#UnBlockYourself

Tea philosophies: Perfection in the imperfection: Beauty in originality age, being an individual Time: Past, present, future. A sense of purpose: living out who you are called to be   Tea Conversations brings you into the present, in the moment, while you reflect on the past to create a better future to come   The bankable connection in tea is truly the relationships strengthened in each tea service Relationship with God Relationship within yourself Relationship with friends family and others

Questions: What good shall i do today? ( if you can answer this before the day begins you have already set goals you will be working on for the end of the day's reflection Where did I grow today? Who did I help? What did I do well today? How can I make tomorrow even better?

Yuko and Jeff deep dive into cultural perspectives on food, family, faith, lifestyles, and points of view.

Tea Time 31: Grow to where you want to grow! “You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are. The other side of the coin is, Unless you change who you are, you will always have what you got.” For things to change for you, you have to change, or things aren't going to change. Jim Rohn   He was also talking about how income does not far exceed personal development. Sometimes it can take a lucky jump, but unless you grow out to where it is, it will always come back to where you are. He gave this example, "Its been said that if all the money in the world was taken and divided up, and given to everyone equally, It would soon all be back in the same pockets."  Let's grow to where we want to be!

Can you imagine waking up and reading the morning news to see how everyone thought of you because they thought that you had passed?  If you don't think that you'd like what others would say about you, now would be a perfect time to change the public's opinion.  Reflect on what you have been doing, and if there needs to be changes, how can you start?

Tea Time 29: To forgive and accept forgiveness For a relationship to move forward, a conversation and/or an agreement needs to take place. Forgiveness, and also the acceptance of forgiveness.

Tea Time 28: How you are being treated may be a reflection of you.   Life maybe "returning the favor". How you are being treated may be a reflection of you and how you actually treat others. Many of the things we experience through relationships and interactions are the very "favors" being returned to us.

Tea Time 27: Healing and Hurtful Words. Words can get under your skin and heal or get on top and grind away.

Tea Time 26: Your words are heard

Tea Time 25: You are in a good place…   Sometimes I get complacent where I am and I end up trying to break free and enter a space where I do not belong. This really frustrates the system. I'm frustrated because everything is against me. The environment is frustrated because it has to contend with an outside influence that it was not prepared to handle quite yet.   God has us where we are to grow and learn and then move on to next phases at the appropriate time.

Tea Time 24: Things are working for your good. Romans 8:28 is one of my foundation scriptures that keeps me look at things in a positive light when things don't go the way I really wanted them to go.

Tea Time 23: Do you have a habit of playfully testing God?    I sometimes say what I can to get what I want out of my moments with God, and that really is not a good thing.  I believe He listens to what we want, but I also believe that we should get to know Him and not test the limits.

Its easy to see what's right in front of us. But we have to look at the big picture to understand what God is doing in front, behind, and all around us, making things work for our good.

Tea Time 21: understanding signs and having the right focus to deal with them appropriately.

Tea Time 20: Rejecting God's Help Many times over the years I can look beck and see where I humbly and respectfully declined God's help, even though I may have asked for it.

Tea Time 19: Gotta get out there! Do you have a solution to a problem? Are you taking that solution to those who need it? Or are you waiting on them to find you?

Tea Time 18: Are leaning on God's Wisdom? Thinking big and according to your God given vision will put you into some God-Sized-Thinking situations! Do you call upon His wisdom daily? Thinking small doesn't really require much, but are you thinking big enough to know that "this is going to take God to make this happen..." type thoughts? Many of our stories and experience are setup for our testimony so that when others hear them, they build their faith too,  and everyone benefits.

Tea Time 17: Honor the giver by using the gift as the giver intended! My reflection time comes from a statement my pastor gave today. "The giver is far more important than the gift". As we reflect on the many blessings we've been given: Don't let the gift replace the giver. Don't let the gift cause you to forget the giver. Treasure the gift, and honor the giver. Honor the giver by using the gift as the giver intended!  

Tea Time 16: What are you looking at? How you view others is important, but where are you looking? People try to put up many faces and facades, but looking on the inside, thought process and mindsets will reveal a clearer picture to you. Showing you their character and motives behind their behaviors!

Tea Time 15: Are you building your network? Two questions: Are you building your network? and to dig a little deeper, what kind? What kind of people are you trying to put in place to help you grow and go to the next level?

Tea Time 14: Do you have any life philosophies? Last of the five pillars calls for you to understand your ways of life. To guide you, you should develop things like core values, and life philosophies. The things you live by help you to live through the things that try to stand in your way!

Tea Time 13: Can you find peace in what you are doing?   We are learning that we should find peace in what we do. Also we should mix and blend unlikely components or new things we learn and experience to make things harmonious and balanced.

Tea Time 12: Are you learning new things?    Today we looked at maintaining a good relationship with people even when we disagree with them. On top of that, learning new things while still remaining true to ourselves.

