There’s a moment in the 1946 classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when protagonist, George Bailey, becomes so discouraged and frightened that he had failed himself, his family and his community that he positions himself on a bridge for an icy, suicidal plunge. He jumps in, too, but to save someone else who jumps in first. While the story is compelling and does a great deal to inspire and warm our hearts, this moment is the core of the film.

For years, friends and teachers repeated the mantra, “one must pass through a challenge in order to get past it,” however the depth of this concept eluded me until I had taken enough plunges of my own to truly appreciate its wisdom. George jumps into the very same icy river that under different circumstances (despair) would have killed him yet when he feels pulled to the darkness in order to help someone else to the light it is not threatening. We have a tendency to project our fears, anxieties, worst case scenarios onto something and typically, it is that which we create. Likewise, if we project our hopes, dreams and fantasy outcomes onto a thing, we find the motivation and strength to keep pursuing that vision until it is realized.

George Bailey isn’t quite ready to grasp this kernel of truth at that point, so his guardian angel, Clarence, takes him down a path to see what the world would have been like without him. This profound experience is the thing that truly snaps him back into his positive, loving, compassionate self: “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

If you haven’t seen this amazing film, I highly recommend it. We watched the film with a sold out crowd last night at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre and it was a gas to see it with such an engaged and adoring group of people. Each time the villain, Mr. Potter, said or did something, the theater hissed and booed. Every time an angel said or did something, the theater crowd jingled their bells. While there is a Christmas theme at the very end of the film, it is far from a Christmas movie at its core but rather a “spiritual being having a human experience” film.

I believe we are here to encounter a series of third dimensional challenges and triumphs in order to come out at the same place that George does: We are all interconnected and if we focus our love and hope onto something, we will manifest it. The shadow can swallow us into oblivion or can serve as the point of creation from which we are re-birthed.

It’s ten degrees today in Chicago with snow touching down in whisks of fifty mile per hour winds. Sounds fun, right?

It might have made for a really good stay home and watch movies day if it weren’t for the fact that I’m sitting by the pool at a beautiful spa in Scottsdale. It set a record (80) here today for this time in December and I wanted to be a part of it.

I came to Arizona this week-end for a family gathering and last night as we were all saying our good-byes, I decided it wouldn’t be so bad if we had to spend another night in this beautiful spot. In fact, I started making plans for how I’d spend the day and how I’d cover my obligations in the office Monday morning. When people spoke about being home Sunday night, I thought to myself, “or Monday night….”

Sure enough, we woke up this morning to email alerts from American Airlines that they had canceled our flight. What is more, they rebooked us so that we leave early Monday morning and get us home before lunchtime! Perfect!

So, after a busy week-end jam packed with family obligations and lots of indoor time, I created a wonderful day of real vacation space where I could recharge and enjoy this beautiful moment in my life.

Some people snicker at the sound of the “law of attraction.” Yet, before The Secret suggested it was a marketable concept with commercial implications, it was simply an idea that people either lived by or ignored. The notion that we can create our reality by focusing our thoughts, feelings and intentions on something is as old as humanity itself.

What hunter set out into the tundra thousands of years ago without envisioning the perfect kill? What mason placed a corner stone without first seeing and admiring the finished temple in his mind?

One need not be a New Age subscriber to identify with common sense. If we go to sleep worrying about rain ruining our picnic the next day, it is very likely that the grill will have an inch of water before we awaken. Try seeing the sun shine, the food tasty and your guests laughing and having a wonderful time.

The choice is yours, is it not? I guess it is all in how you look at it.

The view looks great to me from the pool.

A little anecdotal tale about demons and goblins from my early days as a therapist. Happy Halloween!!!

How often is it that we take responsibility for our real feelings and actions in our relationships with others? For many, many years, I did not take a whole lot of credit for myself and what I was doing and saying to the people that supposedly meant the most. In fact, I oftentimes found contempt in others for exactly the things I was struggling with in myself. Here’s a brief video where I get into this issue and what I refer to as, The Law of Responsibility…