Have you used your imagination today? If your answer is no, I’m very sorry to hear that. Famed psychologists, from Freud to Assagioli have seen and used the powers of imagination. The New Thought movement focuses on the use of imagination quite a bit. Movies like The Secret and anything talking about the Law of Attraction would be nowhere without the use of imagination.

But is it really all that powerful? Yes it is. Einstein wrote; “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions”. I’m not going to tell you that if you imagine a $1000.00 check coming to you in the mail today that it’s going to happen or if you imagine an elephant appearing in your living room that it will happen – I’ll take bets against that. But I can tell you that studies of prisoners of war have returned home and have witnessed that one of the primary things that kept them alive was their vivid use of imagination. In his best selling book The Psychology of Winning, Denis Waitley relays the story of a Vietnam POW that loved golf. Everyday while imprisoned this soldier imagined playing a perfect game of golf. When he was released his first game was indeed near perfect, and he had been imprisoned for years – never coming even close to a golf course; except in his mind.

If imagination can do anything for you, the most powerful thing it can do (in my opinion) is to help you see a different perspective. Many times we are so caught up in what is happening around us we cannot see around the boulder in our path. But if we use our imaginations, we can see, and the creative juices start flowing and before you know it your perspective has changed, and the pesky boulder is on its way out.

See it … be it.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Do you feel like you’ve reached a road block? You have a desire, but you just can’t seem to get motivated to work towards it. Perhaps you’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t have the will power to move forward, toward this desire. I have to tell you, it’s not just about will.

Famed Psychologist, Roberto Assagioli, tells us that our will power, like anything else, can be exercised and made stronger. We never lack will. If you can move your hand to your mouth to feed yourself, you have will power. It takes will power to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen. So, the road block lay deeper than will power.

The next question is what is it that stops you from moving? I believe we will nearly always find the issue in our Shadow; the Shadow being those qualities that we disown as part of our personalities. It is critical that we find this part of our self, and integrate it back into our persona.

Why would this be important? Real road blocks stop the flow of traffic. The road blocks of our Shadow stop the flow of our vital energies. You may be doing great in several aspects of your life, but when this great energy meets your Shadow road block… well, get off the bus because you will not go any further.

Once you remove this road block, your energy will flow, and you will clearly see this is not just a will power issue.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Are you a control freak? If asked that question, of course, many of us would reply with a resounding “NO!” And I’d have to agree with many of them. Why? Because many of us do not have a strong sense of our personal responsibility.

We are taught very early that if we did not “do it”, then we are to point out the blame to someone, or something else. “The dog ate my homework”; how many teachers have heard that one over the decades? “I over-slept; the alarm clock did not go off”. It’s interesting and very convenient to note that we often point our finger at objects that cannot fight back. Well, let me ask you did your dog open your backpack or book bag, search through your folder and pull out your current homework and eat it? Or did you leave in on a table where it could fall to the floor so your dog could get to it. As for waking up, did your alarm clock not go off, or were to so weary from staying up so late that you did not set it correctly?

If you were a true control freak, you would take responsibility for your actions and those things you impact. The minute you point your finger at someone else, you are giving all the control away. Even in more serious offenses; if you break a law, and in your guilt you do not take responsibility then that makes officials work all the harder to prove that you did it. If you don’t think the shoe will fall harder once they prove it, you are mistaken.

Remember the old saying; “When you point a finger at another, remember there are always three other fingers pointing at yourself”. Try it … point at something and look at your pointing hand. Do you see the three fingers pointing back to you? Take responsibility.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Do you open the door for her? Do you bring her flowers “just because you love her”? If another man whistles at her or yells his ‘cat calls’, do you have words with him? Do you defend her? And here’s an important question; does she allow you to do these things?

I’m going to step out on the ledge today – I believe the Feminist Movement of the 70’s has ultimately killed femininity. Where have all the ladies gone? In the process, this has caused men to be confused, lost or just plain stupid. Now of course this is not an issue across the board, there are still girly girls out there, and there certainly are manly men, but both are a dying breed.

