Humanity On Purpose

The holiday season can be a time of great joy or great sadness.  If you have a friend or loved one who is coping with a job loss, death, serious illness, or home foreclosure, it can be hard to know how to help.

These tips from the authors of Overcomers Inc: True stories of hope, courage, and inspiration will help.

1. Be sensitive to your loved ones’ limited financial resources. If your brother’s just lost his job, bragging about your holiday ski trip would be cruel.  Instead, suggest low-cost or free holiday gift suggestions so that everyone can participate, even if money is tight.
2. For the recently widowed or others who are in mourning, don’t avoid mentioning the departed family member. Gently reminisce about favorite family memories.  It’s better to speak of the departed that to carefully avoid all mention of his or name.  Follow the lead of the person in grief.  If the discussion is too difficult, she will change the subject.  Many times, the widow or widower will appreciate the chance to share a memory of the lost loved one.
3. Allow people to have their space, but watch out for isolation.  Stress and grief can be exhausting.  Your friend or family member may not be up to the traditional all day shopping trip or noisy holiday party.  Let her set the pace.  However, if you sense that your loved one is withdrawing from everything, consider stopping by for a quiet visit or a cup of tea.  Loneliness is most acute during the holidays so some extra loving care will be very helpful.
4. Invite your loved one to an uplifting community activity.  Holiday concerts, drives to see colored lights, and religious activities can be a source of connection and enjoyment.  It’s hard to not to smile when you see a child’s joy or a humorous holiday play.  Fun is often in short supply, especially when things are hard.  Strive to bring some joy to your loved one and increase their contact with their community.
5. Be patient and understanding.  Your efforts to bring joy and comfort will be appreciated, even if your hurting loved one can’t express that gratitude right at the moment.  A person dealing with a serious life challenge can be emotionally fragile so be gentle, encouraging, and present.  That understanding is the best possible gift you can provide.

What is it that you cannot see because your eyes have been blindfolded, your hands tied and your ears covered? The answer is you. And who did this to you? The answer again is you did, because you are afraid of who you might find looking back at you through the mirror.

Do you know who you truly are? Are you aware of your true nature? As you begin down the path of living a life with purpose, meaning and fulfillment you must begin to become aware of who and what you truly are. So many of us go through our days with self-imposed limits on our lives that we have come to believe them to be true. Not only that, but we then begin to impose those same limits on the people and world around us as we propagate those thoughts and beliefs throughout our lives in every area.

What is it that you’re hiding from yourself? That’s the question I encourage you to ask of yourself each day. Are the limits you face in your life real, or perceived? Is that obstacle you keep bumping up against on your way to the fulfillment of your desires an internal or external one? Consider for a moment that no external obstacles truly exist but in our minds. Further consider that the only thing holding us back from living the life we came here to live is our own beliefs about who we are.

The ‘limited you’ will come across an obstacle and either try to overcome it by going around, over, through, or below it, or you might turn and go another direction altogether. The ‘real you’ however, when faced with the same obstacle wouldn’t even see it and instead would continue on as if nothing was there and as if anything was possible, since nothing is impossible.

The real truth is that you are powerful beyond measure, boundless to no end, and brighter than any star. The real you knows nothing but abundance, the real you feels nothing but love, and the real you is aware of what your true nature is.

So now again I ask you… Do you know who you truly are?

Joshua Aragon becomes a Bestselling Author with  Overcomers, Inc: True Stories Of Hope, Courage And Inspiration, Compiled By Lynne Klippel

Joshua Aragon of Greeley, Colorado achieved bestseller status on October 22^nd with the release of Overcomers, Inc. Joshua’s chapter is ‘How Big Is Your Tent’.

Love Your Life Publishing launched a compilation of 38 inspiring and thought provoking stories in the new anthology Overcomers, Inc: True stories of hope, courage, and inspiration on Thursday, October 22nd. 

