Omniscience and Us

The difference between a good and bad haircut is two weeks.  Dutch the barber in Newport News would say, “That ought to hold you until you can find a real barber.”  Both of these are brought to mind today because I got a haircut and by golly it is cut.  She did a good job, trimmed my mustache as well, but I think she took a little too much off the top and it will be a while before it lies back the way it normally does.

That isn’t important, as a matter of fact almost nothing is and that’s one of the advantages of this time in my life.  I have one obligation to others and that is a Friday LTM in Lexington and that’s it.  I kind of like it this way.  I can pursue my endeavors to my heart’s content, handle requests as they come in, plan and execute the larger projects, and just do whatever I want during the day.

Today was a good example; I got a haircut this morning, talked to my daughter for a while, ate a little lunch, the chicken salad was good, then went to the golf course and played nine holes, came home to relax but had plenty of energy so I cut the grass, greeted the roofers who repaired a blown shingle, made a great sauce to go with the leftover calf’s liver, watched some news on TV and now I’m writing this blog.  None of this was planned, some of it listed but none of it planned. 

Tonight before we go to bed I’ll bring in the plants we bought yesterday, another spontaneous activity when we got fed up with basketball and the one-sided UK v. Baylor game.  We just upped and went to Lowe’s and got gardening supplies, which were on the list, and plants for the pots and flower boxes that weren’t.

 I note this because just recently I was decrying the fact that there is no spontaneity in my life.  As usual whenever I recognize or comment on a condition, a bunch of contradictions come out of the woodwork

I have edited the second of three volumes of Notes on Life and Living which will total about 650 pages.  I am not sure about printing these last two volumes because of the cost involved and the fact that even a minimum quantity of twenty-five  go undistributed.  I sent one each to my three children and heard scant little about them but then I don’t expect to hear anything.  I just want them to have the books because it is my thinking and when I’m dead that’s all they’ll have.

The booklet The Linas in Troy Missouri has enjoyed a little popularity on line and the family that received copies all commented positively about it.  My dad left almost no written records behind except for one little sentence in a diary that he started and stopped after one entry.  It was a significant entry because he pinpointed the date that his parents moved to Troy Missouri as April 1, 1932.

An odd thing, I don’t even know where that diary came from but just after I published the booklet it “appeared” in my bookcase, I opened it and found the entry in his handwriting.   The diary itself was a gift to him from a granddaughter but how it got to my bookshelf, in my study and why I opened it after I’d searched high and low for the date of the move is a mystery to me. 

This among many other instances of fortuitous discoveries makes me think that we are connected to omniscience and from time to time we tap into it by following our nose; or saying it another way, we tap into it by not interfering with the process of doing so.  Not that we know what that process is but all too often we “take steps” instead of following intuition.

In the early fall of 1958, downtown Saint Louis was as packed as New York City today.  I knew that two college buddies were there and I was at 8572 Oriole Ave when I decided I would go downtown and find them.  I took the Broadway streetcar, walked up Olive and found them at the McCrory’s Dime Store with absolutely no hint from them as to where they would be or when.  I walked right to them and didn’t think too much about it.

There may be a danger in this line of thinking, or maybe not.  I think the first requirement is to have a clear idea of for what one is looking, the second is patience, and the third is the detachment necessary to follow without interfering.  The failed attempts at tapping into it may be the lack of one of these requisites or that there is no omniscience and one waits forever to find whatever.  Personally, I think there is omniscience; there have been just too many instances of fortuitous coincidence in my life.

For some time I thought perhaps some spiritual benefactor was looking kindly upon me and arranging for me to find/get what I wanted.  I don’t think that’s true anymore.  No, I think it is what I’ve just been writing about.

And this is what I mean when I say organized religion is problematic; they can’t abandon at will a tenet of their belief system without causing a crisis of faith for those who bought into it.  If the RCC was to say that they were wrong, Mary wasn’t assumed into heaven, what would that do?  Or pick any other of the myths of Catholicism like the Eucharist; they made an about face on that in 1963 but there is/was a whole generation who continued to literally worship a piece of bread—perpetually.

