Vibrational Match and Alignment With Purpose

As I continue the experiment of videotaping my live radio show, this week I present my show Rare Sense Thoughts and the theme of Vibrational Match and Alignment With Purpose. Now, the sound is a bit scrathcy in places and I am still working on the lighting but once again, I had fun. I will continue to improve things, in the meantime, I hope you can find some useful information in this segment.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.












Harry Shade
http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/harryshade

People You Should Know

From time to time, I like to feature people that I know you would benefit from knowing. Today I am presenting, Chalen Ewing and Kendra E. Thornbury:

Chalen Ewing, also known by her Cree Indian name Morningstar Woman, is a healer, author, counselor and musician. She has produced an award winning documentary and is a Life Coach Skills trainer. Chalen follows and teaches the old medicine ways and wrote the book "Childhood Lost: The Residential School Experience" concerning the trials and tribulations of Native American children forced to attend residential schools and the impact it had and continues to have on their lives and the Native American communities from which they came.

http://www.morningstarmedicine.com/

Kendra E Thornbury, MA is an international coach, spiritual guide, Manifest Mastermind Coach, speaker, facilitator, writer, entrepreneur & humanitarian. Her purpose is to inspire & guide people to be fully alive. She helps people awaken to the bounty of life and live in joy and prosperity.Kendra is on the cutting edge of spiritual thought and practice. People say she is 'wise beyond her years' and is sought out for her insight and guidance. Kendra is known for her clarity and passion. She is masterful at helping people to get out of their comfort zones, into their true potential and to create the true success they desire. Her practice is grounded in over 17 years of applied study in health, healing, yoga, meditation, ceremony, and music.

http://www.spiritalive.net/

http://www.lessonsinlawofattraction.com/

I had the honor and privilege to interview both women on my Blog Talk Radio Show and you can listen to the archives of the show by going to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/harryshade. After listening, if you would help me out and both comment on and rate the shows, I would be very appreciative, as the comments and ratings help me to continue to improve the show.

Thanks once again for reading my blog, I am blessed that you would take the time to do so. Please feel free to comment, share some people you think we would be blessed to get to know and suggest topics for my blog and radio shows.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking!

A message every adult should read because children are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say. I have said before that we are both teacher and student and while this is geared towards children, it is a universal truth for us at all times.

It reminds me of the Liberty Mutual commercials which show people seeing other people commit acts of kindness and so they pass it forward, because at that moment they became the student and then in turn the teacher.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,

and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw you feed a stray cat,

and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw you make my favorite cake for me,

and I learned that the little things

can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I heard you say a prayer,

and I knew that there is a Higher Power

I could always talk to,

and I learned to trust in it.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw you make a meal

and take it to a friend who was sick,

and I learned that we all have to

help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking,

I saw you give of your time and money

to help people who had nothing,

and I learned that those who have something

should give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it,

and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw how you handled your responsibilities,

even when you didn't feel good, and I learned

that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that

sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I saw that you cared,

and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know

to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking

I looked at you and wanted to say,

'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.'

THIS GOES OUT TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE

WHO DO SO MUCH FOR OTHERS,

BUT THINK THAT NO ONE EVER SEES.

LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT .

Each of us influences the lives of those around us, especially the children.

How will you touch the life of someone today?

Just by sharing this with someone else,

you will probably make them at least think

about their influence on others.

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.

Thank you for reading this today, I am honored that you would take the time. Please feel free to share your thoughts and stories And by all means please share this with everyone you know!

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/

Know There Is A Way

From time to time I come across articles, stories, poems, etc, that I want to share with you because they are so inspiring, empowering, enlightening and/or uplifting. Today, this one fits all four. This comes from John McIntosh. If you would like to learn more about this beautiful soulful being named John and his spiritual writings please visit this link http://johnhmcintosh.wordpress.com/

When darkness comes and fear fills your heart, Know, there is a way.

When all your dreams come crashing down, Know, there is a way.

When friends cannot be found and there is no one to comfort you, Know, there is a way.

When you are ready to lay down and quit, Know, there is a way.

To know is to find the way.

Knowing cannot be found out there.

Knowing is found in the silence of surrender within.

The way is within.

John McIntosh ~Teach (BE) Only Love~
Copyright 2008 John & Ananda McIntosh

Now, I would like to share an excerpt from Chapter One: Know of my book; Rare Sense, One Day It Will Be Common: A Practical Guide to a Fulfilled and Balanced Life, Copyright 2008 Harry Shade.

Next, we come into knowing and when we reach this level the whole universe opens up to us. We say “Aha” a lot! Nothing is impossible. We have a total sense of peace & well being. It is quite clear who we really are, a spiritual being in human form. We now live for the moment and make a life instead of a living. We know that we are responsible for all of it. We are creating life anew, every moment of every day. We know that we make the choices that control our destiny. We are our future.

