Michael Merritt's Open Salon Blog

Earthquakes and Pacts with Devils...

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:01:25 -0500

Pat Robertson, host of The 700 Club, and the same person who suggested that God was punishing Americans with Hurricane Katrina, recently stated that a "pact to the devil" was the cause of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

He went on to say that it, "happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it." and the Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever." He stated on his broadcast Wednesday. "And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other."

We can we can be a light of this world. This, unfortunately, is not a way to be a light in this world. As a matter of fact, Ghandi stated, "I like your Christ. I don't like Your Christians. Your Christians are unlike your Christ." Mr. Robertson, I have to say, is unlike the Christ I know of.

Michael Strssfeld, American Rabbi stated, "Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished." It is that light, that Rabbi Strassfeld so wonderfully stated that goes out and fills all available space, giving of itself so freely.

As I read about Robertson, I had a sense of sadness. How can you preach of the love and compassion of Christ, yet spew out such nonsense? It is recorded that Jesus said, "You are the light of this world." (Matthew 5:14 NIV). Reading this scripture, tears fill my eyes because it dawns on me that to live the Christ Consciousness, one must truly be the Christ of today. We must live in that very same love and compassion that Jesus, the Buddha, Mother Teresa and so many other wonderful teachers had. Those who are of this love would never say what Mr. Robertson had said. When Jesus wanted to inspire change, he did it in love. He didn't try to come up with a million and one ways to condemn someone...he just loved.

If you want to inspire change in this world, whatever religion you follow, do it in love.

Please pray for the people of Haiti. They have done nothing to deserve this disaster.

Peace to you,
Michael

Brother, Can You Spare an Idea?

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 11:01:34 -0500

Well, it is week two of my quest to promote my book. I have not endured any more rejections...but then I have not celebrated any successes either. I have started a blog on Oprah's and Ellen's website as well as this one. I have posted excerpts from my book, Redesign Your Life: 7 Steps Toward a Better You. It is still early and the idea has not caught on yet. But there is always hope that people will begin to read my blogs.

I also started a newsletter that went out to 175 recipients. So far, 12 have opened their email. Good times... Yet, I press forward toward what I hope to be a best seller.

This upcoming week, I will be pitching my book to the Ellen show producer. Let us hope that they are in a great mood and are willing to read what I write to them. Good Karma...Good Karma...Good Karma! I will let you know how it goes.

I love the ideas...keep them coming!

Peace to you!

Michael

The Choices We Make

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 11:01:33 -0500

Did you know that if an airline pilot is off by just a few degrees, the plane can miss the runway by miles? The choices we make in our own lives are no different. It is very important to know that. If we make a wrong choice, we could miss our destination by days, months, or even years. We make decisions each and every moment of our lives. We don't often think about the choices we make. Some of us make random choices without contemplating the results.

Our choices can bring about happiness or much sadness.
Our choices can lead to death or life.
Our choices can make us a million dollars or wipe out our finances.
A choice has led to the deaths of multitudes of people.
A choice brought about change in our world.
A choice has restored faith in God and a choice has someone not to believe in God.

If Barak Obama had not chosen to run for president because he was black, we would not be celebrating our nations' first African Amercian first family and we would still be hoping for change. What would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. had not made that one choice to fight for equality? What would have happened if Saddam Hussein had chosen to be a leader rather than a tyrant? Do you see the importance of choices and how dangerous choices can be? Do you see why it is so very important to make right choices? Making a right choice can save a person's life or lead them down a path of destruction.

Believe that you can make good choices for your life. Make good choices is easy. How can you tell if you are making a good choice or a not so good choice? How does it make you feel, how does it affect you, and how does it affect others? Making good choices only benefits you and others. If it turns around and has the potential to hurt you or to hurt others then its not such a good choice.

For instance, we know how HIV is spread yet thousands of people, homosexual and heterosexual alike, still practice unsafe sex. People know the consequences of crime yet still choose to commit it. People know that smoking is harmful yet still smoke. People know that babies are precious and fragile yet still shake them. It isn't because people are not educated; people usually know what happens when they make wrong choices. Everyone usually knows the difference between good and bad, but they often choose to do it anyways. It is called free will. People have it and yes, at times they abuse it. Not without consequences of course.

What you send out comes back. People who have unprotected sex can become infected with HIV and other diseases. People who commit crime usually do go to jail. People who smoke can get cancer. People who hurt children pay a high price. Not only are they usually banished from society, they usually are treated horribly while incarcerated as well. But yet, I often see children in the ER who were sexually and physically abused.

On a good note, making good choices can only benefit your life and the lives of others. Mother Teresa's choice to become a Catholic nun helped millions of people in India and inspired millions more around the world. My choice to become a nurse started me off on a new journey in life. Now, I'm writing this book to help you. There are so many more opportunities in your life when you choose to get up every day and make good choices. I am so thankful that God has given us that internal guidance that helps me to not make poor choices--and it can help you, too.

Taken from Redesign Your Life: 7 Steps Toward a Better You

Peace to you!

Michael

Letting Go

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:01:13 -0500

The novelist, E.M. Forrester wrote, "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." I believe he was right. Letting go is the final step of leaving an old experience and walking into a new one. And, at times, it can be one of the most difficult things to do. If we hold onto past experiences, we prevent new ones from coming in.

Let go, let God. How many times have we heard that? And yet, we still hold on. We hold onto so much from our past, it is a wonder we are able to walk around at all.

There are so many things we hold onto. We hold onto all the things from our childhood, our past relationships, our past jobs, and so much more. And we take them into all of our new experiences. It is like old luggage weighing us down. When someone leaves you, it is difficult to let go because sometimes we feel that if we let them go, we will have nothing left to hold onto.

When someone experiences loss, how many times have you heard them say, what am I going to do? We fear we would be empty because they filled all the places of our heart. We often say. . .they complete us. And when they are gone. . .what completes us now? And if we release all of our pain and heartaches to the Universe, how can we be sure we will really be alright? We have been hurt before. Who is to say we will not get hurt again? But you see, you may very well get hurt again. So what! Why prevent new experiences from coming in by holding onto old ones? Why put our lives on hold by all the "what ifs?'

We also feel that if we let go of something or someone, then we are turning our backs on that which we have released. And that can be a little frightening, too. In my situations, I didn't want to let go because I loved who I was losing and if I let them go, what if they somehow needed me after I let them go? How could I help them if I had already let them go? What if they fall and I am not around to help them pick up the pieces? That thought and that feeling can weigh you down as much as not forgiving because you truly love that person and you do not want to see them get hurt, even though they just hurt you.

I my situation, I realized I am not responsible for someone else's experiences, no matter how much I love them. And I can assure you that you are not turning your back on what you are releasing. We are all responsible for our own decisions in life. If you let go of someone and they go out and make all the wrong choices, it is by no means your fault. They are going to make those very same poor choices whether or not you are around.

If you are sad because you have suffered loss, be thankful you are sad because it meants you truly cared for what you lost. It means you have feelings. It meant you loved. And that is a wonderful thing. Just don't allow that sadness to turn into despair.

This is taken from my book, Redesign Your Life, 7 Steps Toward a Better You

Peace to you!

Michael

Brother can you spare an idea?

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:12:19 -0500

Hello, my name is Michael Merritt. I wrote Redesign Your Life, 7 Steps Toward a Better You. It was recently released on Amazon and Barnesandnoble online. I will be spending the next several weeks writing about the joys (and the agony) of book promotion.

I released Redesign Your Life just a few weeks ago. So far, it seems to be selling well. Well...as well as any first time author could sell. I chose to follow the self-published/print on demand route to get my book published and onto the market. I guess you could say I had some fear about presenting a book idea to a major publisher which hindered me actually even contacting a major publisher. But I really think the biggest reason I didn't contact a publisher was because I had no clue how to pitch a book idea. So, I just wrote the book first and decided to invest my own hard earned money into this project and have it self-published. But now that the book is on the market, I don't really know where to go from here. I mean...Oprah should be calling anyday so I am not even sure what I have to be concerned with...right? Well...until Oprah calls I have decided to create this blog to write about my experiences in promoting a book. I am going to go all out. Well...I am not going to go stand naked in front of Harpo studio...even though that just might get me some publicity. Interesting thought, but then, December in Chicago...well I think you get the picture. Sorry, you are stuck with that image now. This should be a fun ride for us all.

Yesterday, I recieved my first rejection letter. And it was a marvelous thing. You see, I had sent my book out to a publicist who contacted me about Redesign Your Life and the possibility of promoting it for me. A couple weeks after I had sent the book to the publicist, I recieved a your book will help people but it is just not a book I can promote sort of email. It was a very nice email. But basically, it was a thanks, but no thanks. I was okay with this. It really didn't bother me. I mean, I actually saved 2,000 dollars and this publicist was very honest about not being in love with my book. Did you all know that a typical publicist makes 3,000-5,000 a month per client trying to promote a book to the media and then coaching the author to answer questions? My question is this...if a publicist can do this...why can't I? I mean, who better to sell me than...well...me?

Now I know that rejection only brings direction. So, I square my shoulders back and move forward onto my next marketing plan. Which is...well...I have not gotten to that place yet. But I am working on it as we speak. I am just going to go with the flow (so-t0-speak) and see what other door I can get to open toward my future. The book writing seemed to be the easy part. Getting it into your hands doesn't seem like such an easy task. But I am up to this task and I will conquer this book promotion thing...I will!

Sidenote: If there is anyone out there who wants to help give me ideas on getting onto talk shows to promote my book...please feel free to chime in cause I am all ears.