Then we wonder why our relationships don’t work. There is an old comedy stereotype, that the first cavemen would pick his bride by knocking her out his club. That’s because men think in a very serial way. Since the seventies men have had to alter their thinking. They've had to start thinking like a woman, and many just cannot deal with that very well. If you think that men and women are equal in all things, I encourage you to think again. I’m not saying that women are not as valuable as men, because they are; sometimes even more valuable. I’m not saying women should not be respected, because I my opinion, women are the source of honor in men and men should show that to women.

Ladies and gentlemen – the time has come to get back in touch with your authentic gender. Be the man. Be the woman – guys go dust off your club; you’ve not used it correctly in a long time.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Trust, respect, love – do you have these things in your life? It’s not unheard of in western society to be cautious when dealing with these emotions. Our ego steps up and controls how we work with trust, respect and love. Many of us feel we cannot give such things away unless we have a sense that we are (or will be) getting them back in return.

This is understandable because our ego is designed to protect us. We feel the impact of our ego time and time again. We talk about not trusting without first being trusted, or not having to respect if not respected… and most certainly most of us will not love without feeling loved.

If you think about it though, that potentially could send you deep into the loneliest existence you could ask for. I’m sure that you’ve heard we must first give in order to get. I have often said the only kind of respect we ‘earn’ is disrespect. Regardless, some people just cannot give these things blindly. Past hurts have driven these qualities so deep; they must be dug out by others with a shovel!

I had a very interesting conversation with a dear friend of mine - another very accomplished coach - and we came to the conclusion, the fact remains; we must first give to receive. But no one is asking you to give these things to others blindly. I propose that you first give these things to yourself – trust me your ego will not stand in your way if you want to give these things to yourself. Self trust; if you trust your own judgment and the things you do, your confidence will do nothing but inspire others and they will trust you. If you respect yourself, others will see you standing with honor and integrity, allowing them to respect you… and if you love yourself – you are free to love others, and they will love you in return. Give to yourself – and you will receive – it’s the way of the Universe.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

“If you don’t want to be a teacher, you’d better get off the planet.” Richard Bach wrote that in his Messiah’s Handbook, and it is so true.

Of course we are not all certified teachers working within that very noble profession, but we are all teachers none-the-less. Any parent will understand this. Even if you are not a parent however I think it’s pretty clear that we are all teachers and students at different parts of our lives (heck, even at different parts of our day!)

What we decide to teach and how we go about teaching it is what’s important though. Sometimes we are not even aware we are teaching. Our actions alone can be a teaching mechanism. What you do is so important.

Be aware that you are teaching every day. What is it you want to teach?

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

What are you thinking about? What happened yesterday? What’s going to happen tomorrow? All too often our minds are preoccupied with yesterday and tomorrow, and what are we really thinking of when we are thinking of yesterday? We are thinking of nothing. What are we thinking about when we are thinking of tomorrow? We are thinking of nothing.

Yesterday and tomorrow are illusions. They don’t exist, and to spend one moment of time having them in our mind is filling our mind with nothing, and wasting time. Now, they say we must have a quiet mind, but I’m sure that is not what they were thinking of.

Don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow. Think of now. Think of people in your life now. Think of the love you bring into the world now. Think of how you touch so many different lives now. Oh, you may think you’re not all that, but you’d be wrong. Everyone that you meet is moved in some special way.

There is so much that can fill our mind, so why waste one instant on thinking about nothing.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

How easily swayed are you by what other people say? I’m not necessarily speaking about the difference between a leader or follower; we are all leaders and followers, teachers or students, at certain times in our lives. I’m talking about how well do you know yourself at the core, and how shaken are you when someone tells you something different?

It happens all the time. Others often see something in us that we would not normally feel about ourselves. Do others see you as the martyr? The victim? The know-it-all? Of course most of it is little more than projection, when they see the worst of themselves in you, but they wouldn’t even project those dark qualities unless there were some truth in it.

