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Robin Newman ⁽⁵⁰⁴⁾ Canada

Robin Newman

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Magic Bean Mentality

Posted Sunday, November 15, 2009 (6 days 11 hours ago.) Viewed 2,224 times.

The secret to the success of the Secret' was good marketing and promotion. It was the new age version of a pyramid scheme selling nothing more than magic bean mentality. You can boo and hiss all you like but the people who manifested all the money were the ones who sold the beans not the ones buying the magic'.

Magic bean mentality has been around since the beginning of time when princesses turned frogs into handsome princes with a single kiss. And how many women out there are waiting for their knight in shining armour to come take them away from their sadness and loneliness. You can cover the walls with pink paint but it only hides the faults it doesn't make them go away.

Time and time again people are getting caught up in the magic bean mentality only to have reality bite them on their butts. Here's the deal you cannot control what other people do and say. You cannot control nature, the weather or if a plane is going to drop out of a sky. You can only master what you do and say. That being the case a series of unfortunate events can impact your life whether you know the secret or don't know it. Because reality is and here's the punch line we are not all knowing'. Yes I know Oprah may appear to be but she doesn't have a beanstalk leading to the Higher Power's kingdom in her backyard. She can't climb up and get a heads up from an Angel what's going to happen in her life tomorrow.

There are days when I would gladly hand over all my possessions for a few magic beans. Sadly enough the New Spiritual movement is littered with the empty pockets of people who have done just that. If I have to keep saying it will:

Spirituality is about learning to live and be happy in all situations and circumstances. It's not about running from reality but embracing life with all it's ups and downs. The greatest teachers, inventors and mentors are not the ones who have never faced hardship. They are the ones who have been moulded into the person they were born to be by the events of their lifetime.

Michael J Fox, Christopher Read are shining examples of people embracing the realities of their life and creating happiness not by thinking it all away but by thinking differently about it. There is no secret never was, there is only the ability to embrace life as the divine gift it has always been. Martin Luther King didn't need a secret but a faith in the goodness of the human soul. Mother Teresa didn't manifest by thoughts but by deeds. People saw what she was doing and were inspired to help her. Ghandi didn't say you have to see the change you want. No he said you have to be the change you want to see.

And here's the fine print in the Secret' you don't get to see:

" What you need and what you want are 2 very different things"

I might want a Mercedes but I might need to learn how to manage money. I might want a soulmate but I might need to learn how to have a healthy relationship first. I might want to own a big company but I might need to learn how to communicate effectively first. These are the realities not the fairytale.

My advice, trade in your magic beans for a bit of commonsense, a lot of faith and the wisdom to know happiness comes from the heart and not the head.

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What Would Jesus Say?

Posted Monday, August 24, 2009 (89 days 14 hours ago.) Viewed 865 times.

A passage I once read went something like this "If you are faced with a problem hold out your left hand and ask what would Jesus say then hold out your right hand and ask what Buddha would do?" During a particularly intense meeting I tried this technique and my conclusion was Jesus would say "You all need to get a life" and Buddha would add "You are all coming back as cockroaches in your next life." Okay so it didn't go too well and maybe my emotions tainted the process however I decided in was worth another shot. The next time someone pushed my buttons I asked myself what would Mother Teresa do? My conclusion was she would look this person in the eye and say "I will pray for you" then promptly get back to doing the business at hand.

I wondered how this would go over in my dysfunctional pretend perfect family. I imagined my sister cutting me off in a conversation because I dared to think she might want to hear about my life for a change. I held out my left hand and asked "What would Jesus say?" It probably would not be "I will turn you into a pillar of salt or a thousand loci will plague your home". I am not a Bible buff so I am winging it here. But I can imagine Buddha going "It is only in silence man will hear his true voice." My sister at this point however would be likely to assume I was either medicated or needed to be medicated.

Maybe I need different voices. I could try Yoda "You are listening to me my sister not' or at a meeting "All silly people who know nothing you are." Again, maybe not that productive but closer to what I actually want to say. I am not entirely sure though Jesus or Buddha would want a mini me them and I am pretty certain they would say "Speak your truth with respect and honor for the other person". You cannot go to far wrong with those words of advice.

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I wish I was Wayne Dyer

Posted Sunday, August 23, 2009 (90 days 18 hours ago.) Viewed 1,499 times.

I wish I was Wayne Dyer, all Zen about letting children find their own way. Then maybe I would be able to resist sending my neighbours children to bootcamp while they were not looking.

