Living Free - The Quest

How Not to Be a Victim, Ever!

2011-01-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

“Courage is mastery of fear - not absence of fear”

Mark Twain

Many have asked if my friend made it to shore. Okay then, here’s the rest of the story:

He struck out toward the shore, a mile away, swimming as well as he could. He was cold, colder than he’d ever been before. The water dragged at his clothes, making every stroke feel like swimming through putty. After a while he reached a point of exhaustion and numbness that signaled the end and he knew he could not go on. Yet somehow he made the decision to die while swimming, not while lying idle. So he did go on and in so doing found a new level of stamina he’d never known before. He felt his body doing a fair if somewhat shaky job of moving him steadily forward. His mind then went to other things, a fireplace, his kids, and how he would tell them his story. He did not hear the Coast Guard helicopter until it was right over him.

What I learned from his story was not to associate too deeply with any problem because often there is no logical way out of it and my mind can then go into despair. When we spend too much time thinking about or wrestling with our problems we can get too close to them, begin to identify with them so acutely we become them. In other words, if I think a lot about my pain, I begin to think I am my pain; that we two are inseparable. My suffering then hangs over me like a shroud and screens away any joy, any ray of light around me and I see only anguish. But I am not my pain; I can choose to look beyond the shroud and identify instead with joy, with laughter, with my freedom.

Hey, I know it’s not easy, this is the game of life, and the odds often feel like they are against us; that’s what makes it exciting. And if we look back at all those times of extreme anxiety and fear; times we were sure we couldn’t make it through the dark tunnels; we realize that we always had it made.

There is only one exception to what I say about our ability to choose joy. It is the worst by far, hands down: -The eternal, universal champion of all suffering for all time is severe clinical depression. It is so because it captures not only ones thoughts, but the mind itself which, altered by a struggling brain, will not allow awareness of anything but being hopelessly lost in an endless darkness. The neurotransmitters in the brain have gone awry then and need to be rerouted by an antidepressant so we again feel hope and see Light.

My friend was swimming, not only to save his life, but also to fully live it, however short it would be. He refused to be a victim. Until I make that same choice, there’s no chance of a helicopter ever finding me.

Coaching
You can reach your goals faster and with less hassle when consulting an objective guide. Why not choose one with 35 years of coaching successes in relationships and leadership? bob@arasfoundation.org or 425-868-8448

A Bit of Humor for You
An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen.
The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, “Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly.”
The other man said, “What is the name of the restaurant?”
The first man thought and thought and finally said, “Oh, what is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know.... the one that's red and has thorns.”
“Do you mean a rose?”
“Yes, that's the one,” replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, “Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?”

This Week’s Hero
There are so many heroes from the Tucson massacre. Yet I feel compelled to choose one; not to elevate his courage above that of others, but because his story has not been as widely told and also because his bravery so fittingly represents that of the others.
Ronald Barber was standing near Ms. Giffords when he was shot twice and Judge John M. Roll died while helping save his life. According to a surveillance video, now in the hands of the FBI, John Roll disregarded his own safety and immediately went to help Mr. Barber. In the video, with the gunman only three feet away, he guided the wounded Mr. Barber to the ground, then shielding him with his body by literally lying on top of him with his back exposed he tried to move Mr. Barber out of danger, pushing with his right hand and guiding Mr. Barber with his left. The gunman saw and shot him in the back, killing him.

Thankfully, Mr. Barber has now left the hospital and is recovering.

John Roll proved that there is no greater gift one can give than to lay down his life for his brother. It is with heavy yet grateful hearts that we celebrate his wonderful heroism.

Don’t sink With Your Boat!

2011-01-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

“We see with our brains, not with our eyes.”

From The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge MD

A friend’s boat sank under him and suddenly he found himself a mile from shore in heavy seas without a lifejacket. For some time he struggled to stay afloat; dogpaddling and trying to float on his back. But eventually the cold sapped his energy and he knew he was probably going to die. Then, just as all seemed lost, he reached an epiphany; a transformation of thought that changed his life. He realized in a flash of light that for years he had been surviving, surviving his divorce, surviving his troubled business and surviving his loneliness. With new clarity he saw that he had been living with his power turned off; hunkered down in the corner of his life hoping things would change.

It was then that he realized the stark difference between surviving and thriving. He could fight to stay afloat until he was either rescued or sank beneath the waves; or he could start swimming toward the distant shore. In either situation he might die, but in swimming he had a purpose, a positive one that would energize him with a divine energy that only comes to those who have claimed a goal and have the determination to reach it. With the Grace of the Universe flowing into him his life would take on a positive meaning; he would have purpose.

Those of us who find ourselves in trouble because we’ve lost our job, our money has run out, we’re in severe pain, our health is failing, our relationships are on the rocks, we are frightened and alone; we are no different than my friend struggling to save his life; we can choose to hang on the surface of the water and pray and hope, or we can put those prayers and wishes into action and take the necessary risks to create a new paradigm and get committed to it. Vision is our connection with Great Spirit, The Universe; Truth with a capital T and Reality with a capital R.

You are not alone unless you are in survival. The Creative Intelligence that is in all things knows who you are, and will partner with you in your venture as long as your aim is beyond where you are now, and you are committed to it. What dream would you like to fulfill? What must change in order for that to happen? Will the fear of that change sink you? Or will you turn it into energy, get focused on an exciting vision then strategize the mission steps to get there? Please, don’t think it impossible; make 2011 the year you move beyond self-doubt and accomplish your highest dream. When you use the Triangle in my book Romancing the Soul you will see miracles happen.

Please forward this to anyone who might benefit by it with my blessing.

I’m available for personal coaching; call: 425-868-8448 or write: bob@arasfoundation.org

A Bit of Humor For You:
A senior citizen pushing his new Corvette convertible past 80 mph, looked in the mirror and saw a State Trooper, lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, "What am I doing? I'm too old for this!" He pulled over.
As the trooper walked up to the Corvette, looking at his watch. “Sir,” he said, “my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding—one I've never heard before —I just might let you go."
The old gentleman paused then said: "Three years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back.”
"Keep your speed down and have a good day, Sir," replied the trooper.

Our Hero:
Don Kirchner realized too late how he had violated his personal honor and the dignity upon which he based his life when he was arrested years ago for flying drugs out of Mexico. It was a personal epiphany that changed and empowered his life and that turned his prison time into the beginning of his life’s work. With a new clarity and purpose, Don began assisting other inmates in seeing the opportunities that still awaited them; he helped them restore their personal honor and start building meaningful lives. So effectively and widely did his teachings influence the entire prison population that he gained praise from the warden and other authorities and an early release. But Don Kirchner was not through; he then wrote the topselling book; Return to Honor, and created an organization by that name that helps ex-inmates live with integrity and purpose. Check it out at, http://returntohonor.org

"The national average for repeat crime (recidivism) is nearly 70%. Just a 10% reduction would be nearly 500,000 people. For altruists, who want to save lives and futures, that's a lot of lives. For economists, who want to save money, that's a lot of money. For all of us, that would be a huge step toward mending lives, families, and our communities, creating not just a return, but a return to honor as a nation built on redemption and compassion for all its people." - Don Kirchner

For your constant courage and untiring effectiveness in helping our brothers and sisters return as solid, responsible citizens, Don Kirchner, you are our hero.

We Can Overcome!

2010-12-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

Please remember that the goal here, is a life of joy!

Dr. Perry Chin

Do we know who we are, really? We may think we do because surely no one knows our struggles, secrets, self-doubts and fantasies better. But what if that’s just the tip of the iceberg? What if we are much more than we know? When we were children, open and growing, we were excited about whom we could become, and so were constantly discovering new truths about ourselves. What if we were to follow that same process today and throughout life? Few of us do though, because we have become sure of our life-stations, and to reach beyond them feels scary; we might lose our well-established self-identity. Yet continual self discovery is a really good idea because like rivers, we are changing, flowing, always new and wonderfully different.

Not one of us has ever seen our faces nor heard the timber of our voices except in a mirror or though video, audio or pictures, which may be very good, but they are not us. More importantly we've never felt our presence. If, for example, we watch our favorite actor in films and interviews, and then find an opportunity to meet, we find someone uniquely deeper and more expansive than we ever imagined; we find a real person. And that person, like you, has never seen him or herself except in pictures and films.

Therefore, a stranger meeting you for the first time may well see you more clearly than you see yourself. He’s not watching a video; he is seeing your face and body, hearing your voice, feeling your presence and being touched by your personality; none of which you can do yourself. If he is wise and paying attention this stranger will experience a person you will not know in a lifetime because his viewpoint is one to which you are simply not privileged. And therein lays one great value of honest relationships.

We are not statues in a park, not one thing, solid and unmoving; we are process—flowing, unfolding rivers of wisdom and grace—exploring vast regions of possibility. When we follow, with the enthusiasm of children, our passions in art, business, sports, relationships, healing, teaching or whatever, we are then on our paths and discovering life’s true purpose each day.

A Bit of Humor for You:
    “What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari?” the doctor asks himself. He presses down the accelerator and is soon doing 250 mph.
   Then ahead of him he sees an old man tooling along on a Moped. He gives it more gas and passes the Moped at 275 mph. He's feeling pretty good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him. Astounded by the speed of the old guy, he floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way to 320 mph.
   Not ten seconds later, he sees the Moped bearing down on him again. The Ferrari is flat out and there’s nothing more he can do.
The Moped is coming on way too fast and crashes into the back of the Ferrari.
The doctor stops and runs back and, to his amazement, finds the old man still alive. He kneels down and says to him; “I'm a doctor. What can I do to help you?”
   “Oh please,” the old man mumbles, “Unhook my suspenders from your rear view mirror.”

Our Heroine:
There is a woman in Southern Japan whose real name I may not reveal because it would embarrass her. She will know of this salutation though and that will be enough. Let’s call our heroine Michiko, which means beautiful and wise. Michiko is often on my mind nowadays and I must tell you why. I have dealt with severe pain from crushed nerves in my cervical vertebrae for almost four years. If I begin feeling defeated by my pain, I need only remember the courage and joy of Michiko whose example reminds me that I am much more than my pain.

Now in her fifties, Michiko is stunningly beautiful and her presence warms you within. Everyone who meets her feels uplifted and enriched by her love and her joy. I had just completed a seminar on a southern island of Japan and was riding next to Michiko on the way to a volcano. As the car swerved, my hand bumped against her leg and to my surprise, I realized it was artificial.

She then told me her story: When she was a pretty and popular teenager, she one day fell from a train platform and a passing train severed both her legs at mid-thigh. How she survived such great loss of blood I can’t guess. She afterwards went through months of depression; not only had she lost the ability to walk and to dance, which she loved; Michiko was now a teenage girl without legs.

How did she find the ability to overcome her tragedy? How did she develop such sparkling joy and maturity? What saved her from being a self-described victim? How many months or years of painful work did her self-healing take? Every day Michiko was at choice of either immersing into self-pity or growing stronger. She chose, and eventually grew and adapted so completely that I, after having known and walked with her for months, never even suspected she had lost her legs.

Not only did she survive, Michiko is one of the rare Japanese women to succeed as a business owner. Now she uses her influence and her success to generously create seminars, workshops and other opportunities for hundreds of people to uplift their lives.

Michiko is a constant inspiration and it is our honor to acknowledge her as our heroine.

Where Are You Going? And When, If Not Now?

2010-11-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

“Oh, but what if a tree falls on us?” asked Rabbit.

“Oh but what if it doesn’t?” answered Pooh

Winter is coming upon us fast. The dark days, like flapping wet blankets, will soon blow into the Pacific Northwest. The darkness around us does not penetrate to our insides though; we keep the light on for you. It is the light of optimism and of visions yet to be accomplished. The thrill of a season change reminds me I can start over in areas where I feel I have failed.

It makes for an exciting life, and fun too if I let it be. But I must keep my mind clear and focused. It is too easy to become spiritually lazy, to procrastinate, to tell myself meditation takes too much time or that self-examination is simply too painful. I must not listen to these voices because the long-term price will be deadly; and knowing just how deadly keeps me determined to reach for the highest states of clarity, courage and confidence I can attain. As I said: we do keep the light on.

There is no tool as sure for turning darkness into light as a personal vision of where we want our lives to go; of what we intend to be, do and have that is beyond what we now experience. I hope you forgive me for not letting up on the subject of vision, but there is nothing more vital to our lives, to our wellbeing, to our joy, to our personal fulfillment, than the consciousness expansion that comes from reaching beyond where we are and following our bliss to new levels of wellbeing.

Let’s face it; without a personal vision there is no hope and without hope life has no meaning.

Some might find the concept of vision difficult, but in truth we each already have visions we follow either consciously or subconsciously and for the most part we’re attaining them. They may be paths directed by well-worn fantasies that we use to validate who we think we are and who we think we are not. Fantasies can be fun, but they will never lead to expanded awareness because they do not pull us out of ourselves and beyond our fears. Fantasies are like drugs that keep reality slightly out of focus.

Visions therefore have to be real—based on the truth that we are amazing creators—practically miracle workers—who can be, do and have more than we even dream. But until we know and accept that truth, improving our lives might be difficult. I have, over the past thirty-five years, with input from tens of thousands of students, developed an easy and effective process for expanding clarity, courage and confidence; the three keys to success. This triangle diagram has easy-to-follow steps that practically guarantee us reaching our goals. It has worked for thousands and it will work for any who really want to succeed and not just dream about succeeding. If you practice this short exercise every day for one year you can increase these three key strengths 360 times. Wow! What goals could you achieve with such mastery? And here’s the bonus: every tomorrow will be better than the day before it.

Okay here’s how to start: just get a vision and commit to it. Don’t make it a whopper, so far beyond you that it becomes a fantasy rather than truth. Start with a small accomplishment that seems slightly beyond you, that will thrill you and to which you are willing to commit.

I know you are seeing obstacles between you and that vision; if not you’d already have it. Yet a vision held properly looks not at obstacles; it looks beyond them and focuses on the joy of attainment. A true vision then, is filled with energy and it is a beacon by which the universe guides you past barriers, just as it does for every other life-form that is living its potential.

So what is that thing, that one precious thing, you would like to accomplish? Today you can start by just declaring your intention; it’s that easy. Tell your dearest friends and get their support. Make a plan, a mission, of how you will accomplish it and keep your mission flexible. Then the big word is Trust. You must have faith that divine energy is working for you. Follow the simple path of the Triangle and it will lead you exactly to that which you envision.

Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free is the best book available on the Trask Triangle. Contact me for an autographed copy or go to http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288728097&sr=1-2

Need a session or two with me? I’m at 425-868-8448 or bob@arasfoundation.org

A bit of humor for you:
A Kindergarten teacher asked a little girl what she was working on.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."
The teacher smiled, "But, sweetheart, no one knows what God looks like."
Without looking up the little girl said, "They will in a minute."

Our Hero:
This week’s hero is you if, during this election week, you chose to vote and also that you:
a- Voted for honest common sense rather than pandering to special interests.
b- Voted to strengthen the middle class instead of your political party.
c- Trusted that America is neither injured nor healed overnight, and that it will heal.
d- Asked that a fair share of our precious taxes be spent on education and health.
If you did three of the four above, you are my hero!

The Power of Gratitude

2010-10-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

“The stars are alive, child. Did you know that? Everything out there is alive, and there are grand purposes abroad! The Universe is full of intentions, you know. Everything happens for a purpose.”
From The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Is the current economic situation affecting your life and your family? Millions who never thought they would sink are now under water. We all know of at least one family on the verge of desperation. Perhaps you are, or fear you will become, one of them.

We cannot be misled by those who say, ‘to change the economic situation we need only to change the majority in Congress;’ this crisis is the result of ten years of shortsightedness and poor fiscal management and will not be resolved quickly or easily. It is projected by most financial experts to last not more months, but more years. It’s time to tighten our belts.

Here’s the good news: we can still gain clarity, courage and confidence by recognizing who we are as individuals; our talents, our gifts and our wonderful personalities. “How is that going to pay the bills?” you may ask. The answer is this: by focusing on what we have that is permanent and cannot be taken away from us, we anchor our power and take the first step toward improving every area of our lives. No matter what of our belongings we may lose, we do own valuable gifts that we will keep forever, ones that save us from feels of decimation and get us through the toughest of times. The jewelry designer, robbed of all his jewels, could fall into dejection, or he could remember that it is his ability to make jewelry that is his treasure. We are the creators of our realities, and we create by the choices we make every day. We may focus on loss or focus on gratitude; one weakens us and the other gives us strength. No it’s not easy; but so what? We are more than equal to the challenge.

The way to recognize your unique gifts is to make a list of your blessings, either on paper or mentally while you’re trying to fall asleep. Here are a few to start with: your mind, your body, your family, etc. We accept those blessings gratefully because it is through that process that we gain strength. The seeds of gratitude plant themselves in universal consciousness and grow into gardens of clarity, courage and confidence.

The bottom line of the Trask Triangle expresses the following four affirmations, I am loved, I am blessed, I am safe, I am free. How could anyone feel those assurances and not be grateful? You might consider repeating these affirmations twenty-five or more times whenever you are feeling stressed, frightened or cannot sleep and watch how quickly uneasiness melts away. I use them often and their good effects continue to build.

Interested in personal coaching? I’m available. Call 425-868-9-8448 or write bob@arasfoundation.org

A bit of English humor for you:
We begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I sell you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a set are called teeth,
Then shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
We say one is that and several are those,

Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But when we say mother, we never say methren.
And the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

And, in closing, If teachers taught, shouldn’t preachers have praught?
and if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

Our Heroine This Week:
Cindy Van Wambeck is a woman for all seasons. We honored her husband, Steve a few weeks ago and here we are honoring another member of that family. Perhaps that is not so strange, good fruit most often comes from the same tree.

The lives of thousands of families are uplifted by the tireless efforts of Cindy Van Wambeck every year. No matter who cries out for help, or at what hour of day or night, Cindy will be there. As a rescue team member and coordinator, a licensed emergency radio communications operator and the Volunteer Coordinator for The ARAS Foundation her activities are visible to many. What is not so easy to see is her constant traveling to pick up groceries, clothes, toys and books for low income or homeless families, cooking meals for Tent Cities, packing and delivering grocery and clothes bags to needy families and refurbishing homes for poverty families. As a massage therapist Cindy is as busy as anyone, yet she always finds time to reach out and uplift the lives of others. The only pay she gets is the satisfaction of uplifting those in need. People from Ghana, Africa to Washington State thank this lady who puts her caring into action every day to make their lives better. And if you ask her, she will tell you that she grateful for being able to contribute so much.

Cindy Van Wambeck, it is our honor to acknowledge you as our heroine.

The Magic of Focus

2010-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.“

Napoleon Hill

We need to stay focused on following our bliss, don't we? But it gets difficult when we are so busy with duties, responsibilities, obligations and schedules. So then, when do we get to come out and play?

