Daily Engagement

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.

Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
is a ring on the door.

Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who’s there.

Coleman Barks, The Essential Rumi (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997)

All spiritual traditions tell us the truth when they remind us that everything is in a state of change.  Sometimes change is welcomed.  Sometimes change is feared.  Humans have two natural reactions to dramatic change in their lives.  First, we panic – withdraw and freeze.  We see this when people make decisions based in fear and not wisdom.  Second, we ignore – avoid and turn away.  We close our eyes to reality and pretend it’s simply not happening.  I recommend a third option – spiritual practice.  Entering a spiritual practice because we have fallen into a crisis will not give immediate results.  Spiritual practice tends to be accumulative – it prepares us for any future.  A friend of mine once knocked gently on my head while I was meditating in a chair and when I opened my eyes he asked, “how’s the weather in there?”  I didn’t appreciate the surprise knock, but he did remind me of a truth:  I always have weather inside my head – sometimes it’s bright and sunny and at other times it’s stormy and cold.  Spiritual practice creates a foundation that will help you stand against any storm.

Why do I recommend spiritual practice?  Spiritual practice keeps me spiritually awake.  It’s so easy to become “human doings” instead of “human beings.”  Daily practice empowers us to notice–to notice our surroundings, our purpose, and the wider context of life.  Without noticing – we quickly fall asleep.  I believe more than anything else, growth and development are about subtraction.  True growth is the release of clinging, attaching, and fixations.  As we release, we place ourselves in the position of being a candidate for greater depth, wholeness, and enlightenment.  Remember it is important not to place the heavy expectation of enlightenment on your daily practice – that’s too much like running a race with your pockets full of rocks.  The Apostle Paul encouraged “lay aside anything that weighs you down in your spiritual race” – subtraction.  No attachment.  Only the practice.

Consistency works for me.  I like the daily practice.  Spiritual practice cannot be random or occasional.  Now I can’t tell you what your practice should be.  No one can.  The Bible says, “work out your own salvation.”  Buddha taught that we to be a light unto ourselves.  This is our work.  Others can share what has worked well for them, but ultimately we are responsible for our path.  This is as it should be.  Each of us is an individualized expression of the Divine.  I encourage you to develop a daily spiritual practice; a spiritual engagement with what you value most about life.  Your greatest joy and fulfillment will come from your mindful engagement with Life.

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Stepping Up Time

Posted on January 15, 2012 by

A number of years ago, Portia Nelson wrote the great poem called Autobiography In Five Chapters.  I’m sure you remember it:

Chapter One

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost …. I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter Four

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter Five

I walk down another street.

Now that is a beautiful description of what our lives often are – stuck – spinning around on the carousel of life.  What causes a person to walk down another street and be free?  Ideas.  Perspective change.  A change of belief.  Today, I suggest ideas that can help you avoid those streets that have deep holes that lead to nowhere.  First, live your life from the platform of love and confidence.  I know many have made life decisions based on fear, but all fear leads to holey streets.  I confess I love Dr. Dean Ornish.  Back in 1993, Dr. Ornish conducted a medical study with 333 patients with clogged arteries and they had dramatic improvement.  In most cases, their pain stopped in less than six weeks.  I love these stories because the same thing happened to me when I began his program.  Conventional wisdom was to motivate patients to change their lives with the fear of death.  Fear never creates lasting change.  Dr. Ornish motivated with hope – you are going to feel good again, you are going to get your health back – with that inspiration, people changed their habits.  What do we learn from this?   Hope inspires.  Hope changes lives.  Inspiration motivates.  Build your life on love and confidence.

Second, use your journal to measure your results.   I heard someone say “what you measure – matters” and I have found that to be absolutely true.  If you want to create positive change in your life – measure it.   Track it.  Write about your progress.  This will increase your power for change.

