This famous Goethe quote always rings so true: “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

I began! And what we now refer to as the Law of Attraction became a palpable presence in my life. I opened up and the Universe moved in. I was guided to books and seminars and health care professionals. Modalities that I hadn’t even known existed were thrown across my life path. I got rolfed, rebirthed, acupunctured, acupressured, shiatsued. It was so exciting and I was so grateful. Ultimately I was led to a spiritual teacher and healer, Hilda Charlton, and after receiving her teachings and healing energy for a year, I removed myself from chemotherapy. I just knew I didn’t need the drug anymore, and with my doctors fainting all around, I promised to come more frequently for check-ups. I did, and thankfully my intuition was correct; I’ve been fine ever since. (Please know that I never recommend that cancer patients do this.)

For 12 years I studied with Hilda. I knew that her wisdom and the blessings from her magnificent spirit had helped save my life, and I wanted to learn all I could from her. Her teachings were based in ancient metaphysical/spiritual traditions. It’s the same quantum mechanics material now being espoused by our scientific community and many of our doctors. It’s all about the Law of Attraction. To summarize Hilda’s teachings very succinctly, here are three points that were life changing/saving for me:

1. The universe, and everything in it (including every cell of our bodies), is made up of whirling atoms of energy or subatomic particles. (Regarding our bodies, Deepak Chopra says it this way, “Our bodies are rivers of energy.”)

2. Thoughts are “things”. They are constantly impacting our bodies, either uplifting them or disempowering them. “You are what you think about all day long.” Emerson

3. Disease is literally that “dis-ease”, a lack of ease and harmony in the body/mind system.

My life was never the same again. Though I loved being in theatre, my passion for the healing arts took over. I longed to share all this wondrous material that had healed and touched me so and found myself dancing into what continues to be the most creative period of my life. I began presenting what we called Healing Concerts, in which I sang everything from Puccini to John Denver, punctuating the songs with inspiring information. And when the market would bear it, I’d lead a meditation. As I wanted to thank all my doctors and the people who had assisted in saving my life, we produced a recording of songs entitled Gratitude. It went onto the market, as did Beautiful Dreamer Awake, music and meditation to help people relax into delicious sleep at night, and to invigorate their awakening process each morning. This project was particularly auspicious for me in that I wrote the “wake-up” song. Amazing! It had never occurred to me that I could do anything but interpret someone else’s words and music, and suddenly ideas were coming to me straight out of the air. I was thrilled.

The Law of Attraction kept expanding in my every day experience. Taking responsibility for my own well-being had not only been the catalyst for my healing, it had opened wide a path of creativity that stretches before me as far as my mind can think and heart can feel. It’s true that in the past 10 years there have been many difficult and painful times. My beloved mother passed away, as did my beautiful Collie dog, and my husband and I endured a lengthy separation. We’re now happily re-united and surprisingly grateful for that estranged time. Everything happens for a reason!) However, through it all, the training I received from Hilda sustained me. My working knowledge of LOA and the profound connection to spirit that had been born and honed in me at that time relentlessly supported my well-being.

Of course, I’ve needed to take responsibility for the fact that the Law of Attraction was very much in play before my epiphany in the ’70′s. It was then frequently fueling a negative side of me. Though there are myriad reasons why we host serious disease, one of the huge contributing factors to my illness was not loving and respecting myself enough (though I ate right and got enough sleep, etc.). I was always an intelligent and gifted person, but I beat myself up all the time. Nothing I did was ever good enough. My MO was trying too hard to be what others thought I was or what they wanted me to be. Therefore, though it was usually couched in humor, there was a lot of self-denial and self-denigration. This lack of harmony within myself led to stuffing much sadness and frustration into this body. It’s clear to me that these negative thoughts, and the feelings they engendered, helped set the stage for my illness. I attracted it. However, in retrospect, this most arduous time in my life was a blessing in disguise, a life chapter that taught me so much and opened me to wonders I probably would never have known. I think of it as an initiation, a rite of passage. I feel all our crises are just that. Everything is grist for the mill, part of the journey – in many instances, a journey of remarkable creative gifts.