How would it be to have a job that was the same as play? Some do, but many of us are mired in lives that neither feed our souls nor allow us to blossom into the magnificent beings we were meant to be. It’s strange, but when we are following our bliss, we are actually more productive and more contributory to our families, communities and the world because our inherent personal power is in league with the Universal Creative Power* around us.

But how do we get there? No we cannot just abandon all our obligations, but we can enlist the power of the Universe* to our team by simply focusing on our visions throughout each day. It is the natural path to success. What vision you may ask? The vision that comes from within your heart, the one that fills you with joy and allows you to do things that constantly make your soul giggle. It is the vision recognized by this Universe of which you are such a vital part. For example, if your vision is to live in the country and be a successful writer, yet you have a job in Trafficville and are raising three kids while trying to balance your twelve-hour-a-day life of putting out fires, you can still be focused on what you really want.

And you can watch it gradually coming true. Just write it down and see the magic start working. When we concentrate on what we want and become committed to it, all sorts of changes happen around us that move us closer to actualizing our vision. Sure, we must take action as well, but most often that action is simply to say yes when new opportunities arise.

Why not try it now? Get a clear vision of being, doing and having a life of pure joy, condense that scene into one sentence and then write it down every day! Those who write their visions even once have an 85% greater chance of actualizing them. Know that the Great Mind* that creates all is connected to you and supportive of your vision. By writing down and becoming committed to your vision, you are making a contract with the Universe, signaling that you are ready to move. And then the road will begin to open before you.

But staying on that road will still require focus, right? Amid the storms of daily duty it is too easy to get distracted and to remove our attention and thus our creative power from where we want to go. Put the written vision up where you can see it, where it is a constant guide for your daily life and be sure then, that whatever you are doing somehow supports the vision.

Focus is also of vital importance to those of us in chronic pain as we continually remind ourselves that we are not our pain; that we have a vibrant life outside of the pain. Awful pain requires a constant determination to concentrate not on what hurts but on the beauty around us. I know this process well because for the past three and a half years I’ve not had a moment free of the pain from crushed spinal nerves. I focus on being well, on being active and strong and I focus on the joy of knowing my work makes a difference in others' lives. Thank you!

*Great Spirit, Creator, God

I’m available for coaching if you need me. Call 425-868-8448 or email bob@arasfoundation.org

A Bit of Humor
A group of Americans, traveling by tour bus through Holland, stopped at a cheese farm and watched as a young lady walked them through the process of making goat’s cheese. At the end of her tour she pointed out a lovely hillside where older, non productive goats were grazing. “Do Americans put their old goats in such a beautiful place?” She asked.

“No,” said a man, “they send us on bus tours.”

Our Hero
Stephen Cherniske flies over a hundred thousand miles a year demonstrating to hundreds of audiences how they can create long, healthy lives through cellular renewal. Stephen not only travels a great deal, he is also Chief Science Officer for a company with sixty scientists in laboratories in two countries. His book The Metabolic Plan is a best seller and many weeks he works more hours than most work in two, yet he is tireless in his committment to help people around the world reduce pain and renew their bodies. When we hear him speak, we see no weariness and that seems amazing. I believe he is constantly revitalized by the supplements he helped create and by doing his life’s work and, in the process, he reminds us that if we are doing our life's work we are constantly renewed. Stephen Cherniske, thanks for being a pioneer, a genius and a leader who is making an enormous difference in our world. We are honored to acknowledge you as our hero!

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

2010-08-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

"Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.'

Mature love says 'I need you because I love you."

...Erich Fromm

A father and teenage son in one of my seminars were on the outs. The dad raged and the son pouted. The dad wanted his son to step up and be a man the son wanted the dad to get off his back. I had them stand, face to face across the room and, taking turns, they each took a minute at a time to say what they most disliked about the other. After about three rounds, they grew quiet; they really had not said much about what they disliked about each other because, as they discovered, there really wasn’t much to say.

Yet resentment and mistrust smoldered just beneath the surface.

As they stared at each other I asked that they become more vulnerable and say what they really wanted. Again they sparred with words: Dad- “I want you to clean up your room.” Son- “I want you to stop riding me.” Dad- “I want you to take some responsibilities for your life.” Son- “I want you to stop being a dictator!” Then they fell quiet, staring at each other until the son quietly said, “I just want you to love me; that’s all I ever wanted from you.” The dad retorted, “What the hell are you talking about? I put you through school, didn’t I? I provided you a home and everything you ever wanted, didn’t I? Why would I have done all that if I didn’t love you?” The son, responded; “But Dad, you have never told me you loved me; you never said it.”

Of course then the wall between them tumbled down and they were soon in each other’s arms, sobbing. The question is; do we have to go to a seminar or lose a loved one before we get that we owe them not only our love, and to then ensure that they get it? If I send you a letter and you don’t respond isn’t it my job to make sure you got it? How is love any different?

If those who during their first months and earliest years of life are not loved and allowed to love they may not develop the ability to love and be loved. They grow up not understanding the feeling people talk about, so they pretend. And they get good at pretending; they can look really good to those around them. Like Ted Bundy, they stand a good chance of become sociopaths; criminals of the worst kind. Love is not only a joyful thing; it holds us together as families and as a society and is vital for our individual unfoldment and maturing.

But loves’ a dangerous road isn’t it? When we surrender to love we take the chance of being hurt. There are few real lovers who have not had their hearts broken, maybe several times. Often the pain comes from a growing child who seems to detest you, or a spouse that seems to no longer care, or perhaps a friend who betrays you, or someone who dies. Yes, love is dangerous. Yet what a great adventure! I have scouted the wildernesses in many places on the planet, both above and below the sea, have been with sharks and bears and those adventures filled me with a sense of life I would not otherwise have ever experienced. Yet I believe a greater adventure, one that takes more courage is to totally surrender to love. We will almost certainly get hurt from time to time. And if we have the maturity to accept and be one with each of those heartbreaks we will expand as humans and as souls; becoming wiser, more understanding and better able to assist others going through tough times.

Love unexpressed is not love, anymore than a golf course is a game of golf. We must get into the game; dive in, feel and express love. Yes it will sometimes be awkward and sometimes painful but the joy is worth every bit of it. Let’s don’t be the one who says; “Now he’s gone and I never got to tell him I loved him.”

Finally here’s this: Tell those you love today and every day. Let love heal you as it pours through and out of you, let it become the guiding beacon of your soul as you journey through this life. There is no greater game afoot than that of loving and expressing love. It takes a lot of courage, especially for us men who find it hard to say ‘I love you’; particularly to other men.

I’m involved with a scientific organization making products that help people live longer healthier lives. The products are fabulous, but what really drew me are the guiding principles of this organization that unselfishly pours itself into uplifting lives everywhere; helping people become healthier and wealthier at the same time. What if all companies came from this kind of caring? What if all it takes to convert the world into that Garden is for you and me to light a fire of love today, in the hearts of everyone we meet. What if? I’m just asking; what if?

Love has everything to do with it -simply everything!

A Bit of Humor For You:
An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time that the boy give some thought to a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and didn't seem concerned about it. One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects:

1. A Bible.
2. A silver dollar.
3. A bottle of whiskey.
4. A Playboy magazine.

'I'll just hide behind the door," the old preacher said to himself. "When he comes home from school today, I'll see which object he picks up."

"If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be!
"If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a business man, and that would be okay, too.
"But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord, what a shame that would be.
"And worst of all if he picks up that magazine he's going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer."

The old man waited anxiously, and finally heard his son whistling and heading toward his room. The boy came in, tossed his books on the bed then spotted the objects on the table and walked over to inspect them.

After a moment, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm, picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket, uncorked the bottle and took a big drink then began to admire the magazine's centerfold.

"Lord have mercy," the old preacher whispered. "My son’s running for Congress."

Our Hero:
Dac Jamison has a life dedicated to serving others. When back from Vietnam with rumblings of PTSD still haunting him, he became a police officer because it was an opportunity to do good for others. This “Officer Friendly” was always available for a smile and a kind word and carried a Mr. Yuck sticker on the butt of his revolver so youngsters would see it as dangerous.

I conducted a two week intensive prison seminar for forty of the worst offenders there; mostly murderers and gang leaders and asked Dac to participate as a small group leader. I insisted there be no guards in the room so inmates could express themselves without fear of reprisal which obviously carried some risk for us. On the first day Dac told the inmates he was an unarmed policeman and that he was there to support them and would keep confident everything he heard. At first they mistrusted and avoided him, but within days he had won them over and came to respect and admire him. The seminar was a resounding success thanks in part to Dac’s courage and love.

As a police officer and SWAT Team member, Dac’s experiences include helping solve the Hillside Strangler Case and chasing down on foot the kidnapper of a small girl who was firing at him. Luckily he was not hit and the small girl was returned safely to her family.

Several years ago, Dac was severely injured when a driver ran a red light and smashed into his car. His injuries ended his career as a policeman which was a devastating blow. Yet he grew through it and focused his attention in other areas where he could do good. Though he is not a religious person, Dac dedicates time every week to a local church youth group; where he counsels, befriends and teaches kids to stand strong, to be accountable for their lives and to take necessary risks. They feel surrounded and protected by his constant love for them.

After several operations and rehabilitation, Dac is steadily getting better as he does his gardening and works with community organizations that make a difference. His gardens overflow with an astounding bounty of fruit and flowers which are perfect expressions of his generous heart.
Dac Jamison, police officer, counselor, gardener and friend to all, thanks for being our hero!

Reminders:
*An autographed copy of the original edition hardback of Romancing the Soul is available directly from The ARAS Foundation at 40% off. Send a note to
mary@arasfoundation.org

*Personal coaching with Bob? Send a note to bob@arasfoundation.org

Courage needs a Vision to follow

2010-07-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Follow your bliss! Joseph Campbell

One of my favorite stories from Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free:

Leon’s Story

Moments before he died, Leon Ames, staring at the ceiling
of my ambulance, answered my question. “Yeah, my boat! If I hadn’t been so damn scared of what someone might say, I’d have built my boat.” He turned to me, his face working, his voice tight, “God, how I wish I’d just gone ahead and built that boat.”

For several months before this, I’d been asking people who
were fully aware that they were dying and who had surrendered to
their deaths, the same question; “When you look back now, do you
have any regrets?” I wanted to know because I wondered if there
might be something to be learned by those of us who still had time
to take a different path.

I had heard a few others say basically the same thing, but it
was Leon’s reply that really got my attention; he was the third person in a space of two weeks who basically told me, “If I could do my life over, I would do what I wanted instead of listening to my fear.”

After Leon was dead, I sat alone in the dark ambulance watching rain, like tears, crawling down the windshield.

I knew Leon. Six months earlier, I had gone to his home to take his wife to the hospital. She died within days and, with her death, Leon's reason for living. When his sudden heart attack came I went to his home and found him strangely calm but deeply sad. Leon did not fear death, but its nearness opened an old wound he had kept hidden from himself for years. The agony he suffered for his loss, the realization that he had come into this life with something important to do which now he would never accomplish. It was too late. Leon Ames understood finally that he had not accomplished his life’s mission.

Was all his sorrow over having not built a boat? I wondered how a boat could be so important. So, he described it to me; and, it was then that I realized he had envisioned a genius hull design that
perhaps no one had ever seen before. It was a hull that would move through the water as water itself, partnering with water instead of fighting it. Leon had a mind full of ideas and even as he lay dying,
a light came into his eyes. His boat would move through the water with a grace and ease that would cause boat builders to transform their ideas of hulls and sails. The design came only through Leon’s
soul. As we are each unique, so are our creations! Leon’s design could never be replicated by anyone else. Because of his fears, he had deprived us of ever having that design in our world; and he now
knew it.

I realized that afternoon that I was stuck. I didn’t want to be stuck; I wanted to grow. To do that, I would have to change not what I thought about things, but how I thought about things. I had to
discover valid, new paradigms that would allow me to see truth not from just one viewpoint, but from as many viewpoints as possible.

I remember another afternoon, yea rs later, again in San Francisco when I, as a sea captain, came ashore to have lunch with an attorney friend. He invited his accountant, a pleasant man I had met before, to come along. During lunch the accountant plied me with questions, “Have you ever seen a whale jump? Did you ever swim with a shark? What is a wild sea like at night?” He couldn’t get enough of my stories.

I walked them back to their office and said good-bye. But as I was leaving the office, this curious man called out to me; “Say, Bob, do me a favor will you? When you’re out on that sea, surrounded by
dolphins and sunsets, think of this sailor, locked in the body of an accountant.” The people around us laughed, but I did not laugh and neither did he. He meant it.

----------------------------------------------------------

As a kid I wrote a list of the things I wanted to do in my life and though I was raised to believe I was a clumsy dimwit with a mind filled with crazy fantasies, I have since accomplished nearly everything on that list. Did you know that those who write their visions have an 80% greater likelihood of achieving them than those who do not?

For more than thirty years my vision has been: I am helping create the paradigm in which before the year 2060 we humans live with one another and our environment in harmony. Sometimes that vision feels futile, like we'll never make it; more wars, more anger, more political abandonment of the people. Yet I know we can reach that state of peace if we can quell our spiritual laziness and make our will stronger than our doubt. Meanwhile the mission has gradually chipped hard edges off my ego and allowed me to grow. I know that for my vision to be constantly true, my very lifestyle and everything I do must support my mission. The Great Intelligent Energy in the Universe supports guides and supplies my vision-path as long as I remain focused and actively committed. But when I am without purpose Grace cannot flow through me and then I drift .

I’m betting that our collective human spirit is strong enough for us to create the 2060 Paradigm. After all- what are the other alternatives? (shudder!)

Want to join me? I am available for dialogue, personal coaching, and key-note addresses, call me: 425-868-8448 or write bob@arasfoundation.org

A Bit of Humor For You:
Using new fertility technology a 75 year old named Blanche was able to get pregnant and produce a healthy baby boy.
She was home for only two days when her bridgeclub friends came visiting.
"Blanche; what a lucky woman you are; a baby at 75!” they bubbled. “Can we see him?"
"Not now, just wait a bit." Blanche said.
Half an hour later they again asked and got the same answer. So they had tea and cookies and visited about the pros and cons of being a mom in her seventies, and this went on for almost two hours until finally one of them said, "Come on Blanche, when can we see the baby"?
"You must wait until he starts crying." The elderly mom answered.
"Until he starts crying? Well for goodness sakes, why do we have to wait till he starts crying?
"Because,” she sighed. “I forgot where I put him!"

Our Heroine of the Week:

Pam Bartlett is standing strong against a disease that daily drains her energy, and threatens her future; she does it with the same courage and Grace that has made her a favorite leader of women worldwide. For twenty-five years this magnificent woman has been an example of the best of womanhood to thousands around the world, coaching women to live fulfilling, joyful and rewarding lives. Her work with Fortune 500 companies and with women clients in many countries demanded that she constantly represent what she asked of others despite her own fears or doubts and she did just that. Her Masters degree in Educational Psychology, certification as Somatic Coach by the Strozzi Institute and Executive and Organizational Coach by the Hudson Institute reflect honor, not so much upon her, as upon those who certified her. Despite pain and weariness Pam’s courage and her determination are unshakeable. She is a winner and this is a battle she will win! Can you please take a moment and send Pam your prayers and healing energies? Thanks.

Pam Bartlett, we are deeply honored to acknowledge you as a heroine for all of us.

My Ego Has Stolen My Freedom

2010-06-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Author of ‘The Little Prince'

A key affirmation on the bottom line of The Trask Triangle is: I am Free! But what does free really mean; free from or free to? We would each have to go back to a very young age, maybe even infancy, to remember what it was to be free, because since then our egos have put blinders on us, determining how we are allowed think and to experience reality. Our subconscious minds have accumulated billions of bits of information, put them together as a knowledge base and forbid any conflicting information that comes through fresh experiences. Tests have conclusively proven that we often cannot see something in front of us unless it agrees with our belief systems. How much of new opportunities, friends, support systems and joy are we aware of? Less than ten percent!

So now we’re getting a better idea of what “I am free” really means, aren’t we? It is being freed from the leash put upon us by our belief systems and it is a freedom that can only happen when we push out the walls of perception, which requires taking a risk, getting a vision beyond what we believe we can be or do or have and then allowing that vision to come true. No, it is not easy- which is why yogis go into retreat for years of meditation and silence. I honor those sacred souls, but I prefer to seek enlightenment in the challenges of everyday civilization even though it’s sometimes harder. It is possible though, when we are motivated everyday by our bliss and our passion instead of our defenses.

The left side of The Trask Triangle is Self-Discovery which contains the following questions: What is My Vision? What is My Mission? Who is on My Support Team? What is My Next Step? While your ego will be giving you all the reasons you shouldn’t answer those questions, your soul will be dancing in delight if you do. I think those of us committed to the path of enlightenment must simply make a daily choice as to which voice we will follow; that of our egos or of our souls. When we make the soul-choice our lives begin to change immediately, we walk out of self-doubt, right past the ego guard, out the front door and into the light. Now that’s Freedom!

This morning while brushing my teeth my dear mamma came flowing into me from the ‘other side’ to give me some love and also to encourage me to write this today. So there, Mama, it’s done. You probably had someone in mind to read this and I hope they did. Thank you!

A Bit of Humor For You:
Two 98 year old friends Rose and Barb loved softball.
When Rose was dying Barb asked her, 'Rose, do me this one favor: when you get to Heaven, please let me know if there's women's softball.'
‘You've been my best friend for many years,’ Rose said. “If it's at all possible, I'll let you know.'
Shortly after that, Rose passed on.
The next night Barb was awakened by a soft light and a gentle voice calling, 'Barb, Barb.'
'Who is that?’ asked Barb, sitting up.
'Barb -- it's me, it’s Rose.'
'You're not Rose. Rose just died.'
'I'm telling you, it's me, Rose,' insisted the voice.
'Rose! Where are you?'
'In Heaven of course,' replied Rose. 'I have some really good news and some not so good news.'
'Tell me the good news first,' said Barb.
'The good news,' Rose said, 'is that there is softball in Heaven. Better yet all our old buddies are here and we're all young again. Better still, it's always springtime and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we play softball all we want and never, ever get tired.'
'That's fantastic,' said Barb. 'It's beyond my wildest dreams! So what's the not so good news?'
'Barb, you’re pitching on Tuesday.'

-Life is uncertain - eat dessert first.

Our Heroes this week:
It was intolerably hot and humid in NY City and folks were suffering. One elderly couple Mike and Kitt were in trouble because their air conditioner was broken. Mike worried about Kitt because he felt she could not take the heat without collapsing and he knew hotter more humid weather was predicted. He tried to find a repairman, but because the apartment was five flights up and because the repairmen had not sold the A/C he was repeatedly told they would not help him. In frustration Mike called every repair shop in the area, then, nearly in tears and not knowing what else to do, he walked to Apex Technical School on 6th Avenue and told his story.
“You and your wife won’t get a repair service to come to you because they don't think it’s profitable,” said Mr. Delgado, the A/C instructor. "But don’t worry about it; I’ll call you at 2pm when classes end and we’ll come and see what we can do. What's your address?"
Sure enough at 2:45 Mr. Delgado arrived with 4 students, opened the 135 lb unit and got busy; they fixed the switch and then carefully cleaned the unit to remove dirt that was causing an ice buildup. Mr. Delgado gave his students a real repair experience and saved two people from a possible medical emergency. Mike said it became nice and cool in the apartment, even on low.

