There is a time to be born and a time to die. In between, we can strive for excellence, or we can drift with the tide. What we accomplish in our life is up to us. As expressed in my logo, our life is an infinite loop.

The left side of the loop is our inner self. It represents who we are. Our character, our values, and our beliefs are stored in our inner selves. The right side represents what we do with our life. It is the conscious actions we take throughout our lives. We constantly move from our creative side to our action side and back. 

The right and left sides of the symbol are not exclusive. In fact, you should reach into your inner self to surface who you are. Write down your values and your beliefs so you make them part of everything you do. 

When two sides are in balance you will be content with your life. If you don’t take time to care for yourself, you have nagging thoughts that something is missing. If you have a scam job that requires you to hurt others and one of your values is to help others, something has to change, You either change jobs or change values.

I was in touch with my subconscious until I reached my early 20s. I would talk with my inner self. At 15, I knew I wanted to help others and care for my small corner of this planet. I knew honor, loyalty, trust, and industriousness were values that were important to me.

In my 20s, I learned that people who talked to themselves were considered strange. I lost the ability to be in touch with my subconscious. Except for some momentous decisions in my life, I never again talked with my subconscious until I reached my 80s.

One of those life-changing decisions occurred in my early 30s, I had an opportunity to go to Indonesia and help them develop a sustainable forestry program. I couldn’t bring my family with me for at least six months. I had already accepted the job and taken my first round of tropical vaccinations. I had nagging doubts. One evening, I went into the forest behind our house where I could sit against a tree and look down into the fog-shrouded valley below me. I must have sat there for three hours thinking about the pros and cons. Finally, I decided not to take the job.

It was a good decision because the forester who took the job was caught up in the Indonesian Revolution. Abandoned by the American company who he was working for, he had a hell of a time getting home. 

I didn’t know it at the time, but that was my subconscious talking to me.

In my late 40s, I joined a Karate Dojo and learned to fight. The most important thing I learned was how to meditate.

It wasn’t till my 80’s that I reconnected with my subconscious. My inner self usually comes to me when I am meditating or in that neverland between sleep and wakefulness. I call him DES.

DES always comes to me on his schedule. It may be a wisp of an idea. If I don’t write it down it will be gone. Again, we may have a conversation, much like a dream. If I don’t write it down it will be gone the way all dreams evaporate. 

My belt pouch always has my pen and a notepad. When DES visits he always gets recorded. I may not take action, but DES’s suggestion is always on my to-do list.

When I finish an article, I usually take a break to think about what I accomplished, how I can improve it, and what is the best use of my time now. This time DES told me I should share some of my beliefs with you.

What I believe is based on a lifetime of experience. I can prove some of my beliefs. For instance, I believe the earth is round. Satellite pictures prove I’m right. I like beliefs I can prove.

I believe I should help where I can and where I cannot help be careful not to hurt. That is a belief I have to take on faith. So far it has worked pretty well for me. Sure, I have passed up a lot of money-making opportunities because of that belief, but what I passed up was always something that would end up hurting people.

I got a phone call the other day. Seems I had won $4 million, a Mercedes, and $5 thousand dollars per month for life. I hung up when they reached the point where I had to Go to Walgreens and buy a debit card funded with $2000 to be used to pay the fees related to processing my payments. I couldn’t take such a job if I were to stay true to my beliefs and values.

I’m not a psychologist. I’m just a regular guy who is curious and studies a lot. The right brain-left brain thing has been a psychologist's hypothesis for a long time. As with most things in science, researchers are finding the brain is much more complicated. There is much more interaction between the left and right sides of the brain than previously thought. 

For me, it doesn’t matter where my creative thoughts come from. I know my creativity comes in flashes of intuition. I know I am most creative when I meditate or often when I take a walk. 

I got stuck often while I was writing this. I would take a break. Often I’d just lie on my bed and think about what was missing from this article. DES, my inner self, would visit with ideas and I would get up and keep writing.

I’m stuck and I’m meditating. How am I going to close this article?

The point I’m trying to make is to live a balanced life on the infinite path of life. Take time to be in touch with your inner self. Don’t get stuck on the action side of the loop. 

Too often we get stuck in the loop where we only help others. That can lead to burnout. People can take advantage of a helpful person. You end up resenting all the work people pile on you. 

Learn to say NO. Know what you want to accomplish in your life. Block out time to do the things that are important to you. You will be happier and more content in your life when you take time for yourself as well as for others.

I block out 2 hr blocks of time on my calendar to have an appointment with myself. Those appointments are just as important as an appointment with my doctor.

Be mindful of what you are doing at the moment and make sure what you are doing at this moment is the most important thing in your life. 

