This is Joe's World

The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure. – Joseph Campbell   One of my favorite qualities in a friend is the tendency to say ‘Yes!’ I love it when I propose a rendezvous, a dinner, a party, a trip or some crazy adventure, and my friend says ‘Yes!’ without thinking twice about it. Of course, I do have friends who tend to say ‘No’ without thinking twice as well, and I’ve noticed that the Yessers are doing lot more living, laughing and loving than those whose first response is negative. Life is constantly trying to fulfill the longings of your heart by inviting you to enjoy new relationships, opportunities, experiences and adventures. I hope you’re smiling at those invitations and saying ‘Yes!’ to all the good stuff endlessly streaming your way.

If you wish to have it done, begin to do it now. If you wish to experience life, then fully live it today. The future is not certain and the past is out of reach. Now is where your possibilities dwell, and now is when you must live them. Don’t waste your wish on what might never be, or long for what is finished. Invest your energy in the magnificent life that is right here and now. Yes, by all means work toward a meaningful purpose. And as you do, find richness and joy in the portion of the journey that is happening now. Everything that is, is now, and it is more than enough. Let go of any sense of lack or need, and open yourself to the unique wonder of this moment. There is limitless value to be lived right here and now. This is when you can experience life at its best, so do. — Ralph Marston

Steve Davis is president and CEO of PATH, an international nonprofit whose goal is to help communities break longstanding cycles of poor health. The cross-sectorial skills he attained during his earlier work in other organizations, he says, are crucial when it comes to adapting innovations to the places that need them most. In this interview, he talks about his approach to leadership and the importance of being present, the importance of strategic partnerships across different sectors, his effort to eradicate malaria in northern Africa, and how to avoid the 'I'm-going-to-give-back-later [to society]' trap. http://www.dailygood.org/story/571/avoiding-the-i-ll-give-back-later-trap-knowledge-wharton/

The spirit in motion heals, expands, circles in and out of the body, moving through the layers of consciousness from inertia to ecstasy. Open to the spirit, and you will be transformed. – Gabrielle Roth The key to health, happiness and well-being on all levels: keep moving. What is good for the body is also good for the mind, heart and soul. Just as our bodies need to move – for the most part, the more, the better – we need to keep exploring new ideas, questioning old beliefs, and expanding our awareness. We need to keep letting go of old loves and old losses, opening our hearts to new connections and experiences, and allowing our feelings, no matter how uncomfortable they may be, to flow through us. We need to keep exploring new spiritual practices, reading new writers, and flowing with the insights and intuitions that are endlessly bubbling up from that mysterious place where intuitions are born moment by moment, every day. The more we embrace and move with change, the better we

Fear is the enemy of creativity. If you are anxious and worried about what you are creating, then what you are creating will not be worth very much. Let go of your attachment to getting it right. Allow yourself to enjoy the experience of simply letting it flow. When you are truly having fun you can create magnificent things. When you stop worrying about whether people will like it, people will love it. The way to be great is to be authentic. The way to be authentic is to enjoy who you truly are and what you truly love. Don’t waste a lot of time trying to guess what might matter to someone else. Put your love and effort and energy into what matters to you, and many others will benefit. In order to give of yourself you must fully be yourself. Enjoy being the real you, and bring great value to life. — Ralph Marston

A man at the intersection of activism and public health, Dr. Larry Brilliant has dedicated his life to eradicating disease and ensuring the delivery of healthcare as a fundamental human right. Click here to read his inspiring commencement speech to the graduating class of Harvard's School of Public Health, where he urges us all to lend our hand in bending the proverbial arc of the universe towards justice. http://www.dailygood.org/story/562/bend-that-arc-of-justice-larry-brilliant-m-d-/

A bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation: ‘As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.’ – Joseph Campbell Life teaches us many things, but perhaps one of the greatest lessons we are all learning is that we are capable of enduring and even triumphing over so much more than we tend to believe we can. As we look back over all we’ve lived through in the past, we can see how we are stronger and more resilient when tested than we know ourselves to be in ordinary circumstances. Life is like traveling through the mountains: When a new mountain is ahead of us in the distance, it can seem so treacherous and immense that we don’t know how we’ll survive the journey. Once we’re on that mountain trail, if we look up ahead of us, it can seem like we’ll never make it to the top. If, however, we focus on the trail just ahead and keep taking one step at a time, the climb doesn’t seem so steep and before we know it

