Today I will....

One of the best ways to make positive changes in your life is to affirm each day what you will do. Some people make lists and post them on their fridge, I simply post them on a few of my websites.
So join me in stating what it is you want out of the last few days of the year. Today I will:
1. Be grateful for all the things in my life
2. Be happy and spread my happiness to those around me.
3. Laugh, love and appreciate.
4. Enjoy every second of this beautiful day.
5. Let any kind of worry run off me like water off a duck's back.
6. Attract happy people into my life today.
So, now it's your turn. What will you do today to make your life better?

Peace and joy,

Phil

My Christmas Angel is 25 today!!!

I want to share my most memorable Christmas ever.

It was December 25th, 1983 and it was about 17 degrees outside and snow was on the ground. It was about 3:00 pm. My wife and I were at my in-laws opening up presents when my wife felt this strange feeling. She took the present she was opening and laid it on the floor and ran to the bathroom only to find that her water had broke. She was huge and we were expecting the baby any day now.

We immediately gathered everything we needed and rushed to the hospital.We arrived and was escorted to the maternity wing of St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis. We finally saw the doctor and he said we would probably have to induce labor since she wasn't having labor pains yet. So, they proceded to do just that. I'm told that induced labor is the hardest to endure, but my wife was a real trooper.

Slowly through the evening the pains started and got stronger and stronger. In between pains we listened to the Christmas music that the hospital had playing overhead and we also watched TV. Midnight came and went and so did the Christmas music.

In the wee hours of the morning, the doctor came in and checked saying we should go to the delivery room now. I dressed in scrubs for the first time in my life and met them there. As I held her hand and coached her as we had been taught in class, she finally pushed out a beautiful baby girl.

The nurse immediately cleaned her and wrapped her in a cotton blanket and handed her to me. I sat in the chair just beside the hospital bed and held her in my hands. Our eyes locked. She looked at me as if we were long, lost souls that hadn't been together in decades. Maybe that is the case. I could not take my eyes off of her and she was the same. We stared at each other for what seemed like eternity while the doctor finished with her Mother. I will never forget staring into those beautiful blue eyes, counting her fingers and toes and holding this precious angel I had just been given.

We named her Cagney Michelle and she turned 25 today, but I can still remember it like it was yesterday.

The day I was given an angel for Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Snow angels...

Remember when you were a kid and it snowed? We couldn't wait to get all bundled up and go sledding. Every kid in town would gather at Meyer's hill and sled all day. Mr. Meyer would build a huge bonfire so we could get warm. We didn't have a care in the world, other than trying to get back up the hill as fast as possible.

One of the best things to do was find a nice, flat, untouched spot of snow and make a snow angel. The key was to fall back flat on the snow, wave your arms and legs and get back up while not disturbing the snow around the angel. I have to say, it is not as easy as it sounds. Every once in a while, you would make the perfect angel. It was a thing of beauty.

Now this was before the time of camera phones or digital cameras, but the pictures in my mind are just as vivid. It is a wonderful memory.

Do yourself a favor, don't forget to be a kid. Be silly, have fun, laugh, have a snowball fight, go sledding and for God's sake, make a snow angel. Life was meant to be fun...don't forget to have fun. You won't regret it.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Phil

Just say "THANK YOU"!!!

When you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor...say "thank you". Thank you for another morning and another chance to make a difference is someone's life.

When you are walking to your job, say "thank you". Thank you for my legs, for my job, the money I make, the food it buys and the oppportunity to choose my own career path.

When you are driving home...say "thank you". Thank you for a roof over my head, thank you for a bed to sleep in, running water and time away from work.

I could go on and on, but sometimes we need to be reminded just how fortunate we are. We are very blessed and if we continue to thank God/Universe/Spirit for all these blessings, more will be given to us. I truly believe this.

This is why it is so important to be happy. We attract what we think about. If we think, "God I am blessed...thank you!!", you will attract more reasons to be grateful. Focus on what you do have and you will be blessed even more.

Peace, love and joy to all,

Phil

The Catepillar and the Butterfly...

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the Master calls a butterfly.”

-Richard Bach

This quote really doesn't need any explanation. It is so beautiful on its own.

I found this quote and picture in a blog posted by Melody Larson.

For more wonderful quotes, thoughts and ideas...visit her website at http://www.delightingthesoul.com/.

Also, I highly recommend reading, "Illusions" by Richard Bach

What's in a song...

What's in a song...

Here's a songwriter's perspective.

I guess you could say that a song is made up of lyrics, chords, melody, vocals, harmony. Those are the basics that make up a song, but what is really in a song.

