In this Episode:
There is much in the news about bullying and disrespectful behavior in our schools, over the internet and throughout society. We have many organizations that are working to end bullying and yet we are continuing to see an increase in incidents. I believe the answer to end bullying and disrespectful behavior lies in our ability to set healthy boundaries in all of our relationships and to teach our children how to do so also.
This is my little dog and friend, Ruby. She is the eleventh rescue dog I’ve had so far in life. She is sweet and loves me unconditionally. I am so lucky Ruby and the other ten rescue dogs came into my life. They taught me so many things.
Like what it really feels like to love unconditionally and to be loved the same way. They taught me patience, respect, forgiveness, persistence and the depth of our connectedness to all life. They also taught me animals are not fashion statements. They are not meant to fight for our amusement or financial gain. They are not meant to be breed and abused in tiny cages. They are not objects. They are feeling beings.
They get hungry, tired and lonely. They get cold, hot, thirsty and scared. They experience post-traumatic stress. They feel pain and hurt. They are not meant to stay home alone all day. They are not meant to live in chains. They need to be around their people and other life. They reason and think and make decisions.
Of course they don’t reason exactly like us humans but they are smart and can learn. Like us, animals learn and respond best when treated with kindness, when offered praise and when the relationships we have with them are based on patience, trust and respect.
Animals like Ruby know the true heart of people. In order to be deserving of their love, respect and trust we must treat them with love, patience, compassion and respect. We do not take our anger out on them. We do not expect them to be perfect or to reason like a human being. We do not use them or abuse them. We do not neglect their physical and emotional needs. We do not puppy-mill them. We do not experiment on them.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” The kind of relationship we have with animals tells people the extent of our greatness too. We must never forget we human beings are animals too and we must be the kind of animal that respect, cares for and nurtures all life. Or else we’re taking a step back on our evolutionary journey which will in no way ensure our future.
In this Episode:
We wear many hats in life, roles and labels we put on ourselves and on one another. Wife, husband, mother, father, lawyer, doctor, gay, straight, black, white, rich, poor, etc. But these do not truly tell others who we really are.
I used to hate school. What a drag sitting in class all day listening to stuff I could not imagine myself ever using. What a dumb ass I was and so many of us are when we’re young thinking we actually know something or don’t need to learn something. We don’t know squat until we learn stuff. No school is not for everyone. But education is for everyone.
Ignorant is not something any of us should choose to be because if we stay ignorant, our kids will be ignorant. If we stay ignorant to all life’s wonders, we’ll think the trash they show on televisions is how happy and fulfilling relationships work.
Knowledge is power and there has never been a time in human history when the world’s knowledge has been available to almost everyone. Only dumb asses don’t take advantage of learning as much as we can about whatever we are interested in and need to know – like children need guidance and boundaries. There is no way we can teach children anything unless we have the knowledge within us to teach them.
Yes the school of hard knocks and university of life are great teachers as long as we learn the lessons. If we’re going through another crappy divorce for the 3rd time or being expelled again for fighting, or we’re dating Mr. Wrong for the 4th time we’re not learning are we.
Life is one big classroom just as Oprah says. Sure a formal education gives us a good foundation to think critically, to investigate to find truth, to meet deadlines, how to smell opinionated bull, and how to work well with other people. Lots of good things come from staying in school – like a chance at a decent paying job that does not involved flipping meat patties over a hot grill. Nothing wrong with flipping burgers but there is so much more to life when we open ourselves to the possibility filling ourselves with as much knowledge as possible brings.
No school it’s not for everyone but anyone who truly wants to be powerful and have the best relationships and most well-adjusted children, needs to keep learning and growing and becoming better. Knowledge is true power because with knowledge comes endless opportunity. Without continuing to learn and grow we hit the wall. But with knowledge we learn how to climb over any wall, any obstacle life brings.
Stay in school. Get a diploma, go to college if you can. BUT regardless never stop learning. Life is a school and the goal is to learn as much as possible about yourself, other people and the world. Knowledge is power but it is also the way to true happiness and fulfillment with life.
