MAGIC MOMENTS, ACCEPTANCE & FINDING WONDER WITHIN TRAGEDY

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in

“The Raven's Gift: A Scientist, a Shaman, and Their Remarkable Journey Through the Siberian Wilderness” by Jon Turk

 

—  I had spent four years teetering between the Real, the dream-, and the spirit worlds trying to explain life’s mysteries—my healing, the labyrinth, and now the bear and the raven. I no longer had any need to analyze or explain the wonders and tragedies that had embraced and buffeted me in their whirlwinds, like the storm clouds that danced across the heavens. Why would anyone want an explanation, anyway? Oleg had understood that the Real World and the Other World are the same, so he sent Misha and me into the tactile, tangible tundra to thank the transcendental spirit bird. Anytime I want to talk to Chris or need solace and support to find my own way, I can climb this mountain, or any other mountain, or go to sea in my kayak. Or I can sit by a quiet mountain stream as I had on the day of the memorial and sip some cool water from a tin cup hanging on a willow. I don’t need to be visited by a bear or a raven every time, because I’ve been honored enough to know that they have already visited me. They visited me on the day I carried Chris up the mountain to her final resting place and dusted her ashes into the storm.

— Moolynaut taught me to live inside a myth—not another person’s myth, or that of someone who lived thousands of years ago—but my own personal tapestry of Real World and Dream World, connected by magic that hovered on black outstretched wings. My first entry into myth, forty years ago, during that spring day with my dog, gave me the power and resolve to change my life. Barriers broke down and over the decades, new input rushed in, some wonderful and some scary. At one moment, a mysterious healing energy vaulted over the lowered barrier and mended my pelvis, and that changed my life again, guiding me toward new beginnings. 

— A bear and a raven. Magic moments integrated with the greatest sadness, preaching acceptance. My animal friends were teaching me to heal by finding wonder within tragedy.

— “You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the World always works in circles … The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round, like a ball … The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours … Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were.”

—Black Elk, Oglala Sioux holy man

ON AMAZON!

HOW A POKER STRATEGY CAN HELP YOU REACH YOUR LIFE GOALS

When we think of poker, we have myriad frames of reference to draw from. It's been part of the American landscape for generations; from the cowboys of the Old West shooting cards in a saloon, to the landscape being literally reimagined with Las Vegas turning from a sleepy staging post to the behemoth for all things entertainment it is today. When we think of smoky backroom bars or the lights and noise of the casinos of the Strip, though, we don't necessarily think of poker as being a game of strategy, mindfulness, and goal attainment.

However, the image of the hard-drinking, cigar-chomping poker player has now largely fallen by the wayside, and today's top professionals look after both body and soul. World Series of Poker bracelet holders Daniel Negreanu and Andrew Lichtenberger have both been vegan for over a decade, with the latter penning a book, The Yoga Of Poker covering topics such as joy, health, and love. On love, he muses that "Living and playing poker with an unconditionally loving attitude and outlook is a life-changing experience to uplift and expand consciousness of yourself and those around you". Can poker help frame our worldview in order to attain our goals?

Control

Poker, like life, is a scenario where we cannot choose the hand we're dealt. The best-laid plans to a goal can be cast adrift by circumstance, or as Mike Tyson put it, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". While our goals are under constant pressure from life sometimes getting in the way, not every path is linear. A good poker player will know how to roll with the punches, be mindful of where their hand may be going, and not have good money chase bad. As new scenarios crop up in life, we can control our reaction to them, and decide whether they're something to pursue or not.

Honest assessment

As we've looked at, it's very important to have the mindfulness to harness ‘The Power Of Listening To Yourself Without Judgement’. While it's easy (and sometimes tempting) to become one's own harshest critic, too much negativity can make goal attainment seem a forlorn and far-off task. However as a poker player will constantly countenance during a game, we need to be aware of our own strengths, alongside our own weaknesses. Everything in life involves some amount of risk. If our goal is to get a new job, that's going to open us up to the possibility of rejection. Poker.org carries a great bit of advice, namely 'check your ego at the door'. Weigh up the probabilities of success. If they're high, go for it. If they're a longer shot, consider folding, waiting for the next opportunity and re-strategizing.

