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In this issue:

1) Welcome Letter by Dream Walker
2) Beyond Hope is Faith by Jean R. Charles
3) Having What We Believe...The Power Of Affirmations by Lois R. Thompson
4) Life As We Know It by David Stoddard
5) OUR SELF ESTEEM by Michael Angier

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Welcome letter
by Dream Walker

Yá'át'ééh! And welcome to the new subscribers. 
I hope that you find what you are looking for, and 
stay awhile.

Do you ever turn your keyboard upside down and give 
it a good shake? I strongly recommend it. You will 
be surprised at the stuff that falls out! Giving your 
keyboard a good shake every now and then is essential 
to keeping it working properly.
Those of you who have been reading MousePages for any 
length of time are expecting a metaphor here, and I am 
not going to let you down! At the risk of sounding like 
Forrest Gump (life is like a box of chocolates...), life 
can be a lot like your keyboard! Giving it a good shake 
every now and again is essential to keeping it working 
well, too.
I am not suggesting that you do anything drastic here! 
Don't write me and tell me that I said you should quit 
your job or leave your mate. All I mean by a shake-up 
is that sometimes we get too complacent, or set in our 
routines. We forget to stop and take a good hard look 
at ourselves and what we are doing. It is really easy 
to get into feedback loops, acting and reacting in the 
same ways, whether or not they are positive or productive 
for us. I watched an old Star Trek, The Next Generation 
this past week, where the beloved Enterprise was stuck 
in a time warp loop, experiencing the same 2 days over 
and over again. Their reactions to a crisis, over and 
over again, led to their destruction. It was only after 
they realized that they were doing this that they changed 
their reactions and escaped the loop.
We all do this. We react in the same, predictable ways 
to people in our lives, and situations that reoccur. 
Taking time to stop and examine our routines, and then 
changing the way that we act and react (shaking the 
keyboard) can make a huge difference in our lives! 
Is there a person in your life that just annoys the heck 
out of you? If you are forced to deal with this person 
on a regular basis, I bet that you are in a loop, reacting 
to them in the same way each time. Try changing how you 
perceive this person, change the way that you respond and 
react to them. If nothing else, it will really shock them, 
but it might change the entire dynamic of the 
relationship. 
I shook my keyboard this week. It led to a renewed feeling 
of peace and harmony in my home. It can do the same for you. 
And metaphors aside, really do turn over your keyboard and 
give it a shake, makes the keys work a lot better!

I send each and every one of you blessings for the coming week. Remember, an old Navajo lady cares about you.

You can contact me at:  navajomouse@hotmail.com 

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"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear 
is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our 
light that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be 
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you 
not to be? 
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the 
world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other 
people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine 
as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God 
that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. 
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other 
people permission to do the same.

Marianne Williamson

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Beyond Hope is Faith
by Jean R. Charles

I live in a small town named after its Dutch settler, whose name
is long and difficult to spell and pronounce. The town just to
its south is named Hope, and is well known because of its
restored historical status. So, when residents of our town are
asked where they live their frequent response is “I live beyond
Hope”.

Recently, as I was driving home beyond Hope, I began thinking
about what it really means to live beyond hope. Hope is about
wishing for something to occur in the future. It implies
uncertainty and longing. You want something and do not know if
you will get it.

Beyond this future oriented wishful thinking is faith. Faith
implies a knowing. It involves trusting the universe to provide.
When you live in faith you intuitively know that things will
happen as they are meant to happen. You realize you are where
you are and have what you have for a reason. You are satisfied
not knowing the answers to the why questions.

Hope is a beautiful little town and a great place to live.
However, spiritually, living beyond hope, living in faith is
more rewarding and peaceful. Perhaps we should consider changing
the name of our town to Faith. This would fit well with the
beyond Hope thing, and also with our other neighboring towns of
Harmony and Tranquility, but those are other stories.

“Faith sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the
impossible.” Anonymous.

About the author:
Jean coaches professionals and small business owners to
discover, design and live their just right lives. She can be
reached at jean@justrightcoach.com or visited on the web at
www.justrightcoach.com. Subscribe to Just Right Coaching Clips
newsletter by sending a blank email to
justrightcoaching-subscribe@topica.com

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Having What We Believe...The Power Of Affirmations
by Lois R. Thompson

There's been a great volume of work written on the simple power
of belief. The person who thinks he can, versus the person who
thinks he can't. The person who thinks he Can, has the tendency
to succeed, thereby fulfilling his expectation. The same is true
for the person who thinks he can't. He also experiences his
expectations.

What we say has a major impact on our mind, which greatly
affects our direction and ability...our out come. What we say
really is an outward expression of what we truly Believe.

