Be Your Own Fairy Godmother

Hot Points – A blog by Go Daddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons

Posted using ShareThis

No Comments »

One of my heroes as a writer is Alice Walker. I am forwarding an open letter that is floating around the internet that she wrote to president-elect Obama. I don’t care if she didn’t really write it, and I won’t be checking Snopes.com. In contrast to all the hate-willed email I’ve seen this year, this one makes up for it all.

Regardless of your politics or your opinion of the outcome of the elections, please read Ms. Walker’s words of wisdom as if they were addressed to you personally. This letter will inspire me for many days to come:

Open Letter to Barack Obama from Alice Walker
Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history.

But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear.

And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different
time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done.

We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on.

One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax.

From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people’s enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion.

We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely.

However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people’s spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to “work with the enemy” internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.

Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.

And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

Amen. –Charlotte

9 Comments »

Many of the wishes I hear every day are about money, and much of the focus of lack is about money. But what is it you really want? The money itself is only a tool. What would you do if you had the money?

What would prosperity mean to you if your house were paid off, your new car paid off and you had no credit card bills or student loans or other non-utility expenses?

Would you quit working? Find a job you loved? Write the great American Novel? Garden? Build custom Harleys? Walk across the country? Visit parents? Grandchildren? the Zoo? New York City?

What’s stopping you from doing that now? What do you need to do what you want to do?

What if there were away to get what you want regardless of your pocket, wallet, or bank account? I have swapped out for chiropractic care, counseling, use of equipment, and other services.

What are you doing to learn the skills and habits you will need once you have the money? If you won the lottery today, could you start your dream life tomorrow? Are you ready?

No Comments »

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ” Arthur C. Clarke
“Profiles of The Future”, 1961 (Clarke’s third law) English physicist & science fiction author (1917 – )

In a brainstorming session last night, the question was raised, “What happens when magic collides with physics?” Is magic only a different technology than our current physics? How does a cellphone work?

In fantasy fiction, magic is the nullification of physics, the ability to fly without wings, the teleportation of objects, transformation of one kind of thing, such as a person, into another, such as a frog or a teapot.

What then, is the benefit of reading ot writing such illogical stuff, of making wishes and performing acts of manifestation? Why all the affirmations, the visualization CDs, the DVDs of Abraham, the Secret and Raymon Grace? What’s wrong with the idea that we should work hard to get what we want?

The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible. Arthur C. Clarke, “Technology and the Future” (Clarke’s second law)

There are too many people who manage to stay happy and breeze through even terrifying events. Some people seem to live charmed lives, yet they are often the ones who are the first to help others from their own good fortune. Their aggravations are small and handled with calm and finesse.

Students of magic and energy work often talk of quantum physics, although they and the scientists who study it know very little about how it works. That’s the reason for building the new Hadron Collider, to see what happens when phyiscs (proton particles–they know the protons are particles because they set up the experiement to work with particles, rather than waves) collides with physics. Perhaps they will find magic in the form of alternate universes and new understandings of the energies of the universe will be created, even at the unlikely risk of a few ephemeral nano-black holes.

So if there are any literalists still read this far along, take hope. Impossible means that we just don’t understand how it works, or we haven’t asked the question in the right way.

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. Arthur C. Clarke, Clarke’s first law)

Keep thinking those good thoughts. Keep dreaming of what you want. Remember that every convenience we depend on today was at best, a science fantasy when Arthur C. Clarke was born in December of 1917. It is the dreamers who create the world.

7 Comments »

While sitting alone at my computer, tired of late nights, web sites and rewrites, I had a small pity party. I saw a flier for a local downtown event–music, arts and food.

I thought that it might be fun, but my usual partner, my daughter was off with her buddies having fun. I was in the empty nest. It would be nice to have someone to go with, I thougth, but since I don’t, I’ll just stay here.

Not five minutes later, a buddy of mine called to say that he wanted to go to the event, and would I be interested in going? We have a mutually beneficial relationship–He pays for the entertainment and I provide transportation. But he was a quick answer for a fleeting thought and we had an enjoyable hour or two.

