What Is Really Scary?

With Halloween almost here, I have been reading interviews where well-known people are asked, “What are your favorite scary movies?" I have seen quite a few, both while growing up and going with my son (mother and son bonding). But a more important question for me is: What am I scared of? Well, it has nothing to do with movies. The following are the three big ones.

Leaving my comfort zone - I guess the times that I grew up had something to do with this. My parents would compare me with me with my very-outgoing cousin and label me “good” and my cousin “wild”. I attended a very strict Catholic school where anyone who got out of line was physically punished. My Dad told me when I graduated high school that it was a waste of money for me to go to college ( I wanted to be a teacher). I feel like I should be doing what other people expect of me. I have been working on that.

Confrontation - I have been afraid of displays of anger ever since I can remember. I am learning that I can handle these situations when I can set up ground rules to make sure that it doesn’t get out of hand.

Negativity - How it can change my positive mood to a depressive one. I work to keep that from happening because the quality of my life is too important to me. When I get depressed, it impacts my relationships and my family life. There have been times when I had to sink pretty low before I began to climb out. I now use inspirational quotes, articles, books, humor, music, writing, meditation and prayer to keep myself going. I recently discovered that taking the time to organize something when I am feeling good can help me later by giving me an accomplishment that I can look at when I need to.

The reasons I developed these fears are not important. The first step is to acknowledge what frightens me and the effects it has on the quality of my life. The next step is taking control. Now that can be really scary.

Not that easy, Deepak

Living your dharma is a matter of being what you are first, and then what you need to do follows automatically. Deepra Chopra

Trying to be who I am takes some courage for me, because the childhood fear comes up: will “they” still like me. Of course, that means that they liked me in the first place. On one hand, if I don’t care at all, I could hurt someone’s feelings or appear insensitive or cold. But caring too much could mean giving myself less respect and someone else more. Maybe that’s the key. Treat myself with respect. As long as I do that, I will be true to myself. I know that “my true self” is my higher self. Treat others as I would like to be treated and know that I am doing my best. Not everyone will like me, but that will not matter as long as I do.

Why I Use Twitter

I’ve been using Twitter for several months now. I am by no means an expert. But I have found it to be useful in a personal way. Everyone knows the basic idea, 140 characters. Well, after you sign up and set your page up, it is recommended that you find some people to follow, I now follow, Deepak Chopra (spiritual teacher and author, one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of the 20th Century, and who once Direct Messaged me!), Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins, the Dalai Lama, Michael Beckwith, Rabbi Schmuley, Louise Hay, Dr. Wayne Dwyer, Marianne Williamson and other spiritual teachers. I almost forgot about Reverend Run of Run DMC, I like his can-do, go-for-it attitude and his way with words.
For fun, I read Bob Saget: sometimes his humor may be in questionable taste, but his tweets to John Stamos are so funny! I also like Penn and Teller (separate accounts). Kirstie Alley and Christina Applegate are funny and fearless. And last but not least, keeping to my theme of positivity, I follow Dita Von Teese (only on Twitter, of course). I could describe her as a burlesque star, but she is very fashionable, has a very small waistline, and leads a very glamorous life (a lot in common with me :).
I can mark off my favorite tweets and whenever I need a little encouragement, I can always re-read them and get my mo-jo back. My tweets are not very exciting (well, sometimes to me). Generally, during the day, I have a thought that I think might be worthwhile for me to remember. Sometimes I reply to a tweet that is interesting, but mostly it is to help me on my own path.

James Ray

From MSNBC.com
Ray wept openly during his first public appearance after the deaths. During a free recruiting seminar for his program Tuesday in Los Angeles, he broke down in tears, the confident pitchman momentarily gone.
"This is the most difficult time I've ever faced," Ray told a crowd of about 200 at a hotel in Marina del Rey. "I don't know how to deal with it really."

I don’t know why this happened. Perhaps, the victims felt ill but thought the feeling would pass and waited too long. Maybe they should have had a physical exam first? I don’t think James Ray intentionally did anything wrong. If nothing else, why would he endanger his own livelihood? However, he is the one ultimately responsible for the tragedy. No matter what happens in the courts I’m sure that he will have to deal with this for the rest of his life. It should be interesting to see. This will be the true measure of the man

Still Learning

I pulled into the Chase Bank parking lot yesterday. I was in a hurry and I wanted to park into a space that was at the end, with a cement curb on the right side. I was coming in from the right and I pulled in too quickly. I wound up scratching the right front bumper of my car. I was pretty upset about it, but I had to take care of my banking business. When I came out, I got back into the car and thought about it again. Not only did I think again about how upset I was, but I also thought about how I would feel when I told my husband and worried about how much it would cost to fix. (No dent, scratch was about an inch in diameter). Then I thought to myself “You gave it enough thought. That’s it. You’ve done all the thinking about it that you should do.” I’m trying to let it go. I guess that's my lesson for today.

Roman Polanski, How Should He Be Punished

I found an interesting page on Wowowow.com. There were three articles written by Candice Bergen, Joan Ganz Clooney and Liz Smith giving their opinions of Roman Polanski. I have read about a great deal of celebrity support for him, which I find disturbing.
The following is the comment that I posted on that site.
First of all, he did commit the crime. It is up to an American judge/jury to decide the rest. Anyone who comes up with extenuating circumstances for the rape of a child (she was willing, maybe she was not a virgin, he is of a higher social class and should not have to obey the law) should be willing to make allowances for any rape under those conditions. Would they? Of course not. Even prostitutes can be raped. How far back would that take back the women's movement?
If you want to read the page, the link is:
http://www.wowowow.com/entertainment/should-roman-polanski-go-prison-389539?page=4#comment-390776