Something To Think About

Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see!

2009-03-09T13:01:00.003-07:00

Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see! So the old saying goes.
2008
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton, and Erin Torneo from ~
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/usprograms/focus/justice/programs/justice_fellows/grantees/thompson_2008
Over 200 people in the U.S. have had their convictions overturned by DNA evidence. Three-quarters of these cases involved mistaken eyewitness testimony, making it the leading cause of wrongful conviction. Picking Cotton: A True Story, by Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson-Cannino (with Erin Torneo), will illuminate the problems with eyewitness testimony through Thompson-Cannino and Cotton's own story.
Thompson-Cannino has become an outspoken opponent of the death penalty, frequently addressing the need for judicial reform. After a brutal rape she suffered as a 22-year-old college student, Thompson-Cannino gave eyewitness testimony that sent Ronald Cotton to prison not once, but twice, for crimes he did not commit. Together, they successfully lobbied state legislators to change compensation laws for the wrongly convicted in North Carolina. Thompson-Cannino is now a member of the North Carolina Actual Innocence Commission, the advisory committee for Active Voices, the Constitution Project, and Mothers for Justice. Her op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Durham-Herald Sun, and the Tallahassee Democrat.
Ronald Cotton was arrested in 1984 and wrongfully convicted of first-degree rape, sexual offense, and breaking and entering, and sentenced to life in prison plus 54 years. Cotton won a new trial in 1987, only to be charged and convicted of a second rape, resulting in two life sentences. Largely through his persistence in proclaiming his innocence and the development of sophisticated DNA tests, Cotton was exonerated in 1995, after serving nearly eleven years. With Thompson-Cannino, he has spoken at various venues including Washington and Lee University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Georgetown Law School, the Chicago Museum for Contemporary Photography’s Innocence Exhibit, and the Community March for Justice for Troy Anthony Davis in Savannah, Georgia.
Erin Torneo’s work has appeared in various publications including the Kyoto Journal, SEED, Cosmopolitan, Variety’s V-Life, the Independent, and indiewire. In 2007, she was awarded a nonfiction fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Picking Cotton will be her second book.
The gift of Forgiveness
Jennifer said two years after Ronald Cotton was released She felt she needed to see him, and some how let him know how terrible she felt for having him convicted for a crime he never committed. The burden of knowing she had robbed this innocent man of 11 years of his life in insurmountable. She went over all of the possible scenarios of how he would react but never imagined in her wildest Dreams what really happened when they actually met. He forgave her, that’s right he forgave her, this wonderful man would have been justified by any one to hate her for his entire life but he forgave her. Since that time they have become very close friends, working together on many different projects as well as with an author Erin Torneo, to tell there story.
I had the opportunity to here about this wonderful and moving story on the Dian Rehms show on NPR the best unbiased radio on the air. So once again teaching me the wisdom in the old saying “Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see!”
Just Something to think about.

Check out TED and get redy to be blown away

2009-02-10T08:06:00.005-07:00

TED Ideas Worth Spreading

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

Expand your mind and expand your world by subscribing to Ted

The annual conference brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Weather you are watching, listening to the latest scientific brake troughs presented by the scientist who achieved them or listening to a timeless wisdom of a Buddhist monk you will expand your world and be on the cutting edge of where the world is moving both scientifically and consciously.

You will laugh, cry, feel touched and be inspired when you subscribe to TED.

I cannot speak highly enough about this profound organization and how it has raised my thinking out of the ordinary and in to the profound.

I love it and I’m shore you will too.

Here is what people are saying about TED

"It was incredible." Malcolm Gladwell

"A mind-opening experience." Amy Tan

"One of the highlights of my entire life." Billy Graham

"I've never experienced anything remotely like it." Jeffrey Katzenberg

"The combined IQ of the attendees is incredible." Bill Gates

"It was *&%$ING UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!" Lawrence Bender

People who have personally attended the conferences say.

"Thank you a thousand times for inviting me to your wonderful TED conference. I regret not only that I was not at every moment of it, but especially that I missed all the previous ones! It was a great and stimulating experience as well as a lot of fun."
~ Rupert Murdoch, chair & CEO, The News Corporation

"At each TED conference something important happens to me: a new business, a new friend. I return exhilarated." ~ Nicholas Negroponte, director emeritus & co-founder, MIT Media Lab

"Sign me up for next year." ~ Al Gore, activist

"I wasn't prepared for this conference to be so profound. The combined IQ of the attendees is incredible." ~ Bill Gates, Microsoft

"It was *&%$ING UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! I can't tell you how much I got out of it. You did more for global warming than you can imagine!!! I have spoken to over a hundred people of importance that are coming on board to get the word out on our movie. Thanks again."~ Lawrence Bender, producer

"A mind-opening experience. If it opens any more, I am afraid it will float past the ozone layer." ~ Amy Tan, author

"It was INCREDIBLE. I had a wonderful time and met a thousand fascinating people."
~ Malcolm Gladwell, author

"I came to the TED conference with the idea that I wanted to serve a really unique audience in an impactful way; but honestly I gained more than I could ever imagine personally from my attendance. I met so many people ... just phenomenal human beings who had a true social or contribution focus. I developed a lot of friends out of the group and learned an enormous amount." ~ Tony Robbins, motivator

"I wish I'd started coming earlier."
~ Richard Dawkins, biologist

"TED moments have been echoing in my brain ever since I left Monterey. A wonderful experience." ~ Dan Dennett, philosopher

Be astounded enlightened and entertained by checking out TED.

Just something to think about

Peace Satori
Charles Lyon

life can be be a real presant, if you let it.

2009-02-06T12:32:00.003-07:00

The present moment is all you will ever have so why not live there?
In the modern world of mass communication and cell phones I find it interesting how people have transferred the preoccupation of society with some where else, to even the cell phone.

I see students in a group all together instead of talking to each other in the group , some will be instant messaging some one not there, others on the phone talking to some one else instead of interacting with who is in front of them right now.

Most of my life I have been a people watcher at a younger age some of the time in judgment of all I see in recent years it has shifted to not in judgment of what I see as much as the desire to understand the dynamics of the human species.

From this place I find that all people are basically good and want the same things, but there unconsciousness brings them allot of misery. Since we are all more alike then different the more I can understand you the more I can understand myself.

In seeing and understanding your motivations I can see and more fully my motivations. Years ago when I was working for a personal development company one of the concepts I was introduced to is the fact that we are all blind to our dysfunctional behaviors.

Manley because the dysfunctional behaviors’ are habitual, mechanical and participated in unconsciously, like Pavlov’s Dog some one pushes the button and we react instantly. We get a complement we feel up or good, we get criticized and we feel down or get up set instantly and automatically, just like a machine.

When we gather with people we have known instead of being present in the here and now we talk about things that happened in the past with them, remembering joys, follies, stupid things we did, and so on.

You could truly say every ones favorite place is SOME WHERE ELSE, other then where we are right now.

At work we are always some were else thinking about bills or our kids, or what we will do that night or what we will do on the weekend, or thinking about how some one upset us going over it again and again and again.

Leaving us board at work hating what we are doing now and wanting to be some where else. Most people hate there Job, with the most common complaints being boredom, and monotints’ work turning what we do to make a living in to miserable experience.

I know most of my life I have hated what I did for a living all of it. Then I got a job that I truly loved, and because of circumstances that at the time seamed beyond my reach left it.

And I suffered for years longing to be doing that job again even hating the fact that I ever had it. Because every thing else sucked in comparison.

Now I know that it wasn’t the job but how I participated in the job that made it so fun and fulfilling.

The job was as a facilitator of workshops and processes with people one on one. The job required my complete undivided attention in the here and now.

When I am present in the here and now even the most boring job as perceived before can be fulfilling enjoyable and even fun. The secrete is to give it my undivided attention, to fully be here right now, in what ever I am doing right now, with out resistance of any kind.

From this place even weighting for a doctors appointment can be enjoyable. Did you ever think about it, that there will never be a time in your life that is not right now, and you will never be any where that is not right here. Here and now it all there is and all there will ever be.

There in not any dreamed of wonderful, fulfilling, and exciting event that will not happen and be experienced right here and right now. There will never be any thing you can do that is not right here and right now.

And we still persist to think of dream of long for “some where else” other then right her and right now.

So end the suffering by allowing your self to just be present here right now.

Enjoy what you do by excepting what ever you are dealing with and give it your undivided attention, right here right Now.

And transform your boring monotones job in to something that is fulfilling enjoyable and even fun.

Just something to think about.

The True Mind verses The Egoic Mind.

2009-01-13T13:16:00.002-07:00

The true Mind.

The true mind is part of us from the every first moment of life and could be called the observer, it is always conscious 24/7 taking in every thing, the observer is intensely curious and interested in every thing, It has no judgments of any thing just the desire to understand.

The true mind isn’t afraid of any thing but instead lives in the realm of Unconditional Love and peace. The true mind lives in the ever present and even when it is involved with the future in is in the “present future Now”. If it is involved with the past it is in the present Past Now.

Time and space has no meaning to the true mind what ever it focuses on it is present moment now no matter where or when it is. This is why remote Viewing is possible.

The true mind is always at peace in every situation and loves unconditionally all of life with out any separation.

The Observer is not attached to any thing of form, including the body of the self. The observer could be in a massive car accident and see the body broken and bleeding and it would find the whole thing extremely interesting, but neither good or bad.

The observer cannot be deceived because it lives in the realm of all that is and is aware of its connection to all that is. It is aware of all the functions of the body every cell, every system, It is also aware of the collective intelligence of the universe and can answer any question about any thing.

It is pure intelligence.

The true mind doesn’t have a struggle for control it enjoys observing the egoic mind and will relinquish control to the egoic mind just because it enjoys observing the weird and distorted places it can go. When ever you are observing any thing in the present moment with out Judgment you are in the true mind. Like factious on your breath notice how it feels as your lungs fill with air and then as it leaves your lungs, this exercise can only be experienced by the true mind, which is stillness.

The Egoic Mind.

The egoic mind is always unconscious, it is always in the realm of Illusion. It is the source of all insanity, people who are completely insane are living in the consciousness of the egoic mind all the time. The ego is never in the present moment of here and now, but always in the futures or the past.

Fear lives in the egoic mind, and can only be experienced in the egoic mind. The egoic mind attaches it's self to every thing in the physical world and thinks it is every thing in the physical world.

Every attachment we have to every thing in the physical world weather it is our body, our home, our friends, our family, or our possessions.
Every attachment we have to our emotions is also the ego, pain becomes our pain, sadness becomes our sadness, depression becomes our depression, guilt becomes our guilt, shame becomes our shame. and don't try to remove them the ego will rebel it wants to keep them all.

It feels a sense of loss when every any thing in the physical or emotional world leaves. It is devastated when it loses any thing because it identifies with every thing in the physical world.

To the egoic mind outward things are an extension of it's self, and if our car is wrecked it feels a loss of perceived self. The egoic mind wants to always be in control and feels threatened when ever we are not in its realm.

To move consciousness in the present moment is experienced as death to the egoic mind so it will fight it always and forever.

The egoic mind is where conditioned unconscious responses comes from like Pavlov’s Dog it salivates every time the bell rings and never knows why.

Like a recorded program of a computer all it needs is to be started and it will go on auto pilot and your are not aware of how it works and why.

Often not even aware the conditioned program is even running, it must have you unconscious in order to remain. That’s why we are all blind to our dysfunctional behavior, for as soon as you are aware it is running you have the power to stop the program.

It is constantly working to reinforce its every Illusion as being the truth. The Egoic mind is incapable of telling the truth and it is constantly in promotion the unconscious, of fear it loves and feeds on Unconsciousness’ attached to fear.

When it gives you bad advice that doesn’t work it will give you the exact same advice again and tell you that you just didn’t try hard enough or something else to disguise its absurdness.

Its favorite mask is smoke and mirrors, constantly recapitulating the same absurd and useless message, but with a new and pretty package but in side it’s still just a broken worthless thought form.

It never worked even once, but it tells you that you still need to by a brand new, worthless model because it will work better then the last one, and when you do it’s just the old piece of shit with a fresh coat of paint.

If you fight the Ego it will always win. The only way to overcome the ego is through quiet observation with out a need to change a thing.

In the present moment just observe it like it was a child that just wants to be loved and understood. This will over come all of the egoic influence to live in the present moment with out any resistance or desire to be any were then where you are now.
Excepting and embracing and loving what is. In this realm you will make it your friend and it will never again be able to create illusion again.

A profound process to allow you to move in to the true mind is the Work by Byron Katie.

A Gift from Rose:

2008-09-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

I received this from My sister in Law Dian
A Gift from Rose:
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old.
Can I give you a hug?' I laughed and enthusiastically responded; 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze.

'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked. She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...' 'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. 'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us.

She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, '! We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

There are only a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day and you've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

We elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets'

She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose.' She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

'Good friends are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.'

The Gift by Gary Acevedo

2008-04-29T07:39:00.003-07:00

THE GIFT
by Gary Acevedo Note: this story is copy righted and posted with permission from Gary Acevedo

I remember it was the same year my father had lost his job. He had missed work for a time long enough, that even today, I am left with the memory of using candles, to light our house. They had cut off our electricity. Even my only sweater bore holes, and my socks resembled Swiss cheese. We had never before considered ourselves as being poor but the gathered financial hurdles of the past year had left us quite bad off. Oft' times the charitable neighbors offered their kind assistance, but dad was proud. He'd refuse charity. I couldn't understand the whole situation, and it seemed to me that my smaller brother, Jerry, who had mowed lawns all summer long, owned 80% of the family's wealth! This seemingly great amount of money sat heavily in a large piggy bank on top of his dresser drawers. Occasionally I'd sneak in and grab a little. That was only when I had a worthy cause. I never felt that guilty about it either. I would think to myself, "He can't exactly be saving for college." Not in his condition he wasn't.

Jerry, who was a year younger than I, twelve, was different from other people. He entered this mocking world a mongoloid. He looked different in a funny kind of way and had the mentality of a six year old. He also had a speech problem. His voice was very low and gruff and he pronounced a lot of syllables wrong.

The difference, had separated us, as the ugly weeds that separate those flowers_ in a garden who are only crying out for a world in which to grow in harmony. Yet, there was a time, once, when we were very young and fresh and new to life, when we used to be so close. We were as baby cubs climbing the tree of life. Though we might have stumbled many times, we stumbled together. In those first innocent years, there were no two children who were closer. We shared many moments of laughter and tears. Laughing at ourselves or other people, crying over spankings, chuckling over our sneakiness, and huddling #ether when we were scared by the darkness that can fill so much of a child's world. In our sharing of life's bitter and sweet, all the joys and sorrows, we grew fonder of each other than we knew how to express.

I had grown up understandin Jerry's speech and until I became pre-school aged, I never detected that somehow Jerry *as different. Jerry was just Jerry and I loved him.

While we were still young enough to be innocent and curious, I can still remember very early one special memory. We were chatting about a powerful thought.

"I wonder what it's like to he dead." I asked him. "Hmm" he mumbled as usual.

"Who would I miss the most if they died?" I seemed to ask myself.

"Who would you miss the most, Jerry?" "You," he said with a slightly frightened gaze.

"Yea, I think I'd miss you the most too." He smiled and closed his eyes.

Due to finances, we only had one bed for both of us, and that night I must have fallen asleep with my arms around him. I was glad we only had one bed.

I guess I never realized how well our mother had kept us under her wing until I had to started daycare and suddenly something began bothering me.

Nobody else was like Jerry. No one talked like him, or smiled so simply. Month by month along with other friends and children so came the painful realization; something was "wrong" with Jerry. Reality had whispered louder and louder with every day that Jerry was different. His difference was an illness, a disease that took him from me and changed him continuously until he was no longer my brother, instead, a simple animal. A misfit who had caused me enough embarrassment to make me hate him.

Though many times I had tried to sum up Jerry's condition, my pondering always left me with the unanswerable question, "Why? Why him? Why me?" I felt I was being denied the pleasures of having a normal brother. I'd tell myself that no brother at all would be better than having Jerry to live with. Often, to satisfy my anger and resentment, I became very cruel towards him. Why? Who can define embarrassment without questions?

One time I remember I'd gone to play some ball, and as usual he'd shadowed right behind me. The guys wouldn't let me play, because to keep the two teams equal, they'd only let two boys join in at a time. Nobody wanted Jerry on their side and that kept me from playing too.

It had happened many times before. Each time mounted resentment. Each time I hated him. There wasn't a moment that went by without him getting in the way. This time the mountain of hate inside me exploded and I turned on him, "Look, you stupid lookin' creep, why ya gotta follow me around? Leave me alone and go home." Then I slapped him, again and again, cause I wished he was dead. I couldn't go anywhere without being embarrassed. Everyone was always referring to me as 'the one with the M.R. for a brother.' I didn't want to be embarrassed. I wished he was dead.

He finally went home crying.

I told myself that I didn't care, but on the way home I started worrying about the chewing out I would get from my parents when they found out that I'd hit Jerry. I was so guilty that my head was swarming with confusion, and I felt like running home to get my punishment over with. As I walked in the door, I really felt sorry.

My head was down - but the parents said nothing to me. I entered my room bewildered until Jerry came up to me with wet eyes. Ironically enough he apologized to me. He was sorry for making me angry.

I also remember one time that summer we'd gone to the beach.

Naturally I had to be the one to look out for Jerry, but after a short while all the kids around us started staring at us with those extra large piercing and curious eyes when they noticed Jerry way different.

I couldn't take it anymore and I knew that if I ignored him long enough he'd "get lost." Well, he got lost all right, only he got lost for a long time. They'd begun to think maybe he drowned. Pitifully enough, I told myself, I couldn't care less. Hours later, after mom's eyes had been cried dry and the minor search had ended, an old man brought him back on top of his shoulders. Jerry's head was down. His eyes saw only a sad eternity. The old man said he'd found him about two miles down the beach, behind an old outhouse, sitting in the sand and crying. You know, it seemed Jerry did an awful lot of crying.

Well, as time passed, thoughts changed, leaves fell, and snow came, everyone began looking towards Christmas. I was looking at a dream. There was this beautiful watch in the jeweler's window. This watch had a brilliant gold band. It really wasn't too expensive, but too expensive for us. I knew it was impossible, but I liked to imagine that Christmas morning would find me wearing it. Every time I passed the shop I'd stare at it forever.

I woke up Christmas morning in a rush to open the one gift that was for me by the fireplace. We didn't have a tree that year. My face turned to a grin upon opening the neatly wrapped gift. It was a great looking sweater. I really needed one too. "Thanks a lot, dad," I shouted, but noticed how tired he looked so I asked him, "did you stay up all night with Jerry again?" "Yes," he replied, "he's getting worse."

You see, Dad was referring to Jerry's cold. Jerry was very sick. About a week before Jerry and I had gone tubing in the snow. Jerry ended up at the bottom of the hill, head down in a snowdrift. He lay there kicking and yelling for help, but again, memories of past embarrassing moments brought out my cruelty, and I actually watched him dying until I was satisfied. When I finally dug him out, instead of realizing what I had done, the poor dumb idiot, jumped up and grabbed me, crying and between his gasps for air and his tears, he tried to thank me for saving his life. Anyway, he'd caught pneumonia and my parents had spent the last two nights with him.

"Let's go join your Mother and Jerry," Dad said. Jerry's room smelt of medicine and Jerry really looked horrible, but his eyes were all lit up. I didn't know why because she was kinda' smilin, but Mom had been crying. She sniffed softly and said, "Jerry's got a surprise for you, Jim." I figured he was gonna hit me with another one of his homemade,
butcher-paper, water colored type Christmas cards he'd made. I could count on one every year. He tried to jump out of bed but soon found he was so weary he could barely move.

He wobbled over to his closet and pulled it out: Another card, just a flat sheet about a square foot big, and written in red water color, "TO MY BIG BROTHER: WHOM I LOVE THE MOST."

While I was reading it something strange caught the corner of my vision. Something in the background caught my focus. I noticed the broken pieces of Jerry's piggy bank in the corner. I was about to ask what happened to all the money when he slowly reached under his bed and pulled out a small box. He wiped his nose with his P.J. sleeve, then stood there with his arm stretched out, his eyes lit up with a special fire and with all the love he could muster up in that low gruff voice he said, "Wary Kwishmash, Shimmy!" I opened the box in a daze.

There it was. It was shinning, gleaming, reflecting the snow flakes through the window; the watch, the beautiful watch with the gold band, the one I thought I'd never see again. I couldn't even stop looking at it.

Then he gave me a bear hug and asked, "Shimmy, were my pweshent?" I looked up at him, over to the broken pieces of his bank in the corner, the watch, then back at his questioning eyes, and I didn't even have the courage to look him in the eyes and tell him I'd forgotten him. I just grabbed him and started bawling like a baby.

He never lived to say "Happy New Year," he died two days later.
It was Christmas Eve again, snowing again too. I'd just gotten off the phone. The parents called to say Merry Christmas. I'm in college these days. I lay back down on my dorm bed with my arms folded behind me and started to stare at the only object hanging on my dorm wall: an old, homemade water colored, Christmas card. I checked the time on my watch--the one with the gold band, just a few moments until Christmas. I gazed up at the wall again and read the words aloud, "... whom I love the most."

Then, once again I could see his eyes and I could hear him say it again, "Wary Kwishmash, Shimmy." Only this time I had to answer back as loud as I could: "Merry Christmas Jerry, Merry Christmas."
Dedication: To all who have brothers.

I Miss the Little Boy inside of Me

2008-03-31T12:50:00.001-07:00

I Miss the little Boy inside of me.
Inside of me and every body on the planet is a inner child, this child is the playful part of our self, the part of us that doesn’t care about all of the responsibilities of adult life.
I’ve lived 53 years on this planet and 29 years of that has been spent in the role of a parent, now I’m not a shinning example of parenting, but I’m much better today then I was 29 years ago. I tended to worry too much and I tended to take life too seriously. And I spent most of my children’s life at work, trying to make ends meet. Instead of spending time with my beautiful children exploring the vast possibilities of life, I went to work, and in my spare time I went to work again, to make ends meet.
If I had to do It all over again I would spend more time with my beautiful children exploring there sense of wonder , I would allow my children to teach me what was important. Things like building a Fort, or playing Tag, or red Light Green Light. I’d watch clouds, and spend some time taking in the beauty of a simple flower, or a butter fly or a dragon fly. I’d try to catch a fly with my bare hands, or watch some ants. Or just sit and adore the magnificence of my 5 Beautiful children. Now I’m not saying we didn’t do fun things as they grew up, but If I could do it over again, I would worry less and play more, I’d spend more time loving them and Less time at work. I would spend more time being a friend and less time being a parent. I would enjoy the magnificence of childhood, and not take life so damned serious.

Little Boy I Miss You ~ By James Cavanaugh
"Little boy I miss you with your sudden smile and your ignorance of pain. You walked through life and devoured it with nothing but misty goals to keep you company. You wandered through quiet woods with friends and you where startled by a shuffling porcupine. Your heart beat mightily when you chased frogs and caught one to big for a single hand. There was no time for meaning. A marshmallow gave it on a sharpened stick. A jack knife in your pocket gave you comfort when your friends were gone. A flower hidden in the woods, behind an aging shriveled log. A dog who licked at your fingers and chewed at your jeans. A game of football that you didn't expect, a glass of cider, a crickets cry. When did you lose your eyes and ears. When did taste buds cease to tremble. Whence the sublime-ness, this mounting fear, this quarrel with life, demanding meaning. That mounting fear is leisure's bonus and it's the pain that forbids you to be a boy."
In Peace and Love Charles Lyon

FACTS OF LIFE

2008-03-15T10:46:00.002-07:00

1. At least 5 people in this world love you so much they would do anything for you.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you, in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you, is because they want to be just like you. No kidding! I know some of those people.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. Without you, someone may not be living.

8. You are special and unique, in your own way.

9. Someone that you don't know even exists, loves you.

10. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

11. When you think the world has turned it's back on you, take a look, you most likely turned your back on the world.

12. When you think you have no chance at getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you believe in yourself, you probably sooner or later will get it.

13. Always remember compliments you received, forget about the rude remarks.

14. Always tell someone how you feel about him or her, you will feel much better when they know.

15. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

The Crack Pot

2008-03-11T08:26:00.004-07:00

This I received from My Sister in law Dian, and is a perfect example of how perception affects how we perceive the world.

Thank You Dian!

What is seen in the physical world, is not necessarily the truth but instead Just a preconceived Judgment, or Illusion.

Created out of the Un-conscientiousness of egoic life conditioning, which is never the truth.

The Ego is compulsive useless thought processes, that have no involvement in the here and now.

To perceive the world as it is, one must let go of all judgments and attachments to preconceived Ideas.

TO ALL MY 'CRACKPOT FRIENDS"

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went ondaily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
'I am ashamed of myself , because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

And send this to any or all of your Crack Pot friend s within 5 minutes and see what happens! Don't forget the Crack Pot that sent it to you!

The Law of the Hog By Praxis

2008-02-17T09:05:00.010-07:00

"The Law of the Hog."

By Praxis

Some business researchers were trying to find the ultimate management techniques and so they looked to the most successful businesses across the land to see what they could learn to improve business management techniques.

In the process of their research they kept hearing rumors of a small lumber mill in Oregon that had the highest employee moral, the best employer-employee relationships, the least amount of time lost on the job and the highest rating in every other area of their business including profit and so they had to find out what their secret was.

When they got to the lumber mill they were greeted by the general manager who was as big as an ape and looked like he could rip body parts off of anyone by accident while shaking their hand. As soon as they entered into the mill they realized that all of the managers looked the same - big muscle, thick necked gorillas. One of the researchers asked one of the employees why all the managers were so big and the employee said, "They have to be big so that if the employees need discipline they can make you work."

The researcher thought this was funny and said, "What if the employees didn't need discipline and the manager was just in a bad mood." The employee said, "Oh, no, that would never happen." The researchers were puzzled.

They noticed as they were walking through the plant that large trees were brought in and put on conveyors and big knives would strip off the outer bark. Then big knives would come in and strip off a thin layer of the outer wood and they were told that this wood was the finest grain and it was used for all of their high priced paneling and veneer wood. Then the logs would continue down and go through a series of saws cutting them up into beams of wood and they were fascinated by all the things going on in this lumber mill and they were still puzzled by this whole manager thing.

And so they started asking questions, "Was there a union to protect the employees?" And the employees would answer, "That's a stupid question, there is no need for a union. You researchers sure aren't very intelligent asking such dumb questions." This got the researchers even more confused and so they kept asking questions. With each question they asked they became more and more confused.

While they were walking through the mill they noticed a commotion at the end of the mill and asked what had happened. One of the employees said, "Well, one of the employees just mouthed off to the manager and so he had to be disciplined." The researchers ran over to where the disciplining was taking place. They saw the man lying on the floor just beaten to a bloody pulp. The other employees were just working as if everything was normal. No one was watching or upset. Everything seemed just fine. The researchers said to one of the employees near by, "What happened?" The employee said, "He did something wrong and so he got disciplined by the manager." The researchers were shocked and said, "Aren't you going to do something like call an ambulance?" The employee said, "The ambulance will be here in a minute, don't worry."

The researchers were incensed and said, "I can't believe that this man is lying here half dead and you act as if nothing were wrong. You should do something. This is abuse! “The employee said, "He deserved to be punished and so the manager punished him." "Well, I think the manager overstepped his bounds this time!" said one of the researchers. The employee standing near by said, "Oh, no, they wouldn't do that." "How do you know this? The researcher protested. "Because we own the hog." said the workers. "The hog!" said the researchers. "Yes, the hog so they would never do anything wrong." was their answer as they shook their heads in disbelief of such stupid questions.

Now the researchers were really confused. And so they decided to just walk around and try to figure out this madhouse called a lumber mill. Just then the owner walked up to one of the researchers and said how do you like my company? They said to him, "We're really confused about your company. You have gorillas for managers who put people in the hospital and all of your employees act like nothing is wrong. This doesn't make sense. And what in the heck is the hog?"

The owner chuckled and said, "Let's back up a little and I will tell you about our mill. Now first of all we get these big logs that come in on these big tracks. And the big blades come down and take off all the bark and all the high spots and then the logs move down and the blades shave off all the expensive veneer wood to be made into paneling, etc. Then the logs move down to the next area where the big beams are cut off the logs. The left-over's are cut into smaller lumber such as two by fours, two by twelve's, etc. You see, how it works, is the employees here make an hourly rate no matter how much or how little lumber we produce they make the same hourly rate. The managers on the other hand have a quota to meet up to each day. As you know lumber is measured in board feet. The more board feet we make the more money and the higher the quota for the managers. And the managers are required to make their quota each day. If the managers don't make their quota two consecutive days they are put on probation. If they get a low quota for a week they are fired. So you see they would never dare mistreat their employees because they have the hog. Well, I've got to go now and so I hope this has answered your question. So Bye." And the owner walked off.

Now the researchers were really confused. What was this hog that kept the managers in line and the employees satisfied? They just had to find out. And so they started asking employees where the hog was so that they could discover what it was all about. They pointed down to the far end of the mill where there was this massive machine. As they walked down towards this massive machine they saw two huge men with long chains attached to the wall picking up scraps of lumber and throwing them into this large machine. When they got there they asked the operator how it ran. And he said, "Gladly. Well you see, when the logs get cut up into lumber there are pieces that are too small or too bent to use and we put them in the hog. You see the hog has all of these big swinging knives that cut up all of the lumber into a fine dust and shoots it out the other end and then we burn it. "I see," said the researchers, "But how does "hog" give you so much power over the managers?" "Well, at the end of the day they see how much board feet of lumber there is and then they also weigh how much saw dust there is in the hog. If the hog goes up and it is too high in comparison with how much board feet the managers get in trouble and after one week of high weights in the hog the managers get fired." "I understand this," said one of the researchers, "But how does this give the employees so much power?" "You researchers really are stupid. The hog will eat up good lumber too. Anything you put into it, even big expensive beams, or whole trees come out as fine dust and so that's what gives us our power." And so the Law of the Hog was invented. © Praxis

When it comes to quality control, employee productivity, or the bottom line of financial profitability your employees are not the problem, they are the solution when you understand the Law of the Hog.

IBM found one hundred dollar computer chips in their toilets from disgruntled employees, Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars thinking that employees were the problem of quality and so they put in robots where they could since they wanted to reduce the mistakes the employees made in manufacturing cars since robots don't make mistakes. After doing this their quality went way down but only in the area where the robots were put in place and so they looked into it and they found out that the robots did everything the way they were supposed to but the cars didn't. You see if the cars shifted on track a little the robot couldn't adapt but the people could. They realized that the people were not the problem but the solution when they understood the Law of the Hog.

The biggest area where the Law of the Hog is used today is in industry where they expect their employees to just do their job without using their mind or when the employee takes a risk on an idea and it is successful and the supervisor takes credit so the employee feels taking advantage of and stops trying to do a better job.

Even worse when the employee tries something new and it doesn't work or makes someone look bad he is punished and told, "You are not paid to think. Check in your mind at the door. When I want your opinion, I will tell you." You see most employees want to do a good job but when they are treated like machines they turn off their mind and act like machines, not adapting, just performing their required quota without the motivation to do a really good job like they really want to.

Creativity is the biggest Law of the Hog law in the United States today. If you are punishing mistakes and not rewarding risks taken by employees you are promoting the destruction of your business and will ultimately see its failure.

Copy Right By Praxis, with permission from Ron McMillan a good Friend a Great Man and Gifted Teacher

Understanding Communication

2008-02-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Understanding Communication

In this blog posting I want to look at telling the truth in communication. This I believe is the strongest factor in how we experience life. For until we can have open and honest communication we are doomed to have misunderstanding In every conversation, and Illusion In how we perceive all of our relationships.

"For there is but one veritable problem- the problem of human relations. We forget that there is no hope or joy except in human relations."

Antoine de Saint Exerts Wind, Sand And Stars

"Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person: and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized." ~ Victor E. Frankl ~mans search for meaning

Communication in the human family, since the beginning of recorded history, has been at best mediocre. Except in isolated cases like the city of Enoch that was taken in to heaven, as told of in the old testament of the bible. Historically Lack of truth in communication has created misunderstandings, distrust and divorce on a personal level and on a broader level disrespect and destruction directed at all living things, even war. Every one of us, if we are willing to look deep inside, shares a feeling of being alone. Our inability to really communicate ourselves to others with out being misunderstood is constantly being tested and confirmed. We often wish even simple phrases like "I love you" could be understood with out the traps and expectations. Thinking "What else do they want?" It seams as if we are all, brother and sister, husband and wife, friend and neighbor, are speaking in a foreign language - never understanding each other and never understanding why. In our world I would say misunderstanding is not the exception but the rule. Because of our inability to overcome our communication barriers, we have become disillusioned, overwhelmed. The other side of the coin is people pretending that they have it "all figured out" and try to use force to make people use their rules. They spend their time creating laws, rules and regulations in governments to force people to get along. This is a very short term, immature, quick fix approach and only serves to create more problems and disharmony down the road.

Taking the ultimate parent role setting up rules that treat every one like disobedient children, "If you kids don't stop fighting and get along, I'm going to punish you." I know they mean well but personal behavior is inside each individual person, making rules will not change them. People need understanding and an actual living example in order to change behaviors, showing mutual cooperation, respect and understanding. In relationships we have so much bad experiences we have become cynical. Often when we see people getting married, seeing them absolutely in love we say; they'll learn in time that it is not all a bed of roses and they usually don't disappoint us. Why can't we keep the love and excitement alive?

The exception! Once in a wile we see a husband and wife or some small group of people that really find an ability to communicate. That develop a rill sense of oneness and we think it is a fluke, their lucky, just pretending or maybe even mad. We say real people can't be that happy together. I personally think it is not a fluke and there is hope for all of this confusion. I believe it is possible to overcome the traditions of misunderstanding. This through a process of discovery that my wife and I have been experimenting with. I know this is not new information the truth of what we are learning is in all of us. This truth is also in every ancient spiritual text; whether the teachings of Buddha, the teachings of Zoroaster, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran or the Holy Bible. The purpose of these books is to assist you to awaken and remember that part in you that is temporarily sleeping but already in place. To lift your consciousness up to a higher awareness and knowledge, tempered with love. To awaken from the night mirror of human relations and embrace true open and honest communication. The process will take some time but I believe it is very much worth it. We live in a wonder full time. When all things in life are being looked at and re-evaluated to try to find some meaning to this mess of a world we have created.

Historians say if we can learn from history then we do not have to repeat it. Here I would like to say there is no such thing as true history. As a general rule history is full of look good lies that give us a sinking feeling, because those who came before us where so good and we know how we are. The truth is they made just as many mistakes as we do. The person righting the story just left that part out. There is a wonderful thing happening today though historians, because they are looking for the truth they don’t want the look good history but what really happened and this kind of history can help us not to repeat it. The benefit to this type of history is we can see that all people are good and bad at the same time. What ever that means, for it is just a judgment. None of us are all good or all bad, with this knowledge we can realize we can be as wonderful as we want, with the knowledge we also have shortcomings too. And these shortcomings need not stop us from being great. This could go a long way in helping the world to heal; I feel the most destructive form of lying in the world is people trying to cover up mistakes they make. We should rejoice in our mistakes for they teach clearly what doesn’t work, and this is very beneficial. This is because of the shame blame and punishment mindset of society. This makes people distrust creating distance and secrecy in order to not be found out. Instead let’s look at what we have tried; what works and what has not. As you know mankind has been making the same mistakes since recorded history started with no apparent sense of having ability to stop the cycles from repeating. The primary focus has been on force and mandatory laws. Doing this the problems have continually escalated with bigger bombs, more cruelty, bigger wars, more fear and less trust. We the self-righteous United States are afraid of any one else having the atomic bomb. Yet we are the only nation to have ever used its destructive forces. (A little like the kettle calling the pot black.) My number one conclusion you can not force understanding. people are as honest as they feel safe to be with out reprimands. So instead of trying to make more rules for every situation, instead let’s have some understanding, some compassion, some forgiveness, some love. Let’s learn to rejoice in our humanness and embrace our limitations, acknowledge our mistakes and learn what they have to teach us. There is not a single human being on the face of the planet that doesn’t make mistakes and have limitations. Let’s create a space for open and honest communication, a safe environment where every thought can be expressed without condemnation. From this place we become a self correcting society and will grow to see fulfilled all the wonderful things our Holy books talk about. And for the first time in recorded history it won’t repeat its self!

Just something to think about.

Peace

Charles Lyon CHT

The 10 Best Employee Motivators

2008-02-09T12:32:00.005-07:00

This is a study done in 1986 by Dr Kenneth Novack about what motivates employes from the employers view verses the employes view.

It is quite profound how out of sync most managers are to there employees.

He asked a cross section of employes across the U S What was the top ten things that motivate them to do a good job for a employer.

He also asked a cross section of managers across the U S what they

thought motivated there employes and here is the results.

1) Managers) said " Money"

1) Employees) said "appreciation"

2)Managers) Job Security.

2) Employees) The feeling of being an insider & having a say on how things are run.

3) Managers) Promotion.

3) Employees) Sympathy for personal problems.

4) Managers) Working conditions.

4) Employees) Job security.

5) Managers) Interesting work.

5) Employees.) Money.

6) Managers.) Loyalty from the company to employes

6)Employees.) Interesting work.

7) Managers) Tactful disciplining. What ever that means ?

7) Employees.) Promotion

8)Managers) Appreciation.

8) Employees) Loyalty from the company.

9) Managers) Sympathy for personal problems.

9) Employees) Working conditions.

10) Managers)The feeling of being an insider

10) Employees) Tactful disciplining.

Conclusion the average manager doesn't have the foggiest Idea of how to Effectively motivate His employees.

Tom Peters turned the management world upside down when he Introduced "In Search of Excellence" He admonishes Managers to desert the old management style and become Cheerleaders of Excellence. Specifically he says ketch your employees in the process of doing something right and then praise them for there efforts. Stop looking for what they do wrong, look for what they Do right.

Manifesting & Intentional Creation

2008-02-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Secretes of Manifesting or Intentional creating. It’s a synchronicity where you attract things to your self. We are naturally born with the ability to attract things to our self instantaneously. But the process and conditioning of life makes us forget what we were born knowing. The conditioning process of life fills our mind with lots of useless mind chatter, things like self doubt judgments, regrets, attachments to thoughts and things all useless stuff. Meditation is the process to eliminate mind chatter. It’s about finding your true self. When we start meditating we all feel like we are doing it wrong, because the mind doesn’t give up its control Easley, but if you stick with it in time little by little it lets go and you can be at peace, even when you are surrounded by kayos. The mind is not even real it’s when we get attached to the thoughts of our mind and those thoughts becomes an attachment that we identify with when the illusory nature of the ego driven mind takes hold. When we are truly living in the present moment the mind naturally goes away and you are just in the moment, there is no comparisons with past experiences no judging of what is perceived as good or bad, just the experience of the here and now. Its being in the zone, that athletes talk about, or artists, or any one who has found a way to get lost in something, and in that moment you are the thing you are doing, you are truly one, all cense of self is gone, all is well and just to be alive is profound. In this place every thing is all good, every moment is fun and enthralling. How we manifest is by visualizing the thing we want to manifest as if we already have it, in this place we are deserving of what we want and we see our self as having it in the here and now. We Visualize how it feels to have what we are manifesting, see it in our mind, feel it and how it will feel when we have it the more details we can have and the more real we can make the visualization the faster it will come. When we get caught up in thoughts of why we cant have what we want to have the self doubt brings the process to a stop, worry, self doubt anxiousness desperation or neediness is all going in the wrong direction. It’s a peaceful process to embrace all you would like to manifest, there in no attachment its about letting go and trusting the Universe to bring it to you in the right time when you are ready to receive. Gratitude is key to all manifesting; to be grateful in advance is the greatest tool to shorten the time between when you create the vision and when it is physically manifest. When I look at the times when I have been able to manifest what I wanted in a fast manner the greatest was bringing in to my life of, my present wife.

I was almost completely divorced it was 6 weeks until the court hearing to finalize my divorce. I created a list of every thing I wanted in my perfect relationship things like some who love me for me some one who wasn’t constantly wanting me to be something I wasn’t at the time, some one who empowered me and built me up instead of tearing me down, I also had lots of individual things that I really wanted as well. I had connected to a place in me where I knew I could have what I wanted I felt worthy to receive this new relationship. And it was also an act of prayer to my divine source, with a feeling of gratitude for the gift of life. I didn’t have a timetable, I just believed this is something I want and will not except anything less in my life ever again. I was introduced to my wife the night before my divorce was final. And the introduction, was a peaceful experience, none of the overwhelming sexual attraction I had felt in the past. It was a complete hart connection it was a soul connection. It was much more profound then mirror sexual attraction it was like I was looking in to my own soul, this person was Me but in a female form. She was Georgiou’s, and powerful, with a strong sense of self in many ways much more secure with her self then I ever was. She was even profoundly better then I asked for, better then my list, better then my wildest dreams, it was like asking for a new home and receiving a mansion, filled with gardens, and grand rooms of wonder. We spent the whole night just talking and we talked all the way up to just a two hours before my court hearing, so I went home and showered and went to the court with the biggest smile I couldn’t remove from my face. Filling totally blessed, and grateful to be alive, grateful to have met the best friend I had ever known. We have been together for the last 20 + years, and it has been a joy, to be living with some one who loves me warts and all, and believe me I’ve got lots of warts. I am Blessed. So I hope this can spark in you a little more understanding of how to manifest in your life, it was fun for me to take a short trip down memory lane.

With Peace and Love

Charles Lyon.