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See, not with the eyes, but with the heart.

One day, two flower merchants set up shop next to one another. They opened for business on the same day, carried the same lovely selection of aromatic flowers, and maintained similar prices for their marvelous plants. Both merchants took great care with raising their plants and both were kind and courteous to their customers. In fact, their stores appeared to be equal in every way.

At first, the merchants even received equal traffic through their shops, but–as time went on–the first merchant’s shop became more popular among the people. The second merchant noticed this and became concerned. One particularly slow day, he decided to look into the matter. As he stepped out his door to visit his neighbor, he passed one of his regular customers leaving the first merchant’s shop carrying their weekly purchase of flowers. In disbelief, the second merchant hurried into the next store.

Indeed, the store was teeming with customers. The second merchant noticed his competitor wasn’t taking the money himself, as he always did. The first merchant was out among the aisles, talking with his customers. To his amazement, the second merchant watched as the first would chat at great length with the customers and even would occasionally talk to the flowers themselves! The second merchant prided himself on being a serious store owner and could not understand this leisurely approach to running a shop. Yet this behavior seemed to be working for the first merchant, as his thriving store would attest.

When the second merchant could stand it no longer, he approached the first and politely asked to interrupt the conversation. The first merchant smiled, handed his customers to one of his clerks, and turned his attention to his exasperated neighbor.

The second merchant asked, “Brother, I am your humble student. Our stores are nearly the same in all ways, yet your results are doubling while mine are halving. I do not understand.”

“Brother,” the first merchant said, “We are the same in most ways, this is true. The difference lies in what we see with our hearts. You see your store as a store, your plants as plants, and your customers as customers. I see my store as a beloved home and my cherished friends are my customers, clerks and plants, all present to be adored. In that way, we are very, very different.”

You are you, no matter when or who.

One day, a little water droplet awoke to find herself surrounded by the great blue Ocean, reaching out from her as far as her eyes could see. At first, she delighted in exploring all the sights, sounds and sensations the Ocean had to offer, but after a time she became restless.

The droplet went to the Sun and said, “Sun, I would like to become a Cloud. I wish to soar the sky and be adored by all the World.”

The Sun said, “Imagine soaring the sky and you will be.”

So the droplet climbed to the top of her Ocean, closed her eyes and thought soaring thoughts. When she looked again, she was flying high in the sky. She looked down at the great blue Ocean and asked, “Sun, what is the Ocean made of?”

“Water,” Sun replied.

The droplet seemed satisfied with this and enjoyed soaring the sky and being adored by all the World. After a time, however, she became restless.

She went to the North Wind and said, “North Wind, I would like to become Rain. I wish to fall to the Earth and bring life to all the World.”

North Wind said, “Imagine falling to the Earth and you will be.”

So the droplet climbed to the bottom of her Cloud, closed her eyes and thought falling thoughts. When she looked again, she was falling to the Earth. As she fell, the droplet looked up at her Cloud and asked, “North Wind, what are Clouds made of?”

“Water,” said North Wind.

“Oh,” said the droplet, a little confused now.

Once she landed upon the Earth, however, she busied herself with bringing life to all the World and forgot about what the Sun and North Wind had said. She was quite happy for a time, but—after a while—the droplet became restless.

She went to the River and said, “River, I would like to know who I am. I have been the Ocean, and the Clouds, and the Rain and now I even bring life to all the World, but I still don’t know what I am supposed to be.”

River said “Follow me.”

The droplet joined River and soon found herself returned to the Ocean. The droplet was dismayed by this and cried, “River! I don’t understand! I have already been the Ocean!”

River said, “When you were Ocean, you wanted to be Cloud.
When you were Cloud, you wanted to be Rain.
When you were Rain, you brought life to all the World and yet,
you still became restless and wondered what you were to do.
Know you are Water and—in being Water—you are the Ocean, the Cloud, the River and the Rain.”

And, from that moment forward, the little droplet knew she was Water and felt peace, no matter what she decided to be.

Question: If you believe God is limitless, where does that leave you?

Answer: In line with the Divine. The notion that we are separate from God, that we have to appease or fear God, that we are not God, is a fallacy. If we are not God, then there is something God is not. If there is something God is not, there are limits to God.

Do you believe God has limits? Or do you believe in God’s infinite love, infinite nature, infinite connectedness and abundance? Meditate on this.

Main Entry: syn·chro·nic·i·ty
Pronunciation: "si[ng]-kr&-'nis-&t-E, "sin-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
: the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before ithappens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality —used especially in the psychology of C. G. Jung

Dictionary.com, “synchronicity,” in Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary. Source location: Merriam-Webster, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/synchronicity. Available: http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: March 03, 2010.

The prayer is not for greater abundance,
but instead to be made a larger vessel,
better able to allow God’s limitless abundance to flow through you.

God uses our work to elevate others. Consider the work of teachers like Wayne Dyer and Stephen Covey. You only discover these materials when it’s time for you to receive the messages they contain.

Joe Vitale lamented this phenomenon as he studied ho’oponopono. He felt his earlier work with setting intent was somehow flawed and–for a moment–he wanted to take it all back. He soon realized those earlier efforts were fine they way they are because they resonate with people who are ready to receive them.

Once you view your efforts as a stepping stone along the path and not the destination, you’ll find much more peace with teaching and writing.

The Internet has become a virtual reflection of human consciousness. Social media has gone a long way toward expanding this global mind-map and the Internet’s evolution rewards applications that foster this growth. Consider the popularity of Google, Digg, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay, Amazon and other hugely popular applications and think about the nature of what these sites do. Google and other search engines reflects our ability to remember and to pursue. Digg and its ilk are our awareness expanded from our interactions with others. Sites like Myspace and Facebook are our public diaries; the faces we show to the world. Ebay, Amazon and other online stores are our desires listed in the catalog of the Universe, sought and sometimes even realized. I could go on, but I think you may get it.