We understand the perfection of it all, how everything is interconnected,
interdependent, and inseparable. In other words it is all one within itself. There is no separation. Everything is a necessary part of the whole and that whole is God expressing itself.

As John so eloquently said, Knowing is found within. So, go within and you will find the true you and you will know, then, who you really are and that all your answers can be found there.

I will leave you with this quote:

“Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.” - Epictetus

That's all for today.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

Are you being of service?

Today I want to share with you a few causes or social networking sites that are cause oriented which you may want to check out. I know that being of service to one another is the highest expression of love.

As a prelude, I would like to share this excerpt from my book, "Rare Sense, One day It Will Be Common: A Practical Guide to a Fulfilled and Balanced Life". It is from Chapter 7; Serve:

"Serving others is our way of giving back all that we have received. It is our way of honoring the innate spirituality in ourselves and others. It is how we care for one another and show love and compassion. It is what brings us together when there are so many things we use to pull us apart."

There is a fantastic social networking site that has at its premise serving others. It is Care 2 Make a Difference. My personal profile page can be accessed @ http://my.care2.com/coachshade and the main page is http://www.care2.com/. There you will find groups, discussions, causes and a place to sign petitions. There is also a tab on healthy and green living. This site has attracted over 9.8 million members.

Albert Einstein was so eloquent when he said: "Only a life lived in the service of others is worth living."

Some of you may or may not know it but T.Boone Pickens, a Texas Oilman and billionaire has started a campaign to promote alternative and renewable sources of energy. He is also financing several projects with his own money. This started only a few months ago and there are already over 1.1 million people signed up to help. Go to http://www.pickensplan.com/ for more info on this worthy cause. And of course my personal page is at http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/HarryShade.

"Success means that we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others." - Marianne Williamson, Author of A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

Another social networking site when people are gathering in support of one another and to form groups that support wonderful causes is Powerful Intentions. My personal page here is http://powerfulintent.ning.com/profile/Harry39 and the home page is http://powerfulintent.ning.com/.

"Be alert to give service. What counts a great deal in life is what we do for others." - Anonymous

Now, these are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of causes and social networks that you can get involved in where you can serve others. I just wanted to get you thinking about what you can do to serve others. Whether you pick one of these, start your own or pick something else, please set aside time to be in the service of others. You will feel great and more often than not you will receive more than you give.

Marcia Weider said - "Everyday, use your magic to be of service to others."

You can order a copy of my book via Amazon.com or my website @ http://www.blogger.com/www.raresenseunlimited.com.

The audio and e-book versions are available through YouPublish @ https://www.youpublish.com/people/1810

That's all for today.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Harry

Solitude

How often do you get to just be by yourself? No kids, spouses, significant others, work, anything.

How often do you go into silence? With no music, tv, Internet or other distractions of life.

When was the last time you took a trip by yourself?

When was the last time you took a walk in nature, alone?

When was the last time you went to the movies, out to dinner or to any event alone?

The answers to the questions is not often enough and it has been too long to be able to remember. By nature you are not solitary animals, unless you are totally introverted and that is not many of you. No a majority of you cherish contact with others.

You tolerate the hustle and bustle of life because you think that is how it should be. You must be busy, busy, busy. Otherwise, how is anything ever going to get done? You are forever trying to cram 30 hours of stuff into a 24 day and wonder why you are stressed out, anxious and tired. Mostly tired!

It is because you do not take time to just be in solitude. For some of you solitude is scary. What will you do with yourself? What might you find out about you that you do not like? For others you think it is a waste of time. There is stuff to be done you know? Can you say stroke or heart attack walking?

Of course you can be in solitude and still be doing things, just do them alone. You can garden, work on a project, listen to music, watch a movie or ride your bike. The key here is doing it alone, with no distractions from anything else. And that's the tough part. Now, if you are so inclined, being in solitude, like on a hike, where you are alone in nature can be even more relaxing but the idea here is to mentally remove yourself from the rest of the world.

"The great omission in American life is solitude...that zone of time and space, free from the outside pressures, which is the incinerator of spirit." - Marya Mannes

Here are five reasons for the importance of going into solitude. It allows you:

1. to relax and just be.

2. to take time off from the rigors of everyday life.

3. to recharge your batteries.

4. to get in touch with you.

5. to take an internal inventory.

"One hour of thoughtful solitude may nerve the heart for days of conflict - girding up its armour to meet the most insidious foe." - Percival

So, don't look at solitude as something to avoid or put off when you have time for it. It is something you need to do to maintain your physical, mental and spiritual health.

That's all for today.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

I can! I can't!

Can't, one of the most destructive words in the English language. All uttering that word does is keep you from accomplishing anything. Like any thought, the moment you even think it, you set into motion; physical, emotional and spiritual energies that will give you just that, can't.

"If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford

My Mom (Eleanor Shade) created the following with the lines I can and I can't:

I CAN...I can advance naturally. Basically you are saying that you have faith and are allowing yourself to move along with the cosmic flow of the universe, with grace and ease. It is a statement born of strength and courage.

