New "Great Lesson" Movie Clips

Dance visionary Gabrielle Roth talks about movement as medicine in this new clip from The Great Lesson movie.



Dr. Meir Schneider is the founder and director of the School for Self-Healing. What you might not know is that he was legally blind as a child and did his schoolwork in Braille. Today, he holds a current unrestricted California driver’s license, and his vision continues to improve. Watch this amazing healer in a new "Great Lesson" movie clip!

The Holy Flow

Check out a fantastic video from my good friend Gabriella Hartwell on the power of surrender. When you let go of expectation, attachment and time frames, you enter this flowing space in which anything is possible! Enjoy the video!

3 Brand New "Great Lesson" Promo Videos

Discover The Art of Possibilities

“Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them.” ~ Alan Watts

In the wonderfully inspiring documentary film What The Bleep Do We Know, one of the physicists describes quantum mechanics as the physics of possibilities. The idea is that every moment is filled with infinite possibilities.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t see life that way. Instead of possibilities, we see limitations. In fact, the older we get the less possibilities we believe we have in our lives.

After all, where are these possibilities when we are trapped in a bad marriage or stuck working at a soulless job?

The Japanese martial art of Aikido teaches us to shift our thinking. In Aikido, there are always possibilities or options. The problem is that when confronted with stress – or an attacker in the case of the martial arts - we suffer from tunnel vision.

In the face of real conflict, we see just two options. Either we lash out in anger by meeting force with force or harsh words with harsh words. Or we give way to fear and play the victim.

But in the practice of Aikido, we realize that there are actually more than two options. Instead of advancing or retreating, we could also choose a third way in which we blend with the force by re-directing it into another direction for our own advantage. In this way, we take a potentially negative experience and turn it into a positive one.

The same idea holds true in business.

In the corporate world, we’ve been conditioned to believe that bigger is better. For many small business owners, “grow or die” is seen as the only option. The idea is that we grow a business so that we can increase revenue, hire more employees, and ultimately cash out, sell our business and retire.

But are those really the only choices?

What if we take a step back and catch a glimpse of the big picture? What do we actually value most about our business?

Is it growth above all else? Or is it perhaps control over our vision and freedom to spend more time with our families and communities? In those latter cases, bigger is not necessarily better.

The point is that in martial arts, business, quantum mechanics or any aspect of life, we always have an infinite number of possibilities and options. It just requires that we widen the scope of our vision. When we do this, we see not only main road but also the roads less traveled.

This idea can also be applied to the most mundane tasks. For instance, think about taking a trip to the supermarket. You could follow the familiar pattern of rushing in and out, avoiding eye contact at every turn. Or you could choose another path ~ perhaps engaging the people in your shopping universe with a big smile and a playful attitude.

When we open our minds as well as our hearts to the infinite possibilities available to us at any moment, we start living a deeper, richer and more meaningful life. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it best: “It is only with the heart one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

3 New "Great Lesson" Promo Videos

The Power of Limiting Beliefs

“Life is too short to be little.” - Disraeli

Have you heard the story of the circus elephant? When the baby elephants are small and weak, they get chained to an immovable stake. As they grow larger and more powerful, they continue to stand chained to the same stake even though they could easily smash right through it. So, why don’t they break free?

The fact is they’ve been conditioned with limiting beliefs. They’ve been trained to believe that they can’t break through the stake and so they never will!

As it turns out, people are no different than circus elephants. We’ve also been conditioned with limiting beliefs. Did you know that by the time you turn 17 years of age, you’ve already heard “No You Can’t” roughly 150,000 times and “Yes You Can” only 5,000 times. That’s 30 No’s for every one Yes.

The problem is that these limiting beliefs create long-term patterns of behavior. And before long, we get stuck or trapped – just like those circus elephants. We settle for the ordinary instead of striving for the extraordinary!

To break free from this narrow way of thinking, we need to expand our vision of what’s possible! As Tom Crum says, we need to dance a bigger dance.

One powerful way to do this is by setting really big goals.

According to Hard Goals author Mark Murphy, the great goal achievers - Gandhi, Kennedy, King, Mother Teresa and others like them - set really BIG, heartfelt and challenging goals. They realized the secret that all great goal setters know: if you have a big enough and compelling enough "why" behind your goal, the "how" will fall into place.

Each of these master goal setters had a story in their mind about how they were going to change the world for the better. The stakes were so high that they couldn't contemplate not achieving their goal. In a way, it was all or nothing for them!

Unfortunately, most of us don’t do this. We set small, uninspiring goals that resemble to-do lists. You could say that these safe goals are more like work than play.

Did you know that of the roughly 60% of Americans who set New Years Resolutions, less than 10% are successful. In fact, time management firm FranklinCovey found that a third don't even make it to the end of January.

If you want to break out of the box of limiting beliefs, it’s time to set big, bold inspiring goals that get you so excited that failure is just not an option!

Forget thinking small! What are your really BIG goals?

Simple Tips For Getting Centered

Do you ever feel disconnected from your body? Think about all of the hours we spend at the office and at home, hunched over a computer. Sure, we exercise the mind, but what about the rest of us?

When we neglect the body, we pay a steep price in our physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In the upcoming movie The Great Lesson, we learn that one of the most powerful ways to connect with the body is by getting centered. Centering is an integral part of mind ~ body practices like yoga, martial arts, tai chi, dance as well as most sports. The center goes by many names: Dantian in Chinese, Hara in Japanese, and the Lower Chakra in Sanskrit. In America, we call it the gut or the belly.

So where is the center? The center is a point in the middle of the body, about two inches below the navel. It is a source of balance and stability. According to Richard Strozzi-Heckler, when you are centered, you are completely relaxed. In this way, you are making an ally with gravity instead of fighting against it.

Think about a time when you felt deeply relaxed and grounded in your body even though things around you were chaotic. Perhaps you even experienced a sense of time slowing down. This is the magic of your center - the place where mind and body come together.

But the center is a moving center. It goes wherever you direct your awareness. If you are deep in thought, the center might be in your head. If you are feeling heavy emotions, it might be in your chest.

However, when you are centered in the mid point of your body, the mind becomes quiet and still. Instead of dwelling on the past or thinking ahead to the future, you get rooted in the present. You accept who you are and where you are unconditionally without trying to change things. According to Chuang-Tzu, “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.”

Here are some simple tips for getting centered right now:

1. Take a few deep, slow breaths.
2. Align the body by sitting or standing up straight.
3. Release any tension and allow the body to relax completely from head to toe.
4. Direct your attention toward the point two inches below your navel.

Some might say that this sounds great in theory, but who has the time to do this? According to Tom Crum, any moment can be an opportunity to find your center.