Overcomers, Inc: True stories of hope, courage, and inspiration achieved #1 bestselling book status as well as hot new releases on Amazon.com in the following categories: Inspirational Books, Motivational Books, Spiritual books.

“Everyone at Love Your Life Publishing feels so blessed to have worked with such amazing men and women. They are living examples of those who walk their talk,” says publisher Lynn Klippel, “As you read the stories in this book, you will find real life tales of remarkable courage, strength, and perseverance.  You will be inspired, entertained, and uplifted. Some of the stories will make you laugh. Some of them will make you cry. All of them will make you proud of the power of the human spirit.”

The launch of this book was supported by over 90 top authors, industry experts, coaches and visionaries who donated nearly $6000 in life changing bonus gifts; including e-books, audio and video downloads, reports, special event offers and more.  Dozens of blog owners also joined in the promotions of Overcomers, Inc., on the day of the launch.

Among these supporters are Dr. Wayne Dyer, leader in the field of personal transformation, Best-selling author of Excuses Begone!, Chris and Janet Attwood, renowned authors of the recent bestseller, The Passion Test: The Effortless Path To Discovering Your Destiny, visionaries, leaders and authors including Dr. Joe Rubino, David Mathison, Alexis Martin Neely, Erin Blaskie and over 85 others.

Joshua Aragon, a leading authority on life meaning and purpose is a bestselling author, inspirational keynote speaker and human-potential trainer. Joshua is one of only one hundred people from around the globe personally trained and mentored by Jack Canfield to teach and lead workshops based on his Success Principles book. He is also a trained coach and leads workshops and training designed to help people find and live their true purpose in life. To learn more visit www.JoshuaAragon.com

For further information on Overcomers, Inc., Love Your Life Publishing and interviews with the authors, contact Lynne Klippel at lynne@lynneklippel.com or 636-922-2634 (EST)

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It’s been a dream of mine to get a book published, and today marks that day!  Although it won’t be my last, it was a very important step for me and one that I am very proud of. The book is called Overcomers, Inc. and it’s the life work of a group of 37 authors, plus myself. Within the pages you will find joy, peace, inspiration, hope and courage. You’ll smile, laugh, cry and find yourself lost within the pages of each authors life, you may even find your own story in there somewhere.

I’m feel both privledged and honored to be part of such a dynamic and inspiring group of authors and have no doubt that you will absolutely love this book!   The summary follows below…

Get Your Copy Now, Plus Dozens of Bonuses worth over $5K

Overcomers, Inc: True stories of hope, courage, and inspiration will give readers the knowledge and emotional resilience to face the most difficult times of life by sharing inspiring stories of triumph.

You will find this a book of diversity. There are many authors, from many walks of life. However, they all share a common bond. They triumphed over tragedy and gleaned wisdom in this process. While this is not a religious book, there are stories full of faith, of many kinds and flavors. It is funny how in your darkest times, faith often becomes your brightest light.

All of the contributors to this book want to encourage you to hold tight to your belief that a better day will come. It is their sincere desire to pass along what they’ve learned through their own trials, to make your journey easier.

To get your own copy and receive dozens of bonus gifts go to;

http://www.overcomersbook.com/booklaunch

I had this story forwarded to me and it related to something I wrote in my newsletter this month so I also wanted to share it here as what it has behind it carries a lot of relevance to life today.

Enjoy!   – Joshua

Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning  in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the  station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a  middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He  slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried  to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw  the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to  walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned  against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch  and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3 year old boy  stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid  stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed  hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the  time. This action was repeated by several other children.  Every parent, without exception, forced them to move  on.

45 minutes:
The musician played.  Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave  him money but continued to walk their normal pace.

He  collected $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one  noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any  recognition.

No one knew this but  the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in  the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever  written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days  before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the  seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing  incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington  Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste  and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a common  place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive  beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in  an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached  from this experiment could be:

If we do not have a  moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the  world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one  of the most beautiful instruments …..

