We shared a cell with 10 others- a mix of Germans, Russians, Kosovars, and Lithuanians.

He taught me all about Failure Analysis through some intense chess games that would last days.

He killed his wife because he caught her cheating.  In their bed.  It was an act of blind rage.  He stabbed her partner with a steak knife, then clubbed his wife to death with a bedside lamp.  And then he had a heart attack after the amount of physical exertion.  It was the neighbor’s call to 112 that brought the polizei.

Why was I in a German prison…? That’s a topic for another day.  I could have avoided the situation entirely by using some Failure Analysis.  Needless to say, I refused to lie when that would have been the easy way out.  Without solid ethics and morals, what are we?

Chess is the easiest entry point into the world of Failure Analysis.  There are documented moves.  There are classic openings and variations of openings.  In 5 moves, a good chess player knows the opening you’ve used, a defense against it, and, traps to set to ensure they win.  While playing the game, however, one tends to focus on the next few moves rather than the last few.

Failure Analysis is only really useful after the game is over.  What good is it then? Although it’s mostly used by engineers and scientists and manufacturing industries, how can it possibly have anything to do with you and your life?

Great chess players study great chess games.  They pore over games and replay them on their own chess boards.  They learn by analyzing the mistakes of others, by seeing in exactly which move which side had “chess blindness” and committed an error.  They study whether the error was a calculated trap with bait so sweet it played on the emotional factor of the opponent.  They study whether one side could have possibly seen x number of moves forward to anticipate the others current move.  Great chess players are better Failure Analysis Engineers than those who have studied the field.

The entire perspective of Failure Analysis focuses on the past, and what’s gone wrong in the past to ensure it doesn’t happen again in the future.  It’s like walking forward while looking backwards to make sure you don’t bump into anything.

Can it be applied to Life? In Willy’s case, no.  He had been consumed by his emotions.  Isn’t that the distinction between science and humanity- emotions?  You can remove the humanity from science, leaving it a cold set of facts to be analyzed and dissected and acted upon, but you can’t remove the emotions from humanity. This is exactly how Failure Analysis can help.

From the contrast of our past emotions, we know what we like and don’t like.  What makes us happy, and what doesn’t.  Why persist with what does not?  Can this lead to anything else but failure, a life unfulfilled, disappointments and regret?  Maybe it’s time to view our own emotions through the perspective of Failure Analysis.  If it’s not working and not getting us to where we’d like to be, then doesn’t it make logical sense to continue on the same path does it?

In this sense, Failure Analysis has made me one selfish person.  I’m more focused on my happiness and what makes me happy than anything else.  Say what you will, but being selfish in this sense has made me more and more aware of how no one else is responsible for my successes or failures than myself.

When you consciously choose only that which is positive and right for you, you’ll realize that  being selfish in this sense makes the most sense.

Be Selfish!

If you don’t know Amish Shah, you should. Not just because he’s a cool cat, been arrested by the FBI when he was 16, has seen his IM business skyrocket, or, because he’s doing something few IM’ers can: diversifying. No, because he’s applying some deep spiritual GTD to his business.

Amish Shah - The $100k/day man

Money’s the oil, not the engine, and he knows this- he even mentions several times it’s just not about money… It’s evident in all the different ways he’s expanding his online presence and business. It’s even evident in how he handles people and situations. He recently had his magic bullet seminar (here, and here too) in San Diego this August- and drunk midgets crash the party. Amish cooly laughs, then gets back to the business of doling out gangster style IM techniques. He didn’t set out to become a guru, but his tactics, tips, advice, and services have made him one.

Amish gently nudges readers to goals, vision boards, and using The Law of Attraction (before the movie ‘The Secret’ exploited Esther and Jerry Hicks and Abraham) while avoiding the pitfalls, the things that just “don’t work”, like- negativity in thought patterns, a lack of focus and determination, and self-doubt.

I’ve been working with a number of clients involved heavily with Internet Marketing lately. As a Resonance Repatterning practitioner I help others help themselves realign with their inner coherence, their desires and wants. It breaks down the Energy patterns that are limiting a person from their potential… it’s a great complement to those that believe in the Law of Attraction. Internet Marketers are especially receptive to this work, as it complements desires and goals they already have. So… Internet Marketing, Resonance Repatterning, The Law of Attraction… it’s all tied together, and Amish Shah is the living proof.

He suggests vision boards as a great tool (called an Energy Modality in Resonance Repatterning). Mind Movies are also another great example…. and, there’s even a tool that can create a flowing vision board of wallpaper images on your PC (you supply the images of course). What youre really doing is inundating yourself- not with “What Is”, but “What you’d like”. Our brain responds the same way whether we are experiencing something, or visualizing something. Visualzing something, even with the three above mentioned examples, helps us “feel” as if our goals and desires are present and real. The real trick, as Amish states- it musy be a daily practice.

A lot of people get hung up on results and manifestations, and often quit before they ever realize their goals. Getting stuck on “making” something happen may be giving your attention to your failure to manifest rather than understanding the joy and positivity of manifesting is a continual process. We create our own reality, whether positive or negative… Being stuck on “being a victim“, “others can do it, but I can’t”, etc. will only get you more of the same. Forget all that and focus your attention and Energy on what works, and what you can do to achieve your goals. If you don’t or can’t, then all of your actions, especially relating to Internet Marketing, will be coming from a place of lack, and not a place of abundance. If you own your reality, own your creations, and allow your actions to be inspired and from a place that you know each little action contributes to your overall goal, you’ll succeed.

