Spiritual Joys of Examining Nature

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Did you ever marvel at the delicate beauty of a snowflake on your windshield?

Have you ever been fascinated by a rock crystal?

Does the delicacy of a flower delight you?

Do you like to drive in the country after the leaves turn colors?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you've come to the right blog post.

Today, we'll look at how you can enjoy more spiritual satisfaction from examining nature.

Let me begin by acknowledging Dan Wakefield, author of The Story of Your Life and Going All the Way. I took a course in creativity with Dan a number of years ago, and this blog is heavily influenced by what Dan taught me about nature study.

The intricacy of nature is beyond what we normally perceive. Our minds are organized to only grasp fully what we focus on. Nature is usually in the background so we capture less than one percent of what we are seeing.

Take the time to study nature, and your noticing can increase by more than 100 times.

Study nature in the right way and think about what you have seen . . . and you can increase your spiritual delight by thousands of times.

No mere billionaire can do nearly as well. All of their material cares and concerns will distract them from what you will imbibe so deeply.

These activities take a little time so I suggest you pursue them on a quiet day off.

1. Start with a flower.

Few people take enough time to enjoy a flower in the right way. Take the flower to someplace where you can be alone and undisturbed for at least two hours. Make yourself very comfortable . . . but not so comfortable that you fall asleep. Add good light.

Bring a pad of paper and a writing instrument.

Begin by writing down at least 200 things you notice about the flower. If you can write down 300 that's even better.

At first, you will have lots of ideas. Then you will slow down. But you'll suddenly begin to notice new things. And this process will repeat itself.

If it takes you more than two hours, that's all to the good.

2. Write down what you've just learned that's not about the flower.

You will have had many thoughts unrelated to the flower that generalize or move laterally from your flower observations. These insights will usually be of profound spiritual content.

Capture those thoughts after you've finished your flower characteristics list.

3. Meditate after you finish.

If you know a meditative discipline, use that one. If not, just sit quietly with your eyes closed, breathe from your abdomen (rather than the top of your lungs) and concentrate quietly on your breath. Do this for 20 minutes or so. If you fall asleep now, that's great.

4. Go for a leisurely walk outdoors by yourself.

Examining the flower meant that you used your eyes and your mind a lot. We're going to give those senses a rest now.

Focus now on the aromas you perceive. Walk in no particular directly except to find new aromas.

These aromas might come from plants (you may have to get close and crush a leaf), animals, materials (various soggy woods have different odors), someone's fireplace (different woods exude different smoke odors), the exhaust from someone's kitchen or water.

Do this for an hour. Keep going if you're having fun.

5. Go to a place where there's falling water.

It's time to listen now. Go upstream from the waterfall and hear the gentle movement of the water.

Gradually approach the waterfall and begin to hear its contrast with the sound of the moving water next to you.

Spend a half hour at the waterfall itself listening to its sound from different directions and distances.

Finally, move downstream and let the sound of the waterfall recede.

If you can do this while actually on the water in a canoe, that's an even more delightful way to enjoy this experience. Naturally, you have to carry the canoe around the waterfall before you're done.

6. Taste the outdoors.

Chances are that you don't know which plants are available to be eaten without negative consequences. Before you start, arm yourself with materials that are relevant for your region. In North America, consider The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America (see http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879838213/104-5889592-2919129?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance).
Supplement that with the relevant field guide to help you identify the plants. In North America, consider either The Field Guide to Edible Plants: Eastern and Central North America (see http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039592622X/104-5889592-2919129?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance) or Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West (see http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0878423591/104-5889592-2919129?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance).

Start with a list of the plants you want to taste. Find them and munch away.

7. Caress yourself with Nature.

Now, you are ready to delight in Nature's gentleness. Caress your skin in different places with various delightfully delicate items you find outdoors. Be sure to try your palms and your cheeks. It's the best self-massage ever!

Be sure to spend at least 20 minutes doing this after you have gathered the materials you want to try.

