Beca Lewis's Blog: Beca's Blog, page 17

It’s A Good Walk For A Daydream - The Shift

In our crazy busy life who has time for daydreaming? My dad used to call me a space cadet because I would often drift off while at the dinner table. I was daydreaming.

As I grew up, it got harder to find daydreaming places. We can’t daydream while driving our cars, even though I know that you, like me, have found yourself driving somewhere not remembering how you got there. Dangerous right?

I love daydreaming.

For me, daydreaming is the creative time where what I call Angel Ideas flood into my thinking. It doesn’t happen behind the computer, nor the TV. I can’t force an idea about what to write, or design, or figure out how to do something.

There needs to be a storehouse of ideas, the doors of which I can swing open and let the ideas flood out. I stock that storehouse in daydreaming time.

I have found small pockets of daydreaming heaven, like in the shower, but this year I unwittingly found the perfect long open space for it.

It started back in February when Del and I decided to walk while on vacation.

When we returned, I kept on walking. I thought I was walking for the health of it. It was a delight to discover that my knees had stopped hurting.

But, it turned out that wasn’t the real benefit.

It’s the walk into a daydream that is the reward.

It’s the full hour or more filled with ideas. I daydream how to design things, like the new room for our house, the garden, or a picture. I daydream business ideas, and how to do them, and how to share them. I daydream what I am going to write (like this Ezine).

It’s a safe time to let ideas flood into my thinking. I know how to walk, so do you.

I walk alone. I don’t walk with ear plugs. How can you hear those ideas when you are listening to someone else? I bring my phone for emergencies. I don’t use it to walk.

Some of you who walk dogs will tell me that it is the same. It’s not.

I see you walking your dogs. You walk at the dogs choice. She walks you. So do that walk, then, come back out again and walk for you.

When I was young, I walked to get away from things at home and school. Because I was making my own clothes, my daydreaming ran to designing my next outfit. Hey, I was a teenager.

Later, I started running for exercise. Sometimes I could get into the daydream zone, but more often I was trying to run.

Now that I have returned to walking, it is once again to get away; to get away from the details of life.

It’s just for me. No one else.

Before I go, I spend some quiet time in meditation. I noticed the difference. In meditation, I am watching the thoughts go by but not paying attention to them as I move towards the silence.

Walking – I welcome those thoughts. I have conversations with people and work things out with them, all in my own mind where it starts anyway. I let the answers to problems arrive and examine them to see what works or doesn’t work. I build things. I daydream about what might be called useless ideas that have no outcome other than I wanted to think about them.

I look forward to walking out the door each morning just before dawn breaks. There are days I feel the resistance (it’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s too muggy, it’s too early, it’s too late). But most of the time reminding myself that it is just for me is stronger than the resistance. By the time I cross the first street, I am grateful that I have given myself the gift of walking, of private time, of a walk into my daydreams.

If I see you walking, I will smile and say “morning” and I will be grateful that you too are having time just for yourself.

Walk into your daydream. It will bring you happiness and in the end, the rest of us will benefit from your storehouse of creative ideas.

Things That Help

I stopped wearing running shoes to walk. It made a huge difference. I got these. I love them!!

Once in a while, I check in to how I am walking. Here’s my run through list.

Thumbs forward – this helps keep the shoulders back

Think broad across the back

Feet pointed straight ahead

Shoulders down and relaxed

Eyes up and vision expanded

Breathe in and out through the nose with mouth shut

Stack shoulders on top of hips

Move forward from hips

Unclench hands

Easy arm swings

Head up

I walk where there are no sidewalks. I have to walk in the street. But there are very few cars, and I face them as they come at me, so I know they are coming, and I am always prepared to step aside onto the grass.

Surrender To The Best Possible Solution - The Shift

FOR WEEKS THE PHRASE “you can’t push the water” kept popping up in my thinking. I ignored it. I admired it. I wondered where it came from, and finally, I gave up and decided to explore the concept.

First the obvious. I tried imaging pushing water. I discovered that internal voice was right, you can’t push the water. What can you do instead?

