It reminds me of the Iraqi information minister who was saying there were no US troops in Iraq while in the background explosions were going off. Have we really gone so far in our society that we believe something that we know is not true just because someone in a high office is telling us so?

I personally have friends in Iraq who are combat troops, it seems that when our Gov. says they are no longer there, they are referring to the re-named battalions or re-attached battalions that are not combat battalions or are just re-named as a support unit.

I am not sure what is worse; the Gov. feeding us this line of B.S. and the American people accepting it or the fact that many know it is not true, are stating the fact but nothing happens, no one is really being called out.

I see a great danger in our society when our Political figures outright lie, we know it is a lie and nothing is really done. The biggest reason that I see why this keeps going on is because we Americans have such a short memory and are always easily led towards the next sensation…one can see small changes in certain groups or people but they are small and are certainly not the size they should be to be able to make a big difference.

Food for thought friends, are we in charge of our own future or do we passively allow it to be decided for us?
Your Steven

Isn’t it time to realize that we are all being treated like children by the powers to be. Our President is acting in a way, which is a blatant spit in the face of the American people.

He is way out of touch and the air waves are filled with his wrong doings, people are taking sides, arguing about if he should or shouldn’t be able to do this or do that, some get really upset and start bashing the liberals, the liberals bash the conservatives and everyone seems to be searching for someone to blame.

How about a change in our ranks? How about looking for a solution to this mess, the President can’t decide anything of real importance and the rest of the Washington elite are just as out of touch.

We are paying a big price friend, not only in dollars but also in our freedoms. While we argue, attack and bicker, the illusion continues, the illusion that we are being protected, helped and bettered by our Government.

As long as we allow ourselves to be diverted by this stage show called Government, we are destined to be a country of followers. We were always in the lead, we were always looked at as the country that provided the vision for a free world, the country where anything is possible. Isn’t it time to take our country back?

I wish I knew how, I wish there was an easy answer but there is not right now, we all need to first stop arguing about who is right or wrong and focus on a possible solution.

Steady on,
Steven

We pretty much have two basic choices;

1. Allow ourselves to be distracted by the B.S. we are being fed and continue watching our TV trusting fatally in our political puppets.
2. We do something about it!

The question I have is: what exactly should I do about it? The other option does not even apply to me so I won’t waste my energy writing about doing nothing.

So we decide we want to do something, I start by writing it down and then hope others will read it and pass it on, join in the discussion and then we are many. Maybe we then form a loose type of organization and then more will join, we write more and form groups in each area where we have interested people…and then maybe we have meetings and then we elect a President of the organization and then we go to bat for him or her and maybe they get elected for office somewhere…wait, that sounds like a political party you say?

It may very well be our only choice, or we join a group already established that has a bit of influence. Whatever the decision I can say that one must look behind the title of the groups, you would be surprised what some people call themselves compared to what they really are.

What am I saying? I could go on forever because I see our world going to hell and it is going faster every day but we need to stand up and do something! At least if everyone says something against it, maybe someday, someone will listen and start change…as for me, I will keep writing in the hope that something will develop out of it…what are your thoughts?

Steady on!
Steven

I would start by stating that when being conscious, one is aware of what you are doing all or most of the time.

You may say “obviously Steven” but ask yourself this; When you drive the same way every day, back and forth to work, are you conscious of all that is going on around you, conscious of where you are at all times? No?
This is because with routine comes passiveness and an “I already know what is coming” attitude.

The same goes for work, you go in, get your coffee, sit in front of your computer or tracking board, read the reports, go through the numbers and then you start answering the mails on the top of the priority list, then you pass out the tasks to do today and then…wait!

Have you forgotten that there are other people in the office, did you consciously greet them and “engage” them when you came in, did you take the time to notice them, were you aware if you were smiling or not, positive or not?
Were you inspiring or did you just say the “hello Janice” as you walked by. In many cultures it is normal to ask; “how are you” without expecting an answer but in other cultures it is a major insult when one asks that question and does not expect an answer, think about it…what would you rather experience with your boss? How about when you leave the house and you say to your partner, for the 30th time in 30 days, as you leave, “Love you sweetie”?
Are you conscious that you are saying this or are you just saying it because you always say it? We are what we think we are, and we create the world around us through those thoughts and our team is as we want it to be, good or bad.

How does that sound? How about this? Our mood is our own responsibility, our inspiration is our own responsibility and the inspiration of our team is our responsibility.

