Thanks to me, not one black fly within a five-mile radius of my home went to bed hungry last night, and because of my loyal patronage and recurring need for calamine lotion, my pharmacist can now put his youngest through college.

All in a day's work. :-)

Some people may think I'm crazy for spending hours on end in my back yard, but the truth be told, I have answered many pressing questions, made many exciting discoveries, and received amazing creative insights, all while enjoying the solitude of my urban oasis.

It is in this beautiful refuge I have set the stage for my most rewarding successes.

When faced with difficult challenges or when stuck and unable to move forward, I head for the flower gardens with a spade in hand. On many occasions, I have spent up to eight hours crawling on my hands and knees pulling weeds, digging holes, and relocating plants.

Sometimes I just sit on a mound of soil and watch nature's creatures play out their lives in front of me.

I have come out of these "sessions" with solutions to my problems, fully composed newsletter articles, new and exciting business ideas and incredible positive energy.

Often within hours of leaving my back yard, I receive an unexpected phone call or e-mail from someone who provides just what I need to progress to the next level in my business or personal development.

The back yard provides an opportunity to quiet the mind and connect with a higher power. While digging in the soil, watching the chipmunks chase each other around the yard, and smelling the fragrant flowers, I reflect on where I am and where I want to be.

I set an intention to create the future I seek and share it with each plant and blade of grass I touch.

Silencing the mind and emerging yourself in nature is mandatory to personal and professional growth. It also provides a powerful conduit between you and the universal source that permeates all life and connects us all.

These quiet times provide the perfect opportunity for you to ask yourself how satisfied you are with your current reality and decide on what you would like to create.

How you got to where you are is based on the decisions you make, what you think, and the opinions you hold. In order to achieve a breakthrough in your thinking so you can move forward, you need to spend time on your vision, and the great outdoors provides the perfect setting.

Removing yourself from the daily activities of life and being with nature allows you to understand what goes on in your mind, heart and spirit. Spending time in a natural setting provides you with a positive energy that causes you to act on your vision and attract things into your life that support you in creation.

Sometimes in business and life, you know what you have to do to succeed, but you procrastinate. By quieting yourself and being with nature, you can increase your energy and receive amazing intuitive messages that will provide you with direction and motivate you to act.

By acting, you will create results and those results will attract more of the same. When you are motivated, you attract things into your life from very unexpected sources.

You may not have a back yard or maybe not a quiet one, but if you can visit a nearby park, hiking trail, lake or seaside, do this for yourself.

So often our minds are spinning with activity from daily living and then for relaxation, we sit in front of the television and stare at a moving screen for several hours. Our minds become over-stimulated. There is no down time to quiet the mind and allow it to receive intuitive messages.

Television supplies a great deal of negative energy. In a one-hour sitting, how many acts of violence do you witness?

Put yourself in a natural setting where you can vibrate with expectation and quiet your mind. You will then be inspired and motivated to act in a way that will attract that which you desire.