Mr. Delgado and students; we are honored to acknowledge you as our heroes!

Special notice: Rev. Sharron Stroud has made it possible for you to own an autographed, first edition hardback of my book Romancing The Soul at half price for a limited time: $15 plus 3.50 S&H. Call 425-868-8448 or write to ARASFDN@comcast.net. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Affirmations Made Miraculous

2010-05-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

“When we love what we do and do what we love, the energy of the Universe opens up to us!” Dr. Sharron Stroud

Whatever the one thing is in your life you would like to improve in the categories of Health, Relationships, Self-image, Wealth, Career, Creativity and Spirituality, affirmations can really help. Let’s use wealth as an example. You are tired of struggling financially and want to feel constant abundance. The first step is to personally acknowledge that there is no lack of wealth for those who are available to it. It may seem a small step but until one agrees with this truth, becoming wealthy is nearly impossible. Okay, here’s our affirmation plan:

1- Get a Vision: Money is just paper and metal; it means nothing by itself. The real wealth is what money provides. So please get a vision of how your life will be when you have the wealth you want. How will you live? How will you talk, walk, eat, sleep and have conversations? How will you be different than you are now? Will you feel free? Empowered? Healthier?

2- Make an Affirmation: Holding the vision we just completed in mind, make a simple clear and positive statement about yourself as though that vision is coming true and you are an abundant person. Here is an example: “My wealth is increasing every week and setting me free!” Another might be, “I am living the life of my dreams as my wealth continually increases!” It is also effective to visualize money coming to you on a conveyer belt, in trucks, in the mail; in any way you can imagine. That little trick helps clear the mind of the attitude of lack.

3- Express Your Gratitude: More wealth is available to us than we will need. It is our incoming flow of wealth that cries for expansion and it is a flow that can only expand through expressed gratitude for what we already have. Even the smallest blessings are seeds of future abundance and it is by expressing our gratitude that we plant those seeds for our harvest. Please look into every part of your life and give thanks for each blessing; then as increased blessings start coming your way, expand your gratitude to include them. I promise that you are going to see something wonderful happen!

4- Live as Though it is True: Thoreau wisely said: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Your belief about yourself must change from needy to abundant and that can only happen when you live your affirmation every day. Associate with abundant people, dress and carry yourself well and refuse to dwell on lack or failure. If you don’t have the money needed for something, surrender and do your best without feeling impoverished, reminding yourself your abundance is expanding every day. Others around you may try to pull you back down or say your new way of thinking is unrealistic. But don’t be deterred; this thinking is the road out of poverty consciousness and you are building a life of wealth with every affirmation said and practiced. You can make this journey easier and much more effective by using The Trask Triangle daily. http://arasfoundation.org/presentations/TheTraskTriangleInteractive.pdf.

5- Look for Miracles: Now new opportunities and possibilities for wealth will begin to open that perhaps you never dreamed would come your way. Pay attention to these breaks and when they arise don’t allow old feelings of self doubt to keep you from stepping forward and saying ‘yes!’

6- Finally a Warning: Thousands of my graduates have created the lives they dreamed of by using the techniques explained here. They also learned that there is a danger: if we do an affirmation that says, I am wealthy because we think we are poor, we are subconsciously validating being poor each time we say it. I recommend saying at least fifty affirmations a day (I do 200) while imagining them to be true. Do them without fail for 30 days and every day pay attention to what is changing in your life.

There are more steps you can learn about affirmations in my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free. If you are serious about Being, Doing and Having all you were meant to in this incarnation; this is a must read! For personal guidance and coaching, about affirmations or attaining your vision, contact me at bob@arasfoundation.org or call: 425-868-8448

A bit of Humor For You:
At one point during a game, the coach called one of his 9-year-old baseball players aside and asked, “Now we need to talk; do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?”
The little boy nodded in the affirmative.
“And do you understand that what matters is whether we win or lose together as a team?”
The little boy nodded again.
“So then, I'm sure you know, when an out is called, you shouldn't argue, curse, attack the umpire, or call him a pecker-head. Do you really understand that?”
“Yes,” the little boy said.
“And when I take you out of the game so another boy gets a chance to play, it's not good sportsmanship to call your coach ‘dumb ass' is it?”
The little boy shook his head “No.”
“Good”, said the coach. “Now go over there and explain all that to your grandmother.”

Our Heroes:
Jackie Robinson was the first black player in the major leagues at a time when many whites actually believed that negroes were a sort of subhuman species. When Branch Rickey hired Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, it was with the agreement that for the first three years he would not respond to whatever insults, no matter how painful. Rickey knew his career and reputation were on the line as he was the only manager of a major league team who voted to integrate. He knew that, like Robinson he would be ridiculed, slandered, and excluded from the fellowship of other baseball leaders and that he and Jackie Robinson had to play it cool, that any rebuke by them would only inflame others more. The two formed a team that changed much of America. Jackie Robinson loved playing baseball, but now he played under an assault of abuse. He got ulcers, did not sleep well and suffered constantly but he did so in silence because he knew it was the only way his race would ever have a chance to show what they could do. When opposing players intentionally tore his legs open with spikes and insulted him he only played better. When the three years were up and he began responding to slurs of racist reporters, fans and players he was labeled as “arrogant and uppity.” Unswayed by their vitriol, he continued to play well and the door opened for more black players to come aboard. Many agree that two men, Branch Rickie and Jackie Robinson paved the way for the later work of Dr. Martin Luther King. We thank you for your sacrifice and courage Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. You are our heroes!

Get What You Want Now

2010-05-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

“Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.” David McCullough

If you don’t have a vision, then make it your vision to get one. What good is an eagle in a cage or a Maserati in a garage? Think what our world would be if Thomas Edison had decided to be a grocer or the Wright Brothers had farmed instead of flown. What if you have a spark of genius in you that can only be fanned into flame by the following of your passion? Is your life a blaze or a smolder?

If you have been feeling listless, tired, confused and bored, it may well be that you don’t have vision. Visions empower every cell, waking them up and saying "Hey, there’s a game afoot here- let’s get going!” The first step in getting old, at any age, happens when we stop dreaming about what we can be, do or have. A vision to which you are committed will make every day a challenge and every evening a celebration of winning. Even though those following their visions with passion tell me how difficult it often is, they also tell me they would never live any other way because they feel themselves being constantly and completely alive.

Elena Kagan is a 50 year old attorney whose vision of being a Supreme Court Justice has inspired and guided her lifework since she was a child. How clear was her vision? Her high school yearbook shows Elena at 17, dressed in judicial robes with a gavel and a quote from Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. She discovered her vision, became committed, stuck with that commitment and is now President Obama’s choice for Supreme Court Justice. Thirty three years of commitment may seem a long time to wait for a dream to come true, but there is this: every day of that time she was doing her life’s work, filled with purpose and feeling progress being steadily made. She was on her mission.

I could write a book about all the people who became committed to their visions and who went on to accomplish them while others were saying it was impossible. Let us remember the words of W. H. Murray:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.’"

I see the human race as a six billion piece jigsaw puzzle; each of us a piece sizzling with unique creative possibilities. Until we trust our passions to pull us into the unknown, we will never discover who we are, how we fit in or who will be beside us, nor will we experience the true joy of personal fulfillment. Please join me today in being determined not to be a hole in the puzzle.

Checklists make things easy, here’s one for us that will guarantee success. Simply answer each question in turn and then apply them to life. It’s really that simple.

What is your vision? -What you want, not what you should want.
What is your mission? -The steps to your vision.
Who is on your support team? -Those aligned with your vision.
What is your next step? -Dare to risk and grow.

Need help? I’m available for personal coaching at 425-868-8448 or bob@arasfoundation.org

Gratitude:
My appreciation to Rev. Sharron Stroud of http://facebook.com/innerfaithspiritualcenter
in Palm Springs, California for making my book, Romancing The Soul her theme for May.
Thank you Rose of Sharron!

A Bit of Humor for You:
A man and his wife walked into a dentist's office.
The man said to the dentist, "Doc, I'm in a real hurry- I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting to play golf; we have a 10:00 AM tee time on the best course in town and it's 9:30 now. So forget the anesthetic, I don’t just don’t have time; pull the tooth and let’s be done with it!"
The dentist thought to himself, "Goodness, here is a brave man asking to have his tooth pulled without anything to kill the pain."
“Well sir,” the dentist asked him. "Which tooth is it?"
The man turned to his wife, "Open your mouth honey and show him."

Our Hero This Week:W. H. Murray was an author and world class mountain climber who spent three years in a German prisoner of war camp during which time he secretly wrote a book entitled Mountaineering In Scotland. He completed the first draft on the only paper available to him - rough toilet paper. When the manuscript was found and destroyed by the Gestapo, to the disbelief of his fellow prisoners, despite the risk of its loss again and with his physical condition near starvation Murray quietly started over. His rewritten work was finally published in 1947. This is the kind of commitment and follow through to which we all aspire; to do a great thing from a humble place. Today around the world people are still quoting this insightful man who had the courage to stay by his visions even when their fulfillment seemed impossible. We are honored to salute you Mr. Murray as our hero.

I Appreciate Your Gift of Grace

2010-04-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

“A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.” Mohandas Gandhi

    Thanks, my friends for your constant and continued good thoughts and prayers for full recovery of my spinal injuries. I’m still in the midst of it all, but optimistic that I’ll find a way through the maze and be 100% again. I’m not good for long stints at the computer, but I’m sending you here, a short message about what I’m learning from chronic, long term pain.
    When I first was rear-ended by a truck on Feb. 1, 2007 I would never have guessed that three years later I’d still be dealing with the damage and pain of the incident. I’ve always healed myself rapidly and never doubted my ability to do so, yet instead of the pain lessening, it has gradually increased each day. Why does this pain continue to grow until I cannot sleep through the night, cannot drive a car or fish or do many of the things that have made my life worthwhile? The intelligent and enlightened answer seems to be that this is a necessary part of my spiritual growth through the process of experiencing and expressing. I’ve always drank from the deepest wells and perhaps I have gained deeper wisdom even when the journey has been painful.
    Those in the so-called consciousness movement have a penchant for seeing pain or illness as deliberate choices we make. They ask: “What was your purpose for creating this?” In many cases it is a good question and opens us to deeper realization of our intentions and commitments. For instance if I was fired from my job; did I have a purpose I wasn’t even admitting to myself? Maybe another job or career? If I come to a realization here, it might encourage me to do my own life’s work instead of someone else’s.
I believe we all are journeying through our mazes of possibilities and obstacles that can form us into wiser and more powerful beings. Sometimes we need to go through pain to gain personal depth. We learn that our pain is unavoidable whereas our suffering is optional. Part of my many realizations during these last three years is that when I accept what is (my pain) rather than fight it, I can accumulate its blessings and move on. But when I’m in resistance then I must remain in pain. (What I resist persists!) Hundreds of painful, sleepless nights and days pushed me to make a choice; to be either inside the storm of pain in constant agony, or to not become my pain; to go into my higher mind; rise above the storm and ride the rainbow; it is my choice. The first step is to recognize that I am not my pain; that it is an experience and like all other experiences, will eventually pass.
   A dear friend of mine’s wife has serious cancer. He says she still has a good sense of humor and is riding the rainbow. Her decision to experience her cancer and yet to not be her cancer is allowing her to flow into a deeper grace and pure enlightenment. Cancer is not something Pam deliberately or even subconsciously chose; it is simply one of inevitable challenges on her personal path. As long as she does not become her cancer, she still has the freedom to choose who she is and how she will respond to it. These are choices that stretch and challenge her and her husband and their children as well. Can you please expand your heart to send Pam your visualization for a perfect and healthy body and also to put her in your prayer circles? Thanks.
   So yes, we do create our own realities, moment by moment throughout our lives; we do so by making choices. Yet we may suffer a spinal injury from an auto accident, or cancer or chronic pain and those situations may not result from our deliberate choices; in other words, I didn't choose to get nailed by a truck and Pam didn't choose cancer. What we choose at every crossroad of life is who we are and how we will relate to the experience and how we will express the impact of that experience. We may cry, or rage or laugh or write blogs or meditate and flow with it; every truthful expression expands our souls and our wisdom. Those who consistently love and forgive themselves are on the path of enlightenment.

A Bit of Humor For You:
    A DEA officer stops at a ranch in Texas, and tells an old rancher, "I’m going to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs." "No problem,” the rancher says. Then he points and says, “But please stay out of that field over there."
   The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, " Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me." Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he pulls out his badge and waves it in the rancher's face. "See this badge? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I want... On any land! No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand? "
   The rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.
   A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life chased by the rancher's huge bull.
    With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer. The rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs.....
    “Your badge! Show him your BADGE! "

Our Hero of the week:
    Canadian, Ryan Hreljac was 6 years old when his first grade teacher changed his life. She told the class about people in Africa who had a hard time getting clean water and access to wells. Without this basic human necessity, people, especially children, get sick and sometimes die. Deeply moved, Ryan persuaded his parents to pay him to do extra chores and finally came up with the $75 he thought was needed to drill a well. But he was in for a shock. WaterCan (a non-profit organization that provides clean water to poor countries) told him that it would actually cost $2,000 to drill a well on another continent. Ryan didn't give up. He got busy doing more chores. Several months later he had collected the $2,000, sent the money to WaterCan and in January, 1999, The Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) drilled a well beside Angolo Primary School in northern Uganda, with funds raised by Ryan.
    Since that first well was dug Ryan’s organization; RyansWell.ca has raised over $800,000 to drill more than 400 wells. Imagine the good done for thousands of families by one boy who not only raised money but recruited the support of organizations such as WaterCan, CPAR, Canadian International Development Agency and Free The Children.
   "If I had the attention of the world for 5 minutes,” Ryan says, “I would ask everyone to think about how much they have. In Canada we have so much stuff. I'd ask people to think about what they want and what they really need. I'd ask them to share just a little bit no matter where they lived.”
    He goes on; “Sometimes people think they don't have a lot extra to share but they are wrong. I will tell you why. The kids at Angolo Primary School in Uganda (that's where my first well is) decided after I visited there that they could share too. They told me that they were going to do like me and make a difference. These kids didn't have anything. But they decided that they were going to spend five days out of every school year volunteering, helping older people or people who had HIV/Aids and other stuff. In Uganda, they learned that you can help others no matter who you are. If everyone thought that way and did something nice every day for someone else, the world would be a much better place. The world would be more equal too.”
Ryan it is our honor to acknowledge that you are our hero!

If you were moved by this message and want me to continue writing and sending messages like it, please drop me a note at bob@arasfoundation.org or on my facebook page. Thanks, Bob.

The Treasure that is Yours Today

2010-03-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.“ ....Malcom S. Forbes

(After surgery on my C-2 spinal nerves I'm a bit slow in getting back to writing my blogs. In the history here, there are a batch you might not have read. Meanwhile, please be patient while I heal this neck. Thanks!)

Oh what magnificent and marvelous things we could accomplish with ease if only we had more self-confidence. So this week will be a brief discussion about how we get self-confidence and how we keep it growing like a well-tended garden.

We only attain self-confidence by risking and winning. Risk expands our self-identities; without it we are stuck with those same levels of self-confidence we’ve always had. A person can study to be a great surgeon, but it is only through practicing continual successful surgeries (real scary in the beginning) that confidence grows and one truly becomes a great surgeon.

We all know people who take risks and yet never expand their self-confidence; what’s that about? Simply; they just do not accept their wins nor themselves as winners. A surgeon may do a difficult and successful operation yet if he or she does not afterward acknowledge the truth of what happened, nothing will change. He or she needs some affirmations to anchor that win.

It is like climbing a mountain and at the end of the day camping on a high slope only to awaken in the morning right back at the bottom again. If we don’t anchor our new levels of capabilities we will always wake up right where we started. Some will tell us that accepting ourselves as winners is self-aggrandizement, pride or arrogance. Yet such flaws do not attach to people with true confidence, they nearly always belong to those who feel small inside, who have a constantly melting veneer of self-confidence. Those who are truly confident have a quiet presence that expresses self-assurance without the haughtiness of egoism.

The confidence we’re looking at here is self-acceptance, self-validation, self-respect and self-love. There are four dynamic affirmations that help anchor a well-faced challenge. They are: “I am loved! ”I am blessed!” “I am safe!” “I am free!” These self-reminders have worked for me for years. When I have a hard time sleeping, or am agonizing over how I might have done something better, I set the goal of repeating them to myself fifty or a hundred times each, then watch as the cracks in the pool of my soul heal and allow it to be flooded again with peace.

We are only effective to the degree we feel confident. This spring can be a new beginning for you, one of more laughter and a sense of freedom. Please use the Trask Triangle to help you form new levels of solid self-confidence. To learn more about the Triangle; read Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free in a first-edition hardback for only $29.95 at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12642067381&sr=1-2

Top athletes, musicians and even businesspeople have personal coaches. I would be honored to be your personal coach and to assist you as I have thousands of others who became healthier, wealthier and more filled with joy. Contact me now about meeting by phone, by email or in person. Ph: 425- 577-0556 Email: Bob@ARASFoundation.org

A bit of Humor for You:
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl."
The priest asks, "Well now, is that you, little Johnny Brewer?"
"Yes, Father, it is."
"And the girl you were with, Johnny; who is she?"
"I can't tell you, Father, I don't want to ruin her reputation"
“Well, Johnny, I'm sure to find out her name sooner or later, so you may as well tell me now. Was it Dorothy McGuire?"
"I cannot say."
"Was it Teresa Martin?"
"I'll never tell."
"Ah then, it was Paula Sanders?"
"I'm sorry, but I cannot name her."
"So could it have been Annie Johnson?"
"My lips are sealed."
"Alright was it Rose Levin, then?"
"Please, Father, I just cannot tell you."
The priest sighs in frustration. "Okay, you're very tightlipped, Johnny Brewer and I admire that. But you've sinned and you must atone; so you will not be allowed to serve as an altar boy for 4 months from this day. Now you go on and behave yourself!"
Johnny walks back to his pew and his friend Billy slides over and whispers, ”What’d you get?"
Johnny cups his hand to Billy’s ear and says: "Five good leads and four months vacation!"

This week’s Hero:
Steve Van Wambeck knows more about electronics and radios that anyone you can imagine. He spends much of his free time designing, transmitter and receiver stations for emergencies so that when disaster hits and the power goes out, police, fire and rescue personnel can still communicate. Steve also teaches Boy Scout troops ham radio skills and beyond those electronic contributions he does hundreds of hours of beneficial community work every year helping homeless and low income families who need clothes, food and opportunities to better their lives as well as gathering and preparing bikes for poor villages in Africa. Steve is such a quiet and humble guy, it is nearly impossible to get him talking about the good he does for others. While many men have hobbies such as fishing and golf that occupy their free time, Steve’s hobby is uplifting the lives of others. No matter the hour or what he may be giving up of his own freedom if he is needed, he will be there! If we each were bringing light to as many hearts and minds; what a wonderful world this would be! Steve Van Wambeck, it is with honor that we name you our hero!

