Tag: self control

Be The Love ~ Peace ~ Joy Of The Christmas Season


When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray for God’s kingdom. In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus also told us where the Kingdom of God is, “The Kingdom of God isn’t ushered in with visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘It has begun here in this place or there in that part of the country.’ For the Kingdom of God is within you.” The Catholic Living Bible, Tyndale House Publishers

The Kingdom of God is part of our spiritual DNA, which is also echoed in 1 Corinthians 3:16,“Don’t you realize that you are the Temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells within you?”

The kingdom of God we are to pray for is not brought on by ego, pride, guns, nor strife. Those are the dark tools of sinister forces whose insatiable appetites for power, money, and domination blind the brains of would-be good people, even Christians, who through deluded allegiance to God find themselves obeying man instead.

We are not to mix the counterfeit kingdom of humans with the Kingdom of God. That is not how this works. We already had the battle of Jericho. Calls sent out before January 6, to reenact the battle of Jericho at the United States Capitol, as well as all other state Capitol buildings were pure evil with lack of empathy, compassion, and love, not the will of God.

STAND DOWN.

Do you feel called to act in good faith? Then pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your heart. Jesus told us all how to think, speak and act. You will find none of his words incite any of us to violence.

If, when you pray, you feel intense anger, frustration, and hatred, then you are listening to and following the wrong god.

One of the reasons Jesus was crucified was that he taught that the Kingdom of God dwelt in him, as well as within each of us. He equated himself with God. Jesus taught us that we can do the things he did, “and even greater besides” in John 14:12. He was teaching you and me about the personal power we have within ourselves, the power of our thoughts, words, and actions. Our bodies are animated by our souls, enlivened by our I AM Presence, GOD DWELLING IN ALL OF US, according to Jesus the Christ.

This is the time for forgiveness, humility, and trust of God, not the arrogant boast and folly of humans. This is a time of introspection, considering the roles we are living in our lives, based on the choices we make. Are we living in the love, hope, peace, and truth that the kingdom of God promises? If not, you are promoting the illusion that lies, conspiracies, evil, death and destruction are good. They are not.

Jesus said, “Because of the increasing lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold.”

That is what we are seeing today in the belligerent manipulation of man usurping the will of God in individuals.

The kingdom of God is already here. The profound peace and love of the kingdom of God is already within us, as Jesus told us in Luke 17:21. We experience this when we pray, gather together in song, and meditate together for the common good of all. We touch on this brotherhood of humankind during the Christmas season, focusing on the peace, joy, and giving rather than receiving.

How do you know if the kingdom of God is within you?

The fruits of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit will be abundant in your life. If these fruits are missing from your life, you will know you have chosen the wrong road to follow.

If gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, meekness, peace, joy, love, kindness, patience, goodness, temperance, and faith are missing in your life, stop whatever you are doing and pray. Pray for the love of God, Father of Jesus Christ, to enter your heart.

Watch out for political parties or other groups once known for integrity, truth and honor, which have been hijacked by so many hate groups that many fear standing up for the right thing for losing their members. Watch out for those who attempt voter suppression tactics in major cities to silence democracy. Now, more than ever before, all citizens of the United States of America need to stand up for facts, not fiction; truth, not conspiracy; and honor and integrity over selling out the country. Truth matters.

There are so many other gods out there today, masking as the One, True God. You will know which god (God) you are following by the fruits of your labor.

Namaste

“Re-Membering” Begins With Balancing LOVE In Your Life ~ LOVE Is The Answer


“Re-Membering” begins with balancing Love in your Life. Love is the answer.

“Re-Membering” is the answer to dismemberment. To “Re-Member” is to REMEMBER who and what you are. To “Re-Member” is to become whole, as you once were, before the dis-memberment occured.

Sometimes we were too young to recall the specific memory held within our cellular structure. All we may know is the feeling of being disconnected to ourselves, to others or to the earth itself. At other times, we might consciously disconnect ourselves from groups of people, at school, at work, or in particular circles like our neighborhoods or other situations where we choose not to interact. This is often done as a means of self preservation.

But what happens to us when we find that we have “Dis-Membered” ourselves from every person, place or thing in our lives?

