Recently my son Cory asked a question during a meditation class. He asked, Can a person choose what their sign will be? I remember telling him that it is a good idea, to be open to signs from God and the Universe and I felt that it was better to be open than to just decide. My reasoning was that when we are open and aware, even somewhat looking, we leave room for it to be the one from God. But I must also admit as I think about it there has been times that I have chosen signs and been shocked at how incredible of a sign they turned out to be. Most of these times I did not wait for something to occur but rather said if this happens then it will be a sign. When doing so I feel like I still would leave room for the Universe to have it happen or not have it happen.

One example that I talk about often is when I was at a club years ago. This was before I was married to my wife Debbie. I was there and I was admiring all the pretty women at the club that night. It had to be at least a couple hundred. I was trying to decide who was the most attractive. I narrowed it down to three and then decided this one young lady was the most attractive. I decided that I would not say anything to her because I had enough problems with the girl I had been seeing. I did not know if I was going to break up with her or not. I said to myself “I don’t need to meet any one else I’m already confused.” Then I said “if she came over here to me I would not have any choice but to meet her. It would be meant to be.” Then I dismissed that unlikely possibility. Next I saw some guys come up to her and it seemed as if she knew them. I of course was watching and making sure I was not obvious. They talked for a minute and proceeded to walk towards the dance floor and had to pass me on the way. To my surprise when they got to where I was the guys kept walking and she stopped right in front of me. She said “I came all the way over here just to meet you and ask you to dance.” We danced all night. I could not believe how it happened I felt it was a sign if I ever saw one. I even told her we were meant to meet and told her what happened in my head before she came over. We dated for a while and had good times.

I am not saying that I totally chose the sign but my dialogue with the Universe and saying if this happened I would have no choice seemed to make God call me on my bluff.

My teacher Mr. Ambrister used to always say “make haste while the sun is still shining”. He meant to take advantage of good times and good conditions, after all we never know when things will change. He meant this in terms of life situations and in terms of meditating. Today I saw a movie that reminded me that the sun is definitely shining in my world and I must do all I can for my kids wife and family while I am good health and conditions are good. In the movie I saw the main character was a father who was struggling to take care of his children, just to keep them fed cared for and alive. During this struggle he finds out he is dying and must find someone to look out for his children. Ultimately he was told that the Universe will look out for them as it has thus far. It was a very powerful movie. I was reminded to appreciate all that God has given me and not get caught up on things that do not matter in the scheme of things. I must keep my primary mission in mind and be thankful. I have so much to be thankful for. I must admit almost any time I am down in some kind of way I have forgotten just how good I have had it and how much my family has been blessed. I feel like when I make that mistake I am not alone. I see so many people worried about secondary things to the point of making themselves sick and loosing focus on their primary mission. My thought is to take advantage of the good, be thankful for the good and make haste by using the gift of time we have been given for what is really important. This was my message for today. Perhaps it is yours too.

This evening I found myself judging my wife about how she was choosing to handle a situation at work. It was a difficult situation, but I still thought she could handle it differently than the way she was choosing to. I tried talking to her about the situation for her own sake, but it seemed like she just could not get where I was coming from. Then I happened to wake up after going to sleep and my favorite television show, Being Erica, was on. Just before watching I had opened up Wise Words, the second book I wrote, based on lessons I learned from my teacher Mr. Ambrister. It just so happened I had forgotten to look for my message for today, so I said this will be my page. It was a story about two masters who handled a situation totally differently but at the same time were both great masters. This story always reminded me that with all my flaws I can still be a good meditation teacher as I grow on the path. As I said I opened up to this page just before watching Being Erica.

I almost turned off Being Erica, because it was a rerun, but to my surprise I had never seen this episode. It had to be the only one I had never seen before. In this scene Erica was in a difficult situation and was handling it in a way that many of us may not approve of. Those close to her were trying to get her to see another way of handling the situation, but for quite some time she could not see any other way. Even though Erica may have been making a mistake, in my eyes it did not take away her greatness because I knew she was still learning and growing on the spiritual path, and I like her character. Then I noticed that her situation was almost identical to my wife’s.  Her metaphysical therapist Dr Tom and her friend were acting just like me in my wife’s situation, trying to get her to see another perspective. In that moment I was reminded that just like Erica is learning and still great, just like one of the masters in my story I read in Wise Words was still great and learning, so was my wife Debbie still great and still learning on her path in life. My job is to be there for her.