Someone's entire life can be in a song. As a songwriter, it seems like I am letting everybody read my diary. Even though my songs are not necessarily about my life, they come from feelings and emotions I have had at one time or another.

Some songs are written in five minutes and some take years to complete. I think it depends on my intentions for the song and how it comes to me. A song takes on a life of its own from conception of the idea to maturation to the finished product...if there is such a thing. I have read that great songs aren't written, they are re-written. I think of them as a gift from somewhere out there in the Universe.
So, what's really in a song? Emotion, passion, love and feelings, because when you hear a great song, you feel those things.

The struggle within...

“Heed the injustices of the events in the world around you as you watch the news, read the paper, listen to all that is said of the goings on around you. Contemplate this for a moment. Reflect on how this makes you feel, and how you have felt in the past about such news.

“Now I ask you to look deeper inside yourself, to know that these worries of the world’s struggles are also your own struggles, simply because these same wars, these same struggles, go on inside you, daily. They are simply struggles of a different nature as your mind argues with your heart. The mind constantly goes to battle and conducts war against the true wants and desires of the heart. You fight against yourself, just as the world fights against itself.

“When you think of world peace, how calming and wonderful that would be, know too, that you can have this peace within when you stop the raging war against yourself. There is a great need to accept and understand that the inner battle is only prolonged when you continue to dislike or even hate yourself for all your perceived faults.

Know that there are no faults within you. There is a purpose to everything within your experiences; that you be continuously guided to find the truth within, to the path that is your journey -- one of constant pleasure, not of pain.

Author unknown

Great Rivers of Gratitude by James O'Dea

Your body loves gratitude!

Not a superficial "oh gee, thanks" but a deep, heart-connected appreciation that carries love and acceptance from a place of higher consciousness and well-being.

Your body loves it because it washes away the biochemistry of stress and insufficiency and replaces it with the alchemy of flow and emotional warmth. The resonance from gratefulness warms both the giver and receiver; it generates a field of appreciation sometimes referred to as limbic resonance. In the field of appreciation, we create a healing and reviving antidote to psycho-toxins such as "I don't have time," "I don't have enough," or "I am drained."

Each trickle of gratitude blesses us with its affirmation that we have all we need in consciousness itself to gather our strength and honor life. Each stream of gratitude clears out the corrosive toxins of stress and anxiety in your body and becomes a gift to yourself and to others.

Now visualize great rivers of gratitude coming together as we turn collectively to face the hour in which we live. "With all of its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world," wrote Max Ehrmann. Even in the face of war, violence, and severe climate imbalance, Christopher Fry declared, "Thank God that our time is now, when wrong comes up to meet us everywhere." We can be grateful that we are here in this time of earth challenges with an unquenchable sense of hope and with a steadfast belief in our human capacity to heal, to renew and even to go beyond what seemed our most persistent limitations.

So I say let the gratitude flow. We are ready for the challenges that exist now and that lie ahead. Let these great rivers of our deepest intention flow towards a polarized and distracted world and cleanse it with the power of love. We come from all races, all creeds, all socio-political backgrounds with one unifying feeling of gratitude for life, for consciousness, and for a new evolutionary path forward. We come with gratitude for every being that came before us. We have been given an epic moment in the journey of life on earth to bring our greatest scientific knowledge together with our deepest spiritual insight to change the course of history. If you ever thought you were insignificant, consider how you are now needed in this great shift. And be grateful that you were given such a role and such a time to live in.

Thank you, thank you for what each one of you does to step up and to raise the consciousness of the citizens of this world. Thank you for feeding these great rivers, even in the face of wounding and denial. Thank you for being you.

Thank you to my Niece Karmen for sending this to me!

Bless you all,

Phil

A look back...

Back in the early 1970's, my Dad was preaching at a small Methodist church in Missouri. My Mom played piano and either me or one of my two brothers collected the offering.

Once in a while, my parents, my brothers and I would sing a song during the service. We got invited to sing at a few local churches and revivals. Over the next few years, we got to travel all over the Midwest singing at revivals, family functions and other functions.

Read more about the Bennett Family and listen to the Bennett Family Gospel Album by clicking on the link on the right.

Peace, love and joy to all,

Phil

Gratitude...

The greatest thief of human happiness and abundance is ungratefulness.

Any lack in our lives - whether in money, health, or relationships - is simply the evidence of a lack of gratitude.

If you focus on lack you are not being grateful, and that will bring more lack into your life.

Yet the simple state of radiating gratitude summons everything to you.

From "The Secret" Scrolls.

Today I will...

Today I will...

have a wonderful day!
laugh and smile a lot!
be happy and spread happiness to those I see!
be grateful for all the blessinngs in my life!
work on my creative projects!
show appreciation for those around me!

Today I will live!!

Wild Geese

by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Happy Thursday everyone!!!

I found an excerpt from Abraham-Hicks that makes so much sense.

"You cannot receive vibrationally something that you are not a vibrational match to. And so, bless those who are finding abundance. And in your blessing of them and their abundance, you will become abundant, too. But in your cursing of their abundance, you hold yourself apart from it. It is a law—it is a powerful law."

Abraham-Hicks

So, don't hate me or resent me for my happiness or my positive attitude. I want to be a vibrational match with you.

Be happy, it's a choice!!

With love,

Phil

Thoughts become things...

Thoughts become things!

Through this most powerful law, your thoughts become the things in your life.

Your thoughts become things!

Say this over to yourself and let it seep into your consciousness and your awareness.

Your thoughts become things!

This is from Mike Dooley's website

This is the Universe!!!

This is the Universe!

Today I will be recording your every thought and emotion no matter
how good or bad, no matter how generous or stingy, no matter how helpful or hurtful it may be.

And everything I record...will be played back for you...as sooon as possible, as some type of physical manifestation in Time and Space.

Thank you...that is all.

The Universe/Mike Dooley

"The difference between will and intention"

This is an excerpt of a book by Stuart Wilde.

I hope you like it, Phil

"The difference between Will and intention is that for many people intention is just a mental act--a kind of wishful thinking--whereas the force of Will projected from your consciousness contains not only your thoughts and desires but also the enthusiasm of your own Life Force. Your Will, projected correctly, will contain that vital ingredient, your Spirit--the very essence of what you are.

The force of that Spirit, clearly defined, will deliver to you the focus of your Will by virtue of the fact that the clarity of its concentration is honed to such an uncluttered purity that it cuts right through reality and fires the full weight of its power upon any target....In that pea soup of mumbling and grumbling, along comes the magician: powerful, clear, uncluttered by yearnings or fanciful ramblings of the imagination. Detached as he is from the emotions of humanity he stands on a launch platform that is already a rung or two higher than the crowd. From there he fires his Will into the circumstances of life, knowing that his power is unstoppable.

How could the Universal Law of life deny this man? It can't. His power is too great. His Will is uncluttered by any thought of deserving, of good and bad, of having or not having. It is focused solely on what he wants....If the level of enthusiasm you are willing to commit to your quest is not great, then obviously you don't want what you think you do, or at best your quest is not that important to you. But if some aspect is very, very special to you, it becomes sacred by virtue of its integrity. Then the level of your commitment to that ideal is vital, for you know that the whole reason for your life is contained and centered in that one quest for achievement....Somewhere in your life there will be an overrriding theme to your quest, some part of your desire which cannot be denied without a terrible cost to the very essence of what you are. Are you going to ignore it, or do you have the courage of your commitment and the confidence to demand that life, humanity, or circumstance give you what you want, with no other excuse, reason or apology, other than that you demand it?"

From The Trick to Money is Having Some

Allow today to be amazing...

It's your choice. Is it going to be a good day, bad day or a great day?

Have you decided yet? It is a decision you know...not just a mood you are given when you wake up.

I chose happy today!!!!

So, have an amazing day filled with love, peace, joy, abundance and lots of laughter.

Choose amazing!!!!

Don't just settle for an okay day. There are too many unhappy people walking around because they have chosen a bad day. Liife is too short and precious to waste one single minute being upset or unhappy.

Choose great...it is that simple. Choose happy, abundant, caring, kind and above all...choose happy!!!

Peace,

Phil

Our deepest fear...

Our Deepest Fear

By Marrianne williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

I love this concept and it is so true. We can be, have and do anything we want.

Peace and happiness to all,

Phil

Today can be anything you want!

Today can be anything you want it to be. You are only bound by the limits of your imagination. If you believe that thoughts become things, then THINK BIG!!

Lately, I have been reading a lot about the law of attraction and creating your future. The more you focus on a particular thing whether it be good or bad, the more of it you attract. If you wake up and are grateful for all the wonderful things in your life, you will attract more things to make you feel gratitude.

Why is it that we can easily believe that we might find a dollar bill on the sidewalk, but it is hard for us to even imagine we might find a $100 bill? They are both pieces of paper and are both equally as available.

Life is too short to think small. If you think small, you will have a small life.

Think big, love big, live big!

Let peace, joy and love in your life today. You will attract more of the same.

