The universe is constantly moving. It is constantly doing things with or without your consent. Stock markets collapse, people get promoted, people get fired. The world spins madly on. It may all look like chaos, it may look like a mess, but the fact is that there is a pattern; we are just too small to see it.

Life gives you a choice, you can either roll with the punches or you can stand up for yourself and fight. We lose so many opportunities because we don’t have the courage to seize them. We are afraid of failure and we are even afraid of our own greatness, so we sit back and let opportunity pass us by. We could have had a great love with our first crush, we could have gotten that big promotion in the office, but we don’t, because we never asked. We never asked our crush how they felt, we never asked our superiors to consider us for a higher position or we never turned that idea into a business.

Then we complain. We never got what we feel we deserved. We never got what we didn’t ask for, what we didn’t fight for. Of course we don’t put it in those words. We say that life is unfair, that we are undervalued, that we are unlucky.

I believe that life isn’t something that just happens to us. We make our lives what they are by our actions and our inactions. We are the ones to blame. We are not puppets dancing to the beat of a puppet master. We are individuals capable of shaping our own destinies. We are responsible for our own choices.

If your life is not what you want it to be, then that is because you aren’t surrendering and doing enough. It’s easy to place blame on external factors. That is our coping mechanism. The truth is that we don’t have the things we want, simply because we never asked.

We all have goals in life. We want to be rich, we want to be successful, we want to be famous, we want, we want and we want some more. There are many ways to get what we want. Some people inherit their money, some get lucky and win the lottery and some work hard to earn every penny. At the end of the day the heiresses, the lottery winners and the hard workers, have all achieved their goal of being rich. As for being famous, you can be famous for a number of things, some good and some bad.

Life is not about being rich or being famous, life is about the things you do to become rich or famous. Life is about how you stay rich and/or famous. When you are standing at the peak of the mountain, it’s not about standing at the peak, it’s about the climb. The steps we take to get what we want are what matter. Because a goal is something you achieve at one particular point in your life but the things you do to achieve that goal, those are things that make up your everyday life.

If all you really wanted was to get to the peak, you could have your self flown up, but the point is to make the journey. The joy is in the hard work. The things you are going to remember are the thing that happened on the way. The stress, the relief when you round a dangerous bend, the fortitude it took to keep going even when all you wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep.

There will always be obstacles in your way. How you faced those obstacles, how you overcame them, those are the stories that make up a life. To quote Miley Cyrus, ‘It’s not about how fast I get there; it’s not about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb.’

Believing and the Law of Attraction go hand in hand. You have to believe you’ll get what you desire most in order to manifest, on the physical plane, those things you want and those goals you want to accomplish. Unfortunately, many of us have grown up surrounded by a lot of disbelief. We internalize this negativity, which blinds us to the infinite possibilities in front of us. We are literally stiff and crippled by the beliefs that have been handed down to us.

To break free, we need to stretch our minds, much like we stretch our bodies when we do yoga. Stretch our minds to believe that we can get what we want, believing that we deserve the good things in life.

What is the one thing you want more than anything? Concentrate on that. Stretch your mind to encompass actually having that which you want. See it. Feel it. Breathe it in and believe. Stretch your mind and believe you have it. Practice this whenever you think of what you want, but make sure you envision yourself having that which you desire. By believing and using the Law of Attraction, you will generate a positive attitude. Believing is one of the steps in achieving what you desire most in life.

Speak to yourself as if you already have what you desire. In this way, you are kind of tricking your body into believing you really do have it. Once you have such positive belief patterns established in your life, you’ll start attracting other positives – be it positive people or positive events. Being surrounded by positives will attract even more positives into your life. You will then achieve what you’ve desired all along.

Believing and the Law of Attraction means stretching your mind and encompassing the possibilities. Believe and achieve.

Generation after generation of migrating birds will follow the same flyway to their destination. Each new flock of geese is guided by their elders on their first journey and after that, they always know their way. It’s fascinating to think about the great journeys that these birds take year after year, like clockwork.

I mention geese because I recently came across a beautiful movie that I had seen a while back. Fly Away Home is a 1996 film, directed by Carroll Ballard. It is about the young daughter of a widower (Jeff Daniels) who, with her father, leads a flock of Canada geese from Canada to a wildlife refuge in the US.

