Inform Yourself

Welcome home! Welcome to Your Blissful Life. So, tell me, what does it look like? Why do you sound so different? How does it feel to achieve that what you have been searching for so long? This is your new and improved life. Words can hardly express how you feel at this moment. Like the movie star who just received their first Oscar, you cry. Look back at where you came from and all that you have achieved to be in your new place. Wow!

You are much like the old-time sailors. You left a safe and comfortable port (your old place) with the definition of a broad destination of where you were headed. You utilized the various posts here, as well as other information, and defined your specific destination. You then charted your course of action. It provided you with the process and certainty you needed to continue sailing. This is much like the old maritime sailing charts. While sailing traditions provided a process, the destination was always determined by how the sailors utilized the process. Once they began their journey, there was no turning back to port. Their desire to reach new and safer harbor was too great. Just as they sought new and exciting places, so did you. Your destination— Your New Place or Your Blissful Life — was defined, and how you charted your course was the process you just completed and will maintain on a continual basis. The closer you got, the more focused, specific and determined you became to reach it.

Enjoy your new place, Your Blissful Life. It is your personal Garden of Eden. Look around you and notice how all of the colors are brighter, more vibrant! Listen to the birds; hear the songs they are singing in your honor! What is that song? How happy are you at this very moment? This is how every day will be for the rest of your life. You will enjoy every moment of every day because you now feel, hear and see things in a new and more useful way. You look forward to every day and all that it offers to you.

Even when faced with what others perceive as bad or stressful situations, you remain blissful because you now know how each moment or event fits into your life! Your knowledge enables you to deal with these events in a manner that is more useful for you. You realize that they are merely teaching something that you need to know or experience. You now take these lessons and experiences and enjoy them for what they are—lessons and experiences. Where others see limitations, you see opportunity. Where they feel pain or depression, you feel a sense of tranquility and hope. Where they hear others calling them back, you hear joyous music urging you forward.

Is it possible to be any happier than you are right now? I didn’t think so! When I finally achieved my blissful life, it felt as though I had finally reached what I had been searching for my entire life. I was finally blissful! No longer was a part of me missing. I now knew exactly what I wanted my life to be, how I wanted to live it, and who I wanted in it. I am still on cloud nine!

Awaken every day and be thankful for all that you will experience today. You cannot wait to get moving and experience all life has to offer. Who will you meet today? What will you learn today? Who will you help today? What gifts will the universe offer you? You are a powerful force within this universe and you can do and achieve all that you dream. Wow! Every evening, reflect back on you day so that you do not miss anything. Be thankful for all that you have experienced, learned and received. Finally, take a step back and realize how this day fits into your future. How is it preparing you for tomorrow? By doing so, you better understand all that you have experienced and how it fits into your grand plan.

I never knew just how great life could feel. I am truly in awe of all that I have become and all that I have. I am amazed at how everything I experience and learn prepares me for the next step in my journey of life. I love today and cannot wait for tomorrow!

Now go and enjoy Your Blissful Life! You have what you need to live life like you have never done before. Enjoy!

How do you feel about yourself and your life right now?

How are you different now that you have completed the process defined in my prior posts?

Anyone who has spent any time focused on self-improvement or self-growth has heard the word “integration.” But what does it mean? Is it another process? It is an action? What does it mean to you?

Actually, integration is all of those things rolled into one. Webster’s Dictionary defines integration as, “The act of combining into an integral whole.” Ultimately, because we are all unique individuals, every individual defines integration as it relates to them. Some define integration as a process, some a specific action, some merely a definition. However you define your integration, it is the essence of how you meld and weave your new features into your existing core.

So, how do you integrate your changes? What works for one person may be less useful for another. Just as we are all unique individuals, our integrations are also unique. One thing is certain though, integration is a good thing. It leads to a new and improved you!

The objective of integration is to find that balance between your mind, body and spirit in a manner that is most useful for you. It is that easy, peaceful feeling you have when you are in complete balance. Many people utilize meditation, others prayer, and still others a conscious effort to realize this balance. “Your Blissful Life” actually incorporates a process within the process of defining your blissful life, enabling you to naturally integrate changes into yourself. As long as you take action to achieve your blissful life, your integration will take place. This is because you consciously defined your goals for every part of yourself. Next, you consciously and subconsciously checked to ensure that your goals for each part were congruent with your other parts. This process is a step of integration, ensuring that your mind, body, and spirit are congruent. Finally, you defined your action plan to achieve your blissful life. This enabled you to define the actions you need to take in order to achieve your blissful life, all the while, ensuring that your mind, body and spirit are in congruence. As such, you defined your own integration, in your words, so it is most useful for you.