Phil

The house of 1000 mirrors

The House of 1000 Mirrors

A Japanese Folktale

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often.

"In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Peace, love and FUN,

Phil

"I'll Remember you" 11/1/1999

"The Preacher's Kid"

(In memory of Frank Gale Bennett 7/20/1939-11/1/1999)

By Phil Bennett

The preacher's kid sat in the second row and sang "Amazing Grace"

He listened to the words his Daddy spoke...still in his place.

He wondered if they listened to him speak

Why they only lived it one day a week.

Never knew how he couldn't see

That he needed him more than the sinners on Sunday.

But he was not a sinner yet, maybe he needed to be

to get what he needed from him.

In many ways, he was his hero

And he wanted to be like him and not them.

always knew he was doing the best he could

He didn't know any other way.

Still remembers the sermons he preached

He felt it and tried to live it,

but he couldn't get them to see.

"Don't you ever give up on God," he would say.

But they never listened, but he did.

And is many ways, because of him

the preacher's kid is a better man today.

Just mow around the stump...

Hello all,

I used to work as a Biomedical Equipment Technician in a hospital in Tennessee. Those are fancy words for...I fixed medical equipment. It's a really good career and I did enjoy it most of the time. But somehow, I manifested the most negative, cynical and manipulative person in my life. And to make matters more interesting, I manifested this person to sit at a desk less than 10 feet from me.

Now...I don't think it was all my fault actually. I had been working with a fellow technician for about 3 years, and that technician died of a heart attack one weekend. We were actually very good buddies and I don't mean to make light of the fact that he died, but that's what happened. I left one Friday and never saw him again and I still miss him to this day. Especially when I looked around and saw what kind of idiotic jackass took my buddy's position.

So, I either manifested my buddy's death or God stepped in and it wasn't about me at all. That is what I think happened. Anyway, one day I was venting about my circumstances to a friend/coworker one day and he relayed a story to me that his Father had told him.

"Picture this person as a huge, ugly, dead tree stump in a field of beautiful green grass. When you have to mow that field, don't complain about it and focus on the eyesore in the middle of it. If it is in your way, mow around it. Don't focus on the stump, focus on the beauty of the lawn and nature."

I thought that was awesome and I have used that visualization everyday since then. It really helped me too. I recently left that position to pursue more exciting endeavors...those more in line with my passions. But I will never forget how that simple visualization helped me get through some very tough days.

Thank you God for putting that person in my life and thank God for all my blessings.

I am truly grateful.

Peace to all,

Phil

We are blessed...truly blessed.

There is an old saying, "Count your blessings...things could be worse."

Well, those old sayings come from somewhere and are usually based in truth. I'll go one better. Don't just count your blessings, list them and read them every morning. I keep them posted on my wall so I can see them every morning.

For example, as little 150 years ago, people owned people. Just a few years ago, we got 3 channels on television. When I was a kid, my grandparents didn't have running water or indoor plumbing. My Dad was born at home. College was not an option except for those who were wealthy. 70 years ago, we were in a depression and people were not only broke, they were starving...standing in line for bread. 75 years ago, the convenience of running to the store for a gallon of milk was not an option for anyone. I could go on and on.

Life is good, life is great. We are so blessed! It is imperitive that we take a few minutes out of every day to thank God for all the wonderful things in our life. You will be surprised how your perspective changes.

Peace and love,

Phil

"The Prayer of Jabez"

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,

"Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"

So God granted him what he requested.

Peace, joy and love to all who read this,Phil

Do it anyway...

The verses below reportedly were written on the wall of Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta, India, and are widely attributed to her.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

How Wayne Dyer changed my life...

Hello everyone!!

Here's a quick Wayne Dyer story and a perfect example of the law of attraction.It was 2000 and I was in a horrible relationship, considering selling my guitars (I had already sold one) and never playing music again or writing or anything. I was at the lowest point that I can remember. I was sitting in my living room pondering everything and wondering what the hell I did to deserve all this...pity party. Deep down I still wanted to move to Nashville, write music, perform and live the dream, but it seemed so far away, I was ready to quit.

I was flipping the channels and paused on PBS just long enough to hear Wayne Dyer say, "Don't let your music die with you." Now that made me immediately break down. It was like God himself had spoken in an audible voice straight to me.

So, that week I wrote a song, "Don't let your fire go out.". It was the first of many songs that jump started me. A year later, the bad relationship was history, I was living in Nashville and starting a wonderful journey that has led me right here and now.

It was an amazing experience and I will never forget it. I just wanted to share that with you all.

Keep the faith!!

Peace and love,

Phil