M.J. Blehart's Blog, page 42

How Might We Use the New Year for New Positivity?

The new year is an excellent time to start fresh – if you so choose.

Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

It’s hard to believe that 2021 is coming to a close.

Seriously – how are we less than a week from the start of 2022 already?

The past 2 years have been utterly unusual for everyone. The global pandemic forever changed the world in ways we still haven’t fully realized. We have seen utter extremes between the best in some people and the worst in others.

Life, for most, has never been so uncertain. Despite the uncertainty, many people have used that to make various changes to their life experiences.

Many people learned just how meaningless their job was – or certain expectations of their job – and either left for better or forced change. Some took the uncertainty and used it to start and build businesses or pursue dreams long ignored or shunted to that place of “when I have time” or the like.

I used the uncertainty of 2020 and 2021 to expand my writing practice. In two years, I have published 9 novels in two different sci-fi series, as well as a standalone fantasy, too.

Some people, when faced with all this uncertainty, have not been able to make, find, and/or create anything positive. I know lots of reasons why this might be the case.

Some people need a solid impetus, a thing they can put their finger on – tangible or intangible – to begin. Why not use the new year to find and/or create some new positivity – and with that, new opportunities?

It is NEVER too late

One thing many people get hung up on – at least in my experience – is missing out.

They didn’t do whatever it was “then.” The time passed and they failed to get into it. Life passed them by.

If you believe that – you’ll be right. But so long as you are alive – it is NEVER too late.

I’ve had this experience. I have felt that sense of “why didn’t I do that then” or “did I miss my chance” on many occasions and in different ways. In truth – I have come to learn that it’s never too late.

That’s why people overweight for 5 or 6 decades can trim down. It’s why 80-somethings can attend and graduate college. This is the reason you can start writing, painting, or performing at any time in your life.

It is never too late – so long as you are here.

Admittedly – it can become more difficult, a greater challenge, or otherwise harder now than it might have been before. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late – nor that the time wasn’t right for whatever it is then – while it’s perfect now.

You can choose to try that new thing, create that business, change your diet, start exercising, or any other positive change now. And the coming new year – if you need the impetus for this – is an excellent starting point.

As the classic Chinese proverb goes,

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” 

New year, new opportunity

Let’s be honest here. Everyone expected – after the many insanities of 2020 – for 2021 to be a damned sight better. For some – it was. For many – it was just as uncertain and crazy as the prior year had been.

Even if it was better for you – odds are, you still felt the sense of uncertainty and discomfort that the year kept reiterating. Just when we thought COVID numbers were declining – a new variant hit like a wave. The government changed – but the politics and their extremism sure as hell didn’t.

Here we are again – the end of the year. And let’s be blunt – it’s looking just as uncertain and unknown moving into 2022 as it was heading into 2021.

But then, we have a choice. Continue to lament what we don’t know, the things out of our control, and all the uncertainty that come with it – or make new choices. Seek and/or find opportunities. Decide to take life for a ride rather than let life take you for a ride.

This isn’t about doing anything unsafe or foolish or unwise. This is about choosing to see this new year as a new opportunity. A chance for a new, fresh start.

The best way to make use of that is by finding and/or creating positivity.

Consciousness creates reality. When you apply this to your life experience, you gain the ability to make choices and decisions to direct your life in the ways you desire to.

No, it’s not easy. But it’s utterly worthwhile.

There will be good days and bad days. But every day – like every year – can be the rallying cry. Last year maybe didn’t go how I’d have liked it – but this year is a new chance and opportunity. Maybe yesterday didn’t go how I’d have liked it to – but today is a new day, a new chance, new opportunity.

And that – when all is said and done – is all that positivity really is.

Photo by Gia Oris on UnsplashPositivity for the new year need not be grand

If you anticipate the coming new year with dread, expecting the worst, or otherwise negative – you’re likely to get just that.

On the other hand – if you see the coming new year with potential and full of possibilities, without expectation, and otherwise positive – that’s more likely to be your experience.

Positivity, in its truest form, is non-toxic. It is undemanding and comes with little to no expectation. All that positivity is is an attitude and approach to life. It’s choosing to look for potential and possibility rather than see lack and uncertainty. Positivity is making effort to control what we can (like our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions) versus letting ourselves be controlled by external forces.

There is ALWAYS a choice. While it can seem easy to decide not to decide and just let life happen – that comes with a price. Extra uncertainty, dissatisfaction, and a sense of difficulty and challenge tend to be what you get.

Sometimes it’s hard to be positive. And life is seldom easy. But we always have a choice. We can always seek and/or find positivity in everything that we experience.

The new year is just around the corner. If you have been struggling, feeling challenged, or otherwise uncomfortable – why not use this opportunity for change to seek new positivity and get the most you possibly can out of your life experience?

Seriously – why not?

Using the new year to find and/or create positivity isn’t hard

It begins with mindfulness of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.

Knowing that you might need a push to start making changes in your life – or some sort of landmark – you can use the new year as that opportunity. When we choose to face the uncertainty and other negatives around us and seek out, find, and otherwise strive to generate positivity – that ultimately empowers us.

When you are empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and spreads to other people. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity – a feedback loop everyone can take part in.

Then, together, we build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That becomes the impetus to improve our lives for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate even more positivity and gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of pure positivity. That positivity can generate even greater positive energies – and that is ultimately empowering for all.

Everyone is worthy and deserving of all the good we desire. 

This is the four hundred and twelfth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.

Please visit here to explore all of my published works – both fiction and non-fiction.

Please take a moment to sign up for my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive a free eBook.

The post How Might We Use the New Year for New Positivity? appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

Who is Blocking My Energy Flow and Why Does it Matter That It’s Me?

If I am blocking my energy flow it impacts everything I desire to do and achieve.

Photo by Christian Lunde on Unsplash

There are two truths in this Universe that I believe without question.

Change is the only constant in the Universe.Everything is made of energy that is constantly changed

Recently, I learned that change is the only reason we exist. If the elements that make us up did not change – we would not be.

Energy is what makes us. In fact, energy is what makes everything. From the tangible to the intangible, from trees and people to air and subatomic particles – it’s all energy at its core. To be this, that, or the other thing, the energy has been changed.

Energy has a frequency. Like tuning a manual dial on an old analog radio, sometimes it’s all static – while other times it’s a station playing music, talk, or what-have-you. Like that older analog radio – energy can be tuned to different frequencies.

Not only does energy have frequency – but it’s also in a constant state of motion. It flows. Sometimes that flow is faster than the speed of light. Other times, it’s so slow that it appears fixed and unmoving. But it is still in flow.

Even the energy that makes me into who I am – both tangible and intangible – is flowing. In some ways, it takes up residence with me. But mostly it flows through, with, and around me – all at the same time.

However – blockages can, do, and will happen.

How does energy get blocked?

To visualize this, think of a rock in a river. Water can only flow around it or over it. It is blocked from flowing through.

Of course, in time, the water will either erode the rock away or overpower it with enough pressure to draw it into the flow. This is true of energy, too.

This is a natural example. There are fixed points both material and immaterial that can and will block energy flowing. Most are obvious – people, plants, animals, machines, and so on. Likewise, some energies can and do block others, just like certain invisible elements counter one another (take magnets, for example).

Human beings have some vestige of control regarding our relationship with energy. Rather than a river, in many ways, we’re more like a faucet and drain. And just like both a facet and a drain – we can get clogged and blocked.

How?

Most people are utterly unaware of their connection to the energies of the Universe. They simply are. Though some search for a deeper meaning – that tends to turn focus without rather than within.