I CAN'T... I cannot advance naturally today. You are fighting against the current, which is a waste of both time and energy. You are getting nowhere fast and have no hope of advancing. This is a statement born of fear and insecurity.

”Those who say something can't be done should not interrupt those doing it.” - Unknown

So, if you want to advance naturally banish can't from your vocabulary today!

There short and sweet but food for thought. That's all for today.

May you all be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

A Book Review, "Zero Limits" by Dr. Joe Vitale & Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len

Before I begin the review I do have to say that not having electricity for a little over four days last week, while not allowing me the opportunity to work at my home office, certainly provided time for me to catch up on my reading and one of the books I read was "Zero Limits". Reading that book has been some of the most productive time I have spent in a long, long time.

I have read literally hundreds of self-help, philosophy, spiritual and religious books but before I read "Zero Limits, " by Dr. Joe Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, master teacher of the updated Ho’oponopono system, I had never heard of the Hawaiian Ho'oponopono system.

I was not too far into the book when I filled with both intrigue and some frustration. I was so intrigued that I did not put the book down until I finished it. It took me about three hours to complete it but what I learned will be with me for a lifetime.

Even though I had always knew and practiced that I could not change anyone else, I had always thought that I could at least influence their decisions with my training and guidance. I was not prepared to hear that whatever I encountered in my life was a lesson for something I had to clear from myself, not them. Sure, I know that everything I encounter is a mirror unto myself, I just never had it put to me so eloquently and simply.

Dr. Len is truly an outstanding and wise teacher and Dr. Vitale brings this method to the masses with such integrity and love. I am now practicing Ho'opnonpono everyday and looking for a workshop by Dr. Len where I can experience more of this wonderful system.

One of the most beautiful things about the system is it's relative simplicity. Dr. Len says that he is constantly clearing and that by working on himself he sees changes happen around him. What does he do to "clear" himself and what is the basics of Ho'oponopono. These four statements that you repeat silently to yourself.

1. I love you.
2. I'm sorry.
3. Please forgive me.
4. Thank you.

That's it. This is what Dr. Len did to successfully treat patients locked up in a prison ward for the criminally insane without even seeing them. All he did was read their files and used the system to clear himself. The rest as they say is history.

I highly recommend you get this book and expose yourself to this beautiful system for self improvement.

That's all for today!

Blessings!

Harry

Do you learn from your experiences?

"There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience." - Archibald McLeish

Do you learn from your experiences, both good and bad? In everything we attract into our lives there are lessons and sometimes the worse the experience the more we can learn from it.

Are you open to learning and growing? Or do you look at life as just something you have to go through until you reach death?

What can learned from the loss of a loved one? Perhaps that life is fleeting and we need to make the most of every moment. That the experiences you had with them were something that molded and shaped you to be the person you are today. That you had something to learn from them and something to teach them in return.

What can be learned from reaching a goal that you set? How about that you could do something that you thought was out of reach. That getting out of your "comfort zone" allowed you to grow. That it was not as scary as you thought it would be.

If something does not go as you had hoped, do you think of it as a waste of time or an opportunity to learn and/or grow? If you chose it as an opportunity to learn and/or grow then it is never a waste of time.

Whether the experiences are good or bad, if you have the attitude that you can learn from them all, then you will grow more than you could ever have imagined. Growth is not always easy or fun but as long as you approach it with a positive attitude, one that says everything and everyone I experience is to help me grow and be better than before I had the experience, then your life will be one of wonder and awe as you continue to on your life path towards enlightenment and spiritual growth.

Some food for thought, that is all for today!

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

Nothing is impossible.

I want to start out tonight with a quote:

"If you want to see something done, just tell some human beings it can't be done. Make it known that it's impossible to fly to the moon, or run 100 meters in 9.9 seconds, or solve Fermat's Last Theorem. Remind the world that no one has ever hit 62 home runs in a season or stuffed 18 people into a Volkswagen. Dangle the undoable in front of the world. Then, consider it done." - Merrill Lynch

What do think is impossible for you to do? Sure, some of us have physical and/or mental limitations but even those folks have shown others that what they were told was impossible, they have accomplished.

Really, since we are Spiritual beings in human form, nothing is impossible. Time amd time again when the word impossible has been floated about, someone, somewhere has proved them wrong.

What are your self-imposed limitations? Believe me it is not your environment, your parents, your stage in life, you upbringing, it is you and only you! All the power of the universe resides inside of each and evry one of us, we just have to tap it. We have to clar out the hurt, bad memories and limiting beliefs and allow room for dinvine inspiration to come in. Then we will have the choice to act upon those inspirations or stay stuck in our old beliefs and paradigms.

So, let's get out of our own way and do the impossible. I'm game, how about you?

That's all for today!

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

Thankful for my health!

