There are many tributaries flowing into the river of life. Each of us is one of those streams. We are continuously moving, expanding. We can be content with where we are right now. We can enjoy the scenery. With this pleasure, we can continue to look forward to bettering ourselves, whether it be in spiritual living, our job or our relationship with others.

We do not have to invest all our energy trying to move ahead in the stream of life. A mental picture of where we plan to go offers a gentle reminder. This keeps the desire active and provides assurance everything we do right now is leading toward a desired purpose in life.

As each sunrise occurs, we ask God to take control of this day. He made it and He made us. We don't have to know all the solutions. He can guide the whats, whens and wherefores. Once we have turned everything over to Him, we keep a listening ear for His guidance.

Maybe our memory was given us just to remember and build on the favorable things in our lives. We have abused that gift by remembering the unfavorable happenings.

Is there a way to stay totally in the moment? With guidance and nudges from our Higher Self, with our willingness and practice, we can seek to live in our now at all times.

There is a cascade of joy bubbles to experience as we flow with the stream of life.

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A New Year
By Dusty Reed

The new year brings
A delightful time to play
Thoughts and desires
New discoveries every day.

Finding space and discipline
Taking time to be aware
Listening for answers
Through meditation and prayer.

The holiday rush is in the past
Peace and quiet can now reign
If I slow down, not flying too fast
To enjoy the memories as gain.

Time to listen to my now
Any light bulbs for change
Bringing the what and how
Will they possibly seem strange?

With guidance from the Lord
I know that all is well
He shows me through His Word
To boldly share and tell.

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Erasing Yesterday
by Dusty Reed

Erasing our yesterdays and starting anew and refreshed each day is a wonderful concept. Is it possible?

From studying the scrolls in Og Mandino's book, "Greatest Salesman in the World," I continue to absorb the lessons they offer. After studying the first scroll for three weeks, a light bulb began to blink.

Filling a blank page with just today's experiences can teach some powerful truths about ourselves. What do we do automatically, as from habit? How much of our activity involves making an impromptu choice rather than falling back on habits?

A friend shared that she keeps a special time free each day for doing whatever she chooses for that time. Some have shared that they go with the flow every day. How much of that flow includes daily, necessary routines? Keeping a running list of what we do through the day will tell us how much we are doing from habit and how much we are choosing to do spontaneously. Do we automatically fix meals for our family at a certain time? Do we make the bed before we leave for work? Do we drive a certain route to work each day? Our habits are myriad, even though we seldom give them any conscious thought.

Erasing yesterdays does not mean changing our activity on purpose. That supports effort and to be spontaneous does not require effort. It does require a mindset of today being the day to "begin a new life." As with tunnel vision, we only see today; the good memories will come along naturally. The less-favorables will fall away.

I have written and allowed to happen, at various stages in my life, what I would consider my "ideal" day. Sometimes this includes a desired schedule of activity. Sometimes it includes a scenario of how I would like to see my life transformed into a desired lifestyle. Sometimes it includes waking up and beginning with meditation to "clear my slate" and begin with a new page at that moment. By focusing on this in times past, I now see all of these desires molded into my life as my desired lifestyle.

By staying with each "today," we experience success in every moment! We can thus enjoy life to the fullest!

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Our guest author this month is Sunny Patten. You can read articles by Sunny at Ms Sunshine's Garden

The Season of Expectations
by Sunny Patten

During the holiday seasons of Christmas and New Years, many folks are heavily into expectations of self and others. The antidote to expectations is acceptance: accepting ourselves and others the way we are rather than the way we wish we and others were.

Christmas gift giving is more peaceful if we give from our hearts and don’t get our feelings involved with other people's reaction to our gifts. Some folks just want to return gifts for various reasons, and we shouldn’t take that personal. The key for enjoying our friends and family is to let everyone be themselves. And do not have preconceived notions about how we or others ought to act. We are all happier if we can just be ourselves. Being ourselves in a safe environment is one of the greatest gifts we can give or receive. What a safe environment means to me is a place to be myself without criticism; especially criticism of a personal nature.

New Years is a time when most put too high of expectations on themselves. Those New Year’s resolutions are the culprit. So you have some good things to add to your life, and New Years seems to be a good marker, or starting point. Choosing to do something new or something better need not come with stress. Give yourself encouragement if you even start a new improvement for your life. Incorporate rewards along the way, therefore, you are just taking your new ventures a step or piece at a time. Then would you finish a new challenge, give yourself a larger reward. However, doing a thing is its own reward. It increases our self esteem and encourages us from within to reach even higher with our next goal.

Should you pick on yourself about your progress, you are working against yourself. “Being your own worst enemy” Remember that old saying. Try to be good to yourself and others and good things will come to you and others. We will all live in a happier space. Zig Ziglar says, “The fastest way to get what you want in life is to help others get what they want.” I have found this works for me.
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- copyright Sunny J Patten, 2004

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Some sites I recommend:

Reservations for Tibetan Singing Bowls concert
with Diane Mandle

Brush Fire Painting Workshops

Access New Age

HypnoPlace

Point of Life

AstroStar

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And, for anyone who enjoys playing at ebay, I recently opened a Store at eBay so lots of goodies are available at Dusty's eBay

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You are welcome to forward this newsletter to friends who might be interested! If they would like to subscribe (at no cost), they can write to me at Dusty Thanx muchly!

Working toward consideration and to better humanity, we want to encourage free enterprise, free speech. We are Life Now, a spiritual happening on and off the Internet.

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