Unexpected Lesson During an Arts Grants Meeting

I learned of a grants for arts program through the Ventura County Arts Council that combines an artist with a partner who wishes to create a benefit for the community. I had an idea and decided to check out the meeting. I currently have no partner, just an idea that has been in the back of my mind for some time. The meeting was like other business presentations but I soon learned that it also had exercises. During the presentation, I learned that you could apply for a grant from the Arts Council. The artist and the partner could continue to do additional fundraising for the project to get the monies needed. read...

Overcoming Anxiety, Restoring Joy

I am always talking about looking for validation from within, yes? So why then do I forget at times and start stressing over whether so and so or what’s his name thinks about me? Did I do something to lose their love? The simple answer is I’m human. I’d love to think that I don’t do that anymore, but I’d just be fooling myself! I had a call during the morning from a relative who was in the mode of being hurt, rejected, and feeling unloved. As I listened, I reminded them that what others thought of them has nothing to do with who they are. That when others act or say things that can appear cruel , that it all has everything to do with themselves and not with the person to whom it is directed. read...

A Blog Writer asks: What is Personal Success?

This question has come up for me recently. I thought I’d ask all of you!  I know I want to make a difference.  Exactly how I don’t fully know yet. I do know that I (to paraphase Ralph Waldo Emerson) want to know that one life has breathed easier because I have lived. So what is the measurement of success? Is it money, having a business that is well known? Is it having influence in the business world? Is it having a big house? What about being mentioned in business magazines?  How often must it happen?  Is it having more than your neighbors, or acquaintances or family members? Is it having more houses, more toys, more cars, more clothes? Is it having employees and prestige? Is having a title important to you? read...

Being Judgmental

A Facebook friend, Rowena Starling, wrote a blog last week about kids pushing your buttons and that you can desensitize your buttons so that you don’t react to the kids. Well, the last couple of days because of the holidays and a few other things that have happened, I had several buttons pushed that I thought were gone. It was interesting to see me reacting to them. I was judging my situation as bad. At one point I was ready to completely collapse into tears and I found myself looking at the emotions coming up. I realized I could collapse into the crying and have a self pity party or I could question what was going on in my thoughts to derail the pity train. read...

What is the Role of Spiritual Healing?

I’ve been thinking about healing. Some people believe healing happens to them. Or maybe they are being punished for some perceived slight by their diety. If they get better, they believe either the doctors or the alternative healers cured them or healed them. There is a big missing component for me. It is the person’s own participation in the equation and their place on their own path. Have you ever considered that there may be a strong spiritual cause for an illness? According to Louise Hays and many other spiritual teachers, there is. I agree with them. Louise Hays has a book called “Heal Your Mind, Heal Your Body”. read...