There was a flurry of excitement as each kite took off  into the open sky.  My kids were squealing away in delight when theirs started catching some wind.  We were on a kite flying outing organized by their weekend dharma class.  On each kite, each child has written his or her most desired dream.  For a while, I stood enraptured by the sight of colorful kites dancing against a sky blue canvas.

As I watched, I started to recall what I have read.  I went back in time to the 19th century when two brothers had an idea which eventually became their passionate and consuming dream. On Friday December 17, 1903 at 10:35 AM, the Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville) flew “the world’s first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight.” Their memorable feat took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on a cold windy morning.

Your assignment is to live a charmed life in the midst of people who don’t believe you can do it , and to accomplish this despite them, not to spite them.

Chances are there is at least one significant person in your life who thinks that all this charmed-life stuff is ridiculous. They may have told you to grow up, be realistic, and get with the program. Of course, it’s their program, some variation on the theme of “Very few people do anything exceptional, and you won’t be one of them.”

They might begrudge the time you spend reading books like this one and putting the suggestions you find there into practice. They may cite every time you’ve been sad or angry or things didn’t work out the way you wanted as evidence that you’re deluding yourself.

When people think of dreams, and what it takes to make them happen, they often underestimate their own mind power and what is going on beneath the surface of conscious awareness.  Internal energy creates and manifests precisely what a person needs, even if it is not necessarily what they consciously want and work toward. Every human being has his or her own secrets waiting to be rediscovered.

In the case of Self-Disclosure: Changes from Within, it initially becomes apparent the author has her own ideas of dreams she hopes to realize.  She focuses her energy and the power of intention in certain conscious directions, only to learn her unconscious mind and the universe clearly have other plans. Before long, she realizes she is in for a big wake-up call that touches on every area of her life.

How is authentic happiness different from synthetic happiness?

Ten years of scientific findings from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions have shown that lasting fulfillment and sustainable happiness cannot be synthesized from the material or the physical world. That is, success in any respect – whether it is financial, professional, romantic, social, physical, or otherwise – does not lead to a happy life.

Successful life circumstances, by and large, will not guarantee that you live happily ever after. In other words, there are no purely “happy circumstances” in this life – no circumstances that serve as a one-stop-shop for creating a happy life.