8. Meditate again.

You will now have absorbed many new experiences from nature. You'll need time and space to absorb that experience so be quiet with it for 20 minutes or so.

9. Pray and thank God for Nature.

Even if you are not a religious person, you'll find that a little prayer will complete your experience in the most positive way.

10. Repeat the process at least once a month.

A lot of people find this works better than any other spiritual practice they use. You won't know until you try, so why not begin today if it's a nice day where you are?

Can any billionaire use mere money to do better? I think not!

**********************************************

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

How to Recover from Temptation

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    THURSDAY OCTOBER 13, 2005
(Matthew 26:41, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 John 4:4)

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into
temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body
is weak."  Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

"No temptation has seized you except what is
common to man. And God is faithful; he will not
let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it."
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)


Satan is out to get YOU!  I know yesterday's
Devotional on the battle with the flesh and the
allure of this world versus our desire to serve
and please God was a "heavy" and very personal
word that applied to everyone who read it.  Some
days it is easy to dismiss what you read in the
Devotional since it doesn't directly apply to your
life at that moment.  That is a key point of this
Devotional today.  Satan is out to get YOU and you
will be shocked at how he will try to accomplish
that, and even more shocked when you wake up one
morning and find yourself in one of his traps that
you never dreamed you would be in.

Every day I read emails from people that start
out, "I can't believe I am in this situation."
Sin is so subtle, can start out so innocently.  I
don't know how many people we deal with each day
who became addicted to pain killers after using
them legally under the supervision of a doctor.
We deal daily with people who let a few glasses
of wine with dinner enslave them to alcohol.
Often I hear from dear people who went to play
the slot machines at a local casino for a night
of "fun," and have now destroyed their finances
due to gambling.

Over and over I hear of work friendships that
turn into adulterous affairs.  Sadly, I deal too
often with pastors and men and women in the
ministry who allowed themselves to get too close,
too emotionally involved in the life of someone
of the opposite sex, and it ended up destroying
their marriage and their work for God.

Please hear me today when I tell you to NEVER,
EVER, think you are above falling into any type of
sin.  Just because you may not have a propensity
towards drugs and could never see yourself in that
bondage, doesn't mean one day you won't.  Just
because you don't have a propensity to drink and
could never see yourself bound by alcohol, doesn't
mean one day you won't.  Just because you love your
wife or husband and could never imagine in your
wildest dreams having an affair, doesn't mean one
day you won't.

The point is, NEVER, EVER feel you are above any
sin, because you are not.  In most cases, it is
those areas of your life that you feel you are the
strongest where you are most likely to fall!

Perhaps quicksand is the best example of what it
is like to be in one of satan's traps.  You sink,
slowly to your death in quicksand.  If you try to
get out by yourself, it only pulls you in deeper.
That is exactly what it is like when you wake up
one morning and find yourself in sin.  For some
of you, your quicksand may be drugs, alcohol,
gambling, shopping, food, or any of a number of
other addictions.  For others, your quicksand may
be a sexual sin.  For still others, your
quicksand may be greed and the lust of things
this world has to offer.  Regardless of what your
quicksand may be, the question now is how do you
get out?

The first step is to realize that you are in a
situation that on your own you can't get out of.
If you were strong enough to get out, you
wouldn't have fallen into this trap in the first
place.  So now is the time you have to humble
yourself before the Lord and come to Him for help.
That begins with repentance and asking the Lord to
forgive you.  I'm not talking about that "I'm
sorry I got caught" type of repentance either.
But having a real, broken and contrite heart for
sinning against the Lord and seeking His
forgiveness for your sins.  He knows your heart
and He knows if you are sincere or just trying to
use Him to get out of the trouble you are in.

The second step is to fully surrender yourself to
the Lord and submit yourself to whatever His plan
is for getting you out of the quicksand.  We all
want God to come swinging down out of the trees
like Tarzan in the movies, grabbing our
outstretched hand and pull us out of the
quicksand, placing us on solid land.  He may do it
that way too.  He also may take us out the slow
way as well.  We may have to stay in that quicksand
for a while, simply being sustained by His grace
and mercy.  You are in no position to tell God how
to rescue you, just be thankful that if you
surrender to Him, He will.

