Spellbound

Have you ever seen something so brilliant that you become hypnotized? So bright and dazzling that the rest of the room fades away? Ever been so connected to someone that you forget where you are? That the noises in the room fade to quiet and it's only you and them?

Isn't that a cool feeling. Wouldn't you love to manifest that feeling more. All the time. Are you ever the generator of that feeling?

Wouldn't you like to have more Spellbound moments in your life?

I'm talking about the moments that matter. The moments that you'll remember.  The moments that take your breath away.  This is a recurring theme in these writings ... do something amazing, we're waiting.  It's Tony Robbins talking about "designing a life instead of making a living" (I'm paraphrasing).

So here's my question: "If you wanted to, could you hold someone spellbound? If only for a moment."

and

"When was the last time you tried?"

So here's the challenge: Find someone worth mesmerizing and be so amazing that they can't take their eyes off of you, if only for a moment. You'll have to get out of YOUR head and into THEIR heart.  You'll have to manifest such electricity that you are the only thing worth paying attention to.  And this little task will generate such a spark in you that you might even capture your own attention.

See you on the wire

-- Steven Cardinale

The Joy of Life

I saw a tattoo on a girl's arm the other day, and it said:

"The joy of life lives in it's passion"

And I thought "what amazing words to permanently put onto your body."  Her passion and commitment to those words, those sounds, that message, drove the point home of how important it is ... passion ... fire ... heat.

Finding The Passion is what we live for. It's what's important to everyone, even those people who focus on certainty and stability. It's what makes memories. It's what draws people closer together. We spend so much of our day stuck in the muck that when passion ignites it's breathtaking.  And that tattoo just serves to remind us what we're searching for.  In fact I believe that we are hard-wired to seek out passion. It's what we do with art, music, dance, song. We all hunt for that moment when something or someone moves you into a passionate state of mind.

It's the Anthony Robbins statement: are you busy "making a living or designing your life?"  Because designing your life is all about Finding The Passion it takes to take a step and Risk Everything (see my post on Risk) and live on the edge (see my post on The Edge).

So here are my questions:

• "What are you passionate about?"
• "Who are you passionate for?"
• "How can you ignite your passion with a fierce flame?"

If you can turn your passion on, stay driving 100 MPH, what could you accomplish?  And what is keeping your passion bottled up?  What is keeping you from pursuing a passionate life?  And what would you have to let go of; who would you have to let go of; what beliefs would you have to shatter to take a leap-of-faith and be moved to passion?

See you on the wire

-- Steven Cardinale

Manifest Destiny

When you think about something; want something so bad; crave for something: Does it come true?

Can you Manifest things out of thin air? Could you Manifest your Destiny if you tried?

I have close friends who are very good at thinking of things and then having them come true. They can manifest all sorts of things; both good and bad. Manifesting is really the art of truly visualizing what you want in your head, then putting yourself there in your heart, then acting (this is what Tony Robbins calls RPM). The path to manifestation is engagement, and action is the key ingredient. This comes straight from my other posts on wishing and desire.

But here's the thing: Many times we manifest what we're afraid of. Read that last part again, it's important. I learned this from a 101 year old great great grandmother. I was in Atlanta working with a doctor and one of the patients was this little old great grandmother. And she told me some of her wisdom from living 101 years. It's simple wisdom built up over a lifetime that isn't easy to do. She said: "people desperately want great things, but then they think of rotten things and make them happen. They manifest what their afraid of."

It's such a beautifully simple concept. If you're afraid of getting into a car accident you worry too much about it, hold the wheel too tight, and then BAM!!! you're in an accident. Have you ever known someone who is afraid of being broke, and then the things they do (or don't do) keep them broke? Or being afraid of losing someone special and then all they do is push people away?

It's crazy. Psychologists call it approach/avoidance behavior (as you get closer to getting what you really want you do whatever it takes to avoiding getting it). And it's human behavior. It's really our Money Minds (see my various monkey mind posts) coming to the surface, getting into your head, then stealing your heart and taking action into their own hands.

So here's my question: "What are you afraid of, and what are you doing to manifest that fear?"

* Is there some destiny that you crave but just can't seem to get there?

* Is there someone you should have in your life but can't seem to figure out how to be close?

* Is there some state (health, wealth, wisdom) where you know you should be but keep missing the off-ramp?

If your Monkey Mind settled down, you stopped being afraid (really stopped, I'll have a post on that soon I promise), and you focused on what you want instead of all the things that could go wrong ...

Couldn't you Manifest an Amazing Destiny?

See you on the wire

-- Steven Cardinale

Gossamer Moments

I was talking to a very close friend of mine and we were saying how amazing our lives truly are.  How special this place, this time, these people, this experience is. And how very fragile this moment truly is ... like so much gossamer, it will quickly vanish; we exist in this amazing space only for a moment and to drink it up fully and explore and enjoy the experience.

The book "How We Choose To Be Happy" is written by Rick Foster, a dear friend of mine. He talks about what people who are truly happy do. And chapter 7 talks about Appreciation and Aliveness. He says:

"Happy people actively appreciate their lives and express gratitude and thanks to the people around them. They seem to revel in each moment rather than focusing on the past or worrying about the future. They talk about being exquisitely aware of the fragility and preciousness of existence."

The other day I was in an exercise class at Equinox and I finally got out of my head just long enough to experience a flood of appreciation for my life. Sometimes that's what exercise is all about: getting into your body and out of your head. I was finally able to just "revel in each moment" and let the moments of my life wash over me. Reveling in each moment is a tough thing to do.  We've been so conditioned to focus on the past or the future that being in the moment is truly fleeting. It's what Eckhart Tolle talks about in his book "The Power of Now"; being completely present to really enjoy these gossamer moments.

So here's my question: "What are you experiencing that makes your life amazing?" "Are you reveling in the moment? Or are you taking it more for granted than you think?" "What more could you do today to really appreciate these gossamer moments?"  If you can get out of your head long enough to truly experience this gossamer moment in time, how amazing would that be.

See you on the wire.

-- Steven Cardinale