You have much more than you can ever possibly realize. Life is a process of connecting with deeper and deeper levels of value that have always been there, and always will. Does it ever seem that the world has passed you by, or that there are just no opportunities for you? Then it’s time to move to a more profound and fulfilling level. You are capable of much more than you have yet attempted. Fill your heart with goodness, make the commitment to express that goodness, and there will be a way. The reason you get stuck is not because you have too little. It is because you expect too little. The way to expect more, at your deepest level, is to make the commitment to give more goodness to life. Make that commitment, and suddenly new, exciting possibilities come into view. Think for a moment, and realize that always, there is something good you can give. In that simple thought you know without a doubt that life’s vast abundance is always available to you. — Ralph Marst

There is no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert; rather, everyone has a different mix of both tendencies in their personality. Read this insightful article to learn how to get the most from your personality type and how to understand and support the personality types of others.     http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=5685

Meditation helps you do less and accomplish more. – Deepak Chopra   Like many people, I tend to think that I don’t really have time to meditate because I have so much to do on a physical level: endless work tasks to complete, emails to answer, laundry to fold, groceries to purchase, meals to cook, meetings to plan, etc. Fortunately, I have enough experience with meditation to know that regular spiritual practice tends to magically align us with a smooth journey: instead of taking a long, ordinary path through life, when we are tuned in to the Universe, synchronicities often deliver the answers to our prayers in amazing ways, and empower us to take quantum leaps from where we are to where we want to go. It may seem like meditation will just cost us time we don’t have to spare, but given the inner clarity and outer serendipity it fosters, meditation actually saves us time and blesses us in countless other ways.

Plenty of people will promise you something for nothing, yet those are always empty promises. Even when you can manage to get something for nothing, it does not bring any real joy to your life. The point of life is not to figure out how to get something for nothing. The real fulfillment in life comes not from merely consuming, but from creating. You cannot be truly rich simply by having a certain set of material possessions. The richness that matters is genuine inner richness, and the satisfaction that comes from knowing that you’re making a positive difference in life. Don’t waste your time wishing, hoping, demanding or begging to get something for nothing. Joyfully put your energy into creating new, useful and beautiful value out of the unique abundance with which you’ve been blessed. The great thing about being alive is that you can, through your creative endeavors, transform whatever you have into whatever you desire. That amazing, limitless opportunity presents i

With so many self-help books and articles out there posing different theories about what leads to happiness in life, and so many passing fads and trends, how do we know when we've found the right tools that will lead us to a lifetime of joy? Since 1938, The Grant Study has followed 267 sophomores from Harvard University as their lives have unfolded, with the aim of documenting the key factors that contribute to success and failure, happiness and distress. After 75 years of interviews and assessments, they've found consistently that the answer to the question of happiness lies in love. And as it turns out, it's never too late to start loving. Read on to learn more about the study and the life of Godfrey Camille, who at the age of 35 turned everything around. http://www.dailygood.org/story/573/what-are-the-secrets-to-a-happy-life-george-e-vaillant/

“I am not against stuff. I am for enough stuff. The good stuff. The appropriate stuff. The stuff that is truly helpful. If you love something, it is enhancing your life, and you are using it for upliftment, it is holy stuff. If it is cumbersome or bringing you down in any way, you cannot afford it.” http://kajama.com/picture-frame/

“You don’t have to get rid of people you don’t like or harmonize with. Simply strike a clear, strong keynote of the frequency you value. If the other person can match that frequency, he may shift to meet you at the frequency you broadcast. If he cannot match the frequency, he will go away. ” http://kajama.com/subway-experiment/

“You don’t have to get sick to get out of school, have an accident to get out of work, or have an affair to get out of a marriage. You can simply, clearly, directly express that you do not wish to do this. You might ruffle some feathers, but the cost will be far less than illness, accident, or a nasty divorce.” http://kajama.com/truth-sabotage/

Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention. – Greg Anderson At this very moment, you are blessed in thousands of ways – maybe even millions. I know this is true because it’s true for every one of us. Right now, I have a headache and a long list of tasks I have to complete that I’d rather not have to deal with, but so what? The sun is shining, I have a hot cup of coffee by my side, many of my loved ones are healthy and happy, and the future is – as always – wide open and bright with possibility. We tend to view happiness as some ever-elusive, fleeting, unfathomable mystery, but the recipe for happiness is really very simple: Look for all the ways you are blessed. Smile and give thanks. Repeat.