If you’re still struggling with it all and need to get your Inner Game in order, I’m positive Resonance Repatterning can help. Amish Shah is using these tactics and he may not even know about Resonance Repatterning… the principles of it work regardless of whether you understand it or not. Want to know more about how Resonance Repatterning can help you? My Resonance Repattenring sessions will help you help yourself acheieve your IM goals.

Get to it!

J.Henry

Chevelon Canyon Rainbow, G. Reid Helms

Gentle reminders of different ways to deal with others… You may have seen this list floating into your email. Sure, it may take a few minutes to read, but implementing these reminders may take some of us a lifetime to do.  Too often, we tend to forget those little pearls of wisdom plastered on our ‘fridge, or those thoughts scribbled down in a notebook somewhere, or that tidbit of wisdom our parents shared with us.  When the thoughts like this or thought over and over again, they become habits, and when habits are practiced over and over, they become beliefs, a way to live our life by…

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to.. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, ‘I love you ,’ mean it.

FIVE. When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN.. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

TEN… In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives…

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly..

THIRTEEN… When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson!

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship…

NINETEEN. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY.  Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE.  Spend some time alone..

Now, for my two cents….

TWENTY-TWO:  Be gentle with yourself.  You wouldn’t be experiencing obstacles in your life unless at some point you made a decision to change.

TWENTY-THREE: Write your goals down every day for a month.  In the end, only you can motivate yourself to the vision of greatness you have for yourself.

TWENTY-FOUR: There aren’t any victims.  Whatever you may think is holding you back is actually the subject of your attention.  Stop paying it attention and concentrate on what you do want instead.

TWENTY-FIVE: Being religious is not necessarily being spiritual, and being spiritual does not mean being religious.  Be yourself first, then let everything else flow from that.

TWENTY-SIX:  Thank your enemies for the lessons they bring (Siddhartha, as translated by the Beastie Boys)

TWENTY-SEVEN: What you resist, persists; What you fear, you draw near.

What do you feel/think has been left off the list?

Big Hugs,

J.Henry

Many thanks toG. Reid Helms for allowing me to use his images of the powerful Arizona landscapes and panoramas he breathes into life.

Fog Monster, G. Reid Helms

One common theme that has consistently been brought up during my various sessions of Resonance Repatterning and Consultations among recent clients from the Internet Marketing world has been Greed.  I offer these types of sessions to this specific market as IM’ers are very open to the idea of getting their Inner Game aligned to experience profund success in thier Outer Game- this makes them very receptive to the ideas of Energy and how Energy works and flows through us.

Greed isn’t so much wanting more and more even though we may have so much already- that’s normal.  That’s being simply human.  We all foster needs and wants and desires that cause us to expand, that’s just Life.  Greed is something else entirely- an idea, a perception that has been mis-translated and barely understood.

It’s ok to want… it’s perfectly natural. Buddha even acknowledges this when he delivered his Lotus Sutra on Eagle Mountain . He tells all present that have been studying him and his other Sutras that the idea of nirvana and obtaining it, by eliminating desire, is itself a desire- a wanting, a longing. Only with that desire is one able to expand and grow. By explaining to others that their quest of not wanting desires, was itself a desire, he allowed an intricate explanation of human nature to be told through a spiritual perspective. Indeed, the more desires one has, the more one will expand and grow- but they are doing so because of the desire, not due to it. It’s an important distinction.

Greed is having all you need to be happy, right here and right now and also being able to get to other places of happiness, but not using those resources and then asking for more to do what you already can.

Why would anyone even need to be greedy?  Good question, glad you asked…

a) Because they don’t know they are already capable of doing whatever it is they want to do, and,

b) Because they don’t know all the tools, people, and events needed to do what they want to do are already lined up and waiting to be a part of that action.

Need some “real” world examples?

Warranties and Gurantees:  Since I  still spend a few hours each week dealing with I.T. policy and I.T acquisitions, reviewing applicable codes, laws, and regulations, warranties and guarantees remain one of the most costly unnecessary expenditures in budgets I see.  Warranties make the purchasing agent and managing buyers have a warm and fuzzy feel good selling point.  If something goes wrong with the hardware or software, hey- “it’s covered”.  Are warranties and extended coverage plans really worth the 1.2 million on an 11 million contract?  No, but we have a great feeling about the product because we can plan our life cycle costs around the fact that we’ll use this hardware/software for the next 5 years.  Hmmm… why not expand your I.T. section with one an extra technician ($55,000/yr) for 5 years ($275,000 plus health care, taxes, etc) whose sole job is hardware/software maintenance on that equipment and send that person to the vendor’s training to become certified on that product (up to $45,000.00 in fees).

