The Power of Your Questions

Saturday night after enjoying our local outdoor 4th of July
concert, my daughter and I watched the movie “The Bucket List”
with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.

Two very poignant questions were brought forward in the movie
that I wanted to highlight here (Morgan Freeman shares these
as two questions that the Egyptians believed you’d be asked to
determine your entrance into heaven):

First…

Did you find joy in your life?

****

Second…

Did your life bring joy to someone else?

****

Wow.

The questions we ask tend to direct our thinking, our attention
and where our energy goes, and the answers that we find. 

What questions are you asking yourself each day?

What are you “aiming” for today, and is it time to change the
questions that you’re asking?

This weekend I also enjoyed a Miley Cyrus song (discovered via
my daughter Gigi’s recent dance recital) “I Learned From You”
and this line in particular stood out to me:

“I learned that strength is a choice.”

Hmm…

What are you choosing today?

What questions are you choosing to ask?

Now how many of you know you want to change the questions
you’re asking but don’t know how?

Well, here’s a final quote from a good friend and mentor,
Artemis Limpert:

“Stop demanding perfection!  You do not have to be good at stuff
coming out of the gate…but you do have to encounter what you’re
not good at…and then give yourself permission to discover what
would support you at a greater level towards your success.”
(emphasis added)

Give yourself permission…

And discover what would support you…

A friend, a mentor, someone who believes in you…

A book, a program, a resource…

Discover what would support you at a greater level towards your
success…

And now let me close with this very special song from John Mayer
in response to the movie, “The Bucket List”—

Enjoy…and as you listen, see what questions come to mind, and
what ways you realize you can choose to support yourself.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Dr. Ben

Instructions for Living A Life…

This past Saturday night our eight-year-old daughter Emmie, whom some of you know, had the privilege of singing a very special song from the musical Little Women with the local orchestra, and I was able to capture an “unofficial” recording during one of the rehearsals.  It’s on my small computer mike in the auditorium, so not a perfect recording, but I think you’ll still be able to feel something significant, even if you don’t know Emmie, so I’m posting this here.  (I may not be able to leave this recording up here, so wanted to give you all a chance to hear this now).

This same weekend, I was introduced to two amazing poems from Mary Oliver, whom my sister recently heard “live” at UCLA, and they complement the experience of Emmie’s singing, giving different glimpses on how to live…Enjoy!

Dr. Ben

[audio:https://doctorbenlo.com/audio/AstonishingRehearsal6-21-08.mp3]  Emmie’s Rehearsal Debut

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention
Be astonished
Tell about it.

             (excerpted from “Sometimes” by Mary Oliver in her new collection Red Bird)

I ask Percy How I Should Live My Life (Ten)  (Percy apparently is Mary’s dog)

Love, love, love, says Percy.
And run as fast as you can
along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.
Give up your body heat, your beating heart.
Then, trust.

Albert Einstein, Wayne Dyer, and You

Do you want to be right…

Or do you want to be free…

Albert Einstein has said that you can’t solve a problem with
the same consciousness, or level of thinking, that created it.

And Wayne Dyer has said very powerfully:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

So my question for you today is, what do you want?

Do you want to prove yourself “right” about the way things are for you…

or…

…as Jesus asked the infirm man at the pool of Bethesda,

“Do you want to be well?”

In coaching clients on their own journey to wellness, as well as
working with myself and with others in the context of a business
to create financial freedom, I find that we’re often attached to
our “story”…our way of looking at things…the way things “are”,
at least from our perspective…and it’s not until we really want
things to be different—more than we want to be “right” about the
way we see things—that we’re open enough to see things a different way…
and thereby to create a different experience…

Often it’s the very questions we’re asking ourselves and others that
show us where we’re coming from…and that powerfully affect where
we’re going…and what we “see”.

What questions are you asking?

Are you asking questions to prove yourself right or someone else wrong…

Or are you asking questions to create a new chosen outcome…

Such as being well…

Or

Being free…

Food for thought…and for creating a different experience…

To your joyful and prosperous well-being,

Dr. Ben

P.S.  To intentionally learn to “see” differently and create a desired outcome
in your health, your finances, or your life, you can still register for the online
“Brain” course with Artemis Limpert at:

http://tinyurl.com/4uopuj then email me your receipt dated
between June 17th and Friday, June 20th, (send to [email protected] )
and I will email you in return:

1)  A “Dr. Ben” bonus that people normally purchase

2)  Tips on how to get the most out of the “brain” course–
most people will miss these key steps

3)  And for all of you that send me a receipt dated by June 20th and your phone number,
I will give you a focused one-on-one coaching session where we address one area or question
you have and find 3 specific strategies you can apply to progress in that area right away.
 