I wish I was Oprah able to talk about my bowel moments without fear of being asked for my senior's card.

I wish I was Dr Phil - okay, I really don't wish that!

I wish I was Suze Orman, a money Goddess. Then maybe the Credit card company would be more inclined to take my calls and less inclined to act like money pimps.

I wish I was Marianne Williamson, all let go and let God. Than maybe I would be less inclined to wish an eternal power outage on the man who crashed into me while texting on his blackberry.

I wish I was James Van Praag, all Ghost Whisperer take me to your leader E.T like. Then maybe I would be able to go down into the basement at night without needing moral support from my partner.

I wish I was Cesar Milan, all dogs bow in my presence I am Dog backwards. Then maybe the beast' would not rip my fingers out of their sockets when we walked and the words they eat dogs in China' would never need to be uttered again.

I wish I was Deepak Chopra, only because his name sounds really cool and spiritual like.

I wish I was Byron Katie, then instead of actually going to work' I could go around all day telling people to do the work' which in fact would work' for me.

I wish I could cook 30 minute meals like Racheal Ray and be able to talk, chop and braise without cutting my finger off.

I sometimes wish things were different, times weren't as hard, people were nicer to each other.

But my God I am so glad I am me, as dysfunctional, imperfect and irrational as I am. I am so glad I have a God given opportunity to a one of a kind walking miracle of divine creation. Imperfections are character in the making, mistakes creations waiting to be born, and no one does me better than me.

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Dopey and Grumpy

Posted Monday, August 10, 2009 (103 days 15 hours ago.) Viewed 1,116 times.

I don't drink, smoke or do drugs but not because I stand on any moral high ground. I don't drink because my parents were alcoholics and genetically I have an excellent chance of following in their footsteps. I don't smoke anymore because all around me people were having parts of their lungs removed and I wanted to stay on the planet a little longer. And I don't do drugs because I have no need to either numb myself so I don't feel or get high so I can feel.

Anyway last night there we were on a hill with thousands of other people enjoying a night of folk music. It was about 9 p.m when several couples about mid 30 ish came and sat behind us on their blue tarp. Pretty soon the sweet smell of dope drifting over us and I turned to see one man sneaking sips of a whiskey bottle obviously snuck in under a sweater to avoid bag checks. He looked like a 5 year old knowing he was doing something naughty and revelling in the thought he was getting away with it.

While they were all dopey I was getting grumpy mainly because I dislike arrogance when it steps on other people's toes. Then I started to feel sad for them. Here they were mid 30's having to get their kicks by sucking on a weed and a whiskey bottle. Did they really think the fact they were in designer clothes made them any different to the addicts and drunks in the back alley's?

It is the illusion a lot of people who take drugs and drink suffer from. They think because they have a good job, home and are successful they don't have a problem. But what they do not understand is they are one step away from becoming one of the street people.
You would have to be dopey not to know all the homeless people and drug addicts came from somewhere. They were not born into their situations they fell into them. You would be surprised how many addicts and drunks were not that long ago holding down jobs and living the suburbian life.

It is hard to see people still trying to hold onto their youth because they have nothing to look forward to. We were all a little arrogant in our 20's, probably thought we were invincible and lived for the day. But in our 30's we have discovered ourselves have gathered our experiences and shaped them into a future plan.

We have moved from doing into being. Moved from arrogance into wisdom and empathy. We move from being thrilled to be touched. We no longer need the high because we have the peace which comes with age and knowing.

We tuned out from the group behind us enjoyed the rest of the night packed up our tarp and headed home. And as I sit here a day later I wonder if they really know how to live with depth and passion or if they skim the surface moving onto the next drink, the next drag, the next party. And I wonder if the moment will come when every party will look like the one before, when they will look around and see they are the oldest person in the room, or whether they will need harder drugs and more booze because everytime they wake up the reality of their life stares them in the face.

Me I actually like my life it may not be perfect but then no one's ever is. I am grateful I don't need a drink to get through life or to enjoy it. I am thankful I can get high on life its cheaper and keeps my brain cells in tack.

My wish for those left on the hillside would be may you wake up and discover you need nothing more than an open heart full of love to enjoy the beauty of the world. May you step into the grace of aging and release the things of youth. And lastly may you find a spot at least 100 feet away from me next year. Okay so that probably wasn't very spiritual but hey I did say I wasn't perfect!

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