Yes, we are made of energies both within and without. Yet all energy in the Universe comes from the same source. It simply transmutes from form to form to form both tangible and intangible.

It is, I believe, our general lack of connection and understanding of this that causes us to block our energies.

How does energy get blocked? I believe that this is because we get distracted, distressed, and disconnected from this truth. Factors both internal and external pull us apart metaphorically.

How I might be blocking my energy flow

All the energy in the entire Universe originated from one point. Maybe you call it God, or the Powers that Be, or just look to whatever was when the Big Bang ultimately changed energy to its many, many forms.

Whatever form energies take – tangible or intangible – it will eventually reform, shift, and change. Sometimes, it returns to formlessness and wherever it originated from. Other times, it shifts like water becoming steam when heated.

Because of how I perceive myself – I am an individual. This is true. But simultaneously, I am energetically the same as you, the keyboard my fingers are flying across, the air I breathe, and even the thoughts I am striving to share here.

As I do what I do, I am either flowing with the energies inside and outside of myself – or standing against them in some way or other.

For example – when I do something I’d prefer not to do or something that doesn’t feel right for me – I’m standing against the flow.

There are times this is a good idea. Some energies that might try to overwhelm you should be resisted. There are times when you’re actively working to make a change that you will stand against the flow of the energies within and without.

However – if this is not intentional, and you do it repeatedly – it becomes habitual. Bad habits are a form of blocked energy flow.

The only person who can change my habits is me. So, if I have created something that causes a block in my energies – I am blocking my energy flow.

Why does it matter if I am blocking my energy flow?

Because blocked energy can have consequences both within and without. They can be both material and immaterial, too.

One example – money. Negative beliefs I hold onto about making money, having money, using money, and the like can block it.

Look at all the messages we get from the world that call this idea bullshit. You must work hard to make money. Only people who do X, Y, and Z are worthy of money. Money doesn’t grow on trees. Only doctors, lawyers, and business moguls make real money. Writers and artists only make money if they get discovered. You are unworthy of money – unless you do this thing or that.

Look familiar? Accepting any one of the above statements as true creates a blockage.

I know that I believe or used to believe more than one of these.

When I block the flow of money to my life – I get stressed. That stress can create depression and anxiety. That, in turn, can make me physically sick.

This is why it matters if I am blocking my energy flow. The consequences might start small – but ultimately can end my life.

Overly-dramatic? I don’t think so. How many examples are out there of someone who was energetically blocked – got diagnosed with an incurable disease and told death was imminent – who then changed something, unblocked themselves, and became well again? Lots. Blocked energy is the root of our issues.

Photo by pan xiaozhen on UnsplashHow do I stop/undo blocking my energy flow?

I must admit that I haven’t got a straight answer. But that’s because, frankly, there isn’t one. My blocked energy is not the same as yours. Or anyone else’s. Thus, no one-size-fits-all answer is possible.

However – there are some tried and true methods both myself and others have used to break blockages. All are non-invasive and can do no harm.

To begin – I need to recognize that I am blocked. For some, they turn to the Chakras and all they represent to see which might be blocked. (Each Chakra is associated with things like communication, self-worth, physical wellness or an element of the body, and other tangible and intangible notions).

Then, I need to acknowledge the blockage. This can be challenging because I live in a society obsessed with blaming. Don’t be accountable – blame this, that, or the other thing.

Blame gets us nowhere. All it does is distract, displace, and disconnect us. Sure, I can blame my mom for some of the things she said while I was an impressionable child causing me to create blockages impacting how money flows to me (or not) now. Does that do anything to correct it? Did she tell me to hold onto it for 40 years? No. The only one who can change it and unblock my energy flow is me.

That’s why acknowledging it is a necessary step. I recognize the blockage and acknowledge that it’s mine.

Now what? There are multiple ways to unblock this. These are some of what I have done. All can be done separately or combined.

Meditation

Meditating is putting myself into the flow of energy. I can do this sitting cross-legged, in a chair, walking, showering – or whatever. The effort of doing the act for as little as 5 minutes can open energetic flow.

It’s not about getting lost in a void of no-mind, per se. It’s about being present and connecting fully mind, body, and spirit. That’s why there are lots of different mediation options.

Deep breathing

Airways clog. Air is a physical form of energy. Opening your lungs and diaphragm with deep breathing for as little as a 2-minute practice can open the flow of your energy.

Exercise

When your heart rate is elevated and your blood flows – so does your energy. Blood is a physical form of energy – and its flow is essential to life. Air and blood are interconnected energetic elements. Thus, exercise can unblock energy.

Therapy

Sometimes therapy is necessary to get the energy flowing. You might need to talk out a problem, work out trauma, or dig deep into your psyche to find what’s blocking you. There is no shame in seeking therapy to heal your mental, emotional, and spiritual self.

Prayer

I am not a religious man. But for some people, the act of prayer connects them to something greater. Something out there that brings them comfort. That can open you up energetically.

There are 2 wrong ways to do this

Fortunately, to my knowledge, there are only 2 wrong ways to do this.

The first is to seek the solution wholly outside of yourself.

Of course, there are things I don’t know that can help stop me from blocking my energy flow. There is always something new to be learned. But nothing outside of myself can or will unblock my energies. Ways and means can be found without – but can only be used and applied within.

If I try to find someone or something outside of myself to unblock my energy flow for me – it won’t be unblocked. It’s my block – so I am the only one who can unblock it.

The second is to cause hurt or harm to another.

If I think the only way that I can unblock the flow of my energy is by harming someone else – literally or figuratively – it won’t work. Intentionally taking and leaving nothing for anyone else – tangible or intangible – creates more blockage.

If my actions to unblock myself involve causing harm to anyone else – I’m making it worse for myself and all, not better. Why? Because everything and everyone is energy. Denying this – or denying someone’s right to it – harms me as much as it harms them. All I am doing is creating more blocks.

This is why I work to spread kindness, compassion, and empathy. I share my path and the journey I am taking as part of going with the flow of my energy. I still get blocked – because I’m only human. But I am the only one who is capable of unblocking my energy flow.

It all comes down to energy and working to flow with it. And energy is EVERYTHING.

How do you perceive and work with this?

This is the five-hundred and twenty-second exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.

Please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list. Fill in the info and click the sign-up button to the right and receive your free eBook. Thank you!

The post Who is Blocking My Energy Flow and Why Does it Matter That It’s Me? appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

For Some, Positivity is Extra Hard This Time of Year

It can be extra difficult to remember that positivity and all its elements are already inside us.

Photo by christopher lemercier on Unsplash

For some people, the holidays are the best time of the year.

Get-togethers with family and friends; amazing meals and treats; notions of joy, cheer, goodwill, and the like – and presents, of course.

Yet for some people, the holidays are the worst time of the year.

Reminders of loneliness; incompatibility of non-Christian religions; struggles to meet expectations; dealing with family and the ways they trigger you – and other unpleasant experiences.

I was raised Jewish in the predominantly Lutheran suburbs of Minneapolis, MN. Throughout elementary and middle school, we were the only Jewish family in the neighborhood. The awkwardness of many of the kids in the neighborhood during the holidays was palpable.

I spent the holiday season of 1999 in a rehab facility after getting hit by a car crossing a street. The nurse’s station got just 1 radio station – and they played Christmas music 24/7. It was a veritable form of torture – since my room was immediately off the nurse’s station.

Still, the idea of the spirit of the season – peace, joy, love, family – is one of positivity. I’m fond of that aspect.

