How To Begin To Overcome Any Problem

Before you begin to think that this is just another how-to post, think again. Let me state that I never pretend to have the right answer. I have my own experiences to rely on, and in the case of this post, on this night ;) let me just say that I have come to believe that the solution to any and every problem we face already exists within us :O

The Deepest Place

It exists in that place deep within us that is outside of anyone else's absolute knowing. It is indeed a collective place on the level of consciousness, while at the same time remaining that private, inner place that we all possess. Who do you think you've been talking to all this time? Do you get it? Have you thought about it?

Think. About. It.

There is no need to look outward (out there), to look to others for the answers to the questions that you already know the answers to. Be honest with yourself. Think. About. It.

We Don't Need No Drama.

Most of us can see (if we're honest) that we create the drama that permeates our otherwise peaceful existence. We lose it, and sometimes we make things worse than they are. But we can cut the whole crazy process short by consciously choosing to reduce our own need for rightness. We can simply allow everyone to have whatever opinion they have. I want my opinion to mean something. That's ok. You want your opinion to mean something. That's ok, too. I want to be understood. You want to be understood. We want to be understood. It's ok.

Think. About. It.

My God! Just the collective recognition that we all have a voice, and we choose to make things as they are seems to me to be enough reason to get together and see what our collective wisdom can produce in the way of solutions... but we are here to talk about problems not really being problems at all; aren't we? Can we refer to problems, then, as growth opportunities?

Growth Opportunities

How we see ourselves within a given situation is important. It is good to have a healthy view of self before we attempt to overcome something. We don't have to be a mystic or possess the ability to regurgitate the wise words of our favorite sage either. We need only take a moment to be quiet and listen to our own heart. Really listen.

Sit as comfortably as possible and calm your mind. Prayerfully allow the other voices in your mind to dim so you can begin to hear the Voice that is good and true. Don't make fun of this unless you've actually tried it and have a better idea.

God is always speaking, we just don't always listen.

Praying is praying. But there has to be some faith in the prayer. The idea here is to change the way you see the issue you are facing. Don't look at your perceived problem; see the solution. See the truth of your situation. Nothing is hopeless. Everything is possible. Prayerfully and actively visualize the current thing as being the way that would be better for you, and hold that image -- as you see it, not as you have heard it described by others. Believe that it can be the way you see it. Then... let it go.

Let It Go.

Once you let go of it and give it to God, you have sent the clearest possible signal that you are at peace with your current state, and you are ready to get up, get out, and get on with living this wonderful life instead of worrying.

Ask, receive, but for Hope's sake believe. For it is the believing that makes it possible to overcome. We are not alone in this journey. We are never alone.

You Are Never Alone.

Believing is critical to success in overcoming our issues of incompleteness, separation, lack, failure, etc. There is nothing that can stop you when you believe. Believe in yourself. I believe in you. And I love you.

Peace -- jb

Picture-Perfect Peace Post

Peace is the destination, love the vehicle,

and our thoughts are the fuel that will get us there...

if we choose it.

No need for rambling. The picture says it. -- jb

How Are You?

Today is Saturday, October the fourth, in the Autumn of the year of our Lord two thousand and eight. It is the afternoon of another day complete with made-to-order weather, radiant flowers, and trees that from drought and change of season are making themselves available to any eye that would take pause and notice. Today presents itself to me as another opportunity to contemplate the things that are part of the thing that reminds me to appreciate all the good that exists in my life.

Isn't it a good day to examine our state of well being as well?

How are you? How are you doing when it comes to the things that come to you? Are you bringing them to you? Is that good or not so good? How are you? Are you happy? Do you appreciate life as it presents itself right now?

I sometimes fail to take the time to say outwardly how thankful I am for specific things, so I will list a few of the more general in hopes the reader may relate in some way. I hope to cause a thought of appreciation in you which will translate into a beautiful experience for you. I will also leave you with a link to a post that I feel says a lot that I could try to articulate in my way, only to end up referring you there anyway :) It is an honor to introduce you to TimeThief. She is a very intelligent writer, and an inspiration to me as one who offers a constructive eye towards making my writing better. Helping others is cool.

