I drifted along day in and day out, all with good intention.

I found myself intending motion and finding a stillness of purpose.

As I sat in the still waters, bobbing aimlessly, I saw a distant beacon.

Beneath that beacon was a man, seeking guidance.

I called to him with good intention and he called back.

We spoke of direction, we spoke of motion.

He didn’t know the way.

“I’ll come to you,” I shouted, and began to paddle towards him.

As I set out towards the man in need, a wind rose behind me.

It became easier and easier to traverse the water.

I stepped from my boat to another shore.

There was the man unsure of his place, unsure of his divinity.

His world scoffed and judged and so he was lost.

But the beacon stood above him.

It stood a shining light for those on the path to find.

It showed the work to be done, and there stood the man.

“I know the way,” I said.

“I am no follower,” he responded.

“I am no leader,” I responded. 
"I am just someone on the path like you, but I know the path before you for I have traveled  it. Let us walk side by side along it.”

Together we walked.

Ahead we saw more people on the path.

We reached them.

“I must leave you now,” I told the man.

“Where do you go?” He replied.

“To find another.”

It is now several days past the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th. The day was horrific and world changing. What were the changes? On September 12th the world poured out support for the people of the United States. The first call to the president was from Russia. Countries rallied to offer aid. The world came together against injustice. The evil-doers were brought fully to light, exposed for all to see and to judge their actions. Arab nations condemned the attacks. Dictators with power agendas praised them. September 12th was a new dawn. Muslims stood side by side with Christians and indeed people of all faiths to condemn the actions taken by a few fundamentalists. In more ways than not on September 12th, 2001, we united the rational, loving, caring people of the world. It also set those offering fear and destruction on the run. No more would the world stand aside.

Slowly the world is coming together as one. The “Arab summer” is a case in point. The overthrow of dictators who ruled with an iron fist by people wanting to work together to create a new future is a sign of a peaceful future.  As with everything, however, growth comes with growing pains. We are witnessing some, but as each atrocity comes to light the less darkness the world has to offer. We are in a renaissance of humanity. We are stepping into a new future.

September 12th is a day to rejoice. Year after year let us celebrate this bold step of humanity to choose to come together against wrongs and create one giant right.

Friday, June 10, 2011 at 5:12PM

“All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.” ~James Allen

“I can’t. I’ll never. They don’t. I’ll Try. I Hope. I Need.”   The ever muttering mantra of those plagued with self doubt. Is this you? It damn sure was me! I suffered the agonizing pain of a low self worth and self doubt. I don’t anymore. It was a real challenge in my life. I struggled with obesity from an early age.  I was a social outcast in my town. I never fit in except with a very few people, some of whom moved away when I was young. I was born into a house that always struggled for money. I had a father who was self absorbed with an alcohol issue. It was hard and affected me in more ways than one. But I overcame it. I look back at that boy and I must say that I overcame it. I didn’t have therapy or counseling. It was I myself, and a spiritual understanding, that changed my life.

“If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement.” ~ Jimmy Carter

As an adult these subconscious beliefs permeated my life. I felt I wasn’t worthy or even lovable. I felt as if I was worthless and those beliefs played themselves out in my life. I was told I was “a worthless bum” and I struggled as a bum for many years. I failed at many things in my life until I changed my mind. I had to do it - I had to make a choice and declare that choice to the world. Nothing changes in your world unless you change your mind about it first. The Universe is nothing but the product of your belief, and that belief in the creative channel through which your world experience is formed. But when do you change it? The biggest spiritual truth I wish I could transport into the mind of humanity is that nothing happens outside of this moment. Everything is based in what you think say and do in this moment. Tomorrow never really happens until it is today. Yesterday can’t happen again. So this pivotal moment is the moment of breaking self doubt.