What about our hopes and dreams for a future void of mental, physical or spiritual pain?

This post speaks to the hearts and minds of many who feel disconnected to themselves, either mentally, physically, and/or spiritually, or more painfully, altogether. Not all lives unfold in the perfection of a well-balanced realization of the dreams and hopes they once had.

What is the answer for lives lived in the shell of what could be?

Life throws us curves, unexpected obstacles, contagious viruses, upheavals in family life, bullies and liars in government who promise us one thing but deliver something else, coupled with our sometimes failing at our own best efforts at improving our perspective, or our physical and/or mental health. At other times we succeed in our efforts to understand who we are and where we are going, but mental, physical or emotional pain shut us down.

This life is a school where we learn the lessons necessary to take us further into the awareness of ourselves, who we are, and why we are here on the planet at this very moment. You and I matter. There is a reason we are all here on earth at this important time. You and I are the pendulum of our own life. We try living a certain way, eating or not eating a certain way, going in and out of things we once believed, only to come out the other side to understand why some actions we did or did not take turned out the way it did.

Pain is a symptom. Pain is not the problem. Treating pain as if it were the problem will keep you in pain, since you are not addressing the root cause of the pain.

Drugs are not the answer. There are drugless therapies out there that work 100 percent of the time, unless given up on. Drugs mask the pain. If drugs block pain to the degree that you feel no more pain, they also block other parts of your humanity as well. It depends how much of yourself you wish to numb by the use of drugs. Some people choose this method of “Dis-Membering” their bodies. Just know there is another way that works without the horrific side effects of so many drugs, including addiction.

Whether you are, or are not taking drugs of any sort to dull the pain, you still get to the same crisis healing point, of deciding on if you want, or do not want to heal. Recognize the crutch of saying that this is how you are or have always been. This is a convenient lie people tell themselves. It is not a true statement to say that because of your past, you cannot heal.

If and when you finally decide to heal your past, heal your emotions, heal your body, and heal your spiritual self, know that is IS possible to “Re-Member” yourself. This begins by ACCEPTING yourself at this exact moment in time. Now is not forever. Your awakened, conscious, and fully formed decision, is the starting point to begin the healing process. You can heal any and all addictions, choosing life-affirming decisions over shutting down life decisions.

Whatever you focus on grows. It is my suggestion that you use your free will to decide life over death, healing over sickness, and “Re-Membering” over dismemberment.

Self Mastery is the path of “Re-Membering” your mind, body and spirit to your eternal soul. This is the means of becoming a whole person, not just one aspect of personhood that we have saved as if it were our entire entity.

We are all on this journey of life, which can take our entire lifetime to figure out. For some people, they know from birth who they are, where they are going and why they are here, with little fluctuation throughout their life. Others of us meander, taking scenic or not-so-scenic detours, trying on different diets, spiritualities, and self-expression.

If the diet pendulum of our mind swings too far one way or the other, we can become anorexic or bulimic; if the emotional pendulum of our mind swings too far one way or the other, we can become totally negative in outlook, or totally positive in outlook.

Out of balance is out of balance.

To “Re-Member” who we are calls for us to eat in a balanced way in order to bring the proper nutrients to every cell of our body for proper assimilation and balance in our physical well-being. To “Re-Member” who we are also calls us to have a balanced mental perspective, which diet has a direct affect. A balanced mental and emotional perspective is neither depressive and full of negativity; nor flighty and not grounded in reality. It is important to address the negative aspects in our lives so that we can decide to take charge of these situations in order to find the best positive solution.

We cannot fix that which we deny is present.

“Re-Membering” who we are awakens our soul response, and connects us to the divine within us. The divine within us is not dark or negative energy. What is perceived as dark or negative energy is merely the lack of Light, Love and Positive energy in the balance of life.

You are a divine being in the process of waking up to who and what you really are. You are not what other people have told you that you are. Realize that other people have other, often impure motives, for putting other down, using and abusing others, and injuring the self-esteem of others around them.

Bullies and people who lack self-esteem themselves sometimes attempt to put others down in order to lift themselves up. It really shows a lack of personal growth and development, a character flaw of the one bullying, insulting and demeaning others. Such behavior ought never to be taken at face value. Do not believe the lies others tell you.

