What Happens When Books Grow Up?
Heal Your Life Blog
What Happens When Books Grow Up?
Last month, our beautiful founder and amazing author Louise Hay visited our office just before her trip to Australia for an I Can Do It Conference® there. After a few meetings and making the rounds to greet her staff, Louise came by my desk to go over some notes for her next e-letter. Happily hugging her iPad in her arms, she smiled giddily as she said, “I just watched my new enhanced e-book. Have you seen it yet? When she saw my look of surprise, she pulled me up and invited me to experience it immediately.
We sat down on the couch in her office and she opened her iPad. As she surveyed her Home Screen, she navigated over to her digital bookshelf. Ah yes, You Can Create an Exceptional Life was front and center. She tapped on it to begin my maiden voyage through my first enhanced e-book. Louise swiped through the pages until she reached an adorable photo of her and co-author Cheryl Richardson. “Now watch this,” she said as she tapped the photo with anticipation. Within seconds, the image came to life and there on the page, Louise and Cheryl started chatting about the fun they had writing this book together.
As I sat in awe, Louise kept smiling and flipping through several pages—eagerly landing on more images that transformed into heartwarming conversations between these two delightful authors. Wow! As a baby boomer weaned on traditional print books, rotary telephones and reel-to-reel home movies, I was flabbergasted. How cool is it that today’s readers can feel like they’re sitting on a couch right next to their favorite authors as their personal stories come to life in these enhanced e-books!
Louise and Cheryl’s You Can Create an Exceptional Life enhanced e-book is one of seven titles now available from Hay House. For the complete list, click here. Several more titles are in production as you read this—including Alex Woodard’s For The Sender, which will be available later this month as an enhanced e-book. As a special bonus, you’ll get to listen to the original letter writers reading their personal correspondences to Alex, hear all of the songs inspired by these letters featuring Grammy-winning singers and songwriters, and watch two exclusive videos from a live musical performance.
If any of you are e-book novices like me, I’d like to share a few things I recently learned about this growing genre. These books are referred to as enhanced e-books, Vooks (video-books) and enhanced editions. How are they different from an e-book? They include exclusive bonus materials such as any or all of the following: interactive sections, downloads, photos, illustrations, video interviews, music, audio extras, video clips and direct links to websites. (In our Hay House enhanced e-books, you’ll get exclusive photos studio footage and video clips from recent live workshops. I also read that Stephen King’s new enhanced edition of 11/22/63 includes a 13-minute film, written and narrated by the author and enhanced with historic footage from CBS News that will take you back to the memorable era.)
In order to view these enhanced e-books and bonus videos and material, you’ll need an iPad and/or Nook Color. On the iPad, you can view them through your Kindle and iBooks apps. Plus, in a brand-new format, you can now experience these enhanced e-books on web browsers (like Internet Explorer or Safari) of any tablet or computer by purchasing them at vook.com. Enhanced e-books are accessible on both PC and Mac platforms.
Will enhanced e-books take over where traditional printed books left off? In my humble opinion—no way! Let’s just say that a few of our favorite books grow up and leave the nest in search of a new, enhanced path. And like proud parents, it’s good for us to cheer them on and support them. So I invite you to step out of the box this month, and give one a try.
Here are several links to use to browse the latest enhanced e-books:
Do you have a favorite Hay House book you’d love to read as an enhanced e-book filled with extra videos and bonus material? We’d love to get your feedback. Please post your suggestions below.
Thanks for being here!
Donna Abate
Website Manager
HealYourLife.com
|2012-09-28 10:15:00|1||Inside the Dust Jacket|hay_house|0|ebooks,enhanced book,louise hay,cheryl richardson,video,ipad,nook,kindle,amazon,itunes,barnes and noble No More Stinking Thinking|You have a choice to take control.
|Thoughts are the foundation that helps to create our lives. When there is a myriad of distorted, negative and unrealistic ones, the foundation cracks and we end up feeling crazed and humorless. Much of the way we think is akin to a plane on autopilot. We forget that we can take the controls and navigate ourselves. It seems so much easier not to.
Years of conditioning have created our automatic responses. You’re in the parking lot looking for a space. You can’t seem to find one so you begin to assume that something is going on. You don’t know what it is, but why else would you be having so much trouble finding a spot? The more you ride around, the more frustrated you get. Since you’ve convinced yourself you will probably never be able to find a space, your only focus is to continue to not find one. Even if there is an open spot right in front of your eyes, you wouldn’t see it.
Let’s say you go to the movies and your intention is to make sure you find a seat with no one in front of you. Let’s face it, everyone is looking for the perfect seat. A young couple with children sits in front of you and they all have big heads and lots of hair. You start thinking Oh no! Not again!
This always happens to me. I go to the movies and people with fat heads sit in front of me. In these situations, we could move if there are other seats, but sometimes we become so trapped by our distortions that we can’t focus on the solution. We would rather continue the drama by escalating the negativity. “Now my night is ruined.” “That’s it, I’m never going to the movies again.”
We lose total perspective and make announcements to enhance our inability to make rational choices. The chances that you will never go to another movie until the day you die is ludicrous.
Every once in awhile I get into this spiral of negativity—my stinking thinking—especially when I can’t find something. The other day I was looking for a pair of shoes, but only found one of them. I was convinced someone took it, but who could that be? I don’t think my partner Kenny is interested in wearing one black high heel!
I did finally find it under the bed, but not until I drove myself nuts.
Lighten Up Your Week:
This week, take the controls and pilot yourself to happier, stress-free thoughts.
|2012-09-26 11:30:00|1||Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche|loretta_laroche|0|loretta laroche,stress,positive thoughts,choice,negativity,affirmations The Very Real Quarter-Life Crisis|The Very Real Quarter-Life Crisis
|I’m sure you’ve heard of a midlife crisis. But there’s another transition, called the quarter-life crisis, which can be equally trying. Your quarter-life is the time when you transition to adulthood, and usually coincides with graduating from college until about age 30. It can be downright terrifying to be on your own for the first time and to realize that your formal education didn’t prepare you for the real world.
The quarter-life crisis is more prevalent than ever. People are graduating from college at a time when the tried and true formula for success—go to a good school, get good grades, and then go to work for a company that provides benefits—is rapidly becoming an obsolete path! Today’s young men and women returning from military service are finding the job market even more difficult than those who are just emerging from colleges.
The twenties are a time when you sample a lot of what is out there in hopes of figuring out what you want to do with your life. And though the world is vast and there is a lot to sample, the sobering truth is that these years can be a most difficult time. Even with deliberate thought, you can find yourself on a path—in your relationships and your career—that doesn’t feel right, yet not know what to do about it.
So What Is the Answer?
If you’re experiencing a quarter-life crisis (or if you know someone who is), here are five suggestions for emerging from this very real and trying life stage as a happy, healthy adult:
1. Shore up your self-esteem. Self-worth comes from making a solid contribution that society (not just your parents) recognizes. If you don’t have a job, build your marketable skills and resumé by volunteering for a cause that lights you up: an animal shelter, a program for battered women, trail maintenance for parks and walking paths, community gardening, Boys and Girls Clubs, the list goes on and on.
2. Start working with the Dynamic Laws of Prosperity. I recommend John Randolph Price’s The Abundance Book with CD. This information is a concise primer on the laws of universe that govern wealth and prosperity. Here are the Cliff Notes: Each of us is part of Source energy in the same way that a bucket of water from the ocean is part of the ocean. Giving attention to the part of you that is connected with infinite abundance (Source energy) will cause your abundance to grow.
3. Become financially literate. Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Start to think of yourself as a business. Learn about corporations, taxes, living within your means, and so forth. Unfortunately schools don’t teach this, because most teachers are salaried individuals whose healthcare, pension, and vacation time are all provided for by the system. What they know how to teach is how to become more educated within the educational system. To truly thrive, a 25-year-old needs an education in the school of life, outside the walls of a university or school.
4. Don’t confuse lifelong learning with getting another degree. Our educational system confuses being educated with having yet another degree—and those degrees can cost a substantial amount of money. Many times, when a 20-something doesn’t have a clue what their calling is, they go back to school and get another degree, which, unless you are in medical school or law school, tends to simply delay the inevitable. So I recommend taking a couple of years off if you’ve been in a structured educational setting since kindergarten. Get your feet wet working with people of all ages. Look around. See what needs to be done right where you are. You may come up with a great business idea or find yourself doing the work for which you were born.
5. Think back to when you were eleven. Those preteen years are a magical time when most girls develop complex interests. These passions are often discarded when the pressures of societal norms during the teen and college years take precedence. If you’re unhappy in your job, think back to what you were interested in around the age of eleven. It can guide you to a vocation more in line with your heart’s true desire.
In closing, I have a message for the parents of a quarter-lifer. I know you want to spare your children any and all pain. But, STOP ENABLING YOUR CHILDREN. Though there are times when an adult child has to move home for economic reasons, there is never a time when a young adult should be enabled to sit around and watch TV or spend hours a day on Facebook. Ultimately, if your objective is for your children to be happy, well-adjusted adults, then enabling them is not a good strategy—even if it’s done with love.
|2012-10-01 01:00:00|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|quarter life crisis,midlife crisis,adulthood,rich dad poor dad,the abundance book The Shift Online Stream Special Offer!|Hay House is offering an online stream of Dr. Wayne Dyer's inspirational film, The Shift, for only $0.99 from September 25, 2012 until October 1, 2012!
|Hay House is offering an online stream of Dr. Wayne Dyer's inspirational film, The Shift, for only $0.99 from September 25, 2012 until October 1, 2012!
What is The Shift? It’s the story of the most important moment of your life—when you stop striving and start arriving! It’s the choice you make to move toward a life that gathers up the pieces of your best, most fulfilled, most loving self. It’s the moment when you start living a life rich with meaning and begin playing the music you came here to play!
Are you ready to make the shift that changes everything? When will you find the joy, the peace, and the love that you came here to give and to receive? In this inspiring movie, you’ll enjoy an engaging, heartwarming and humorous tale of transformation on vacation. You’ll marvel at the beauty of the windswept ocean scenery. Share the characters’ delight as they receive the most precious gift—permission to follow their hearts. Hear Wayne say, “Don’t die with your music still in you” and see everyone set free to join the orchestra!
Join Wayne Dyer and a star-studded cast for a story that will capture your imagination and send you on your own quest for a life of meaning and purpose. In The Shift, we share the stories of three modern lives in crisis—a young mother who nurtures everyone but herself, an overachieving husband who has forgotten what love means, and a moviemaker desperate for the opportunity that will make him worthy in his own eyes. Every life has a turning point, a shift, a choice to make about what really matters.
Early in life, we follow the path mapped out by ego, a path of ambition, competition, and striving. When midlife dawns, we too often find ourselves stranded in a lonely and desolate place we never intended to visit. Our feelings of sadness and frustration tell us we took a wrong turn. Like a shift in the wind or a change in the tide, the yearning we feel at midlife is a call to renewal. The Shift shows us the path home, the path to rediscovering our true self, our purpose, and the life of meaning that is our true calling.
|2012-09-25 15:20:20|1||Wayne Dyer News Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0| The Garden of Your Life |What seeds are you planting?
|Think for a moment of a tomato plant. A healthy plant can have more than a hundred tomatoes on it. In order to get this tomato plant with all these tomatoes on it, we need to start with a small dried seed. That seed doesn’t look like a tomato plant. It sure doesn’t taste like a tomato plant. If you didn’t know for sure, you would not even believe it could be a tomato plant. However, let’s say you plant this seed in fertile soil, and you water it and let the sun shine on it.
When the first little tiny shoot comes up, you don’t stomp on it and say, “That’s not a tomato plant.” Rather, you look at it and say, “Oh boy! Here it comes,” and you watch it grow with delight. In time, if you continue to water it and give it lots of sunshine and pull away any weeds, you might have a tomato plant with more than a hundred luscious tomatoes.
It all begins with that one tiny seed.
It is the same with creating a new experience for yourself. The soil you plant in is your subconscious mind. The seed is the new affirmation. The whole new experience is in this tiny seed. You water it with affirmations. You let the sunshine of positive thoughts beam on it. You weed the garden by pulling out the negative thoughts that come up. And when you first see the tiniest little evidence, you don’t stomp on it and say, “That’s not enough!” Instead, you look at this first breakthrough and exclaim with glee, “Oh boy! Here it comes! It’s working!”
Then you watch it grow and see how your thoughts create your desire.
Let’s affirm: Spiritual growth often comes in ways I do not expect, so I regularly sweep out negative thoughts to clear the way for the new.
|2012-10-03 09:30:00|1|public://imports/3024.jpg|The Louise Hay Blog|louise_l_hay|0|louise hay,affirmations,seeds,tomatoes,positive thoughts,breakthrough,empowerment,inspiration,self-care The Spirit of Detroit|Motor City calls her children home.
|This November I have a speaking engagement at historic Cobo Center in my native city of Detroit, Michigan. You’ve heard me talk about my early years growing up in the Detroit area—from the foster homes to the university. Forty-two years ago, when Cobo Center was called Cobo Hall, I received my doctorate from Wayne State University in this same downtown events center on the banks of the Detroit River. Even though I was born in Detroit and used to tell my kids that Wayne State was named after me, I’m really only a humble observer of this great American city.
Albert Cobo, who gave his name to the center where I’ll be speaking, was mayor of Detroit when I was a kid. One of my first jobs was distributing flyers about Albert Cobo to the houses in my neighborhood. As for Wayne State University and Wayne County where Detroit is located, both were named for the Revolutionary War general known as “Mad Anthony” Wayne. My kids actually believed my story about the university being my namesake—at least for a while!
From motorcars to music, Detroit has always been a town for innovation and creativity. Now, after decades of economic upheaval, I have heard stories of native Detroiters returning home to help rebuild the city. Empty houses are turning into artists’ studios and empty lots where houses once stood are becoming community gardens. This is love in action. A community is a network of people—family, friends, neighbors—whose lives are connected by shared presence. Love connects us and builds the kind of spirit that we will have with us always.
Lately, I’ve had occasion to think about my connection to Detroit—my brother Dave’s wonderful book about our early years there and the celebration of my mother Hazel’s life, much of it spent living and working in the Detroit area. In November, Dave will be with me at Cobo Center as well as my daughter, Skye. How many other friends and family members will be present in our evening community? If you can make it, I’d love to see you there. I don’t get to Michigan very often these days so this will be a memorable night.
|2012-10-10 10:01:54|1||The Wayne Dyer Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0|wayne dyer,david dyer,skye dyer,family,community,cobo center,detroit,albert cobo Are You a Creative Complainer?|How to turn your whine into gold!
|While I was enjoying some time to myself at a local park, I overheard a conversation between two women who were talking about how frustrated they were with their jobs. They were sitting close by and, while I was doing my best to mind my own business, I couldn't help but notice how much time and energy they were investing in the problem. They kept repeating the details of the situation over and over again, complaining about the office, their co-workers, the boss, and so on. I thought about how I used to do the same thing in my own life - energize the very thing I didn't want to continue by repeatedly complaining about it.
When you consider the notion that our thoughts have creative power, complaining about something without doing anything to change it, takes on a whole new meaning. While talking about a problem is a normal (and important) way of working through the difficulties in life, fixating on it can end up magnetizing the very thing we most want to avoid. When we complain, ruminate, whine, moan or gossip about what isn't working in our lives, we may find that the problem persists or even shows up in a whole new form.
That said, there's gold to be found in the act of complaining and worrying. Just think about the strategy behind what you do. For example, if you're worried about money, you probably:
- Continuously think about what you don't have, how you'll pay off your debt, or upcoming bills.
- Talk with others about how bad the economy is or how it's going to get worse.
- Write about your fear in a journal.
- Go to sleep at night imagining worse-case scenarios in your mind.
Again, these may be useful ways to process the challenges we face in life, but when we get stuck on these behaviors alone without adding positive actions, we could end up contributing to the problem.
Now, imagine what might happen if you used these same strategies to your advantage. To tackle the problem with money so you can bring more abundance into your life, you could:
- Continuously think about what you do have by noticing the little things that make you happy right now.
- Start looking for and sharing the stories of abundance that show up in your life.
- Begin each day by writing down fifteen things you feel grateful for.
- Go to sleep at night imagining yourself living debt free or enjoying a new, higher-paying job.
These examples represent the fundamental steps of attraction: you think about it, talk about it, write about it, meditate on it, and imagine best-case scenarios. These steps work.
So, are you ready to start complaining in a whole new way?
Take Action Challenge
Choose one thing you've been worried about (or complaining about) and put those remarkable skills to better use by taking the actions outlined above.
Whether or not you believe it will work doesn't matter. It works anyway. How great is that?
|2012-10-17 15:16:02|1||The Cheryl Richardson Blog|cheryl_richardson|0|cheryl richardson,complaining,law of attraction,abundance,positive affirmations,gossip,creative power Be Kind to All Creatures|Our memories make us who we are.
|I am absolutely amazed and awed by the animal kingdom. Many a night I prefer to watch National Geographic Wild than any other TV shows. Over the last few years, I have learned so much about how animals interact with each other and how smart and compassionate they are. Therefore, I am increasingly appalled by those who say that animals do not have any mental reactions when they are held captive or physically abused.
Studies show that the psychological damage suffered by dogs living in puppy mills is profound and exists long after these dogs have been rescued. Even when placed in loving homes with individuals who take great care to handle them with love and tenderness, many of these dogs still have elevated levels of fears and phobias, as well as an inability to respond to affection. And there is more evidence that dogs who lack normal human contact and live predominately in cages often suffer from post-traumatic depression.
When I took a Psychology 101 course in college, we discussed something called hospitalism. This was a diagnosis used in the 30’s to describe infants who wasted away from the absence of human contact during their hospital stay. The symptoms could include retarded physical and mental development and disruption of perceptual-motor skills and language.
Many soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned with post-traumatic stress disorder. The sounds and images of war and this constant state of “fight or flight” leaves the brain more vulnerable. Often, these soldiers are unable to integrate into their former lives without counseling and the love and understanding of friends and family.
Many of the articles I have read about war and the toll it has taken on our mind/body and spirit are startling. How could you not be influenced by being a witness to death and destruction?
Whether it’s an animal, a baby, a young child or an adult, the brain holds on to memories long after they have passed; we cannot simply erase them. These memories are a part of who we are.
I often wish I could remove thoughts that seem to have a mind of their own. Round and round they go and they create feelings that can be positive or negative. Perhaps the day will come when there will be a global epiphany and we will all realize that kindness, respect, and compassion toward each other and our animal friends is the only way to live.
Lighten Up Your Week:
Keep kindness in your heart for all those around you and all creatures on this earth.
|2012-10-24 14:56:00|1||Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche|loretta_laroche|0|loretta laroche,animals,animal cruelty,post-traumatic syndrome,stress,positive thoughts,compassion,respect Was that the President at our I Can Do It Show?|4 Healing Tips from Abe Lincoln.
|“I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.”
– Abraham Lincoln
When you host an event in Washington, DC, you never know what to expect. And on the last day of our I Can Do It Conference earlier this month, I certainly didn’t expect to see President Abraham Lincoln walking through our hotel lobby!
Wearing his signature stovepipe hat, President Lincoln towered tall above me as I would have expected him to, wearing a dark neatly tailored double-breasted suit. He was carrying a carpetbag in one hand and a large book in the other. When I called to him, “Mr. Lincoln, Sir? Mr. President?” he turned his chiseled chin covered in a thick black beard and glanced my way.
It didn’t really matter if he had just delivered a singing telegram or was hired for a social gathering. For a few moments, I was able to step back in time and meet one of my beloved heroes face to face.
True to his warm demeanor that I’ve always read about, Mr. Lincoln bowed his head toward me and offered his hand. When he noticed my camera, he summoned a passerby, handed them his belongings and graciously posed for a photo. A man by the doorway asked why he was at this particular hotel and Mr. Lincoln smiled as he answered. “My House is not far from here.” Then he collected his book and briefcase, tipped his hat gently as he smiled and headed for the door.
As I watched him leave, I thought about this greatly admired historical icon who dedicated his life to healing a nation. And I wondered why he happened to be standing in the same building where a healing Hay House conference was being held just a few feet away from him.
If ever time would spin out of control and offer our 16th President a chance to experience the 21st Century, I believe Mr. Lincoln would have felt quite at home as a speaker at one of our I Can Do It Conferences. Based on his background and many attributes, I trust he would have embraced the opportunity to share his healing messages that still ring true today. And maybe this time, we’ll listen more closely.
Abraham Lincoln’s 4 Healing Messages for the 21st Century:
1. Look for the positive. Mr. Lincoln guided his country through one of the most devastating periods in national history—the Civil War. He faced many hardships and grim challenges in his life, but he never gave up hope. He focused on the brighter outcome. As he once said, “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
2. Practice self-care. Mr. Lincoln endured extraordinary pressures during the long Civil War. He persevered, but he did so by taking time to let go. One biographer revealed that Mr. Lincoln was known to sit down and write what he referred to as a “hot letter” to an individual he was angry with and then he would set the letter aside and not send it. He also enjoyed his solitude where he would often sit alone and read. Mr. Lincoln loved books: “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.”
3. Work together as one. Mr. Lincoln had a lot of compassion for people. During the Civil War years, this benevolent man would often be found on the battlefield and in the hospitals visiting the troops and the wounded. He also had strong faith in the people he served. He knew that if we stood together as one, we would find peace and create a better world: “A house divided by against itself cannot stand.
4. Live in the present moment. Here is a man who didn’t dwell in the past and kept his eye on the hope of the future. His mountainous obstacles were many, but Mr. Lincoln knew how to scale them. Here’s one of my favorite quotes that I believe he may have had pasted on his mirror: “In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”
Donna Abate
Website Manager
HealYourLife.com
|2012-10-26 15:49:28|1||Inside the Dust Jacket|hay_house|0|i can do it conference,hay house,abraham lincoln,civil war,gettysburg,present moment,self-care,positive thinking,president,white house Boo! |
Happy Halloween, Dear Ones.
|Happy Halloween!
|2012-10-31 10:00:00|1|public://imports/3110.jpg|The Louise Hay Blog|louise_l_hay|0|louise hay,halloween,mask,masquerade,boo Shining a Light on SAD|Shining a Light on SAD
|Our daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere were already waning, and now we’ve just turned back the clocks. This transition is difficult for many of you, I know. Being without light is difficult for me, too. Light is, after all, a nutrient.
I think we forget that most of the people on Earth lived without electricity as little as 125 years ago. For millennia, we honored the natural rest and restore cycle built into the year. It was once the norm to rise with the sun and sleep when it was dark. This meant sleeping more in the winter. Even the earth rested—very little grows in winter, although the trees send nourishment to the roots, so the cycle can begin again in spring.
We all need to “go into darkness” at times to rejuvenate and to take stock of our lives. This is particularly true after we’ve created something significant in the outer world. I experienced this after the launch of each of my books—and did my best to honor it.
You can fight this rhythm, but it may fight back!
If you are one of millions who experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), don’t let anyone tell you it’s all in your head. It’s not. It is, however, a nudge from Mother Nature that something in your life isn’t quite right. I’ve often said that SAD is to the annual calendar what PMS is to the monthly cycle. Like PMS, if your symptoms are severe it can mean that you aren’t honoring the needs of your body or spirit.
There are real physiological changes, which take place when the days grow shorter. The sleepiness that you feel has to do with your body’s production of melatonin. Light—for some, even the nightlight in the bathroom—can cause your body to stop producing melatonin. Of course the opposite is true. The more melatonin, the sleepier you will feel. Give in! Get an extra hour of sleep when you can.
You are also exposed to less sunlight and, therefore, less vitamin D. Numerous studies show that your risk for the winter blues increase if your vitamin D levels are sub-optimal. This is true of the aches and pains, which seem to come on in the cold. I strongly recommend that you watch your vitamin D levels, especially as winter continues (unless you live in a sunny climate). The optimal level for vitamin D is 32ng/ml – 75ng/ml. Aim for 50ng/ml or higher. Nutrient your body by taking a high-quality multi-vitamin/mineral, too. And avoid sugary snacks (and garlic mashed potatoes!). I know they’re tempting, but eating them will only make you more lethargic, because they raise your blood sugar and insulin levels significantly.
Another highly effective way to combat seasonal blues is with a light box. A light box gives off full-spectrum light and extends the number of daylight hours you get. I use my light box every winter beginning in October. Light boxes are great for rainy days, too. Although they sort of look like a tanning apparatus, the idea is to enjoy the ambient light from five to ten feet away in your peripheral vision. Staring into a light box can cause eyestrain and headaches, and should be avoided.
One Simple Tip
An easy way to add more full spectrum light is by replacing your light bulbs with full spectrum light bulbs. I did this many years ago. “Full spectrum” means they contain all the colors, including the blues, greens, and purples that florescent and incandescent bulbs don’t have.
Have a care with how you dispose of any light bulb that has a spiral pattern as opposed to a smooth globe. The compact florescent bulbs have the spirals and are touted for their energy efficiency. Unfortunately, they also contain mercury! The good news is the mercury is only released if you break the bulb. Most big box hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot are aware of this and offer a safe way to dispose of these bulbs. You just bring them to the store (unbroken).
You can also buy full spectrum light bulbs at most major hardware stores. They used to be extremely hard to find, but are now widely available. Some companies tout their products as being better quality. Since I haven’t tried them all, I can’t recommend one over another. In the past, I’ve purchased full-spectrum bulbs from the company Light for Health in Colorado, and, although more costly than those from the big box hardware stores, they have lasted for years! Dr. Joseph Mercola also sells his own line of light bulbs.
When to Seek Help
Like anything, if your SAD symptoms are severe, please seek the help of a medical professional. Depression hurts you, but it also hurts your family, your relationships, and can even jeopardize your career. If you want to try a natural treatment for a few weeks before going to a doctor, then go for a walk every day or do another form of exercise you enjoy. As you know, exercise releases feel-good endorphins. And if you walk outdoors, skip the sunglasses! Your body only gets the benefits when the light is taken in by your retinas.
p.s. If you’ve had a good experience with full-spectrum lighting, please leave me a note here or on my Facebook page. Remember, it can take up to 24 hours for posts to show up here.
Living in the realm of your highest self.
|Throughout life you’ve been through a conditioning process that’s created a mind-set overflowing with I am nots. As a schoolchild with a less than satisfactory grade on your report card, you thought to yourself, I am not smart. You place anywhere other than number one and say, I am not talented. You feel criticized and believe that I am not good. You look in the mirror and compare yourself to a glamorous movie idol or homecoming queen and tell yourself, I am not attractive. Your relationship fractures and you think, I am unloved or I am unworthy. These, and many more like them, are repeated throughout your developmental years and into adulthood, and become your core defining self-concept.
Overcoming this I am not mentality begins with trusting your inner world of spirit. There are no boundaries restricting your inner world. But your worldview and your self-concept in the outer world are defined by your five senses. The outer world is always changing, which, by our definition, means it is not real. This awareness that what remains unchanging is the only reality could lead you to experiencing a majestic wake-up call right here, right now.
Run through as large an inventory as you can of the things that you would like to define your life. Then make the shift in your imagination from an I am not or I am hoping to become to I am. You want what follows I am to be congruent with your highest self, which is God. Beginning with your inner dialogue, simply change the words that define your concept of yourself. Redefine your self-concept by choosing the words that you opt to place into your imagination. Try this rewording of your inner world as a beginning step to accessing the assistance of your higher self and fulfilling your desires.
Instead of I am incapable of getting a job, shift to I am capable. Similarly, replace proclamations of I am not able to live in peace with I am peace. I am unlucky in love is replaced by I am love. I am unworthy of happiness becomes I am happiness. The words I am, which you consistently use to define who you are and what you are capable of, are holy expressions for the name of God—the highest aspect of yourself. Break lifelong habits of unwittingly besmirching this holy name. Discontinue using pejorative labels to cast aspersions on your holy self. Always make your very first consideration the honoring of your Divine spirit. This will allow you to rise to previously unimagined heights. Teach your outer self to accept the unlimited power of your inner spirit and the things you place in your imagination can become true for you.
|2012-11-07 09:45:00|1||The Wayne Dyer Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0|wayne dyer,god,highest self,self esteem,self-image,i am,manifesting,wishes fulfilled,positivity A Gratitude Attitude|Express thanksgiving every day.
|My dear friend, Daniel Peralta, contributed to my book Gratitude: A Way of Life a number of years ago and wrote the following wonderful thoughts about gratitude.
When you express gratitude, you raise the vibrations around you to a higher frequency. You create positive energy that emanates out from you and returns to you as wonderful experiences. You become magnetic. Good things and good people gravitate toward you because you’re such a joy and delight to be around.
An attitude of gratitude is naturally attractive. It has the power to turn challenges into possibilities, problems into solutions, and losses into gains. It shifts the energy. It expands our vision and allows us to see what might normally be invisible to someone with a limiting attitude.
Gratitude is a prayer for goodness to abound. I think the words “ thank you” are two of the most beautiful words in the language. They can light up someone’s face and help the other person know that he or she is appreciated. It opens the doors to our hearts and allows us to feel connected.
Let’s spend as many moments as we can every day being grateful for all the good that’s in our lives.
Affirm: I express gratitude and thanksgiving every day, in every way. Doing so is an important part of my life.
|2012-11-14 10:00:00|1|public://imports/3130.jpg|The Louise Hay Blog|louise_l_hay|0|louise hay,gratitude,thanksgiving,problems,solutions,daniel peralta,attitude of gratitude,prayer,goodness,appreciation Got the Seasonal Blues?|How to light up your life.
|Our daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere were already waning, and now we’ve just turned back the clocks. This transition is difficult for many of you, I know. Being without light is difficult for me, too. Light is, after all, a nutrient.
I think we forget that most of the people on Earth lived without electricity as little as 125 years ago. For millennia, we honored the natural rest and restore cycle built into the year. It was once the norm to rise with the sun and sleep when it was dark. This meant sleeping more in the winter. Even the earth rested—very little grows in winter, although the trees send nourishment to the roots, so the cycle can begin again in spring.
We all need to “go into darkness” at times to rejuvenate and to take stock of our lives. This is particularly true after we’ve created something significant in the outer world. I experienced this after the launch of each of my books—and did my best to honor it.
You can fight this rhythm, but it may fight back!
If you are one of millions who experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), don’t let anyone tell you it’s all in your head. It’s not. It is, however, a nudge from Mother Nature that something in your life isn’t quite right. I’ve often said that SAD is to the annual calendar what PMS is to the monthly cycle. Like PMS, if your symptoms are severe it can mean that you aren’t honoring the needs of your body or spirit.
There are real physiological changes, which take place when the days grow shorter. The sleepiness that you feel has to do with your body’s production of melatonin. Light—for some, even the nightlight in the bathroom—can cause your body to stop producing melatonin. Of course the opposite is true. The more melatonin, the sleepier you will feel. Give in! Get an extra hour of sleep when you can.
You are also exposed to less sunlight and, therefore, less vitamin D. Numerous studies show that your risk for the winter blues increase if your vitamin D levels are sub-optimal. This is true of the aches and pains, which seem to come on in the cold. I strongly recommend that you watch your vitamin D levels, especially as winter continues (unless you live in a sunny climate). The optimal level for vitamin D is 32ng/ml – 75ng/ml. Aim for 50ng/ml or higher. Nutrient your body by taking a high-quality multi-vitamin/mineral, too. And avoid sugary snacks (and garlic mashed potatoes!). I know they’re tempting, but eating them will only make you more lethargic, because they raise your blood sugar and insulin levels significantly.
Another highly effective way to combat seasonal blues is with a light box. A light box gives off full-spectrum light and extends the number of daylight hours you get. I use my light box every winter beginning in October. Light boxes are great for rainy days, too. Although they sort of look like a tanning apparatus, the idea is to enjoy the ambient light from five to ten feet away in your peripheral vision. Staring into a light box can cause eyestrain and headaches, and should be avoided.
One Simple Tip
An easy way to add more full spectrum light is by replacing your light bulbs with full spectrum light bulbs. I did this many years ago. “Full spectrum” means they contain all the colors, including the blues, greens, and purples that florescent and incandescent bulbs don’t have.
Have a care with how you dispose of any light bulb that has a spiral pattern as opposed to a smooth globe. The compact florescent bulbs have the spirals and are touted for their energy efficiency. Unfortunately, they also contain mercury! The good news is the mercury is only released if you break the bulb. Most big box hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot are aware of this and offer a safe way to dispose of these bulbs. You just bring them to the store (unbroken).
You can also buy full spectrum light bulbs at most major hardware stores. They used to be extremely hard to find, but are now widely available. Some companies tout their products as being better quality. Since I haven’t tried them all, I can’t recommend one over another. In the past, I’ve purchased full-spectrum bulbs from the company Light for Health in Colorado, and, although more costly than those from the big box hardware stores, they have lasted for years! Dr. Joseph Mercola also sells his own line of light bulbs.
When to Seek Help
Like anything, if your SAD symptoms are severe, please seek the help of a medical professional. Depression hurts you, but it also hurts your family, your relationships, and can even jeopardize your career. If you want to try a natural treatment for a few weeks before going to a doctor, then go for a walk every day or do another form of exercise you enjoy. As you know, exercise releases feel-good endorphins. And if you walk outdoors, skip the sunglasses! Your body only gets the benefits when the light is taken in by your retinas.
p.s. If you’ve had a good experience with full-spectrum lighting, please leave me a note here or on my Facebook page. Remember, it can take up to 24 hours for posts to show up here.
This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. All material in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program.
|2012-11-20 08:45:00|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|christiane northrup,sad,seasonal affective disorder,melatonin,vitamin d,full spectrum lighting,light box,depression Cherish the Gift of YOU|Try a little inner gratefulness.
|This month’s blog post is an important reminder. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a beautiful holiday and, if not, may you be firmly connected to every little thing you feel grateful for in your life.
We’re celebrating Thanksgiving this week – the holiday of gratitude that invites us to connect with and appreciate the abundance in our lives. As I took a shower this morning, I thought about some of the things I feel grateful for - hot water, a window in my bathroom with a beautiful view, a cat that makes me smile every single day, and a husband who cares for me deeply.
As I continued to shower, I considered other things to feel thankful for - inner things that often get overlooked. I'm thankful for my commitment to personal growth, for example, the discipline that keeps me practicing good self-care, and the courage to make difficult choices in spite of the anxiety or guilt I might feel.
We all have inner qualities or ways of being that serve us (and others) and they deserve to be acknowledged and appreciated, too. So, this month, I invite you to take a few moments to do the exercise in the Take Action Challenge below. You'll be so grateful you did.
Take Action Challenge
Stop right now and take out a piece of paper and pen. Think about the ways in which you've changed and grown over this past year. How do you approach life differently - in a way that honors you and your relationships? What kind of commitment have you made to your own personal growth? What behaviors have you let go of and what new habits have you developed to keep your self-care in check? Write them all down!
Be grateful for these inner gifts - they are the fuel that will sustain you and carry you through your amazing life.
|2012-11-21 10:00:00|1||The Cheryl Richardson Blog|cheryl_richardson|0|cheryl richardson,holidays,self-care,body,mind,heart,holiday spending,stress,happiness,patience A Four-Letter Word for Freedom|How to diffuse the “F” Bomb.
|“It probably doesn’t matter as much as you think it does.”
– John C. Parkin
How do I begin a column about John C. Parkin’s new book when it’s all about the “F” word? Yes, that word. The one that our mothers taught us never to say.
I’ll play it safe and try an historic approach: Did you know that there are many theories about how the “F” word first came about? Some say that it originated during the Middle Ages when the growing population was being controlled by the reigning king. If a couple wanted children, they had to seek royal permission. Thus the phrase emerged: Fornicating Under Consent of the King—later shortened to its four-letter version. Others say that it is credited to Irish law where the crime of adultery was documented on the police blotter as being booked For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Both acronyms, however, are said to be mere urban legends.
Oh, who am I kidding? Whatever its origin, one thing is true: The “F” word has caused quite a ruckus throughout history—and still continues to do so today. It was solely responsible for the banning of James Joyce’s famous epic Ulysses, the censorship of Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the trial of its publisher; the imprisonment of stand-up comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce, the invocation of the 10-second delay for live television broadcasts after singer Bono let it slip out at the Golden Globe Awards, the constant trouble that George Carlin was getting himself into, and the list goes on. And let’s not forget all of the “frakking” dialogue on the new version of Battlestar Galactica!
Of course, the “F” word may have found more comfortable places to live nowadays—on cable TV, at many sporting events, in text messages, in office lunchrooms and—thanks to Gordon Ramsey’s fondness for the word—in its own TV show.
However, let the truth be told. Wherever and whenever this expletive is used—as a noun, an interjection, or endeared with the name of a family member—it’s bound to rattle a few nerves.
And that’s John’s point. He wants to shake you up! He sees us in our dualistic world where we’re trapped and free, tense and relaxed, sick and well and he wants to move us from bad to good, from stressed to chilled and from materialistic to peaceful. When you read John’s amusing and empowering book F**K It Therapy, you’ll laugh along as he shows us this “new therapy” of using the power of the queen-mother of all dirty words to shake you out of the stress and anxiety that dominates your daily life. John offers you many opportunities to toss this “F” bomb over all of your troubles—toxic relationships, illness, money woes, self-control issues, fear, self-doubt, perfectionism, a lousy job or even the weather—and watch the expressive explosion clear them away.
In his very lighthearted book, John also has a valuable lesson for us. He believes that we are stuck in a prison of our own making. He believes that we hold on to too many things.
Do you have trouble surrendering that inner junk that makes you miserable—taking things too personally, not feeling good enough, worrying too much about how you look and what others think? John’s solution: Just say those two liberating and colorful words and let go of your pain.
It may be a little shocking at first, but soon you’ll notice something quite astonishing: The more you use it, the more it loses its power and allows you the freedom to do whatever it is you want to do.
If you’re sensitive to this familiar expletive, this may not be the book for you. Though, you certainly may know several brazen relatives and friends who may benefit from it. Click here to purchase F**K It Therapy.
Thank you for keeping an open mind. Thank you for letting us get awfully close to crossing the line. And for those who dare, we invite you to taste the spiritual freedom of telling all of your trouble to just ______ (We’ll let you fill in the blank!)
Sorry Mom!
Donna Abate
Website Manager
HealYourLife.com
Be the excitement you wish for.
|I have always been a little stymied by individuals who declare their boredom. I grew up as an only child with a family that was always doing something! I was bored once and my mother decided I should be occupied by cleaning the house. Her response to me was “I’ll give you bored!” Needless to say, I never said it again.
There are so many wonderful things to do that can make life rich and succulent. My biggest regret is that I don’t have enough time on the planet to do them all. Our mind, body and spirit need to be challenged or injected with enthusiasm and passion on a regular basis. If we don’t invest in exploring the vast opportunities this journey affords us, we may soon resemble a dry, withered river bed.
I like to walk my talk, and so several years ago, I began going to a nearby recording studio to do some singing. I didn’t tell anyone, since most people are so afraid to try anything new that they will often try to protect you by trying to dissuade you. “Why do you want to do that?” often becomes standard feedback instead of “Great! Go for it!” Since I have never been one to follow the path of least resistance, I persevered. Initially, I sounded more like Ethel Merman, who was a Broadway diva with a bodacious voice. As time went on, my instructor encouraged me to find a softer voice and viola! One day my new voice emerged.
I also believe in serendipity. Four years ago, I met my partner Kenny, who is an extraordinary jazz musician. I decided that we should make a CD with jazz standards that I felt spoke to our relationship. It was a long and tedious journey. Recording an album is quite a task. I discovered a new appreciation for musicians and the many vocalists I’ve listened to throughout the years. I also learned how important it is to deliver a song with the right emotion, phrasing and of course the right pitch. The most important facet of doing something different is the recognition that you can!
Lighten Up Your Week:
I encourage you to get inspired to “change it up” this week. Take some dance lessons, learn to fly a plane, join a cooking class, become an advocate for your favorite cause. Don’t just sit around and wish life was more exciting. Become the excitement you wish for.
|2012-11-28 11:00:00|1||Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche|loretta_laroche|0|loretta laroche,boredom,enthusiasm,ethel merman,broadway,music,jazz,singing Dreams: Your Inner Guidance Every Night|Dreams: Your Inner Guidance Every Night
|Our souls broadcast wisdom to us every night in the form of dreams. When we learn how to pay attention to our dreams, we develop a very streamlined way to access our inner wisdom. And the more you practice, the more skilled you become. Dream recall is well worth the effort.
Though I’ve always been interested in dreams, I have become a much better student of my own dreams over the past six months or so by working with Dr. Doris E. Cohen. Dr. Cohen is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who has spent decades doing dream analysis as a way to help people on their soul’s path. Dr. Cohen explains that everything in our dreams is symbolic, and calls dreams the language of the unconscious. For example:
- The basement in a house represents the subconscious
- A door indicates access to something that perhaps wasn’t there before
- Technology indicates the need to upgrade something
- Water indicates cleansing of old emotions
- Clothes represent the roles you play
If you can interpret this language and make connections between your unconscious thoughts and your waking life, you can discover a lot about yourself and what makes you happy. In doing this exercise over time, I have opened up an entirely new relationship with my unconscious and my soul. And now, I often know what a dream is trying to tell me without needing much outside interpretation. Here’s an example:
I dreamed that I was in the basement of my house (my subconscious), and a man was there, installing a new Internet router (obviously a sign that I was now upgrading my ability to access my subconscious). There was a bit of water on the floor (which indicates cleansing of old emotions), which is not usually there in waking life. I found a big box of old stuff, which I decided to go through. And at that moment, I found a big door—as big as a garage door—that led out to the lawn.
I opened the door to the outside, letting in a lot of air and light. (The door indicates easy access to the subconscious [basement] while also bringing in air and sunlight to what was formerly dark.) I thought the contents of the box would be damp and moldy, but everything was in good condition. There was an unused set of grilling tools still in the box and also lots and lots of clothes. I tried on the clothes, showing my daughter a “romper” from the 70’s and saying, “Everything old is new again,” because that style is back in fashion. Most of the clothes didn’t fit or were not appropriate (clothes represent the roles we play in life). I finally decided to take everything in the box to Goodwill or the dump. (Throwing out old clothes means discarding obsolete roles from the past that no longer work.)
Doris suggests giving each dream a title, as though it were a newspaper headline. That exercise alone is highly valuable—I often find that the title nails the meaning of the dream. Here’s the title I gave my dream: “Bringing new communication technology into basement; airing out and removing old tools and clothes.” The point of the headline title is to summarize the main points of the dream—remembering that though the title may sound superficial, it is actually shorthand for the symbols in the dream. In the case of this dream, I was bringing in better ways (Internet router) to communicate with the outer world from my deepest inner being while bringing air and light into a previously dark space. It also means I’m discarding old roles (clothes) to make way for new ones.
It is also possible to do a “dream incubation,” which is a way to ask your subconscious to give you a particular dream for guidance. I did this over 20 years ago when I was trying to decide on which publisher I wanted to work with when writing my first book. Though the details are foggy now, I recall that one of my choices was a man who, in my dreams, was shadowy, which meant I didn’t trust him. Ultimately I chose someone else.
Dreams can also help you with your health. One of my colleagues once dreamt that he was bleeding to death from his rectum. The dream was so vivid and frightening that he went in for a check up, including a colonoscopy. It turns out he had very early colon cancer, which was completely treatable. He credits the dream with saving his life.
When you start to interact more consciously with your dreams, it’s a good idea to be accountable to someone else. I recommend creating a dream buddy or a dream circle where you routinely discuss your dreams with someone else. If you set aside a regular time to discuss your dreams, you’ll find that you remember more.
One more thing. It’s VERY common to be going about your day and suddenly remember your dream from the night before. PAY ATTENTION. Your soul is trying to tell you something.
I’d LOVE to hear from you about your revelatory dreams. So please post your experiences on my blog!
|2012-12-01 01:00:00|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|dreams,doris cohen It’s Good to Be a Kid|Have your happy childhood today!
|It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. When you watch children playing, notice how totally involved they are in what they’re doing, how they run everywhere they go. Notice how they are oblivious to future problems almost as if they have given themselves permission to be free and they show it by becoming totally absorbed in their play. To be more childlike, you don’t have to give up being an adult. The fully integrated person is capable of being both an adult and a child simultaneously. Recapture the childlike feelings of wide-eyed excitement, spontaneous appreciation, cutting loose, and being full of awe and wonder at this magnificent universe.
Here’s what kids know how to do best:
Laugh!
The child in you, like all children, loves to laugh, to be around people who can laugh at themselves and life. Children instinctively know that the more laughter we have in our lives, the better. They will go out of their way to linger with anyone who makes them laugh, who can go along with their jokes.
Keep Fantasy Alive
Children love to dream, to make up stories, use their imaginations—and so would you if you’d let yourself. Remember how you loved to draw, make up verses, or songs, hear stories, make up your own games, wander aimlessly into your fantasy excursions with anyone who was willing to listen or participate? That rich fantasy life was not only great fun but also one of the healthiest aspects of your life as a whole. All of life’s best realities start with “childlike” fantasies.
Be Spontaneous
Notice how children are willing to try anything on a moment’s notice. The child inside you wants to be impulsive and adventuresome, without always having to plan things in advance. Spontaneity is in many ways the key to all childlike behavior. That ability to stop suddenly by the roadside when something interesting catches your eye leads directly to childlike immediacy and “wonder in the face of the world.”
Accept the World as It Is (Be Trusting)
When the infant comes into the world, it has no thought that the world can or should be any different from what it is. The infant just opens its eyes in wonder and fascination at what is out there and makes its way in that world as best it can. The child inside of you knows how to take things as they come, how to deal most effectively and happily with everything and everyone it encounters on this planet. If you can recapture that childlike essence of your being you can stay “forever young at heart.”
These glorious childlike qualities that can help you enjoy your life each and every day are no further from you than your fingers are from your hands. They are an inalienable part of you. If you really love that child within you, and really care to be a child again in the ways I’m talking about, you cannot help but be at peace with yourself.
When you have inner peace, you can do just about anything. Give yourself more of that childlike inner peace today, by letting yourself be that spontaneous, in-the-moment, fun-loving child again. Or, as Friedrich Schiller put it, “Keep true to the dreams of thy youth.”
|2012-12-05 10:00:00|1||The Wayne Dyer Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0|wayne dyer,childhood,spontaneity,present moment,laughter,wonder,awe,appreciation,awareness,acceptance,fantasy,imagination,dreams Happy Holidays!|Let the spirit of love flow.
|Go back in time and remember the very best holiday you ever had as a child. Bring the memory up in your mind and see it very clearly. Remember the sights, the smells, the tastes and touches, and the people who were there. What were some of the things that you did?
If you didn’t have a wonderful holiday as a child, make one up. Make it exactly as you would like it to be. As you think of this special holiday, notice that your heart is opening.
Perhaps one of the most wonderful things about that particular holiday was the love that was present.
Let the spirit of love flow through you now. Bring into your heart all the people you know and care about. Surround them with this love. Know that you can carry this special feeling of holiday love and spirit with you everywhere and all the time, not only during the holiday season. You are love. You are spirit. You are light. You are energy. And so it is!
Happy Holidays, dear ones!
|2012-12-12 10:00:00|1|public://imports/3163.jpg|The Louise Hay Blog|louise_l_hay|0|louise hay,spirit,love,holidays,family,light,energy Take Good Care of Yourself|4 self-care tips for the holidays.
|As we head into the last few weeks of the year, I wanted to offer you a few self-care reminders designed to support you in entering 2013 feeling excited about this next, great phase of your life.
During the holidays, be sure to...
- Take good care of your financial health. Spend well within your means. Remember that the time and love you give others is the most valuable (and desired) gift of all.
- Take good care of your body. Don't be tempted to throw caution to the wind when it comes to eating and drinking. Better to make conscious choices about what you put into your body. Feed your whole being - body, mind, and spirit - rather than just your taste buds.
- Take good care of your heart. One of my favorite things to do during this time of year is to enjoy spontaneous visits with friends I haven't seen in a while. Schedule a last minute breakfast or afternoon glass of wine and catch up.
- Take good care of your mind. Release the pressure to get everything done by telling yourself, I have all the time in the world. Or, keep reminding yourself, I make others happy by making myself happy first. And feel free to use one of my favorite affirmations while shopping, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be with than you!
There you go - a few small acts of self-care that will make a big difference if you use them. Here's the key to success: It's all about the practice.
Take Action Challenge
Choose at least one act of self-care from above, print it out, and keep it with you this month. Refer to it often and be sure to follow through!
|2012-12-19 11:15:00|1||The Cheryl Richardson Blog|cheryl_richardson|0|cheryl richardson,holidays,self-care,body,mind,heart,holiday spending,stress,happiness,success,patience Dream On|Your nighttime inner guidance.
|Our souls broadcast wisdom to us every night in the form of dreams. When we learn how to pay attention to our dreams, we develop a very streamlined way to access our inner wisdom. And the more you practice, the more skilled you become. Dream recall is well worth the effort.
Though I’ve always been interested in dreams, I have become a much better student of my own dreams over the past six months or so by working with Dr. Doris E. Cohen. Dr. Cohen is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who has spent decades doing dream analysis as a way to help people on their soul’s path. Dr. Cohen explains that everything in our dreams is symbolic, and calls dreams the language of the unconscious. For example:
• The basement in a house represents the subconscious
• A door indicates access to something that perhaps wasn’t there before
• Technology indicates the need to upgrade something
• Water indicates cleansing of old emotions
• Clothes represent the roles you play
If you can interpret this language and make connections between your unconscious thoughts and your waking life, you can discover a lot about yourself and what makes you happy. In doing this exercise over time, I have opened up an entirely new relationship with my unconscious and my soul. And now, I often know what a dream is trying to tell me without needing much outside interpretation. Here’s an example: I dreamed that I was in the basement of my house (my subconscious), and a man was there, installing a new Internet router (obviously a sign that I was now upgrading my ability to access my subconscious). There was a bit of water on the floor (which indicates cleansing of old emotions), which is not usually there in waking life. I found a big box of old stuff, which I decided to go through. And at that moment, I found a big door—as big as a garage door—that led out to the lawn.
I opened the door to the outside, letting in a lot of air and light. (The door indicates easy access to the subconscious [basement] while also bringing in air and sunlight to what was formerly dark.) I thought the contents of the box would be damp and moldy, but everything was in good condition. There was an unused set of grilling tools still in the box and also lots and lots of clothes. I tried on the clothes, showing my daughter a “romper” from the 70’s and saying, “Everything old is new again,” because that style is back in fashion. Most of the clothes didn’t fit or were not appropriate (clothes represent the roles we play in life). I finally decided to take everything in the box to Goodwill or the dump. (Throwing out old clothes means discarding obsolete roles from the past that no longer work.)
Doris suggests giving each dream a title, as though it were a newspaper headline. That exercise alone is highly valuable—I often find that the title nails the meaning of the dream. Here’s the title I gave my dream: “Bringing new communication technology into basement; airing out and removing old tools and clothes.” The point of the headline title is to summarize the main points of the dream—remembering that though the title may sound superficial, it is actually shorthand for the symbols in the dream. In the case of this dream, I was bringing in better ways (Internet router) to communicate with the outer world from my deepest inner being while bringing air and light into a previously dark space. It also means I’m discarding old roles (clothes) to make way for new ones.It is also possible to do a “dream incubation,” which is a way to ask your subconscious to give you a particular dream for guidance. I did this over 20 years ago when I was trying to decide on which publisher I wanted to work with when writing my first book. Though the details are foggy now, I recall that one of my choices was a man who, in my dreams, was shadowy, which meant I didn’t trust him. Ultimately I chose someone else.
Dreams can also help you with your health. One of my colleagues once dreamt that he was bleeding to death from his rectum. The dream was so vivid and frightening that he went in for a check up, including a colonoscopy. It turns out he had very early colon cancer, which was completely treatable. He credits the dream with saving his life.
When you start to interact more consciously with your dreams, it’s a good idea to be accountable to someone else. I recommend creating a dream buddy or a dream circle where you routinely discuss your dreams with someone else. If you set aside a regular time to discuss your dreams, you’ll find that you remember more.
One more thing. It’s VERY common to be going about your day and suddenly remember your dream from the night before. PAY ATTENTION. Your soul is trying to tell you something.
I’d LOVE to hear from you about your revelatory dreams. So please post your experiences in the Comments below!
This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. All material in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program.
|2012-12-21 12:00:00|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|christiane northrup,dreams,soul,intuition,healing,inner guidance Heaven Help Us!|Top 10 gift ideas for angel fans.
|Do you believe in angels? Did you know that more than half of all adults in this country believe in these heavenly helpers? Or that 1 out of 5 people who say they are not religious believe that they have a guardian angel watching over them? That’s what a random survey by Baylor University revealed a few years ago.
In light of the challenges we tackled so far this year—struggling to keep our jobs, caring for our elderly parents, trying to pay our bills, and surviving sometimes severe weather conditions such as Hurricane Sandy—now more than ever, people from all walks of life and all regions of the world are placing their faith and trust in the angels.
“Your guardian angels are with you every moment of every day. They unconditionally love you, no matter what, and want the best for you,” says Doreen Virtue, angel expert and author of a multitude of Hay House books about angels. “They simply want to help us with whatever brings us peace.”
And the best part is—all we have to do is ask!
Since it’s the holiday season and a time when we cherish the angels around us even more dearly, I’d like to dedicate this column to these Divine messengers who are by our sides when we need them most. And if you’re searching for the perfect gift for the angel enthusiast in your family or circle of friends, here are a few suggestions for those Christmas stockings, Kwanzaa packages, Chanukah gifts and holiday presents that will be adorned with a ribbon of hope and love from our ever-present angels.
Top 10 Gifts for Angel Enthusiasts
The Angel Therapy Handbook (Doreen Virtue): This is the most comprehensive guide to learn anything and everything about angels, including who they are, how to communicate with them and how to give angel readings. A great gift for spiritual teachers, healers and writers.
Messages from Margaret (Gerry Gavin): Here is the fascinating story about a skeptical man who reached the end of his rope and then reached out for Divine guidance. When he did, his guardian angel Margaret answered. And through automatic writing, Margaret is offering insights and predictions about the world and our future.
Archangels and Ascended Masters (Doreen Virtue): Do you know which archangel to invoke if you’re having car trouble or a relationship problem? Do you know which Divine deity to call upon to help you with your addiction or a faulty computer? This handy reference guide lists 77 Heavenly helpers and their specialties.
My Angel Diary 2013 (Jenny Smedley) : Here’s the perfect appointment book for the busy angel enthusiast. It’s filled with angel-inspired wisdom, angelic tools for harmonious days, monthly angel stories, special meditations, daily angel messages and plenty of room to jot down notes. A wonderful way to walk with the angels every day!
Life Purpose Oracle Cards (Doreen Virtue): Are you in-between careers and struggling to discover your mission in life? Do you want to know your life purpose? Get ready to shuffle these cards and let the angels infuse wisdom to you for clear and specific answers about your spiritual path.
Angels Whisper in My Ear (Kyle Gray): As you read this moving book, you’ll take an emotional and uplifting journey with the UK’s youngest professional psychic medium and discover how to communicate with your angels and the Other Side. Includes incredible stories of hope from the angels.
Signs from Above (Doreen Virtue and Charles Virtue): Do your angels send you signs? Do you see rainbows, coins or numbers that appear out of the ordinary? What do these signs mean? How can you ask your angels for more signs? This popular book will help you interactively communicate with the angels and confirm their presence in your life.
Angel Tarot Cards (Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine): Here is the first tarot card deck that is 100 percent gentle, safe and trustworthy—fueled by angel power! You won’t find any harsh or intimidating images of skeletons or fools here. If you love angels, you’ll love this positive new spin on the popular mid 15th Century divination tool.
Angel Kids (Jacky Newcomb): There are thousands of children around the world with enhanced sixth-sense abilities for communicating with angels, talking to deceased grandparents and remembering a life before they were born. Is your child one of them? Read amazing angel encounters and learn tips on how to encourage these gifted children.
Daily Guidance from Your Angels (Doreen Virtue): Start your day with an inspiring message from the angels! This beautifully illustrated gift edition features a daily channeled meditation from the angels along with a “Thought for the Day.” Includes handy ribbon bookmark. A limited supply of autographed editions also available!
Angels ROCK!
Donna Abate
Website Manager
HealYourLife.com
P.S. Please join me in sending a brigade of angels, along with many prayers and hugs to our family members and friends (and YOU—our newsletter readers) in New Jersey (my home state), New York and all of the neighboring areas that were hit by Hurricane Sandy. Together with our donations, gifts, support, love—and the help of our Divine messengers, we will move forward to rebuild, recover and heal.
|2012-12-24 11:00:00|1||Inside the Dust Jacket|hay_house|0|angel,doreen virtue,gerry gavin,jacky newcomb,kyle gray,jenny smedley,radleigh valentine,psychic medium,daily guidance,guardian angel Start Using Your Show Towels|It’s time to simplify your life.
|As my mother got older, she became more and more invested in reducing the amount of stuff she lived with. Every time I went to visit her, she would nag the hell out of me until I agreed to clean out yet another space. I kept insisting that eventually she would be sitting on a crate in her empty house. She would look at me with knowing eyes and utter her famous phrase “You’ll see!”
I often got upset by her alluding to the fact that someday I would be walking in her shoes, especially since youth predicates much of its behavior on the illusion that we are immortal. I now find myself engaging in some of my mothers’ behavior. I have a need to clean out spaces and rid myself of stuff that I don’t use.
When I was younger, I had a need to keep my home and its contents looking as if they were forever new. Everything was in place and my family had to treat their surroundings as if they were docents in a museum. I may have even had some velvet ropes to complete the look.
When I got divorced and faced the ensuing difficulties of being a single parent, I found that it became harder and harder to maintain my patterns of perfectionism. Fatigue could be the new cure for trying to be perfect. Over the years I have rid myself of the many decorative pillows I had strewn on my bed. It would take me at least ten minutes to take them all off, and turn down the bed. What a ridiculous waste of energy!
Towels are no longer “show towels.” but ones that everyone uses. I know now that no one who visits my home knows the difference. And if they do, they probably need medication.
Now, I don’t need to display everything I own for those who visit. I realize that too much of a good thing really is too much”. Sometimes I even hear my mother’s voice. I now understand why she wanted to simplify her life. It was her way of not expending energy on things that didn’t matter so she could spend time on things that did. Who knows I just might end up in an empty room sitting on a crate staring at my navel! I just hope it reclines and has a foot rest.
Lighten Up Your Week:
This week: Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.
|2012-12-26 10:00:00|1||Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche|loretta_laroche|0|loretta laroche,perfectionism,simplify,space clearing,family,mother,energy It’s No Accident|How the pieces fall into place.
|Looking back over my life, I can see the most amazing patterns emerge. Connections and synchronicities are always there—whether we can spot them in the moment or not. This is a Universe where there are no accidents. Here’s one example:
When I was 27 and working as a counselor in a high school in Michigan, I gave a talk to the parents one night about what I hoped to offer their sons and daughters that school year. The next day a student named Nancy came into my office with a book. Her mother had attended my talk the night before and decided to offer me a bonus volume she had received from the Book-of-the-Month Club. Nancy explained that, based on what I had said in my talk, her mom thought I would like this compendium of great thought—a collection of work by famous philosophers, scholars, and poets. Amazingly, that book changed the course of my life.
It happened that I was scheduled to talk to my new doctoral advisor at Wayne State University that night. I had to declare a plan, a direction for my course of study. I had hours to pass after school and before my appointment at Wayne State so I sat down to take a look at Nancy’s mom’s book. There I read an essay by Abraham Maslow called “The Whole Man.” Maslow argued that instead of spending time investigating the behavior and treatment of the most troubled and dysfunctional people, psychologists should take a new tack and study the lives and habits of the self-actualized person. “The study of self-actualized people must be the source of a whole new universal science of psychology,” said Maslow. He had observed a small percentage of people who appeared to live at an exalted level of consciousness—the self-actualized.
By that night when I met with my advisor and mentor Dr. Mildred Peters at Wayne State, I had completely changed my plans for doctoral study. I told her, “I don’t want to study what’s wrong with people. I want to study what’s right.” The only difference I had with Maslow was the idea that only a small percentage of humans were capable of becoming self-actualized. If one person can do it, I thought, then why can’t everyone do it? And so began my course of study into how lives can be made better through self-awareness. When we realize who we are, when we find our highest selves, there are no limits.
|2013-01-02 12:00:00|1||The Wayne Dyer Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0|wayne dyer,doctoral study,psychology,abraham maslow,self-actualization,book of the month club The Shift ~ Special Offer for January 2013!|In celebration of The Shift Super Soul Sunday special on OWN, Dr. Wayne Dyer is offering The Shift Expanded Version DVD for $10 ($29.95 value). Or, watch the movie online for only $1.99 ($4.95 value). Visit www.drwaynedyer.com for details.
|In celebration of The Shift: Super Soul Sunday special on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Dr. Wayne Dyer is offering The Shift Expanded Version DVD for $10 ($29.95 value). Or, watch the movie online for only $1.99 ($4.95 value). This offer is available throughout the month of January in 2013, visit www.drwaynedyer.com for details.
|2013-01-01 13:01:28|1||Wayne Dyer News Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0| If You Only Make One Resolution|If You Only Make One Resolution
|Having spent the last 30 years assisting women in healing themselves on all levels and at all life stages, I've come to see that our bodies are the true altars—the most sacred places in our lives. Without flourishingly healthy bodies, nothing else matters, not even wealth. Yet some of you still take your bodies for granted, instead of deliberately pay loving attention to them.
If you think that paying loving attention to your body sounds silly, selfish, or self-absorbed, then consider this: Your body needs regular doses of comfort and pleasure to be optimally healthy. Without it, you are much more likely to seek pleasure from external and unsustainable sources and behaviors, including drugs, alcohol, and sugar.
My top resolution for women this year is simple: “Listen to and respect your body more than you have ever done before.” I’ve written the following user-friendly affirmations to get you started.
1. I cherish and love my body all the time, no matter what—even when I feel too fat, too old, too weak, or have cellulite. My body is where my soul lives. I beautify and worship this temple when I care for and love myself—and that includes activities like flossing my teeth, exercising and stretching, eating slowly and sensually, and breathing fully.
2. When stressed, I do things that bring me comfort—a nap, a cup of tea, a walk in the fresh air. I always avoid criticizing or beating myself up.
3. I deliberately bring goodness and pleasure into my life—even when it's so much easier to complain. I know how easy it is to go negative, how easy it is to focus on what's not working. But I now look moment to moment for what's going right. And my good—and the pleasure associated with it—expands.
4. I honor my emotions—all of them—especially sorrow, grief, and anger. I feel these fully instead of reaching for a glass of wine, a cookie, or a pill. I know that my body and soul will let me know what I need if I take a moment to truly feel my emotions. I acknowledge that I cannot heal negative emotions with my mind. Healing requires having compassion for myself and taking myself into my own heart.
5. I ask for help when I need it, knowing that this gives others the gift of being of service to me. I surround myself with people who uplift and support me, not those who tear me down.
6. I invoke Divine Order regularly—knowing that the perfect solution for ALL of my problems and all of my requests has already been chosen. And when I simply relax into being guided to the right action, everything falls into place easily. This approach is far less stressful than trying to make things happen. (For more on this, read Florence Scovel Shinn’s The Game of Life and How to Play It and Tosha Silver’s Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead.)
7. I breathe fully in through my nose and out through my nose. This balances my nervous system and effectively calms any excess stress.
8. I smile at myself in every mirror I pass. I revel at directing my smile into every cell in my body: my thyroid, my tongue, my throat, my lungs, my heart, my blood vessels, my kidneys, my intestines, my muscles, my genitals, my bones, my skin. I close my eyes and send well being and acceptance to all of my body parts, one by one, every day.
9. I revel in the wonder of nature and the Earth. I belong to the Earth, and she is my true Source. I regularly commune with the elements—the wind, fire, water, and earth. I commune with trees, flowers, plants, and animals, and they commune with me. I regularly walk barefoot on the Earth, knowing that the Earth emits an electromagnetic field that is healing for me.
10. I expect magic and mystery in my life. I greet each new day with the anticipation of a young child—eager to see what wonders await me!
Make 2013 the year that you really come home to your beautiful body and the Earth. If you only make one resolution this year, I encourage you to make this your top priority. Spend time every day worshiping the temple of your soul. Your body will reward you many fold.
|2013-01-02 10:42:48|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|flourish,love your body,love yourself,pleasure,mirror work,breathing,emotions,stress New Beginnings|It's nearly 6pm on New Year's Eve. Hollie, Bo, Christopher and I have just finished our last supper of 2012. Hollie has taken the children upstairs for a bath before bedtime. I'm cleaning up in the ...|It's nearly 6pm on New Year's Eve. Hollie, Bo, Christopher and I have just finished our last supper of 2012. Hollie has taken the children upstairs for a bath before bedtime. I'm cleaning up in the kitchen (or I will after I've written this blog). The house is full of stillness. It feels like there's an angel in the house. The stillness fells the same as the pause that happens between each exhalation and inhalation. It's like the whole world is taking a deep breath. We are all breathing out, and letting go. We are all breathing in, and getting ready. At 10am, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the New Year celebrations begin. The people of Christmas Island and Samoa send out a wave across the planet. At 11am (GMT), the people of New Zealand catch the wave, and they then pass it on. After that, for every hour, on the hour, another country in another time zone, rides the wave. Celebrations happen all over the world: fireworks light up the sky, people kiss and hug, crowds cheer in the New Year. This is a time for remembrance and celebration, honouring the passing of what was, and welcoming in the new. Now is a time for new beginnings. It's a time to remember what is important, and to commit again to what is real and true. And so I like to make time in the first days of a new year to think about what a new beginning really means for me. One way I do this is to take a blank piece of paper - a perfect symbol for a new beginning - and at the top of the paper I write a sentence like A new beginning means to me . . . I then complete the sentence a few times, watching for the responses that feel most meaningful and true. Here are some highlights from my inquiry so far: A new beginning means to me . . . Committing to my daily spiritual practice.Doing my daily A Course in Miracles lessons.Saying Yes to God's Will.Listening to my heart more. Being a loving husband. Writing more poetry.Being a loving father.Writing my parenting journal. Learning to juggle.Committing to my daily yoga.Being a loving son.Letting go of all grievances.Looking after my physical health.Being a loving brother. Playing my guitar more.Being a more loving friend.Cooking new, fabulous, healthy recipes. Playing more golf than in 2012.Being a more loving person. I wish you a happy new year, full of new beginnings. |2013-01-04 05:54:00|0||Shift Happens with Robert Holden|robert_holden_phd|0| How to Start Your Day|Tools for an exceptional life.
|This month, Hay House is releasing the tradepaper version of You Can Create an Exceptional Life. This book was a special project that has touched my life in ways I never would have imagined. I hope it touches yours, too. So few of us have a chance to spend time with a wise and loving mentor whose only agenda is to heal and share love. Louise Hay has been that mentor to me and it’s a privilege to share my experience with you. As Louise is fond of saying: “Make a cup of tea and join us in the parlor for a conversation that will change your life.” It certainly has changed mine.
Here is a short excerpt from You Can Create an Exceptional Life on how to start your day:
When I knocked on Louise’s hotel-room door, she greeted me with her sparkling blue eyes and a big smile. I felt instantly welcomed. We chatted about the morning and then got down to business. I nestled into a spot on the floor in front of the coffee table, tapped on the recorder, and began our session by asking Louise what was on her mind.
“We must teach people how to begin their day,” she replied with intense determination. “The first hour of the morning is crucial. How you spend it will determine your experience for the rest of your day.”
And we were off! Louise’s passion was evident, and I laughed out loud as this elegant woman started the lesson with: “Too many people start their day with ‘Oh, shit! It’s another day and I’ve got to get up, damn it!’ If you have a lousy way of starting your day, you’re not going to have a good day ever—it’s not possible. If you do your best to have the morning be awful, your day will be awful.”
As I listened to her talk, I was pulled back to my mid-20s and the intimate relationship I had with the snooze button on my alarm clock. Back then it was a game to see how long I could stay in bed before dragging myself out to go to work. I didn’t like my life much, and I certainly didn’t look forward to going to my job. Now, as I sat with Louise, I thought about the millions of men and women who hit the snooze button every day or greet the morning with dread. I winced as I thought about the energetic message that sends out into the world: I don’t want to wake up, I hate where I’m going today, or I’d rather go back to sleep than get up and face my crummy life. Thoughts like these just bring people more of the same.
It’s a game changer when you realize that how you start your day sets in motion a pattern of thinking that determines your experiences all day long. Curious to know how Louise started her day, I asked her to share the details.
“I have this little routine I’ve done for years. The moment I wake up, I snuggle my body a little more into my bed, feel the feeling of the bed, and I thank it for a really good night’s sleep. I do this for a few minutes as I start my day with positive thoughts. I tell myself things like: This is a good day. This is going to be a really good day.
Then I get up, use the bathroom, and thank my body for working well. I spend a little time stretching. And I have a bar in the doorway of the bathroom that I hang from—I bring my knees up to my chest three times and then hang from it. I find that hanging in the morning is a very good thing.”
I imagined Louise hanging from a bar in her bathroom doorway, and in my mind I started walking around my house looking for the perfect place to hang a bar, too. The idea sounded like a lot of fun to me.
“After I do a few stretches, I make a cup of tea and take it back to bed. I love my bed. I’ve had the headboard specially built at an angle so I can lean up against it when I read or write. I’ve carried this headboard with me for years. It’s an example of something I’ve done to make my bedroom special and comfortable—a sanctuary. It’s a lovely place to be.”
|2013-01-14 12:00:00|1||The Cheryl Richardson Blog|cheryl_richardson|0|cheryl richardson,louise hay,affirmations,positive thinking,mentors,snooze button,self-care,self-esteem Come Home to Beautiful YOU!|10 Affirmations to get started.
|Having spent the last 30 years assisting women in healing themselves on all levels and at all life stages, I've come to see that our bodies are the true altars—the most sacred places in our lives. Without flourishingly healthy bodies, nothing else matters, not even wealth. Yet some of you still take your bodies for granted, instead of deliberately pay loving attention to them.
If you think that paying loving attention to your body sounds silly, selfish, or self-absorbed, then consider this: Your body needs regular doses of comfort and pleasure to be optimally healthy. Without it, you are much more likely to seek pleasure from external and unsustainable sources and behaviors, including drugs, alcohol, and sugar.
My top resolution for women this year is simple: “Listen to and respect your body more than you have ever done before.” I’ve written the following user-friendly affirmations to get you started.
1. I cherish and love my body all the time, no matter what—even when I feel too fat, too old, too weak, or have cellulite. My body is where my soul lives. I beautify and worship this temple when I care for and love myself—and that includes activities like flossing my teeth, exercising and stretching, eating slowly and sensually, and breathing fully.
2. When stressed, I do things that bring me comfort—a nap, a cup of tea, a walk in the fresh air. I always avoid criticizing or beating myself up.
3. I deliberately bring goodness and pleasure into my life—even when it's so much easier to complain. I know how easy it is to go negative, how easy it is to focus on what's not working. But I now look moment to moment for what's going right. And my good—and the pleasure associated with it—expands.
4. I honor my emotions—all of them—especially sorrow, grief, and anger. I feel these fully instead of reaching for a glass of wine, a cookie, or a pill. I know that my body and soul will let me know what I need if I take a moment to truly feel my emotions. I acknowledge that I cannot heal negative emotions with my mind. Healing requires having compassion for myself and taking myself into my own heart.
5. I ask for help when I need it, knowing that this gives others the gift of being of service to me. I surround myself with people who uplift and support me, not those who tear me down.
6. I invoke Divine Order regularly—knowing that the perfect solution for ALL of my problems and all of my requests has already been chosen. And when I simply relax into being guided to the right action, everything falls into place easily. This approach is far less stressful than trying to make things happen. (For more on this, read Florence Scovel Shinn’s The Game of Life and How to Play It and Tosha Silver’s Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead.)
7. I breathe fully in through my nose and out through my nose. This balances my nervous system and effectively calms any excess stress.
8. I smile at myself in every mirror I pass. I revel at directing my smile into every cell in my body: my thyroid, my tongue, my throat, my lungs, my heart, my blood vessels, my kidneys, my intestines, my muscles, my genitals, my bones, my skin. I close my eyes and send well being and acceptance to all of my body parts, one by one, every day.
9. I revel in the wonder of nature and the Earth. I belong to the Earth, and she is my true Source. I regularly commune with the elements—the wind, fire, water, and earth. I commune with trees, flowers, plants, and animals, and they commune with me. I regularly walk barefoot on the Earth, knowing that the Earth emits an electromagnetic field that is healing for me.
10. I expect magic and mystery in my life. I greet each new day with the anticipation of a young child—eager to see what wonders await me!
Make 2013 the year that you really come home to your beautiful body and the Earth. If you only make one resolution this year, I encourage you to make this your top priority. Spend time every day worshiping the temple of your soul. Your body will reward you many fold.
This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. All material in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program.
|2013-01-16 12:30:00|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|christiane northrup,flourish,love your body,love yourself,pleasure,mirror work,breathing,emotions,stress Can a Pessimist Be Positive?|How to change your inner dialogue.
|There has been a proliferation of books on how to think positive and be happy so that you can become successful and fulfilled. More often than not our brains prefer to choose negative thoughts. Poet John Milton once said, “The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” He certainly knew what he was talking about!
On any given day, we average about 60,000 thoughts. Many of them are focused on what’s wrong or what could go wrong. This made a lot of sense thousands of years ago when there was a huge possibility that our village could be obliterated by our enemies or we might be attacked by a behemoth while taking a morning walk. Unfortunately the brain has taken its time catching up with modern day society.
We are still struggling to rid ourselves of our fears, which often result from negative thoughts. Researchers have proven that our brain patterns are defined in part by how we think. Optimists take credit for their successes and see bad events as flukes. Pessimists, on the other hand, blame themselves for anything that happens and often discount success.
Psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman says that pessimists use the three P’s to explain themselves:
Personalization: “It always happens to me!”
Pervasiveness: “It happens to me every day in every way!”
Permanence: “It will never end!”
This thinking guarantees a life of hopelessness and suffering. It also contributes to a sense of inner worthlessness and a lack of self-control. The more we think we are a certain way, the more we become that way.
Learning to change our inner dialogue can be very difficult for those whose biology predisposes them to depression and or anxiety. So learning to parrot positive statements may prove to be an act of futility.
For those of us who have simply become habituated to thinking that the universe is not a friendly place, I suggest spending some time every day thinking about what you feel good about. There is always something we can extrapolate from our day to day that can help to buffer our fears. If you can engage in this practice you will find yourself more able to handle difficult situations and there’s a good possibility you may even live longer.
Lighten Up Your Week:
What do you feel good about today?
|2013-01-23 11:00:00|1||Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche|loretta_laroche|0|loretta laroche,positive thoughts,inner dialogue,depression,hopelessness,pessimist,optimist Got a New Kindle or eReader?|Top 10 eBooks for Hay House Fans.
|I remember when I bought a Kindle (my first eReader) back in 2009. I also bought one for my sister at the same time because she’s a voracious reader like me. While I couldn’t wait to start uploading eBooks on mine, it took my sister a year before she found the courage to take her Kindle out of the box and start using it!
Whether you’re a reluctant novice or avid aficionado of eReaders, I’d like to encourage you to go ahead and take your new Kindle, iPad, Nook, Kobo or Sony Reader out of the box and begin bonding with it! One of the best ways to do this is let your eReader become your direct line to the inspiring wisdom of your favorite Hay House authors.
To help you get started, here are the Top 10 eBooks every Hay House fan wants close to their heart…and on their eReader! This list includes the Top 5 Best-selling Hay House eBooks for 2012 and the Top 5 All-Time Staff Favorites under $5.
Top 5 Best-selling Hay House eBooks for 2012:
1.. Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life. This is the book that captures the essence of Louise’s message to the world: “Your thoughts create your life.” When you use the exercises and affirmations to help change your thinking, you can truly begin to improve the quality of your life.
2. Wayne Dyer’s Wishes Fulfilled. Wayne is truly an inspiring teacher and he is at his best here sharing his compelling stories and prophetic wisdom to help you master the art of manifesting. Once you read this astounding book, your wishes—all of them—can indeed be fulfilled!
3. Anita Moorjani’s Dying to Be Me. After fighting cancer for four years, Anita entered into a near-death experience where she realized her inherent worth…and the actual cause of her disease. She was released from the hospital within weeks…without a trace of cancer! A memoir that will amaze you!
4. Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. Are you ready to lose your mind and create a new one? Dr. Joe, best known for his appearance in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know, helps us better understand the quantum world and how the fate of reality is really in our hands. Fascinating read!
5. Iyanla Vanzant’s Peace from Broken Pieces. How do you find your way through the broken pieces and pain of life? In this raw and riveting memoir, Iyanla helps you discover why everything you need to learn is reflected in your relationships and dares you to claim the peace you deserve.
Top 5 Hay House Staff Favorites under $5:
1. Gay Hendricks’ and Tinker Lindsay’s The First Rule of Ten. If you love a good gripping fiction novel with a New Age twist, then you’ll adore this first installment in a series of detective stories featuring Tenzing Norbu (“Ten” for short), ex-monk turned private eye who dreams of being a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
2. David Phillips’ The Complete Book of Numerology. Ever wonder why certain numbers show up in your life and what they mean? David says these numbers are the road map that can help you navigate your way to more abundance, health and well-being in your life.
3. Linda Leaming’s Married To Bhutan. Here is a delightful and magical memoir about a woman—who grew so tired of her stressful job and tedious life—that she took off to a remote country tucked away in the eastern end of the Himalayas that has been called “the happiest place on Earth.” A real page-turner!
4. Doreen Virtue’s 21 Days to Improve Communication with Your Angels. The angels can help you in all areas of your life—health, love, pets, computers and even your eReader! In this wonderful book, Doreen will give you the tools to connect with the many angels and Divine helpers who are standing by to assist you!
5. Mark Husson’s Lovescopes. How do you take a good relationship and make it into a great relationship? You read Mark’s book and learn all the insights you can in this expedition of love by zodiac sign! Let Lovescopes help you fix relationships you have…and help you prepare to plunge into those you want!
Happy eReading!
Donna Abate
Website Manager
HealYourLife.com
|2013-01-25 12:00:00|1||Inside the Dust Jacket|hay_house|0|hay house,ebooks,louise hay,wayne dyer,kindle,mark husson,nook Farewell to Edwarda|A Lesson in Unconditional Love
|In 1995, I first heard the amazing story of a family who had been caring for their comatose daughter for 25 years. The daughter, Edwarda O’Bara, had slipped into a diabetic coma at the age of 17. Her mother, Kaye, had promised that she would not leave her daughter’s side and, true to that promise, she cared for her daughter at home until her own death five years ago. Edwarda O’Bara passed away on November 21, 2012, 42 years after becoming comatose. Edwarda’s sister Colleen called to tell me. Colleen had been lovingly caring for Edwarda since their mother’s death.
My introduction to the O’Bara family in 1995 led to a lifelong friendship with these beings of love and light. My wife Marcelene and I wrote a book called A Promise Is a Promise about the remarkable devotion of Kaye O’Bara and the lessons to be learned from her about unconditional love. “I’m doing what I think I should do,” she wrote. “All I ever wanted in life was to have two girls. God was very good and granted me my wish. So, if He gave me what I wanted, then I feel I should care for Edwarda until He is ready to either heal her, or take her to heaven.” Kaye continued to care for her daughter in all ways—with music and stories and conversation and celebration—in the hope that she was always present and aware.
The expenses for Edwarda’s care were great and fell entirely upon her family. They cared for her at home, feeding her and turning her to prevent bedsores every two hours around the clock. Dr. Louis Chaykin, I call him “a saint with a stethoscope,” donated his services in overseeing Edwarda’s care. All proceeds from my book A Promise Is a Promise (available from Hay House) go to the O’Bara family.
My family and I had wonderful times with the O’Baras as they celebrated Edwarda’s birthday each year in March. We told Oprah about Edwarda and she also came to visit the family. Edwarda and her family became a symbol of faith for many over the years. The example of the O’Baras’ unconditional love and faithfulness to a promise was always an inspiration to me. I include their story in the new book I am writing about my life lessons. My 1996 book about the family marked a turning point in my life. A Promise Is a Promise was one of my first books with Hay House and my first work entirely devoted to charity. The book is all about giving and the mantra of the highest self, “How may I serve?”
We send our love and condolences to the O’Bara family and send them heartfelt thanks for their shining example of the very best we can be in service to one another.
|2013-01-30 10:45:00|1||The Wayne Dyer Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0|wayne dyer,unconditional love,promise,family,faith,life support,highest self Join Wayne on QVC February 15, 2013! |Join Dr. Wayne Dyer on QVC February 15, 2013. Check your local listing for air times.
|Dr. Wayne Dyer will be appearing on QVC on Friday February 15, 2013 at 2am EST (Thursday 11pm PST) and 6 pm EST (3pm PST). Check QVC's Program Guide for air times.
|2013-01-29 15:22:36|1||Wayne Dyer News Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0| Hidden Emotions Hurt the Heart|Hidden Emotions Hurt the Heart
|One of my Facebook friends was asking me for advice for her sister, who has hypertension (high blood pressure). I didn’t suggest a statin or a blood pressure lowering medication, as the first choice. I explained that, while there are factors like high blood pressure or a stressful lifestyle which contribute to hypertension, sometimes the root cause is deep emotional tension from the past.
In the Wisdom of Menopause (2012), I write about the experience of my colleague Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., a pioneer in the whole foods movement and founder of the Natural Gourmet Cooking School in New York City. Annemarie—who has eaten a mostly vegan, organic diet for decades—was diagnosed with hypertension “out of the blue” in the second half of her life.
Annemarie had read about the work of Samuel J. Mann, M.D., professor of Clinical Medicine at the Hypertension Center of the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Mann has seen thousands of patients with high blood pressure over the years. In his book Healing Hypertension: A Revolutionary New Approach (Wiley 1999), he notes that, over the years, he has observed a pattern which doesn’t fit the common view of hypertension as being stress-related. He wrote, “Even patients with severe hypertension did not seem more emotionally distressed than others. If anything, they seemed less distressed.”
It appeared that their high blood pressure was more related to avoiding one’s feelings than to addressing them. Mann came to the conclusion that old, unhealed, repressed traumas were the major culprit in his patients’ high blood pressure. I agree it is our hidden emotions—the ones we don’t feel—that lead to hypertension and many other so-called “unexplained” disorders.
In any case, Annemarie Colbin found herself suddenly grappling with episodes of extreme high blood pressure (sometimes as high as 220/110), along with insomnia. Rather than giving in to the typical treatment, which would mean taking drugs for the rest of her life, she went to see Dr. Mann. She was encouraged to look into any hidden emotions she might be harboring. It didn’t take her long to figure out that her problem stemmed from what I call an “energetic imprint” of trauma from her childhood.
When Annemarie was a child, age 2–5, she spent three years in Hungary during WWII. She lived there with her mother, her father having been forced into a labor camp. She and her mother spent many nights in cellars and basements with 30–40 strangers, hiding from bombs and grenades. She said that she had no memory of this at all. But one day she took a walk and found herself just “waiting.” For what, she didn’t know.
Then she remembered her mother telling her about one of the times they stayed in a basement. Her mother had been summoned upstairs by the occupying soldiers for a party and had to leave her alone in the basement with strangers, none of whom cared about her. She suddenly felt profound terror that her mother might not come back. She said, “I remember knowing that I would die if she did not return. I had no home, no family, no friends, nothing. Just the two of us. I think I must have stayed awake all night waiting for my mother. And now—in my sleepless nights—I was reliving it.”
After this revelation (when walking), Annemarie says, “I lay in the grass, on the safe ground, and shook and cried, feeling and releasing that old terror. After a while of shaking and crying, I calmed down, got up, and went home, feeling strangely relieved. Then I checked my blood pressure. It had gone down to 137/82 in one hour.” Over the next several months as she cleared out additional, old emotional baggage, her blood pressure eventually stabilized at a normal level.
We are living in a time when the light is getting much brighter. And because of this it is much more difficult to hold on to our inner darkness—our old, unhealed pain and terror. Failure to release those old dark emotions, and release them fully, increases our chances for becoming ill—whether that’s high blood pressure or something else. We’ve been taught to be very afraid of our tears, our rage, our grief. But these are NOT the problem. Keeping them bottled up is.
For some of you, just reading this will bring up the emotions that require releasing. Others may need the help of a skilled therapist or bodyworker. Regardless, here is an affirmation to help you release what needs to come up and out—if anything!
Divine Beloved, please change me into someone who can easily release any dark emotions that I may be holding—even if I don’t know about it. Help me to feel and then to release everything that needs to come up. I am safe and all is well.
After you practice this a bit, please leave me a comment here or on my Facebook page and tell me about your experience. For more encouragement, listen to Flourish on February 27, 2013, when I’ll be helping listeners through this important process.
|2013-01-31 16:57:14|1||The Christiane Northrup Blog|dr_christiane_northrup|0|heart health,hypertension,emotions,dark emotions,healing emotional trauma,stress,high blood pressure,annemarie colbin,samuel j mann Life Loves You!|Let the world lift your spirits.
|Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if you could live your life without ever being criticized by anyone? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to feel totally at ease, totally comfortable? You would get up in the morning, and you would know you were going to have a wonderful day, because everybody would love you and nobody would criticize you or put you down. You would just feel great.
You know what? You can give this to yourself. You can make the experience of living with you the most wonderful experience imaginable. You can wake up in the morning so thrilled to find yourself and feel the joy of spending another day with you.
Remember, every time you make a judgment or a criticism, you are sending something out that is going to come back to you.
Let’s affirm:
I notice all the good experiences coming my way today.
I express infinite love and gratitude.
I lovingly speak up for myself. I attract respect.
I am constantly creating more good in my life.
Everything falls into place today.
All is well!
|2013-02-06 10:30:00|1|public://imports/3250.jpg|The Louise Hay Blog|louise_l_hay|0|louise hay,self-esteem,affirmations,criticism,judgment,self-care,self-love Make Love Your Habit|Wash your hands of old thoughts.
|On the recent Hay House Mediterranean cruise, “In the Wake of Our Spiritual Ancestors,” we visited historic sites of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. One highlight of the trip was a stop at the ruins of Ephesus on the coast of Turkey, where I was scheduled to lecture. I’ll tell you about an experience I had there that illustrates the importance of our power to choose who we are.
That day in Ephesus there were many tourists in the area and, thus, a long line for the bathroom. Once inside I saw that there was a man handing out little pieces of paper to the people after they washed their hands. My first thought was an immediate throwback to a younger version of myself. “What is this guy doing in this toilet and is he expecting me to give him a tip? I don’t want to have to give someone a tip for just going to the bathroom. I just had to pee. I don’t think I should have to pay for that. I don’t want to have to deal with this. I don’t want to have to look at him. Here’s someone who’s trying to take advantage of me. He wants a coin. I don’t have any coins.” These thoughts flew into my head spontaneously. I took the piece of paper and walked out.
I got about ten feet away and then realized what I had done. “Oh my God, who knows what this man’s story is? He has decided to go into a toilet where tourists come and go all day long. (You can’t imagine what it smelled like in there.) “And he stands there all day just handing out little pieces of paper perhaps to earn money to feed his family. Who knows what’s going on in his life? And here I am judging him.”
Thoughts born of anger, judgment and fear are habitual memes that fill our heads if we let them. Where they came from doesn’t matter. What matters is that we recognize them. There was a time when, after thinking those habitual thoughts, I would correct them and say to myself, “the next time that happens….” But now what I did was take immediate action. I went back into the bathroom. I had a 20 euro note. I reached out and put it into the man’s hand. “God bless you,” I said. “It’s really thoughtful of you to just hand me a piece of paper after I washed my hands.”
This is the healing power of divine love as we open ourselves to it. We’ve all developed mental habits of fear, judgment, getting angry at people for no reason, and feeling threatened. With the working out of divine love, we start seeing these habits for what they are; then we start correcting our thoughts. Finally, we start acting on the corrections. We begin to see the unfolding of God in everyone.
I slipped that day in Ephesus. The rest of that trip, when I saw people like the man I met, I had more and more of an outpouring of love. I started giving away coins to remind myself how blessed I am to even have a toilet let alone to have someone inside handing me paper. That’s the shift. You decide you are a being of divine love and every time you have a thought that is not consistent with that assessment of who you are, you correct the thought and then you go back and correct the action.
A habit is a habit until you become aware of it. Ask yourself, “Is this how I choose to react to people who are asking me for help?” Choose love over fear until it becomes your habit.
“In the poor, we find Jesus in his most distressing disguises.” –Mother Teresa
|2013-02-13 11:15:00|1||The Wayne Dyer Blog|dr_wayne_w_dyer|0|wayne dyer,ephesus,love,divine love,highest self,memes,anger,charity,mother teresa New Beginnings|What is real and true for you?
|As a new year gets started, now is a time for new beginnings. It’s a time to remember what is important, and to commit again to what is real and true. And so I like to make time to think about what a new beginning really means for me. One way I do this is to take a blank piece of paper – a perfect symbol for a new beginning – and at the top of the paper I write a sentence like “A new beginning means to me . . . “ I then complete the sentence a few times, watching for the responses that feel most meaningful and true.
