A bit of wisdom

To gain wisdom, we must master our lessons.

To understand others, we must know ourselves.

To give to the world, our actions must be self-less.

To be forgiving, we must first forgive our own mistakes.

To live open-heartedly, we must free ourselves of old hurts.

Forgiveness

 Forgiveness holds the key to freedom 
and opens the door to unconditional love.
Know that the people who have hurt you the most, 
are your greatest teachers.
When you have forgiven them, 
you will have mastered love...

*****

“Until we have seen someone's darkness, 
we don't really know who they are. 
Until we have forgiven someone's darkness, 
we don't really know what love is.” 
― Marianne Williamson 

My cup runneth over...

A mermaid in my tub...

When you do things with your whole heart,

you will not only be successful, 

but there will be a flow of energy 

running through you that

will never empty out...

Truth telling

This year's election has certainly shaken things up. But perhaps, it's exactly what we needed... A wake-up call!  Though the election has given us permission to express our unhappiness out loud, I'm pretty certain that we were already unhappy... And though we may feel justified in our political beliefs or our concerns for the future, judgement and fear have no value to the world... The world is need of LOVE, patience, tolerance..... We make an offering of LOVE by building bridges, not walls... Instead of pointing fingers at our brothers, we need to understand that they merely mirroring all things we don't like about ourselves... What is the mirror? Arrogance, dishonesty, judgement, pridefulness... Each of us have those qualities, though you may disagree... Take dishonesty for example... Do you let people see who you really are? Do you always speak the truth or do you say what you think others may want to hear?  Is that being honest?

******

“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.” ― Anaïs Nin

Embracing change

Picture yourself as a woman who feels the pull of her soul

gently leading her into the unknown...

Self-love

You were born to shine, but the source of your light is self-love...

To find your glow, eliminate perfectionism, self criticism...

A love for humanity

When our hearts are filled with God,

all that will flow from it, is goodness...

Feeling complete

Fear says "I need to hold onto my treasures (people, places, things) tightly 

because there is something lacking in me"

Faith says "I will hold unto nothing because there is no lack"

The language of love

Where the heart and soul meet

 is the language I long for...

Life on life's terms

We can’t shield ourselves from the human experience, 
but we can move more fluidly through life by 
practicing acceptance rather than struggle and resistance. 
It helps to remember that pain is often the catalyst for 
softening our edges, expanding our hearts, and gaining wisdom…

Healing the hurts

When you no longer look at the world through your past, 

you’ll have mastered your life lessons... 

When you have mastered your life lessons, 

there’ll be no more suffering... 

When you glance in the rearview mirror,

 you'll see how perfectly your story played out...

Overcoming fear

We have all come to crossroads in our lives where a fallen branch blocks our path... 

It's the Universe's way of pointing us in a different direction... Sometimes we fear change so deeply though, that we put all our effort into climbing over the branch rather than choosing a new path... But in giving our power to fear, we miss the next beautiful plan that life has in store for us...

Life

Yesterday at the park...

Determination wins

Let go of fear; fear of change...

fear of what tomorrow will bring.

Release the past; forgive those who hurt you...
make peace with your own mistakes. 
Have faith; the Universe loves you...

Little signs

I love getting little signs from the Universe... 

A feather that represents taking flight... 

A circle of shells as a reminder how connected we all are...

Leading with your heart

In your heart is a song that is yours.

When you follow the rhythm of your own truth,

you will dance joyfully with life...

Changing the things we can...

If we're fortunate, there will come a time when we realize that 

there are certain behaviors we need to throw into the fire 

and other qualities that we desire to focus and build on... 

A few of the positive things are humility, honesty, patience,

 authenticity, appreciation, tolerance, compassion, flexibility, 

a loving relationship with ourselves, an open mind, 
and a conscience so loud that we can't ignore it...

The joy of living

Look who's huddling by my front door...

The real journey begins when you pry yourself loose of fear.

When you are no longer afraid, life transforms into an adventure, 
and the world becomes your friend...

A new view

We see the world through a filter called "the past". As we heal the experiences that were difficult, frightening, hurtful... our view begins to change. Without the past, we find life to be beautiful, mysterious, safe, supportive, adventurous, loving, kind...

A new script...

Is your story woven with acts of kindness, courage, and faith? Or are your pages filled with fear, doubt, worry, and unworthiness? If you could write a new script, would you be the hero in your story? Would you stand up for what you believe in, being humble and fierce at the same time? Would unconditional love be your greatest achievement? Would you throw away the tarnished mirror of your past? Would you be a warrior for truth? Would you let go of shallow living and youthful arrogance? Would you meet life every day with open arms, trusting what it hands you?

Having the faith to know...

When we align ourselves with what God wants for us and others, there will be nothing to pray for... We often pray for things to go the way we think they should... We pray for someone that is ill instead of trusting the wisdom of all things... Illness is often the teacher that moves us closer to God and softens our rough edges... That was my experience!  I knew that having FMS was purely God was handing me lessons that would become gifts one day... Hard as it was, I trusted His wisdom... Behind our prayers, is a lack of faith... Let's address the fear instead of asking God to move it aside... There is a natural order to all things that happen in life... Our job is to trust it, soothe our fears, and keep our will out of God's plans...

A guided meditation created just for you 
and your beautiful, authentic self...

Asking for help

Without faith and spiritual guidance, we're like children who have lost their way in the forest... We go through life feeling anxious, doubtful, clingy, afraid... We attempt to manage the fear by depending on others for our sense of security or we find ways to numb ourselves... Though our ways don't work, we're too proud to ask for guidance or admit that we need help... Self-will only leads us deeper into the forest... 

The gift of healing

Just like many others, I have devoured self-help books, listened to inspirational tapes, watched shows like Oprah, and attended motivational conferences... But I knew that props wouldn't heal my life... I used them as support while working on my issues... Healing has to take place on a level deeper than our minds... We can't intellectualize our way into wholeness... We have to do the work... Most people avoid because it's uncomfortable... But truthfully, there is nothing more uncomfortable than carrying around our old baggage... The older we get, the heavier it becomes... Sometimes it manifests into illness... An unhealed life is a life not fully lived... It will steal our sense of joy, well-being, peace, and personal freedom...

Peace of mind

There came a time when I had to surrender my old ways of finding happiness... External happiness never lasted... It put me in a position of relying on people, material things, and circumstances to fulfill me... If I wanted to be truly happy, I had to free myself of the baggage I was dragging around (guilt, shame, unworthiness, abandonment issues, childhood wounds...). I can only say that it worked... No more baggage... Life today is simple, light, joyful, fulfilling... People, things, and circumstances can enhance the happiness that I feel in my soul, but at the same time, I don't lose my peace and joy when things don't go my way (which they often don't)... 

Feeling thankful

Picture yourself as woman whose life is founded on wisdom & truth.

Clearness of mind has liberated her from the illusions of the world 

and fulfilled her desire for freedom... 

Learning a better way

A recent trip to the Farmer's Market

I spent a big portion of my life disconnected from myself emotionally, spiritually, and physically... Today, a diet of pizza and hot dogs has become more of an occasional guilty pleasure... Spirituality has become one the biggest components to my life... And as far as physically, I listen to what my body asks of me... It loves to stretch and walk... Eight year ago, I started yoga and still practice it today... 

Don't think that these changes came easily... They didn't... I was stubborn, but now I understand that I was really just afraid of change and loss of control... It took a lot of painful life lessons to awaken the sleeping parts of myself... Years of learning to surrender my will, my rigid ideas, my unhealthy behaviors... 

A soulful life

A peek inside my cupboards... 

I've given careful thought to everything in my home,
including drawers, closets, and cupboards...  

Every inch of home makes me smile...

Picture yourself as a woman who
has created a life that is colorful, soulful, joyful...

A morning prayer

Thank you God for another day that I can serve you by making a difference 

in someone’s life, and at the same time, continue to work on improving mine too... 

I am committed to the process of change so that I grow into being all that I can. 

I trust that you will bring me the perfect circumstances today to help me with both...

Feeling alive

Open the door to your feelings.

Treat them all as a dear friend.

Joy, sorrow, hurt, confusion, disappointment… 

are all part of being alive. 

Waking up

Still enjoying my Valentine tree...

Face it, most of us don't like feeling uncomfortable. We tend to ignore the inner voice that beckons our attention from time to time. But there comes a day for each of us when life begins to feel noticeably heavy. Some may call it depression. I merely see it as a wake-up call... A time to do some soul cleansing... We aren't meant to carry our baggage... When it piles too high, it chokes the joy out of living... What feelings have you been avoiding? Are you ready to acknowledge them?

Picture yourself as...

Picture yourself as a woman who is...

creative, fearless, thoughtful, always optimistic,

and takes delight in the simplest of things...

Picture yourself as a woman who has...

faced her past, healed her wounds, found inner peace,

and set the bar high for her future (infinite possibilities)...