• Anytime you dislike something 
• Anytime you feel disrespected 
• Anytime you feel annoyed 
• Anytime you think you cannot do something 

These thoughts don't just appear out of the air. They originate from your energy within. These are opportunities to reconnect with your power source and free it. You can also notice with statements like: 

• She rubs me the wrong way 
• It burns me up 
• It makes me sick 
• He makes my skin crawl 

These thoughts also originate from feelings inside. The Goodology plan is to locate these feelings and turn them into positive flowing energy. It's all good! Even the worst part of you is good. We just need to recognize it. Understanding these concepts intellectually has little transformative effect because the source of the problem is deeper than that. Of course, if you want some good stuff to talk about at a cocktail party then it's good intellectual material to work with. 

But when you correctly identify the underlying cause of a problem, you are in the right direction in solving the problem. When you increase your positive energy and compassion, you send out a message connecting on that plane with other people. You unconsciously increase your happiness and power of attraction. 

It doesn't happen just through "thinking" good thoughts. You have to identify and notice that a problem exists by noticing resistance within you. You specifically and systematically notice and that is the doorway to empower yourself. 

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I like to smile at people when walking through the grocery store, or anywhere for that matter. Picking up a dollar is effortless and a smile is even more effortless.  A woman saw me this winter at the Safeway in Fountain Hills, Arizona, and blurted out “what are you smiling at?” I shook my head, smiled and said, “I don’t know.” I thought, “it’s just something I do when I see a person.” 

Now that I think about it, my Arizona woman didn’t smile back at me when she curiously questioned me.  Hmm.  Maybe she thought I was up to some kind of mischief? Maybe she just thought I was nuts.

In the Berkshires, I usually see a nice reaction to smiles.  I walked into the Public Market in West Stockbridge where my natural response is to smile at each person I see.  Several people (who I didn’t know) made eye contact and smiled back automatically.  It was natural and nice.   Are we onto something?  Do we have a pattern here in the Berkshires?  Is the safety and intimacy of the Berkshires conducive to smiles?  Is it the small store?  The small town?

An hour from Fountain Hills, AZ is a town called Sun City.  That is a community made up of mostly senior citizens.  I can make a couple of laps through that Safeway grocery store before I even get eye contact.  If I ever do make eye contact, the person is often expressionless.  Perhaps the seniors shop with focus and even a little bit of caution.  One thing “is” true that, given time and opportunity, any one of those seniors in Arizona would smile, laugh and calmly tell a funny story.  There is no doubt.

We can’t judge by one reaction.  The positive energy is inside all of us.  Why let it sit dormant?  Let it out.  Give it away like it’s water or sunshine.  You will nourish those around you, and yourself.  I remember in business on a rainy and gloomy day, a customer would walk in and say, “How are you?”  I would answer, “Great!  On a beautiful day like today, how can I be anything else?"

They think I am joking, but the smile starts deep inside of you and flows whether it’s rain or shine.  Keep the heartfelt smile flowing through you and out through your eyes.  It is sunshine.  Turn off the news channel that stirs up controversy and get out and smile.  At the Price Chopper in Pittsfield, former West Stockbridge resident (and neighbor) Denise Desaulniers smiled brightly during our whole conversation.  It makes me want to go back there and shop! We are attracted to beauty and brightness.  We carry it with us and then give it away.

I saw a woman leaving the Public Market in West Stockbridge with a bright, beautiful and genuine smile on her face.  There must be magic in that store.  Her smile and expression was so genuine that it was not leaving her face anytime soon.  So, she would carry it with her to the next location and spread it – how awesome.  She would brighten other people’s days – a fine concept.

So, is there a pattern?  Yeah, Bernie sure does spend a lot of time at grocery stores.  Well, here is a thought.  I currently have a contest online for people to share any GOOD act that they have performed.  Of all the great responses a few have been similar.  When shopping, without telling the person in line behind them, they paid for a coffee or a sandwich.  They turn and move on out the door leaving a refreshing gift for the next person in line.

I am not saying that we need to spend money on the person behind us in line – a smile is free!  How about if we try to inject positivity and peace into an unsuspecting person with a smile or a good act? It’s free.  It’s effortless.  They will take that with them.  Take something that is already working – the friendliness of the Berkshires, expand on it and turn up the wattage of our beautiful county.

Bernie Fallon is the former owner of the Public Market in West Stockbridge and has written a book, Goodology.  Bernie@goodology.com You can buy the book, Goodology here

Listen to the following statement: “I am stupid.” What do self-help books tell us about this statement? Typically they tell us that this is a negative affirmation. Common reasoning tells us not to say such things, because it sends a message to your subconscious that you are stupid.

No, you’re not, but you already knew that deep down inside.

The common reasoning sounds pretty good. In fact, you may dazzle a listener if you utter that statement with conviction. Let me rephrase the statement. Don’t say that you’re stupid because you are sending a message to your subconscious that you are stupid. But what if I tell you that your subconscious is unaffected by the utterance of “I’m stupid?” What if I tell you that you are virtually unfazed by this, and that you will go unchanged by any comments that you make?

It’s true, you know. Your utterances actually have little power to impact your massively powerful subconscious.

Granted, you might aggravate or agitate the energy within. You might say, “I’m so stupid,” and your energy within might get a little stirred up. It might get a little bit riled. This can maybe even inspire a “bad feeling” inside you, but that bad feeling was already there. As we will learn, it is you that packages the message and sends it to your insides to inspire that bad feeling. You are in control of the process, you control the mechanics and you control the operating system.

It is not the statement that makes you feel bad, but the fact that you stir up your energy by expressing it. Soon enough, your energy will settle right back in to where it was. So, while you aggravate it and it feels uncomfortable for a time, nothing really happens. Nothing changes.