For instance, when you are taking a walk, you can become more aware of your center with each step. Try pressing your index finger on the point about two inches below the navel from time to time as well. Think of yourself as pushing a button to power up your center.

Another great centering moment is when you are stuck in traffic. Instead of getting frustrated, Crum uses the seat belt as a centering belt. The click of the seat belt can be a reminder to connect with your center. If you are not in a car, use a belt buckle as your centering belt. Adjust the buckle so that it rests on your center.

Unfortunately, most of us spend most of our day OFF center. Becoming irritable and stressed are sure signs that we have lost our center.

To regain the center, choose moments throughout the day to take centering breaks. Give it a try and see what happens! If you think about it, any spare time during the day can be an amazing opportunity to recapture the magic of your center!

Investing In The Best Health Ever!

"Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food" – Hippocrates

What is the greatest investment you ever made? If real estate, stocks and bonds come to mind, you are not alone. Most people think in terms of “financial” wealth when they think investing.

But what about your health? Let's face it, you can have all of the money in the world, but without your health, what do you really have?

So why doesn't everyone invest in the best health ever with the same gusto that they invest in their 401 K's? Part of it is a lack of information. Many people don't realize the power that they have over their health. Another reason is people assume that it is too expensive to live and eat healthily.

No doubt buying fresh organic fruits, veggies and other REAL non-processed, whole foods will cost more than the processed stuff. It will also take more time to prepare than fast food. But those are just the short terms costs. Like any good investment, you pay a little more upfront, but look at the long-term picture. You will save boat loads of money by minimizing, possibly even eliminating, your drug, surgery and hospital costs in the future!

Let's look at six simple ways to start investing in your health right now!

1. Make optimum health your top priority. The goal here isn’t just to prevent illness. It’s to actively promote the best, most radiant health that you and your family have EVER experienced. To do this, you may need to make some tough choices. Shift some priorities around. For starters, do you spend money on the latest, greatest new cell phone and cable TV package? Or do you invest that money in the most healthy, nutrient dense foods on the planet?

2. Read the ingredients. Less is more when it comes to ingredients. If you don't know what it is and how to pronounce it, you probably shouldn't be ingesting it into your body. Most of these hard to pronounce ingredients are preservatives only there to increase shelf life. Look for products with no (or at least minimal) preservatives. You may have to eat it sooner, but your body will thank you for it!

3. Load up on fruits and veggies! Buy a wide variety of colors. The more colors, the more nutrients, the more powerful health promoting antioxidants! I'm thinking green spinach, orange carrots, red tomatoes, blue blueberries and yellow squash - just to name a few. To get the biggest bang for your health buck, buy local organic produce. To save some money, buy in bulk and shop at Farmer’s Markets. Or best case scenario, grow your own organic garden!

4. Fill your plate with whole grains. It doesn’t cost any more to choose brown rice and whole grain pasta over the white processed varieties. The difference is that the whole grains are loaded with essential nutrients and fiber that get largely removed when processed. Again, buy in bulk to reduce costs.

5. Know your super-foods. To get the maximum amount of life enhancing vitamins and minerals, you want to be eating super-foods. Dr. Linus Pauling, the world's only 2 time unshared Nobel Prize winner, said that "You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency." Very simplicity, Deficiency of nutrients = Disease. Super-foods are jam packed with nutrients. You can eat them straight up or spoon them into a juice or smoothie. Some great examples of super-foods are goji berries, spirulina and raw organic cacao powder. Sweet potatoes, garlic and blueberries are some other readily available super-food staples in my diet!

6. Start a mind ~ body fitness practice. Most of us spend our days hunched over a computer. It’s so important to have some activity that moves the body on a daily basis. Some great examples are yoga, martial arts, running, tai chi, even gardening. The list goes on and on. Experiment until you find a practice that you really enjoy.

If you think about it, when you invest in your heath, not only do you save money, but you also get to enjoy the benefits of vibrant, amazing health for the rest of your long life! What could be a better investment than that!

What do you want to be?

Amazingly powerful commercial. Always always ALWAYS - think and dream BIG, like you did as a child!!!

Finding Your Inner Traveler

Do you see yourself as a traveler or a tourist in life? G.K. Chesterton once wrote that “The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”

In Zen, you could say that the traveler embodies the idea of Beginner’s Mind. A beginner’s mind is like an empty cup. It has no expectation for the future or baggage from the past. It is alive only in the Now.

Just like a child at play, the traveler sees limitless opportunities for adventure at every turn. According to Suzuki Roshi, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”

On the other hand, tourists have lots of baggage. They alternate between the past and the future, rarely if ever setting foot in the present.

Tourists never deviate from a pre-planned routine. They avoid stepping outside their comfort zone at all costs. They think everything looks the same so they tend to grow bored quickly.

Tourists can change the scenery, but they can’t change the eyes through which they see and experience it. Most people live like tourists every day – at home or on vacation!

So how do you find the traveler within? It starts by emptying your cup or unpacking your bags. When you let go of the past as well as your expectations for the future, you begin to lighten your load. You allow yourself to open up to new experiences. You see the world with new eyes. You realize that the traveler is not out there, but is available right here, right now, wherever you are.

A daily mind ~ body fitness practice like Yoga, Martial Arts, Tai Chi and Meditation is a powerful way to help you find your inner traveler. These practices are designed to emphasize process over results. They encourage mindfulness over mindlessness. They also help slow you down!

Imagine going through your daily routine as if you were a traveler in a foreign land. Think about walking down a street in your neighborhood - a street you've walked hundreds of times - and seeing it as though for the first time!

Choose to be a traveler not a tourist in life and you will see everything in a completely new light!

The Weight of a Snowflake

"Tell me the weight of a snowflake", a coal-mouse asked a wild dove.

"Nothing more than nothing", came the answer.

"In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story," the coal-mouse said.

"I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow -- not heavily, not in a raging blizzard -- no, just like in a dream, without a wound and without any violence. Since I did not have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the 3,741,953rd dropped onto the branch -- nothing more than nothing, as you say -- the branch broke off."

Having said that, the coal-mouse flew away.

The dove, an authority on this since the time of Noah, thought about the story for awhile, and finally said to herself, "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come to the world."

Kurt Kauter from New Fables: Thus Spake the Carribou

The Great Lesson movie trailer

Enjoy the latest "Great Lesson" movie trailer. The movie is almost ready! Be sure and check back for more details!

Martial art masters, tai chi and dance visionaries, a cell biologist, executive business coach, holistic psychotherapist, sports psychologist, Harvard professor and an inspiring self-healer join forces in one film to explain the great lesson. See what's possible!

