Solid Energy

A long overdue update

2007-11-02T19:54:00.000-05:00

Here I am, amid a pile of deadlines and I'm writing in my blog, something I haven't done for the lifespan of a vegetable. And I'm talking veggie life from planting to plate.

So, now's the time because I need to do what I set this blog up for: flesh out ideas.

The ideas are many because I'm working on an intensely rewarding and creative project which I will be writing about a lot. (I use the term 'a lot' loosely). The project is called Tapping Sweet Success™: Maple Syrup Project for Teens.

See, last year, my husband and I bought a lovely farm that boasts a large sugar bush. And while we've produced maple syrup at our previous properties, we've never had the right place to take part in our local maple syrup festival. Until now. And thanks to Wonderful Alice at http://www.entertainingtheidea.com/, I'm in the midst of planning for not only the maple syrup festival, but a youth program that gets local teens involved.

The great thing about a program that lets teens get in on producing maple syrup and planning an historically successful, weekend long tourist event is that they get to see just how much they're capable of. And accomplishment is the only way to boost your self-esteem.

Now, the numbers I've read about self-esteem say that 1 out of 3 Americans suffer from low self-esteem. And, I'd be willing to bet that more than 1 out of 3 of those people are teens. I certainly was afflicted with a dismal lack of it as a teen and young adult. I always knew, though, that I'd find the answers and be done with feeling like that forever. And I have, but since then, I've often wondered why it had to be so hard to overcome. Why didn't anyone help me? (Part of the reason for that is that I'm a phenomenal actress when it comes to making people think that I'm confident. Even my mother was shocked when I told her how I struggled with self-esteem as a young person!)

In any case, with this program for teens, I will be able to offer some of the kind of help that I would have loved to receive. So, keep checking out this blog for updates on what I think is a truly exciting project. And, as soon as it's up, I'll add a link to my own website for you to check out the details!

Now, everyone go out and accomplish something. There is no bigger rush in the world!

Children learn what they live

2007-03-26T12:29:00.000-05:00

Children learn what they live is a poem of sorts that always hung on a plaque on our wall while I was growing up. When our son was born, my Mother gave me the plaque in all it's seventies-wood-grain glory.

Here is how it goes:

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

IF a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

IF a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

IF a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

IF a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

IF a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

IF a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.

IF a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

IF a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

IF a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

IF a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

IF a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the World.

- Anonymous

Pretty cool, isn't it? I can only assume that this applies to female children as well. ;) (Seventies, remember?)

So, the reason I'm sharing this with you, strangely, has to do with Anna Nicole Smith. Non-sequiter, right? Wrong.

Doesn't anyone involved in the hideous publicity tornado surrounding this woman's life and, more importantly her six month old child's life, realize what they're contributing to?

To take a page from Dr. Phil, they're writing on the slate of who that child is. How long will this go on? What kind of a welcome to the world is this for that pour Soul?

I know, I know... if you're at all into Budhism, karma, metaphysics etc... it can be argued that the little girl, Dannielynn, chose to be born into this hubbub in order to gain experience. I have friends who choose to believe that this means we should just keep to ourselves and let situations unfold as they will, around us. 'Don't meddle in another Soul's experience, Colleen."

To me, that is a little simplistic. If that were litterally so, would we also be meddling by stopping to help an accident victim? Because that's what this little child is. Dannielynn Smith is an accident victim.

And, think of the negative karma everyone involved in this circus is wracking up. Having said that, are we all wracking up negative karma by sitting by thinking, "Too bad there's nothing we can do"?

There are at least a couple of things we can do.

Avoid watching tabloid/entertainment show that are beating this to death.
Boycott magazines or papers that carry the story
Visualize a peaceful, loving environment whenever the ongoing tornado of Dannielyn Smith's life is forced into your mind-space.
On a more personal level, be sure to respect the lessons that others are here to learn but realize that their tragedies may have crossed your path to teach YOU a lesson. Learn it.

There you go. Anyone who understand the concept that thoughts are things knows how we can all affect the life of this one child.

So, if we can affect this situation with our thoughts, can we not put our energy anywhere we choose? I think I'm about to have a 'Big Question' meltdown moment...

Just a quick link to something brilliant...

2007-03-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

... see, I told you I was a quote-aholic.