Fear Asks Us to Risk and Grow

2010-03-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

Courage is mastery of fear, not absence of fear! ….Mark Twain

We continually hear of fear being the enemy. How hard is it for us to see fear as our friend? It saves us constantly from dangers that might otherwise kill, injure or bankrupt us. It keeps us from inadvertently destroying relationships and keep us healthy by getting us to exercise and by scaring us about the dangers of smoking, eating fats, drug addiction and alcoholism. And how about the thrills of situations like sporting events where we are afraid our team will lose, or adventures like free diving, rock climbing and white water rafting that charge us with aliveness simply because of the fear? Life would not only be dangerous, it would be one big bore without fear.

But for me the most important thing about fear is that it is a daily gift of pure, free energy for those with the courage to harness it. I once saw a man in Vancouver BC, slide underneath a car that was sitting on top of an auto accident victim. He braced himself on his stomach and with the power of his legs and arms lifted the car up far enough so bystanders could slide out the injured man. Could he have done that without the stimulation of adrenaline?

As you know I’m a tireless proponent of visions and missions. I believe that the purpose of souls incarnating into minds and bodies is so we may expand in joy and wisdom. This is a task that requires us to experience and express all areas of life and that demands we work through seemingly impossible situations. As we follow this path, our fears help us be, do and have all we can in this lifetime, and in the process we grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Yet there are many well-meaning leaders who tell us we must avoid fear. A Course in Miracles calls fear the opposite of love and says fear cannot be corrected by better doing but can be corrected by higher willing. I agree that we must employ a higher willing, but in this statement fear is shown as an ill to be cured rather than a blessing to be accepted and utilized. Here then is the definitive question- If you were able to entirely remove fear from the future lifetime of an infant child… would you?

I was climbing a vertical cliff over the ocean and it turned out to be a much longer climb than I’d anticipated because I kept running into areas around which I had to reroute. By the time I neared the top, my muscles were trembling with fatigue, and then I was suddenly facing a wall of sandstone so soft my hand and footholds crumbled when I applied weight. I looked up, the top was only five feet above me while a hundred feet below me surf leapt and crashed over huge boulders. I did not have the energy to climb down and for a few harrowing seconds realized I might die here today. It took all my self-control to handle that fear, to not let it deteriorate into panic or paralysis. I knew if I had the courage to harness it, it was a force that could save me. So when my fear kicked in, I was flooded with a rage of energy. I moved upward, using a strength I simply didn't have only a moment before. I scrambled those last few feet with sandstone breaking and falling to the sea below and crawled out on top. Then I stood, still shaking, and looked down at the rocks below and gave thanks for my fear. I realized I had made some critical mistakes in laying out my route; mistakes like we all make every day; and that without fear to help me overcome them, I would not be writing this today.

I believe that marvelous book: A Course in Miracles and other reliable sources are surely right, but that it is anxiety or panic or dread they are addressing; not fear. With consideration I feel they might agree that fear itself is simply pure energy and its only purpose is to serve us.

At the top of the Triangle we are challenged: ‘Change-Dare to Grow!’ We are asked to Risk and become participants in life’s most thrilling game. When we do, our Courage expands- not temporarily but permanently!

Next week we’ll talk about the bottom leg of the Triangle which is where we expand Self-Confidence. Meanwhile, this week please get a vision, even if it is a small one and then let fear-power help you accomplish it.

To learn more about the Triangle; read Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free in a first-edition hardback for only $29.95 at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

Top athletes, musicians and even businesspeople have personal coaches. I have helped tens of thousands become healthy, wealthy and filled with joy and I would be honored to assist you in reaching your goals. Call me now for an appointment either by phone, email or in person. Ph: 425- 577-0556 or Email: Bob@ARASFoundation.org

A Bit of Humor for You
A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. In front of him the light turned yellow and he stopped even though he might have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman was furious; she had missed her chance to get through the intersection. She honked her horn and screamed in frustration as she dropped her cell phone and makeup.
While still in mid-rant she heard a tap on her window, looked up and saw a police officer.
He ordered her out of the car with her hands up; handcuffed her and took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and put in a cell.
Two hours passed before she was finally escorted out of the cell and back to the booking desk where the arresting officer waited with her personal effects.
"I'm so very sorry for this mistake,” he said. “ You see, I pulled up behind you while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. Then I noticed the 'What Would Jesus do?' bumper sticker and the, ‘Follow Me to Sunday-School’ license holder along with the chrome Christian fish emblem. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Our Hero of The Week (To protect his privacy, only our hero's first name will be used here.)
Mark was a mortgage broker in Florida with a five-bedroom home, his own company and a number of employees. His daughter was in high school and his son had just graduated with a full basketball scholarship to college; Mark’s business was booming and life was good. Then his daughter was diagnosed with cancer and Mark’s insurance company denied almost all her benefits. Mark guaranteed the doctors and hospitals the bills would be paid. He used his savings until they were gone then sold his home to pay the remaining eight hundred thousand dollars of non-covered medical expenses. The financial market plummeted and Mark’s business dried up; he heard the market was still viable in the Northwest so he moved to Seattle. No sooner did he arrive than that market joined the rest of the country in its downward plunge. Mark took a small apartment and searched for work of any kind, every day. When he could no longer pay his rent he found himself living on the street.

I met Mark as we (The ARAS Foundation) were taking suppers to folks at tent city. He is a highly intelligent, healthy looking man with a powerful personality and yet, amazingly, this powerful leader is living in a tent and relying upon others for his meals. He is cold day and night and says he can never get warm.

Over the past two months several others have told me that a year ago they could never have believed they would be living on the streets. And though he lives in tent city and is constantly chilled to the bone, Mark fights everyday to get his life going again. He does not regret for a moment spending all he had to save his daughter’s life and his face lights up when he tells of her now being in college and completely cancer free. Representing millions of people all over America whose lives also collapsed because of greedy insurance and financial companies, our hero went from wealth to extreme poverty in just a few months, and as surely as the sun rises in the morning, he will get his chosen life back. Thank you, Mark, for holding this example of courage for us. You are our hero!

What is Your Next Step?

2010-03-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

When we refuse to leave the safety of what we know and grow beyond our horizons, we shut off the flow of Grace! ….Bob Trask

When our visions seem just too large to attain, our next step is to expand our identities to match them. I often hear people say what they want is simply not available for them, when in truth it is usually they who are not available to what they want.

Here is a happy example; Glen, a dear friend came to tell me his grandfather, who he had not seen since he was a child, had been in the hospital a while and had just died and left him his farm. Glen was leaving to go run the farm. I bade him goodbye and asked him to stay in touch. About a month later I got a letter. Here it is as nearly as I remember it:

As I passed through Grandpa’s little town I remembered the road out to the farm. I got there and saw the rope swing still in the tree and everything looking the same but really, really shabby. I went inside the house and realized Grandpa must have been in the hospital a long time because this place was a mess. Two windows were broken, the paint was peeling and there were mouse droppings all over the floor. Out in the barn the old farm equipment had not been used in so long it had rusted and weeds were growing right up through it. This wasn’t like Grandpa; he always wanted things right.

When I was walking from the barn back to the house I looked at the adjacent property up the hill behind me and saw a lovely big home and barn and men working the fields with newer tractors and I couldn’t help feeling a little down. It seems like it’s been like that my whole life; I’m always getting leftovers or hand-me-down junk. I wondered why Grandpa couldn’t have gotten himself a place like that.

Then I realized how selfish I was being and I didn’t want to be ungrateful for his gift. So I went to work. I got new shingles and fixed the leaks in the roof; which alone took me three days. Then I bought and put in the three new windows and after that I started my scrubbing. Man it was dirty! I was coughing my lungs out and my mousetraps were snapping constantly. When it was clean I aired out, and then I painted. Man that was a job! But I got it done; every single room.

I had the house pretty well fixed up by the end of the month and was going into town to look at some carpet when Grandpa’s old fishing buddy and lawyer came out to see me. I made him some coffee and we talked. I could tell he had something on his mind but it took him a long time to get around to it.

“So," he finally said. "I guess you're planning to rent this place out.”

He must have figured I was just here to fix Grandpa's house up and then leave. “No,” I told him. “I’m not going anywhere; I’m staying to run the farm.”

“Well that’s good then; folks around here were hoping you’d stay; still- there’s a lot of talk as you might figure ‘cause we can't see why you’re living down here instead of up at the big house.” He was pointing to that place up behind us!

It turns out, Grandpa bought that next farm with the big house and barn more than ten years ago. The men I saw running tractors up there were his farmhands.

Glen's letter ended with this message he wanted me to pass along to others I coach. "Tell them their dreams are ready when they are but not a minute before." Like Glen, we get so focused on what we think is true we can't see beyond it. Taking the next step requires changing our minds, expanding our self-identities and allowing our dreams to be fulfilled right now.

An entertaining and inexpensive way to start that mission is through Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free, available in a first-edition hardback for only $29.95 at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

When we need car repair, dental work or a haircut we seek professionals. Top athletes, musicians and even businesspeople have professional coaches. I have helped tens of thousands become healthy, wealthy and filled with joy. Don’t waste another minute; call me now for an appointment either by phone, email or in person. Ph: 425- 577-0556 Email: Bob@ARASFoundation.org

A Bit of Humor for You:
A little guy had been sitting at the bar just staring at his drink for half an hour when this big trouble-making truck driver stepped up to him, grabbed his drink and gulped it down in one swig. The poor little guy put his head down and started crying.

“Aw, come on man,” said the truck driver. “I was just giving you a hard time. Here, I'll buy you another drink. For God’s sake please stop crying !"

“Well, this has just been the worst day of my life," said the little guy between sobs. "I can't do anything right. I overslept and was late to an important meeting, so my boss fired me. When I went to the parking lot, my car had been stolen and I have no insurance. I took a taxi home and left my wallet in the cab. I went into the house and found my wife in bed with the gardener. So then I came to this bar and finally got up the courage to end my life, and now you show up and drink all my poison!”

Our Heroine of The Week:
Canadian figure skater, Joannie Rochette was favored to win an Olympic Medal and was at practice on Saturday when her parents Normand and Therese flew from Montreal to watch her compete. Later that same night Joannie’s mother suddenly collapsed from a heart attack and despite doctors’ best efforts was dead early Sunday morning.

Her dad waited until 6 o’clock before going to Olympic Village where his daughter was sleeping to tell her the news. Joannie was devastated. Yet seven hours later, she was on ice practicing at the Pacific Coliseum. Her dad watched her fight through her tears while wiping away his own as she ran through the routine of her short program, hitting jump after jump.

"Skating is so much emotion,'' two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan said Sunday.”I worry that it will be too much for her to handle.''

William Thompson, chief executive of Skate Canada, said, "If she changes her mind and feels she has to leave, she has our full support as an association."

But two days later Joannie skated a magnificent short program and afterward dissolved in tears; “My emotions just got the better of me,” she said. “It was really hard to control them. Mom was my biggest fan and my best friend. She was always with me- every step of the way."

Two more days of sorrow passed and then it was time for the long program; the medal competition. With her heart aching and raw, Joannie did what only heroes and heroines may do; she pulled herself together and won an Olympic Bronze Medal amid the toughest imaginable competition. When she finished her performance, she looked heavenward and said thank you to her mother. "I wanted to be strong and show her I could do this—that's what she would have wanted me to do."

Joannie was completely spent, emotionally and physically exhausted. "It was a very tough couple of days, and I want to thank everyone around the world.... I felt so much love....It really helped me get on the ice and skate for myself, my country and my mother. I knew she'd be proud of me!"

Joannie Rochette, we are honored to name you our hero of the week!

Just Show up and Miracles Will Happen

2010-02-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

Enlightenment is not a goal, but a path! …Bob Trask

I was guiding a wilderness trek in a Canadian rain forest. We had been scrambling in a drizzle all morning, up a wet slope covered with slick fir needles that made climbing almost impossible. We clambered over or crawled under enormous moss-draped logs for hours, finally reached the top where we emerged into a beautiful grassy glade. In the center was a downed log straddled by a giant grizzly bear, ripping it to shreds in search for grubs. She looked at us for a moment, then turned and ambled off into the forest.

We sat against the log, rested and ate our lunches. After while I called out: “Okay gang, let’s move on.”

“Move on where?” Asked a woman for whom this was a first wilderness expedition. “Look around us, the forest is solid; we can’t penetrate that!”

It’s true, from where we stood donning our packs, the forest ahead was so thick with bushes and trees and vines that did seem impenetrable. I took a compass bearing and we continued across the meadow to the wall of trees where we discovered what we could not have seen from our previous position: that there was space between the trees. We walked between the first of them and, as we continued, easily found ways to get around or over other trees, vines and ferns taller than our heads. When we finally rested again, the same woman said, “Hey, I learned something back there! That forest looked like a solid wall. Now I’m wondering if it applies to other areas of my life; if when it seems impossible to go farther, I just need to get committed and start moving and then things will open up.”

I have always found that the dreams I want to reach look impossible from where I am. That’s why they are dreams. If they were possible now, I’d already have them. But we oftentimes let our fears and concerns keep us from moving forward and then all the reasons that we can’t have what we want stand together as a forest and seem solid. All my life I have had an insatiable hunger for learning and a head full of ideas about what I could be, do and have. Like everyone else I was told I couldn’t do it- but the fires of my passion were too bright for that darkness. I just never doubted that I would eventually win.

So how does one do it? How do you reach the vision you have tucked so fondly in your heart and mind? Perhaps you have given up, or slipped it away in a drawer until “someday later” when it may seem more practical? If we had not set a compass course, gotten up and started moving- trusting that the trees would open as we moved closer to them, we’d still be sitting atop that mountain waiting for loggers or for the bear to come back.

Try this: show up. Just show up! What that means is that you don’t have to have all the answers. If you want to write a book, do as my friend Dr. Perry Chinn just did with his book; Soaring Beyond Fear- just write it! But, you might ask; “What about sentence structure and paragraph balances and research and agents and publishers and marketing etc. etc.? Those are not the concern, the only thing that needs to be in your mind now is to get up off the log, put away your lunch stuff, put on your pack and start off in the direction of your dreams and just keep moving. You have lived a life filled with lessons and adventures and within that journey are messages to communicate. Maybe it will or won’t be a bestseller, no one ever knows. But your friends and children will read it and learn more about you and will respect you more. Maybe it isn’t a book, maybe it’s a wilderness trek, or a business or something even more exciting to you. Don’t wait. Take the first steps today and keep on stepping until you reach your dream. And here is good news; every step of the way will build more clarity, courage and confidence in you.

The compass, maps and directions you’ll need for your journey are in my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free. With only a few hundred left, this treasure is still available in a first-edition hardback for only $29.95 at Amazon. Com. Used copies on Amazon are now over $77, so this seems to be a very good investment. Buy it now at: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

What would it be worth to you to have a personal, professional coach standing with you from now on? Someone who understands your dreams and how to achieve them? Someone who can guide you through troubled waters and help you arrive at fulfillment? Bob Trask has assisted thousands of people to reach their dreams. He can be available for you by phone, email or in person. Call now! 425- 577-0556 or email: Bob@ARASFoundation.org

A Bit of Humor for You:
One night, as The Lone Ranger and his Indian pal Tonto were camping in the desert they crawled into their tent and fell fast asleep.
Some hours later, Tonto awakened his partner and said; “Look up towards sky and tell me what you see.”
The Lone Ranger raised himself on one elbow, studied the heavens and smiled: “Well, my friend, I see millions of beautiful stars.”
“And what do they tell you?” asked Tonto.
The Lone Ranger sat up then, wrapped his arms around his knees, pondered the galaxy and finally said; “Okay here it is: -Astronomically speaking, they tell me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. -Astrologically, they tell me Saturn is in Leo. -Time-wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. -Theologically, the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. -Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Now tell me what do you get when you look up there?”
Tonto shook his head; “Hey man; someone stole our tent!”

Our Hero for the Week
Into his twenties, Will Noyes was a top athlete who regularly played soccer and practiced Karate. He loved life, loved running and dancing and being free. Then tragedy struck twice: he suffered a back injury during a Karate exercise and later slipped on oil in a parking lot and suddenly he was immobilized; flat in bed with such pain he could barely move. For three months his back and joints were inflamed and racked with pain. During those months his entire body locked up. Doctors said it was Ankylosing Spondylitis and there was nothing to be done except to take various prescriptions; drugs that over the years have had such a devastating effect that one destroyed part of his digestive tract and required extensive, emergency surgery to save his life. In spite of the drugs he has taken for the past thirty-two years Will's body was mostly frozen, with his back twisted and bent; he was barely able to move about.

Yet giving up was just not in Will Noyes- he still had the heart of a competing athlete and continually said he would one day be running on a beach and dancing with his wife. All who met him were greeted with his little-kid smile and a curious mind that wondered how he could be of help. Then, a few months ago Will discovered a natural drink that changed his life. All at once his pain disappeared and he began feeling sensations in areas that had long been numb. He kept drinking the supplement and then cautiously weaned himself from all his prescription medications. He is now prescription free and says it is because elements in the drink drastically reduce inflammation in a natural way. With his inflammation gone, he must still correct the damage it did to his system over the years; but with his attitude, it will surely be done. As proof, his back has straightened, he is gaining more flexibility every day and is walking for blocks with only the help of his canes.

Will is our hero because he has never given up; has continued to be proactive in business and in his community and to greet the world with a smile. Yet there is more to this story; Will is not only getting better, he is seeking out others who are suffering from illnesses of any kind and helping them find what they need to heal. For his fearless enthusiasm and his constant caring for others we are proud to make Will Noyes our hero for the week.

Who’s on Your Support Team?

2010-02-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

There is no such thing as solitary accomplishment! …Bob Trask

Dick Proenneke was the most independent man I’ve ever known. He is that fabulous old guy you sometimes see on National Public TV, building his cabin in the wilderness of Alaska where he lived alone for many years. Dick would readily admit that he could neither have gotten into the wilderness nor built his cabin nor remained there for years without the support of others. He grew a few meager vegetables, shot his meat and caught fish, but all other supplies were flown into him by a good friend who landed on pontoons in summer and skis in winter. Dick had the life he wanted because of his support team.

My team and I spent two weeks camped in that wilderness and Dick became my good friend. We corresponded afterward for many years and I still use his original sourdough starter. He has passed on now, yet I still think of him as my friend.

The Trask Triangle asks the following questions on its Discovery leg: What is my Vision? What is my Mission? Who is on my Support Team? What is my next Step? Our vision may be very clear and we may have a mission to accomplish it, but without a Support Team of others helping to advance the vision and mission, success will be very difficult.

What do you want from your Support Team?
Each member must be in agreement with your vision. Here are some good points to print out and share with prospective members.