The Vendor is exploiting that natural Greed in the buyer.  Selling something extra (warranty) on top of a product also exploits ignorance.  If the product is already a valued product, then it should work, and it should perform.  Selling a warranty with it is slight admission that maybe it’s not that valuable, or won’t perform the way the Vendor says it should.  However, The buyer and The Vendor alreadyknow that a small percentage of the prodcut, over a period of time, will break down- it’s just simple statistics.  The Vendor is simply promising to do what the Buyer could do (with the extra I.T. tech) if “something” happens… see, Greed is a two way street.   The Buyer is purchasing something based on a perception of lack, not abundance- “this product will eventually break” instead of “this is a product I value and it will perform how I need it to”.

The one that got away: We should all be able to relate to this example…  the girlfriend/boyfriend/job/buisness that we just couldnt hold on to.  Somehow, it left our lives and left us clamoring to get it back.  the loss of it really affected us, and often we didn’t even see the loss of it coming.  We feebly try to replace it once we know we can’t obtain it again, yet that action too fails.  Greed in this case is a matter of ignorance, in not knowing that although the original object we lost may be unobtainable, we can still manifest what we would like- and often do once we “let go” of that original object.  However, we remain too confused and unclear and focused solely on re-obtaining what is no longer there, allowing our actions to be based on lack.

The silver bullet: The myth we create for ourselves that “everything” will be all right and ok, when and only when, this one Action is successfully done.  “I can retire early if….”, “I’ll be rich if….”, “She’ll be ok if…”, “I won’t lose my house if…”.  It’s pure Greed as it places the onus of responsibility on that action itself, instead of where it needs to be, on ourselves.  It allows us the subliminal thought process that indeed nothing right now is ok or all right until this action is completed successfully, that I am myself not ok or all right until this one action is successfully ompleted.

There is a common theme in these examples:  How greed is applied and manipulated through our actions.

Lack Based Actions and Fear Based Actions are actions we undertake from a point of, of course, lack and fear.  We’re doing something becuase we know we don’t have something.  This can only allow struggles and obstacles, hardships and defeat.  Paddling upstream hard enough may eventually get us to our goal, but too often we get caught up in the power of it, and it pushes us further downstream.

Inspired Actions are actions undertaken when everything in our reality tells us to undertake it.  You may be thinking of writing a book, and several people in a month might mention to you that you should write a book or a book, email, pamphlet may come into your reality explaining it’s never easier these days to write a book and how you can do it…  Inspired actions are the easiest because they are literally the path of least resistance… it just feels natural to do it.

When Actions are undertaken with a sense of greed, they tend to usually fail.  When Actions are undertaken with a sense of being inspired to do it, they tend to usually succeed.

Take any field, any career path, any person that is successfully doing what they are doing, and you’ll notice that they’re doing it because they love it, because they were inspired to do it, and by doing it, it is inspiring them to do even other and greater things.  They are loving what they do, otherwise they wouldnt be doing it.

If you’re not doing what you love, if you’re not being inspired to do things you love, then why?  Can it be traced back to the state of perception you undertake your actions with?  If so, then why? If things are hard and unbearable and filled with obstacles, then why are you choosing the path of most resistance?

What specifically, is disallowing you from traveling the path of least resistance to your goal, desire, objective?  The easiest objections to this statement are the ones that are probably causing the hardest obstacles to appear.

For exmaple, “I’d love to travel the world, but, I have a mortgage payment each month and have to work.”  His  real desire was to travel yet he couldn’t because he had a “normal” job he didn’t particularly like- ironically, in the travel industry.  His primary Desire was coming through loud and clear, and he thought that by working for that industry he’d be able to travel, yet this wasn’t the case.  So, after four sessions over a three month period, he realized that traveling was his inspired action.  He was able to sell his house with realtive ease in the current D.C. market, quit his job, and is following the detailed mind map of all the places he’d like to see.  With his knowledge of the travel industry he beaome an independent travel agent to several online companies- a self owned business he can perform anywhere in the world with internet access.  Additionally, he’s discovering multiple streams of revenue by capitalizing on his travel experiences by writing (and monetizing) different blogs related to travel and specific geographic regions.  He’s “working” about 4 – 6 hours a day while travleing across the world.  He’s done all this in the last 5 months.  Do you see how “Greed” was actually preventing him from his goal in the first place?  He wanted to travel the world, but couldn’t, because he didn’t believe in himself enough.  In the end, Chad’s doing great for himself.

Another recent example, “I  need to be at home with my daughter but have to work so much I can’t.”  This single Mother of one lameneted her dismay to me at never having enough time to be with her 4 year old.  During the first session with her, she even complained that she should be spending that hour with her daughter instead of me.  Her desire was more time with her daughter, her reality was that she never had that time- and she didn’t.  Her position required 10 – 20 hours of overtime each week.  She wasn’t worried about money, she had that and was quite affluent.  We spent three sessions over a two month period together.  Once she “gave in” to her primary Desire, an opening in her firm came open- one that paid a little less and had less responsibility.  At the same time, she inquired into openings at a competitors firm, and was offered a similar position. She approached her Regional Director with a solution to her problem (which alone takes a great amount of intestinal fortitude), allow her to slowly transition into this other position while working from home, or she would work for a competitor.  Guess what that Regional director chose.  While she’s still working (from home), it’s only a few hours each day and she can spend the remainder of the time with her daughter.  She was so caught up in the Desire of what she wanted, she didnt know that she alone could provide herself the answer to her steps of Inspired Action.