I used to be a fish, or at least that is what my dad called me. I swam everywhere. My favorite was the week we would spend every summer at the ocean. Definitely, you learn to not push the water of the ocean. When a wave comes at you, you can dive into it and feel the exhilaration of popping up on the other side. Or you can ride the wave into shore and experience the sensation of flying, if only for a brief moment.

Definitely, can’t push that water.

While pondering the message, I watched our resident crows take turns bathing in the birdbath. They patiently waited on the rim of the birdbath and while the bathing crow splashed and flapped. They weren’t pushing water; they were playing with it.

We can freeze water, drink water, bathe in it, swim in it, attempt to control its flow, but we can’t push it.

So what? What does it mean in life?

As the idea of not pushing the water kept pushing at me, I first saw it as a metaphor for not fighting. Isn’t all forms of fighting, and yes, I am talking about the game and business of war – pushing the water?

It’s impossible. Go back to imagining pushing water. What happens? Isn’t that what happens in any war or fight with each other or with life itself?

Our Women’s Council has been spending the past few months focusing on the art of surrender. Surrender does not push the water. In this kind of surrender, we practice accepting the flow of life. Instead of fighting it we can dive into it, ride it, splash it, bath, float, all to our benefit. All ideas that produce a feeling of peace, or joy, or even exhilaration.

Surrendering is not giving up, or becoming a victim. Exactly the opposite. We become in control of what is happening by accepting that it is happening. We let the water, life, guide us to the best possible solution.

For a year Del and I tried selling our house while searching for one that we liked more. We were surprised that no one wanted to buy our house. But we were even more surprised when we couldn’t find one we liked more.

Have you ever sold a house? People have to walk through it to see it. Which means periodically I would have to leave the house and wait for the walk-through to be over. It was hard for me to surrender to that, but I did, not always graciously I admit.

One day I came home at the right time, and they were still there. I decided to practice surrender. Not push the water. It was hard. As I waited, I saw how much I wanted to go home and have them leave. Perhaps in the half hour, I managed to surrender only for a minute or so.

The outcome of even that small surrender? They bought the house.

That meant we had to surrender to the idea that we didn’t have anywhere to go. We decided to make it an adventure. Within a few days, I had many alternatives for us to choose from if we didn’t find a house in time.

A few days later we both had the impulse to surrender to the idea that the sale would not go through.

In fact, we discovered, we would be happy to stay in our house. And that is what happened.

The sale fell through; we were happy. The potential buyers were happy. And we decided to stay where we are and do something with the house we are in instead. Not pushing the water; riding the wave instead.

That phrase still won’t leave me alone. Probably because I have so much more to learn about the art of surrendering and letting life lead the way. I admit, though, as hard as surrendering can be, I am enjoying learning how to be a fish in life.

The outcome is much better than I could ever make happen by attempting to push the water.

A wonderful book about surrender by Michael Singer:

It’s Something Only You Can Do - The Shift

[image error] BACK IN THE CITY for a conference, I remember what it was like to live in one. East-side Chicago and downtown Los Angeles, my home for ten years, have different views but are the same in many ways.

Everyone is going somewhere. Runners, walkers, people heading to work, visitors, shopkeepers, homeless, all together. Energy everywhere. Beautiful buildings. Tiny stores and restaurants tucked into places you least expect. Diversity, getting along.

When I lived in Los Angeles, I never thought about mass deaths. In Chicago, after the horrendous things happening around the world, I did.

On the stage, at the conference I was attending, more than one black person told stories of how life was, and is, for them. Different than mine growing up in a small college town where white was all I knew, and safety was taken for granted.

I heard the idea that stories would be the only thing that changes people’s minds, and how things are. I listened as skilled storytellers told their stories, as professional storytellers cried on stage as they, and we, tried to understand what we could do to change the hearts and minds and actions of people steeped in fear and hate.

I asked myself if the stories we share would ever be enough. Will the stories you share ever be enough?

I asked myself, “What can I do to make a difference?”

This summer I have gone to a writer’s retreat in the hopes of becoming a better writer. I am taking a course on Adobe Illustrator in hopes of becoming a better artist. (I had to resist putting the word artist in quotes.) I wrote this message in a hotel room after attending the podcasters convention in Chicago with sixteen hundred other podcasters, in the hopes of sharing a better podcast.