The Good Fight

"In 1986, I went for the first and only time on the pilgrimage known as the Way to Santiago, an experience I described in my first book. We had just finished walking up a small hill, a village appeared on the horizon, and it was then that my guide, whom I shall call Petrus (although that was not his name), said to me:

'We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body. Many times in our lives we see our dreams shattered and our desires frustrated, but we have to continue dreaming. If we don’t, our soul dies

'The Good Fight is the one we Fight because our heart asks it of us.The Good Fight is the one that’s fought in the name of our dreams. When we are young our dreams first explode inside us with all of their force, we are very courageous, but we haven’t yet learned how to Fight. With great effort, we learn how to Fight, but by then we no longer have the courage to go into combat. So we turn against ourselves and do battle within. We become our own worst enemy. We say that our dreams were childish, or too difficult to realize, or the result or our not having known enough about life. We kill our dreams because we are afraid to Fight the Good Fight.'" - Paulo Coelho in “The Pilgrimage”

The Mexican Fisherman story

The American investment banker was at the pier of a
small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with
just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The American complimented the Mexican on the quality
of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer
and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the
processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions?...Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Follow Your Bliss

“I feel like starting to live again, Eduard. I feel like making the mistakes I always wanted to make, but never had the courage to, facing up to the feelings of panic that might well come back, but whose presence will merely weary me, since I know I’m not going to die or faint because of them. I can make new friends and teach them how to be crazy too in order to be wise. I’ll tell them not to follow the manual of good behavior but to discover their own lives, desires, adventures, and to live. I’ll quote from Ecclesiastes to the Catholics, from the Koran to the Muslims, from the Torah to the Jews, from Aristotle to the atheists. I never want to be a lawyer again, but I can use my experience to give lectures about men and women who knew the truth about this existence of ours and whose writings can be summed up in one word: Live. If you live, God will live with you. If you refuse to run his risks, he’ll retreat to that distant heaven and be merely a subject for philosophical speculation. Everyone knows this, but no one takes the first step, perhaps for fear of being called insane. At least, we haven’t got that fear, Eduard. We’ve already been inmates of Villete.” Paulo Coelho from his novel Veronika Decides to Die

Following Your Flow

“Your body needs to do more thinking, and your mind needs to dance more.” - Chungliang Al Huang

Have you ever done any thinking with your body? How about dancing with your mind? These questions might seem silly at first – straight out of Alice in Wonderland - but they are actually very significant.

One of the most powerful lessons from the new film The Great Lesson is the importance of having a daily fitness practice that incorporates both mind and body.

What is a Mind ~ Body fitness practice?

A Mind ~ Body fitness practice is the best of both worlds. Whether we choose yoga, martial arts, dance, tai chi or running, the common thread is that mind and body are working together in harmony. We learn that they are not separate entities, but they are deeply connected and part of the same whole. The mind moves the body and vice versa.

Think about a time when you performed an activity at your absolute best. Some call this following your flow or being in the zone. You probably noticed that every action was completely focused yet totally effortless.

When you enter this flowing space or zone state, mind and body are one. They are no longer fighting against each other. That’s why the activity is so effortless and so easy. It’s as though you were a child playing in the sandbox again.

What are the benefits of Mind ~ Body fitness?

1. Quieting The Mind
Think about how many thoughts run through the mind every second. How do we slow this avalanche of thoughts, particularly when they are negative and counter productive to our health and happiness? The quickest way to still the mind is to move the body. A daily fitness practice helps to restore the balance between mind and body. Instead of being so centered in our heads and worrying about the past or future, we become more rooted and grounded in the here and now.

2. Self Discipline
When you’re involved in a daily fitness practice, there are no days off, and there are no excuses. If you’re sick or your kids are acting out, it doesn’t matter – you make the time because it’s that important. When you commit to your practice, you build up this self-discipline muscle a little every day.

3. The Inner Game
While the physical side of fitness gets most of the attention, it should be remembered that the postures, techniques and body movements are a mirror of the inner work being done. Sure it’s cool to stand on your head in yoga. Or bound through the air in dance. Or even smash a wooden board in karate. That outer stuff certainly has its place, but most important are the inner rewards that you reap from your practice. You will see the proof in how you grow and develop as a whole person, and others will see it in you as well.

4. Process Over Results
Many people become obsessed with the tangible results of their fitness practice. What was my time, how many points did I get, what was the score etc. When we do this, we get caught up in judging ourselves. But in a true Mind ~ Body fitness practice, it’s more important that we focus on process. Process is all about flow! We allow ourselves to engage fully in the activity without judging it or worrying about results. Paradoxically, when we let go of the need for measurable results, we usually perform at our best!

So take the advice from the amazing speakers in The Great Lesson movie and give yourself one of the greatest gifts possible – a daily Mind and Body fitness practice. And then enjoy the fruits of your flow: a healthier, happier and more whole You!

What does it mean to be a warrior?

So often in the west, a warrior is synonymous with a fighter - as in someone who fights an opponent or an enemy. But it doesn't have to be this way. The founder of the martial art of Aikido realized that the real battle isn't so much out there as it is within. He referred to this as "Masakatsu agatsu" or "the true victory of self mastery."

Check out this inspiring scene from the film "Peaceful Warrior" on what it really means to be a warrior:

Discover Your Gift

What is your gift? Are you living it every second of every day? Or is it buried somewhere deep inside? In the words of Wayne Dyer, "don't die with your music still inside." All of us have a gift and it is the challenge of this life to find it and then share it with the world. Enjoy the trailer for "Discover The Gift"

"May I Be Frank" - must see movie trailer!

Here's the trailer for an amazing new film called "May I Be Frank." Watch as three 20 somethings, take Frank (a 54 year old, 300lb, Italian, on a 42 day transformation of his entire life, with Love, Raw Food & Affirmation! Enjoy!

Does more money mean more happiness?

Check out this great article by Alex Green who looks to answer the age old question: does more money mean more happiness?

“How little has situation to do with happiness.”
- Fanny Burney

STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS

By Alex Green

The recent decline in home values and the stock market – not to mention corporate and municipal bond markets – has left most investors with less than they had a year ago. To meet their long-term investment goals, many will have to spend less and save more than they originally planned.

This is not easy. As the economist Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations in 1776:

“The desire for food is limited in every man by the narrow capacity of the human stomach; but the desire of the conveniences and ornaments of building, dress, equipage, and household furniture, seems to have no limit or certain boundary.”

In the current economic downturn, many of us are unable to afford all the things we want. That pinches. But should it make us unhappy?

That depends. But for most of us, the answer is a resounding no.

