5 Reasons for GRATITUDE

LOVE: The Ultimate Tool to get GROUNDED & GRATITUDE goes Straight to LOVE

Have you ever noticed that we live in a world that bombards us on a daily basis with all manner of stimulus that shows us a myriad of ideas and concepts that we can pick and choose from to take our lives in all kinds of directions?

Of course, one of the keys to ‘Creating the Life of Your Dreams’ is to be able to pick and choose which of these stimuli serve us and which do not serve us in taking us to the grand vision that we have created for ourselves that reflects our ultimate ‘Dream Life.’ (Excuse the pun because sometimes all of life seems like a dream)

I am asked on a consistent basis about what I do to ‘separate the wheat from the chaff’ when it comes to staying focused on my desires and screening out all the other chatter, so I want to give you one of my ‘Secrets to Success’ about getting back to my priorities when I am distracted.

When I feel like I am moving off course and want to get centered again the first thing I do is go directly to ‘Gratitude’ and start looking around at all the things I am grateful for in my life. It only takes a second because there is so much to be grateful for in this extraordinary game called ‘Life on Planet Earth.’

Just start where you are, like being grateful for the awareness to ‘be grateful.’ Then be grateful for ‘being you’ and then be grateful for your computer, your dog, your spouse, your children, your living accommodations, just be grateful for ‘everything’ that is in your life.

What happens when you do this is you instinctively go from ‘Gratitude’ to ‘Love’, which is your true nature and as soon as you are in ‘Love’ you are grounded. I just keep it up with Gratitude because it just feels so darn good.

Make all of this week a ‘THANKSGIVING’  and start with Immense ‘GRATITUDE.’

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

Have I told you yet that I live in Heaven? Yeah, I have a big slice of Heaven and I invite you to stop by and take a look. Please check out this video and if you have any comments I would love to hear from you. Welcome to my home…

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Thank you so much for taking the time to go for a little walk with me. If you have any comments I would love to hear from you, as always.

Live in love,

Richard

Coaching for Success

When I was living my life deeply immersed in my conditioning of fear, separation and lack of self worth I still knew that if I wanted to improve my life then I would serve myself best by getting some coaching from somebody who has already done what I wanted to do. At the time it was to be a better Real Estate Sales Person.

I sought out the best coaches in the industry and attended their seminars and bought their material and applied it to my business to improve my business income and thereby improve my life-style. And it worked. I used the information from the coaches to create a business that was very successful in terms of money and service.

When I began the process of transforming my life from one of sleepwalking through life to one of active manifestation of my life I went through the same process. I knew that I could shorten my learning curve exponentially if I sought out and was mentored by coaches who had already been where I wanted to go.

Michael Jordon, one of the best basketball players to ever play the game, attributes all of his stellar success to the coaching he received throughout his college and professional career. If you want to be the best that you can be you will serve yourself by using the services of a coach who can show you how to get from where you are to where you want to be.

That is why I am so excited to offer “Life Style Coaching” as one of my services. I have been asked by so many people to give them some personal coaching so that they can effect change more easily and quickly. Now that coaching is available to you.

Coaching Gets You There

If you want change in your life and you want to accelerate the pace of that change then I would love to talk to you about One-on-One Personal Coaching. Please take a minute and look at the short video I have prepared to give you an idea of how I can serve you. Just go to;

http://www.createonelove.com/?page_id=250

Your success in life and your choice of life-style if entirely up to you. If you think that personal coaching is something you are interested in and can benefit from then please check out the above page and then contact me for your FREE Initial Consultation. (Contact information is at the bottom of the page)

Have a wonderful day and smile at somebody. You will be amazed at the wonderful responses you receive and how good you feel at it happens.

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

When I was sleepwalking through life, for about forty years or so, I always thought that life was happening to me and I had to keep reacting to the people, places and events in my life. Then I went through a period where I started to open myself up to looking at life from a different perspective than the one I had been conditioned to believe from birth.

The main concept that really caught my attention was the idea that I was not a victim of life; I was the creator of life. Whoa. Hold on there Betsy. I finally realized that we are not here to discover life but we are here to ‘create our life’ in any manner that we choose. Now, once I got this concept deeply entrenched into my belief system the game was on for me and I have never looked back.

Once you understand that you are creating your life as you go along you begin to see your whole life and the whole ‘game of life’ from an entirely different perspective. Instead of wondering what is going to happen next you begin to ‘create’ what is going to happen next. And when this starts happening you begin to ask the question “why do I want what I want?”

