Weirdforgood Hangout – 14 – Life’s Short! Make a Decision and Make it Happen… NOW!

Life really isn’t infinite, as we may secretly perceive it to be. We don’t have forever to accomplish our dreams. Pick something, Decide! and do whatever it takes to make it happen!

You’ll probably be wasting your precious fleeting time to watch the whole video, but go ahead and check it out. Then get movin’!

The blog post we’re covering is:
http://weirdforgood.com/2013/04/the-f…

Dig Deep again with us this week, in one of the most enlightening and real conversations on the web, here at our weirdforgood world!

With Aaron Nichols & Melissa Ford

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on — my bio page

or Melissa Ford’s website —http://www.empoweredcoachingsolutions…

Enjoy!

The Final Countdown!!!

I’ll drive the Rocky Mountains today. Tomorrow, fulfill a dream, meet a Hero of Mine. Today laugh with an old friend and his new kids in new ways. Yesterday I shared a life changer with my lovely life partner. Early next week, I’ll make a huge financial commitment. Today, engage with another soul who’s struggled and overcome, then shared the story. The weekend’s work? Enlightenment, possibility and a real true challenge. Another adventure, another unbelievable moment, maybe a treasure map too…

This week’s Pandora Station (If I customized my life, like I do my music) would be called Epic Life Mix, and it would deliver. The tectonic plates all moved at once. The earth rumbles and quakes and yet, the vibration is more divine than destructive. It’s a good Epic.

My friend, Melissa Ford, on one of our recent hangouts, blew my mind. She spoke clearly, concisely; Our Lives Are Not Infinite. Wow. Really? Are you sure?

The experience of my own ‘life’, my awareness, my visceral mental and physical connection to this world around me, does have an infinite-ness about it. I can’t remember before this life. It’s hard to really ‘get life’ without me in it (My ego says). I’ve seen others perish, and be instantly whisked away, to a mysterious beyond. Plenty of them. Important people to me. That I knew and loved so deeply. They’re now gone. Not here forever… Yet, I haven’t personally experienced this shift. From Life to Not Life. Or from Earth to Heaven. Or from Now Here to Nowhere…

How to function and mechanically move this thing called my life? Does believing in a false infinte-ness, keep me calm and clear and not scared of dying? So then I can operate properly and not just sit in a dark corner crying because of the inevitable end; death? I don’t think it works that way. Actually the opposite seems true, when I notice what really occurs. Melissa’s point about an ever approaching termination to our mission here, is actually quite healthy and motivating, even a release.

I’m just now beginning to look at that. Thanks Melissa.

I was in a small room, over a year ago, while author Will Keiper, told us the story of writing his book, Life Expectancy. It is the truth of our count-downable-days. The message that each sunrise, leaves us with one less in the bank. We’re eating into the diminishing smallness of our future, every minute. What are we going to do, with these fleeting remaining moments? Well, for me, since he spoke the story of how his book was written, in person,  I figured I would get around to reading it ‘someday’. So I passed it off, hoping it could help someone else…

That’s the problem with the infinite life. There is always a tomorrow. There is always a someday. There is forever more time ahead of me, to accomplish the thing that pops into my mind right NOW. The delusion of infiniticy, is more destructive than maybe anything else that we experience. The enemy, the dark one, the liar, loves this idea, that we could believe our lives are infinite. When we daydream and joke to each other about, ‘When I win the Lottery,’ or ‘In my next life.’ and ‘Someday, I’ll really get around to doing what I’d love to do’… The joke’s on us.

Life isn’t infinite. Someday never comes. Tomorrow steps always a day away. Yesterday’s gone forever. These paralyzing words are false ideas, not things, they don’t exist. My now moment, the only thing I ‘have’ is such a small blip on the screen, I miss the potency of it’s power. This tiny Now moment is when all of life happens. It’s when all the dreams come true. It’s when all the sadness washes us down the drain. It’s everything we ever experience. It’s all here now, in this tiny minuscule ordinary unpolished regular ole everyday moment. But even the Nows are limited. Wow. How will I use them?

What a gift Melissa laid before us. She said it, she get’s it. If I get that this moment now, leaves me with less time to accomplish, or to share, or to give, or to love, than even when I started typing these words, I learn a big thing. I learn that I’d better be aware of these actions. I’d better enjoy blogging more, than another cuddle with my bride. I’d better give you good words to read, explosive ideas, an expansive experience to enhance your life. Or this was a waste of your precious moments too…

Don’t do that. Don’t believe the lie. Don’t get lulled into the disease of ‘Just another day’ or ‘Same ‘ol Same ‘ol.’ It’s a trap. It’s a joke. It’s a tragic epidemic. If you hear someone say these things, shake them, slap them, wake them up! Your Life’s Not Infinite! Don’t waste this little tiny everyday moment Right Now!

It has been a Monster of a week around our house. We’ve paddled into the tsunami, looking for the thrill of a big wave ride. Not every week is like this, Thank God. Experiencing the upheaval, erosion and replenishing monsoon of blessings can be exhilleratingly exhausting. But these moments were used wisely. They weren’t allowed to wash on down the stream to the ocean, lost forever. We scooped ’em up and drank deeply. I will continue today, as I lay eyes on The Rockies…

Yesterday I was in a seminar. They told a story about a well. An artesian well. The kind that you drill down, in the right place, and cool clean water bubbles up and out, overflowing always. The pressure, the force and physics of this life-giving source is amazing. In fact, you could almost say this water shows up through the well, but it came from an almost infinite and amazing supply of power and abundance… Yes, here it is… The source of our life is infinite. The source of our existence, that shows up through us, has no end. Maybe, because of this deeply understood connection to God. We believe that we too, are infinite.

Not so, and not helpful to us. It just doesn’t serve us to wait. It doesn’t encourage growth, to know there is always tomorrow. It isn’t healthy to think, someday, I’ll get it all right, I’ll fix it all, and straighten in out in the future. It will always be broken. It will always be imperfect. It is a fact, that ordinary moments that you’ve always experienced can become amazing things, but not perfect things. Miracles even, come with junk attached. There are leftovers and clean-up to do, when we feed five thousand from five loaves and two fish. It’s work and it’s grimy and it’s miraculous. Just like us. Just like our own real lives.

Our clocks are ticking down, moment by moment, leaving us less time, but no less energy or resources or initiative, in fact, maybe more. When we see, that we have a limited space and limited amounts, we make do. We find a way. When we have to, we get it done. Only then, do we quit waiting. Only then, do we say yes first, then ask how after. Only then, can we know, that the infinite and unbelievable power of God, wells up in us, always. We are limited, God is not.

Raise those sails. Call yourself to action. These winds will blow by you and be lost forever. If you don’t grab ahold and go for this ride, then when?… Do it at the only time there is… Now 🙂

With Love,

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols

 

 

 

Weirdforgood Hangout – 13 – NewsFlash! The TRUTH about the Network News!

We’re choosing the food of our mind each minute of each day. Is the network news, a healthy diet that keeps you informed about the world? Or just junk fast food, that destroys your systems slowly, as the intense flavors cover up the damage being done? Find out here, on our weekly workshop show!

Find out the REAL TRUTH about watching the Evening News. We’ll discuss the effects of our choices of media stimuli. Can we ever get sad enough, or worried enough, to take away the sadness or worriedness of someone else? Nope.

The blog post we’re covering is:
http://weirdforgood.com/2013/04/news-flash.html

Dig Deep again with us this week, in one of the most enlightening and real conversations on the web, here at our weirdforgood world!

With Aaron Nichols & Michael Wright

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on my about page

or Michael Wright’s website — http://www.fatherofone.com

Enjoy!

News Flash!

What’s up with the news? No, really, tell me, because I don’t know. I don’t watch it, rarely read it, and couldn’t tell you much about what’s going on in the world.

Is that a bad thing?

I do know some of the big things. The big ones, like the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day, is something that you didn’t have to watch the news to find out about. It was in the public consciousness pretty quickly after it happened. Someone at work mentioned it, then facebook statuses sent prayers east to the race. I saw some video clips online, later that day… So the big stuff does find it’s way to us. Whether we watch the news or not. And still… I don’t.

It was several years ago, in the summer, when I was mowing and listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer (on my old party-machine iPod), that he talked about the news. He showed me that my mind is like my body, and whatever I put into it, it becomes, and whatever my mind becomes, my life becomes… Just like my body. I never was a big news watcher, and that sealed it for me. I leave that to others, and when something really big comes along, I always find out, or I don’t. It seems to work for me.

Now, last night, I waited in a long line at the Sprint Center in KC, among thousands of people ready to hear a speaker. I was excited to be there too. I was lucky to be among my church family, and we were going to see Dr. David Jeremiah. As I became part of the wave of people entering this huge event center, I had to wonder. How has this man, attracted so many followers to show up? I don’t know him well, and I am here.

What is it, that has us all here together? Is it him? Is he that dynamic of a person, that 8,000 people, just want to hear him talk? It can’t be. He’s on the radio every day. Is the music going to be so awesome, that we all showed up for that? Not really. It’s good, but hey, so is YouTube, for finding songs to worship to. Okay, it must be the camaraderie of being among believers and sharing the evening together… hmmm, kinda, but that didn’t get me to invest my whole evening. I have a great church family to worship with weekly.

It came to me in a flash. The News! It’s the News, that we came for. The Good News.

It wasn’t about Dr. J, it wasn’t just the music and the high production of the event. It’s the Good News, that we all showed up to hear. We always want the Good News!

So why did I give up the Network News, years ago? It ain’t Good. Period.

Sure they’ll give you a 2 minute feature at the end of some feel-good story, but it’s so minor, that I won’t sit through the whole fear-mongering mega-drama for those two little minutes.

I could be a more informed citizen of the world. I could be more compassionate to the struggles of people in other countries. It’s true. I am compassionate, and concerned about what is going on right here too. From my perspective of debt-freedom, purpose-driven and radically unconventional lifestyle, I am concerned about all the ‘normality’ around me. Normal Sucks, in my book. That’s the News that I fear we don’t want to really hear.

Anyway. We will show up for the News. Good News especially. When I invest in a coaching agreement with someone who I want to work with, I want to hear the Good News. The Good News, that YES, I can do this. YES, it IS possible. YES, someone else, like me, has done this before, and now I can do it to, with their help. That is GOOD NEWS!

Next weekend, I’ll be in Denver, Colorado. I am attending a workshop called Writing from Your Soul. It’s hosted by Hay House. One of the speakers is Dr. Wayne Dyer 🙂 Wow. I am really excited about this trip! Meeting him is something I’ve had on my bucket-list for a looong time. This checks off, a couple major things for me. It begins a journey to produce a book, or books, or e-books, or children’s books, or some kind of writing that I have been waiting around to begin working on. This workshop is the starter’s pistol blasting into the air. And I will learn, from one of my all-time favorite mentors, a PBS legend, Dr. Dyer.

I’m going to hear the News. I’m eager and ready and willing, to use this news to make a new decision in my life. I want transformation, not just information. Now I wonder, if just making the commitment to show up, is half of the Good News. Knowing that if I make this a priority, if I engage, then I have started. I want to know that I can do it. This is a clue, that Yes, I can. It is available for for anyone, and that includes me.  Thank God.

Last night as my good friend and mentor, Steve, jogged out of the Sprint Center, to retrieve the car. I saw a sign across the street. With thousands of believers pouring out of the doors, and walking around, but not into the bars and nightclubs, I had a thought… Finally, tonight, we brought the Real Power and Light to this district. We are the Good News. It wasn’t the songs, or the books, or even the sermon we heard. It was the body of Christ, in all it’s forms, gathering together, and living a moment out loud.

I don’t miss the Network Evening News a bit. Too bad if you think me immature. I don’t miss seeing the Good News, any chance I can get though.

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols

 

Weirdforgood Hangout – 12 – Set Sail! In Love with Lostness, Mystery and Adventure

Wow, pull up your anchor and raise the sails! It’s time to let go of the illusion of safety, and choose a new course! Melissa Ford and I discuss the adventure awaiting you, as you were meant to experience it. Ahoy!

Another deep discussion awaits, as Melissa and I develop the metaphor that we are all ships built for adventure, but most of the time we choose the ‘safety’ of the harbor.

Our launching point is ‘In Love of Lostness, Mystery and Adventure!

With Aaron Nichols & Melissa Ford

You’ll want to have a notepad handy this week!

Another great discussion that we invite you to check out!

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on my about page

or Melissa Ford’s website — http://www.empoweredcoachingsolutions.com

Enjoy!

In Love of Lostness, Mystery and Adventure

I’ve slipped lately. I’ve floated away. Adrift upon currents that criss-cross and flow to God-only-knows, this kind of travel feels as ethereal and romantic, as it does chaotic and lost.

I’m falling in love with this aimless buoyancy, on a new level.

Do you prefer order to anarchy? Would you rather experience repetition instead of adventure?  How about structure vs. freedom? Hmm… tricky to answer.. no?

In our world, here in our home, the juicy and lovely and tantalizing moments lately, have come in being open to anything. It isn’t as much an intentional letting-go as it is showing up with no agenda. Just an overall idea that I want to help, and to serve, and that’s it. It’s a bigger trust than I’m used to. To be a castaway, instead of a frantic paddler splashing my dingy ever so slightly toward a far-off lighthouse, that I’m hoping exists when I get there. Or even worse, to untie for a short trip around the little marina, again, waving to everyone that I wave to every day, and safely returning, well before sunset, to clean off the droplets and button-down again for the night. Just like I did yesterday, and the day before, since the beginning.

I’ve have seen some powerful stuff unfolding this week. Tectonic plates are grinding and shifting. The sun is now rising and blasting light into formerly dark and remote valleys. Yes, mountains are falling into the sea. Are these the kind of changes that can happen with a perfectly diagrammed to-do list, and an app on my smart-phone to track my productivity?

Hell no.

This is the the work of something bigger than me. This work is immense. This is the work that can only be seen and experienced when I let go of the safety of the dock and my daily routine. It’s not create-able, it’s not plan-able, it will never become, with even the most thorough ‘getting-things-done-ness’, I can muster up.

