“The highest achieving, happiest and most effective individuals, those that are truly “self-actualized,” have a number of traits in common.  Of these, the three most important are:

1. They learn to live their lives independent of the good opinions of others.
2. They are not attached to results.
3. They have no investment in having power over others.

Dr. Abraham Maslow

Compiler’s Note:  The above is a paraphrasing of Maslow, as this information was originally brought to my attention while I was attending a live presentation by Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“Acceptance does not mean that we have to allow things into our lives that aren’t good for us. Obviously, we wouldn’t go out and commit a crime because we believed there was something to be gained by learning to confront fears we have about such behavior. We don’t become whole unless we recognize the need to set boundaries and be able to discriminate between what’s right and not right for us.

Being willing to learn from our relationships does not mean that we should stay in situations that are not good for us. If a relationship is physically or emotionally abusive, what we have to learn from it is how to set boundaries and protect ourselves. This could mean going into couples counseling to seek real and lasting resolutions. Or it could mean leaving the relationship if that is the only way we could effectively take care of ourselves.”

Shakti Gawain, in “The Path of Transformation”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“Life is a crossword puzzle, the right word gives you the answer. Many people are rattling off destructive words in their conversation. We hear them say, ‘I’m broke! I’m sick!  Remember by your words you are justified and by your words you are condemned. You are condemned by them because they do not return void.  Change your words and you change your world, for your word IS your world.”

Florence Scovel Shinn, in “Power of the Spoken Word”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“When someone starts out with, “You should have,” try telling the person, “If you can get me a round-trip ticket back to the same time you’re talking about, I’ll gladly do what you say I should have done. But if you can’t…” Your “opponent” will get the message that you are wise to the trap, which is more than half your battle. Alternately, you can try, “You are right, I should have.” Once you’ve agreed, the responsibility is on your “adversary” to deal with you in the present.”

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, in “Pulling Your Own Strings”

For more information regarding this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“Hope is important, because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. But that is the most that hope can do for us – to make some hardship lighter. When I think deeply about the nature of hope, I see something tragic. Since we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment.

We use hope to believe something better will happen in the future, that we will arrive at peace, or the Kingdom of God. Hope becomes a kind of obstacle. If you can refrain from hoping, you can bring yourself entirely into the present moment and discover the joy that is already there.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, in “Peace Is Every Step”

For more information regarding this book, visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.