I have not been posting lately because I have been under the weather and it is at times like these that I am so grateful for my health. That may sound starnge coming from someone who is currently not 100% healthy but you have to understand that I rarely am under the weather.

So, when I am not feeling the best, it is when I reflect on all the times, about 99.9% of which that I am the epitome of health. It also causes me to pause and think of all those who are fighting for their lives or have to deal with chonic illness and/or pain. Those that are dealing with those things and remain positive are truly inspirational.

So today I ask. How do you handle it when you are not feeling well? I for one continue to focus on the positive and do everything in my power to help my body to heal and I know that it helps me to heal and reduces both the severity and length of the illness.

I also go inward and reflect on what I may have done to bring about the sickness. If I cannot pin point anything, then I just focus on what I need to learn from the experience and do my best to take in the lesson.

I know that everytime I have had an illness or injury that there was something to learn from it. Maybe I am just being told that I need to slow down and rest. Maybe, it's just that I was doing things that caused me to catch a virus or I was not doing things to avoid it.

Whatever it is, you can use these events to grow both spiritually and personally. Nothing like a good illness and/or injury to make you catch up on your rest or that pile of books you have been meaning to read.

My wish for everyone is that you lead healthy and happy lives.

Until next time.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

Angels At Work?

Today, I have three stories of what I believe are angels at work here on Earth. This is a rather long post but well worth reading to the end.

The first one comes from a post in a discussion group, from the social networking site TEE BEE DEE (www.tbd.com). Bridget gave me permission to reprint it here.

'Les' is his name. A homeless man that have touched and have a very special place in my heart.

I don't make a habit to handout money to the homeless in every corner of the street but Les is an exception. He began to appeared around the corner from my house shortly after I moved into my house a while back. I watched him everyday struggling with his cane moving his exhausted crippled body to the middle divider of the street to beg for money. He looked so broken......... broken and forgotten from the world full of noise; so noisy perhaps he had became invisible.

Every week I gave him a little bit of money and tries to greet him and shake his hand as I make my U turn to get to the freeway. Whether I have money in my hand or not his tireless smile with barely any teeth left greeted me with the most heartfelt greeting "God bless you and please make it a great day". Wow! he hadn't forgot about God for that matter and wishes me to make it a great day.

For the past 3 years Les has become a daily comfort as my daily spiritual ritual. Les doesn't know that he is not only in my life but he had impacted my outlook on life...... life full with hope and faith.

I haven't seen Les for 3 days. My heart miss him and worries for him. I hope to see him soon.

Wherever you are Les. God bless you for your kindness. You show me hope and faith in a place where most would have not.

B

This next one is from Chuck Norris' Column in the WorldNetDailey, Posted: August 04, 2008, 1:00 am Eastern, © 2008

Here is the link to the actual column: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=71376

Traveling up the coast of California for our summer vacation, we stayed near the seaside amusement park Santa Cruz’s Beach and Boardwalk. We were really excited about spending a few days there with our 6-year-old twins.

After dinner one evening, we began to walk back to our hotel. On our way we passed three apparently homeless men. One of them said as he looked at the kids, "Hey, wait a minute. I have something for you." We stopped cautiously, as our kids know not to receive things from strangers. Looking at the man, I saw warmth in his eyes so we walked over to him. The man searched his pockets while saying that he had some coupons to ride the rides. But after a few minutes of rummaging around his clothing and wallet, he came up empty-handed. Still, I thanked him for his offer, and we walked on.

A short distance later our kids began to ask, "Who was he? Why was he so dirty? Why was he living on the street?" What followed was a good, age-oriented family discussion about homelessness. There was something different about this homeless man. In even our brief encounter, we sensed that he had a kind heart and a genuinely grateful attitude about life and others.

Back at the hotel, our daughter Danilee said that she would like to draw a picture and give it to this man we met. But it was too dark and late to be running around the city looking for him on the streets. So my wife Gena replied to her, "Sweetheart, you can draw him one in the morning," thinking like most parents that she would likely just forget by morning. When we went to bed that night, we prayed together as we always do, and our kids prayed for this man we met.

The next morning we were on our way to a restaurant for breakfast. As we passed many people on the sidewalk, to our surprise one of them was the homeless gentleman we met the night before. His eyes and gentle smile clearly showed that he remembered us. And we began to think about how Danilee wanted to draw him a picture (which we didn’t have) – and how a small act of kindness goes a long way and that these things sometimes happen for a reason. We also thought about how our kids learn from us how to treat others, even those upon whom society generally frowns or ignores. Gena later told me she prayed silently, "Oh Lord, give us one more chance to give him that picture."

At the restaurant, the waitress brought my kids some crayons and paper so they could finally draw the pictures they wanted to give to this stranger. Danilee drew two beautiful angels overlooking her and this man walking side by side. And our son Dakota drew three crosses. When they completed the pictures, they put them in their fanny packs and then asked us if we could buy him a breakfast – which we did even though we had no idea if we would even see him again. Though it was one of the hottest days on record, we carried this breakfast with us for hours, continually looking for this sojourner as we went about another vacation day. But there was no sign of him anywhere. The day and evening came and went. We had only one more chance to meet him in the morning before we left Santa Cruz.

Walking to the same restaurant for breakfast, we didn’t see him anywhere. As we left the restaurant, however, Gena looked across the street. Up ahead about 50 yards, she noticed two men walking around a corner near a covered bus stop. As we got closer, a familiar face came into view and we all began to smile. We told him that we’d been looking for him for two days. The kids told him about the breakfast that never made it to him the day before, and that we brought him some iced tea on that day. Then they pulled out the pictures they made for him. We could all see how they truly touched his heart, as he repeatedly thanked the kids for their kindness. He told them how he had been in Santa Cruz since he was 3 years old, and that he was now 35.

For those few moments time seemed to just stand still. As he stared with his piercing blue eyes and talked to us, we simply seemed to forget about all those complicated matters and issues that often surround homelessness. Instead, we were just humans showing cordial concern and compassion for one another.

What happened last still sends shivers up my spine. Without recognizing who I was, he stuck out his hand and respectfully introduced himself, "My name is Alan." His few words nearly took our breath away because Gena’s father’s name was also Alan, and he also had a very similar gentle and kind demeanor, but her father had passed away six months earlier and was still so dearly missed. Just before we walked away, Dakota handed him the iced tea we brought. After he sipped it, he exclaimed, "Aaahhh. Sweet tea – I love sweet tea!" To which Gena softly replied, "So did my dad."

God spoke to us that early summer day. Heaven sent a big sign through what might seem like a relatively small encounter to many others. But it can be a reminder to us all – one that’s also spelled out in the Good Book, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

The last one is also from the Tee Bee Dee website and was shared with permission by Judi.

What a wonderful and inspirational story, Bridget!! It reminds me of the years I worked at a downtown Fort Worth hospital, and on my way to work, I would always see an elderly woman, with layers of coats on, pushing a basket full of her life's possessions. I never passed close enough to her to give her a handout (I saw her from across the freeway, or duck under a bridge). Other nurses would talk about seeing her, and we would try to guess her background.

One day, the lady was brought into our ER in a diabetic coma. Her name, "Ethel". I will never forget the ragged, sad, thin woman with the extremely pale face. A body that had apparently lived a life that we could only imagine. About 16 nurses all decided to do something about her situation. We pooled our money, collected food, money and clothes from other staff and doctors, and contacted Habitat for Humanity.

By the time she awoke from her coma, learned how to care for her bruised, torn-up and infected feet, as well as give herself insulin, we had found her a one-room house, renovated it with the help of Habitat, and moved her in, lock, stock and barrel. She couldn't remember her birth date, but doctors estimated her to be in her 60's.

She had home health set up to see her twice a week, we set up for her to have Meals On Wheels, and we each took turns visiting her. She told us many, many stories of her "20 some-odd years" on the street, some funny, some winsome, some downright scary, and others quite horrible. She had "3 children", one a school teacher, one an administrative secretary, and another a pharmacist. She would never tell us their names, and said they were better off not knowing how their "mama" lived her life, but we could tell from her voice and in her eyes that she loved them.

About 14 months after she moved into the house, one of my fellow nurses found her in her "favrit' cheer" (favorite chair), where she had "gone to meet up with Jesus", as she had predicted months earlier.

We will never forget Ethel, the joy she brought each of us, the things she taught us about love, caring, laughter, and heartache.

Ethel, if you're reading this, you are missed dearly!!!

Here is the link to the TBD web site where two of the stories can be found. http://www.tbd.com/group/23/discussion/357342/show?startIndex=0

There is nothing really for me to add here, the stories speak for themselves.

If you are 40+ and you want a social networking site that is inspirational, funny, caring, compassionate, exhilarating and spiritually and personally rewarding, join TBD. It's free and I guarantee it will improve you life!

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Harry

Who is more spiritual? And is there such a thing?

In a discussion group that is part of a social networking site, someone proposed this; Put yourself to the test. Are you a "real" spiritual person? (Since the discussion first began and the person who started the discussion got heck for it, the name has since been changed.) Then he proceeded to ask us to watch a video of animals being slaughtered and say that "cruelty is not a spiritual practice.

Well, needless to say the human in me got a perturbed at the suggestions that somehow anyone is less spiritual because they choose to eat meat, thus are contributing to the cruelty towards the animals. It has been a lively discussion to say the least.

Here are my posts in the group thus far. With them I have been trying to invoke thought and further discussion. As a Spiritual person I am not judging which side is right or wrong because quite frankly there is no right or wrong, since I know for me that spirituality is a personal thing. WARNING, THIS ONE IS KINDA LONG!

OK, here goes:

I also do not mean any offense, but I have to agree with Krysteenah, your tone seems to come off like, if you do not believe what I believe, you are not very spiritual.