Never forget that there are ALWAYS consequences
for our actions.  Once we are out of the quicksand,
it is very possible that we will have to deal
with the consequences of our choice to rebel against
the Lord.  The key is, Christ is our ONLY hope to
get out of the quicksand and to eventually get
our lives back on track where they need to be.
We must surrender ourselves completely to Him and
know that it will only be His grace and mercy
that will see us through whatever we have to face
in that process.

The third step is that time of restoration.  After
we have fallen, been rescued, we now need to have
our relationship with the Lord restored.  No
doubt one of the greatest examples of this
process is Peter being restored by our Lord after
he denied Jesus on the night He was taken in the
Garden of Gethsemane.  (Note: Peter is a perfect
example of a man who fell into a sin he would have
never expected to.  Denying Christ is probably the
last sin Peter ever expected to commit, proving my
earlier point how we are immune to NO sin.)

The restoration of Peter is a powerful and
encouraging message that even if you have failed
the Lord, sinned against Him, He is ready to
forgive you and restore you to fellowship.  The
Peter we read about in the Book of Acts after
being restored by Jesus, is a powerful and bold
man of faith who helped to lead the early church.

I love you and care about you so much.  I realize
that the Devotional on Wednesday and this one
today are not easy to read.  I realize that it
has caused many of you to literally break down in
tears as you were reading these words, knowing that
God Himself was speaking to you.  Listen my
friend, He loves you!  He loves you more than you
will ever know.  God is there to try and protect
you from satan and his traps.  But you do have
free will, and in exercising your free will you
can choose to obey the Lord or rebel against Him.

Satan does not play by any rules and is out to
destroy you.  He will use whatever tricks and traps
he can to accomplish that.  That is why as I
stated yesterday you must stay close to the Lord
each day thru the Word and prayer, stay busy,
especially finding ways to serve the Lord so that
you aren't as likely to dwell on your flesh and
the allure of this world.  The message today is
that you are not above ANY type of sin, so you
must always be on guard and don't ever think you
are immune from being tempted by the evil one.

We all sin, we all fail God at times.  The key is
if you wake up one morning and find yourself in
the quicksand, realize you can't get out without
the Lord's help.  Humble yourself before Him and
submit to His plan in getting you out.  Lastly,
allow Jesus to restore you to fellowship.  Failure
does not mean you are finished.  Often your
greatest works for the Lord come AFTER you have
failed and have been restored to His fellowship.

Satan is out to get YOU.  However, I want to leave
you today with that powerful promise we have in
God's word, "You, dear children, are from God and
have overcome them, because the one who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world."
1 John 4:4 (NIV)  AMEN!!!

. . . .

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support of
all God is doing each and every day here at
Liveprayer.  It is friends like you that make all
we do each day for so many possible.  May the
Lord's richest blessings be upon you and your
family as you faithfully serve and follow HIM.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at
bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To
know for certain you will be forever with Jesus,
go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never miss
receiving your Daily Devotional again.  LPeMail
is an effective email SPAM filtering
application that most ISP's charge $10/mo, for
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***I am excited to let you know that the
Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available
via AUDIO each day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional
by phone by calling 727-856-7055, or access it on
your wireless device by going to:
http://wapdd.com

(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Avoid the Way of the Flesh by Following God

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL     WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12, 2005
( Romans 7:18, 25, 8:8,13,Galatians 5:17, 6:8,
1 John 2:17)

The battle with the flesh, the allure of this
world, versus the desire to please God.  I
believe that by God's grace, I just summed up
the struggle every Christian faces each day in
those first 16 words.  The never ending battle
with our flesh, fighting the allure of this
temporal world that we live in for this brief
season, overlaid with our desire to honor,
please, and follow God.  It is the classic
struggle of giving into our will and desires or
surrendering to God's will and desires.  It is
those many choices we all make each and every
day to either honor God or rebel against Him.
It is walking in the flesh or walking in the
Spirit.  This is a battle that EVERY follower of
Christ fights every day.  It is a battle that the
men and women of God in the Bible fought, it is a
battle that every follower of Christ these past
2000 years has fought, it is a battle that you
fight, and it is a battle that I fight.

