My own "Aha Moment"

Every once in a while things become clear. Every once in a while we have an instant awakening, in Japanese, Satori. This morning while reading from Esther and Jerry Hicks' latest book, Money and the Law of Attraction, it happened to me. I came to a deeper understanding of what the Law of Attraction is all about. God, Source, the Universe wants all good things for us - health, love, abundance, a joyful life. It is up to us to understand who we really are. We are truly children of God. We posess a Divine essense. We are Divine beings in human form. As we begin to really understand this, not only intelectually but viscerally, we can start to really move in the direction of a life that is abundant in every way. I had a feeling of calm and peace about me but at the same time a feeling of excitement and anticipation about what my life is becoming. To be in that state of calm and excitement at the same time is how I want to live my life. I intend to be in that state as often as I can be.

Keep Reading

One of the fundamental ideas that I talk about is our need for a new idea. Where do we find new ideas? Books. That's one place. Make the decision to spend less time in front of the tv every evening. Make the commitment to spend at least one half hour reading something worthwhile. Something that could give you a new idea that could improve your life. Perhaps even introduce the habit of rising a bit earlier every morning and squeeze in a few minutes of reading into your morning routine.
One bit of advice: if you start a book and it doesn't grab you in the first few chapters, don't struggle with it. Put it down and try another book. Your time is too precious to waste on something that doesn't excite you. Who knows, maybe you aren't ready to recieve what the book has to offer.
Check out my website for a list of books that I recommend. It will be posted soon. Libraries are a great source. If your library doesn't have a book that you want, ask them to either get it for you from another library or buy it for their collection. Libraries are very responsive to their patrons' requests.
Feed your mind!

Let Your Genius Surface

Sometimes we just try too hard. We struggle to figure things out. How am I going to accomplish what I want to accomplish?
Sometimes it might just be a better tactic to just sit quietly and relax. Picture yourself having achieved your goal. Feel how good, no, how great you feel having accomplished what you set out to achieve. Bask in the glow of positive emotion. See the person you had to become to achieve your goal. Focus on seeing yourself as a tremendous success.
Do this for a few minutes every day. You'll be amazed at what ideas surface in your head. An idea that you say, "Where did that come from?" The ideas are all right there waiting for you to uncover them. By being still you allow your genius to make itself known.
The next thing is to act on that inspiration! Don't wait! Today is the day!

A Call To Action

I just finished reading a book called Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray. James Ray appeared in the dvd The Secret. I recently heard him speak locally and was motivated to buy his book. It was an inspiring and practical book. The last chapter dealt with a call to action. It encourages us to be all we can be by moving forward in action instead of just thinking about what we are going to do. It contained two quotes that really struck me. The first was from Joseph Campbell, who said "The big question is whether your are going to be able to say a hearty 'yes' to your adventure." The second was from T.S. Eliot, "Only those willing to risk going too far can find out how far they can go."

The chapter ended with the line, "You are the one the world's been waiting for."

Let's do something remarkable!

Act on Notions

When the thought of an old friend or an acquaintance crosses your mind what do you do about it? Usually we just shrug our shoulders and do nothing. Over the past few days I've taken a couple of these these notions and acted on them. I've made several phone calls and written a note. In the case of each of the phone calls the person at the other end of the line has been very happy to hear from me. Their happy responses made me feel good that I had reached out to them. I just wrote the note today so I haven't gotten any feedback on that yet. It seems to be worth the trouble to take the time.

An Example For All

Hi Everybody,

It's been two months since my last post. My intention is to be more regular. Not making any excuses, but my mother recently passed away.

She was 88 years old and had been living in a local nursing home for the past year and a half. She spent her time in bed or in her wheelchair. She suffered from dementia and could not finish a sentence, but she always knew her visitors and maintained her sense of humor, always able to laugh at the appropriate times. She loved to laugh. That was her most admirable quality (among many admirable qualities). Especially, she had no trouble laughing at herself. Whenever asked about how she felt, her response was always, "No aches or pains". She was one of the kindest persons you could ever meet. She never spoke a bad word about anyone. Whenever I would phone her after not calling her for a week or two, (this is when she was living at home in Schenectady, NY) there was never any tone of annoyance or reprimand for my neglect; there was only love and a sincere interest in what was going in my life and the lives of my wife and kids.

My mother was a true Christian. She went to Mass regularly and participated quietly as a Eucharistic Minister and an active member of the Women's club. But more than just the externals of a Christian life, she led a Christian life in practice every day. She mentored folks who wanted to become Baptised in the Catholic Church and volunteered in her local hospital for years and years. She quietly served others in a humble Christlike manner, never looking for any accolades, just giving of her time and talents so that others' lives could be better.

She got pneumonia three weeks ago and was not able to fight it off. All her family took the opportunity and dropped what they were doing to be at her side during her last days, travelling from Seattle, Boston, Vermont and Rhode Island to show their love. She spent her last days peacefully in the VNS Hospice House in East Northport on Long Island. I feel blessed to have been able to spend many days with her, especially that final Sunday before she died, sitting by her bedside playing my guitar and singing to her.

She had a beautiful wake and funeral in her hometown. It was a celebration of her life. A life well lived by a woman who had her share of sorrows as well as joys. I look forward to the day when I will be reuinted with her in the heavenly bliss that awaits us all.

In the meantime I intend to live my life the way she did: seeing the Godly side of everyone I meet and spreading joy and happiness to all who cross my path.

Whew..., that took a lot out of me.

Peace to all.

A NEW IDEA

I teach a weekly course in Personal Development at the DWI Alternative Facility, a section of the Suffolk, NY County Jail. I share the course with the men there. Yesterday I brought in the Secret DVD and played it. It is a long piece, running about an hour and a half. The reaction of the men was similar to reactions I have gotten when I showed it to previous groups. Most were very interested in the new concepts presented in the film. Prior to playing the DVD I asked if anyone had seen it before. None had, but one of them had read the book. There were about 20 in the class. We will discuss the film next week to try to get more out of it.

What struck me was that this film presented some brand new ideas to these men; ideas they had never considered. It was a hopeful session. They saw that there was a possibility to make their lives better. They saw that change is possible. They were presented with new ideas of how to go about improving their lives

I always talk about INTENTION as the first step necessary to making positive changes in our lives, and it is. But what so many of us lack is a new idea that will give us direction. The definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". If we want our lives to get better, we need a new idea. A new perspective on things can be an eye-opening experience. A new perspective can breathe a new, refreshing life into us so we no longer view our lives as the same old same old.

New ideas are out there. We just have to keep our antennas up and search for them. Books are a fantastic source of new ideas. Here are a few books to consider:

Simple Happiness - Jim Ryan (My book; 52 great ideas!)
Ask and it is Given - Esther and Jerry Hicks
Seven Laws of Spiritual Success - Deepak Chopra
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life - Wayne Dyer
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson

You won't believe how many good new ideas there are out there. Sometimes it's not a completely new idea. It's one you've heard before, but it's stated in such a way that now , all of a sudden, it makes complete sense to you. Life can be a wonderful journey filled with awesome experiences. Make sure you put some gas in your tank. New Ideas can be the fuel for that journey.

Enjoy your trip! Send me a postcard along the way.

Jim Ryan

Jim Ryan Talks