CONNECTING TO THE INSIDE WORLD

One of the strange things that has happened to me over the last few years is I'm being called on to deliver eulogies. My first one was back in 2004 when my wife, Holly, died of pancreatic cancer. She had been terminally ill for months, so I had lots of time to think about it. I wrote pages and pages of great memories about her and tried to prepare myself emotionally to deliver the speech without breaking down.

During the service, I looked over what I had written and started to get a little nervous. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths and tried to connect with my "knowing", that part of me that is deep and that feels my thoughts and emotions. I walked to the podium and folded my notes in half and just spoke from my heart. From the reaction of the crowd, I knew what I was saying was hitting a responsive chord.

In the several eulogies I've delivered since then, I've made a few brief notes, but have never followed a written speech. I've learned to trust this creative flow that comes out of me when I focus on my "knowing" and not on how I'm going to be percieved as a speaker. Each of us has this depth that we can call upon if we just believe that it's there and that we have the ability to access it.

We all live in two worlds. Our "outside" world that is limited by what we can see, hear, touch, smell and taste. And our "inside" world that holds our thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires and dreams. Most people believe that our outside world determines our feelings, emotions, etc. But in reality, it's the exact opposite.

Learn to access your "inside" world and watch it transform your "outside" world.