The Heart of the Matter
August 21, 2017
Your Feedback is Humbly Requested

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." -- Peter Ustinov

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The author of this blog (that's me, folks, Mitch Ditkoff) is thinking about launching a new blog that features the healing, inspirational, and heart/mind-opening properties of humor. In a day and age when there is way too much separating people, nations, religions, and spiritual paths, I am exploring ways of finding common ground via the power of humor and laughter (what some pundits describe as "the universal language").

Towards that end, I am asking you to take three minutes now to respond to this poll, which highlights the potential content of the new blog I am dreaming up -- ClownChakra.org. Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to share your feedback with me.

A story that might possibly be included

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 16, 2015
If You Were Me

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Excerpts from 9/7/15
Excerpts from 9/8/15
Excerpts from 9/9/15
Excerpts from 9/10/15
Excerpts from 9/11/15

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2012
Are You Interested in Attending the Amaroo Event in September?

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If you are interested in attending the September 10-14 Amaroo event (Ivory's Rock Conference Centre, Ipswich, Australia), and have learned the techniques of Knowledge, click this link to declare your interest by April 22nd.

The global team who is planning the event wants to know how many people to expect in order to make the right kind of preparations. All the info about registration and costs etc. will be forthcoming within the month, but for now it will really be helpful if you can simply note your interest -- even if you're not 100% sure you can attend.

Thanks! And please forward this posting to any people you know who have learned the techniques of Knowledge, so they also have a chance to respond.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:17 AM | Comments (2)

July 26, 2011
The Big To Do

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www.wopg.org

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:37 PM | Comments (2)

June 01, 2011
Results of the Inspiration Poll

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Last year, I posted an INSPIRATION POLL on this blog, asking readers to rate (on a scale of 1-5) a variety of "inspiration triggers" (the experiences, internal or external, that help them connect with the feeling of inspiration).

194 readers responded. What follows is their response...

4.56 Nature
4.55 Love
4.54 Music
4.44 Learning
4.41 Meaningful work

4.41 Freedom
4.38 Creativity
4.38 Compassion
4.37 Accomplishing the seeming impossible
4.37 Authentic people

4.35 Wisdom
4.34 Kindness
4.33 Inner peace
4.28 Giving
4.28 Hope

4.27 Having an AHA!
4.27 Gratitude
4.27 Beauty
4.26 Friendship
4.26 Courage

4.25 Good conversation
4.24 Inspiring others
4.24 The ocean
4.23 Connecting with others
4.21 Laughter

4.19 Possibility
4.18 Trust
4.15 Fun
4.14 Selfless service
4.10 Falling in love

4.08 Being appreciated
4.04 Sunlight
4.03 Simplicity
4.02 Art
4.02 Anyone who has mastered their craft

4.01 Travel
3.98 Looking up at the stars
3.98 Spontaneity
3.97 Solving a problem
3.94 Good stories

3.93 Surnise/sunset
3.93 Springtime
3.92 Big ideas
3.92 Meditation
3.91 Letting go

3.91 Success of friends
3.90 Your Teacher/Master
3.90 Wise elders
3.89 The sky
3.89 Great quotations

3.89 Forgiveness
3.87 Children
3.85 Books
3.80 Mountains
3.77 Walking on the beach

3.71 Photography
3.71 Playing
3.70 Birth
3.70 God
3.67 Family

3.66 Singing
3.64 Fearlessness
3.63 Summertime
3.59 Starting a big project
3.58 Writing

3.58 Flowers
3.57 Spiritual Masters
3.52 Your heroes
3.51 Your home
3.48 Making love

3.46 Dreams
3.45 Vacations
3.44 Poetry
3.43 Dancing
3.39 Movies

3.32 Faith
3.31 Celebrations
3.25 Winning something
3.24 Thunderstorms
3.18 Sex

3.10 Making a lot of money
3.10 Prayer
3.08 Your pet
3.07 A teacher from your past
3.03 Theater

2.96 Holidays
2.95 Asking for help
2.85 The town/city where you live
2.78 Honest politicians
2.76 Death

2.62 Sports
2.61 Scriptures
2.52 Having nothing to do
2.51 Space travel
2.37 Yoga
2.34 Championship teams
1.98 Religion

Insights? Surprises? Conclusions? Comments?

Photo

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2009
The Heart of the Matter eBook Poll

Dear Lovers of Life,

In an effort to get the content of the Heart of the Matter into as many hands as possible, I am in the process of producing a FREE, downloadable ebook version of the blog (140-160 pages). Woo woo!

Response to The Heart of the Matter has been very positive since it's launch 13 months ago, but there are still lots of people who have never seen it. For them, having a "Best of The Heart of the Matter" in their hands or a pdf file to view may be all they need to dive in.

Towards that end, I am requesting 5 minutes of your time to respond to this online poll. Your feedback and ideas will go a long way towards helping me spread the word. Thanks!

Bonus treat

And another...

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2008
POLL RESULTS: Heart of the Matter Readers Share Their Feedback

Two weeks ago I posted a poll on this blog, asking readers for feedback. 77 people responded. What follows is a summary of the results, my reflections on the data, and an invitation for YOU to participate in the ongoing growth of the Heart of the Matter. Click the link below for more...

About Heart of the Matter Readers...

96% have received the techniques of Knowledge

96% participate in Maharaji's work in some way

88% have attended one of Maharaji's events in the past year

83% would like to see more reports of Maharaji's events

68% have forwarded at least one posting to a friend

67% log on at least twice a week

63% would buy the book version of the blog for someone else

60% would buy the book version of the blog for themselves

59% live in the United States


Here's the ratings of what the 77 respondents value on the blog (based on a 1-5 scale, with "5" being the highest).

4.57 Reports on Maharaji's events from around the world

4.48 Short videos of Maharaji

4.40 Excerpts from Maharaji's talks

4.23 Stories of my interactions with Maharaji

4.10 Inspiring quotes from a variety of sources

4.09 Poetry of Kabir, Rumi, Hafiz and other ecstatic poets

4.09 Interviews with people who have recently received Knowledge

3.93 Humorous essays

3.92 Classic teaching stories (i.e Sufi/Zen tales)

3.51 My own poetry


And so...

1. I'll feature more reports/excerpts from Maharaji's events.

2. If you're going to an event and want to submit a report, let me know and I'll send you the guidelines.

3. Send me: links to short videos of M that you like, photos from events (of the people attending), your favorite poems of Rumi, Kabir & Hafiz, and other inspiring quotes.

4. I'll post more stories of my past interactions with M (and hope for more soon so I have something fresh to write about).

5. I'll post less of my poetry or format it as prose. (If you want to buy my poetry book, click here.)

6. If I decide to publish postings from this blog as a book, I will let you know.

7. If you like the content of Heart of the Matter, click on the archives (located in the blog sidebar). There's a lot of goodies there you probably haven't seen.

8. If you receive email alerts about this blog, be sure to click on the HEADLINE of each alert to view the entire posting. (Email alerts are just "teasers" and don't always contain the full content of a blog posting... or the video link.)

9. The URL for Heart of the Matter is www.ideachampions.com/heart

Enjoy!

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:16 AM | Comments (0)

November 07, 2008
HEART OF THE MATTER POLL #2

Whether you're a first time reader or a long-term fan, I'd love your feedback about this blog. What would you like to see more of? Less of? What new features would you like added? I'd also like to learn more about who is logging on so I can continue evolving the content.

Click here to take the 4-minute poll. I'll post the results in a few weeks. Thanks, in advance, for your input. Mitch

PS: If you want to subscribe, via email alerts, simply enter your email address in the space provided in the sidebar OR you can subscribe via RSS feeds ...

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:22 AM | Comments (2)

June 17, 2008
TA DA! Results of the June 14th Heart of the Matter Poll

One of the good things about life, the universe, and blogging is that they are all interactive. Or at least, they're supposed to be. No man is an island; neither is he an isthmus, peninsula, or archipelago.

Which is precisely why, a few days ago, I asked readers of this blog for their feedback on WHAT, specifically, they'd like to see featured here. 46 people have responded to the poll so far.

Click on the link below for the results.

POLL RESULTS
(on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest possible rating)

4.38 Interviews with Maharaji
4.31 Stories of my interactions with Maharaji
4.17 Excerpts of Maharaji's talks
4.13 Short videos (less than 4 min.) of Maharaji
4.04 Wisdom from selected Masters/Teachers
4.02 Reflections about life, death and everything in between
3.95 Humorous essays
3.93 Updates on Maharaji's travels
3.91 Poetry of Kabir, Rumi, Hafiz and other ecstatic poets
3.91 Links to useful resources on the web
3.88 My poetry
3.80 Inspiring quotes from a variety sources
3.79 Jokes
3.75 Average for All Questions
3.65 Inspiring images (with little or no text)
3.61 Interviews with students of Maharaji
3.54 Techniques on how to think more creatively
3.48 Long videos of Maharaji (more than 4 minutes)
3.16 Guest postings from Heart of the Matter readers
3.15 Book reviews
2.81 Polls/surveys

Going forward, I'll do what I can to honor your input. (Hmmm... maybe I should begin by trying to get an interview with Maharaji...)

Onward!

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2008
I AM LISTENING TO YOU: Please Respond to This Simple Poll

Dear Heart of the Matter Reader:

Now that this blog is a few months old, I'd like to get some feedback from you. Simply put, I want to find out what aspects of the blog are most compelling to you so I can continue to create it in a way that has the most impact.

If you are willing to participate, all you need to do is click here. The whole thing will take you no more than three minutes.

I'll post the results here some time next month. And thanks for all your support so far. It's been a fun ride.

Mitch

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

Welcome to Mitch Ditkoff's blog about what's really important in this life: Peace, gratitude, love, joy, clarity, and the effort required to wake up and smell the roses. Enjoy!

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