Throughout the Old Testament, we don't get much
instruction on fighting this battle we all face
each day.  We are given the Law, the commandments
from God Himself and told to follow them or there
would be consequences.  We read the Biblical
accounts of men and women from Adam and Eve
through the prophet Malachi 400 years before the
birth of Jesus.  We clearly see the struggles
many of them had in following the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob versus giving into the lusts of
their flesh and the desires of this world.  We
also clearly see the blessings that came from
following God, as well as the great price paid
when living in disobedience to God.

As we read the Gospels, we hear Jesus laying
down those classic challenges to "pick up your
cross and follow me," that "whoever loses his
life for Me gains it," and "what does it profit
a man to gain the whole world yet lose his
soul."  Jesus preaches the message of giving
your life completely to Him, of surrendering
your very life to follow Him.  This was a
foreign thought in His day just like it is a
foreign thought today.  The world clearly
teaches that you should have all the money,
pleasure, and things that it can offer.  It is
the eat, drink, and be merry mindset.  So many
come to faith in Christ having lived many years
according to the world's philosophy that says
"deny thyself no pleasure," when they are now
being told by God's Word to deny your very life
and give it to Jesus.

It is in Paul's letters that we get the most
insight into the practical application of how
to fight this battle we each fight every day.
Paul was dealing with the reality of bringing
people to faith in Christ that were used to
dealing with life in a carnal way and were now
being asked to deal with life in a spiritual
way.  That really is the bottom line to this
war we are each in.  A battle between living life
in the flesh and living life in the Spirit.
Walking after the desires of our flesh and the
temporal things of this world that can have such
a hold on us, and having a deep desire for the
things of the Spirit and keeping our focus on
the eternal things of God.  Paul even details
this classic struggle of the flesh versus the
Spirit in those verses in Romans 7 where he
states that, "for what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do."

Many of Paul's writings dealt with this struggle
between our carnal nature and our spiritual
nature to help us understand it.  So today, I
want to do my best to help you with this battle
we all face.  Whether you have been saved for 2
minutes or 70 years, whether you are seeking God
for what you are to do to serve Him or you are a
highly visible man or woman that has served God
faithfully for many years, please understand that
NOBODY is immune from this battle of the flesh
versus the Spirit and it is a  battle you will
fight until this brief journey though life is
complete.

The most effective way I have found to fight
this battle each day, and most important to WIN
this battle, is through my relationship with
Christ.  You have got to understand that when
Christ died on the cross, He died so that you
could live in VICTORY, not defeat.  His victory
on that cross 2,000 years ago insured you would
be able to live in victory too; victory over
death, victory over this temporal world, and
victory over sin.  The key to you seeing
victory each and every day is to walk in the
victory Jesus won on the cross, and that means
walking with Him each day.

This is why I implore you so often to be in the
Word, to be in prayer every day.  Our walk with
Christ is not an hour a week on Sunday morning.
Our walk with the Lord is literally 24/7/365.
If we are to live in victory over the flesh,
over our carnal nature, deny the temporal
pleasures of this world, we have got to have the
strength that only comes from Christ and that
is why being in His Word and in prayer each and
every day is so critical The closer you are to
Christ, the stronger you are to withstand the
temptations of this world  The way you become
closer to Christ is through the Word and prayer.

The other way you keep walking in victory each
day is by staying busy.  Did your mother ever
tell you that an idle mind is the devil's
workshop?  Sadly, most days I end up dealing
with pastors or people in the ministry who
have fallen into sexual sin.  One of the things
I have noted over these many years is that a
common element to most of these stories is the
church or ministry was doing well and the
person who fell had lots of free time on
their hands.  The reality is, when you are
growing a church or a ministry, finding enough
hours in the day to sleep is a huge challenge,
let alone finding the time to get involved in a
relationship outside of God's will.

