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Off the Beaten Path

02 May

Finding Your Way with Feeling

Have you at one time experienced the moment, day, week or month (hopefully not a year) of feeling lost without hope or options?  Most times feeling lost creates a sense of panic and the extent of that panic of course depends on how much of an over thinker you are.  Getting a hold of yourself and your thoughts to find the way out is your best and only option.

It is my sense that feeling lost is related to some sort of conflict that you feel overwhelmed, overpowered or minimized by.

Conflict itself is just your soul’s way of communicating to you that are off your path, that you aren’t where you are destined to be.  I think many of us get so caught up in the details of a conflict that we miss the lesson while heading toward our intended destiny.  I don’t mean exactly that certain people aren’t meant to cross and/or be in your life but rather that instead of focusing on the conflict try to figure out why it is there to begin with.  What or who are you really battling against?

Keep the bigger picture in mind when assessing conflict or issues of any kind, not everything is as negative as it seems to be.  Just maybe it is meant to propel you into a new direction, a direction you might not otherwise have discovered had you not been pushed.  Maybe it is connected to a quality or characteristic you need to develop to fit into the puzzle that is your future destiny.  I kind of see things in that perspective as each of my experiences pass and I have time to reflect on what the real purpose/lesson was.  I usually find that I have gained greater clarity and that what I’ve learned or developed as a result of the experience will help me going toward my purpose.  There are some that I had to repeat, I guess I just felt I knew better at times and how wrong I was and pained to have to go through one again but thankful at least that I could look back and make the connection changing it from the negative experience into a positive result.

Taking back the power, your power, that you’ve allowed the experience to take control of is your bridge to freedom.

It is my thought that the four elements to embracing this perspective, attitude and outlook are to focus on what you’ve gained instead of what was taken away and/or needed to be shed.

Intention:  When you go into any experience it isn’t likely that your intention is to falsely represent yourself, at least I hope not.  If your intention is pure and positive than it is important to include your intention as reference when you look back to assess what went wrong and why the outcome did not turn out as you had hoped.  Everything happens for a reason!

Receptive:  Are you receptive to the thoughts and opinions of others, not in the way of dismissing your own but open to meeting another’s actions, behaviours and opinions with love and acceptance?  Allowing them to be who they are without judgement or constraint?  By remaining receptive you show that you are considerate and respectful and not trying to force a response or outcome you want which in turn shows another how you also want to be treated.  We teach people how to treat us!

Abundance:  I used to associate abundance in a monetary sense very long ago and of course that was a very naïve assumption.  Abundance is present in so many areas of life and monetarily is actually the least valuable.  Abundance in love, respect and compassion towards yourself and for others are the highest of value and my most cherished.  You cannot buy any of these nor can you force them, they are most beautiful when given freely and without attachment.  The authentic moment is priceless!

Gratitude:  It’s important to have gratitude for even the difficulties as terrible as they are because it is both good and bad experiences that shape you into the person you become.  When I have experiences that don’t turn out the way I hoped I have always concluded that there must have been an aspect of myself I needed to grow or strengthen to better serve me in the future.  Becoming aware of each and every success or challenge that has changed something in me for the better is why I continue to keep this faith.  Even the small steps matter!

When you find yourself off the beaten path do whatever you need to rein yourself back in, look for your signs they truly are all around you trying to guide you back and remember:

  • Everything happens for a reason
  • We teach people how to treat us
  • The authentic moment is priceless
  • Even the small steps matter

Forge ahead with intention, change your negative experiences into positive, stay open and receptive to welcoming abundance in your life with a big dose of gratitude!

 
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Posted by on May 2, 2018 in Blog

 

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From Now to Zen

26 Dec

It’s A Love Thing!

Listening to your soul whisperings is a connection that is always there but isn’t always heard.  Life experiences can color and cloak how you interpret those signs and revelations.  I don’t think you have an idea of who you really are or what you really want and why until you shed these layers.  Your experiences are not meant to hold you back or limit your opportunities, they are meant to shape and prepare you for your greatness!

It isn’t until after one or possibly a few more heavy hearted experiences that you may start to wonder why your life is going in a direction you really don’t desire.  Why do you keep ending up in relationships or situations that aren’t bringing out the best in you and why doesn’t it feel right in your heart?