I’m not saying that others can (or should) control who you are by their projections and opinions; nothing could be further from the truth. You are who you are at the core, but if you don’t truly know what that is, you can easily be carried here and there, like a leaf in an autumn wind. Take the time to truly know yourself, to center yourself – then when others want to project their worst nightmare on you, at least you are ready to tell them – piss off.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Are you in a relationship? I hope you said yes! I know the first thing you thought of was your marriage or your boyfriend / girlfriend – your romantic relationship. But I’m here to tell you, your life is full of relationships and they are not all romantic, some are actually unpleasant; Aren’t they?

But I want to make sure you understand that everyone you come into contact with, you initiate a relationship. Now that may seem like a heavy responsibility, and guess what? It is! It’s a big responsibility but is not anything to worry about or fear that you cannot do. It truth, you’re already in a relationship with them, you just didn’t really know it – we are connected.

This is the greatest thing we have been given. Our relationships allow us to live life. Can you imagine if you woke up one morning and there was NO ONE left on the planet? You’d probably want to kill yourself. Our relationships help to define us… and not because it’s what other people think of us, but rather how we act (our action) towards others.

The core of our relationships is the same core in every human being – Love. If you move forward with this knowledge, just watch your joy grow. Your relationship with the mailman, the baby sitter, the husband, wife, kids, PTA, … your relationship with mom and dad, siblings, neighbors, church members, internet buddies… every relationship which is centered in love is one that connects us all.

We are in a revolution – an evolution – and at the core of this revolution is love; catch the ride it’s gonna be AWESOME!

Relationships; ya can’t live without em, and ya can’t live without em!

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

“God is Love”, I don’t know who might have said that first. I suppose it’s in the Bible somewhere – I’m pretty sure Jesus said it – I know Jesus said it in so many words at least (I’m not a big Bible quoter). Anyway, long days gone by are the days of a vengeful God. God IS love, and she lives among us.

Have you ever wondered how you will get by? Perhaps you’ve wondered how the world will be able to survive all the pain and suffering it has now. Just remember that God is Love. Make that your mantra if you must (it’s a pretty good one). God is in each and every one of us; it is what connects us.

So how will you get by? We get by, by turning ourselves inside-out. Take the Divine love that exists inside you and put on the outside for all to see and share in. Do that and the joy will by yours!

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

Many of you may know I am continuing my education in the field of psychology. As a student I don't have the opportunity to read a great deal for pleasure only. While I enjoy many of my text books (many of them can be found on my website) I've put off reading novels until this summer break.

The Shack, is a book that came highly recommended to me. It is a spiritual novel and I'm not even finished with it and I will highly recommend it to you! It is an excellent novel. I've already cried, smiled inside and laughed out loud reading it. Written by Wm. Paul Young, it is a short 252 pages, but reads as if only 50. Yes, it is that sort of page turner. In fact I recommend that you do not start reading it until you have a chunk of free time, because you will NOT want to put it down.

Lastly, I want to add if you are a Christian this is a must read book. This book will bring you ever so much closer to your faith. If you've ever wondered about the Holy Trinity, you may find answers here, if you've ever wondered why Jesus died on the cross - it becomes ever so poignantly clear in this novel (it made me cry).

If you are former Christian, or someone that has turn away from Christianity don't let my former statements disuade you from reading this book. Regardless of your faith, it holds a deep spirituality and has something for everyone.

Buy it today!

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

“From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!”

We’ve all heard at least some of this ancient Scottish prayer. But is it the lord that will deliver us? How many times have you woken in the middle of the night and every sound you heard was nerve wracking – even dangerous? Have you every glanced at a toy spider and shrieked out of fear?

There is little doubt that our fears are mostly conjured up from the mind, and the mind alone. What is your greatest fear? If you think about it, I’m sure you’ll come up with one – the key word here is, think about it. There is a psychological practice called “flooding” where we are over exposed to our fears, in an attempt to overcome those same fears. Afraid of spiders? (millions are) How about having to move 10 tarantulas from one container to another with nothing more than your bare hands – that would be considered flooding.