There is a time to be born and a time to die. In between, we can strive for excellence, or we can drift with the tide. What we accomplish in our life is up to us. As expressed in my logo, our life is an infinite loop.

The left side of the loop is our inner self. It represents who we are. Our character, our values, and our beliefs are stored in our inner selves. The right side represents what we do with our life. It is the conscious actions we take throughout our lives. We constantly move from our creative side to our action side and back. 

The right and left sides of the symbol are not exclusive. In fact, you should reach into your inner self to surface who you are. Write down your values and your beliefs so you make them part of everything you do. 

When two sides are in balance you will be content with your life. If you don’t take time to care for yourself, you have nagging thoughts that something is missing. If you have a scam job that requires you to hurt others and one of your values is to help others, something has to change, You either change jobs or change values.

I was in touch with my subconscious until I reached my early 20s. I would talk with my inner self. At 15, I knew I wanted to help others and care for my small corner of this planet. I knew honor, loyalty, trust, and industriousness were values that were important to me.

In my 20s, I learned that people who talked to themselves were considered strange. I lost the ability to be in touch with my subconscious. Except for some momentous decisions in my life, I never again talked with my subconscious until I reached my 80s.

One of those life-changing decisions occurred in my early 30s, I had an opportunity to go to Indonesia and help them develop a sustainable forestry program. I couldn’t bring my family with me for at least six months. I had already accepted the job and taken my first round of tropical vaccinations. I had nagging doubts. One evening, I went into the forest behind our house where I could sit against a tree and look down into the fog-shrouded valley below me. I must have sat there for three hours thinking about the pros and cons. Finally, I decided not to take the job.

It was a good decision because the forester who took the job was caught up in the Indonesian Revolution. Abandoned by the American company who he was working for, he had a hell of a time getting home. 

I didn’t know it at the time, but that was my subconscious talking to me.

In my late 40s, I joined a Karate Dojo and learned to fight. The most important thing I learned was how to meditate.

It wasn’t till my 80’s that I reconnected with my subconscious. My inner self usually comes to me when I am meditating or in that neverland between sleep and wakefulness. I call him DES.

DES always comes to me on his schedule. It may be a wisp of an idea. If I don’t write it down it will be gone. Again, we may have a conversation, much like a dream. If I don’t write it down it will be gone the way all dreams evaporate. 

My belt pouch always has my pen and a notepad. When DES visits he always gets recorded. I may not take action, but DES’s suggestion is always on my to-do list.

When I finish an article, I usually take a break to think about what I accomplished, how I can improve it, and what is the best use of my time now. This time DES told me I should share some of my beliefs with you.

What I believe is based on a lifetime of experience. I can prove some of my beliefs. For instance, I believe the earth is round. Satellite pictures prove I’m right. I like beliefs I can prove.

I believe I should help where I can and where I cannot help be careful not to hurt. That is a belief I have to take on faith. So far it has worked pretty well for me. Sure, I have passed up a lot of money-making opportunities because of that belief, but what I passed up was always something that would end up hurting people.

I got a phone call the other day. Seems I had won $4 million, a Mercedes, and $5 thousand dollars per month for life. I hung up when they reached the point where I had to Go to Walgreens and buy a debit card funded with $2000 to be used to pay the fees related to processing my payments. I couldn’t take such a job if I were to stay true to my beliefs and values.

I’m not a psychologist. I’m just a regular guy who is curious and studies a lot. The right brain-left brain thing has been a psychologist's hypothesis for a long time. As with most things in science, researchers are finding the brain is much more complicated. There is much more interaction between the left and right sides of the brain than previously thought. 

For me, it doesn’t matter where my creative thoughts come from. I know my creativity comes in flashes of intuition. I know I am most creative when I meditate or often when I take a walk. 

I got stuck often while I was writing this. I would take a break. Often I’d just lie on my bed and think about what was missing from this article. DES, my inner self, would visit with ideas and I would get up and keep writing.

I’m stuck and I’m meditating. How am I going to close this article?

The point I’m trying to make is to live a balanced life on the infinite path of life. Take time to be in touch with your inner self. Don’t get stuck on the action side of the loop. 

Too often we get stuck in the loop where we only help others. That can lead to burnout. People can take advantage of a helpful person. You end up resenting all the work people pile on you. 

Learn to say NO. Know what you want to accomplish in your life. Block out time to do the things that are important to you. You will be happier and more content in your life when you take time for yourself as well as for others.

I block out 2 hr blocks of time on my calendar to have an appointment with myself. Those appointments are just as important as an appointment with my doctor.

Be mindful of what you are doing at the moment and make sure what you are doing at this moment is the most important thing in your life.