But the seedy underbelly of the holiday season has been getting more and more impactful over the years. The increasingly insistent consumerism; faux outrage over a non-existent “War on Christmas”; music, ads, and all other Christmas-related things dominating the landscape earlier and earlier every year; and the unbridled entitlement displayed with ever-increasing belligerence on the part of normally decent people.

Finding and/or creating positivity is no different this time of year than any other time. But it can be a lot harder.

Stop the insanity!

Let’s face it – lots of people get crazy this time of year.

They spend ludicrous amounts of money on gifts and decorations. There are added pressures and expectations for giving time, energy, attention, and more from family, friends, coworkers, etc. Then, regular happenings are interrupted for this, that, or the other thing in the name of the holiday season.

There is a lot of pressure to get things right and to meet and exceed expectations. Is it any wonder suicides increase during the holiday season?

Yet each of us has a choice. It may not feel like it – but we do. We can choose to be overwhelmed by it all. Or not.

Yes, it’s fair to say that you might experience pushback, confusion, upset, and other consequences if you choose to put yourself and your mental health first. Hence, you might choose to compromise to avoid conflict with some.

I’m fairly convinced that there is no way to escape this. Having never left the USA (apart from Canada and Mexico), I don’t know if the dominant attitude of the holiday season is the same elsewhere. But then, also, escaping the country for 3 months is impractical.

That said – you do have choices and options available to you. For example, you can avoid malls and big-box stores, as well as commercial television from October to January. However, given the nature of most local communities, you’ll still know it’s the holidays – and have to face this in one way or another.

Fortunately – you can.

Finding and/or creating positivity comes from within

Even in the face of the holiday season and all its added insanity – you have the power to find and/or create positivity in your life.

I return here to the idea of the spirit of the season. Peace, joy, and love. I would add to these kindness, compassion, and empathy.

All of these are elements of positivity. Here’s the really good news – every one of them starts within and does not come from without.

Mindfulness – conscious awareness of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions – puts you in touch with your mindset/headspace/psyche self. And that is where peace, joy, love, kindness, compassion, and empathy live.

These things that are part of the idea of the spirit of the season are internal – not external. This has, unfortunately, been increasingly hijacked by various outside forces both benign and malevolent. Ideas exist that without giving until it hurts, rampant consumerism, and faux displays of cheer – you can’t have these good things.

Nothing could be further from the truth. You do have them. They are in you. Inside of you is where peace, love, joy, compassion, kindness, and empathy live.

Finding and/or creating positivity comes down to finding your inner sense of love, joy, peace, et al. It’s not something to be sought in the world at large, or that you can buy. It’s in you.

And you are worthy and deserving of it.

Photo by Louis Hansel on UnsplashThe biggest lie

The message is clear. To have, do, or be worthy and deserving requires you to toe the line, follow the pack, and do what they expect. Spend the money, give time you don’t have, sacrifice your sanity or you are not worthy and deserving of the spirit of the season.

Bullshit.

We don’t need to spend ludicrous amounts of money on people to show our love. I’m not saying avoid giving gifts. But what I am saying is give in the spirit of getting joy and love in the process. If it feels spiteful, unpleasant, coerced, or otherwise painful – is it any wonder positivity is extra hard to find?

Every holiday season my wife bakes an obscene amount of cookies. This year, for example, she baked 10 different types of cookies – and at least 4-6 dozen of each. Then she arranged them into packages to go to various people and groups.

But this is not a chore to her. This brings her joy. It’s how she expresses love. Knowing that friends and family look forward to her baked goods makes her happy.

She’s not doing this to be worthy or deserving of love. Nor from some expectation that she must do it. My wife bakes tons of cookies because that brings her joy.

We are all worthy and deserving of taking joy in giving. That’s the reason TO give. It’s easy to forget that this time of year. But when you and I remember – and make choices and decisions for our own good and joy, peace, love, compassion, kindness, and empathy – It becomes a beacon of light for those struggling this time of year.

Finally, let’s be mindful that this is something you and I can do and give all the time – not just during this crazy season.

Finding and/or creating positivity this time of year isn’t hard

It begins with mindfulness of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.

Knowing that we are being bombarded by false messages of needing to join the rampant consumerism and/or sacrifice to be worthy and deserving of the spirit of this time of year – we can choose to turn within. When we look inside ourselves to find our inner peace, joy, love, compassion, kindness, and empathy during the holiday season – we can find and/or create positivity. And that can be aligned with the idea of the spirit of the season – which ultimately empowers us.

When you are empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and spreads to other people. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity – a feedback loop everyone can take part in.

Then, together, we build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That becomes the impetus to improve our lives for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate even more positivity and gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of pure positivity. That positivity can generate even greater positive energies – and that is ultimately empowering for all.

Everyone is worthy and deserving of all the good we desire. 

This is the four hundred and eleventh entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.

Please visit here to explore all of my published works – both fiction and non-fiction.

Please take a moment to sign up for my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive a free eBook.

The post For Some, Positivity is Extra Hard This Time of Year appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

Recognize and Embrace How Change Makes Rather than Takes Everything?

What change makes is literally everything.

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash

There is only one constant in the entire Universe. Change.

Change will always happen. Sometimes it is so glacially slow and microscopically small that it seems not to be happening. Other times it’s cataclysmic, sudden, and ginormous. Either way – change is. It’s constant, unstoppable, and ineffable.

Without change – nothing we know would be.

In the words of Marcus Aurelius,

“Is any man afraid of change? Why what can take place without change? What then is more pleasing or more suitable to the universal nature? And canst thou take a bath unless the wood undergoes a change? And canst thou be nourished, unless the food undergoes a change? And can anything else that is useful be accomplished without change? Dost thou not see then that for thyself also to change is just the same, and equally necessary for the universal nature.”

In other words – without change, we wouldn’t be. What change makes is literally everything – tangible or intangible.

Every single human being on Earth exists because of change. The sperm and the ovum merged and changed, grew, and evolved into you and me. Without that change, we’d not be.

The screen you read these words on is made of things that were changed. The components that went into the circuit board, power supply, casing, and all else were changed to create it.

Change makes everything that is, was, or ever will be.

So why are we so terrified of it?

Why do we fear change?

I think there are multiple reasons why we fear change as we do. It’s a psychological problem that lacks a one-size-fits-all answer. But I believe that I can reasonably share a general idea for why.

Modern humankind has evolved (yes, changed) a lot in the last century. We are better interconnected, more capable of learning anything we desire to, and have automated so many aspects of our world that a relative few can produce goods for the many.

That’s shifted most of our first-world society from makers to servicers. All labor industries require a small number of people to function. Meanwhile, service industries are all about people.

But doing service doesn’t create anything. Hence, a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction – due to lack of product – doesn’t exist.

Meanwhile, the makers still making things often see the majority service-industry people as takers. It doesn’t help that numerous leaders in and out of the production industries use this notion to weaponize fear to disempower those workers while empowering themselves and a chosen few.

Still with me? Okay, so this shift in humankind was unbelievably swift. Just look back 100 years and you will see that we’ve changed far more than any prior century. That, in turn, has been unsettling.

And it’s not slowing down. The first computer I had just 37 years ago was exponentially less capable than my iPhone.

So much change so swiftly is terrifying because it threatens to abandon, leave people behind, and thus cause untold harm. And that, I believe, is why we fear change as we do. Nothing is certain because change makes new things tangible and intangible seemingly faster than the speed of light.

This gets abused by those who foment our fear-based society to benefit only a chosen few.

