It's about getting back to basics. The importance of doing that struck me really hard as I've looked at, observed and become "conscious of" what's going on within myself and as a result has created a few less than desired "situations" in my immediate environment.

I've also received a number of contacts since last month and some of those contacts really impacted me, got me thinking about the simplicity of what determines our physical results...what "most" look at and would refer to as reality...and that train of thought has stayed with me as I thought about what the contents of this months newsletter would include.

Getting back to basics is what kept coming up...rediscovering and exploring the simplicity and absolute perfection of the underlying, immutable and unwavering process that determines how ALL of our results in EVERY area of our lives unfolds, so here it is.

If you're curious as to why I'd be doing that it's because I've discovered through my own experience as well as a number of years and countless thousands of hours seeking answers to what so many "believe" to be so complicated, complex and difficult to find in relation to experiencing fulfilled and harmonious lives, as I and so many others before me have discovered, due to the the simplicity of the process that was created and put into place which without fail determines what experiences we each encounter, many times throughout our "journeys" we can get easily sidetracked, often overlooking or simply forgetting just how easily "desired" results in life can be attained.

I'm discovering more and more as I interact with various people around the world in the various cultures that the reason for this widespread "forgetfulness" or total "unawareness" often stems from "allowing" what "appears" to be happening in the world around us to effect how we think and feel which inevitably affects what we experience in our lives.

In other words we "allow" the externals, whether it be the economy or any other aspect of life that we often choose to look at and focus on which is unfolding in the "external world" around us and which we "perceive" to be real, to affect what's going on within ourselves which in turn enables us to become caught up in and affected by whatever those external events, conditions and circumstances might be.

As "real" as it can "seem" and be "perceived" as being, there is profound insight, direction and understanding that can be acquired from both modern day science as well as heeding the teachings and guidance of the most insightful and powerful spiritual teachers in the history of the world.

The simplicity can be discovered by developing a basic understanding of what modern day science refers to as "The Observer Effect" or as spiritual text would instruct, through "consciously choosing" what we allow to happen within ourselves and intentionally choosing what we place our focus on..."Faith is the substance of things "hoped for", the evidence of things "NOT seen."

Stated in the most direct yet loving way I can put it...

It's NOT the externals that are affecting you...It's YOUR choice to keep your ATTENTION and FOCUS on them that's providing the power necessary to enable them to affect you. Put another way we "allow" ourselves to be effected by them.

This simple yet profoundly transformational concept, what I now refer to as a "Higher Truth", never fails or waivers. It is timeless, immutable, unwavering and created so simply that anyone with a willingness and sincere desire to discover and utilize it consciously, intentionally and purposefully can and will experience transformation in their own lives REGARDLESS of what's going on around them and consistently producing desired "tangible results" of a magnitude that those unaware that such a process exists would consider to be miraculous...

I repeat because it is SOOOOO important...

REGARDLESS of what APPEARS to be happening in the world around you!!

As I thought about the contents of this months edition of Enlightened Journey, it also dawned on me just how easy it can be for those who have chosen to become aware, myself included, to at times forget and overlook the co-creative power freely provided to us and the simplicity of these most basic principles that have existed since the beginning of time itself, which always have, always do and always will determine without fail and with unwavering certainty just how everything in our individual lives unfolds.

On a much larger scale, it's simply the focus and attention of the mass majority that collectively create what we do see going on in the world around us and determines WITHOUT FAIL how each of the events, conditions and circumstances on a worldwide scale unfold.

This larger scale is known as the "Collective Consciousness."

We won't be delving into that larger scale this month though. This month we'll be focusing on you. What YOU can do to make certain that the events created by the collective don't affect YOU personally UNLESS YOU "allow" and choose for them to.

That is yet another of the most simple yet fundamental principles for determining your results...your individual and inalienable right of free will to choose what you will do or NOT do for yourself which without fail will determine your individual experience.

That is one of the simplest and most fundamental truths that you can discover...it's YOUR choices...what YOU allow that is determining each and every event, condition and circumstance that is being experienced in YOUR life...without exception.

It has nothing to do with "being at fault" but everything to do with accepting personal responsibility for your life and making "conscious choices" to shift the experience when you find it uncomfortable or displeasing.

Based on a number of my own life experiences, as deeply as I've searched as much as I've discovered as a result of that search and the profound experiences I've personally experienced as I began applying what I discovered...I can and do to this day sometimes forget just how simple, perfect and powerful it all is.

When I do, the outcomes experienced on "the outside" harmonize perfectly with that choice.

This is why I believe being reminded of and getting back to basics from time to time can prove to be so important...important for you and important for me.

Let me tell you a personal story from many years ago that validates the power and importance of getting back to basics...