If you’d like to know more about Resonance Repatterning, Techniques of Organic Marketing, or how Energy is all we have to work with, drop me a line at shiftedenergy.com

Be Inspired!

Big Hugs,

Elephant Head Rock by G. Reid Helms

When we’re little boys or girls there are often rites of initiation we go through, sometimes without our knowledge until after the fact. We get chaperoned to some “big person” activity…. The older sister offering the younger sister a sip of beer, the older brother letting the younger brother take a hit off his cigarette, the mom taking the daughter to the ladies luncheon, the father taking the son off to hunt…. you name it. It’s part of growing up.

One of my initiations was hunting. Deer hunting. Camping out with my pops and his buddies, climbing 15 feet into a tree with a 20 gauge and sitting on a branch while freezing my ass off… fun stuff for a 9 year old. It lead to other excursions- frog spearing (and no, frog legs do not taste like chicken), more deer hunts, and raccoon hunting. Which required dogs. BlueTicks and Redbones and a lot of preparation and trap setting. The traps were simple- a beer can with multiple cuts in the top allowing the flaps of aluminum to be pointed inwards. You wanted the flaps to be large enough to allow a raccoon paw to go into. The raccoon would want to put his paw into it because it saw the “shiny” object at the bottom of the can- a new quarter, fools gold, old costume jewelry, anything that would sparkle and shine under the light of a full moon.

Raccoons are fascinated with shiny objects and will want to bring it back to their den. They’ll reach into the can with an empty paw to grab it, but won’t be able to pull their paw out because the flaps won’t allow it and will dig into their hide. Their paw is just too big, while holding the shiny quarter, to be pulled out of the can. So now you’ve got a raccoon stuck to a can because no matter what, they will not give up their “treasure”. Even when those dogs are bailing and barking and running towards it. It might try to scramble away, but it’s reluctance and adamant refusal to give up what they found in the can is always their demise.

We, as humans, have so much freedom of choice that we can even choose to keep ourselves enslaved and captured by thoughts, habits, actions, and things in the past that just don’t even matter anymore to where we are headed. Yet it’s much easier, almost as if it’s the path of least resistance, to doggedly affix ourselves to what was. “What was” or “What happened” meant something, whether it hurt us or pleased us. “What’s coming”, and “What we’re allowing”, well, those are just unknown ideas, unknown possibilities. We may want to “go” there or “get” there, but we can’t because we’ve got this stupid can of what we’re holding on to, keeping us back. As much as we’d *really* like to move forward and progress onwards, we’re not allowing ourselves to. We may think we are, but we know that something’s holding us from where we really need to be, who we really need to be, and it’s easy to blame the can, not ourselves, right?

The person who said I asked them the 3 rudest questions they’ve ever been asked had a “can on their hand”. At the end of that particular discussion I mentioned that if they ever needed it, I’d offer them a session of Resonance Repatterning. They took me up on it, and we discovered that the “can on their hand” was linked to a pattern of beliefs that had distorted and interrupted their Energy in their meridians and chakras- and that that was caused because they had a pattern in their childhood of being told what and who they were. When I finally came along in their Life’s path and asked them those 3 rudest questions, what had actually happened was that they had already reached a point in their journey that on some deeper level, they were no longer resonating with those patterns. they wanted to change, but weren’t able to as that “can” had become so big. Their explosion of anger and rage at me was the catalyst that gave this person the conscious notion that it was time to change. The session revealed the correct modality and follow up actions they could do on their own to ensure their resonance was no longer matching those older issues and that they would move towards a greater sense of coherence in their lives. Resonance Repatterning is clearing the old channels of Energy to allow newer channels in.

Is there a can stuck to your hand?  Is there something that you can not and will not let go of?  Conversely, and even more so, do you feel that something or someone can not and will not let go of you?!  You have the strength and power to look forward, to allow all that was and all that has been to just be.  You don’t have to or need to bring it with you on your journey, but it may be disallowing you from it.

If you’re interested in Resonance Repatterning, it can be done in person or by proxy through email and telephone calls.  There aren’t that many practitioners, but it’s well worth it.  Send me an email at jhenry@shiftedenergy.com, or check out the following two ladies, both good friends of mine:

Merryl
Tina

Big Hugs,
J. Henry

The image above, from G. Reid Helms, remains one of my favorites.

Notice the Buddha in the middle of the machine?!

I had one of the originals and it was amazing….

What it is: a device that plays ambient electronics sound loops fused with fuzzy logic and random generated algorithms to continually serve up an atmosphere of ambient muzik.

Where the idea came from: Buddhist temples!”Chant Boxes” were loops of particular chants specific to a certain prayer, a family member passing, or to be left where one’s ashes were interred (let’s face it, buddhists prefer cremation).  They could be left on and played until the battery drained, alleviating someone from physically doing the chanting… let’s call it “lazy faith”!

What it can do for you:  Soothes and calms a workspace.  Eliminates the need to have the TV on “just to hear the voices in the background”. Combined with a binaural brainwave generator, it could stimulate alpha, delta, or theta brainwaves. A physical modality to meditate with. Just a way to simplify and unclog your environment of distractions and nuisances.  It’s like a water fountain, without the water and rocks and pump….