As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert writes in Stumbling On Happiness:

“Economists and psychologists have spent decades studying the relation between wealth and happiness, and they have generally concluded that wealth increases human happiness when it lifts people out of abject poverty and into the middle class but that it does little to increase happiness thereafter. Americans who earn $50,000 per year are much happier than those who earn $10,000 per year, but Americans who earn $5 million per year are not much happier than those who earn $100,000 per year. People who live in poor nations are much less happy than people who live in moderately wealthy nations, but people who live in moderately wealthy nations are not much less happy than people who live in extremely wealthy nations. Economists explain that wealth has ‘declining marginal utility,’ which is a fancy way of saying that it hurts to be hungry, cold, sick, tired, and scared, but once you’ve bought your way out of these burdens, the rest of your money is an increasingly useless pile of paper.”

If this is true, why are so many people out there busting their humps for more?

For some, it is the pursuit of financial independence, a worthy goal. But for others, the answer lies in their increasingly materialistic ways.

We all must consume to survive, of course. But when consumerism becomes an end in itself, when it overruns more important ideals, provides the measure of our success, or corrodes our capacity to know truth, see beauty, or feel love, our lives are diminished.

Some will argue that for economies to flourish, we need rampant consumerism. It is consumers’ insatiable hunger for more stuff that fuels the economic engine.

In many ways, this is true. In fact, the notion itself is hardly new. In 1759, Adam Smith wrote in The Theory of Moral Sentiments:

“The pleasures of wealth and greatness… strike the imagination as something grand and beautiful and noble, of which the attainment is well worth all the toil and anxiety which we are so apt to bestow upon it. … It is this deception which rouses and keeps in continual motion the industry of mankind.”

Notice that Smith, the father of the concept of free markets, referred to the endless pursuit of more as “this deception.” He recognized that the needs of a vibrant economy and the requirements for us to be happy as individuals are not the same.
Studies show that the riches and material goods we desire – should we have the good fortune to acquire them – won’t necessarily make us happier. Yet we often imagine they will, even when experience teaches us otherwise.

Walk into your local auto dealership, for example, and check out the cars in the showroom. They look sharp. They smell good. The tires have been blackened. The exteriors have been waxed and polished and Windexed until they gleam. In short, we are seduced by their newness.

And even though we know that a new automobile is perhaps the world’s fastest-depreciating asset – and within weeks we will be mindlessly traveling from point A to point B without a second thought about our vehicle’s make or model – we plunk for one.

As my grandmother used to say, “Most people can’t tell the difference between what they want and what they need.” (This remark, incidentally, was generally directed toward me and my latest two-dollar object of fascination at F.W. Woolworth.)

Look around today and you’ll have no problem finding folks with plenty of neat things: big cars, fancy boats, the latest electronic gadgets, and all sorts of expensive “bling.” They seem to have it all. What you may not realize is how many of them are two payments from the edge.

Yet some middle-class Americans remain obsessed with what they don’t have. To some, it just doesn’t seem right – doesn’t seem fair – that others have so much more than they do. But as political satirist P.J. O’Rourke observed:

“I have a 10-year-old at home, and she is always saying, ‘That’s not fair.’ When she says that, I say, ‘Honey, you’re cute; that’s not fair. Your family is pretty well off; that’s not fair. You were born in America; that’s not fair. Honey, you had better pray to God that things don’t start getting fair for you.’”

The Beautiful Truth

Can a movie change your life? I believe this one can...

With health care costs skyrocketing every day, it is clear that the current system of disease management doesn't work... unless of course you own stock in a drug company. It is time to make a change. It is time to give real healing a try. If you are passionate about your health and the health of your family, then you need to know "The Beautiful Truth." Enjoy the trailer, then go see the movie:

How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything

In this video, best selling author Geneen Roth refers to the great zen teacher and writer Cheri Huber who writes that "How you do anything is how you do everything." What an incredible statement! Our relationship with food for instance is the same as our relationship with money and other people and so on... it's all part of the same whole. You can't separate or compartmentalize one from the other. Enjoy the short video:

Can a story change your life?

Give this one a try, it's by Aikido master Terry Dobson:

A SOFT ANSWER
By Terry Dobson

A turning point in my life came one day on a train in the middle of a drowsy spring afternoon. The old car clanked and rattled over the rails. It was comparatively empty -- a few housewives with their kids in tow, some old folks out shopping, a couple of off-duty bartenders studying the racing form. I gazed absently at the drab houses and dusty hedge rows.

At one station the doors opened, and suddenly the quiet afternoon was shattered by a man bellowing at the top of his lungs -- yelling violent, obscene, incomprehensible curses. Just as the doors closed the man, still yelling, staggered into our car. He was big, drunk, and dirty. He wore laborer's clothing. His front was stiff with dried vomit. His eyes bugged out, a demonic, neon red. His hair was crusted with filth. Screaming, he swung at the first person he saw, a woman holding a baby. The blow glanced off her shoulder, sending her spinning into the laps of an elderly couple. It was a miracle that the baby was unharmed.

The couple jumped up and scrambled toward the other end of the car. They were terrified. The laborer aimed a kick at the retreating back of the old lady. "You old whore!" he bellowed. "I'll kick your ass!" He missed; the old woman scuttled to safety. This so enraged the drunk that he grabbed the metal pole at the center of the car and tried to wrench it out of its stanchion. I could see that one of his hands was cut and bleeding. The train lurched ahead, the passengers frozen with fear. I stood tip.

I was young and in pretty good shape. I stood six feet, weighed 225. I'd been putting in a solid eight hours of aikido training every day for the past three years. I liked to throw and grapple. I thought I was tough. Trouble was, my martial skill was untested in actual combat. As students of aikido, we were not allowed to fight.

My teacher taught us each morning that the art was devoted to peace. "Aikido," he said again and again, "is the art of reconciliation. Whoever has the mind to fight has broken his connection with the universe. If you try to dominate other people, you are already defeated. We study how to resolve conflict, not how to start it."

I listened to his words. I tried hard. I wanted to quit fighting. I even went so far as to cross the street a few times to avoid the "chimpira," the pinball punks who lounged around the train stations. They'd have been happy to test my martial ability. My forbearance exalted me. I felt both tough and holy. In my heart of hearts, however, I was dying to be a hero. I wanted a chance, an absolutely legitimate opportunity whereby I might save the innocent by destroying the guilty.

"This is it!" I said to myself as I got to my feet. "This slob, this animal, is drunk and mean and violent. People are in danger. If I don't do something fast, somebody will probably get hurt. I'm gonna take his ass to the cleaners."

Seeing me stand up, the drunk saw a chance to focus his rage. "Aha!" he roared. "A foreigner! You need a lesson in Japanese manners!" He punched the metal pole once to give weight to his words.

I held on lightly to the commuter strap overhead. I gave him a slow look of disgust and dismissal. I gave him every bit of piss-ant nastiness I could summon up. I planned to take this turkey apart, but he had to be the one to move First. And I wanted him man, because the madder he got, the more certain my victory. I pursed my lips and blew him a sneering, insolent kiss. It hit him like a slap in the face. "All right!" he hollered. "You're gonna get a lesson." He gathered himself for a rush at me. He'd never know what hit him.

