Saturday, November 12, 2011

Awaken Your Power! Available Now!

My book, Awaken Your Power is now available at Awaken Your Power!: The Secret of Life Revealed--How Your Thoughts Create Your Reality is available now at BalboaPress.com and Amazon.com. I'm still ironing out some marketing issues but it appears that the book is ready for sale. Due to the rush to buy this book, Amazon is currently out of stock of the paperback copies but Balboa Press had them in stock.

Kindle Version

 BalboaPress.com and  Amazon.com both have Kindle versions ready for purchase. The cost is $9.99. Balboa has the price incorrectly listed at $3.99 and is in the process of changing it. I had the opportunity to purchase the Kindle version and see that in order for it to be in a large enough font to be readable it distorts with the formatting of some of the titles. Other than having the formatting look a little unprofessional at times it does not hinder the experience when reading the book. I am in the process of talking it over with the publisher, Balboa Press, but if I have to choose, I will choose a readable font with out of alignment titles vs perfect formatting with text that is too small to read.  I hope the reader will understand.

I am quickly learning that there are many phases to writing a book.  Planning to write the book, writing the book, editing the book, publishing the book, and marketing the book.  Each phase is full of challenges and obstacles.  Even though it is challenging, it is also very interesting to learn and a great overall life experience.
If and when I decide to write another book, I will be much better prepared and able to be infinitely more efficient.

Here is a quick link to buy directly from Amazon.




-Joe Rapisarda
www.JoeRapisarda.com

Friday, November 11, 2011

Awaken Your Power! - Book Update.

As many of you may have heard or seen on my web page, my new book, Awaken Your Power! is now available for sale!  I would like to say though, that I am still ironing out some marketing issues with BalboaPress.com and Amazon.com. For example, BalboaPress has some misinformation in its information about the book and the incorrect pricing of the kindle edition.  Amazon.com is offering the book, but only the kindle is appears to be ready. The paperback edition does not have a picture on its profile when a regular search is done.  Obviously, this is a frustrating for me, but I guess it is all part of the learning process. I know sooner or later everything will be as I want it. So when all of the issues have been corrected I will be having a virtual book launch as well as an physical book signing date.  I'll keep you posted on that.  In the mean time I was able to find this corrected link on Amazon. So if you don't want to wait and decide you want to buy the book now, I believe you can buy it here at Amazon.com.

Sincerely,

Joe Rapisarda
www.JoeRapisarda.com

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Awaken Your Power! - The Road to Getting Published and Accomplishing Goals.

Finally, my book Awaken Your Power! is almost ready to be published. I just sent in the final proofs (galleys) signing off all corrective changes on the book. This means that it is ready for productions. They publisher (Balboa Press) will now send me a hard copy to my house in the next 1-3 weeks. Once I sign off on the final product sent to me, the book will be ready for purchase at http://www.amazon.com/ or at http://www.joerapisarda.com/

I can't tell you how pleased I am to have this long-term goal finally be coming to a completion.  I started writing this book in 2008, but due to my busy work schedule, I never had enough time to consistently make progress writing. In 2010, I took a leave from work to write this book full time. Since then I've been living, eating, and breathing this book.  Since this is my first book, I had the pleasure of learning every step of the book writing process while I was also trying to do those steps. This made for some really long detours but ultimately were very good learning experiences.

One day I was discouraged at the lack of progress I was making when I saw a show on TV that talked about a rich developer in the early 1800's that wanted to build a shipping lane canal from the Lake Erie in Great Lakes to New York City. It was to be called The Erie Canal.  He dreamed of the great commerce and new towns on the canal that would be supported by this shipping canal. Many people told him that he was crazy, and that he would never complete such a monumental task.  He ignored them and became more determined than ever to complete his goal of building this canal system even if he had to do it will shear willpower!  Along the way he ran into a major roadblocks.  In the way of the canal was a mountain of solid rock.  Once again people told him that he should give up.  Instead he saw it as a challenge and again found a way around this problem, if I remember correctly, by experimenting with dynamite to blast a path through the mountain.  Also he had an elevation problem of 660 ft from Hudson to Lake Erie. To overcome this obstacle he inserted a system of over 50 locks that allowed boats to be raised and lowered to meet the increase in elevation needed for transportation to continue to flow (Today this is widely know to be used in the Panama Canal.). My point in telling this story is that the vision of this man became a reality because he was focused on finding a way to succeed at his vision. I'm sure his method was not the most efficient but nonetheless his willpower allowed him to plow through all obstacles until his vision was a reality.