First of all, I believe the beautiful thing about spirituality is that there is no dogma, religious rules, ceremonies, etc. It is a personal one on one relationship with the Universe (Creator, Great Spirit, God, etc). Spiritual people do not judge and really are not interested in how spiritual others are. We do not have arbitrary rules (the whole no meat on Friday former Catholic rule that was eventually changed by man) about what we can and cannot eat and we do not need commandments or even laws to tell us how to treat one another. We just know!

In my humble opinion spiritual people do not get caught up in all the drama and discussions about religion because it is irrelevant and redundant and really does not matter. We also do not impose our thoughts on others, we simply share ideas about what we believe to be the truth for us and let others find their way.

I do have some questions at this point just to provoke some thought and friendly discussion.

Why would "God" provide something to us that will nourish us physically and not want us to use it? If that is the case, what exactly is the purpose of a beef cow, other than to produce methane gas? And why make some beef cows and some dairy cows?

Where does one draw the line as to what is OK to eat to be spiritual? Could it be that anything grown under ground is considered dirty and so should not be eaten? And finally, there is one religion out there that according to their religious writings, God said "Everything in moderation", not some things, everything but, everything, so does that make those who follow that religion less spiritual if they eat meat?

Here is my philosophy of life: I do not care what you call yourself, love one another. If all this makes me less spiritual in someone else's eyes, that is for them to deal with, not me. Also, it will be painfully obvious that you are not getting the whole conversation.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Now, my second post:

Otter, You raise some interesting points but what I choose to eat should not be the basis on how spiritual I am.

I will agree that there has to be better, more humane ways to allow those of us to eat meat and perhaps more should be done to make it so.

And my last one so far:

Agingstoner, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Now, please do not take my passion for this subject as me being defensive. I am just pushing the envelope here to provoke further thought and discussion. I am glad that you do not agree with everything I have to say, that is your right and quite frankly the way it should be. Now, please allow me some indulgence. Thanks!

Quite frankly,I believe you missed the whole point of my post. I was not trying to show my animal husbandry knowledge (IN HIS POST HE BLUNTLY TOLD ME THAT BEEF AND DAIRY COWS WERE NOT CREATED BY GOD BUT BY MAN, FOR ME THAT WAS ANOTHER SUBJECT FOR A DIFFERENT DAY), which obviously is a little rusty. LOL

What I was trying to say is that spirituality is in fact personal and no one has the right to judge me in any way as to how spiritual I am. That is between me and ____ (God, Great Spirit, Universe, The Creator, etc).

I also noticed that you conveniently did not address my question about where does one draw the line as to what is OK to eat to be spiritual.

I might think that eating things grown in the earth is not being spiritual because they are dirty. Absurd, right? Now, does that make me more spiritual because of what I think? I can say that no it does not. I mean plants that are consumed by vegetarians are also living things that we kill to eat. So, I guess the killing of one living thing is alright but not the other? Isn't killing, well, killing? And if we agree that all killing of any living thing is wrong, what would we eat? How would we survive? Once again I am taking this to the point of almost absurdity but where do we draw the line?

Native Americans thanked and blessed everything they killed or used to survive. The animals, the plants, the rocks, everything. Does that make them more spiritual? If I thank everything I consume, will I be more spiritual?

I agree with Mary, that the stuff in this video is appalling and you can say that by my eating meat I am condoning it but regardless no human being has the right to judge me on my level of spirituality. I am passionate about this subject because it is this judging that has led to one human being feeling that they are superior to another, which in turn has led to all the countless horrors we have unleashed on one another and the earth.

Once again, I do not care what you call yourself, love one another.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

OK, that's it so far. So, what do you think? Please share your thoughts but try to do it in a loving, non judgemental manner. Will that make your more spiritual? I d not know, that is between you and your God.

Blessings!

Harry

The ABC's of Life - Attitude

One of the seminars I give is called The ABC's of Life. Today, I am going to start with Attitude and eventually we will get through the whole "life" alphabet. All the quotes are mine.

Attitude: “Attitude as much as anything else will determine the quality of your life!”

What is your attitude toward life? Yourself? Others? Do you have an attitude of gratitude? Do you face each new day with wonder and anticipation? Do you look for the good in all things? Do you think it is all hopeless? Do you see no point in it all? Do you live in the past? Do you let others determine your life or do you hold the power? Are you actively participating or sitting on the sidelines and wondering why things are not working out?

When you have a good attitude the highs of life will last longer and the lows will be shorter. Yes, even when you have a good attitude there will still be highs and lows. You will seek ways to grow and take on new challenges with enthusiasm and total commitment. When you have a good attitude your "luck" will increase and no matter what happens, you will have the ability to overcome any obstacle. When you have a good attitude, life will be easier and more rewarding. You'll love more and worry less. You will be healthier, happier and face life without fear.

How do you have a good attitude? I could say something rather silly right here and say by just having one. Even though there is truth in that previous statement, it is not very helpful.