Last night, another offhanded thought that I should call my agent fluttered by as I was posting my online class. Again within ten minutes, she called me, and we worked outa few details on the novel submission I revised again to email to her.

It is important to practice thinking good thoughts and feeling good, because even the most fleeting thought can flutter by and manifest in the physical world. I did not do anything special to attract my answers. I didn’t even write down the thoughts as a memo.

Be careful what you think about. You just might get it.

3 Comments »

Jerry W. Willis and Suzanne Lieurance are coauthors of a new book, The Life of Your Dreams – Building Your Life and Career Around the Things You Love Most, due for release in March 2008. If you need help creating the life of your dreams, visit their blog at http://www.thelifeofyourdreams.net for additional tips and articles that will help. While you’re there, ask them your most pressing question about building the life of your dreams or email suzanne@workingwriterscoach.com with your question.

No Comments »

Click on the words above: “Brought to you by the Number Eight.” Print it out and put it in your wallet. Then print out another one and put it on your computer if you use a computer to make your money. Print out another one and put it in your office or cube or anywhere else that you can see so that you will remember what it is for.

What is it for?

Prosperity. That seems to be the number one wish these days, however you define prosperity.

If you are an energy worker, work up a spell for Friday: 08/08/2008 which adds up to 26 which adds up to …wait for it…8.

I got this from Raymond Grace’s CD on Prosperity, which I highly recommend if you like a down-home, folksy, logical approach to managing energy, past present and future.

Some thoughts on the number 8:

From Wikipedia on chinese number meanings:

Eight

The word for “eight” (八，捌) in Chinese (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth” (发 – short for “发财”, Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for “eight” and “fortune” are also similar, eg Cantonese “baat” and “faat”.

There is also a resemblance between two digits, “88″, and the shuang xi (‘double joy’), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (xi, ‘joy’, ‘happiness’).

Telephone number 8888-8888 was sold for USD$270,723 in Chengdu, China.

The Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to open on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 p.m.[2]

A man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for 1.12 million yuan.[2]

Dragon Fish Industry in Singapore, a breeder of rare Asian Arowanas (which are “lucky fish” themselves, and, being a rare species, are required to be microchipped), makes sure to use numbers with plenty of eights in their microchip tag numbers, and appears to reserve particularly numbers especially rich in eights and sixes (e.g. 702088880006688) for particularly valuable specimens.

From PR NTR KMT

Eight (8) has the primary numerological meanings of wholeness, change, leadership, power.

Jewish Qabalah: The Number Eight is the eighth Sephira. The name of the eighth sephira is HVD, Hod, Splendour.

Planet: In numerology Saturn vibrates to the number 8.

From Crystallinks

Spiritually eight is the goal of the initiate, having gone through the seven stages. Eight is Infinity – Paradise regained.

Eight is solidarity as the first cube and it denotes perfection by virtue of it’s six surfaces. There are eight winds and intermediate directions of space. Eight represents the pairs of opposites. The octagon is the beginning of the transformation of the square into a circle and vice versa.

Cultural References

Eight in many cultures and ideologies seems to have similar meanings:

• Felicity
• Perfect rhythm
• Regeneration
• Resurrection

In some myths the eighth day created the new “man” of grace. After seven days of fasting and penance the eighth day becomes plenty and renewal. 7+1 is the number of the octave which is a continual theme in all esoteric belief systems. The knowledge of frequency and sound are a vital key in the ancient “mystery schools”.