Third, your imagination will keep you off the habitual carousel.  Your creations must be imagined.  Before owning a home there is a dream.  Before a wonderful relationship there must be a dream.  Positive health changes grow from dreams of something better.  If you are going to avoid life-repetition – then you must open your imagination to your Spirit given faculty of imagination.  Wayne Dyer speaks of living life by “thinking from the end.”  Reserve protected time and survey scenarios that appeal to you to such a degree that you feel thankful in the now moment.  You may think of a better future, but only in imagination will you gather sufficient power to manifest your dreams.  Allow your imagination to flow through the highest aspects of Spirit including creativity, love, beauty and abundance.  Allow the attributions of Spirit to operate as your filtering system for thought and emotion.  Make intentional imagination part of your daily ritual.

Fourth, I think of the lesson from Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa – you know this lesson if you have children – always have batteries ready.  Just about every toy requires batteries.  In the same way, life off the carousel requires action.  Not just any action, but inspired action.  I love positive thinking and contentment, but life also calls for action.  William James said, “Small, seldom-seen habits…have the power to lead us to our destiny.”  It takes concrete actions to change your life.  It takes more than thought, feeling or intentions – there must be action.  Character is greater than intellect or intention – character is not about what you think, feel, intend or say.  Character is about what you do as you shift from potential energy to kinetic energy.  The Bible reminds us that faith without action is dead.  The word dead represent those who have fallen into a hole in a sidewalk and are unable to climb out.  Life requires faith and action, dreams and activity.  It isn’t enough to wish for a new life – your actual behavior must be transformed.  William Shakespeare was right when he said, “we must be as good in act, as we have been in thought.”  When I shoot my bow without awareness, no target is hit.  When I focus at the target without pulling back the bow’s string, no bulls eye is struck.  Awareness demands action, and action demands awareness – this is success.  Break down your action into segments – one step at a time.  And remember that when you stand to take your first step, the universe begins to conspire for you.  “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it” (Paulo Coelho).

Maslow said, “to be ultimately at peace, a person must keep becoming ALL that he/she can potentially become.”  You are here to grow, develop and unfold.  There is a powerful light inside you and it is ready to shine.  You are a magnificent creator at this moment.  Choose a new street – a new road that has been paved with confidence, wisdom, imagination and inspired action.  These are the four elements of a new life.  Make it so.

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Finally Get Off the Carousel in 2012

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

2012 is a great year.  I see it as the year of resolution – it’s the time to dream, create and soar.  Resolution is a powerful word – it speaks of the determination to create your desired life – it is the power of making lasting change.  I heard a lady once say, “I believe heaven and hell are right here on earth” and I agree that our earth-reality is a unique perception of our individual creation.  All of us live on a spectrum from heavenly bliss to hellish suffering.  Our heavens and hells are manufactured by our thoughts and beliefs.  Your life experience is not caused by what’s happening around you – your life experience is your personal creation and is 100% internal.  Simply put, life is an art – your art.  Setting a resolution is an intentional event.  Setting a resolution is about deliberate change and it requires mastery.  At the heart of mastery is clarity.  The beginning of 2012 is the ideal time to pull back, reflect and get a panoramic view of your life.

Today I offer five power-thoughts that will lift you into the art of resolution.  First, you must begin to imagine.  Imagine your new future from your now moment.  As a creator it is essential that you imagine, dream and look-forward to your envisioned life.  Imagine your horizon.  Only imagined wishes come true.  I’ve read that when individuals fail to imagine a compelling future, parts of their physical brain begins to atrophy.  Bob Dylan was right, “he that is not busy being born, is busy dying.”  Just think of your brain as the creation center that must be exercised like any other muscle.  Imagination is especially important when your life feels as if it hits a wall – in tough times your response can be resignation, anger or possibility.   Imagination lifts you into the possibility zone.  Imagination literally affects your body and brain.  Imagination is good for you.  Your thoughts not only change your life, but they also change your body and mind.  Second, stay open to all possibilities.  Contracted thinking limits; expansive thinking allows your vision to take in the panoramic view of reality.  Your chosen thinking mode determines your vision – so choose the view that empowers you not to miss a thing.  Keep your ‘eyes’ open – you never know what the tide might bring in; but, you will miss it if you live with eyes shut.  Take charge of your visioning process – guide your attention – choose to see it all – it’s good to create an island of focus.  That’s how miracles are created.  Third, be authentically yourself.  Conformity is the enemy.  Steve Jobs summed this up in the following speech:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important:  have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow – already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.

