Weekender August 24, 2002
Volume 4, Issue 34
Creativity
Quote: If you're having difficulty coming up with new
ideas, then slow down. For me, slowing down has
been a tremendous source of creativity. It has
allowed me to open up -- to know that there's
life under the earth and that I have to let it
come through me in a new way. Creativity exists
in the present moment. You can't find it
anywhere else.
Natalie Goldberg is a writer on creativity and
writing. She is best known for Writing Down The Bones: Freeing The Writer Within.
Source: "Unit of One," Fast Company, April 2000.
Integrity
Quote: Act well at the moment, and you have performed
a good action to all eternity.
Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801) was a Swiss
physiognomist, theologian, and poet.
Source: The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations
UK
Gratitude
Quote: Some Catholics have a concept I very much
admire: the Sacrament of the Present Moment.
It suggests that every moment of our lives is
sacred, and that we should make of each moment
a sacrament. Were we to do this we would think
of the entire world as diffused with holiness.
Wherever we might be would be a holy place for
us, and we would see the holy, even sainthood,
in everyone we encounter.
M. Scott Peck (1936- ) was trained as a
psychiatrist, but has gained renown as a writer
about human growth and pain.
Source: In Search of Stones
by M. Scott Peck
UK
Relationships
Quote: He that wrestles with us strengthens our
nerves, and sharpens our skills. Our
antagonist is our helper.
Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was a British statesman,
parliamentary orator and political thinker who
played a prominent part in all major political
issues for about 30 years after 1765, and
remained an important figure in the history of
political theory.
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
edited by Angela Partington
UK
Success
Quote: Failure is not failure to meet your goal. Real
failure is failure to reach as high as you
possibly can. No man will ever truly know that
he had succeeded until he experiences an
apparent failure.
Robert Schuller is an ordained pastor in the
Reformed Church. He started a church in a drive-in
theater in Garden Grove, CA, and is now pastor at
the Crystal Cathedral. He has written many books
on possibility living.
Source: Words for All Occasions
by Glenn van Ekeren
UK
Bonus Reading on Character
by June McHardy
This is the Space Age! Explorations in outer Space are going on in leaps and bounds. Yet the problems of the individual are not that much different from those of the earlier stages of civilization. They're only more so! This is the age of exploration and expansion. Everything is expanding at a tremendous rate, including the expansion of our intellect and our experience. In order to keep pace with this rapid growth, it seems to me that our greatest need is not so much the exploration of Outer Space, but rather that of our inner space. Yes, we need to take total control of our minds, thereby controlling our destinies. Donald Curtis in his early book, Your Thoughts can Change Your Life suggests 12 steps you can take towards integrating your whole being and accomplishing what you want from life. The following ten steps have been adapted from his ideas. 1. RELAXATION. Relaxation is the starting point for harmonious living. There's no limit to the healing power of the forces within if we learn to relax. 2. EXPECTATION. Expectancy in our minds is the cause of everything that happens to us in our lives - both GOOD and BAD. So we must expect the best! Our attitude must be "Something wonderful is About to Happen!" 3. RECOGNITION. We must recognize the Indwelling Power. Those of us who believe in God recognize Him in this power - but others may call it the Universal Power, the Higher Power, Energy. The name doesn't matter, because it's always there for our use. 5. DEDICATION. In order to be truly ALIVE, we need to have a reason for living. We need a greater Purpose in our lives, so we must dedicate ourselves to helping humanity in our own special way. 6. INTENTION. If we're to reach our full potential, we need to aim higher than just getting things because we want them. Align your wants to your needs. Hitch your Wagon to a Star! 7. CONVICTION. Know in your heart that what you visualize is already in the process of creation. 8. PROJECTION. Our feelings and thoughts project outwards in the universe. If we have love and harmony, we not only direct these outward towards others, but also draw more of the same into our lives. 9. ACTION. We must now take action.- Make an action plan, study, investigate and follow through and KNOW that a process has been set in motion. 10. COOPERATION. Nothing is ever accomplished in a vacuum. We must always work with other people. With love, expectation and cooperation, those people will rally around and everything will be accomplished with joy. If we study and work on each of these steps and apply them to any particular problem or situation in our lives, we will move inevitably towards the conquest of our Inner Space, out of which comes all the issues of our lives. We're all living in the Space Age - why not take destiny into our own hands. LET'S GO INTO ORBIT!
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