There he sharpened his pen, took out a sheet of this whitest paper, raised the lid on his ink well, and began to write.

After a few quiet days, and days of turbulence, turbulent times, welcoming myself back to the blogosphere. The above graph prob'bly sums up my present better than words could. (The atmospheric view out of the window I borrowed from Matisse).

I will tell you this much: there are few wellsprings of strength more consistently reliable than those found in the eye of the storm.

Past attraction to letting the Self get caught up in the current, chalk it up to inexperience. And to lack of faith.

Getting it right, with its constantly shifting frames of reference ... those of us (fully) engaged in life know that reality can be highly situational. Who am I to resist the lure of Circum's Dance? What one person knows to be a "lie" may well describe another's deepest conviction, at least in the moment the "lie" is uttered. Fantasy and delusional trance are so accessible, and marketed with such force and frequency, it looks like a game of manipulation, when the truth is, more frightening: they don't even exist.

Fact: our creator did not short change us. To the contrary, we humans have been especially blessed in this regard. Of all creation we are the only ones who are more than mere creatures. We in turn are also creators. We are both the workers and the work - and have been given choice about the company we keep.

This exclusivity causes some of us to experience it as an onslaught of responsibility. In lieu of bucking down and develop the ability to respond, some seek serendipity in the company of fantasy and rational lies. An unfortunate few go on to make choices that later lead to pills of trademarked colors, 12-step programs and rehab clinics. The rest of us, more sensibly, blog, read each others blog and ...

One of my blog posts deals with how to deal with the "Head Full" syndrome - what to do when you're no longer able to learn anything new because your head is full. In it, I recommend to eliminate from your head hearsay, to retain only what you know from personal experience, and in this way to make room for new.

It's sane advice. But what about knowledge dispensed by your friends? Is it not the very point of having friends - to listen to them?

Living in the part of America that is referred to as the Bible Belt, it follows that some of my friends are, well, bible belted.

They insist what they do is not their work but God’s. Reminiscent of the Zen view that holds we're but flutes on the lips of infinite breath. They see God everywhere. Don't know how they do it. I see God in everything. I don't see Him, or Her. Mostly because I don't believe God that small.

Made my mind up to comprehend God based on what I know, hear, feel and see.

The oceans, mountains, forests and deserts. The wind, fire, clouds and rain. The December sky. This building, the room, the seat I'm in, the coffee cup and the spoon. The flowers, butterflies, books, and music. Languages, translations, the pursuit of right and freedom - my own and that of others. Truth, and the elusiveness of truth. Teachers teaching me to read, write, lace my shoes and find my way. Dentists, 12 step programs, schools and churches, shelters, money, roofs and tables. Light in the dark. Good people, and bad.

I know Him in everything, hear Him all around, feel Him inside and out - but I don't see Him.

Those who say they see God - could it be they're just pretending?

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Back in the days when radio reigned supreme, before TV, I was a child, as children are, rich in curiosity and imagination.

I listened to the music, wondering where it came from.

It seemed to be made by the radio. I concluded the musicians had to be in there, somewhere. Went looking for them - without success.

I expanded the search by using my mum’s knitting needles. When at the end of the needle I heard a sound - “Ouch!” - I figured it was them reacting to the knitting needle, as I would in their place.

My parents never knew about it.

Now is today.

I listen to people expressing thoughts, wondering where they come from. It seems the thoughts are made by the people themselves. I conclude the making of thoughts happens "in there" somewhere, mostly in peoples' heads.

I'm told no-one has ever seen a thought in anyone's head, dead or alive, much less captured one. Large, powerful teams of people keep looking, using technology way more advanced than my mother's knitting needles. They find traces of thoughts, and additional evidence. The actual thoughts themselves - unfathomable, Loch Ness Monster-like, rumored to exists, but ...

We keep looking. Rather like the cat chasing the red dot at the end of the laser beam made by the toy specially made for cats.

What if our "mind sets" are to thoughts what "radio sets" are to music?
What if our thoughts aren't ours? What if they are in reality out there?
With the spirits and angels, with love and fear?
What if they come through us, but not of us?

What if mind sets, just like radio sets, come with buttons and dials, to tune in and tune out, to up the volume and reduce it, to switch on and switch off?

Wouldn't that be something?!
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Have you ever been asked why you're not enjoying the abundant life?

Has the question ever been put to you? Maybe one day it will. It has only just recently been put to me for the first time. I'm no spring chicken.

Fell right into the trap, too, like a spring chicken would, actually. The trap of letting the thought in - the thought that life isn't abundant, that there's something missing, that the universe is made of lack.

There is no such thing as an unabundant life. Life, by definition, is abundant.

But thoughts don't know that, nor do they care. So once inside, the unabundant thought dutifully did its job, locating plenty of reasons, explanations and excuses, even facts. Hard to believe all the stuff that comes up once no stone is left unturned. The stand-out rationale it came up with: the abundant life was never meant for you.

