Ever been in a supermarket checkout line when the person running the register is involved in a conversation with the bagging person about some personal issue and you’re invisible? Yes, you get your items scanned, tallied and bagged but the only interaction was either “$71.90” or “paper or plastic?” Happens all the time.

The question is: How did you feel?

My guess is not so hot. So what’s going on here? Is your ego feeling dissed? Yes, that would be pretty accurate, but there’s a bigger transgression going on than ignoring “little me” (the ego).

When you ignore another person in your sphere, you don’t acknowledge the divinity of that human being. That’s why the feeling they get is so powerful. It goes much deeper than not tipping your hat to the ego. You have just ignored God.

Aside from being mannerly on the human level, it’s a sacred practice to honor the divine in another. When you acknowledge another, you are also honoring yourself at the same time because you are also animated by the same life giving, life sustaining force.

Think of yourself and others as sunbeams emanating from the same source. You are not separate from that source; nor are you separate from fellow sunbeams – just a different expression of that powerful cause.

Besides having lousy manners, ignoring other people also diminishes you.

So pretend I just made all of this up. Use yourself as a test lab today. If you are out and about, acknowledge as many people as you can. You don’t even have to physically or audibly greet them. Just offer some form of recognition – be it a glance, a nod or something else. Notice what happens – not only in them but in you. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Remember: You don’t have to go to a house of worship to say “hello” to God.

When I was a teenager, my father bought me a small punching bag on a swivel – the kind of speed bag you see in a Rocky Movie. About 6 years ago, my son bought me a big heavy punching bag for Christmas.

One thing I noticed about punching bags is that they rarely lose. They get pounded on quite a bit and it really takes a lot to wear one out.

Is reality your punching bag? Are you trying to beat it into submission? The odds of winning that bout are about the same as wearing out the punching bag. The only one getting worn out is you.

This practice is better known as beating your head against the wall. The only benefit is it feels good when you stop. Yet we go back for more.

I can’t remember where I read it or to whom to ascribe it, but the following quote was memorable. It read:

“The key to life is to accept and align.”

Whatever you deem negative that shows up in your Reality is to be immediately accepted – not loved or liked even a little bit – but accepted. That means you recognize what is right in front of you and accept it. That doesn’t mean not to take steps to remedy it. It just means that what is happening right now is an undeniable fact and accepting it as your current reality saves lots of needless swings at an unbeatable opponent.

Alignment is getting centered and getting connected to the part of you that really runs the show. (Hint: It’s not your thinking mind).

Once you align with this peaceful place, clarity comes to you that you’ll never find in the boxing arena. The aligned answer you receive may not be the one you were attempting to pummel into perfection, but it will come from a place of deeper wisdom, and you won’t have to go 10 rounds with reality to get it. You’ll know it’s a viable answer when it sits right in your body. (See Gut Reactions Blog from November 1^st)

It will take some training to stop swinging and the effort is worth it. To align, plan some eyes closed time each day that doesn’t involve sleep. You can listen to music or use one of my Hypnosis CDs, or any other practice that quiets the mind. This type investment pays a lot more dividends than boxing with shadows, and you’ll wind up with more victories without swollen knuckles.

All the best,

John

We all have them – all the time.

How many times have you ignored them? How many times have you dismissed them? And how many times have you second guessed them? You would need a space-age abacus to do the math.

And speaking of analytical space-agers, consider this piece of wisdom I got from The Grasshopper:

“Even science goes out the window when the odds are 50-50.”

So what is a gut feeling? It’s a sensation in your body – usually along the midline – from your throat all the way down the front to your bowels. What happens for you? Do you get an increased heart beat, a sensation in your throat, a knot or warm feeling in your stomach, a gurgling, a tightness, a tingling or something else? Or maybe you have never made the effort to isolate the feeling that triggers a thought in your head that something you couldn’t consciously conceive of is communicating with you.

Today’s blog post is a suggestion to check in with your body more often. Your body is a sensing mechanism that receives all sorts of signals – many of which we do not pay conscious attention to. When you bring your body into your conscious awareness more often, you have access to more information than your thinking mind does. This practice is a hedge against hair brained schemes and conditioned stimulus/response decisions.

Also, checking in with your body has a calming effect on the body itself. If you are interested in pursuing this benefit further, check out my Relax in 2 Minutes CD. Its whole purpose is to get you to effortlessly relax by paying attention to your body.

Think of gut feelings in building contractor terms. There are only so many homes you can erect on a small parcel of land. When you have access to more of the geography, you can construct without confinement.

Confining yourself to your mind alone is like going to Disney World for the funnel cakes – you miss a lot.

All the best,

John