Jesus has a different understanding of personal freedom. Freedom is not the capacity to be what you are not, but the capacity to be fully who you already are, to develop your inherent self as much as God allows.

Spiritual and true freedom is wanting to do what you have to do to become who you are.

All things desire to be themselves. No longer is it a scary search for private authenticity, but now a patient acceptance of truth. Such is the difference between wisdom and mere reaction, and it takes most of us awhile to get there.

From Fr. Richard Rohr’s book, “Jesus’ Plan for a New World“

Current mantra:
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.

Do you feel tired during the day? You’re not alone. Sleep problems and lack of energy affect most people at some time, but the latest research shows that a power nap can help!

For years, naps have gotten a bad rap, derided as a sign of laziness, weakness, or senility. We are “caught” napping, or “found asleep at the switch.”

But lately napping has garnered new respect, thanks to solid scientific evidence that midday dozing benefits both mental acuity and overall health. A slew of new studies have shown that naps boost alertness, creativity, mood, and productivity in the later hours of the day.

Even early Greek philosophers and creative geniuses such as Beethoven, Da Vinci, Dali and Einstein were known to take a nap to boost their creative thinking processes.

Today, power napping has taken corporate America and Japan by storm. Workers are actively encouraged to take breaks in their day and have a nap; they are even sent on courses to learn how to do this! Apparently you’re never too big to take a nap. Today, napping is a health trend, a workplace perk and even an art form. Children do it, students do it, even educated Corporate Chairmen and CEO’s do it.

My favorite tool to facilitate power naps is called pzizz, a small software application for Mac and Windows that generates random soundtracks which help you regain your energy. pzizz currently sports two modules: energizer and sleep.

This revolutionary sleep treatment enables you to sleep better by stopping the nightly struggle. If you experience insomnia, pzizz is for you! It also helps you increase energy levels during the day with unique power naps or performance breaks.

How does it work?

• Voice: using the latest language techniques (NLP)
• Music: composed exclusively for pzizz
• Binaural beat: inducing theta brainwaves
• Select the length of soundtrack you need
• Every soundtrack is different
• Customize the settings to adapt pzizz to your needs

pzizz is a powerful new kind of insomnia treatment that’s perfect for you if you have the kind of sleep problems where you can’t switch off when in bed. You’ll find pzizz gently eases you into restful sleep.

pzizz is non-addictive — there are no drugs. And because it’s possibly the most effective sleep treatment available it gives you back your sleeping and waking hours like no other remedy!

Increase Energy and Performance

In as little as 15-20 minutes, pzizz can help you control your day. It clears your brain, improves focus, lowers stress and lets you get on with your work by helping you take a short performance break.

Try pzizz now to increase energy or treat insomnia. Download the FREE Trial version and then download the sample “Energizer” MP3 file to try pzizzing on a lunch break, at home or even while commuting. Or if you’re suffering sleep problems, try the sample Sleep MP3.

We create artificial fullness and try to hang on to that. But there’s nothing to hold on to when we begin to taste the fullness of the now. God is either in this now or God isn’t at all.

As we grow older, we tend to become control freaks. We need to control everybody and everything, moment by moment, to be happy. If the now has never been full or sufficient, we will always be grasping, even addictive or obsessive. If you’re pushing yourself and others around, you have not yet found the secret of happiness.

From Fr. Richard Rohr’s book, “Everything Belongs“

Current mantra:
Be still and know that I am God

After talking about getting “inked” I finally went last night and did it. I wrote about this some time ago, but the timing could not have been better. It certainly helped that a few of my closest friends found the same significance in the Hebrew word, “shuwb” and wanted to to do it at the same time.

Yesterday, I stepped down from my position in the so-called “ministry” at our local church community. Over the years, I have served as sound engineer, webmaster, music director, youth pastor and director of our citywide art contest outreach program. Often those roles overlapped, providing many joys, and much stress.

All the while, I have struggled to maintain my graphic design business, juggling priorities on a nearly daily basis. I have made concerted efforts to keep the business small, manageable and part-time, often turning down larger design projects in order to leave time for my church responsibilities. It hasn’t been easy.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been on a journey to re-discover the things that I am most passionate about, and in so doing, have resigned myself to the full realization that while I can do many things, I’m a creative at heart! I love design. I love art. I love communicating concepts and ideas through visual medium. And I love the relationships that I have the opportunity to build through those projects.

I suppose I got into the ministry out of a good intention… I genuinely wanted to serve others. But it is a slippery slope once you begin to “lay down your life for others.” For me, I continued to sacrifice more and more of myself — my God-created self — for the sake of doing everything that others around (and over) me asked, until one day, my loving wife stunned me with these words…

“What if you’re crucifying the wrong guy?”

“What if, instead of being the multi-purpose, “do-everything” guy at the church, you’re supposed to be the creative designer?”

So, after about a year-long process, Kay and I finally stepped down from our responsibilities at the church, with the encouragement of my pastor and mentor, and will now focus our attentions on our family, closest friendships and growing my graphic design business.

What’s this got to do with my tattoo?

The Hebrew word for “repent” is shuwb. It means literally, “Return to who you were created to be.“

So my tattoo, on my right forearm, is an ever-present reminder to be that guy. The one God created me to be.

Click here for the pics of me and my buddies, Bob and Damon getting the tattoo.

A creative flyer, promoting Unitarian Universalists…

Imagine a religion that embraces many different beliefs… including yours. If you’re searching for a religious home where people honor each other’s beliefs and worship together as one faith, find us. We are an open-minded religious community that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path, wherever it leads. Join us on Sunday and discover Unitarian Universalism.“