Calmer in 5

Everyone thinks they will live forever, but the reality is that we only have a short time on this planet. Today's questions are not for the faint of heart, but they need to be asked and answered.

I couldn't stay quiet about today's topic. Instead of giving you just the questions of the day, I found a way to add some input while also not influencing you. Come check it out.

The questions today are about your contribution to the world, or at least your portion of it. Answer them honestly and become a little bit more aware of your life

Today I make 5 Minute mojo all about the questions. This week I am simply asking tough questions that will help you grow. No exposition or explanation, just questions.

We had a great week thinking about the gratitude. Food, shelter and good people were all celebrated. Today is going to be a lighter. Come listen

We assume that our loved ones know that we love them. And maybe it is not even family, but friends or even coworkers. There are people in your life that add so much to your existence. today is a perfect day to be grateful for them.

We all want to look good naked. We want to fill out our clothes in attractive ways, looking our best. But have you ever taken the time to be thankful for what your body does besides attracting a mate or attempting to? Your body is an absolute gift in what it allows you to do. Take time today to be thankful for it.

If you are listening to this podcast, chances are good you have not experienced hunger. But not everyone is that fortunate. Today I talk about the blessings of food

Many people get caught up in wanting it all, thinking that their lives are lacking. they forget that there is so much to be thankful for, so much that they have. This week I help you realize what you can be grateful for.

We are here in the cozy 21st century. But what was going on in other periods of time? Do you think about that? What do you think about visitors or residents from other planets? There is alot to talk about today. Come listen

The spring is on its way. It's a time of change and rebirth. It's the perfect time to think about getting that dream out of your head and into reality. You can do it.

How much of a control freak are you? Is it creating stress in your life?

My brother is a great example of authenticity, he is who he is. What about you? How many masks do you wear? If any

My Mom used to say that thoughts are things, that we should be ever aware of the thoughts that we have. Her belief was, as is mine, that what we think becomes reality. Most times it's not the spoken thought out ideas we think, but more times than not, it is the subconscious thoughts that dwell in our minds.

Many people hold on to things to remind them of a different time or a different place in their lives. There has got to be a better way to remember your past, instead of luging it around with you. Come find out.

There is no way to live a freer, calmer life when you are holding on to tons of stuff. It's time to think about paring things down to create a sense of peace.

You have the right to be treated respectfully, and you have the obligation to treat others with the same dignity. Come listen to how Mom and I help you understand going beyond manners.

One of my goals here, and on Zen commuter, is to help people understand their power, their ability to create a life that works for them, them being the optimal word. Many people feel powerless to change the course of their lives. Today's episode asks you some questions to help you understand you can.

You can learn alot from a kid. Heck, you can learn alot about you as a kid. Today we go back in time to remember those carefree days

it has taken some time to come to the realization of my mom's passing, to grieve appropriately. And I guess on some level you truly never complete the process. But one way to feel the love that was my mom, is to share her wisdom with you. In doing so I get to experience as well. So enjoy this most powerful episode.

I am back live today my friends. I hope you enjoyed the rebroadcasts as I finished up my meditation course, meditation in Minutes. Check it out at www.meditationinminutescourse.com Today I want to talk about self talk, oddly enough, negative self. Don't worry though. I will bring it around to the positive.

Hey my friends, thanks for your patience. While I finish up my meditation course for you, please enjoy this rebroadcast, no longer available

Everyone worries. But how much do you let those worries control your life? We had to be on the look out for danger in our caveman days, because there were so many dangers. That vigilance however, became worry. When we no longer needed to look around every corner, our brain had gotten used to that fact. With no more dangers, it began to create them. Worry was created. Today I talk about how much you worry

There are many minorities in this world, sadly to say. Not everyone is treated with the same respect and dignity. Wouldn't it be great if you could understand whatever challenges others face? That is the question of the day. Come listen.

Forget about the "Real Living" in ads and on TV. It's time you started living your version of life!

We do so much to our bodies, some good and some bad. But we don't put much emphasis on what we do because for the most part we can't see the impact of our choices. Today I talk about your health choices

Do you think you know what self-care is? Maybe it will serve you to listen to today's episode, because I have a feeling some people confuse self care with escapism

The first month of the year is over. Where do you stand? Not literally, I mean where are you having success and where are you still having challenges. Don't shy away from these questions because they are the ones that move you forward.

Many factors separate us as a people. With technology it is possible to speak a variety of languages instantly. What would it be like if you could speak any language instantly? Today I ask that question and two variations of it.

In the U.S. things are a little heated right now. Everyone has their own ideas about what is right or wrong, good or bad. So do you. But, what will you do about it?

Who is your favorite artist? I mean either painter, sculptor or actor, anyone creative. What do you think that tells you about who you are and your view of the world. i will talk about that very thing today on 5 Minute Mojo.

Our culture seems to push happiness. I do as well, but not to the exclusion of other feelings. It is important to experience all feelings and not let any become prominent. A full life is one which embraces all aspects of living, and that includes sadness. Today i talk about the benefit of feeling sad.

Your brain is introduced to millions of pieces of information in a day. how can it keep everything straight. Simple, it quickly eliminates the things you don't need to pay attention to. How does it do that? With the RAS. Use affirmations to keep your goals in your mind and your brain scanning for ways to make it happen.

John Lee Dumas, host of Entrepreneur on Fire, asks his entrepreneur guests this question every episode. Even though his reasons are different, I thought I would ask it of you so you can think about how you present yourself to the world. In the question, no one knows you. You could totally reinvent yourself or keep the unique qualities that make you, you. Think about it.

If you think you are cooler and better because you take all notes by computer or tablet, you need to think again. Writing things down is the optimal way to retain information. Today I talk about that very thing by reading an article from Mental_Floss. http://mentalfloss.com/article/33508/4-benefits-writing-hand

I love it when someone appreciates who they are. I always seek to empower people. However, there is a growing sense of narcissism that the United States and possibly the world. Today I talk about ways to be more thoughtful.

It's unsure when the word was first used, 1905 or 1923, but It certainly is known to have originated in the United States. If it was up to me I would have hoped for a brighter word legacy than the word "sexy". It was originally coined to describe Rudolph Valentino, the legendary film actor. I didn't know him other than by name before researching for this post, but as far as I can tell he would have been the "sexiest man alive" in 1926 if People magazine was around. Thankfully that era escaped the magazine, but nonetheless the word started there. Why do I dislike the word so much, mainly because it separates people. It has them striving to be something imagined, instead of their authentic self. It was relatively obscure until the 1950's when advertisers started using it to promote their products. Just like it is today, ad men set it up as the image that people, mostly women, should aspire to be. One word, and yet, it is used so frequently from selling cars, to clothes, to well, almost everything. Now, even though it is used daily to lure women away from their other gifts, like intelligence, kindness and compassion, it has now become unisex. Now it is attributed to anything that is deemed worthy or desirable. The bigger reason I dislike the word is that it is used to herd people, to get them to react like sheep, instead of embracing who they authentically are. People see the word sexy and they want whatever it is attached to, whether it is a person, place or thing. It doesn't matter what it is as long as people can connect with it and feel wanted, empowered and have a sense of belonging. I'm no prude and I definitely know that advertisers use sex to sell, but it bothers me when people follow trends simply because someone has attached a label of sexy to it. From a personal standpoint, of course feel attractive, do whatever you want to feel prettier or more handsome. However, do so with the understanding that you are so much more than your physicality. Know that you aren't simply your body. You have a powerful mind and equally strong heart and soul. And when you jump to buy anything simply because it has the word sexy attached to it, you are disavowing your depth. You are telling the world that you exist solely for physicality. More so you are telling people that you jump through hoops to belong. Hoops that were created only to separate you from your money. I am a writer, so I would never want to take away any word. I simply want us to know that there are words that serve and words that don't. So, I guess I would say that the word sexy can stay, but whatever you do, don't trip over your feet to get to whatever thing is attached to that word unless you have looked at all aspects of that thing to see if it something that will help you be a fuller, better you.

I remember all the pets we had growing up. We were mostly a dog family, but later on we had some cats too. They were all pretty cool for the most part. But I had a dog Louie who was the absolute coolest. Why? Because his energy was just amazing. Even though he was in pain from old age, he refused to die. He didn't want to leave us. That loyalty meant a great deal to me. He still visits me in my dreams even though it has been decades since he passed away. So which pet of yours was the coolest? Why do you think so?

This article is brought to you by WebMD. Eating at night has long been associated with weight gain. Years ago, nutrition pioneer Adele Davis gave her well-known advice to "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper." Yet the conventional wisdom today is that a calorie is a calorie, regardless of when you eat it, and that what causes weight gain is simply eating more calories than you burn. Nutrition experts call this the calorie in/calorie out theory of weight control. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Weight Control Information Network web site, "it does not matter what time of day you eat. It is what and how much you eat and how much physical activity you do during the whole day that determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight." A study in the journal Obesity added to the confusion by suggesting that there may be more to nighttime eating than just overeating calories. Northwestern University researchers found that eating at night led to twice as much weight gain -- even when total calories consumed were the same. But this research was done on mice, not humans, and the reason for the weight gain is unknown. And a single mouse study should not cause us to toss out the wealth of evidence supporting the calorie in/calorie out theory. Still, there are good reasons to be cautious about eating at night. Diet books, dietitians, and even Oprah recommend not eating after dinner (other than a small, calorie controlled snack) because it's just so easy to overdo it. People eat at night for a variety of reasons that often have little to do with hunger, from satisfying cravings to coping with boredom or stress. And after-dinner snacks tend not to be controlled. They often consist of large portions of high-calorie foods (like chips, cookies, candy), eaten while sitting in front of the television or computer. In this situation, it's all too easy to consume the entire bag, carton, or container before you realize it. Besides those unnecessary extra calories, eating too close to bedtime can cause indigestion and sleeping problems. There's nothing wrong with eating a light, healthy snack after dinner as long as you plan for it as part of your daily calories. To keep from overeating, pay attention to your food while eating, avoid eating in front of the TV, and choose a portion-controlled snack.

The people in your life are not random occurrences. The people you meet provide opportunities for you to grow and experience the beauty of the world. It only happens though when you open yourself up to the world.

Hello my friends and welcome back to Five Minute Mojo, your evening inspiration podcast. It's real simple what I do here, I give you ways to look at life that will have you calmer, smiling more and living more intentionally. Do you want to hear how I get it done? Then let me start right in on our topic today, gentleness. If you were to stick to stereotypes and conventional thought then you would probably think that gentleness only applies to woman and weak men. Oh, how unserving that belief system is. There is strength in gentleness, for everyone. It seems that these days the world is competing for your attention. Marketers want to sell you everything under the sun, politicians are barking their platforms and everyone in your social media is wanting you to pay attention to them. So how do they go about getting your attention, by yelling. By yelling, being aggressive, getting in your face sometimes, and in general just being ham handed as they say. I don't know about you, but the more someone barks and tries to tell me their position, what I should really want to know, buy or believe, the more I just tune out. I definitely don't believe that the meek shall inherit the earth. After all, you weren't created to be small. You were created to shine, to share your gifts with the world; to acknowledge that you have gifts. But you don't do that by being loud and obnoxious, not in my opinion anyway. My Mom used to say those who yell the loudest are the ones that are the most unsure. The people who know themselves carries themselves very differently. They don't need to force their opinions on anyone. The go through life gently, but with conviction. They acknowledge their power in a way that is not meek but also not forceful. They change lives with a steadfast subtlety that possesses more impact than the loudest, most boastful individual. These people walk the line between assertive and aggressive, meek and mighty, their every word and action comes from a solid understanding of who they are. This belief is so strong that it is felt by all those around them. It isn't heard, it's felt. There are so many cliches that exist in our culture. Cliches like might makes right and the cliche image of the CEO stepping on the backs of others to get where they belong, forcefully climbing the corporate ladder to get what is rightfully theirs. These beliefs may be prevalent but they are not accurate. And what about the cost of these beliefs, what are they. If you think about these blustering example of faux power, they don't last too long. They either burn out internally from a variety of stress born maladies or people soon find out that their power was imagined, that they were false prophets. So what about gentleness. You are right to believe that it is wholly different, and yet it can achieve the same result. Think of the most powerful examples of gentleness and conviction. Think of Gandhi. Think of Rosa Parks. Think of all the people who have contributed the most to this world without needing to raise their voices or to posture. These are the people to emulate. These are the people to join with. And with this gentleness of spirit you will be around much longer, demonstrating the lessons of peace and grace. So to quote a wise, wise woman, "today… touch the world gently. The question of the day seems to have fallen right off the page, and that is… What type of person are you, gentle or forceful. With that answer in mind, how has it aided or hindered your life. Think of some specific examples.

There is a massive misperception in the U.S. and possibly other places in the world, that sitting still, not moving, is a waste of time, has no value. As I talk about today though, you will come to understand that sitting still brings a multitude of value.

You can stew over regrets, but you have made some amazing decisions in your life. think about them today.

We all want to belong, its part of who we are. So if you want to belong then get out of your shell and connect with your world

If you want to be happy then you need to take steps to make it happen.

Everyone has one, but have you ever really thought about the gifts and the lessons that your Mom instilled in you. Come listen and say thanks to your Mom

What is your weight right now? Is it where you want it to be. Chances are that it isn't. it is higher than you may want it to be. I know mine isn't. I want mine lower too. I have a set point though. I will never allow my weight to exceed 200 pounds. For me, that is a set point I have determined. If it gets close then I have to take drastic steps to not allow it to go over. Set a point for yourself with anything and see it's power.