Photo by Sebastian Staines on UnsplashShifting perspective to recognize how change makes rather than takes

It is not possible to make anyone do anything. We can inspire, suggest, coerce, cajole, help, and otherwise put effort into this – but we can’t make another person do something they do not choose to do.

Thus, shifting perspective on a global scale to recognize how change makes rather than takes is not possible. Or rather – not possible en masse.

But you and I can choose to recognize and work with how change makes everything.

I am not somehow above this. Change scares me, too. Even recognizing that it’s inevitable, constant, and the reason that anything and everything is – it still unsettles me.

Yet because I recognize this – I actively work to more readily embrace change. It is because of what change makes that I am the person I am today, and capable of learning from my past and choosing better for my future in the present.

Nobody but you can choose to recognize and embrace how change makes rather than takes. But because it’s the only constant in the Universe – working to do so can help you find and/or create more peace.

Because we desire, deep down, to create tangible things – and much of change is intangible – we can learn to see the tangible within the intangible. For example – when people are content rather than discontent, how an act of kindness can light someone up, and how someone empowered can move mountains right before our eyes.

When all is said and done – change makes everything.

Change makes life, the Universe, and everything

The realization of this truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never considered that change was literally the creator of everything in life.

The food we eat? Whether picked off a tree or baked in an oven – it was changed to become the apple or the apple pie. The clothes we wear? The material they are made of was created and then changed into the forms we place on our bodies. The air we breathe? The molecules of oxygen were changed via photosynthesis.

Change makes everything – literally, everything. When you get right down to it and think about it in this way – that’s incredible.

Also – it’s not so scary. Without change, we would not be. Neither would anyone nor anything else in the entire cosmos.

Change makes it all. That’s a rather exciting, enticing notion. Recognizing this, I believe, can help demystify change and take away much of its fearsomeness.

And when it comes to ourselves – mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually – what change makes can be guided, if not outright controlled, by us. How empowering a notion is that?

When you are not afraid of change and being its victim and suffering because of it – you gain insight and empowerment. Choosing this lessens the impact of our fear-based society and opens us to doing, finding, being, having, and creating better. When we begin to do that for ourselves it can impact, influence, and improve all.

And that is how we can shift the global perspective. Individually, one person at a time.

Do you see how there is nothing to fear from change because change makes everything?

This is the five-hundred and twenty-first exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.

Please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list. Fill in the info and click the sign-up button to the right and receive your free eBook. Thank you!

The post Recognize and Embrace How Change Makes Rather than Takes Everything? appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

Do You Accept What is or Choose What Could Possibly Be?

What could possibly be is less improbable than you might imagine.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

I frequently use the phrase “it is what it is”.

What I often fail to realize is that while the intent of saying “it is what it is” is to avoid argument and debate – it can also empower unwanted things. That additionally denies potential and possibility to accept what is.

Admittedly, my regular use of this is to end debates with my mom. Sure, it often cuts short judgment and arguments. But it also closes a door as well.

Consciousness creates reality. When I make the statement “it is what it is” – subconsciously or with limited intent – I might not recognize what I am giving power to. For the sake of ending the debate, I could be ignoring something else, and more important.

“It is what it is” is the equivalent of flipping the off-switch, shutting the door, or closing a portal. Whatever metaphor I apply, this statement without intent could have unwanted consequences.

For example – if the debate is over money and retirement planning, saying “it is what it is” tells the Universe that I accept the present, imperfect, less-than-ideal status of my finances. Likewise, saying “it is what it is” regarding the status of my writing career tells the Universe a similar story.

This leads to subconscious reality creation. So, rather than choose what could possibly be – and frankly, what I desire – I accept what is. And the Universe keeps giving me the same over and over again.

Mindfulness turns subconscious to conscious

Realizing this, I recognize that I need to stop saying “it is what it is.” Unless, of course, I have consciously created my reality how I desire it to be.

If, for example, making an incredible living by publishing novels making me happy “is what it is” – that’s a conscious statement. It certainly reads like a reality I’d love to create.

The above shows me if I am not being mindful of my statements. Because if I’m not, I might be subconsciously creating my reality rather than doing so consciously.

In the words of Albert Einstein,

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

The illusion of our individual perception of reality is our own creation. Thus, we get to accept what is or choose what could possibly be.

In my experience, accepting what is has been the product of subconscious reality creation. Rather than not choosing – we don’t choose consciously. It’s a passive existence rather than an active one.

Saying “it is what it is” accepts what is – even when you don’t accept it. Why? Because making any sort of statement gives it power. That’s why whatever you follow “I AM” with can do both tremendous harm and incredible good.

Mindfulness of this – and matters like this – empowers. That’s how you choose where you take your life. If you prefer not to accept what is and would rather choose what could possibly be – mindfulness is the key to that.

How do you choose what could possibly be?

I need to make a few factual statements here. These are important because they’re the explanation for how we can choose what could possibly be rather than just accept what is.

The past has passed. It’s done, over, and cannot be undone or redone.The present was created via that past. What I did then brought me to where I am now.The future is uncertain and unwritten.The past can offer lessons, but the future can be built only in the present.Now, the present, is the only time that’s real.

Accepting these truths opens the door for conscious reality creation. Why? Because it only works now, in the present.

I cannot undo my past. Nobody can change the past. This moment – who, what, where, how, why, and where I am – came into being based on past choices, decisions, indecision, experiences, people, places, things, etc. Any changes I desire to see come into being can only be manifested via work in the here-and-now.

The driving force behind fundamentalism is the notion of returning to a past that was somehow better than the present. A time we lost sight of, didn’t see for its glory, or what-have-you.

This is problematic. Because returning to the past is impossible.

I won’t deny that what could possibly be might take lessons of the past, and perhaps even recreate certain ideals that might have existed back then. However, other lessons learned since mean it will not and cannot be the same.

I know that scares people. But change is inevitable. Yet we can choose what could possibly be.

Specifically – what could possibly be for our personal, individual, unique life experiences.

Photo by Colin Moldenhauer on UnsplashI can only choose what could possibly be for me

One of the biggest issues in society today is based on attempts to dominate and control matters for everyone.

This can be precarious when we have different beliefs, values, and the like. Which – we all do.

Many recent laws have gotten passed in certain American states that are forcing the beliefs of a few on the many. Such laws disempower women, disenfranchise minorities, and erode the rights of the LGBTQA+ community. This has all been done in the name of choosing what could be based on specific religious and political dogma – despite it being good for only a select few.

Disempowering people for any reason will always have consequences. Trying to force people to accept your vision of what could be is not a good thing. For anyone.

Conscious reality creation is about ourselves. Our individual lives. Even when shared with families, communities, or what-have-you. I can only choose what’s right for my just as you can only choose what’s right for you.

Despite messages to the contrary – what could possibly be is less improbable than you might imagine. That’s because the truth is far different from the accepted what is of our fear-based society.

Lack? Scarcity? Insufficiency? Untrue. Most of what we’re presented is designed to control and keep us buying, marching to the beat of someone else’s drum, and generally disempowered.

The truth is that we live in an abundant universe. There is not just plenty – but more than enough to go around. Likewise, potential and possibility are nearly completely limitless. What could be – and the ultimate empowerment that could come with it – is only improbable if we accept that as our truth.

That’s why I will not say “it is what it is” again without being fully conscious of what I am creating.

Choosing what could possibly be isn’t hard

It begins with mindfulness of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.

Knowing that we consciously or subconsciously create our reality – we decide to accept what is or choose what could possibly be. When we are discontent with what is, we can employ mindfulness to choose what to seek and/or create to consciously create more possibilities and potential. And that ultimately empowers us.