Soul searching, silencing your mind and embracing the stillness so you can hear and feel your soul is the only way to true meaning and fulfillment.  Once you begin to understand why and how you process your challenges you will find yourself thirsting to pursue this greater sense of clarity in all areas of your life and that will lead you to your true purpose.

When you know you know

This heightened awareness will come in at a time in your life when you are ready to move into a state of openness and willingness to look at where you’ve been to find a better path to where you’re going.  Suddenly things start to become very clear and past issues that once held you back no longer carry the weight they did.  The desire to let go of that which no longer serves you to embrace a more peaceful way of living comes to the forefront of your thoughts and you realize this is your crossroad.

Do I continue down this same path which isn’t really inspiring me with peace and happiness?

Or do I blaze a new trail?

These are your life changing moments and they propel you onto a new path, one that will allow you to get in touch with what really matters to you, which is really the most important question you can ask yourself.  I would bet that the answer your ego would give versus the answer your soul would have would be as different as night and day.  The ego wants you to feel fear and believe that you are unworthy, unlovable or cursed, that everything you hope or want for is unattainable and you don’t deserve it anyway.  The soul wants you to know you are worthy, loved endlessly and have insurmountable opportunities ahead to chart any path you desire.  When you are in alignment with your soul you will find your way to your true destiny, all the happiness you seek, the luxury of authentic/true connection with others and a sense of peace which all I can say is Zen!

True Meaning, hearing the voice within

What matters most?

What do you really want?

I think when you get to this place your thoughts are recharged and you begin to evaluate the things that matter most to you.  You gain a new perspective and recognition for certain pieces of your life that shouldn’t have carried on for so long which allows you to finally let them go.  You start to realize how much time you’ve wasted on experiences that shouldn’t have been giving so much of your power away.  This isn’t to say that what weighs on your heart, mind or soul doesn’t matter but rather how much does it matter for you to lose precious time over or hold yourself back from having new and more healthier experiences that truly connect with your heart.

True Fulfillment, honoring the voice within

What inspires me?

Is it too late?

Heeding the call and allowing your inner voice to be acknowledged knowing how vulnerable that may leave you is a little frightening but in a good way.  I think many view vulnerability as weakness but it is actually pure strength, it takes more strength to be vulnerable than it does to hide behind a false face.  Vulnerability, while scary at times is also quite exhilarating because there is nothing left to bare, one cannot strip you down any further once you are already fully exposed so it allows you to increase your strength from your core.

Do you see what I see?

That door closed, stop staring at it, turn around and see the open window!  Every ending has its sadness but it is also the beginning of something new, change is around the corner and if you spend too much time staring at that closed door you may miss noticing the window of opportunity that has opened just for you.  Far too often we spend too much time focusing on what we had, what we’ve lost, what we sacrificed, what could have been different, all good points but what are you going to do now to change your direction?  Your answers are connected to discovering what true meaning and true fulfillment mean for you, for me it means never giving up, never giving in and keeping my faith in all the things I have dreamed about.  I am not a Dreamer, I am a Visionary!

New Year, New Life

I had thought that 2017 was going to be “the year” and as I’ve come to realize I think it was “the year” but not for the reasons I had initially thought, it was restless and the struggle to move forward seemed like one step forward, two steps back at times but I am labeling it the “year of enlightenment” and 2018 will produce the changes and manifestations of that enlightenment in a very positive way!

Everyone has their own special gifts, opportunities and magical connections destined but this is only after you’ve done your work.  Sometimes when the opportunities come along you are in a funk and it’s just not going to happen and then when you feel you are ready the opportunity is no longer there.  Don’t worry you didn’t miss it what is meant for you will never pass you by, if something didn’t happen at a time when you expected or wanted it’s because it really was not meant for you.

Everything happens for a reason and everything comes to you at the exact right moment so do your work, be ready and keep dreaming!

From Now to Zen ,,,,,, it’s a Love Thing

 
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Posted by on December 26, 2017 in Blog

 

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Where’s My Sign?

23 Mar

Which Way Do I Go?