1- Understand your vision and how the mission plan supports it.
2- Be dependable and attentive to your mission.
3- Detect sabotaging obstacles and weaknesses.
4- Help determine when the mission plan needs to be adjusted.
5- Keep the vision always the point of focus.

These standards work both for support teams of large organizations and for individuals because the game is the same; growth requires a vision, a vision needs a mission-plan and missions need objective feedback and support.

Let’s look briefly at each of the above.
1- A team member might or might not be a friend or family member, or even someone you hire, but it is essential that they be reliable; that they listen without prejudging and tell you the truth when they see you drifting from your vision. You must be able to rely upon them, not always to have the answers but to listen and let you know if you are still on your mission. More than anything, a support team member must be reliable.
2- You may recognize a good candidate because he or she will invest the time to understand and become committed to your vision and mission.
3- A Support Team Member must be able to identify weaknesses that sabotage visions. Oftentimes they are confusion, procrastination, unworthiness, fear of success, fear of failure, etc. The way to avoid these and other pitfalls is by following The Trask Triangle, a free interactive model of which is available at: http://arasfoundation.org/presentations/TheTraskTriangleInteractive.pdf
4- Though the Vision is clear and constant, the mission path to it must often change. Like a river, it may begin its course with the idea of going in a straight line to the sea, but intervening obstacles will make it change its course. Still, the Vision must remain the ultimate goal. A good support team member will help point out the necessary changes.
5- The Vision must be kept in mind at all times. For me, everything I do supports my Vision. Whether I am working as I am now, resting, exercising, going to a movie or eating supper; I deliberately and consciously think of how each part of my day, in some way supports my Vision. Most people and organizations fail for one simple reason: they begin their missions with the intention of reaching an island, but partway there, the fog comes in, the vision fades and they start treading water. Eventually they will get tired and sink. Make sure your Support Team insists you always keep your eyes on the prize.

It is believed by many that mission-paths are necessarily paths of suffering. Nothing could be farther from the truth; when one is suffering, the clear message is that he or she is no longer following their true mission. Your true path is as fully and constantly supported by the Universe as are those of flowers in the field and birds of the air. Yes, there must be difficulties and obstacles along the way, but they should not be distressful, they should be challenges that will bring about growth. It should be challenging and at the same time joyful. When we aren’t finding periods of paradise every day we are doubtlessly off our path and the Universe’s message is: “Get back on your mission!” We need our Support Team to understand and remind us of that truth. As a wilderness pioneer, Dick Proenneke worked hard and sacrificed; yet, to him, every day was a rebirth of excitement and adventure. Ours must be too.

Finally this: When we are doing all the right things and still not getting achieving our visions or reaching enlightenment, it may be that we are subconsciously blocking our success. Unworthiness? Anxiety? Confusion? I know this self-sabotage game well because I spent years doing everything right except changing my mind. Need help with that? Read my book and create a study group so you can find measured progress every week.

* Critics call Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free the best guide to higher consciousness available today. There are only a few hundred 1st edition hardbacks left at $29.95 and already used copies are selling for over $50! Get your own classic copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

? Want your copy autographed? Just let me know.

*Personal Coaching by Bob Trask is available by phone, email or in person.

Email: Bob@arasfoundation.org Phone: 425-868-8448

*Here is a brand short video I think you'll enjoy: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=329122138272

A Bit of Humor For You:
Near his barn, an old Louisiana farmer had a perfect swimming hole, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple trees.
One evening he grabbed a bucket and wandered down to pick some apples. As he neared the pond, he heard laughter; went closer and, to his surprise, found four young women skinny-dipping.
They saw him and immediately fled to the furthest and deepest end of the pond.
“We're not coming out until you leave!”one shouted at him.
“Heck ladies, he smiled, I’m not here to make you get out of the pond.”
He held up his bucket; “I'm here to feed the alligator.”
--Wow, some old guys can sure think fast!

Our Hero For This Week:
Thousands of kids were orphaned during the Korean War. This is the story of one of them; Choi Seok Jin was eleven when he was orphaned. For a time he wandered, lost and hungry, then made his way to a military base and fought for a place among others to become an errand boy for soldiers. Months later, Sergeant Spackman, who had nicknamed him “Jimmy,” asked two boys to flip a coin and see which would accompany him on a two-day jeep trip. Jimmy’s life changed on that flip of a coin. Soon after the sergeant put a cot for him in his tent and began looking out for him.

When a sudden power outage occurred on base, someone gave Jimmy money and sent him into the city to buy candles. It was doubted that he would return because most boys would simply have disappeared with the money. When Jimmy returned with the candles and the change it sealed the relationship between him and Sergeant Spackman, who asked him to become his adopted son. A gift from heaven! America – Education - Security! Yet heartbreak waited; Sergeant Spackman returned to the US alone and the boy had to survive for four more years before he could get a passport to America.

At fifteen with no education and only a smattering of English, Jimmy Spackman became a tenth grader and the only Asian in a high school of three thousand students. He was often unable to communicate or understand as he was being swallowed by the overwhelming new culture. He studied incessantly, through late nights and weekends, and was saved by his love of learning and his stubborn refusal to be less than his best. It was a seemingly insurmountable mountain he was climbing, often in tears. Yet in only two and a half years later, Jimmy Spackman graduated at the top of his HS class with a full scholarship to Harvard where, four years later, he again graduated with full honors. Jimmy recently retired as International President and CEO of Prudential Insurance. I could go on for pages telling this amazing man’s story which you can find in his fascinating autobiography Don’t Burn Bridges Behind You.

In my life I have not met another person who better represents my ideals of a champion; who will do whatever it takes to be the best he can be, while helping others do the same. It is our honor to have James Spackman as this week’s hero.

Invoking the Four Magical C’s

2010-01-31T18:11:00.000-08:00

Visions are often like watermelons, too big to be taken in one bite… Bob Trask

(Pg 67 Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free)

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world look for answers to the questions: Who am I? What am I doing here? Where am I going? The answers are as elusive as rainbows and no one can give them to us. Good coaches and therapists may be able to help, but they don’t know our answers; only we do.

Ram Dass once said: "The goal and the path are the same thing!"

Allow me to expand that a bit by saying that though the two seem separate, neither exists without the other. Without its vision a path is a trail to nowhere; wandering around, avoiding challenges and boring us to tears. But without a vision there is no path.

Here’s a scenario: We are in a world where our self-worth is measured by the possession of stuff and the admiration of others- which we find endless because it seems there is never enough stuff or admiration to fulfill us. Then one day an old longing flares up and becomes too noticeable to ignore. Perhaps we see a doctor or a therapist or minister, but the longing is still there and so prominent it now causes us to begin distancing ourselves; feeling bored and unfulfilled, spending more and more time daydreaming.

Eventually we do the only thing that brings relief; we pay attention to the longing and realize we are being called to be, do and have something new and thrilling. We focus on the vision and let it lead us where we have not dared go; to paint, sing, dance, teach, start a business, write a book or build a boat. As we follow our vision we begin to feel younger everyday and are filled with hope and confidence. The vision becomes increasingly clear now as it pulls us out of ourselves and into dimensions of awareness we never knew existed. We are doing things we once thought impossible; we awaken without an alarm clock and go to bed smiling. Magical things are happening in our lives and we are filled with valuable self-purpose.

But hey, how about the path? Well, here’s a vital secret ...there never was a path to follow! The only path is the one behind us, the one we created by coming this way. Ahead is untracked wilderness- which is scary; yet where there is fear, there are opportunities that exist nowhere else. So we design our mission, and keeping it flexible, forge onward through the deep woods, swamps, wild rivers, and tall mountains of our self-doubts. We are miracle-workers, being released, learning and growing into who we really are.

When this incarnation ends we should be atop a mountain so far from here we can’t now even imagine it exists. From there we will look back and see a life well-lived, a pioneering effort to inspire others long after we have moved beyond the sunset.

This journey to personal fulfillment requires only four steps to reach its full potential: Commitment, Clarity, Courage and Confidence—the fabulous “Four C’s.” Commitment is the toughest of those because it is a solitary determination; no one can guide us to it, no one can teach it; either we follow our star or it will fade and be lost. There is no such thing as partial commitment; because it cannot awaken Clarity, Courage and Confidence; anything less than one-hundred percent commitment will probably fail. You may easily expand the C’s in your life by using The Trask Triangle to make every day better than the last.

If not now, my friend …then when? As Thoreau said: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have always imagined!

* Critics call Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free the best guide to higher consciousness available today. There are only a few hundred 1st edition hardbacks left at $29.95 and already used copies are selling for over $50! Get your own classic copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

? Want your copy autographed? Just let me know.

*Personal Coaching by Bob Trask is available by phone, email or in person.

Email: Bob@arasfoundation.org

Phone: 425-868-8448

A bit of humor for you:

An elderly man looked out the back door and saw two men in his shed stealing his tools.

He phoned the police: “Two guys are in my shed stealing my tools.”

"Are they in your house?" asked the dispatcher.

He said "No, but…”

The dispatcher interrupted: "Listen sir; all patrols are busy. Just lock your doors and we’ll send an officer along whenever one becomes available."

"Okay," he said. He hung up the phone, counted to 30 and phoned the police again.

"Hello, I called a few seconds ago to say there were two guys stealing my tools.”

“Yes sir?”

“Well, don’t worry about it now because I shot both of them." Then he hung up.

Within ten minutes, the place was swarming with police who caught the burglars red-handed.

“Hey!” said one officer. “I thought you said you'd shot them!"

The man replied, "And I thought you said nobody was available!"

-Don't mess with old people!

Our Hero of the Week:

Al Giddings is famous for his underwater filming of the movie, Titanic. Even before that, he was acclaimed for his work with the famous photographer Chuck Nicklin. Most, however, do not know the story of Al and LeRoy French his dive-shop partner who was attacked by a Great White Shark at the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. Al had just climbed back on board and taken off his tanks when he heard an inhuman scream. Now, from his website, http://www.leroyfrench.com/, LeRoy’s story as he surfaced from his dive:

I push my mask up on my forehead and try to locate the boat, it's about 100 yards away. (the length of a football field) I notice my partner Al reaching the boat and being helped on board. A 100 yard swim for me is not difficult, but what happens next makes it seem like it’s a 100 miles. After swimming half the distance back to the boat everything was going well until I feel a gentle tug on my left wrist. I thought maybe it was another diver so I look over but see nothing. At a second glance I see this huge pool of blood in the water. Events from this point on start to deteriorate at a rapid rate. I have no idea where this blood is coming from until I lift up my left arm and see this huge tear in my wetsuit and all the flesh torn away from my wrist. I can’t move my hand or fingers. My mind does not seem to register what’s happening until at that moment I see this enormous dorsal fin and tail directly in front of me and I know I’m in trouble. This is a 16 foot Great White Shark and he wants to eat me.

This animal weighs in at about 3000 lbs and anything that happens from this point on to save me is either luck or in somebody else's hands. The shark comes in with tremendous force and grabs me by the midsection. Fortunately the scuba tanks that extend past my body prevent him from doing any major damage. Once he feels the metal he releases me. At this point I start to yell for help. The divers on the boat are now witnessing a nightmare in the making.

The water around me becomes very calm and I feel as though the shark has left, but this was not to be. At that moment this huge mouth and head come out of the water and the shark grabs my left leg. Now I know that I am in a fight for my life. The shark pulls me underwater by my leg and starts thrashing back and forth. I’m about 10 feet underwater with no mask on and no air, and all I can think about is drowning. I immediately start to fight, and using my speargun I stab the animal repeatedly on the nose and head and at the same time instinct and training kicks in and I pull the CO2 cartridge to inflate the diving vest and try to create some buoyancy. I continue hitting the shark, and during this time I remember saying the words ... ”please God make it go away”. I am not a real religious person, but I do attend church on occasion and I obviously believe in God because the most amazing thing happened at that moment. The shark let go and I floated to the surface. I start yelling again for help and my friend Al does the bravest thing a human can do for another. He goes the ultimate extra mile and puts his life on the line for me. He dives in the water and swims to me and tows me back to the boat without knowing whether the shark was still there or not. An incredibly brave feat.

We have no idea how badly I am hurt, but I can attest to the fact that there is a tremendous amount of blood in the water and I am going into shock.

As I am being towed back to the boat by my friend Al Giddings all I can think about is the shark coming back and finishing me off while I leave this huge trail of blood behind me. Fortunately this does not happen and what seems like a lifetime finally comes to an end at the side of the boat.

One long night as Chuck and Al and I rode out a wild sea in a rocking boat, I asked Al if it was hard it was to get past his fear and dive in after LeRoy. He smiled, "No, my adrenaline was so high I hardly noticed the fear until I got to the boat and was pushing him up the ladder. Then LeRoy's blood was cascading down over me and I knew that big shark was right under me, watching my legs. It was a long two or three minutes!”

LeRoy French survived his ordeal and has become a world famous underwater photographer in his own right. Our deep respect goes out to this week’s hero Al Giddings.

Trust is the Key to Grace

2010-01-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

All reality is made of vibrating, intelligent energy …Bob Trask

We are surrounded by waves, light waves, sound waves, microwaves etc. We don’t see them but we know they are there because we can turn the dial on the car radio and get dozens of AM and FM stations, and on our TVs are hundreds of channels. The airways are so filled with waves that if they were to become visible we would be astounded. What if the possibilities for our creative desires were as abundant as these waves?

The good news is that those broadcast waves are nothing compared to the vibrations of possibility surrounding us. The mechanisms are already in place to realize your dream, all you need do is actualize them by seeing a vision that is in alignment with your natural gifts and then create a mission to that vision and follow it with trust. When you do you will find that the possibilities for achieving your life’s dreams are as numerous as are stars in the Universe- limitless; you will come to understand that our self-doubts are the clouds that hide those stars from us. When we are looking at the clouds, we cannot see the stars. The best way I know to penetrate clouds of doubt is with trust, and trust can only be built by taking risks and winning.

We first came into this incarnation filled with trust, and then learned to distrust. When we were children, we heard the calling of our souls, we were confident that we could follow our passions and enjoy their rewards. Nothing at all was impossible until someone told us it was and we believed them. Trust opened the circuits of Grace which then flowed through and empowered us like an electrical current. When we stopped trusting, the Grace turned off and our personal power died. In order to get our power back on we need to start putting some savings in our “trustbank.” Taking risks, winning and acknowledging our wins is the only way to rebuild trust, but it requires letting go of our old beliefs and focusing on what is real. If we get distracted from our life’s plan, our passion, then we can neither win nor build trust.

I think of myself going along a highway through desert country at night. My vision, my goal is to be in Phoenix by midnight. My mission, the plan that will get me there is this: keep my lights turned on and pointed where I want to go, and pay attention to changes, like a washed out road, slow traffic or signs along the roadside. Not a problem until I take my eyes off the prize and focus my attention elsewhere. “Oh look over there! See it? See it? Isn’t that an antelope? Hey, look at that, it’s a coyote! Watch him go! Say, is that a mountain I see over there?” Uh oh! We’re going over some severe bumps now, and this is deep sand we’re in! Well what happened to the highway?” Back on the road now, but it seems I passed the turnoff for Phoenix about fifty miles back.

So, you want to be successful singer but don’t have time to practice because you have this fantastic guy you’re dating? You want to become a doctor but it’s difficult because you’ve decided to play basketball in Spain? And now your original goal wasn’t achieved; so will you say you cannot trust the process because you tried it and it didn’t work? Simply put; our creative intention is focused by our attention. Where our attention is so is our intention. The process is guaranteed by nature, if we stay focused on our vision and keep a flexible mission we will accomplish our goal.

Here’s another saboteur to be aware of: becoming dedicated to the mission instead of the vision. Love the journey but let's don’t forget where we're going. I know this one well; I became enchanted with the process in at least two of my many careers; the goals I had intended to accomplish just never happened and I burned out trying to reach them. You need a personal coach or at the very least a wise and fearless support team, willing to tell you the truth when you are off the road. And of course, you need to trust them.

  * Critics call Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free the best guide to higher consciousness available today. There are only a few hundred 1st edition hardbacks left at $29.95 and already used copies are selling for over $50. Get your own classic copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2
? Want your copy autographed? Just let me know.

*Personal Coaching by Bob Trask is available by phone, email or in person.
      Email: Bob@arasfoundation.org
      Phone: 425-868-8448

*Here is a brand new five minute video I think you'll like.
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMh-PDdTY1M

A bit of Humor For You:
The old man was walking on the beach with his only grandson, when a giant wave crashes onshore, sweeping the boy out to sea.
The man looks up to the heavens and says, "Oh Lord, this is my only grandson, how can you take him away from me like this? My son will not understand. My daughter-in-law will die from grief."
Another wave comes by, and deposits the boy at the old man's feet.
The grandfather looks to the heavens again and says, "Hey….He had a hat!"

Our Hero of The Week
One of the more amazing men you’ll ever meet, (and according to Mary, my wife, one of the handsomest) is St. Clouds Restaurant co-owner John Platt. John spent his younger years working as a high-school English teacher and principal before he at last heard the calling of his soul and went full scale into gourmet cooking.

John Platt is this week’s hero because of the following: On one morning of every week, John opens the restaurant early to allow herds of volunteers from all over Puget Sound to come in and get to work. They bring with them loads of donated fresh veggies, meat, fish, fruits, nuts; whatever they can find or afford. John takes a look at the bounty, asseses its possibilities then makes his decisions. Today, for example, he might look around and say: “This will be whitefish with roasted almonds and fresh apricot sauce, those veggies will become a wilted spinach salad with berries and sesame seeds, and our dessert today will be a fresh peach cheesecake. Whatever the ingredients, John's genius mind soon molds it into a gourmet banquet and then he puts his volunteers to work creating it.

When completed, the meals are placed into containers and taken by vans to feed 400 plus homeless folks at shelters, tent cities, homeless teen centers and wherever people are in need of nourishment for body and soul. Then the volunteer team cleans the restaurant thoroughly and gets it ready for its normal operation as one of the Northwest’s premier eating spots.

Next time you’re in Seattle stop and congratulate John at St. Clouds Restaurant for being our hero.

The Next Level of Self

2010-01-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

Joy is the food of the soul! ....Bob Trask

Let’s find and remove those thinking glitches that keep us from being, doing and having all we are worthy of. You already know it is not an easy task because you’ve been working at it for a long time. And what makes it doubly hard is that the mind overseeing the changes is the same mind that needs to be changed; truly like having the fox guard the henhouse.

But through our Higher Minds and with the wisdom of the ages flowing through us, we can do it. It begins by having a clear vision of what you would like to be, do and have and then writing it down. It cannot be what you should do, but what you want to do; that which will give you joy. Then notice, and even write if you will, the mental and emotional obstacles that lie between you and your visions.

Need a hint? Here are three examples of weakness from my swamp-mind.
     1- The belief that letting go of “my notion of truth” would leave me empty.
     2- My need to see evidence of success before I will take a risk.
     3- My spiritual laziness; my unwillingness to see myself as an eternal soul rather than a body and mind.