When you are empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and spreads to other people. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity – a feedback loop everyone can take part in.

Then, together, we build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That becomes the impetus to improve our lives for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate even more positivity and gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of pure positivity. That positivity can generate even greater positive energies – and that is ultimately empowering for all.

Everyone is worthy and deserving of all the good we desire. 

This is the four hundred and tenth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.

Please visit here to explore all of my published works – both fiction and non-fiction.

Please take a moment to sign up for my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive a free eBook.

The post Do You Accept What is or Choose What Could Possibly Be? appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

Is It Empowering to Acknowledge That I Know That I Don’t Know That?

Recognizing that I don’t know that opens me to options to learn, grow, and control change.

Photo by Damian Siodłak on Unsplash

There are some things I know a lot about. And there are even more things that I know a little about.

This can be both incredibly useful – and slightly dangerous.

Useful, because I perceive what I realize to the extent that I know it. Be it something I know a little or a lot about – what I already discern has limits. There is no single topic whatsoever that I know every permutation or detail about.

Dangerous, because sometimes what I know is incorrect or lacking in details. Or what I am acquainted with is only a small part of the greater whole and lacking key elements. Thus, I could be sharing/spreading incorrect information.

It is easy to talk about what we know. But when it comes to what we don’t know? That’s a lot harder to admit to. It’s also much harder to simply admit to not knowing because of what impression that might make on others.

Thus, I would like to dive into the power of knowing that I don’t know that.

There are ALWAYS new things to learn

For all that I know, there is so much that I don’t. That’s because there is ALWAYS something new to learn.

Whether I have a desire to possess such knowledge is a whole other matter. For example, I love to study elements of physics, faster-than-light travel options, genetics, biology, and other sciences. Some for my writing, some out of natural curiosity to better understand life, the Universe, and everything.

There are lots and lots of topics I feel no need to know. I do know little tidbits about lots and lots of things I don’t need nor care to appreciate anything about. But as such – I don’t seek to gain further knowledge or to expand my knowledge base on these subjects.

Additionally, new things are constantly being found and/or created that can be learned. It might be quantum computing, fusion power, archeological finds, or some other art or science – but there is something more I can comprehend that I don’t know if I care to know that.

Because there are always new things to learn – acknowledging that I know that I don’t that is more empowering than disempowering.

This is where we often get our perception of not knowing something completely wrong.

I don’t know that – so teach me/help me learn

If there is something that I don’t know – and you feel it’s something that it would be good that I do realize – teach me. Or point me in the right direction to help me learn that.

Recognizing that we don’t know things opens us to learning. Learning opens us to grow. Growing opens us to evolve. Evolving opens us to work with change.

The one and only constant in the entire Universe is change. Like it or not – it happens. Learning is a major coping mechanism when it comes to dealing/working with change.

While there are things that I care to know alongside things I don’t care to – there are also things I need to know.

Most things in this category are obvious. I need to recognize what the lights on a stoplight mean to safely drive. Likewise, I need to see that many mushrooms found in nature are poisonous so that I don’t eat them and get sick.

But then, many of the things we need to know are not so obvious. Like if certain words or phrases are upsetting and/or inappropriate. Likewise, if actions cause unintentional upset or harm to people.

All are things that I can learn. Maybe I know that I don’t know that – now. So please teach me and help me learn.

Photo by Vitamina Poleznova on UnsplashHow is it empowering to acknowledge that I don’t know that?

Learning is the key to growth. I love learning because there is always something new or otherwise unknown to me to discover.

The Universe is ginormous. From the quantum scale to the whole of the cosmos, there is so, so, so much information out there. And thus – lots to be learned.

Accepting that I don’t know that – whatever “that” is – goes a long way towards opening myself to learn. This, in turn, opens me to grow and evolve.

Yet there is a stigma attached to not knowing things. Lots of people make fun of those who don’t know things.

Ironically, many also make fun of those who have expertise and knowledge. While a little skepticism and critical thinking are not bad – they get overused these days. Then they become excuses for bad behavior, blatant ignorance of science and reason, and various other societal ills.

Recognizing that I don’t know that opens me to multiple options. It puts me in a position to see opportunities, potential, and possibilities. This lets me take the lead in controlling how I grow and change.

That empowers me to use mindfulness to better understand my inner self. Conscious awareness of my mindset/headspace/psyche self via my thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions empowers me. That shows me the way to learn something when I don’t know that.

Learning about my inner self puts me in touch with my subconscious self. Specifically – my habits, values, and beliefs. This also makes me better able to see and recognize my ego and how it impacts me – both within and with the impression I make to the world without.

Inner knowledge is the key to outer knowledge. The more that I recognize what I don’t know about myself – the more open I am to get to learn anything else at all.

Recognizing room for more knowledge is good

Finally – it’s good to recognize and acknowledge when I know that I don’t know that – whatever “that” is. That recognition and acknowledgment help provide me with options to find and/or create to learn more.

One of the best things about choosing a path in life is that I see that I don’t yet realize everything about my path. If I knew how to best live in this way and arrive at the end of this path – I’d be done. There would be no more reason to traverse this path.

There is always something more to learn. Thus, I can always choose a new path. Or grow and learn via a detour or unexpected issue along this path. And growth and learning occur on any and every path I choose as a matter of course.

Maybe I recognize that I don’t know that. But rather than see this as a limitation or shortcoming – I am choosing to see it as an opportunity. The potential and possibilities for learning new things are worthwhile and exciting.

I know that I don’t know that.

Do you need/desire to know that? If so, how do you learn that?

This is the five-hundred and twentieth exploration (ten years!) of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.

Please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list. Fill in the info and click the sign-up button to the right and receive your free eBook. Thank you!

The post Is It Empowering to Acknowledge That I Know That I Don’t Know That? appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

The Positivity or Negativity of Your Actions Are Your Truth

What your actions reflect – positivity or negativity – is the truth of your life.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Nobody but you is inside your head, heart, or soul. Thus, nobody but you ever knows what you are thinking, what and how you’re feeling, or the intentions behind actions you take.

Your actions, however, are how others can see what, where, how, why, and all else in concert with who you are. Your actions are how the outside world sees your inside self.

This is why they say, “actions speak louder than words.” Actions are demonstrative of your inner self to the outer world.

For this reason – if your actions are positive or negative – they show your truth.

Sure, that might seem overly simplistic. But is it?

When someone says they will do this, that, or the other thing – and then do the opposite – which is the truth? It’s their actions. And if your actions are positive or negative – they reflect your personal truth.

How does this work?

Everything that you do is your choice. However, you might be doing things by rote, routine, and subconsciously.

That’s still a choice. But it’s a passive choice you’ve allowed yourself to make. When that’s the case, and you have been subconsciously acting on things, you might find that you’ve performed multiple negative actions.

What does that look like? Maybe you were so caught up in your head that you didn’t hold a door for someone loaded down. Perhaps you said something cruel because you didn’t give it much thought. Maybe you mindlessly doomscroll Facebook.

I would bet that the odds are if any of the above is true, you either have been feeling negative – or maybe not negative – but certainly not positive. If the former, the reflection of your inner self is obvious. If the latter – you might be providing yourself with some much-needed insight.

Your actions can tell you just as much as they tell others.

It’s possible to be in a negative headspace without knowing it

When I am not being mindful – and allow my subconscious to do the driving – it’s easy to fall into a negative headspace. But it’s equally easy not to recognize it when you are in it.

First – from the inside, we don’t always have perspective. Can’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Secondly – we have a lot of self-imposed bias. That’s built on our subconscious beliefs, values, and habits. Thirdly – it’s all too easy to get distracted and lose sight of your inner being.