I used this example I saw on TV, to guide me on my mission to write this book. I'm sure that my path was not the most efficient but each detour was a great learning experience about the writing industry and I felt brought me one step closer to my goal of being a published author.

Now that my goal is almost a reality I can say that writing this book was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, but it was also one the most liberating and rewarding thing I've ever done as well.  So I recommend to anyone who has a book inside of them waiting to be published or just a "lifetime to-do list item" that they haven't gotten around to doing yet, to make it a priority in your life and find a way to make it a reality.  That could mean writing a book; it could mean going skydiving; it could mean traveling to South America. 

Life is meant to be lived. I've found that it's okay to get older as long as the fun and exciting times in life are still in front of you.  If you don't know what you want to do, read my book, Awaken Your Power, for some inspiration.  Here to you and the accomplishment in your life!


Positive Thinking,

Joe Rapisarda
http://www.joerapisarda.com/
www.twitter.com/@JoeRapisarda
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joerapisarda

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Is It A Good Thing to Remember 9/11 The Way We Do?

On September 11th 2011 it will be the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center bombings.

Can you remember where you were on that day when you heard the news? Ironically, I was scheduled to go on a vacation to New York, the very next morning! My girlfriend at the time woke me up around 6:30 am (PST). She kept saying you have to get up and see this. I told her that whatever it was I would watch it on the news later. Luckily, she insisted I get up. I got up in time to see the first tower burning. I remember the news station kept switching to camera at the Pentagon crash. At the time, it wasn't clear that the pentagon and World Trade Center crashes were coordinated. Then out of nowhere on live TV, we saw another plane crash into the second tower. Sometime later we saw both towers collapse onto themselves into a huge pile of rubble. Many lives were lost and a country became united to seek justice against those who were behind these acts.

The years that followed were greatly changed by these events. The U.S. seemed to be gripped in fear. Innocence had been lost and replaced with fear and preparation for "what might happen".

Each year we, as a nation, stop to remember what happened to us on that terrible day. This is not the first time we have had such an event happen to us. Growing up, I remember every year on December 7th, we would stop and remember what happened to us in December 7th, 1941, when we were attacked by the Japanese during World War II. President FDR described this event as, "a date which will live in infamy." Growing up I often wondered if it was a good thing to remember an act like that.

Today, I am again questioning that logic and wondering, "Is it a good thing to remember 9/11 the way we do?

Don't get me wrong, I am very patriotic and have the greatest amount of compassion and empathy for anyone who was directly affected by this horrible act, but is it in our best interest to stay focused on the negativity associated with this event?

I am a big believer in the law of attraction, which states that your thoughts attract your reality. That means if we are focused on remembering a fearful or horrible act, then we will be aligned with that negative energy and therefore will be attracting more fearful acts to our own reality. If this is true, then is it a good idea to build monuments or make holidays based on fearful and negative acts? Is remembering horrible acts like these really a good idea? Its one thing to learn from our lessons but it’s another thing to make monuments about them. I think our mental focus would be better focused on something positive--anything positive.

If I were one of the people who were killed in that event, I think I would rather be remembered for the life I lived rather than how and when I died.

It has been said with bad break-ups of relationships, that the best way to overcome being dumped is to create your own success and happiness, because when you are happy the other person--the one who you feel hurt you emotionally--is able to see the best of what they left behind and realizes that their actions did not have an effect on your happiness or your life.