But flooding is nothing more than forcing your mind to know something else. Can’t you change your mind all on your own? We change our minds about things nearly every day.

My over all point here is that our fear is largely a product of our mind. What we believe is true, comes true and our entire body responds to something in our mind alone, in a very real physical way.

If fear can have this hold over us – just think what love can do.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

"The most power prayer, one well nigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all is the outcome of a quiet mind." Meister Eckhart wrote that, and if you don’t believe it just give it a try. Jesus told us; “ when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” The Buddha teaches us; “The greatest prayer is patience.” If it doesn’t take a quiet mind to be patient, I don’t know what does.

There you have it. Spiritual leaders have always taught us that our communion with the Divine, the Greater Source – God – is to shut your mouth and open your heart. Opening your heart is an act of gratitude, not supplication. I think Mother Teresa put it very well; “Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.”

You’ve gotten the message, now it’s time to kick it up notch.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

The world is evolving, can you feel it? 10 years ago, no one was talking about the Law of Attraction. Today, the Law of Attraction is nearly a household term! The New Thought Movement has crossed many thresholds in Western society. Every day our scientists are coming closer and closer in terms with our religious leaders. Quantum Physics is leading us “down the rabbit hole” into a world of what was fantasy only one or two generations ago. The APA (American Psychological Association) has even begun to accept Psychosynthesis as a legitimate psychodynamic process.

The question is; are you going to get on the bus? I understand that if you are reading this you probably are already going for the ride, or close to it. You have accepted some form of spiritual life. Most of Western society however has denied our spiritual nature, even within our religions.

So what will we do on this bus ride? We will encourage the spirit in all we think, do and create. Something great is on the horizon – we want as many loved ones and love when we get there.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard

The Universe is trying to tell me something. Have you ever felt that way? What did you do about it? Allow me to share: Yesterday, I was in a conversation regarding the “pulse” of the earth. How different area’s are very different in their feelings; i.e. Sonoma vs. the Bay Area or San Francisco. There was a premise that the outlaying areas, such as Sonoma, have a stronger pulse then any area that is closer to the city.

Then today I received an email from Mike Dooley. He wrote: “Did you know in [our] gorgeous little planet's entire history, there's never been a drought that didn't end? A storm that didn't clear? Lightning that didn't retreat? An earthquake that didn't still? A flood that didn't recede? Or a plague that wasn't, eventually, overwhelmed by the healthy? Now, as a rule, I'm not into odds, statistics, or gambling, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that something's going on down there.”

So here’s my thought. It’s true that as we get further into a natural environment it is easier to feel the pulse of the earth, but it is not because it is stronger. Yes we humans have, unfortunately and misguidedly left plenty of scars on this planet – but they are nothing compared to what the earth herself can accomplish. Did you know that if left to its own recourse, the ocean will clean up any oil spill? Did you know that there are some trees that require forest fires to enable the spread of its seed? Did you know that water is the only element that actually expands when it freezes? (everything else condenses). Did you know that if left to its own recourse water never flows in a straight line? This is all actually very common knowledge. The trick is what about nature do we not know; my bet is quite a lot.

One thing we should never forget, is that mankind is also part of nature. Everything that exists; skyscrapers, great works of art, roads, bridges, etc, are the products from something very natural – mankind. If you wish to feel the pulse of the earth, that is a level of awareness, not where you are standing. If you cannot feel the pulse of the earth standing next to a streetlight, as strongly as when standing next to a tree, then you are missing something. I’m not promoting the rape of the earth – mankind should take only what it needs. Remember, to overcome the planet it takes quite a bit of struggle and pain. Can we take down a mountain or clear a forest? Yes, of course we can, but it’s not easy and a constant ongoing struggle (not to mention the consequences of such an action). The mountain and forest both will both grow back given time. When mankind learns the struggle is not worth it, that we must work in cooperation with planet earth – then we will surely see progress!

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard