Good Clean Reads

“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. It is not indifferent to us…”  -Henry David Thoreau

One of the greatest forces available within the realm of positivity is magnetism. A unique character trait, personal charisma that acts like a magnet is a product of both deep authenticity and a profound faith in one’s...

“For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today I was overcome with the visceral gratitude that I have long been seeking. I have been struggling with unexplained pain down my arm and was thinking the worst… or at least researching the range of ailments that would...

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lie within us.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The most gratifying part of growing up and into our selves is the gift of trusting oneself. It is perhaps the most challenging of all personal development tasks, and there are many people who get stuck at various levels of adolescent insecurity for life. Having come to know this...

“When you suffer an attack of nerves you’re being attacked by the nervous system. What chance has a man got against a system?” -Russel Hoban

Meditation is to your nervous system as dark green vegetables is to your digestive system. I am lucky that a lot of people I know and work with in exercise and meditation classes speak with great reverence about our nervous system. Usually before I say...

“The more I see, the less I know for sure.”  -John Lennon

It has been a while since a pain in my neck has captured my full attention as it has today. Something cramped in my upper back over night and all my best attempts to let it go and work it out, mostly served to remind me that it wasn’t going anywhere.

Transition is a close friend of stress, I remember and even with all the optimism and faith...

“This is the highest wisdom that I own, freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew.”  -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Finding the workable solution is almost always a question of persistence. It was my twelve-year-old daughter, Emma that reminded me of this the other day when she said, “You know it’s true, life most always works out if you just wait long enough.” She was...

“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others…for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner...

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.” ~Albert Einstein

The true test of our life is whether we go to bed at the close of each day and know that we have done as much good as possible and that we have followed our instincts towards our sense of self respect instead of self interest. This seems like it should be a clearly demarcated path, but these instincts...

“Right discipline consists, not in external compulsion, but in the habits of mind which lead spontaneously to desirable rather than undesirable activities.” -Bertrand Russel

Discipline is one of the most misunderstood qualities of a positive life. Commonly associated with punishment to gain obedience and all forms of coercion to exact specific behaviors from children and dogs, we have lost touch...