EXCERPT 4: The Work That Prays
While it’s generally accepted that spiritual practices like yoga, meditation, and prayer can help speed up our evolution, too often we forgot about another tool, one that we already employ every day, which is equally effective at accelerating our journey toward enlightenment:
Hard work.
On the surface, simply doing your job to the best of your ability might seem like it has very little to do with the practices I just mentioned. The truth, however, is that when you put your head down and work your hardest at any task, it’s actually a very powerful form of moving prayer.
A teacher who is totally committed to educating the children in her classroom, a janitor who keeps his building looking immaculate, or a baker who makes perfect loaf after perfect loaf are all praying just as hard through their efforts as the yogi who spends his days chanting God’s name.
Yet while almost everyone performs some sort of work each day, most people are not conscious of this connection between their work and their proximity to God. This is because they are too often preoccupied with the results of their work. Their focus is on how much money their work generates rather than the actual work itself. They fail to realize that when you view your work with both eyes only on the result, that work will never prove truly rewarding, either financially or spiritually. Never lose sight of the fact that the actual work that you do in life—the moment in which a teacher is engaged in drawing up a lesson plan, the janitor is moping the floors, or the baker is making his bread—is the source from which true happiness will will stem.
EXCERPT 6: Be Reborn Everyday
When I was a young man I did some pretty foul sh*t. I didn't mug old ladies, mistreat children, or—God forbid—kill anyone. But I did deal drugs, run with gangs, and steal from people in my community. I devoured pig’s feet, chitlins, and steak without thinking about, let alone shedding a tear, for all the animals that were being sacrificed at the altar to my gluttonous appetite. I even fired a shot (albeit while intentionally aiming high) at a rival drug dealer in a misguided attempt to earn some street cred. In short, I did not enjoy a healthy relationship with the world.
At the time, however, I didn't think there was anything wrong with how I was living. Unconscious of my higher self, I tended to respond to the low notes that were being played very loudly around me. In my unevolved mind, I was simply doing what I had to do to make it on the streets of New York. How my actions affected anyone else didn't concern me.
Thirty odd years later, things have changed. Now I’m a vegan, I don’t drink or smoke, and I try to do everything within my power to preserve and uplift life. I run several charities, provide for dozens of employees, and strive to maintain a healthy relationship with the people in my life and the larger world in general.
How did I go from being a drug dealer to a yogi? From a street punk to an engaged, if slightly offbeat, servant of the community? From a kid who spent his days hustling on the corner of 205th Street and Hollis
Avenue to a businessman whose office has a sweeping view of Manhattan?? From getting booked for selling fake cocaine to writing this book?
EXCERPT 7: GIVE YOUR GIFT
I’m always amazed by how many people fail to see the connection between giving and attraction. People will tell me they’re writers, but aren’t writing anything at the moment because “magazines aren't assigning work right now.” Or they’re great chefs, but aren’t working at the moment because they’re self-trained and right now restaurants are “only hiring people who’ve graduated from culinary school.”
Whenever I hear that sort of talk, I say, “Stop making excuses and go do what you’re supposed to be doing! And you can start by cooking me a nice vegan meal if you’ve got too much time on your hands!” Imagine if a comedian said, “Sorry, but I can’t be funny right now because no one’s paying me.” Man, it’s a comedian’s job to be funny all of the time. Whether it’s in the barbershop, at an open mic night, or on his own HBO special. Whether he’s getting paid or not, he can never stop making people laugh. The moment he stops giving away his humor, he stops being a comedian.
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Friday, January 21, 2011
Check out "Literary Diva of Blogtalk Radio's" interview on "The Parker Verse!"
Check out the interview by freelance writer and author Angela Nicole Parker did with the "Literary Diva of Blogtalk Radio." View the whole interview at http://www.theparkerverse.blogspot.com/ today!
For info on the Literary Diva of BTR visit: www.blogtalkradio.com/diva29 or email@ literarydiva29@yahoo.com
For info on the Literary Diva of BTR visit: www.blogtalkradio.com/diva29 or email@ literarydiva29@yahoo.com
Lashawn "sugar shizz" Talbert-creator of the dance craze "the shizz." RIP.
Lashawn "Sugar Shizz" was known for igniting the Louisville dance craze known as "The Shizz."
Check it out!
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"ADVERSITY-being victorious even in horrendous situations!"
Pain, suffering, stress, and other difficulties are the admission tickets to the game of life. But, at times, we cannot help suspecting that life would be much more pleasant without the hassles. Is that what you think? Before answering, ponder the following. In a world without hurdles, there are no champions; without suffering, there are no saints; without battles, there are no victories; without rain, no rainbows. Doesnt it appear that a world that includes pain is more rewarding than one that doesnt? Isnt heat necessary to produce gold, pressure and polishing necessary to produce diamonds, and adversity necessary to produce character?
Heres how Henry Ford expressed the same sentiment: Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.
1. Adversity is unavoidable. So, dont fight it, accept it. Develop the proper attitude, for as Havelock Ellis wrote, Pain and death are part of life. To reject them is to reject life itself. Although pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. We can choose to be strong. It is not misfortune that produces suffering, but an improper reaction to it.