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstances.” ~Bruce Barton

Self doubt is the fear of not being loved. As you sit in that chair right now realize that the universe is God/source. “God is Love” is right in the Bible (I know, I wrote that part (LOL)). Everything you experience in the world is love. Many people will argue that fact. But the most loving thing God/Universe can do is give us what we are asking for. We ask with our belief. What do you believe? Do you believe that the world is hard and you are not worthy? If so, what does the world show you? I’ll bet the world shows you reasons to believe that life is hard and you’re not worthy. I have a friend who his entire life believed that the world was easy and he would always have money. He one time told me he gives himself $20,000 a year to just blow on toys. He knows he will always have money and so God/Universe gives him money. BTW, he has really cool toys.

In this moment will you commit to changing your life? If you do everything changes and your world will show you the change. Once you see the change your self-doubt is demolished through time and results. Those results cannot happen unless you start in this moment.

“Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” ~Thomas Carlyle

If you want more information about breaking through the fears of self doubt, check out “The Eight Steps for Breaking through the Fear Barrier," a free coaching report when you sign up for the newsletter at www.johnofpeniel.com.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 11:53AM

“You do anything long enough to escape the habit of living until the escape becomes the habit.” ~ David Ryan

I have had the opportunity to work with many people who have suffered with addiction over the years. It is a difficult monkey to have on your back. When you are immersed in addiction, all seems helpless. You become afraid of not having your fix. Many of you know that I believe that our life experience is a dance of Love and Fear. It is through the eradication of fear that we reach the state many call enlightenment. If, as the Bible says,”God is Love,” then we are here to experience our separation from Love so we can know Love/God fully. So the reality is each of us just wants to be loved.

"Life is meant to be a celebration! It shouldn't be necessary to set aside special times to remind us of this fact. Wise is the person who finds a reason to make every day a special one." ~ Leo F. Buscaglia

Addictions are based on several factors. Doctors will tell you it is a chemical response. I believe that our life experience is a product of belief. Those beliefs are based on their relationship to Love and to Fear. Recently while working with someone addicted to smoking, I looked at the time in their life that the smoking started. “Peer pressure,” was the reason given. As we looked deeper into the reason it was very apparent that she wanted the others to like her. So in reality she began smoking because she wanted her peers to love her. If you look at her life before this moment you come to realize that before she started smoking, she already felt unloved. She had been searching for a positive relationship experience and she found that using the tool of smoking.

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." ~ Bill Cosby

Conditional love creates fear and distrust which makes us feel separate and alone. When you ask a smoker why they smoke, the answer usually is “it relaxes me.” That is because when they don’t smoke they are in fear. Smoking, or any other addiction, is just their means of getting the feeling of love. Smoking becomes their spouse. Stopping smoking is like ending a loving relationship. You're afraid you won’t have that feeling anymore. If the smoker is in a relationship, then the best thing their spouse can do is, instead of giving a negative response to the smoking, is take the moment they want to smoke and love them fully. If your relationship is also a sexual one then make love when they feel the need to smoke. Afterwards give them  positive feedback so they feel loved and accomplished.  People smoke after sex due to anxiety. Alleviate the anxiety and you alleviate the need for smoking. Don’t allow love making to become the addiction. Love them unconditionally and in all ways, and then they feel loved and, after time and results, they will set their fear down.

“Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.”~ George Carlin

Addiction is a bad lover. Whatever your personal addiction is, realize that it is a relationship. The reason it is a relationship is because it gives you the feeling of love. When ending that relationship you will have all the pangs of a relationship ending. When the addictive relationship ends, remember you are ending it because it was unhealthy and not truly loving.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 1:50PM

"Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. Just lie down."~ Natalie Goldberg

Today stress reared its ugly head. It wasn’t fun. It didn’t feel good. It was vented. It was not judged by another, it was just released. It did, however, happen. Sometimes things happen in life. We each have a series of triggers created in our past experiences that can be a reactive force in our lives.  That is human. It is what we do with the stress that is important. Many of us, including myself, have aimed our stress at another with blame. Many suppress and suffer through.