So with this in mind, wouldn't it be better to let the 9/11 saga fade into history like a piece of emotional waste floating to the bottom of a murky pond. Why would we give the people who did these acts the satisfaction of knowing they hurt us by making a national holiday of this event so that it can be remembered every year? I suggest that instead of having a 9/11 holiday, we should have a "celebrate the life of deceased loved one" day. This way we can change the energy of this day from negative to positive, because the law of attraction states that we attract what we think about.

We are a strong people with indomitable spirits. The last ten years have shown that. A special thanks needs to  go out to everyone who has done their part to be patriotic. Now we must ask ourselves, “What is the best course of action for our country for the future?” Should we focus on the negative past that happened to us or on the positive future we wish to create? Either way, the law of attraction says that our focus will determine our future.

Positive Thinking,

Joe Rapisarda
www.JoeRapisarda.com
www.Facebook.com/SpiritualAwakening.com
www.Twitter.com/@JoeRapisarda


Friday, April 29, 2011

Oneness in a World of Duality

The whole world is made up of the same energy. Einstein proved this with his famous formula E=mc2.  This formula shows that both energy and matter are the same things only in different forms.  If everything is made up of energy then everything is also connected to the same source.  In spiritual terms, God is this energy.  He is us and we are him.  This is oneness.  So the next time you interact with a plant, animal, person, or anything else in our existence try seeing it as a loved family member because we are all made up same energy and all connected together.
Duality was created when the Source (God) decided that he wanted to experience himself in new ways.  To do this, the Source split itself into two halves and then into individual pieces.   These pieces include everything in the world that is different from the Source.  This includes our universe and everything in it as well as our individual souls and bodies. 

Yin & Yang
The reason for this duality is to create contrast in life so that one thing can be compared to another so that both things can be more fully understood and appreciated.  At first there was only light and then darkness was created.  Think about it, when there is only light can you really know what light is if you have never seen anything other light?  Only when you experience darkness can you really appreciate and know what light is.  The same goes with love and hate.  If you only knew love can you really appreciate it?  When you experience hate you are able understand and appreciate love so much deeper than before because hate shows you the polar opposite of love.  This is called polarity.  Everything in a duality world is made up two halves that contrast each other. These two halves work to make the whole.  Each half is needed for the other half to be known. Every sunrise needs a sunset.  This duality is often called Yin & Yang. 
Applying this information to the world today we see that there are a lot of good and bad things happening.  There are people who are practicing great love and compassion while at the same time others participating in wars and actions that are the opposite of love. 
Our existence in this world is one of duality and it will likely always be this way because it is the contrast between good and bad, light and dark, and love and hate, that allows us to grow in our knowledge and understanding of everything in our existence.  That is our reason for existence – to experience and create new things. 
Living a world of duality it is up to each of us on an individual basis to choose for ourselves which parts of duality we want to have in our lives.  If we choose negative thoughts, words, and actions then through the Law of Attraction we will be creating our own future with those things in it.  If we, instead, focus on oneness, we can choose to see the world as being connected and choose loving and compassionate things in our lives to create a reality for ourselves that reflects those things.  You see, along with the Source (God), we are the creators of our own lives through our thoughts, words, and actions. 
When you see the world as oneness while living in a world of duality you have taken the first step in transforming yourself into the powerful creator that you are.  Merging oneness with duality is the evolution of our being.  No longer are we controlled by the events in our lives. Now we have become aware of our true essence and become empowered to know that we can create the things in life we wish to create.
How does this information feel to you? 

Joe Rapisarda

Monday, April 25, 2011

What is the Difference Between the Body, the Soul, the Higher Self?

I was recently asked, "What is the difference between the body/ego/personality, the soul, and the Higher Self?"

Here is what I believe at this point in my life.  The body/ego/personality are tried out and worn by the soul like clothes in a wardrobe.  Each lifetime is about the experiences that happen while wearing that persona and body.  When the body expires the soul discards the body/ego/personality but retains the experiences of that lifetimes.

Before each life the soul and Higher Self plan out the life plan for the next life. Then as the soul and body enter each new life they are immersed in a form of self-amnesia that makes them forget their divine connection to God.  This is for the purpose of experiencing life from a new and unknown perspective during each new life. This allows the persona and the soul to learn new lessons and co-create that life with God/Higher Self through their own thoughts, words, and actions of that body/ego/personality.

