Wrapping up another year...

As we sail into 2009...

... I'd like to share with you this fantastic photo, showing just one glimpse of the beauty of this planet.

May 2009 be a good year for you. Believe in your power to work through the challenges and struggles of your journey. Believe in your power to speak truth, and express it...

... believe in your power to forgive, and be forgiven.

Believe in your power to feel joy surge through you.

Believe in your power to be loved, and above all, to love.

- S.R.

P.S. This blog will continue in 2009.

Basic Financial Common Sense: Live Below Your Means, Save and Invest the Difference

I am interested in learning about the mechanisms behind the crisis in the global financial markets. I find the topic fascinating, because through bad example we can learn what to avoid.

So I picked up a copy of Time Magazine last week featuring an article titled "The Price of Greed".

The article goes into some detail about the author's perspective on the reason for the collapse of such financial institutions as Lehman Brothers.

I wont go into details.

What I found most interesting was this paragraph, toward the end:

"Coping in this new world will require adjustments by millions of Americans. We all will have to start living within our means - or preferrably below them. If you don't overborrow or overspend, you're far less vulnerable to whatever problems the financial system may have."

Reading this left me thinking how funny that this should be news to Americans.

There can really be no other way toward prosperity than living below one's means.

Adam Smith proposed that a truly prosperous nation is made up of those who SAVE their initial wealth and INVEST their savings into the creation of productive, entrepreneurial enterprises.

While borrowed capital is important for entrepreneurial projects, a system based on "no money down" and "debt-as-wealth" cannot last. It will collapse upon itself because people begin to lose their energies into speculation instead of creativity.

And creativity is the source of real wealth.

As I have written before, the true role of the entrepreneur is wealth creation, in its many forms, money being one (other forms of wealth are health, peace of mind, knowledge, pleasure, education, beauty, good architecture, shelter, etc.).

It seems that Americans and humanity in general has forgotten the principles of wealth creation, the first being: live below your means, use most of the difference to pay off your debts, and save the rest for entrepreneurship and/or wise investing.

Cruel Experiment Shows Importance of Good Nutrition

This is amazing.

It demonstrates in very graphical terms how food affects our health...

... and how can it not, when what we eat literally turns into the substance of our bodies!

Scheduling Family Meetings for Family Happiness

I just had an idea.

It is inspired by my experiences in resolving misunderstandings and hurt feelings with other human beings, as well as by my experience in guiding a team of employees in the business world.

The ideas is simple: in order for there to be happiness in a family, there needs to be regularly scheduled meetings between family members, for talking, listening to each other, sharing of feelings, and working out frustrations. These meetings should be pre-planned, otherwise they wont just happen of their own accord.

Just the act of talking and hearing each other out can untie so many knots of hurt, and release joy and a sense of security.

Learning how to communicate authentically, calmly and respectfully with our fellow human beings is one of the most important things we could ever learn.

From the soil of suffering... joy is possible

"I wake sweet joy in dens of sorrow and I plant a smile in forests of affliction, and wake the bubbling springs of life in regions of dark death."

- William Blake

Freedom from Debt

"American's have stopped making things. Instead, our wealth is built on credit. The more we borrow the richer we feel, when in fact nearly every asset we own is made in some other country that we paid for with borrowed money."
- Mike Ward, publisher of Agora Books (publishers of Empire of Debt)




Here's an interesting look at American citizen's debt (Canada can't be too far off):

http://www.ihatedebt.com/ALookatDebt/CurrentStateofDebt.php

Some interesting (and sad) highlights:

• Only 2% of American homes are paid for.
• On average the typical credit card purchase is 112% higher than if paying cash.
• Over 40% of U.S. families spend more than they earn
• The average household has 7 credit cards.
• The average household has a total credit card balance of approximately $25,800
• The record number of bankruptcy filings was 1.44 million in 1998 until 1.49 million were filed in 2001.
  

