Seven Steps to Bringing Order to Chaos

Our brains are bombarded with some 2 million bits of information every second of every day. We would literally be driven insane if we processed that volume of information as fast as it came in. The brain's job is to filter that enormous amount of information down to a level where order is brought to a world of chaos, where that 2 million bits per second is actually processed at around 150 bits per second.

The world that each of us experience is based upon our own unique perceptions of what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell. Perception is the key component for each of the five senses and how they paint our world is largely an illusion. What I mean by illusion is that the world outside is a construct base on the thoughts we choose.

If you typically wake up and begin your mornings with thoughts of "I hate going to work." or "I hate my job.", these will be the exact experiences you will have throughout your day. In contrast if you start your day with thoughts of "I love myself and I'm happy to be alive." along with "I'm thankful for this new day and ready to live life to the fullest.", you set in motion the positive energy to experience a truly wonderful day. The predecessor to every action is a thought. When you understand that your life unfolds exactly how you will it to be you start to become really careful on what you think about. As Wayne Dyer states, "You can never get enough of what you don't want."

You might be thinking... "Julian - you make it sound so easy, but how the heck to you think positive thoughts when my world is falling apart?" That's a great question! We all have our own stories where we've experienced tragedy. Either the passing of someone dear to us, a breakup of a marriage, a terrible car accident, lay off or financial crisis, no one is immune to life changing events such as these. The way to move through these experiences when they do show up is to take responsibility and accountability for everything that shows up in your life. That means you stop blaming others. You accept that you are the producer, director and starring actor in the stage production known as "My Life". You can't change a lifetime of conditioned thinking overnight. What you can do however, is begin with one thought at a time. Start viewing life as a gift rather than a struggle. Refuse to blame others for your shortcomings. Begin with the end in mind. I've include the following seven steps that if applied you will bring order to the chaos in your life.

Seven Steps to Bringing Order to Chaos:

1. Realign your thoughts. Begin moving away from thoughts that no longer serve you. Rather than thinking "I can't afford that.", "It'll never work out.", "I'll be passed over again for that promotion."; replace those limiting statements with things like "My life is abundant and more is one the way.", "I trust the all well and the Universe is working out the details.", "I love my job and invite new experiences into my career." and "There's nothing I can't do and I intend to make this day the best day ever!"
2. Make room for silence in your life. Awaken before the rest of the family; before the busyness of the day sets in when the entire house is silent. This is when your creative mind can more easily access Spirit. Herman Melville wrote "Silence is the only voice of our God." When you remove the chatter of the daily routine and quiet the mind you connect to that from which you came from, the Universal intelligence - Source energy - God.
3. Learn to appreciate nature. Get out of town, away from the concrete, asphalt and massive parking lots. Go to the ocean, the forest, a lake or a simple park trail and observe enormity of an oak tree. Contemplate that same creative force that turns an acorn into that giant oak tree is the same creative force that is the beauty and delicateness of a flower as well as you and me.
4. Remove doubt and fear. Doubt and fear are instruments of the ego and their only purpose is to keep us in an illusionary bondage. By replacing thoughts of how horrible things are with thoughts of courage and faith, you will be cultivating the fertile ground of your mind allowing more possibility for continued love, joy, success and peace to show up. It's been said before, "Fear knocked at the door, Faith answered and no one was there."
5. Create and attitude of gratitude. You'll never achieve the fullness of your heart's desires without being thankful for everything you have in this present moment. Be thankful for the air you breathe, the colors you see, the beating of your heart. Frequently tell the people closest in your life that you love them. What you give away will return to you. Love is forgiving, love is for giving.
6. Love yourself so you can love others. Replace the negative self-talk with words and phrases of kindness and love. See yourself in the mirror and say aloud "I love you." If you don't love yourself, it's impossible to love others. You can only give away what you have.
7. Allow yourself to simply be. Give yourself the credit you so deserve. You showed up here with some heroic mission. Be on purpose with your life. Start living the success you intend to become. Begin with the end in mind. Remember the predecessor to every action is a thought. Get comfortable with the idea that you can direct your life in any direction you want to go. You are not some powerless being floating adrift aimlessly on the sea of life. You are a wonderful, powerful co-creator of your life. Allow the genius that you are to manifest. Be amazed with the wonderful you that you are.

