jump in: the pool of positive thought

 
 
 

The following post is a guest post written by Bud Hennekes, is an 18-year-old blogger and creator of the fantastic website A Boundless World. It wasn't until I read the bio that he sent over that I found out he was only 18-years-old. For awhile now, I've been reading his blog and soaking up his wisdom and it's amazing to me to discover that he's only 18! If you haven't checked out Bud's site, I highly recommend it. It's a great resource and I'm luck to have Bud here as a guest blogger today. You can also subscribe to Bud's RSS feed by clicking here.

 

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As many of us know,  swimming is a fantastic way to relive stress and keep your body in superb shape. Swimming not only strengthens us physically but also mentally as well. There's something about floating in water that makes one feel free. For the past few months I've been experimenting with a new type of swimming in a new type of pool. I've been swimming in the pool of positive thought. Laps in a pool have never been so rewarding.

 

Benefits of Swimming in the Pool of Positive Thought 

 

• Living in the Present: When you immerse yourself in positive thought you live completely in the present moment.  All worries and fears disappear. In the pool of positive thought there is no resistance, only love and boundless energy.

 

• Authentic Relationships: The more you swim, the more attractive you become. When you're positive, you radiate beauty, and when you radiate beauty, beauty manifests in your reality. Positive thoughts set the stage for an abundance of authentic relationships. 

 

• Happiness: In the pool of positive thought, negative thoughts are not allowed. Only thoughts that empower you are admitted in.Without damaging thoughts, bliss is the constant state of mind. When your mind conjures only cheerful thoughts you are free to simply be. 

 

• Strength Training: The more you condition yourself to think positively the more enthusiastic  you become. Swimming laps does wonders for your mind. As you train you become more aware of negative thoughts and how to stop them. You can be as strong as you choose to be.

 

• Fearless Diving: When you dive into the pool of positive thought you aren't afraid to fail. Failure represents a learning opportunity and nothing more. This allows you to remain encouraged even when you come up short. Swim towards your dreams- nothing's in the way.

 

 

The pool of positive thought is open 24 hours 7 days a week. It costs nothing to knock off a few laps a day. So soak yourself in the pool of positive thought and let the magic seep into your soul. What are you waiting for? Jump in! 

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Thanks again to Bud for sharing this awesome post here at Positively Present! As you know I'm always looking for ways to jump into the pool of positive thought, so I'm excited announce that I've been asked to be a part of an awesome, global team called Random Acts of Kick Arse. RAOKA (as I like to call it) is a team of people working together to help others by doing positive acts. Each month we'll have a theme -- this month's theme is "Kindness" -- and throughout the month we'll each do random acts that relate to that theme. At the end of each month, we'll recap what we've done, sharing it with you on our websites.

The coolest part of RAOKA? You can join in! When you read about the theme for the month, feel free to participate and share your acts here or on any of the other sites participating in RAOKA. Here is a list of those who are part of the team: Life, Laughs, and Lemmings, The Jungle of Life, Jane Be Nimble, Joy Rebel, Operation NICE, and, of course, YOU! I'm looking forward to participating in this and I hope that you'll join me in random acts of kindess this month. Being kind is a great way to jump into the pool of positive thought!

Comments

[Armen Shirvanian]

Hey this is great.

Hi to you Bud, and also to you Dani.

I like this pool, but that fearless diving is tough. It can feel like there is something in the way, like a concrete barrier above the pool water, that would mess up the dive. I do like that positive thought helps remove the barrier.

I agree with that point about how you become more attractive the more you swim in this positively present power passion pool. When I get into that mindset, it gets better and better the more I support it.

Thanks for this material.

[Oscar - freestyle mind]

Awesome article, very inspiring. I like this pool of positive thought :)

[Hayden Tompkins]

I love how you present the positivity-radiance relationship! It is SO TRUE. I also like "swim toward your dreams". Most of the time you see a racing metaphor but this just REALLY resonates for me.

P.S. Thanks for featuring Bud, this article rocks!

[Tristan Lee]

Great points there man. I used to swim a lot and it was great for the mind. Just swimming back and forth and letting your mind wander while your body is under water is such a great feeling away from stress and the worries of life. The hardest part is getting in cold water!

[positively present]

Armen - Hi! I agree that fearless diving is tough. Bud is brave for putting that one in there! Positive thinking definitely helps to remove barriers, which is one of the awesome things about it.

Oscar - I agree! I'm glad Bud wrote this one for Positively Present!

Hayden - The positivity-radiance relationship is awesome, isn't it? I'm glad Bud brought it up here. And, like you, I really liked the "swim toward your dreams" metaphor.

Tristan - Swimming is great (though it's been a long time since I've done it!) and Bud created such a great metaphor with it here. I agree with you about the cold water. Not a fan of that part at all! :)

[Diggy - Upgradereality.com]

Heya Bud and Dani!
Short But sweet! Very nice article Bud :)

I actually like these short posts with a strong message, simplicity is key. I hope you get a whole lot of new subscribers! :)

Keep well
Diggy

[Keith]

Hello Bud and Dani,

Excellent post. I like that you pointed out the "strength training" part of being a positive individual. It's just like anything else, the more we practice it, the better we get at it. It becomes natural to us.

Thanks Bud. I'm off to check out your blog!

[Hilary]

Hi Dani and Bud .. of course if you're in the pool of positive thought and swimming .. you are moving forward, and move we must to benefit ourselves and those around us.

Thanks - and Bud your site looks great .. good for you and have a brilliant college life .. and out in the big bad world life later on!

Enjoy your days .. Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

[Srinivas Rao]

Great post. Sounds like today is going to be a big day for Bud. I have seen his guest post on DLM and just subscribed to his RSS feed. I really liked his writing style and he's very intuitive for an 18 year old. Good for him. I think he's got great success ahead of him.

[Bud Hennekes]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Funny how this article just came to me while I was meditating. :)

I appreciate the support! Give Dani credit for allowing me to guest post. It was a blast :)

[alex - unleash reality]

hey dani! and bud. legends. both of you.

total.immersion.

i like.

also like the juiciness of it. short and juicy. mmyuhmmy.

a

[Kathy Berman]

Hi, I have added you to my recovery journey links. I have been blogging since Nov 2004 but didn’t have comments. Recovery date is Nov. 24, 1976. I would be honored if you’d check out my main blog, kathyberman.com

[Dayne]

Very nice post Bud and thank you for sharing! :)

There is nothing like being fearless, and just...jumping into the pool of life! And most of all, to be fully present!

Thank you again!

Dayne
TheHappySelf.com
http://www.thehappyself.com :)

[positively present]

Diggy - Short and sweet is definitely great when it comes to posts. I'm not so good at that since I tend to get carried away while writing, so it's nice to have Bud featured here with a great, short post. Glad you liked it!

Keith - Glad you brought up the point about strength training because it's so important when it comes to positive thinking. We have to practice it!

Hilary - Moving forward in a positive way is so important when it comes to living our lives positively in the present. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Srinivas - So glad you checked out Bud's site and enjoyed it. It's hard to believe he's only 18 with all of the wisdom he has. :) I'm looking forward to seeing more awesome posts from him!

Bud - Thank YOU for doing the guest post. It's a great one and I'm glad you're getting lots of positive feedback -- and hopefully lots of new subscribers too!

Alex - Wow, thanks for the compliment! :) I'm not sure about being a legend, but I'll take it!

Kathy - Thank you for adding a link to my site on your site. That means a lot to me. I really appreciate when readers do that! I'm looking forward to checking out your journey on your site.

Dayne - I'm glad you enjoyed reading Bud's post. I'm glad he was able to share it with us. And thanks for highlighting the point about being fully present. That's SUCH an important one!