In this Episode:
It’s easy to see yourself as only human when your body is all you’re focus on seeing. But there is so much more to you than meets the eye. Your body is home to a Divine energy that only stays invisible until you allow yourself to be moved by its presence..
In this Episode:
Our goal in any relationship is to be our best half—unless, we’re talking about the relationship we have with ourselves. With the relationship we have with ourselves we must be whole. We cannot be whole if we’re focusing on everyone else first. Unless we value our needs, desires, wants, bodies, time, energy, attention, values, beliefs we will end up losing ourselves in relationship.
Hollywood, Bollywood, and the dark and seedy studios off 3rd avenue would have us believe sex is love. We’ll sex is not love. Sex is sex. Love is love. Sex with love is fantastic. Sex without love is the porn industry.
We’ll that’s the truth because anyone can have sex. In fact too many people have sex without thinking about the 1 million and one repercussions from engaging in the feel-good but fleeting bodily fluid exchange. Who thinks about AIDS, STD’s, or the possibility of having a child when in the throes of passion? Responsible people that’s who. But not my 13 year old mother. She was not old enough to be responsible. She did not have the life experience or self-love and self-respect necessary to say hell no, not without protection. Nope just focused on the moment or too inexperienced to even know what was happening. Willing yes but ignorant for sure.
Then 9 months later I surprised her and burst out into the world. Seriously she did not even know she was pregnant. I came as a complete and utter shock. So immature and inexperienced she had no clue she was even pregnant. But I am one of the lucky ones. I was adopted by a couple who wanted me and who had enough education and life experience under their belts to actually raise me. No, children do not come with an owner’s manual and they do not raise themselves. So if we do not properly nurture, care for, respect, love and educate ourselves we sure can’t do this for another human being.
Sex is great when the HUGE responsibility that goes along with it is respected and honored. That is why love makes sex so great. Love is responsible, caring, kind, loyal, honest, and dependable. Love is forgiving, reliable, and true. Love wants the best life for all involved and seeks to get the knowledge and skills necessary to help create that best life.
When the values of love accompany sex then WOW the universe explodes in a Tantric meteor shower of trust and emotional security. And when the values of love are absent, well little Regina’s enter the world, many destined to fend for themselves without guidance, without their dreams supported, and without learning how to create a successful life filled with love, compassion and purpose.
Sex without responsibility is like walking a tight-rope holding a vial of nitroglycerine. Sex with responsibility is magical and a deeply spiritual experience. The kind of experience we all want but sadly do not get by thinking sex is love.
In this Episode:
We do not have the power to change anyone but ourselves. The only power we have is to love others by setting a positive and powerful example of what self-love looks like. We can be a mirror for a healthy life filled with self-respect and control but other people have to look within themselves to see what about their behavior is preventing them from happiness, self-respect and self-control.
My parents are big Texas Ranger baseball fans. During a recent visit we were watching a game when two young men ran onto the field. The commentators took us through the action of security personnel tackling them and taking them directly to jail.
Watching this reminded me of long ago when someone ran onto the field and the television cameras would show the details. I am grateful television stopped doing that. I guess someone finally figured out the higher wisdom of not giving attention to those who intentionally disrupt and inconvenience so many for their completely self-centered and irresponsible motives.
Won’t it be wonderful when news organizations around the world stop giving the majority of attention to the perpetrators of crime and instead focus their coverage on the victims and how we can learn something from the situation? I believe this action alone will create positive change within our global society.
To help facilitate this change let’s you and I take the lead by refusing to support any person or media organization that hawks speculation and features those who behave negatively. Let’s support those organizations focusing the majority of attention on how we can best use the challenges we face to change ourselves and society for the better.
In this Episode:
All fulfilling relationships whether they are friendships, family interactions, or with significant others, have one big thing in common – they are made up of people who have a clearly defined sense of their own identity. Each has a solid understanding of who they are, so they are comfortable communicating their needs and desires to others. This is why to have the best relationships possible with others you have to be a strong on your own as an individual.