Straight Talk about FiOS | FactsOnFiOS.com

Toxic People and How to Handle Them

Lets face it, we all experience turbulence in our lives from time to time. Some days maybe more than others, but for those of us who are on the path to higher awareness, we know that we are able to manage that turbulence by changing our thoughts and changing our lives.

What about toxic people you say? You know those people are never happy, never satisfied, always complaining that there's something wrong!

That is indeed a challenge, but not impossible to overcome. Just this last week I found myself in a very difficult situation with a coworker. This person was obligated to complete certain deliverables by a specified date and was concerned that he would not be able to meet this deadline due to certain variables beyond his control. One of those variables included my tasks of which were on time and progressing nicely.

I had learned this person was also dealing with a family emergency concerning a loved one. When I learned of this, I thought "How can I brighten this person's day and lighten their load?". I promptly sent an e-mail cancelling a meeting and expressed my heart-felt concern for his circumstances, with prayers for a fast and speedy recovery of their loved one.

This person promptly reached back out to me via IM with "can you call me?". Anticipating a humbled person after the e-mail I had just sent, I proceeded to call. Oh, this may be a good time to let you know that this person has a history of being "high strung" and very difficult to work with. In light of the circumstance though, I felt I would honor this person with a brief phone call to make sure everything was "OK". Rather than hearing "thanks for the nice e-mail", I heard one negative comment after another and taking the victim stance that nobody seems to care about his personal situation.

I explained numerous times to the disgruntled individual that I understood his stressful situation having experienced trauma in my own life. He was not reachable at this level. He took that stance that nobody has ever undergone what he is living through and his coworkers did not care, in spite of the contrary. After his numerous failed attempts to rattle my cage, he hung up on me.

So how do you handle a person like that? No matter how nice and understanding you try to be, they still point the finger at you as the problem while they gloat in their victimness?

For starters, do not argue with them. These people are so closed off from others that they have a narrow vision of the world. They cannot see anything from another's point of view. They simply choose not to. Why? Because it keeps them in "victim mode". They are so used to viewing their world from a "what's wrong with this picture" perception that to suggest they consider a different point of view would diffuse them. It would take them down from their virtual pulpit and give them nothing to bitch about.

Next, no matter what they might say to attempt to push your buttons, counter it with something positive. This will drive them crazy, but it will leave you sane. When you don't allow yourself to be drawn down to their level of madness and mayhem you will maintain your higher levels of positive energy, allowing you to remain calm and focused on your day.

Next, and your ego will fight you on this, give up the need to be right. Toxic people will argue for the sake of argument. There was absolutely nothing negative in the e-mail I sent to this person, but all he could see was what he wanted to see. You will never win. It's the "turn the other cheek" approach for self-preservation.

Lastly, send this person a silent prayer. See them as the creation of God that they are. Remind yourself that they are not the lower energy spewing from their mouth, but rather that of a higher source. If we remove ourselves physically from these toxic personalities, i.e. phone calls, IMs or even face to face and choose not to engage, then we are better able to maintain our own higher energy. When we do, we impact the world in a positive way, raising the world's vibrational energies for good and ultimately helping those toxic people by radiating love rather than anger and hate.

You'll Never Get it all Done!

How many times do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with to-do lists; lists from work, lists from home, lists from the kids, lists for birthdays, lists for holidays, lists for groceries, bills to pay? On and on the lists go potentially never ending until one day you just lose it! You lose it with your spouse, you lose it with your boss and worse, you lose it with your kids. If you're like me you can sometimes feel like you're drowning in lists. You kill yourself with guilt because you think you're not being responsible for not mastering your lists. No sooner do you make headway on a few things and more show up! It's enough to make you crazy.

The simple solution is to accept the fact that you will never get it all done. Be fully engaged in the moment rather than your lists. When you do, you'll find yourself getting things done almost effortlessly, energized as you move from task to task. At the end of your day as you reflect on your accomplishments you will amaze yourself as you realize what you have done. No longer plagued by guilt or frustrating thoughts that pull you down, you are energized and ready for the dawn of the new day ahead. When you're at peace in your present moment, no longer consumed by your lists you realize that where you are and what you have in each of your present moments is all that is needed to carry you onto the next in the here and now!