When problems come your way, don’t forget about checking internal solutions. *

OK….so the economy remains to be a pretty grim topic, and situation for that matter. Most people are seeing their investments decrease, unemployment continues to increase, and yet prices seem to be going up and up. YIKES! In fact, many people I know are not only concerned for their financial future, but their children’s and grandchildren’s futures as well.

Believe it or not, among all the worry and concern, I find myself not becoming overwhelmed by the economic crisis. This is mostly due to the fact that I am working daily on focusing in the present moment, with the use of a wonderful tool by a wonderful mentor…..*

Byron Katie founded, The Work, a simple and powerful tool to help people end the suffering they are afflicting upon themselves. The Work is extremely effective and a reminder that much of our stress and suffering is due to the thoughts and stories we tell ourselves, as opposed to actual external factors.

Much of the time, many people I know seem to believe that when they are faced with a challenge or problem, that something external needs to change in order to either stop the problem, or avoid a challenge. For example, a friend of mine was repeatedly getting upset with her husband who was occasionally getting home later then she had planned…..*

I suggested to my friend that she try using The Work by Byron Katie to see if she could check out her own internal processes, versus believing that the only way to correct this problem was to have an external factor change (i.e. her husband needed to make a change). Sure enough, after trying out The Work, my friend realized that she could work on her thought process and attitude toward her husband’s action.
So the next time you are faced with a problem or unwelcome challenge, consider internal solutions and not just external solutions.

* Please note, these are highlights from an entire article in Higher-Self Living Paychecks. For more information, please visit our website at www.higherselflifecoaching.com.

“Holy Financial Problems Batman…..” *

And right about now, we could use a super hero to get us out this mess….or heck, we need the Justice League at this point. Yikes, yikes, yikes….it seems that not only is the U.S. economy dealing with a crisis, but the rest of the world is also being affected by our financial situation. I keep hearing phrases that cause me to stop and pause, such as “American Financial Crisis” and “Economic Meltdown”. Recently I heard a phrase that stopped me in my tracks…“the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression”.

Is this crisis really being compared to the Great Depression? I was told by many elders that something like the Great Depression would not happen again since “we learned from that experience”. I gotta wonder now….did we learn enough?

I realized that one thing that helps me to feel better about my financial situation, during this crisis, is to verify my income versus my expenses. That is something that I personally can do now and that helps to give me an indication of how I am doing financially, which brings a sense of confidence and assurance.

If you are finding yourself worried about the current economic crisis, and your own financial situation, please take the time to do this simple but effective exercise. Just sit down and re-evaluate your monthly income versus your monthly expenses. List everything, including small purchases, like coffee in the morning at Starbuck’s, or a donut from Dunkin’ Donuts. Better yet, take a day or week and keep track of every purchase you make. Then you will be able to tangibly see where your money is being spent. If you find that your expenses total more then your income, then you will need to analyze each expense and see where you can make some significant changes.

The great thing about this little exercise is that if most people do make sure their income is more then their expenses, then we all will help the recovery of the financial crisis we are seeing happening around the world today. So sit right down and make sure your personal situation is “in the black” (i.e. financially stable) and steering clear of “the red” (i.e. in debt).

Financial Peace to All!

We Are Life

Hello everyone,

I had a realization come to me as I took a stroll, and I wanted to share it with all of you. This came to me as I was remembering the teachings of a wise mentor, Eckhart Tolle.

I want to live, breathe, respond, and react through a state of peace, love, and oneness. For these are states of Being.

I do not want to live, breathe, respond or react through a state of non-peace, anger, separation, or frustration. For these are states of the Ego/Pain-Body.

We are all life experiencing itself through these forms.

Peace and Love to all!!