Shortly after leaving my husband, I was walking in Central Park and these thoughts flooded my consciousness: sing these two sacred songs, put a meditation in between them, here’s the cover art and you can produce this yourself (my husband had always produced my products). It was that clear. Within 24 hours I had contacted my friend Jeff Olmsted, a terrific musician who has a sound studio in my neighborhood, and we began working on the project. The fee for his services was the exact amount I’d just received for selling my Aunt Mary’s bequeathed china. Hmmm. Talk about LOA. The project is called Come Home To Your Heart and, like all my other recordings, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Creative inspiration is deliciously uplifting and humbling at the same time. It is so precious.

Over ten years ago I wrote on my projects-to-be-done list: Pre and Post Surgery Videos for Patients and their Caregivers. In 2004 Eric Brown, a retired lawyer, came into my life, loved the idea, most generously produced it and the Better & Better Series was born. It’s so clear that the Universe wanted this project done and brought everything together at the perfect time to accomplish it. Hilda always reminded us that “God has perfect timing”. The How is always up to the Universe – the What is up to us.

And now The Secret emerges. At this most critical/perfect time on our planet the Law of Attraction is introduced to the masses. What better timing than now to awaken people to their responsibility for the health and well-being of their own lives and for that of our beautiful Earth. My gratitude to all who participated in the making of this life-transforming video and book. My gratitude to Esther and Jerry Hicks and Abraham who have been teaching LOA for years. My gratitude to my beloved teacher, Hilda, and all the spiritual teachers who have been imparting these universal principles for millennia. My gratitude to Oprah for ensuring that millions all over our planet received this most significant and very urgent information. May it seep so profoundly into the mass consciousness that we and our world become steeped in gratitude, integrity and compassionate caring that, true to the Law of Attraction, keeps creating more and more of the same. Thank you. Thank you. Gratitude reigns. http://elizabethhepburn.blogspot.com

A Little Background.

I have taken many time management courses. I am a fan of Steven Covey and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” I’ve worked with first, second, third and forth generation time management approaches. Over the years I’ve improved but never at a fast enough pace to keep up with the growing workload. Anyone out there experience the same thing? Time management subscribes to a universal law: Nature abhors a vacuum. The more time you free up, the more work there is to do in that freed up time.

You probably know someone who handles the various task required of them with aplomb, never break out in a sweat, and never fail to meet a deadline. Maybe you are one of those lucky individuals. I am not.

I’ve walked around with a huge three ring binder with daily planning sheets, which contain all your worldly data. I have worked with pocket size, organizers, with little notebooks stuffed in pockets and of course the ever-familiar To Do List.

To begin with, I am not the most organized person in the world, but I am a lot better than many others. Not being the worst however, changes nothing, except to make me feel a little better than someone else, which is childish, if you think about it.

Resigned to my fate, I decided to live with my handicap. Lots of people have handicaps of one sort or another. Even Tiger Woods has a handicap. Does this sound like a lot of justification to you? Your right, but no other solution suggested itself to me till this week when revelation struck.

A Stumble in the Woods

I’m going to change the subject for a minute or two.

I like to walk in the woods near my home. I take my two dogs, my backpack, and a lunch and off into the woods we go. The trail I use is a rough up hill and down workout. Yet I do some of my best thinking in deep silence.

This particular week I spent a lot of time focusing of my inner being, attempting to still myself and let the awesome peace of the forest filter down through my soul. The day before everything went smoothly. I managed to relax, breathe in the vast stillness of the forest all around me. I felt centered, calm and released from the vortex of time swirling all around me. I looked on this as a metaphysical achievement. Could I finally be getting all those books and tapes about the Laws of Attractions and Zen?

Unfortunately, the very next day contradicted me. My mind kept wandering. One innocent thought here, lead to a thought there lead to some horrible moment out of my past, or a yet to happen argument with a co-worker. Annoyed I tried harder to focus on building the inner peace, bring the silence of the forest inside or me. Of course, the harder you try the worse things get in the metaphysical universe.

Climbing up some steep stairs cut into a slope, my feet went from under me. The lower part of my body, just below the waist slammed into the wooden step riser. That hurt. Instead of cursing however, I found myself laughing. The universe wants to get me to pay attention. The dogs came back to question my lack of mobility. Up I got and off we went again. I continued to stumble over rocks, branches and cotton wood fluff, all the time my mind followed its own unique paths down dead end alleys.

