BEST of PONDER on THIS for Monday, January 14th, 2013 by Stuart Wilde in THE QUICKENING

“We learn about ourselves through relationships because they reflect what we are back to us. If you are surrounded by nonsense that means you have allowed nonsense to establish itself in your life. Simple really. If your relationships are loving and empowering that means that you are also. The name of the game is to review all your relationships from time to time to assess what it is you contribute and what it is you receive in return.

Relationships change so quickly that it should be a part of your modus to institute quality control into every aspect of your life. If you are not getting what you want, or if you are putting in all the efforts and the others are contributing little, it will become obvious. Then you must decide if that is acceptable to you or not. If not, you will diplomatically indicate what your needs are and suggest that they fulfill them. In turn you find out what they want. If both of you want something different and things can’t be resolved, do not be afraid to release them or to walk away yourself.”

Stuart Wilde, in “The Quickening”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Friday, January 11th, 2013 by Jeff Maziarek in SPIRITUALITY SIMPLIFIED

“Learning to be fully in the present is a skill that requires constant practice, because as you well know, your mind has strong tendencies to migrate both forward and backward. The key to mastering this skill is to regularly remind yourself of the importance of truly focusing on what you are doing or experiencing ‘right now’.

As Dan Millman so eloquently says in his book The Laws of Spirit:

“Embrace this moment, put one foot in front of the other, and handle what’s in front of you. Because no matter where your mind may roam, you body always remains here and now. When in haste, rest in the present. Take a deep breath, and come back to here and now.”

This, of course, requires some conscious effort on your part, but over time you will get more and more adept at it. To help you develop this skill, I have found that it is a good idea to create a simple reminder phrase such as “am I fully in the present?” and paste it up in conspicuous places within your house (e.g., a bathroom mirror or refrigerator). You can even place one somewhere within your workspace at the office, and on your car dashboard. At first glance this may appear to be a bit silly, but I can assure you from personal experience that it does help to keep you more focused in the “now.”

Jeff Maziarek, in “Spirituality Simplified”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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PONDER on THIS for Thursday, January 10th, 2013 by Donald Altman in THE MINDFULNESS CODE

“What if you have a racing mind that just won’t stop worrying about all those little problems waiting for you the next day? As part of your sleep ritual, you many want to place a pad of paper next to the bed so you can write down all those thoughts. Knowing that you have recorded them for reflection the next day can help to ease their grip on your mind so that you can surrender to sleep. If you get anxious about not being able to sleep at any time during the night, try using your awareness to loosen anxious thoughts while breathing diaphragmatically.

Sometimes it can be helpful to choose a calming word or phrase to repeat with each breath, such as “quiet mind,” “restful sleep,” or “one,” to repeat with each breath replacing the thoughts of a racing mind.”

Donald Altman, in “The Mindfulness Code”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 by Stuart Wilde in INFINITE SELF

“Guilt is a worthless energy. If you’ve messed up or failed, grant yourself absolution. Then draw a line in the sand and say, “From now on, I’m going to act in a better way. I’m going to act in a more honorable way.” The important thing is to truncate the emotion of that guilt before it becomes overwhelming. Forgive yourself, and realize that in the eternal spiritual sense, there isn’t any real sin; there is only forgiveness. Yes, there are low-energy actions that infringe and restrict, and there are high-energy actions that love, liberate, inspire, and release people. But that’s all there is. We come to experience both types of action in this lifetime.

Naturally, as a spiritual person working on yourself, you’re going to try to choose as many high-energy, liberating attitudes and actions as you can. But if sometimes you go the other way and fail, you haven’t really failed. All you’ve done is gone up the other end of the scale. You have to understand contrast in order to learn. Bit by bit, you will strengthen, become more, and learn a better way.”

Stuart Wilde, in “Infinite Self”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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PONDER on THIS for Tuesday, January 8th, 2013 by Tony Burroughs in THE LAW OF AGREEMENT

“Commiseration is a particularly enticing kind of agreement that is so subtle that we can be up to our neck in it before we realize what’s happening. You know how it goes: someone starts complaining about something, and, like the bobble-head doll on the dashboard, you find yourself nodding and agreeing with them – and perhaps even telling a story about how you’ve had some of the same problems they’re talking about. On the surface it seems harmless enough, but underlying it all is the reinforcement of situations that really don’t do anybody any good. It’s just another way we sabotage ourselves.”

