How to Navigate Bad Times

To blossom or not to blossom...what do to with hope ideas

OK - you got some ideas now, what do you do with them.

I'm not in charge of you (nor do I want to be), because I don't know what works best for you - the only person who knows that is you, so you will have to do a little experimenting here and find out what works best for you.

I can tell you what worked for me, and I had to be creative to get to what worked best for me.

I first had to overcome this idea that I wasn't worthy of having a fulfilled life - a life of success and fulfillment and the ability to return what was given to me.  I also had to deal with believing that it was OK in the eyes of God to have success, fulfillment and the completion of giving back to my community.  I think this is a great wrong because I do not believe God set us on this planet to endure, suffer or otherwise struggle from day to day without a reward. 

Don't get me wrong, we all have struggles and endurances we have to go through - this is what brings us closer to God.  I'm not saying that I do not believe there should be any struggles in life, I'm saying that I don't believe that God meant for us to have an entire life of struggle - and that's where only faith in the formula will make this magic hope formula work.

After I overcame this fear and misconception, then I could work on some prayers, blessings and others that would help me dig out of my hardest and deepest fears. 

For several reasons in my past, I was told I could not earn a living so I had better learn how to manipulate others to give me their money so that I could live, cause I wasn't going to make it on my own.  Not only did I believe that I wasn't worthy, I also was taught that I was in capable.  This was another demon I had to get past before I could even figure out which prayers and blessings would work for me.

These are some of the same steps you will have to take, and the fastest and best way is to just dig right in and start....when you pray or say a blessing, how do you feel?...do you feel worth?....do you feel right saying/asking these?  If not, why - deal with it - pull it out and look at it.  If it's too confusing or you feel off balanced by it - get some outside professional advise.  Brainstorm with a counselor or minister.  Sometimes just talking out loud about it is all you need, sometimes it's more.

Once I was past the worthy and capable issues, it took a while to find the right "fit" for me - some just felt wrong, some felt OK, but not quite what I was looking for.  This is part of the path I took from here:

1. I had made out a five-point wish list at the beginning of my traumatic change, and that list has pretty much stayed the same, but along the way as your life becomes clearer and clearer and you discover more of what you want to do, change it.  It can always be remodeled.
2. Set about thinking about these points - and not necessarily how you will accomplish them, but how you will feel once you do.  I know this seems like skipping a step, but it's vital.
3. "Ask and ye shall receive, Knock and it shall be opened, Seek and ye shall find," how could it get more simpler than that.  If you read on further in Matthew after this segment, you will also discover the comparison of an Earthly parent (who would do just about anything for his/her child) to our Heavenly Father (who would also want to fulfill our prayers)....and what's the secret here - - BELIEVE.  After you ask, God has gotten the message (He actually knew before you asked, but you need to do the supplication because it's vital for the process of communing with our God - it puts us in the right frame of mind).  In all of the cases of Jesus's miracles and blessings was the conviction of belief.  Some of the most comforting passages I've read in the Bible about the relationship between man and God are at the beginning of the worshiping part of the relationship - in Exodus.  After these "Blossom blogs" I'll do this, cause it is so clear that God wants a relationship with us, that you can not help but be moved.
4. I'm a creative person, so I was fortunate enough to do some pretty creative imaging here, but you can do the same thing.  Envisioning your future life beyond your current dilemmas is key - it's part of the brain-chemistry changes that need to take place to not only get you past the horror of the moment you are in....Psalm 23 is just great for this - talk about a huge mess...going up against a giant horrendous battle-worn opponent with only a sling (David & Goliath) - I'll pass on that thank you - but out of it came some great blessings & mantras - the Psalms is filled with the great blessings.
5. Simply repeating the saying/quote/prayer over and over is the most soothing thing you can do - repeating Psalm 23, Lord's Prayer, your own prayers - be creative and don't be afraid of this - it really works.  This is one of my favorites when I'm totally overcome with fear - so much so I can't move and am almost paralyzed.  Or when failure and ultimate death seem imminent, then the Psalms can be so soothing and can pull you right out of your fear and into the world of reason and light.
6. Right along with asking and believing, it is as vital to have gratitude.  You have resources and things you can draw on right now - be grateful and thankful for them.  Bless them as you use them.  There is something dramatically mysterious that happens when you do this.  Be clear here - I'm not talking about "acquiescing" or "settling for" what you have at the moment, I'm talking about being grateful for it.  The prayer here is not: "Lord, thank you for what I have - I could have less, so I should be thankful I have anything at all," is not what I'm talking about.  Something like: "Lord, thank you for the resources I have at hand - help me to understand their best use and help this to build a new a wonderful life and success for me."  This puts you in a place in which you realize the reality of your situation but you also realize that it is a temporary situation not a permanent condition.
7. Now then you've made the list and you given your requests to God, the next step is to Believe.  This is sort of like placing a mail order for an item.  You don't keep going back to re-order it.  God knows your desires, it's your turn to believe.  if you have problems with this, go to prayer, verses or blessings...you can ask God for guidance (including the guidance on how to believe!).  And then......
8. Be still and listen.  Good Grief - this is the hardest thing in the world for me to do - sitting still might mean I would have to feel my current horrific condition more...it's more difficult that you think.  This is where prayer - an introspective time - almost like a God-type meditation can help.  Let yourself be alone and participate in a wonderful communion with God.