I know how this happens. Between scrolling social media and binging shows on Netflix or the like, it’s easy to get distracted from your inner self. And if you watch or read depressing, negative things while not being consciously aware – they can get embedded in your psyche.

Consciousness creates reality. Or, if you are not consciously creating reality, subconsciousness creates reality. If you are not practicing mindfulness, in all likelihood you are living passively. That means that the actions you take are potentially asleep or half-asleep. That, then, can mean you find yourself in a negative headspace without knowing it.

And thus, the negative actions you take are your truth.

Mindfulness of your actions gives you control

The only person who thinks, feels, intends, and acts for you is you. Nobody else can choose to do this. There’s nobody else who can control you.

Thus, all actions are your actions. If you are not mindfully acting but subconsciously acting – it’s still you. If you are not mindful, you might not be in touch with your stance towards positivity or negativity. And again – your actions are your truth in this regard.

To gain control of your actions, all you must do is be mindful of them. Mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions can start with simple questions like,

What am I thinking?What am I feeling?How am I feeling?What do I intend to do?Why am I taking this action?

Asking these questions in the present moment activates your mindfulness. Thus, it can tell you where your inner mindset/headspace/psyche self is.

For example – if you are thinking about something bad, feeling sad because of it, intending to shower to get some relief, and then choose to crawl back into bed and hide, it’s rather obvious that your truth is negative.

If, however, you are thinking something bad, feeling sad because of it, intend to shower to get some relief – and then get in the shower – you’ve taken mindful control of your actions to build positivity. That’s the truth reflected by choosing to take that shower.

Yes, it truly is this simple. And yet we often fail to see that in this simplicity lies empowerment. We human beings tend to love to overcomplicate our lives.

Mindfulness of your actions is a part of your overall mindfulness. That is a key to seeing if you are in a place of positivity or negativity.

Photo by J W on UnsplashWhy should your actions be positive?

The simple answer is that negative actions reinforce negativity.

If you are already feeling and thinking negatively, then start doomscrolling Facebook and Twitter for more bad news – personal or otherwise – you’ve gone looking for negativity. That downward spiral doesn’t feel good and ultimately disempowers you.

Negativity is destructive. No matter what some pundits might suggest – destruction doesn’t spur growth in and of itself. The aftermath of destruction is where that choice – to let it be destroyed and you with it, walk away, or rebuild – is not predicated on the destruction. I digress – because if I dive into this further we will get into a “which came first, the chicken or the egg” type debate. That’s not the point.

Positivity is constructive. It builds things. And building things is good for you, me, and everyone. Choosing positivity means choosing to build something. To create new. Maybe create the best and better.

Positive actions are creative actions. And size matters not. Big or small – they still empower and create.

That person behind you might have been having a horrid day – and decided that they didn’t matter, and they were done. Maybe they were planning to do something dangerous and hurt themselves. But you acted positively and held the door. And that one small act made them feel worthwhile and change THEIR action in turn.

Random acts of kindness ALWAYS empower. Positive actions, as such, empower not just you – but anyone and everyone you encounter. That’s why positive actions matter as they do.

Can you see how what your actions reflect – positivity or negativity – is the truth of your life?

Choosing the positivity or negativity of our actions isn’t hard

It begins with mindfulness of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.

Knowing that our actions reflect our truth, we can see if we have been acting consciously or subconsciously and if that’s positive or negative. When we choose to make use of mindfulness to work on doing positive actions, we enable ourselves to build and create amazing things – and that ultimately empowers us.

When you are empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and spreads to other people. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity – a feedback loop everyone can take part in.

Then, together, we build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That becomes the impetus to improve our lives for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate even more positivity and gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of pure positivity. That positivity can generate even greater positive energies – and that is ultimately empowering for all.

Everyone is worthy and deserving of all the good we desire. 

This is the four hundred and ninth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.

Please visit here to explore all of my published works – both fiction and non-fiction.

Please take a moment to sign up for my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive a free eBook.

The post The Positivity or Negativity of Your Actions Are Your Truth appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

Something Bad Is Sometimes What It Takes to Improve Your Life

The Universe is a paradox. Hence, sometimes something bad can turn out to be good.

Photo by Zach Lezniewicz on Unsplash

My life was forever changed 22 years ago.

On November 30th, 1999, I decided to walk the quarter-mile or so from my apartment to the post office. When crossing the busy highway between home and my destination, I was struck by a car (and it was a hit-and-run incident).

Fortunately, I have zero memory of the accident itself. For the next week or so, there are one or two hazy, heavily sedated memories. But then my sedation was reduced, and I found myself in a hospital bed with my right leg in traction and my right arm not working.

I would learn that my right tibia (the big bone between the knee and ankle) had been shattered, and my fibula (the thin bone between the knee and ankle) fractured in 2 places. Also, my right brachial plexus (the nerve cluster in the shoulder just below the collar bone) had been stretched – which was why my right arm wasn’t working.

Later, I learned my right clavicle (collarbone) had been shattered. (Funny story – they originally told me it was fractured. Due to it being shattered, they put three titanium plates around it to take pressure off my damaged brachial plexus nerves. This was funny because the discovery of this came a good month plus later when I saw the plates in an x-ray).

While I have shared a mostly humorous narrative about what happened in my book The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Trip to the Post Office – the experience had a much more profound impact on my life.

Bad things can destroy you or rebuild you

My recovery was nothing but unknowns. They expected me to walk again – but estimated it could take from 1-3 years. The nerve damage in my arm was expected to mostly heal – but how long, and how completely, they had no clue.

I had truly incredible doctors, occupational and physical therapists, as well as nurses who worked on me and my healing. But I also had steadfast determination and laser-precise focus on my recovery.

This was the first time I truly embraced the power of conscious reality creation. I gave it everything I had, my total and complete hyper-focus, and saw nothing but complete recovery and total healing. My therapists loved me because they could beat the ever-loving snot out of me – and then I asked for more.

Following a bone graft (taking bone from my hip, mixing it with medical miracle goop, and grafting that to my destroyed legbones) I was on my feet within 5 months (I’ve always said 7 months – but it was, on reexamination, less). Within 8 months, I regained 90% or so of the use of my arm.

A year after the accident I was walking without a limp. (That, apparently, with a fused tibia/fibula, is medically impossible).

Today, 22 years later, I have some impressive scars and a numb sport or two on my arm. But if I don’t share this with you or show off my scars – you’d have no idea how badly broken I was.

While my doctors, therapists, and nurses get a lot of credit for the work they did on and with me – I made a choice. Rather than let this terrible accident destroy me or ruin my life – I chose to rebuild and recover.

When something bad happens – you always have a choice

Not to put too fine a point on it – but unless the something bad kills you, you always have a choice. Every bad thing that happens to you, around you, or within your circles leaves you with a choice.

That choice is to let the bad destroy you – or provide grounds for rebuilding.

Again, unless you are killed, every something bad that happens leaves you with a choice. When you get dumped you choose to give up or date again. If you get fired, you choose to get angry and throw around blame or find a new job (or start a new business). When someone you love dies, you choose to either mourn them and let their passing put your whole life on hold or mourn them but keep living and remember what you loved about them.

To some, this might seem callous and cold. But it’s not. Bad things can, do, and will happen to you and everyone. It’s the yin and yang of the Universe and utterly unavoidable. However, after the initial happening – what you do next is yours to choose.

Right after a major loss, death, or injury, it’s human nature to feel negative. Of course, you get upset, angry, depressed, and otherwise negative when something bad happens. That’s normal and perfectly natural.