Find out More:

http://disquiet.com/2005/12/17/buddha-in-the-machine/

http://www.rarefrequency.com/2005/11/the_ghost_in_th.html

http://www.boomkat.com/article.cfm?id=3

http://www.fm3buddhamachine.com/

Insound is one of the few places that still has it in stock:

Enjoy!

J. Henry

Cherry Creek Fire

There’s always times that someone looking for help or advice makes their way into your Life and your Perceptions.  While it’s “nice” to be helpful, at times many are just in a place that you don’t, and don’t want to, resonate with.  As an example, maybe a friend of yours is having some relationship problems, maybe a family member is having financial problems, maybe a business partner is having some legal troubles…. whatever the case may be, they’ve come to you for advice, assistance, help, a friendly shoulder to lean or cry on, someone to hear them out.  While it’s certainly fine to listen, they are usually in a place that will prevent them from really hearing what you have to say.

Let me reiterate that.  They are usually in a  place that will prevent them from fully hearing, fully understanding, and fully comprehending whatever tip, piece of advice, or comforting words you offer. The only way they will hear and understand is if you can relate to them, vibrationally and energetically.  They are attempting (or perhaps unconsciously manipulating) to get you to “see” them as someone with this dis-ease or dis-comfort.  You get me?  When and if you do, then you’re only doing a dis-service to them, and more importantly, to you.  To “see” them as they are presenting themselves means you have allowed yourself to become temporarily disconnected from your Source and stream of Life and Energy.  You have chosen to “see” them not as who they could be, their version of their highest self, but as someone, consumed with what ails them, is cutting themselves off from their own Source and Stream of Life.

Let’s step back a bit.  There’s only Well Being, right?  If you don’t believe that, then this might not make a whole lot of sense.  It’s really all about where we allow ourselves to exist- on a material and spiritual, non-physical, level.  There aren’t any victims, and only we are responsible for where, when, who, and how we are. When we consciously choose the best feeling thought, the best feeling emotion, the best feeling and inspired actions, then we’re allowing that into our life, that what we create.

By choosing to “see” someone needing advice, help, in the midst of their often overwhelming problems, and then rendering aide, you’re bringing yourself closer to them vibrationally.  They won’t understand your message or advice or solution because you’re already coming from a point diametrically opposed from where they are, otherwise they wouldn’t really be coming to you for help, etc, would they?  You’re in a place they’re not- there’s really no way they can “get” your message until they allow themselves to match your vibration and energy.  The more you keep giving what they need, the closer you match their vibration until they do “get” what you’ve been telling them… Now the problem is, you’re not happy because they still have a problem, they’re not happy with your bad advice AND they still have their problem, and the problem is still there without any solution or cure.  Sounds like a winning scenario right?

Wouldn’t it be better for all involved if you were just a little selfish?  What if, instead of giving them what they need or ask for, you choose instead to:

a)  see them as they really are, a vibrant radiant energetic being knowing only well-being.  The who they would like to be, their version of their highest self.

b) choose to continue to be happy regardless of the person asking for your help or advice, and regardless of their problem.

c) Appreciate them for who they really are and that their presence allows in you the reminder to continually choose for yourself the best feeling thoughts, ideas, emotions, and actions.

You’ll be happy (still), by not allowing yourself to “see” them as they are presenting themselves, their version of What Is, they come closer to your Energy. Or your Energy just repels them.  They may still have the problem, and go to others for what they perceive you have failed to give them, but you’ve chosen to see them as something else.  When they sense that you fail to see them “with their problem”, this very well changes their notion of who they could be, and when around you in the future, may not bring that problem with them.

You still get me?

In case you’re still wandering, the “rudest” questions I asked are:

“Are you Happy?”

“What do you want?”

“Who are you?”

Big Hugs,

J. Henry

This is the first of many posts that will include the imagery found at www.azpano.com. G. Reid Helms is a fantastic landscape and panoramic photographer.  Visit his site and be inspired by the art of nature.

At that time, the men and women (yes, there were a few) I most admired were older Vietnam Vets, getting ready to retire after 20 years of service. They were themselves lowly Privates and Corporals during that previous engagement in southeast Asia, and were now Sergeant First Class’, First Sergeants’, and Sergeant Majors. Some had been such troublemakers that they would get rank (be promoted) only to slide down the ladder (get demoted) for hitting officers, DUI’s, or plain disrespect to their “superiors”. During BCT and the later Advanced Training (AIT) I received, I savored every story and tidbit of knowledge they would share with me, privately and in group settings. Smoking joints on the back of M60 tanks, Dropping science (ingesting LSD) and going out on patrols, surfing on Mui Ne Beach at night to avoid enemy fire… these men and women were rebels in fatigues. They knew the game, how it was played, and how to teach and instruct others in the game. The game was, how to be a soldier without losing your sense of self and getting caught up in the “protocol” and “official-ness” of actually being a soldier. Many of these warriors savored a chance to end their career on a high-note, by fighting once again.