When the geese hatch the first living being they see is young Amy Alden (Anna Paquin). They believe that she is their mother and start following her around. As the geese grow and mature, it becomes obvious to Thomas (Jeff Daniels), Amy, and all their friends that the birds must migrate or the game warden will return to pinion their wings.

Her father, Thomas Alden, comes to the rescue. He devises a plan, to get the geese to follow Amy in an air craft, and so begins their great journey. Amy is not happy to lose her companions but she realizes it is for the best.

The movie is an absolute delight to watch. With spectacular visuals and stunning performances from the entire cast, it is no wonder that Fly Away Home was the most critically acclaimed movie of the year. There is a lot to love about this evocative family oriented film.

What I love most, is the message of the film. More than taking care of someone, sometimes the best thing you can do is teach them how to take care of themselves.

I have an aunt. Whenever she pours something she says, “Say ‘when’.” Of course I never reply, she just stops pouring when the glass gets full. She’s my aunt, she likes me, and she knows when it’s time to stop, even if I don’t say it. I sometimes wonder, what would happen if she didn’t stop? Would the liquid keep pouring? Would it spill on the table or would she place a new glass under it? Would the jug ever just, run out?

Bad things happen in life, to everyone. The universe can be quite nasty. It will knock you down and then, kick you when you’re down. It doesn’t stop. Most of us can’t survive the onslaught long enough for the jug to run out. Those of us that do start to wonder why we even bothered to hold on.

At such times, it’s best to just say it. Just say when. Only you can. Only you can make it stop. The universe will listen to those who speak up. If you’re having a bad time, say when and the universe will stop pouring trouble your way. Ask for better and you’ll get it.

Then there are the times when we don’t want it to stop. When the universe is good, oh, it can be so good. Then we want it all. Even after we have it all, we want more. At such times, enough is never enough. Keep asking for more and the jug won’t run out, at least not at a time when you’re around to notice.

Say when. Sometimes you need to stand up and say that you have reached the brink. Sometimes, you have to take action if you expect a change. Then there are the times you wish nothing would change. The glass is bottomless. If you want something and like something, go after it, or at the very least ask for it. The universe is listening.

A few days ago, I heard the latest song by ‘Flipsyde’. The song is called ‘When it was Good’. Produced by ‘Red-One’, it’s a catchy tune. What really got my attention, wasn’t the foot taping, head bobbing beat; it was the lyrics belted out by new band member, Chantelle Paige. In the song while reminiscing about the good days of her relationship, she sings, “I wish it would, would be that good, when we were sitting on top of the world.” This line reminded me of the countless people who say the same thing.

We’ve all met those people, who have fallen on hard times and love to talk about the good old days. The guy who dropped out of college and now talks about how he would have been a superstar, if he’d stuck to his education. The woman whose business is suffering from the economic slowdown and say’s that she used to have it all; she used to be on top of the world. They talk about the things they used to do. How awesome everything used to be, but what are they doing now? Nothing. They seem to have accepted their fate. They think they’ve missed their chance and lost it all. I don’t agree.

There is always something you can do. If you think, a better education would get you a better life; find a way to go back to school. If your business has slowed down, expand your field, try a new strategy, and get creative. There is no point in reminiscing. All you get from reminiscing is nostalgia.

I think it’s always better to get proactive. It’s good to remember past accomplishments, but you cannot live in the past. Stop thinking, ‘When it was good’ and start saying, ‘let’s make it right.’

When we see two people together, smiling, laughing and holding hands, we assume they are a happy couple. When we see a woman crying, we assume she has had her heart broken. We do not think of the pain behind the smiles; we do not think of the fact that the hand holding may be for show; we do not think that the tears may be of joy. We like to think we know the world around us; we like to think that the world is exactly how we think it is. We do not realize that our thoughts are our own. The world around us is the way it is, because we think of it, in that way.

We all think in set ways. We like to put things in boxes, black and white. Good and evil. The problem is that anyone who’s been on this planet for more than a decade, knows that the world is full of shades of grey. So what do we do when things don’t fit into neat little boxes? We either force them to fit or we ignore them. We turn to denial.

