Americans, by and large, are do-it-yourselfers. Information abounds to help us tackle all kinds of situations — including estate planning. However, it might be best to use caution when considering preparing your own will and other estate planning documents. read more
Did you know that the legendary singer and actor, Elvis Presley, earned over a billion dollars throughout his somewhat short career? That’s billion – with a B. However, when the “King of Rock & Roll” died in 1977, his estate’s net worth was only $10 million.
Of that, over 70% went to pay taxes and fees. That left someone who had earned over a billion dollars with only about $3 million (this time with an M) in the end. So, where did the money go and, more importantly, how can you avoid the same trap? read more
Experts all over the world predicted that the remain vote would win the day on June 23, 2016 when Brits all across the UK took to the polls to vote on whether they would remain in the EU or leave it. In fact, the same experts warned the British people of the impending doom that would follow if they, in fact, decided to not play along and voted to leave. While doomsday predictions did seem imminent for the first few days after the surprise vote to leave won the day, the global markets have since been quiet. Some experts believe, however, that the long-term effects of the Brexit have not totally been felt in the financial markets yet. If this prediction is true, how will the long-term aftermath of Brexit impact your personal portfolio, and what can you do to protect it?
According to Janet Yellen, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Britain’s exit from the EU could keep government bond yields down both in the U.S. and around the world. These low yields, in turn, may also deteriorate future returns from investment grade corporate bonds as well, she said.
However, much like the vote itself, no one can accurately predict the effects. As always, diversification is the key to a sound financial portfolio if, in fact, another storm is on the horizon. Events like these highlight the importance of diversifying to protect yourself against future losses.
In volatile times, it is important to reassess your risk-reward outlook and ensure your portfolio reflects your true risk tolerance. Based on your risk tolerance, if your portfolio is heavily weighted in any particular area, it might be time to reallocate your portfolio with the help of your financial advisor.
No one is certain how the Brexit vote will play out. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May, just announced that she plans to execute the break on or before the first part of 2017. Some experts predict that gives you until April to prepare. Whatever the outcome, it will be crucial to increase your diversification to weather any storm that might result from the UK’s actual break from the EU early next year.
Shocking to most people, the retirement account you leave for your spouse can be seized in a divorce, lawsuit, or bankruptcy. read more
People have many different perspectives on who or what God is. For some, God has a specific form, for some God has many forms, and for some God is formless. Some believe in multiple Gods and some in One. Some believe their notion of God alone to be correct and all else to be wrong, while some believe their notion of God to be inclusive of all other beliefs. And then there are some who think there is no such entity as God.
Among all these perspectives, the term “God” refers to a Higher Power or a Higher Reality than the world we live in. Some pray to the Higher Power in the hope of making things better for themselves in this world and/or beyond. Some have true unconditional love and devotion towards the Higher Reality as they believe its lot more pure and unchanging compared to anything else in this world and hence much more worthy of love. Some think this world is the only reality and don’t believe in any other Higher Reality.
People who fall in the last category are usually being rational/logical/intellectual about what they believe to be real. They only go by what science has to say about reality, and since science hasn’t proven the existence of a Higher Reality, they don’t believe in it. Before you congratulate yourself for being in this category, let me mention that those who have true unconditional love and devotion for God are much more peaceful and happy in life than those who don’t. I can vouch for this as I have personally experienced all these categories myself up-close. So the intellect could actually be blocking you from experiencing something really wonderful. As Mark Twain said: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that it just ain’t so.”
Instead of letting the intellect be a blocker, it can be used as a tool to explore if the existence of a Higher Reality atleast makes logical sense. Lets see how it actually does:
Say you are taking a walk downtown amidst many shops, malls, etc. and the place is bustling with people, some of them with pets, and there is probably also a small park on the side. You marvel at the tremendous variety of apparel, art pieces, gadgets, devices, etc. on display, admire the architecture of the buildings, and maybe also notice the different types of vehicles moving about. You think to yourself how advanced human intelligence is to have created all these sophisticated things. And then you look at the different humans, animals, trees, plants, etc. that are way more sophisticated than the most advanced machinery ever created by human intelligence. Would you think that all of them were just created by chance without requiring any intelligent cause?
