For as long as humans have existed on this Earth our species has been studying the stars, planets, galaxies, and other astrological bodies, as well as their (and our) home - the universe. It is so immense that no one actually knows where it begins or ends. In fact...there isn't a person alive who can be certain that it has a beginning or an end, or...if there aren't other universes. Perhaps we live in a cosmos of multiverses. 

Yet, there is one thing that I am sure of - you, my blog reading friend, are most certainly the center of your universe. Okay, you may not be the center of MY universe, but...I can tell you this - without you, your universe wouldn't exist.

You see, everything is relative. No one knows what another person's view of reality is. Nor can we be able to fully understand what goes on in another human's (or for that matter, any other living thing's) mind. So, without you, your universe wouldn't exist. It would cease to be. Or, as Monty Python might (also) say..."It is no more."

Just as the age old question asks, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" the same holds true for everything else, including our "universal concepts." In other words...the universe exists for you only because you are in it, can observe or detect it, use your senses to identify it, and call on your (and others') knowledge to "verify" that it is an actual entity.

However, what happens when you're gone? Once YOU'VE ceased to be...does the universe, as you now know it, continue to be "real." A philosophical conundrum? Indeed! But - one that will never be fully answered because of who must answer it. 

As we go through life, we are constantly swimming through a sea of concepts and constructs. Many of which are believed by most, some of them believed by many, and a few of them believed by a small number - perhaps just one. So...before you make absolute statements, think about the dilemma each of us faces on a continuous basis, and even then - you may only be right for yourself.

Have fun dissecting things my friends...it certainly is an invigorating exercise - at least it is for one person I know...me!

Life coaching has become a catch-all phrase used by all sorts of people and organizations to promote a better, happier, more productive, and successful life. Some people opt for schools (a relatively new phenomenon)  that certify folks to be a coach. Of course...who certifies the schools and, more importantly...who certifies and monitors the certifying agency and the certifiers? It's a question, I, and many others have asked. And, just like any other schools and those who attended them, your teacher could have graduated at the top of his or her class or the bottom - yet no one ever asks. In fact - when was the last time you asked your doctor his or her rank in their graduating class? My guess is...never. That notwithstanding, I tip my hat to the thousands of qualified coaches who help millions of people everyday!

I've been coaching people for many, many, years. So long in fact, that I actually had hair on my head when I started and my beard was all dark! I love helping people and thoroughly enjoy it when I, and they, see real progress in their lives. Getting people to understand who they are and why and how they do things, opens up doors for them that they may never have realized. Finding new success in their lives, whether from a business perspective, materialistically, emotionally, or spiritually, never ceases to make me feel wonderful.

One of the greatest things a life coach can experience is when his or her client moves away from fear, insecurity, low self-esteem, jealousy, anger, hate, and self-sabotaging and self-defeating behaviors, and begins to find the person they were hoping to be their entire life. 

I began formally coaching in 1972 when I worked with my employees to help them grow and live a happier, more successful life. Now...I coach and train groups, both large (amphitheaters, huge hotel meeting rooms, and  banquet halls), and small (corporate conference rooms, classrooms, and individuals' homes and offices). We're, both my clients and myself, always learning. That's why I see my capacity as a university professor as an extension of my coaching and training. I also love the fact that I continue to, through the magic of computers and teleconferencing, coach people all over this amazing planet.

If you are a life coach or have, or will, use the services of a life coach...I salute you. If you're stuck, feel "down," are looking to reach the potential you've always thought you could, want to be more content, happier, more enlightened, have better relationships, or just want to experience that "balance" so many people seem to have lost...perhaps the guidance of a coach can help. But - ultimately, it's up to you to make sure your journey is fruitful.

Life is incredible. And...even though we are part of it, embody it, thrive in it, and leave it (in the form we call a person), we rarely think about how astonishing it is.

I recently wrote this post on my Facebook Community Page: "When was the last time you looked at a leaf? Really looked at it...the beauty, the intricacy, the complexity, and the fact that it's alive. Now - think about doing that more often and with more things...including yourself. How amazing this life is - how amazing!"

Do ever stop and thing about you? You...that life force who walks around, breathes, eats, sings, dances, speaks, sees, smells, feels, emotes, and disposes of waste. Wow, you - we...and all the other living things on Earth are...when you ponder it, really incredible machines. We are constantly doing. Even when we "sleep" the molecules within us are moving. Our organs pump and create, cells grow, die, and are born. So many things are happening within us that the number of cells, neurons, synapses, and other life force entities, are so enormous that reading about it boggles the mind. The same mind that's processing that information, allowing us to think, desire, relax, and on and on.

Life is not to be taken lightly. It's constantly moving. Look at your hands, your face, or any other part of your (or any other being's) body and think about the things that are happening on and in you (or them). Many of the organisms that are on our surfaces and in our bodies aren't even what make us a person (dog, cat, cockroach, tree, clam, mouse, etc.) they're aliens. Bacteria, viruses, and other "things" that, without them, we wouldn't be able to exist. They alleviate infections, process our food, and help with our overall metabolism.

We, every one of us, are to be marveled at, embraced, coveted, and admired. We are specimens of life. What more fantastic thing is there in this universe? A universe whose elements are part of us. And - while trillions of activities are happening within us in mere seconds - stop and think how absolutely fantastic life is. It truly is awe inspiring...treat it with respect.