Often the experts cannot imagine the future that you can see.  Remember – you cannot create a miracle until it is yours.  You must not live someone else’s dream – you are here to live your own.

Fourth, be willing to change.  You know the old saying “keep doing what you are doing and get the same old results.”  If you want a new life – you must do something new.  I know we get so attached to our old ways that we refuse to step out of our comfort zone – this must end.  Your paradise is outside of the old and familiar.  Your new life is waiting for you, but you must open the door and step into it.   I saw a cartoon of a cowboy riding a dead horse–most people continue to ride the dead horse ignoring the only viable option–to dismount.  Dr. Phil asks, “how’s that working for you?”  If your answer is “it’s not working very well” – then Change It!   If your plan is not working, then get yourself a new one.  Stop pushing the reset button.  Expand your horizon by choosing new behavior.  Unless you consciously intervene and energize your dream, it will be drowned out by all of the little things in your life that scream for attention.  You can’t spend your life staring at your navel and expect to create your ideal life.  Ask a new question:  what could happen in this situation?  Since thinking is comprised of asking and answering questions, make a list of questions that act as a catalyst that will turn your resolution into a beautiful reality.

p.s.  I highly recommend that you pick up the book Get Out of Your Own Way by Robert K. Cooper.  This book which drips with wisdom served as inspiration for this blog entry.

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Words: Cast Flowers on the Water

Posted on December 4, 2011 by

Minister Bill TurnerSo what’s behind your words?  Love?  Compassion?  Hate?  Do you think words matter?  You know the old song “sticks and stones…”  Well, I think the song was wrong – I believe words can hurt people.  I believe words can light a fire in someone’s heart or steal their song forever.  Words are powerful.  Don Miguel Ruiz suggests that it’s important to be impeccable with your words in his book “The Four Agreements.”  Years ago I read a verse in the Bible that said the same thing – Ephesians 4:29, “let no unwholesome talk (talk that doesn’t build others up) come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs – that is may benefit those who listen.”  That’s a beautiful goal.  If you begin to practice deliberate-loving speech, your friends may think you’re not feeling well.  If you practice speaking ONLY when you have something worthwhile to say, you may find it eliminating 90% of your speech.  I like the idea of my speech having a positive affect on others – my children, friends, family and the people I happen to bump into.  Your words matter.

Karen Armstrong says in her book “12 Steps to a Compassionate Life” that between 900 and 200 B.C.E. there was a great spiritual revolution that took place in four different regions of the world.  A number of religions began during this period of time including Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Jainism and the prophets of Judaism.  Armstrong suggests that the major theme of all of these traditions is compassion.  All the mystics, saints and great teachers agree.  Compassionate speech helps us rise to a higher level of living.  Gay Hendricks suggests relationships function within a pyramid of paradigms.  The first paradigm is based on survival – this is where we rely on others in order to survive.  The second paradigm focuses on fulfillment – this is when most of our energy is concerned with handling issues and solving problems.  The third paradigm deals with appreciation – finding the good in the people that surround you.  When we operate from the third paradigm our words will be filled with compassion.  Compassionate speech will bring amazing beauty into your life.  It will transform your relationships and perspectives.  Your words are the bricks that construct your life and relationships.