However – after the initial happening, how long you hold onto the sadness, grief, anger, and other negatives is up to you. There is no right or wrong answer about how long you should be feeling negative – but you can choose to rebuild or build anew.

This is where mindfulness comes into play.

Photo by Max Kukurudziak on UnsplashMindfulness of something bad to improve life going forward

Faced with uncertainty about my recovery, I had a choice. Lament my loss and stay angry at the asshole who hit me and upset about the pain of recovery – or focus to rebuild and get better as swiftly as possible.

I chose the latter. To do so, I used the power of conscious reality creation.

That power is built on a foundation of mindfulness.

Mindfulness is conscious awareness. Not of the world around you – but of yourself. Specifically, your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions. That conscious awareness tells you who, what, why, where, when, and how you are – in the present moment. If what you learn doesn’t align with your desire – you’re empowered to change it.

That’s why I allowed no doubt, the possibility of not recovering, or like negativity into my conscious awareness. All I saw, my whole focus, was on total healing. I’d walk, run, and fence again.

And it worked. Now, 22 years later, all that remains are the scars.

Not all of them were physical. For a while after my recovery from the physical injuries, I was a mental, emotional, and spiritual wreck. But in time, I recalled the mindfulness for conscious reality creation to recover from my physical woes – and began to apply it more generally to my life.

I chose to start walking my own path

Although it took more than a decade after my accident to reach this point – in 2012, I started to develop this philosophy.

Mindfulness and positivity empower. When we are empowered, we can take control of our conscious mind, subconscious mind, and ego. That control lets us consciously create reality and manifest life as we desire it to be.

It’s not always easy, and it requires constant ongoing work. This is because change is the only constant in the Universe – so what’s true today might not be tomorrow. Ergo, how you desire your life to look today might be very different tomorrow.

Working with mindfulness helps us see this for what it is. And in the almost 11 years now I have been practicing my Pathwalking philosophy, my life has been largely amazing.

Sure, there have still been ups and downs, bad days, and good days. But overall – I have never felt more content and complete than I have since I started working to consciously create my reality.

And had something bad in the form of getting hit by that car not happened to me – I’m not sure I’d have experienced this. The lessons learned from that something bad have made my life so much more incredible than I’d believed it could be before.

No, I would never wish this on anyone. But that’s why I share my philosophy and experience every week. Because if I can help you consciously create your reality – without going through the pain and suffering I experienced – that makes my experience even better.

Like it or not, the Universe is a paradox. Hence, sometimes something bad can turn out to be good and life-changing for the best. The choice for what to do when this happens, however, is wholly up to you.

Have you taken something bad in your life and made something good from it?

This is the five-hundred and nineteenth exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.

Please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list. Fill in the info and click the sign-up button to the right and receive your free eBook. Thank you!

The post Something Bad Is Sometimes What It Takes to Improve Your Life appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

The Only Mind You Can Positively Change is Your Mind

Why not focus on positively changing your mind for the better?

Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra on Unsplash

Spending any time at all browsing social media can be infuriating. Any encounter with news sources – legitimate or not – can be disheartening and depressing.

Between the ongoing fight with the COVID-19 pandemic, seriously disruptive and destructive politics, entitled people being awful, and various other world events – it’s easy to lose sight of our own lives.

No matter what side you fall on in any given discussion – the desire to change minds is strong. “They” want you to think more how they think – and vice versa.

No matter if it’s all about an unsupportable opinion or scientific fact – nobody can change anyone else’s mind.

I share a lot of the blogs I do with the notion of waking people up. I desire to help people become more empowered and do more for themselves. That’s why I am regularly sharing practices for mindfulness, conscious reality creation, finding and/or creating positivity, and overall self-awareness.

I can share all I want. But I can’t persuade, push, force, or otherwise make anyone change their mind.

Yet because so much of the narrative in the collective consciousness aims at changing hearts and minds – that’s where much of our attention tends to go.

The truth is – the only mind you can positively change is your mind. So why not focus on changing your minds for the better?

Room for improvement

One of the best things about being alive – to me – is that there is always room for growth and improvement.

For all the things I know, experiences I have had, people I’ve interacted with – there are exponentially more for me to discover. Numerous fantastical topics of science, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and more have lessons I can learn. I may have been to 43/50 states and Canada and Mexico – but there are nations across oceans I’ve yet experienced. And there are always new people to meet.

I believe that so long as we are open to learning we’re open to growing. There is always room for improvement.

For example – I am grateful that I am healthy overall. However, there is room for improvement, so I am working to get healthier, get into better physical shape, and take better care of my one-and-only body.

Another example – in the nearly 11 years I’ve been practicing my Pathwalking philosophy, it’s constantly evolving. Looking back at some of my oldest explorations, I can see how things have been added, changed, and what experiences influenced that.

One of the main reasons that there is always room for improvement is change. Change is the one and only constant in the entire Universe, after all.

Change is always happening – like it or not. Sometimes it’s abrupt and disruptive – while other times it’s glacially slow and hardly noticeable. But it’s a constant, and the only Universal one.

We change. I know that I am not who I was – in numerous ways – only 10 years ago. Hell, I’m not who I was just 5 years ago. Truthfully, even in the last few months, I’ve changed. But that’s good.

However, one thing that’s very slow to change is the mind.

You alone control and can positively change your mind

I believe that everyone, at least once, has figured out just who, what, where, how, why, and when they are. At that moment, they were perfectly in sync with their mind. Serendipity.

Some people stick with this, check in regularly, and thus more readily adapt to change. But many don’t. And in time, their mind is in one place – but they are in another.

How does that happen? The answer is that since those people are living less consciously, their subconscious minds are doing most of the heavy lifting.

What does that mean? It means that rather than be in touch with themselves – here and now, in the present – they have lost touch with themselves. Thus, their subconscious mind has been doing the work, driving their life – and as such, brought them to this time and place.

If that has not aligned with who, what, why, how, when, and where you desire to be – you alone are empowered to change your mind.

To do that, you need to become aware of your conscious mind, here and now. That is how mindfulness is practiced.

To gain that conscious awareness, all you need to do is get to know what you are thinking, what and how you are feeling, why you do a given action, and the intent behind it. That makes you consciously aware.

With conscious awareness, you gain knowledge of your mindset/headspace/psyche self. With that, you can now see all aspects of your subconscious self.

It is in your subconscious where your values, beliefs, and habits live. Often, to change your mind you need to change your values, beliefs, and habits.

Photo by Tom Ramalho on UnsplashTo positively change your own mind is both easy and not

When you come to realize that your subconscious has been doing much of the driving, you’ll likely see that you’ve been living via rote and routine. While you may not be in love with how those play out, they are comfortable.

This is where the ego comes into play. The ego is the space between your conscious and subconscious mind. It’s who you project yourself out to the world, but also, to some degree, who you believe you are. But your ego is a construct made of your conscious and subconscious mind.

What that means is all the things you attach to the two most powerful words – I AM – are your ego.

Your habits, beliefs, and values motivate you. Meanwhile, your conscious mind takes in all sensory input, as well as knowledge of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions. Your ego, however, blends these together to report to you who you believe that you are.

Conscious awareness – mindfulness – makes you literally more aware of your mindset/headspace/psyche self. That awareness will show you if you are who, what, where, why, and how you desire to be – or not.

If not – changing your mind begins with actively practicing mindfulness. That empowers you to alter your subconscious values, habits, and beliefs to actively change your mind.

Easy, yes. But also hard because it requires effort you’ve likely never given much energy to before.