All of us live lives in boxes. We set parameters for the world around us and make everything fall into its own category. If someone is rude, they are bad people. If you get fired, it’s the end of the world. We need to realize that sometimes, to make things better, all we need to do is, step out of our box. All we need to do is, have a fresh outlook. We need to shake things up. If they are rude, they have had a bad day. Got fired? It’s a chance to do something new!

‘I’m rubber you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.’ You can hear this rhyme in parks, playgrounds and any place where children gather. It may sound like a silly little children’s rhyme, but this line contains more wisdom than Nietzsche’s philosophies. They say we all learn important life skills on the playground. The games children play help prepare them for the world of grown-ups. If you pay close attention to the above rhyme, you might learn a thing or two, even if you haven’t been to the playground in decades.

When you say this line to someone, you are expressing the sentiment ‘I will not let your negativity affect me, your negativity will come back to haunt you. It is an extension of ‘karma’. Doesn’t seem so child like any more does it? The law of cause and effect is universal. If you are mean to someone, they will be mean to you & if you are nice to someone, they will be nice to you. This thinking has a strong base in logic and is thus universally accepted. There is no need of metaphysical thoughts when you think of karma at a one on one level. It is only when multiple actions are added together to form very complex systems, that understanding ‘karma’ exceeds our intellectual capacity.  When the time needed to see consequences exceeds the span of human life, things become interesting, and this is where the metaphysical comes into play.

To understand complex concepts, human beings must accept certain things on faith. Even mathematicians must put their faith in the imaginary number ‘i’ to be able to solve complex formulae. All you need to know is, we reap what we sow, so make sure you’re sowing the right seeds.

There has been a lot of discussion and in recent times about ‘The Law of Attraction’, and similar new age thought. But there are so many terms bandied about that there seems to be a lack of actual understanding of the law itself. There is not much awareness regarding how one can actually implement this law in day to day life. The very nature of new age thought means that it cannot be formatted into a step by step procedure. It is personal in nature and requires individual interpretation. Nonetheless some aspects remain common for all. With the help of these we can formulate a few rough guidelines that can be followed to get started with this fantastic law. The rest you have to learn from trial and error. You can give a fisherman all the tools he may need but it is up to him to bait the line and bring in the fish. With each trip he makes out to sea, he will get more skilful and wise in his craft.

In the same way, you have already been given the tools you need to get started with using the ‘Law of Attraction’. All you really need is the power of your mind. The ‘Law of Attraction’ states that like attracts like. By thinking of what you want you can attract it into your life. There are many methods one can follow to accomplish this. Which method suits you best, is a question only you can answer. But here are some basic guidelines that you may find helpful. First decide what you want. Then give it all of your attention, energy and focus. Make sure you stay away from negative thoughts, by avoiding words like ‘No’, ‘Not’ and ‘Dont’, when you find yourself thinking ‘I don’t want this’ immediately ask yourself ‘so, what do I want?’. Stick to these simple steps and before you know it every day will feel like Christmas.

We all look at the world around us in different ways. Where some see wonder and magic others cringe in disgust. Some see a swamp and muck while others see the lotus that grows in it. Some see coal while some see the potential of it becoming a diamond. Where some of us see defeat and surrender, others see challenges and a chance to do better. We are all defined by the way we perceive our surroundings. If you think your world is sad and depressing you will feel sad and depressed. This affects your psyche and in turn, your work. Beneath all that we see and all that we understand is us, just us and our ideologies. We are at the center of our world. We can change anything in our world by shifting our center. By looking at things differently we can make them different. We can either see a glass half empty or we can see it as half full, with room for more. Our core ideologies and our thinking are what shape our world. Thoughts are the greatest energy force in this world. You can make this energy work for you.

When you are faced by adversity, don’t think of defeat, think of how you can overcome the obstacles in your way. If you think that things will work out, they will find a way to do so. Don’t let your world be clouded by failure and regret. They will reflect in your work and all you will encounter is failure and regret. Have faith in the fact that things will work out and they will find a way to do so. The world around you should reflect success and everything that inspires you. This will help you work harder and gain success. You are the centre of your world. You alone can affect the world around you. By changing your perception you can change not only how things make you feel but also how they are. There is no limit to the change you can bring about by simply believing that things are going to change.