Autonomy

1. independence or freedom, as of the will or one's actions: the autonomy of the individual.

2. the condition of being autonomous; self-government, or the right of self-government; independence:

A brand new study, Money Can't Buy Happiness published May 23, 2011, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, is really a study, with 420,599 participants from 63 countries. The study concludes that when it comes to being happy, Autonomy is more important than money. This is truly interesting because the study actually supports scientific data about how our brain works when we are happiest. And Happiness, as it turns out, is an internal function, an internal choice, not an external something we can somehow acquire.

So if we want to be happier, we need to work on becoming more autonomous. According to the definition of autonomy, we need to be free to be self-governing. Hmmmmm, lets see how that measures up to our definition of Wisdom. “Wisdom is the freedom and ability to make the kinds of choices that move our life forward and benefit the planet.”

That sounds as though Wisdom is the most direct path to autonomy, and it is. We are always free to make choices, even when we don’t make them, because not deciding is actually a decision. When we allow events to dictate our choices, it is still our choice to allow someone else or our automatic habits to choose for us.

The problem is not in our freedom, or perceived lack of freedom, in our choice making that is really at the heart of the issue. It is our ability to make the kinds of choices that do move our life forward instead of keeping us locked in an endless repetition of yesterdays.

Learning to make wiser choices is not difficult. It takes some practice, but that practice pays huge dividends quickly. Already Wise: Our Inborn Ability to Make the Best Choices can help you start making better choices rapidly by showing you how you already do.

Your brain knows how to make good choices. You already make tens of thousands of “wise” choices every day and aren’t even aware you are doing it.

By removing or repairing the thinking processes that keep us unwise, our inborn Wisdom helps us quickly get our life back on track and moving forward.

Today I have no words of Wisdom for my Friend

Today I have no words of wisdom for my friend. Today I have no advice that can help him. Today he is burying his daughter. She died Friday. She was only 20 years old.


All I can do is sit quietly, willing him to keep breathing, waiting, ready to listen if he wants to talk, ready to do whatever he might need someone to do.

As I sit here looking at my friend and the casket holding the remains of his hopes and dreams, words struggle to rise past the unspeakable terror; that it could be me sitting there.

Words finally do come though, from the deepest part of my heart, but they are for all the rest of us who are not grieving today.

Love your children. I know, you do. But have you told them today? Have you reached out to them to tell them that you do? Have you told them how grateful you are that they are part of your life?

If they are close enough, Hug them. Hold onto them. Wrap them in all the love you have to give.

They are the most important reason you exist.

"the inmost becomes the outmost" RWE

"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for always the inmost becomes the outmost" RWE



Wisdom and Truth don't change with time. That is why this quote is as relevant today as when it was written 170 years ago.


They remain the same because Wisdom and Truth are thinking processes we can use to guide our thoughts to the best decisions. Moment by moment we choose our truths. If we choose what is true in our "private heart" our outer world will become what we, as children, thought it could become.


"Wisdom is the freedom and ability to make the kinds of choices that evolve our life and contribute to the planet." DM

Already Wise

Ralph Waldo Emerson: It seems to be a rule of wisdom never to rely on your memory alone, scarcely even in acts of pure memory, but to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day.


That sounds good and we all would like to be there, but how? By becoming wiser! Also sounds good, but again, How can we become wiser? What is Wisdom?

"Wisdom is the freedom and the ability to make the kinds of choices that move our life forward and benefit the planet." Wisdom is the antidote for the choices that keep you mired in a world of negative emotions.

If someone could demonstrate you Already have the Ability and you Already actually have the Freedom to make wiser choices, wouldn't your life be radically better tomorrow, and even better in the future?

Well, you Already do have the "ability." You were born wise. You were born ready to learn and ready to love. Wisdom and altruism are built into your genes.

And, you Already have the freedom. Your successful habits such as speaking, dressing, working, and driving hold the key to that freedom. Many thousands of times a day your subconscious Already uses information in wise ways.

My new book, Already Wise: Our Inborn Ability to Make the Best Choices (available on Amazon) walks you through your inborn ability and empowers you to tear down the barriers to your freedom to make your life what you once thought it could be.

The Pour

Every Friday evening my wife and I attend an event called a “Pour” as in “Who is Pouring this week?”  It began when  two Octogenarian couples invited another couple in their 70s to get together weekly for snacks and drinks. For some unknown reason we were soon invited to attend in spite of our youth.

They are a marvelous group. Words cannot describe the amount of wit and wisdom that can be shared in a few hours. The Pour has become our local family and a cherished time to spend with close friends. We would not think of missing it.

Last night the son of one of the original couples, both 89, attended. He was here because mom is having some serious health issues. He lives out of town but had attended one about a year ago so we were acquainted.

I asked him, “Mark, what’s new in your life?” His reply floored me. “I am getting rid of all the stuff in my life.” “Tell me more,” I prompted. “I have accumulated a huge amount of material stuff in my life and I realized it has no value. It’s worthless.” By now, the student part of my brain was on fire. “With what will you fill the hole in your life when your stuff is gone,” I asked.

He looked at me and said, “People! I have realized that people and relationships are all that matters. Nothing is more important.”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

The host offered, “He’s a cook now.”

Mark said, “I’m not sure about that but I can feed a lot of folks. One day each week I feed between thirty and fifty friends in my home. I invite my friends and ask them to bring some of their friends. That way we are always meeting new friends. We eat and we talk.”

“Wow,” was about all the response I could make.

“I used to have a lot of stuff and not very many friends,” Mark said, “Now I have less stuff and lots of friends. My life is so much better.”

Wow is still about the only response I have. Mark is fifty-five. Maybe there is some hope for our generation. Maybe we all should start having dinner with a bunch of our friends. We plan to start next week. First thing is to get some bigger recipes.