Readers....again, sorry for the detour.   I've got behind on postings due to Goodreads being blocked at work....this is "supposed" to be getting remedied soon. Thus here are postings from June 7th - 17th.... AJ


Our posting June 10th is a quote by rock and roll icon, Janis Joplin, who certainly knew the real significance of these words, "Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got".

Janis Joplin was a tragic hero to be sure. Quickly running from an adolescence filled with bullying and mockery, ironically, upon returning to her 10 year high school class reunion determined to prove herself, she found no matter how famous one becomes, there are some boundaries which cannot be crossed without pain and anguish.

Dead at only 27 due to a heroin overdose in 1970, Joplin had fought compromise on every front, truly having only herself in the end. "Janis Joplin has passed into the realm of legend: an outwardly brash yet inwardly vulnerable and troubled personality who possessed one of the most passionate voices in rock history. It could be argued that her legacy has as much to do with her persona as her singing. Music journalist Ellen Wills asserted that 'Joplin belonged to that select group of pop figures who mattered as much for themselves as for their music. Among American rock performers, she was second only to Bob Dylan in importance as a creator-recorder-embodiment of her generation’s mythology'"(rockhall.com).

Compromising "self" is giving up on all OUR needs and desires and to be sure, when we compromise "self" we find unhappiness. As unique individuals, how unfortunate to spend this uniqueness miserable. We are too precious to waste our life on anything other than enjoying what we have to offer the world; our positivity and the personal successes which can inspire others.

Don't compromise who you are. Believe in who you CAN be by BEING who your are.

Keep looking up. AJ



Our reading for June 11th from Allen James' Calendar Books is, "Tell the truth the best you can".

How sad it is we are brought up in a manner where when we tell a lie we grow to believe we are a bad person, a loser, we are not to be trusted, and yes, some even believe they are going to Hell for the little white lie they told as a child.

No one's perfect. We hear this almost on a daily basis as an adult, or we tell ourselves this almost on a daily basis, and for sure it's true. We work each day toward perfection as we age, but as we mentioned in our earlier post a few days ago, we'll never reach it.

And how confusing it is for children we are taught about the ills of lying and then grow to an age of realizing we've been lied to. Today clinical psychologist, Dr. Laura Markham answers a question from about lying to children about about the Tooth Fairy.

In my own training it was drilled into my head in most all of my courses relating to parenting skills the importance of children knowing they can trust their parents to tell them the truth, even about, yes, myths. In other words, when your kids ask if Santa, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny are real, you should tell them the truth.

Dr. Markham reiterates the difficulty in this for parents. "We may feel we are crushing a belief that our child needs. When my daughter was five years old, she asked me if the tooth fairy was real. When I told her no, she became very angry at me, not because I had lead her to believe that a make-believe character was real, but because she wanted so much for the tooth fairy to be real. I desperately wanted to hedge, so I know how you felt with your son. Somehow I resisted the temptation, and let her cry and rage, not just at the unfair world, but at me. Over and over, I reflected back to her how disappointed she was, and how much she wished the tooth fairy could be real, and how angry she felt at that moment at the world and at me.

My daughter is now twelve, and remembers this incident clearly. She told me recently that she thought that I did the right thing, and that she would have been even angrier at me if I had lied in response to her direct question. Even though she was disappointed that the tooth fairy wasn’t real, she thinks it was better for me to tell her the truth when she wanted to know. But I still recall my own anxiety and internal debate about whether I was doing the right thing" (www.ahaparenting.com).

My approach over the years when parents have brought their child in for my assistance in breaching the topic has been to treat these characters precisely the way I do Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Dora the Explorer: they’re real characters but not real people. When a child tells me Santa has a beard and wears a red suit, I don't have a problem with it, just as true as the facts Winnie the Pooh likes honey and Dora has a friend named Boots. If, on the other hand, the child asks me whether Santa Claus brought him/her a particular present, I say, no, her grandmother bought it. This strikes me as the perfect balance between letting to children and helping them enjoy their childhood and building their trust.

I sometimes make the point no wonder our society has so many who don't believe in Jesus Christ; they find out too late they've been lied to about the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy....if they're not real, then why should they believe they aren't been lied to about Jesus Christ as well?

Tell the truth the best you can.....and always...keep looking up. AJ




Calendar Books by Allen James' posting for June 12th refers not to one of Allen James' calendar books, but to his first novella...."Reflections".

Beautiful Chelsey Williams is determined to get to her grandparent's from Michigan for the holidays despite finding herself facing a harsh Vermont blizzard. The ailing Volkswagen Beatle she has depended on to travel for so long is no match for the heavy snow and building ice. Losing control of her old friend, the bug, she swerves and is knocked unconscious when she barrels into a snow drift.

Enter Joel Cantrell, an aspiring artist and the man who appears to be everything she's ever wanted; handsome, compassionate, wealthy...yet harboring a horrific secret.

Will she make it home where Granny Mae and Papaw Lincoln are patiently waiting for her arrival so they can give her the news which she shoild have been told years ago, that she...?

You'll have to read the book to find out...

"Reflections" was first published in 1992 through what is called a Vanity Press....or more simply put, through a publisher which the author pays him/herself to publish their book. I was able to do this at the time through the help of "investors" who put up an equal amount of cash as I with the understanding (via contract) they may or may not receive a return on their investment. I had always read to get a publisher one had to already have already been published. This was my "in".

It was a great experience for me; the initial investor party where I presented each with a signed copy of the book to a toast of "champagne" (Sparkling White Grape Juice), then book signings, articles, speaking engagements. It was a whirlwind of activity. My investors received a 16% return of their investment and I my dream to become a published author was realized. I then realized
what I had read about getting picked up by a publishing house had been farce; to get picked up by a publishing house one had to have money and celebrity, neither of which I possessed. In order to publish my second novel, "Midnight Journey", a follow-up to "Reflections", I would have to take the same route as my first novel. The air was let out of my balloon of joy.

Then the years stacked up upon themselves. I continued to write; short stories, novella after novella, poetry, songs, children's books. However the business of day to day life prevented me from focusing on what I enjoyed the most, expressing myself through the written word.

I now find it 20 years later, I pick up where I left off; however the world of publishing has changed drastically with the advancements in technology. "Reflections" is to be released as a 2nd edition in the spring of 2014 with a new cover and edited here and there. Following soon after my children's book, "Crystal the Condor Makes Friends" and is already being considered by the National Parks System for placement in select National Parks' gift stores. "Blue Hydrangea" is scheduled for release in the fall of 2014 with "The End" slated for release in the spring of 2015.

Sounds like a long time off, but we all know as adults how time does literally fly past us. I look forward to the journey and having you along with me.

Keep looking up. : ) AJ






Welcome to the new week....was certainly a beautiful weekend in Southeast Missouri with temperatures remaining in the "tolerable" range (which for me means the mid 80s). I didn't post much over the weekend to give a respite to those who are so dedicated to "LIKE"ing and "SHARE"ing my posts. However a new week is upon us and we do have a message of thinking and living in a more positive manner and sharing our personal successes. So here goes.... : )

Calendar Books by Allen James reading for June 17th from "The Journey: A Calendar Book"..."Don't ignore that child you were, He/she's still there and needs love".

All of us recognize this down deep in our beings. We often yearn to be the child we once were but realize the adult world puts too much responsibility upon us for us to allow our child self any time.

In my private practice I utilize a technique known as Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP); neuro meaning mind and linguistic meaning language. Within this technique those with whom I work and implement NLP are able to reprogram their brains to make more appropriate choices in their lives. I've seen it benefit a multitude of individuals in making better grades, ceasing smoking, losing weight and overcoming phobias.

One aspect of the NLP allows patients to see their child self clearly and spending some quality time reacquainting themselves with this child self. It's comforting to watch the reunification of this "child" who defines so much of who we are as adults and embracing him/her again.

It's a highly held belief men never grow up; we remain forever entrenched in our adolescence. Why might this be? It's as well a well known fact boys mature 2-3 years behind girls. Could it be possible females like this attribute of males, until they lose communion with their child self, then they loose the connection as to why it was they loved in the first place?

Questions which will continue to go unanswered. Don't forget the child within.....he/she is still there and desperately needs your love.

Keep looking up. AJ





Welcome to the new week....was certainly a beautiful weekend in Southeast Missouri with temperatures remaining in the "tolerable" range (which for me means the mid 80s). I didn't post much over the weekend to give a respite to those who are so dedicated to "LIKE"ing and "SHARE"ing my posts. However a new week is upon us and we do have a message of thinking and living in a more positive manner and sharing our personal successes. So here goes.... : )

Calendar Books by Allen James reading for June 17th from "The Journey: A Calendar Book"..."Don't ignore that child you were, He/she's still there and needs love".

All of us recognize this down deep in our beings. We often yearn to be the child we once were but realize the adult world puts too much responsibility upon us for us to allow our child self any time.

In my private practice I utilize a technique known as Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP); neuro meaning mind and linguistic meaning language. Within this technique those with whom I work and implement NLP are able to reprogram their brains to make more appropriate choices in their lives. I've seen it benefit a multitude of individuals in making better grades, ceasing smoking, losing weight and overcoming phobias.

One aspect of the NLP allows patients to see their child self clearly and spending some quality time reacquainting themselves with this child self. It's comforting to watch the reunification of this "child" who defines so much of who we are as adults and embracing him/her again.

It's a highly held belief men never grow up; we remain forever entrenched in our adolescence. Why might this be? It's as well a well known fact boys mature 2-3 years behind girls. Could it be possible females like this attribute of males, until they lose communion with their child self, then they loose the connection as to why it was they loved in the first place?

Questions which will continue to go unanswered. Don't forget the child within.....he/she is still there and desperately needs your love.

Keep looking up. AJ