During my AIT in Ft. Huachuca, AZ I learned more from them then the stale classes I was required to take and pass to be qualified and certified to do the position I had enlisted for. I would often tease and taunt others for not “getting” the simplicity of what they were learning. Of course, this would often lead to physical fights which would then lead to me standing before my Company Commander (a commissioned officer, usually called CO, short for commanding officer) at attention (a standing position where your knees are locked and hands rigid at your side), explaining why I did what I did. I was always accompanied by a senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) of the Company, Sergeant First Class Hayes. He was an imposing 6′3, about 280 pounds of muscle, 40-ish, black man with a 1st of the 6th Combat Patch from Vietnam on his right shoulder. He would stand behind me and speak to the CO on my behalf usually after I would break protocol by sticking my foot in my mouth and saying something smarmy.

The first two times this happened he would assure the CO it would not happen again. Outside the office he would put his hand on my shoulder, spin me around, slap me on my bald head (when NCO’s were still “allowed” to), bend down to get nose to nose with me- close enough that I could smell his rancid, kimchi-laden breath- and scream, loud enough for the CO behind the closed door to hear and close enough to cover my face with droplets of spit, “What the F**K were you thinking, who the F**K do you think you are Private Henry, I don’t like your F*****G face but you’re making me be in it, get your F*****G battle dress on cause I’m gonna work that A**!”

For those that don’t know, battle dress is the full compliment of gear worn into battle- your rucksack, your NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) mask, your M60 (full auto machine gun if you were dumb or unlucky enough to “volunteer” to carry it instead of the much lighter M16A2), two full canteens of water, various first aid pouches and ammunition clips, etc… about 40 – 50 pounds of equipment.   SFC Hayes would stand in the cool shade of the building, just outside the window of the CO while I was on a concrete pad in the brutal Arizona heat- screaming various things for me to do… 100 front leaning rests (push-ups), 100 flutter kicks, 100 counts of jogging in place while hoisting my M60 up and down above my head. At times, and probably for the benefit of curious onlookers, he would lazily walk around me to scream obscenities and detail what a royal pain in the A** I was. Usually, after about 90 minutes of this, the CO would open his window, call SFC Hayes over, and I’d then hear “Henry- get your sorry A** over here”. He’d ask if I was going to screw up again, and of course, to get out of the heat and physically exerting exercises, I’d scream “No Sergeant”. I’d be dismissed to my barracks to clean up and return to the training class.

What I would later discover was that SFC Hayes punishment saved me from various Article 15’s and other “official forms of administrative actions”.  It was all show for the CO, something he could notate in a file to show his superiors, if the occassion ever arose.   SFC Hayes would insert himself between me and the CO, telling the CO that he would take care of me.  And he did.

The third time this happened I was expecting more of the same. However, the person I beat down, Sergeant McIntyre, a “retread”, (someone reclassifying from one specialty to another) receiving training in my class, made a *big* issue of it. Sure, he was embarrassed at having received an a** whipping from a lowly private, but more importantly, it became an issue of disrespect. To me, SGT McIntyre was just wrong in how he addressed a fellow female soldier in my class…

This time, SFC Hayes didn’t spin me around, didn’t lead me outside to mete his special form of “punishment”. Instead, we went to the local pub, conveniently behind Riley Barracks. You could buy alcohol, on post, as an 18 year old- It was allowed to prevent the young soldiers from going off post and then driving drunk. I was more scared of what was going to happen then I ever had been before.

SFC Hayes bought us a pitcher of MGD. He broke out his Newports. Took off his brown round (a distinctive drill Sergeant hat) and BDU top, then sat in silence while he stared at me and finished his first plastic cup of MGD. When he spoke, it was a lowered and hushed tone, a tone that was very private and for me alone to hear.  He explained that he was for now, not SFC Hayes, but a person, talking to me one on one.  He told me he was going to talk and he would appreciate it if I just shut up and listened. He began by saying he liked me. That he saw a lot of the younger version of himself in me, that he liked the fact I had balls big enough to put other people in their place when they got out of line. That his cadre of NCO’s got a kick out of my antics in the classroom and out, but they couldn’t share that with me as I was still in training and not yet “officially” a soldier. He confided in me that even the CO told him that he saw a lot of potential in me, if my rough edges could be taken care of. The CO and SFC Hayes saw nothing wrong in what I did as Sergeant McIntrye deserved an a** beating for berating a female soldier, PVT Brown- it was not his place as a Trainee, to do so. However, Sergeant McIntyre went above the CO’s head and complained directly to the Battalion Commander. Doing physical exercises outside of that Commander’s window was out of the question as that Commander wanted to make an example of me. “We’re going to war, and you’re a loose cannon Henry- he wants to make an example of you by kicking you out with a dishonorable discharge.”

While I really didn’t care one way or another, SFC Hayes did. In the end I did what the CO and SFC Hayes suggested, I personally apologized to SGT McIntyre in front of my training class. SFC Hayes confronted SGT McIntyre on my behalf and made it clear that if he pursued any type of action against me, SFC Hayes would escort PVT Brown to the local EEO (equal employment opportunity) office and lodge a sexual harassment complaint against SGT McIntyre, effectively ending his career. Things worked out pleasantly.