By the time I caught myself and became aware, I was fully prepared to answer the question.

Instead I showed the thought back out. Spent a little time counting my blessings instead. Felt better. Thankful that someone should have asked me the question, after all this time.

Realized that the one who had asked, only did so knowing beforehand that I would stumble upon the only answer sooner or later. It took me a little while, which is alright.

The episode reminds me of when, on Easter Sunday, I would hide painted eggs for my son only in places I knew he'd find.

If music be the food of love, play on, play on, play on.

Music is the most beloved of my pastimes. Listening to music that is, since I don't play an instrument myself - which is long and altogether different story.

Looking back, it's obvious - now! - music was my passion from as early on as I remember. Should have made music my life. Didn't. Oh well - we all know, hindsight is 20/20.

I love music this much because of all human creation it is closest to Creation itself. When the Creator created us with the ability to create in turn, I've got a hunch She had music on His mind first and foremost.

Music that reaches the heart - you cannot but hear, feel and know it, as Ludwig Van Beethoven put it - "must come from above."

Music is loving, inspirational, uplifting, generous, giving, non-judgmental and non-competitive. It doesn't contain any of the righteousness and arrogance that make religion and politics the repugnant and deadly things they have become.

In my travels, Africa in particular, I love to ride in public long-distance buses. They carry powerful sound systems and play local music, all the way. The blend of local music with local people, fashions, landscapes and foods is heavenly. My language might be different from theirs, but the music grabs you from above, from below and from every direction in between. We're all in this together, everybody knows ... but then the music stops, and some people forget. Every time the music plays, they are fewer and diminish in number.

There's but one way to experience it. Be bold. Travel.

PS. Afterthought. A surprising piece of music recently stumbled itself across my path - Thanks, Philip! It fittingly illustrates the above, imho. To hear and see, click here.

I just completed a ten-week Starting Point 'course' at North Point. "To find your place in the story."

A fabulous experience. Great people. Diversity welcomed, not feared. Made new friends. Reminded me of The Way movie I saw the other night.

I still have more faith in people than in God. God remains an abstract. God in and through people - there you go. Nice compromise.
I still have way more faith in God, than in religion. The two don't even compare.

It goes all the way back to when I was a kid. I grew up in Switzerland, where my mother would take me along on shopping trips to the local grocery store. All things were local back then.

There were two kinds of eggs. Imported - 'cheap' - and domestic - 'expensive'. For my mother it wasn't a choice, actually. We used to be poor.

That there were two types of identical looking eggs. It lit up my curiosity.

"How do the chicken know?" I asked my mother. "Which eggs to lay when?"

My mother burst out laughing.
"They don't. We do."

That's how religion works.
God doesn't. We do.

Going through the motions of seeking a closer relationship with God.
Wanting to learn how God thinks - as Einstein put it.

Seeking God - the story of my life.

In past seekings, I got lost in all kinds of places. Glad those days are over.

Anyhow, this time around, happy with the progress being made.
The road and valleys behind - amazing.
What's up ahead - I'm clueless.

The purpose of life is to surprise us.
You know - never-ending.
God sure has a godly sense of humor.

Amazed by the number of people who claim to have it all figured out.
Who claim to know what's up ahead.
Who claim to know how God thinks.
His hat size, sex and favorite color. Even Her religion.

Don't believe a word they say. Because it's bullpoop - by definition.

No-one knows the future.
The only thing we can do about the future, is to imagine it.
Then take action, in the present.
In this way we shape our future.

But KNOW the future we cannot. No-one can.

I can live with that. Very much at peace with that, actually.

You?

My blog - beatschindler.com - is about "creating a life you love". It  touches on a wide variety of topics.

I keep studying them all because I'm interested in them. Because I enjoy blogging about them.

Everyone I admire is making their living by doing what they enjoy doing. Follow your bliss. It's the sensible thing to do. In an effort to remain sensible myself I've made myself ...

A stand-up coach :-]

I accept people as they are. I'm not trying to help, change or improve people. But I will gladly accept if people find their lives improved as a result of my work.

The bubbling stream that flows out of the mountain - it does not think of the ocean. It is merely doing its thing. If a thirsty traveler helps himself, it's fine. The wind that speaks to the trees, or to fields of gold - it does not do so for the advancement of music. If a traveler stops to listen and is delighted, that's okay.

I blog in this spirit.

Do you need coaching - from a coach such as I?

If you think so - "Yes."

In the same spirit as anybody who goes to a psychiatrist should have their head examined. Even though there's double-meaning ... if you are concerned with yourself and feel a psychiatrist can help, then of course you need to go. Likewise, if you are concerned about the quality of your life or about where your life is taking you, and feel that a life coach can help, then you must do it. After all, only people who persist become wise.

I know of  many reasons for working with a coach such as I, but it doesn't change the fundamentals. If you think so - "Yes".

Almost everybody is looking for direction. Not for the same direction, of course, but for direction nevertheless. "When I was younger - so much younger than today - I never needed anybody's help in any way."  That was the Beatles in 1965. It's 46 years later and most everybody gets it now.

We live in a somewhat confusing, unpredictable, turbulent, wayward world. It's changing constantly. Feelings of loneliness and of helplessness are not uncommon. Hearts, minds and bodies aching galore.

Entire industries are taking advantage of it, while pursuing their own corporate health, not yours.

If you'd rather take your destiny into your own hands, coaches such as I are not that hard to find.

I'm but a click away. Be bold. Get the ball rolling.

Click on the 'Contact' tab and use the form, or email me at beatcoach@gmail.com

For additional information, click on the "Home" tab. It'll take you to "About This Blog".

Yesterday - Thanksgiving Day - we introduced the Thanksgiving Game.

Guests at the dinner table were invited to share three things they were thankful for. To spice it up, you were not allowed to repeat what anyone else said.

Everyone wanted to go first, afraid we'd run out of things to be thankful for by the time it was your turn. As if thankfulness were food on the table - the more you eat, the less for others.

But thankfulness is not a zero-sum game.  The more we gave thanks, the more thankfulness filled the air. We could have gone round the table a few more times and not run out of new reasons.

The Thanksgiving Game makes anyone who plays it at least once, better at thanksgiving by the time the next Thanksgiving rolls around. Guaranteed.

It's a great game not just on Thanksgiving ... but year round ... complete with happy side effects. Highly recommended.

Please help me welcome my guest blogger this week, Debbie Bills.
[Want to be a guest blogger at beatschindler.com - covering topics related
to personal growth, self-development and self-improvement? Apply here]

Do you have a favorite piece of music that you keep quiet about? Maybe you like watching all those reality shows? Do you have a little guilty pleasure?

We all have one or two pleasures that we don’t like to admit to. It might be that show on television that everybody moans about but you really enjoy. Maybe you relax by reading celebrity magazines between all those intellectual books. Whatever it is, these are the things that we enjoy and we even get a little bit of pleasure out of them being our little secret.

There’s nothing wrong with them! These are the little things we use to pamper ourselves, and sometimes we need that little rush of pleasure they give us. They are our way of dropping out of the rat race for a short period of time. The dictionary describes pleasure as frivolous enjoyment and this lack of seriousness in whatever the activity is helps your brain disengage the stress in your life.

Think of Yourself from Time to Time

There are times that you know that report needs writing or you know there’s a pile of ironing to do that you need a ladder to get to the top of, but you sit down with that magazine or that jigsaw for half an hour, and a nice hot, steaming drink. Maybe at the end of a long day you pour yourself a nice large drink once in a while. Sometimes we need to switch off, and these little things help us do that. By switching off for those few minutes you are helping to calm yourself down and enabling yourself to take stock of your lot from a more peaceful perspective.
The truth is, these little things are our way of relieving stress. They may not be all that bad but we add an edge to them by the way we feel. By indulging in something we feel we shouldn’t, we add a thrill to it, making it more interesting than it really is.

De-stress Yourself

Stress is the brain’s way of trying to cope with changes in our lives. It’s not about beating stress it’s about keeping it under control and making the best of your life. Too much negative stress can have a detrimental effect on you, so working one or two of these little pleasures into your life is like your own personal safety valve. It’s a way of letting off some steam and getting yourself back to the relaxed you. I have friend whose mom knew when things had gotten too much for her for one day and used to disappear into her bedroom with a romance novel and a cup of coffee and shut the door. If she stayed she would have yelled when she didn’t mean to; something she didn’t want to do. Just taking a few minutes out for her made all the difference to the day, and to the day of those around her.

Stop … and Relax

I know another friend reacts differently to the stress in her life, and is always refusing to take time out and enjoy herself. She seems to find it hard to switch off from the things that worry her. Rather than thinking negatively, it’s better to look on things in a positive light and then they become a lot easier to handle. I try to spend time with my friend to talk and change her routine a little. Just spending five minutes can make such a difference to our outlook on life.

These guilty pleasures hold their own little secret to our happiness. Once in a while when you feel low, why not put that movie on and have a good cry, pick up that trashy novel or stick on that piece of music and have a dance round the room, it’ll do you wonders.

What are your guilty pleasures? Tell me about them in the comment area and lets have some fun!
Debbie

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Debbie Bills shares the Secret to Happiness. Everyone can find the happiness they richly deserve by visiting Debbie’s blog at http://www.happymakernow.com
Definitely pick up her FREE e-book “Stop Being a Donut and Enjoy Life” at http://www.enjoylifeok.com