Just about any technique, process or system can lead to success or to failure. What matters most is not the technique, but the energy and drive you put into it. If you feel you’re stuck in a hopeless situation, you’ll remain stuck as long as you feel that way. As soon as you become enthusiastic about the opportunities for improvement, you’ll begin to make those improvements. In every kind of endeavor, there are those who succeed spectacularly and those who barely get by. The difference is not in the occupation, but in attitude, commitment and level of energy. There are people who make it their business to make a positive difference in life. Choosing each day to be one of those people will give you a continuing supply of amazingly effective energy. Even though you may not be in an ideal situation, you can create an ideal outcome. Use the day, use the moment, use the encounter, use the circumstance to lift the world higher. With an attitude of generosity and a commit

Simplicity means taking charge of lives that are too busy, too stressed, and too fragmented. Simplicity means cutting back on clutter, complications, and trivial distractions, both material and non-material, and focusing on the essentials -- whatever those may be for each of our unique lives. As Thoreau said, "Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, simplify." Or, as Plato wrote, "In order to seek one's own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life." http://www.dailygood.org/story/559/voluntary-simplicity-duane-elgin/

Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts. I once read that a good workout is like a shower for the inside of your body, and I loved that image so much that now, whenever I run, I visualize the inside of my body being cleansed: dead cells and stale energies being swept up in the rush of increased circulation and washed away. I certainly always feel as refreshed by a good workout as I do by a good shower. I think that crying can have the same effect on our hearts, for an intense outpouring of emotion similarly always leaves me feeling lighter and clearer afterward. People who can see auras know what I’m talking about: if you watch someone have a good cry, you’ll notice all sorts of change and movement in their auras. Before they let their tears flow, their auras grow dark and murky much as the sky darkens when a storm is brewing. After, their auras are as clear, light and bright as a beautiful morning after a heavy rain. If you’re feeling sad, don’t hold b

If you’re having trouble finding an answer, it’s probably because you’re continuing to look where you’ve already looked. If it seems that the problems have no good solutions, widen your view. The answers and the opportunities are most certainly out there. In order to discover them you must let go of some assumptions and open yourself to new possibilities. Conditions change, people change, and the whole world can change quickly. If you continue to see things exactly the way you did yesterday, you’re missing a whole lot of new opportunities. It’s great to stay firmly anchored in your long-held, most treasured values. Yet it’s also vitally important to live and express those values in new, creative and updated ways. There are countless ways to enrich your life and your world that you’ve never even considered. Step out of your routine, step back from your assumptions, widen your view and see some of those possibilities. Make the choice to venture beyond what you’re comf

"Food is just a means of getting closer to people." Watching a child rummage in the garbage to drink melted ice from a discarded plastic sack spurred Mavis Ching to do something. Touch A Life prepares lunches for local kids and Saturday deliveries to their families in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Mother Teresa said: "The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved." Touch A Life agrees, and uses a meal as a happy and practical way to reach out to give hugs and attention to over 150 hungry kids and their families. http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=4421

Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods. – Ralph Waldo Emerson   How often are any of us in silence these days? When we’re not actively engaged in dialogue with others via talking, texting, or emailing, we’re surfing the ‘net or listening to the radio or watching TV, and even when we are not personally doing those things, we’re often overhearing others do them. Given the constant noise and busyness of the modern world, it’s no wonder so many people feel stressed out, lost, confused and spiritually disconnected these days. Fortunately, Spirit’s guidance is as available to us as always: we have only to retreat into silence – to stop talking, stop doing, stop asking and stop seeking – and deeply LISTEN for all sorts of insights to bubble up into our awareness. To quickly sink into deep silence so you can hear Spirit’s guidance, you might give this process a try:   Meditation: Go Deep and Stay There .

In this essay, Pulitzer prize-winning poet Robert Hass brings our attention to the potential resilience of rivers as stories across cultures, places, and time, that most of the life on earth depends on fresh water, and that like stories they have a beginning, a middle, and an end. In between they flow, if we let them... http://www.dailygood.org/story/567/on-rivers-and-stories-robert-hass/