As I look back, my lesson in this seemed to be all perfectly orchestrated. Once again let’s look at how perfectly the events came together for me to get my lesson. I just woke up out the blue to watch Being Erica. I could have awakened earlier or later and would not have seen my show. When I went out to my truck as the show was about to come on I was going to get a toy to give my Son Jordan. He we asking for Buzz as he was about to go to sleep. Wise Words just so happened to be laying on the back seat so I decided to open it for my page for the day. If Jordan was not so intent on having this Buzz Lightyear ( and he has several) I would not have gone outside to find the book and see the page I saw with the message about the two masters. It turns out that this Being Erica that I saw, is the one episode I had not seen, so I watch. What are the odds of that. Had it been any other I would have gone back to bed. The television show and the book both have the same message and point exactly to what I was thinking about and to what I need to be reminded of. I love it when things work out this way.

Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies. People everywhere seem to
love this film, whether they consciously notice its deeper messages or
not. This of course is the movie in which Phil, played by Bill Murray,
is stuck in a time loop, and has to live through the same day over and
over again. It also happens to be the day that he hates the most,
Groundhog Day. No matter what he does it seems as though he cannot get
out of this day and this experience he hates so much. We’ve all felt
at times as though we were stuck in Groundhog’s Day, repeating similar
situations over and over.

· Although we may not experience the same day over and over,
I’m sure that we’ve all felt at times as though we were stuck in
Groundhog’s Day, repeating similar situations and dealing with similar
types of people over and over.· Phil a weather for-caster did not like the idea of being sent
to the small backwards town to cover the story of the Groundhog, also
named Phil, predict the weather. He hated the town, the tradition,
and he hated the idea of an animal predicting the weather, and getting
all the attention. It’s no coincidence that Phil has to go through
this day that he hates so much, over and over again. The more we
dread something, the more we have to go through it.

· Phil tried to escape this dreaded day and move on to the
next. But, no matter how he tried, he was right back there again.
How many times have we tried to leave relationships, jobs, etc. to end
up in one just like the last?

At one point some guy cracks a joke and asks Phil is his name
Phil just like the ground-hog. He then asks him “Hey Phil do you see
your shadow?” This is a very important part of the movie. It’s no
coincidence that our hero’s name is Phil just like the groundhog.
This is a hint that the entire movie is about the ground-hog day experience.
Seeing one’s shadow is identifying with the ego or shadow self. The
more any of us identify with our ego the more we taint all our efforts
and relationships with our petty concerns and remain stuck, just like
Phil having to repeat our same lessons over and over again. According
to the tradition if the groundhog sees his shadow there will be six
more weeks of winter. In other words if we are still identifying with
our ego, our hopes worries and concerns, then it’s time to go back
into hibernation or meditation and reflection, to rid ourselves of
this shadow, our ego and all its petty concerns for self. If the
groundhog does not see his shadow, if we are in the moment without the
egoistic concerns then we have an early spring in our world. Then we
spread more light everywhere we go. And as for the season, what is
happening in our lives, it magically changes on its own. The message
is that we are all Phil and must overcome seeing our shadow.

· Phil even learned how to manipulate people and situations,
and predict the future because of all his previous experiences in that
day. But, he still could not move on. This can be true of us. We can
grow enough to be materially powerful, fulfill certain desires, gain
psychic abilities, and still be stuck.

· Finally our friend and hero decides to lean into the day. He
begins to embrace where he is and move beyond himself and his ego. He
really gets caught up in the adventure of the day, and truly becomes a
much more evolved person. He begins to truly see the other people
around him, and helps people everywhere he goes. He enjoys it all and
looks forward to it, and during this process, he makes many friends,
and finds love. This is how it is with all of us. When we embrace
the adventure and let go of our egos and projected outcomes, we grow
and life becomes so beautiful!

· Surprisingly Phil finally awakens to a new day with his new
love in his arms. At this point, he even suggests to his new love
that they stay in the same town that he was visiting and previously
hated so. Meditate often, embrace where you are. Let go of yourself
and your concerns for the outcome, and find yourself moving right on
to where you really want to be, it may even be where you already are.·

Some would say that this movie not only depicts how we can be
stuck in this mortal lifetime, but also how we can be stuck
metaphysically, returning to this earth lifetime after lifetime,
reliving similar circumstances until we finally get our lessons and
evolve.