Now with all that information, I am asking, “How do I fit it all into me trying to make a difference?”

I know I am not alone. Aren’t we all asking that question, and if you aren’t, shouldn’t you be?

We can’t be indifferent. We can not take sides. We can not, can not, can not, succumb to hate and fear. We have to learn how to understand each other. Listen to each other’s stories.

Hate and fear disappear into compassion when we understand.

We have to shift our point of view, and our lives, from a dualist and separate point of view, to one of understanding that we are all one.

I do hope to become a better writer, a better artist, a better podcaster because that is the way I hope to make a difference and bring light to the darkness of false beliefs.

Each of us has a gift meant to make a difference. Can I encourage you to use it now for the good of everyone?

Tell your story. Listen to other people’s stories. Together we can understand and make a difference in moving the world from hate and fear to love and kindness.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”

Don’t lose heart. Gain strength and courage from others who choose to do good. No matter how you choose to share love and kindness, it will be appreciated. It will make a difference.

It’s something only you can do. Do it now.

Do We Really Want To Be Independent? - The Shift

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Every nation celebrates some form of independence day. It’s a day to celebrate freedom, and no one can argue against freedom.

But, do we really want to be independent?

In order to answer this question for ourselves we need to look at what independence means. We think of independence as free; free to do our own thing, think for ourselves, and act for ourselves.

But, what about the part of independence that says we are not dependent on others, “not relying on another or others for aid or support.”

Here’s the question. How could we ever not be dependent on others?

The world is a compilation of many people, all offering their gifts and services that benefit everyone else. Sure, I am talking about all the good people of the world, which despite the news, are the majority of us.

My dad started me on this idea when he visited me in Venice, CA in the early 1970’s. I was claiming independence. He asked me where I got the food I was eating. Did I grow it myself? Did I produce the seed myself? Or didn’t I need to trace it back to the farmer, and all the people who brought it to me?

What about the couch I was sitting on. Perhaps I could make one but did I go to the forest, cut the tree, grow the cotton … well, you get the idea.

We are not independent in that way, and I think we need to stop pretending that we are. I stopped that day. I started thinking about community.

I loved my Venice community. It provided the perfect example of the art of dependence. The entire court that we lived on shared a washing machine and dryer that lived outside one of our homes. We watched each other’s kids. We taught little impromptu classes to each other.

I taught crafts and dance, and a English professor neighbor led a readers group.

We had monthly block parties. I was dependent on them. They were dependent on me.

Throughout the years, I have had to learn how to give up my idea that I can do everything myself. Not only that, I have had to admit I don’t want to do everything myself. The power of community cannot be replaced.

All our family gathered to celebrate my mom’s ninetieth birthday. It was an amazing experience to watch the family arrive at the party and take on a piece of putting it together. The part they most wanted to do.

Kids stood on tables and strung streamers and balloons. Adults prepared food. We were all dependent on each other. It could not have been done with just one person trying to make it work.

The party was a success because we came together, dependent and yet unique. And that’s what made it a day we will all remember.

We need each other. We need to bounce ideas off of each other. We need to watch over each other. My talents provide for others, and their talents provide for me.

Never in our world will we ever be able to say that we can withdraw from the welfare of our neighbor, whether that neighbor is next door, or across the ocean, or someday across the stars.

Yes, let’s celebrate independence from tyranny. Not just the tyranny of oppressive leadership, but the internal tyranny that makes us judges of first ourselves and then others.

That is true freedom.

And then let’s celebrate our dependence on the kindness of others, on the good heart of a friend, and for the ideas that others have that change our world for the better.



No one person or people is better than another. We are a community. We live on just one planet. We need each other.

For this, I am grateful. On this I am dependent.

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right. Peter Marshall

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We Can Choose To Dance In The Light Of Love - The Shift

[image error] Einstein said, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

It’s the power of imagination in action.

But, what are we imagining? Are we imagining hate and fear, or love and kindness.

Whichever one we choose, we will get more of it.

Sometimes when we think we are doing the right thing, we are really responding to a version of hate or fear. These two strong emotions can catch us unawares and make us vulnerable to choosing a way of thinking that does not match our desire to live with love and kindness.