SFC Hayes and I talked for about three hours and seven or eight pitchers of MGD that day. My Army training took on a different caliber. He told me some of his most memorable Vietnam stories and how he survived as a black man in a predominantly white post-Vietnam Army. I had never known that SFC Hayes had actually obtained the rank of Sergeant Major (E-9) before sliding down the ladder to an E-7 after he lost his temper at a foolish white Second Lieutenant who made the mistake of calling him “Boy”.

Sometimes the Universe puts someone in front of you that is willing to share knowledge with you and teach you something about Life.  SFC Hayes brought me to a realization, now almost a metaphysical reality to many in this age of Law of Attraction. He told me that in the Army, what you are, what rank you are, what position you hold, just doesn’t matter one damn bit. If you’re an E-4 and want to become a Sergeant (E-5), then act like one. If you’re an E-5, then act like an E-6. He put a spin on it, and told me whether I’m in the Army or not “What Is, Right Here and Right Now” does not matter except to those caught up in that game. If you play your own game, and can project your version of “What Is” onto the “What Is” of the real world, then your version will always win out. No exceptions.

If you get caught up in the “What Is” of right now, then you may never be in a state of mind to project your version of “What Is” onto your Life. “What Is”, is merely indicative of what’s already been created. It’s like trying to drive down a straight road while looking in your rear view mirror to see if you’re still between the white lines. It “works”, but what happens when you try to steer around a curve?

Wouldn’t you really rather create your OWN “What Is”? You can. Many people have. Many people are. Would you rather focus on the fact that you are not wealthy/healthy/loved, or would you rather focus on the fact that in your mind you are wealthy/healthy/loved, etc…?

If you’re not a millionaire or wealthy enough to not have to work, then find out what the attributes of millionaires are and begin incorporating them into your own life.

If you’re not loved, then find out what makes people be loved, then start acting like that.

You don’t have to be or have something to act like you have or are someone.  That’s the trick SFC Hayes taught me long before the Law of Attraction and The Secret re-worded it.

SFC Hayes became an E-9 (again). I kept track of him and was proud to see his name on the promotion list in the Army Times. He retired and lived in Sierra Vista, the small town close to Ft. Huachuca, AZ. I visited him several times while in college and we’d go to the local biker bar, the Sorry Gulch Saloon, to share a few beers (on my dime of course) and stories. He was a great source of advice and inspiration. He’s since passed, but his wisdom is worth sharing.

Keep on Keeping on and creating all the while,

Big Hugs,

J.Henry

Many have been quoting obscure  “facts” and “statistics” regarding the potential of change when using Life Coaches, etc., in your personal life.  Many Corporations even hire them to teach, train, and motivate their staff.

If you’re considering using the services of one, here’s a quick list of the 10 things you should consider about the person before engaging their services:

1.) Did they come to you or did you come to them?  Were they highly recommended and did you seek out their services, or are they offering their services to the multitudes via some email marketing campaign?

2.) Do they offer a free consultation? Do they have an abundance of material (blogs, ebooks, audio) freely available on their website from which you can gauge the quality of their work?

3.) If they are a professional Life Coach do they belong to any organizations that support and foster the Life Coaching community? They are many “certifications” that take only 2 days to obtain- is this coach one of them? How long have they been certified, and how long have they been practicing?  If not, what qualifies them to be a Life Coach? Likewise, does your potential professional intuitive have any certifications or belong to any organizations?  Is it something they are doing full time, or are they still in the process of learning?

4.) Do they explain their particular process of assisting you in an informative manner, and, did they adhere to this when they provided their services to you?

5.) Do they practice what they preach?  Do they walk their own walk?  Do they take their own medicine or simply “advise” people on what they think is best for them?  For example, if you’re consulting with a wealth/abundance/money manifestation Life Coach or intuitive, are they themselves financially abundant?

6.) Do they use terms and phrases that contain the words: No, Don’t, Can’t, Never?

7.) Do you receive a good feeling from them? Can you trust their advice? Do they follow through with you?

8.) Do you place value on their work because you pay them?  Would their work still hold meaning to you if you had paid nothing? $500? $1000?

9.) Did they oversell?  Did they try to offer you another service or schedule another appointment for you?  Is their primary intention to be paid, or, to be of assistance to you?

10.) Would you recommend them to someone else?

There are some amazing Energy workers in the world today.  There are also some that shouldnt be in the profession at all.  Use your best judgment when selecting someone to assist you.

Just for an example, here is an extremely short list of some of the best I’ve seen, encountered, or worked with… (and no, I’m not receiving anything for promoting these individuals)

Paula Kawal
Slade Roberson
Tina Benneman
Meryl Chodosh-Weiss
Andrea Hess

Do you need help or advice on whom to choose to assist you? Drop me a line, I’d love to help.

Happy Choosing!

J.Henry

We first met in Ft. Stewart, GA.  He had a beat up Honda Accord that he threw all his spare money into- custom manifolds, custom exhausts, custom car stereo….  On weekends, he’d bungee cord his surfboard to the roof and drive off to the beaches between Hilton Head Island and Jekyll Island always looking for some better waves.  I joined him many times and for the most part, we both decided waves were better on the West Coast.