At the turn-around point, I felt happy to sit down while still in one piece. Then mercifully my brain shut down. I stopped to listen to the forest. The quiet inculcated my whole body with a deep sense of well-being, and peace. This is it, this is what I’m searching for, this deep tranquility of soul. In that state you touch the soul of all life, you fuse one with the all.

In this state, I asked myself one little question.

Why?

I would like to say the explosion that followed uprooted trees and made the earth tremble. The truth is, the dogs didn’t even blink, as I came to an understanding of a To Do List.

A To Do List is a file transfer protocol that allows you to take a metaphysical quality like a thought and up load it to the physical universe in the form of paper and words. This allows the mind to stop worrying about it, hence inner peace that allows converse with the universe.

Snap!

The trick is to upload the right file. If you put things on the To Do List that are not in the file, nothing happens, except to create more work than you need. Instead, write down only what is churning in your mind.

Here are a few rules I found worked well with my new understanding.

Write your list down in the order they occur. Don’t second-guess or question: don’t interfere with the upload.

Do the list in the order you wrote it down. You (metaphysically speaking) dictated the list in the correct order.

Only skip an item if you need to do more research in order to complete the task. Other wise do the list in sequence.

Write the list the night before. That prevents the busy mind syndrome, which leads to lack of sleep.

What you don’t accomplish, usually the stuff on the bottom of the list, carry over, again at the bottom of the list. If they are important, you (Metaphysically) would have placed them higher.

That’s it. Once I realized why I needed a TO Do List two things happened.

I stopped 70 % of the distractions going on in my head and found I could hold that silence of the forest inside of me through the whole day, which calmed me and brought me more in tune with the universe.

I began to get my To Do Lists done!

Simply stated, activating the Law of Attraction, paraphrasing the movie, is a three step process: Ask, Believe and Receive.

The Asking, according to Abraham-Hicks is done with thought vibrations and feeling. The Universe is made of vibrating particles of energy, of which we all consist of. Because of this energetic connection, our thought forms are energy signals that are projected into the Universe. Our emotional guidance system, according to Abraham-Hicks, is our personal indicator that lets us know when we are closer to realizing that which we’d like to see or that which we’d not like to see. Our thoughts and feelings do the asking. Not necessarily the words.

Believing is the next step in the process. Once the thought form is created, the belief sustaining this thought will be fueled often by emotion. Beliefs are very strong opinions that actually create your truth and your reality. When you have a strong belief for something to happen, usually it does. When you have a strong belief about something not happening, the ironic thing is that it also happens. This baffles a lot of people because underlying/subconscious beliefs are asking too. There’s a process beyond this that can help clear out these underlying beliefs if this really concerns you.

The last step is Receiving. The receiving part of the process is probably the most difficult for most people because it involves allowing: getting beyond resistance and attachment to the outcome…actually letting go. Often times, when we want something so badly, the feeling and thought-form surrounding it is “lack.” The Universe picks up on this vibration of “lack” and in turn returns more lack of whatever it is that you’re really asking for. So, to receive with success, requires you to release blockages and to cleanse areas of the subconscious that could be sabotaging your efforts without you even really being aware of it. This is what can frustrate some people with activating the Law.

The process of Ho’oponopono goes into more details about releasing. Some call it The Secret behind The Secret. To get a glimpse of what Ho’oponopono involves and how you can incorporate it with the Law of Attraction, visit the article The Law of Attraction and Ho’oponopono.

Violence is emphasized in the media, movies and news. Those of us in the health care industry routinely care for people who have been shot, stabbed and beaten.

I believe our film creators and media makers have a responsibility to elevate the vibrations of this country and the world by making films and repeating stories that underscore the resilience and positive aspects of the human species.

The recent rage of The Secret DVD is a beautiful example of how people are craving a more positive message.

Furthermore, people want to live their lives based on higher energetic frequencies such as love, joy, freedom and transcendence.

Film maker Ildiko Minko has a vision. She creates enlightened films, and lives the philosophy she makes movies about.

I recently had the delightful privilege of interviewing Ildiko. She lives in Budapest, Hungary. She was born in Szeged, Hungary.

After graduating from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California, Ildiko was guided by her intuitive Inner Voice to make spiritual films.

She discovered Helene Hadsell’s book, “The Name It And Claim it Game.” Ildiko went on to make a feature movie about Helene and the metaphysical principles presented in Helene’s book.

Ladies and Gentleman!! Here is Ildiko Minko!!!!!

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1) When did you first know you wanted to make films that transform people’s lives?

WHEN IT STARTED HAPPENING. WHEN I HAD AN AWARD WINNING TV SERIES CALLED “GREEN PLANET” ABOUT ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION. I THINK IT WAS PREDESTINED.

2) What are the circumstances that attracted you to Helene Hadsell and the making of your new movie?

I READ ABOUT HER IN A SILVA METHOD OF MIND CONTROL SUCCESS STORIES BOOK MANY YEARS AGO.

I REREAD THE BOOK AND AFTER MANY YEARS, I CONTACTED HELENE. I VISITED HER IN DALLAS AND OBTAINED THE MOVIE (INTERNET, AUDIO, DVD, TV, THEATRICAL, ETC) RIGHTS TO HER BOOKS AND HER LIFE STORY.

3) Is your film about Helene Hadsell’s life or does it focus on the concepts in her book: The Name It and Claim It Game?

THE NAME IT AND CLAIM IT GAME MOVIE IS FOCUSING ON HER CONTESTING SUCCESS STORY BUT WE ALSO HAVE ELEMENTS FROM HER OTHER BOOKS.

What is the message you want your viewers to glean from your movie?

THE MESSAGE IS: “THOUGHTS ARE THINGS”. THAT OUR FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS ARE MANIFESTING IN OUR PHYSICAL LIVES. ALWAYS. THAT IS, THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE IS ONLY MIRRORING OUR INNER WORLD.

How could your movie change a person’s life for the better?

WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO THINK IN OUR UNIVERSE, AND THE UNIVERSE ONLY MIRRORS OUR OWN FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS, THEN WE CAN NOT BE SUPPRESSED OR MANIPULATED BY OTHERS. ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TO CHANGE OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. THE WITHOUT WILL ALSO CHANGE ACCORDINGLY.

4) Joe Vitale said in one of his recent blog entries, that Helene Hadsell could have been one of the teachers in The Secret DVD. Your film will allow your audience to experience Helene’s wisdom and insight.

In what ways is your movie like The Secret?

THE MESSAGE IS THE SAME. ALL HELENE DID IS THAT SHE “PROJECTED” A POSITIVE END RESULT, A POSITIVE OUTCOME. SHE FOCUSED ON WHAT SHE WANTED TO ACHIEVE.

In what ways does it differ?

CONCENTRATING MAINLY ON CONTESTING. AND IT IS A FEATURE FILM BASED ON A TRUE STORY. A NARRATIVE STORY.

In what ways does it break new ground?

NOTHING IS NEW “UNDER THE SUN”. WE JUST HAVE TO REMIND PEOPLE OF THE TRUE NATURE OF OURSELVES.

5) Have you personally entered contests and/or played lotteries? If so, have you ever won?

I AM NOT INTO CONTESTING. HOWEVER I VERY MUCH CONSIDER MYSELF A WINNER IN LIFE.

6) Great answer!!!

The metaphysical idea behind Helene Hadsell’s book entails removing all doubt to achieve wealth and the attainment of dreams that come true.

What have you personally learned from knowing Helene and making your film about her?

I LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT MY REAL NATURE. THAT I AM THE SOURCE.

6) And lastly, what is your vision for future films?

I AM MAKING FILMS ONLY DEALING WITH THE HUMAN CONDITIONS. FILMS THAT INSPIRE AND SPIRITUALLY EDUCATE.

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Thank you, Ildiko, for your authentic and honest insights.

I know the world will welcome your refreshing contributions to the planetary dance.

“What’s your money reality?”

This is not a trick question.

Let me explain…

Unless you crash-landed on a deserted island, and you’ve been stuck there for the last few months, you’ve probably heard about a “little” thing, called “The Secret”. If there is another reason why you haven’t heard of it, I strongly suggest that you either go out and get yourself a copy, or borrow it from a friend or relative. Then, WATCH IT!

What you’ll find there is not new. The message has been around, literally, for thousands of years (in one form or another), but it took the inspired effort of an Aussie television writer and producer (Rhonda Byrne) to make it accessible for the masses. After I bought my copy of the DVD, I got an email from someone about the book that led Rhonda Byrne down the road of creating “The Secret”. The book is called “The Science of Getting Rich” and it was written by Wallace D. Wattles, back in 1910. It is a practical prosperity program, that has become somewhat of a cult classic, and for good reason… IT WORKS!

In the same email there was a link to an audio program that was created by a renowned Personal Performance Trainer, who also happens to be a best selling author. His name is Dr. Robert Anthony and the program is called “Know How To Be Rich”. It was pointed out to me, that Dr. Anthony’s audio program ties in very nicely with “The Science of Getting Rich”, as well as with “The Secret”.

I clicked on the link with great skepticism, only to find myself reading the entire page… THREE times. I was hooked. I got the program, ran with it, and I never looked back.

What made such an impression on me? Well, to be honest, I thought that it’s going to be just one of those “get-rich-quick, separate you-from your-money-as-fast-as-I-can” kind of programs. I mean, there is not much more anyone could say that we haven’t heard before… Right?

I have to admit, I was wrong. “Know How To Be Rich” is so different, that while I was listening to Dr. Anthony, light-bulbs were going on left and right. Things that I previously had a vague idea about, suddenly made perfect sense.

So, now you’re sitting there, wondering how all this fits into developing your home business, or into the question I asked at the beginning of this article.

Well… let me get a little philosophical here.

What? You don’t believe in new-agie, metaphysical, hocus-pocus? Just humor me for a moment. Who knows, maybe some of it will make sense. But I give you fair warning… Just because you don’t believe in something, it doesn’t mean that you are not effected by it. You could not believe in gravity, and yet things would still fall to the ground.

With that said, here we go…

All of the above mentioned things — the DVD, the book and the audio program — have a common thread. They are all referring to one unifying law… The Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction simply states that “like attracts like”. To understand this, you’re gonna have to understand the basics of quantum physics, which simply states that the fundamental building block of our Universe is energy. On a personal level the Law of Attraction means, that your core beliefs will dictate your thoughts, which in turn will dictate your emotions, which in turn will “pull in” events and circumstances that you perceive as reality.

Still confused?

Just remember this: You create your own reality… it’s not the other way around. Whatever you believe on a deep level is going to be your experience.

So, let’s do something…

It’s very important for you to know “your money reality”. Your money reality will dictate your financial situation, which will determine how much money you’ll be able to make.

Once you know your money reality, you’ll be able to adjust it accordingly, so you can create the success you truly deserve. With it, your home-based business could be successful beyond your wildest dreams. It could put you right over the top.

I can not recommend Dr. Anthony’s program highly enough. It’s simple and it’s to the point. It definitely worked for me.

Now it’s your turn.

In those days one major religion was taking over the world, and force was used to convert any who did not readily express their belief and fidelity to that religion. Those superstitious people were afraid of anything that could not be explained. More often than not those who knew how to use this power were wrongfully accused by the religious people and were badly mistreated as well as executed. Oh what a wonderful place this world would be now if those people had become teachers instead of bonfires.

The trouble lies with those that stick to their dogmatic belief that only religious leaders know the truth. They believe that the mind is only a confusing theory, an improbable fairy tale that is sinful. These religious types also believe that to use your mind for anything other than worship is some sort of unforgivable sin that will result in eternal punishment.

So what is this power that has been so mislabeled, abused, and maligned? It is now known by modern science as the Law of Vibration, and is the foundation of the Law of Attraction. This natural law exists right alongside of other better known laws such as; magnetism, cohesion, heat, electricity, and gravity. It is not newly discovered it has been known for all time. The only problem is that it was suppressed by those who sought to control the human race. Only the upper class of societies was allowed to learn this great knowledge, and they kept it closely guarded; not only to have a better life, but also to avoid being burned at the stake.

Somewhere inside your body just below the heart is an area known as the Solar Plexus. This area is a great junction of nerves as well as arteries. This is your center, your home of the soul. Think of it this way; the old saying of “rely on your gut feelings” is a true teaching. Yes your mind is an integral part of the whole vibration process, but it is your center, some call it your heart, which holds the power. Many people make the error of trying to use only their mind to create their reality, but until you have integrated with your heart, you will experience limited, if any success.

Science has discovered that underlying all forms of matter there is an underlying energy of vibration. This is not metaphysical theory but is scientific verifiable fact. Everything in the universe is vibrating, from the atom, the molecule, to mountains, and every living thing; there is a vibration. It is the difference in the rate of vibration that determines its form. Slow vibration manifests as a rock, fast vibration registers as wind, very high vibrations register as sound, and all the layers and spectrums in between. In short all things are manifestations of the eternal energy from which all things precede.

Now here is the piece of information that will cause you to shift your paradigm; thoughts and feelings are vibrations. Through the use of your own rhythmic output you attract similar vibrating things into your reality. This is a skill that once learned and mastered will greatly enhance your life and all those around you.

The mind produces thought, the heart produces emotions. When the two parts are working together they create an energy that is transmitted into the universe just a surely as a sound wave. This thought wave will travel for infinite distances and will attract things that are of similar vibrating frequency. These things that are attracted to this thought wave will move towards the source of the thought vibration and grow stronger in the process. This results in the apparent manifestation of things into ones own reality.

Without getting into too long of a discussion, as there is not room here, the things that are attracted to you are the things you have generated thought energy for. Often times we have many things that we do not really want or desire in our life. It is because we worried that something might happen and did not want it to happen, but because we kept worrying, to be exact; generating a thought wave, we attracted the very thing we worried about as that is the way the Law of Vibration works. So learn how to worry about what you do desire and not what you do not desire.

There is an exact and reproducible method of generating thought waves that bring about the desired results. There is many a recipe, of sorts, if you will but learn them and use them for your own improvement. There is also a certain skill to using these recipes. These can be easily learned, and as long as you follow the proper process you will get the desired results. Like all things in life the more you practice the better you become. This knowledge brings strength to the user of it, giving you the ability to do as you will.

Be Blessed

<u>All About Manifesting</u>

I am truly grateful for everything I have done, all that I achieved, and the people that helped me a long the way.

I remember reading a book by Sir John Templeton (a billionaire), that talks about the meaning of “true wealth.”

In the book, Templeton talks about what true wealth means. True wealth is “gratuitude.” It doesn’t matter what you make; whether you make ten dollars, ten thousand dollars, ten million dollars a year… if you are grateful you have true wealth.

I know in my signature I say, “Money Talks, Bullshit Walks,” and I am sure people think all I care about is making money.

Honestly, I believe the EXACT opposite.

If you knew me personally, you would know I don’t believe money is THE most important part of life. Your health, peace of mind, freedom… these are all MORE important than money alone.

BUT…

Money does make your life easier, it provides you freedom, and it allows you to remain healthy and put food on your table. While money may not be the MOST important item in one’s life, it is very important to take car of your finances.

You MUST set a goal to become financially independent, so you do not have to worry about money ever again.

How can you what you do if you have to worry about paying the bills? When you do not have to worry about money, then you ar efree to focus on tasks that are more important to you.

So, I would definitely say I am grateful for what I have, but I do not plan to stop making money. I still have goals, huge massive financial goals, I want to achieve. I am just getting started, even as a multi-millionaire. There is so much I can do and learn.

If you have followed me for any length of time, you will know I am not static, I constantly learn. I encourage you to do the same to experience true wealth.

So, be grateful. I believe true wealth really is being grateful for what you have. Be grateful you have a house, you have a healthy family, and you feel ok.

I don’t want to get metaphysical on you, but when you are grateful, it is much easier to attract wealth to you and live an easier life.

Dan “The Man” Lok

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http://www.danlokrecommends.com/press.html

Eva Rothschild’s artistic practice includes wall pieces and video, in which she embroiders customary notions of abstraction, representation and decoration with models of longing and projects them on various social groups. Artistic and semantic yearnings are often intertwined in her works. Her beautiful objects impart a curious melancholy, generating an ambivalent potential of abundance and hope coupled with an impressive emptiness.He is interested in un-systems of belief, non-systems, in how people move their ‘spiritual’ desires between different objects and traditions. Also how certain places and things can have a spiritual power which specific belief doesn’t necessarily exclude. He is interested in the ways of looking that go with concepts of faith and in how things are invested with a power above and beyond their materiality, the transference of spirituality onto objects. That’s where sculpture comes in, making something that seems to have something extra to what is physically there. He is interested in thinking about why we feel an object has more than a material presence and in the idealism of belief. He likes that the objects and images associated with belief don’t have any other function except to furnish that belief, that they are anachronistic in a secular society where most things have a defined function or end use. Making work is like trying to show the gap in contemporary culture, where everything is available and catered for.

