Articles / Believing / Choices / Opportunities / Possibilities

Between a Rock and a Hard Place pt 2 – Chris Cade

by Chris Cade

“I understand sometimes situations require a fast response and a decision. If you practice the above on a regular basis, what you’ll notice is that the time you need to ‘be in the unknown’ and arive at a solution will become less and less.

You’ll also be able to more quickly recognize when you’re making sub-optimal decisions, and therefore, correct course more effectively before it’s too late.”
Many times when we are experiencing conflict, our values and integrity are also being challenged. What makes it “a rock and a hard place” is often that two or more things of importance to us are not playing nicely together.

Maybe our parents want one thing, and our spouse wants another.

Or perhaps we are sick and feel torn between conventional medicine and natural medicine. (more…)

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November 15, 2011
Articles / Believing / Choices / Possibilities

Between a Rock and a Hard Place pt 1 – Chris Cade

by Chris Cade

Nobody gets through life unscathed. We all have difficult situations. And we all have extremely difficult situations. And as pleasure-seeking-pain-avoiding creatures on this planet, when we are in difficulty the first thing we usually do is try and “fix” it.

When in pain, we seek to eliminate the pain.

When in conflict, we seek to resolve the conflict.

When in uncertainty, we seek to find grounding.

Mind you there’s nothing wrong with wanting to minimize pain, conflict, and uncertainty. In fact, it’s something I am conscious of regularly. However, the way most of us go about it is often detrimental to finding the optimal solution. (more…)

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November 15, 2011
Articles / Choices / Emotions / Gratitude / Happiness

The Land of Truth

By Chris Cade

A certain man believed that the ordinary waking life, as people know it, could not possibly be complete. He sought the real Teacher of the Age. He read many books and joined many circles, and he heard the words and witnessed the deeds of one master after another. He carried out the commands and spiritual exercises which seemed to him to be most attractive.

He became elated with some of his experiences. At other times he was confused; and he had no idea at all of what his stage was, or where and when his search might end.

This man was reviewing his behavior one day when he suddenly found himself near the house of a certain sage of high repute. In the garden of that house, he encountered Khidr, the secret guide who shows the way to truth.
(more…)

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November 11, 2011
Articles / Choices / Emotions / Opportunities / Possibilities

Shining the Light on a Broken Heart

by Chris Cade Yesterday I shared how pain is like a hardened shell around our hearts, and when that shell breaks, it doesn't literally break. It opens up that exterior to reveal the gifts and joy within. I also promised to share with you my thoughts about that from a "light" perspective.You might think of it this way... Frequently when in pain, we close our eyes. We cover them. We cower. We hide. We do whatever it takes to avoid feeling the pain. We're naturally pleasure-seeking-pain-avoiding creatures, so we instinctually do whatever it takes to make the pain go away. It's a survival mechanism, and when we were younger it was an important one. As a child, we didn't have the capacity to deal with pain. The way to get our needs met was by pleasing our caregivers, and it's a rare family where emotional pain was supported, embraced, and honored. Instead, most of us learned that pain had to be hidden if we were to get what we want. So we hid our pain. And we still do until we learn how to work with it differently. The perspective of light gives us that opportunity. The painful hardened shell…

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November 9, 2011
Articles / Believing / Choices / Happiness

Zombie Kids Like Turtles

by Chris Cade The other day I was curious about what the top YouTube videos are of all time. Mostly at the top is some combination of Justin Beiber and other popular singers... and a bunch of random videos. One video title caught my attention: "Zombie Kid Likes Turtles" So I watched it. It was a news clip. And was quickly reminded why I don't watch the news. Most news falls into two categories: Dumb and discouraging. Dumb is stuff like Zombie Kid Likes Turtles. It's when the filler in the news lacks any useful or emotional substance. It's arguably even an ineffective attempt at bringing some heart into the news. Calling it dumb isn't a judgment. Dumb news isn't necessarily good or bad. It's dumb because it lacks intelligence, substance, and even humor. Then there's the "discouraging." That's all the stuff we "think we have to keep up with" so we can "be prepared." Bad news. Murders. War. Bad economy. Corruption. Drugs. Natural disasters. Scandals. Affairs. Negative politics. The list goes on... And every moment you expose yourself to bad news, you are subconsciously reinforcing pain, negativity, and fear. Your mind subconsciously learns and believes: "This is how the…

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November 8, 2011
Articles / Choices / Dreams / Emotions / Negativity / Opportunities / Possibilities