Buddhist tradition: eight is completion, all possibilities. There are eight symbols of good augury.
Chinese system of belief eight represents the whole. It is all possibilities in manifestation. Eight is seen as a good luck number. The PAKUA is the design depicting the eight trigrams and pairs of opposites, usually in a circle, the circumference of which symbolizes time and space. There are eight delights of human existence.
Christian: Eight is regeneration and rebirth. The font is usually octagonal as symbolizing the place of regeneration. There are eight beatitudes.
Egyptian: Eight is the number of Thoth.
Hebrew: Eight is perfect intelligence; splendor. The digit value of “IHVH” is the “Number of the Lord”. The Temple was sanctified in eight days.
Hermetic: In their system there is one chief God, (eight minor gods) Thoth/Hermes was the inventor of numbers and geometry.
Hindu: 8×8 symbolism is the order of the celestial world established on earth. Temples are built on the pattern of the MANDALA, which is the 8×8 symbol. In their belief system there are eight regions of the world, suns, divisions of the day, and eight chakras.
Islamic: The throne which encompasses the world is supported by eight angels, corresponding to both the eight divisions of space and the groups of letters in the Arabic alphabet.
Japanese: Eight is the “many”. There are eight Gods in the heavens.
Platonic: Plato has eight spheres of different colors surrounding the luminous pillars of the heavens.
Pythagorean: Eight is solidarity and stability.
Sumero-Semitic: Eight is the magic number of Nebo.
Taoist: Eight to be All possibilities in manifestation with the Pa Kua representing the forces in the phenomenal world. There are eight Taoist genii or immortals.

Tune in tomorrow for the next logical step.

20 Comments »

Rowling should be the poster child for Law of Attraction and Manifesting. She created a whole world and world view from the mythology of Europe and the legends of magic, with her own modern humorous twists based on understanding of how people think and what makes them afraid.

Her hand crafted version of this book was a new item last Christmas, and now both a collector’s edition and a standard edition are being pre-sold for this Christmas season, to be released on Dec. 4th. The

These tales provide backstory of the wizarding world, with footnotes by Albus Dumbledore. I can’t wait to read it, and it reminds me of all the fairy tales I want to write. Rowling is my hero. I have a novel based in fairy tales that is in the editing stage, and part of my wish is to share in the readership that Rowling has built, even though my characters are much older than Ron and Hermione.

No Comments »

One of my wishes is to become famous–maybe not with my face splattered all over People magazine, but a name that people know. I am building myself a platform on the internet and today I have proof that it is working.

I Googled myself, and I am 18 of the top 20 listings. The other two are for a Charlotte E. Babb who was an artist int he 1800s. Her poster of a couple of angels apparently still sells pretty well.

This is part of my dream, and it is coming true.

1 Comment »

< img src="http://www.gaffney-sc.com/images/peach.gif">Yesterday as I was driving home, I got to the railroad track, and sure enough, a train was blocking it, just sitting there. That’s not too unusual, and as the train was not moving, I just shut off the motor and decided to wait a few minutes. A flatbed truck pulled in behind me and a few other cars, but then one little truck drove down beside me to turn around, which I thought was strange. Why not just take the cut-through road?

But then he stopped and chatted with the man in the flatbed, all in Spanish. The flatbed driver hopped out and got two large baskets of peaches from the back of his truck.

Mmmmmmm….peaches! The railroad track goes through a neigborhood where people walk because they don’t have cars. So the flatbed soon attracted some passersby, and the driver made a few more sales. I decided I had waited long enough on the train which showed no signs of moving on, and did the three point turn.

AS I started back to the cut-through, I asked about the peaches…$12 for a big basket. When I rolled the window down for him to put them in the front seat, they smelled like warm sunshine and sweet tea. These were local, ripe peaches, not some fuzzy rocks shipped in from somewhere else. People have heard of Georgia peaches, but these are from the Gaffney area, immortalized by the Peachoid.

I cruised on home, hungrier by the minute with that wonderful smell beside me–it’s hard to eat a ripe peach and drive without getting sticky all over from that wonderful juice.

When I pulled into my neighborhood, I saw one of my dog-walking neighbors, a nice lady who does not speak any English. She looks Eastern European with her babuska and her little black ragmop dog. I stopped and handed her a couple of the peaches, that being as many as she could handle without a bag to put them in. She beamed and said thank you. Nothing like sunshine shared.

I am so glad that I didn’t get upset about having to wait for the train. If I had just sighed and taken the long way around, I wouldn’t have any of those glorious peaches. Roses aren’t the only thing to take time to stop and smell…and eat. I’l'l be up to my elbows in peach juice tonight as I peel and slice them for freezing. Yummmm.

No Comments »