I have always believed in signs, how every experience directs or re-directs you to a new path and that all signs manifest as a result of your conscious choices whether they were good ones or not. Your signs find their way to you but ultimately you need to be available (emotionally, mentally & spiritually) to see and embrace them.signs

Not every sign is crystal clear, wouldn’t it be nice if it were? That would make things so much easier and reduce the chances of ever misreading them. Although I think that may be the point, you can’t be led by the hand to every experience, some of the best ones are stumbled upon as if by accident but I don’t believe in accidents, everything does happen for a reason whether you realize it at the time or not.

Have you ever noticed how some people come into your life at just the right time, maybe a time when you were going to give up on something and their presence inspires you to keep going? Or maybe a time when you needed the help of someone of specific placement to give you that extra reach and there they appear? Some just come along to walk with you through it all and some for specific points in time, maybe to shift you in a new direction of a sign you’ve not been able to see yet or maybe to provoke the change you need to forge ahead.

I’ve tried at times to step outside myself as if to look in and while it seems weird to think, sometimes the way things all come together appear to be beautifully mastered by an outside influence. When you are in alignment with all things positive and your intention matches that alignment your life starts to open up and the signs that were always there become much more visible.

How do you know what is truly a sign?

  • The true signs are something you feel instinctively, I used to doubt my instincts not because of any sort of lower-self thinking or lack of self-awareness but because my ego had me believing I knew more, isn’t it great how that ego always leads you to believe that? Any time you have an instinctual thought, feeling or reaction it is truth from your higher self, wanting to be heard and the worst thing you can do is not listen. The signs tend to continue hitting harder each time they present but at some point when you just aren’t getting it and the time for that moment the sign represented has passed they start to diminish just like your ability to hear your instincts, eventually the voice gets quieted so low you can no longer hear it and your signs fade away along with the positive gifts they carried. At this point though all is not lost, the opportunity to see, read and hear new signs will always be available and all it takes is shifting your perspective to the light inside (that is you) and trusting that what you see and feel is something you can believe in, your inner self never guides you astray because it has your best interest, always!

How do you know you’re not just imagining/seeing something that isn’t there?

  • This is a question I’ve asked myself because I tend to get overly passionate and pursuant of my goals at times, that’s just who I am. So am I creating these signs as a result of my imagination and desires? Or are they true signs? Again, this is something only your instinct will know, if it’s a true sign you will feel it, your emotional connection to your higher self is always there to guide you, listen to it. When you have a feeling, act, I can guarantee you will never regret it because at the very least you will never wonder where things would have taken you, you will know.

The signs in life are like signposts on the road, as you travel on the road the signs tell you how much further you have to go, they also tell you that you are on the right track and that’s what the signs in life do as well. They are the significant or insignificant reminders that you are still on the right road destined toward the unknown but hopeful and faith enduring enough to keep going.

Pay attention to all your signs (big and little), heed the warnings and urgings or your instincts, even if you think your making something up in your head let it ride out and see where it takes you, it’s the scariest moments that bring about the greatest change.

signs on life

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2015 in Blog

 

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Everything in its Time, and…

05 Jan

Everything in its Place

Have you ever wondered why things work out mysteriously the way they do? How an outcome at the time seems strange but later make sense? When you have a conversation or experience that seems oddly familiar, like a déjà vu?

I often think that there is a Universal master plan when I experience these déjà vu moments and especially when an outcome that I didn’t believe was of benefit becomes a later realization of better than I could have designed. I do believe that everything happens for a reason and have faith that the answers will eventually become clear, trusting in that faith is what helps keep the intensity of the storms in perspective. I do find though that more often than not things work and balance out to my benefit, having a positive attitude and outlook on life definitely helps. It’s not that every day is a fabulous one and that it’s all rainbows and roses, everyone including me has their down times but I work hard to keep those down times from defining my life.

I do find it curious how different scenarios play out and at times it does feel like some sort of divine and/or universal intervention is in effect. I do believe we are all connected to each other and I think how that is felt depends on how deep of an impact the connection actually was or still is. Have you ever had the thought of someone and then they call you or a song comes on the radio that is one you connect with that person. I think the song example is usually related to past connections and the phone call is related to current. Just my experiences so far, that is by no way a fact and how you sense, feel or think of those connections will likely be different for everyone.

What are your big questions, what stirs your spirit, what stirs your curiosity? I love having the conversations with people that are thought provoking, eye opening and inspiring. The conversations that challenge and ignite my thirst for answers to my biggest questions and the desire to dig deeper. If I don’t keep challenging myself than it feels like I’m just going through the motions of each day without any direction, I mean it has to be about something, doesn’t it?