So go out there and put these to practice now....practice makes perfect!

To blossom or not to blossom....some ideas to get you out of your funk

From the personal department (which is always the best info and the hardest for me to write about), here are some examples of some prayers, Bible verses, sayings, and mantras that have worked for me.  What I really liked to do is put them into little movies on my iPod, and when I got particularly fearful or overcome by whatever demon du jour was running amok that day/hour/week or whatever, I would play it on my iPod and at the lease it was soothing - at the most it was invigorating and put my mind and heart in the right place.

Remember, keeping your mind and heart in the right place is the most essential thing you can do when you are in the middle of a storm - no matter what storm it is.

I've talked a lot here in this "blossom or not to blossom" section about getting away from the fear and the demons that can so easily overtake you.  It goes without saying that any sort of avoidance is NOT what I'm talking about - no drugs, alcohol or any of that kind of behavior is anything close to what I'm talking about.

I'm not goofy or Pollyanna - it's going to be hard to experience your fear, anger and insecurity, but that's part of the point...you have to feel it to deal with it....and if you don't deal with it now, God will give you another chance to deal with it later - so might as well deal with it now. 

Of course, it's not really a convenient time (while you're undergoing this horrific time in your life) to be dealing with all these demons, but then that's sort of the way life is.

Me:  Hey, Life:  I tell you what.  Let's wait till after I get back on my feet, then I promise I will deal with all my fears, angers and insecurities, even though I probably won't be feeling much of them, but I promise - just let me get back on my feet first - Okay?....how does that sound?

Well, as much as I'd love it - it doesn't happen that way.  It's always when you're down and the whole world is kicking you, that you can actually feel the demon emotions and when you feel them and are having them, that's when you can best deal with them. 

Knew there was a catch here someplace!!

Another thing - you think you're alone - Nope!  We all got these demons running amok!

OKay - as promised here are some ideas to jumpstart you if not completely inspire you!

Enjoy!

Verses and Prayers

Quotes and Sayings

Blessings and Mantras

To blossom or not to blossom....hope

This may seem easy to get when you're not in the "fog of war" - I'll describe that in a minute, but back to the subject at hand:  Hope.

Here's the facts m'am!  You can not do this blossoming thing without certain things.  There are some critical steps that you must take.  And there are some critical things you must need along the way.

Hope is one. 

Without hope, you can not navigate through the treacherous and horrifying times that may lay ahead.

Why?  Cause hope contains your dreams.  You must have your dreams and hope - they keep the destruction demons away - sometimes temporarily, but if you keep them with you at all times, your dreams and hope will always keep the fear, insecurity and self-centeredness away.