I look around and see that almost all that I have is the result of the above omniscience, some has been obtained in more conventional ways but all of it has resulted from a clear idea of what I wanted, patience to persist in getting it, and often a certain detachment from the pursuit of it but taking necessary action when opportunity presented itself..

This same thing is true about relationships with other people but only partially.  The clear idea etc. gets to the encounter but there’s just no way of predicting what will happen after that.  This is what makes life among human beings and even other animals so interesting.

Waiting

Here we are in the first week of March and there are things on the horizon that will take place later; I find myself in a waiting mode.  Then, as I ponder that, I find one spends a lot of his lifetime waiting. It is because I plot and scheme and come up with things to do… in the future.

In younger years it wasn’t like that because most of the time was spent in the present.  When I reflect on many that I encounter at the pool hall, they too live more in the present.  As for me, now I think I am spending too much time on the future, setting things out there and then waiting for the time to elapse, doing them but feeling a little disappointed because the event doesn’t always live up to the anticipation of it.

As I look ahead to those things for which I am waiting, I can list them: riding in the early afternoon, dinner out in the early evening, a play later in the same evening, plotting and scheming on Sunday, Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, an outing with Carola on Thursday, an LTM in Lexington on Friday and repeat. 

Then further out there is the Rolex in April, a trip to Va Beach in May, the presentation of my award in June, a trip to San Francisco in later June, then sometime later, as yet undetermined but probably in the second half of September, a trip to New York and Connecticut to see historic homes and the David Letterman show.

The key to bringing spontaneity back into my life may be to make the date but then forget about it until it’s time to go.  Make notes on calendars and then get involved with it when the time is right.  Part of the problem is my penchant for planning; I get pleasure from planning things out as far as possible.

The disquiet comes from being focused on tomorrow, next week, next month, the rest of the year and not thinking about what to do right now. And yet it derived from being at a loss for s.t. to do in the past.  But now it has evolved down to “if it isn’t on the calendar, then there isn’t anything to do.”  This has to be replaced by “ok, there are things on the calendar but there’s time now to do s.t., what will that be?” Then when the choice is made don’t second guess it.  Do the chosen and stay in the moment when doing it.

Like now, we had a spontaneous day then had dinner.  There was a lull afterwards and instead of thinking about tomorrow or the future, I decided to write these thoughts about waiting.  Just to do s.t. instead of waiting and to write about what has been on my mind for some time now.

And yet because there was no Friday night activity planned, we wind up at home with some movies to watch and you know what, that’s not so bad.  But think about it, there are activities going on all around town that are much more exciting than sitting here at home watching a movie on the big screen TV. What for example?  Almost anything that puts one in the company of others.

Observing those who come and go through the pool hall, I see that often people come in but not to play pool.  They come in to be with others; people whom they know and feel comfortable, albeit casually, in a place with which they are familiar and in which they are recognized and accepted.

This same scenario is repeated over and over in bars, restaurants, theaters, arenas, and stadiums. People go ostensibly to have a drink or a meal, or see a spectacle but mainly and fundamentally they go to be in the company of others.  Not necessarily interacting with them but being there with them.  It satisfies the social aspect of our being.

When we are not in the company of others we feel somewhat isolated.  The workplace has been a source of satisfaction for social needs but now there is a tendency for it to be the “home office” using telecommunications and a PC.  The interaction via a screen has replaced the personal interaction of the workplace and it is not the same.

I’ve participated in customer service chat sessions in order to solve a problem with a piece of equipment.  While these are rather sterile, there is a certain human touch provided by the interaction via the screen and keyboard.

Same is true when I chatted on AOL; there is a feeling of camaraderie and it goes a long way towards satisfying that social need.  It has the advantage that one can drop it whenever it gets to be too much; like walking out of a bar when it gets rowdy.

