What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0041

2001.  Want more for others than you do for yourself; that is, be compassionate;

2002.  Rather than saddling yourself with self-limiting labels, affirm: I am capable of accomplishing anything I place my attention upon;

2003.  Complaining and explaining are the two huge allies of excuse making.  Generally speaking, when you resort to complaining you employ an excuse of one kind or another, placing the responsibility for what’s upsetting you on something or someone external to yourself.  Complaining about the way somebody has performed (or failed to perform) is another way of making an excuse for why you’re dissatisfied or unhappy;

2004.  By not expecting to be impacted in a negative or fearful way, you have a much better chance of eliciting the reaction you want.  You have a higher chance of your family members being supportive when you support your own desires and intentions.  And do be willing to endure any disapproval you might face by asserting your strong beliefs about your purpose in life–that disapproval will most assuredly morph into respect, gratitude, and even awe;

2005.  Loving what you have and being in a continuous state of contentment is the key to having what you want.  Also, be willing to contemplate that whatever assistance you need is on its way, even when you can’t predict where it’s coming from;

2006.  Whenever you’re tempted to use an excuse to explain some deficiency in your life (or even after you’ve noticed that you just relied on a long-standing alibi), silently put the excuse to the truth test.  Simply and honestly answer these two questions: (1) Is it true? and (2) Can I be 100 percent certain that it’s true?  As you do, you’ll discover that no excuse pattern holds up to this scrutiny;

2007.  Create an explanation that reverses the excuse you’re using.  It should be just as capable of being either true or untrue as your mental crutch, but the difference is that this explanation leads you away from self-defeat.  Since neither your old excuse nor your new belief can be 100 percent guaranteed, and you’re free to hold either of these two visions for yourself, why not select the one that will work for the highest aspirations you hold, rather than against them?

2008.  Once you start understanding, you can stop rationalizing and justifying.  Your past isn’t another reason to explain your deficiencies;

2009.  Everyone in my life did what they knew how to do, and I chose to buy into it at that time.  But today I’m going to stop this insidious kind of absurd thinking.  I will no longer entertain thoughts of my being unworthy–I’ve lived with them long enough, and they’ve never served my highest good;

2010.  The excuse It’s not my nature came directly from the list of what you were taught you couldn’t do or be.  You were formulated and then crafted into the finished product that your family and culture desired.  When you’re told “You can’t do this; you can only do that” enough times, and you’re willing to become the product the people around you want you to be, then you believe that your nature is what you’ve been told.  You act on the pronouncements about yourself that you’ve absorbed.  So if you hear that you’re lazy, undeserving, or uncoordinated often enough, it ultimately leads you to adopt this as your self-portrait.  If you’re told over and over again that you’re just like your father and he never amounted to anything, then you’ll ultimately view your nature the way that others viewed your dad;

2011.  I chose to allow the opinions of others to be more important than my fledgling opinions of who I was and what I intended to become.  Yes, I was small and vulnerable, but it was still my choice;

2012.  Academic performance has nothing to do with your potential for intellectual mastery;

2013.  Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves;

2014.  I chose to use excuses as a child.  I didn’t realize at the time that I had other choices available.  I realize I’ve continued to choose those excuses until now;

2015.  Forgive everyone, including yourself.  All those individuals who proliferated mind viruses and conditioning were only doing what they knew how to do given the circumstances of their lives.  Keep in mind the line from the Prayer of Saint Francis: “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”  Eschew blame and free yourself from anything that’s been plaguing your life and holding you back.  By forgiving everyone, you pardon them . . . and yourself;

2016.  Nothing is in reality either pleasant or unpleasant by nature; but all things become so by habit;

2017.  Many behaviors and thought patterns persist because of perceived rewards . . . which may not be that good for you.  In fact, most of the psychological benefits you receive from your excuse-making habit are actually quite self-destructive;

2018.  Avoidance is a common and easily identifiable payoff, or the psychological reward that allows you to be somewhat at peace with yourself when you make self-thwarting decisions.  The excuse becomes your ally, even though it’s an ally that doesn’t have your best interests at heart;