It is said that, 'Out of the mouth flows the abundance of the
heart'. Therefore, 'It will be unto YOU as YOU Believe'. Here we
see that what is hidden in our heart and flows from our mouth is
that which we truly believe.

It was Napoleon Hill, one of my favorite authors who said: "Both
poverty and riches are the offspring of thought." So, how do you
overcome un-satisfactory outcome? By changing you speech, which
affects your thought - belief, which impacts your outcome. By
shifting your thought patterns from a negative to a positive
gear. 

This is much easier than you may have imagined. Lets take a look
at three Key words, and begin focusing on Speaking them Seeing
them, Doing them...you will note the changes, over time.

The three Keys Words:

1. I CAN

2. I AM

3. I HAVE

It will take time, it will take practice, but, "practice makes
perfect". In time you will gain enough confidence to boldly
declare your to succeed. As you experience continued
improvement, it will become second nature to you.

Whatever you put your attention on, grows in your life. If you
think and talk only about the good, positive things you want,
you will be amazed at how your progress toward these goals will
gradually become manifested.

In a way this is like tending to a farm. In order to reap a
good, healthy crop the farmer first has to tend to the soil. He
weeds out all the weed...or bad stuff which would affect the
health and productivity of his farm. He then once the soil has
been prepared, he then sow the seed. But, he doesn't stop there.

It may take weeks or months before he begins to see any evidence
of the seed he has sown, yet, he doesn't lose heart. He
faithfully nurtures and cares for his field, fully expecting a
large, healthy harvest.

In like manner, so it is with our thought patterns, First we rid
our minds of doubt, fear, unbelief, negative speech. Then we
begin positive affirmations. We cultivate those positive
affirmations into positive thoughts, actions of faith with great
expectations. Yes, just as the farmer, it may take some of us
weeks or even months, but, eventually if we are faithful and
diligent on this path the Proof of our positive expectations
will begin to manifest.

You must think clearly, and with emotion, about what YOU want.
Review and AFFIRM this every day. Find opportunities to talk
about the Positive about our Goals and Dreams.

The subconscious mind is extremely powerful and will gradually
orchestrate every detail of your behavior to fulfill even the
minute details of your desires.

The very universe will be directed toward the fulfillment of
those things that you dwell on.

You can bring your dreams into manifestation. Begin today,
thinking, speaking, and visualizing the positive outcome you
desire. Voila! It will be so unto you.

About the author:
Lois R. Thompson/Editor Building Wealth News Ezine "Bridging The
Gap Between MLM And Affiliate Marketing" (TM)
http://www.the-power-to-get-wealth.com 
mailto:webmaster@the-power-to-get-wealth.com 

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Life As We Know It
by David Stoddard

"Dearly beloved... We are gathered here today to get through
this thing called life. Eclectic word - life- that means
forever. And that's a mighty long time... But, I'm here to tell
you, there's something else........" "A world of never-ending
happiness. Where you can always see the sun... day, or night."

- Prince -
. . . . . . . .
Life truly is a strange thing. All of us are here, wherever
here is. We work together. We live together. We play together.
We get together. We grow older together. But in the end, Lily
Tomlin has it right when she says "We're all in this alone."

Alone not meaning having no one to talk to or no one there if
we get into something we would rather not be a part of... But
it does say that we are responsible for ourselves. No one has
nor ever will care for us as much as we do (or at least
should).

Our parents may have done things, kept us safe and did what
they thought was best for us, because it was their job to do
so.

We were too young for the most part to know much better. As we
know now, we could never have taken care of ourselves nearly as
well.

Being adults, and I know it happens to the best of us, we learn
that we need to take some responsibility for ourselves. We need
to stop blaming everyone and everything for us being where we
are, what we do, who we are, what we wear, what we eat and how
we feel.

There is the famous question that manages to be asked often
(especially by us motivational types). "What would you do if
you could not fail?"

But life is more than just what we do. It is mostly about who
we are, what we think, what we feel, and what we can do. It’s
about having faith in ourselves, a feeling of happiness of just
being alive, and a re-gaining of the innocence of youth when we
believed what people told us.

I know, it is a cynical world... and I am part to blame for my
own end of things. But there comes a time to get a bit serious
about being happy and having a great life of our own.

In Prince's song, he talks of the "Afterworld" as a place of
never-ending happiness. Many believe there is a better place
waiting for us once we are through here.

The question is, why do we have to wait? Why can’t we be happy
today? Why do we feel we have to suffer? Why do we feel so un-
worthy? Why do others get to be happy while we just go with the
flow of what comes to us? Why do we think we are so alone? Why
do we think we are the only one who wonders about these
questions?

There are millions of questions out there, and perhaps just as
many answers. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just
plain ugly. And it is the ugly answers (or the ones we don’t
want to hear because they pressure us to do something) that we
need to think about.