You will notice these are all based on mistrust and I’ll bet yours are too. Mistrust is a block beyond which none of us can advance. So what is trust? It is acknowledging that as a perfect child of this Universe you are here for a divine purpose and that you have been neither abandoned nor neglected by the Great Mind that brought you here. But unless you are aware of and focused upon your true nature and your individual mission you can never experience the joyful Grace that is waiting to empower you and your mission.

Come with me and see in your imagination, a creative area in a sunny meadow where people come to work, each doing that which brings him or her joy and fulfillment. In this area are many committed souls, each practicing talents and skills slightly different than those around them. There are singers, teachers, engineers, writers, scientists, painters, thinkers and more. Together they are part of a Master Plan and their combined efforts are building something grand—a world that works for everyone.

Around the outside of our work area is a vast field of distractions. Some of them are necessary periodic outlets for workers who need a break. Yet if we look across that space we will see people who have never come into the work area. They spend their entire lives chasing illusory signs of self-satisfaction; to amass money, to become more attractive or to just get through each day with toils that neither fulfill their hearts nor reward their souls. They wouldn’t be out there, away from their true spiritual centers if they could only know and trust in who they really are.

What is your vision? It needn’t be a world-shaking lifetime goal, it can start wherever Great Spirit is pointing you at this moment, maybe to reunite with an old friend, to buy a watercolor set and paint a picture, to write a poem or story or to teach a class. Begin at the beginning and let the yarn unfold as it is supposed to and it will knit something marvelous.

* Everything you read in these messages is explored in detail in my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free.

*  Let me help make your vision come true by being your personal coach! Mail to: bob@arasfoundation.org

A Bit of Humor for You:
Dan found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, and decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with. So one evening he went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said as he walked up to her "but in just a week or two, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."
Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening and, three days later, she became his stepmother.
Women are so much smarter than men.

Our Hero of The Week:
Last week I heard a radio voice say: “Consider the nature of a father who would give his son's life that others might live.” Then the strangest thing happened to me; I thought he was talking about a father who sent his son to war to die for our freedom, but he was talking about God!

Yet, how about the more than eight thousand fathers and mothers who have given the lives of their sons and daughters to the current wars of our presidents? Add Vietnam and there is another one hundred thousand, counting PTSD suicides. Whether or not we agree with those wars, the fact remains that these parents willingly sacrificed their beloved children so we might live. God bless them all!

Each of you parents is our hero this week. Our hearts are filled with gratitude and we send you our blessings.

How Much Risk Am I Worth?

2010-01-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Fear always presents an opportunity for personal magnificence! ....Bob Trask

From chapter one of Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free....

--------------------------

A life well-lived is a life filled with failure. But failure is not fatal, it is a blessing. The more precious our goal, the more failures and self-expansions we must undergo to attain it. We are on divine missions, each of us, without blueprints to follow; we are pioneers, designing our path as we go, reaching into the darkness of the unknown to accomplish what our souls call us to do. If, in the process, we compare the number of our failures to the number of our wins, our self-confidence might crumble, because we will fail far more often than we will succeed. But if we see each failure as an important part of success, a necessary step to winning, we will not let failure define us. Then our fear of failure cannot keep us from taking the risks we must take in order to win.

Leon’s Story
Moments before he died, Leon Ames, staring at the ceiling of my ambulance, answered my question. “Yeah, my boat! If I hadn’t been so damn scared of what someone might say, I’d have built my boat.” He turned to me, his face working, his voice tight, “God, how I wish I’d just gone ahead and built that boat.”

For several months before this, I’d been asking people who were fully aware that they were dying and who had surrendered to their deaths, the same question; “When you look back now, do you have any regrets?” I wanted to know because I wondered if there might be something to be learned by those of us who still had time to take a different path.

I had heard a few others say basically the same thing, but it was Leon’s reply that really got my attention; he was the third person in a space of two weeks who basically told me, “If I could do my life over, I would do what I wanted instead of listening to my fear.” After Leon was dead, I sat alone in the dark ambulance watching rain, like tears, crawling down the windshield.

I knew Leon. Six months earlier, I had gone to his home to take his wife to the hospital. She died within days and, with her death, Leon's reason for living. When his sudden heart attack came I went to his home and found him strangely calm but deeply sad. Leon did not fear death, but its nearness opened an old wound he had kept hidden from himself for years. The agony he suffered for his loss, the realization that he had come into this life with something important to do which now he would never accomplish. It was too late. Leon Ames understood finally that he had not accomplished his life’s mission.

Was it just a boat? Was all his sorrow over having not built a boat? I wondered how a boat could be so important. So, he described it to me; and, it was then that I realized he had envisioned a genius hull design that perhaps no one had ever seen before. It was a hull that would move through the water as water itself, partnering with water instead of fighting it. Leon had a mind full of ideas and even as he lay dying, a light came into his eyes. His boat would move through the water with a grace and ease that would cause boat builders to transform their ideas of hulls and sails. The design came only through Leon’s soul. As we are each unique, so are our creations! Leon’s design could never be replicated by anyone else. Because of his fears, he had deprived us of ever having that design in our world; and he now knew it.

As I sat in the ambulance waiting for my partner to finish his paper work, questions crowded into my mind. Why do so many of us come to the end of our lives not knowing how to live; not even remembering our missions or what made us unique in the world? Is it because we feel obligated and are in resistance to the pressures of obligation? Is it because we really don’t understand? Leon would insist now that our motivation should not be an obligation but an opportunity. He learned too late that he was given a gift that he never unwrapped. His life’s mission, his passion, would have been to design and build his boat; there is nothing he would rather have been doing. Leon turned away from his mission because he believed he should be doing something else.

But can our life’s mission be as easy as that? Should we go about the world just doing what we want to do, what we are passionate about, and dismissing our obligations? I could not help looking at my own life that afternoon; I felt myself drowning in a life I didn’t want to lead; avoiding doing what I really wanted, because I was afraid of failing my obligations to others. I wondered - would my last moments be like those of Leon and other dying people I had talked to? Would I be devastated to find that the fair had left town, while I still had unused ride tickets in my pocket? But, what do I do with my old ideas? What about the concrete beliefs I grew up with, the ones that had come to define me as a person?

I realized that afternoon that I was stuck. I didn’t want to be stuck; I wanted to grow. To do that, I would have to change not what I thought about things, but how I thought about things. I had to discover valid, new paradigms that would allow me to see truth not from just one viewpoint, but from as many viewpoints as possible. I remember another afternoon, years later, again in San Francisco when I, as a sea captain, came ashore to have lunch with an attorney friend. He invited his accountant, a pleasant man I had met before, to come along. During lunch the accountant plied me with questions, “Have you ever seen a whale jump? Did you ever swim with a shark? What is a wild sea like at night?” He couldn’t get enough of my stories. I walked them back to their office and said good-bye. But as I was leaving the office, this curious man called out to me; “Say, Bob, do me a favor will you? When you’re out on that sea, surrounded by dolphins and sunsets, think of this sailor, locked in the body of an accountant.” The people around us laughed, but I did not laugh and neither did he. He meant it.

I, too, had been locked in my identity before the day Leon died. But, on that day I set myself free. That accountant’s story has stayed with me for years and I wonder if he ever broke free. Or had his life, like a leaky faucet, continued trickling out his passion and purpose for living until at the end, he would look back and realize he had made a mistake.

When I was a boy, we were quite poor. Yet, in nearly every housing project that we lived, there was a library where I could get books that let me escape to other times and places. As I read of the adventurers in those books, I made a list of what I would do when I grew up; sea captain, wilderness guide, scuba-diving instructor, commercial fisherman, forester, firefighter, ambulance attendant, explorer, singer, comedian, actor, realtor and writer. My mom said I could never do them all, that I had to settle down and focus on one thing. My grandmother accused me of being arrogant and dishonest for wanting such glory for myself. As my list grew and adults told me my dreams were foolish, I became more and more despondent. Life didn’t seem worth living if I had to live it in that box. I was a kid from a housing project, with no father and with brothers and sisters to support. I felt like I was in a cage looking out at all those who were free. When I thought of how impossible my dreams were, I felt myself dying inside. It wasn’t until I was about twenty that I realized I had already experienced several of my dreams. I had been a firefighter, forester, commercial fisherman and truck driver. Slowly, my goals were being accomplished. I have read of others who made similar lists and were also amazed to find they were accomplishing their dreams.

By the time I met Leon, I had been bogged down with obligations for quite awhile. I wanted to quit then and go follow my dreams, but I could hear my grandma’s voice telling me; “See there, you just cannot keep a job, can you? You start getting ahead and then you quit and go start over somewhere else. You’ll never amount to anything!” Every time I wanted to go off to another adventure, I felt the shame of disappointing my grandma. But I went anyway, the calling was just too strong to ignore. (end of passage)

--------------------------

I’m not suggesting that we run away with the circus this year or go seeking buried treasure in the South Seas. I’m recommending we simply listen to the songs of our souls and then follow them. Like all living members of this Universe, to stay healthy we must be in process. As rivers of light, let us have the courage to flow where we are called. We need only take that first step, which is to visualize and accept our fondest dreams then take a little risk and declare our intention. Our friend Leon would ask us not to wait. He would say to do it now, for we are definitely worth the risk!

There are so many more good stories in this book! Check it out at:
http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-ardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261092419&sr=1-2
(If you’d like your copy personally autographed, let me know.)

For Personal Coaching call 425-577-0556 or email bob@arasfoundation.org

A Bit of Humor For You:
A traffic cop spots a woman driving and knitting at the same time.
He says, "Pull over!" "No," she shouts back, "a pair of socks!"

Our Heroine of The Week:
Eleanor Clift is a Newsweek journalist, a member of the McLaughlin Hour and a constant inspiration to Americans everywhere who take their facts from neither the left nor the right but rather seek a commonsense understanding that includes all truths. As one of Washington’s most informed reporters Eleanor has, throughout her career, been steadfast in reporting only what she sees as truth while not allowing herself to be swayed by political pressures from either side. Eleanor recently lost her husband, Tom Brazaitis who was her closest friend and companion. Yet despite her loss and the constant pressures of her career, Eleanor Clift holds fast to the keen professionalism of her life’s work; which keeps her strong, millions accurately informed and makes her our heroine this week.

Holiday Blues Come With Special Gifts Attached

2009-12-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

Flowers of joy can only grow in the soil of gratitude.
…Bob Trask

Now we are in the happiest season of the year. For many, like my wife Mary, it is a time of almost boundless joy, a time of renewal and the rebirth of love.

Yet for others this may be the opposite; a time when the old depression dragon crawls from his lair to chew on hearts. The very music and lights and happiness that light up others will cast some of us into an awful gloom. This week’s message is for those very souls and for their loved ones, because both are affected by the darkness of this seasonal beast. Instead of being a time of frivolity and gaiety, for them it is a time of self-discipline and of focusing on whatever they can that is good about life. They must climb every day up from their dark valley, up the steep face of a mountain that often seems utterly hopeless; yet those who climb and will not give up, will ultimately find the climb well worth it because the struggle will give them strength, give their lives greater meaning and allow them to become wiser and stronger than ever before.

Isolation is the trap. It is the easiest way to escape the pain and yet it is the most dangerous, and the common downfall of those dealing with depression. When we are in this situation we need people with whom we can share our fears and dreams. We cannot give up and go hide when we feel no one cares nor understands; someone will want to hear us and to care if we just keep putting out the invitation. ARASing (see the past four blogs) is a sure-fire way to get others to love us. And yes; it may take kissing a couple dozen frogs before we find our prince or princess, but please; just keep on kissing; don’t ever give up!

A trick I’ve found helpful is to smile, even when I don’t feel like it. The nerves involved in making a smile send a message to the brain saying; “Hey we’re having fun down here, come join us.” The brain just cannot help loosening its grip on the gloom. Make sure the smile is not a grimace.

I know that what I’m suggesting is not easy, I fought through years of holiday anguish and I understand well how frightening and lonely the struggle can be. But those with courage will discover that if they do not give up, they will discover, even in the darkest night, a small bit of joy. If we focus on the darkness it is impossible; but if we just keep looking for light, we will find it. It may be only a tiny glimmer- a glint at first; yet a spark is all that’s needed to start a fire. Focusing on that tiny ember will cause it to grow, and our hope to grow with it. And though it may feel slow, we must keep focusing on joy wherever we can find it because if we do it will grow! We will then find ourselves flowing into brighter consciousness; our souls opening and becoming radiant in the world. Those who have been to the mountain will have seen the darkest darkness, and those with the courage to come back are surely the wisest among us.

But when holiday despair is self-induced as a means of punishment for oneself or others, nothing can change until there is forgiveness. As I show in my book Romancing The Soul, a pond shattered by a rock, a sky split open by lightning or a forest devastated by fire- they all heal- only humans have the ability to condemn themselves or each other, and that is neither nature’s nor God’s way. We must accept that the past is perfect as it is and get on with today. Not one of us fell into this incarnation by accident; we each came here on a mission and the paths of our lives are filled with mistakes, losses and hazards designed to make each of us wiser and better able to do the magnificent work before us. If we hang on and keep choosing joy, we will discover that darkness cannot swallow us, it will only swallow our ego, which is the small person we once thought we were.

When I look at a Christmas tree I try to let each ornament represent a friend or a blessing in my life. It is amazing when I realize that no tree, no matter how large or elaborately decorated, can hold all my ornaments. Even if you are already joyful, this is an eye opener because we are able to see a graphic illustration of how blessed we are. If done with friends: each person calling out an ornament and naming the blessing it represents, everyone is uplifted and reminded that loving others and allowing them to love us is the most direct path to happiness.

A Bit of Humor For You:
What with all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment,it is worth reflecting on the death of a very significant person which almost went unnoticed last week.

Larry La Prise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at age 93.The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in ...and then the trouble started.

Our hero of the week:
This week's heroes are you and me for smiling throughout 2009 at times we felt like crying; for forgiving ourselves and others when we didn't want to; for being helpful and polite to those we knew we would never see again; for asking others to tell us their stories and then really hearing them, for the times we turned away from self-pity and accepted all that was given us; for having the courage to risk changing our minds and habits to improve ourselves and mostly; for never ever giving up. Together we have done well to move into 2010 with clarity, courage and confidence. You most definitely are my hero!

• Throughout a lifetime of studying and thirty-five years of teaching I have weaved be, do and have into a seamless process of living effectively and living free which is all demonstrated with great stories in my newest book; Romancing The Soul; Your Personal Guide to Living Free Click here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-ardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261092419&sr=1-2

• Heads up! This hardback first edition (only 1000 printed) is $29.95. Already, used copies are selling for over $50! You can have your copy personally autographed; just ask me.

• Personal Coaching? Call me at 425-577-0556 or write Bob@arasfoundation.org

Step Four in Mastering Relationships – Support

2009-12-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

“Alone we can do nothing; we must recruit friends!”
Bob Trask

This final step of building meaningful and dependable relationships will tie Acceptance, Respect and Affection together with dependability of Support. The first three can be fleeting; we may accept or respect or have affection for someone today but lose them tomorrow. Support demands constancy, the knowing that others can depend upon our loyalty to Acceptance, Respect and Affection.

The acronym, ARAS came to me in the sixties when I was doing double-duty as a model, actor and entertainer in San Francisco and also driving a bus in the east bay. Each morning, my regular route took me through the poorest part of West Oakland where I picked up six African American women who worked as maids in large, affluent homes east of Oakland. I heard them behind me, sharing stories; occasionally with tears but more often with laughter. In the morning that laughter was free and infectious, at night it was a bit strained and weary. Every morning they climbed up those bus steps, tossed their change into the meter and, without looking at me, demanded a transfer. Though my bus took them directly to their jobs, I understood their need for the transfer tickets; they needed to feel they were getting all they could for their money. Such is the way of poverty; hang onto even worthless things if it is all you have.

These close friends sat behind me and talked of things that fascinated me. When they laughed it was impossible not to laugh with them. I began looking forward to seeing them; greeting them with a “good morning” or “good afternoon.” Yet they barely responded; dropped in their money and moved past as if I were a fixture. Then they sat and immediately blended into their rich chorus of talking and laughing. And oh how they laughed; like the birds of a forest singing all at once! They made me smile.

I was totally dedicated to my music and acting; I lived alone and was often lonely; and when these women were together, something moved inside me and I felt connected to the new births, children doing well in school, or who had joined the armed forces. I also felt the deep anguish of a wife whose husband was in prison, of another whose two sons were in gangs, and another whose daughter was hooked on heroin. How, I wondered, could one get up in the morning, take a bus to go work in someone’s elegant home and then come back home to poverty and loss? Where did one get that courage?

I saw that one’s dress was two sizes too large, all were too heavy and when they came on the bus at the end of the day, struggling to make it up the steps, their nylons were rolled down and sunk into their calves, biting into varicose veins. Then I was again a boy, living in the projects with my own overweight mama with veins on her chubby legs standing out like purple ropes. These women were no different than mama, who died of old age at 46; and they too might die before their times. I felt the impact of their courage and their grace so strongly that I even thought of them on my days off. But it was a one-way relationship because they did not see me at all; they spoke to me only to get change or to demand their transfers.

One day, walking along a San Francisco street, toying with my feelings of rejection, I realized that I wanted to be accepted into their group but that I had not really accepted them as a part of me. So over the next week I did my internal work; making each of them okay with me exactly as they were. I was unprepared for what happened next; they softened. I said “good morning” as I always had, but now they looked at me when I said it and nodded or said “good morning” in return. It was not a friendly “good morning,” just an Acceptance of me being there. I was amazed! I had gotten myself out of the way and truly accepted them and in return had gotten their Acceptance. I had done nothing but change my mind; how could they read me so clearly?

In time I realized I wanted more from the relationship. I wanted their Respect. Knowing how perceptive they were I knew it had to start with me, so I made it my mission to really pay attention to each of them; to look for their preciousness, for their nobility, the genetic traits that came down from their five thousand generations of grandparents. Their souls opened like flowers before me and I saw the majesty of who they were. All I'd had to do was look; it was right there all the time! I understood then, that what they were doing was enormously courageous. Of course this Respect came right back; they began to treat me, not like ‘that driver,’ but as an individual who had value. Like magic, what I felt for them, they soon felt for me. It came from simply opening my mind; could reality be changed that easily?

Affection was almost naturally the next step because I wanted them to feel my Affection. But it was a risk; what if they misunderstood my intentions? I took the risk anyway, seeing in each of them the goodness of my own mama and my sister as they came aboard in the morning and evening. I thought of them with kindness and told them with my smiles and my eyes that I cared about them. “Your hair is different, I like it.” I said; “That’s a new dress isn’t it? Great color!” I knew we had both seen ourselves as from two different worlds but that no longer mattered matter to me. Day after day I showered them with my Affection: "It's really good to see you today!" and "Have a good night; see you in the morning!"

