I wanted to take a quick moment to thank the 18 of you for reading my blog. You know who you are.
And let you know that your support and encouragement has led to this year’s blogging resolution – to blog weekly.
Thunderous applause.
Dead silence of a meditation hall.
What you get.
You – my dear reader get to hear from me once a week. What do you mean, thanks for nothing? Hear me out – I will commit to writing for you every week of the year. And yes, this post counts.
When we’re done, you won’t need a spiritual adviser, career coach, or life strategist. You’ll just need therapy.
Is that really your resolution, Vishnu?
Yes, it is. My resolution for the new year is to blog weekly and to give more of myself every day. Lucky for you, I’m going to give you a blog post every Monday. Like it or not.
Where were we?
Oh yeah, how in God’s name am I going to keep up this project and write 50,000 words for the year?
Well, that’s a question between me, God, and my virtual assistant who’s listed blog editing work as part of his job duties. (Writing is editing ultimately, isn’t it?)
I really have no idea if I’m going to start my resolution and keep it but I do have 7 strategies I plan to use for myself to try to make this goal happen.
Now that you’ve done that, are you interested in learning more about your brain and why it sometimes conspires against you? Life coach Tim Brownson has a whole book on the subject of your brain. Find out how yawning cools your brain, why people staring at you bothers your brain, and why you’re 4 times more likely to marry someone with the same last name as you. I highly recommend this fascinating book to everyone who has one. A brain that is.
Second, do you need a job in the new year? Well, if you need to brush up your resume and cover letter (or need a full makeover) and want to work with someone who gets the psychology of job huntin’ and knows how to market ‘you’ like the personal branding expert she is, visit Jenny Foss’s site. She’s hilarious and her advice is spot on!
If you’re working in a full time job but want to know how to start a part-time gig or freelance, join this free webinar with Alexis Grant at the Traveling Writer and you’ll be able to launch your side hustle like a rock star.
If you’re searching for your dream or need to figure out how to execute it, who better than the man we all know as 30 Year Old Ninja -just another person out there who quit his job and move to Japan to become a ninja. You know how the story goes. If you have no idea what I’m talking about but want to follow your own dream, check out his coaching services.
If you’re looking for some daily food for thought, my friend Andrew Olson’s blog, creatively titled www.blogandrew.com showcases intriguing, life-changing and provocative thoughts. He’s planning to write a post every day for the next year. Oh, I said every. single. day! His philosophy is to blog different – check it out.
This next item is just a quick way for me to win a free book and have Milo to pay for international shipping. He seems to be highly praise-worthy of Seth Godin’s book, the Icarus Deception. Milo, in the words of Seth Godin’s book Linchpin, “you’re a genius”. Now, my shipping address is 7809 Rosewo… Actually, if you’d like to win a book and do a more detailed review than you’ve seen here, check out the contest Milo’s running.
Writer and novelist, Ali Luke, has her latest book out on the Blogger’s Guide to Loyal Readers. I should have probably read this book before I started this blog but I don’t think it would be too late to read about how I’ve really screwed up blogging.
If you know a kid facing family problems, like living with an alcoholic loved one, children’s author Jody Lamb has written a novel for tween readers dealing with alcoholism or other family problems. The book is filled with hope and inspiration. And life lessons, even for adults, which I will be writing about soon.
And finally, one of the funniest people I know online has taken his game, his wife and his life to Southeast Asian. Keep up with Bjorn at Culturemutt who reminds us with every post that we probably should be doing something else with our lives.
And really finally, Marcella Chamorro, just uploaded her TED talk in Nicaragua about how to take the skills from our past-times and hobbiesand apply them to our everyday life. Check out the video (with English subtitles) here.
I hope these links inspire, motivate and improve your life.
If I don't eat you in .04 seconds, there is a God!
Piercing almond-shaped eyes.
Crushing-molars being sharpened like knife blades preparing to indulge you like a sumptuous delicacy.
Orange striped carnivorous animal, lying in wait to pounce at you at a moment’s notice.
The majestic Bengal tiger of South India.
Named Richard Parker.
Huh?
Well, Richard Parker, the name of the Bengal tiger in Yann Martel’s book and now movie, may have a funny name but is not as casual of a creature as his name makes him out to be.
If you’ve read the book or watched the movie, you’ll be familiar with the fictional story of the Patel family moving their zoo animals from South India to Canada. The Japanese cargo ship the family is traveling on capsizes in a violent storm and Pi Patel spends the next 200 + days of his life on a small life boat with a Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker.
Which God saves Pi’s life?