In my previous career as a sales executive in the corporate world, prior to creating Enlightened Journey Enterprises, I was in charge of a huge sales team for a very large retail firm.

It was my responsibility to make sure that our sales team was consistently #1 in a highly competitive market as well as juggling NUMEROUS other responsibilities that come with leading a productive and winning team.

The “Big Boss” was the kind of guy that didn’t like being anything but #1 and if things began to slip a bit, he wasn’t shy about reminding and letting you know…or should I say about letting ME know, how important that #1 spot was to him.

Me…being in charge of the guys and gals who made it possible for us to get there in that #1 spot, was the one who heard about it if we weren’t…as if I wasn't already aware and didn’t already know. :)

Basically, it was up to me to hire, train and make sure that my team consistently performed at their peak to insure that we held onto that #1 spot.

I don’t mind telling you that wasn’t an easy job, required MOST of my waking hours and to be quite honest, could get REALLY stressful at times when I "allowed" it to.

It was, except for the number of hours required, a lot of fun when we were number one and everything was going really well, but when things started dropping off and we started slipping from that #1 spot, it could become REALLY trying at times.

Attempting to keep everybody on the same page and keeping the “Big Boss” happy required being the rah rah motivational guy to keep everybody’s spirits up, playing psychologist at times, disciplinarian at other times and still other times just allowing someone a shoulder and offering words of encouragement when some personal circumstance left them feeling a little weak temporarily.

Aside from the personal interaction with my team, there were budgets to consider, advertising strategies, multi-million dollar inventory levels to maintain and a whole bunch of other little tedious things that had to be consistently done to ensure that we stayed in that #1 spot that was so important to the "Big Boss."

That could get a bit tough and challenging at times. Actually….REALLY challenging.

One thing I learned though a very long time ago, which I often have to remind myself of and which is probably the only thing that enabled me to keep my sanity through those “tough and challenging times” was this…

When things started getting tough in a "physical sense", I had 1 of 2 possible choices that I could make.

One of those choices was to react, meaning, as I see so many individuals and business leaders do, I could have started stressing and yelling and screaming and threatening and even firing people if I wanted to. But, even as challenging and trying as things could "appear" to get at times, that was something I NEVER wanted to do.

In fact I hated doing that even in those rare cases when it was justified…which from time to time, due to someone’s “goofy” choices resulting in liability to the company, terminating someone’s position was on occasion both necessary and justified.

Just the same, regardless of how justified it was, I NEVER liked doing it. So…that being the case, I had to figure out a “better” way to keep everybody on track, in their “peak performance” mode while still keeping the “Big Boss” happy which leads into what my second choice was.

The other choice I had when things got really crazy and hectic was to respond. I've learned that responding to a situation, regardless of how intense, is a far less stressful way to handle things and as I've also discovered, it is ALWAYS a far more productive and results producing way to handle any situation as well as get things done much more quickly, far more efficiently and will produce far greater long term results.

In really simple and basic terms…it's always proven to be far more powerful and effective than reacting ever could be in ANY situation.

Through developing a habit of responding I learned that the people around me were “usually” far more receptive and responsive to what needed to be done to correct the situation and much more effective as they did it.

Reacting on the other hand only serves to “freeze” people up in “fear” and make whatever situation you're attempting to correct even worse which creates even MORE stress which results in less production which I, my team AND the “Big Boss“ didn't like.

If you’re not on your toes and really careful, you can get caught up in a "reactive" cycle that is not only NO fun to get caught up in but can become extremely difficult to break out of.

It can make what's happening in our individual lives "appear to be" chaotic and random.

The "Higher Truth" is though...it NEVER is.

A choice to continually react can most definitely create such a cycle that only serves to attract and intensify more of the "undesired" outcomes that you're reacting to.

It’s a cycle that’s extremely difficult to break too if you find yourself trapped in it at some point. It can become a deeply ingrained habit and one that ALWAYS proves to be counter productive when working toward "desired" outcomes.

As difficult as cycles can be to escape, at the same time it’s absolutely essential to recognize them, get control over yourself and get out of them when you find that whatever you’re doing isn’t working, not producing the “desired” result and inevitably making matters even worse. Unless of course you “choose” to stay there in that “not so fun“ place that can only result in continuously "receiving" less than desired results.

It's ALWAYS our choice.

Not having fun and less than desired results isn't on my list of preferences, so I made a decision a long time ago that reacting wouldn't be an option for me...well....at least "most" of the time.

In a really intense business environment it was important in order to stay out of reactive mode, to come up with some creative ways to stay productive, keep the team productive and headed in the "desired" direction.

In a highly competitive market, and having "The Big Boss" who wasn't fond of being anything but being #1 in that market could create some pretty intense periods when things would start to slip a bit.

I didn’t like staying there in that type of intense place, so there were times that I had to get creative…OK…REALLY creative.