2019.  None of us like to feel unsafe, so excuses become what we use to avoid potentially dangerous situations.  Rather than wandering off into uncharted territory where we might face the risk of low performance, failure, criticism, exhaustion, the unknown, appearing foolish, getting hurt, and the like, it’s more convenient to retreat into a haven of familiarity.  The problem is that the excuse habit only brings us a false sense of security, in the same way a “blanky” comforts a frightened child;

2020.  Any excuse at all offers the bountiful reward of the easy way out.  Let’s face it, when you’re confronted with a choice between doing something requiring effort and something that’s effortless and easy, you’re apt to pick the latter, even if it’s not the choice that will actually lead to your objectives;

2021.  Your highest self wants you to fulfill your destiny, which often involves some type of sacrifice, expenditure of time, mental and physical energy, and material resources.  Ego is frequently in conflict with what your highest self desires–your false self pushes and cajoles you into staying put, threatened by anything that disrupts its mission of keeping you nice and comfortable by avoiding difficult choices.  Thus, there’s a big payoff for using excuses that allow you to take the easy road;

2022.  Excuses are simply explanations you make to yourself that have no necessary bearing on the truth–yet even though they’re lies, they do bring you some sort of reward.  So while your only evidence may be a habitual thought, if you convince yourself that you’re right, you get to retreat into the illusion of winning.  In this case, the excuse is a deception that props up your low self-esteem.  You’ve substituted an excuse in place of authentic self-worth, and the payoff is that your reasoning helps you live with yourself without acknowledging your self-deceit;

2023.  When you resort to using an excuse, the ultimate payoff is that you remove responsibility for your own shortcomings and place responsibility for them on the shoulders of someone else;

2024.  Make the decision that you’ll no longer use excuses to keep you from what you know is in your best interest.  Today, act on something you’ve always avoided and explained away with a convenient excuse;

2025.  Remind yourself that no one can ever make you feel anything without your consent.  Therefore, there’s no one to blame for whatever is taking place in your life;

2026.  When you feel dejected or out of sorts, ask yourself: Do I wish to use the present moment–the precious currency of my life–in this manner?  This will help you to become conscious of the importance of being here now–not just in your body, but in your thinking as well;

2027.  Become conscious of just how valuable the present is, and obliterate that old tendency to use excuses for the purpose of escaping the moment;

2028.  Eliminating lifelong thinking habits cannot and will not happen if it doesn’t strike you as a sensible thing to do.  It doesn’t really matter that everyone you know tells you how important it is to change–if it doesn’t make sense to you, then you’ll retreat to your old ways and continue to explain them away with your convenient laundry list of excuses.  If the answer to Do I really want to bring about this change? is yes, then that’s all you need in order to proceed and succeed.  But if you have any doubts whatsoever, your old excuse making will surface, and you’ll revert back to your long-held habits;

2029.  If you want to shed old habits and excuses, take some time to visit that private place within you.  Close your eyes and visualize yourself as being completely free of these limitations . . . how does your body react?  If you feel good, that’s all the evidence you need to prove to yourself that you have a rational reason to change;

2030.  If you’re hanging on to a whole bunch of habits that have been reinforced by excuses, note that these will make you feel bad.  Your old mental crutches only serve to keep you from having an experience within your body that registers as “good,” so you may even be accustomed to being emotionally bankrupt;

2031.  Pain, anxiety, fear, anger, and the like make themselves known in your body as rashes, eczema, heart palpitations, arthritis, backaches, headaches, stomachaches, diarrhea, eyestrain, cramps, and many more ailments too numerous to mention.  The point is that these emotional reactions that show up in the body can become your way of life, to the point that they define your reality.  And when you’re questioning why that is, that’s when the excuse I’ve always been this way tends to rear its ugly head;

2032.  Reheated, bottled pasta sauce makes a pretty good dipping sauce;

2033.  If the lifelong thinking pattern you’d like to change doesn’t make sense to you but everyone around you is telling you that it’s the right thing to do, erase it from your mind;

2034.  By being brutally honest with yourself, determine if, given the conditions of your life and how well you know yourself, this lifelong thinking pattern you’d like to change is truly doable.  You may not know how to do it, but you can still assess if it is in fact something that’s possible for you.  If it isn’t then discard it;