Sometimes we choose hate and fear because we are afraid that choosing love and kindness will make us victims of those that live in the survival mode of hate and fear.

Often it seems that way. However, Mr Rogers told us this, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Helpers. We can be helpers responding with love and kindness. In order to do so we have to begin with the understanding that love and kindness overrides hate and fear. Do we really want to live in a world that isn’t true?

No, we don’t. We want to imagine love and kindness in action.

We can choose to imagine everyone responding with love and kindness. We can imagine every child feeling the embrace of a community based in love and fear and not competition, separateness, hate and fear. We can put our talents to use to ensure that this is what every child experiences.

We can imagine the light of love filling the world. We can imagine dancing with the light.

Imagine opening your heart without judgment. Imagine understanding that people think differently than you do. Imagine understanding and supporting those with different life styles.

Are we so self important that we think the way that we are, is the only way the heart of the universe expresses itself?

Don’t let those that speak of, and preach, hate and fear grab your emotion and pull you into that realm of imagination.

Because, yes, they are using imagination too. They ask us to imagine how bad it is. Imagine how bad it can get. Imagine that it is those other people’s fault that things aren’t working well.

Let others take that path if they wish to. But, don’t take it yourself.

Find kindred spirits and imagine love and kindness with them.

It takes diligent practice because the emotions of hate and fear are broadcast everywhere, from gossip to the news. It takes consistent discipline to not agree with hate and fear. But, we can do it.

We can dance in the light of love. We can dance with the imagination of love and kindness. We can listen to the music of the stars that sing of the infinite love that creates and governs all that we see and know, and all that we have yet to experience.

Imagine what will happen as you inspire just one more person to join you, and then another.

Evil, hate and fear, will eventually kill itself, because hate and fear is self destructive. Let’s hasten its demise by not feeding it. And for sure, let’s not be part of it.

Stephen Hawkins said, “The start guarantees the outcome every time.” There’s the answer right there. Decide to start with love and kindness.

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How Not To Live In Paradise - The Shift

I told my host that I had watched the sun rise over Lake Erie and he replied, “Yes, it’s paradise here. Not many of them left.”

His statement reminded me of the times I have felt that I lived in paradise. I felt that way when I lived in Hawaii and watched the cruise ships go by. They were visiting paradise. I was living there. Or when we lived in Idaho with its beautiful lakes and rivers. Or when we visited Vermont and its rolling hills, or Colorado and its soaring mountains. All paradise to me.

Which raises a few questions. Is paradise a location? Can we visit it as I was doing that day at Lake Erie? Can we reserve our spot? Are there really only a few places left that can be called paradise?

If where we live doesn’t feel like paradise whose fault is it? Can we change the way we see it? Can we do practical things to bring it closer to our version of paradise?



I purpose that paradise is not a location at all.

Let’s start with my host who believes that he lives in paradise. It is for him. He planned it that way. He choose to make it so. He finds his happiness in making his retirement full by providing a B&B for visitors.

What if he hated living in a small town by the lake? A town that is so cold in the winter most people can’t stay, and need a second home elsewhere—presumably not paradise? What if he felt trapped by circumstances?

With that point of view and state of mind, it wouldn’t matter how beautiful the place is, it wouldn’t be paradise for him.

It’s a great way to not live in paradise; hate where you live.

The reverse is also true.

We could live anywhere and if we chose it, made it beautiful in our eyes. If we chose the point of view and state of mind that it is paradise for us, it could be.

In fact the definition of paradise gives the jig away—”a beautiful, pleasant, or peaceful place that seems to be perfect, a place that is perfect for a particular activity or person who enjoys that activity, a state of complete happiness, a place or state of bliss, felicity,or delight, heaven.”

This means that paradise is open to anyone at any time.

However, we aren’t trained that way. We are trained for a future paradise, or a paradise available to only a lucky few.

It’s a great way to not live in paradise. Not realize that it only takes a shift of perception to experience it.

Did you follow the boys who climbed Mount Everest without oxygen? They were in their paradise. For most of us it would be a horrible place to be. It was harsh and yet beautiful to Adrian and Cory. What made it paradise for them was their point of view and state of mind.

