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Just in time for Valentine's Day. Last year I was invited to contribute a chapter to this book edited by relationship coaches, Jim and Ruth Sharon. My chapter is called, "Own Your Part." To celebrate the release of this book the Sharons are hosting a Zoom launch party, "Celebration of Love" on Valentine's weekend, Saturday, Feb. 13th 7:00 pm MST. I invite you to join us. Get the zoom link by clicking here:  www.heartwise.us.

A friend of mine always answers the question, "How are you?" with a long pause. Then she'll say, "Well, the sun's shining today, so I'm pretty good." Or sometimes, "The kids are home from school today, so I'm a bit frazzled." Or sometimes, "I didn't sleep very well last night, so I'm sort of out of it." Now, I'm not going to argue about the influence of external factors. I am going to suggest the degree of personal power we are accessing at the moment is even more important. When we're strong in our power, we can decide how we want to be in any given situation. We can be happy regardless of the weather, we can be calm when our children are noisy, and we can infuse ourselves with energy in spite of a restless night. Of course, there is no right or wrong here. There's nothing wrong with feeling blue in cold, gloomy weather, or elated when the home team wins, or unproductive when your biological clock gets messed up. Recognize what you feel. Acknowledge the circumstances that can undermine your power. And then decide--choose--to conceed those influences or choose something else. For tools and techniques to strengthen your inner power, I recommend my new book, Being the Creator--the 5 Modes of Personal Power . Available as an ebook now in on-line bookstores.

The closing of a year gone by is often a time of introspection for me. I like to reconsider the intentions I set last December and celebrate the gains while considering where I want to put my intention for the coming year. Last year, I set 4 intentions. I planned to write a book on the Modes of Mastery, and although that effort took months longer than I expected, it will be available within the next couple of weeks. I decided to grow a successful garden, and I'm still harvesting carrots and potatoes. I expect what I learned to inform the choices we make this year. I wanted to improve my physical strength, and I succeeded in establishing a morning yoga practice and losing weight. I also wanted to learn more about particle physics, and I'm afraid that one died on the vine very early on. I begin this new year with deep sadness for how COVID-19 has ravaged this country, and with hope that we'll be able to learn from the challenges and do better in the future. Just this morning I read a quote from a writer named L.P. Hartley, (30 Dec 1895-1972): "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." As in all things, that which I do differently in the future will produce a different result.