Tony Burroughs, in “The Law of Agreement”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Monday, January 7th, 2013 by Fr. Anthony DeMello in THE WAY TO LOVE

“Here is something that you must understand: There are two sources for change within you. One is the cunningness of your ego that pushes you into making efforts to become something other than you are meant to be so that it can give itself a boost, so that it can glorify itself. The
other is the wisdom of Nature. Thanks to this wisdom you become aware, you understand it. That is all you do, leaving the change – type, the manner, the speed, the time of change – to Reality and to Nature.

Nature is not a technician. Nature is creative. You will be a creator, not a wily technician when there is abandonment in you – no greed, no ambition, no anxiety, no sense of striving, gaining, arriving, attaining. All there is, is a keen, alert, penetrating awareness that
causes the dissolution of all one’s foolishness and selfishness, all one’s attachments and fears. The changes that follow are not the result of your blueprints and efforts, but the product of Nature that spurns your plans and will, thereby leaving no room for a sense of merit or achievement or even any consciousness on the part of your left hand of what Reality is doing by means of your right.”

Fr. Anthony DeMello, in “The Way to Love”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Friday, January 4th, 2013 by Jeff Maziarek in SPIRITUALITY SIMPLIFIED

“What is really unfortunate, as this next passage from Dr. Wayne Dyer illustrates, is that people are simply unaware that at some level that they themselves are responsible for whatever lack they are experiencing in their lives:

“If we dwell on scarcity, we are putting energy into what we do not have, and this continues to be our experience of life. The theme of so many people’s life story is “I simply do not have enough,” or “How can I believe in abundance when my children don’t have all the clothes that they need?” or “I would be a lot happier if I had _____.” People believe they live a life of lack because they are unlucky, instead of recognizing that their belief system is rooted in scarcity thinking.”

It really is a very basic principle — as an extension of the mind of God you have enormous creative power, and as such you need to be very careful about what it is you choose to believe. So, if you are not experiencing all of the abundance you desire in your life, recognize this moment that somewhere along the line you adopted beliefs that have caused you to literally push it away from yourself. Once you come to acknowledge this fact, you can then move forward to carefully examine exactly what you have accepted as your truth about abundance. From there you can proceed to systematically refute, and then eventually drop any beliefs that are rooted in scarcity.”

Jeff Maziarek, in “Spirituality Simplified”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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PONDER on THIS for Thursday, January 3rd, 2013 by JB Lewis in THE MIRACLE OF YOU: BACK TO CONSCIOUSNESS

“I realize that some of the readers out there reading in these pages might be struggling with all of the things in your life that are bad. I put bad in italics to highlight the incongruity of it with reality. In reality there is no bad and good dichotomy, only desirable and undesirable outcomes to the experiences we choose.

Think of good and bad as labels to express the interpretation of the outcome; the ideas of good and bad in no way indicate a state of wrongness or rightness. So don’t hinge so much thought on those words. You are a good person. You are a perfect person no matter what choices you make. The only way to see what I am saying clearly is to step back and see yourself for who you are in Spirit. In Spirit you now understand that you can never be damaged, injured or die. The only part of you that changes is the physical form you take.”

JB Lewis, in “The Miracle of You: Back to Consciousness”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 by Dan Millman in THE LAWS OF SPIRIT

“Enjoy each season of your life. Patiently prepare the soil, sow the seeds, and do the work, and you’ll harvest the abundant fruits of your labors. Accept both good fortune and adversity as you accept the shifting seasons. Enjoy the glazed beauty of a winter’s day and the sultry days of summer, for soon enough, each season, each day, each moment, passes into history, and its exact likeness shall not be seen again. So rather than longing for summer in the midst of a winter’s chill, or wishing for cool winds in the dog days of summer, embrace each season for its own gifts. Align yourself with the cycles of time and transformation, riding change as ships ride the waves.”

Dan Millman, in “The Laws of Spirit”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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PONDER on THIS for Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 by Tony Burroughs in THE LAW OF AGREEMENT

“Adversity comes when we’re getting something that we don’t want, or we want something that we’re not getting. Either way, life is not going exactly as we’d like it to go – or is it? What if, on a subconscious or a soul level, we set ourselves up to experience some adversity in one form or another? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But when you think about it, it could be that maybe, just maybe, that’s what we’re doing. But why?

The Law of Adversity is the complement to the Law of Agreement, and it offers us many insights about our uncomfortable experiences, The Law of Adversity says that along with every challenge or problem we encounter, an opportunity also presents itself.

It is important for us to be alert and aware so that we can spot these opportunities and turn them into gifts for ourselves. For this to happen, though, it helps if we realize that we made an agreement to be here at this time. We set it all up – all of the chaos, adversity,
resistance, limitation, all of it – so that we could rise above it and reach our highest calling in life.”