We take for granted a human-like intelligence to be the cause of even a simple piece of pottery, what to say of the magnificent array of galaxies, stars, planets, moons and other celestial objects spread across the entire universe. One may believe that all of these came into existence after a big explosion (as a popular science theory tells us), but it doesn’t take too deep a thinking to wonder if it really appeared just by chance out of nothingness. And even if it somehow did, how come all the “stuff” coming out of this explosion arranged itself so elegantly? One may argue that those are just the different fields, forces and other laws of nature in action. But why do these laws even exist in the first place? By chance? And then how come dead non-living matter suddenly became alive and started sustaining itself and producing more of its kind? Again by chance? And those single living cells just started evolving into complex organisms by chance too? And eventually, just by chance, we have human beings who are capable of looking back at the universe and ponder upon its and their own existence!?
If left to chance, each of the above events would have an extremely low probability of happening, and a long series of them occurring one after the other would be surely considered impossible. In fact, if such events can happen by chance, pretty much anything can happen, e.g. all the water on the planet might dry up instantly or a new moon might appear in the sky suddenly or you might start growing another head this moment or pretty much any such random thing that seems to be impossible. But such things don’t happen and the universe appears to work in a very systematic and lawful manner. All of these indicate the presence of an intelligent cause, making it a way more logical and sensible option than the absence of it. Having an intelligent cause in-turn points to the existence of a Higher Reality that we seem to be unable to perceive, understand or even imagine.
This would all be just plain theory if there weren’t countless people through the ages across different parts of the world who have actually experienced a Higher Reality. These people are not bluffing. A bluff would not last more than a few years or a few decades at max, but we still see majority of the world trusting various scriptures written many thousands of years ago. This is only because the Truths revealed in these scriptures have been repeatedly validated and re-validated over the centuries and millenniums through real experiences of innumerable people. Moreover, the teachings in these scriptures cannot have any underlying selfish motive as they do not benefit anyone else except the student.
Its true that the experiences people have had are very diverse, as is clear from the variety of descriptions of the Higher Reality across different religions and sects. The reason for this diversity is that the Higher Reality is vast (has to be if its the intelligent cause behind this entire universe and more) and the human mind is tiny. So, in most cases, the mind is only able to experience the Reality partially. Hence, people’s accounts of it vary depending on which aspect of Reality they personally experienced. Moreover, different minds have different temperaments and have an inclination towards a certain aspect of Reality, which also results in them having different experiences. Even if there are differences in people’s experiences, they are all inherently consistent. Upanishads, the ancient scriptures of India, are the most comprehensive account of the Higher Reality as they are based on the experiences of hundreds of realized sages and saints as compared to just one (which is the case in most other scriptures of the world). Here is an immaculate talk on the nature of the Higher Reality as per the Upanishads: Defining God
One of the reasons why intellectually-oriented people are put-off by the notion of a Higher Reality is because it usually gets portrayed as God(s) in superhuman-like forms located somewhere within or beyond the universe. Its important to note that these forms are much more effective than something formless in terms of vividly expressing the pure and perfect qualities pertaining to the Higher Reality. They help stimulate tremendous love and devotion within an individual, which is a proven path (called Bhakti Yoga) to directly experience the Higher Reality. But one doesn’t have to blindly believe in these forms as there is another path to directly know the Higher Reality completely based on intellect and knowledge (called Jnana Yoga). The talk I linked above is especially beneficial for this path.
You might be wondering what difference does the knowledge of a Higher Reality make in your life. Apart from the fact that your whole life and everything around you derives from that Higher Reality, here’s the ultimate bombshell answer straight from the Upanishads: That Thou Art (Tat Tvam Asi) – the Supreme Highest Reality is what you really are! You think you are a body-mind-intellect complex but you are gravely mistaken about your own reality. The search for the Higher Reality – which is both transcendent and immanent – is not about explaining the creation or working of the universe, neither is it about experiencing something externally, its about knowing who you truly are. You will eventually discover on this magnificent journey that you are not a living being trying to have a spiritual experience, but that you are an eternal spiritual “being” that seems to be undergoing a life experience. And its high time for you to realize your own true nature which is no less than Infinite Existence, Consciousness, Bliss. That alone can help you overcome the miseries and sufferings of life and bring unlimited peace and joy. It is the highest and the only real purpose of life – nothing else matters!
(This article was cross-posted from happinessjourney.net/post/149527488930/a-logical-perspective-on-god)
August is traditionally called the dog days of summer. It’s hot in the northern hemisphere. It’s a time when we would prefer to be sitting by the sea, a warm sun bathing us as a cool breeze softens the extremes of heat. We’d like to be lazy, take our vacation and go play with our loved ones. It feels good to be able to disconnect from the rat race and just enjoy our lives.
Much of my life, I was not comfortable taking such a vacation. As a freelance employee in the entertainment industry, we worked on a different schedule. We worked extremely long days when we had work, saving as much as possible for leaner times. When a project was completed, we immediately set to work to secure a new position to pay the bills. Since we did not know when the next gig would arrive, we were extremely frugal with our money and certainly did not include a vacation trip in the plans. It was only when we knew we had work when we returned that we allowed ourselves to entertain the possibility of an honest vacation.
This year I am in that enviable position. I am taking time off. I will spend some of the time visiting my daughter’s family in Seattle. It sounds as if we will take a side trip to Vancouver, a city I have never visited. The other portion of my break from television production will be dedicated to setting up the launch of a course I have been developing since I wrote my book Rainbows Over Ruins. ROR is a spiritual journey I underwent after a landslide destroyed my home of close to 20 years. It is a personal journey.
People have spoken well of that story, yet when I went to turn it into a course for others to utilize, I had to reverse my thought process. Bill Ganz, a marketing guru, was the first to notice that all of my vision boards reflected what I needed to do, rather than what my readers and students would value in the experience. He suggested I redo my vision board to capture what my students would want.
That required a major shift in the way I approached the material. It took a couple months to find the visual image that would help me redesign my vision board and my work. From there, the board guided me in the preparation of my podcast series “Rebuilding Your Life: Moving from Disaster to Prosperity.” That series takes you from the experience of a disaster through the steps you need to take before you are ready to move forward, out of the experience of being a victim to that of someone who is ready to manifest their dream.
By that point, I was ready to write the course that helps you build your dream. It takes you through both the inner principles you need to embrace as well as the outer actions you will take to realize your goals. The content is written. Now I want to take advantage of every free moment I have to get it into the hands of those who want to take this journey themselves. That is my desire. That is my passion. And that is why I want to use a significant portion of my vacation to get it ready for delivery. This vacation satisfies my big “Why.”
So what is your Big Why? Have you identified a vision of what you want to accomplish? Experience? Have? And do you know why? When you know the answers to those questions, you will be in a position to focus and persist toward the attainment of your most important goals. It’s a fantastic place to be.
I encourage you to figure that out. Until then, you may find yourself working to help others achieve their goals. There is nothing wrong with that and it can provide the income you require in order to pursue your greater dreams.
However, once you are pursuing your own vision, you open the door to experience something even greater. Joy.
May you get a strong sense of your dream and be inspired to pursue it.
I hope you have a dreamy summer,
Susan
Do you have IRAs or other retirement accounts that you plan to leave to your loved ones? If so, proceed with caution. Most people don’t know the law has changed: inherited retirement accounts no longer have asset protection, meaning they can be seized by strangers. read more
If your clients choose to use a Standalone Retirement Trust (SRT) to provide asset protection benefits for their beneficiaries, then the tax-related asset allocation strategy would be essentially the same as without an SRT, with one small exception. read more
After a loved one dies, her estate must be settled. While most people want the settlement process to be done ASAP, probate can take between 18 and 24 months. Yes, you heard that right. The time delays create unnecessary stress. read more
Most people think of probate as a private process. However, since wills are filed at the courthouse, probated estates become a matter of public record. That means your nosey neighbor Nellie can simply go down to the courthouse or hop online and find out about your probate. Really. read more
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