2035.  Picture yourself as being free of your habituated way of being, totally disconnected from the habit.  If that idea doesn’t make you feel good–and I mean really good–then it’s not for you;

2036.  Fourth line, left wingers can’t dance/skate Gangnam style, but second line, right wingers can (specifically Matt Hendricks and Troy Brouwer of the Washington Capitals);

2037.  A woman’s nipple can protrude out 3/8^th of an inch;

2038.  How do you make a “dancer” jump?  The answer is: By pinching her (protruding) nipple;

2039.  “Dancers” can have very strong thighs;

2040.  Some people actually name their daughters Bambi;

2041.  You don’t attract what you desire; you attract what you are;

2042.  You can’t just wish for a change, or simply think about what you want, and expect it to appear.  To see the old habits fall away and access Divine guidance in making your life work at the highest levels of happiness, success, and health, you must forget about what’s in it for you.  Start practicing higher awareness by serving and wanting even more for others than you want for yourself.  Otherwise, you’ll never experience the subtle joy of a blissful, fulfilled life;

2043.  You can’t demand guidance; it will come when you align as your Source is aligned;

2044.  It’s a flat rate of $33.00 to take a taxi from Miami (International) Airport to South Beach;

2045.  You know it’s a dive bar when Happy Hour goes from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM (i.e., Mac’s Club Deuce);

2046.  Watch out for places in South Beach that lure you in with lunch (and drink) specials and when they seat you, you actually have to ask for the specials menu (specifically 530 Ocean’s Grill);

2047.  You know the food is bad when the (lemon honey) salmon is overcooked, chewy and tastes like bacon drippings;

2048.  Be wary of places in South Beach that lure you in with drink specials and their drink menus don’t actually have any prices on them (specifically the Kitchen Restaurant) . . . and when they try to upsell you the seafood sampler, just say no;

2049.  Most places on Ocean Drive (in South Beach) will give you a to go cup for your drink;

2050.  “Friction dancing” is just another way of saying dry humping;

What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0040

1951.  Rather than asking for more–which implies shortages and, therefore, creates a vibrational match to more shortages–focus on what you have and how thankful you are for everything that has shown up in your life;

1952.  It’s already here; I just need to connect to it.  Nothing can stop my creative ideas from materializing.  I’ve banished all doubt.  I’ll soon be seeing evidence of my manifestations everywhere;

1953.  You must decide to stay in the feeling of love, prosperity, wellness, or whatever you desire, and let that feeling just flow through you.  And remember that you get what you think about, whether you want it or not.  Remain thoughtfully in the field of infinite possibilities rather than your negative emotions–fear, worry, hate, and shame are indicators of separation from your authentic self in the present moment.  When you come back to your authentic self, it will work full-time to deliver to you whatever you think about;

1954.  I get what I think about, and I am choosing from here on in to think in harmony with my Source of being until it is habitual;

1955.  Practice catching yourself when you’re engaged in the habit of negative thinking.  Monitor any thought that expresses, It can’t, It won’t, or It’s not my luck; and change it to an aligned thought such as, It will, It must, or It’s already here and I know it will arrive on schedule with Divine timing;

1956.  You can recover most things, but time that is lost is lost forever;

1957.  Tahini is made of ground sesame seeds;

1958.  The ego is a false self that believes in its separation.  It strives to acquire and to achieve, and it’s constantly in search of more.  Just as it can’t coexist with awareness and alignment, it can’t survive in the now.  When you luxuriate in the moment, it’s impossible to ask for anything else, let alone more.  The essence of living in the present is total acceptance of precisely what is here.  Your mind doesn’t wander to what used to be, what ought to be, or what’s missing; and you don’t conjure up excuses.  Rather, you have a heightened awareness of experiencing your highest self;

1959.  The issue isn’t whether you choose to live in the now or not, because the basic truth is that it’s the only thing that’s ever available to live in.  The past all occurred in the now.  The future, which never comes except as a present moment, is all that’s available.  The real issue is how you choose to use up the precious moments of your life.  You can choose higher awareness and suspend ego-dominated past/future thoughts, eliminating your reliance on excuses.  Full immersion into the essence of the now is when you truly come face-to-face with your Source of being;

