Introduction, or Am I Really Doing This??

For a brief overview of what this blog is about, check out the About page.

Here’s a little more background about how I came to this point in my development. It started I’d say maybe about two and a half years ago. Well, in reality it started probably 20 or so years ago…. Let me explain.

Since a very young age I’ve always been drawn to spiritual things. I grew up with a Jewish father and Catholic mother, neither of whom were particularly strict in practicing their religions (fortunately…can you imagine the guilt? 😉 ). So thankfully neither was forced upon me. But I was always in search, whether I knew it or not, of some type of spiritual belief or meaning. When I was young I was particularly drawn to eastern philosophies and religions, Buddhism, Taoism etc. I read a lot about them but nothing really changed my mind or my life as I had hoped. As I grew older, I still retained this interest but in a less active way. I was casually spiritual but still disliked using the term ‘god’ or anything that seemed vaguely religious. The problem was largely that I was looking externally for meaning or something transformative. What I didn’t realize, that I do now, is that the meaning I was looking for comes from within and can be whatever I want it to be. More on that in a separate post.

So at moments during my life I would have phases of looking for some other, greater meaning, some higher purpose or power. So at various points in time, I’ve taken chi gung classes, had various stints with meditation, yoga etc.

It all started to come together after I “coincidentally” happened to catch a PBS broadcast of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s “The Power of Intention.” It totally resonated with me and I promptly ordered his book online. From there I discovered StevePavlina’s blog which I found extremely useful because he is very practical in his applications and explanations. Then I kept hearing about The Secret. Everywhere I went people were talking about it; I saw it mentioned on blogs; business associates of mine were talking about it. Finally I bought it. Following that I read some James Ray, and now I have a Google reader filled with incredible blogs on these topics.

This might all make me sound like a self-help junkie, but in all honesty these things just keep me on track – focused and inspired.

So now at this point, I am in no way done with my progress (I guess noone ever is) but I can see the changes and that keeps me motivated. When I say ‘progress’, I’m really just talking about creating meaning in my life – living a passionate and spiritual life. I know that a lot of personal development blogs are tied it with becoming wealthy, internet marketing and so forth, but that is not my intention here. You will find affiliate links and ads on this site, but any income from that will be a bonus and I plan to give a portion of that to charity.

The reason I subtitled the post “Am I Really Doing This” is because I am a pretty shy person and am “in my head” a lot. I have a lot of good ideas but execution can be slow. I’m always a little reluctant to put myself or my ideas out there, for some reason. But this post represents one of the first steps and is therefore fairly significant for me.

Here are some of the resources I’ve found useful along the way, in case you are looking for a starting point.You’ll notice that some of them seem to be along the wealth creation lines that I just stated I was avoiding. Well even though this is not the motivation behind this blog, I am an entrepreneur and some such books/blogs do have useful info and tips to offer.

Dr Wayne Dyer – The Power of Intention
This is a classic, and I really recommend it.

WithinAsThruYou – The Handbook
A pretty good read – the language is more poetic than some other books, so if that’s what appeals to you then I recommend it.

Change or Die: The Three Keys To Change At Work and In Life
A very practical look at how and why people change. I really enjoyed this and while its not an overtly spiritual book, his conclusions have many parallels with spiritual ideas.

The One Minute Millionaire
I only read parts of this, it was one of the early books I read. Contains a lot of spiritual principles explained in bite-size pieces.

Deepak Chopra – The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
This is another personal favorite of mine. I first read this many years ago and it has remained a fave. It’s fairly short but impactful.

Kiva.org
A brilliant concept – microfinancing entrepreneurs in the third world. Individuals can give as little as $25 to the small businesses of their choice all over the world. I make it a habit to give at least that each month.

The Passion Test

The 4 Hour Work Week

Steve Pavlina.com
This is a really great resource filled with very practical advice. He’s got some articles that I found really impactful and which will be referenced in some of my other posts.