How many other things are we missing?

Acclaimed spiritual teacher Debbie Ford and some of today’s foremost thinkers take viewers on an emotionally-gripping, visually-compelling journey into the human psyche’s mysterious shadow self –the hiding place for our most disliked thoughts, emotions, and impulses– and reveal how people have embraced their worst fears to become their best selves.

Prepare yourself for a chilling inquiry into the conflicting forces of darkness and light that compete for attention within every human being. Debbie Ford, #1 New York Times bestselling author and internationally acclaimed expert on the Shadow, presents a visually stunning and cutting-edge documentary that will inspire you to uncover the wisdom in your wounds, the blessings in your misfortunes, and the gifts that are waiting to be claimed where you may least expect them…in the dark. Ford reveals the method, secrets, and meaning of your shadow, the parts of yourself that you dislike and disown, the past that you regret and repress and the pain that you attempt to bury, and shows how it persistently rises from its grave only to thwart your happiness and oppose your greatest potential as a human being.

With appearances from some of the most brilliant and evolutionary thinkers of the 21st century, including Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Mark Victor Hansen, James Van Praagh, and others, this world-class cinematic experience pulls no punches as it traces the stories of individuals who have met with some of life’s harshest experiences – war, child abuse, racism, a German concentration camp – but learned how to face their terror, heal their wounds and meet their higher, heroic selves in the process. Visually beautiful and highly stylized, with vignettes and special effects that dramatize the concepts and the real life stories, this film unveils the fascinating story of why we do what we do, fear what we fear, and why good people do bad things. “The Shadow” will leave you breathing a little deeper and feeling more compassion and kindness for your own dark, conflicted, or repressed urges. It may even inspire you to make the most life-altering step of all – to embrace your entire self.

1. Decide That Purposeful Living Is For You

Although living a life of purpose is available to everyone, not everyone is willing to make the choice to move forward in the direction of their reason for being. The great thing about living a life of purpose is that it’s a choice, and not something that’s forced upon you. As you go through life you may see your purpose appear at various stages and in multiple areas of your life, but it’s also possible that at the times when it does, you simply won’t recognize it because you’re not sure what to look for. These instances usually appear at times when we’re either moving far away from, or directly towards, what we’re here to do. It’s at these points that we usually become more aware of, and keen to the possibility of living a life with meaning, purpose and fulfillment. When you’re ready, step right in!

2. Do What It Takes To Uncover Your Purpose In Life

The process of discovering your purpose in life can seem huge when you’re just getting started, however if done properly it can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things you’ll ever do in your life. There are numerous books, reports, and processes available on the market in order to help you through the process, although the best I have come across so far is a new book by Tim Kelley; ‘True Purpose’. In it he describes 12 different methods you can utilize in order to help you simplify the process. I found this to be a great tool and although it may not be for everyone, it will give you a great start. If you have other methods you have come across then give them a shot and see where they take you.

3. Align Your Life Around What You Are Here To Do

Once you have decided to live the purposeful life and know what you’re here to do, the largest task that remains is to begin the process of integrating purpose into your life on a consistent and regular basis. This task although simple to understand in concept, is one which you will no doubt spend the rest of your life working on. Piece by piece, decision by decision, and minute to minute, you will be faced with challenging situations in your life. And just as with the first step of this process, the choice is yours on whether or not to continue down the purposeful road, or to back up and head down another path. It may bring you comfort however to understand that the more you practice the purposeful approach to life, the easier it becomes, and the less likely you are to backtrack down a path that takes you away from living a meaningful, purposeful and fulfilled life.

If I were to ask you the question; “If you had all the time and money in the world and knew you would be successful, what would you do?” how might you answer? What about the question; “What will you do with your life?” What then? At first glance they appear to be easy questions; however when you start to dig into what they really mean to you, the word ‘easy’ no longer seems relevant.

Most people go through life each day on autopilot, sometimes arriving at the end of a week, month, or year and wonder where the time went. We generally find that although time has passed we are usually in not much of a different place than from where we started. Imagine if we traveled that way for vacations… we would pack up our cars, unsure of what exactly to pack or for how long and then just start driving. But where is it that we’re going? When will we arrive? Are we even on the right road? Are we prepared for the trip? These questions all seem like common sense for a road trip; however when it comes to our lives these questions largely remain unanswered.

Finding your purpose in life can be looked at similar to how you would prepare for a vacation. Just like in planning for a vacation, it helps immensely to know where you’re going, what you’re planning to do there and how you can best prepare yourself for the journey. Your life purpose can help you answer all of these questions, plus more, about your life. The last thing anyone wants to have happen is to arrive somewhere and realize that we are not where we are supposed to be.

Many of us have numerous glimpses of our life’s purpose at various stages of our lives. We may be the closest to, and yet furthest from it as children. As children we usually listen to and follow our inner urges and desires on a pretty regular basis, what we find however is that when these urges and desires cross paths with others they generally lead to pain and frustration for us. As children we then unconsciously equate these pursuits of meaning and inner joy with pain and roadblocks. These ideas are carried with us into adulthood and as we approach the cross-roads where our purpose once again presents itself as an opportunity, we run as fast as we can from the approaching train.

Other times in life such as what some would call a ‘mid-life crisis’ the desire for more meaning, purpose and fulfillment once again breaches the surface of our conscious and can cause us much grief and discontentment. Why? For the simple reason that we begin to see that we’re not where we should be, and the gap between where we are and where we feel we should be begins to appear to us more clearly, and at an alarming rate. We begin to see that our inner passions, talents and gifts are not being used to their full potential. And that our true nature of being of service to others has been largely ignored while we pursued more material and ego driven desires.

So how do we rectify this situation in a positive and pro-active way? We commit ourselves to finding a life of meaning and purpose once the question first arises within us. How can you identify and know when that is? Honestly, if you’re reading this, it’s time.

In my last article we discussed how the process of ‘dream seeding’ allows you to plant seeds in the abundant soil of the Universe and reap the benefits of the unbounded knowledge found there.  The idea is for you to place a problem, question or other situation into the Universal Mind and trust that what you need will be on its way immediately to you.

The basis of the technique I utilize both in my practice and personally was derived from the work of Deepak Chopra and other mentors I have studied, however I have modified and added pieces based upon personal experience.  The biggest challenge you will face is to stick with it even during those days or weeks when you feel as though you may not be making any progress. I encourage you to take this as a model to learn from but understand that it’s not the only way. You may even decide to personalize this one, as I have done, and use the pieces that make the most sense for you in your life.

I suggest you start with something small at first and then as you get more practice you can up the ante and increase the complexity and number of questions you’re seeking answers to. It’s generally best to work with just one item at a time as you get started.

I’ll break it into a few simple and easy steps for you here to get you started…

I have found that it’s best to practice dream seeding when you know you will have at least 5-7 hours of continuous uninterrupted sleep, although I have seen results with much less. (New babies can cause the much less sleep I speak of!)

1. Locate a notebook, sketchbook or pad of paper that you will use as your new ‘dream journal’.
2. Come up with one question to a problem or dilemma that you’re currently facing on your journey to a more purposeful life and write it down. (This should be a single question, not a question on top of a question or a barrage of many ideas in one. It can be as simple as, ‘I want to know how I can best be of service to others.’)
3. Once you have your question written down in your dream journal place it on your nightstand or next to your bed on the floor along with a pen or pencil and possibly a book light or flashlight.
4. As you prepare for bed read the single question you have written in your journal aloud several times and try and commit it to memory. (This is why it’s best that your question is kept simple and short.) Your objective is to have this question on your mind right as you drift off to sleep.
5. As you’re lying in bed say something similar to the following; ‘Tonight I would like to know (insert your question). I release this question into the Universe and ask that I remember the answer when I wake up in a way that I can immediately understand.’
6. Go to sleep…..

