The One You Feed...

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life... "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil— he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego. The other is good— he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you— and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

Feed The Soul— Enjoy The Harmony

An Observation
Our lives and world are busy. They require us to be fast and efficient, to quickly switch between multiple demands, while wearing multiple hats (as an individual, parent, professional, you name it). How do you stay the course without losing touch with your soul? How do you cultivate depth in your everyday life? How do you find harmony within the tensions that exist between your daily transactions and your desire for transcendence? More importantly, how do you help those you love feed their souls?

Walking Inside. A couple of mornings each week, I like to grab a coffee to sip as I drive to work. There are two smart actions I should take in the name of efficiency: Hit a coffee shop en route to my destination or hit the drive-through. Right? Actually, for me, the most efficient thing I could do is to wait to buy my coffee at my office building, where there's a great Starbucks and I get a really nice discount on every purchase I make.

But here's what I actually do— I drive about three miles in the wrong direction to a local coffee shop. I get out of my car and walk into the cafe to buy my coffee (even though they have a drive-through). Why, on earth, do I do this?  Why do I "waste" the time and money? Because walking into a coffee shop feeds my soul. I love the smell of the cafe as I walk through the doors.  I love the sounds, the lighting, the hubbub of activity behind the counter. I love looking the staff in the eyes and trying to earn a natural smile and connection. And I love walking back and forth from my car, feeling and smelling the air, looking up at the moon and clouds.

I could cut my morning routine by 20 minutes easily, but I don't. I stand in the shower too long. I piddle. And I could eliminate little time-wasters like going to the coffee shop, but I don't. Why? Because I'm willing to sacrifice efficiency for my soul. Because I've lived ultra-efficient in the past life and in the process I eventually became aggressive, ambitious, self-perpetuating, ceaseless, demanding... and I began to lose my soul. 

I've discovered that efficiency is in direct conflict with the things our soul craves. Our soul craves experiences that stimulate all five of our senses: taste, touch, sound, sight and smell. Will life go on if I happen to be late? Yes. Will the world fall apart and cease to exist if I order an extra cup of coffee and "people watch"? No. And here endeth the lesson my friends.

What Is Philosophy?

The word itself means "love wisdom." philo=love  soph=wisdom. Philosophy is a person or religion or sects ideas and opinions, usually on moral subjects. Philosophy, one of the most sought after subjects the students of which are considered as the intellectual one, signifies the views a person has and according to these particular views the person usually lives his/her life.
When you go to the root of the word you will find that the two words that conjugate together to form the word describe the exact meaning of the word. It is form of the two words 'Phil' and 'Sophia' and they convey the idea of love and wisdom respectively. So the person who loves to imbue wisdom in himself with his thinking can be considered as the student of philosophy.

You can find numerous great names who are considered as philosophers and the prime among them are Aristotle and Plato.

Philosophy and education both involve thinking and actively using the mind. They are intrinsically related but not the same. Education is the more formal process of learning but philosophy is something that can develop with age from our experiences and it shapes how we view the world. Once we philosophize about something for a while we can learn something valuable about ourselves and our lives and this in itself is a personal education; a journey of discovery. Education is usually seen as formal lessons which we have in school and philosophy less structured. Yet both are part of life's learning and are inevitably valuable.

Great thinkers have written about their philosophy on a wide range of subjects and if we are taught about this in a scholarly way it becomes part of our education. Therefore if enough structured thought and attention is given to a subject which has not already been thoroughly examined it can then be passed on in a learning situation so that philosophy can turn into education.Philosophy requires a certain depth of thought to develop. It is generally mature people who start to have philosophies about aspects of life which have so far not been adequately explained or addressed in the education system. The word philosophy comes from the Greek "philosophia" meaning love of wisdom and it is believed the Greek thinker Pythagoras was possibly the first person to be described as a philosopher.

Now philosophy is studied at universities and has become a vast subject encompassing, among other things, logic, ethics, metaphysics, religion and politics. So... are you a philosopher? if you ponder life and all of the questions that have perplexed the human race sine the beginning of time, then the answer would be a definitive yes. What is YOUR philosophical perspective?

Ask Yourself Some Questions

I have to admit, I am really enjoying the "blogging" experience thus far. I'm easing into it, as you can see. I was thinking about thought-provoking questions today. I began wondering why we don't take some time each day and ask ourselves these questions. I realize we live in a very busy world and that we are all moving from one thing to the next. We are all racing to get to something. But have you ever really stopped to think about what that something really is?


Yes, we all have bills and families and responsibilities, but what about now, right now, in this very moment? Stop. Become aware. Listen to the noises around you. If there aren't any noises, listen to the silence. Just in this moment. And the moments are passing, aren't they? 


What about you? Are you where you want to be? Have you thought about this moment? Or have you continued to look past it all? We keep ourselves busy, even when we are not at work. Did you ever ask yourself why that is? What is it that keeps us from spending time with ourselves? Why have we stopped asking ourselves questions? Below, is a list of questions. Read them. Give yourself a few moments to ponder them silently.

1. What are the weaknesses I need to compensate for and how will I do this today?
2. What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?
3. What truth am I blurring?
4. What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?
5. What crossroads am I at right now?

After you've pondered them, try to answer them. Write your answers in a notebook or journal. Don't think about grammar or spelling. After you are done, ask yourself this final question: Is there room for you, in your own life? Is there?

A Profound Discovery

I have discovered that advice only touches people when they can finally see for themselves that they are on the wrong path. But unfortunately, the majority of people who are on the wrong path are completely blind to it, only impartation can touch them.

Questions to Discover Your Life's Purpose

Simple Instructions:
Take out a few sheets of loose paper and a pen.
Find a place where you will not be interrupted.
Turn off your cell phone.
Turn off your lap top, your television, your iPod, all of it.
Write the answers to each question (see below) down.
Write the first thing that pops into your head.
Write without editing. Use point form.
It’s important to write out your answers rather than just thinking about them.
Write quickly.
Give yourself less than 30 seconds a question. Preferably less than 15 seconds.
Be honest. No one will read it. It’s important to write without editing.
Enjoy the moment and smile as you write.

1. What makes you smile? (Activities, people, events, hobbies, projects, etc.)
2. What activities make you lose track of time?
3. What are your deepest values?
4. What were some challenges, difficulties and hardships you have overcome or are in the process of overcoming? How did you do it?
5. If you could get a message across to a large group of people. Who would those people be? What would your message be?

Once you have written the answers, put your pen down and take a break. Do not engage in anything that you turned off as you must have some clarity in order to process. Have a beverage or a snack. Take a walk. When you return, look at the questions and allow yourself to be "aware" of your answers as well as how they might apply to what direction you want to take with your life. Spend some time just enjoying the silence. Congratulations. You have just taken the first step in discovering your purpose.