When I discovered my blissful life, I actually spent a great deal of time not only discovering and defining exactly what it was that I wanted for each part of myself, but also how I was going to integrate these things into my life. I did not use the framework defined in this book to help me. As a result, I was actually quite lost for a period of time, searching for a method of integration that was most useful for me. I had my defined my blissful life, but what was I going to do with it? How was I going to use this to change my life? What did I need to do to achieve it? How was going to get from where I was at to where I truly wanted to be? I struggled for a long time. My blissful life was a radical shift from where I was before my discovery. It was, without a doubt, a life-changing event.

After much struggling, I attended a retreat that introduced me to the process for stepping into the future and looking back toward the now in order to discover what I needed to do to achieve that which I wanted. I could clearly see exactly what I needed to do to get here. I took it a step further though. I would focus on a single part” at a time and note all of the items I discovered. I would be very clear and specific about what I needed to do to achieve all that I wanted for that part of myself. After I was done with all my parts, I had many pieces of paper, each with its own action plan. I then reviewed all of them and noted any common actions so that I would know how many separate parts would be impacted by specific actions. I also prioritized which parts were most important to me and then focused on my top three. Since my action plans were already defined, all I had to do was act!

This method became the process that is interlaced in my prior posts. You rintegration is actually sprinkled throughout the posts so your integration would occur naturally, without struggle! You can avoid the issues I faced simply by working through each post. This makes your integration easy and simple to do.

Change is the only thing that is certain in this universe. All things, living or otherwise, experience change on a continuous basis. Embrace it! You will experience change as you continually achieve and then redefine your blissful life and what it means to you. Just like you, your blissful life is a dynamic, ever-changing definition. These changes typically come in waves like the low and high tides of the ocean. Some people experience them on a regular basis while others experience them less often. One thing is certain though, you will experience them. Embrace your changes as they represent your growth toward new goals, expanding your mind, body and spirit, your world.

In this instance, change is good. Many times, individuals will view change as a bad thing because they are uncertain of how to deal with it. They are allowing their conscious mind to overrule their subconscious mind. It is because of this that any change will quickly send their life and world spinning out of control. If they were to take the time and recognize change for what it is — growth, learning, or experience — they would soon realize that it isn’t all bad. They would recognize the lesson to be learned and how the universe was challenging them to challenge themselves to grow in some manner. Once recognized, one can then easily integrate this into their lives. People successfully do this every day and integrate these changes into their lives without even thinking about it. Why? They trust and allow their subconscious mind to absorb all that it needs in order for them to move forward and grow. They know their subconscious mind is always protecting and doing what is best for them at that moment. Their subconscious mind views these changes and only allows those that are useful for them to be integrated into their lives. They experience learn, and grow without even thinking about it. They automatically have a system defined for them that dictates when and how to learn and integrate. These people tend to take any required action automatically. Many of their friends will call them special, gifted, or even lucky.

You, by virtue of reading this post, know exactly what action you need to take in order to integrate your new or redefined goals. Your conscious process for integrating change is defined and can even be referenced as required. Simply reach for this book, reviewmy prior post Your Blissful Life: Your Action and walk through the process you have used in the past. Lucky, regardless of what type of individual you are, you have a process defined for yourself. It doesn’t matter which process you use, either works just fine. It is this experience that provides you comfort in knowing that you will achieve your new goals because both processes work. Your outcome will be exactly what you want. As long as you follow the process, you can achieve exactly what you desire. That’s right, everything you want, just the way you want it. Awesome!

Since my initial discovery of my blissful life, I have experienced a tremendous amount of growth. This growth has impacted just about every part of my being over the last three years. However, I am totally comfortable with the impacts because I—just as you do now—had the tools to apply the changes to each respective “part” to ensure that my goal for that part was very clear. I then ensured that these new goals were congruent with my other parts. Finally, I reviewed my personal action plan to determine if I needed to make any adjustments based on my new goals for myself. Where I used to shy away from change, I now embrace it. Change is an indication that I am forever growing and learning and expanding as the unique individual that I am. I do not place limits on myself and this has allowed me to expand and grow at an accelerated rate. This is exactly what I defined for my student part. I am and forever will be a student of life. Regardless of the growth or the area in which I grow, I use the above process to integrate change in to my life. Which process I utilize depends upon a number of items such as how I am feeling at that moment, what part of my journey I am on, what “part” is being impacted, and the change itself.

I encourage you to be totally open to your personal growth and, ultimately, change. Once you define the change and what it means to you, integrate it to ensure you remain congruent.