It’s so much easier to let life go on. Just sit back and take
it. One day, we wake up and notice so much has passed. Thoughts
and ideas we had when we were younger have been forgotten.
Responsibilities took over our lives. We replaced what was
important to us with what seemed immediate.

Then here we are. Thinking at times that it is too late for us.
Believing that is no answer to anything. Remember, Prince says
life is forever… And that’s a mighty long time. So why should
we not do something for ourselves to make us happy. We very
well could have a long time to be this way.

It’s time to get on the ball, make a life for ourselves, have
fun for a change as often as possible and dare to dream about
being happier than we could have ever imagined.

Or, a better way to put it (and Yes, I too dare to say it)…

LET’S GO CRAZY!

© 2001 David Stoddard
David Stoddard is a writer, commentator and essayist.
His inspirational electronic newsletter (que sera sera)
is available for free on his website http://www.dstoddard.net 
or by sending a message to que_sera_sera-subscribe@topica.com 

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OUR SELF ESTEEM
by Michael Angier

A reader from the Middle East wrote to me recently asking how he
could improve his low self-image. He said, "it ruins my social
and professional life." He wanted to know what techniques he
could employ to solve this lifelong problem. 

I felt somewhat inadequate in my reply to him and resolved to
write about my own struggles to improve self-esteem in hopes
that it will be helpful to others.

The dictionary says that esteem means, "to regard with respect;
to prize, to appreciate. To recognize the quality, significance,
or magnitude of, to admire greatly; to value."

I know people who have too much confidence and self-pride, but I
don't know ANYONE with too much self-esteem. Most people, in
moments of profound honesty, will admit to a lack of
self-esteem. They would like to feel better about
themselves--more confident and capable--in short, to love
themselves more.

It would probably be fair to say that most social problems are
the result--directly or indirectly--of someone's low
self-concept.

Not too many years ago, I was going through a dark time in my
life. I was broke--financially, personally, socially--even
spiritually. In describing it to someone once, I said, "I had
the self-esteem of a dead rat." That might have been overstating
it a bit but not much.

My life--and my confidence--is much better today. MUCH better. 

So what changed? Was it outward circumstances? Did my
environment change and with it my inner experience? No.

Somehow I knew that any changes would have to be from me. It
would be an inner transformation that would eventually alter the
outward experience. 

Some of the things I did unconsciously. Others were done with
deliberation. 

First and foremost, I removed myself from people who had been
particularly critical. By distancing myself from this criticism,
I was able to gain a better perspective. I was perfectly capable
of taking my own inventory and didn't need someone else pointing
out my errors and keeping me focused on my shortcomings.

I immersed myself in good books--books of inspiration, books
that increased my belief and books that gave me hope. And hope
was severely lacking.

A good therapist helped me to see myself in a better light.
Because he wasn't emotionally involved in my problems, he was
able to see things differently. He would often point out that
things weren't nearly as bad as they appeared to be.

I made a conscious attempt to focus on my strengths: my talents,
my experience and my knowledge. I didn't allow myself to indulge
in negative thoughts. When I found myself musing about something
less than "uplifting", I would redirect myself to something
else. I gave myself no permission to have "pity parties."

I took to heart Thomas Carlyle's advice when he wrote, "Our main
business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do
what clearly lies at hand." I kept busy. I did what appeared to
me as needing doing. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do
or how I was going to do it. The future was uncertain and for
the first time in my life I didn't have a plan. Like the AA
program, I took one day at a time. 

And each day I did what I could to clean up my messes, make
things better, keep my focus forward instead of backward and
keep the faith. 

It was my faith in Universal Spirit that helped me get through
this winter of discontent. I believe that everyone has a unique
purpose and I was determined to discover my own. God doesn't
make junk. 

One of the biggest awareness' I had during these dark times was
that I WAS NOT my feelings. I HAD feelings, but they were not
me. I also realized that I had cared too much about the opinions
of others. I still care; I just don't let it run me like it used
to.

Some people believe that if you feel good about yourself, you'll
do great things. That may be true, but I also believe that if
you do great things, you'll feel good about yourself--and then
do even greater things.

Taking these steps consistently over a period of years has
enabled me to rebuild my finances, establish a career I'm
excited about, develop a loving and committed marriage and, most
importantly, restore and improve upon my self esteem. I'm
grateful for the process.

Self-esteem is an upward or downward spiral. What you do affects
the way you feel. How you feel affects the things you do. The
things you do affect what you and others think of you, which in
turn, affects how you feel about yourself.

You're either building yourself up or tearing yourself down.
There is no status quo when it comes to your self-image. 

About the author:
Michael Angier. www.SuccessNet.org  Win-Win Way, PO Box 2048
South Burlington, Vermont 05407-2048 USA success@SuccessNet.org 


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