Stress is a choice. Think of the things we get stressed about. Are they physically on top of you, like an elephant, crushing the life giving air from your lungs? Probably not.  Instead they are outer circumstances that we allow our minds to get wrapped in but they are not here and now. They are all based in fear. Fear of not achieving, fear of outcomes, fear of not being loved. Fear is a choice. To be fearless is a choice. If you ask anyone who is known for a heroic act they usually say they didn’t have time to think or they decided they needed to help.

"If you ask: what is the single most important key to longevity, I would say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you don't ask me, I'd still have to say it."~ George Burns

The reactive hero doesn’t give fear a foothold and so they react.  If they hesitated then there might have been a different outcome. The decisive hero experiences the fear and then decides to set it down to proceed. Either way choices were made and acted upon. Does your stressful choice enhance the experience? Does it actually help get the things done? The only thing that stress does is make us miserable. Why would we choose that?

The stress state comes with many physiological responses. The first most obvious is it affects our breathing. It makes us feel as if the elephant has climbed on and we can’t breathe. All the effects of stress are the same as any other fear response. Stresses build upon stresses and the origin gets lost in the mire of the fear that created it.  Yes there are things in your world that have priority. Dealing with those things without judgment or fear is life mastery.

If you could simplify all the elements of your perfect life wouldn’t all of them lead you to a fun relaxed state? Choose that state now. And watch your stress disappear.

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."  ~Lily Tomlin

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 9:46AM

I thought you might like to have a look at the unedited foreword to my new book:

Foreword

My name is John Davis and I have an interesting story to tell you. I travel around the country telling my spiritual stories, or modern day parables based in fact as I like to call them, teaching, and facilitating healings. But I wasn’t always a speaker, teacher and healer. I, for twenty five years, have been a comedy sword-fighting comedian at renaissance festival around the U.S. That’s right, for over two decades have been wearing tights and living in the woods.

It was during my years living the glamorous life of porta-potties, beat up vans, and low pay that I began to question a lot of my beliefs. You see, I was raised catholic. My mother, an Irish catholic mother of the highest standing, was so faithful that she got her master’s degree in liturgy. That degree landed her the position of head of liturgical doctrine at her church, which basically means that when the priest wants to do a sermon he has to pass it by my mom. She then gives her blessing and the priest happily runs off to deliver his message.

Raised as a good catholic I was an altar boy, went to C.C.D. for twelve years (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for you heathens. If it snowed, the church sidewalks were always cleared by my trusty shovel and aching hands. All those years of catholic upbringing lead me to an interesting place: I became an atheist. You see, the fear of God didn’t sit well with me. I remember a time in my most evil youth that my even more wicked brother swayed me from the faith by taking me for ice cream and putt-putt golf instead of church one Sunday morning. My career as a brazen blasphemer began that day in my eighth year.

The Sunday morning after “the alleged incident,” I sat in the choir loft next to Mom, who also played the organ for the mass. The parish, in forty part disharmony, ended a hymn and the priest launched into his preapproved sermon. “Mortal Sin” he began. His sermon went on to tell of the severity of the punishment that would be laid upon any soul that would dare to sin against God. In the middle of his sermon, the priest, who I knew well for his weekly visits, mentioned that knowingly missing mass was a sin. I was doomed. Who knew that the ice cream and put putt would be so costly? I burst into tears and confessed to a higher power (Mom) what my brother and I had done. Mom tried to console me, but I knew it was over, my short life passed before my eyes. I’m not sure but I think that my brother’s life also passed before his eyes later that day.

After years of feeling lowly, unworthy and afraid, I decided there had to be a different way. I chose the atheistic path and though I am no longer an atheist I am grateful that I went that route. By becoming an atheist, I experienced the true fear of a world without faith. I became morbidly curious about the possibility of nuclear war, and knew that we were on our way to global mass destruction. I began having what I now know was depression. You see when you have nothing to put faith in, there is no hope.  You are accessing your experience only through information at hand and most information we as a society generate is negative. So I believed we were headed to a negative place.