However, with success often comes a season where
things are not as frantic every day, there isn't
as much pressure, and there are now free hours
during the day that didn't use to be there.  It
is often in those seasons when things are going
well that most pastors or people in ministry
tend to fall.  Look at David. It was during a
time of rest, of relative peace that he fell
with Bathsheba.  So it is critical to live in
Christ's victory over the flesh to stay busy, to
have things to do.  There is nothing wrong with
being busy throughout the day.  The more you
have going on in your life, the less time you
have to be tempted by your flesh and by the
things of this world.

Of course, the best way to keep busy is by
serving the Lord.  After all, our purpose in
this life is to serve and glorify God.  So while
we have many things to do in our life, when you
need something to do to stay busy, find ways to
serve God!  Jesus said the harvest is plentiful
but the laborers are few.  There is so much work
to be done, and too few willing to do the
work.  So I would encourage you to make the
time and effort to look at your daily schedule
and try to find places in your week that you can
devote to serving God.  You will not only be
fulfilling your purpose, but taking another
step in winning the daily battle of honoring God
with your life.

I love you and care about you so much.  The battle
we face with our flesh, with the allure of this
world we live in, versus our desire to please
God with our lives is something every follower of
Christ has to fight every single day.  Please
don't underestimate satan and his goal to kill,
steal, and destroy YOU!  He knows your flesh is
weak.  He knows you love the things of this
temporal world  He also knows you love the Lord
and want to please Him.  That is why he attacks
you.  He wants you to fall, to see your
testimony ruined, to bring shame upon God
through you.  He is waiting for you to get away
from the Lord by not praying every day, by not
reading the Word every day, and by not serving
Him.  He knows the further away from the
Lord you get, the easier a target you become.

I will be praying for you today.  Praying that
you will walk in the victory that Jesus won on
Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago.  He died so
that you could live your life in victory and not
defeat.  By putting your faith in Him, you have
the assurance of spending all eternity with Him
when this brief journey is over.  It also assures
you that you can live THIS LIFE in victory as
well.  Victory over the desires of your flesh.
Victory over the temptations of this temporal
world we live in.  Victory by living a life
that is pleasing and acceptable to the Lord and
fulfilling your ultimate purpose in bringing
glory to God through your life!

The battle lines are drawn.  It is a battle each
follower of Christ must fight every day.  The
lusts of our flesh and the things of this world
versus pleasing God with our life.  May you stand
in VICTORY today as you defeat the flesh, say no
to this world, and please God with your life!


In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at
bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To
know for certain you will be forever with Jesus,
go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never miss
receiving your Daily Devotional again.  LPeMail
is an effective email SPAM filtering
application that most ISP's charge $10/mo, for
FREE!  Get your LPeMail account now at:
www.lpemail.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the
Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available
via AUDIO each day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional
by phone by calling 727-856-7055, or access it on
your wireless device by going to:
http://wapdd.com

(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Think More Beautiful Thoughts with Dr. Masuru Emoto

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Do you want to live a life filled with beauty?

Do you enjoy making everyone happy around you?

Does good music transport you into heavenly delight?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you've come to the right blog post.

Today, we'll look at how thoughts create changes in the physical world . . . and what the implications are for your life.

When I attended Jack Canfield's Breakthrough to Success seminar in Lake Las Vegas in August, one of the most intriguing sessions came when he shared photographs of frozen water crystals that had been exposed to different thoughts, words and music. This pioneering work was begun in the 1990s in Japan by Dr. Masaru Emoto and published in his best-selling books, Messages from Water, The Hidden Messages in Water and The True Power of Water.

Many people at the seminar had learned about Dr. Emoto's work by watching a documentary called, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" You can see a trailer from this film at http://www.hado.net/news.html/.

While walking down the street in Manhattan a few weeks later, I noted that Dr. Emoto would be offering a course with The Learning Annex. When I saw that the course was being run while I had to be in New York, I decided to sign up. That was one of the best decisions that I made this year.