Why?

Love is the answer. Love is always the answer. You are made of and for Love. Love does not come from outside of yourself. Decide to believe in yourself. Discover your likes and dislikes again. Your views on what you once thought was important may have changed over time and experience.

If you are not feeling Love for yourself, it is because, quite simply, you are choosing not to Love yourself. That is a decision you can change. You can change this in a heartbeat. Never wait to feel Love. Be the inititator of Love. Begin by greeting yourself each morning with Love. Love yourself right where you are at this moment, even if you are in pain, send Love to every cell and fiber of your being.

You are a beautiful creature full of wonder and awe. Who you are is much more important that any reflection you see of yourself in others. It feels good to have validation from others, if and when that happens. But seeing a reflection of yourself in others is only a fragment of who you really are in the bigger scheme of things.

You are your best healer. It is necessary to be ready, and willing in order to be able to heal yourself. That begins with your free will. It is a conscious decision you make. All other remedies from the outside of yourself are all secondary to the power within yourself to rule your own destiny.

Also, decide that you are victim of your own life no longer. From now on, you are the master of your own life. This is Self Mastery. You have learned a lot about yourself. You have learned what has worked, and what has not worked in your life. You have learned what has pushed your buttons thus far. Decide never again to react to anything anymore. From now on, decide how you are going to act in any given situation. If you are caught on the spot needing to make a decision before taking immediate action, “Re-Member” to take a few slow breaths, then act in the direction of your new life-affirming plan.

You’ve got this. Keep telling yourself this, because it is true. Whatever you tell yourself, you believe. If you recognize that you have been giving yourself less than life-affirming statements, or beliefs about yourself, correct these dysfunctional, sabotaging thoughts each time they occur to you.

Before long, by your personal will and decision, you can drop addictions to all sorts of chronically negative previous programming. There are support groups that can assist you if you choose. How you decide to heal is up to you. Just know that you do not need to stay in any situation you find yourself. There is always a loving and life-giving response to your situation.

Make a plan to “Re-Member” yourself to yourself, to others around you, and to your life’s dharma. “Re-Member” yourself to faith, hope, and love, which manifests is joy, peace, kindness, wonder, awe in every moment of every day.

The answer is LOVE.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

Drama And Outrage Addiction


It’s easy to get caught up in drama and outrage addiction. Drama and outrage strike a cord. We have opinions. Our

Drama and outrage addiction did this to me. How do I stop it?

egos love drama and outrage. But are drama and outrage good and healthy for us?

Absolutely not.

Think about what happens to our chi, our life force energy, when drama and outrage take over our peace and serenity. Our blood pressure goes up, we get out of balance, we can even get caught up in the emotion of it all and not know how to stop it.

There is a time to stand up for our beliefs, and vote our conscience. Good conversations that influence and inspire groups of people are necessary in this world. That is just and right, and liberating. Drama and outrage addiction are something else altogether. It is easy to recognize this when insults fly as opposed to intelligent conversation, with fact-finding in place of alternate realities including lies presented as truth.

The onus is on you and me to find out if what others tell us is the truth. It is important not to go by just one side of an issue. We have a duty in our personal, civil and religious lives to find out the truth for ourselves, not just swallow hook, line and sinker what others tell us as truth. It is not that hard to find out in these days of video and audio capturing every moment of our lives.

Often we do not give ourselves enough credit for getting to the bottom of an issue, as if news reporters and political leaders themselves know more than we do on any given subject. If we get our news from television, we at least owe it to ourselves to watch channels with different points of view.

What hurts democracies across the globe is the propagation of news from only one source. That is the sign that government is no longer a democracy.

Whether it’s religion, education, or politics, one side of an issue says a point of view, often meant not just to say their point, but with the intention of ruffling the feathers of the opposition. After a while the spiral of drama and outrage is so out of control, the point is lost to the spin.

Don Miguel Ruiz, author of “The Four Agreements,” has one of his four points on which the book is based, “Be impeccable with your word.” That is a fantastic point. If we simply and consciously say what we mean, rather than use our words to attack, we are better heard by the people we want to hear it. Another point he makes, “Don’t take things personally,” is one that personally changed my life. No matter what issue is being discussed, if we do not choose to take things personally, the drama and outrage drop away, and clarity of topic remains and solutions can be found.

But solutions are far away when drama and outrage keep going around and around. Where is the end of the circle?

“Don’t make assumptions,” is another agreement Ruiz suggests. Understanding gets a whole lot better when we actualy listen to the other point of view without the hair raising up on the back of our neck like a cat just before it attacks something.

Imagine a world, a country, a state, a neighborhood, a family, where we attentively listened to what was being said before we stopped listening and verbally (and sometimes physically and emotionally and spiritually) attacked the other person, group, country, religion, or army. What would happen to the drama and outrage of the situation?

Before we can heal our minds, our issues, our families, our countries and the world at large, we need to acknowledge we have drama and outrage addiction. Without acknowledging drama and outrage addition, like every other addiction we have, we cannot begin to heal it, and pave the way to peace.

Imagine what it would be like to have world peace.

Namaste

Drop The Fear ~ Stregnthen Your Will ~ Balance Your Life ~ Repost from 6/29/2012


Dropping fear in your life greatly assists you on your journey through this life. We have so many fears, which trigger so many dysfunctional habits, and make us

On your Path, follow the Light. Light banishes fear, always.

mentally, physically and spiritually sick. Dropping fear is a continual process. Like the layers of an onion, there can be more fear to let go of. Dropping fear balances and harmonizes your life, strengthens your will, and brings peace, self control, and self esteem.Waking up our will is a gradual process. Surpressing your will is the ultimate sabotage. But many people are afraid to empower themselves for fear of what others might think, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of change, fear of standing out, fear of the crowd, fear of being alone, fear of people’s differences, fear of another’s religion, fear of people in other countries, fear of retaliation, fear, fear, fear.

When we justify our fears, we shrink our will, our voice, our opinion on the matter. Justifying our fears is our way of hiding from the truth that we are a Divine Creation, formed by Divine Light and Love, with Divine Spirit and Divine Will, as an intricate part of the essence of us. Balancing our will and our spirit make us whole. This balancing heals what hurts us, not just as individuals, but also us as nations across this globe.

Fear is a waste of energy.

Fear stifles you from fulfilling what you came here to fulfill.

Fear immobilizes and shuts down positive solutions.

Fear is unreality, a place where the Light of Love has not yet shown, but can be shown.

Fear is the hidden root cause of anger, misunderstandings and judgements.

Before we can achieve world peace, which is possible, we need to eradicate fear from every corner of our being. Once we do that, we will relax, our nations will relax.  We will heal individually, and our nations will heal globally.

We need to raise our vibrations, build bridges and trust, with ourselves and others. Find the common ground where possible. It is neccessary at this time, to balance our spirit and our will. They are not in competition with each other, nor is one more important than the other. It is a mistake to sacrifice the will to make the spirit stronger. And it is a mistake to sacrifice the spirit to make the will stronger. You are able to bring yourself into balance with these self help tools.

How do you drop fear? Bring it out of hiding. Darkness goes away when the light is turned on. Discuss the fear with a friend, or write about it on a paper and burn it in the fireplace. Take action.

Do not be swayed by fear tactics of others. That’s what bullies do. You stand up to bullies or they will bully you all your life, until you do. If you use fear tactics as motivation in any way, stop doing that. That’s not the karma you want to build. Stay clear. Stay in the Light. Stay in Love. Ground the Light. Ground the Love. Be the Light to show others the way out of fear. You will feel better, and so will they.

Namaste

Who Cares Why? Part I


I am an international holistic health counselor/practitioner, using this blog as a 1 Who Cares Whyworldwide outreach since its inception in 2012, and a 2005 graduate of the American Institute of Holistic Health & Wellness, studying under Dr. Dolores Seymour, director of the school and author of WHO CARES WHY.

The American Institute of Holistic Health & Wellness is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Professionals, and the National Accreditation and Certification Board. This is a lifetime and international certification. I have studied extensively in the fields of holistic health in mind, body and spirit which naturally includes counseling on all life issues, and bodywork.