You will have a good attitude by being thankful for all that you have, right here, right now. By living in the present and not the past. By making what and where you are at this moment the best it can be. Attitude is a state of mind and grateful people can only have a good attitude. No matter how much or how little you have, if you are grateful for what you do have, then you are on the way to having a good attitude.

When you can look in the mirror and see a worthy, human being, not perfect but worthy, then you will have a good attitude. When you know your true worth, you will have a good attitude. When you can love you for you and accept everything about yourself, you can not help but have a good attitude.

So, do you have a good attitude? If so, great! If not, why not? With all the benefits what is keeping you from having a good attitude?

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

What do you see in the mirror?

Today, I wanted to share a story that I read in one of the discussions in the social networking site, Tee Bee Dee. I will add some thoughts at the end.

The House of 1000 Mirrors

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Japanese Folktale

What I would like to add is that you are the mirror to the world for what is going on inside of you. What are you projecting to the world? If you have a positive attitude, you will reflect that, if it is the opposite, you will project that too.
If you want the world to look better to you need to look better to the world.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Harry Shade - Author, Rare Sense; One Day It Will Be Common www.raresenseunlimited.com

Take the time...

I have often said that the most precious commodity we will ever have is time. So, today I am asking you, how are you spending yours?

Lately, I have been doing everything I can to spend time with old friends and when I say "old" I do not necessarily mean age but rather in the number of years that we have been friends. I am very blessed in that I have three friends that have been in my life for 43 years. I have several others that close to 30 years and some 20+ years.

You see, it hit me when I was informed the other day about the passing of one of my high school classmates. She was not just a classmate but a friend and my Senior Prom date and she was gone. I had not either seen or spoken to her in years and that made me really sad. On top of that, we are having our 30 year class reunion in a couple months and her passing made this one even more important to me.

More often than we would probably like to admit, we get so caught up in the day to day things of life that we simply do not keep in touch with "old" friends. Well, I teach and have authored a book about living a fulfilled and balanced life. For it to be fulfilled and balanced it needs to include time for friends.

It can be as simple as a quick e-mail message, text or phone call but we need to do it. Friends are the ones who stand by us when times are good or bad. They have seen us at our best and our worst. They are the stitching that keeps the fabric of life together.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to spend more time with friends. The benefits are both endless and priceless and it is a wonderful way to spend that most precious of commodities, time.

Do not wait until it is too late, get in contact with your friends today.

I mean it! Right now! Go! Stop reading and go! LOL

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry Shade
www.raresenseunlimited.com

The "I Am" Exercise

OK, today, I want to give everyone an exercise that will help you discover all the great things about you and raise your confidence. So, starting tomorrow I want you to print this list and read it out loud to yourself when you get up in the morning and just before you go to bed.

Read it with passion and ethusiasm and do it everyday for three weeks. Yes, at first you might be a little self-conscious and feel silly but you need to just do it! I guarantee you will have a much better outlook on yourself and life if you do as instructed. If you so desire, you can use my list as a guide to create your own list or just add more to mine.

I am…

loving, grateful, humorous, caring, loyal, joyful, kind, wonderful, healthy, free, thankful, prosperous, accepting, innocent, considerate, worthy, sexual, beautiful, intelligent, forgiving, helpful, focused, determined, committed, curious, daring, passionate, successful, energetic, willing, insightful, able, responsible, honest, excited, intuitive, creative, divine
&
SPIRITUAL!

Copyright 2007 Harry Shade & Rare Sense Unlimited
www.raresenseunlimited.com

Randy Pausch, A Wonderful Spiritual Messenger

Lately, I have been blogging about being a teacher. Today I am going to talk about Randy Pausch, a wonderful spiritual messenger and what a teacher! If you do not know Randy Pausch, I would have to say that he was one of the most spiritual teachers of our time.

About two years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and he left this earthly plane today. The teachings and messages he left behind, however, will live on forever. Through it all, Randy squeezed every bit of living out of his life. He is an example to anyone, whether you are battling a life threatening illness or just wanting to know how to live.

Below is a link to learn more about Randy and the wonderful gift he left behind in his "Last Lecture".

http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/

My sympathies go out to his family. The world has lost a wonderful teacher, husband, father and man.

It's Not Being Selfish

Ok, I found myself trying to figure out what to write about today and once again I received inspiration from a complete stranger.

I was reading some posts on the web site Tee Bee Dee, a social networking site for those 40 and over (see link below), when someone with the profile name of DeeD posted the following thoughts in a discussion group about what you are grateful for:

" I am grateful for finally beginning to see what was hidden. I never understood "love yourself" until very recently. Always before when I heard that it came through as blah, blah...
Now I see it. I don't want to do to myself what I won't stand for being done to someone else. I never realized how much mean talking I do to myself, sometimes to the point of cruelty. There are other issues, but this one illustrates well enough. I am grateful for this lesson!"