Throughout the novel, we learn Pi’s epic venture is both a religious and spiritual one.
Prior to Pi’s epic journey, Pi is toying with the idea of being a Muslim, Hindu or a Christian. In fact, he practices all three religions angering the local clergy of all faiths.
“But he can’t be a Hindu, Christian and Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose” the religious clergy declare as they congregate in his house, at the same time.
With the eyes of a minister, a priest, the Imam and both his parents on him, Pi blurts out “Bapu Gandhi said ‘All religions are true’ I just want to love God”.
After months of consternation and feeling the glaring eyes of the spiritual crowd in his house, Pi’s father chimes in to offer his support, “I supposed that’s what we’re all trying to do – love God”.
Throughout the book, Pi reaches out to God and we can only imagine that it must been some phenomenal power that keeps Pi alive. And carries him across the Ocean for more than 200 some days. Oh yeah, with the company of a BENGAL TIGER!!
Was it the miraculous power of God, of all faiths and religions, which saves Pi’s life?
Pi was indiscriminate in his preference for a particular God – in fact, he believed in the God of all faiths equally.
Is there only one God?
According to Hindu traditions and dogma, there is also one universal God or ‘Brahman’. Hinduism actually believes that there are many paths to reach this God.
The Hindus believe that there’s no need to get into the details of how you reach the divine – as long as you’re trying to reach enlightenment through the path or religion that serves you best.
You don’t have to go with Ganesha, Shiva or Vishnu (the God, not the blogger) to attain salvation – you can just as well get there through Jesus or the teachings of the Buddha.
Which religion has the truth? Which one does God prefer?
Those of other religions and faiths would most likely call the Hindus universal acceptance of all religions and Gods ridiculous, even blasphemy.
Many religions want a mandate – that heir faith and their faith alone will get you to enlightenment, realization, divinity.
But could the God of one religion be the God of all religions?
Could there be only one God like there is only one sun? For example, people viewing the sun from different locations all around the world. Everyone will have a different perception/angle from where they stand on the planet but ultimately they’re all only viewing one sun?
Is God present in all religions?
Does God cozy up to anyone seeking Him and trying to live more divinely?
Or does God have the ins with your religion and planning to help you get on the VIP list to the club called salvation?
What do you believe? Please leave a comment below and chime in.
It’s almost the new year! Which only means one thing: new year’s resolutions to be made. And broken.
Why do you have such a hard time following through with your New Year’s resolutions?
Why don’t you complete and meet your goals?
How can you actually achieve your goals in life?
Great questions! I don’t have the answer to any of them.
So I spent a part of my holiday trying to figure out how we can actually achieve our goals.
Life coach and life coach trainer, Susan Fox, shed some light on the subject of how to achieve goals. Susan’s a professional life coach who helps her clients get motivated and inspired to get things done in life.
Check out the video below to learn more about how to achieve your goals, resolutions, and inner-most wants and desires.
Well, not sure about the last part but she does give you actionable steps you can take to achieve your personal goals and new year’s resolutions.
(Spoiler alert – there’s no magic pill, magic bullet or abracadabra involved)
Thanks for doing this interview Susan! If you’re looking for a terrific life coach, visit Susan’s site for more information. If you’re interested in a full workshop on achieving your goals for the new year, Susan will help you reboot your brain in late January. Details here.
Do you have a lot of goals planned for the new year? If you have a goal-achieving tip which can help others, please share in the comments below.
Imagine Christmas morning. Smell of fresh roasted coffee, baked bread, and an aroma of Christmas cookies. Christmas carols playing on the radio.
And some dirty footprints by the Christmas tree. “What the…?!?” You definitely weren’t wearing shoes last night as you dispensed the Christmas gifts under the tree.
“Who the %#@%*@”
That Santa guy just broke into your house again.
Before you start sweeping up the charcoal footprints, clearing his half-eaten plate of cookies or filing a police report on the break-in, let’s look at what Santa Claus has done to Christmas.
Did Santa Claus hijack Christmas?
The dude from the North Pole with magical elves and reindeer who can circle the world in 24 hours is a legend.
He’s in movies, stories, commercials, and is the hero of Christmas around the world.
He makes lists about who’s been good or bad, brings us expensive cool gadgets and captures the imagination of all children.
But has Santa hijacked the meaning of Christmas?
Think about it – this guy has basically flooded the market and capitalized on the birth of God’s son!?!
What a no good son-of-a %*@)*%)@
Instead of celebrating the life of the Savior, born to the Virgin Mary in a stable, we’re stuck with a jolly guy who loves junk food and Coca Cola!
It’s not just Santa but everything he’s come to represent – endless shopping, gift-buying, wrapping paper and bows, lay-aways and credit cards, Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays. Pre-Christmas and After-Christmas sales bonanzas!
Santa has become the poster boy of a giant marketing campaign. Everyone from Coke to Macy’s has made billions of dollars of this guy! The entire U.S. economy has come to depend on year-end gift buying for the holidays!
How to take Christmas back?
Although Santa’s hijacked the holidays, does Christmas have to be about gifts, presents, food and buying stuff?
NO!
HELL NO!
We can take Christmas back. We can celebrate the guy who made it all happen – Jesus, the savior. We can celebrate His birth, what he stood for and how He sacrificed his life! No, that’s not as fun to hear as a jolly red-suited man with presents but Jesus is the reason for the season.
Let’s pull our Bibles out and read a passage. Let’s learn about the man who gave up His life for us. Let’s live a holiday season based upon the principles Jesus taught us and the example he set.
Five ways to celebrate Christmas to make Jesus proud!
1. Go to church. Listen folks, I’m not even a Christian and I’ve been going to Christmas mass for the last few years!
Going to church on Christmas is the ideal situation for the wannabe, non-Church going and disenchanted Christian.
You get to be in Church during the holiest day of the year and celebrate the birth of the Savior. You also hear the gospel, celebrate with music and participate in an activity that’s actually related to the holiday.
How about spending the holidays doing less gift-giving and being more compassionate?
Jesus was compassionate to the hungry, the homeless, the blind, and everyone else around him.
Giving to others in the form of gifts makes you both feel good and results in more stuff!
Being compassionate to others in need, on the other hand, will be a service to help others improve their lives. Give with your money, your time or your attention to a person in need or cause this holiday season.
If you need a toolkit to practice compassion, my friend Sandra has put together a list of resources on her blog. This toolkit is neither approved or endorsed by Santa!
3. Be Kind
Isn’t it interesting that we pull our hair out and are in a mad rush on our way to celebrate Christmas? So many relatives to visit, so many holiday parties, so much shopping to be done.
The craziness of the holidays turns us into demanding, impatient and inconsiderate individuals.
Want to be kinder on Christmas or throughout the year for that matter? Visit Alex Blackwell’s blog to read the manifesto on kindness which features at least 100+ kindness tips.
4. Stop buying stuff
A person’s life, “…is not in in the abundance of the thing which he possesses” Luke 12:15
If you feel that gift-buying and the obligatory purchases of high-end luxury items and technology products doesn’t soothe your soul, then stop the mindless act of purchasing stuff!
Boycott Santa and all his marketing messages. Stop the sales, stop the buy 1 get 1 free, stop the Coke-drinking! Stop getting him cookies! The dude needs to lose weight! (He needs a tough Black Friday workout with Amy Clover to get in shape.)
Instead, take on the Buy Nothing challenge Leo has Babauta has suggested on the Zen Habits blog. Instead of buying whatever the hell you see in sight, stop the madness! Adapt some of the rules Leo’s proposed and cut down on unwanted junk this year for you and for others.
5. Gift experiences. What if instead of giving gifts, we gave experiences?
Instead of stuff, we could give each other our time and attention. We could strengthen our relationships with others by spending time with the people we love and value them. We could give our time and attention to those who need our help.
If Santa shows up at my house, I’m calling the cops this year. I’m leaving the cookies and milk for you, my friends and readers. Have a great holiday and celebrate like Jesus would!
Are you for Santa or for Jesus? How do you stand up to Santa’s aggressive sales and marketing efforts? Yes, you’ll piss Santa off but go ahead and leave a comment below anyways.
How do you find your purpose? It’s a question that plagues many of us.
In this week’s guest post at the popular Pick the Brain personal development blog, I discuss the secret strategy of ‘elimination’ and propose that doing many activities and jobs will help lead us to our life purpose quicker.
By partaking in many activities, jobs and skills, we can successfully eliminate those things that don’t fit us. The more our jobs reveal what we’re not fit for, the closer we’ll get to finding our true purpose.
That’s my 2 cents on the subject anyway – I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please visit the post at Pick the Brain and share your thoughts in the comments section. To read the post, click here for the guest post at the Pick the Brain blog.
I help people overcome their devastating breakups and divorces and find love again. Instead of visiting the Himalayas, sign up below and join me. I am taking a writing break but will be back soon.
This guide is free. A ticket to the Himalayas is $2000. Your move.