This blog addresses mental health, physical health and spiritual health. There are drugless therapies that work very well most of the time when applied, and have no chemical side effects, obviously, except when they are not followed.

4 Lin Massage ClinicI am trained in M.I.N.D.S. Holistic Alternative Psychology, with an emphasis on methods, individualized plans of action, fostering the ability of the individual to reach his or her highest potential physically, emotionally and spiritually; with advanced perspectives of positive personal growth, changing attitudes from negative to positive; enhancing intuition and self-discovery through creative endeavors, and improving health as impacted by psychological states.

I work with M.I.N.D.S. Wellness & Body/Mind Consciousness, which features positive self-analysis/awareness, self-control development programs, conditioning the healing mind, controlling mood swings, anxiety, avoiding depression and raising self-esteem to its highest level.

M.I.N.D.S. Meta-Psychology is person centered rather than technically oriented, and focuses on psychological health, consciousness, human possibilities, and challenges of body, mind and spiritual development. A person cannot heal in any program void of attention to their own spiritual development. As a matter of fact, many mental and physical ailments can be rooted when spiritual sickness is at the root of the problem.

I am a former member of the Branford Hall Career Institute Advisory Board; and former owner of The Massage Clinic, LLC which had four offices in Connecticut.

I am a retired certified Qigong instructor (2011), teaching Qigong healing and breathing applications for levels 1, 2 and 3. Qigong is a 4,000 year old Chinese medicine practice that moves “chi,” the life giving energy of the body. The health-promoting effects of Qigong are:

1) Improves the motion of blood, warms the blood and enhances whole body circulation.
2) Stimulates appetite, sexual function, assimilation of nutrients and digestion/elimination.
3) Accelerates metabolism, weight loss, decreases need for sleep.
4) Bolsters the immune system by reducing cortisol, a known inhibitor of cytokine production.
5) Develops dexterity, reflexes, and prevents osteoporosis in clinical studies.
6) Opens arteries allowing greater brain-based microcirculation to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
7) Enhances mental acuity, focus and concentration. The Qi (chi, life force, prana) draws focus and trains the mind.
8) Helps us to calm down, relax and become more peaceful.
9) Focuses mental, physical and spiritual energies together as one.

This particular Qigong Class included a food component, tying the energy of food to the energy of Qigong, and using food as medicine. Chemical medications attempt to mimic the benefits and properties of organic plant life, including fruits and vegetables and using their stems, spores and seeds. Clinical studies have been done on so many diseases, like diabetes, which can be reversed by eating certain foods high in phytochemicals. I wish to share the information I have learned about how foods work to heal our bodies.

I am a 2001 graduate of the DoveStar Institute of Holistic Technology of New Hampshire. I am now retired from bodywork, focusing on my online outreach to the world through this blog, Enlightenment Ministry.

This blog is my legacy, a healing gift to the world in need of hope, kindness, empathy, compassion, encouragement, truth, forgiveness, faith, and love. I am here for you if you need me. Please feel free to leave a comment or question, and I will get back to you, free of charge. Click on the gray COMMENT word at the top left of any post to leave a comment or ask a question, and I will respond to you. Enlightenment Ministry is my healing gift to the world so much in need of healing at this time. There is much we can do to help ourselves to feel better mentally, emotionally, psychologically, physically, and even spiritually.

Mind, body, spirit healing involves these three legs of the wellness tripod. If one of these legs of the mind, body, spirit is missing, your tripod, which reflects your total wellness, will topple over. Each of us needs a life in balance to be whole.

Here is a bit more about my personal and educational history. While my five children were growing up, I initiated the first Girl Scout troop in Hopedale, MA, and served as a member of Hopedale Girl’s Softball Board of Directors.

I was co-chairman with the elementary school principal on the school council’s 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act. When I was not allowed to bring in a curriculum including ethics in light of the elementary school’s sex education program, (since the school already taught ethics on school yard behavior and how to interact with students and teachers), at the request of many parents, I decided to write The Virtue of Virtues, to help parents in teaching virtues and moral character education to their children. The Virtue of Virtues is now available to all home schools, Catholic CCD and Christian programs, as well as to parents and anyone wishing to re-discover The Virtue of Virtues worldwide.