The answer is always the same. I want what I want so that I can be happy. That is the end game of every choice we make in life. We are always trying to be happy. Now that makes a lot of sense. Once I got this in my head I realized that you don’t have to do anything to ‘be happy’ because happiness is not something you strive for and attain. Happiness is the essence of who you really are. So in fact, you have the capacity for happiness at any time. All it takes is a choice to “be happy” and you can reach that state of being.

Your true authentic self is made up of unconditional love and unconditional love expresses itself in the world as happiness and joy. Joy is the highest state of happiness and when you are experiencing joy you can be assured that you are totally aligned with the source energy from which the entire universe comes.

So the real key to a successful life is to be in a state of joy all the time, right? And in order to be in a state of unconditional joy all the time you would have to choose that and make it your priority above all others. Intellectually this seems like a very doable thing because you know that in order to experience unconditional joy you would have to accept every condition, experience, person and event in life as a joy to you. It would have to be ‘unconditional.’

There could not be any situation whatsoever that would change that for you. Nothing. And guess what, you get to put the meaning to everything that happens in your life. So you are the only one who can call forth a ‘condition’ which is not joyful. Would you do that if you really wanted to experience unconditional joy all of your life?

Theoretically you would not choose any conditions that don’t bring you joy but in reality you do it anyway. Why? Because you have a mind that is not on the same path of unconditional joy that you are. You have a mind but you are not your mind. You, the real you, observes your mind. You, the real you, observes your body. You, the real you is not your mind or your body but is the observer of your mind and your body. You, the real you, is perfectly capable of living in unconditional joy because that is your true nature.

When you are aligned with that nature you feel the joy. When you are not aligned with the truth of you then you experience the conditions that are not joyful to you. It still all comes down to choice. You are the observer and you are the choice maker. Try choosing unconditional joy in your life. Just try an experiment with your life and see how you like it. If you choose it you will be ‘Joyful.’

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

It is mid-July as I write this and the days here are long and hot, into the 90’s, which is pretty warm in this part of the country. So taking a ride on the river has a lot of great advantages right now, not the least of which is to cool off a little and take in the nature that comes along with this assignment.

So a friend from out of town is visiting and we decide to float down the river from the nearest point of entry to the south, which is a bridge at Creswell. It is about 4 miles on the odometer from my house to the bridge. Only about 4 miles as the crow flies, which I came to find out is different than that same four miles on a meandering river. I still figure it will be about two to two and a half hours. Give or take.

Coast Fork of Willamette River

Let the floating commence. We started out in a very slow part of the river and then got to our first rapids that kind of shot us down the river and I reaffirmed my assessment of having a leisurely ride down the river.  And that is exactly the way it was for the first three hours. Just beautiful and warm and lots and lots of birds and nature to look at and appreciate.

By my reckoning we had to be very close to my house where we would take our ‘inner tubes’ out of the water and do our high fives. Well, one river bend turned into another river bend and nothing looked familiar and then the sun started going down over the trees. It is one thing to be floating down the river in the sunshine and quite another when you are in the shade. All of a sudden it is cold and then it is not quite so fun.

But it was funny. We had to keep laughing and making fun to keep our spirits up as the river bends kept coming but we were not close to home yet. The standing joke was that “I think the house is right around the next bend.” Ha ha. NOT.

We started shivering and then we started doing the backstroke on our inner tubes so that we could get down the river faster. Yahoo, it soon became an obsession of necessity to get as far as we could as fast as we could so that we could get out of the river and warm up.

‘Hey, I think it is right around the next bend.’ And finally, we were right. What a welcome site to see my house sitting on the river bank and pulling into the little beach where we could take the ‘inner tubes’ out of the water and then drag ourselves out as well. Wow, that was one wonderful feeling to be back on dry land where we could warm up and get some grub.

But first it was a lot of howling laughter as we danced around in the warm sunlight of the deck. The shivering stopped and the glow of the river showed in our faces as we high fived and headed to the hot shower about four and a half hours after we put in upriver.

Here is the deal: Perseverance and total belief that you are going to make it to your destination. No matter where you are going as long as you keep your end result in front of you and persevere in your actions you will reach your goal, no matter what it is that you desire. KNOW that it is already a done deal because it is as long as you BELIEVE it is. Then just keep going. Sometimes you are going to be going through rapids and seem like you are rocketing to your destination and then at other times you are just barely moving and it doesn’t seem like you are making any progress, but you are.

You are in a river, it is called the ‘River of Life’ and the current in the ‘river of life’ is ‘well-being.’ When you stay in the flow of the river you remain in this well being and it always takes you to where you want to go. You absolutely know that as long as you keep your destination in mind and stay in the flow of the river you will get there eventually. Never lose heart in the middle of the journey even when the going seems slow. The flow of well-being will take you to some rapids soon enough as long as you BELIEVE it will.

