Dear Friends,

As I write this there are just a few days before the U.S. election of a new president, cabinet, and senate. Much will change, as it always does. The law of rhythm states all things have a beginning, a period of growth, a peaking and an eventual end; but when something ends, something begins that has been born of that ending. So it is, so it has always been, and so it will always be. Cycles. When something dies, something else is born.

I have faith in the fact that we see the world we wish to see. Attitudes; that is what makes each individual reality unique. Consider your attitude towards your family, your friends, the city you live in, the country of your birth, the country you live in, your religion, your beliefs, in short, the things that make you who and what you are.

In addition to attitudes there is the 'ego' concept that drives one's attitude. Ego is your opinion of yourself, but in addition to self ego there is also family ego, friend ego, country ego, religion ego, community and city ego as well; remember the ego is an opinion. You do have an opinion of all the above. There is also an emotional or love ego. What is your opinion of love?

We are constantly being beset by catchphrases like ‘love one another’, ‘love yourself,’ love, love, love, but no one seems to explain just what that, best of all the four letter words, really means. The Greeks, from whom much of our language has evolved, felt it such a complicated word that they expressed it in many forms. Agape, for spiritual love, Philos, brotherly love, Eros, romantic love, Storge, love of family, and on and on. But those words just trade one abstraction for another without truly defining the word.  A general definition is necessary so that all forms of love can be understood and utilized as a resource in one’s life. Here is a simple, all encompassing definition of the word.

Love, is a positive viewpoint.

That’s it. Utilize that definition and the word can not only be understood it becomes a tool to dig you out of whatever quagmires you may encounter in life. Allow me to tell you a short story that will better explain the concept of a positive viewpoint. But do understand that love, like all things has a hierarchy, a scale of degrees. On the one hundred degree side of the scale there can be no negatives whatever. You would see only the positives; as the viewpoint changes, the line of degrees diminishes.

As example: Sally and Marvin were newlyweds, they were, of course, in love. Their viewpoint would be one hundred percent, they could see only positives in one another. Sally was brushing her teeth one morning, wearing her old, raggedy bathrobe, and was drooling a bit as she brushed. Marvin glanced in and thought, ‘Gee, she even looks good when she’s drooling; and that bathrobe, its practically in pieces but she wears it like a Queen. And she has the cutest walk, she kind of hops every now and then.’

He can see only the positives in his spouse. But as would happen, time goes by and the positive viewpoint slips down the scale a bit; now he’s down to 90 degrees on our arbitrary scale and a few negatives are creeping in to mar his attitude. He says to Sally, ‘Honey, would you mind closing the bathroom door when you brush your teeth, you drool you know, it doesn't look good. And I wish you would get yourself a new robe, that one makes you look like you're homeless.’

More time goes by; the positive viewpoint slips down another few degrees, he still loves her; but... Marvin comes home one day and says, ‘Sally, I've enrolled you in a charm school; you have the silliest walk.’

But what’s changed? Sally hasn't, the only thing that has changed is his viewpoint.

Love is a positive viewpoint, the higher the degree the less you see the negatives.

I hope this has been of help to you. I will, from time to time contribute a few thoughts here. When I do have something I feel will be of special interest I'll title the piece, ‘Burt’s Little Corner.’

Incidentally, some of you may know that one of my loves is painting, which I've only recently discovered a bit of talent for. The photo here was taken a few weeks ago as I was putting a few finishing touches to my version of Vincent’s bedroom. Enjoy.

Burt Goldman

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but there's no law against meditating in public places, right?

Why, then, do authorities seem determined to stop my new friend Max Simon and his friends from doing their thing?

You may have heard of Max. He's the 26 year old founder of the selfcentered Tour (getselfcentered.com), a new school meditation movement that's on a mission to inspire a million people to learn meditation by 2010.

The meditation session you can see in the video is called a Public Display of Meditation (PDM). Max has been holding them across the country in all sorts of unbelievable venues, from Hollywood Boulevard to shopping malls, and the buzz has caught on like wildfire.

I recently met Max at my 81st birthday party, and I think he's an astounding young man.

This is exactly what we need to get the younger generation interested in meditation. Max is successfully branding his form of meditation into a refreshing, modern package that is fast catching on among young people throughout the world.

The son of best selling author David Simon M.D., he's been meditating since the age of 4. And by the time he was 22, he was the youngest meditation and yoga teacher at the Chopra Center.

After barely a year of operations, he's already gained the praises of Mr. Deepak Chopra himself, Apl of the Black Eyed Peas and Ms. Debbie Ford.

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he reaches his one million mark!

You can visit his website here: www.getselfcentered.com

So, if you had the chance to meditate anywhere in the world, where would it be? Please leave your comments in the box below.

All this talk about the $700 billion bailout plan and the economic crisis is going to reach its peak very, very soon.

Yes, I'm talking about the Presidential Election on the 4th of November. And while I'm sure you've already formulated your own opinions and reasons for what action you're going to take on that day, believe me on this - you absolutely must see what one very prominent man has to say about it all:

Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger and author of the best-selling Conversations with God series of books, an incredible compilation that has changed the lives and perspectives of millions across the world.

Now you know me - I'm not going to take sides or get into any overly political discussions, but his message makes more sense to me than most of the other opinions I've been hearing lately.

Just visit the link below to download a free, exclusive interview with Neale, where he reveals his choice for Presidency, the beliefs that have caused Americans to make the wrong choice, and much more:

Neale Donald Walsch Interview

How do you feel about this? What will you have in mind when casting your vote?

I'm doing my best to help us all get through this, and that's why I need to hear your concerns. So please leave your comments in the box below.

Here's to our future,

Burt

P.S. And as you remember, I created my profile on facebook. I'd love to have you as my friends...please add me!

Ever since I saw just how many people have been affected by the $700 billion bailout and the global economic crisis, I knew it was part of my mission and responsibility to reach out and help.

I hope that the "Prosperity Program" solution I put together will really help you sail through these tough times.

However, I became concerned last night when I received an email from one particular person who expressed an internal conflict about using the "Prosperity Program". While on the one hand he told me he is desperate to give himself and his family a better life, but on the other hand he feels this is "materialistic and selfish".

He then went on to say, "There is so much pain and suffering going on in the world and far more people in other third world countries worse off than us. Shouldn't our collective consciousness be focused on helping others, rather than simply helping ourselves?"

Well, please allow me to tell you about my dear friend Cynthia Kersey. You may remember me talking about her before, she was one of the people that joined me for my birthday celebrations (for those of you who are my friend on Facebook, you can see pictures from my Birthday dinner there).

Cynthia has a heart of gold, bless her kind soul. She, like me, is on a mission to help the world the best way she can. Currently, she is focusing her efforts in Africa.

Now, the key point I want to stress here is "the best way she can".

A few years ago, Cynthia had an important choice to make. She needed to decide whether to go to Africa and help by giving her physical time and energy to build a local school, or to focus her efforts on her dream of becoming a successful author and entrepreneur.

What would the best choice be? Many would think it is far less selfish to do the former.

However, Cynthia realized something very important. She realized that by going to Africa to physically help in the effort of building a school, she would actually be doing the world more injustice by not using all the resources available to her wisely. This would not be true to her mission of helping the world in the best way she can.

Realizing that she was in an incredible position to build wealth and raise awareness, Cynthia knew she could make a bigger impact on the world by donating more than just her physical time and energy. Starting her career as a secretary, she rose to become a sales executive at Sprint Communications. She then left Corporate America in 1996 to pursue her dream of writing and encouraging people to live "unstoppable" lives.

Today she is earning her wealth by spreading her powerful message around the world to help empower individuals so they can build and maintain a successful business and to create a rich and meaningful life. Even numerous Fortune 500 Companies, including Xerox, Johnson & Johnson and Aetna, have benefited from her message and strategies.

With all this in hand, Cynthia is "unstoppable" in her mission. She now has the power, influence and wealth to build 40 schools in Africa, and is aiming to send 4,000 African children to their first day of school (ever) by spring 2009 and has provided life-saving services that will enable these children to remain in school. This is far more than what she could have achieved by lending her physical labor to help build one African school a few years ago.

All in all, I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a difference between "gold-digger" and "heart of gold".

It all boils down to intentions. My intention in making the "Prosperity Program" is not to create some get-rich-quick scheme that does little to benefit the world.

My intention is to help as many people as I can KNOW HOW TO TAP INTO THEIR RESOURCES to attract prosperity so that they can reach out and help even more people.

There is no pain in prosperity... there is only purpose.

Towards a meaningful and rich life,

Burt Goldman
~The American Monk

P.S. And as you remember, I created my profile on facebook. I'd love to have you as my friends...please add me!

It seems to me that the $700 billion bailout plan is some sort of a "Get Out of Jail Free" card... but the question I beg to ask is...

Free for who?

Watch this video and tell me how you feel.

What are your top concerns? How are you already affected? I'd like to know, because NOW is the most important time for us to unite our collective consciousness and focus on the same goal if we, Americans and fellow citizens across the world, are to make it through.

But before I can help you do that, I need to know where you stand right now. So please leave your thoughts and feelings below.

Don't worry, I will not leave your side in these times. I'll be in touch again soon.

Sincerely,
Burt

My perfect Birthday ended with an energetic and exciting dinner organized by Vishen Lakhiani and Mike Reining, co-founders of MindValleyMedia.com. I had a pleasure to meet some of their colleagues from the personal growth industry:
* Paul Hoffman of SuccessSongs.com
* Gary Goldstein, who produced the movie Pretty Woman
* Cynthia Kersey, the author of "Unstoppable"
* Bill Lae, the filmmaker behind "The Instrument"
* Max Simon, the 26 year old meditation promoter behind GetSelfCentered.com and publishers

Take a look at this video Vishen took amidst the celebration.

And here are some snaps of the event:

Apart from learning how to blog, I have also created my VERY OWN Facebook account! I'd love to hear from all of you, so click below to add me as a friend!

Thanks again, you will be hearing from me soon.
Burt Goldman

Hello everyone,

I would like to start off by thanking you once again for all of the heartwarming birthday wishes that I received within the last few days.

It's humbling to know that I have touched so many of your lives.

I'd love to share with you some of the moments of the best Birthday of my life.
Below are some pictures I managed to snap the morning of my Birthday while enjoying a relaxing stroll down the California coastline.

I especially love taking pictures of birds. There is something so calming and relaxing about watching such elegant creatures soar above you.

For those of you who don't know, photography is a passion of mine and I hope to be able to share many of my pictures with you in the future - now that Alexandra has shown me how to blog

After the stroll I enjoyed a delightful breakfast and spent a relaxing day at home with my family.

Have a wonderful day!
Burt Goldman