The single most constant in my life is God, Father of Jesus Christ. All glory, praise and honor to God, the Father of All Creation, through His Son, Jesus Christ, who gifts us all with His Holy Spirit. My motto in my high school yearbook was, “With God, all things are possible.”

I have had a close walk with God since I was a very young child, attending daily Mass with my mother ever since I could walk to Mass with her. I think I might have been the only five-year-old who loved Holy Hour, because I loved feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit when we prayed. God has answered my most impossible prayers. For a while I thought I would become a nun, but five children, 12 grandchildren later, and caring for six foster children in the middle of all of them in their younger years, showed me a different path for my life.

I hold a teacher training certificate as well as a Master Catechist certification from the Worcester Diocese in the Catholic Church.

I have taught religious education to all ages including preparation for First Holy Communion, First Penance, Confirmation and Bible studies for adults for over 50 years, and am the author of The Virtue of Virtues, subtitled A CCD TEXTBOOK, second printing is now available both in softcover and eBook at:

https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/809142-the-virtue-of-virtues

soft cover ISBN # 978-1-5320-9461-3 for $10.99

eBook ISBN # 978-1-5320-9462-0 for $3.99

I taught The Virtue of Virtues in CCD classes as part of the 6th grade Catholic curriculums. However, The Virtue of Virtues is perfect for grades five through eight. It was first published in 1999. It is now out for its second printing from iUniverse Publishers.

Within the Catholic Church, I attended a Women’s Cursillo including Leader’s School often giving the Study Talk on Cursillo Weekends. I have attended Life In The Spirit Retreats, Marriage Encounter, and led women’s and group retreats. I also became a supernumerary within Opus Dei, a personal prelature under the direct auspice of the Pope, before I left to study all religions, to better understand all humanity much better.

I am also the author of MYSTERY OF THE STURBRIDGE KEYS, subtitled Christmas Unlocked. This book goes back in time to the days of Old Sturbridge Village (1830’s), starting at the Christmas by Candlelight celebration in real time, back to the days of the Underground Railroad, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, and back further to the days of Noah and the Nephilim, and to the days of the birth of Jesus. It is available at:

https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/747239-Mystery-of-the-Sturbridge-Keys

softcover / ISBN: 978-1-5320-0761-3 / $13.99

eBook / ISBN: 978-1-5320-0762-0 / $3.99

I am a former feature writer and news correspondent for The Milford Daily News, and Laconia Daily Sun. I am also published in the book, “More Weddings, Funerals And Rites of Passage,” subtitled “More Sample Ceremonies for Celebrants, Officiate and Ministers” by Rev. Amy E. Long. I am among the contributing authors.

God Bless You All

People Are Not Machines


How much of ourselves do we want to give away?

You are in charge of you. You decide how you will respond.. You are not a puppet for someone else to pull your strings.

There are some self-help things we can do to relax our mental predispositions to dysfunctional habits. Individually we are only one person. Each day has only 24 hours. But sometimes we try to put too many to-do-things in too small a time frame. Sometimes we have a choice, other times we do not. When we over-work machines, the machines break down.

Currently we are treating ourselves like machines, and we are breaking.

Our pride and ego insist we must, at all cost, do the impossible, to have success, keep our job, or just get to the end of the day. What good is it to get everything done, and have nothing left for ourselves but exhaustion, body aches and pains, poor sleep, over or under eating, and ill temper?

The first sign we have taken on too much is we lose our sense of humor.

How is your energy?

There is more to life than the things that are accomplished. What do we do to rejuvenate?

Do we feel selfish for taking good care of us?

How is our self-esteem?

You matter. I matter. We all matter. It is no accident we are on the planet at this time. We have our life’s mission. However, we need to be healthy. We cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves.

When we find ourselves on an airplane getting the safety talk before the flight takes off by the flight attendant, we are told to make sure to put our oxygen mask on ourselves before we put on the oxygen mask on our children or those we are taking care of.

Why?

Because we cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves.

We are worth more than our, or someone else’s, goals and achievements. We are worth more than the machines we use.

Taking care of us includes all levels of us, mind, body and spirit.

What do you do to de-stress?

