Shaun's Holistic Living Notes

written by my GodSister Cynthia Drawbond and me. Genuine Forgiveness Do you have an emotional wound that has never healed? Maybe someone wronged you or a loved one years ago, and the injury remains. From time to time, similar situations bring the painful emotions right back to the surface. Close friends and family members may have lost patience with your inability to move on. You, too, wonder how much longer the suffering will last. My friend, freedom from hurt and anger comes only through complete forgiveness. But perhaps you have resisted taking that action because of some common misunderstandings about what forgiveness means. Clearing Up Some Confusion One of the stumbling blocks to actually forgiving others is the wrong information that has entered our theology. The first concept we need to clear up is this: Is justifying, understanding, or explaining away someone’s behavior the same as forgiving him? Perhaps you can understand that your “brother” was under a lot of stress...

I'm posting to let you all know that I'm going to be giving my mobile phone a break. Feel free to reach me at my current landline or use the "Contact Shaun" page at my website www.shaunblair.com . Now, for my soapbox... You all know I don't usually do this but it's important that the people I care about have this information so if you feel so inclined, please continue reading to the end. Some of you know about the cluster of lumps beside my right ear that I believe are the result of 15+ years of heavy mobile phone usage. The good news is that since I've been using my phone less, most of these lumps have gone away following an intermittent series of what seemed like very painful ear infections. There are only 2 small lumps left where there were once over 10 under my skin. My hearing has also returned to normal after years of diminished hearing in my right ear. This summer I made my second extended visit to a retreat center that does not permit any e...

The moment that judgement stops through acceptance of what it is, you are free of mind. You have made room for Love, for Joy, for Peace. ♥ ~ Eckhart Tolle I have been practicing this a lot lately ... just trying to accept what IS ... without judgment ... and remain in a place of gratitude. Let's make today about (1) allowing what IS to just BE. And (2) focusing our attention and thoughts on more of what we WANT to see, create and experience. Those two together are the recipe for happiness, folks. Another thought about judgment:  Every time I find myself secretly (or openly) judging someone for aNyThInG, I am always able to turn my pointing finger around to realize that it is actually something in MYSELF that I am noticing and wanting to change. My natural tendency to judge others is a great tool for self-development when it is used that way.  "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." ~Carl Jung

This is a wildly unpopular note about daily goals and why they are unnecessary to people who are on their spiritual journey… Daily or weekly goal-setting is futile and it only creates opportunities to feel like a failure. Don’t believe me? How many times have you felt like crap because you only accomplished half of the things on your “To Do” list? And did anyone die because you didn’t accomplish those lost tasks? Of course not. They probably weren’t even as important as you convinced yourself that they were. Some of your “to-do” tasks may have actually even been counterproductive to what you actually hoped to achieve. So then, how do you succeed if you don’t micro-plan? How do you stop obsessing over your activities and start celebrating success? ALLOWING is our greatest tool. Allowing Spirit to influence and guide my actions brings me to everything that I want and need. Nothing that truly needs to be done is missed. But many things that I would have unnecessarily done a...

When all is in balance and we are each effectively managing our own God-given energy, we are able to productively put that energy to use to manifest everything that we need. Unfortunately, this system is severely out of balance in our present world and societies. Our country has been built on DEBT. Are you beginning to see this ineffective system crumble? Lots of us were taught that we should give without expecting anything in return. But how many negative emotions are truly caused when, in fact, no return is given? People who give without expecting returns are, at the very least, seeking outside validation or acknowledgment to soothe their own illusions of low self-worth. Some of us believe that because of our loving intentions, we should be able to receive without exchange and so we choose to float from place to place expecting individuals (like those givers above) to provide all of our needs. People who live this way are actually giving away their energy in the form of in...

Tips for Creating Your Best Online Profiles and Content by Shaun Blair, Holistic Life Coach These days most of us have profiles on social and business networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. You may even have a YouTube channel or your own website. But do you ever wonder whether your profile is representing you well? Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your online identity. 1. Think about what you want from your online profile. Are you hoping that someone who finds your online profile will offer you a better job? Do you want more clients at the job you have? Do you simply want to connect with other people in your industry? Your profile should reflect your reasons for being on the networking site. If you want a better job then be sure to highlight how awesome you are in your field. List your most impressive achievements that are relevant to the type of job you want. If you want more clients, then list some successes with your past and current clients. Use dolla...