Dr. Emoto combined science and spirituality to argue for a new approach to good living. I think you'll find it fascinating.

To see Dr. Emoto's work, be sure to visit www.hado.net and sign up for his newsletter. His extensive touring plans are listed there as well. Perhaps you can see him at a location near you.

Let me briefly summarize some of his most profound thoughts for you:

1. We are water.

When we are an egg, we are 98% water. As a baby, we are 80% water. An adult is 70% water. People over 65 are 60% water. When we are less than 50% water, we die.

2. Water came to Earth after this world was formed.

In 1997, NASA reported that studies of ice ball comets showed that at the rate they are currently striking the Earth such comets account for all of the water on the Earth. Only 10 of the 500 plus attendees at the seminar had read that study. So water is literally a gift from the Heavens.

3. We are on Earth to learn to live and work together in harmony.

Dr. Emoto pointed out that what we understand about physics tells us that everything God created is comprised of vibrations that create objects and energy. Since human beings are the only beings on Earth that can vibrate in harmony with everything else on the planet, it must be our unique role to create those sympathetic harmonies. He demonstrated this by showing how hitting the right note will cause a tuning fork to resonate in harmony and re-create the note.

4. Water crystals show the potential for harmony coming from humans.

Dr. Emoto shared many of his photographs. They were remarkable.

When water is exposed to different thoughts, words, images and music, the crystalline structure of the water when frozen differs markedly.

Interestingly, the most beautiful crystal he has found from these experiments is created by thinking or writing down "Love and Thanks".

One fascinating contrast was between the ugly, misshapen crystal that forms in response to the command "Do it" and the beautiful crystal that formed in reaction to the offer "Let's do it together". Dr. Emoto wryly noted that he wished he had known of that difference before becoming a father.

Each of the world's leading religions when spoken or thought creates a beautiful crystal. Combine their names and you get an even more beautiful crystal with what appears to be a face of a person at the top.

Dr. Emoto shared gorgeous images of crystals formed after being exposed to music like Beethoven's Ninth, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musick, Amazing Grace and John Lennon's Imagine. We sang Imagine together, and you could feel the resonance in the room grow.

5. Prayer can create crystals where none were possible before.

Dr. Emoto had found it impossible to create crystals by using Tokyo tap water. Then he arranged for children to pray for tap water in the following ways:

"Thank you, water." "We love you, water." "We'll take care of you, water."

As a result, beautifully balanced crystals formed in the tap water.

He pointed out that there's a Japanese saying, "Water is a reflection of your soul." That may be literally true.

6. Dr. Emoto has created the Emoto project to inform the world's youth about this potential.

He plans to raise the money to provide 650 million copies of his books to youngsters of ages 3-12 over the next ten years so they can understand the importance of creating positive resonance for the world from the thoughts, prayers, images and actions of human beings. There is a course being started in Los Angeles in early November for those who want to assist in spreading this knowledge.

7. Dr. Emoto is clear that his work is creating new questions for which no one has any answers.

His work has a profound meaning for us all that we understand at a spiritual level. If you see and hear him talk, I think you'll agree that you will have a deep understanding of his message beyond what you can articulate.

I think that Dr. Emoto should be considered one of our World Heroes. Do you agree?

**********************************************

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/, and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

The Potential Benefits of a Strategic Plan for Your Spiritual Development

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Are you delighted with your spiritual life?

Do you know what your spiritual objectives are?

Do you know how to reach your spiritual objectives?

Do you always feel in touch with your Creator?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, this blog post may be helpful for you.

Few billionaires talk about their spirituality. This may be because of wanting to keep a sense of privacy. Or it may be because they don't focus much in this dimension. Or it may be that they have a poverty of spirit within them that keeps them from focusing on the spiritual.

If a billionaire wanted help with his or her spirituality, I'm certain that someone would be willing to help. But perhaps a person begging in the street wouldn't receive the same spiritual support from other people.

Where can you obtain the spiritual support you need?