It worked; soon they came right back to me with their Affection and I even became a part of their dialogue. Behind me I heard: “I think that driver’s got something for you, Blanche!” “Oh no! That driver’s got nothing I’m interested in!” “Oh, honey, don’t be hasty; he’s going to have something mighty interesting for you!” Then they laughed their wonderful laugh and I laughed with them.

I had their Acceptance, their Respect and their Affection and they had mine. They called me by my name and occasionally brought me cookies or a piece of cake, “You gotta eat something honey before you blow away. And you know how that would break Blanche’s heart!” Then they would all laugh and tease one another about who was going to stay on the bus to the end of the route so she could get that driver alone. They knew my ears were red, they were teasing me and I was filled with smiles.

I did not realize that anything was missing from my mission until the during second day of a race riot in Oakland where much bus service had been cancelled to protect buses and drivers. I knew my women desperately needed the little money they were earning so I asked the dispatcher to let me take my route. He finally agreed for me to take a beater that was so old rioters could hardly damage it. Oakland was like a ghost town that morning; almost no one was at the stops and I still had a nearly empty bus when I picked up my friends. They each came aboard with a smile for me and no mention of the riot.

Then there were half-dozen big, tough-looking kids bounding up the steps. They refused to pay, sat in the back of the bus and taunted whitey, the driver. They fed on each other's rage until it boiled over; they rushed forward and started slapping me and yelling. “Hey man, how much money you got? Give us your damn money!” I tried to ignore them and continue to drive but they were dogged. “You not listening to me, whitey!”said one. As he flipped open an ugly switchblade knife, another slammed into me, knocking me almost out of my seat.

“Okay, that’s it!” one of the ladies cried out. “Driver, just stop this bus, these nasty boys are getting off right here.” I pulled to the curb and opened the door. All the ladies were on their feet:

One of the gang turned to them: “Hey, this ain’t your business, you stay out of it!”

Blanche moved forward; “Don’t you sass me! I will not take that from you!”

“Yeah old woman, and what you gonna do?”

In a flash Blanche was in his face and backing him up the aisle; “You want to mess with me, son? Come on then; I promise you it’s gonna be the last messing you'll ever try!”

“Why you all defending this white cracker?” demanded one gang member.

“You watch your mouth boy!” said another woman. “This is a good man and he is our friend; you could learn something from him.”

“Now you all get off this bus.” said another woman.

“Oh yeah? You think you can make us?”

Then my ladies were all on the move, pushing those big lugs down the aisle and off the bus.

As I pulled the bus away with the gang banging furiously on its side; I knew I had come close to being killed or seriously injured. “Hey,” I called back, “Do you know how much I appreciate that?”

“Well then Bob,” said one; “You’re crazy to come for us in the middle of this business, so we have to take care of you.”

“Yes indeed!” Another one called, “Otherwise we’ll have to face Blanche!” Then they laughed as though it tickled them to the spine and I laughed too. And they kidded each other about how daring they had been and how they themselves had become a gang. We were like family then, barriers gone and flowing in each other’s grace.

My friends had not only saved me, they had taught me the meaning of Support, the last word in the ARAS acronym. I learned that Acceptance, Respect and Affection can evaporate in a heartbeat if not backed up with Support and sometimes that takes courage and personal sacrifice. Support is a big word that also means to turn off your mind and actively listen, to ask questions and really care about hearing answers. Support means assisting others in each having their own secure spaces physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Support means mirroring back the highest good in each other; speaking to and listening to people’s souls.

We all agree that love is an overused word, and that many different definitions abound. But ARAS is a way of loving that promises rewards beyond our imagination; Acceptance, Respect, Affection and Support. Love is a four letter word that can be spelled, A-R-A-S.

A bit of Humor For You
A 72 year old guy was fishing from his boat one day when he heard a voice say,
'Pick me up.'
He looked around and couldn't see any one and thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice again,
'Pick me up.'
He looked in the water and there was a frog.
The man said, 'Are you talking to me?'
The frog said, 'Yes, I'm talking to you.’
‘Pick me up, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.’
The man looked down at the frog for a short time, then he reached over, carefully picked it up and put it in his front breast pocket.
‘Hey,’ the frog said; 'What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? Kiss me and I will become the most beautiful woman in the world and I’ll be your bride.'
He opened his pocket, and said to the frog: ‘At my age I’ll do better with a talking frog.'

This week’s Heroines:
Wherever you are, my dear bus ladies; we honor you today. We realize how hard your lives were and that getting on that bus and going to work instead of drowning in the poverty around you was a choice you made every day. In so doing you expressed the finest of who you were. Your children lived in an atmosphere filled with excuses for failure that made hopelessness a reason for dropping out. But you moms refused to let your children see hopeless in you. Many of them, now adults live full and meaningful lives because of your daily example of vision and courage. I still see your sweet faces, and I wonder how you are, knowing some of you may have moved beyond this life. Wherever you are I pray you might somehow be blessed by the hundreds of thousands of lives you touched through me as I taught ARAS around the world. I think you would be pleased and then you would look at each other and surely would laugh.

 Learn about ARAS and other tools of enlightenment in my successful book Romancing The Soul; Your Personal Guide to Living Free. Click here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261092419&sr=1-2

 For Personal Coaching call me at 425-577-0556 or write Bob@arasfoundation.org

Step Three in Mastering Relationships: Affection

2009-12-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

What a great gift; to heal others just by caring! -Bob Trask

Those searching for mates and those in sales have both realized that Acceptance and Respect can open even the toughest minds. And as we move to our third step: Affection, we must remember that Acceptance and Respect remain the platform upon which good relationships are built.

Affection is the lifeblood that sustains us spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically and which we need a regular basis. When people don’t get their daily allotment of affection, parts of them begin to die, not only in their spirits, but in their bodies as well. Science has shown that cancer occurs more frequently in those who lack consistent affection, even if it is from a pet.

Babies are so sweet and dear that we cannot resist pouring our affection into them, which is Nature’s plan. As they learn to nurse for milk, they are also learning to exchange Affection. The infant lays in mom’s arms, suckling and holding eye contact with her and a lot more is being exchanged than milk. Dad snuggles his baby, holding eye contact, and their bonding takes place. By this process of Affection, we are baptizing this newborn into our human family.

It sometimes seems difficult to find affection because people are too busy or focused elsewhere. Yet Affection can break that spell and bring those folks into harmony with us. If it is sincere, it may be done safely in many ways. Example: “Hey is that a new blouse? It matches your eyes perfectly!” or, “I really like the way you dealt with Sam earlier, you’re a kind person.” or, “You remind me of a cousin I haven’t seen in years, but who I really love.” or, “I’ll bet you were a popular kid in school!” or “For some reason, people really seem to like you!” I could go on but you get the message; we just reach into someone’s heart and light a candle. Along with Acceptance and Respect, this is the next step to creating deep, lasting friendships. Just let others know their value to you, not because of their stations in life, but because they are unique and special persons.

People often withhold Affection because they fear it might make them seem weak- which is nonsense, isn’t it? Many of history’s most affectionate people were also the most powerful and influential: Mother Teresa and Gandhi uplifted the entire human family by their expressions of compassion and Affection for others.

Next week we will wrap up this Relationship Mastery Series with Support. You won’t want to miss it.

*Each step to the ARAS Plan for building splendid relationships is available in my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free. This beautifully designed, first edition hardback (only 1000 printed) will make a valuable and cherished gift. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260238802&sr=1-2

A bit of humor for you:

Native Americans in a remote tribe asked their new chief about the weather for the coming winter.

Being a modern man who had never learned the old secrets. He looked for signs in the forest and in the sky but just could not see what the winter was going to be like.

To be on the safe side, he told his tribe the winter was going to be cold and that they should collect a lot of firewood.

After several days, he got an idea. He called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist responded.

The chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood.

A week later, he again called the National Weather Service. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the meteorologist replied, 'it's definitely going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief turned to his people and asked that they collect even more firewood.

Yet the autumn was so mild, he had doubts so two weeks later he called the National Weather Service again. “How sure are you that that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'There is no doubt,' the man replied. 'It looks to be one of the coldest winters we've seen.'

'Well, how can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

“Because Indians are really collecting a lot of firewood!" the weatherman replied.

• Do you have a humorous bit you'd like to share? please send it to me!

This Week’s Hero:

Mother Teresa dedicated her life to the poor in the slums of Calcutta. nursing the sick, helping people die with Grace, holding open air schools for slum children and doing it all without funds. She had become a participant in the poverty around her. The word of her incredible love and service influenced others to join her and eventually volunteers and donations came in. She founded The Society of Missionaries which spread throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America and Australia, providing help for the poorest of the poor, aid for shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers and relief in the wake of floods, epidemics, and famine.

Yet there is an heroic side of Mother Teresa that only became known after her death. Hidden from all eyes, even those closest to her, was a constant deep and painful sense of being separated from God and even rejected by Him. This feeling, which she called her “darkness”, continued to torment her until the end of her life. Here is the heroic part: she used her fear and despair as tools to help her participate in, and more fully understand the desolation of the poor. Despite her “darkness” and severe health problems, our Hero of The Week worked every day to alleviate the sufferings of the poor.

• If you know of a hero, please tell me his or her story!

RESPECT – Step Two of Mastering Relationships

2009-11-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

Each of us, in our singularity,

represents a pure incarnation of God. Bob Trask

When we act towards others with the four attributes of the ARAS plan; Acceptance, Respect, Affection and Support, we are fulfilling the deepest relationship needs of other people and, in so doing, we become their treasured friends. I believe this four-step process to be the most effective means available of winning friends and influencing people. (And I’m sure Dale Carnegie would be in full agreement.)

Last week, the first word in our series was Acceptance, which allows a person to feel acknowledged and received exactly as he or she is. Respect goes a step farther and allows that same person to feel personally honored, seen and appreciated for who he or she is. Even celebrities, while being respected for attributes that make them famous, know that only a small slice of who they are is really ever seen.

Acceptance, Respect, Affection and Support are as vital to the health of our minds and souls as is nutrition to the health of our bodies. How welcome we must then seem to others when we become providers of those needs. This week’s concept: Respect, is an especially important element for strengthening self-confidence because when being respected we open to seeing qualities in ourselves that only someone else may point out. In my work I am always amazed by the number of people unappreciated for who they are, both in their professional and personal lives, and who, as a result, go through life thinking they are less than they are.

When we talked about Acceptance last week, we saw that there is no middle ground; that one is feeling either accepted or rejected. The same is true for Respect; there is no neutral territory. Because a position of respect is the normal and expected way one fits into society, when that respect is withheld we feel disrespected.

How do we show Respect for others? True Respect is first and foremost an attitude, one that may be unspoken and yet shown in a tone of voice or a slight facial expression. And we can hold a feeling of respect for those we barely know or have just met by remembering that the person living in that body is an eternal soul who has doubtlessly earned respect countless times; has courageously survived dark, sorrowful nights that seemed to never end, despair so profound it may have felt fatal, loss and sickness and pain we can only imagine and then may have given to someone in need even when they didn’t have enough for themselves. When we think about it, most adults now fit those descriptions and more children are joining them every day. Yet our magnificence is more than just a reflection of our heroism, it is also the unique genius calling out from within each of us. If we could truly recognize the marvelousness of those souls around us, we would no doubt bow when meeting one another.

And, of course, when we truly respect someone, their defenses fall away and they see us more clearly for who we are and then may respect us as well. This week let’s practice the second part of ARAS by trying to see what makes each other worthy of our Respect.

Please remember that the entire ARAS Plan and concept is outlined in detail in my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free. I received a letter wondering why the book is selling for $29.95 on Amazon.com. The reason is that this is a first-edition hardback of which only 1000 were printed and it will very soon be a collector’s item. This beautifully designed book can be read as a tutorial or opened to any page for an inspirational message. Get a copy for yourself and a gift for a friend. http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259529691&sr=1-2

*Next week we move to step three of ARAS: Affection. You won’t want to miss it.

*Please remember: I am available for your personal coaching, in person or by phone or email.

A bit of humor for you:
The medical receptionist asked John what brought him in and he replied “I’ve got shingles.” She wrote down his name, address, medical insurance number and told him to have a seat.
A nurse's aide then came out and again asked John what he had, and he replied, “Shingles.” She wrote down his height, weight, a complete medical history and told him to wait in the examining room.
A half hour later a nurse with a clipboard took him into an examination room and said, “Says here you have shingles. How long have you had them?”
“Since early this morning,” said John.
She took his temperature, blood pressure then told him to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor.
Eventually the doctor came in and asked John what was going on with him.
“I’ve got shingles,” John replied.
“Where?” the doctor asked.
"Outside on the truck,” said John. “Where do you want them?"

* Have a humorous bit to share? Please send it to me: Bob@ARASFoundation.org

This Week’s Hero:
Brandon Robins is a young man with a miracle attitude. He is a top athlete both on water and snow who suffered a devastating motorcycle accident that left him crushed, unconscious and having lost 17 units of blood. He was airlifted to the hospital where he lay in a coma with both hips and his pelvis fractured and with multiple compound fractures to his right leg, right arm and hand. While unconscious, he lost a finger and his right leg below the knee. A week later he regained consciousness and while still on a ventilator, saw that his leg was gone, immediately accepted the loss and began making plans for prostheses that would allow him back on the slopes and the lake. Two days later the ventilator was removed and soon Brandon was talking and answering questions with absolutely no loss of his typical self-confidence and humor.

Having come, in just under 4 months, from near death to walking and even running on a temporary prosthetic leg and intending to ski this winter, Brandon Robins is a rare person who has certainly earned our respect and who is exactly the kind of hero we need this week.

*Have a hero you'd like to nominate? Send me the info: Bob@ARASFoundation.org

*Make comments, give us your thoughts, just sign up at the top of this post as a follower and let's grow together.

ACCEPTANCE – Step One of Mastering Relationship Skills

2009-11-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

I look at others and there see myself, walking around in those incarnations. Bob Trask

Welcome to step one in our four-part ARAS Mastering Relationships series; an essential program because successful relationships are vital in business, personal life, peer connections, friendships, mental stability and yes, even emotional happiness. People with meaningful relationships have more success, less disease, fewer accidents and they live longer. All parts of our lives work better when our relationships are working. ARAS is an acronym for Acceptance, Respect, Affection and Support. Over the next weeks we will look at each of those and see how to apply them and to make our relationships all they can become.

Acceptance
The antonym for acceptance is rejection and, unfortunately, there is no middle ground, no neutral place to hold our relationships; we are either consciously or subconsciously in continual acceptance or rejection of others. But then, why should we care whether we are accepted by others? Why not just be loners? Here is why: we care because our mutual acceptance brings us into alignment with the human family which is our foundation. As we are accepted by our base, we form alliances and support teams who help us attain our goals and achieve our dreams with smiles in our hearts.

A very nice reverse-effect of our accepting others is that those we accept may see us as interesting and wise, as rare persons who care who they are. Accepting others then, normally causes them to accept us in return. Then may I suggest a way to practice acceptance? When we meet a stranger we might purposefully think: “This is not a stranger, this is my brother or my sister. This is a sibling in my human family. I am accepting him or her without judgment.” As we do so, we may actually see their resistance falling away and the beginnings of trust. It is nothing we actually do that relaxes their defenses; they are reading our attitudes as clearly as if there were signs hanging on our faces or revealing tones in our voices, and they instinctively know how we feel and what we are thinking about them.

We cannot lie to them because we cannot lie to ourselves; our bodies give us away with an uncertain look, a tightening of the shoulders or a slight alteration of voice pitch. Survival traits inherited from their five-thousand grandparents, reveal our truth to them; they are getting us loud and clear even when we think our judgments are hidden. One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93% of communication received is from nonverbal cues! Another study showed 7% coming from words, 38%, from voice tone and 55% from nonverbal body language. Even when we are on the phone; people are reading our voice tones and assuming our body language; which is why I recommend we stand up and smile when talking to those with whom we want to make a good impression.

By saying we must accept others as they are, I am not advocating that we allow bad behavior. We must remember however, that people are not their behaviors. If a child begins taking drugs, for you it may seem easiest to just ban him to his room, but acceptance of the truth: he really is doing drugs; puts you in the driver’s seat and gives you the ability to work with him to overcome this weakness. We must accept the person even as we condemn his behavior. If we lose him we have then also lost the ability to make a difference in his life.

Bottom line: I am either an accepting person or I am not. People either feel judged and pigeonholed by me or accepted as valuable, unique beings. And unique they certainly are, for of all the billions of trillions of people who ever will inhabit the human race, no two of us will ever have the same DNA, fingerprints, voiceprints, irises or synaptic patterns, we each think differently, see different realities and have different gifts to offer the world. We are each one of a kind. And since we are all different it is meaningless to judge others as we would judge ourselves.

On a wider scale, being an accepting person affects more than just my relationships with others; it affects my relationships with my life, my universe, health, wealth, career, home, car, recreation, etc. I am either in alignment with and acceptance of what is or I am not. If I deny what is (truth), I am powerless to change it. But if I accept my life exactly as it is, I am back in the driver’s seat and steering my life in the direction of my choice. When I reject any part of my life, my karma does the steering, it keeps me right up against that situation until I finally surrender and accept. Only then can I change it.

Forgiveness is Acceptance
True forgiveness equals complete acceptance; it is the only way to be free. Otherwise, our resentments and our guilts bully us, twist our thinking and taint our views of one another. The only perfect forgiveness is to look back at those things done to me and those things I did to others and to accept them; to determine that I would not now change any of them even if I could. They are my own unmet expectations that did not, and do not match reality, and I need to let them go. This real world will not change to match the one in my mind; I can only become an effective change agent when my mind is aligned with truth: what is.

Discover how to make relationship magic with my book: Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free at: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258768390&sr=1-2

Next week we move to the second part of ARAS which is Respect. You won’t want to miss it!

A bit of humor for you:
The good priest was amazed because he had never seen Murphy in church. After Mass, he asked him, "Murphy, What in the world brought you back into the fold?”

Murphy said, "Ah, I’ve got to be honest with you Father, a while back, I misplaced my hat and, oh I love that hat! Now McGlynn has a hat just like mine and he takes it off during Mass and leaves it in the back of church. So, during Communion I was going to steal McGlynn's hat."

The priest said, "Well, Murphy, I see that you don’t have his hat. What changed your mind?"

"Well,” Murphy replied, “When I heard your sermon on the 10 Commandments I decided that I really didn't need to steal McGlynn's hat."

With a tear in his eye the priest gave Murphy a big smile and said; "When I talked about 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' you decided you would rather do without your hat than burn in Hell?"

Murphy shook his head. "Ah no, Father, after you talked about 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery, 'then I remembered where I left my hat."