Faith, Perseverance, and Belief. Go with the flow.

Live in love,

I live in the country on one of the most beautiful pieces of property in the world. The house is situated on the banks of the Coast Fork of the Willamette River and is very private and secluded. It is ensconced in nature with lots of plants, animals and birds. The river is a natural bird fly-way and I get to see the birds playing all the time.

Coast Fork of Willamette River

The house that came with the property is a big manufactured home that is quite comfortable until I am ready to build my dream house and take this one out of here. In the meantime I am living here and really like the house. It is roomy and when I step outside my door I can see the river flowing by and the birds playing in the trees.

In the spring the birds start nesting and there are several families of swallows who have found a way to get into the eaves of the house and make their nests in my attic. That is perfectly okay with me because I like the idea of living with the birds in our little ‘bedroom community.’

Once the chicks hatched out a couple months ago I began to wake up to the sounds of the parents coming and going feeding their noisy chicks all morning long. It is not an unpleasant way to wake up; in fact I really enjoyed it. Every morning I can see the parents bringing food in and swooping under the eaves to enter their nursery and feed the hungry squawking chicks.

Well, this morning I woke up to silence. The chicks have all grown to the size and maturity that allowed them to take wing and move on from this temporary habitat. They have all flown the coop in the last couple days and so now I wake up to silence from the bird menagerie.

Such is the nature of nature. Now I can observe in the air what was once a baby chick in my attic and I am so grateful to be witness to the wonder of life as a bird and my relationship to one of the most wonderful creatures in my world.

I am so blessed and I thank the universe for this opportunity to witness my connection to Source Energy in such a wondrous and magnificent manner.

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

Tony Burroughs is the founder of the “Intenders” which is a grass roots organization dedicated to helping people learn the fine art of manifesting by consciously using our ‘intentions’ to create what we want in our lives. You can check out the ‘Intenders of the Highest Good’ at www.Intenders.com.

The “Vision Alignment Project”  is designed to manifest a new world model based in love instead of fear. We see a healthy and whole planet earth where everybody is loved and thriving, just as we were meant to live life.

Check out our first intention at our new website:

http://www.VisionAlignmentProject.com.

This is an interactive website because we want you to be part of the movement we are initiating. We would love to have you ‘Align’ with us by just reading the ‘intention’ and then clicking the button that says “YES, I align with this intention.”

If you really resonate with the intention we would like you to tell your friends as well so that we can take this idea and move it around the world. This is how you change the collective consciousness, you start thinking about ‘a vision whose time has come’ and then you pass it on to your friends and then they start thinking about it and the next thing you know we are living within the new intention.

Thank you so much for checking out this new website and putting in your vote. We are taking this viral so thanks again for being a pioneer in changing the way life is lived on planet earth.

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

I had some errands to run yesterday and it was late afternoon when I finished up and decided to stop by and see a friend of mine who had just recently returned from a two month trip to the east coast and back with his mate. They stopped and visited friends all across the country and did a ton of site-seeing. One of those trips of a life time.

So I stopped in to catch up on his trip and then I was going to catch the very late afternoon sun by going for a run down by the river. It was one of those sunny fall days where it is fairly warm when you are in the sun but not so warm when you are in the shade. So I wanted to catch the sun before it went down, which comes earlier and earlier this time of year.

For some reason we kept talking about subject after subject and by the time I left his house it was about a half hour to forty five minutes before sundown. Okay, I am still going for a run. So I get down to the park where I can park my car and start my run and I realize why I kept being delayed at my friend’s house.

I was supposed to be here at this right and perfect time for a “Sunset Run.” This is where I start my run about a half hour before sunset and end the run about a half hour after sunset. It is just the perfect time of evening and tonight was one of those perfect nights.

When I start out a run like this I am so full of gratitude that just being thankful for my life is about all I can think about for the first mile or so of my run. As I write these words I am thankful again for the most wonderful life I am creating. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

My run is along the bike trails that border the Willamette River here in Eugene, Oregon. It is one of the most picturesque bike trails in the world. Especially at this time of the year when the trees are aflame with color and the leaves cover the path and make a mosaic carpet to run on. It is gorgeous.

About half way through my run I have to cross the Owosso Bridge to get to the other side of the river. I love crossing these bridges because you get to see up and down the river and all the birds and animals that populate the river.

Birds are moving right now to get to their nesting place for the night. Lots of ducks and geese flying around. Still lots of light even though the sun is going down. So I cross the bridge and make my way back on the other side of the river.