[Marie]

I especially like the point you made that "When you immerse yourself in positive thought you live completely in the present moment."

Staying in the moment does keep our spirits uplifted and our hope alive.

Thanks for this article!

- Marie (Coming Out of the Trees)

[Cynthia]

Thinking positively has changed my outlook on life. Great Post!

[positively present]

Marie - I agree! That was great point Bud made. I'm glad you brought that one up in your comment because it's such an essential one. Staying in the moment, hard as it is to do sometimes, really can make a huge difference in our lives.

Cynthia - Me too! It sounds cliche, but it's amazing what an attitude adjustment can do for a person. I'm glad you enjoyed Bud's post! :)

[Sami - Life, Laughs & Lemmings]

I wish I was this insightful when I was 18! Great article Bud.

Thanks for introducing us to Bud, Dani (and for being involved in RAOKA)!

[Karen Chaffee]

Bud, what a wise and uplifting post! You've given me a great deal of encourage through it.

And Dani, what an excellent opportunity RAOKA sounds to be! I'm looking forward to reading about your experiences. Thank you for inviting us all to be a part of something great :)

Karen

[Char (PSI Tutor:Mentor)]

This is a wonderfully uplifting post. I swim often~ my Shadow comes with me~ we are great friends now that I accept her as part of what makes me whole...

~ she's great for wrestling sharks or head-butting barracuda...

[positively present]

Sami - Me too! My whole life would be different if I'd know all of this when I was 18! You're welcoming for introducing Bud and for being involved in RAOKA -- I'm very excited about it. :)

Karen - Isn't Bud's post wonderful? He shared some great insights with us here. RAOKA is definitely a great opportunity and I hope you'll join us in this month's theme -- random acts of kindness.

Char - I agree that Bud's post is very uplifting and he's done a great job with the swimming analogy.

[Lisa]

This is a wonderful post for me because I visualize myself often floating in the water of health and positive thinking.

You really hit home with me. Good post.

[Megan "JoyGirl!" Bord]

Hi, Bud! Way to start early --- I was 25 before I realized that being positive was a way of life, and that it was something I had to condition myself toward. Physical exercise? No problem. Mental exercises of staying optimistic and "positively present"? Eesh...

This line of yours really stood out for me, "The more you condition yourself to think positively the more enthusiastic you become." Two years ago I earned the name "JoyGirl!" and I couldn't believe it. I always had to look behind me to see who my friends were referring to. Now I embrace it, because I know I've done what it takes to reside in that space permanently and enthusiastically!

Awesome writing, and thanks to Dani for bringing you here to her blog!

[positively present]

Lisa - I felt the same way. Bud's post really provided a great way to think about being positive in the present via the image of swimming.

Megan - I know! Bud is quite wise! I'm glad you pulled that line out of the post. It's a really great one and it's awesome how it relates to how you became "JoyGirl!"

[Katie]

Thanks for sharing your blog is so helpful!

[Melissa Donovan]

I love the swimming pool metaphor! It's true -- positive thinking is the path to happiness. Everyone should try it ;)

[positively present]

Katie - You're welcome! I'm so glad you like the blog and you enjoyed Bud's guest post.

Melissa - Me too! I'm so glad Bud used this metaphor here. It works wonderfully!

[Josten]

That was an awesome post. I need to meditate more to than a few times a week.

[positively present]

Josten - I'm glad you liked it! Bud did a great job writing this one. :)

[Tess The Bold Life]

Move over I'm jumping (not diving) in!

[Bud Hennekes]

Tess: I'm glad you've decided to take the plunge :)

[positively present]

Tess - Me too! I'm glad you're taking the plunge. :)

[Patrice]

Wow! Very impressive post from an 18 year old guy. I really like the idea of swimming into the pool of positive thought. Immerse oneself and don't be afraid to fail because failure is a learning opportunity.

[positively present]

Patrice - Isn't this post impressive?! I'm glad Bud agreed to do it and I'm happy he shared this great ideas with us here.