After death, the soul eventually merges with the Higher Self (Spirit) which is one with God and is all knowing. This is where the duality of the body and soul fade away and the oneness of the Higher Self prevails.  The Higher Self is God.  It is you.  They are both. God is everything and which means you are part of him too.  We all are.

During each life, the soul acts as an intermediary between the body and the Higher Self (Spirit).  The Higher Self speaks to us through our intuition.  It never lies to us.  The truth feels feels right.

So in summary, I feel the body-soul-self are all the same thing just in different segments of polarity. The body/ego and the soul forget their divine nature to experience life from a naive or innocent perspective much like a baby would. At the end of each life the body/ego/personality are left behind and the soul retains the experiences. The soul can be positively or negatively affected by the cumulative experiences it has encountered during all of its lifetimes.  At death the soul moves to the polar opposite of the ego to the Higher Self and becomes enlightened to its Oneness before it once again choose to experience new life.

What is your belief about this?  Comment below.

Until next time,

Joe Rapisarda


Monday, March 28, 2011

Intuition: A Change from Logic to Heart Based Feeling

In my last post, Are These Earthquakes and Tsunamis the Beginning of 2012?, I talked about how we are presently going through a "Shift" or change where one era is ending (The Age of Pisces) and a new Era is beginning (The Age of Aquarius).  This new age is changing the world in many ways.


During this time many of the old ways of doing things will end and new ways will emerge.


One of these new ways is a change in the way many of us view the world. Currently most people use logic to make decisions.  This is often called intellectualizing.  The problem with intellectualizing is that it often does not allow us to use one of our greatest abilities, which is our intuition.


Our intuition, which is felt in the heart, gives us the ability to feel what is right or wrong in any given situation. When we "feel" the truth of all the thoughts, emotions, words, and actions we experience,  we are able to decide what is in the best interest of ourselves and others.


In the past, we made decisions based on logic without intuition.  The problem with logic is that it can be twisted to hide the truth.  Let's say growing up, you were around people who said it was okay and socially acceptable to hunt animals.  Deep down inside you may have felt this was somehow wrong and not for you.  Using only logic, you might be able to justify this action by subduing your feelings, and deciding that if everyone is doing it then it must be okay to do.  Unfortunately, when we only use logic we often ignore our intuition.  When you listen to your intuition you understand that what is right or wrong based on how you feel rather than what you think.  


Remember to think with logic but decide with intuition because your intuition will never lie to you.  It will always tell you the truth based on how it makes you feel.


When enough people on the planet Earth begin to regularly use their intuition when making decisions, the world will experience a change or shift in consciousness that will transform our reality.  Think about it, if everyone started feeling, instead of thinking, about how what they think, feel, and do affects others, then we will all start being more considerate of each other and the world will be a better place.


As I said in my last blog, the old era is about thinking and being selfish.  This new era is about feeling and Oneness.  It is about the world becoming aware that we are all one and that the energies we give out in our thoughts, words, and actions actually come back to us to create the reality we experience.  By becoming aware of how we feel, we will become aware of the energy we are choosing for ourselves.


How will this change happen?  Although it  is currently happening on a widespread scale, it is also happening internally one person at a time.  This change will begin to become apparent when enough people have chosen to start focusing on themselves to be the best person they can be.  Once enough people start to do this it will start a chain reaction and the world as we know it will transform into a much better place for everyone to live.


The singer Michael Jackson gave us a great example to do this in his song, "The Man in the Mirror".


"I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change."



(These are partial lyrics)


In these lyrics Michael Jackson means that this change starts with each of  us doing our job to change ourself which collectively will change the world.  So instead of focusing on what others can do to be better, focus on what you can do better.


So the next time you have to make a decision, use your mind to think, but use your intuition to decide if that thought, word, or action "feels" right to you.  


When you feel the truth in things you allow yourself to align with things that feel good to you.  This in turn allows you to do things that will bring positive energy back to your life, which in turn will create a more positive reality for you to experience.  You see the energy you give out to others always comes back to you.  