View Eva Rothschild paintings, biography, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and resource of Eva Rothschild artist. View art online at The Saatchi Gallery – London contemporary art gallery.Eva Rothschild

At every moment in our lives we face some real-life situation, some fact-based reality. But what do those facts MEAN? And what’s the best thing to DO about them? Wisdom answers the first question by looking at the situation from a variety of helpful perspectives. It answers the second by bringing wise values into the decision-making process. There are many of these “wise ways of seeing,” and many “wise values.” In wise people these basic building blocks of wisdom combine in various ways to create an array of “wise attitudes” and “wise ways of being.” And because the mix of characteristics differs from person to person, each wise person’s wisdom has a distinctive character or “flavor.”

A key point is that personal wisdom is internal, embodied by persons. Words of wisdom arise from it. Wise behavior arises from it. Socio-Cultural wisdom arises from it. But wisdom itself is not its products. Rather, it’s a mode of cognition — one that couples relevant intellectual knowledge with some important perspectives, interpretations, explanatory frameworks, and values. Wisdom is a kind of meta-knowledge that helps us make better sense of the rest of our knowledge.

Aristotle differentiated between two kinds of wisdom: practical wisdom, and existential/metaphysical wisdom. I would add a third variation on the theme: activist, change-the-world wisdom.

1. Practical or “life-centered” wisdom is an information-processing modality — one in which everyday situations are evaluated comprehensively, from many points of view. Howard Gardner wrote, “The defining characteristic of wisdom is the breadth of considerations taken into account when rendering a judgment or recommending a course of action.” Wisdom asks: Will this work? What are the consequences? Does this fit with my goals? Is this part of the problem or part of the solution? Does this represent excellence? Is this fair? Is it right? Is action needed or not needed? — plus many others.

2. Big picture, existential wisdom is a variety that Eastern spiritual practices help to develop. Rational evaluation still plays a role in this form of wisdom, but rationality is not enough. That’s because the goal is insight into both the informational aspect of reality (that is, form and appearance) and the noninformational aspect (Being, Spirit, Energy, and Awareness). Eastern practices develop and harness the psychological modalities of intuition and identification. These modes of cognition potentially allow us to see beyond the transient to the eternal. Beyond Maya to Brahman. Beyond form to the carrier of form.

3. Activist wisdom combines a high level of psychological/spiritual development with the development of broadly based intellectual understanding (the humanities plus the sciences plus economics). Here, too, mind-quieting practices are used to develop self-knowledge and a broadening of sense-of-self identification.

SOCIO-CULTURAL WISDOM

Societal institutions — corporations, political systems, economies, NGOs — are purposeful entities. They exist to perform certain functions and to behave in certain ways. And that behavior is directed by values. Those values are typically a combination of the personal values of the people who created the institutions in the first place, the values of the people who currently run them, and values imposed from outside, such as laws and the interpretation of those laws by courts.

Some institutions were imbued with wise values at their founding, but were co-opted later. Among the drafters of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights were some very wise people, and that wisdom was reflected in the governmental structures they created. But they couldn’t anticipate every future happening, nor build into the constitution every possible protection. As early as the 1860s Lincoln warned about the control that big money could exert over government. And that has clearly happened in the years since then.

Economies are another example. Economies were created as societal subsystems to provision people. Group A had more of some good than it needed, and it traded the excess to Group B for a different good. The provisioning function hasn’t disappeared, but today’s economies and their institutions have superimposed other purposes on top of the original one. Making a lot of money for a small group of people has become the primary purpose; benefits to society are secondary. The economic TAIL now wags the societal DOG. It doesn’t have to be this way. Governments can be configured to serve the many instead of the few. And the original purpose of economies can be restored.

In my view, a wisdom-based society would be one in which many of the high values that guide the lives of wise people would also guide society’s institutions. Among those values would be truth, honesty, justice, cooperation, peace, compassion, universal well-being, creativity, and comprehensive knowledge. These values would be implanted into institutional systems in ways that insured, as far as possible, wise institutional behavior. And the institutions would be run in such a way that those values would be maintained on into the future.

It’s important to note that there is a mutual feedback relationship between personal wisdom and societal wisdom. It starts with personal wisdom. If a societal institution ends up being guided by wise values, it is almost certainly because wise people designed them in. So there is a creative movement from wise people to wise institutions. But it also works in the other direction. Wise societal institutions support and encourage the development of wisdom in individuals.