Fourteen: In Time of Question Consult a Spiritual Diary

   
 

 Don't concern yourself with the faults of others. Use the scouring power of wisdom to keep the rooms of your own mind bright and spotless. By your own example, other people will be inspired to do their own housecleaning. ... Paramahansa Yogannada Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda.


When the thoughts don't come, don't force them. Through diligence and right thinking you again will find your way. Let yourself have the time for self examination and deep thoughts. Let your mind be unburdened by the daily onslaught of negativity that the world appears to be today. Tomorrow is a fresh canvas upon it paint your masterpiece!

Thirteen: Searching for the Mountain Pearl.

   
   

      Often it is easy to become mired in the present and the thought of any type of future is not within your comprehension. Since retiring and taking a year off from actively thinking about any future is a luxury that we have never known. We have always been engaged in a business or property that has taken our concentration from ourselves and our own lives to be filled with responsibility for others or other's things. After a year of decompression our thoughts through meditation and yoga practices have turned to personal enrichment. Projects long shelved have been brought out and given the light of day. They have been reviewed for their merit. In taking the time to examine the premise of my collection of short storiesI find them valid. The thought of setting individual stories for the people of America and other countries in American Mountains is a valid concept. It is especially relevant with the years that Winter Olympics are presented. The concept was the the Olympics are every four years. I never thought that thirty years would pass from inception to completion. However I find they are as topical now as they ever were.  I still believe it possible to deliver a book of stories set in mountains of America talking about freedom and Liberty to the athletes of the nations at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy. Cortina is known as the Peal of the Dolomites. There will be 3,500 athletes and 93 countries represented in the olympic and papralympic games. How befitting for the Mountain Pearl. It is also the climbing and sliing Mecca of the World. The corner stone story was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 57 Writer's Digest Genre Fiction Competition. The idea of a Mountain Pearl was given to me by my Wife, Kathy, being from the sea she suggested I was like an oyster for over twenty years polishing my ski stories to almost an obsession. If the truth be told the inception of the stories was actually twelve years before. It makes the story thirty two years old. The premise is still topical and pertinent. There are no other stories like them. Since reviewing the work. It could almost be split off into three different novels. The first fictional history of The Ski Area A-Basin. The second set in Union College and Beaver Creek and Vail Ski Resorts, and the third would be the horse stories, set in Storm King Mountain and the West. Do I believe they can stand alone as short stories. Yes I do! I guess time alone will tell. The Mountain Pearl is an object that is unobtainable. It is the thing that drives men or women to mountains. It is intangible, you can feel it, it is palpable but cannot be held. It is the desire to possess the crown jewel. It is the the supreme Joy of Ascending and Beholding the Mountain Top!

     They are in rest having read and edited them for too many years. They need a fresh approach. They shall remain at rest for now. The enjoyment of writing freshly and openly is alluring and challenging. I look forward to the beginning of the games! Never let let the Summit go until you touch the pearl!

Eleven: Assuming the Right Attitude

July 14                                                                                                                          Right Attitude

July 14	Right Attitude
I do not expect anything from others, so their actions cannot be in opposition to wishes of mine. - Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri "Autobiography of a Yogi" One should rely upon one's own creation to move  forward in their existence. To have the confidence and strength to believe in your own dream and set of circumstance for obtaining that dream is the true meaning to personal success. It is very easy to be corrupted into thinking that someone else may best serve your wishes, be your own Master of your own Fate. Decide on the course that you wish to move forward in and do so with the knowledge and belief of assured success. Perhaps you alone are the person to move the mantle forward and accomplish the goal. State your goal simply and with great conviction! "Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now." Paramahansa Yogananda

Ten: Expanding your Horizons in The Time of The Coronavirus

   “make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” 
― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild
     Change is inevitable and should be welcomed with open arms. Lose rigidity and accept the flow of life around you. Do not allow fear to determine your course of action. We are in extremely trying times and fear is palpable and real. Think of your being as a being of light (Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan) with shields polished and armed against the assault of fear and darkness. There is no crack in the armor. You are protected and free to move in the direction of your heart's desire. Move forward Today in some form or way, do not stay stuck in negative thoughts or old patterns of defeatism. Choose to confront the truth in every situation. Let go of the past whatever your transgressions are or were. Accept the responsibility for those actions and the Karma that has visited you in response to them. It is not relevant to your life today. Use every part of your personality and being to move forward into Tomorrow accepting the past and embracing the Lessons learned in the Ignorance of Youth. Walk forthright in the knowledge that expanding your horizons today will bring joy and happiness to yourself and those around you. Be Free and Open in your Life and Dealings in it!

Also See
 Luck Is What Happens When Planning Meets Opportunity
Kathy Duncan

The Healing Artist's Of Write My Fire.
Learn the Art Of Relaxation






Masters: Seek The Wisdom Of Mentors And Masters

Nine: Avoidance In The Time Of The Coronavirus

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

Avoidance is the lack of the ability to confront a situation, place, person or time. There is an inherent quality to individuals who are willing to pick up the yoke and carry the load. In mountaineering, there is a fixed goal. The Summit is the place or the destination. Often as you are climbing you can look at the terrain and surrounding slopes and feel that your are summiting. In reality it is often a false summit or as in life a falsehood. Who would be the wiser to the fact that you did not reach the lofty goal of the attainment of the Top. You and your creator is the only answer. One must be true to oneself, no matter what the cost. To state or fix a goal and to not be willing to expend the effort and time to obtain the goal is failure. In the Mountains Nature Draws a Razors Thin Edge of Existence, you must accept the challenge and conquer nature or it will have forever conquered you. Writing is a challenge but through exercises and constant work even it may be summited! If you knew you had an appointment one that was written not by you, but for you, would you keep it? When you make the decision the vision becomes the release!

Eight: Accountability in the Time of Coronavirus

Charles R. Swindoll   The Necessity of Accountability

Proverbs 13:10–20; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 5:1–3

Our society of isolated, distant individuals teaches a false philosophy: “Live and let live.” To those who have escaped from an oppressive, controlling government, that sounds like a haven . . . A long-lost dream realized. But when we flesh out that motto, it often leads to peril. We need each other! Even those who don’t think so. Even those who seem totally self-sufficient, strong, and stable. Christians are unwise when they remain out of touch and live in secrecy. Being responsible includes being accountable, not just to God but also to one another. If carried out in the power and under the control of the Holy Spirit, accountability can be one of the most secure and reassuring facets of our Christian experience.

     Be Accountable not only to yourself but to others. It is an absolute necessity to be reliable and to account for your individual and group actions. In a time of trials and strife, it is easy to be secretive and to withdraw from any situation emotionally and mentally. We are being inundated with negativity, fear, and lies. The truth is being corrupted with falsehoods and deceit. You must see through them and reach out to others and share your story and state your goals. Hold yourself in high regard and speak your truth clearly and distinctly, with deep thought and fortitude.  

Seven: Summoning the Effort for Success in the Time of Coronavirus.

Effort:
         "Some People Dream of Worthy Accomplishments, While Others Stay Awake and Do Them!" Unknown.


     Put forth the necessary Effort and be the Agent of Change in your Story. When Opportunity is met with  Preparation it is the Absolute Law of Success.

     Do not be afraid to follow your dream. Where would you like to be  in 2, 5, 10, years from now! Nothing worth while in your Life will come without sacrifice.  Examine your motive, desire, ability to reach your goal if you feel it is within your grasp. Reach For It!

    "The Man at the Top of the Mountain, didn't just fall there. "
                                                                                                  Vince Lombardi