Everyone Has It: Blue Collar Spirituality For Collars Of All Colors

EVERYONE HAS IT

BLUE COLLAR SPIRITUALITY

FOR COLLARS OF ALL COLORS

By

D.W. McSWEENEY

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

© 2009 D.W. McSweeney. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 10/21/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4490-2074-3 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-2073-6 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009909866

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

INTRODUCTION

PART I

THE BODY, THE MIND & THE SPIRIT

BIRTH AND THE BIRTH OF INSECURITY

JUDGMENT VS. ACCEPTANCE

ADOLESCENCE AND DISTINCTIONS VS. COMMONALITIES

INNER DIALOG

TRUE RELAXATION

THE BODY, THE MIND &

THE SPIRITUAL CONNECTION

THE KEY TO TRUE RELAXATION

THE KEY TO YOUR

NEW INNER DIALOG

PART II

DEALING WITH YOURSELF

FORGIVING & GETTING REAL

NOT FORGETTING & LEARNING

ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY

THE MATERIAL IS IMMATERIAL

LETTING GO OF YOUR PAIN

DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

WHAT OTHERS THINK OF YOU

A FATHER’S WISDOM

PART III

DEALING WITH OTHERS

PREPARATION

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

A NEW APPROACH

EMOTIONAL INDEPENDENCE

TRUE LOVE

THE IMPOSTER

NOT ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY

EVERYONE ELSE

THE COMMON THREAD

YOUR PATH

BIBLIOGRAPHY

This book is dedicated to:

My wonderful wife, Rhonda…

the one who raises me to another level of happiness.

My loving Mother…

who is my foundation.

My courageous sister, Donna…

who taught me the value of emotion.

My dear friend, Ellyn…

who inspired me to write this.

INTRODUCTION 

This book is for everyone. The goal of the book is to engage anyone who has felt the impulse to pick it up. That would be you right now. Because you’re reading this, I know something about you already. At the very least, I know you’re interested in finding a deeper meaning in your life. At most, you’ve been searching, maybe for quite a long time, and are still on your quest for spiritual enlightenment.

You may have read books before on spirituality and you’re wondering if there is something different about this one…something new that may help you. Well, as in the case with all self-help books, much of what is written has been written about before. In this book, you’ll find references to others who have inspired me through their words. You’ll also find insights that I’ve discovered, simply through a combination of my own life experiences and a willingness to be open to spiritual growth.

So, what can you expect to find in this book that’s new? That’s different from the others? The answer is - the language. This material is deep, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. I want you and all who read this to think, I get it. I understand this. I can apply this to my life. After all, what good is a self-help book if you’re unable to apply what you’ve read; if you can’t make the ideas work for you in real life.

This is the blue collar aspect of the book. The intention is to have it brim with common sense, rather than intellectual jargon. Also, the concepts in this piece require a work-man like, methodical approach. You will be repetitive tasking, as well as multi-tasking. To get the full benefit of this book, you’ll need to apply the techniques written and be steadfast in your resolve to reach your goal of inner peace.

I realize that some of you will be reluctant to do this, as it does take a substantial emotional commitment. If that is the case for you, don’t get disheartened. There is still much to be gained here. At the very least, you may discover new insights, or learn some techniques for future use. In this instance, consider what is written, food for thought.

This book is meant to be more of a starting point, than an end all-be all. Spirituality is a very personal and private matter. Everyone has their own unique sense of it. Think of this book as a roadmap to enlightenment. It’s one way to get there. I’ll show you the way, but the leg work is on you. It is my hope, that you take what you learn and run with it. Make it your own.

Lastly, I don’t claim to be someone who is superior to you. I don’t have a degree and I haven’t traveled the world studying with spiritual teachers. I’m your next door neighbor with insights I want to share. Think of this book as more of an open inner dialog we’re having together. I’ll be referring to the inner dialog you have with yourself many times in this book, but I also want to have an inner dialog with you as you read this. I want to connect to you. As you’ll soon find out, that’s what this book is really all about…connecting with each other.

PART I 

THE BODY, THE MIND & THE SPIRIT

BIRTH AND THE BIRTH OF INSECURITY 

Spiritually speaking, at birth you were pure. If you were fortunate enough to be born into a loving family, that pureness was nurtured and a spiritual foundation was established. If you weren’t so lucky and you were born into an abusive situation, your pureness was contaminated…most likely on day one. Even in the best case scenario, though, your pureness was contaminated early on. What contaminated your pureness? Negativity.

If you had an ideal home-life during your pre-school years, it was complete harmony. You never heard your parents fight. Your older sibling never called you names in a fit of anger. Your neighbor friend never cheated you at a game. Of course, this is highly unlikely, but let’s stay with it. If you were blessed enough to escape negativity in your pre-school years, you were a very lucky soul. That means your parents were emotionally