“Wait a minute” you say? “How can I be responsible for my inspiration and the teams inspiration? Should my boss not be responsible for my inspiration?” Well friends, how do you expect to inspire anyone to do anything if your not inspired yourself, from within?

Conscious leadership is all about knowing what you’re doing while you are doing it and doing it with a purpose and a positive, inspired attitude…always! How does that sound?

It is a daily challenge but a challenge that is so very rewarding!

Be well friends!
Steven

I was recently asked why I think people should listen to me, if what I had to say was so special.

Actually I am happy to have people listen or read to what I have to say but it is more of an interaction when I am with people or when I write, I learn everyday from everyone I meet and I crave this.

I may be wrong in assuming that many of us are the same but sometimes our ego’s, our positions or the ”rules” of society get in the way of allowing ourselves to learn or to be humble enough to learn from those who may not be in a position “according to society” to teach us.

Much of what I am saying is common sense and most people know about or have heard something about these things I discuss. I like to think that I speak or write it in a way that encourages thought, reactions and a healthy interaction.

I openly challenge our society to live the way they have been living, and still be successful in the near future…the world is changing and we all are going to change with it, no matter if we want to or not. Our only choice is to either embrace this change or fight it…

Be well friends,
Your Steven

I was looking at the world around us and how it immediately effects us, this raises an interesting thought or should I say, a very interesting question; If I am so easily effected by that what surrounds me, why should it be so difficult to turn that around and immediately effect the world around me?

Sound pretty simple? Does it seem to be obvious to you that this is the way it should be or does it feel like we are just a small part of the machinery we call life and have no real choice as to what happens to us?

Gandhi said; “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Sound like a tall order to fill? Why not just start in the world directly around us? One reaction to a situation can change everything. Someone may say something and we react aggressively, emotionally or plain rude. It does not take any special talent to know what comes next. What if, in the same situation we act humbly and graceful but still speak our mind? Again, no rocket science here!

One situation at a time, a consciousness of our reactions…toss in a bit of humility and we are very close to creating the world we feel good in, effecting our surroundings and creating a breeding ground for more of the same…now who wouldn’t want this in their life? I know I do, that is the reason I decided to be that change…

It wont be easy to implement in everyday life but I believe that if I pause for less than a second before reacting, it will make a world of difference, a difference in my personal world!

Be well friends!
Your Steven

I think a lot, often it is about the situation our world is in today, our society. When I say our, I mean the society I live in; American by birth and through battle, a European through choice and time. I see so many sighs that the civil liberties in the USA are being, or already have been, stripped away, I see how we are being duped into believing that the Government is “protecting” us in this manner, I know by the way I feel that this is a farce. My belief in my country and the respect instilled in me through my time growing up and fighting in a war for my country is neither a thought nor a feeling. It is a part of me that just is, some say we are programmed, some say brainwashed and others say we are just kept dumb and diverted from what is really going on, fact is there is something in me that brings a tear to my eye just from hearing the national anthem and it is deep within every part of me…it is the same “something” that makes me very angry when I hear someone putting America down or disgracing it in any way.

Living in Europe I am fortunate to see things from afar, I am fortunate to live in a country that has a very comfortable social net to catch you should you fall, this makes life a bit easier knowing you will be assisted should something bad happen to you. This is a luxury we do not have in the USA but it seems to make the countrymen here a bit complacent, yes sometimes even a bit to “good” to do a job that would pay them less than the social system would pay them if they stay unemployed. It has become to easy to just drift along at others expenses. The “fight or die” attitude we have in the US is almost non existent here.

Looking at the two systems I see similarities that cross in both directions if one listens to the dialog of the politicians but in the end I see more and more both societies being distracted from what is really going on. I am not stating that I know the actual goings on but I am saying that my intuition was never wrong. When I was interviewed in March 2003 concerning my book, and I was interviewed about 40 times on TV, radio, in magazines, newspapers and in live debates, I stated that this war (it has just started) was all about geographic positioning, about the money to be made from the different corporations and to establish a permanent position in the middle east for the USA. I also stated that this will be worse than Viet Nam, I said this truly from intuition and I was looked at like I was crazy. Well friends, where are we now?

I am not trying to prove anything here at all, my blogs are free flowing words that arise in me in certain times and I choose to let them out no matter what they are and what kind of response I get. It is difficult to look at my country as it is; crumbling at its base, many of our great people choose to live their lives hoping it will be taken care of, choose to pay attention to their immediate world and trust way to much in the Government, after all who runs the Government now? huge Corporations and behind them stand the true tacticians that are bored of being so rich that they now only want power and use this power to manipulate.

It is all about money, a small example is the trend to appoint more and more Ambassadors from the US in foreign countries that were never in politics, usually they are family or the largest donators to the campaigns. It is like a paid vacation and reward for these people for giving their money to one party or the other. I meet and have met quite a few and fail to have the same amount of respect for the “business person” Ambassador compared to those who have spent their lives in the State Department and or in Politics, the difference between “buying” the position and “earning” the position is often very noticeable and in some cases I was even embarrassed that this person could be an Ambassador to the US in a foreign country. After all they directly form the opinions about our country abroad don’t they?

I have a strong love for my country and an even stronger love for the men I served and fought with in ensuring our liberties, and those of others, were kept safe, I hate the thought of this patriotism being instrumentalized for power and manipulation. I served, I fought, I lost friends and a bit of my sanity in the Iraqi desert, I think I have the duty and right to stand up and state when I feel something is not right, well it isn’t and I am not sure what else I can do besides write it down…so here you are.

Your comments are welcome, be well,

Steven

Having it all and not realizing what I had…friends I would die for, a guy I might not even like would die for me, there were no questions about what you believed, who you supported or what color you are.

The things we did in those times ring clear in my memory; the words left unspoken are the loudest to me. Memories of seconds in my life are like huge murals in my mind, the faces, smiles, the eyes and the way you walked are small things I never noticed in that moment but now they are etched in my memory.

The times we spent together in battle and after are the most precious times in my life, you can’t compare them to any other time. Our youths spent laughing and joking while in harms way, the coincidental looks and thoughts of home we repressed was that what kept me sane.

The things I never noticed before stand like a statue in time, never to fall, to be there long after I leave this earth. Which memories do I keep and which memories will last is not even a question because they are just there, sometimes appearing out of nowhere for no reason for the first time, 20 years later.

The feeling of being immortal while knowing your not coming back is a combination never before experienced. Those days spent with my buddies looking to the sun, knowing the it could see our homes but we couldn’t, are ever so precious.

Strange how fast something like that can become normal, even to the point where it seems more realistic than everyday life. Where are you now my buddies, what are you thinking, is it still with you like it is with me?
I remember all of your faces, your voices and looks, I may have forgotten your name but the rest stays with me forever.

Thank you for what you all showed me, thank you for your time and simple words, your undying compassion, although disguised, that showed me I was a part of something bigger, spiritual and everlasting.

You are not forgotten, you are not left behind, wherever you may be this is for you, the ones who led me to who I am today…

That was how I felt last week, I was Budapest working as I always do during the week and for some reason, out of the blue but not noticible, I was depressed, no reason, just depressed. There was not even a real thought in my head but after a bit there was one thought; am I doing the right thing here in Budapest? Then the thoughts started multiplying like crazy, before I knew it I had all kinds of thoughts loading me down, pulling me to the floor!

I sat at my desk, empty and lifeless, my team was asking me what was wrong, I never could hide my mood! Then I saw my comment on a page I left; “We create our own reality” how many times had I written this, taught this and preached it to everyone I know? And there it was, totally controlling me and my entire world!

I decided to take a few minutes to look at what I have to be thankful for, who in my life makes me feel good and what I should actually be happy…it did not take long and I had to laugh at my situation, it was strange for me, after all this time, to be slammed in the face with such feelings. I can only say that I am happy I was able to see where I was at that moment, I am thankful for that what I have learned over the years.

It just goes to show that no matter how trained, awake, conscious or aware one is, you can be hit out of no where, it sneaks up on you and suddenly there you are, in the middle of it all!

We actually do create our own reality, I did it negatively and then again positively, what a great lesson I learned again….

Maybe this will help one or the other person who has the same situation, who knows, whatever the case I thank you all for reading!

Be well,
Your Steven

Someone said that to me tonight and I thought “I actually do try and keep it real” that is when it hit me; How often do we say something or hear something and we just hear a salutation and expect or give no real thought behind it?
It felt good to take a moment and do a “functions check” to see if I actually am keeping it real. Do I listen to my intuition, am I honest with all those who I converse with and meet, am I honest to myself, do I respect all others and do I respect my self? Keeping it real can be many things to many people, this is not the point, the point is; ARE YOU KEEPING IT REAL?

I like to think I am and you know what? Thinking that I am is half the job, we are what we believe we are, our surroundings are what we believe they are and through this we create life, our life…and we only have one so “create” a good one!

So friends, Keep it real!

Your Steven