On this side of the river I can see the sunset and tonight there are these long pinkish rays that play on the clouds to the west to make this really cool pink light in the sky. Totally awesome. This is what a sunset run is all about.

It is hard not to be grateful for everything in life when you experience this kind of show in nature. Me, the river, the sunset, the trees, the birds, the animals, everywhere I look I am privy to this spectacular nature just showing off. Wow, double blessed.

I finish up my run at the Valley River Bridge and as I walk across the bridge to the park where my car is I marvel even more at the way the river water adds so much to our lives. I used to think that the running was the thing I was after but now I realize that the running is just a byproduct of the real thing.

And the real thing is just being out in nature. When you are walking in nature you are attending the theater of life and there is no better show in town.

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

The reason most people feel like they are in a rut that they can’t seem to get out of is because they are continually micromanaging their lives in the day to day activities that keep them stuck doing the same things over and over.

The definition of insanity is when you continue doing the same thing again and again but expect to get different results. Albert Einstein put it this way, “You cannot change your current situation by thinking the same thoughts that got you there. You must change the way you are thinking and think different thoughts.”

The most effective way to change your thinking is to get out of your current comfort zone of micro-managing your life and create a schedule where you consciously and consistently start looking at the big picture of your life and begin the process of macro-managing your life. In order to macro-manage your life, you have to think different thoughts.

What would your life look like if you were on a track where everything that you ever wanted began to manifest into your life experience? Can you imagine that?

You begin with your imagination. First you imagine your life the way you really, really, really want it to be. This takes you out of the micro and puts you into the macro. You are no longer thinking about the same old things that you think about every day. You are thinking different thoughts and it is in these different thoughts that you begin the process of creating a different reality.

 “Create a Vision” of what you want your life to look like. This requires you to think different thoughts because now you are fine-tuning your imagination into a more vivid and accurate picture of how you choose your life to be.

Once you have created your vision you serve yourself by making your vision as concrete as possible by writing down your vision, by creating vision boards with pictures, by writing and speaking affirmations concerning your vision and all manner of positive things that keep your new vision in the forefront of your mind.

Invoke the ‘Law of Attraction’ by constantly thinking about the new vision you hold for your life in the macro while you engage in the day to day living of your life in the micro. The ‘Law of Attraction’ tells us that you bring into your life that which you put your attention on. Keep your attention on your big picture vision and the law of attraction has no recourse but to bring into your current experience those things you are constantly thinking about.

Don’t worry about how this is all going to happen, just keep focused on the ‘Big Picture’ and let the universe work its magic.

Live in love,

Richard D. Blackstone

I have always been successful although I haven’t always known it at the time. When I was sleepwalking through life, for about the first forty years or so, I was pretty much conditioned to interpret success in terms of money and material possessions.

Hey, it seemed to be the thing to do at the time because the television and all my peers kept telling me that those were the best parameters of ‘Success.’

Well, according to those guidelines I actually got to experience “success” but not all the time and not in a way that was gratifying to me. Oh yeah, I enjoyed the idea of having money and having new cars and all the material stuff that comes along with this definition of ‘success’ but it is nothing like the ‘success mind-set’ that I live with now.

Every aspect of my life is a success now because I am not confined to those silly parameters that a life based in fear tells me is the only manner of interpretation. I live within a love based paradigm of life now and because of this expanded way of living life I get to enjoy unlimited success in all aspects of my existence.

Now, isn’t that a lot more fun than just having the occasional success and only getting to enjoy it every once in a while?

It all has to do with the concept of ‘Love’ and its companion “Total Acceptance.” Love requires you to accept all the people, places, events and circumstances of your life and when you do that you get to see the benefit of everything that comes into your life and actually put the meaning to it that serves you. Whereas I used to judge and condemn most of the things that showed up in my life, now I accept everything that shows up because I know that if it shows up in my life, then I had a hand in somehow ‘creating it.’

And if I created it then I certainly don’t want to judge and condemn it, do I? I want to see what kind of hidden treasure there is for me. I can only do that by accepting what shows up and then putting the meaning to what shows up so that it serves me.

It takes a little while to get the hang of doing this but once you do you find that you are able to see all of the things that you couldn’t see before because you had immediately dismissed them as ‘bad’ or ‘unworthy’ or ‘whatever.’

Seeing with new eyes is how it all happens. Those new eyes are the eyes of love. Love opens up, expands, reveals and heals. Wow, I love to live in love. And I really love the concept of putting the meaning to everything that shows up in my life because it always reveals ‘Success.’ Yes, it’s a Mind-Set.

Live in love,

Richard