A split second before he moved, someone shouted "Hey!" It was ear splitting. I remember being struck by the strangely joyous, lilting quality of it -- as though you and a friend had been searching diligently for something, and he had suddenly stumbled upon it. "Hey!" I wheeled to my left, the drunk spun to his right. We both stared down at a little old Japanese man. He must have been well into his seventies, this tiny gentleman, sitting there immaculate in his kimono and hakama. He took no notice of me, but beamed delightedly at the laborer, as though he had a most important, most welcome secret to share.

"C'mere," the old man said in an easy vernacular, beckoning to the drunk. "C'mere and talk with me." He waved his hand lightly. The giant man followed, as if on a string. He planted his feet belligerently in front of the old gentleman and towered threateningly over him.

"Talk to you?" he roared above the clacking wheels. "Why the hell should I talk to you?" The drunk now had his back to me. If his elbow moved so much as a millimeter, I'd drop him in his socks.

The old man continued to beam at the laborer. There was not a trace of fear or resentment about him. "What'cha been drinkin'?" he asked lightly, with interest. "I been drinkin' sake," the laborer bellowed back, "and it's none of your god dam business!"

"Oh, that's wonderful," the old man said with delight. "Absolutely wonderful! You see, I love sake, too. Every night, me and my wife (she's seventy-six, you know), we warm up a little bottle of sake and take it our into the garden, and we sit on the old wooden bench that my grandfather's first student made for him. We watch the sun go down, and we look to see how our persimmon tree is doing. My great-grandfather planted that tree, you know, and we worry about whether it will recover from those ice storms we had last winter. Persimmons do not do well after ice storms, although I must say that ours has done rather better that I expected, especially when you consider the poor quality of the soil. Still, it is most gratifying to watch when we take our sake and go out to enjoy the evening--even when it rains!" He looked up at the laborer, eyes twinkling, happy to share his delightful information.

As he struggled to follow the intricacies of the old ma@n's conversation, the drunk's face began to soften. His fists slowly unclenched. "Yeah," he said slowly, "I love persimmons, too..." His voice trailed off.

"Yes," said the old man, smiling, "and I'm sure you have a wonderful wife."

"No," replied the laborer, "my wife died." He hung his head. Very gently, swaying with the motion of the train, the big man began to sob. "I don't got no wife, I don't got no home, I don't got no job, I don't got no money, I don't got nowhere to go. I'm so ashamed of myself." Tears rolled down his cheeks; a spasm of pure despair rippled through his body. Above the baggage rack a four-color ad trumpeted the virtues of suburban luxury living.

Now it was my turn. Standing there in my well-scrubbed youthful innocence, my make-this-world-safe-for-democracy righteousness, I suddenly felt dirtier than he was.

Just then, the train arrived at my stop. The platform was packed, and the crowd surged into the car as soon as the doors opened. Maneuvering my way out, I heard the old man cluck sympathetically. "My, my," he said with undiminished delight, "that is a very difficult predicament, indeed. Sit down here and tell me about it."

I turned my head for one last look. The laborer was sprawled like a sack on the seat, his head in the old man's lap. The old man looked down at him, all compassion and delight, one hand softly stroking the filthy, matted head.

As the train pulled away, I sat down on a bench. What I had wanted to do with muscle and meanness had been accomplished with a few kind words. I had seen aikido tried in combat, and the essence of it was love, as the founder had said. I would have to practice the art with an entirely different spirit. It would be a long time before I could speak about the resolution of conflict.

Did Your New Year's Resolutions Last?

If you are like a majority of Americans, you set one or more New Year's Resolution. Here we are nearly 6 months later and I have one question: did you keep your resolutions?

Did you know that of the roughly 60% of Americans who set resolutions, less than 10% are successful! In fact, time management firm FranklinCovey found that a third won't even make it to the end of January. OUCH!

So why are we so bad at achieving our goals?

According to Mark Murphy, the main reason is that most of us set small goals that are NOT very inspiring. But for most of the great goal achievers - Gandhi, Kennedy, MLK, Mother Teresa - they set huge goals that got them really excited. They realized the secret that all great goal setters know: if you have a big enough and compelling enough "why" or story behind your goal, the "how" will fall into place.

Each of these great goal achievers told a story about how they were going to change the world for the better. The stakes were so high that they couldn't contemplate not achieving their goal. In a way, it was all or nothing for them!

Unfortunately, most Americans don't do this. They set wimpy goals that look more like to-do lists. You could say these safe goals are more work than play. So when the going gets tough (which it inevitably will with any worthwhile goal), these goals or New Year's Resolutions get abandoned - they get postponed to the following year. And this cycle continues year after year after year.

So if you want to be part of that less than 10 percent that actually does achieve their New Year's Resolutions, its time to set big, bold, inspiring ones that get you so excited that failure is just not an option.

As June 1 rolls around (half way into the new year), try setting some new and improved resolutions! See what's possible!

Living Rich

What does it mean to live rich? According to marketing guru and best-selling author Michael Masterson, many of us confuse having lots of cool toys with living rich. Check out this amazing article by Masterson called "The Most Important Thing I Ever Learned About Living Rich." Here it is:

"The most important thing I ever learned about 'living rich' was taught to me by a former rich guy who dropped out of the moneymaking game to study Chinese philosophy and teach Tai Chi.

Jeff and I had been friends since high school. Twenty-five years ago, when we were still relatively young men, we were partners in a merchandise vending business that was making lots of money. Jeff’s annual compensation was in the mid six-figure range.

One day he quit. Since then, he has supported himself as a consultant and by teaching Chinese martial arts. His departure from business did not diminish our relationship in any way. Rather, it allowed us to pursue different careers and compare notes along the way.

I’ve written about Jeff before. He is a serious and careful thinker. And we’ve been having two or three extended conversations over the years – ongoing discussions about topics in which we are both interested.

We talk about ontology. We talk about sexuality. We talk about aging and health. One thing we rarely discuss is money. But several months ago the subject did come up, and it changed my developing understanding of wealth.

I mentioned to Jeff that I was working on a book about 'living rich.' I explained that my thesis was that one didn’t need a ton of money to live well. I explained that most wannabe rich people spend too much money on the symbols of wealth, things that don’t matter. And they spend too little money on things that do matter… like mattresses.

“Mattresses?” Jeff raised an eyebrow.

“The average person spends seven or eight hours sleeping every night,” I said. “But when it comes time to buy a mattress, he looks for bargains. Yet the best mattress in the world will last ten times longer than a cheap one, and will provide him with tens of thousands of hours of good sleep.”

Jeff listened to me, amused, and then he asked: “What do you think of when you think of wealth?”

Besides being an expert in ancient Chinese philosophy, Jeff is a master of the Socratic dialogue. I knew that this question was just the first step of a walk I would be taking with him. I gamely went along.

“I’m not sure. I guess I think about the symbols – the big houses with swimming pools and fancy cars.”

“That’s interesting,” he said. “Now do this: Imagine yourself lying on a lounge chair next to a swimming pool next to a huge house with a big black car on the side.”

I closed my eyes and did as he asked.

“Do you have yourself in the picture?” Jeff asked.

“Yes,” I told him.

“And how do you feel?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Good.”

“Can you be more precise?”

I focused on the feeling. “Tranquil,” I said. “And safe.”

“That’s interesting,” he said.

We didn’t talk any more about it that day. But that’s typical of our conversations. They progress.

It intrigued me that the feelings I associated with wealth were very different than I would have guessed. Tranquil? Safe? Really?

A month later, Jeff and I had lunch at one of his favorite restaurants in Palm Beach, a small Italian bistro. When I arrived, Jeff was seated at his usual table, chatting with Giuseppe, the maitre d’. He stood to embrace me, and then offered me a glass of Prosecco from the half bottle that was chilling at the table.

This was going to be a long, luxurious lunch. First we had the sparkling wine. Then we had appetizers, then the main course, and, finally, espressos outside on the patio so I could enjoy a cigar.

When I eat by myself, I eat quickly – almost furiously. It is as if I see eating as a necessary evil. The faster I can get it done, the sooner I can go back to work.

But with Jeff, eating is very different. It is slow. It is deliberate. It is conscious. Jeff talks about the menu du jour. He savors the wine. He relishes the food. Time slows down, and I feel myself becoming more aware of the luxuriousness of the experience.

Sitting on the patio after lunch, sipping our espressos, I brought up our previous discussion.

“I’ve been thinking about how I feel when I think about wealth,” I told him.

“And…” said Jeff.

I told him that I thought my feelings about wealth came from my early childhood. We were a family of 10 living on a teacher’s income. We were the poorest family on Maple Street, which was one of the poorest streets in town. The feeling I had then was a combination of anxiety (the fear that my schoolmates would despise me for being poor) and embarrassment (because of the clothes I wore, the lunches my mother packed, etc.). I told Jeff that I realized my adult feelings about wealth – tranquility and safety – were the opposite of the feelings I had when I was poor – anxiety and fear.

“That’s interesting,” he said.

After a moment, he said, “Michael, you have been very successful in the acquisition of wealth – more successful than 99% of those people who seek it. Are you saying now that your pursuit of wealth was actually a pursuit of the two childhood feelings you associated with wealth?”

“Yes,” I said.

He nodded. “And what percentage of your time have you spent working to make money and buy the symbols of wealth?”

“Lots of time,” I admitted.

“And yet you found that when you had the money and the house and the cars, you still didn’t always have the feelings you were seeking?”

“Right.”

“Now let me ask you this. Have you ever spent any time trying to feel wealthy?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean seeking the feelings rather than the things?”

I admitted that I had spent almost no time doing that.

“And how often do you feel wealthy?” he asked.

“Not that often,” I admitted.

“When was the last time you felt wealthy?”

“I feel wealthy now,” I told him.

He nodded again.

“Let’s take a walk,” he said. “There’s a little store near here that has a great selection of international magazines.”

We meandered over to the store and spent 20 minutes looking through French and Italian and Japanese magazines that I had never seen before. The pace, like the pace of our lunch, was leisurely – almost languid. And that somehow opened me up. It gave me ideas for some of the magazines I publish. It gave me thoughts about art projects I might start. It left me feeling inspired… and something else. It left me feeling richer.

So this was, I realized, another feeling I had when I felt wealthy. It was the feeling of acquisition – not of things but inspiration and knowledge.

That was an “Aha!” moment for me.

I had spent most of my adult life stressing myself to acquire the symbols of wealth, yet I seldom felt wealthy. Jeff, on the other hand, had left the world of acquiring financial wealth, yet enjoyed the feeling of wealth most of the time!

Jeff doesn’t eschew the material aspects of wealth. Beautiful things and elegant service are real, and he knows that. But he understands something about those things that most rich people don’t: Having them doesn’t give you the feeling you are looking for. You get that feeling from being conscious of and enjoying them.

Instead of buying a yacht that costs millions and must be maintained by a staff of people and worried about all year long, Jeff reads about yachts and then goes to yacht shows to experience the boats he has read about. Instead of buying a $6 million condo in Aspen, Jeff is happy to spend three days vacationing there at the Little Nell hotel.

The feeling of wealth for me now has three elements: tranquility, safety, and emotional or intellectual enrichment.

You get the tranquility, Jeff has taught me, by simply slowing down. When you slow down, you can pay attention to what you are experiencing. You can savor the wine. You can taste the food. You can smell the roses.

You get the feeling of safety by not spending more than you can afford. This you can do on a budget by banishing the illusion that you need to own everything. Since learning this lesson from Jeff, my wife and I experienced the rich ambiance of the George Cinq Hotel in Paris without booking a $1,500 room. We spent an amazing 90 minutes in the terrace bistro drinking wine.

You need money – lots of money – to own the symbols of wealth. But you get the feeling of emotional and intellectual enrichment by understanding what makes you feel rich, seeking it out, and being fully aware of the experience. Again: Smell the roses!"

Meditation for Beginners

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." -- Old Chinese Proverb

Sure it reduces stress and helps us relax, but who really has the time to meditate these days.

People barely have time to talk to their kids, let alone sitting cross legged on the floor for 20 minutes, staring at a blank wall. Doesn't sound like much fun to me!

But meditation can be much more dynamic and creative. And did I mention that it doesn't have to take much time either...

Here are some simple ways beginners can meditate:

Listening:

Listening is an active way to still the mind. When you are listening to the sound of your breath, music or noises in your home for a few minutes, you naturally become more mindful and aware of your surroundings. The mental chatter seems to dissolve and what's left is a more focused and refreshed mind.

Laughing

When you are laughing, you are mindful and fully present. You are also highly relaxed. It is difficult to be tense and lost in thought when you are laughing. Just look at children. They are laughter experts. They laugh often and easily throughout the day. Laugher is another great way to restore relaxation and clarity to an often clouded thinking mind.

Drinking Tea or Taking a Walk

Sipping hot tea and going for an early morning walk are other great meditations. Think of the hot steam rising from your mug. Or imagine your feet slowly pressing down on cool blades of grass. When you enjoy these activities, you are not thinking about the past or the future. You are in the moment. And being fully present is precisely the magic of meditation!

Don’t let the name fool you. Any activity has the potential to be a meditation when you slow down, turn off your auto-pilot thinking mind and become more aware of what you are doing.

We can all meditate - anytime anywhere. Give it a try!

Choose Happiness

Did you know that happiness is a choice? In fact, happiness is one of the bravest, boldest and most radical acts you can make. It's subversive to choose happiness.

Same thing with health. Last week, I was at a talk by Robert Kenner, the director of Food INC. and he said that the three most revolutionary decisions in your day (and your family's) are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Imagine that - you can choose to be vibrant, healthy, energetic and alive based on your food decisions.

In either of these cases, you are making a choice to be happy and healthy. It's not a result of outside circumstances or genetics.

Often times, we think we have to add something to be happy. Or we see ourselves as the victim of bad genes. The common denominator is that we play the blame game. We're not where we want to be because of something or someone else.

Everything changes when you look within and take ownership of your life. You change your destiny once you realize that happiness, even health, is a choice!

Here's an amazing passage from Mark Murphy's must read book on goal setting called Hard Goals.

"This is why I get cranky when I hear the 'it's all genetic' crowd fatalistically tell us that our lives are predetermined by our DNA (if you don't have the natural talent, oh well, don't waste your energy trying)... I'll tell you what I'm thankful for: I'm thankful that Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, among others didn't buy into any of those crazy arguments. I'm thankful each one of them was willing to push past what's easy in order to achieve some exceptionally difficult goals. Otherwise they wouldn't have founded a country, put a man on the moon, liberated a nation, freed a people, and so on."

What are your limits?

Did you know that it has been proven that really big, inspiring goals are more achievable than small, forgettable ones? If that's the case, then why don't all of us dream huge? According to Paul J. Mayer's amazing story, the reason is most of us are programmed to think small - much like circus elephants...

"An elephant with his trunk, can easily pick up a one ton load. But have you ever visited a circus, and seen these huge creatures standing quietly, while tied to a small, wooden stake? When still young and weak, an elephant is tied by a heavy chain to an immovable iron stake. No matter how hard he tries, he can't break the chain or move the stake. Then, no matter how large and strong an elephant becomes, he continues to BELIEVE he cannot move AS LONG AS HE CAN SEE THE STAKE in the ground beside him. Many intelligent adults are like circus elephants. They are restrained in their thoughts, actions and results. They never move out any further than the extent of their own self-imposed limitations."

The Future of Food

Dr. Vandana Shiva is one of the world's most inspiring and important voices on behalf of sustainable agriculture and the environment. It was once said by Dr. Max Gerson that the soil is our "external metabolism." If our soil is toxic and deficient of minerals, then we will be the same.

If health is a priority for you and your family, check out Dr. Shiva's talk on the future of food:

Safe is way too risky

Master motivator and marketer Seth Godin encourages us to make our businesses (and lives) remarkable - as in "worth making a remark about." To Godin, playing it safe is the riskiest thing you can do. Instead of aiming for good or even very good, you need to think and dream REALLY big if you want to live a truly extraordinary life or have a remarkable business. Enjoy the video:

I CAN or I CAN'T - you decide!

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.”
Mohandas Gandhi

It's been written that by the time you are seventeen, you've heard “I can't” 150,000 times compared to “I can” only 5,000 times. It's no wonder that most of us are programmed to think so negatively.

Write down 5 limiting beliefs that you have. You can start by writing “I can't.........”
Then, below this, change "I can't" to "I can."

Write it, Say it, Believe it, Feel it, Know it.... I CAN!!!!!

We are all so incredibly powerful!

Peace,

D
The Great Lesson - the movie that transforms

The Play State

Did you know that some of the biggest achievers take play very seriously? We often think of play as just for kids. But research by Stuart Brown points out that play can make adults live happier, healthier, more creative and fulfilled lives. Think back to the last time when you were immersed in play. Whatever the activity, if you lost track of time and were fully engulfed in the moment, then you entered the play state!

Check out this amazing video of play in nature:

Hard Goals

Do you ever wonder why many people fall short of their goals again and again?

In his amazing book called Hundred Percenters, Mark Murphy offers a fascinating explanation. He writes that our goals are too safe and conservative - even wimpy!

On the other hand, hard goals - or really REALLY BIG GOALS - are different:

"HARD goals are aspirational. They force us to push through our self-imposed limitations, to focus on something bigger than our own immediate wants, and to solve challenges of vital necessity. HARD goals are also inspirational."

Imagine that - goals so big that you get inspired and fired up just thinking about them!!

I guess you could say that a safe goal is a safe road to failure. Why, because it's not strong and compelling enough to push you through the inevitable obstacles that will come up along the way.

Michael Beckwith reminds us in The Secret that this is a feeling universe. And goals are the same way. They must be more than words on a page. Think of it this way: if your goals don't get you leaping out of bed in the morning and working late into the night, then they probably aren't big enough.

So what are your hard goals?

Low Information Diet

When You Have No Other Choice

"When you have no other choice, you stop making excuses and start doing the things you know need to be done. When you close off all alternatives, it is much easier to commit and make progress.

"Most business people I know love the fact that they are able to get so much work done while travelling on airplanes. At least on most flights, cell and e-mail access isn’t an option, so one is left with the only choices of reading the inflight magazine, reading a book, listening to music or actually getting work done. Goodbye internet, hello productivity.

"Can you go internet free one day a week? Can you go e-mail free a couple times a week? Can you resolve not to answer your work calls after 5pm or before 9am? Can you commit to eating a leafy green salad with every meal? Can you not turn on your TV after 9pm? Can you stop reading so many blogs and focus more on writing more of your own

"What can you do to recreate such situations (like the internet free flight!) in your everyday life – so that you don’t have to rely on your own willpower to achieve a positive result? For example, have organic produce delivered to your door every week so you feel compelled to eat healthy food – so it doesn’t spoil. Join a sports team that will make you feel guilty for not getting out and exercising. Do work in a location that doesn’t have internet access. Sell your TV (or loan it to a friend for a while). Disable your Facebook and Twitter accounts…etc.

"Get creative and design a lifestyle that makes it easy for you to be more disciplined and smarter about how you live you life and spend your time."

Great blog posting from Yogi Ravi

Give Ravi's low information diet a try for a day or a week and see how it works out for you.

Raw for Life

Dr. Gabriel Cousens, Michael Beckwith ("The Secret" and "Oprah") and David Wolfe are interviewed in RAW FOR LIFE. This film can empower people to take control of their health and happiness:

Living in the Now!

Dr. Jerry Lynch is a featured Master Teacher in the upcoming movie The Great Lesson. In this video, he tells the story of "the watch" and what it means to LIVE IN THE NOW!



www.TheGreatLesson.com

This Is Your Life

THING BIG or fail small!

Author Seth Godin explains that the lizard brain "loves being a cog in the system" because it's safer than doing something foreign and untested.

You Are What You Eat!

Raw food guru David Wolfe tells us how we can change our life by changing what we eat!

Enlighten Up

Just finished a wonderful film called Enlighten Up about journalist and yoga skeptic Nick Rosen's exploration of yoga.

My favorite part is when Rosen meets Gurusharananda, a revered saint and scholar in India. Rosen asks to know which path is the right path - and which is real yoga?

Gurusharananda responds:

"You came to me. You could have come by cycle. You could have come by car. You could have come by elephant. You could have come by foot. To reach here there are so many directions. That depends on you, where you are at present. It’s not important what you are doing, it’s important why you are doing.

"Whichever path is right for you, is the right path. If a path does not work for you, do not take it. Do not take a path because it is popular, or because it works for someone else. Only do what speaks to you. This is true yoga."

The Yes Game

What do you say YES to?

Abraham-Hicks gives this wonderful talk about "The Yes Game." Here's how you play: you write down or say out loud everything that you say YES to in your life.

You see most of us just focus on the NO's and what we don't want.

The Yes Game helps you shift your thinking to a more positive, affirmative and grateful state of mind. And this happens instantly because you are saying YES to yourself! It's as though you are giving yourself permission to follow your personal legend -- your hopes and your dreams!

What a powerful tool this can be! Imagine starting your day - every day - with The Yes Game.

So give it a try and write down (or say aloud) your YES LIST. Here's mine so far:

I say yes to love!
I say yes to joy!
I say yes to gratitude!
I say yes to laughter!
I say yes to adventure!
I say yes to my young son's sparkling eyes!
I say yes to financial freedom!
I say yes to my farm house near the coast!
I say yes to my new, inspiring and empowering movie The Great Lesson!

Choose Happiness

Be a rebel and choose to be happy above all else -- let that be your only goal today!

Bill Clinton's Plant Based Diet

Learn from the Body

Many people in the west talk about the need to find one's self. Every year, Americans spend big bucks on shrinks and self improvement books to help track down this elusive self. Most of these so-called solutions look for the answers in our heads.

But what about the body?

In his important, must-read book Holding The Center, Richard Strozzi Heckler writes about learning from the wisdom of the body: “I developed practices that revealed how attitudes and moods were bodily, not mental phenomena. I helped them become observers of their bodies, and others’ bodies in order to gain control over their automatic and often destructive moods and emotions.”

Having a daily practice - like yoga, martial arts, dance, running - is an important way to tap into the wisdom of the body.

Yes, they keep us physically fit, but they also offer something much more important: self-awareness. In times of uncertainty, a daily practice can keep us grounded and rooted in our bodies.

Find a practice and give it a try. I promise you will be glad you did!

The Magic of Tea

Are you looking for a way to meditate but are not really sure where to start? How about starting with a simple cup of tea!

Tea is a meditation. It slows you down and makes you more mindful and aware of the world around you.

It is nearly impossible to gulp it down and rush through it the way you might do other things. It’s a full-bodied sensory experience – like the finest of wines – and you are along for the ride.

Like meditation, drinking a cup of tea is about entering into the NOW!

Thick Nhat Hanh says it best of all: “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis
 on which the earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without
 rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.
 Only this moment is life.”

Enjoy a cup today!

The Stillpoint

The last interview of The Great Lesson movie takes place next Tuesday with dance visionary and recording artist Gabrielle Roth. Check out some lyrical bliss from her book Sweat Your Prayers:

"I want to take you to a place of pure magic, where everything goes and nothing stops, like a twenty four hour roadside café with the best jukebox you can imagine. Only in this place, you don’t listen to jazz, you become it. All your parts jam. It’s the place athletes call the ‘zone,’ Buddhists call ‘satori,’ and ravers call ‘trance.’ I call it the Silver Desert. It’s a place of pure light that holds the dark within it. It’s a place of pure rhythm that holds the stillpoint. It’s a place within you."

The Traveler

"I don't want to hurry it. That itself is a poisonous twentieth-century attitude. When you want to hurry something, that means you no longer care about it and want to get on to other things."
Robert Pirsig Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance


In this modern, technological age, most of us find ourselves working faster and faster around the clock to keep up. But in Rolf Pott's amazing book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, he encourages us to "slow down." Whether at home or abroad, we should always have the mindset of a traveler.

The traveler doesn't rely on routine, she sees and experiences everything as though for the first time. In this way, all of the senses come alive. The traveler goes about her day fully present - living in the moment.

Potts writes: "If travel truly is in the journey and not the destination, if travel really is an attitude of awareness and openness to new things, then any moment can be considered travel...Explore your hometown as if it were a foreign land, and take an interest in your neighbors as if they were exotic tribesmen."

For at least one day this week, make a point of slowing down! Think of yourself as a traveler even as you walk the streets of your neighborhood, sip coffee in your kitchen or surf the aisles of your local grocery store. Remember - with a shift in mindset, every day has the potential to be a new adventure.

According to Potts, the writer Herman Melville takes it even one step further. Melville writes about perhaps the most important kind of traveling of all - the kind that explores the inner country of one's own self: "'What does thou think then of seeing the world... Can't ye see the world where you stand?'"

Brand new "Great Lesson" movie teaser videos

Check out these new teaser videos for our upcoming movie, The Great Lesson. The short videos feature the amazing and inspiring Tom Crum, Sean Brawley, and Bruce Lipton. Much more to come!!

Changing Expectations to Preferences

According to Jerry Lynch and Chungliang Al Huang, changing expectations to preferences is a powerful way to return to the present moment. Here is a short excerpt from their must-read, classic book Thinking Body Dancing Mind:

"Expectations block your development and limit your horizons...When you have an expectation, you are confident that something will turn out in a particular way. You may be looking forward to it, as if it were due to happen. Looking forward, however, distracts you from the moment - the task at hand. In the process, you become unfocused and uncentered, pressured and anxious, which interferes with your performance. When you do not tie yourself to expectations or preconceived notions, you begin to see and understand yourself and your world. You become open to endless possibilities, free to change and create enormous personal power . You, like a samurai warrior, expect nothing and become ready for anything..."

"When you put aside expectations, you accept that you can't control your future, only influence it. To help in this, focus on the direction in which your feet are pointed at each moment, and establish a strong preference instead of an expectation. A preference presupposes that you have less concern for the outcome, yet you still direct your efforts along the path of excellent performance. You keep yourself open to possibilities for greater expansion rather than limit yourself with defined expectations."

The World's Greatest Lie

"Everyone believes the world's greatest lie..." says the mysterious old man.

"What is the world's greatest lie?" the little boy asks.

The old man replies, "It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie..."

"To realize one's Personal Legend is a person's only real obligation. All things are one.

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

(An excerpt from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A fable about following your dreams.)