It’s about connecting with others on a soul level that doesn’t just touch your heart but your spirit so you feel connected on a deeper level that is beyond deciphering it. This is what I feel is “everything in its place” because sometimes it feels as if there was no reason except every reason for you to connect with someone on that level. Some people come into our lives without a purpose and with every purpose, which eventually makes sense so much that you couldn’t imagine them not in your life. You find that anything and everything is on topic and you become immediately enmeshed as if you had known each other for longer than your current time.

It makes sense to me that we come into this life without intent or knowledge of the plan which I feel is “everything in its time” and every once in a while the déjà vu moments are like signposts to let us know we are on the right path and going in the right direction. Whether you desire change or not it’s going to happen and the more accepting you become of impending change the easier it will be to adjust when it occurs. Not everything is going to be easy and it’s not meant to but the people that come into place in your life have a purpose, some are there to help, to inspire or to motivate change. Some of them are meant to stay longer than others and some are for lifetime, I have a more in depth look at this in a past blog “In Your Life for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime”.

I think it’s really important to always remember that none of your challenges are meant to break or define you, they are all meant to help you grow. When you embrace that understanding the storms won’t seem as rough because you’ll have faith that new wisdom and growth is just around the corner.

something good on the horizon

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2015 in Blog

 

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A Beautiful Story

03 Jul

And a Great Reminder

I received the below as an email and there is a notation to indicate that it is a true story but whether or not it actually is, the story itself is emotionally inspiring.

I do believe that occurrences like these exist and that if something is meant to be, it will be.

It is a great reminder of how “Everything does happen for a reason” and that the Universe works in very divine ways.

*********************************************

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18th were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19th a terrible tempest – a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall, he bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow, an older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus…….she missed it.  The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle, her face was like a sheet…..”Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?” The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there, they were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria.

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave, her husband was going to follow her the next week.  He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church.  The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do…..she lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve, the church was almost full.  The music and the spirit were great, at the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighbourhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike.

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her but he was arrested and put in prison…..he never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride.  They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

It stated at the bottom of the email that this was a true story and that the notation as follows was from Pastor Rob Reid which I believe was with regard to the woman from the story that made the blanket:

God does not work in mysterious ways…..I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you, His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He will see us through. So when the road you’re travelling on seems difficult at best……just remember I’m here praying and God will do the rest.

*********************************************

buddha quote with elephant

 
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Posted by on July 3, 2014 in Blog

 

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The Relationship Within

26 Feb

Be Your Own Champion!

The most important relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself. 

I believe the relationship within travels a different path in everyone.  Sometimes we treat others better, sometimes we treat others worse but we should be treating ourselves the same way we treat others because when we start scaling ourselves against each other inner emotions start to feed the ego.  Respect for yourself first leads to respect for others and for life itself, respect is the key component to maintaining healthy relationships and gratitude the key for keeping the ego in check.  A relationship without respect or gratitude will inevitably become toxic and the length of time spent in a toxic relationship can determine the length of time it may take you to get over the emotional damage created from it.

respect yourself

Trying and failing will always be better than failing to try!

Failing to try will lower every form of how your value yourself, taking action will enhance your inner spirit and be a great reminder to you that nothing is going to keep you down.  Action is very motivating as well as rewarding because at the very least, whether success was achieved or not, your self-worth and inner devotion is nurtured, acknowledge and validated.  It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, of course succeeding is always hoped for and welcomed but it doesn’t define you nor should you let it.  Regret is usually the experienced effect from wondering how things may have turned out had you tried and the best reason for at least taking a shot.  Regret stays with you, it stays there to remind you that you didn’t believe in yourself enough when you needed to and that exact same opportunity likely won’t present itself again.  We attract what we need when we need it and your personal growth and self-evolvement depend on you taking advantage of opportunities when they arise.  They aren’t presented at any old time, the Universe has carefully constructed all the necessary components needed to be in place to ensure your success.  Your emotional state of being, awareness and circumstance needs to be in alignment and the Universe knows when all of this comes together.  This isn’t just a guess, coincidence or dumb luck, everything happens when and how it’s supposed to and you are only asked to trust it and have faith.  If success doesn’t occur it’s not because you are a failure, it’s because it wasn’t meant to.  Success isn’t always what we think it is, I’ve learned plenty of lessons through failure and that is what turns out to be the success.  That education gave me the experience I needed to succeed in the area I’m supposed to, an area that I might not have succeeded in had I not had the experience.  Not everything is meant to work perfectly but all lessons and opportunities are meant to teach and advance us in some way.

lifes lessons

What is the Universe trying to tell me? 

Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to figure things out, they will become clear when they are supposed to.  Everything happens for a reason, by design, by forces greater than us conspiring to make it happen, nothing happens by coincidence.  Fate or destiny, however you want to label it, all happen for reasons not yet known to us.  Reasons that will eventually become clear at the time you are most open to understanding and/or receiving it.  You aren’t always open and there are times when circumstance detracts your attention and obstacles manifest, whether you’ve attracted them through your thoughts or not. 

Remember:  whatever you give the most thought to is what will increase and be sure to keep in mind that even if your conscious thought is thinking about something it wants to attract, your subconscious thought may be thinking otherwise.  These two states of awareness have to be in alignment (working together) to be positively effective.

For example: 

–          If you are thinking you want to lose weight consciously but your subconscious mind is telling you that it’s just not going to happen, then it definitely will not happen.

–          If you are thinking you want to quit a habit that is affecting your life negatively but your subconscious comes up with all sorts of reasons as to why it’s not going to work then you diffuse yourself before even starting and it definitely will not happen.

Not all but most of us have a habit of sabotaging our own efforts for a variety of reasons but there is one in particular that is most often behind it all and that is concession; acceptance and acknowledgement of defeat.  Giving up before you even begin to try is a good way to prevent failing but it’s a great way to prevent success, what you don’t realize is that you’re failing yourself by not trying.  You’re telling your inner spirit (the one that you should be nurturing) sorry the ego is going to win on this one because it’s the strongest but in reality it’s not it’s just the one you are choosing to feed.

If there is something you want out of life but you believe you will never have it, you will definitely succeed at never having it.  Your thoughts are more powerful than you may realize so be careful which side of the spectrum you place them.

Positive thoughts produce positive actions and positive results!

No matter what aspect of your life you desire to adjust or improve your heart and mind must be in it together, as long as they are there is NOTHING you can’t do!

Feed your inner spirit first, acknowledge what it needs and thrives on, validate and reward yourself for personal victories along the way and success will surely follow.

Ghandi-Quote

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2014 in Blog

 

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The Tools in Life You Shouldn’t Live Without

23 Jan

What’s in Your Toolbox?

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  • I Turn Every Experience into an Opportunity

I know that everything in life happens for some subliminal reason and we can’t always have the foresight to venture ahead to understand it or the gratitude for the wisdom gained from the experience but I have learned to recognize when opportunity arises. 

Opportunities are actually abundant for everyone but I think many of us don’t see them because they haven’t appeared as grandiose as built them up in our minds.  Even the smallest of opportunity is still an opportunity and when you take advantage of the small ones what follows suit is the big ones too because opportunity knows no boundaries and once you open that door you start to realize, recognize and become aware of how many there are around you.  It’s not a matter of you changing, it’s just a matter of adjusting your vision, similar to wearing 3D glasses where the objects pop out at you, you will be able to see your opportunities in a heightened state of awareness that makes them stand out before you.

  • I Am Worth Loving

Knowing your worth and learning not to de-value yourself based on an opinion that isn’t your own is an inner dialogue you need to develop.  Everyone has an opinion but if they haven’t walked in your shoes for any length of time then there is absolutely no foundation for that opinion to stand on.  I’ve found that people with strong opinions usually aren’t very happy, I believe that is because they are so busy looking into someone else’s life that they aren’t living their own and by doing so they are depriving themselves of finding happiness and enjoying their life the way they were meant to.  We are all worth loving, we are all worth finding happiness and we are all worth enjoying our lives, no matter what!

  • I Forgive Myself

Forgiveness is a major part of your own evolvement, without it you are literally held within a trap of your own making that keeps you in a state of sadness, hurt, discontent, anger, and so many more.  Forgiveness is essential for moving past an experience that has caused negative disruption, disruption that has been awful that it has halted you in your tracks and kept you unable to look ahead.  On one of my previous posts (Evolving Means Change) I put in a quote from Oprah Winfrey about forgiveness that I believe are words to live by as well as words to inspire you to forgive so you can enjoy your best life.