Chances are that you haven't considered the question in detail before.

While most people cannot become billionaires, almost everyone can enjoy spiritual riches.

Let's look at how creating a strategic plan can help.

Many people pursue spirituality as a sort of reflex. They might be responding to a sense of feeling that something's missing, a problem . . . or a continuation of spiritual habits acquired years earlier. Be you can do a lot better than that.

1. Decide what you want to accomplish with your spirituality.

Reasonable people differ on this point. In my own case, I'm looking to live and act more like Jesus . . . and to be with God and Jesus after I die. While I'm alive, I also want the Holy Spirit to guide my pathway to do God's work and to praise God for all He has given me. In addition, I want to let my spiritual self transcend my material self in positive ways.

But without a goal, it's hard to develop your spirituality.

2. Read spiritual texts that explore your goals.

These texts may be Divine works, religious analyses, thoughts by moral leaders, or instruction in spiritual practices.

Depending on your goal, you will select different sources.

As a Christian, I find myself informed by the Bible, Biblical commentaries, written sermons and my experiences with my inner voice which is informed by the Holy Spirit. As a spiritual person, I also find myself informed by writings about other religions, work on the meditative practices of other religions and belief systems, and autobiographies of moral leaders.

3. Find commentaries that unexpectedly engage your interest by making the spiritual part of life easier to appreciate and engage.

The scientific community occasionally surprises me by learning something of spiritual significance. For instance, there have been scientific studies of prayer that show prayer affecting the physical world such as by helping healing. Or, as I will describe next Thursday, Dr. Emoto's work on the crystalline structure of ice shows that spoken and written words and thoughts influence the physical structure of our surroundings.

4. Develop a success model of what it means to you to be a spiritual person with your goals.

Think of this as a description of perfectly achieving your goals. In some religions or spiritual practices, this success model is spelled out. In other religions and spiritual practices, there is a role model. For Christians, our Lord Jesus provides such a role model. In other spiritual traditions, the success model has to be experienced first before it can be understood.

5. Identify the key tasks that you need to accomplish to meet your goals in terms of the success model.

In terms of Christianity, I think of the key tasks this way:

a. Praise God.
b. Share my beliefs with others.
c. Emulate Jesus in everything I do.
d. Ask God's forgiveness when I sin and reform myself to avoid the same sin in the future.
e. Pray for guidance and strength to do God's will.
f. Listen to the Holy Spirit.
g. Follow the 10 Commandments.
h. When in doubt about what's right, follow the Golden Rule.
i. Forgive others their errors.
j. Read the Bible daily.

As a spiritual person in general, I also see these tasks:

a. Strengthen my spirit through daily meditation.
b. Share what I learn about spiritual practices with those who can benefit from them.
c. Explore positive, new elements of my spiritual life.

6. Develop a plan for accomplishing those tasks.

We all know ourselves better than most other people do. You can build on that self knowledge to schedule every day so that you accomplish your spiritual tasks and avoid influences that would divert you from those tasks.

Part of that plan should be to deal with unexpected problems. By thinking about scenarios concerning what could come up, you will be in a better position to handle reverses that test you in difficult ways.

7. Keep track of how you do.

Keeping track lets you see where you are succeeding and where you are having problems. That's half the battle in improving.

8. Pay extra attention to those areas where you are not getting your key tasks accomplished.

Do some extra praying, more meditation and extra reading to find sources of influence to help you do those tasks.

9. Have a spiritual mentor with whom you can talk over the plan and your progress in implementing it.

Making these commitments to others will strengthen your desire to do them. You'll also have other people who can help you find ways to reach closer to your spiritual ideal. In the process, you'll also meet some delightful people!

10. Review and revise your strategic plan at least once a year.

As you grow spiritually, your concept of what you want to accomplish and how to do it will grow. Delight in that progress that your strategic plan has helped you achieve!

Can any billionaire do better? I don't think so!

********************************************************************

N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Check out the latest index at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005/10/latest-table-of-contents-to-this-blogs.html to pick out your choice.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell