Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

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1 Corinthians 13:7 We all, these days, will tend to want to question what has happened in Japan, what negative things have taken place in our life, but it is not necessary to put ourselves through that. When we are in pain, mourning, depression,and  anxiety we are bringing this on ourselves. "We are responsible for our own reality." We can change anything because "With God all things are possible."
He tells us that he will carry us through all the negative things that happen to us, but do we ALL listen? NO...
What is the expression people use so often...? "What does not break us will make us stronger." Why? Because God puts challenges in front of us, everyday and it is our purpose to overcome them with his guidance. Mourning is a natural thing to do when someone we love is lost to us, but we should remember that they are with God now and we will see them again when He comes. We will be re-united with our lost loved ones, their spirit will rise with their body and we will be whole with them again, in the rapture and Glory of God.
I sat in a Bible class last week and my pastor said to me that the spirit will return to the body and we will all be whole again, My first thought was, OMG...my sister was cremated and her ashes sit on the top shelf of my entertainment center, what have I done? So I asked him, "are you saying that I have disposed of her remains in a way that will stop her from re-uniting with her spirit?" As tears ran down my face, I waited for his answer. He said, I should not worry because Christians will be re-united with their bodies even from dust.  After all,  that is how we come into the world. Those were not his exact words, I am expressing my relief in the thoughts that followed after what he told me. My relief was great and I let out a huge sigh, but I was thinking about my daughter too. My greatest loss was her tiny life, lost to me at 6 months old.
People ask me all the time, how did you go on, how did you get over it. In the past I was able to say, "I don't know, I guess I just pushed through it because I went right on to taking caring of my mother as she spent her last 6 months with a diagnosis of terminal Colon Cancer. Was I just too busy to think about her? Well, I know that is not true because every night I would stay up late enough to give my mother her last dose of Morphine so she (and I ) could sleep through the night without pain.  Hers from the cancer, mine from mourning the loss of my child. I thought a lot and read a lot about death then. My Uncle, thinking that I would understand and accept my mother's and my daughter's death easier if I understood the dying process, had given me books that told me what to expect; and I am grateful that he did that, but did it make the process any easier, No. No because my mother was still going to go through this process and understanding it was part of my acceptance of her dying, but easier, nothing makes the dying process easier for anyone except through their faith. My mother was a faithful Christian through her life and especially during her last days and I knew that she was going to be re-united with those that she lost, including my daughter; but I found humor in the fact that she believed she would be re-united with my father. In her last days she would have vivid conversations with him in the late night before her final dose of medication. She also survived with a barely registering blood pressure for two days, and I believe that she was holding on to be re-united with him on their Anniversary.
Most of my life with my father was filled with abusive alcoholism. He drank, he stewed, and then he blew. It was a daily ritual for my sister's, my mother, and I. We would sit in the kitchen and wait for him to go to bed so we could breath again. Not that we literally held our breath, but we tried not to make any sound that would set him off. The worst part about trying to be quiet or trying to stop anything else, is that the more you try to stop it, the more it comes up. It is true with anything we try to get rid of, the more you try to get rid of it, the more it comes back to you. If I had known then that that is the way the "law of attraction" works, I would have suggested that we think differently about what we were trying to avoid, so something good would have come out of the time we spent waiting for something bad to happen. Funny, right? What a waste of time it was. I often wonder what we could have done, that would have put the abuse at bay, while we accomplished it and these days I have found the answer, it was no secret. I just never realized that we could very well have taken our focus off the fear we were feeling by being quietly creative.  It would have lessened my father's power over us, and given us something to see at the end of each of these experiences.
I do these things now because I know they work, but what a blessing it would have been for all of us together to be doing something quietly creative. I paint, quilt, sketch, and make crafts now, and I do them quietly; and with the express purpose of keeping fear, anxiety, and depression from taking over my mind. Sad that it took me this many years to discover that, but I have and I use it effectively now, not as a manner of keeping my father away, but to keep depression and anxiety from locking my mind in fear and sometimes, terror.
A few years back when my depression and anxiety manifested as Agoraphobia, my mind and my body  were keeping me locked in my home, similar to the way my father, unbeknown to him, kept us locked in the kitchen quietly trying to avoid his wrath. What I discovered about that I will cover tomorrow, but remember:

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7

Attitudes Truly are Contagious, so ask yourself one Question. Is mine worth catching?

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"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the world worthwhile."
Carrying sad and painful memories of the past is what creates pain body. Living in the NOW is not easy, but it is so worthwhile. Carrying grudges, sad memories of the past, and trauma; keep one from living in the PRESENT. Clear your mind everyday of these thoughts and live LOVING the PRESENT. Living the present is what we are meant to do. God tells us to live in the image of him, and that includes our thoughts. It is just as sinful to hang on to past angry thoughts, as it is to covet our neighbors goods. Letting go of the things we left behind and taking only the lessons we have learned from them, releases us from pain body.

Going to the gym everyday, eating healthy, and losing weight will not do as much for us as letting go of the the things that make us victims in our own lives. Hanging on to the past makes us victims in the present, letting go of the past makes us healthy and happy in TODAY. Choose the PRESENT and be in optimal health, so when success comes to us we are ready for it!

"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it~"
Somerset Maugham

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

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Watch how one hospital raised Breast Cancer Awareness:

AND OUT OF NOWHERE AND NOTHING (Cont'd)

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DAY 3 (Cont'd)
I let the fear of the phone calls take over for awhile until I realized that I had to begin believing the danger was gone; the least I had to do, was to develop a “fake it to til I make it,” mind-set to keep going and put the fear away as long as I could. It worked for a while but eventually it flooded back in different ways; this time it came as Agoraphobia, (fear of open spaces, or the outside) and it hit me after my sister died suddenly from Heart disease.
My sister led a simple but sad life. She believed all she had to live for was spending time with my children, and her job, which suited her and she was very good at it. My sister struggled with her identity daily. Her job as a security guard lent her to the power that was missing in the other aspects of her life. I could not even say she was content, but she did the best she could with what she was able to face about herself. Unknowing to her, she was loved and respected by so many people, that there was an outpouring of people at her wake, and the many so called, coincidences in her life emerged in ways she never would have expected. The numbers of people from different parts of her life connected outside of her, so much so, that it would have blown her away. My sister-in-law from my first marriage came and reminded me that my sister was the one that helped her get the job at the hospital she still works in. In the next instance, my sister-in-law was speaking to the wife of the property owner of the apartment my sister lived in. These two women had worked together in the past, and were chatting about it, when the aunt, who was the closest to my sister, joined the conversation. My aunt recognized one of the women and discovered that the woman was married to her late husband’s nephew. Strange, considering my sister was having such a difficult time finding a place to live just a few years earlier, and to have landed in this apartment was remarkable. These things to me appear as coincidences; but I know they are the working of the Universe to bring all these people together, and I also believe that my sister knows now that these things took place.  Since my introduction to the movie "The Secret," so many things become clear to me when I begin to realize that we are responsible for our own reality, I just wish my sister had been able to see her reality through my eyes.

"And out of nowhere and nothing"

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As a Braveheart Woman I would like to share my story by posting small parts each day. If one woman is helped by what I write about my life, then my purpose will be live.
THIS IS WHERE IT BEGAN
At the age of 61, I feel my life is just beginning. After raising my three, now adult children, I am taking time to fulfill my purpose in the world. In hindsight, I have seen the results of the law of attraction. Twenty-six years ago, while I was pregnant with my second child, I was building a fitness center. I had no money, no good credit, to speak of, but a mind full of passion, knowledge, (having managed health clubs) and faith.
Well into my daughter’s first month of life, a diagnosis of heart failure was difficult news to accept. After her first surgery, she seemed to thrive, but she still had a long road to recovery. Her aorta was not opening and closing and she needed a new one to replace it. Technology for this disorder was minimal, at that time, and after 30 days in the hospital with her she was finally scheduled for surgery where the surgeon planned to open the valve and leave it open. At the time, I was grasping at straws and fighting with medical people so when the surgeon said she had a “40 percent chance of recovery and an article for him in a medical journal,” I said yes to the surgery. Gillian, my precious six-month old died that day. My mother at the time was in the hospital facing the removal of her colon due to colon cancer. As we left the hospital, the only thing that I could think of was how to tell my Mom that we had lost Gillian, and still convince her to continue treatment. When I got there she already knew, my nephew told her. Having lost my father two years before to suicide from drinking rubbing alcohol, I again, had to put my grief on hold to care for another.
The night before I left my home and my fledgling business to move in with my mother and care for her, two men showed up at the health club. What I remember was them saying, “We work for two Fortune 500 companies and we want to finance your project. “ I don’t know if it was grief, fear of success, or just plain numbness, but I had to turn them down. It appeared to me that my purpose was to care for my mother. My oldest sister on the other hand, wanted to put her in a nursing home close to where we both lived. Torn, because my sister was not privy to the discussion I had with my mother the day before her release from the hospital, which was also the hospital my precious baby died in, I just went forward again believing that this was my purpose, and the health club was a selfish act, so I gave it up. Looking back now, I see that a wonderful opportunity was being handed me and I had to say no because “I believed” that my purpose was to care for my mother.
To be continued daily:

Every child has a SPECIAL NEED

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Every child enter the world with their gifts already in place and sometimes we are the reason they lose sight of these gifts. We immediately choose to change who are children are as soon as they are born. Who are we to do that? It is not our job to change our children, it is theirs, from the moment they are conceived.
In a perfect world we would only have to believe that they would learn everything on their own, in their own way, but we are too afraid to do that.
God created each of us with the unique ability to be who we are and as parents we change that. It was never God's plan for parents to change their children, it is their job to send them on a safe path, and to develop themselves.
It is a difficult concept and it takes GREAT FAITH on our part "allow" that to take place, but in a perfect world...it would.
The next time your child is doing something that you deem improper or unacceptable, before interjecting...watch his/her process from a different mind-set and maybe you will see this/her gifts emerge, and their ability to be outstanding surface.

YOUR CHILD'S SPECIAL NEEDS

UNIVERSE, HEAR ME ROAR! IAM OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!

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When I originally created "Our Gratitude" as a business, it was with lofty and ambitious drive.  None of that has changed, but I am still waiting to hear what the Universe (source) is telling me to do with it.  I have never stopped trying, although I have shifted gears many times, but I never lost sight of my original three goals, one of which is about to come to fruition.
1.  Complete a cookbook with my family called "Traveling Recipes," in memory of two family members that died in the same week in June 2007.
2.  Create a blueprint for a day program for "high functioning" adults on disability, because when my depression manifested as Agoraphobia, there were no programs available to help me.  I have a wonderful counselor, so believe me when I tell you, if there was one, Debbie would have found it for me!
3.  To have a car that makes me happy and gives me FREEDOM to access the outside world, that I have missed so dearly.

Well, the cookbook is almost completed, and I am only waiting on a few photographers to allow us permission to use their photos, and for The American Cancer and Heart Organizations to repsond with their information to recieve the donations.  All proceeds from this book have always intended to be for them, and will always be for them, even as I create new books, a percentage of all those proceeds will also be donated to them.

But back to the Universe.  The journey I took writing and compiling "Traveling Recipes," is in itself a bit of a miracle, and I express gratitude for it everyday, but here is my dilemma...FEAR OF SUCCESS!  As many fears as I have overcome in the last 5 years of my life, battling this disease, none has been more difficult to overcome as the "fear of success."  How do I know this, you ask? (Well, in my story you do), Because I can still feel the fluttering of anxiety, the closer I get to the completion, (the part where the world judges you based on their perception of what you have accomplished.)  I know "it is not my business what others think of me," ("A New Earth:  Awakening to You Life's Purpose," Eckhart Tolle) because my closest friends and I have adopted that principle, and it has driven us to lofty heights of self confidence; but the anxiety remains.  Although, today as I am putting off taking an exam for a class, and fiddling around with the things I do on the internet, ( you know, the business thing) I realize that I should have that anxiety, I should be afraid, I should wonder why I am nervous...because that is where success takes you...OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.  I am not only "out of my comfort zone,"  I am "out of my mind."  Funny, huh? Out of my mind is exactly where I am supposed to be...again.  "Out of my mind," no longer trapped in the hollow corridors of my mind, afraid to face the world as who I truly am. 

So, the Universe has answered my roar, afterall, and has told me to step outside and ROOAARRR...as loud as I can, "I am exactly who I am supposed to be, I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and I am so truly, completely, and utterly, grateful to be here.  Not to be ungrateful though, but... where is my car?

Please watch for "Traveling Recipes," as it is scheduled to be release in October of 2009.
When you purchase your copy, be sure to try out the recipes, make them your own way, and send them to me with a story about yourslef, so you can be in the next of the series, "Traveling with, Traveling Recipes."

MARY TRAVERS DIES AT AGE 72

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It's sad that with every good intention there are people that manage to make bad ones out of them. It never ocurred to me that this song was about anything other than a young boy's life and his innocence. Happiness is a mind set, as is health, so always having good intentions is the perfect way to always be happy. (naturally)
They were wonderful at what they did and it is sad to know she has passed, but the idea that Peter, Paul, and Mary gave so much to the world; should give us comfort in her passing.

PRESENCE

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I’m reading the “Power of Now,” by Eckhart Tolle, and this morning I was reading Chapter five where he is talking about The State of Presence and he suggests that one should try a little experiment. “Close your eyes and say to yourself: “I wonder what my next thought will be?” Then be very alert and wait for the next thought. Be like a cat watching a mouse hole. What thought is going to come out of the mouse hole?” and he suggests to try it now. So as I was on my walk tonight with Willie Nelson playing in my ears, I remembered the thought, so I let it run through my mind and in the next instance, I turned my head to the left and out of nothing, and nowhere there was a tiny, perfect white flower. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. How beautiful. The best part is that I got to experience PRESENCE as he describes it in Chapter 5, and the reward was so beautiful, one tiny little white flower out of nowhere standing there just waiting for my mind to quiet enough to notice it. You can be sure my neighbors are thinking I’m crazy now (not that I care), but here I am doing my power walk laughing right out loud. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It’s not like I have never seen anything like that before, but in PRESENCE it is just so alive.

Earlier in the day I was sitting with my friend Beverly and a yellow butterfly skimmed past us. She said “Hi, Vi.” and then explained to me that that is how her sister Violet comes to her,” and then she asked me if I had seen the Oriole this morning and I had so say no, I missed it. I then asked her if she had seen the Cardinal that had been around lately because I believe that is how my sister comes to me. Five minutes later, I was at the laundromat at the front of our complex and when I parked the car, the cardinal flew right past me, and I said, Hi Judi.”

Life is so amazing when you open your mind and eyes to the beauty that surrounds us every minute of everyday. Try Tolle’s experiment and see what you come up with. I hope you experience is as wonderful as mine was.

IT'S NOT JUST A "PAT LINE."

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I am experiencing a message lately that is telling me how much easier life is than I make it. I have always over thought things, however, I do not see this as a stumbling block anymore. I am finding that the more I look for the answers the more answers come to me. Confused? Well don't be, just try it. Decide what your actual question is; is it about your business, your personal life, family and friends, whatever it is just ask the question and the answers will come. "You are what you think about," "thoughts become things.I I have been saying these things for a few years now and the people around me are also now seeing the answers to their questions. it is not voodoo, religion, or anything hokey. It is just a simple scientific principle that states, "You are what you think about," "you are who you surround yourself with." I have been telling my group of friends lately that "one of us needs to get rich, because we all need money; and the only way to get it is to surround ourselves with "the rich," and then share it with each other," or we should all be thinking 'that we are rich."

Awhile back, I wrote a story about what my father always said to me when I felt sick or out of sorts, it was "it's all in your head," and I talked about what a blessing that was to me, considering that my father was an abusive alcoholic. Whatever state of mind you are in, is the environment you are choosing to live in. When I was young and my father said that to me, I was sad, and felt that no one really cared about me. In hindsight I realize that my parents loved me they just did not know how to show me in a way that I understood. They did the best they could. I know, that is just a "pat line" you hear from people all the time, but the fact is, it is true. Families sometimes grow apart because each member is in a different place in their life and how they are hearing what is going on around them is keeping them stuck where they are. Well, the only way one gets unstuck is to choose it. Choose to be unstuck, "right, that is great advice." The voice of my unconscious mind is becoming critical and outspoken about the way I view things now. "Just what I need, another voice telling me what to do." There it goes again. Well before it takes over completely, let me make my point. ",CHOOSE GOOD THOUGHTS," every minute of everyday that you can. Do not be afraid of the negative ones, "because one positive thoughts is so much more powerful than one negative one," and the positive one has the power to overcome the negative one.

If your questions are about your business, the answer is the same. Ask the question and the answers will come. I found the answer to a question this morning. "How am I going to get more people to listen to me, to buy what i sell, to visit my websites, and blogs and begin to find value in what I have to offer as a person. Here is the simple answer I got today..."PUT YOUR NAME ON IT." Seriously, how simple is that? Here's the best part, it's actually really cheap too. The best advertising in the world is the one you create that gets you seen by others so, put it on a business card, a pencil, a pen, your car door, your web site, your blog, your address labels, your stationary and do it by going here:-->

His Family Breathes Love for Him

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Somewhere back in my earlier posts I mention that I am in recovery from Agoraphobia (fear of open spaces). Well, today I have to say big freakin deal...I was sitting here at 11:00 p.m. tonight thinking about going to bed but was not quite tired enough. As I scrolled through the listings in my DVR, I saw that Oprah's interview with Michael J. Fox was on today. I have only, at this moment, seen the first 10 minutes; and the crappy day I thought I was having is nothing, nil. My recovery from Agoraphobia is nothing, nil, my quitting smoking is nothing, nil...my giving up excessive drinking is nothing, nil. What Michael J. Fox and his family are living is
"everything to everyone." I am sitting here now so blown away by the courage and fortitude that man has; and I am so grateful that President Obama has signed the bill that is going to help Michael have the life he so deserves.
There is so much love in his life. Just breathing the love his children and wife have for him must be his miracle drug. I have yet to read his book, but it is so on my list right now.

It's amazing that whenever you think things are bad in your life; something always comes along that makes you remember how grateful you are for everything and everybody in your life. All I can say is Thank you, God...thank you...thank you, for this wonderful human being, that is Michael J. Fox.

I am touched, motivated, and blessed that I was not ready to go to sleep, and took the opportunity to listen to this interview. If you haven't see it I hope they will repeat it (I'm sure they will). But, in the meantime, just remember to be grateful everyday for everything.

I'LL BE ABOUT MY FATHER'S BUSINESS

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I sit at my computer each day for different reasons at any given time during the day. If I'm watching television and I run across something I don't know about, I have to get up and go right over to the computer and look it up. I also go to school on line and getting my degree would never be as possible for me without my computer. Friends call and ask me for help, I seem to be the go to girl for information, I go right to my computer.

I am working on writing a cookbook with my family and I should spend more time on it but I do spend sometime each week, at this rate though I don't know if they will all be around to read it. I better get a move on with that....

Whatever reason I sit here seems very important at the time, but lately, there seems to be a lot of frustration attached to that connection. I try each day to learn something new, to do something for one person, to help where I can, to cheer someone up, and to generate income from what I do also, but something is frustrating me, it's as though someone is telling me I'm not doing the right things. I feel like something is trying to do the work for me, but if that were the case...it would not be my work, and the joy of accomplishing it would be diminished. I am a strong believer in The Law of Attraction and it teaches that "you are what you think about." So when this frustration takes over me, I get angry and the funny thing is, I'm not an angry person. W. Clement stone used to say that "the universe was conspiring for him," I'm going to try an incorporate that into my mind set a lot more than I have been able to before and let nature take it's course and let God or if you prefer The Universe lead me in the direction that I should go. As Loretta Young used to say,"I'll just be about my father's business." Well, I guess that is what I'm going to have to believe, because I do not want to be an angry, unhappy person, I have too much joy to share with others to stay in that mind set. So it is onward and upward...and my needs will be met when they are deemed necessary I guess.

How Do You Define FAITH?

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How do you define "FAITH?"

When I was young I believed that Faith was something you had or you were going to "hell in a hand basket" because not having "faith" meant you didn't believe in God, and God was vengeful and you would be punished. Sad right? Well, that was the way that my parents raised me, but I never got any happiness from believing that. So I raised my children differently. There was no abuse verbal or otherwise. I was always available to them and I gave them free reign at home to voice their feelings, whatever road that took us down. When my daughter was in her teens and I was in menopause she was in puberty, there was a battle a day in our home. But one thing I knew by then: God was not going to strike me dead if I did something wrong and I made sure that my children understood that.

But what are people defining FAITH as today? Well I'm asking? What do you consider FAITH?

I believe that FAITH is the one thing that changes our life, without it, you will always stay where you are. One must have FAITH that their life will get better everyday, even if you have a great life. So everyday I thank God (The Universe) everyday for the things I am grateful for, even a simple breath of air. Think about that. Where would we be without a single breath of air? Right...DEAD. So even though breathing is an involuntary bodily function, I am grateful to have it. If I did not continue to breath then my life would be o0ver and I would enter a dimension that I am not ready to go to. I like this one, this is the one that has my children in it, my goals, my desires, all the wishes that have not come true yet, and the most joyful parts of my life may still be ahead of me, so I am grateful to breath each and everyday every moment of the day.

There have been times in my life when I have lost FAITH. I lost faith because I was blaming others for the way my life was going and when I blame others I have no control over it, so it cannot change. The one thing we all know is that "You can change no one but YOURSELF" RIGHT? Yes! If you are still thinking that your relationship will improve if you can manage to change your partner, get over it, because you are wrong. If you are thinking you lost your jkob because the economy stinks, you are wrong so get over it, take responsibility for it and move on to get another one. If you are thinking that you will never be happy again, then you are right, because as long as you believe that you will never be happy gain, you won't be.

We are in control of our own reality and if you are still believing that is not true then test it. (I told this to my son) If you are worried everyday about everyone else around you and you never have time to do for yourself, who's fault is it? YOURS. Try to spend one day, just one, by thinking about no one else but yourself and the wonderful, happy, joyful things you want to have happen in your life, and see how you feel at the end of that day. And then the next day...go back to worrying about everyone else. Then on the third day compare the feelings, and be totally honest with yourself. Which day was more productive and which day were you the happiest, and which day were the people around you the happiest...RIGHT THE DAY YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR OWN DREAMS AND DESIRES. Now which day is better for you and those around you? You decide and when you find that I am wrong, please come back and tell me that. Tell me that you are still miserable and unhappy and I am full of crap. I will look forward to that. Seriously, I will.

WE ALL NEED A PAT ON THE BACK SOMETIMES, HERE IS YOURS.

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12-31-08 9:58 P.M.

Here it is two hours before the beginning of a New Year, and although I cannot see all the changes in my life at this moment…one stands out above them all. “I QUIT SMOKING.” It still feels like a miracle to me. It will be 2 years in March 2009. Funny, but every time someone asks me how I did it, I answer with the same response, which is, “I don’t know how I did it, I just know that the thought was already planted in my mind.” They ask what I mean and I respond with, “I gave up trying to quit, and whenever anyone asked me when I was going to quit, I would say, I just want to wake up one day, and never smoke again.” Well, that is exactly how it happened. My doctor at the time, had a sign in his office, and I was a new patient. The sign said “ If you smoke, I will insist that you quit.” I guess I took it seriously and when he gave me the prescription for the lozenges, I had it filled and waited. My Aunt Pat, at the time, was being treated for Cancer, and the first time she went into the hospital I said I was going to quit smoking. Well, that was my last failure, I quit for 3 weeks and then started up again.

The next time my aunt went into the hospital, I didn’t know until I called her home and my Uncle answered. He told me she was in the hospital, so I told him I would go to see her. A few days later I did.
When I rounded the corner and saw her in her room in the Intensive Care Unit, I saw how frail she was and I felt tears well up in my eyes. I took a few steps back and cleared my face before I went into her room. She was happy to see me and she appeared perky, but it looked like it took a lot of energy to stay that way. The visit was short, and on the drive home I made the decision to quit. I still didn’t know when, so I set the date and when the time came, I just woke up the next day and didn’t smoke again. I had no withdrawal or even the desire to smoke again. I smoked 3 and ½ packs of cigarettes a day for many years, including the night before I quit, but it was the easiest thing I ever did. I watched my own sister, who died of heart disease, smoke in her hospital room after one of her heart attacks, and it still wasn’t enough to make me quit. My sister died alone in her apartment and no one knew for 3 days, but I continued to smoke. But that day sitting with my aunt, something happened, I can’t explain it, and I never thought for one second that she was going to pass away, or anything like that, something just hit me when I sat with her that gave me the strength to do it.

So a few months later after I had been not smoking for awhile, I called her and when no one answered I left a message. I said, “Hi, it’s Ann-Marie, and I’m calling for my “pat on the back,” and if you want to know what I mean you’ll have to call me back. It was a couple of days later, and when she asked why I needed a pat on the back. I said, “I have finally quit smoking, it was the easiest thing I ever did, now get of my back, Pat.” We had a good laugh over it, she told me she was proud of me, and it must have done the trick because here it is 2 years later and I’m not smoking. The last day I spent with her before she passed, we talked about how we both used to smoke and how wonderful it was when we were doing Home Demonstration Shows for Princess House. She said, “Remember, we would write up our orders, pack up our kit, carry it to the car, light up a cigarette, and count our money with a big smile on our face, as we drove home.” She was right, they were great times, we both loved our job and we loved doing the shows and the people we did the shows for, our recruits, our meetings and everything about it.

Princess House was only one of the job experiences I have had with sales in my lifetime. I have always held a sales job of some type, either as my full time job or in addition to my full time job. One of the very first things you learn when you are trained in sales is, “fake it til you make it.” Funny thing is, that is how we should all be living our lives. The Law of Attraction teaches us that we attract what we think about. Well, if you are doing the “ole fake it til you make it,” sales technique, you can’t lose. It becomes how you think about everything in your life, and when that happens… your life changes. It can’t NOT change, it has to, because you create your own reality by how you think about the world around you. In other words, you control your own destiny, your own happiness, your own failure or success. That may sound redundant but it’s not, it’s just the simplest way to look at life. You can only change yourself, and when you do, the world around you adjusts to change with you. It has to because you create the vibration and the world responds to your vibration. I’m sure this is not new information you are hearing but maybe it’s a new way for you to hear it, maybe what I am writing here, right now, will be the words that will catapult you into a new existence. This is the day to begin and if what I say here, helps you to do that, then I am truly blessed. I want nothing more than to make a difference in someone’s life, the way my Aunt Pat did for me. So let 2009 be the year that you choose to become who you have always wanted to be. The true you, and be SAFE AND HAPPY AS YOU DO IT. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Image via WikipediaGOOGLE.COM
I was reading a post in a thread on Powerful Intentions. A woman posted that she found herself in tears, crying that she was unable to give even something small to a few children. What I saw about her post was beautiful. In the few moments that she was crying...the answer came to her. She remembered that she had a resource she had forgotten about, and she made that resource the way she would both give and receive that year. IN HER TEARS, SHE "ALLOWED."

"The Secret," "The Law of Attraction,"and "The Law of Abundance," all teach us that it is when we "allow" that what we desire, is given to us, or shown to us. It is through our "feelings" that our desire is expressed, and the answer is shown to us, or our desire is received.

I am not saying that when we don't get what we want...we should sit down and cry, and that is not what this woman did. I am saying that in order to receive what we desire, we must feel that it has already been received, or it is already on its way, and so it is, and it shall be. We only have to ask the Universe once for what we desire, it already knows, and we must feel it...already on its way to us, and feel that we are receiving it, and so we will.

I was listening to Joyce Meyer the other day on television; she was talking about how God always answers our prayers, but sometimes the answer is "NO." That made me begin to think in a different way about what and how we ask the Universe. The answers are always there, it is how we listen to, and for them, that they show themselves. We are the only one that can change our life, it is in our own realm of existence to make the necessary changes to our life, to accomplish, or reach the goals we choose. I am going to reach my goals this year, because I am going to listen for, and to, the answers that I am given. I am going to follow the "instincts" that I have always known exist in me, and I will take the time to listen to and find the answers that are being shown to me.

What are your goals for this year? What do you hope to receive? What do you plan to give? These answers are all crucial to reaching our goals, and having what we desire in our life for the coming year. Ask in your prayers or in your communication with the Universe through meditation, to me they are the same. I pray during meditation and I pray to God during prayer. Everything around me is telling me to listen better this year, and that is what I'll be doing...LISTENING.

THE BODY KNOWS A LANGUAGE

Image by D LeRoy via Flickr“The body knows a language the mind never wholly masters.”
Brenda Miller

Brenda Miller is a Professional Coach and a Spiritual Teacher. I received this quote in my email this morning from Oprah’s Mission Statement Newsletter.
To experience Radical Forgiveness is to open yourself to a new way of looking at your world.
To experience Radical Forgiveness is to heal your life!
Radical Forgiveness Coaching assists you to achieve inner peace by helping you to release all those old victim stories and self-destructive patterns that have kept you out of joy, stolen your life, and blocked your abundance. And it's done in a way that is safe, quick, and therapeutically non-invasive.

When I read that quote it brought back the messages I have been hearing about forgiveness lately. I wrote a few posts on my blog about it awhile back and it still resonates around me. Believing that I had forgiven many people and myself for things that I carried with me for years, I find that there are more. When you wake up as I do everyday, beginning with gratitude and right on to the motivational speech I give myself each morning, and you believe that you have forgiven all….there it is… clearly resonating in a pain somewhere in the body, sometimes the head, the back, a shoulder, and often the neck. All these places that I had always believed were signs of stress, I realize now that they are actually more leftover emotional baggage that I am still carrying. Hoping each time that you make a discovery about yourself, that it is the last one, is truly a futile practice. So I turned it around today…now they are blessings. When I looked back and realized in the past week or so, that I recognized mistakes that way, and how easily it translates for forgiveness…it was clear. I’m not sure that is the point that Brenda Miller was trying to make with her quote…that is what I perceived from it, and I am grateful to her for that….“It is always a blessing to find the purpose of pain.”

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A STEP OF FAILURE OVERCOME!

Image by AHMED. (Busy) via FlickrI heard a recording tonight that gave me, not just an AHA moment, but an “over the fence out of the park” moment. Lisa Jimenez ‘s recording of “Claim Your Power Over Fear”, was such an enlightening speech.
“A Step Of Failure Overcome.” “One Step Toward Success.” She says, “If you have never failed then your life is too small”
I immediately understood what she meant, I have always believed that there is a blessing in every experience and we always come out stronger, having learned something of great benefit to us every time. I sadly think I have to modify that to some of us come out stronger. We should all be aware enough of that but we all perceive things through our own experiences and our own mind, so naturally our experiences are different. I am blessed that I see the blessing on the other side of the grief, sadness, loss, pain, death. I hope to share that message as much as I can because that knowledge is one the most poignant things we should already know. Sadly, we all do not. So take her message and share it with as many as you can, and watch in your own life for the blessing on the other side, it is always there, sometimes it takes awhile for the pain to fade a bit first, but if you watch, you will see it, hear it or know it, in your own time.

IT WAS JUST A SIMPLE WALK!

Image by Farruska via FlickrIn a conversation today, with a friend, I remembered that I have always said, when people are “thinking or feeling” that others dislike them, or are talking about them or they believe they do not like them, this is what I think “unless you tell me that you do not like me, I will assume that you do.” I have always played that in my mind. I developed it a long time ago when I was trying to find “self-confidence” in myself. I find it funny now that I was actually looking for confidence in myself. If I was believing or thinking that others did not like me or were talking about me, then I was lost in “ego”. Most grow up believing that “ego” is a good thing about a person. Most have always believed that when a person has a good “ego” they have a good sense of themselves, they are confident, but, how do you have a good “ego” when the “ego” is what separates you from God. The “ego” is where you go when you are not “within“.

Being “within” is peace. I have been recovering from Agoraphobia which manifested as panic attacks. Funny, because Agoraphobia is a state of fear, as is anxiety. But “within” there is no “fear”, and there is also no “ego”. The simple fact that I know that is enough to separate myself from the “ego” and remain within. Quieting my mind.

I went out today for a power walk. Looking at me, you would never call it that. But, for me, the effort is great to actually do it. I was trapped in a mental illness for more than 4 years, that kept me confined to my home like a prisoner. I did not need locks on the door to keep me in, my mind was doing that quite well. The simple joy of taking a walk outside, something we all take for granted, was to me, today, the greatest blessing I could receive. When I was done walking I just stood and watched, practicing not labeling my vision. What peace, what joy….and to think, it was just a simple walk.

MOTIVATION VS BATHING?

Image via Wikipedia"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
Zig Ziglar

My computer, lately has developed a mind of it’s own. I do not know how they do that, but every computer I have ever owned, eventually, controls me more than I control it. Being obstinate this weekend, it gave me some time to catch up on some significant reading.

Reading is an essential tool in any phase of life. Not all people share that idea, but more should. The more knowledge we acquire the more direct our life becomes. I have been criticized for not always knowing what I want out of my life. Luckily I have learned that “what other people think of me is not my business”. I think that has become my motto because I use it at least once a day. My friends and I have made it part of our “SAD”.
“SAD” is single action daily, like in the quote above by Zig Ziglar. Having inspiration daily can come in different ways. I get several quotes in my emails daily that I pass along with a joke to keep my family’s spirits high each day. As a leader I have always had the need for knowing exactly how to motivate others and words of inspiration seem to be the most direct way to do that. I have a collection of affirmations that I am attempting to commit to memory. There is one for every day of the year.

Success in everything you ever do, can only be claimed through motivation, and motivation can be received from inspiration. Napoleon hill refers to it as DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE. I have never heard anyone becoming successful by accident. There may be success through inheritance, if we are talking about money or business, but personal success starts from within and moves without….The inspiration that I share is both within and without. I like to share my inspiration, my joy, my love for all things beautiful, there is no joy in just keeping them for myself. The real joy is in what you give “without” from “within.”

OK, IT'S TIME TO TAKE A WALK!

Image via WikipediaFor the last 10 or so days, I have been fortunate to be introduced to Autism and Aspergers, and the amazing Moms and Dads that raise children that have this disorder. The umbrella of Autism is so expansive that I doubt that "I" will ever know all of the signs or symptoms, but these parents are so informed and pro-active, it is a joy to see. I have gone to different blogs and been introduced to these amazing people and their children, I have seen movies, photos, art work and parents sharing, either through video or on paper, what it is like for them to live under this umbrella. I was hesitant there and the word "cloud" came to mind, but that is not what I saw. I saw parents that realize the blessing of these children, see their beauty, and thank God everyday to have them. I don't see the regrets or frustration, although I'm sure there is a lot, but what they share is the joys, and I believe they do it for other parents without even realizing that is what they are doing. They certainly do it with no thought of reciprocity, and that alone, is an accolade to each of them.

I have not experienced what they live everyday, but I know it takes very special people to do this, and I know that God had a hand in that for sure. I hope they all feel that way, although I'm sure, like all parents, they have the days where they wonder where God really is. I have seen God's work in these 2 weeks and it is a miraculous and beautiful thing, and I just want to applaud each of these parents for their love, fortitude, and the courage to put themselves out there for others, it takes special people to do that.

I hope if you have not seen the efforts that are being put forth to change the legislature around this disease, that you will educate yourself more and let your congressman know what changes you want implemented. This is a more than worthy cause, but even just to meet these amazing people, you should take a trip through the blogs of these people that are blogging for Autism this month. You should start with Momologue

Take five and dive right in, see what it is all about and offer support where you can.