Daily Ramblings – Today’s Quote – Harold Klemp

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Following your Path, Harold Klemp, Helping Others to God

Today’s Quote:

“Sometimes you are called upon by the Holy Spirit to go out of your way to help another person toward the enlightenment of God.” —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

For those of you who do not know, my religious path is Eckankar. Sri Harold Klemp is the spiritual leader of my path and I wanted to pass along a few quotes of his during the holidays. His quotes apply to any path.

Have you ever felt so good about the religious path you follow that you had to share it with others? This is a common feeling. We receive God’s love and we want to help others find this same feeling.

When I was growing up, I felt a little embarrassed by being an Eckist, because the town I grew up in was predominantly Christian. All of my friends went to Church and I didn’t. I felt strange and out of place when others could talk about going to Sunday School and the things they learned. I had nothing to share with my friends and when they asked I had to make something up to fit in.

I don’t feel bad about this. It is the nature of our existence here. Some of us are different and have to adapt to our differences. At the time, I chose conformity, making up a Church my family and I went to, to avoid the chastising I visualized receiving from my classmates had I admitted that I was not a Christian at all.

After following this path for 47 years, I have finally come to realize that this is just a phase that we must pass through. I imagine it is the same for any child who follows a path that is different from the mainstream in his school. Some may choose ridicule and “stick to their guns”, while folks like me took the easy way out and avoided the criticism by blending in.

Over the years I have matured in my beliefs and hope everyone has the opportunity to find a path that suits their needs. Whether their path is Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, or any other number of paths, each path is the right one for the individual who chooses it. They all lead the follower back to God.

Embrace your path. Follow its tenets. Study and follow the practices required by your holy books. The more you put in the more you get back.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Workout Diary

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Time off

Hey all!

Just so you know. I’ve decided to take some time from the gym and will begin hitting it hard again on Monday, December 4th. Subsequently, I won’t be posting anything here until next Monday.

Keep pushing hard!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Today’s Quote – Harold Klemp – The Plus Factor

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God, Harold Klemp, Path to God, self-improvement

Today’s Quote:

“No matter how much insight we gain about God, there will always be something that lies beyond the horizon of our understanding. That is simply the nature of truth.” Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

As an Eckist, this is quote refers to the plus factor. It relates that regardless of what we do, we will never be able to understand God in its entirety. There will always be one more step to take, one more level to achieve.

I think this is a tremendous thing! It means that our journey towards being our best self will never be over. Imagine how boring life would be if there were a final place where we finally make it? I think that would be a terrible place to be.

I enjoy stretching myself. I enjoy the ups and downs of self-improvement. We never stay in the same place. We are either progressing or slipping backward a bit. That’s ok. This is how it works. I see this in the gym, my writing, my reading, and even my spirituality.

What I find most interesting is that each time we hit a new high, we begin to realize we are more capable now and our view of what’s next becomes clearer. Then we reset our sights on something higher and continue.

The path to God is the same. Imagine yourself at the bottom of a mountain. You begin walking upwards. You take a rest after a while and look back. You are now much higher in the worlds of God and can see more. This new awareness changes us. It allows us to see better and make better decisions. We can see the mistakes we made in the past, we can see the various routes we took and can visualize where we made mistakes. It doesn’t make sense to dwell on these mistakes, mind you, but it does point out that we will always fumble about as we move forward, regardless of the task. This is the nature of things.

Each time we take a rest, we are higher still. We can see more, are aware of more, and are literally changed beings. Continuing on with my metaphor of a mountain, imagine how hard it will be when the air begins to thin, the path becomes more treacherous and steep. This requires, even more, transformation as we progress. Our path to God and perfection never ends. It continues forever.

I hope everyone had a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – I’m back!!

Hey folks!

Sorry for being away for a bit, but I’ve been enjoying the relaxation surrounding the recent Thanksgiving holiday. It was a great time. I hope everyone had a good time (those of you that celebrate). I’ll be back up and be adding my daily content starting again tomorrow.

Thanks for your ongoing support!

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Happy Thanksgiving

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A day of Thanks, Family and Friends, Gratitude, Happy Holidays, Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is the day we find ourselves around the big tables full of food, enjoying family and friends. Tomorrow signifies a time of giving thanks for the wonderful things we have received and all of the great things yet to come.

Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season with Christmas trees, gifts, recharging our batteries, and all the rest.

I wish each of my readers (who celebrate) a terrific Thanksgiving and hope you are in a position to celebrate the day with your loved ones. To all of my friends on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+, Happy Thanksgiving as well. To avoid spamming you on your news feeds, this is my greeting and well wishes to all of you as well.

credit for Featured Image is http://www.thanksgiving.com

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – A Goal Driven Life.

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Divine Spirit, Executing, Goals, Goals are yours, Goals require choices and focus, Goals stretch us, Planning

Today’s Quote:

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland

Goals are critical to our lives because they focus us on certain things that we want. I can’t imagine living a life without pursuing something. Without a goal life just goes on and passes you by. Why would anyone want to live like this?

We dream, we put a plan in place to achieve that dream, we succeed, and we stretch again to a new dream. Goal setting, planning, and striving to achieve our goals is one of the greatest things we can do with our time.

Goals are personal. They’re yours. Don’t let others create goals for you. You won’t be motivated to complete someone else’s goals. You will only be committed and driven to perform the goals you set for yourself. These goals will drive you daily to achieve them.

I read something today that clarified something for me. The concept is called connecting diamonds. Connecting diamonds is realizing that when we set a goal, we know what the achievement of the goal looks like. We also know where we are. This is a starting point. The challenges arise when we try to move from the first diamond to the last one.

I’m a firm believer in Divine Spirit and the ability it has to step in and help us. Divine spirit is what helps us move from the beginning of a goal and help us get to the end state. Keep looking for the divine spirit in your life. It provides insights about where you should go, what you should do, and what steps to take as you progress toward your goals. If you pay attention, you’ll begin to see all of the opportunities and information placed at your feet. The challenge most of us have with this concept is that sometimes the directions we are nudged to take don’t make any sense. Why should they? Have faith, follow these nudges and see where they take you. I think you’ll be surprised.

After you recognize divine spirit working in your life, you’ll begin depending on it, because it will become a reality for you. After a while you will see divine spirit’s hand in more facets of your life, this opening of awareness will only support more improvement in every facet of your life. So, dream. Set Goals. Plan. Put in the effort to move your plan along. While you’re doing the work, keep an eye out for anything that comes to you out of the blue.

I recently had to give a public talk. I asked some pointed questions about my topic and let them go for a day or so. By the end of that week, while I was going through all of the material I gathered, I had so much information to sort through that I had more than three times the information needed to give my 15-minute speech. It was a great success. I prepared, I sought out information, and allowed the divine spirit to help me. This really works. Keep your eyes open and wait for the miracles of divine spirit to work for you in your life.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Diary – Happy Thanksgiving

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Blessings, family, Friends, Grateful, pets, Thanksgiving

In light of Thanksgiving this week, I’ll be taking the rest of this week off to rest and recuperate. I’ve been hitting it hard in the gym for the bulk of this year and need a break. My brother is flying in tomorrow and we are heading to my Sister’s for Thanksgiving Day. I know I’m going to eat some things I normally wouldn’t and I know I won’t have much time in and around all of the planned festivities this week, so I’ll begin posting again next Monday.

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving!

In light of this holiday, I wanted to express my thanks to all of you who have followed this blog and for all of the readers out there that will discover my work at some point. It is a really great thing to have readers scattered across the globe.

I am grateful for my readers, I am grateful for my health, grateful for my family and friends, grateful for my pets, grateful for the opportunity to have this life to lead, and grateful for the blessings that God gives me every day. I am also grateful to those who have taught me, mentored me, and contributed in some way to my life.

I wish each of you a great time with loved ones, good food, and hope you take some time to reflect on all of the blessings in your life. It is really a blessing to live life and experience all of the things that are out there for all of us.

See you next week!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Stephen Covey – Responsibility

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Finding Happiness Within, Learning from Others, Planning, Reponsibility, Stephen Covey, Taking Charge

Today’s Quote:

“I’m not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” – Stephen Covey

So many people who have problems to solve want to lay the blame for these problems on someone else, or something outside of themselves. Although comforting in some ways, it is a poor way to lead one’s life. It’s so easy to blame parents, your boss, a loved one, or the weather. The difficult road is to face yourself in the mirror and realize that you are the product of every decision you have made.