What’s being lost is interpersonal, in-person, interaction.  And when I say lost I mean that I don’t know where to go to get it besides being part of a crowd at a game, or part of the audience at the theater, or a non-interactive patron at a restaurant or bar.

In order to become that interactive patron, one has to invest some time and take some initiative in the same location.  IOW patronize the place, get comfy there, and interact with others who are in the same boat.  This requires a commitment that I’m not sure I’m willing to make. 

But if I was, I would have to pick a place to frequent, and make the time to go there.  That would require exploratory forays to see/ find one that fit.  Since it wouldn’t be for any purpose other than social interaction, it would have to feel right.  A perceived problem is alcohol and my choice not to drink it.  This would almost immediately make me an oddball in any bar.  So I suppose it would have to be another venue but what would that be? That’s a stumper.

What started out to be a discussion of waiting, turned into a lament for spontaneity, which turned into a strategy for meeting a perceived social need but with only mixed results.  Much more has to be done on this.

Rehearsal

Sitting in the Thrust Theater at UofL,  in the last row of Section A, early for rehearsal and to pass the time now and in the long interim between appearances, I’ll write in this notebook.

The pen I am using is not very good for me.  It is a Uniball Vision—fine point that has to be pushed along the line instead of rolling.  I brought it to approximate a fountain pen and it does that fairly well.  So this is my handwriting with a fountain pen; not very nice.  I’m using a few different techniques in an effort to improve it; it’s not working very well.

We are in the second last rehearsal for Atomic Bombers; it is Monday and the play opens on Wednesday.  Our dress rehearsal yesterday went from 2:30 until 9 at night.  It was the crew’s first experience with it and our first dress rehearsal in costume.  There were missing props and much confusion surrounding light and sound cues but this is to be expected on a complicated show such as this and to some extent on any show.

I spent a quiet day at home, mostly with Carola; she went out a couple of times, once to the store and again to talk to neighboring ladies when she saw them outside enjoying the mild winter we are having.  These are good omens; she is more active and taking more initiative. 

As for me, I wiled away the day, baked a cake, made the icing, prepared the mailing of my latest book (I like the sound of that) to the kids, and I found a guy on Facebook in my search for Cousin Freddie.

 This guy’s name looked like a shortening of my mother’s family name, he lives in California, his pictures look a lot like Cousin Freddie, and his wife’s name is Linda.  It made me wonder if Cousin Freddie is in some sort of witness protection program.  Later I received his phone number from another cousin and he’s in Saint Louis, just like he would ordinarily be.

Others have come into the space so I’ll put this away for now.  A parting thought, there are many moods in evidence here tonight and most are good.

Now In costume and makeup and ahead of time again; so I’ll write some more. One of the cast is in the lavatory, throwing up; the rest of the cast is suiting up.  So now what to say?  I dunno, maybe later.

It is later, the pen has been replaced because it was just too difficult to use.  We are now in that part of the play that the action is carried by everyone else except Szilard and me.  So I have a lot of time until my next cue.

We are quickly evolving into a cast that will receive the play from the director on opening night.  This surprised me when I first encountered it about five years ago; the Director said goodbye to us on Tuesday and we opened Romeo and Juliet on Wednesday.  It has similarly happened in every production since, “Lequel j’ai vu.”

My French is still mushing along.  The experience of listening to two presentations in French Friday last made me aware of just how little I know/ understand.  This doesn’t daunt me, however, I do a little s.t. every day: the CDs, the News, the reader; and although I can’t quite hear it, beyond a few words that are familiar, I am beginning to “know it.” If the opportunity were to present itself to live there a few years, I would be a speaker, listener, reader, and writer of the language. 

Aside: I was pleased that The Artist, a French film, won best actor and best picture at the Academy Awards last night.  This film and The Pursuit of Happyness, also of a French director with Will Smith, show a certain sensitivity that American film directors don't seem to have.