Here are some highlights from my inquiry so far: A new beginning means to me . . .
• Committing to my daily spiritual practice.
• Doing my daily A Course in Miracles lessons.
• Saying “Yes” to God’s Will.
• Listening to my heart more.
• Being a loving husband.
• Writing more poetry.
• Being a loving father.
• Writing my parenting journal.
• Learning to juggle.
• Committing to my daily yoga.
• Being a loving son.
• Letting go of all grievances.
• Looking after my physical health.
• Being a loving brother.
• Playing my guitar more.
• Being a more loving friend.
• Cooking new, fabulous, healthy recipes.
• Playing more golf this year.
• Being a more loving person.
I wish you a year full of new beginnings.
|2013-02-15 10:30:00|1||Shift Happens with Robert Holden|robert_holden_phd|0|robert holden,beginnings,a course in miracles,compassion,loving,happiness,commitment Falling in Love|Happy Valentines Day to you. Today is a good day to pay attention to your relationship to love, and to commit to being the most loving person you can be. Make it your intention today to lo...|Happy Valentines Day to you. Today is a good day to pay attention to your relationship to love, and to commit to being the most loving person you can be. Make it your intention today to love everyone. Allow yourself to let love in today. Don't leave yourself out. Loves excludes no one, after all. To mark this occasion, here is a poem, Falling in Love, which I put inside a card for Hollie this morning. You can fall in love with the same personfor the first time at least ten thousandtimes, if you play it right. And that's just in the beginning.After that, you can fall in love with eachother more times than you can count. And each time it will feel more like love than before. Eventually, you will fall in love togetheras often as you want. And even more than that, becauseyou won't have a choice about it. The last time you fall in love willbe when you finally let love doaway with you and me and himand her and all of us. In the end, only love remains.Ha! It was love falling in lovewith love all along. |2013-02-14 07:25:00|0||Shift Happens with Robert Holden|robert_holden_phd|0| Do You Crave Peace of Mind?|Turn down the noise and chill.
|Not a week goes by without some article that focuses on some type of craving whether it be food, a relationship, a substance or a gadget. I personally crave silence! I am so tired of a world that seems to have the need to fill every moment with some kind of sound. I never thought I would come to the place where I felt the desire to simply listen to nothing.
When I was a high school student in a Catholic boarding school, silent retreats were part of the curriculum. Imagine a gaggle of teenage girls trying desperately not to talk. And me trying not to laugh! My friends would do anything in our power to get one of the goody two shoes to break. This of course always led to us being separated and confined to our rooms. Waiting the three days and nights of silent hell to be over with was a nightmare.
At the time, I couldn’t understand the value the good sisters were trying to impart to us.
I remember Sister Immaculata would say, “One does not need to express every thought they have.” I wonder what she would think of today’s reality shows!
Oh how time changes our perceptions. I’ve spent years on the road and been inundated with sounds of all kinds. The amount of noise that surrounds us today has grown exponentially. No matter where we are, we can hear someone talking on their cell phone. Do we have that much more to share?
How can we pay attention to what someone is saying when we don’t take the time to listen to ourselves? That’s where silence and solitude come into play. Without them, we lose our ability to cultivate our interior life.
Lighten Up Your Week:
Give yourself permission to be quiet and still. You may struggle initially since the mind is often bombarded by sights, sounds and experiences. But I guarantee that if you make the effort to honor silence periodically, you will feel more inner peace and tranquility.
|2013-02-18 10:45:00|1||Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche|loretta_laroche|0|loretta laroche,silence,solitude,reality,peace,tranquility,catholic school Do You Have a Treasure Map?|How to chart the life you love.
|One of the things I've done for years to intentionally create a life I love is to create a visual map of my desires—a Treasure Map. I’d like to help you craft one of your own.
A treasure map is a visual representation of those things you most want at this time in your life—people, opportunities, money, material objects or experiences that are fun or that challenge you to grow. The images on your map can represent a particular value that's important to you, such as beauty or health, and it can also reflect a quality you intend to develop, such as courage or patience.
I've been creating treasure maps for almost 20 years and as I look back, I'm amazed at how many of the images on my maps have actually shown up in my life. Creating a treasure map may sound like a fun artsy sort of project, but it's much, much more than that. Taking the time to create this map will challenge you to think seriously about what you want in your life. It will give your soul an opportunity to speak to you through images, without your head getting in the way. It will keep you firmly connected to what matters most throughout the year. And, most of all, it will become a vivid demonstration of magnetic energy—the ability to truly draw toward you your dreams, goals, and desires from the power of your imagination.
If this sounds a bit far-fetched, humor me and do it anyway. You'll be amazed at the results. Here’s what to do:
1. Discover your desires. Start by looking through books, magazines or catalogs for pictures, phrases, titles, headlines, or single words that tug at your heart. Although many of us have a conscious idea of what we'd like to have in our lives, there are usually hidden desires—soulful desires—that live just below the surface of our conscious thought. The soul speaks to us in images that often reflect those things that you really, really, really want deep down inside—dreams that seem unrealistic, goals that feel out of reach, or hidden longings that may be too embarrassing to admit. Let yourself dream big, loud, and wide. Whether the images you feel drawn to make sense or not, cut them out anyway.
2. Create your treasure map. Once you've gathered your words and pictures, it's time to design your map. To do this, use some kind of canvas—a piece of poster board, a notebook, or even a wall in your home. Go through your clippings, cut them into desired shapes and sizes, and position them on your canvas. Take your time and play around with the layout. Once you have an idea of how you want it to look, you're ready to paste the images on your canvas. Make this map your own personal work of art. When you're done, you want your treasure map to invoke a feeling of I love this!
3. Review and display your treasure map. Once you've completed your map, it can be fun to consider the following questions: Do I notice any themes? Have I chosen items that surprise me? Is the placement of my images significant? Then, when you're ready, put your map someplace where you'll see it every day.
Creating a treasure map that feels good takes time. If you're busy, don't try to complete it in one sitting. Allow yourself several weeks if need be to create the kind of map that feels right for you. My Treasure Map has taken a good month to complete.
Once you're done, be sure to look at your Treasure Map every day. By seeing it on a regular basis, you'll find that your mind naturally begins to orient itself around your desires. For example, you'll probably start to see signs of your goals and dreams everywhere. And, that's when the magic begins!
As one of my favorite authors, Robert Collier says: The quality of your thought is the measure of your power. Your treasure map will keep your most important priorities embedded firmly in mind. Soon, your desires will take root and come to life before your very eyes... just watch what happens!
Take Action Challenge
Get started on your map this month. Here's a breakdown of action steps so you can take it one small step at a time.
1. Gather together at least 6 or 8 favorite books, magazines or catalogs.
2. Cut out words and images that speak to you.
3. Choose a canvas (poster board, notebook, a wall in your home or office, etc.).
4. Schedule time to create your map.
5. Put the images on the canvas and move them around until they look right.
6. Glue/tape the images and words to the canvas.
7. Find a perfect spot to display your artwork.
8. Be sure to look at it every day with enthusiasm and excitement for what's to come.
|2013-02-20 10:45:00|1||The Cheryl Richardson Blog|cheryl_richardson|0|cheryl richardson,law of attraction,vision board,goals,dreams,opportunity,experience,magnet,scrapbook,self-care,priorities Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!|Dr. Seuss Hears an Affirmation.
|Have you seen the Dr. Seuss poster that has been circulating around the internet? It lists 30 quotes from the many classic Dr. Seuss children’s books that can change your life. I’m convinced that the good doctor—beloved author Theodor Seuss Geisel was a pro at affirmations. He must have been saying them daily. Just look at any of the characters in his books. They stand tall, speak their mind, exude so much self-confidence, and proclaim their affirmations diligently.
As I read this list of quotes, I could just picture Horton the Elephant, Sam-I-Am, Cat in the Hat or Thing One and Thing Two standing in front of their mirror repeating their Louise Hay Affirmations. So just for fun this month, I’d like to offer you 10 of these popular Dr. Seuss-isms along with its companion affirmation by Louise Hay.
1. Dr. Seussism: Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
Louise Hay Affirmation: I know that I do not have to mold myself to other’s expectations. I can just be me.
2. Dr. Seussism: Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
Louise Hay Affirmation: When I “let go,” I grow and live for the future, without regrets about the past.
3. Dr. Seussism: Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
Louise Hay Affirmation: I stop struggling to be better. I accept myself as someone who is supported by everyone and everything around me.
4. Dr. Seussism: Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way.
Louise Hay Affirmation: I have the power to create all that I wish with my mind and my thoughts.
5. Dr. Seussism: Everything stinks till it’s finished.
Louise Hay Affirmation: I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves.
6. Dr. Seussism: A person is a person no matter how small.
Louise Hay Affirmation: I see the world through eyes of love and acceptance. All is well in my world.
7. Dr. Seussism: From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.
Louise Hay Affirmation: Humor and joy contribute to my overall well-being.
8. Dr. Seussism: It’s opener, out there, in the wide, open air.
Louise Hay Affirmation: Today my inner vision is clear and unclouded.
9. Dr. Seussism: Oh, the things you can find if you don’t stay behind.
Louise Hay Affirmation: I welcome change, as it is full of opportunities.
10. Dr. Seussism: Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
Louise Hay Affirmation: I do my best to make life better for everyone in my world. I contribute to harmony, peace and healing on the planet.
To read the entire poster of 30 Dr. Seuss Quotes that Can Change Your Life, click here.
Donna Abate
Website Manager
HealYourLife.com
|2013-03-01 11:45:00|1||Inside the Dust Jacket|hay_house|0|hay house,affirmations,dr seuss,louise hay,opportunity,quotes Rethinking the “Broken Home”|Rethinking the “Broken Home”
|In the not so distant past, people would say a child came from a “broken home” if the child’s parents were divorced. And this was considered a great tragedy. Many people, who really needed to separate, stayed together for the sake of the children. Although each situation is different, I can assure you that when a parent is miserable and stays in a miserable situation for the children’s sake, the child learns that miserable is normal for relationships. She also learns how to put up with misery. Tosha Silver, a writer and astrologer, told me that she considers a family “broken” when people who obviously dislike each other stay together for the sake of the kids. And I agree.
Tosha (who has done over 30,000 readings on individuals) has worked with countless couples who continue to stay together—even when the kids are begging them to separate. Tosha has often heard children say they were relieved and grateful that their parents finally told them the truth about their relationship. Children are very astute about this. Even the youngest of children can sense that there is something wrong. Because these same children aren’t mature enough to know it’s mommy and daddy who have the problem, they blame themselves for the divorce. They also believe that if their home is broken, they must be somehow broken, too.
I'll never forget the day my 15-year-old daughter said, When I go to college, I won't be coming home for vacations. She was really informing me that being with both of her parents was just too stressful and unpleasant for her. Though we didn't fight openly, the growing incompatibility was palpable. (We hadn’t separated yet, but did later that year.) I commend my daughter for coping with this situation by suggesting that the adults work it out, as opposed to getting in the middle and trying to hold the family together.
Fast forward 12 years later. My former husband is happily remarried. My two daughters have a 10-year-old stepsister who they adore and who adores them. They also have a stepmother who adores them—and they her. Now, they quite literally have two places they can call home. Since their dad lives overseas, they are welcome on two continents. I've chosen to call this happy situation a broken open home.” And I encourage you to do the same.
I've often said that community equals immunity, because our sense of safety, security, and belonging is quite literally wired in by how many people and places welcome us and make us feel like we belong. This is one of the main reasons why individuals who felt loved as children—with people who truly cared about them—tend to be far healthier than those who come from violent or abusive backgrounds. In fact, the famous Grant Study from Harvard is an example of this. Conversely, the famous ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) which shows the link between adverse childhood experiences and illness proves the same point, but from the negative point of view.
A mother's beliefs affect her children so powerfully that simply reframing a divorce story in a positive light for your children (regardless of their age) goes a very long way toward improving their health and happiness. After all, it's your perception of what happened to you—and its meaning—that truly determines what impact it has on your health long term. My daughters and I see that our lives opened in new directions because of the divorce. I know we aren’t alone!
No matter what happened to you in childhood, it's never too late to update your sense of safety and security or sense of belonging. It all begins with how you frame your experience. If you truly believe that your life was shattered by your parent's divorce and that that is the reason for all your troubles, it's likely that you will feel helpless and hopeless—the very emotions, which are strongly associated with a decreased immunity and an increased risk for disease.
Thankfully, divorce no longer holds the stigma that it once did. Many children now find it normal to grow up in two homes—with shared parenting. Gay and lesbian households are also far more common. So at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your home looks like. What matters is how many people love you—how many people let you into their hearts, and how many you let into yours. If there is love and caring there—if it's a place where you feel warm and safe and secure—then your health will be positively affected. The more of these people and places you have in your life, the better off you will be!!!