This type of creativity though wasn't coming up with some ingenious master plan that required weeks to put together or some marketing guru to implement.

It was quite "simple" actually.

The bottom line is, when things would get out of hand a bit and our sales would begin slowing down and one of what "The Big Boss" called “competitors” started getting ahead of me in numbers, I would have these meetings with the guys and gals that I use to call “Getting back to basics meetings.”

Sometimes it took a meeting that lasted a few hours, sometimes it took a few hours a day for two or three days, but once everything was clear in everybody’s head again as to just what the basics were and how important it was to consistently remember and apply them, everybody would begin applying them again and we’d get back on track.

Although I won't go into depth about what these "basics" were as it related to that industry, what it boiled down to was keeping our "focus" on the desired outcome, taking really good care of people, providing value and essentially deciding how we could contribute and fulfill a need rather than attempting to "sell" our customers something to make a profit.

Don't misunderstand, in life or in business a "profit" is important, but it becomes automatic when the "correct" values are adhered to and priorities are in alignment.

It's a subtle but powerful shift and the rewards always follow.

When I would take the time to remind everybody just how simple it was to win and stay winning by just remembering and “applying” these most basic strategies, things would eventually smooth out and before you knew it, we’d be back in that #1 spot again.

It boiled down to being really simple actually just like everything really is. When you start looking at and catch yourself analyzing things too deeply, attempting to figure everything out, seeing things as "broken" and needing "fixing", the simplicity can escape you.

That's how we get in trouble sometimes...over analyzing and losing sight of the simplicity of how it all works.

I’ve discovered that although you can make choices to over analyze and complicate things, it’s FAR more efficient just to slow down sometimes…take a chill pill so to speak and recognize both the perfection as well as the simplicity of how things work.

Through that experience and many others throughout my life one thing has become “crystal clear.“ It’s the simplest and most basic things that you do that create the greatest results. It’s also the simplest and most basic solutions that are often very easy to overlook when you allow yourself to fall into and get stuck in a counter productive cycle of "reaction" mode.

So, the bottom line is, when I’d just have one of these really simple "getting back to basics" meetings, review and get to the core of what was being overlooked, get back on track and get the team reapplying the basics that are SO crucial, everything would get back to normal.

Although back then I called it "getting back to basics meetings" now it’s what I often call getting re-minded.

Regardless of what you might choose to call it, it’s a simple but REALLY powerful practice and a great habit to form.

Once I did get everybody re-minded, The “Big Boss” was happy, I was happy, our customers were happy and my team was happy…in a “productive career” sense anyway.

EVERYBODY won.

When everybody’s happy and calm it’s MUCH easier to stay in that winning spot and FAR less stressful. It literally becomes “easy” and fun again.

I also remember some days when I did temporarily allow the stress to really get to me, and I’d really “allow” how things "appeared" to get me in a stressed out frenzy internally, the flow of customers would slow way down too.

Now one thing that’s certain and as simple and basic as you can get, when the customers slow down, so do the sales AND the profits and that doesn’t make ANYBODY happy, ESPECIALLY "The Big Boss."

But amazingly I found when I'd catch myself falling into that mode, when I'd just readjust and not allow myself to stay in that stressed out "reactive place" and just choose go with the flow, the flow of customers picked back up.

I learned from that period that stressing doesn’t help ANYBODY and will actually keep you from achieving whatever the desired outcome might be or at best make it much "harder" and require much more "effort" to achieve the desired outcome. Now, that’s also become a very basic and deeply ingrained truth.

Seems really simple and the fact that it happened the way it did was “perceived” by many as coincidental, but as I’ve also discovered since, there exists no such thing. There are "Synchronicities" for sure but NO such thing as coincidences.

There is ALWAYS a root cause that harmonizes perfectly with ANY physical experience and the process is ALWAYS at work and it is ALWAYS perfect...it NEVER rests.

Anyway, more times than not, to bring things back to normal it was simply a matter of just slowing down, getting back to basics, learning to "allow" whatever was happening to be OK and just do the best that we knew how which always enabled things to flow again as "desired."

That’s what I wanted to talk to you about today.

Whether you realize it or not, I consider you to be part of my team so to speak, and based on some of the contacts I’ve been receiving from a few of the "team members", as well as "allowing" myself to sometimes "forget" how simple it all is, I thought it might be a good idea to call one of those really simple “getting back to basics” meetings just to review and encourage you that if things seem to be getting to you and aren’t working out just as you had hoped or planned, to just remember and start “applying” the basics again.

If you’ve forgotten them temporarily, just simply haven't been applying them, or aren't yet fully aware of what they are, we’ll be covering them this month just to serve as a "re-minder" to get everybody back on track and get things "flowing" again.

Just as powerfully and effectively as it works in the corporate world, I’ve since discovered through a number of “personal experiences” it’s no different in our lives regardless of which area of life it is.

In fact in your “personal” life it can be even more important when you take into account the really special people and relationships that you’re in and how choosing to go against the flow effects those you are closest to as well whether it be your wife, your husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, kids etc.

The “getting back to basics” trick is REALLY powerful and effective and can as I've discovered keep everybody happy and will consistently produce "desired" results.

It enables EVERYBODY to win.

It really doesn’t matter whether it’s in the physical, financial, relational, emotional or spiritual area of your life…sometimes we just have to tune out of what "appears" to be happening in the outside world for a bit, take our eyes off of what we "perceive" to be reality, get a grip on ourselves, calm down and put aside some time to think…or should I say to NOT think and remind ourselves of the really simple and basic things that we already know that inevitably, without fail make ALL the difference in our "physical" outcomes.

That’s really all that’s necessary sometimes. Just choosing to take a step back, take a deep breath and then take a calm and and unattached look at what’s going on. When you choose to remain calm it’s much easier to retrace your steps, reassess the situation, decide which actions you've been taking or not taking which haven't been producing the "desired" result, re-mind ourselves as to which ones to take and before you know it you realize that all that was necessary to “fix” the situation, was simply a matter of getting back to the basics and start applying what you already knew to do.

It's simply a matter of "allowing" and responding rather than resisting and reacting. Allowing always serves to reopen the flow.

Just another one of those simple, basic, yet VERY powerful truths.

We each have the answers already, although admittedly many aren't "consciously aware" that they do. It’s the noise and clutter of the world around us that WE allow to penetrate and affect us that can keep those answers from coming through…or at least keeps us from recognizing and acting on them when they do.

That's why getting re-minded from time to time is SO important.

That’s what this months edition of Enlightened Journey is going to be focusing on specifically…the basics. The very simple yet powerfully effective basics to keep the flow open.

No deep stuff…no quantum theory…no analyzing…no going down the rabbit hole…just simply “getting back to the most essential basics” or if you prefer getting re-minded.

Why am I choosing to do that? Well…

With what’s currently going on around the world, it seems that a lot of people are getting a little stressed out…freaked out even and all that can serve to do is make matters worse...literally.

Resistance to "what is" only serves to feed and make "what is" intensify. Keeping attention on what we "don't" want is subconsciously stating our "intention" and only draws or attracts more of what we "don't want."

It blocks the flow. "Allowing" what is, simply observing and accepting things as they are...keeping your "minds eye" fixated on the "desired" end result, shifts the "attention", communicates a different "intention" which removes any blockage, enables you to make that 90 degree shift of fighting against the current realigning with "the flow" and enables you to move quickly through.

Although you might currently understand or not understand how and why that’s true, this month I’m not going to get really deep to explain it like I sometimes do.

I think it’s important this month just to take a step back, re-mind ourselves of what many of us already know intellectually, but may be forgetting to "apply" and as I already mentioned, just get back to basics.

These basics I’ll be covering will give everybody a re-minder as to how simple it all really is and hopefully it will enable those who are stressing or freaking out a bit to just calm down…quit reacting and start responding which will produce far greater outcomes and enable everybody to experience more results to be “grateful” for much more quickly.

For those who are new to this form of information, or new to the Enlightened Journey community, these "basics" will provide you with a rock solid foundation to build on. When you get back to basics from time to time, EVERYBODY wins which is the only “true” way to experience REALLY great outcomes.

It’s my hope that it will assist you as well as everyone else in doing just that. In fact…I know it will IF you’ll choose to absorb and “apply” it.

That's what we'll be looking at tomorrow...the foundational and core essentials that create our physical results in their purest and most basic form.

The way they'll be delivered is in a way that anyone can understand them yet EVERYONE will "get it" enabling you to consciously and consistently apply it in your own life that will without fail deliver profound results.

Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrows e-mail Part 2 of 3, and you'll begin to see for yourself just how simple yet powerful these basics can be when you simply choose to review and re-mind yourself to consistently apply them.

That's all for today.

See You Tomorrow,

Chuck Danes

Abundance-and-Happiness.com

7HiddenKeys.com

Conscious-Wealth-Creation.com

Enlightened Journey Enterprises
11821 SW 3rd Street
Yukon, OK 73099

Everyone is seeking fulfillment and "Completion." Many explore, look for and "attempt" to create the completion they seek in ways that always leaves something more to be desired...something more left to do...something else yet to "find."

Few understand that it's already theirs. It's simply a matter of looking in the "right place" to find it.

Here's the Secret as to why so many "perceive" that to be SO difficult...

Completion is NEVER found on the outside. But when you find it on the inside, EVERYTHING on the outside becomes much more pleasant, enjoyable and simple.