I called our CPA and informed him that I was changing to a different firm to prepare our business and personal tax returns.  It was an important call for me to make since it required me to ”deliver the rose.”  I suppose I’ve become somewhat inured to this over the years but it is not s.t. I like to do.  I tend to put it off until it has to be done, and then do it.  I employ this strategy for many things; more than for which it is good sometimes.  I do my duty, however, when I must.

But there is one thing about which I’ve been procrastinating and that is placing the shoe collection boxes.  It requires me to ask for s.t. for which no recompense is made to the agreeable.  This is a real problem for me.  I don’t have the right frame of mind for it because I have one of the world’s hardest noses when people want from me but at the same time I/we are very generous.  We give freely when the opportunity presents itself but rarely when s.o comes right out and asks.  I suppose it is the reverse of the Golden Rule.

(We are now on page 64 of the script and my cue is page 75)

I am going to do the boxes.  I know that once I start and do one, others will quickly be placed.  I have already placed three but there is no pattern, or system to my effort.  I’ve been responsible for placing about ten.  There are so many great places in our service area where opportunities exist and I’ll do it.  

This would be a great opportunity to do s.t. spontaneous, or at least so for me.  I’d like to make it big enough to require some planning; that seems to heighten the anticipation. There is the Sorority Convention in the third week of  April and The Rolex in the last week, followed by our Derby Party on the first Saturday in May; so it may have to be later in May.

 I’m almost on, later.

Arrangements

Arrangement is a great word; seldom do we give it the significance it is due.  It can be used to connote anything from flowers in a vase to an understanding between two people with a lot of stops along the way.

I seldom thought about the word until just the other day when I felt affected by the place in which I was standing, the Palace Theater in Louisville Kentucky.  It came to me that the arrangement of the place was definitely making me think in various ways such as historically, artistically, and even spiritually.  Recalling other significant architectural arrangements such as standing inside the mountain chapel in Sedona Arizona or in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capital, walking in downtown Houston among the buildings, driving towards downtown Houston on a clear night, walking in Yew Dell Gardens or Bernheim Forest it becomes obvious that we are affected by the way things are arranged; affected on a subliminal level.

We are also affected on a physical level.  Approach a house and there is an entrance, a front door that is usually more inviting than other entrances.  Some would walk towards an ornate front door and opt to find a side or rear entry that is less intimidating.  Walk into a room and the arrangement of the furniture is either inviting, repellant, or neither, sort of blah.  The way the building or even garden is arranged has a decided effect on how we interact with it.

It is a pseudo science, or perhaps an art, to make arrangements be they architectural, arboreal, floral, or even interpersonal.  We are almost always affected by them and we may not even realize it.  We are conditioned, and I use the word advisedly, from little on to pay attention to arrangements and are so adept at figuring them out that we don’t consciously do it.

If a feral animal comes into a human dwelling, pandemonium ensues.  The animal is in no way conditioned to abide by the arrangements that are extant.  A domestic animal who “lives” in the house will, on the other hand, move about without disturbing any of the arrangements.  I think it would be the same if a feral human, should such a being exist, came into a buffet dinner; the result would be comical if one wasn’t responsible for cleaning up the mess afterwards.

Houses, buildings and monuments are drawn, rendered, modeled, and subjected to painstaking examination of details.  One must reach a comfort level with the project before it commences.  Informed urban planners pass judgement on an addition to the skyline before it is built.  As an aside, a major project in Louisville almost went forward that would have completely destroyed the arrangement of the central business district.  Thankfully it was scrapped before ground was even broken for it.

Chairs, tables, desks, sofas, lamps, and all items that are used by people have to be designed according to rules that have become known collectively as ergonomics.  They all depend heavily on measurements of the human form and have allowed us to be comfortable with resulting furniture and fixtures.