Even under the worst circumstances, we can choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative. Thomas A. Edison is an example. In 1914, a fire almost destroyed his New Jersey laboratories. Valuable records of his experiments and two million dollars worth of equipment were lost. When surveying the damage, the sixty-seven year old Edison said, There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.
When Hurricane Mitch swept across Central America and parts of the U.S., it left a path of destroyed homes, dashed dreams, and broken hearts. After the storm subsided, birds returned to uprooted trees and began to sing. Isnt it true, as Rose F. Kennedy says, Birds sing after a storm; why shouldnt people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?
2. Realize that misfortune tells what fortune is. We need winter to appreciate spring, rain to appreciate the sunshine, and adversity to be thankful for the calm after the storm.
3. Recognize misfortune for what it is: an opportunity to lift yourself to a higher level. Sailors caught in a storm should prayer not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. Why should they accept the storm? Because a smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.
When an eagle believes her eaglets are large enough to learn how to fly, she begins to take apart the nest and push the eaglets out. After this rude awakening, the eaglets discover they have wings! They can fly! The universe is constantly nudging us, pushing us off one cliff after another, in the hope that one day we, too, will discover our wings and soar to new heights.
4. Lessen your suffering by refusing to linger on past difficulties or expecting future ones. Problems of the present are difficult enough to deal with. Dont add to your misery by regretting the past or worrying about what might happen in the future. Mark Twain understood that it was pointless to fret about the future when he said, I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
5. Realize it could be worse. Count your blessings. Keep in mind the Persian proverb: I cried because I had no shoes until I saw someone with no feet.
Regardless of how horrible your circumstances, you are probably not paralyzed and unable to speak. However, Mr. Washington Roebling was. You see, more than 100 years ago, Washingtons father, John, had a dream to build The Brooklyn Bridge. Experts at the time believed it to be impossible, but John finally persuaded the city to support his project. He and his son, Washington, were the lead engineers and the only ones who knew how to build such a bridge. After just a few months into the project, there was an accident that took the life of John and left his son with permanent brain damage. Although unable to speak, write, or walk, Washingtons mind was alert and he could move one finger. Determined to realize his fathers dream, he developed a code, which made it possible to communicate with his wife by tapping on her arm with his finger. Washington tapped on his wifes arm for thirteen years, relaying all the instructions for the engineers. Today, the bridge stands as a testimony of how we can overcome any obstacle, if only we choose to do so.
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Heres how Henry Ford expressed the same sentiment: Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.
1. Adversity is unavoidable. So, dont fight it, accept it. Develop the proper attitude, for as Havelock Ellis wrote, Pain and death are part of life. To reject them is to reject life itself. Although pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. We can choose to be strong. It is not misfortune that produces suffering, but an improper reaction to it.
Even under the worst circumstances, we can choose to focus on the positive rather than the negative. Thomas A. Edison is an example. In 1914, a fire almost destroyed his New Jersey laboratories. Valuable records of his experiments and two million dollars worth of equipment were lost. When surveying the damage, the sixty-seven year old Edison said, There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.
When Hurricane Mitch swept across Central America and parts of the U.S., it left a path of destroyed homes, dashed dreams, and broken hearts. After the storm subsided, birds returned to uprooted trees and began to sing. Isnt it true, as Rose F. Kennedy says, Birds sing after a storm; why shouldnt people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?
2. Realize that misfortune tells what fortune is. We need winter to appreciate spring, rain to appreciate the sunshine, and adversity to be thankful for the calm after the storm.
3. Recognize misfortune for what it is: an opportunity to lift yourself to a higher level. Sailors caught in a storm should prayer not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. Why should they accept the storm? Because a smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.
When an eagle believes her eaglets are large enough to learn how to fly, she begins to take apart the nest and push the eaglets out. After this rude awakening, the eaglets discover they have wings! They can fly! The universe is constantly nudging us, pushing us off one cliff after another, in the hope that one day we, too, will discover our wings and soar to new heights.
4. Lessen your suffering by refusing to linger on past difficulties or expecting future ones. Problems of the present are difficult enough to deal with. Dont add to your misery by regretting the past or worrying about what might happen in the future. Mark Twain understood that it was pointless to fret about the future when he said, I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
5. Realize it could be worse. Count your blessings. Keep in mind the Persian proverb: I cried because I had no shoes until I saw someone with no feet.
Regardless of how horrible your circumstances, you are probably not paralyzed and unable to speak. However, Mr. Washington Roebling was. You see, more than 100 years ago, Washingtons father, John, had a dream to build The Brooklyn Bridge. Experts at the time believed it to be impossible, but John finally persuaded the city to support his project. He and his son, Washington, were the lead engineers and the only ones who knew how to build such a bridge. After just a few months into the project, there was an accident that took the life of John and left his son with permanent brain damage. Although unable to speak, write, or walk, Washingtons mind was alert and he could move one finger. Determined to realize his fathers dream, he developed a code, which made it possible to communicate with his wife by tapping on her arm with his finger. Washington tapped on his wifes arm for thirteen years, relaying all the instructions for the engineers. Today, the bridge stands as a testimony of how we can overcome any obstacle, if only we choose to do so.
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