Tea Time 11: How are you staying balanced? Balance, Peace, and Harmony. Let's keep ourselves level headed and radiating who God wants us to be.

Tea Time 10: What words describe you?  What words are being used to describe you when others are talking about you? Does this line up with who you want to be and how you want to be described?

Tea Time 9: Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. So what delights you? When your desires and His desires line up, that's usually when the door is open abundantly!

Tea Time 8: Who has God put in your path to help you and you haven't even noticed? Have you looked at your circle of influence lately? Are there ones in it who seem to really have your back? Are they there to help you and you haven't directly communicated your vision to them yet?

Tea Time 7: Are your words building or tearing down the relationships you are trying to establish?

Tea Time 6: Are your words, thoughts, and actions leading to results? Let the things we say and do make deposits and build relationships!

Tea Time 5: What words are on repeat in your head?  Like a never ending song playing over and over again in your head, what are words or sayings that also stick in there? How do think it affects your thoughts and actions?

Tea Time 4: Are You Using Your Skills For Yourself? or Your Purpose...   I find when we discover our gifts we usually try to use it to make a profit from them. But was that what they were intended for us to do with them? Think about it.

Tea Time 3: Have positioned yourself to where you are unstoppable? (all things will be working for your good!)   When we are functioning in our purpose we often find ourselves in the position where the know how and experience we have acquired keeps us in peace and safety no matter what is happening around us.

Tea Time 2: In todays tea time we are talking about you doing your best and giving your all. Are we doing our best, or is it just good enough?

Sharing my tea time with you!  Here is today's thought: Why not start today?

Wabi-Sabi overall is finding perfection in the imperfections... finding strength in our weaknesses. Wabi deals with the beauty in uniqueness, individuality, singularity. Sabi shows respect to the aged, weathered, antique, defects, and mistakes. A little history: Sen Rikyu was considered the "godfather of the tea ceremony" - Tea Ceremony was designed to bring peace in oneself, and peace to Lords and politicians, higher ups... - It became a way to show off, be flashy, and display how much better you were than every one else. - Rikyu stripped it down to bare essentials, and wabi sabi focused on the simplicity of materials used. - The humbled tea ceremony took the focus off of the vain materialistic aspects, and returned the focus back to the participants sharing in the moment.

We are all a Masterpiece, we carry a piece of the Master within us. This “piece” is purpose, which He plants deep within us to have His will fulfilled in the earth.   Adapted From Trust & Inspire: We all have purpose inside each of us, although sometimes it is just dormant, the seed is always there it just needs the right conditions to flourish.   Our desires to accomplish something causes us to start to line up the right conditions to awaken the potential within us. We need to recognize that there is power in the seed. We need to nurture it so that this seed within us can flourish… not unlike the soil, water, air, and sunlight that enable a seed to grow. As it grows, we start to see that our purpose will begin to “show and grow”, becoming an unstoppable force toward its goal.     Adapted From Mastery: When our purpose seed planted deep within us starts to grow, it has a voice which calls us to that authentic being is what we call "vocation." But the majority of us will devote all of our time trying to silence that voice and refuse to hear it.  This is because it is unique to us, and since it is not the “norm”, we stand out. Not to stand out, we would have to distract ourselves in order not to hear it by substituting our genuine selves and authentic voice from our purpose for the a false, “this is what everyone is doing” voice that calls us to conform to social norms.   All of us are born unique. This uniqueness is marked genetically in our DNA. We are a one-time phenomenon in the universe-our exact genetic makeup has never occurred before nor will it ever be repeated.

Our plans are how we design them to be. Design your day before you start it. Design your week before you start your day. Design your month before you start the week. This gets you to start living life by design.   Put yourself in the center of your design. I have a pond with a fountain in it. The water is constantly and consistently disturbed. Ripples are always flowing from the center of this distraction in the water. About 20 feet away though, the water is calm. Sometimes it's so still at night it is like a mirror reflecting the night sky.    It reminds me of how the tides of life can have these rippling and calming moments. Now, by design, where do we place ourselves? It's according to what we want at the moment. If we want to be busy, or live fast paced, we place ourselves near the fountain. At times we want peace, we put into plans for moments of peace.   Everything according to your design. When we design our lives, and things go according to our plans, we live in the moment instead of living for the moment. Every moment is an Ichigo Ichie.

5 Questions to Unlock and Unblock Yourself: Using the past, present, and future for our self-development, we need to ask ourselves: Where did I come from? Do I view my life and it's lessons and schooling? (Is life teaching me something to prepare me for something bigger? What am I working on? What am I working with? Where am I going? Answer honestly and you may see things you can use from your past right now, to build that future you are called to live out! 

Your Mission is to Master Your Message 3 Involve others. Elevate your position to get a new perspective.

Your Mission is to Master Your Message 2. Stay your lane. To master our message, we cannot be side tracked easily which will take away our message's effectiveness. Staying on point will help you develop and earn your 10,000 hours towards mastery of your special message.

Your Mission is to Master Your Message:   To master something it will take time, focus, intention, and action.   The seed will be your focused intention on doing or creating something.   Seeds have the potential to become great orchards.

Do you have your team in place?   “I am weak, yet I am strong” 2 Cor. 12:9-10   A basket ball team has specific players with a specific jobs. There 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center.  Who is in your starting lineup?   Even though you may be the center for your team, let it be the God within you who make the plays!

Who are your most admired people through history? What made them so different?   I can bet that the thing that separated them from everyone else around them is that they thought different.   Now, to you. What makes you different? Did you know that the problems you solve are there for you to solve them? (Maybe with a little help too)   Your problems may have been hand picked for your to sit down and solve, quietly, strategically, prayerfully, mentally scanning all possibilities for the best outcomes to share with the rest of the world! There is no one else like you. You got this.

How do you define success? It could be from just making it into heaven, becoming a millionaire, or just having a “happy wife, happy life”. No matter how you define it, it is achieved in only one way. Satisfy the customer.   There are five rules to secure a successful relationship between you and your customer. Know who your customer is. Your rewards will be in exact proportion to your service. The more effort you put into satisfying the customer, the more rewards you will receive. Treat others as you want to be treated. Find a way to improve everyday.

Purpos3ful Pathway Intro:   Uniqueness / Wabi Sabi:   Psalm 139:13-16 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.   You are a masterpiece. You carry a piece of the master. He blew breathe into our lungs and they have will not stop until we die. Not only the breath, also the ability to think and imagine, and then execute. Masterfully Crafted. As before, we are crafted, formed, and verified before time began. Masterfully Branded. You are branded with God's character, nature, and intent.Character: Holy, Set Apart -We have our own individual identity Nature: He cannot lie - Most of us have a degree of integrity Intention: Goodwill - We want to good for those we love, and even others to a certain degree.   We are unique: A concept of Wabi Sabi is this: accept yourself for who you are. There is perfection in the imperfections, God knew what He was doing when he made you, so you might as well be yourself, because everyone else is already taken.   Wabi Sabi is a mindset shift that looks at the imperfections of things and finds the beauty in it. There is greatness in you being the only one. You can be the only you that can reach the people only you can. God said that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that is no mistake. Your mistakes and quirkiness are your character, and the sum of experience has created you to be were you are for such a time as this. You are here to turn hurts in to healing, applying your experiences as a balm to others so they won't have to suffer through the same things.     Present / Ichigo Ichie: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV   From wikipedia, “chi-go ichi-e (Japanese: 一期一会, pronounced [it͡ɕi.ɡo it͡ɕi.e], lit. "one time, one meeting") is a Japanese four-character idiom (yojijukugo) that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment. The term has been translated as "for this time only", and "once in a lifetime". The term reminds people to cherish any gathering that they may take part in, citing the fact that any moment in life cannot be repeated; even when the same group of people get together in the same place again, a particular gathering will never be replicated, and thus each moment is always a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Trying to translate it, you will get that ichigo” means “one life or time” and “ichie” means “a one-time encounter or meeting.”      Meaningful Worth Living / Igikai-kan:   “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18   Finding the reason for being, and allowing that to be the source for a long, fulfilled life. Everyone and everything has purpose. We are all at our peak existence when we our serving and doing what we are designed to do. A chair was designed to be sat on. When it constantly used as a ladder, the pressure on the legs make it weak and wobbly, eventually breaking. if you have a pulse, then you have a purpose. The meaning of life is to live a meaningful life.   These will start you on your vision. The vision is the end goal. It is the fuel to keep us going to get to the vision. The path is blurry and dark, rocky and dangerous, but also the fulfilling and the most rewarding. He does not show us the whole path because we would not be able to fathom the greatness and give up immediately.   So we MUST have a connection to God and a connection to others.

This is where I came up with  the term unblockyourself, and I started unblocking myself.

As I'm getting ready to leave for the day, I keep being reminded of this: I have everything I need. I'm taken care of. Also, I pretty much have access to everything I want. Like a game, it needs to be unlocked. God unlocks. I have to #UnBlockYourself (myself) to get to it.   So today's episode is about connecting.  Connect to God to unlock. Connect to yourself to unblock and get out of the way of what He is doing in your life! (And Mine!)

Roadmap to unblock yourself   Over the past 5 years we've pretty much developed a pattern to really getting close to the inner you. This will basically be the next 48 Episodes for the rest of 2023!   Unblocking yourself: Getting out of our own way Mind Body Spirit Finances Social Interactions Summary: a closed fist   Unblocking your potential: Aspirations Roles Expectations Showing Appreciation Summary: AREA at work   Unblocking your balance: Harmony Respect Purity Tranquility Summary: Chowa   Unblocking your clarity: Wabikigai Wabi SabiKanso Fukinsei Shibumi Yugen Shizen Datsuzoku Seijaku Ichigo ichiePast Present Future IkigaiLife worth Living Summary - Wabikigai Adventure   Unblocking your actions: Purpose Vision Mission Summary: Drive to accomplish great things   Unblocking Your Connections: Self to GodKinstugi Self to OthersWhere you fit in Emotional Bank Accounts Self to SelfIdioms & Proverbs Inputs and Outcomes Summary: what you put in is related to what you're getting out   Unblocking your flow Flow How you see things Summary: the beaver: Bottlenecking the flow little by little Roadmap to unblock yourself   Over the past 5 years we've pretty much developed a pattern to really getting close to the inner you. This will basically be the next 48 Episodes for the rest of 2023!   Unblocking yourself: Getting out of our own way Mind Body Spirit Finances Social Interactions Summary: a closed fist   Unblocking your potential: Aspirations Roles Expectations Showing Appreciation Summary: AREA at work   Unblocking your balance: Harmony Respect Purity Tranquility Summary: Chowa   Unblocking your clarity: Wabikigai Wabi SabiKanso Fukinsei Shibumi Yugen Shizen Datsuzoku Seijaku Ichigo ichiePast Present Future IkigaiLife worth Living Summary - Wabikigai Adventure   Unblocking your actions: Purpose Vision Mission Summary: Drive to accomplish great things   Unblocking Your Connections: Self to GodKinstugi Self to OthersWhere you fit in Emotional Bank Accounts Self to SelfIdioms & Proverbs Inputs and Outcomes Summary: what you put in is related to what you're getting out   Unblocking your flow Flow How you see things Summary: the beaver: Bottlenecking the flow little by little

#UnBlockYourself 2023 Thought 3:   You can't physically treat non-physical issues. We've been conditioned to treat things like depression, heartbreak, or negative forms of stress with pills, shots, and alcohol.   We tend to get hooked on treating the results, not address the root of the issue. For example, we may be sluggish and low on energy. But instead of eating healthier, or foods that may give us a boost, we may drink energy drinks.   When we do this, it only treats the symptoms and the problems keeps coming. I have that problem too, but doing this will not bring it to an end. Treating things this way makes us responsive, not proactive. We only will handle things when it gets bad enough to where we can't take it. We have to get to the root of the problems. We have to sometimes go 7 degrees of “why?” to get to the bottom.   For our adventure to continue, when we come up against a wall, we know we have to get to the why of it so we know how to become victorious over it. A tea time, or meditation, time alone with God can help reveal things on a deeper, spiritual level, instead of just the resulting symptoms.   Stay looking ahead and moving forward, you will always move towards the direction you are looking!

#UnBlockYourself 2023 Thought 2:   Your Wabikigai Adventure   “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11   There is an adventure that has been created just for you. Wabikigai is a mash up of three of my favorite words, and it is at the core of our theme for this year.   The “Wabi” in wabikigai is for Wabi Sabi. This is how this adventure is unique to you. Unique, timeless, and beautiful are the experiences that have been created for your journey.   Speaking of timeless, Ichigo Ichie is next. It boils down to “once in a lifetime moment” happening during each of your experiences.   Last is Ikigai, one of my favorites. It is living a full life by functioning in your purpose. We have many hats, some wanted and unwanted, but there are a few that impacts not only us, but goes on to shine a light in a dark world. This light and life we have changes the world around us. Never take that lightly!   This year we are set to do great and wonderful things. Be ready for trials because it has to be tested, but on the other side is the greatest testimony to the greatest experiences you'll ever have if you seek them and hold to them tight!   Let's Go!

#UnBlockYourself 2023 Thought 1: Your intent will be tested. Have you ever made a New Year's resolution and failed miserably? Things large or small I notice whenever I declare, “This is what I want to do!” It gets tried immediately. From, “All I want to do is to make up the bed”, to, “I want to buy a new car”, will al be tested. If I try to make the bed, I get up late, or the bed feels so good I don't get up on time, or an employee calls in which means I have to rush to get things in place… anything. I want to buy this, all of the sudden a great opportunity comes up to buy something else, car breaks down, your best friend really needs to borrow some money and they know you have it… anything.   But WHY??? I asked myself this over and over. Finally the answer came. It is to test the strength and the very essence of what you believe. If you fail, one of two things happen. You either give up, or you press through and learn from it. You will either turn and find something better, or you will become stronger with even greater momentum because you have improved from your mistakes.   It all works for your good. Your greater good. God's got you. (Romans 8:28)   I liked this acronym for FAIL: First Attempt In Learning   Keep moving forward!