Yet when we are dealing with flowers and trees we depend heavily on someone with a good reputation and track record.  We wouldn’t hire an arborist without a good one because we don’t have the luxury of doing the arboretum over and over until it suits us.  We want it to be done in excellent fashion the first time.  Flower arrangements are likewise artistic but are easier to accept, reject, redo than is an entire garden.

Each person makes his own arrangement of his personal space.  It could be a shopping cart for a homeless person, a cubicle for a corporate droid, an office for an executive, a home office, a shop, or even the cabin of a boat.  The basic outline is usually given but how the user decides to make it look is completely his own.  Another coming into it excuses it if it isn’t up to his/her taste but does get a flavor for the mentality of the occupant by observing his/her space.

Arrangements are never permanent.  The Acropolis in Greece, the Forum in Rome, the Sunday morning implosion are all evidence that they are not; as is divorce, bankruptcy, and death.  Arrangements have a life cycle that varies based on external factors.  People who have an arrangement/understanding can be persuaded to abandon it; houses that satisfied one generation may not the next; urban and even suburban areas that were useful in 1900’s may not be in the 2000’s.  There are those that would hold on to the past, this is fine until a sort of constipation sets in and the organism/society is hampered by too much being held and not cleaning itself out from time to time.  The test of utility is the market place and the museum.  If it won’t sell and if it isn’t attractive; it may be time to move on.

While arrangements are never permanent, the principles that apply to them seem to be.  The principles of design are immutable; the rules of interpersonal relationships are the same now as they have been forever, since before the ancient texts were written; that which was judged as artistic in ancient Egypt, roughly 5000 years ago, remains artistic today.  We use principles to design everything we have, both materially and interpersonally.

Those that study them, the architects, engineers, physicians, psychologists, attorneys, and a host of other disciplines, make new arrangements for the betterment of the human race and allow us to appreciate what has been arranged should we decide to dwell upon it.

If we were to walk into a completely uninhabited landscape, we would immediately begin to arrange it differently to suit our purpose.  In fact that is what we have been doing on the Earth as we have evolved and continue that evolution as beings with the brand of intelligence that we have.  We make new arrangements but the physical and psychic laws that govern them aren’t new.

Would You Be Willing To...

Everybody is busy doing something, and it isn't just my imagination.  People working for a living have the vast majority of their time allocated to their profession.  Time away from their professional pursuits is precious to them and they jealously guard against intrusion.  Those that aren’t are equally jealous of their time if they are engaged in any sort of endeavor.

There are plenty of people out there whose time is not structured and the commitment level they have is self imposed or they have nothing to do all day.  They may sleep late, watch TV, and piddle with little chores and errands all day long until it is time to go out for a game or meeting of some kind or another.  I’d venture to guess that a lot of people who aren’t working are like this, and either they do or don’t want to be imposed upon; to be asked for a commitment of any kind.  They can be so set in the pattern of spending their time that they don’t want to break it for any reason especially to commit to do s.t. that will require psychic and physical energy.  I can even see that tendency developing in me. 

I make up a plan for the week on Sunday that is based on my dreams and desires for the present and I don’t necessarily want someone calling me to get me involved in s.t. that is not on that list.  The problem is I don’t necessarily stay on track to finish that list of things and this leads to all sorts of angst but that is the subject of another essay.

The way to get me involved in anything is to (1) make it something profitable for me in terms of money or experience and (2) to allow me enough time, more than a few days, to put it on my schedule so that I can work it in.  The first part of the equation, making it profitable, requires that the other knows what I want, in what I’m interested, what piques my interest.  If someone I knew called and said they needed me to work for a short stint at the track or around the horses, for example, I’d probably say ok but if it was to work at the raceway around the cars I’d probably say no.

This brings me to proposition number 1: when asking someone to participate in an activity it would make sense to find out if the activity is s.t. that they would find profitable.  How to do this?  Well, asking them would be the common sense answer and put the onus on them to say that it doesn't fit their portfolio of activities.  Another may be to use the innerview process that is in the class for leadership training.

For example, a female member of our club told me that she demurs from projects that require physical labor, such as house construction or repair, because it just isn’t s.t. with which she feels comfortable and when she has participated in the past she found herself standing around not able to do s.t. to help.  There is a downside to s.o. saying yes to a query and not really wanting to do that sort of thing.  When left on their own to bring it about, it falls flat because in their heart they aren't suited  for it.

Then too it has to be perceived to be a task and not a commitment to large blocks of time and energy.  That could come later, after the person is convinced that this is s.t. for which he/she wants to take responsibility.

Then there’s the question of schedule.  How much advance notice is enough?  It is a matter of judgment and one may never get it right.  I started notifying the club in July of the October 28 Halloween party and the president of the club, bless his heart, went ahead and scheduled something else in the interim for that night without giving it a second thought.  

I think there is a sliding scale of notice for requested service dates.    If it is s.t. that would take place at a meeting, the notice could be made during the week of that meeting; or if it is s.t. that would occur after the meeting and require less than an hour and a half extra time, then calling to schedule it for a meeting two weeks out should do it.

It if is to occur on an evening, say after dinner, then scheduling for three weeks to a month out would probably get it on the calendar. 

 If it involves the person to schedule s.t. for a weekend, or with his/her spouse, then at least three weeks would be optimal, with six weeks being preferred.  This amount of time usually gets on the planning horizon of most people and if what they have is already there, six weeks out, it is a significant event that they won’t be able to change.

This schedule of notice seems logical to me and should work in most cases.  It has to be remembered that we may be dealing with volunteers who have rather full lives, either professionally or personally, and there is a limit to the amount of inconvenience they will abide.  If it is something for which we are paying, then the other should be more amenable and flexible in their schedule.
 

Simply putting out a call for volunteers seems to work well for the routine projects/events with which people are familiar.  The more formal approach for help is required when they aren’t familiar with what’s going to happen and they don’t want to get wrung into s.t. that is going to be an excess burden to them.

While these considerations are germane to volunteer efforts in, say a club, they are likewise to almost any pursuit that needs extra effort, efforts above and beyond what the individual can be paid to provide.  The value and payback question has to be answered in the heart of the one being asked.  If it is consistent with the desired results that the individual is seeking, the response will be positive; if they say no, it is better than a false “yes.”

Our Daily Bread, The 100th Posting

 This is the 100^th post and I want it to be s.t. that can be useful.  The most significant thing I can express to anyone who might even be thinking about asking is to build on what works for you.  


I had the good fortune to sit in the audience in Houston Texas, in 1987 or so, among about 1000 others and listen to Og Mandino tell his story.  I went because his Greatest Salesman in the World book was an inspiration to me; a book that brought tears of sympathetic joy to my eyes when I read it but then I am such a sentimental schmuck that some would say that’s easy.

To the best of my knowledge Og Mandino and I had only one thing in common, we were both members of the human race; we could have been sympathetic beings, we could both have been searching for permanence, we could have been a lot of things but the only fact is that we were both human beings.  He died in 1996. 

Several years ago, and I think it must have been at least ten; I revisited his book and saw the wisdom of it.  A series of statements, self-talk, reminders, desired attributes, things for which to strive, or whatever you would call them repeated daily until they are as much a part of you as the "Our Father” or other prayers we learned and never forgot.  After listing his, I reformatted them to more be more suitable to my needs, listed about 10 of them, and decided to commit them to memory.

That began what I now call my dailies.  There are thirty-seven of them, all committed to memory and recited aloud every day of my life.  When the occasion is such that I can’t say them aloud, I find ways to get them said internally so as not to miss a day. They remind me of the thought processes and behaviors that are part of my daily activities, attitudes, expressions, interactions with others, aspirations, dreams, and desired states.

They derived from a simple list and are said in a certain order because some grew out of another but expressed a nuance that was missing.  I suppose I could list them all for you, that could be viewed as vain but let’s go beyond vain and try to see the wisdom of what is being said here.  