  • I Am in the Process of Positive Change

I’ve always lived within the positive mindset, outlook and attitude and I believe that maintaining and feeding those states of mind have made what has become a process not feel like one.  It has become effortless so much so that I don’t have to work very hard at staying positive.  Of course everyone has an off day, I do too, like you got up on the wrong side of the bed and everything bugs you but I don’t think that has as much to do with my positive outlook as it does with just being burnt out.  My positivity never waivers, I have high hopes and aspirations for all areas of my life and I know that when the time is right all things fall into place.  The Divine knows all, I’ve had my moment of doubting it when something didn’t happen when I expected but I found that when it happened later when I didn’t, it was better timing.  The Universe just knows and part of positivity is having faith in that but I am always trying to create a better way and a better process for positive change.  That’s the whole point of positivity, it inspires you continually improve, not because you need it but because you love it.

  • I Open New Doors to Life

I am continually looking for new doors to open and as much as I get scared at first, that’s my personal indication that I’m opening the right one.  I think you have to scare yourself sometimes, really challenge yourself, push yourself forward even if you’re terrified because pushing past that fear enhances your own personal courage, builds self-confidence and sometimes it opens up an opportunity, one you might not have otherwise discovered.  The more new doors you open the more your personal power grows because with each step into new territory you blaze trails for yourself and for others.  Imagine how much inspiration one person can provide to another just by leading the way and vice versa, you may follow another’s path because they’ve inspired you to do so.  Inspiration comes from a place of purity, a place of universal love and cannot be touched or tainted by negativity.  Open as many new doors as you can find and I can assure you, your path will be found!

  • The Past is Over

There is a reason why it is called the past, and that is because you can’t go back and change it regardless of whether or not you think you will find some sort relief from the negativity that has transpired forth as a result of the experience.  Chances are even if you were able to go back and hit the delete button to undo what was done, sure it may have changed where you are now but you would also lose the greater gifts that came with it.  Don’t disparage the gifts, what you learn from lessons can help you in more experiences to come than you realize.  I’ve learned how to adapt and handle situations that in my teen years wouldn’t have even entered my mind.  I’ve learned how to trust (especially in the universe) that all things happen when they are meant to and there’s no point in me trying to rush the universe if it decides it’s going to move at a glacial pace, at least that’s how I view it when I get impatient, trust me my patience is still a work in progress.  Without these lessons that are all from my past, I may not be as mindfully developed, and the mindful development is a work in progress as well and that is because if I don’t keep challenging myself, what am I doing then? 

Keep the past where it belongs, allow yourself the presence and peace of mind to enjoy the present and even though your future is not yet written, look forward to living it, I know I do!

MarkTwainExplore quote

 
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Posted by on January 23, 2014 in Blog

 

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Every Chapter of Your Life

08 Oct

Brings in More Depth

I’ve noticed that the “meaning of life” has become deeper and more meaningful as time goes on.  This is something I had never anticipated when I was a teenager because my experiences then didn’t carry the wisdom I gained later in my adult years.  As a teenager or young adult I didn’t realize the depth that life would eventually bring because I was preoccupied with trying to find my place in the world, looking for my independence.  That period of my life gave me the freedom to learn and discover how to find my way, and the struggles that I encountered along the way helped to build my determination to succeed in attaining the life I had envisioned.  Actually that vision hasn’t changed much, yes there are a few improvements to the plan and the only reason it took me so long to reach my desired goal is because I got distracted trying to help others build their dreams.

dhirubhai ambani quotes

In the case of the above quote I wasn’t hired, my natural instinct is to help especially if I see someone struggling and I think there’s something I can do to assist.  The downfall is that as much as you may want to help someone where you can, you may be doing them more harm than good because how can they build their own determination if you are doing all their work.

I’ve learned many life lessons so far that have definitely challenged me and I’ve discovered that there is so much more to the relationships we form with others than just what we see on the surface.  I’ve found that my favorite relationships are those that are truly authentic and authenticity is not something that can be fabricated.  These are the relationships I aspire to and those that were false have been unable to sustain any challenges and have fallen away and/or ended.