This is the unfolding of eons of tiny continental movements. I can’t move continents. But God can. I can’t make myself arrive at a new destination that I don’t even know exists, but God can. I can keep myself respectably tied and anchored into my little mooring spot, and pretend that life doesn’t rock me and move me with storms. I can say, ‘I’m doing good. Yes, I’m very busy.’ with scurrying around performing routine maintenance on my vessel, re-positioning the knick-knacks, while it sits in the same place day after day. But God made us to sail.

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”
– Grace Murray Hopper

See God created us to move upon the seas, thrusted by the winds, resting in the calms. His winds, divine powers, blow the damn doors off our puny little pattlin’ efforts. I’ve seen it happening lately.

In case you’ve wondered, yes, I live on a different planet now. I don’t inhabit the same ol’ Earthly places that I used to know. It is another world here. It’s absent of so much familiarity, which I miss often. Especially when the storms hit. The community, the crew, where I used to belong, is far away now. It’s a choice to be out here. But lately, there is evidence of new land on the horizon. Mirage or not, it’s the only new sight seen for months. It ignites the heart, to dream of what may lie ahead, on these new shores.

The truth amongst all this metaphor, is that lately the magic, the progress, the delights in my life have developed in the ‘in-between’. They’ve materialized from the ether and I can’t explain how they’ve arrived. Serendipity is too cute. Coincidence doesn’t exist. Seeing is believing though.

Stuff that I’ve dreamed about for years is about to happen. A wish for another, becomes, with perfect timing. Release and surrender and nimble anticipation of ‘what’s next’, is electric in this appropriate springtime moment. The only moment. The now moment. Yes, now is when it happens for me, for you, from God.

Sometimes now is the calm, as the breeze settles and humidity rises and the stillness can unnerve us. Everything comes in waves however. Even stagnation. It passes with a cleansing rain. We’re fresh again, the sail ripples and snaps. We tighten our lines, crank the winches, redirect and laugh and smile. Waves lapping our sides, we’re again on the move. Action is exhilaration, not arrival.

Open up our mind. Cut away the old knots, don’t waste time to untangle. Supplies? We’ve got plenty… Really. Skills? They only come through practice. We’ll never be ready. Every storm is different anyway. Every day unique. What worked today, won’t tomorrow. Except eagerness, willingness, resolve and imagination. ‘How’ are we ‘supposed’ to do it? Who cares? ‘How’ is a crippling question we all want to know. Forget it forever. Look back afterward and see that the ‘How’ was magic. The ‘How’ was the hand of God. The ‘How’ was saying Yes, and showing up. The ‘How’ only appears in the story, after the action.

Scary? Yes. That’s why the seas are wide open, and the ‘safe’ harbors crammed full.

Can we die out there? Will we perish at night, crashed hard by a rogue wave? Some will. But all will perish anyway. Some never seeing a sunrise beyond the horizon of home. A crusted and barnacled structure sun-bleached and worn-through by rot, rather than use. Sails neatly folded and new, wrapped tight in wait of an adventure that never was. Abuse of our gifts, if you ask me. But then again, if you read this far, I’m not writing about You.

There are few who come here. Few who read these messages in a bottle. For those few, I thank you.

I am blessed lately to recognize the magic and see that it’s not me. I am aware that these bright highlights have come through the most mysterious ways. I am just open, I have no plan, I am ready to receive, and don’t care if you would rather hear the How-To’s and Top 10 Ways. That stuff, that mesmerizing and delicious stuff, keeps us stuck: only learning How it worked for someone else. Our way is unique. It’s never been done before, and never will again. We all get this opportunity. It’s our birthright. We are divine children of the Almighty, we are vessels, we shall Sail!

Sincerely,

(In loving dedication to my uncle, Captain Stephen R. Nichols.)

Aaron Nichols

Ships Are Safe in the Harbour (poem, author unknown)

All I live for is now
All I stand for is where and how
All I wish for are magic moments

As I sail through change
My resolve remains the same
What I chose are magic moments

Because ships are safe in the harbour
But that is not what ships are made for
The mind could stretch much further
But it seems that is not what our minds are trained for

We call for random order
You can’t control Mother nature’s daughter

Ships are safe in the harbour
But that is not what ships are built for

The witch hunter roams
The scary thing is that he’s not alone
He’s trying to down my magic moments

As we sail through change
Ride the wind of a silent rage
And sing laments of magic moments

Ready to Sail! Join our weekly workshop/discusssion ** time change this week **

The Hangout/Podcast timeslot for next week is shifting. I will host it on Wednesday the 17th at 5:30. Email me at aaron@truenorthffc.com – before Wednesday if you would like a personal invitation to participate.

Check out all of my video workshop Hangouts here, to get a feel for it. Join us if you dare!

And if you like Podcasts – I have converted all my workshops to audio, for your listening pleasure, here.