Words To Live By

In this blog I want to talk about "mottos." Many of us probably first heard about mottos, when we selected one for our Senior Class Yearbook, in High School, (Do they still do that?). Our class motto was: "Hitch your wagon to a star."

It is hard to know, currently, what anyone has, or has not, had an experience with in this Country. According to Ask.com, a "motto," is "A sentence, phrase, or word expressing the spirit or purpose of a person, organization, city, etc."; sometimes known as a, "slogan."

My suggestion: If you haven't already developed one, is to find one, or more, that fits, and adopt it--no copy-write laws apply here.

One can still find possible mottos on people's T-shirts, posters, and bumper stickers. I have talked about one in recent blogs, which appears to be one that is popular currently: "Stay calm, and carry on." As far as I'm concerned, this is too, "Don't-rock-the-boat"-ish for my taste, and the times. I could almost suspect that it is a deliberate plant into our unconscious minds.

Some possibilities that come to mind: "Always have a Plan B"; "Don't panic!"; "You can get anywhere from here," and "Live and let live." One that was popular in the '60's was, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

One that I am living by, currently, is, "You're never too old!" Another is, "There's nothing that you can't change for the better." Another: "The world is magic, and life is magic."

This is positive self-programming. One that I have mentioned before, and which has stood the test of time, is: "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better, and better."

Many people have a great deal of mental chatter going on all the time, which is usually negative. It comes, frequently, from things we have been told when we were younger, by our parents or other people, or conclusions we have come to about ourselves, or, frequently, perpetual worrying.

If, whenever we become aware of our mind chatter, we have developed one or more positive mottos, it is important to say it to oneself at such times, as well as regularly as a counter to our self negative-programming. Think of it as a Mantra. Mantras are used to replace mind chatter, if one is unable to maintain a clear mind, (few are). Create yourself a mantra; pretend it was given to you by your guru, if you are so inclined.

Usually, we are totally unaware of these thoughts, (mind chatter) but our unconscious is recording them all the time, and takes them on as instructions/programming.

Recently, a friend convinced me to get out, and go with her to an event put on by the small, local Japanese community. There were, of course, many booths, at which one could buy things, as well as a large central area for doing demonstrations. One demonstration that was put on, while we were there, was by two Samurai Masters. The Samurai are traditional Japanese warriors who, "employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword." (Ask.com)

These were Samurai Masters! At the end of their demonstration, they asked six young children to come up onto the platform. One at a time, they brought them forward, held out one of their arms, and instructed them, and demonstrated, to say out loud, "I am strong!," and to repeat it a number of times.

These sweet young things did as they were instructed, with their arm outstretched. The Master then proceeded to apply a great deal of pressure downwards on their little arm, which the child was able to withstand, keeping his/her arm outstretched. It was quite clear that this was not "pretend pressure," it was clear real pressure was being applied by someone who was, obviously, quite strong.

This was a very powerful demonstration for this large audience of people: "You are what you think you are!" This would be a good motto, and reminder, for anyone to have.

I leave you with that little story, as encouragement.

Shirley Gallup