We don’t have to go to such great heights to find our paradise. We can start with where we are right now. Check out the nearest tree, or flower, or piece of art. Or, look around your room right now and find something that is beautiful in its own way. For a moment, make it your whole world.

Find a way to make where you are in this moment a paradise. That way your thinking is already living there. So, even if the location you find yourself in isn’t the perfect paradise for you, the universe can easily make the switch to one that more closely matches your desires.

Remember, it doesn’t matter where we live. If we don’t have a paradise point of view and state of mind, it won’t be paradise.

And it doesn’t matter where we live if we have a paradise point of view and state of mind, because it will be.

Get In The Boat, The World Is Not Broken - The Shift

[image error] I sat down on an exercise bike at the gym, and noticed that the right peddle was missing, so I moved to the one on its right. Next a friend sat down on the bike, noticed that it was broken, and choose another bike.

Then Del sat down on the bike and started peddling. The bike wasn’t broken for him.

A few days later I saw a woman sitting on the broken bike pedaling way. It wasn’t broken for her either.

The world appears to be broken.

It’s so bad I don’t want to hear any side of it. I don’t want to hear the arguments, people claiming to be right, while others claim that they are wrong.

It’s absolutely horrible. The only people who might be enjoying it are the people thinking either that they can fix it, or break it some more.

It’s the same thing, either way.

For you and me we have to do something different. See I figure if you are reading this you are sick of it too. We have to start seeing the world as not broken.

It reminds me of Noah and the flood. He built a boat.

We have to build a boat too. We have to build a boat that we all get into and out of these rising waters of human fighting and fixing.

Let’s go back to the bike. It doesn’t matter what scenario you choose about why I saw a broken bike and Del did not. It is always going to be about perception.

It could be the perception that I was blind to the fact that it wasn’t broken because I had a point of view about the gym that made me see a poorly maintained bike. I saw what I believed.

Or it could be that there are other dimensions and realities that shifted revealing the unbroken bike. I had to have that perception to have this be a possibility too. (And yes, I do have that perception.)

So let’s build a boat called Good. In that boat we all stay in the perception that unbreakable omnipresent Good is the only power.

Let’s not have our human viewpoint be part of the making of this boat. We’ll simply agree that Good is the only power, and stick with it.

We won’t get out and ride the waves of despair, or fear, or curiosity about evil. We won’t let the wave of thinking we can fix something (it’s not broken remember) pull us off the boat.

If by chance one of us gets pulled in, or falls in, or gives up, we reach out and pull them back on the boat.

Doesn’t matter if we are not sure this is possible. Doesn’t matter what we call the power of Good. Doesn’t matter if we don’t see how this will help.

We just have to stick together, no divisions, no judgment. We choose and stay with the perception, point of view, state of mind, awareness that Good Is The Only Power.

We have to give up what we think is best, and let Good re-adjust what we are perceiving.

Why? Because, even if Good isn’t the only power, choosing that perception makes it so. Not the man in the sky god, the intelligent force that is behind the cosmos that is only Good.

What we perceive to be reality is what we experience. I don’t say this to make it true. It is true. Quantum physics gives us a good guideline why this is true.

What do we have to lose by choosing the perception of unbreakable infinite Good? Nothing. We have everything to lose if we don’t.

It isn’t hiding our heads in the sand and not doing something about the injustices we encounter.

It is simply doing it all from the boat of Good.

Noah rode out the waves, and they eventually receded. He trusted in that provision.

Riding the boat of Good we can survive the rising flood waters, but we can do more than that. We can start doing something to stop the flood.

We acknowledge global warming and insist that something be done, even if it rocks our personal boat for awhile.

We stop supporting any idea that divides people into their nationality, religious beliefs, or food eating habits.

We don’t build walls to separate. We take down the walls of ignorance and build the bridge of understanding.

We stop seeing ourselves as just human beings. We see instead the spiritual essence of ourselves and others.

And here’s the deal. It’s not that we are healing the world. The world doesn’t need healing. It is what we see, how we act, what we say, and what we do that needs to be healed.

Let’s start with the man in the mirror. Then together we can lift more people into the boat while pulling the plug on the rising waters. We can be the tipping point towards only Good.

So get in the boat, the world is not broken.

Don’t Make It So Hard To Do - The Shift

I have been binge listening to podcasts. All kinds of podcasts, including mine where I talk to people from all walks of life about how and why they shifted the story, or a story, of their life.

So many common themes crop up.

It doesn’t matter whether they are extremely famous, or just like you and me. We all deal with the same issues, many of which I have written about before, and I promise to write about again.

But, let’s start with one that always gets in the way of doing what we dream of doing and is really so much fun to get rid of it.

It’s the one where we make things hard to do.

For now, let’s not deal with why we do it, let’s just move to the fun part of not doing it.

When you have an idea to do something, from cleaning your closet to building a new business, to going on an adventure, there are a few things that happen.

First, the human mind inputs all the possibilities of how hard it is going to be.

It starts worrying about what might happen, how much money and time it will take, how hard it will be, and what will people say. Often this results in deciding that it will be just too hard to do.

And life goes into the stuck mode – again.

Stop it. Literally stop it. Stop listening to that talk.

Those are not your thoughts.

It’s what Steven Pressfield in his book calls resistance. Whatever name you call it, just let it keep rambling along with paying any attention to it.

Instead, make a decision based on what you want. Take out the logistics of doing it to make that decision.

Do you want to clean your closet, build a new business, go on an adventure?

Say yes or no. Yes?

Now deal with each aspect of that decision that has to do with the logistics of it.

Each logistic piece needs a decision. One at a time.

Along the way, you may decide to you don’t want to do this thing after all. But, you will have a clearer vision of what you do want to do without all the head garbage getting in the way.

Dividing the decision from the logistics starts that process.

But, there is more. And here are two ideas that will help.

Keep asking yourself, is there an easier way? Do I have to do it that way? What if I did it this way?
Next, break out the doing of it into tiny chunks.

Start with five minutes.

Just do five minutes of it. Every day. The chunks may grow into bigger chunks, but start with five.

Five minutes moves the human mind away from always making what we want to do harder than necessary, and tricks it.

That’s the fun part. We get to trick our human mind, because really that is not who we are. We are much more than that.

Ideas come from someplace other than the human brain. We all have had the experience of having an idea float in for us to use ( or abuse). Liz Gilbert in does a masterful job of talking about this process.

Whether you call it the Infinite, or God, or the Universe, or the term I often use, Angel Ideas, they are ours to keep and use for our benefit.

Examine each to see if you want to keep it.

Make a decision to follow the idea, without including the logistics in the decision.

Turn the logistics into one decision at a time.

Keep asking if there is an easier way.

Break it down into chunks of tiny times.

Oh, and stop believing that voice in your head tells you the truth and is you. It doesn’t and it isn’t.

Listen instead to your heart, your gut, the still small voice within, and then and only then, use your intellect to accomplish what the heart wants.

See – fun!

Let’s go. Make it easy, and play!

Need help with your shift? I’m here to help. Or classes here.

Beauty As A Key To Heart Based Success - The Shift

The lilac-purple color peaking out from behind the rock was so beautiful I had to go look to find out what it was.

Tucked into the corner of my garden a small grouping of phlox was blooming. I spent a few minutes stooped down next to it, admiring its beauty. I even resorted to petting and talking to it. I thanked it for growing and expressing itself so beautifully and completely.

And then it hit me. This plant was completely successful. You might think the plant had no choice but to be successful, but then, you might not know plants as well as you think.

This plant chose to be doing its job in nature. It chose to provide us, who see so little, with a stunning display of beauty as part of the package.

I sat down beside this humble plant and asked myself, “What if providing beauty was a definition of success?”

That meant the hours in the garden with the intent of making it more beautiful, and providing more ways to see beauty, was a completely successful day at work.

That meant I could choose to assist, create, and support beauty as my intent every day, and if I accomplished that in some small measure I was successful.

That meant keeping the house orderly, cleaning up after myself, and making sure our house was comfortable and beautiful was not maintenance that took time I could use to be more successful, but was success itself.

What if we choose to make assisting, creating, and supporting beauty as a necessary ingredient of success?

Would we create shopping centers with acres of parking with only a few trees and a smattering of flowers by the door?

Would we design buildings that are square blocks with a window or two that don’t even open?

Would we put junk in our yards and in our woods? Would we create to throw away?

What if all those activities were seen and treated as the antithesis of success, and instead the house with the well tended garden is what is revered and honored ?

What if spending time creating in all art forms just to be part of the creation of beauty meant that at the end of the day we could say to ourselves, “This was a successful day.”

What would change?

Nature is successful in every measure of success. It does its job of proving us with a planet filled with water, air, and an infinite display of unique and extraordinary beauty.

What if we stopped abusing it while trying to become successful?

What if we made all decisions based not only on how it affects others for seven generations, but with an answer of “yes” to the question, “Is it beautiful?”

Wouldn’t life be filled with more mindfulness and kindness?

Wouldn’t there be less need for people to lie, cheat, be greedy, and choose violence as a solution?

Sometimes it feels as if there is so much wrong in the world that we fall victim to the temptation to believe that we can’t do anything about it.

We don’t need to believe this. It’s not true. So let’s start proving it.

Knowing that beauty comes in many forms and depends on how one is seeing it, let’s start by being conscious of it.

Let’s imitate nature and make sure that everything we do contains an element of creating and providing beauty for everyone – equally.

Let’s spend more time with nature. Let’s take our children into nature.

Let’s allow it to guide us into healing ourselves of the false identity of fear and greed, and choose beauty as the basis of our identity and as a key to a truly successful life.

Your Heart Is The Key To Your Success - The Shift

I CAN’T STOP THINKING about success. Perhaps it is because it is in our face all the time. You know, the kind of success that is measured by numbers. How many followers, how much money, how many books, how many people are your friends, or how much do you weigh?

Success by fame. Success by the size of your house. Success measured.

We are bombarded, literally, with emails, ads, and social media promotions that claim success is found only when we follow their prescription for it.

We pay dearly for that kind of success. Not just pay for it with money, but pay for it with our time that could be spent doing something that brings joy to our hearts, and peace to our lives.

If I pay too much attention to the measured idea of success, it makes me crazy. It makes me feel bad about myself, because I don’t measure up.

And I can’t believe that is success. Success can’t be a numbers game, measured by amount, size, or fame. Success can’t mean my success should look like yours.

There are many people who agree. People who don’t think life is a paint by numbers kit, and who don’t color within the lines. People who don’t participate in the craziness of greed, jealousy, or competition to be the winner.

What if success was as simple as answering “yes” to the question: “Are you happy?”

As I interview guests for my Shift The Story podcast, I discover more people determined to find success that is not measured by numbers, but felt within the heart.

Not one of them has a life that looks like another. They have asked the question, “Why should my success look like yours?”

But, there is one thing that is central to all true success. It is the core intent of choosing to do the right thing.

Our intent has to include all creation in our planning. To live as if everyone is equal, not just say the words, live the words. To pay attention to our actions. To notice what our actions say about ourselves, our priorities, and beliefs.

This subject can’t be covered in just one blog. So I won’t. I just want to set the stage to continue to talk about the idea of success. It’s not new. The Shift has always been about shifting to who we really are, which is the essence of success.

I think it is possible for each of us to follow our own internal rhythm. We can learn to trust the Divine enough to know that we are always provided for, our needs always met. We would see this more effectively when we stop measuring what it should look like.

Yes, it takes work. It takes time. But, no one can sell us a short cut. Actually, when we stop tuning into the noise of outward success I think we will all be surprised to find that we know what success means to us. Together, we can walk that path, and choose to live within the core of love, rather than the shell of fear.

To me a perfect guide for this idea is what Einstein said. The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth.

Kindness. Could there be a more important quality to live and express? Listening, and looking for it we will find it everywhere. This could be our focus rather than protecting ourselves against everyone else.

The world is filled with examples of kindness. What about these two men who stayed behind to take care of the senior citizens when their caretakers took off to take care of themselves. Take a moment to listen!

Wouldn’t you prefer to hang out with them, then the people measuring success and life by numbers?

Before we make any decision, let’s ask ourselves, “Is it kind, is it beautiful, is it true?” This way we will keep walking the path of true success. Success that can’t be measured, but is always known within the heart.

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“I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves — this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts — possessions, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me contemptible.” ― Albert Einstein,