Choosing to Change – Chris Cade

Last week, I had a dream in which I was driving on a road near the ocean. There was a person who wouldn't let me pass, and I clearly understood that there was a conspiracy of sorts. After handing this person a little bit of pocket change (kind of like this week's "Inspirational Video of the Week"), I was allowed to pass. Then I woke up in the room that I grew up in as a child. It was the middle of the night, and I put some change down on the nightstand next to me. That's when I realized I was still dreaming, and the conspiracy dream that I previously had was a "dream within a dream." I fell back to sleep ~ that is to say ~ I fell asleep back into a "dream within a dream." This time I was in a supermarket. The shelf next to me had some empty space, and I put some pocket change down there as well. As I walked down the aisle, I asked myself a question inside my head: "What don't I know about this world?" Immediately, the entire world shook violently. Bigger than the biggest earthquakes in history. I…

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October 20, 2011
Articles / Choices / Emotions / Gratitude / Happiness / Opportunities / Possibilities

How to Solve Your Problems Pt 2 – Chris Cade

Last week I shared with you my perspectives on "How to Solve Your Problems," and I received some interesting feedback and questions. If you haven't yet had a chance to read that email, click here to read it on my blog. Today I thought I'd share how one of those interactions went on Facebook. Annette wrote... "What if the person or persons are toxic, blames everything on you, or is always criticising you (dumb, never be good for anything) or blaming (my problems are yours because you won't fix them or give me $). Is my perception of that wrong? If I view it differently what will happen? What about verbal abuse?" Those are interesting questions. Because we all are unique individuals with unique experiences, only you will know the real answers to those questions in your own life if you are able to completely view it differently (including both conscious and subconscious beliefs). One thing I have observed in my own experience... As I change, the relationships I have with others changes as well. Other people respond differently to my deeper sense of Strength, Courage, Willpower, Peace, Presence, Joy, Authenticity, and other qualities. Some people are melted by the…

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October 15, 2011
Articles / Believing / Choices / Emotions / Opportunities

It’s Time to Stop Giving – Chris Cade

by Chris Cade In my previous email (which you can click here to read), I shared that there's a new way to go beyond the "getting" and "giving" paradigm and into a new way of engaging with the world. In short, "giving" inherently suggests an experience of separation. "I have this. I give it to you. Now you have it. I don't." If you give away a dollar, you no longer have it yourself. The dollar is separated from you and joined with another person, so to speak. In the case of emotions like love, it seems less obvious that this is what happens. In fact, some great authors and speakers have commented how love is the only thing that when we give it away, we actually have more of it. In theory that's great. I love the principle. In reality, it still subconsciously encourages separation. It presumes at the basic level, "I have love and you don't." (or don't have enough of it) Perhaps I'm an idealist, but I believe we all have love within us. Sure we may be blocked from experiencing that love in its fullest unconditioned state. Decades of history, pain, and conditioning will block it…

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October 12, 2011
Articles / Emotions

Solving Your Problems

by Chris Cade Recently I shared with you that I've been going through a difficult time emotionally. It relates to significant changes in my relationship with somebody I am close with. "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." ~ Albert Einstein Most of the problems we have in life appear to be caused by circumstances and people beyond us. We often feel that changes are happening "to" us. Because of that, we try to solve problems using a faulty logic system. It goes something like this... "This other person hurt me. I am angry and sad. That person is bad/hurtful/mean because he made me angry and sad. I will try to make that person realize how much I am hurt. After he apologizes, I will feel better. Then we can be close again." While that may help you temporarily feel better, it's not a lasting solution. Every time you are hurt, it requires somebody else to take responsibility for your pain. In having enough challenges in my life, I have realized that the most important "problems" can only be "solved" by deep understanding of myself. That's why whenever there are changes in my…

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October 10, 2011
Articles / Goals / Opportunities / Positive Thoughts / Possibilities

Teaching Others to Help Yourself – Chris Cade

"We teach that which we most need to learn." ~ David Bach Some version of that quote has been used by leaders for as long as I can remember, and for good reason. While it's wonderful when we learn something new, the best way to integrate new knowledge and make it stick in our lives is to teach it. This is because teaching challenges us to really understand what we're learning. It challenges us to understand it with such clarity that we can effectively communicate it to others. Teaching also exposes us to feedback from others, and that feedback is helpful (and sometimes even necessary) for us to understand something deeply enough to integrate it into our lives. Those are just a few of the benefits you get by teaching something. Studies have shown that when you are first learning something, that if you teach it to somebody shortly thereafter, you'll remember what you learn more effectively and understand it more thoroughly. In fact, some teaching methods ~ ironically ~ require students to immediately turn around and teach others what they learn. The beauty of this approach is that it doesn't only deepen learning; it also creates more effective leaders…

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September 13, 2011