In reality the couple years as an atheist was a great base line for finding my eventual faith, a spiritual faith and not a religious faith. How I came to that faith is my interesting story. I tell you this story as a means of conveying a message. You see along the path of finding my personal spirituality I made several very profound realizations. Each realization built upon the last until they unveiled a simple path to God/Universe. I found a divine simplicity to my life. It was so simple and yet so completely powerful. I had found the awareness spoken of by the avatars of old: Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, and many more unnamed enlightened beings. To fully show the realizations as I discovered them I must tell you some of the stories that transpired. My story, from the beginning, was much like a lot of people’s stories. As I said I was raised in a good Catholic family, number six of an eventual seven kids. After my sojourn through many spiritual belief systems, I had settled into being a seeker. I had always been looking for the next teacher, the next guru, the next person who would take me to the next rung of the ladder. I was now in a place of just experiencing the world through spiritual eyes.

The stories ahead are meant to teach, not in the style of a classroom, but in the style of the enlightened ones of old. Through reading the stories and then through realization of the principles and then inspired action you will begin to see the simple path before you. As you step out onto that path, you will witness the life of your desires unfold.

Monday, July 19, 2010 at 7:05PM

“You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success - or are they holding you back?” ~ W. Clement Stone

When not being the dashing man of spiritual thought, I have the cool title of Fight Director. I have been choreographing stage combat for more than two decades and find it fun and exciting. On a very rare occasion I get to combine my two loves. I recently have been working on a summer arts program for high school kids interested in the Arts. For six weeks I have taken twelve kids and taught them the fine and fashionable art of creating dramatic illusions of violence. What makes this program interesting for me personally is I get to work with kids from all backgrounds and the story I would like to tell is of a young man named "Tyrone" (pseudonym).

On day one of the program I noticed that Tyrone had a really bad attitude. He was the tough guy and had to keep everyone else in their place. His attitude was judgmental and at time cruel to the other kids. He is fifteen years old with a forty year old chip on his shoulder. Being the type who wants to be a positive force in the world my inclination was to find the root cause and help Tyrone work through his issue.  I slowly began working through the mire in his head.

One day I decided to try a new tactic. I had each of the children tell me their most painful memory. We went around the circle and I was amazed at the horror stories that were told by these very young children. When it came to Tyrone his story started with, “My step dad knocked me out with his gun.” The story was that his step dad got mad and pulled out his pistol and hit Tyrone with the butt of his gun repeatedly. I then asked each of the kids to show me how, in real life, a fight begins. Several got up and showed how a fight starts. As a fight director everything is about the story. Each story has to be told physically and verbally to then be able to choreograph the scene honestly. It became very clear very early that Tyrone had been in plenty of fights. Usually he was the instigator of them as well.

“Man is a child of his environment”~ Shinichi Suzuki

After seeing his scene I asked him outright, “In your neighborhood do you have to be a tough guy?” “Yes,” was his wide eyed response. “So you have to fight to save face?” I asked. He continued telling me if he wasn’t tough he would be a target. “That must be hard.” I followed. His face grew serious and his eyes welled with tears, “Real real hard,” he answered. This young man who has a natural acting talent, has because of his environment become a mean hardened punk, because his environment says that he has to be that or be a victim. Over the next few weeks of the program Tyrone has come to trust me and I have been able to make some serious headway towards helping him surpass his environment.

The pivotal moment, however, did not happen when he was working with me. Early one day I walked off as the group was playing a warm up game called Murder Ball. I came back to Tyrone and Rachel (yup, another pseudonym) arguing. I pulled each one aside and had a talk finding out each side evenly.  I talked to Tyrone first and his story made sense in that it was a miscommunication. Rachel’s also conceded that it was a miscommunication and then she asked if she could talk to him privately. I asked what about and she replied, “I want to share with him that I am from the same kind of neighborhood and am making different choices and moving forward in my life.”  I called Tyrone over to meet with Rachel and I walked away. I let them speak for about twenty minutes when I returned. As I walked up I overheard Rachel saying, “So you can leave you attitude there because here you're safe and because we care.”

Tyrone made a shift that day. He became a happy laughing kid who began to excel in acting and stage combat. He had a few relapses of bad attitude because of subconscious muscle memory, but he quickly adapted back. I tell this story for a few reasons. One, because Tyrone is just a product of his environment. His environment is the way he was treated. If you treat a person differently from what they are used to, then you are creating a different environment for them with you.

What Rachel did was allow Tyrone to put his guard down and be a fifteen year old boy because he was safe and un-judged. I took a great lesson from Rachel and told her how proud I was of her leaving the argument behind and helping someone in need. When confronted with someone with a bad attitude instead of judging them, I believe we should give them the benefit of the doubt that their environment is different from yours and become a different environment of respect and love.

“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.” ~Earl Nightingale

I am truly thankful to be able to witness wonderful works in the world.

Thank You
Thank You
Thank You

Monday, July 12, 2010 at 9:59PM

“Create a vision and never let the environment, other people's beliefs, or the limits of what has been done in the past shape your decisions. Ignore conventional wisdom.”~ Anthony Robbins

Self doubt, low self worth, poor self esteem, each of these chronic conditions in life is based on one thing. That one thing these three culprits rely on is . . . someone else. Each of these relies on the belief or perception of someone who will judge us or has judged us.  Each of us has a past that is the breeding point for limiting belief. Some of us have very few limits and rise quickly to great heights. Others tend to have beliefs pressed upon us throughout our lives. I am one of the latter. I had a nickname given me by my father. It is a word that still to this day I do not like to hear: “Bum.” I was told from an early age that I was a “worthless bum,” by a father who I am sure had no idea the limitations he was placing upon me in life. I am also sure that he acted as he did from his own limiting belief from his alcoholic father.

Our beliefs make up our creation; it is being proved scientifically with quantum physics, and Noetic Science. These disciplines are proving the teachings of many spiritually enlightened teachers of the past. We are truly creating our experiences with our faith. Our faith is simply our beliefs. Our beliefs become our perceptions, not the other way around. The human species spends around 85-90% of its lifetime in the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is a pattern of beliefs that is created in our past. Our beliefs are apparent in the declarations we make in the world.

“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” ~Arnold Schwarzenegger

Today I propose a new Declaration of Independence. Today, free yourself from the tyranny of the limiting beliefs of others and declare a new and exciting life that is abundant and surrounded by loving relationships and prosperity.  I have had many limiting beliefs in m y life and each of these beliefs have become apparent in my reality. When I shift each of these beliefs a new creation forms around me and I witness the divine nature of our simple reality.

Today We the People declare our freedom from the oppression of our past belief and sail forward towards new horizons in the ship of our own making. Who among you are willing to clear your slate and step into the life of ease and simplicity to reap the joyful life of desire?  Today is the day of choice. Today choose a joyful, prosperous life of abundance. Say it aloud and have full faith that you are receiving it. The past is done and doesn’t affect you anymore. The future is yours for the making. This simple choice brings it all into your experience. It is not a struggle if you believe it is not. Your thoughts are creating so choose a simple and easy path and believe that it is already in motion towards you.

“You have to do it yourself, no one else will do it for you. You must work out your own salvation.” ~Charles E Popplestone

Friday, May 21, 2010 at 1:23AM

“Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us.” ~John N Mitchell

I am currently helping direct an eighth grade version of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. I am an avid fan of the bard, and want to convey the meaning and the story to a younger audience.  My son goes to a Waldorf school.  It is very progressive in the way the students are taught and has a bit of a spiritual element as well. The school’s eighth grade has only about 15 students in all and each one has to be in the play. I watch the interplay of the students, and I am amazed that many things have gone unchanged. There is always the cool kid, the cheerleader type, the outsider, the dork, the brain, and so forth. I won’t share with you which category I was in, but it goes without saying that many times you thought you were in one category when obviously you were in another.

As I guide the kids along in the play, a few of the kids stand out, and I want to share with you why. The girl playing Hamlet (yes a girl-I guess we could call her Hamlette) is very good. She was off book practically by day one and we are basically tweaking little aspects. The boy playing Laertes is a natural actor and will be very good in whatever role he is placed in. Then we have the two disruptors, who sit aside making comments and always missing cues.  Their attitude is that the whole thing is dumb and they don’t want to do it. And of course, we have the outsider. He, from day one, has decided that he wants nothing to do with it and won’t put in the work to do a good job.

“All the world’s a stage and each of us merely players” ~William Shakespeare

As a director, my job is to create a play for the audience to enjoy and for the kids to learn from. Today I sat watching a rather painful run through. I threw the children to the wolves, as it were. Today I took all scripts away and refused to give them a line. All of them rose to the task. The ones who had the hardest time were the ones with the attitude. Negative attitude will hinder any aspect of your life. If you focus negatively then the universe’s response is to give a negative experience.

When suddenly confronted with the absolute possibility of failure. I suddenly noticed much more line study off stage. I began seeing the play become an entity of its own. I was pleased to see the outsider suddenly get the words out of his lips. When he was on stage and began to forget. I gave him this simple advice: do not focus on “can’t,” instead focus on relaxation. Remember the line before and let your mind, which has already read the words, take over.

In my life I find that when I am manifesting a certain something, occasionally I will have a doubt or a concern. That doubt or concern is the fear of “can’t.” If I were to focus on that attitude then I would create nothing and thus a negative experience would surround me. If, however, I remembered the focus before and relax into that reality, letting those words take over; then I would see the manifestation occur. 

As I watched the outsider begin to realize his world wasn’t ending, I saw him smile a few times. I saw him begin to be the character he was supposed to be portraying, and he began to become a part of the cast. We are part of a greater whole, one with each other.  When we relax and allow ourselves to be a part of something else, without ego, then we truly are becoming a unified spiritual being.  And as the mass consciousness decides, so to goes the world. The global play will come together beautifully and can have a happy ending .  .  .  unlike Hamlet. 

Good night, sweet princes and princesses, and may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

“There are more things in Heaven and on Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy” ~ William Shakespeare

Monday, May 17, 2010 at 2:27PM

“When the solution is simple, God is answering.” ~Albert Einstein

People say all the time that your faith must be strong. To be strong in faith is a sign of the truly spiritual person, they believe. I disagree. The word “strong” implies struggle. It basically says you need strength to be faithful. My faith is simple.  You see, I believe we are each a creator in our lives and that our manifestations are a product of our belief. Belief is faith. We put belief in something and that is the experience we will perceive.  But have you ever thought about the simplest things you believe?

This morning I woke up. I knew I would. I had faith it would happen and it did. I knew I could stand so faithfully I stood. I knew I could walk, and so one foot step in front of the other until I was in the living room.  Each of these was a simple action taken in faith. The interesting thing is we choose what we believe. Sometimes our belief is that some things are harder to create than other things. The reality is the only thing that stops the creation is our belief in the enormity of the creation.  The simpler your faith you would just do it. I have watched amazing examples of people with “enormous” illness heal themselves in minutes. How do they do it? Through our session together we bring their faith to the present moment health and we have literally seen the blind man see and the crippled child stand.

"Creation is only the projection into form of that which already exists.” ~ Srimad Bhagavatam

The source of all is unlimited and every potential manifestation already exists in possibility. It is our belief in the possibility that allows the experience to surround us. Breathe deeply, relax, and declare your desire into the illusion of your reality effortlessly. It is truly simple. It’s is so simple you already do it unconsciously. Tell me when you saw a new blog post was up. Did you decide to read it? Did you believe you could? Did you take action in faith? And what are you doing now? If I was to use a biblical reference to all this I would say, “Whatever you ask in God’s name is granted. “ Don’t forget that according to Moses, God’s name is ”I AM.”

“Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.” ~Alan Perlis