Not all endings are sad, some endings are closure to a challenging time, some endings signify personal victory and some endings reinforce your faith in direction of life.  Like “Semisonic’s” lyrics say, “every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end”.  Endings must occur in order to create room for the new beginning and that new beginning is an unopened present from the universe, full of opportunities and choices that are yours to embrace.  Every opportunity can branch out into so many other areas and most of us either don’t attempt to explore them or don’t notice they are there because we too busy looking back at the last ending.  Everything happens for a reason, everything begins for a reason and everything ends for a reason.  The learning offered with every new beginning can literally change your life and it’s usually for the better.  There are so many beautiful things out there for us to learn and to remain open is the best way to enjoy all that life has to offer.

If you are feeling like life owes you than you are doing more to deprive yourself of the enjoyment of it than any one person or group could.  Pay attention to the gifts that you have already been given and are living, you may be taking more for granted than you realize.  Living in gratitude for the basics is the best way to increase your appreciation for the bigger moments.  When you are grateful for the smaller gifts in life it makes the bigger gifts that much more spectacular and meaningful.

I’ve found that other people’s ideas of who I should be don’t have value for me anymore and what matters most is how comfortable and content I am in my own skin.  With that comfort and content comes the confidence that allows me to embrace the depth that life has been offering, the depth that provides me with greater clarity and direction.  There is no pretense to who I think I should be or who I think others think I should be, my comfort with who I am allows me the freedom to explore and determine the types of relationship I seek and those relationships are the ones with true connection and meaning.  True connection can be found in the moments when nothing monumental is happening but you feel drawn and connected to another soul for an inexplicable reason except that it feels natural, comfortable and familiar.  There are some connections I’ve encountered that I don’t know why I feel the instant connection and I think that’s because sometimes our souls recognize that familiar soul before our minds or hearts do.

One of the changes I’ve discovered in myself over the last 10 years is that the people that I truly connect with are not those who I used to and those that I used to I never really knew.  It’s not that I was closed off before it was that I hadn’t truly been opened up, it takes experiences to bring wisdom.  Monumental and life changing experiences can propel us onto a path that we never realized existed and into the lives of those we never really noticed were there.  The people I’ve noticed now are truly authentic and have more depth than I ever realized I would see or feel.

I believe the path that our experiences propel us onto is where the universe has always meant for us to go and the people we encounter on that path are there for a reason.  Some of them are meant to stay and some are meant to leave but all are meant to help us get to where we are meant to be.  I don’t believe in coincidences, everything happens for a reason, and all reasons eventually become clear when the time is right.  There are some reasons still left to evolve in my life and I look forward to the clarity when it comes because so far I haven’t been disappointed.  All of my life lessons have brought me greater awareness and insight and with each of these lessons I develop a greater appreciation for the things I took for granted.  I think we all forget at one time or another and take the simplest thing for granted, not because we are unappreciative but because life is busy and hectic and it’s the pace that keeps us from stopping and taking it all in for what it really is, a gift.

I know that my comfort and contentment with where I am in life right now will only increase as time goes on and as much as I don’t want to rush the future I look forward to the gifts, blessings and insight that are to come.  As much as I know this chapter has brought depth, the remaining chapters in life will bring even more clarity and substance.

life-is-not-about-the-amounds-of-breaths-you-take-beauty-quote

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2013 in Blog

 

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Things I’ve Learned So Far

07 Aug

And;  Where they’ve taken me

  • The ONLY disability in life is a bad attitude!

I Give Up, it’s too hard!  Have you ever said or thought this?  The biggest downside to this thought is that you will get what you give out in this situation.  If you’re feeling like your life isn’t going in the direction you want it to, it’s up to YOU to change directions.  If you got lost in a forest would you:

–         Wait and hope that someone finds you

–         Or keep trying to find your way out

number one reason for giving up

I won’t say I’ve never allowed my attitude to get out of balance, honestly I don’t think it’s gone entirely in the bad attitude direction but I’ve teetered on the edge and have usually found that the energy associated with it just doesn’t fit for me.  It makes me feel like I have the flu and I fight hard to rid myself of it.

I believe it’s human to experience all spectrums of emotion, it becomes difficult when we sit too long in the negative ones which gives them the chance to take root, fester and grow.

  • Sometimes I overthink things.

