(New Thought Sunday Message 2/27/11) Free--But Not Cheap--Advice

More advice? That's all we need, right? But this advice may actually help you have a better day, a better year, a better life. Take a few minutes to read it, and to consider it. . .

People are always giving advice, especially uninvited advice. You've received it; you've probably even given it. But, no matter. Here's some more, and I have borrowed these, so take them as you will. They can't help but help:

1. Choose your words carefully; they are the clothes that your thoughts wear, so dress them well. "A man cannot speak but he judges himself--with his will, or against his will, he draws his portrait to the eye of others by every word. Every opinion reacts of him who utters it...Everything you say reveals you." R.W. Emerson
2. Don't believe everything you think. Stop taking stuff personally: "Those who fear suffering are already suffering from what they fear." Michel de Montaigne
3. Make the decision to love challenge: "Every shot you don't take is a guaranteed miss." (Attributed)
4. Do your best: "Common sense is instinct; enough of it is genius." G. B. Shaw
5. Add more play to your life: Mirth is Meditation! "Why aren't you dancing with joy this very moment? This is the only relevant spiritual question." Sufi seer Pir Vilayet Kahn "The only effective weapon we have is laughter." Mark Twain
6. Don't do anything for at least 15 minutes a day: We all need rest. Even God rested on the seventh day. "You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen; you need not even listen; simply wait. You need not even wait; just learn to be quiet and still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet." Franz Kafka
7. Consciously choose to share the feast: "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that [no one] can sincerely try to help another without helping [themselves]." R. W. Emerson 
8. Recognize your value: "You don't belong to you. You belong to the universe. The significance of you will remain forever obscure to you, but you [can believe] you are justifying your significance if you apply yourself to converting all your experience to highest advantage for others." Buckminster Fuller 
9. Practice true compassion: "If universal charity prevailed, Earth would be a heaven and hell a fable." Charles Colton

A bonus: "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you!" LeRoy 'Satchel' Paige

Meditation

I found this wonderful meditation without an acknowledgement, so if the one who wrote it reads this, please forgive the bit of plagiarism and know that it's serving a good purpose:

Recognize that a Force exists that's not yet acknowledged by science. The opposite of entropy, it fosters evolution and growth. Form an alliance with this Force through your Higher Mind. Ask for direction and guidance. Expect a call to adventure, which is the Force beckoning you to follow your destiny to a higher level of understanding. Look for communication and guidance which will come through intuition, Scriptures, other written material, other people, and your own circumstances. After answering the Call, expect a crisis. Resist the temptation to abandon the quest. Press ahead. Watch grace come to your aid. Major adjustments in your life may be required. Make them. Self-actualization will flow to you as you obey your Inner Voice and accomplish the work assigned. Abundance, joy, and fulfillment will be yours.