There is also the brain chemistry to consider here, because science has proven that the brain chemistry changes when hope enters into the formula.  We all know that depression causes brain chemistry changes, but also so does hope.  So this brings up the caveat that if you feel that you are depressed over a prolonged and unnatural period of time, this is your clue to seek professional help.  If you are depressed because you lost your spouse/partner, you lost your job, you lost your career, you lost your industry - this is normal, but you can change your brain chemistry with hope.

How do you get hope?  Your dreams are a place to start, but they are only the starting place, then next thing you need is a way to sustain those dreams in your mind - this is where prayer, Bible verses, mantras, saying, quotes can all help.  This is part of why AA finds so much help in a faith-based program.  Your faith can give you something nothing else can - hope.

My next post tomorrow, I talk about a lot of these specifically and list them.  Hopefully they will cause you to not only think, but will stir you to find your own verses, quotes or whatever that make will mean the most to you.

To blossom or not to blossom....Indiana Jones

Do you remember Indiana Jones and The Holy Grail?....he was with his father and they had found the place where the Holy Grail (Eternal Life) was supposed to be?  All they had to do was drink from the cup and they would have eternal life.

They get to the "cave" where they are supposed to pass certain steps:

1. Walk in the footsteps of Yahweh
2. Be a penitent man
3. Have a leap of faith

Of course all of these are portrayed with all the modern FX accoutrement that one would expect from a great tale, but the meat of these are still good.

The last one is particularly good - I think we all understand how to walk in the steps of God and how to be a penitent man, and we all know what a leap of faith is, but can we actually do it!!!

This is the time to find out, and it won't happen once - it will happen again and again - and you'll just have to take that leap of faith to discover that there really is a path out of this hard times.

What got me through this part - cause believe me, this is really scary, are prayers, verses in the Bible, quotes, mantras and other sayings.  Reading biographies, and stories of others who had been through equally as hard times.

Some of my favorite stories of this are the people I know that I have seen through my life who have been through this.

1. There was this guy that had married a lovely woman who's family had a mom-and-pop mortgage company.  He was a smart fellow and had been to a fine school, and wanted to build the company up, so he invested in some REITS before the early 70's (sort of like investing about 5 years ago), and poof the market went wonky (my very technical word for in the toilet!)  Well, everyone in town couldn't believe the mess he had gotten this nice little mortgage company in....why didn't he just keep it the way it was?....he got greedy and wanted too much and is paying for it now?...how could he do this?...he sure mustn't be very bright!  It was all over town about what a greedy idiot he was.  But he hung on and made it out of it and today that mortgage company is one a very profitable company (they didn't partake in the Fanne Mae & Freddie Mac loans) and is sitting pretty in a very nice liquid position to the point that they bought some of those better loans to add to their already very profitable portfolio.
2. There was a guy who was the son of a man who had a small energy company.  The company did some small-time purchase of leases and exploration.  When the son took over, he bought a huge number of gas leases, then gas the gas energy market went wonky (see above for technical defnition!).  Why did he do this?....why didn't he just keep it the way it was?...he got greedy and watned too much is and is paying for it now?...how could he do this?...he sure mustn't be very bright!!!  Gee, I think I had heard this before - but nevermind - "everyone" must be right, cause this is what "everyone" was saying.  Well the guy hung on, and today this is one of the major gas exploration companies who is sitting in a very liiquid posistion with tons and tons of cash waiting for the gas leases to hit bottom so he can buy them at bargain basement prices - and no this is not Aubrey McClendond of Chesapeake....but you will hear of them nevertheless!
3. There was a woman who fell in love with a man in pre-statehood times, and they married and had 5 kids - the last was a son, so obviously they were looking to have a son.  But they traveled together, and were very successful, when one summer the father was diagnosised with a brain tumor and in 3 months he died.  The wife was a widow at 49 and had 5 children to educate;  her youngest son was 14 and just about the time he needed the guiding hand of a father.  She was devastated and sat at home for two years, but finally realized she was going to loose it all if she didn't learn about her husband's business and hang on to it.  She did learn and did hang on to it, and in the meantime got involved in a little local then regional politics.  She became a representative to the conventions (before TV & the internet), and would travel to and from Washington, DC on the train where she met other poltical types among them being a fellow who would run for president some years later.  When the candiddate came through her state on a train, he ran out of money and she and others help fund the train all the way to California.  After the fellow was elected, she became the first woman Assistant Treasurer of the US in the late 40's when women in this sort of field were unheard of.  She was 56 years old.

