Passion Party #572 - The Biggest Surprise

--> The Dalai Lama was asked what surprises him the most: "Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. 
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. 

And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; 
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”

Passion Party #571 - If When, Then...

Settling goals does not cut it.

There have been too many years wasted on empty goal-setting.

Promises made in January sit collecting dust or lie tattered on the floor come December.

I know what I want to do

and I know how to do it.

The doing is the hard part

and doing it with consistency is harder.

This year, rather than set goals,

I will create "pre-suasive" statements that will help me achieve

what i want to do in my life.

Instead of having a goal of "lose 10 pounds"

I will say, "When I am offered dessert, then I say "I'll have mint tea with honey, please."

Instead of having a goal of "make more money"

I will say, "When the work day is over, then I can make one more call to a client and offer my help."

The pre-programming may seem artificial, but it is how habits are formed

I want to get where I want to go not by force but by flow.

Passion Party #570 - It Feels Good To Do Good

On Thursday, November 10th, 2016 PATH Ventures hosted their 11th Annual Holiday Jazz Revue, an unforgettable evening of dinner, music, and fun at the classic Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood, CA. I was the featured entertainment with my all-star band of L.A. studio artists (Gina Saputo, Diana Zaslove Kahn, Robert Kyle, Nolan Shaheed, Lyman Medeiros and Kevin Winard).

With the help of a sold-out crowd, plus generous corporate sponsors including City National Bank, over $54,000 was donated to directly support affordable housing developments across Southern California.

There are over 45,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles County on any given night. They are women with children, people struggling with serious health issues, war veterans, seniors, emancipated foster youth, and families who lost everything because of the recession. PATH Ventures’ housing models aim to prevent and end homelessness by integrating supportive services, community development and permanent housing for people in need. 

I am so honored to be a catalyst for this event, and I am so proud of my band for giving their time and energy and creating amazing music that evening.  I have friends that have spent time living on the street, and I know the feeling of being one paycheck away from being evicted.  This is the least I can do to give back to the community that I have lived in for 40 years.  Thank you all for your support and love

For more information about PATH and PATH Ventures, please visit www.epath.org

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Passion Party #569 - Be Kind to Yourself Today

Imagine a life
with passion and love

a place surrounded by beauty
a room filled with people that care about you
a space where kindness is given
a day spent in creative pursuits
a night filled with heavenly sounds

And tomorrow you wake up
with a passion for life
in a place of beauty
ready to take on the day
with a new sense of purpose.
You are ready to love
and to be loved.

Imagine that.

Passion Party #568 - Prayer and Meditation

Prayer and meditation are similar but different.
Meditation is an emptying out
a clearing of the mind
a "no-thought"
or a watching of the thoughts go by
just like clouds, blown in a clear blue sky.

Prayer is more directed
but it is not an asking of what God can do for you.
it is not like the wish list for Santa Claus.
It is an asking of what you can do to fulfill God's will.

My prayers start with a request for clarity and serenity, and this is like a meditation.
Then a thank you for what I have been given
(and often a surprise at how things that I desire seem to be coming my way)
Then a grateful list
and then a request prefaced by "if it is Your Will".

And yes, there is a big part of me that questions God as an individual or any kind of anthropomorphic being with the capability of listening and responding. Seems like a fairy tale. It is more an offering to life, to the universe, and the response continues to be surprising,

often accurate

and at times immediate.

For the New Year: Repentence and Returning (PP#82)

I was never a big fan of repentance.
It always brings up an image of a New Yorker comic
with a guy in a long robe walking the streets
with a big placard,
someone Holier Than Thou,
who are you to tell me to repent for my sins?

But T'shuvah has other meanings
It is taking responsibility for one's actions
It is being accountable
And in another way it can be translated as "return".
A return to where you have come from
a return to the beginning
as we all finally return to the same nothingness.

When thought of this way
T'shuvah is really the 4th Step Prayer
a time to clean my side of the street
admit what I did wrong
and a willingness to change
to make it right in the future.
And it is when I become accountable
that things begin
changing
improving
creating space for what
the Universe has to offer.

Passion Party #567: Commitment vs. Obligation

We all take on commitments, and each commitment creates obligations.

We run into trouble when we end up with obligations that we realize we really don't want to fulfill.

So before I take on something new, I ask myself, "Is this a commitment I want to take on? 

Or will it end up being a bunch of obligations that I really don't want to do?

And what in my life now is really just an obligation that I don't care about any more?

Clearing out the obligations and focusing on the commitments I actually want to fulfill  simplifies my life and helps me feel more "in balance".