So, I am very appreciative today, and before I offer a short list of my points of appreciation, I'd like to make obvious the fact that I have not used the word "grateful" or the term "gratitude." For me there is a difference that in terms of how it is applicable to my post is worth clearing up. Gratitude is what happens after I have either survived some event perhaps, or after receiving a gift from someone. Gratitude happens after.

Appreciation, on the other hand, occurs because I choose it.

I am appreciative of things that have made me a better person and these include: My wife, my son, my parents, all my relatives and in laws. I immediately think of all my close friends and how much closer we are getting because we really like each other. These are the best of days because of the ones so dear who have made the choice to always make time to be in the others' company whenever the busy calendar allows.

How are you? How are you doing in terms of your family and/or your good friends? If you don't have any friends, contact me. If you are like most, you have some really good friends, and I'd like to challenge you to go an extra step in showing appreciation for them as soon as the opportunity comes up. This can be done in a variety of ways, and you don't need me to tell you how to do something nice for your friend. I only know how good it feels. I know it equally well because of how often my friends go out of their way to show me appreciation as well as acceptance. That's good stuff.

Peace between family and friends, love for both, and thoughts of creative ways to show them. -- jb

Thoughts Become Things

I have been enjoying my holiday today, and I have spent a large portion of it reading my favorite bloggers. I discovered a few new ones today, so I have been inspired to write about how our thoughts become things. Thanks to the brilliant insights of Robin, I was reminded of the importance of really being aware of my thinking.

I often speak about world peace. It is my loftiest dream and seemingly the most futile. At the same time, I recognize the fact that I alone do not have the power of mind to single-handedly create world peace. I like to think I can do anything... but for today, I humbly admit that world peace is a collective effort. So what are we waiting for?

Maybe the term "waiting" is a little off the mark, but sometimes the things I desire most tend to take a little while before showing up. Have you noticed? Actually, there are also times when I think something and for whatever reason, poof! -- there it is. These events, however, are usually related to parking spaces :-)

So, as I was thinking about thinking, I was reminded of a term used by Esther Hicks when discussing the delayed manifestation of a given desire. She calls this effect "the buffer of time." What she is describing is the space between the thought and the thought becoming the thing. Stay with me here, this is good stuff.

This idea really helps me to have patience, and it is rather beneficial to us as humans at this juncture in our evolution when you stop to think about it. (It will be interesting to read this back and count the number of times I use the word think.) When I think something, or wish for, or pray for anything, there is the reality that we exist within the spacetime continuum. It can make me nuts when I have to wait for the money or the phone call or the lottery results, and I am ok with that. The truth is, I understand the benefit of the delay between the thought and the thought becoming the thing. I'm sure none of us would like the hateful thought we had toward our friend or spouse to immediately become reality, would we?

If I have the power of mind to push my thought beyond time and space but my thought isn't pure, I am in trouble. Do you get my drift? I am thankful that I don't get instant results with each thought. At the same time, that awareness aids me in becoming the master of my thoughts. I can't always control my thoughts and that is not really my aim as much as it is to improve my thoughts... especially my thoughts about others. I don't want to inflict pain on someone by thinking something about them that could, in fact, do just that. I want to think good thoughts about everyone. It is a goal, not a reality so let me be blunt.

Watch what you're thinking! There will come a day when we will collectively possess the power to create anything we want, just by thinking it. We are in this physical plane of existence to work that fact out in our minds now in order to improve the state of our world later. If we all truly wanted world peace, we would already have it in our present reality. The fact that we do not, speaks to the way many of us think. I actually know people who are "praying" for the end of the world. Ouch! Sort of shortsighted if you are actually praying for the end of the world. Maybe you should concentrate on what is happening in your world if you're so ready to pop out. I like it here, and I know my work is not done.

