A World of Possibilities: Embracing Happiness, Love, and Growth

1. A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES TEST SLIDE for sharply focusing projector and adjusting the lighting of the room for optimal viewing. “I am confronted by insurmountable opportunity.” Pogo Possum

3. A World of Possibilities

4. Almost anything is possible— if you believe it.

6. A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES Skills for Creating Happiness and Blessing Others

7. A World of Possibilities 1.Your Vision Map 2.Making the Growth Choice 3.The Way of Peace 4.Heart Intelligence 5.The Freedom of Self-Discipline

8. A World of Possibilities 6.Embracing This Present Moment 7.Accepting and Loving Your Body 8.Healthy Relationships 9.Unleashing Your Creativity 10.Gifts of Gratitude and Blessing

9. Module # 2 of 10 Making the Growth Choice

10. Group Activity SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTION: What choices can you make that will lessen the amount of FEAR in your personal life and increase the amount of LOVE?

11. “You should • carefully observe • the way toward which • your heart draws you, • then choose this way • with all your strength.” • Martin Buber

12. The Target of Life is a very helpful way to understand our individual and collective well-being.

13. When you’re centered in the heart of the Target of Life, you’re at your best and life seems brighter. • You see clearly and therefore make optimal decisions. • You feel peaceful, loving, energetic, and happy. • You’re in a good position to handle just about anything. • However, when things happen that go against our desires and expectations, it’s easy to get pulled off center.

14. We experience more fear and negativity. • We say and do things we regret. • The immune system weakens and our productivity declines. • We lose touch with what’s really important to us. • Unhealthy stress increases and our sensitivity toward others decreases. • And the further away from the center we move, the worse it gets!

15. That’s why it’s so important to catch early signs of stress, and to use all of our creativity to stay as centered as possible. • When we are centered in the heart of the Target of Life, difficulties still crop up, but we can handle them much more smoothly and effectively. • The more centered we are, the greater our well-being, the wiser our choices, and the more effective we are in everything we do.

16. Group Activity SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTION: How quickly can a person catch negative thoughts and prevent them from controlling his or her life? What might help an individual to learn this skill?

17. Life is a continuous series of choices,and as we pay close attention to these choices and their impact, we awaken to a new sense of power, freedom, and possibility.

18. CHOICES—saying no to that third piece of carrot cake, telling your daughter it’s OK to borrow the car, sending a blessing to a friend who comes to mind, or saying yes to putting 5 percent of your paycheck into savings.

19. In each of your daily decision points, you can usually sense one choice—called theGrowth Choice—that is the best option for you and all those concerned.

20. Each Growth Choice you make simultaneously promotes your growth and happiness as well as the growth and happiness of those around you.

21. Often, it is difficult to make the best choice because there is a war raging within and around us between positive and negative tendencies.

22. By learning to engage skillfully in the battle between positive and negative forces, you more frequently make wise choices, thus growing in strength, wisdom, and happiness.

23. Group Activity SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTION: How much do the thoughts you choose influence your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being? Do your thoughts have an influence on those around you?

24. CHOICEPOINTS Life is a continuous series of choices, and to a large degree, the hundreds of mostly small decisions we make each day are the ones that shape our character and our lives.

25. CHOICEPOINTS It is essential that we become keenly aware of our choices and decide to use our energy in positive ways, according to the dictates of our inner guidance.

26. CHOICEPOINTS When we use energy positively in kindness, creativity, laughter, or self-discipline, for example, we benefit physically, mentally, and spiritually.

27. CHOICEPOINTS When we use energy negatively in fear, anger, or striking out at one another, we reap pain and heaviness.

28. CHOICEPOINTS Our actions not only affect us personally, they also influence those around us and our entire world.

29. CHOICEPOINTS Think about it this way: Imagine that with every negative thought, word, and action, you send into the world a little gray cloud.

30. CHOICEPOINTS Similarly, imagine that with each positive use of energy, you send forth a little pink heart.

31. CHOICEPOINTS It works this way for each of us, and when there are too many gray clouds and not enough pink hearts, all kinds of troubles crop up in our families, our communities, and our world.

32. CHOICEPOINTS On the positive side, as we each take responsibility for increasing our loving thoughts and actions, the massive accumulation of little pink hearts can literally help to transform our relationships and our world.

33. CHOICEPOINTS Leading-edge scientists from across the globe tell us that we live in a common energy field, that our individual choices make a collective difference, and that we are all far more powerful and interconnected than we previously realized.

34. Group Activity SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTION: List what energizes you and what zaps your energy. Then share your list. How can you reduce energy drainers and build more energizers into your daily life?

35. A New Possibility Think about what you have been learning, and then pick out one small goal you want to accomplish in the next few days. Choose a new possibility that’s important to you.Write your action plan now, briefly stating exactly what you will do and by when.

36. “All the answers are within you right now if you just take the time to be still and listen, in quiet and solitude, and then act on what you hear.” Susan Smith Jones

37. POSITIVE SELF-TALK Today I pay careful attention to each decision I make, always being sure to consult the unfailing counsel of my inner guidance.

38. Remember, the more centered you are on the Target of Life, the more accepting and loving you will be, and the easier it will be for you to make wise decisions in every area of your life.

39. Together, let’s envision and build a world where all people enjoy optimal well-being. Let’s strive to awaken fresh thinking, new enthusiasm, and abundant love. Let’s create a world of undreamed-of possibilities. It can be done!

40. Almost anything is possible— if you believe it.

41. A World of Possibilities

42. Thank You!