***Know Yourself: You Are Greater Than You Think!

While we are all at different points on our journey through life and we each have different dreams we long to realize, there is one dream linked to nearly all desires: the quest for happiness.

Some people live life from a competitive playing field greedily pursuing money, in the hopes that then they will be safe, and that the money will protect them against unhappiness.

Others live for their jobs; or fairy-tale relationships; the perfect 10 of a body; acknowledgement by others -- all in an effort to feel happier. However, their power is focused outside of themselves.

I am certainly all for having a wonderful income, harmonious relationships and success in the work place because I know that these experiences enable us to open doors to our happiness, and increase our self-esteem.

However, most of the time, people who focus their power on things, places and events outside of themselves are anxious about the past, or they stress over the future.

Even when they achieve their goal and realize their dream, they barely take a moment to celebrate the feeling of fulfillment and build on their happiness momentum.

The reason is they don't know how to feel happy now. They are so use to wearing blinders and focusing on doubts, fears and chaos, or else they are so focused on power, prestige, and profits, that they miss out on being happy.

Albert Einstein once said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. We must learn to see the world anew."

• Would you like to achieve more happiness in all aspects of your life in order to see life anew?

• Are you ready to move beyond the myths that are holding you back from living your dreams?

• Do you want to start living your life to the fullest?

Then decide to master your doubts and fears. The surest way to conquer fear is to concentrate on what is beyond it.

The quest for happiness asks the question: how do I realize my dream of being happy?

KNOW YOURSELF!

Believe that you are greater than you think. The sooner you evaluate your current state of mind, the results you are attracting, and assess how happy you feel, the sooner you will be able to envision, shift and take action and find a direction that will attract more happiness into your life.

The more you know and understand about the Inner You, the sooner you will be able to enjoy a fuller, richer, happier life experience.

Before we can really start living life on our own terms we need a deeper realization of who we are and a greater awareness of our relationship to the Power Within and the Universe without.

We each need to find our own answers to these questions.

• Who or what is the source of our being?

• Why is emotional management vital to successful results?

• How does one design a powerful personal vision so that we can change the outcome of any situation?

• Most important of all, we must understand the power of our mental images, and the influence they cast on our everyday life especially when we sense that something is incapable of being surmounted and overcome.

When I was in Mexico I remember driving by a market place with run-down streets surrounded by what some could not even call a place to hang your hat. There were piles of debris and rubbish lying on the street. The setting could have evoked feelings of sadness and despair except that the people were laughing and communicating with each other. The laughter was so loud that it was almost contagious.

There was a sense of carefree happiness in the air. One man who was leaning against the wall caught my eye. He was beaming with delight. In that moment my own sense of joy increased as I sat in traffic amidst the broken fragments resulting from the decay of a building and a government in need of repair.

Two days later I visited a special shop for creams.

As I walked in I heard the loud, shrill voice of a tourist, ‘’What are you going to take off?” The young girl replied, “No senora, este es el precio. No hay trato hoy.”(No, I am sorry, there are no deals today) The woman turned to her husband, who sat complacently on a bench, and in the loudest voice shrieked, “You’d think they would have learned how to speak English by now.” Clearly focused on power she ranted on. “Twenty five years I am coming here and it is the same story.” The young woman behind the counter did not react. Our eyes met. We shared a brief smile. The woman proceeded to nickel and dime the girl but to no avail. As she turned to her husband for the money she said, “Do you believe what I have to put up with! “Do you believe this?” She looked around the shop for acknowledgment and agreement from others but it wasn’t going to come from me.

I knew the Law of Identical Harvest: what you resonate with you sow and reap. The more she focused on perceived injustices, the more she suffered. And she is doomed to attract more of the same until she changes her attitude.

I wasn’t interested in allowing her negative suggestions into my mind because I knew they would take hold, root, and produce effects in my life if I went down to the level of her drama.

So I shifted my attention to the sales woman as the tourist grabbed her change and exited the shop.

The young woman looked at me. Silence. We smiled at each other. She said, "Hello." There was such dignity in her body language and the tone of her voice was calm and pleasant. La tourista hadn’t robbed her happiness. I struggled with my Spanish. “Hola. Como estas hoy?” (How are you today?) She laughed and said, “I feel very great. It is a beautiful day, no”. We stood there laughing. In that moment, we exchanged joy, kindness and compassion. When it came time to pay, she turned to me and said, “Oh by the way, you will receive twenty percent sale today.”

Circumstances are neutral. It is our perspective that makes a person or an event negative or positive.

We should never avoid the opportunity to connect with each other’s spirit and feel our joy. If we deep listen, our spirits will say hello.

Acknowledging spirit first allows us to never miss out on increasing the circulation of happiness and peace in the world.

Would you like to achieve more happiness in all aspects of your life? Happiness, like all states of awareness is an inside job.

Though many try to tell us what we should do to be happy, I feel it’s best if we each define happiness for ourselves.

Once we make a commitment to using the power of imagination, taking off our spiritual blinders, and developing ourselves, we will put our whole heart and soul into living our life to the fullest.

With decision we will attract the people, resources, and help we need to experience more love in our lives.

Self-improvement doesn't have to be difficult.

Good images lead to good thoughts. They in turn lead to good vibrations, actions, and results. The right image always opens doors with surprisingly little effort.

Thomas Aquinas once said, "No one can live without joy."

All the happiness, joy, peace, laughter and love is available to you now if you will unlock your mind and align with the Spirit Within.

To this end may my Image First Clinic, newsletter, and CD programs be the gateway to a life that really makes you feel happy and fulfilled.

Never close a door on a dream – your dreams are calling you!