Meaning

            What is your meaning?  What is your purpose?  What is your neighbor thinking when she wears those pants?  Why must there be suffering?  Must we suffer so we can grow?  If suffering makes you overeat, the answer is yes.  But can’t we grow; can’t we overeat, without all the agony? 

            You may find you can experience a sense of spirituality if you go through something extraordinary like a terrifying car crash, a police interrogation, or an evening with the Hoopleson’s showing off their burnt food collection.  Doing all these things will bring you closer to the spirit of your spirituality by acknowledging there is something in the universe larger than yourself.  Will it take you to the meaning of life or give you directions to the Big and Tall department?  For this quest to be beneficial you must be receptive to the mystery element that is larger than yourself; but will you?  That is your choice, yours and no one else’s.  You and only you can decide.

Visualization

            To get the most out of any visualization experience you must be willing to use all your senses.  Let’s say you’re in the parking lot, preparing to enter the giant steel and glass building for a job interview.  Close your eyes and watch yourself walk in.  The pretty receptionist with the warm smile greets you.  Visualize being in the office of the person who will be your interviewer.  See his phony, pasted on smile and slightly discolored teeth.  Grasp the hand he offers and feel his limp, dead trout handshake and the slick, sticky film that transfers itself from his palm to yours.  Hear his voice that betrays a heavy use of cigarettes and cheap whiskey.  Smell the room and gently take in the distinct aromas of stale air freshener, freshly cut plastic flowers, and some type of meat.  Taste the plastic tip of your pen and write the following in your notebook; “I would rather work in Hell than for this salamander.”