1960.  Our relationship to the present moment defines our relationship to life itself.  Whatever has happened in the past–no matter how many years, centuries, or millennia ago–all took place in the now.  There’s no way to experience anything other than in the precious present.  Thus, the idea that it happened in the past must be an illusion, since everything only gets experienced now;

1961.  Your relationship to life itself reflects your relationship to the present moment, so if your head is filled with frustrating or angry thoughts about what isn’t happening or the way the world looks to you, you’re not going to have a very good relationship with life.  Yet a dysfunctional relationship with life is really nothing more than a dysfunctional relationship with the present moment.  Again, life only gets lived in the now;

1962.  You can sell tax credits for movies to businesses that have nothing to do with making movies;

1963.  Repeat this affirmation: I choose to stay fully present in the now, and this is the only place that I will come to know God.  By repeating this to yourself in silence for a five-minute period, you reinforce the importance of being a present-moment person.  Make this a regular practice and it will ultimately become your way of being;

1964.  Contemplation is the mental activity behind all inventions–indeed, behind all of creation.  It’s important that you understand that you can create the life you desire by concentrating on what you wish to attract.  Once you master the ideas surrounding this concept, you won’t want to use your mind for the purpose of excuse making.  Instead, you’ll prefer to use it to really consider what you want to manifest into your life and then visualize it as coming true;

1965.  The more you ponder the impossibility of having your desires show up, complain about life’s unfairness, and get upset about what continues to manifest, the more those very things define your reality.  That’s because whatever you focus on invariably shows up in your life–be it what you want or what you don’t want.  So if you’re always thinking or talking about what’s wrong with your life, then you’re attracting exactly what you don’t desire;

1966.  Self-actualizing people never use their minds to think about what they don’t wish to attract.  They don’t worry about an illness getting worse, an absence of funding, a downturn in the economy affecting them, a negative outcome in a business venture, their children getting into trouble, and so on.  Their minds focus on the conditions they wish to produce–then the lucky break, the right people or circumstances, or the synchronistic opportunity somehow presents itself as a result of their contemplation.  We all become what we think about, so it’s pretty important to pay attention to those thoughts;

1967.  The ginger ice cream at Ichiban Sushi House (IchibanOldTown.com) in (Old Town) Alexandria is sort of spicy (and effervescent) . . . and a little gummy;

1968.  You have the option to get cash back when the balance on your Gap (brand) gift card is less than $5.00;

1969.  To rid yourself of excuse, you must learn to practice contemplating what you intend to manifest, and simultaneously detach from the outcome;

1970.  Contemplate like God does, with thoughts of How may I serve? rather than What’s in it for me?

1971.  Repeat the following mantra to yourself for a minimum of five straight minutes each day: I contemplate myself surrounded by the conditions I wish to attract into my life.  Say it quickly and repeatedly, even if it sounds ludicrous to do so.  The repetition will help you begin to imagine the right people or circumstances, the necessary funding, or whatever it is you desire.  Stay detached and allow the universe to take care of the details;

1972.  You didn’t inherit your personality traits from anyone in your past–you’ve repeatedly chosen them, even though you may be unaware of how or why.  If you’re shy, loud, fearful, assertive, loving, hateful, kind, cruel, passive, or aggressive, learn to assert: This is what I have chosen for myself up until now.  Similarly, if you find yourself mired in debt, languishing in poverty, wasting away in an unfulfilling career, wilting in an unsatisfying partnership, in pain over someone’s poor business decisions, or even bored out of your mind because your parents made you pursue a career not of your liking–whatever the current conditions of your life, ask yourself if you’re willing to take sole and total responsibility for them;

1973.  There’s something for you to learn in any difficulty.  Look for the blessing in all situations, and remind yourself that you’re no longer a child, but a fully functioning adult who’s ready to accept responsibility;

1974.  Blame must be supplanted by a willingness to look at everything that occurs in your life and choosing to think, I attracted and created it all, and I am happy to take full and sole responsibility for all of it;

1975.  I am worthy of attracting unlimited abundance and prosperity into my life, regardless of what life experiences have gone before me.  I only reinforce and contemplate images that are in harmony with this vision;