How To Use New Knowledge to Create Real Change…

Ever wonder why you can seemingly learn something great or gain
some great insight, but then nothing really changes in your life
or your experience?

What then is the role of new knowledge, and what is the process of
turning that knowledge into actual change?

Here’s a quick nugget I recently received from a very close friend
and mentor—Artemis Limpert:

Knowledge alone doesn’t change you…

What it can do is give you new perspectives…

…and a new perspective can allow you to see choices you didn’t see before…

…and then changing your choices can change your life.

So there you have it in a nutshell…new knowledge can give you a new perspective,
which enables you to see new choices, and making new choices creates new results…

…which can change your life…

And here are two resources I’ve enjoyed recently that can make you aware of new ways
to look at things, open up new choices for you…and thereby give you the possibility
of co-creating or co-operating with very different experiences and results in your life…

The first is Guy Finley’s Life of Learning Center.

I’d begin with his Welcome Message here (It’s just a few minutes, but takes you
immediately to “another time and place”…)

The second is Joel Osteen, first recommended to me by some “non-religious” friends
who found his messages—–including audio, on TV, and in print—–both relevant
and impactful to their daily lives.

As I was driving back from dropping my oldest daughter off at a friend’s to help with
her horses on Memorial Day, I listened to a few minutes of a recent podcast
(you can subscribe to these for free at here) and was struck by
this shift in perspective:

Everything is not happening TO you, it’s happening FOR you…

Think about that one for a minute.

Everything is not happening TO you, it’s happening FOR you.

Then as you enjoy these and other resources, ask yourself what shifts in perspective
they give you, and what new choices you can make as a result that can change your experience…

…and your life.

Let me know your own experiences, shifts in perspective, and new choices and results in
your comments below.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Dr. Ben

The Art of Living “Imperfectly”

Yesterday Rachelle gave some fun eating ideas and also touched on a key principle—–
the art of “inner acceptance” and thankfulness.

Today I want to take a couple moments and address this further…

No matter where you are in your health today…

or in any area of your life for that matter…

…beginning from a place of inner acceptance and gratitude feels better now,
and also puts you on a path toward empowering steps you can take to continue
to feel better and better…creating a very different result than frustration, striving,
or feeling that you’re never really doing all that you should…

Yes, I know there may be things you want to change…

Yes, I know there’s always something we could do more or do better…

But what if you start today with the practicing of finding joy and gratitude right now…

What if you find a way to be thankful for the food and drink you take in today…thereby
maximizing it’s benefit and minimizing it’s potential “harm” if it’s not “perfect”, and finding
a little more joy with what you have today?

Then you may find yourself happier with yourself and your life, and also find it
easier to then choose a “next step” that may take you a little further into health—
maybe it’s eating a “healthy snack” of a piece of fruit or vegetable, or taking a few
moments in the sunshine—–a “life-affirming” step—that over time adds up to a
healthy and vibrant life…and you feel good along the way.

Practice the art of being “perfectly imperfect”, and finding joy and thanksgiving
each day of your journey to wellness.

Though seemingly simple, this daily practice of acceptance, thankfulness, and
then openness to “what’s next” can have a profound impact on your life.

So practice daily, enjoy the journey, and share your own comments and questions below.

For a complete system of “life-affirming” steps with both specific, practical nutritional
and health guidance, as well as key “inner” principles for approaching your own health
and well-being in just minutes a day, you can visit Your Journey To Wellness With Dr. Ben.

And if you’re ready to take a further step and want the guidance of working together
one-on-one over an extended period of time together, I’m about to open three more
spots for my personal mentoring program.

This program is not for everybody, in that I’m only looking to work directly with a few
people who are ready to really change specific patterns in their thinking and habits to
progressively transform their health and how they feel during the weeks we work together,
and to develop strategies they can use to continue to transform their health…and their life…
long after we’ve finished working directly together.

If you’re ready to take this step and commit to yourself to discover and accelerate healthy
change (yes, a word many people subconsciously fear!), you can call or email me directly
(1-888-909-6601 or [email protected] ) for a personal interview
to see if you qualify and if this would be a match for you. 

Either way—whether indirectly through Your Journey To Wellness, or directly
via one-on-one mentoring, I look forward to working with you and hearing
about the wonderful changes you step into for the rest of 2008!

Dr. Ben