This is where positivity comes in.

Positivity makes change easier

Scrolling through social media will inevitably lead you to dark, distressing, disturbing pictures and places of our world. I think this is an inadvertent reflection of our fear-based society.

When you get caught up in that, it will make you feel bad, sad, depressed, hopeless, and otherwise negative. That lowers your energy, your vibrational frequency, and makes change extra challenging.

And yes – bad things happen outside our control. Nobody wants to get dumped, fired, injured, or have other unwanted and negative experiences. But they do and will happen.

However, when they do – after the initial, visceral reaction to them – you have all the power to find and/or create positivity. Maybe you got fired – but now you can get a better job. Perhaps you got dumped – but now you can find a better relationship. Sure, your car got totaled – but now you can replace it with something newer and more to your liking.

This is not some Pollyanna attitude. It’s finding the good and positivity to move past the negativity. Positivity is a builder and generator of change.

That’s why change is much easier with positivity.

I am grateful for my health. Gratitude is pure positivity. Because I am grateful for what I already have – I can more easily find and/or create even better because of that positivity.

The only mind you can change is your own. But that is so empowering that it’s worthwhile – and you are worthy and deserving of it.

Acting to positively change your mind isn’t hard

It begins with mindfulness of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.

Knowing that change is the only universal constant, we can use mindfulness to actively work with that and gain access to our conscious mind, subconscious mind, and ego. When we choose to make use of mindfulness, we gain control over not just our mind, but our heart and soul – and that ultimately empowers us.

When you are empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and spreads to other people. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity – a feedback loop everyone can take part in.

Then, together, we build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That becomes the impetus to improve our lives for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate even more positivity and gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of pure positivity. That positivity can generate even greater positive energies – and that is ultimately empowering for all.

Everyone is worthy and deserving of all the good we desire. 

This is the four hundred and eighth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.

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The post The Only Mind You Can Positively Change is Your Mind appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.

How Does Gratitude Help Extinguish the Fires of the World?

It’s too easy to see the world as being on fire. But gratitude can extinguish the flames.

Photo by Matthew Osborn on Unsplash

The last two years have been insane. Not for me, per se – but on the scale of the Big Picture of the world.

Between Trump, COVID-19, ugly social injustices, discrimination, surreal entitlement, blatant lies from many of our so-called leaders and “news” networks, and the seemingly never-ending stream of awfulness – it sure as hell looks like the world is on fire.

Before you reflect on the above – take a moment and pause. Is YOUR personal life, your world, literally or metaphorically on fire right now?

I know it might be smoldering or threatening to spark up here and there – but I would hazard a guess that if you are reading this, YOUR world isn’t on fire.

Seeing the world as burning is massively disheartening. What’s more, it evokes a sense of sadness, ire, disappointment, and ultimately hopelessness.

I could point at numerous examples – but that will only fan the flames (real or imagined). So, instead, I would like to offer you a fire extinguisher.

Anyone can use this with zero training. Everyone can find and/or create this.

It’s gratitude.

Extinguishing the flames – real and imagined

If you are capable of reading this – I am going to presume several things. Though you may have all sorts of issues, problems, and matters you’re working with and on – for the most part, you are okay.

You may or may not have a job, may or may not be in a relationship, might be in a less-than-ideal living situation, and uncertain about what the future looks like in many ways. But – you are here now. You’re alive, and you have options available to you (even though they might not be so great).

Because you are alive – you always have something to be grateful for. There are things for which you can express gratitude, give thanks, and bask in the surety of in your life.

Looking at the big picture too much will draw your attention away from what good you have. And believe me – you have good in your life to be grateful for.

Because you are alive. So long as you are alive, there are choices, options, possibilities, and potential. All of which are things to be grateful for.

Genuine gratitude is always positive and always empowering. Because it is a humble admission and voicing of thanks for things – tangible/material and/or intangible/immaterial.

Because true gratitude is positive and empowering – it’s the ultimate fire extinguisher.

How? By expressing gratitude, you generate positivity. But more than that, you recognize good things in your life, your individual perception of the world. That shows you that in all probability YOUR corner of the world isn’t on fire.

Open the gratitude hose

I know that you might not be in the best possible situation right now. There are likely any number of reasons and ways you can point to your life lacking and being insufficient.

However, whether you believe in it or not, the Law of Attraction works. Like the laws of gravity, motion, thermodynamics, and the like – the Law of Attraction is always at work. Consciousness creates reality.

If you don’t practice mindfulness to be more in tune with your conscious self-awareness, then your subconscious creates reality. What you think about is what you bring about.

This is especially insidious when it comes to the subconscious. Absorbing the news of the world and accepting – even subconsciously – that everything is on fire – that’s more than likely the experience you’ll have.

To put out that flame – employ gratitude. Open up the gratitude hose and spray.

Ridiculous? Why is that? How good does it feel when someone genuinely thanks you? How do you feel when someone does something unexpectedly kind for you? What’s your experience when someone offers a word of empathy for your experience? Grateful, I presume.

Giving gratitude has the exact same effect. Given or received, thankfulness feels good. Additionally, it goes both ways and can embed itself in your subconscious how any negativity can.

What’s more – gratitude is always positive. Positivity empowers. Both given and received – empowerment can snowball and improve life experiences for more and more people.

Thus, turning on the gratitude hose and offering thanks to yourself, to others, to anyone and anything in the Universe starts putting out the fires both real and imagined.

Why wouldn’t we all desire this impact of gratitude?

Photo by Donald Giannatti on UnsplashGratitude can always be found

Our culture tends to look at big things when it comes to gratitude. Most tangible/material things. Be grateful for your car, your home, your job, your relationships, your smartphone, etc.

But there is gratitude EVERYWHERE. All you need to do is open yourself to it.

What am I talking about? Look at the little, everyday things you have in life for which you can be grateful. I would bet you might even take some for granted.

For example, I am grateful for:

waking up every morninghaving my teeth and hairmy overall health and wellnessmy catsdogs in my neighborhoodthe phenomenal technologies of my everyday lifemy ability to writefriendsfamilythe air I breathclean water to drinkindoor plumbingand much more

Simple things, easily overlooked things – both literal and figurative. But being thankful and offering gratitude for each is empowering. It creates and builds positivity. The more good and positivity I see in my own corner of the world – the more water I get to keep the world from burning.

Is this selfish? Not at all. Gratitude includes humility in that you are being grateful to unseen forces of the Universe and expressing that. Arrogance, entitlement, egotism, and the bombastic lack humility and true gratitude. Gratitude is given and never taken.

The truth is that overall, the world is not on fire. To keep it that way – gratitude empowers. Turn on the gratitude hose and put out the flames for yourself and watch how you prevent others from getting burned, too.

An easy exercise

To spray the embers to keep them from flaming up on any given day, I have an exercise to offer.

At the end of every day, I write down 5 things I am grateful for. As I write each, I think and feel thankful for them.

Since they’re written down, I can revisit them anytime I like. Doing so, yes, I see that there are things I repeat regularly. But that doesn’t lessen their power. I also see that there are lots of things to be regularly grateful for.

Please try this and see how you have more to be grateful for than you realize. Then let that empower you.

It’s too easy to see the world as being on fire. But gratitude can extinguish the flames. You have more power to do this than you probably realize. So why not make the most of it and express thankfulness today?

What are you grateful for right now?

This is the five-hundred and eighteenth exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.

I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.

The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.

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The post How Does Gratitude Help Extinguish the Fires of the World? appeared first on The Ramblings of the Titanium Don.