I recommend that you, at a minimum, review your growth annually. Some individuals review their goals quarterly. Some like to revisit their goals on a monthly basis. Others, like myself, revisit their goals and integrate any changes on an as needed basis. When I feel a shift occur within me, it is a change indicator for me. It indicates that I need to rest, recognize the changes, integrate them, and make any necessary adjustments in my plan. This enables me to ensure that my goals are always accurate. You will get to the point in your life, just as I have, where the recognition, integration and adjustments occur almost naturally, without much effort. It becomes this easy because you utilize the process so often that it becomes second nature to you.

As I said before, you are forever changing and growing. How you deal with your growth determines if you are able to remain happy throughout your life.

Your Achievement is in every step you make while in route to your goals. Every step, every move, every feeling you experience should be recognized and celebrated. If you have moved in any manner whatsoever, you have achieved! You are moving, growing and expanding yourself and this is significant for you!

Celebrating your achievements is extremely important to your continued success and progress. So, how should you celebrate your success? I recommend selecting a thing or place that puts you on top of the world. Something you enjoy more than anything else. Reward yourself! You’ve earned it! The more you reward yourself for your successes, the more this feeling will be associated with moving toward achieving your goals. This awesome feeling becomes so desirous that you will move toward it again and again, closer and closer, achieving more and more goals. You will amaze yourself how quickly and easily you move toward “Your Blissful Life.”

Think of your achievements as likened to carrots for a racehorse. The reward is more than worth the journey! What could be more rewarding than achieving “Your Blissful Life?”

Imagine how you will feel when you reach your personal pot of gold, your Emerald City, your apex! Others will watch in total amazement as they see you transition toward who you want to be and where you want to go.

I rewarded myself in numerous ways throughout my journey. For smaller accomplishments, I rewarded myself with a nice gift. This would typically be something that I wanted but might not normally purchase for myself. These items ranged from dinner at a nice restaurant to buying CDs or MP3s that I had wanted for a while. Sometimes I simply gave myself permission to take an afternoon off to go enjoy the park or the lake, the bonus to this reward being that I typically do my most focused thinking and deepest reflection when I connect with nature. For larger accomplishments, I rewarded myself with larger items. Not necessarily larger in price, but larger in terms if importance to me. Sometimes I would go camping for a weekend at near Ohio’s Lake Erie Islands. Other times, I would take time off and simply lie round by the pool for the weekend. It didn’t matter what the reward was, as long as it was enjoyable and important to me. I deserved the reward: I had worked hard, I had allowed myself to be open to growth and experience, and I had moved along my path toward my ultimate goal, “My Blissful Life.” Reward yourself, you’ve earned it!

Now that you have committed to achieving your goals and have determined if you require an accountability partner to reach them, it is time to develop your course of action. Exactly how do you plan to get from your current location to “Your Blissful Life?” What course must you chart to achieve it? At first glance, this question may seem overwhelming. However, when you break it down in the following pages, you will see exactly how easy it will be. This course will lead you to your promised land. Also, you will enjoy taking action because you know exactly where you’re headed: to Your Blissful Life!

Developing your course of action is an easy process. It is much like planning a vacation. Everyone enjoys planning for vacation! If you are like most individuals, you probably plan a vacation every year. This process involves choosing a destination (which you have already done), planning how you will get there (plane, car, train etc.), how long you will stay, and when you will return. The best part about your current journey is the fact that it is a one-way trip! You are headed to complete satisfaction, in every “part” of your life. You can forget about a return trip. Once you are there, you won’t ever want to return to where you are now! Where you are headed is so much better!

To develop your course of action, do the following:

1. Select the part you will focus upon according to your parts ranking in my prior post Your Blissful Life: Your Discovery.

2. Review the desired outcome for the part you have selected. Now the fun begins.

3. In a moment, you will go forward in time in your own personal time machine: your mind! That’s right, one of your many hidden talents will allow you to travel through time in your mind to see, hear and feel yourself having already achieved your goal! Doing this very easy. You already have all the tools you need to experience it. If you like, have your accountability partner walk you through this exercise. Now get yourself into a comfortable position, such as sitting in your favorite chair or relaxing on your couch. The key is to be comfortable. Now, close your eyes and relax. Take a deep breathe through your nose, hold it for a few seconds and slowly exhale through your mouth. As you exhale, feel how relaxed your mind and body are becoming. With every breath you take, your body expels all thoughts, worries and tension you might be experiencing. Take another deep breath through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, and slowly exhale again through your mouth. Notice how loose and free your legs and arms have become. Also notice how relaxed your neck and shoulders are. Take your third deep breath, hold it in, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Notice how relaxed your torso has become. Your heart rate has slowed considerably. You are now in a totally relaxed state. Enjoy how good it feels to be so relaxed. Your mind and body are quiet. Now, picture yourself in the future having already achieved your goal for this “part.” Notice how you look, what you are saying and that special feeling you have right now.

4. Take a look back toward the present, taking note of all that you have done to get where you are currently standing, having achieved your goal. What specific actions did you take? What specific thoughts did you think? How did your feelings about yourself change? What are others saying about you? Jot down your answers on a sheet of paper. Take note of every action, every thought and every feeling.

Now, slowly come back into the moment, into the present. Leave your totally relaxed state behind. You are now completely refreshed. Remain seated or lying down for a few moments until you are fully back into the present moment.

5. Take another sheet of paper and restate the items you noted in Step 4 above in the following manner: For each action you imagined yourself taking, restate it as an action to be taken. Review the notes about how you will think about yourself. Do you need to take any actions to begin thinking about yourself in that manner? If you noted a change in your thoughts about yourself, create an action item stating that you must start thinking about yourself in the manner you noted. What did others say to you? Do you need to create any action items from the comments they made to you or about you?

6. Determine which actions you took first in order to achieve your goal. You can rank them by numbering them in the margin. Continue down the list until all items have been given a number.

7. Repeat this process for a maximum of three (3) parts.

NOTE: Attempting to focus on more than three (3) parts leads to an unfocused journey. Individuals who attempt this path find they become lost and confused. Keep your action plan simple, keep it focused.

8. Once you have your prioritized Action Item List, review it with your accountability partner. He or she should talk with you to ensure that you are certain of the prioritization of your tasks. This where your accountability partner’s work begins. They need to hold you accountable for completing your Action Item List so that you can achieve your goals. You must verbalize to your partner that you give them permission to hold you accountable for getting what you want. They must also commit and verbalize to you that they will hold you accountable.

9. Set up a meeting schedule with your accountability partner. This meeting will be at whatever frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly etc.) that you need in order to keep you on your path. The key here is consistency. You both must commit to the schedule and hold each other to it. During these meetings you will review your progress, discuss areas in which you may be struggling or need to learn new strategies, and what items from your Action Item List need to be moved to your focus area. I am confident that if you have successfully selected an accountability partner that is right for you, they will assist you in discovering what you need to do to eliminate any struggles, as well as discovering the new strategies you require to achieve your goals.

The above process assists you in developing an achievable action plan. As you move toward and achieve your goals, select your next part and add its action items to your action list. This ensures that you are always moving, always listening, and always feeling the power of moving toward your goals. Using this process is so easy because you want nothing more than you achieve your goals.

The single most amazing thing about this entire process is how easy it is to execute. The more you execute it, the easier it gets. Hour by hour, day by day, week by week, and month by month, your journey becomes easier and easier and ever more satisfying.

I enjoyed this part of the process immensely. Perhaps it was because my accountability partner had a prior background in time-line work and was very good at it, or perhaps it was because I knew I was laying out my course for moving toward and getting exactly what I wanted, just the way I wanted it. Whatever the reason, I had fun with it. The most amazing things about the process for me were how easy it was to imagine myself in the future having already achieved my goals and how clearly defined the path was that I had taken to achieve it when I looked back to where I had been. I believe that the reason it was so easy for me to move into the future to see, hear and feel me already having achieved my goals is because I wanted them so deeply, so badly, so much more than anything else in the world that my mind and deep inner self wanted me to experience this more than my own conscious mind could provide. My subconscious mind was just waiting for me to give it permission to go there. I had to move my conscious mind aside and allow my subconscious mind to explore. Once there, and looking back to where I had been, I could see so clearly exactly what I had done to get where I wanted to be. My accountability partner noted all of these items as I noted and described them to him. This became the basis for my action plan. It was so easy. I couldn’t believe it! I had struggled with all of this for so many years and, finally, right there in front of me, there it was! An “Ah-Ha!” moment for me for sure!

Once I came down off my “Ah-Ha” cloud, my accountability partner and I developed my Action Item List. I couldn’t wait to get moving. I had waited for so long. My issue, just like so many others, is that I wanted everything to get done yesterday. What I soon realized is that everything had to be done in order. The reason is that you—just as I did—will learn something on each step of the journey. The lessons learned while completing my current action items put me into proper alignment for moving forward. This ensures that, at each step, you have exactly what you need in order to succeed! I could not rush the process. I quickly learned to slow down and enjoy the journey because it held many experiences and lessons that I needed to learn in order to get what I want. So don’t rush it. Live each moment, taking away all that you can, learning all that you need. You will succeed.