May you monitor your thoughts lovingly, without judgement. May you reflect on your thinking and simply improve the thought that you are not pleased with, again without judgement. And may you come to understand that what you think about others, even though they may not be aware that you are thinking of them, must become a thought created in love. It will help me in my quest to see this world enveloped in peace, and it will help you in creating thoughts that become good things.

Peace in your world, love in your life, and pure thoughts in your mind. -- jb

I would like to hear what you think about thinking, so comment below and let's get the peace train rolling. Thanks for reading. Now you can join my blog network on Facebook

Power Outage

Last night as the full effects of Tropical Storm Fay literally inched closer to our home, we found ourselves facing ever increasing torrential rain and strong, gusty winds. My wife and I were just hanging at the house watching all of it when suddenly everything went black. We live outside the city and even with the electricity running in normal fashion, it is very dark at night. Last night it was as black as crude oil. So black was this kind of darkness, in fact, that it was dangerous to try and walk around in our own home for fear of tripping.

We like to think we're pretty prepared for things. We got out a flashlight, turned on the weather radio, located some candles, and provided our own light. It was adequate for seeing where we were going, but the amount of light necessary for normal function was not available to us. It seemed that no matter how many candles we lit, we were still short on the amount of light we desired. Hmmm, I smell a ramble.

As I sit here now in reflection, which is my favorite thing about Sunday mornings, I am conscious of an analogy regarding light and dark and how the two play into our daily lives. I should add that for me there is no such thing as actual darkness. It is simply the absence of light. How's that for eternal optimism? I am also fairly certain that scientists concur with that statement. :) And when I refer to light, I don't necessarily mean physical light, although we certainly depend on it to see. What I'm really talking about is the kind of light required to see what is really happening.

I am on the other side of a very difficult event which culminated late this week with what I felt would be a wave of relief. Instead, I have sensed a subtle difference between the feeling of relief I expected and what I am actually feeling, which seems to simply be a strong connection with appreciation. It really took until last night for all of that to sink in. Up to that point, I still struggled with some of the remnant emotions related to that event and the impact all of the uncertainty has had on me. I have been looking for things in my life for which appreciation has not been the operative word, and I am finding the process very healing. On a personal note, I am especially appreciative of our dear friends the Johnsons. They know me and they have always been here for me. They allowed me to further my processing this weekend without judgement, and it has played an important role in my getting my head out of my rear end. Thanks guys! You are both good and true; two very needed elements in today's world. These two qualities alone, when uncovered in an individual, constitute a strong foundation for the act of light bearing.

For me, it has become inescapably true that being in the light is good for me. I am honored to be a light bearer when it is my duty to do so, but I am at the same time a willing and hungry soul longing for that kind of light to be poured into and all over me. I never want to be in the dark although it would seem that it is sometimes unavoidable. I like being able to see. I want to really see what is really happening, and I have discovered that seeing is only possible when there is sufficient light. :O

There are many among us living in a sort of darkness that restricts our ability to see. It is disturbing to watch. Sometimes we are not successful in sharing love and light in these situations. This shadow is so overwhelming for some of us that it has the the potential of reaching a point of becoming almost debilitating. We are all responsible for our neighbors, and when we encounter these specific souls, it is imperative that we do all we can to share our selves with them. Lift up your head and look around. It is a beautiful world filled with beautiful people... our extended family, and we are all connected to each other whether we choose to believe it or not. We are truly living in the light when we recognize and see our brothers and sisters as we look into the eyes of those whom we meet in our everydayness. Give yourself away today. I mean it! No hidden price tag connected with just giving yourself away as completely as you can to the one you see who needs it. There is no greater gift than to give your life away in service to another. Your love, your money, your time -- your life.

Peace for the heart of your Sunday, love for the fuel of your mind, no thoughts of self, only for "them" and begin to see your Spirit soar ;-) jb Join my blog network on Facebook

ask me that again...

Have you ever talked to yourself?

Well, I know you have because we all do. So, have you ever wondered who was actually talking; like, whose voice were you really hearing; how many voices were speaking; how many potential perspectives were available? I mean: Who's asking, who's listening, and then who's observing the whole event? Am I asking or listening or answering? Am I the observer? If not me... who?

Who?

Oh, by the way, that is not the subject of this blog... lol. These questions are sort of rhetorical (forgive me), but worth thinking about. So, why don't you do that (think) and then let me know what you think. Drop me a line at -- hearme@jeffbakertalks.com -- You can say anything except that Jeff Baker is crazy. It may seem unbelievable, but the above-described event takes place every day with a whole host of people. Ask around...

If we don't experience something like it, it's not because it isn't possible. In fact, if we're not experiencing some kind of connection or communication with that deepest part of ourselves, maybe we are not aware that we can. I am not writing about the opportunity for dialogue today.

This particular blog is because of the everdayness of the dialogue with self...

So basically, I'm in my truck making a delivery to one of my clients who works downtown. I'm in for a 4o-minute-round-trip-quasi-meditative drive (you like that?) if traffic cooperates. Normally, as I drive, I spend the quiet moments repeating affirmations to myself to keep my mind clear. By the way, doing that does qualify as talking to myself. But what are affirmations you ask?

Affirmations are short, simple, positive statements we repeat to ourselves in order to stay focused and not fall prey to the internal babbling that can potentially take place in the minds of each of us on a daily basis. I especially like to use my affirmations when I am facing something challenging in my life. :-O

I use two very specific ones because of the positive results I have experienced over time. They are: I am the master of my thoughts, and I am the master of my life.
Well, today, immediately after I breathe the words "I'm the master of my life," things just sort of, well, they just unfolded. I didn't have a voice recorder so, I called my trusting wife, Cornelia (she normally doesn't think I'm crazy), and asked her to type the conversation, some of which had already taken place, the majority happening as she listened.

Let me caution you here to not discount too heavily what you're about to read. Scepticism can be healthy, I know. At the same time, as I have said, there exist certain natural laws that cannot be dismissed. The fact that our Creator desires to communicate with us is such a law. So, it follows, that hearing voices doesn't make me any crazier than you might think I am when I'm not having these conversations. As you read what happened, you will discover that I am not claiming to be unique. I am as normal as I know how to be. In my mind, this was no special event.

I did not choose to have this happen, but it does happen when and if you want it to. It is helpful to desire guidance from God, or Source, OR Whatever. (I hate labels.) I do desire guidance very, very much, and I believe that moments of divine inspiration occur to help us deal with certain events taking place in our lives. I am in the process of experiencing one of those type events and I am very open.

So this is what happened an hour ago --

I say, "I am the master of my life."
A voice (mine?) asked the question, "So then why do things seem so out of control?"
A voice asked, "What are you trying to control?"
A voice commented, "I guess 'control' is the wrong word."
A voice then asked, "You used the word 'control,' what did you (who?) mean?"
Then I believe Wisdom entered into the conversation: "You're trying to master your life, not control your life, right?"
So the logical question was asked, "What is the difference?"

At that point, I heard, "When you master the art of living your life, realizing that you cannot control anything, you have indeed mastered your life. Yes, you have much influence regarding outcomes, but you do not have control nor do you want to be in control. You are here to enjoy your life and, in the process, master the living of this lifetime. When you become contented enough that you no longer desire control, you are at the beginning of realizing who you really are.

Forget control; become a master.

Control says, 'I must have it a certain way or I cannot be happy;' the master says, 'I control nothing, I can handle anything, and I am happy in all things.'"

The next question came: "How then do I know that I am mastering my life?"

A voice: "Son, you will know you are mastering your life when: love flows effortlessly, no matter your circumstance; when instead of blaming, you instinctively choose to forgive; when the need to judge someone is replaced with the understanding that ALL are deserving of my attention, compassion, time, energy, support, and love -- equally."

Equally...

If you still refer to anyone as "them," you may just be one yourself.

Peace to you, love for you, happy thoughts about you. -- jb

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