1976.  Hold a vision that asserts: “I’m entitled to be respected, loved, and happy; to feel fulfilled and prosperous; to exercise; and to enjoy all of the moments of my life!  This is my vision, and I’m more than willing–I’m absolutely determined that this is what will come my way;”

1977.  Create an inventory of the things you’re unwilling to do in order to manifest your destiny.  Then erase everything on it but this title: What I Am Unwilling to Think or Do in Order to Become All That I Desire for Myself.  Leave this sheet of paper in a prominent spot, where you can look at it every day to remind you of your commitment to shed all unwillingness.  When you’re challenged and find yourself reverting to old habits, look at your empty sheet, and then affirm the following for at least five minutes: There is nothing that I am unwilling to think or do in order to become all that I am destined to become.  Repeating this inner mantra will serve as an energy shifter for you, and it will put you on the path of greatness;

1978.  You must be willing to take whatever pieces of life come your way and arrange them so that they work with and for you rather than against you.  The key is to be willing.  The pieces will show up–they always have, and they always will.  Your willingness to arrange rather than complain or make excuses will pay off;

1979.  Tough times don’t last.  Tough people do;

1980.  A (late) Saturday night at the Mason Inn (MasonInnDC.com) in D.C. reminds me of a basement frat(ernity) party . . . the dimly lit, narrow room . . . the blaring, thumping dance music . . . the slick floors from countless spilled drinks . . . and the mosh pit-like feel from so many people crammed into a small space bumping into each other;

1981.  The empanadas at Julia’s Empanadas are pretty good, but I wouldn’t get in a fight over them;

1982.  There’s just a certain energy (and vibrancy) in living in the heart of a (major) city.  There are people walking around at all hours of the day . . . from tourists strolling around sightseeing to locals going about their daily lives;

1983.  Before getting married, Amelia Earhart wrote a letter to her (second) fiancée insisting on an “open” marriage;

1984.  The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum are in the old Patent Office Building.  It was used as a hospital during the Civil War and it was also the site of (Abraham) Lincoln’s second inaugural ball on March 6, 1865;

1985.  In the U.S., there are about 700 cars per 1,000 people.  In China, there are about 44 cars for every 1,000 people.  In India, there’s even less, there’s only about 12 cars for every 1,000 people;

1986.  All (loose-leaf) teas are $1.00 during tea happy hour Monday through Thursday from 5:00 PM until close (i.e., around 9:30 PM) at Killer E(spresso).S(orbet).P(ie). (KillerESP.com) in (Old Town) Alexandria;

1987.  Prioritize your schedule and schedule your priorities;

1988.  If you have passion, there is no need for excuses, because your enthusiasm will trump any reasoning you might come up with.  Your excitement will propel you toward acting on what you’ve been imagining with such gusto that you won’t need an explanation for what is holding you back.  While this doesn’t guarantee that your venture will be financially successful or well received, it does guarantee that you’ll follow it through to completion;

1989.  By believing passionately in something that does not yet exist we create it.  The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired;

1990.  Your willingness to receive blessing is related to your ability to give them;

1991.  Make a promise to yourself that you’ll pay attention to your passion, that you’ll do at least one small thing daily to make it your reality;

1992.  Develop a sense of awe that then leads to the creation of passion by beginning to look at everything as though you’re seeing it for the first time.  Don’t let the concept of boredom even creep into your thoughts;

1993.  You do not attract what you want; you attract what you are;

1994.  Upon awakening, let the words Thank you flow from your lips, for this will remind you to begin your day with gratitude and compassion.  Make it a practice to begin each day by thinking first of someone else and then making a decision to actively do something, anything, that will bring a smile to his or her face.  When you become conscious of wanting to do something kind for another human being, you move into a higher way of being.  It takes your thoughts off yourself and What’s in it for me? and puts them on How may I serve?

1995.  Become aware of your potential for greatness and the power of your mind;

1996.  Align yourself by thinking like God thinks;

1997.  Live here and now in your mind as well as in your body;

1998.  Contemplate what you are, rather than what you want to become;

1999.  Be willing to allow health, happiness, and success to flow into your life;

2000.  Be compassionate about everyone and everything that enters your life;