all too well how the system works. The doctors try to soup you up on as much medication as they can to cushion their pockets with the perks and bonuses that the pharmacy bigwigs, insurance muckymucks and institutional higherup dish out. i have seen it first hand. Doctors and insurance companies are NOT in the business of taking care of your health. It is in direct juxtaposition to their real intentions. Now, i could rant on aplenty about the "healthcare"industry but i want to give light to the happier things of LIFE.

Secondly, i got MAADD love for my family. i am full on aware of my short-comings. i have never professed to be anywhere near perfection, yet i am PERFECT. My family reminds me of that daily. To have a circle of REAL people in your corner to back you up when you don't want to go any further is rejuvenating. Their smiles, laughter, hugs, kisses, words, winks and nods, thumbs ups, assistance and warmth is the reason i keep going. They are the reason i get up and out there to do whatever i can to make life better for us all. Them having my back is my Chicken Soup.

Next, to know that i know like i know what a positive self-outlook will do for your life. i have had many changes going on in the last 5 or so years and had i not been stalwart in MY thinking and not letting anyone deter me from what I wanted, who knows where i could have ended up. i am reminded of a few pieces of media that has crossed my path in the last few years. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne really hit home this notion of the Law of Attraction. i have used it on many occasion in big and small ways and have reaped untold benefits from it. From getting a fabulous family and lover to getting jobs to winning in card games, i use the Law of Attraction to bring about what it is that i desire just because i give it the correct energy. Some other books that have inspired me is The Science of Being Great by Wallace D. Wattles, Thinking for a Change by Thomas C. Maxwell and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. All of these books drove home for me the same message ... the power of the mind is the most powerful force in the universe. With the right mindset, anything - big or small - can be accomplished. Whatever i set my mind to and remain focused on will come to me in fairly short order. "What you think about and thank about, you bring about." - James Arthur Ray (excerpt from The Secret).

OK! i have put more positive energy out into the universe and stand ready and available to receive the fullness thereof. Not only do i feel fabulous when i live in a positive flow of thought, i look better. My smiles are brighter (and i smile ALOT!) i feel taller (just like today, i felt at least 5'7" instead of my measured 5'4"!), my posture is more upright and i don't get fatigued. i can say that i am an expert in the area of positive thinking. I've done numerous experiments and my conclusions pretty much come out as i have theorized ... The Benefits of a Positive Mind Are Far Reaching.

MOTIVATION

I had the pleasure of meeting a young man at the courthouse back in April who, at first blush, seemed to me thuggish. His looks spoke that he was an older person over the age of 35, but his attire was that of a youthful 16 year old (you really are only as old as you feel). Anyway, what really struck my attention was his baseball hat. It was doused with colorful rhinestones that said "HATERS" on the front and "Keep Me Motivated" along the arc in the back. We both sat in a side conference room and he began to regale me about the reason for his appearance in court that day. He was pretty down about the current state of his situation and during the course of our very short exchange, he looked at his hat at least 6 times. He commented on the fact that the people that showed up at court on his behalf were not really genuine to his cause, they were only there for the show of it. He chose to separate himself from the crowd for a moment of reflection before his case was called. He commented to me that people in his circle were always "hatin' " on him because he took care of his family by going to work everyday and teaching his young children that there was a better way of life than that of the streets. I could sense the passion of his conviction to remain the course of teaching his 4 year old son how to be a real man. With his cap perched upon his knee, he looked at it once more with a crack in his voice. He was grieved that his children had been taken into DCFS custody for, what seemed to him, foolish reasons. He stated yet again, "Haters keep me motivated. The more they hate on me, the higher and higher I'm gonna get." To him I replied, "Continue to be focused on what you want and you will get it. Nothing is gonna keep you from it. Stay strong and everything will work out in your favor. I promise you that." His case was called and he rose from his seat. Before he exited the room, i said to him, "Stay strong, God." He smiled and nodded his head.

I was today jolted to remember that moment in my life and particularly that young man's hat. At the time of our meeting, i really wasn't tuned into the full meaning of what he posted on his baseball cap. Actually, i thought it was rather ghetto at the time. Today, i am in a whole new state of awareness about his hat and can now come to appreciate the sentiment of it. "HATERS KEEP ME MOTIVATED." There is nothing like the sense of power that comes from other people trying to stop you from achieving your goals. i could be foolish enough to ask WHY, but i already know that answer. THEY REALLY WANT WHAT YOU HAVE! At this space in my life with all that is going on in it, i don't have time to focus on the haters. i really don't! But i do so enjoy the energy that they send. In my own warped reality, it is invigorating. Knowing that they are focusing on trying to trip me up and stop me from doing what i need to do, means that they are not wholly paying attention to their own life. Worrying about me and what i got going on instead of working to correct their own mess of a life lets me know that what i have (whatever it is) is and will continue to be the benchmark for them to aspire to. i am gratified to know that what i am doing is the right thing. If you continue to do the right things for the right reasons, you yield the right result at the right time.

i am motivated to continue my quest for righteousness and LIFE (Living In Full Enjoyment) for all the right reasons. No one will stop me from being me. No one will change my course. No one will dictate my rights and cast harsh judgment about my wrongs. No one will tell me that my ME is wrong. i will again go back to my motto of "To Thine Own Self Be True." That message got me through a pretty rough period of my life. It reminded me to stay on my course and not to allow anyone to knock me off my square.

HATERS KEEP HATIN'! THE MORE YOU HATE ON ME, THE HIGHER AND HIGHER I'M GONNA GET!

Believe That!

4 Silence

HAPPY 2nd EARTHDAY TO OUR GODDESS, SILENCE ZEPHYRA!

It Is Better To Have ...

One of the many lessons that i have acquired in life is that love is the easiest, most difficult thing in life to do. To love another person means that you must put yourself out there. You gotta be willing to be vulnerable and lay reservations and expectations aside. When you get the opportunity to experience "entanglement" with another being, you must must must be willing to have an open heart, mind and desire to be that thing for them that they need you to be and at the same time, allow them to fill in the spaces and places in your life and heart that are incomplete.

And if you ever have the misfortune to lose that love, don't despair and think that you will never have it again. What you think in the mind, persists. What you think about and thank about, you bring about. Energy goes where attention flows. All those good ole cliches. Don't give up and think that you are destined to be alone for the rest of your life. If that is what you think, that is what you will get. Write down the qualities that you require to compliment your life. Post it somewhere that you can always see it. Remain focused on those qualities and you will be surprised at just how the universe will put into motion bringing that person into your life.

Take it from someone who has put this into practice and is reaping the harvest. It is better to have loved and lost because you will get better love the next time.

And another thing that i have loved and lost is Krispy Kreme in Naperville. Boo hoo! :(

Hilarity

i went to church today for the first time in about 4 years just to see what i had been missing. i visited a church that i had never been to before with the expectation that i would have a wonder-filled, totally spiritual, fabulous experience. i must say that it was almost all that. Allow me to add this disclaimer before i go any further. This post is not to mock anyone's religion or beliefs. i am not throwing stones at organized religion at all. i am simply giving air to what i feel about my experience from today.

i got to the church on time and found a seat towards the front. i really wanted to take in the fullness of the service. The praise leaders sang 4 songs that lasted at least 45 minutes. The music was OK. The songs they sang were the same songs i knew from religiously going to church 5 years prior. i was hoping that they would have new songs that lit a fire in me and made me get out of my seat and move. Not so much. The one person that i felt was really feeling "that thang" was the drummer. His timbres were on point. He made the praise portion of the service good for me.

After praise and worship, the pastor was ushered in and the combined choir sang 3 or 4 MORE songs that took up another 25 minutes. Really, by now i am a wee bit agitated because if i wanted to listen to a service full of songs, i could have tuned in to a Pandora station or logged on to my XM/Sirius station. So i got thru the songs and prepared my ears and heart for a mighty word! Womp Womp! The message was about Jesus walking on water and Peter's doubting faith. i can't even remember what the title of the text was. i was more moved at his antics than the message in his words. His animated delivery made me chuckle quite a few times. The whole sermon was fraught with comedy. Maybe that was his way of relaying the message to the audience, but i went to church to hear a mighty word from God. i did not go to the comedy spot for a routine from a comedic minister.

So, all in all, church is still church the way i remembered it. A comedy/fashion/gossip/front fest neatly wrapped up under the guise of God. Bless they heart and Praise God anyhow!!

What a day! What a day!

So! Let me tell you all about the day i had! Saturday i had a super fantastic time with my family in Naperville and the children were wonderful and happy as usual and growing and just all around great. So! I get back home around 1 a.m. and get in the bed around 1:45 because i know that i have to get right back up at 6 to head to St. Louis to pick my sister and baby up from the airport. So i got to bed with this super fantastic feeling and wake with the same. i take a S.H.O.W.E.R. and a shower and get dressed and kiss and hug my man and off we go. It had been raining all night and was coming down pretty hard. So! We are on the drive to STL, making a stop at the rest area to do the do. The do was did and off we are again. We get to STL and are a little early so we just drive around looking at stuff. In our drive, we come across a car that was in a horrible accident still sitting in the grass wrapped around a tree. I comment to Chief that i am sure that it did not end very well for the driver of that car. The car had to be moved in order to get the person out of it because the driver side had become the passenger side and the front of the car was in the backseat. You had to see it to get the full breadth of what i'm saying, but use your imagination. So we stop at Walgreen's and got a snack and headed back to the airport. We blissfully get to the airport and collect our precious cargo and back to Chambanaland we go.

Sis regales us about the trip and how excited she is to be back home and see us and we are all excited to be together. It's still raining. Chief is driving and at this moment he is commenting about how people should accept the fact that you are who you are and do what you do and give reverence to it every time they see you and not try to "recruit" you to their way of thinking.

We hit a patch or water and begin hydroplaning. We are in the passing lane. There is a semi truck that we had just passed about 2 seconds ago, literally, that was now right in front of us because we are spinning around. We did two or three 360's, was turned head on into oncoming traffic, spun 360 again, Still hydroplaning. Chief let go of the steering wheel and the brake so that the truck could do what it was gonna do. We careened up the side of the highway, over the ditch, into the grass, BETWEEN (i capitalize this word because this is maybe the most important part of the whole story) two trees and landed softly in the hanging branches of another tree. We ended up sliding backwards in the mud and soaked grass,hitting one of the trees we had just passed thru, shattering the cargo door glass. All that happened in the course of around 6 seconds.

i was in the backseat with the baby. My mommy sense kicked in, and even though she was in the car seat tight, i still had my hand pressed to her chest so that she would stay securely against the seat. We finally came to a gentle landing. Everybody looked around making sure that everyone was OK. Chief jumped out of his seat and quickly crawled to the backseat to check the baby (he just that type of dad). Remember the semi truck? Well, him and another semi truck driver had now pulled alongside the highway and ran over to see if everyone was ok. i am sitting on the door, literally, because the vehicle is bearing the mass majority of the weight on the passenger side. i think if that tree was there to keep us from sliding backwards, the truck would have very well been on its side. Chief gets out to assess the damage. It's all MINOR! i'm sure you don't understand why i say that so passionately, but after the ordeal that we had just come thru, to have only 2 or 3 small dings in that vehicle was truly a blessing.

He goes around the vehicle making sure that if the weight inside gets shifted, that we wouldn't topple over and stood there was this look of awe. The space BETWEEN the trees that we had gone thru was about one foot wider than the whole width of the truck. Close your eyes and imagine that with me. The space between two immovable trees was only 12 inches more than the whole width of the vehicle. WOW!!! I'm not talking about trees that were planted three or four years ago. They had hanging branches! One of them was bearing the weight of a SUV to keep it from rolling backwards!! WOW!!!

Someone else must have called 911 because a local police officer comes along a little while later and asks if everyone is ok. He looked inside the vehicle and saw the baby in the backseat and asks if she is fine. By this time, i had gotten her out of the seat and checked her for cuts, scratches and such. She is her happy and bubbly self the whole rip never crying one time. The officer can't see me in the backseat because i am still sitting pressed up against the door. He doesn't realize that i there until he had been on the scene for more than 5 minutes. He walked the length of the truck and stood there with this gazed over look. Tears had welled up in his eyes. He got emotional because he saw the trees and the width of the truck and commented about 200 times that we were so lucky to be alive. That we had not hit the trees was a miracle. He goes back to his cruiser to call the State police and compose himself.

So, the other officer comes and calls the tow truck guy and they do the stuff they do. i would like to pause and give a BIG UP to the tow guy. He expertly and precisely executed how to get that vehicle out of the grass without it rolling over. So, BIG UP to the owner of King's Tow Service of Maryville, IL.

Now you really must understand that for everyone in that vehicle to walk away with every faculty they had intact was amazing. We were unscathed! After hydroplaning, gliding backwards into oncoming traffic, spinning 360s, running up the side of the interstate, between two huge trees and SOFTLY land in place was amazing. AND the most damage that was done was a shattered rear window. We are ever so thankful to God, Allah, Jesus, Buddha, Lakshmi, the virgin Mary and everybody else that people pray to to have walked away from that ordeal.

So many thoughts were going thru my head. So many "could haves" could have happened but the thing that was "supposed to" have happened happened. We could have suffered the same fate of the driver of the car we had seen less than an hour earlier. But we did not. The place i was supposed to have been i was at. The people i was supposed to have been with, i was with. The things i was supposed to see and feel and hear and touch and experience, i did. Overwhelmingly, i was with the people i was supposed to be with. My real family. The sister i would give my right arm to if she wanted it. The man we both love and admire was there making sure his girls were alright. i don't share a man. Anybody can do that. i love a man WITH another sister that loves him just as much as i do. It resoundingly puts into perspective that you should cherish the people in your life that are really down for you. i mean REALLY down for you. People who will block the bullshit. Those real "franchise players" that don't want to go anywhere and are willing to help propel you to greatness and that always want what's best for you. There are people that are around you just to say they know you but will cut you down and sabotage your shit all along the way. i don't want those people around me no more. To you i say, "kick rocks and keep it movin' ". Forward forever, backwards never.


And that's that piece!

Ephiphany

i just got done watching the latest Katt Williams stand-up comedy DVD, "It's Pimpin' Pimpin' " and it was hilarious as expected. The overwhelming message in this project is that "you have to be in line with your star player." Of course that "star player" is you. i received the message loud and clear considering the day that i had. My status post on my Facebook page is that i was "Having a ... day." i wasn't exactly sure what type of day it was. i was chillin at my sister's house while she is out of town getting a lot of much needed work done. You know, just having time to myself with myself for myself. i considered the time very well spent.

Then i came back home and watched the Katt Williams piece and another movie that was straight garbage. He had a lot of pertinent things to say. Things like, make sure that you are always happy and have a team lined up behind you to combat bullshit and laugh as much as possible and most importantly, make sure that you don't forget that one person, that "franchise player" in your life that you know will go to into battle with and for you. That is a true lesson for us all.