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[Guest guest]

When enthusiasm strikes, you know because you

want to jump up and down and scream with

happiness. It's a moment when your heart soars

because you have just felt or done something that

inspires you deep within.

Enthusiasm is where your body screams with

excitement and you hear that " Yes ! " from deep

inside. It's one of the best feelings in the world.

Today, no matter what your rational mind says look

and listen for places, events, ideas, people and

activities that make your heart shout a loud " Yes! "

Next, spend some time deciding how to bring more of

those into your life.

Make a commitment to yourself to do the things you

need to do to live a more enthusiastic life. When

you're enthusiastic you look forward to each and

every day. And, that is what makes life so fun!

SOMEONE TO LOOK AFTER

During my second year of college I was scouting around for a place tolive, as my roommates had dropped out of school. One Sunday afterchurch the pastor put his arm around me and said, " I understand you

need a room. Our daughter is in New Zealand this year as a foreignexchange student. If you'd like to stay with us you may use her room. "

To be honest, I really didn't want to stay with " the preacher'sfamily. " I was 19 years old and on my own. But then he told me howmuch rent would be -- a ridiculously low figure that included one

home-cooked meal a day. I thought about the offer for about a minuteand decided to move in.

At the end of the semester I had planned to find other livingarrangements, since the daughter was to return home. But they askedif I wanted to stay on another term, suggesting I move across the

hall and share a room with their son. By this time I seemed to havebeen adopted into their family -- her people became my people, as itwas put so beautifully in the old biblical story of Ruth. I happilyaccepted the offer.

As I vacated the daughter's bedroom, I thought it might be nice tohave a little sister to look after. But when I later met my newsister, I realized that this idea of looking after her might be more

interesting than I first imagined.

We eventually fell in love, married, and have looked after oneanother for many years. There have been times that life turned out tobe more challenging than either of us could have known. But we have

always been able to go forward largely because we knew that somebodydeeply cared.

It isn't about marriage ... it's about love. It's about mothers andfathers, sisters and brothers and special friends who are as close asfamily. It's about anybody who can say, " I'll be around -- you can

count on me. I'll try to look after you and sometimes I will needyou to look after me. "

Is there somebody you can depend on? And are others counting onyou? We travel the path of life best when there is somebody to look after, and when someone is looking after us.

Steve Goodier

On a regular basis, you will likely disagree with others. Don't let that disagreement control your life. When you are confident of your own path in life, you will not be threatened by differing opinions. Instead of fighting against others who disagree, allow those differing perspectives to strengthen your own. There's no need to become defensive when your opinions are challenged. Instead, let the challenges help you to further refine and clarify your own thinking. True success is not a matter of forcing others to adopt your viewpoint. True success comes from making your life a full, complete and valuable expression of your own unique point of view. There will always be those who think differently than you do. Learn to see that as a blessing, and learn to appreciate its value. When you gratefully, peacefully, and lovingly accept disagreement, it loses its power to control your life. And you can transform it into something positive that will truly enhance your world. Ralph Marston

[Guest guest]

This was written by the author of a book I read:WHO AM I?You are pure spirit, cast into a human mold as a manifestation ofDivine Intelligence, existing this little while on Earth to help carry onthe Divine Plan. Being pure spirit, you are a part of the only intelligencethere is and all the power and understanding of this intelligence are yours to draw upon.WHY AM I HERE?The only reasonable and intelligent answer that makes sense to me isthat the Universal Superconscious Mind of God is seeking to know itselfby becoming things, because it cannot know itself as infinity.Thus we are born, we live, we have free will, we do well, we do badly,we suffer, we die. All the while we are expanding our consciousness. God seeks to itself by becoming you, me and every other thing in theUniverse. Thus human purpose is destined to expand self-consciousness to Infinity.WHERE AM I GOING?

To understand Infinity, we need to be infinite. Our body will clearly die, but our soul - our Subconscious Mind will never die. Neither was it ever born.What do the Great Teachers of all time keep saying? WE ARE ONE WITH GOD!And God has no intention of doing anything with your soul except to bring it back home where it belongs.

Velazquez-Stilwell

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Had to cheat again today... All entries are Ralph Marston

It's amazing what some good, sustained effort can do. Effort is far more effective than worrying, far more effective than complaining that things aren't going your way. Whether the situation is wonderful or whether it is dismal, focus on what you can actually do with it. Focus on where your efforts can be put to best use. Don't let the details of what has already happened cause you to lose sight of the efforts necessary to move forward. Direct your attention to what you can do now. Then go ahead and make the effort. Go beyond wishing, thinking about it, planning to do it, and just get started. Positive effort will make a far more meaningful difference than arguing about who is to blame. If you feel passionate about the situation, put the energy of that passion to good use, by putting it into positive, productive effort. Always remember that your effort can take you where you want to go. The faster you start, the sooner you'll be there. Ralph Marston

Doubt is nothing but a thought. Though doubt can stop you cold, you always have the power to overcome it. For your doubts cannot take action, but you certainly can. With each positive action, with each step forward, the doubt will quickly melt away. There is no need to fight against your doubts. You can simply decide to walk away from them. Though they may have become quite comfortable and well entrenched, your doubts exist only as long as you're willing to support them. When your desire to move beyond them grows strong enough, then you can easily leave them behind. Those doubts may seem big and imposing, but all their power comes from your thoughts. And you can choose to turn those thoughts in a completely different, and far more positive direction. Think and act in the direction of your dreams. And your doubts will be left far behind. Ralph Marston

There is no limit to what you can imagine. And the moment you imagine anything, it begins to come to life. When you imagine, you plant a seed. The more detailed and specific your imagination becomes, the more that seed will grow. Imagine the place you would most like to be. Then imagine how you could get there. Continue to imagine, in greater and greater detail, and at some point an amazing transformation occurs. The object of your imagination crosses over into reality. When you imagine, you focus your mind on the possibilities. And your mind goes to work to make those possibilities happen. When you imagine, be sure to imagine the very best. For what you can imagine sets the stage for where you'll go. Ralph Marston