Other favorites that are great inspiration that we all know about are

1. Churchill who suffered from depression and was unceremoniously kicked out of office as being a war monger ("Hey, has anyone notice this Nazi stuff next door in Europe - Yoohoo...is anyone listening?"), only to be voted back into office during wartime to lead his country on one of it's greatest battles of its history.  The quotes and stoires of what was going through Churchill's mind and the battles he had to personally and publicly to not only lead Brittain out of war with Hitler, but also the demons in his own heart.
2. Sam Walton was "unceremoniously removed" from the Ben Franklin store when he proposed a "discount operation" that Ben Franklin wasn't interested in.  So Walton went out on his own and started a little company called Wal-Mart!  Here he was making all this money and success for Ben Franklin when they could have just used him and made money themselves, but didn't want any part of something different.  Sometimes it takes getting knocked out on your head, to really make the deal of a lifetime!

These are stories that inspire me, mostly because these people, personal and public, all went through very hard, scary, uprooting times and survive.  But they more than survived:  they excelled; they prospoered;  they blossomed.  Something must be going on here that's different, cause there are those people that survive and are filled with bittternest, hatred, greed and a single-minded since of hoarding and fear of spending any money for fear of everything.  That's not surviving, that's living in the same fear that envelopes you right now.

To blossom or not to blossom....persepctive

OK - here you are in the middle of this mess, and how did you get here and how are you going to get out of the worst financial collapse in modern time?

First of all, it's important to have some perspective.  This little chart helps put things in perspective.  The stock market has lost a lot and there's no doubt of that, but to say this is "The Great Depression" again, is overkill and in my mind spinning to sell publications or media.  When we all hear on the sports channel that, "He's the greatest player ever," we know to temper that, cause the announcer is really exaggerating.  He's exaggerating so that he can sell the program - so that his outrageous quote will be heard and read throughout the world - so he can have his 15 minutes of fame!

NOTE:  I updated this a little cause things have changed a bit, but the meaning is essentially the same - the stock market is of course no longer at $13,000 - it's far lower, but the idea of what I'm trying to say is the same.  Granted, I'm not some world-reknown economist or financial guru, and the only reason I espose the position that I do, is because I've read great types before and this is almost to a word what they all say:  "Buy low sell hi!"  (The famous quote from Warren Buffet when asked how to be sucessful in the stock market!!)  Here's another pithy author who's fun to read, Ben Stein, and his take on the economy is equally as similar.

It's important that we look upon this "reporting" as a way to get the ratings up on the news and sell magazines and newspapers.  The reality is that in 1929 to 1933 the stock market lost 88% of it's value.  In the last weeks the stock market has lost about 1/3 of it's value.  We had the same drop in the early 70's but people don't remember that cause we survived it - and it's really not as sensational or dramatic as saying that this is "the great depression" all over again. 

Picture this:  News lead in for tonite:  Stock Market Drops like it did in the early 70's, which were followed by very prosperous years of the 80's.

Now try this News lead-in for tonite:  Stock Market plummets amid fear of a return to the days of "The Great Depression"

Which one is going to get the most attention from you?...the second one.

So let's honestly get some perspective here.

These are not ordinary times, but we have been through times like these in the modern times.  Most of us even know people who were in the stock market in those days, and survived it and succeeded during the 80's, if not having done it ourselves (and if you have done it yourself, then hurray for you, and you're an example that you can survive it).

Next, let's get our mind, brain and spirit in a good place.