Stop making excuses why you cannot mentally take a break. Shut off social media. The world and everyone in it will still be in the same place in 15 minutes. No, you will not die if you are not plugged into social media for 15 minutes. You won’t lose your social status in 15 minutes. Take a breath.

Take a walk in nature. Go to a nearby park, the ocean, a lake, anywhere you can hear the sounds of nature. Enjoy, really enjoy a cup of coffee, tea or your favorite beverage. You know what works for you. Do not give in to the old familiar excuses why you cannot relax.

I know what I am speaking about here. I am a mother of five grown children, grandmother to 10 grandchildren, married and retired after having worked as a newspaper correspondent for many years with must-meet deadlines in the midst of the children’s doctor, dentist, school and teacher appointments, and later with other jobs including owning my own successful business specializing in holistic health. I do understand this dilemma with heavy stress seeming to be the only acceptable way to deal with life. It is not.

We make a mistake when we make everything in our lives have the same intensity as if the building we are in is on fire. If your building is on fire, stop reading this and get to safety. But if your building is not on fire at this very moment, take another deep breath.

It will help to make a list of the priorities that are important to you, something you can work on this week. Set a goal to have you run your life, not have your life run you. So many problems go away if we simply get up a bit earlier. This is not always a popular suggestion, but it is something that can work if we have a plan in place. Perhaps we need that cup of coffee before the rest of the family wakes up so that we begin our day with solitude rather than chaos.

Try this experiment out to see if it might work for you on a night when you do not have to go to work or be someplace at a certain time the next morning. Tell yourself the night before you go to bed exactly what time you want to wake up in the morning. Do not set that rude-awakening alarm. It is so nice to wake up peacefully without that obnoxious sound machine. I have done this for over 20 years now and have never once over-slept. If you happen to wake up prior to the time you want to get up, simply smile and tell yourself you still have “X” number of hours or minutes left and sink back into your pillow. This is just a peaceful suggestion that possibly might work for you to begin your day with less stress. You will never know if this is possible for you unless you try it.

Whether you are confined to a jail cell, your work cubicle, your car or your home, you can take a short mental break by relaxing, dropping shoulders down away from your ears without anyone even knowing what you are doing.

Take a deep breath. Your body does this anyway when you have had enough. You automatically take a big sigh. When you notice you are at your wits end, take three, long, slow deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. If you take 15 such breaths, it lowers blood pressure, no matter what is going on around you.

Remember, no matter what other people tell you, you are in charge of you, not the other people. God gave you this life, not other people. Yes, we have bosses at work, and family at home. But no man or woman is in charge of you, unless you are in that jail cell, but even then, you are in charge of your thoughts and how you will go about your day. Our intention is everything.

You can intend to have a good mood or bad mood. You can even intend to be stressed and not be stressed. I know, this sounds like an over-simplification of the “real problem” you are having. Think about this, even if you are stressed beyond belief; whether or not you are stressed, you will still go through the same life situation. You do have a say in how you go about your life.

Is it fun or enjoyable for you to turn everything into a drama-filled activity? Drama-filled days leave us all feeling as if all the air is let out of our balloon. We can get caught up in our own or someone else’s drama before we realize it. Once we become aware of it, that is when we can begin to take charge of our thoughts, words and actions again, rather than be a puppet to them.

We may not have a choice in what we have to do today. However, we certainly do have a choice in how we go about it. This is a very good place to start when we feel that our lives have run away with us, like a wild stallion running through the field.

Grow deeper in faith. God promises to be with us, even in the hard times. You are never alone. God is closer to you than your next breath. Those of us who pray know this for a fact. If you have never prayed to God, Father of Jesus Christ, now would be a good time to authentically ask for spiritual help. Ask for his free gift of the Holy Spirit to guide you. It is there for the asking. If you never ask, you will never know.

Remind yourself that you are in charge of you and how you will go through this day with peace, integrity and joy. It is possible.

God Bless

NATURE DOES NOT HURRY, YET EVERYTHING IS ACCOMPLISHED ~ LAO TZU


Do you ever find yourself rushing around until life’s no fun? Is your to-do-list longer than the distance from here to the moon? Will you turn into a purple pumpkin if you do not get it all

You are part of nature. Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Soak in the peace and relaxation.

done? How is your blood pressure? Having any physical side effects to stress yet? Is your speech coming out faster than a sonic jet? Texting, eating, drinking, on the cell phone while driving, see the problem? Are you addicted to activity? Where’s the balance?

Breathe.

You are in control of you, not your schedule.

You are in control of you, not other people.

You are in control of you, not the situation.

If the merry-go-round of life is going too fast for you, stop and simplify. Find your balance point. It is literally a matter of life and death. The fastest way to age is to live a life of prolonged, severe stress. Stress brings on major, serious illness and death.

Everyone can push extra hard in life, for a short while, to help someone out, to rise to the occasion, or if the job demands a short but strenuous burst of energy from you. Your employer does not own the rights to your life. You do.

No one can sustain prolonged stress. The body breaks down. Your emotional self breaks down. It is not what nature intended for you on the day you were born. At first you may not associate various ailments and symptoms as stress related. Stress is not a natural state for us. Stress is not good for us, no matter how used to it we are.

How do we break out of this extremely addictive, self-destructive habit of racing through life like a chicken with its head cut off? Like changing any other habit, it is going to take 21 days to try on new habits of relaxation techniques, slow breathing exercises, body stretching, aerobic activity, walking, jogging, bike riding or swimming. You know what works for you. Give yourself breaks, that is life saving.

Take a moment to watch how nature works. Roses do not rush to bloom. They take their time. They open and unfold slowly, all in good time. Savor each moment in this life. You are here for a reason. If you fly through your life too fast, you will miss so much. We all have 24 hours in a day. How you spend it really is up to you.

It is a mistake to give everything on your agenda the same emergency intensity, as if completing each task is equivalent to putting out a fire. You are a human being, not a machine. We all know this. It is good to be reminded from time to time, not to take ourself so seriously. When you’re stressed, the first thing to go is your sense of humor. That’s a clue.

Lao Tzu once said,  “Nature Does Not Hurry, Yet Everything Is Accomplished.”

Drama And Outrage Addiction


It’s easy to get caught up in drama and outrage addiction. Drama and outrage strike a cord. We have opinions. Our egos love drama and outrage. But are drama and outrage good and healthy for us?

Drama and outrage addiction did this to me. How do I stop it?

Absolutely not. Think about what happens to our chi, our life force energy, when drama and outrage take over our peace and serenity. Our blood pressure goes up, we get out of balance, we can even get caught up in the emotion of it all and not know how to stop it.

Ok, there is a time to stand up for our beliefs, and vote our conscience. Good conversations that influence and inspire groups of people are necessary in this world. That is just and right, and liberating. Drama and outrage addiction are something else altogether.

Whether it’s religion, education, or politics, one side of an issue says a point of view, often meant not just to say their point, but with the intention of ruffling the feathers of the opposition. After a while the spiral of drama and outrage is so out of control, the point is lost to the spin.

Don Miguel Ruiz, author of “The Four Agreements,” has one of his four points on which the book is based, “Be impeccable with your word.” That is a fantastic point. If we simply and consciously say what we mean, rather than use our words to attack, we are better heard by the people we want to hear it. Another point he makes, “Don’t take things personally,” is one that personally changed my life. No matter what issue is being discussed, if we do not choose to take things personally, the drama and outrage drop away, and clarity of topic remains and solutions can be found.

But solutions are far away when drama and outrage keep going around and around. Where is the end of the circle?

“Don’t make assumptions,” is another agreement Ruiz suggests. Understanding gets a whole lot better when we actually listen to the other point of view without the hair raising up on the back of our neck like a cat just before it attacks something.

Imagine a world, a country, a state, a neighborhood, a family, where we attentively listened to what was being said before we stopped listening and verbally (and sometimes physically and emotionally and spiritually) attacked the other person, group, country, religion, or army. What would happen to the drama and outrage of the situation?

Before we can heal our minds, our issues, our families, our countries and the world at large, we need to acknowledge we have drama and outrage addiction. Without acknowledging drama and outrage addition, like every other addiction we have, we cannot begin to heal it, and pave the way to peace.

Imagine what it would be like to have world peace.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere