A couple days ago I went to watch one of my favorite TV shoes, West Wing, on DVD. (I have the first 4 seasons on DVD). Watching the show on my iBook laptop is a favorite way to unwind at the end of the day.

On this particular day the DVD program hung up so I had to shut down the computer, but when I went to start it up again nothing happened. Now, this has happened once before about a year ago and it was a major disruption in my life since I'd lost a lot of data when the repair company cleaned off the hard drive despite my stringent requests that they not do that. (My request was lost in the shuffle.)

So, all the past about the times I've had computer crashes began to wash over me, as I sat on my bed trying to breath. Luckily I caught what was happening fairly quickly, perhaps because the contrast between my quiet serenity a few moments previously and what I was now starting to experience was so sharp.

I consciously stopped myself by quieting my mind's fearful chatter and instead taking a moment to determine what was really happening. My iBook wasn't turning on. Beyond that, pretty much everything else I was hearing in my mind was all conjecture based on the past.

My minister, Chad O'Shea, often talks about the many different 'gurus' we have in our lives if we pay attention. Here, for sure was my latest guru, my iBook, pointing to how quickly I was ready to give up my peace-of-mind by allowing my mind to wreck havoc.

As for the status on my iBook? Still uncertain. I've unplugged it and removed the battery for a day or so, based on both an intuitive hit I had this morning which was followed by an email from my computer expert suggesting the same. We'll see if it can indeed heal itself.

In the meantime, I continue to 'watch my mind like a rattlesnake' least the past jump up to strike down my peace of mind again.

2005 Brad Swift of Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.

Brad Swift

As a writer, I've written well over 300 magazine articles for a diverse assortment of magazines including Omni, Entrepreneur, New Age Journal, Yoga Journal, Utne Reader, Unity Magazine, Better Homes and Garden, Modern Maturity, and many others. I'm also a regular contributor to Veterinary Economics. (Yes, I still have a special place in my heart for animals.) My books include, WINNING THROUGH COACHING: Building Your Business Through Building Your Team and TRAVELING THE PURPOSEFUL PATH ? 6 Passages to an Inspired Life on Purpose.

As a public speaker, I lead programs on life purpose that are customized to fit such diverse groups as churches, spiritual centers, civic and professional organizations. The principles of these programs are also available in the 12-week teleclass, Living the Fulfilled Life. From these programs participants bring more focus to their life, experience a renewed sense of fulfillment, and lighten up and have more fun. Out of this focus, fulfillment, and fun emerges an ability to maintain balance in their life and a deeper appreciation for living.

One of my all time favorite ways of expressing my purpose is as a life purpose coach. I find the intimacy and creativity of one-on-one coaching to be a breathtaking experience. The select group of people who are my clients are very special to me, and with them I am constantly creating new facets of life purpose coaching that are then incorpoated into the other programs.

In short, the focus of my life is life purpose. From living on purpose, I've been blessed with an extraordinary life in which I am satisfied and fulfilled. My wife, Ann, and I share our redwood chalet home in the "Paradise Found" of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with our daughter, Amber, and a menagerie of purposeful and playful pets.