USA Today reports that, of the 23 greatest fears identified by Americans today, #3 was inadequate Social Security, and #4 was not enough money for retirement.

Suggestion: get out of debt asap, and begin building your savings as early as possible (at the same time as getting out of debt). To build assets while reducing debt simultaneously gives a psychological boost. Building a saving at the same time as eliminating debt is also important due to the effect of compound interest on your savings/investments.

For calculated, smart debt elimination planning (that could save you a significant amount in interest), I suggest a simple but powerful software called DebtEraser.

As well, for continuous learning in the crucial topic of personal finance, I suggest bookmarking the following resources:

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/

It is my personal motto that in order to be free of the burden of money, one needs to have money. This requires learning how the flow of money works and how to manage this flow properly.

http://zenhabits.net/2008/06/how-i-paid-off-35000-in-debt-and-how-you-can-too/ (contains interesting ideas on "debt snowballing", but with DebtEraser you can simply pay off faster and save on interest)

The keys to successful debt elimination: ruthless self-honesty, having a plan (based on knowledge), and beginning today, using your plan as a roadmap until the goal is reached.

And for knowledge on how to generate and increase income (no matter what profession you're in), here's a book I suggest for everyone's library:

50 Prosperity Classics

This blog post is dedicated to your health, happiness, and prosperity.

Paying Attention to Financial Health

I believe that learning how to relate with money is very important to our overall well-being.

To relate properly with money is to be free from attachment to money. This means that we need an open flow of money in our lives, that improves everything it touches.

If money is akin to formless energy (which I believe it is), that has to be used properly to bring about prosperity and freedom in our lives (as opposed to materialism and obsession with it), then the whole topic of prosperity and financial abundance is very important.

Issues such as debt, building a saving, retirement, generating income with joy (instead of drudgery), investing... and more...

... are very important, if we wish to live a life of balance, purpose, passion, creative expression and joy.

With that said, I am going to take this blog on a turn into new territory. Coming soon: ideas and thoughts about prosperity from my own life and research.

"God Bless America"?

I just came back from a trip to the U.S.A. Beyond my shock at the grip the junk food industry has on the American population, and how unhealthy many people look, I noticed a few things that were interesting to my mind.

For example, many Americans seem to believe that a world in which only one country is divinely blessed can ultimately sustain itself.

It seems that in their mantra/prayer of "God Bless America", many Americans really mean "give our nation special status and progress, at the exclusion of the rest of humanity".

If so, then this is a prayer of ignorance.

A leader nation is not meant to trample upon other nations, just like a human leader is not meant to trample upon his followers. A leader nation is meant to set an example of a higher standard, and help uplift all toward it... all who are ready to lift themselves up.

I'm not sure if I have understood this American motto properly, but it seems that there is something not quite right with the way a lot of Americans use it...

... especially in light of the enormous hubris the American government is displaying on the world stage.

No Prescription

There is no prescription for fulfilled and joyful lives, except for self-honesty, courage and willingness to face and explore all aspects of ourselves. The light... and the dark.

We need to find our own way, each one of us, through the maze of experiential trial and error. The maze of our souls.

Along the way, it is wise to seek counsel from others whom we trust, in order to gain perspective on ourselves.

The honesty of oceanic waves

The ocean teaches us so much, if we observe and listen.

It teaches us about freedom.

Patience.

Power.

Boldness.

Consistency.

Greatness and humility.

Leadership.

Interconnectedness and individuality.

And (without this being an exhaustive list), the ocean teaches us about honesty through its beautiful little (and not so little) waves.

Waves do not lie. Lying begins with self-deception, and waves do not deceive themselves. They do not suppress themselves, nor do they do anything to avenge anyone who hurts them (for they know that their true nature goes so deep, that they can never truly be hurt).

They simply unfold their natural energy, and even caress the shoreline with their love.

Waves simply flow, according to cause and effect, and subside after they unfurl their energy. Once they are done, they return to their eternal state.

And they are re-born, again, in the next ripple of waves.

What we confuse as destructive, is not destruction - if man gets in the way of truth and is hurt, it is due to the breaking of his own ignorance or ill placed deeds. The truth hurts because it crashes against lies, and sooner or later, erodes falsehoods into fine powder.

Battle Between Two Parts

I can't sleep.

There is a battle going on inside of me.

A battle between two parts.

One part is saying "respecting another's free will is crucial, no matter how much it hurts to see them make decisions that you don't agree with".

The other is saying "you got hurt by his/her actions, so give hurt in return, and close yourself off".

I pray the first part in me wins. I guess it's about being aware of both parts, and choosing which one to give expression to, come the moment.

Break, it will...

Your heart will break...

... your heart will mend...

... but a broken heart... it will happen.

It is my hope, that it will strengthen your faith in Love... by crushing your false expectations.

People Will Fail and Disappoint You... If You Expect Them Not To

Those who expect other human beings to be transparent, "fair", and consistent...

... are setting themselves up for unnecessary pain.

Should we trust others to fulfill our expectations?

I say, no.

We should not trust others to fulfill our expectations because we should not trust our own expectations... because they often crash with reality, and reality is always absolutely victorious over our mental demands on how others "should be".

Justice

You do what you are called to do... I do what I am called to do.

Verse from The Prophet

"But tell me, who is he that can offend the spirit?

Shall the nightingale offend the stillness of the night, or the firefly the stars?"

- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

(you who have read The Prophet will probably understand what the image is about...)

Awareness Allows Watching of Our Emotions

Negative emotion can be generated in anyone of us, when we are unaware.

The journey of more and more awareness of our emotions is crucial to more peace, responsibility (the ability to respond with conscious choice), and more joy.

Out of the Flames of Suffering...

... we can find new understanding about life.

The phoenix never tried to escape from the flames.

It allowed them to engulf and burn it down.

Through the flames, instead of around them.

It went into the flames... burnt its suffering self down... and discovered its eternal self.

The fire burnt at first, but then became a friend... no longer something that hurts. It became something that reveals!

The Voice of Anger

Next time you feel angry, listen closely.

Listen to the voice of anger.

It would say something like this:

"Aaaaarrrrrgh!!! This is not going the way me wants it to!"

No Blame

You can never be the cause of my pain... if you trigger it, you show me up to myself...

What Did You Allow Yourself in 2007?

We human beings are not designed to be static and constant.

We are meant to be continuously changing and evolving.

I am strongly convinced that if we do not engage in the flow of life and constantly stretch ourselves into new vistas of learning and experience, we will become miserable, because we will be insulting our very natures (which yearn for the sheer exhilaration of the continuous exploration of life).

We thrive when we are in the flow of exploration and achievement.There is a lot of discussion today about being still, meditating, and "just being". I personally believe that proper meditation is one of the most important topics that a human being could concern him/herself with.

However, I also believe that we need to be in the flow of exploration and achievement.

In the flow of action.

And not in contradiction to stillness and meditation. No, we can be in the flow of exploration and achievement while in harmony with a meditative space in our lives.

In fact, I believe that we should move towards making our whole life a meditation in action. Through proper meditation, we can liberate our minds of errant thought, and become fully engaged in whatever it is we are doing in the now, with bliss and joy ensuing from the clarity of consciousness with which we relate with life (people, nature, ideas, objects).

No task is small or large then. Everything becomes interesting and the "mundane" becomes a meaningless word.

If we are to accept that human beings have a need to be in the flow of achievement, then some good questions to ask ourselves are presented below:

What did I learn in 2007?

What new skill did I develop?

What talent did I tend to, developing it further toward mastery?

What passion did I pursue?

What new place did I explore?

What did I allow myself to receive from this wonderful world we live in?

What did I give myself to so fully, that I felt tired and happy inside when in bed at night?

Whom did I share with of my knowledge?

What did I add to my heart's treasure chest of experience, that will give me inner warmth, for ever?