Okay… believe it or not, that was the easy part, the actual planting of the seed. Now I will give you a few more items that will make this journey a success, and that are equally important in this process.

When you wake up in the morning, even if it’s at 2a.m., write in your journal anything that you can remember about your dreams. Try to capture every detail down to the colors, smells, feelings, images and words. You may find that once you write the main idea, others immediately pop into your head, just keep writing until there’s nothing left that you can remember.

It is extremely important that you do this while in bed and that you don’t jar yourself too much or move to another location if at all possible. Also, use your flashlight rather than turning on the room light (your spouse will also appreciate this!).

Again, I can’t stress enough how important it is that you do this immediately upon waking up before doing anything else, even using the restroom! No matter how strong the mental image is when you wake up, these dreams can disappear back into the unconscious mind before you know it leaving you frustrated and unable to recall any details.

Don’t become upset or feel that you did something wrong if when you wake up you don’t remember anything about the dreams you had that night. Also don’t become angry at yourself or the process if you either forget, or don’t have the complete picture you were expecting. The dreams may not seem complete when you start this process, however as you progress you will learn the best questions to ask to get the more complete picture of what you’re truly seeking.

Finally, I recommend that you don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get it all perfect, just experiment with it and find the way that it works best for you. Your dreams are your playground, enjoy the journey!

Using dreams as a tool to solve problems and seek guidance has been used for centuries by many leaders, mystics, philosophers and teachers throughout the world.  These early teachers saw the value of reaching deep within ones own consciousness in order to tap into the infinite knowledge of the Universal Mind.

Hidden deep within each of our minds lies our unconscious mind or ‘non-local’ self; the ultimate connection to the Universe. By learning to connect to this part of us we are able to tap into a virtually limitless realm of creativity, knowledge and wisdom that break the boundaries we generally experience through conscious thought.

There are multiple states of mind that we can enter into that allow us to reach into this Universal realm. Many people prefer to use meditation, others use prayer, and by far the vast majority of us utilize the most popular method of connection, our dreams, oftentimes without even realizing we’re doing it.

No matter who we are, where we live, or what our life experiences have been we’ve all had dreams at one time or another in our lifetimes. Most of us dream on a daily basis regardless of whether or not we remember it in the morning. Of the dreams that we do remember we either forget them within a few minutes of awakening, or recall bits and pieces of them likely in no particular order or with little to no direct meaning in our lives.

Discovering how to harness the untapped power of our minds and at the same time make use of our sleeping hours has been a question on the minds of many throughout the ages. By learning how to enable this connection at will and on a regular basis in order to reach an enlightened existence, we will no doubt reach higher levels of purposeful, peaceful and powerful living. Dream Seeding, the process I will now describe, allows us to begin this transformation consciously and purposefully.

The process of ‘dream seeding’ allows you to plant seeds in the abundant soil of the Universe and reap the benefits of unbounded knowledge in order to place you on your right path in life. The process I will teach you will help you utilize your dreams on a more regular basis to guide you on your quest of purposeful living. This is something we all have the capability to do, and something that if done consistently and properly, may make the journey a much more enlightening and peaceful experience.

The idea is for you to place your problem, question or situation into the hands of the Universal Mind through your unconscious connection to it. You then tap into the insight, vision, and wisdom of the Universe as you seek help and guidance from your higher or spiritual self. Virtually overnight, issues that have been plaguing you for years along with questions that have had no clear answer are delivered to you via your dreams.

Located within this realm you will also find answers to your questions about your reason for being, or purpose in life. With experience you will learn not only how to tap into this dream state during your sleeping hours, but also while awake.

In the next article I will give you the simple step by step process to get you started successfully ‘dream seeding’ along with a few simple ways to capture what you learn and put it to purposeful use in your life right away.