I’ve done this A LOT!  Having a visual mind can work great wonders for you but with the wrong sense behind it, like fear, it can lead you to a whole lot of anxiety.  This has been recent for me:

In the last 4 months I’ve learned that my 14 year old daughter has to have surgery for Scoliosis and with fear in my very visual mind it took me through a lot of bad thought processes.  One of the reasons I went through those areas is because she’s my child, my baby and always will be but also because she was born at 6 months and weighed (1lb, 7 ounces) which is really premature and right from the very beginning I had to relinquish my protective mothering rights to doctors who could help her to survive such an early arrival.  Needless to say it was not easy to watch them poke and prod and even though I knew they were doing everything they could to help her it’s hard to be so helpless when as a mother your main job is to protect.  So now she has to endure yet another big milestone in her life and what I’ve realized is that even though the milestones may look different for each family they usually involve some form of letting go.  I have to let go of the fear and allow the positive strength I know we both have to guide us through it and I know we will come out on the other side more strongly bonded then we were before.

  • Strength in Self is Paramount.

Is your spirit so broken that you can’t find a way out of the disappointment?  I think if you believe that to be true of yourself, you absolutely must change that thought and get it working for you instead of working against you.  Your strength in self in all situations and specifically your inner dialogue can either impede your growth or encourage it.

Pastor Rick Warren says about painful experiences that “God never wastes a hurt”.

All experiences, good or bad ultimately teach us something and our gratitude towards these experiences can either diminish our light or ignite it.  If you feel like negativity is pulling you down, neutralize it by surrounding yourself with those that inspire you and lift you up.

  • Leader or a follower?

I prefer to direct and lead my own path but I will follow a good leader.  If I follow someone and they lead me down the wrong path is it their fault for leading me there?  Or is my fault for following?  In my opinion it is neither, because I made the choice to follow for a reason, somewhere it served a greater purpose for me and even though I may not realize what has driven me in that direction yet it will all come to light at the right time.

Everything happens for a Reason!

  • Faith!

Self-explanatory really, you’ve got to have faith if you ever hope to achieve your greatest desires.  Having faith helps you to develop greater clarity and love in your sense of self as well as personal development.  Sometimes we start out on our path believing what we envision as our greatest desires only to discover later that they weren’t what we thought at all and are led, through faith, to an even better outcome than could possibly be imagined.  So far my life has taken me in and through experiences that have challenged me and have given me a greater clarity in life than I ever realized was possible.  There is NOTHING that cannot be changed or achieved by believing in yourself and in my opinion the only time it’s too late is when you are no longer in the physical world!

Don’t disable yourself in life, believe you can do anything and you will!

strong person

 
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Posted by on August 7, 2013 in Blog

 

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To The World You May Just Be One Person

13 May

But to One Person You May Just Be The World!

I received this story as a chain email today, I’ve seen and received it before and even referred to this story in one of my blog posts but I wanted to post it for everyone to read today because it really is a very powerful reminder that “Everything Happens For a Reason” and We can all make a difference!

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.  His name was Kyle.  It looked like he was carrying all of his books.  I thought to myself, ‘Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?  He must really be a nerd.’

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends, tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.  As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.  They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him.  

So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.  As I handed him his glasses, I said, ‘Those guys are jerks.  They really should get lives ‘. He looked at me and said, ‘Hey thanks!’  There was a big smile on his face.  It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.  I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.  As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.  He said he had gone to private school before now.  I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.  He turned out to be a pretty cool kid, I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.  He said yes.  We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.  I stopped him and said, ‘Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books every day!’ He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.  When we were seniors we began to think about college.  Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.  I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.  He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.  Kyle was valedictorian of our class.  I teased him all the time about being a nerd.  He had to prepare a speech for graduation.  I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.  He looked great.  He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.  He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.  He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.  Boy, sometimes I was jealous!  Today was one of those days, I could see that he was nervous about his speech.  So, I smacked him on the back and said, ‘Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!’  He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled….’ Thanks,’ he said.  As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began… 

‘Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.

Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach…but mostly your friends….

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story.’

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn’t have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.  He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

‘Thankfully, I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.’

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

*************************************************

Not until that moment did I realize it’s depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person’s life.

For better or for worse.

*************************************************

God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way.

changing lives

 
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Posted by on May 13, 2013 in Blog

 

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