Think about it this way. You are constantly reading the energy within your body. Your energy might be sludgy, stale, and uncomfortable. If you were to say and genuinely feel, “I am stupid,” this is nothing more than the label you use to define your energy.

You are defining your energy virtually every moment of your life. You see and feel slowly moving energy, and you label it. Your energy didn’t start out with labels or meanings, it was just flowing. Over time, you feel it, you define it, you label it. You evaluate it. Despite those labels, it is still just your energy and it is still simply flowing. The question is, how is it flowing?

When you read your energy, you don’t see words. You see only energy. At any given moment, you might observe slow energy versus quick energy, or powerful energy versus non-powerful energy. When you read your own energy, do you think you might see any of these?

• Connected energy versus non-connected energy.
• Flowing energy versus compressed energy.
• Painful energy versus non-painful energy.
• Sludgy energy versus non-sludgy energy.
• Hazy energy versus non-hazy energy.

In whatever way you see your own energy, you read it and then you attach a label.

Sometimes I hear people say, “My Dad used to tell me that I I was stupid, so, that’s why I say it.” This certainly does happen, and, you can use affirmations, visualizations and any number of other techniques to try to change the label. Still, the energy and compression pattern that you have stays there, deep inside. It is a sludgy energy and it is an environment that will continue to drive lethargic behavior. Your labels and reactions will remain consistent with sludgy energy until you find a way to change the energy.

If your energy was flowing freely, positively, joyously and with excitement, then what types of labels do you think you would attach?

These new labels might say, “I can” or “I want to” or “I would be delighted to.” You would say, “Yes!” and you would mean it. This would happen effortlessly and without interruption.

Buy Goodology here

The shooting in Tucson is an act where we want to wrap our arms around the people of the city and support them. We are sad this happened. But, we need to be supportive. Support doesn’t come in the form of blame and punishment; it comes in the form of love, understanding and attention.

Yes, we need to understand the energy that drove the actions and be above that. It is this energy that drives political figures to argue. It is this energy that drives pundits to stir up the madness. Forgive. Take the edge off. Be the first to forgive. Live with in a higher energy. Set a good example. Act with compassion. Let go.

The nine year old girl, Christina Taylor Green, was full of life, beauty and direction. Gabby Giffords is beautiful, intelligent, caring and sweet. But, she would be just as beautiful, just as loving and just as caring if I did not know who she is. Christina’s life would have been beautiful without our help. I wish this didn’t happen, but it did. We have honestly recognize our own energy and forgive. Forgive the energy that drove a man to shoot.

Forgive. Release the anger. The event is over. The man will be punished.Angrily calling the man a “deranged monster” has an appearance of being on the right side. But, it’s negative energy. The shooter was reacting from his own negative energy and guided by information which he attached to. Let’s not add to it.

I am sorry for the others who died and the others who were injured. I am sorry that we hold onto fearful energy and feel we have to act on it. We all need to get rid of this energy and come together. It’s easy to point our flaws in some of our political and non-political leaders. It’s easy to point to someone carelessly putting crosshairs on a map as a target.

Forgive first. Be the first. Be stronger. Be above. A problem in our society is denial. Promoting guns and shooting for congressional support or to add to image can be a tactic. Admitting and owning up is a more beautiful energy than denial. We can forgive. It’s easy and beautiful. Recognize that if someone has a weakness our only response is in strength. Our strength is forgiveness. Empower yourself. Love.

Be responsible first. Be above board first. Offer people greatness. Give people love. Give people intelligence. Give people options. Give respect.Be the first to love. Be the first to support. These are the tools that make a society strong. Be strong and a positive example like Gabby Giffords. Christina was born on September 11, 2001. She died in a shooting in Tucson. Carry her positive energy forward. Move beyond that energy of hate. Raise your level. Care. Be the first to care. Be the first to love.

If we all try to have a discussion using different definitions, then understanding our conversation may be like speaking different languages. Everyone will perceive different meaning from the same conversation. People will begin to gloss over. I need to make sense to your deepest intelligence and truest part of your being so that our foundation can be strong.

It's true that we are all different. And, we have different perceptions (yes, our view of the same conversation is going to be different because we have different perception). But that makes it more important to uses labels words that translate consistently and accurately to all of us.And we need to use words that permeate deeply through us. Then we can build. We can build a solid structure.

I also prefer (for the most part) not to use buzz words from the spiritual and metaphysical world. The types of words to which I am referring are frequency, vibration, Universe, law of attraction, now moment, mindfulness etc. If you are familiar with these words, good. If you are not, good. These words are often used so that everyone has a "definition" in their mind or their definition may have an association with an author who wrote them or speaker that spoke them. At the same time each person's definition is a bit different. In all of those cases, the definition is made up of labels in their head.

Transformation is much deeper than intellect. If we are going to make change in our lives, then it has to be deeper than stimulating our brain. It has to be deeper than in one ear and out the other. A person's mind glosses over these buzz words and says, "yeah I remember that from this book or that book." We can all have the knowledge of these books in our head, but we need to get deep inside of ourselves if we are going to have impact. 

We need to locate the energy within us that is causing the problem.  Sometimes people use these words because it makes them feel like a more evolved person. What are they doing?  They are feeding an energy inside.  They think that they will be viewed differently in another person's eyes. They may think they are “hip” because they say, “it's the universe tapping you on your shoulder.” Dude!  This will affect the footprint that they leave. 

The solutions are tightly bound between your head and your tailbone. If you can navigate that space then you can recapture vast amounts of unused power. If you can stick your finger out and touch your nose, then you have the motor skills needed to transform. Something like The Law of Attraction is a valid and an absolute spiritual law. But knowledge in your head does nothing to increase the attraction. Does that make sense? The power is deeper.

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