Honesty is the beginning of improvement. When we are honest with ourselves and truly take ownership of our situation in life, only then can we begin to take the actions that will lead us to a better tomorrow. Are you unhappy with your health or appearance, are you unhappy with the amount of money you make, are you unhappy with some of your relationships, are you unhappy?

Happiness starts within. It’s that simple. You choose to be happy or to be miserable. This is the first step. You have to be happy with yourself and not look for happiness elsewhere. If you are looking for something out there, you’ll always be looking. The same goes for only being happy when the circumstances are right, or some event occurs. Take a look at the people who are always influenced by outside circumstances. If everything is right they are happy, if something happens outside of themselves they are not happy with they are not happy. Can you visualize the roller coaster these people ride?

Once you realize that happiness is an attitude a way of thinking every day you’ve taken a huge step. Next, we have to look for the things we want to improve. Is it your appearance? If so, what about your appearance do you want to change? If it’s weight loss or lean muscle gain, do some research, figure out how you should eat, put together a plan, and begin working toward that goal.

If it’s money, think about what you need to do to make more of it. Is there a chance for promotion in your current firm or are you in a position that does not avail you of a promotion opportunity? If you can’t get promoted, then it’s time to look for a new position. Look around the Internet for job advertisements, improve your skill set, put together a plan and execute.

The key to self-improvement is determining where you are right now, then determine where you would like to be. Once you know these two things you can begin formulating a plan that will help you attain what you want. Plan on mistakes, setbacks, and faults in your plan, particularly if you are attempting something you’ve never done before. This is all about the learning process.

Sometimes you don’t need to start from scratch. If you do a little research, you may find someone else that was in your position and learn how they got themselves out of it. Learn from them, instead of making the same mistakes they did. This will not only help you grow but will also help you formulate a better plan.

The next time you start feeling sorry for yourself, take a quick inventory. Are you letting outside circumstances control you? Are you blaming someone or something else for your current situation? If you are STOP! You cannot control other people. You cannot control the weather. You cannot control anything that is outside of yourself. You can only control how you interpret and react to circumstances. It is your attitude that dictates how you feel.

Be honest with yourself, find happiness within you, and change your circumstances to the ones you want. No one is responsible for where you are but you. I wish you well on your self-improvement journey.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Diary

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Balance, Day Off, Eating a Nutritious Meal, Meditation, Reading, Rest, Sleeping

Today is a day off, folks. We have friends coming over and then we’re all heading to dinner later. I hope all of you that are exercising in my reading audience take a day off from time to time. The body needs to recover. Your long-term exercise goals should take a balanced approach. Activity and then rest.

When you take a day off, you give the body time to recover and rejuvenate itself. Rest is just as important as the activity you put in. On your rest days, relax. Drink lots of water, settle down with a good book, really take the time to allow yourself body, mind, and spirit to relax.

Nothing relaxes me like a good book, a cup of tea, writing in my journal, and meditating. Sleep in. Enjoy a good movie. Have a nutritious meal. Pamper yourself.

Tomorrow you’ll be back and you’ll be stronger mentally and physically.

See you tomorrow!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Listening

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Helping someone help themselves, Listening, We all know the answer

Today’s Quote:

“Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away.” – Arthur Helps

Have you ever been in this situation? Someone comes to you for advice and you give it to them and then it appears to have brushed right by them. Take the same situation and instead of passing off advice, ask them a question and just listen. This situation tends to be different. It is different because people don’t normally need advice, they already know what the answer to their problem is. They simply need to talk to someone else and be heard.

Try this the next time someone asks you for advice. Remember in the back of your mind that these people are not seeking advice, but rather seeking someone who will listen to them. We all know what’s right in the end. We may stumble around a bit when we are trying to solve our problem, but we ultimately know what the solution is. Listen to people. Let them air out whatever is troubling them. You’ll find that these people will be more receptive and open once you’ve let them say what they wanted to say and work things out for themselves. This is the true gift—the gift of standing on their own two feet and discovering the answer themselves.

Thanks for reading. I hope it helps you on your journey today.

Until next time…

Dave