Thought Changer

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Welcome! If this is your first visit or if you’ve been here before but haven’t had a chance to subscribe, would love to have you as a part of the Thought Changer community which has moved to Substack! Just sign up in the box to the left. You’ll get a welcome email from me at Substack. Don’t forget to click the confirmation link. Thought Changer looks at everyday life metaphors. We explore new ways to think about what we do, improve our mindset and live more consciously. And, if something moves you, please share! Thank you and enjoy this Thought Changer.

“I had an epiphany.” We’ve all felt that inspiring moment of realization at one time or another, the powerful insight that was going to change everything. It’s a great feeling, right? Okay, you had an epiphany. So, now what? While reading Step 2 in the Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous this morning – yes, I admit I’m an overeater – I was hit by a wave of epiphany. As part of my work in this program I’ve committed to “no dieting”. Dieting, I’ve learned, for me is an aspect of the compulsive behavior that’s part of the problem and not the solution. Intellectually, makes a lot of sense. But, as a lifelong planner, my mind got to working: how was I going to shed these extra pounds if I don’t diet? Hmmm. I have to figure this out. Cut portions? Cut bread? Cut chocolate? Cut sugar? Cut carbs? Cut, cut… Read more →

The snow was new, with over a foot falling in the past 24 hours. It was fun to be out in it and, as I like to say, I was getting my “fix” of winter wonderland before heading back to LA. To make it all the more wonderland I was coming back from having a heart-to-heart lunch with my 19-year-old “old soul” of a nephew, Kirk. We were pushing the clock, trying to stretch time before I had to leave for the airport. And, as is so often a way of life in December in Michigan, the road held surprise patches of ice. One such patch presented itself with much fanfare as we approached a back-up of cars stopped on a two-lane road outside of town. Brake lights appeared and in an instant we were swerving onto the shoulder and into the yard, thankfully without a ditch, with all four… Read more →

By Cindy Yantis “We’re heading into heavy snow.” I heard someone in the airport utter this as he got ready to board my flight. Flights were cancelled, roads were closed, plans were diverted, all due to heavy snow. I find the phrase “heavy snow” intriguing. It’s hard to think of anything lighter than snow. Or to break it down further, there’s not many things lighter or more delicate than a snowflake. Each tiny piece of frosted crystal sweet and unique, completely different that the millions of other perfect ice sculptures cascading down along with it. They create a silent symphony of white and calm, of peace and newness. That is until there are too many of them all at once, storming on top one another so that they’re packed into a heaviness that can become treacherous, even deadly. One could imagine the breezy conversation taking place among them. “What happened?… Read more →

“He was in his divinity.” That’s what Sheryl Crow had to say recently about watching Michael Jackson in action. She had toured with him early in her career and remarked about standing off stage and witnessing his genius at work, about how he seemed to go to a different place. “He was in his divinity.” We probably all know, or have seen, people who seem to be doing exactly what they were put on this earth to do. You know it when you see it. There’s nothing sexier or more attractive than a man or woman in his or her element. Sometimes they even appear to glow. They seem grounded, confident and things drift easily to them, whether it’s opportunity, money or circumstance. It got me thinking about purpose and mission and why-are-we-here, which I think about a lot. A lot. I believe, after studying the works of Marianne Williamson,… Read more →

There were so many amazing photos posted recently of the Blue Moon. It was awe-and-then-some! I took several moments on my patio, breathing into the seeming expansiveness in the air created by the sight of the magnificent orb. I tried to get a photo, but couldn’t capture it. The best one I found was posted by my friend John Tamerlano on his FB page, so I’m borrowing it! Thanks, JT. Just looking at it creates a sense of wonder abou t what lies beyond it. It got me thinking about the Unknown and what an impact, good and bad, it can have on our lives, and how the prospect of the Unknown can bring on excitement, anticipation, fear or terror in varying degrees or all at once. As we strive to raise the level of our playing field we will continually approach and cross the threshold to the Unknown. To… Read more →

A recent dinner with dear old friends conjured more than just catching up. Sure we did a quick rewind through the last three years since seeing each other. But, with this particular family of friends I always leave much more grounded and inspired than I was at hello. And, we echoed many stories being told around many dinner tables right now, stories of challenges faced, jobs changed and upcoming choices being made. There was a shared rekindling taking place. It’s the same theme after every encounter with my friends, the Googasians. I left them after dinn er and walked across Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica to gaze out over the ocean. It was vast and dark and mysterious. But, stealing the scene from the ocean was the ferris wheel whirling on the Santa Monica Pier which was bustling with activity. The ferris wheel was a sight to behold. At night… Read more →

Something doesn’t sit well. And, when something doesn’t sit well, you can feel it, right? It goes against the grain. It can wake you up in the middle of the night. Why is that? That happened recently, believe or not, when I posted a photo of the new Mars skyline on the Thought Changer Facebook page. A friend sent it to me and I was so blown away by the awesomosity of it that I just had to share it. The photo went viral with over 3300 people seeing or sharing my posted photo over the course of a couple of days. What I loved about it is that it brought new visits and members to Thought Changer, the place where we share authentic views and ideas to expand the mind. Very cool! Then, I found out the photo is counterfeit. A fake. And, I didn’t remove it from my… Read more →

The notion of legacy washed through my consciousness several times recently. I took in the new flick, THE BOURNE LEGACY, which in my opinion did nothing to add to Robert Ludlum’s real legacy as a prolific writer of mysteries, including the Bourne novels, which were full of rich levels of intrigue and character. This new one, not written by Ludlum, not so much. CBS Sunday Morning did a profile on the late Marvin Hamlisch, celebrating his life legacy of music. As I watched it I remembered seeing Mr. Hamlisch live in Detroit when he conducted the orchestra for Barbra Streisand. I was moved to tears the way his music transported the audience down memory lane. It got me thinking about the art of legacy and what that means. What is a l egacy and how do we decide what ours is to become? Or are we even the ones who… Read more →

One of my favorite photographers, Jennifer Kelley Lublin, posted this mesmerizing photo this week. Photo by JennKL I could imagine myself on this path and wondered what kind of magic lay just around the bend. The trees seem to be willing to lend a helping hand or to part their branches to shed more light along on the way. Wherever it leads, I want to go there. It got me thinking about life’s journey and the many paths, full of twists and turns, that are available to us every day. Which to take? Which way to turn when a fork presents itself? The big moments and life-altering milestones many times present themselves as these forks in the road, where you have to make a decision. Sometimes it’s scary and really hard to make that first step. This is where the magic of the Path of Least Resistance comes in. Have… Read more →

“In Love With Words” That’s the title I gave one of my Pinterest categories. I’m a bit late in the game on Pinterest, but I’ve become slightly obsessed. It’s one of the most creative time sucks ever invented! My love affair with words only intensifies with each passing day. As a writer, the hunt for the perfect word is a mind-bending expedition that can end in a second or can become a witch-hunt for that elusive term or turn-of-phrase or line of dialog. While procrastinating last night, which is really another way of saying my brain was germinating on the right words to put on paper, I went on the cool wordart site, Wordl, where you can create word clouds. I plugged in some words from this blog site to create a Thought Changer Cloud. It came out looking like this: Bravo. Word. It reminded me of an article I… Read more →