Religions use this method to reinforce beliefs; RC priests read, at least they used to, from a breviary every day, a book of prayers that keeps them in mind of what they are about and the Islamists likewise pray five times a day to keep reminded of their faith.  If it’s good enough for the two biggest religions in the world, it’s good enough for me.

The list from Mandino is short, a book would not have supported many more, but our lives and aspirations go beyond the basics that he put forth.  In my heart of hearts I believe he was showing us the way, giving us a starting point, letting us decide for ourselves what is important enough in our lives to distill into a daily statement of desire.  So I will share mine with you and hope that they too will inspire you to put together your own list of “Dailies” that will keep you on courses relative to behavior, sentiments, moods, and desired results.

The typical daily is a two part statement: the assertion and the result.  The assertion is typically an action, thought, or mood and the result is the state of being that is engendered by the assertion.  Exceptions prove the rule, so yes there are a few that don’t fit this pattern but the result is the same.  In listing them I have put them in groups that are somehow related but haven’t made the analysis of that relationship.

So here they are:

Greeting this day with love in my heart, I am nicer

Forming good habits and becoming their slave, I am involved

Setting goals, I am proud

Working on Aim, I am productive

Imagining this day as I wish it to unfold, I exercise imagination

Enjoying the moment, I pay attention to what I am doing now

Doing it now, I am determined

Using my time wisely, I am aware

Staying on task, I am disciplined

Doing it now, I am determined

Recognizing distractions, I am cognizant

Avoiding mistakes, I am alert

Making mistakes, I recover

Asking others to do with me, I associate

Forgiving and forgetting, I relate more easily

Maintaining a favorable opinion, I remain enthused and constructive

Unaware of the other's situation, I remain neutral in my opinions

Internalizing the human relations principles, I am more likable

Utilizing my assets, personal and physical, I can get what I want
To get what I want, I ask

Proud of my accomplishments and aware of my capabilities, I am confident

Pleased with the way I am wending, I am happier

Initiating and participating in conversation, I am worthy

Confronting others appropriately, I am strong

Expressing my feelings forthrightly, I am assertive

Controlling myself during conversation, I achieve my purpose

Understanding fatigue to be the father of much negativity, I am rested

Aware that emotional response is irrational, I am more objective

Comparing myself, I see that I am energetically doing the best I can under the circumstances

Aware of my power on stage and platform, I dream extravagantly, audition routinely, learn my lines completely, rehearse rigorously, and perform spontaneously

In a conspicuous or competitive situation, I keep my mind on my objective and stay aware of my surroundings

When competing, I do it win

Oblivious to my image, I have more fun

Laughing at the world, I am fearless—the world is my playground

Getting out more,  I make myself available

Persisting until I succeed, I persevere stubbornly

Being the womb of essence, I am humble

Making the difference with a kind word, a good question, a helping hand, goals according to dream, plans and strategies to meet the goals, every move made intentionally, I deliver.


Now make your own.

The Party Analogy

When you go to the party:
You'll want to be appropriately dressed,
Know what you want to do while there,
Know how to relate to others there,
And know how to dance.
____________________________
As you participate in daily life:

Set your mental environment (your mood and level of self- esteem) so you can relate to situations in a way that allows good results. Auto-suggestion: A script repeated/heard daily that reinforces core beliefs and specifies your mien, e.g., happy, positive, sensitive, and enthused.

Get desired end results. Plans: Any method that defines what is desired, the current situation, goals, steps to be taken, schedule, resources required, an implementation plan, identifies others involved, and a way to follow-up.

Relate to others in a friendly and enthusiastic way. Human Relations: Know and practice behaviors that help you relate to others in a friendly and constructive manner.

Perform the motions of life well. Train your body to achieve proper movement for all aspects of motion required for daily activities including walking around, moving about, work, games, dance, and art. As with horses, the rider (intellectual center) specifies and then is quiet as the horse (moving center) does it.