On the spiritual journey it’s important to find a way to celebrate and appreciate those around you.  This is the true meaning of love.  Buddhist call it metta.  Christianity calls it agape.  Make no mistake – this love is not an emotion, it is a practice.  This love is kind, patient and forgiving.  As you fill your heart with agape – you will find your mouth full of words that reflect the love in your heart.  You can set the intention this moment to love.  It is a choice – a choice of perspective and appreciation.  Humans either live on the track of appreciation or the track of entitlement and complaint.  The track is your choice.  When you choose the art of love and appreciation you will wake to find the entire world has changed and become beautiful.

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Damn, the Power of Words! Six Keys for Increasing Your Verbal Creation Skills

Posted on November 22, 2011 by

Did you ever have to tell your children “use your inside voice when you’re in the house.”  Most parents have.  You and I as adults still have the choice of inside and outside voices.  Outside voices are the words we speak that affect others.  Inside voices are those that only we hear – the voices inside our heads – the constant 24 hour chatter machine.  Those words are my focus in the blog today – those inside voices have a profound affect on your life, in fact, they may actually play a large part in the very construction of your life.  How often do we flatten wonderful experiences with “it was just alright” and intensify emotional experiences with “this is the worse day of my life?”  Words have amazing power, especially the ones inside your head and heart.  The words we choose to attach to our experience defines that experience in the moment and sometimes for a lifetime.  Our perspective often comes down to how we choose to tell “our” story; what words we use; how we label and how we translate the experience.  Huxley said, “words form the thread on which we string our experiences.”

What are we to do?  As I used to tell my children, “use your words.”  We must consciously, with great consideration, select our words based on our purpose. If you want your life to be larger – then it requires an expansion of your languaging.  Each word you choose is a note in a beautiful symphony or a creation of noise.  Each word you choose is another brush stroke on the painting of your life.  Choose words that create your masterpiece.  Use your words on purpose.

All the religions agree.  The Buddha included “right speech” as one of his eight paths to happiness.  The Awakened One said, “you must know your intention before you speak, before you speak you must ask yourself:  what am I trying to achieve?”  Jesus spoke of each word bringing pain or freedom into the life of the speaker.  Hindus speak of the importance of speaking from truth.  Don Miguel Ruiz, in his book The Four Agreements, calls the first agreement:  Be Impeccable with Your Word.  Impeccable means to speak “without sin” – meaning, in your languaging – do no harm.  In your words do not stray from the target of love and encouragement.  We have forgotten what the poets, shamans, sages, mystics and healers have known for millennia.  The grand mystic secret is:  words carry energy.  A well-spoken word brings healing to the soul and body.  A thoughtless word carries a deadly energy that will cut the very skin of your soul like a knife.  These words accumulate – they accumulate in the heart.  Remember “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  Every word carries its own vibratory signature which creates a universal wave and once picked up by the Universal Intelligence field – all of heaven and earth conspires to bring about the words you have initiated.  Words never return void.  I like Sartre’s statement “words are like loaded pistols.”  I would add, “and just as dangerous.”  Here’s the bottom line – all of your speech (yes, you read me right), all of your speech is sacred and creative – every word being endowed with creative power.  Use them wisely my friend.

In my talk, Damn, the Power of Words! I share six keys for increasing your verbal creation skills found on the Journeys Spiritual YouTube channel or my iTunes’ podcast, Spiritual Journey with Bill.  Also, on JOURNEYS (journeywithus) facebook page I included some other helpful information from Dr. Phil.  Blessings.

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Bliss – No Matter What

Posted on October 14, 2011 by

Most people have characteristic ways of responding when life doesn’t work out the way they expect.  What’s your way?  Does it work?   Does it work well?

The songwriter Paul Simon once wrote:

Oh spare your heart
Everything put together
Sooner or later falls apart

It’s true – everything changes.  However, there are WAYS.   Ways to roll with the punches and fly above the turbulence.   There are things you can do when everything falls apart.  In the Eastern philosophy, there are whole schools of yoga dedicated to developing what are called siddhis, or powers.  These powers are the result of learning how to direct the power of the mind.

Learn what to do when everything appears to fall apart:

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