A Note From The Editor...October 2002

As many of you know, I love cats.  Not in the way that people love a good meal.  I mean, I LOVE CATS!  (Say it to yourself with same emotion as you would say, "I love chocolate!"  See what I mean??)  I currently share my home with five cats, ranging from 1 year old to 10 years old.  I wasn't exactly looking for another one.

But at 7:30 at night, while quietly sipping a cup of tea and reading a good book, the unmistakable screams of a terrified kitten came from my garden.  Equipped with a flashlight and mosquito repellent, I ventured into the dusk to do the required kitten-detective-work:  Where was the rascal?  Could I catch it?  Was it hurt?  Where was its mother?  Why do they always come to MY house?

To make a long story short, I eventually did catch her, a six-week-old ball of furious spitting and hissing.  At first, she was too frightened to leave the bedroom.  Now, two weeks later, she is master of the house!  The older cats tolerate her; the youngest, Calypso (see photo above), adopted her as his own "new best friend" within days of her arrival.  After a two-week search for a name, we've agreed that "Maggie" fits her perfectly.

As an observer of life around me, I've re-learned some important lessons in the past two weeks:

Welcome home, little Maggie.

Peace,

Karyn 

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The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

--Thomas Macaulay

Upcoming Teleclasses and Chats for October 2002 

http://www.seekerscircle.com/teleclass/puttingintuition.htm

A Life That Counts

by Steve Goodier

For the first time, Alfred Nobel saw himself as the world saw him - "the dynamite king," the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives. This, as far as the general public was concerned, was the entire purpose of his life. None of his true intentions surfaced. Nothing was said about his work to break down the barriers that separated persons and ideas. He was, quite simply, a merchant of death, and for that alone would he be remembered.

Alfred read the obituary with horror. He felt that the world must know the true meaning and purpose of his life! He resolved to do this through his last will and testament. The final disposition of his fortune would show the world his life's ideals. And at that time came into being yearly prizes for chemistry, physics, medicine, literature - and the famous Nobel Peace Prize.

If you were to read your own obituary today, what would it say? Do others know what you stand for, what you believe in and what truly matters to you?

Dr. Philip Humbert asks, "What remarkable, extraordinary and amazing things will you do with this wild and wonderful miracle, your one and only life?" The question should perhaps also be asked this way: "What will you do with this wild and wonderful miracle, your one and only day?" For how we spend our days will decide how we spend our lives.

Chances are, you will not be reading your own obituary. But you have already begun to write it - day by day, moment by moment. Live your todays as if they truly matter, and tomorrow you will look back on a life that counted.

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If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.

--Buddha

If you wish the world to become loving and compassionate, become loving and compassionate yourself. If you wish to diminish fear in the world, diminish your own. These are the gifts that you can give.

--Gary Zukav

How To Feel Better About Almost Anything

by Susie Michelle Cortright

Here's an example: Think about the familiar inner debate about whether you can fit in a workout. You know how good you'll feel afterwards. You know how much your body wants it. Needs it.

I know I need a good run when my head starts feeling fuzzy. Thoughts come and go, but there's nothing important going on up there. I know what I could do to make the blurriness go away, but I just don't want to.

It's like trying to find something without my glasses on. I know what I could do to make it better--I know the solution is really simple--but it's somehow too much. I don't want to go get my glasses. I'd rather bump around the world for awhile.

And when I finally break free of that and go do something, there comes the clarity. The drama of it always strikes me. It rushes in like I've opened the drapes.

Once I'm running or biking or doing whatever it is I decide to do, really hard, the sheer joy of movement breaks me out of that fuzzy, stagnant state of mind. I feel the hair flopping on my head. My heartbeat in my face. Something comes in and sweeps out my head, and I look back to the blurry world of 30 minutes before, and I thank God I found the motivation.

When you get your body moving, you suddenly become clear on what needs to be done. All at once, fresh ideas and a renewed energy and creativity tumble in.

The same thing happens when you get your mind and soul moving.

THE ANTIDOTE TO ANXIETY

We've heard it again and again in the days since September 11th. The antidote to anxiety is some kind of action. When we feel scared or worried, we've got to get up and regain control, even if it feels like too much at first. We have to disarm the paralyzing nature of fear by doing something. Anything.

If we can just get moving, we'll find the energy to help those in need. We'll connect to something larger than ourselves, and then we'll tap its energy.

It doesn't have to be a big world-sweeping movement. In Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav says it well:  "If you wish the world to become loving and compassionate, become loving and compassionate yourself. If you wish to diminish fear in the world, diminish your own. These are the gifts you can give."

