Inspiration in the form of parables and stories have changed my life and the life of many of my clients.
Sometimes we just need a story or inspirational poem to learn a concept. This is the section i work on when I feel like I need to be renewed. I hope you enjoy them.
Here’s a preview of the inspiration in this section:
333 Story: Inspiration for getting things done” This is an excerpt from Bob Proctor’s book, “You Were Born Rich.” Pages 187-191. Good stuff.
A Perspective on Stress: A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.
A Season for Nonviolence 1 — Today, I will reflect on what peace means to me. 2 — Today, I will look at opportunities to be a peacemaker. 3 — Today, I will practice nonviolence and respect for Mother Earth by making good use of her resources.
Abraham Quotes: Favorite Abraham quotes full of inspiration. Offer only those thoughts and words that are in the direction of what you want.
All Kinds of Girlfriends: Inspiration for girlfriends. . . I thank God for girlfriends, those who honor intimacy, those who hold trust, and those who just got your back when you feel like life is just too heavy! The special bond we share, that’s unique to us. The words we’ve shared. The prayers we’ve sent up. The laughs, the tears, the phone calls, the e-mails, the shopping, the movies, the lunches, the dinners, the late night talks, afternoon talks, the weekend talks, all the talking and listening. .
Anyway: Inspiration for “doing what’s right”. . .A poem filled with inspiration found in Mother Theresa’s room (author unknown): People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. . .
Are You An Angel? Inspiration from Dr. Moffat’s practice: “Mom? I brought someone to see you,” Bridget said. Groaning, Grace opened her eyes and gazed at me. “Are you an angel?” She asked. I don’t know how or why I said what I did, because it was totally out of character, but I said, “Yes I am,” softly but confidently. “Did I really just say that?” I thought to myself in amazement. Who did I think I was anyway? Sometimes the right things just come out of my mouth. I find more and more that as I align myself with a life of service and center on connectedness with Spirit, it happens more and more. What she said next made me choke back tears of sadness…
Be The Changes You Want to See: A poem of inspiration culminating Dr. Moffat’s life and how she shifted her victim-mentality over the last two decades. . .How would you change the world? How would you walk your talk? What would you stand for and believe in? This poem was written at a time in my life when I needed to review my vision often. The links are to pages on my website that delve deeper into the topic. I hope the poem inspires you to write your own.
Big Rocks of Life: Inspiration for setting the priorities of life. . .As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
Can Santa be Black? A poem of Christmas inspiration. Part of this poem was read by Santa in the movie Call Me Claus with Whoopie Goldberg. I just fell in love with it and had to track it down for you all. Nigel Hawthorne, who played Santa, died on December 26, 2001, almost four weeks after the movie premiered (not to mention the day after Christmas). He’s one of my very favorite actors.
Chain of Love : He said, “I’m here to help you ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Joe.” Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Joe crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down her window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Joe just smiled as he closed her trunk.
Charlie’s Monument: God, before he sent his children into the world, gave each of them a carefully selected package of problems."These, He promised smiling, are yours alone.
Dancing a Miracle: Many people ask God to talk to them in times of need but it seems that there is no answer. I actually got my answer during the lowest time in my life.
Divine: Inspiration shared in a New Thought church. . .Now that we’ve got the earth and we’ve got the sky and the mountains and the rivers and the moon and the stars, now we will create man. Where shall we hide the truth of his being from him?
Do More Than: A poem of inspiration by Mother Theresa: Do more than exist–love. Do more than hear–listen. Do more than agree–cooperate. Do more than Talk–communicate…
Does God Still Speak To Us?: Inspiration to inspire all of us!. . .It’s a question I had asked for many years. It seemed that I ran across people all the time that had spoken to God. “But”, I thought, “How come God doesn’t speak to me?” A year or so after Mary Manin Morrissey shared this story with us, God did speak to me. And I am becoming more open to hearing that Still Small Voice and being a servant of God every day. But, that’s another story…Here is the story Mary shared with us. . .
Dog Sneakers : Inspiration for the hospital room. . .For many years I worked at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where pet visitation was prohibited. I begged, pleaded, and cajoled to have the rules changed, but always got back the same answer — NO! So, I resorted to sneaking in the tiny furry ones for our patients who were never coming out. At least they, and their beloved pets, could see each other one last time. One morning, the Head Nurse on one of the units paged me to let me know that the parents of a 28 year old man were insistent that they HAD to bring his 14 year old Yorkshire Terrier to visit him, as he was dying. . .
End of Sermon Prayers: Mary Morrissey said a short prayer after every sermon as we all held hands. The suprising part of the prayer is when she focused it on ourselves after we had just prayed for the person on our left and on our right. I had never done that before (like I wasn’t worthy?) Anyway, here is an example of that process.
Epitaphs: Clever tombstone markers found around the world.
Follow Your Dreams : Inspiration for the dreamer in all of us. . .Now let me tell you about Larry Walters, my hero. Walters is a truck driver, thirty-three years old. He is sitting in his lawn chair in his backyard, wishing he could fly. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to go up. To be able to just rise right up in the air and see for a long way. The time, money, education, and opportunity to be a pilot were not his. Hang gliding was too dangerous, and any good place for gliding was too far away. So he spent a lot of summer afternoons sitting in his backyard in his ordinary old aluminum lawn chair–the kind with the webbing and rivets. Just like the one you’ve got in your backyard.
Garden of Daily Living: I just had to include this in my recipe section. It starts out like this: Come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. . .
Helen Steiner Rice Quotes: Helen Steiner Rice is one of my favorite poets when it comes to books, cards and inspiration. Here is an example of and insert from one of her sympathy cards which I just adore: Life on earth is a transient affair just a few brief years in which to prepare for a life that is free from pain and tears where time is not counted by hours or years. . . Life on earth is a transient affair just a few brief years in which to prepare for a life that is free from pain and tears. Where time is not counted by hours or years. . .
Guy You Love to Hate: Inspiration for the trials in our lives. . .Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or … you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or…I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or… I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
House of 1000 Mirrors: Inspiration when people think differently than you do. . .All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?
I Pledge Allegiance: I received this from one of the Miracle Mastery Team. I knew of Reverend Ault and his daughter because they have a soundtrack on the CD of New Thought Music included in the back of the I Am a Miracle book (Volume 1). Very impressive. I like his style.
I Wish You: I wish you a day of ordinary miracles. A fresh pot of coffee you didn’t make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. . .Green stoplights on your way to work or shop.
Information Please : Inspiration for mentoring a child. . .“Information Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity, I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
Inspirational and Motivational Quotes: Some of my favorite Quotes and Motivational sayings from years back.
It Can’t Be Done: Are you the type of person who just knuckles right in and does something when people around you tell you that it can’t be done? I first heard this in a sermon but when I googled the resource up came literally hundreds of places that Edgar Albert Guest’s poem has been used.
It’s What You Scatter: Inspiration for the classroom. . .Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, ‘There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.’
Joy: A poem by one of my clients who I feel should have her work published. Jen Reicht writes: . . . He loved to surf the ocean and run across the sand, he whispered into sea shells and grew to love the land. He learned much from his grandparents all the wisdom of their years, they told him many stories about how to face his fears. He had many animal and human friends with whom he loved to play, each morning he would wake up thanking Spirit for his day. . .
Letter From God: What if God were to write you a letter? Would He feel included in your life and daily activities? Read on. . .
Life in Five Short Chapters: Inspiration for when life gets you down. . . One of my very most favorite stories. This one has helped me out several times in my life. It goes like this: I walk down the street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. And I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault… It takes forever to find a way out. . .
Mary Manin Morrissey Quotes: Quotes from Mary Morrissey sermons, talks and books.
Mayonnaise Jar Priorities: What are the priorities in life? A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles . . .
Miracle of a Brother’s Song: According to www.snopes.comthis story is in the glurge category and may or may not be true–but wouldn’t it be nice if it was! I believe that the unborn baby can hear and feel what is going on around it. I also believe that love is very powerful and have personally seen and brought things back from the brink of death with the power of love.
Nails in the Fence: Inspiration for overcoming anger. There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Old Tired Dog: An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home. He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner.
Our Deepest Fear: Inspiration from Marianne Williamson. . . Nelson Mandela quoted Marianne Williamson in one of his famous speeches. It’s such a wonderful quote that it has floated around the world. Here it is: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. . .
Promise Yourself: Inspiration left for me after my roommate was killed in a car crash during veterinary school. . .Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
Prayers of Gratitude: Do you pray with beseeching prayer or prayers of gratitude? I guess I had never been exposed to prayers of gratitude. Most of my life, prayer had been associated with fear, anxiety, and doubt. “Oh God, If only you will let me pass this test. If you do that, I promise to…blah, blah, blah.” I thought it was better praying like that. Maybe I thought I had more control over life that way.
Roping a Deer: I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, which had seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. . .
Rose at 87 : Inspiration for completing what you came here to do. . .As Rose began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.” As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. . .
Santa Claus–The Real Story Is Santa Claus real? Well. . .you decide. I for one am on his team.
Season for Non-Violence: Inspiration to get you through the year. . .These principles for nonviolence were adapted by the Denver Area Task Force for: A Season for Nonviolence – January 30-April 4, 199864 Days and 64 Ways to Celebrate the season of non-violence which begins Jan 30 and runs to April 4 of each year.
Shake it off and step up! A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’ – or – whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened…and enlisted the. . .
Sioux Indian Story: Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both.
Small Wooden People: Inspiration for when people talk about you. . .Some Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made them feel so good that they did something else and got another star. Others, though, could do little. They got dots. Punchinello was one of these. He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots. Sometimes when he fell, it would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots. He would try to explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him more dots.
Success Quotes: A collection of success quotes I’ve run across over the years that I like.
The Cab Ride (The Pillbox Hat): She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing”, I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated”. “Oh, you’re such a good boy”, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?” “It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly. “Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice”. I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.” I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked.
The Cookie Thief: How many times in our lives have we absolutely known that something was a certain way, only to discover later that what we believed to be true … was not?
The Cracked Water Pot: . . .He replied by saying, “Did you notice that flowers were only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
The Daffodil Principle: Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead “I will come next Tuesday,” I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.
The Dream Stealer: Inspiration for following what YOU want to do. . .A story written by Jack Canfield about Marty Roberts, the horse whisperer, on Marty’s youth. As the story goes Marty always knew he wanted to own a horse ranch. A high school teacher felt his dream was to unrealistic so tried to steal his dream from him. Don’t let anyone steal your dream!
The Firefighter: Short story of fireman who is being thanked by a Doberman. A picture says a thousand words.
The Heart’s Garden: This is a common poem that circulates around Unity Village.
The Levels of Christianity: I like Bill Haris’s man’s well thought out answer for that sometimes annoying question, “Denice are you a Christian? What actually do you believe?” I for one am actually blissfully happy just working on being the best person I can be, being of service to God, praying every minute of every day (if I could) and to practicing emanating and modeling how I think Jesus REALLY thought and acted. So, if you’re still with me, read on.
The Little Boy & Old Man Story: Inspiration for the young and old. . .Poem by Shel Silverstein. Said the little boy, “Sometimes I drop my spoon.” Said the little old man, “I do that, too.” The little boy whispered, “I wet my pants.” “I do that, too!” Laughed the little old man.
The Meaning of Life: Inspiration for following your Life Purpose. . . “Are there any questions?” An offer that comes at the end of college lectures and long meetings. Said when an audience is not only overdosed with information, but when there is no time left anyhow. At times like that you sure do have questions. Like, “Can we leave now?” and “What the hell was this meeting for?” and “Where can I get a drink?”
The Pastor and His Son: The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, “OK, dad, I’m ready.” His Pastor dad asked, “Ready for what?” “Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out.” Dad responds, “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.” The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, “But Dad, aren’t people still going to hell, even though it’s raining?”
The Poison Tree Parable: This is a parable about perspective. It’s about how one person thinks something is very dangerous yet another finds it as something precious.
The Rabbi’s Gift: More Inspiration for Life Purpose. . .The story concerns a monastery that had fallen upon hard times. Once a great order, as a result of waves of antimonastic persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the rise of secularism in the nineteenth, all its branch houses were lost and it had become decimated to the extent that there were only five monks left in the decaying mother house: the abbot and four others, all over seventy in age. Clearly it was a dying order.
The Road of Life: Inspiration on learning to trust. . .At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president…
The Times of Your Life: This is an example of the occasional diatribes we get from Dave Johnson of Nikken. Some of them are quite profound. Dave is such a great cheerleader. . . RIGHT NOW is never a good time to do anything. We have other hurdles to clear before we act. RIGHT NOW we are involved in certain situations. We want to see how big our raise will be. We want to reduce our credit card balances. We want to get over the hump. We certainly can’t do anything—RIGHT NOW.
The Trouble Tree: I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, those troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again.
The Wooden Bowl : The Wooden Bowl has been handed down from one generation to another and modified in different countries for generations. It origianlly was tale #78 in ghe Grimm’s Fairy Tale book but has not been reprinted in many, many books.
The Yellow Shirt: I found it in 1963 when I was home from college on Christmas break, rummaging through bags of clothes Mom intended to give away. ‘You’re not taking that old thing, are you? Mom said when she saw me packing the yellow shirt. ‘I wore that when I was pregnant with your brother in 1954!’
The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle Book Summary: How DID Jesus create all those miracles anyway? And when He told us we could do them as well, how are we supposed to do that? This book leads you through the steps in creating your own miracles. Excellent inspiration and easy to follow.
Touch of the Master’s Hand Twas battered and scared, and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile. What am I bidden, good folks, he cried, who’ll start bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar – now who’ll make it two. Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Towards a True Balance: Be mindful! Husband the earth. Protect her from greed and violence. Build humbly, plant trees, grow flowers and clothe her with dignity. Respect all her creatures. Honor her natural laws and the universe which cradles her. Above all, heartily worship the Source of All that Is.
Twelve Conditions for a Health Miracle: Twelve Conditions of a Miracle by Dr. Todd Michael (aka Michael Abrams) is a wonderful book about the Universal Law of Cause and Effect specifically dealing with examining the bible passage Matthew 14: 13-23—the story of how Jesus fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. A must-read for any budding metaphysician or seasoned Christian.
Two Horses: As you stand and watch these two friends, you’ll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk, to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
Two Wolves Story: An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life . . .He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil—he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret
Wet Pants: Have you ever been saved from embarassment by a kindly soul who absorbs the ridicule. Well, these are the kind of people who are friends for life. Check this story out.