The Hero of the Week
Joe Lamanno is a thinker and philosopher and is forever making personal sacrifices to uplift others lives. By profession Joe is a respected musician, stained glass artist, finish carpenter, massage therapist, artist and poet. These gifts give him his living, but the gifts that give him life are those of supporting and coaching others who are struggling through life’s sticky problems which is why he became fluent in sign language- so he could also be of assistance to the hearing impaired. Joe might spend his days and nights at the bedside of someone in crisis, then give months to a project serving others' special needs, then be in the wilderness, guiding a Spirit Quest group through the highest mountains on horseback and on foot. For years Joe Lamanno has been a regular participant of the San Francisco to LA Aids Bike Ride, both as rider and as a worker. He currently records and tours with Clementine, a lively musical group dedicated to helping find missing persons. Had Joe Lamanno been selling, rather than giving, his talents to the world he would by now be a financial tycoon. But he laughs at that; he says the joy he receives is making him quite wealthy.

Relationships Are Everything!

2009-11-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Striving to be always in joy, we must eventually see that the path and goal are one and the same.

Bob Trask

All our successes depend upon our associations with others because every one of our accomplishments, be it inventing, climbing a mountain, winning a gold medal or raising a family, requires the active support of others. Over the next weeks you will come to understand how to attract the friends and supporters you want into your life through a natural method that makes it easy. Sales people will especially benefit from this information because, though they commonly know a great deal about their products, they often know very little about relationship mastery or how their customers think and make decisions. This process of developing more successful relationships is simple; you need only read each weekly message, apply it to your daily life; and watch the magic happen.

This powerful system for perfecting relationships is called ARAS, pronounced, “air-us” which is an acronym standing for Acceptance, Respect, Affection and Support. As our relationships at home, at work and at play are renewed and refreshed through this process, we may discover happiness not felt since childhood. (You will find a full chapter and description of ARAS in my new book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free, available at: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover.)

Next week we’ll discuss Acceptance, the first step in ARAS and I promise some surprises for you.

• I am personally available to help you clarify your vision and design a mission to accomplish it. Life is not waiting; book an appointment today for coaching by phone, online or in person, call (425) 868-8448 or write to Bob@arasfoundation.org

A bit of humor for you:
On the first day of school a kindergarten teacher
told her class: "Now, if anyone has to go to the bathroom, just hold
up two fingers."
A little voice from the back of the room asked,
"How will that help?"

• Have a good joke? Please share it with me at Bob@arasfoundation.org

Our Hero of the Week:
5 year-old Noah How’s young body was overwhelmed by a cancer with a very small survival rate: Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Regardless of the statistics, from day-one Noah demonstrated amazing willpower for one so young. He knew he was in a battle for his life yet he would not surrender; he continuously recited his mantra and visualized himself as a healthy, normal boy. Whether in agony from surgeries, or violently ill from treatments, he stubbornly held his hope and his vision. He refused to surrender even when, after more than a year of hospitalizations and multiple treatments, the cancer metastasized and spread, at which point his doctors said they had finally exhausted all their means. But Noah was not finished; he redoubled his efforts and fought on. In the end Noah’s determination and his commitment to life was simply greater than the cancer; the tumors gradually shrank away. Noah is now 8 years old, cancer-free and living exactly as the normal boy he envisioned. Wouldn’t it be great if we let Noah How’s example of clarity, courage and confidence encourage us to stay committed to, and focused on, our own visions, even when others can’t see them?

• Have a Hero to nominate? Send me the info. Bob@arasfoundation.org

2009-11-10T00:22:00.000-08:00

Following Your Dream

We must either work continuously toward our visions or forget who we are as creators. -Bob Trask

Tom was a single and very lonely plumber in Los Angeles who didn’t think it possible to attain the life he wanted. He dreamed of living in the Northwest with a loving woman and having a farm and boat; a far cry from being an indebted plumber in LA. I helped Tom clarify his vision and then design a mission that could support it. He figured it would probably take five years to get his finances and personal life in order, so we made a five year mission plan focused on attaining his vision.

Tom began following his mission and for weeks said it felt like a fantasy and couldn’t believe it was real; yet he stayed by his commitment to his mission and made sure he did at least three things each day that in some way benefited his vision. Within a few weeks Tom said his feelings were changing and he was feeling more confident in his mission. At six months he was getting excited; his problems seemed to be dissolving and things were beginning to fall into place. Tom now thought his dream might actually come true.

His dream did come true—he got it all: the farm, the boat and the woman of his dreams. It did not however take five years— Tom created his ideal life in less than one year!

Can just anyone do that? Yes, as long as they are following their true visions. Then, they will find as Tom did, that when follow our bliss things usually go better than we expected and miracles even seem to happen just when we need them. Those I coach often experience these wonders and you will too because Nature recognizes your true life’s work as an important part of its own creative process and will help you achieve your dream. This is the same intelligent Nature that changes seasons, balances oceans, creates forests, sunsets and whales; Nature is on your team and all you need do is focus on your vision and work your mission.
Now let’s look at the first two steps in Tom’s mission plan:

Step One: Clarify a Vision and Commit to it!
A-Set the date you intend to have accomplished your goal.
B- Commit to your vision and do three things each day to support it.

These two parts of clarifying a vision are easier than you might think. For example: it is not necessary to discover your complete lifetime vision right away, few of us can do that. Begin by envisioning something easy that will delight you, even something as simple as learning the words of a favorite song, making and sending a resume, changing your hair style; anything that excites your soul. As you accomplish each vision, your clarity, courage and confidence will expand and you then will discover a new vision. Stay determined and each day achieve three things, no matter how small, that support your vision coming true.

Step Two: Write your vision.
A- Write your vision as an affirmation. Tom’s was: I am with a loving woman, living on my farm and enjoying my boat in the Pacific Northwest.
C- Write your affirmative vision statement ten times each night before you go to bed.

Well over 90% of those who write their goals achieve them compared to less than 35% of those who do not. By the act of writing it, you make a contract with the Universe, an agreement to be, do and have your vision come true. It becomes important therefore, to get it right. Here is how: make your vision statement in present tense and in affirmative words. Instead of saying, I am not poor, or I will not be poor, say, I am wealthy or I am abundant.

Follow your writing routine every day and please focus on what you are writing. If you write just before going off to sleep, your vision and mission will play through your subconscious mind as you slumber. If writing before bed is not possible, find another regular time; such as when you arise. This will work, but only if you remain committed, keep going every day -every week -every month and watch your mind and your entire life gradually expand as you create the life of your dreams. And if you feel you are just too busy, remember, this process takes less than fifteen minutes, (1/96th) of your day.

The simple steps of clarifying your vision and committing to, and writing your vision have made many people healthy, wealthy, famous and successful in every area of life. As they followed their missions for those first weeks and months they watched their dreams evolve from unlikely, to possible, to probable, then to positive. Once they learned they were in charge of their lives, the doors of possibility opened wider and wider.

On this very date one year from now, some of us will be looking back and marveling at how our lives have changed and improved. We will see clearly that it happened because we faithfully focused on our visions and worked our missions.

*The easy way of clarifying your life's vision and building an effective mission are described step-by-step in my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free now out in a first-edition hardback. http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover

*I am available as a personal coach. To book an appointment for coaching either by phone or in person, call (425) 868-8448 or write to bob@arasfoundation.org.

A bit of humor for you:
A high school teacher who injured his back during the summer returned to school to discover he had been assigned to teach a very tough class of rowdies. He was still wearing a body cast under his shirt on the first day of school as he walked confidently into the classroom whistling a tune, opened a window and returned to the front of the class. When a sudden gust of air from the window made his tie flap, he grabbed a stapler from his desk and furiously stapled the tie to his chest. He found that it was really not a difficult class at all.

Our Hero of The Week:
• Melinda Gates, a Texas girl from a hardworking middleclass family who, after marrying the richest man in the world and becoming one of the world’s most powerful women, immediately began investing her time and millions of dollars to expand educational opportunities for children, fight disease and poverty worldwide and to help bring peace to our planet. Melinda is our kind of woman.

The Power of Positive -and Negative- Thinking

2009-10-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

( When fifty people are signed in to follow these messages, one will win a special prize each week!)

The late Norman Vincent Peale wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, a tremendous book that changed the lives of millions and even gave my life a welcome boost. I would love to have discussed with him his views of positive thinking. I might have suggested we now take a step further to also look at the incredible power of the negatives in our lives. Dr. Peale’s theory of focusing our lives in the direction of a vision is as valid today as when he outlined it, and I believe he indicated full agreement with my theory of using negative energy to empower us to our goals when he said: “Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have!”

Many writers labor over books on how to eliminate fear from our lives; they seem to think fear is to the Devil what grace is to God, an evil that must be suppressed. Yet we are in fear everyday and it doesn't it serve us well, we do better on our jobs, better in our relationships and take the risks to better our entire lives; all of it motivated by fear. I'm not talking about anxiety or panic; those states of temporary emotional imbalance are fears gone off-center. Here is how we keep fear healthy; we focus on our visions with positive attitudes and move toward them until we feel the fear rising, then we direct that energy into our missions. We may have to retrain ourselves to recognize fear not as the enemy, not as a baddie; but simply as a balance to all that is positive; a necessary balance if we are to find success at anything worthwhile. Polarity: darkness and light, sorrow and happiness, loss and gain, we do need both poles for balance, for reality. Without sorrow, would happiness be possible? Embracing negativity does not mean becoming an ogre or suffering needlessly; it means taking complete charge of our lives.

Initially, negative energy always feels like fear...because that’s what it is. Whether the negative emotion is sorrow, anger, or depression, the core is fear; and we can teach ourselves to convert it into to pure, clean energy. Norman Vincent Peale again speaks to us when he says: “The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.”

Here is an easy example: your child is a block away and you suddenly realize she is in extreme danger! What happens? Your body surges with power and adrenaline your mind becomes hyper-alert and you rise to a higher level of clarity, courage and confidence and then accomplish something you thought you could not- thus fear is transformed into energy. Now you have discovered a new, more powerful you, and if you will anchor that identity by using the methods of Trask’s Triangle, you never need go back to being less than that.

People climb perilous mountains, hike across the Arctic wilderness, dive to the bottom of oceans and challenge themselves in other ways that help them use fear energy to grow in clarity, confidence and courage. But we don’t have to climb mountains. We can use that power in smaller, yet very effective ways such as making that dreaded phone call, tackling that overwhelming task, apologizing, forgiving or even asking for help when we need it. What holds us back is our fear of fear. I’m suggesting we learn to deliberately harness the energy of fear for our use. It was a lesson brought home to me one day when I was quite young and it changed my life forever.

On a rainy afternoon I was sitting at dinner with a friend in his country home when a terrible screeching and crash-banging, two cars collided on the road not two hundred feet from where we sat. From the awful sound I instantly understood there would be serious injuries. An electrical charge shot through my loins and up my spine into my head. I stumbled up from my chair and ran out the front door toward the crushed and smoking cars. I will always remember that run; imagining what was waiting for me and knowing I was not up to the task, not skilled enough, not knowledgeable enough, not courageous enough. I was simply not enough; my fear grew and my legs felt like lead as I ran. But as I neared the cars I heard children wailing; then the fear changed to something else and I became angrily single-minded. I was still afraid, but the terror had changed to determination.

I had taken first aid courses and done some emergency work, but little of what I knew was going to be helpful that day. I needed to understand who to help first and who to let die and how to do medical things that were very extreme. Unfortunately the accident happened sixty miles from the nearest city or hospital so I was alone; stopping bleeding, doing mouth-to-mouth and treating for shock. It was an hour and a half before members of a volunteer fire department began to arrive. During that time I made at least two serious mistakes in trying to save these good people. I did everything I knew, but still, I lost three of the seven: a child and two adults.

My friend and his family stayed in their house; they never came out to help. No doubt the sound of the crash shot them full of the same fear I felt, but rather than use it, they let the energy paralyze them. Fear is like that, either we harness it or it harnesses us. When that negative energy wells up we make the choice of resisting our fear, hiding from it, suffocating it and becoming powerless, or embracing it and letting its power teach us who we are.

The memory of those dying people stayed with me, and the taste of chocolate in a dying boy’s mouth kept me from eating chocolate for years. The shock of that day, what I did right and what I did wrong caused me to design a process whereby one could come upon a multiple injury disaster and do exactly the right thing. It is an acronym that keeps a rescuer always on the right track. Later, as I worked in big city ambulances and consulted with ER doctors, I managed to perfect the process and begin teaching it. The Governor of California asked me to explain it to California legislators; it moved them to support and help push through what we now know as Paramedic and EMT programs. My very small part of that evolution could never have happened if I had stayed safely in the house on that rainy day and let my terror become paralysis.

The dynamic balance of positive and negative energies came together and empowered me beyond what I thought I could do. As the fear swelled up and pushed me toward my goal, I constantly felt its negativity; the pain, helplessness, confusion and sorrow that fueled me as I worked on to make the impossible happen. Four people were saved who might have somehow lived anyway, without my efforts. But a miracle certainly did happen that day, and it was in me.

Ah! But to become powerful enough to willingly turn terror into friendly fear and into an excitement that will serve us; to embrace and tame the wild beast of fear and train it to support us; to feel that adrenaline kick and fully accept it, knowing we are about to step beyond the border of a comfort zone and create something new; that’s true personal power.

Negative does not mean bad- we love our negatives. Nearly all songs we enjoy are about sorrow and loss and our favorite movies and TV series are filled with tragedy. Why? Because a story without its negative stimulus would not sell; it would be boring and unbalanced. We want to see someone like us step forward and use their fear energy to save the day. Then we can leave with a smile of satisfaction.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking, moved us to visualize positive outcomes. While holding that truth, we now take the next step; we use the negative power in fear to empower our missions and turn our visions into reality.

*This blog is progressive, each week we take another step toward being, doing and having what we want in this lifetime. Please sign up as a follower; click the Follow icon at the top left of this page and follow the easy directions. And please save this blog in your favorites.

*Did you find something here that a friend would appreciate? Cut it then and send it to them, or better yet, give them this link: http://traskblog.blogspot.com/

*A wonderful thing has happened! The respected New York journalist, Heather Robinson, wrote a great article about my work and my books; Living Free and Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free. The article has been posted in the Huffington Post and elsewhere. Follow the below link and let me know what you think;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-robinson/bob-trask-an-american-thi_b_335597.html

And now a tiny bit of humor for you:

"I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered.

But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog:

'No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Our hero of the week is:

Nicholas D. Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who with dedication and tireless focus, is constantly using his influence for the betterment of the unseen, suffering people around the world. Check him out at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html

2009-10-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Vision Quest
For more than thirty years I conducted an experience called the Vision Quest with groups around the world. The Vision Quest, sometimes called The Spirit Quest was originally an ancient, tribal coming-of-age ceremony that people repeated throughout life as a means of self-renewal. The quests I lead follow the same rituals that have, for ages, guided people around the globe to discover the visions that lead them to their true life-missions. Here is an interesting fact: for centuries these Spirit Quests were done; everywhere in almost the same manner; by tribes on separate continents that had no contact with one another. Unless this is a natural and appropriate path of human unfolding, how could that have happened?

Those with whom I work come together in an isolated place on the edge of a wilderness, with zero outside influences. There, they eliminate stresses or attitudes that might interfere with their unfoldment by a week of meditating, resting and playing. As days go by and shards of tension fall away, each person becomes less thorny, more self-supportive and more forgiving.

On the day before their quest begins, elders help prepare them for their adventure through a caring process of listening and coaching. On that final evening they join for their last meal and then listen to a powerful story of a person who also goes into the wilderness to find truth. After the story, they fall into an absolute silence that may not to be broken until the afternoon of their return. At daybreak, still wrapped in silence, they venture out, each in his or her own direction, carrying nothing more than a pack with water, a sleeping bag and five pieces of dried fruit, which is their only food until their return. Some experienced questers stay longer than first timers, so they will have gone out several days before.

Each seeker will now walk until he or she is completely isolated and there is no chance of seeing or hearing another, and will then stop, and with the exception of their shoes, take off all their clothes, place them in their pack and continue on, sometimes for miles, looking for that spiritual home, that special place that speaks to their souls and where they will stay until their return. Their nakedness is not a sexual experience, but one that eliminates the last barriers between them and that natural world into which they are flowing; in which they will be like the birds and animals around them, relying solely upon Great Spirit to protect and guide them as divine children of nature. Their entire bodies awaken to the energy of life around them.

Without a pause, from the very moment the first of them walked out of camp until the last returns, the elders keep a fire burning and a drum beating twenty-four hours a day.

Then they come back in and watching this procession is one of the most beautiful and touching experiences in my life! Some have been out two days, some for nearly a week. One by one they come, gliding out of the forest or the desert, dressed and with the determination of creators and the grace of angels. Their eyes are clear and calm and their faces are transformed and they walk as though dancing in light.

Though you might never have the opportunity to do an actual Spirit Quest, you may yet reach a similar state of clarity, courage and confidence by regularly taking the steps I will outline through these blogs; steps which come from my work and from my book Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free. It will not be difficult, you need only read each message as it comes and apply it to your life as seems fitting. I am also available for personal coaching if you need me. (bob@arasfoundation.org)

Last week we talked about visualizations and certainly vision is the first step. Yet don’t be concerned if the clarity of your vision does not come easily. When you are determined to find and get on your vision-path, and begin thinking in that direction, your journey will have begun and the universe will begin unfolding a path before you.

This blog will be renewed weekly. Please feel free to come aboard, ask questions or make comments. Signing up as a follower is free, easy and there is no obligation. Simply click the “sign in” icon and follow directions. This will take you about 2 minutes.

A bit of humor for you:
A traffic cop spots a woman driving and knitting at the same time.He yells; "Pull over!" "No," she shouts back, "a pair of socks!"

If you find this blog valuable, will you please tell friends?

Visualizations are vital

2009-10-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

This blog is for people who are serious about doing, having and being all they can in this lifetime. The results will show itself up in every area of life: relationships, health, wealth, career, creativity, sports, spirituality and joy in everyday life. The materials I’ll share here have been successfully applied to that end by many thousands of people in many countries. They didn’t get it this easily, they paid dearly in money and time and went through long intensive processes. But your life is also an intensive process and if you will commit to applying a few guidelines to it, there is no reason you cannot do as well.

The entire process can be said in a few words like: I’m building my mind power, moving to a higher consciousness, creating realities, living free; they all mean the same thing: my life is making sense and I’m fulfilling my dreams everyday.

The keys to the game are the three C’s: clarity, courage and confidence, which in a healthy and balanced life are growing all the time, and relying upon each other for that growth.

The first step is vision. Here is a quote from my new book: Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free; Visualizing is vital to the success of any project; if we cannot see it, we cannot have it; it is as simple as that. The ultimate vision is that of our life’s work, but seldom can we see that in the beginning. We may need to accomplish some shorter term, easier visions in order to build more clarity, courage and confidence.

Sometimes we have really big dreams and we keep them really big because they then become almost unattainable and we don’t have to feel bad about not achieving them. So, in the beginning we need to just get a vision, a small one; to make that dreaded phone call or walk everyday for a week, or spend time with a loved one or whatever, and to do it deliberately. That’s the important thing, that’s what builds clarity courage and confidence, setting a vision, accomplishing it and then acknowledging that you followed through and were successful.

I leave you with this smile:
A preacher asked some children, "Why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"A little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

Be well,
Bob Trask