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Giving Tuesday

11/29/2016

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The Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been tagged as the global day of giving. Giving Tuesday was created for the purpose of celebrating and encouraging giving. Bringing people together around the values of service and giving back and to encourage and amplify small acts of kindness. Giving Tuesday unites people and countries around the world by sharing our capacity to care for and empower one another. 

Today people and countries are coming together to celebrate kindness and generosity. Practicing gratitude for what we have in our lives, as well as what we can do to help and be of service to others. I love the concept of a global day of giving for many reasons, two of which are proven to be key pillars of happiness...gratitude and generosity...service and kindness. 

The Dalai Lama in his book, The Book of Joy, says, "As one of the seven billion human beings, I believe everyone has the responsibility to develop a happier world. We need, ultimately, to have a greater concern for others' well-being." He goes on to say, "Too much self-centered thinking is the source of suffering. A compassionate concern for others' well-being is the source of happiness. We have to take care of ourselves without selfishly taking care of ourselves. If we don't take care of ourselves, we cannot survive. We need to do that. We should have wise selfishness, rather than foolish selfishness. Foolish selfishness means you just think only of yourself, don't care about others, bully others, exploit others. In fact, taking care of others, helping others, ultimately is the way to discover your own joy and to have a happy life. So that is what I call wise selfishness."

The Dalai Lama starts each day by setting his intention for the day. His intention is for the day to be meaningful. For him, meaningful means, if possible, serve and help others. If not possible, then at least not to harm others. He believes that, "Everybody wants a happy life...and our individual happy life depends on a happy humanity. So we have to think about humanity, discover a sense of oneness of all seven billion human beings." The path of joy is connection and the path of sorrow is separation.

Bringing people and countries together to celebrate our oneness, our kindness, our gratitude, our generosity to care for, empower and lift each other up, creating a happy humanity. 

When we see someone perform an act of kindness or of generosity it warms our heart. This warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you have witnessed human goodness is called moral elevation. Studies have found that the natural high of moral elevation makes people want to behave more altruistically toward others, causing kindness to be contagious. Elevation motivates those who experience it to open up to and assist others. Elevation makes an individual feel lifted up and optimistic about humanity.

Let's finish out this year of 2016 by intentional practicing giving, being of service, acts of kindness and of generosity. Let's create  moral elevation, so we can all feel lifted up and optimistic about humanity and our future together.

What can you do over this next month to create moral
elevation? What small act of kindness, service or generosity can you perform? What act of compassion will make someone else's day brighter and lighter? Let's practice wise selfishness instead of foolish selfishness during this holiday season. I invite you to join me in creating ripples of moral elevation.
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Give Thanks

11/15/2016

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Next week most of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving. It's a time to pause and give thanks for our blessings, the people and things that we feel truly grateful for in our lives. 

I would like you all to know how very grateful I am for you. Thank you for receiving my posts, for taking the time to ponder their message, for taking a moment to leave me a comment, for sharing with me your insight and wisdom, and thank you for sharing it with others. I appreciate you inspiring me, for keeping your hearts open to light and love and infinite possibilities. Thank you for being curious, for being vulnerable, for practicing with me, and for helping to create so many ripples that we've caused a tsunami! I am truly grateful for each of you.

Being grateful is something that I have incorporated into a daily practice. At a minimum, in the morning and before bed each day, recounting and expressing gratitude for the many blessings throughout my day and in my life. This practice has changed and enhanced my life. Gratitude changes the lens upon which we see everything in the world. Have you tried it yet? Do you have a gratitude practice? 

I have spent lots of time studying and researching positive psychology and happiness and the one thing that consistently comes up over and over again is the power of gratitude in leading a positive, happy life. It's truly a game changer!!!

Our brains are programmed for a negatively bias. We are 3-5 times more sensitive to negative information. Our brains are trained to scan the world for the negative, for the threats, so that it can help us to survive. Our brain is like velcro for negativity and teflon for positivity. 

Negative emotions put us into fight or flight mode and narrow our ability to think. Positive emotions broaden and build our brain's ability to think and see. Positive emotions flood the brain with dopamine and serotonin. Chemicals that not only make us feel good, but that dial up the learning centers of our brains. This helps us to organize new information, to keep the information longer and retrieve it faster. 

There are many scientifically documented advantages to having a positive brain versus a negative brain. So how does this all relate to giving thanks?
 Gratitude is a system to offset the negativity. It amplifies the goodness. Gratitude is the gateway to happiness, the gateway to the advantages of having a positive mindset. 

When life is going well gratitude allows us to celebrate the success. When life feels like it is going poorly and we are challenged, gratitude gives us perspective. Gratitude is an engine for holistic change. When you are grateful for what you have, you make energetic space for more abundance to flow into your life. When feeling grateful you feel more open, generous, connected, aware and alive.

This week, in honor of Thanksgiving, I invite you to go deeper with your gratitude practice. Each day journal at least 3 new things that you are grateful for, be as specific as you can. Or, take a few minutes each day to write a thank you note to someone, thanking or praising them for something they have done to make your life lighter and brighter. 

Make gratitude a routine, independent of how you feel and not just on Thanksgiving, but all year long. This Thanksgiving, don’t express gratitude only when you feel it. Give thanks especially when you don’t feel it. Go ahead and fake it until you make it :)
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Election Night

11/6/2016

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It's the night of the election...finally. After months and months of debating and campaigning the outcome is near. For many these months have been stressful, passionate and challenging. The people have strived to be heard, to be seen, to be considered. Battle lines have been drawn and finally decision time is near. 

Likely by the end of the evening we'll have an answer. One side will be jubilant and the other left unsatisfied and defeated. Some will feel hopeful and some will feel despair. It's the inevitable result of the vote. 

Even more important than whether you will be frustrated with the result of the election or not, is the overwhelming feeling of an erosion of trust in the common decency of our fellow citizens.  This election has brought about a feeling of disgust for many. A feeling that there's a general lack of morale compass. 


The good news is that the political candidates do not have as great of an impact on us as we can have on each other daily. Do not lose focus of the fact that each and every day we are more impactful to each other than any President or other politician can ever be. You are powerful and impactful. 

We may have to live within the established political system, but on a daily basis we live within our own homes, our own communities, our own minds, our own bodies, our own spirits and we have significant influence within those things. 

I am encouraged by what I see. I am hopeful and inspired. All of you reading this encourage, inspire and give me hope. What I see going on within our communities gives me hope, spurs me on to know that not all is bad in our country or in the world.

When I witness acts of kindness, acts of care, acts of love I am hopeful. When I witness acts of empathy and compassion I am hopeful. When I witness acts of generosity and gratitude I am hopeful. When I witness acts of forgiveness and grace I am hopeful. Yes, I see it and I am hopeful. Humankind is innately good. 

So as this election comes to a close tonight, I invite you to...


Be the example...shine your light bright for all to witness, it's contagious. YOU can make a difference. YOU are powerful.

Be the hope...knowing that good things are happening on the grass roots level and that we are innately good. Inspire that hope in others.

Have faith...in the knowledge that it'll all be okay, we've been through things like this before, we are innately good. 

Pray...send out prayers for our new President that he or she may lead with love and wisdom for the highest and best good of all people.

​Remember that we are all one...I vote for and have faith and hope in us.

Today, tomorrow, this week, be that example, be that shining light, be that beacon of hope and not one of despair, be the faith, be the love for all humankind. Don't get swallowed up in the negativity and drama rather lean into the light and be that. Remember that you are powerful, you are impactful within your own home, work, community, family and friendship circle. 
​
​I wrote this post and then, as the Universe would have it, I saw this posted on 
Facebook. It pretty much sums it all up. Enjoy!

The Day After Tomorrow

The Day after Tomorrow is the name of a movie about a catastrophic event that threatens to destroy our civilization. 

The day after tomorrow is also the day (Wednesday) we will have a new President of the United States and regardless of who wins there will be some who see the election as a catastrophic event. 

But I want you to know that no matter who wins, it’s not the end of civilization as we know it. 

I want you to know that even if your candidate loses, you shouldn’t lose hope. 

While you may feel powerless you have more power than you think. 

You can’t control who wins the election, but you can control what you do the day after tomorrow. 

You can be happy.
You can work hard. 
You can love others.
You can make a difference. 
You can pray for the new President to lead well and make great decisions. 
You can invent something that changes the world. 
You can start and build a successful business. 
You can inspire your students and believe in them. 
You can help heal someone. 
You can feed the poor and help the needy. 
You can raise your children with great values and principles. 
You can make America great by being great at what you do. 

The President will be in control of running the country, but you and only you are in control of running your life. 

The day after tomorrow will not be a catastrophe. It will be another day to be your best and bring out the best in others. 

Leadership is important. But one person doesn't make America. We make America. 
​

- Jon Gordon


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