Help in Achieving Peace of Mind
Nothing can be any more dead than your past, so if you wish peace of mind, you must learn to close the doors to all past experiences which were negative. Digging up the sad experiences of one's past is worse than digging up dead cats.
Always remember that every unpleasant experience you ever had carried with it the seed of an equivalent pleasure or benefit. If you must think of these experiences, then learn to transmute them into something helpful by searching for that seed of an equivalent benefit, and express gratitude for it.
Perhaps the seed may consist of some useful lesson you could have learned only from sad experience.What if the experience did leave ugly wounds in the heart? The seed of an equivalent benefit may consist of the fact that the heart had the power to heal the wounds, thus proving that it can still heal other wounds it may receive in the future.
Close the door on ugly experiences, disappointments and frustrations, and lo! the great universal healer, TIME, will not only heal the wounds, but it will also condition your mind to reveal to you the seed of equivalent benefits available to you because of these experiences.
When you close the door on any portion of your past experiences, be sure not to leave it ajar. Nail it down tightly so you will not be tempted to peep through the crack to see what has happened to the thing you discarded.
You are searching for the way to peace of mind.
That way does not lead backward through the graveyard of dead hopes and unpleasant experiences, a goodly number of which every human being must face during a lifetime.
As the physical food you eat passes through your body, your system extracts from it those portions which are required for the health and maintenance of the body and discards the remainder as waste which must be eliminated from the body before it becomes a deadly poison.
Your mind works in a similar manner in its reaction to the mental food you feed it through your daily experiences, some of which is good for your welfare and some of which must be eliminated before it, too, becomes deadly poison.
When you have attained peace of mind, your mind will automatically reject every thought and every mental reaction which is not beneficial to your welfare. Meanwhile, before you graduate into this desirable command of your mind, you will find it necessary to voluntarily throw off all negative mental influences which you do not wish to become a part of your character.
The "throwing off" consists of your forming the habit of transmuting negative thoughts into positive thoughts. How is this done, you ask? Simply by switching your mind away for unpleasant thoughts and training it on thoughts which are pleasant.
O. Henry's one and only adventure in crime, which resulted in a prison sentence, was transmuted into talent as a writer which made him an immortal in the field of literature.
Jack London's frustrations during the early part of his life were transmuted into novels which made him a national figure during his lifetime and for a long while thereafter.
Knut Hamsun, a Norwegian immigrant, failed at everything he tried. Finally, in desperation, he decided to write his story of disappointments in a book which he called Hunger. It won the Nobel Prize for literature and caused the publishers of the world to make a beaten path to his door. Then came riches in great abundance--sufficient to enable him to retire.
Remember with profit that one's experiences in life, good or bad, are not important within themselves. One's reaction to those experiences is what counts. By closing doors on those experiences which are unpleasant, one may transmute them into benefits of great value to one's self and to the world.
Charles Dickens suffered a disappointment in his first love affair. Instead of jumping off the highest building or taking an overdose of sleeping pills, he transmuted his unrequited love into David Copperfield, a masterpiece of literature which opened to him a career that crowned him with glory and riches fit for a king.
If often happens that before a man finds himself he must undergo a series of reverses, disappointments, defeats and failures.
More than likely Harry Truman would have been greatly surprised if, following his failure as the operator of a haberdashery, he had been told that one day he would be President of the United States.
It is a fortunate day for a man when he discovers that there is no such reality as a permanent loss; that for everything which is taken away from him he gains something of equal or greater value to take its place--perhaps something quite different from the thing he lost.
It is an equally fortunate day when a man discovers that the most of his so-called failures and defeats are blessings in disguise; that they force him to change his course in life so that he is led in the direction of greater opportunities, greater happiness, greater understanding.
It would have been difficult to sell this idea to Milo C. Jones while he was working, with a healthy body, as a farmer at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. He was making a living from his small farm and he would have told you that was about all that any farmer could be expected to do.
But had you told him about it after he had been stricken with double paralysis, and had discovered a mind which enabled him to convert that same farm into a multi-million dollar business, he would have listened to you with respect.
Is it not strange why men seldom come to themselves until they have been overtaken by disaster? Perhaps the Creator planned it thus. There seems no other explanation.
The richest copper mine in the world was discovered by a miner who had spent most of his life searching for gold. This trusty mule, which carried all of his worldly belongings, including his mining equipment, fell into a gopher hold, broke his leg and had to be shot. While trying to dig the mule's leg out of the hole, the rich copper ore was uncovered.
Remember, when frustration of any sort overtakes you, it may be the silent work of an unseen friend who is trying to save you from trouble.
-Napoleon Hill
Robert and Rachael were married on Friday, July 25th at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, MN. I can still vividly remember meeting Rachael at the Bridal Show and listening to the 'excited' details of her wedding...a post of their engagement can be found on the blog...check it out! 
-web.jpg)
Rachelle & Andro were married this past Saturday in Bayfield, WI. Weather was ‘iffy’ at times, but we managed alot of great images! Thanks Rachelle and Andro!! Blessings!! 
Photographed Nicole & Kevin's engagement on Sunday(yesterday)...had decent weather so we decided images on a sailboat would be awesome! It was! Thanks Nicole & Kevin....Looking forward to October!! 
I can't believe my 'little boy' is 18 years old, today. Infact, at 7:55 am this morning, it was official.
Was fortunate to have been asked by Riccdo & Amber to photograph their wedding this past weekend...WOW! Lots of great images, too many to post! 
Photographed Meagan & Nathaniel's engagement session on our sailboat and near the beach at our Marina this past weekend...I'm expecting their wedding to be as fun as this session. Thanks you guys!! Looking forward to August 8th!
Photograph taken in the early morning, during Applefest celebration in Bayfield, Wisconsin...sun rising over Madeline Island in the distance. Bayfield Marina in the foreground...early October before haul-out... -web.jpg)
Photographed Ed & Jenny...Beautiful wedding taking place in Saint CLoud, MN
