Become all you can become by raising yourself higher on the Tree of Life

Good artists borrow, great artists steal… or how to break through your BS

…or how to become a producer, instead of a frog.
…or how to stop coasting and start rising…

Lots of way to say the result… but let’s get back to the quote in the title:

The quote in this form: Good artists borrow, great artists steal. was a favorite of Steve Jobs but he was probably (mis)quoting Pablo Picasso who said ‘Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal‘ – who in turn might be rephrasing Igor Stravinsky, but both sayings may well originate in T. S. Eliot’s dictum:

‘Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.‘ – The origins of this quote itself is an example of great artists stealing.’ ?

Why am I sharing this quote right now?

Continue reading “Good artists borrow, great artists steal… or how to break through your BS”

Whatever it takes, your about-me score, your TLB: what is the connection?

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Whatever it takes, your about-me score, your TLB, your twitchy little bastard score: what is the connection?

I am scared. The inauguration is in an hour… I am weeping I am so scared. So I get busy doing what I can… publish this article. I’ll probably publish one more later today…

Just read an article about Marianne Faithfull, a 60’s muse, singer, and a beautiful woman, exactly my age.

She just went through the virus, spent three weeks in hospital, and survived against the doctors’ predictions.

Because of what?

I don’t know the woman. I don’t know her songs. but I saw a movie with her, where she, her character was this ‘whatever it takes’ type of warrior… while the people around her claimed love but did nothing.

You can find your inspiration and spiritual teaching in the most unexpected places… Continue reading “Whatever it takes, your about-me score, your TLB: what is the connection?”

What does humility have to do with prejudice? Spiritual cataract?

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In this article I’ll explain how the high about-me score (low humility) works, and how it manifests in real life… like a spiritual cataract: prejudice on the basis of race, gender, nationality, social status, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation… and what concern me most: against Jews. Not pretty. Sign of a spiritual cataract and low intelligence.

This article is disturbing (or at least I hope so). So if you are a sissy… don’t read it. And if you can’t be bothered… don’t read it.

The other day I started to watch a Hungarian Holocaust movie… Son of Saul, and managed to watch a whole 23 minutes in six or seven little ‘installments’.

Very graphic, the most graphic movie I have ever attempted to watch. Continue reading “What does humility have to do with prejudice? Spiritual cataract?”

Humility: how do you know it’s lacking? What is there instead?

Humility, wrongful pride, high about me score, self-concern… They all say the same thing.

The single most important blockage you have to raising your consciousness, raising your vibration.

In the 3-wishes workshop, one that I lead every Saturday afternoon, the one that never gets boring, I stumbled onto something that had never been revealed in all its gory beauty to the participants before: how focusing on hiding the self-concern completely and totally robs you of a life that you live powerfully, a life that you enjoy living, a life where you are productive and love yourself.

I have taught the concept, the distinction of ‘about-me’ for a decade now, but had never found a way to make it so visible, so visceral as in yesterday’s workshop.

In the following video that I made some 8-9 years ago I explain how wrongful pride, a high about-me score, lack of humility manifests itself in life. Continue reading “Humility: how do you know it’s lacking? What is there instead?”

A cool dog story or what the heck is motive power?

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This dog story illustrates something profound and new in this article: motive power.

This story is about two dogs.

The female is Missy. The other a male, Jojo.

Missy is a medium-sized… I am not good at dog breeds. She is friendly, reserved and weighs 15 pounds.

Now, Jojo, the male, is a real character. He’s a dachshund. Jet-Black/yellow in color, and weighs just 7 pounds.

Guess who’s the boss in this relationship?

Well, it ain’t Missy.

Jojo is only 7 pounds, but his small stature doesn’t inhibit him in any way.

He strides right up to the biggest dogs ( including Pit Bulls ) and extends a friendly greeting. Continue reading “A cool dog story or what the heck is motive power?”

Are you looking for inspiration in the wrong places??

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Looking for inspiration to empower you?

I woke up this morning pondering what to write about.

The cartoon of the inventor of the wheel who offers it to the knuckleheads who are too busy to listen.

And then one of my clients wrote to me. She said: customs make the Jews, not the Jews make the customs?

And then the idea for this article was ready.

The email conversation began with my client wishing me a happy Christmas Eve. Continue reading “Are you looking for inspiration in the wrong places??”

Where did the inspiration go?

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I wrote this yesterday asking myself: where did the inspiration go?

I know it’s Christmas morning and you want to open the presents and all that…

but I want to share with you what happened in my house… so you can learn. Instead of presents I got a few emails elves and elvettes? (is that the feminine form of elves?)

Talking about festivities, and holiday season, but no gifts. WTF?

And Spock like pointy ear musings about stuff… except no Christmas spirit.

Inspiration, it seems have gone away with the epidemic, and that is what i want to talk about in this email.

Where did the inspiration go? Continue reading “Where did the inspiration go?”

Want to grow? Master outcome independence!

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Zen: Chop wood, carry water. An outcome independent series of actions. Outcome independence .

Western Culture: What is your why? Create big audacious goals, take bold actions…

One is outcome independent with an overarching goal of inner peace. Not now, not at this moment, but for life.

The other is outcome dependent, judging every step for the result it produced or not, resulting in misery. Continue reading “Want to grow? Master outcome independence!”

What is YOUR Dark Side? What did I say about that 6 years ago?

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What is YOUR Dark Side?

Mine is, definitely, feeling like the only one who can be trusted. If I cannot be the only one… I am not even interested. Messiah complex… lol. Very funny.

What I need for this Dark Side to prevail is people who are not able, not willing to rise to the occasion… in spite of all my efforts.

I spent last week in that space… I am the only one, bah-bah-bah, sob-sob, hate-hate.

I was watching it with curiosity, not with resistance, and it left. On its own. It could not survive observation, it could not hide because of curiosity.

This is true for anything from the Dark Side… it can thrive, run your life, only if it is not observed with sober eyes. Or amused… Instead, it is resisted, it shouldn’t be, etc.

As long as you can’t find yours, you are still either completely unaware, or are in denial about it.
Continue reading “What is YOUR Dark Side? What did I say about that 6 years ago?”

Are 30 day challenges worth doing? Are 66 days better?

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Somehow it seems that 30 days are almost enough to establish a habit… even though other reports say: it takes 66 days.

One of my old students who had not participated in anything I offered for 8 years now, decided to join the Validation Challenge.

The discipline of doing something daily and get daily feedback on how that action worked started to create a miracle.

Some people surrender to discipline, some people welcome it as an accountability device, others continue doing what they always do… which is either doing nothing, or doing something that is based on some misunderstanding. Continue reading “Are 30 day challenges worth doing? Are 66 days better?”