This thought to live by is from Steve Jobs, computer guru and general genius, as I understand it.

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

Steve Jobs, US computer engineer & industrialist (1955 - )

Thanks to The Quotations Page for hooking me up with so many delightful treats!

Beliefs drive behaviour

2007-03-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

I'm a quote-aholic.

Check out Kristie T at the Home Business Blog. She quotes Cynthia Kersey in saying:

"Beliefs drive behaviour".

What an unbelievable thought! So, for example, if you believe that you're no good at school, your behaviour will reflect that. And, if you believe that you're a good student who's going places, your behaviour will reflect that as well. Try this one on: If you believe that you're not good looking/popular enough to get a GREAT boyfriend/girlfriend, your behaviour will show it. You'll actually go looking for and attracting that kind of crappy, not really wonderful 'catch'.

As the name suggests, her blog is about home business - not of interest to the average teen - but sometimes you find inspiration in the strangest places. So, even if you're not in the business world yet, keep your eyes open for new info.

The post in question is called 'WOW - Cynthia Kersey is Unstoppable!' And, let's face it. We all want to be unstoppable and this post gives you ideas how to do it.

Tapping a brilliant young mind

2007-03-21T13:22:00.000-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with a young woman who’s light is so bright I should have worn sunscreen. I know she wouldn’t say she’s particularly out of the ordinary. She’s not headed to Harvard on full scholarship or set to travel to third world countries and dig wells (though this is something I think she might consider). What shone in her was the fact that she makes no excuses. This young woman has had enough hardship in her life that anyone would understand if she was on a nowhere trip. And yet, she is most definitely going places. Like I said, not necessarily grand places but she hasn’t ruled grandeur out either. At least I don’t think so.

She has placed some limitations on herself as we are all inclined to do, but her self-limitations are not substantial. She has done the limiting that so many young people do (that I hope to help change) but she has the ability to see the limits she’s set and to reflect on their validity.

Why does such a vast majority of the population limit themselves to the average life they see around them in such abundance? I use the word abundance here almost tongue in cheek because, although some people’s excellent, shining life is all about a house in the suburbs, two kids and a minivan, the proportion of people living that is way out of whack. I have to think that young people are just doing what they see other people doing instead of knowing how to look into themselves and discover what is truly for them. And that isn’t living with abundance. Do they really think average is for them – if so, great – or are they doing average because someone said, “Here are your instructions. Follow them to average-ness”?

So, the fact that this young woman has some of the limitations that come from taking instruction on ‘who you are’ is interesting but not disappointing purely because of her ability to reflect. I believe that personal reflection is something that should be taught. Teach youth to care for the environment in them as well as the environment they’re in and we’d have less people living in silent desperation, wondering why they don’t feel fulfilled.

During this interview, this wonderful young woman asked me how I know what I know and how she could learn about her ‘inner world’ and choosing emotions and being the master artist in her life. She could see that there is a world of life-skills out there that she doesn’t have and wanted to know how to find them.

And, that’s all I want to do. I want to spread the word that there are concrete things anyone can do to create the wonderful life they imagine and I want to give young people a chance at that information. The priority system that places mastery of the Periodic Table by every student, for example, above mastery of your own existence is seriously lacking. (Btw, I don’t want to harp on the school system. These things should be provided by every level of society, not just formal institutions of education).

My intended message for young people:

‘Here are the possibilities of what you can build for yourself. And here are some resources to help you create your life toolbox. Go fashion your wonderful life!’

Have you all hopped on the Create Your Own Reality band wagon?

2007-03-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

I've checked it out online some but I thought I'd conduct my own little poll:

Who's immersed themselves in the secret behing the movie 'The Secret'?
Who would like to immerse every last copy of 'The Secret' in the closest porcelain punch bowl?

I've got ads

2007-03-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

So, my experiment is going on. And, as a result of an unsubstantiated negative thought, I will be giving ads a try. Okay, I've applied to adsense and I'm waiting to see if I get accepted.

This all came about while I was refining the settings and the layout of this blog. See, I was looking through the options of what features I could have and, upon seeing the 'Adsense' option, immediately thought: "Ads are definitely a no. How will anyone take me seriously if I've 'sold-out' with ads on my blog?"