This is one of the most important lessons to learn in life and the earlier you learn this one the better, for it is key in creating the relationships that you attract into your life. I know what you are going to say, you don't love yourself but you still love others and people still love you. Yes, but...even though everyone has someone who loves them and people that they love, you can love more deeply and unconditionally if you love yourself and it makes it easier for others to love you when they are not constantly having to build you up. It takes energy to constantly be building someone else up, energy that could be used for other things.

Now the next question I get a lot when discussion this topic is: Isn't wanting to take of myself a selfish thing? Another one is: Shouldn't I be more focused on helping and taking care of others first, isn't that the spiritual thing to do? Some comments I get are: I am too busy taking care of everyone else to worry about myself. They just don't allow me time to take care of myself. I just have too many flaws so focusing on others helps me to forget my shortcomings. I don't need to love myself to love others.

Ok, lets examine those aforementioned questions and comments:

Isn't wanting to take of myself a selfish thing? That question is coming from guilt. It is never a selfish thing to want to take care of oneself because if you are not in a good place physically, mentally and spiritually, how can you possibly be there fully for anyone else, if at all. So, it is not selfish it is in a selfless act.

Shouldn't I be more focused on helping and taking care of others first, isn't that the spiritual thing to do? Ahhh, I call this the martyr question. Well, part of the answer to this question is the same as the answer to the aforementioned question. You cannot take care of others if you do not take care of yourself. The second part of the answer is this; you do not have to suffer to be spiritual, in fact your suffering does not make you more spiritual, it just makes you more miserable. The universe wants you to be happy and healthy, if that is what you want! You are being more spiritual when you are happy and healthy, not depressed and sick.

Now for the comments I get all too often and mainly I have to say from women.

I am too busy taking care of everyone else to worry about myself. Really! I find this comment to be interesting for two reasons. First of all it flies in the face of all logic. Once again (I really hate to beat a dead house), if you do not take time for yourself you cannot be fully there for anyone else. You may think you are doing grand, unselfish things but in reality you cannot give 100% to those you want to take care of because you are not taking care of yourself. Secondly, aren't you putting yourself up on a pedestal, just a little bit? Maybe those that you think you have to constantly take care of would really be better served in the long run to have to do some things for themselves. Might actually build some confidence, independence and sense of responsibility in their lives.

They just don't allow me time to take care of myself. OK, do you have free will? Who is not allowing what to happen? It seems to me that if you point out the logic that I have put forth prior, it would actually make sense to them. Now, if you have loved ones that are so totally dependent on you that they rebel at first you have to first tell yourself, well I created this situation. Then just insist that you are going to take time to care for yourself and that they will just have to get used to it and fend for themselves. In fact, you may just want to point out that they should helping to take care of you too!

I just have too many flaws, so focusing on helping others helps me to forget my shortcomings. Yes, you are not perfect, nobody is, but ignoring things that you would like to change about yourself will not make them go away. They will just fester, get worse with time and eventually come out in some of the most unpleasant ways. No, if there are things you do not like about yourself then you must take the time and effort to change the ones you can and accept the ones you can't so you can truly love yourself.

I don't need to love myself to love others. This is probably my all time favorite. While it is true that you can love others and others can love you, even if you do not fully love yourself, it is never unconditional. You cannot give of yourself 100% because you do not have 100% to give. There is always going to be something either missing or lacking. Because you do not love you, you are going to question how anyone else can love you, either in your head or by actually asking. This can put a strain on even the best of relationships and has you in a constant state of worry. Is that any way to live?

You see loving yourself is in fact the selfless thing to do for it allows you to give your love unconditionally and allow yourself to be loved unconditionally. In this way there is no guilt, no martyrs, no anger and no resentment. There is simply love!

Make it a great day!

Please give my web site a visit @ http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/ and check out Tee Bee Dee and my profile @ http://www.tbd.com/viewProfile.html. Blessings!

Random Thoughts

From time to time I am just going to post some random thoughts of mine in a effort to affect conscious reflection and thought.

Things such as:

Why is it it seems that those that profess their religion the loudest are often the ones most likely to not even live by the basic tenets of their professed religion?

Why do we waste so much time on things like gay marriage when there are so many other issues that we should concern ourselves with like hunger and homelessness?

Why is the main stream media so focused on the "bad" that happens in society and seems to be is blind to all the "good"?

Why can't we just look at one another as human beings and forget all the rest of the things that separate us from one another?

Why do wonderful shows with redeeming value like Joan of Arcadia get cancelled when others like Wife Swap and Family Guy go on and on?

Why do some parents seem to think that schools and not them are responsible for teaching their children things like manners, respect and morals?

Well that's all for this time. I am sure I will have more in the future. remember I am trying to provoke conscious thought and help to expand minds. It is never my intention to offend anyone but if you are offended by anything I have asked above maybe you need to look inside your own heart and try to figure out why the question offended you in the first place!