It's simple, but you've got to be the one to get up and deliver the gift. Tell a friend how much you appreciate her. Pray, however you define it. Be kind. Volunteer. Find a problem that you want to help solve, and do an Internet search for ways you can help.

"DON'T JUST SIT THERE LIKE YOU'RE GETTING A PERM"

I hear a lot about the importance of taking "baby steps." Each time I hear that phrase I think of my oldest daughter learning to walk. She was so bowlegged that, standing, she looked like she was attempting the splits. Every few steps, she'd topple over and, seconds later, up would come her little bottom and she'd push up with her hands, lean forward and try to keep her feet moving as fast as her head. Her determination was inspiring.

To me, baby steps are about breaking something big into manageable chunks, but it's also about the will to just keep moving, no matter what.

And that brings to mind my high school English teacher, Mrs. Wasserstein. There are two things I remember about her: lots of clumpy black mascara and a writing tip on which I have based a career.

She offered the revolutionary idea that you can erase what you start with. The key is to just get started, and, once you get in the groove, the product is usually pretty good.

She must have gotten along well with my Algebra teacher, who once scrawled on his classroom wall with a red Marks-a-Lot, "Don't just sit there like you're getting a perm. Do something. Even it's wrong."

Granted, he was no Gary Zukav, but there's some wisdom there.

It's the same wisdom Dr. Seuss employs in his description of The Waiting Place:

"for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go,
or the mail to come, or the rain to go--
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
All that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing..."

How? Take a tip from a tot. Lean your head forward and try to keep up with your feet. That's when you'll discover the joy in action. That's when you'll become joy in action.


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--Alice Walker

It is raining still... Maybe it is not one of those showers that is here one minute and gone the next, as I had so boldly assumed. Maybe none of them are. After all, life in itself is a chain of rainy days. But there are times when not all of us have umbrellas to walk under. Those are the times when we need people who are willing to lend their umbrellas to a wet stranger on a rainy day. I think I'll go for a walk with my umbrella.

Is Stale Air Killing You?

But you can "scrub" your air with indoor plants!  NASA researchers have found that certain houseplants purify the air in enclosed environments.  The plants can actually purify the air of contaminants.  Among the top air-purifying plants are:

Let Your Intuition Guide You To Prioritize

To find out what's really best for you, listen to your intuition. In other words, listen to your heart, your inner voice and trust your own instincts. Intuition comes from inside you and is therefore totally in tune with you as a person. 

Your intuition will guide you perfectly to choose your priorities - if you listen to it. It's too easy to discount what your intuition says. Using your left-brain, the logical and rational side, is a great way to prioritize your life and it's even more powerful when you combine it with listening to your right brain, the intuitive part. Your intuition quickly tells you things and if you pay close attention to it, you will make better choices and faster decisions. 

Your intuition will show up in thoughts, feelings, images and dreams. You may experience your intuition actually in your body, often referred to as gut instinct, or gut feelings. You will be able to listen to your intuition in any of these ways and for most of us, there is one dominant way in which our intuition shows up. You may already know for yourself how you experience your intuition but if not, pay attention to all the different ways.

When you're prioritizing your to-do list, a project or other aspects of your life, one way to access your intuition is to ask it a question. Questions such as, "What is a priority for me at the moment?" or "What can I let go of for the time being?" There are many more questions you can come up with and I suggest you ask yourself the question and then relax, and see what happens. The answer won't always show up immediately but at some point it will. The answer will often come when you least expect it. For instance, when you're in the shower, drifting off to sleep or waking up, or involved in a completely unrelated task. Remember - after you've asked the question, you must be aware of all the ways your intuition can respond to you.

When you've received a response from your intuition, you need to act on it. I've found that it's trusting, relying on and acting on your intuition that's the hardest part for most people. If this is new to you or you want to develop it further, it's just like anything else that you want to be able to do well. You must practice. Intuition is a muscle that needs to be exercised and the more you use it, the stronger your faith in it will become. At first you may just want to take small steps when acting on your intuition. These small steps can be built on as time goes by and your confidence in yourself and your intuition builds. 

Your intuition is guidance from your higher self and has your best interests at heart. Choosing your priorities by following your intuition means you're choosing what is really right for you. You're not so likely to be pulled between different priorities. 

--Denis Waitley

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Please join in our goal of having a subscriber base of 5,000 people by the end of 2002!  Forward this newsletter to anyone you think would be interested.