So, how do you all feel about ME deciding what YOU're going to think when you see ads on my blog? ;)

This is what my experiment is all about. I somehow 'knew' what everyone online would think about ads. Was I wrong? I don't know yet. But my preconcieved notion - based on absolutely nothing factual - was telling me what I could and couldn't do; limiting my options. And that is a seriously negative way to make a decision. As a result, you see my blog looking as it does. And, you know what, it's really not that big a deal.

I hope, anyway. The rules about ads are quite complex and, I may be in trouble with the powers that be for even discussion them in this post! If I'm not still here tomorrow, you'll know that I crossed the ad-discussion line.

Maiden voice-off

2007-03-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

Starting an online journal is something that I have done before and never have kept it up. I find myself researching other people's thoughts more than publishing my own any time I sit at the computer. And yet, I'm giving it another try with the hope that I will be able to store some of the creativity in my brain instead of just letting it spew into the Universe unrecorded.

The research that I do has to do with mundane questions like where to get the best winter jacket in an end of season sale as well as fascinating, reason-we-are-here questions like "What really is going on in the mind of a two year old?" My plan is to keep the mundane posts to a minimum and focus on the 'life questions' that keep me up at night. (I'm not up at night because I worry about them but because I do my best thinking when what I really want is to be blissfully thought-free).

So, my most recent questions that need answering are:

Why does our free education system offer students such nuggets of knowledge as the anatomy of an earth worm when, should any of them be interested, the secrets of succes and happiness are only available to those who can pay a life coach or who spend 20 years overworking their library card?
And why doesn't your average young person even know that there is an alternative to running your life on auto-pilot; to going where other people expect you to or where ever you end up by accident?

Yes, those are big questions. But I'm not one to make a complaint about 'the system' without having a suggestion for how to fix it. This isn't me being presumptuous. I don't mean that I know how to fix the school system. What I mean is that I have been that young person. I spent years wondering why, when I was surrounded by adults who were determined to tell me what to do on a minute to minute basis, why no one told me anything about how to manage what's inside of me. (And no, I'm not talking about gastrointestinal issues).

Some of you know what I mean. You're casting about for something that feels real; something that has meaning to you. And, as young people, you are (or were) used to being instructed and guided. The thing is, like me, you've been guided in all the outer areas of your life. If your family is at all religious, then you've been guided in that sense, too. But just because they've instructed you on what to believe, you still, likely, haven't been taught how to manage your beliefs and how to live and breathe what you believe every day and in everything you do.

So, all your outer actions and thoughts about the outer world have been handed to you on a platter - either the sliver variety or the dollar store special. Regardless of how mainstream or how off the wall your upbringing has been, chances are that you've never been taught how to think about your personal satisfaction and inner chatter that is constantly streaming in your head. Well, I'm here to say that our young people deserve better. Whether you're a young person now or an adult who had to make all of the personal-fulfillment discoveries as if no one had ever figured it out before, you can both relate to the lack of instruction we get in this area.

My suggestion for improving this is simple. We need to start teaching children, young people and adults who haven't already found the knowledge how their thoughts affect their feelings and how their mindsets direct the out come of their lives. And I'm willing to back up my suggestion. Here is a good first step to start taking control of the environment within us as well as the environment we're in.

The First Step:

We're so used to judging the environment we're in. Do I live in a good neighbourhood? Do I go to the right school / have the right job? Do I have the right stuff in my life? Do I have enough money? All of these things make up the environment we're in. How about reflecting on the environment in us? Are we having thoughts that make us light up or do our stomachs shrink and knot because of what we choose to tell ourselves? Are we 'should'ing ourselves? Are our streaming thoughts full of envy, negativity, limiting thoughts or unrealistic expectations?

I'm going to try an experiment and I invite anyone to join and let me know how it goes. For the next three days, I'm going to purposely judge my thoughts. I want to know what I'm up against. So, every time I aware of a streaming thought, I'm going to notice it. I'm going to really hear it and decide if its the truth or a lie.

I have to tell you that I've done this one before and I was blown away by how many lies I tell myself. And, we're not talking nice lies. I'm not mentally pontificating on the wonderous natures of the superwoman that is 'me'. No. Not even close. I'm going to share my result and I'd like to know what other people are telling themselves. So, if anyone at all reads this, try the experiment and let me know how you do.

Cheers,

Colleen, TheRealMe