Tony Burroughs, in “The Law of Agreement”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Monday, December 31st, 2012 by Dan Millman in THE LAWS OF SPIRIT

“Pain has many faces; even the wealthy know suffering. All anyone can do is to make the best possible choices available within a particular set of circumstances-choices toward life, toward love, toward service, toward connection. But no matter what life dishes out, YOU get to decide how you will RESPOND internally: You can resist and resent it, bemoaning your fate, or you can face and embrace it, expanding into the moment.”

Dan Millman, in “The Laws of Spirit”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Friday, December 28th, 2012 by Jeff Maziarek in SPIRITUALITY SIMPLIFIED

“There are probably millions of people who would say that the act of forgiving is nearly impossible in some circumstances, particularly when it comes to the perpetrators of heinous and/or violent crimes. While this position is of course very understandable, the fact is there is really nothing that cannot be forgiven, particularly when you fully comprehend that forgiving is about letting go of the toxic thoughts and emotions within you.

Without question, it is very difficult to forgive someone who has done something truly atrocious, yet holding on to judgment and anger can only bring greater discomfort. It may take a long time for a person to truly embrace forgiveness under such circumstances, but if one sincerely works at it long enough, they will eventually succeed in doing so. It is a matter of coming to the awareness that forgiveness is really the only sensible option, for choosing the opposite course (i.e., holding on to resentment) carries with it the prospect of continued emotional suffering, and someday perhaps even severe physical pain as well.”

Jeff Maziarek, in “Spirituality Simplified”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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PONDER on THIS for Thursday, December 27th, 2012 by Stuart Wilde in THE QUICKENING

“The mind of thinking-man contains a myriad of opinions as to what should be. Each opinion is an affirmation of thinking-man’s pathetic state of weakness. It is only an opinion that says one’s body should be strong and healthy. It is only an opinion that says one should live a long life. What if you don’t? Are you going to negate the time you have spent on earth? Who says one has to be rich and wear fine clothes and be treated in a special way? Who says you have to sleep so many hours and eat so many meals? Where is it cast in stone that you have to be dry and warm and safe? What if you find yourself in a place that is freezing, wet, and dangerous? Do you moan your way into missing the experience or do you open to acceptance from strength?

Mechanical-man trots through his miserable little rhythms of life and misses it for the most part. This is way most of the people you meet are as dull as dish water. They have optioned themselves out of life and have nothing to offer. They may live to be ninety-nine but their experiences are of little worth. They still don’t accept themselves and they are still uncomfortable. It is better to live as a Warrior-Sage for thirty years and to accept the experience of life than it is to cast oneself into the living hell of the stereotype.”

Stuart Wilde, in “The Quickening”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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BEST of PONDER on THIS for Wednesday, December 26th, 2012 by Shakti Gawain in THE PATH OF TRANSFORMATION

“Healing crises are always uncomfortable and can often be terrifying and painful. It can feel as if our world is in danger of coming to an end. It can seem as if our lives are falling apart. We may see disaster and doom everywhere. Oftentimes we blame ourselves and fell that we’ve done something horribly wrong, or that we are terribly lacking.

In fact, we have simply outgrown an old form, an old way of relating to the world. An old way of being is dissolving, making way for a new, more expanded and more conscious way. So we may lose a job or a relationship because it is too limiting; it would not allow us to expand in the direction we need to go. We may lose a loved one through death because both our souls are moving onto new levels, one of us continuing in the physical body, the other passing into a non-physical reality. We may contract a serious illness in order to confront ourselves with the necessity for change.

If you have ever gone through crises such as these, and have taken the opportunity to grow from them, you can probably recognize, in retrospect, how vitally important the experience was.”

Shakti Gawain, in “The Path of Transformation”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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PONDER on THIS for Tuesday, December 25th, 2012 by Carolyn M. Matthews in MENTORING THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE SURVIVOR

“We all dream, but we don’t all have dream recall. For those who do not have easy recall, here are a few pointers. When you go to sleep, tell yourself that you will remember your dreams when you wake up. If you have to use an alarm clock, turn the sound down a bit. (For dream recall it is better not to waken suddenly.). When you do wake up, keep your eyes closed and stay still; do not think about what you are going to do when you get up, but try to recall what you were just dreaming about.

Even if you only get a small bit of the dream, start focusing on it, and more of it will be come available to you. When you have remembered as much as you are going to get, write it down before you get out of bed. Don’t try to interpret it now; it is better to come back later and read it over, as this can produce spontaneous insights.”

Carolyn M. Matthews, in “Mentoring the near Death Experience Survivor”

For more information about this book visit click here.

Jeff MJeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

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