What am I thinking today?

That is the question I ask myself every day when I wake up.

This day is a gift. I woke up breathing. That's a great start! And I remind myself that the only thing I can absolutely control...without a doubt...and without any interfering from outside circumstances...are my thoughts.

I can think anything I choose. That's a powerful statement. I have to let that soak in for a minute. I have the ability and THE POWER...to choose absolutely any thought I want to.

So I'll choose only thoughts that make me feel good. That sounds so simple. And it sounds so obvious. Yet I've been taught all my life that I can't do it. How many times have I heard "I can't stop thinking about it!" or "I can't help but think that...".

I will consciously try to think only thoughts that make me feel good. If I start to worry about an outcome that could happen later in the day, I will catch myself and imagine the opposite outcome. Why not? It's just a thought anyway.

How are your thoughts?? Want to join me?

Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.

How to turn up your peace volume!

To turn up your Peace volume, you need to turn down the noise.

And the biggest noise maker is "the news".

Turn off the news. Turn off talk shows. Turn off anyone that gets paid to speak for a living. If people are paid to tell you your thinking is wrong...or lifestyle is wrong....or that you should be angry...or saddened...turn it off. Turn it all off.

Before television, we talked to each other... Face to face...or at least on the phone. If one of us was bent out of shape about something, the other one could calm us down. We actually reasoned with one another. If you were angry about a situation and wanted to find "like minded" folks, you had to walk or drive to find a group that shared the same frustration. And maybe you cooled down before you got there.

But now you can simply flip a switch in your bedroom...and there is a man or woman waiting there to confirm any fears or suspicions you may have about any subject.

Are you a new mom nervous about your child getting hurt while playing? Turn on the TV. There are sure to be news stories about lead in his toys.

Are you a young girl getting ready to date for the first time? Turn on the your local news. Surely there will be a story about how many date rapes occurred over the last year.

Are you a man trying to support his family? Any channel will be happy to report gloomy economic news and strike fear in your heart that your company could be the next to downsize.

In other words, these fears have always existed. But we turned to friends and family to help gain a little perspective. Now TV seems to give our fears credence.

So turn to the Peaceful Pirate! He will remind you that everything TRULY does work out. Your child will be fine! Your first date will be amazing! And you, sir, deserve a promotion!

Smooth sailin'!

Peaceful Pirate Solution

I have overcome an addiction that has wreaked havoc with my health, wealth, and general well being.

I have broken my addiction to...drama.

It took me a long time to realize it, but the “pushers” that addicted me to drama are the pundits, anchors, and hosts of TV shows that tell me a story, then tell me how emotional I should be about it. They sometimes even lead by example with tears or fits of outrage.

This led me to wonder: before television, how did people survive without our news organizations warning them of how afraid we should be?

And that's when I came up with the Paul Revere Principle.

This is a simple question of whether or not a news story is truly something of which I should be concerned: if our media only had the technology that was available in Boston on April 18,1775, would any of them be willing to climb on a horse in 40 degree weather and ride to my house and tell me?

If not, then I don't need to know it.

Think if our current media organizations applied the Paul Revere Principle as a standard today. We would be a much calmer, more peaceful society.

I would not hear Harvey Levin from TMZ riding through my neighborhood shouting “Mel Gibson is cursing! Mel Gibson is cursing!”.

I would not hear Jim Gray from ESPN shouting about Lebron James “One if by Cleveland, Two if by Miami!”.

In fact, it would take too many trips on horseback to inform me of changing poll numbers, unemployment statistics, fluctuating interest rates, etc. Without those statistics in my head, I can sleep soundly - free from worry.

So if you want a more peaceful life, I suggest you adopt the Paul Revere Principle. 99.9% of the news just isn't worth saddling a horse for! So turn off the news and dream big.

www.peacefulpirate.com