One day I drove to the fashion district of Los Angeles to pick up some specific items. My goal was to get there and then get back to the west side before later in the afternoon when traffic would be heavy. As I got to the main street that goes through the middle of the district, I found myself behind an SUV moving at a ridiculously slow speed. Seriously, he was driving under 10 miles per hour , braking very frequently and irregularly as he spoke loudly on his mobile phone while looking out his windows. Over and over, he kept slowing down and almost pulling over before continuing straight . Aaaaargh!! With all disregard to traffic behind him, he was trying (and repeatedly failing) to find his destination. I became increasingly irritated after driving behind him for a few blocks. What would you do? I did what many of us would have done and sped around him with a funky look on my face and drove up to my destination about two blocks ahead. When I arrived there, the gate to the parkin...

This is about my decision to be limitless . I am sharing in the hope that my words and experience will inspire you to allow more possibilities for manifesting joy in Your life. Many of us subscribe to the practice of goal-setting. While I believe that goal-setting is helpful, I have found that in some instances, it can foster limitation. When I have been very specific about what I want to achieve, I have achieved just that. Exactly as ordered. Nothing more, nothing less. In several cases, I realized after manifestation that I could have imagined it a little (or a LOT) better. Has that ever happened to you? (The old quote comes to mind, "Be careful what you wish for. You just may get it.") In contrast, when I have held a more broad intention, focusing only on the JOY I would experience with manifestation of my desired situation or object, results have been phenomenal and far greater than expected. In the past 8 months, I have received a strong message to allow more...

(archived from Sunday August 23, 2009) What are you holding on to? WHO are you holding on to? Why?  Are you holding on out of a sense of obligation? guilt? fear ? I, right now, choose to  continue  to release that which no longer serves me. As you know, I set an intention to do this quite a while ago and I must say that I have found much success in the accomplishment. But as I move forward, I realize that this is not a "garage sale" type of event, but rather a quarterly trip to my local Goodwill Donation Center. Yes, this  releasing  is a  process . A cycle. Hmmm.... who knew? I have accumulated 34 years of  stuff . And at some point or another, all of it served me. If it did not, I never would have acquired it. And as my stuff contributed to my perceived joy or pain or anything in between, I have benefited from it all. But as I evolve, so do my needs. And I no longer have space for that two drawer vertical file cabinet. Or any use for that (once...

(archived from September 16, 2009) For most of my life, I had jobs and schedules that required me to be on time. Other people depended on me and if I was late, I would face being fired and/or my employers and clients would lose lots of money. I would lose everything I had worked for including my reputation, sustenance and material possessions.  My daily schedule with my most recent salaried position was:  6:30-7:00am Wake up & rush through meditation 7:00-7:30am Get ready to go  7:30-8:00am Leave for work  8:00am-6:45pm Sit down at my desk, update my voice mail greeting, listen to messages Return phone calls and e-mails and faxes about current business.  Call and receive calls to/from potential new customers Follow up with existing customers Mail out documents to new and existing customers Process documents and information received from or regarding customers Eat lunch and/or snacks at my desk throughout the day. (Occasionally, I would leave the ...

(archived from  November 24, 2009) It takes a lot of strength to stop taking things personally.  To realize that  every time  someone responds or engages you  in a way that makes you feel  small ,  they did so because  they  feel small,  because they are  hurting  somewhere inside.  We tend to attract people to be close to us whose insecurities feed our own.  No, we do not attract these people because we are emotional masochists  who want to see just how much abuse we can take.  We attract these people who challenge us because WE  ~ in our infinite and highest intelligence ~  know how to create opportunities for our own  growth and healing .  So...  Take a deep breath into your root chakra.  Feel your strength rise as you exhale.  In this way and others, we tap into our power.  Let's tap into our strength.  We connect to our  higher ess...