He was a classic kuncklehead.  Never on time.  Always had money problems.  Loved to backtalk and make sarcastic replies.  Women loved, then hated him.  And he was always getting tickets.  His life was a mess, and the longer I knew him while we were  both still in the Army, the more he spiraled downward and out of control.

After I had left to pursue other callings of my own life, Rob did something, well, quite amazing.  To this day, it still impresses me.  Not the fact that he decided to do it, but the fact that he recognized this question, this basic question of life, so early on.  His girlfriend had dumped him after draining his bank accounts (he was a trusting guy, and still is) while he was in Kosovo.  Bungee cords gave way and deposited his surfboard on GA State Route 26.  Then his car was stolen.  His rebelliousness against all military command was the cause of his demotion and several Article 15’s.  Then he failed a urinalysis test.  All this within a month.

I had been keeping up with him via brief phone calls now and then and talked to him at the tail end of all this.  Rather than be upset, angry, and pissed off at all the things that had gone wrong in that Month of Calamity, he was calm, happy, and well.. aloof.  He told me he woke up one morning, and decided that he could be Happy or Angry.  We talked about it more.  This was NEWS to me.   If he could be happy in spite of all the crap thats gone wrong, then how happy would he be when everything goes right?  He told me all that stuff didn’t matter- the surfboard, the car, the girlfriend that he had fallen in love with, the thousands that she ran off with.  All that did matter, to him, was that he stay happy. I’ve heard some of his other friends call him the most selfish person they know because of this. He doesn’t care because he knows, without a doubt, that he alone is responsible for his own happiness and he has made that the focal point of his life.

That’s it.  One decision made one morning and Rob’s life changed immaculately and forever.  Sure, life still tested him and threw him curve balls- but he’s been happy, genuinely happy, since he made that decision.  He’s one of the funniest guys I know, and being around him makes me happy. He has a joyous Energy around him.  He’s also one of the “luckiest” guys I know…

He’s gone from being broke and living in a trailer (surfing all day and living off of unemployment after his army days) to being rich and living in a RV.  He owns several construction companies in Southern California and lets other people manage them while he travels up and down the coast chasing waves. While some people may not equate being rich with living in a RV, to him, it’s the ultimate expression of freedom- the ability to pick up and move on to wherever he damn well pleases.

It wasn’t that one momentous decision that allowed him to be happy, it was a series of steps and smaller decisions he had undertaken – all the things that had gone “wrong” in his life and the emotions he attached to them…that allowed him to climb to the point where he could, by setting his intentions into words, choose to just be happy.  Once he did that, all the stuff that had gone “wrong” before just no longer mattered to him.  His point of focus was so powerful that morning he woke up and decided to be happy, that he’s never had to revisit or question that decision and his response.  It’s become his normal.

When I talk to Rob now, he’s never consumed by all that he’s achieved. It’s just his own personal path of progression and evolution guided by his singular desire to just be happy. All that he’s achieved has just been his path to his happiness, and every step of the way, he remained happy and joyful. Think about that. When I knew him in the Army he had just turned 19. He did terrible in school because he skipped most of his classes every day to catch waves in the morning. He never held a job and had no clue what to do after he graduated. The Army was an easy choice for him because a recruiter promised him he could get stationed in Hawaii. He smoked cheeba, he chased and abused betty’s (the californian term for hot babes), he drove and lived recklessly, he was a double fisted drinker and fighter, and he absolutely hated and rebelled against all authority figures. How could such a walking calamity as he was ever attain what he has in just under 15 years?

He became a plumber in the mid 90’s after his unemployment ran out.  He earned his license based on his military training, then levied those skills to into a plumbing contracting business which he then sold to purchase a small construction company.  When business boomed for him in early 2000, he bought another, then another.  Somehow, the right people came into his life at the right time to do all this- only so Rob could continue to feel happy.  What makes him happy besides surfing?  Not much- but that’s the whole point.  Rob’s Life turned around and provided him a way and a means to do what he loves.  He didn’t start out trying to manifest money or wealth (that was a by-product of his genuine desire to just be happy), but he is now wealthy enough to never have to work another day in his life.

This seems to be the point that most people can never really get right, they just don’t know what they truly love and enjoy to do. They doggedly pursue wealth assuming once they have it, then they’ll be happy. Money is not the engine, it’s just the oil.

He’s on his way to Australia and New Zealand to catch waves out there for a few years.  I keep telling him that eventually he’ll find something else that will make him as happy as surfing, and he tells me that he knows. Then he tells me he also knows his life will provide him the means and the way to be happy doing that as well.

It’s not about the how and the why- it’s only about how you feel!

Big Hugs,

J.Henry

Update: 9 July 09: I spoke with Rob recently. Although he’s still setting things up in Cali. for an extended departure to the land down down under, he did have time to scan a book with me over the phone. It’s from Brian Kim who has a great productivity blog that Rob and I have been reading for a couple of years. We both agreed that this is the most simplest way to find out what makes you happy and gives you the ideas needed to do it. Check it out: Find your Passion!

Update: 18 August 09: Rob has made it to Kiama, Australia.  Tells me “The Boneyard” is where the surf is happening.  Our buddies at Real Subliminal revamped one of their products based on Rob’s wild success story:  Extreme Self Motivation Subliminal Check it out!