Joe Rapisarda

Monday, March 14, 2011

Are These Earthquakes and Tsunamis the Beginning of 2012?

Here is the heading and an excerpt of an article by the Huffington Post on 3/11/11.

Japan Earthquake 2011:

8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits, 30-Foot Tsunami Triggered











Devastation shown from a tsunami following the Japan earthquake.
AP/The Huffington Post First Posted: 03/11/11 02:41 PM Updated: 03/12/11 01:25 AM

The above headlines shows the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week.  It is obvious to me as I write this blog, that this is a huge national crisis for people of Japan.  Please take a minute out of your day to pray or think positive thoughts for the people who are affected by this disaster.  The power of collectively focused minds can produce miracles.
Japan is just the most recent catastrophe in a string of increasingly frequent and violent natural events happening on our planet.  Is it just me or do tsunamis and high magnitude earthquakes throughout the world seem to be becoming a normal occurrence in this day and age?  In recent memory, I can remember massive earthquakes and tsunamis in Malaysia in 2004 and Haiti in 2010. Recently Chile and New Zealand have also been hit hard by this phenomenon as well.  When I was growing up a tsunami or tidal wave was some mythological event of nature that we had heard about but never seen.  These days they seem as common as the seasonal hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. What could be causing all this?
The Mayans predicted that in 2012 the planet Earth will align the stars and it signify the end of one era and the beginning of another.  How that change will happen is unknown but "change" itself is the star of the show.   This change is currently happening now and will continue to come to us in many forms both in nature and in everyday life.  All you have to do is to look around at the world with an open mind and you could quite easily come the conclusion that widespread worldwide change is happening right now.  Look at the middle east. Egypt, Libya, and a many other nations are currently in period of extreme unrest.  Old regimes are suddenly ending.  If you look around I bet you can find massive amounts of change happening right now in just about every aspect of your life.  I know I can see it both in my personal life and on a world wide level.  
Within the last 115 years or so, it was discovered by science that everything is made of energy. Matter and energy are both energy just in different forms.  Since everything is made up of the same energy, there are those who also believe that everything, living or not, has a spirit or a soul, and that includes the planet Earth itself.  The spirit name for the planet Earth is called Gaia.  This is another name for "Mother Nature".  It's been said that the change of 2012 is more about the evolution of the planet Earth itself rather than the evolution of the people living on it.  Gaia is evolving and in doing so it is changing in many ways.  Some of the side effects of this change are the natural disasters we are experiencing.  Whether you believe this or not it is hard to deny that something very radical is happening in our world right now.  Could this be Gaia's way of telling the people of Earth that she doesn't approve of the way she has been treated by mankind?
Astronomically and metaphysically speaking, the change that we are experiencing is the physical effects of the end of the Age of Pisces and the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.  What does that mean?  Simply put it is the end of the age of the ego and the beginning of the age of heart and intuition. I will be writing another blog post later on this change but for now know that the old way, that is ending now, is the way of selfishness and fighting.  The new world will be more loving where people are more considerate and caring of each other. 


In order for this new era to emerge many of the old ways will have to first end. This "change" can come in many different forms. One of those forms is natural disasters.  Another is political unrest and regime change.  Other may be a great recession after many years of  excess and living out of balance.  On a personal level it can come  as a sickness or as a personal crisis that makes you immediately change your outlook and actions.  The bottom line is change is in the air.


My point in writing this blog is so more people can connect the dots to all the individual events that are on our news each night to see a bigger picture of what is going on.  Many people are waiting for one big event to happen in 2012.  I instead choose to see that 2012 is happening right now before our eyes.  I also believe that even though their will be great tragedies, like the natural disaster in Japan, there will also be positive change that will eventually create a better world for everyone.  Whether we are aware of it or not, and whether we like it or not, we are living during some very unique times.  


Stay tuned for more blogs about this change and the Universal Laws.  My book on the Universal Laws is with the publisher and should be out in Fall 2011.  

Joe Rapisarda