Continuous maintenance

Motivation and willpower can only take us so far. We're human, we'll always have bad days and something that may have progressed us to a goal could slip by unnoticed. If thinking (from the psychological concept of conditional reasoning) has us be mindful to act that if X happens then I will do Y. A poker player will do this continually throughout a game and likely mostly unconsciously as they analyze the cards that are turned - 'I have a King and a two in my hand’. If the next card the dealer turns is a King then I will place a large stake. If it is a two, then I may place a smaller stake. If it is neither,then I will fold. At the poker table, these actions happen instantaneously, however when working towards a goal, events tend to be more drawn out. Forbes.com proposes using mindfulness and associative stimulus to help work towards where we want to be - e.g. if our goal is to be more active and perhaps lose some weight, then take the stairs instead of using the elevator. If we continuously refer back, then the sight of an elevator door, perhaps in a building new to us, should become a cue for the brain to look for the stairs.

Poker has a fairly simple goal. The player wants to win the pot, and draws on strategies, knowledge and techniques to (hopefully) get themselves to that point. At all times, awareness of self and external factors are key. The principles of overcoming problems to come to a solution in poker can be extended far beyond the card table.

Written by Louis Mills

TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR OWN WELL-BEING WITH THE WHOLE HEALTH JOURNALING CHALLENGE

 These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “Whole Health Journaling Challenge: A Journaling for the Health of It” by Mari L. McCarthy

 

—  Healing Humor —

If you have ever laughed so hard your stomach hurt, you know from personal experience the therapeutic benefits a little humor can have. There is a lot of truth to the old saying “laughter is the best medicine.” Research has found that laughing does a great deal to safeguard and enhance your health, reducing stress hormones and maybe even preventing heart disease.

William Fry, a psychiatrist at Stanford University, conducted long-term studies on the health benefits of laughter and found that it increases circulation, exercises the muscles, stimulates the immune system, and invigorates the brain. Other researchers have found that laughter reduces stress hormones and may even help prevent heart disease. That’s certainly a reason to be happy!

— Play Date —

We can all learn a thing or two from children at play. They know how to enjoy the moment fully and lose themselves in what they are doing, whether it’s inventing a game of make-believe or climbing the highest tree they can find.

As an adult, it’s more difficult to make room for play and unscheduled leisure time. You may think, “How can I goof off when I have so many other important things I need to be doing?” You might feel that you can’t spare the time or even that you don’t deserve to have fun when you have a lot going on. But play isn’t just important for little kids. It’s a necessary part of healthy adult life and can help reduce stress and increase happiness.

According to Dr. Stuart Brown, founder, the National Institute of Play: Play is particularly important during periods that are sustainedly stressful... If we’re going to adapt to changing economic and personal circumstances the way that nature armed us to do, then we have to find ourselves having some play time virtually every day.

 

Far too often, we become distanced from our own health in our busy modern lives. We neglect not only our physical needs but also our mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Each of these elements is vital, and optimal health is achieved when we’re able to keep them in balance in a holistic way.

To put it in simple terms, imagine that your well-being is a plant. For it to thrive, it needs the right care: plenty of water and sunlight, nutrient-rich soil, room to grow. If you take away one of those essential ingredients, the plant will suffer and begin to wither.

Have you experienced that kind of effect in your own life when you are deprived of something important – wholesome food or adequate sleep or leisure time? In those situations, it is often an easy short-term solution to treat the symptom instead of addressing the root of the problem. Perhaps you take a pill or drink a cup of coffee or push yourself harder to overcome feeling sick, tired, or anxious. But this approach doesn’t consider your wellness in the long term.

The good news is that you don’t have to keep feeling this way. You have the power to take ownership of your own wellness and change your life for the better, with your journal as your guide.

ON AMAZON!

THE POETRY LAB AND THE HEALING POWER OF BELONGING TO A SAFE COMMUNITY

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “The Poetry LAB: A Curriculum Guide for Facilitators - Employing the Use of Groupwork, Writing Circles & The Therapeutic Use of Poetry with Youth” by Mary Tinucci – LICSW, DSW

 

—  WHAT MATTERS TO ME —

What matters to me is the way you look at me

The way I see the world

What matters to me is the love that comes from above

Getting a kiss, or a rose, or just a hug on Valentine’s Day

What matters to me is the breath I breathe every day –

Because without it I couldn’t say

What matters to me is you, the way you see yourself

Asking for help when you need it

What matters to me is my family

Because without them you wouldn’t see me

What matters to me is my friends

Who loves me like a friend should

What matters to me is everything

Because it is what it is

That’s what matters to me

But most important - What matters to you?

 

While The Poetry LAB provides a clear community of hope for individual participants, its very existence holds macro-level and social justice implications for the broader culture as well. The impact of having such a group available to marginalized youth, a place where they can share the truth of their lives, challenges the broader culture to work towards a more equitable society.

The Poetry LAB model provides a place where students can discover and see that there is more to who they are than the "at-risk" labels that others have placed on them. Too often, the educational, correctional, and mental health systems reduce these beautiful spirits to something far less than their full capacity.

By participating in The Poetry LAB, students begin to see the power inside themselves, individually and collectively. They are empowered to tell their stories in ways that others can hear.

Our students have stories to tell. Part of these stories is our shameful history, of how we as a society have failed. Part of the story is the competence and insight that each of our students carries. We need to let them tell it in their own way, in their own voice, and in their own language, even if it makes us uncomfortable. If we allow youth to speak from their hearts, from the truth of their lives, they find success.

There are urgent circumstances in the lives of these youth, and educators and mental health providers know this. It is critical that we find ways to engage these youth in the work of education and emotional health. Social workers and educators who work in urban school settings have a great opportunity to try something new in their practice.

It is not necessary to be a spoken word poet or to know a lot about the world of hip-hop or rap, but it is essential to understand and respect that youth are influenced by these genres of expression. It is not necessary to see yourself as a writer or a poet or a spoken word artist. It is necessary to understand the healing power of the pen and the healing power of belonging to a safe community like The Poetry LAB.

Using The Poetry LAB model, school social workers and educators can begin building their own tool kit for using spoken word poetry in group work with youth. In fact, ask the youth themselves, and you will find out just how hungry they are to tell you what they know. They will welcome you into their world…

— UPCOMING EVENT —

Mary is hosting a live zoom training on the Poetry LAB curriculum on August 4th, 2022.

To register, please visit: https://thinkinpossibilities.thinkific.com/courses/the-poetry-lab-curriculum-and-training.

ON AMAZON!

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION & BEING CONSCIOUS OF YOUR FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, AND REACTIONS

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “Start With Me! Who Am I?: Discovering Yourself With The Law Of Attraction.” by Mina Vo

 

— Knowing how the Law of Attraction works helped me comprehend how to live the life that I want to have and who I want to be. Before deciding on what I want and who I want to be, I have to know my purpose. Once I know my purpose, which is to influence and inspire others, it makes me conscious about who I am and what attitude I can take to become the person I want to be.

This takes time and consciousness (awareness) about my thinking, my attitude, or my mistakes. I function by default when I am not aware of my feelings. I go with my paradigm, with what has been programmed in me from zero to seven years old and beyond—what I have learned from my parents and my environment until now. I express it in my thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Since I think and react in a certain way, I attract the same thinking and reactions from others around me in that way. It’s the Law of Attraction. Since my thought is vibrational energy, it attracts the same energy that it finds in its environment regardless of the distance and pulls to me that same emotion.

If your purpose is to be one of the best accountants in your firm in order to serve your clients well, then it is to your advantage to put yourself in a high vibrational energy frequency of loving what you do and appreciating what you have, including people around you, right? If your thoughts always stay at that high frequency, it vibrates around you and attracts more of the same vibrational energy frequency (thought) in your environment, thus creating momentum or synergy.

But if your thought is in a lower vibrational energy frequency on the emotional scale, which is hate, frustration, doubt, sadness, and so on, then the Law of Attraction would bring to you more and more of those feelings from your environment, thus creating momentum and synergy with the same thought.

That’s why when you change your environment and are not conscious about changing yourself, you create the same situation as the previous one that you don’t like, and the cycle goes on. So, ask yourself, which one is easier to change? Changing your thinking and attitude? Or wanting your environment to change in order to cope with your thinking and attitude?

It is much easier to change yourself than to ask someone else to change for you. But how to change yourself? By being conscious of your feelings, emotions, and reactions.

You can change the world by changing yourself one step at a time. The easiest way to change yourself is by changing your perception rather than expecting people to change their perception of you.

ON AMAZON!

HOW CAN WOMEN FEEL INNER PEACE BY PRACTICING HEALING AND YOGA

Yoga is a group of mental, spiritual, and physical practices that promote physical and psychological well-being. As practiced in the United States, yoga emphasizes meditation (dyana), breathing techniques (pranayama), and physical postures (asanas).

Regular healing and yoga practice bring about physical benefits such as increased flexibility, improved respiration, and increased muscle strength, and psychological benefits such as reduced stress, improved sleep, and relief from depression and anxiety. But that is not all; yoga also helps individuals feel inner peace a. Many women find that with these benefits also comes the unexpected benefit of improved sexual health. 

Below, we discuss how practicing healing and yoga can help women feel inner peace and improve their sexual health. 

How Practicing Healing and Yoga Improves Women’s Sexual Health

If your time in bed with your significant other is a little lackluster, practicing healing and yoga may be what you need to breathe new life into your sex life. Here is how healing and yoga help improve women’s sexual health.

Reduce Stress and Fatigue

Feeling stressed and tired can put you “out of the mood” like nothing else can. Practicing healing and yoga reduces stress and, like other forms of exercise, gives you more energy.

Be in the Present

Healing through a Yoga practice can help improve a women’s sexual health by keeping you mindful. Mindfulness keeps you in the present. You are more fully engaged in sexual activity when your mind is present, obviously not thinking about the kids, the laundry, and the world.  This is not always easy to achieve. If your thoughts do drift to other things during sex, yoga can teach you techniques to help keep you present.

Improve Your Body Image

Feeling good about and being comfortable in your body is one of the main contributors to healthy sex life. 

When you practice healing and yoga, you familiarize yourself with your body on an intimate level. At the same time, you develop strength and muscle tone, so you will look better and feel better about yourself.

Increase Your Body Awareness

Yoga poses such as the child’s pose, cat pose, and happy baby require you to move your body in specific ways and teach you how to move certain parts of your body while others remain still. With time, you become more in tune with your body.

Increase Your Control, Sensitivity, and Flexibility

Most yoga poses can increase your flexibility, especially yoga poses like the happy baby.  The Happy Baby pose is an excellent beginner pose. This pose can stretch the inner thighs, hamstrings, and groin.  It can also release the tightness in the hips and back. These poses can help you gain more motion and, improve blood flow and circulation through the pelvis. Increased blood flow is so important to pelvic health.

Let me say this another way…

Increased blood flow to the pelvic region may help reduce sexual pain.

Some common problems that Women may experience as sexual dysfunctions include

●      Pain during intercourse;

●      A lack of desire for sex;

A Healing and yoga practice may significantly improve your arousal level and thus your level of lubrication.  Incorporating healing and yoga into your daily routine also increase your desire for sex as you might feel more energized, and feel better about your body. 

May Relieve Sexual Difficulties

Practicing more advanced specific yoga poses like the moola bandha may help relieve sexual difficulties in women and thus may improve a  women’s sexual health. Moola bandha can be likened to Kegel exercises, which can help strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Actually, many sex therapy centers recommend the moola bandha pose to help women become more self-aware, thus improving sexual desire and sexual experience.  

— How Practicing Healing and Yoga Helps Women Feel Inner Peace 

If you are looking to find inner peace, here is how practicing healing and yoga can help you:

Helps Relieve Daily Stress

A Healing and Yoga practice teaches you to pause, be honest with your body and yourself, and live in the moment. Once you start practicing healing and yoga, you do not stop encountering stressful situations, but your perception of stress changes completely. 

You become more aware of how you react to stressful situations, and you begin to accept things as they are. The inner peace that healing and yoga bring helps rid the exhaustion, chaos, and frustration that commonly flood the mind. 

Ridding the mind and body of stress will help you achieve inner peace and prevent you from spreading negativity to those around you.

Heightens Intuition

Yoga allows you to find answers to daily problems from within. Not only does this enhance the development of internal intuition, but it also helps you make decisions that unite your mind and heart. 

In modern society, our voices and opinions can be drowned out by others’ voices and opinions. By practicing healing and yoga, you can achieve heightened intuition that can help you make decisions that are reflective of who you are, helping you achieve inner peace. 

Enhances Circulation

The circulatory system is one of the most important body systems, as it helps keep your heart and blood vessels strong. Healing and yoga stretch your muscles and get your blood flowing to all parts of the body. 

The more you practice healing and yoga, the more you will be able to hold poses longer (a sign of improved circulation) and feel more at peace when doing the different poses. 

Provides Discipline

Most people have a negative perception of the word “discipline” and associate it with a type of punishment. Healing and yoga give the word “discipline” a new meaning. 

Practicing healing and yoga naturally teaches you about commitment and enables a sort of discipline. You get a newfound will to improve on the progress you made during practice, which can only be achieved through discipline. 

Discipline in healing and yoga is not forced. Instead, discipline is something that is cultivated with practice and trickles into other areas of your life, helping you become well-rounded. As a well-rounded individual, you will make better decisions that will give you inner peace. 

Regulates Breathing and Attention

Healing and yoga regulate breathing and attention, lowers anxiety and stress, and regulate parasympathetic nervous activity by activating the part of the nervous system that tells your body to pause, relax, and rest. 

These effects are associated with improvements in breathing and attention, and when you can breathe better and give all your attention to the tasks you want to complete, you are more likely to feel inner peace since your mind will be in a relaxed state. 

Healing and yoga are practices that can be traced back to 1,500 B.C. Since then, it has been used to help people with different types of mental conditions such as depression and physical conditions such as arthritis. 

But that is not all. Healing and yoga also improve women’s sexual health by countering stress and fatigue, improving body image, and heightening body awareness.

Adopt Regular Healing and Yoga Practices for a Better Life

If you are looking to feel inner peace, you can achieve this goal through regular healing and yoga practice. At the same time, if you are looking to breathe new life into your sex life, yoga may also be helpful.

Written by Jane Silverstein. Jane is the owner of Soul Source Therapeutic Devices located in Los Angeles. She is committed to women’s health issues and to helping women worldwide regain and/ or maintain their sexual health. She is passionate about helping others and has always been involved in a multitude of charitable causes.

Written by Jane Silverstein. Jane is the owner of Soul Source Therapeutic Devices located in Los Angeles. She is committed to women’s health issues and to helping women worldwide regain and/ or maintain their sexual health. She is passionate about helping others and has always been involved in a multitude of charitable causes.

BE THE GARDENER OF YOUR LIFE: SUSTAINING GROWTH IN HEALTHY WAYS

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “Shifting Bravely: A Path to Growth, Healing, and Transformation” by Holli Kenley

 

— I believe that when we are truly grounded in our growth and its strength, we are at peace with ourselves and with others. Battles or arguments we had within ourselves and with others in proving our truths or substantiating our growth are no longer important. They are no longer necessary. In our peace, we are choosing to silence past representations such as anger, resentment, and blame. Because of our growth, we are choosing to honor it in healthy ways. In doing so, we find ourselves once again taking on the posture of a gardener: being still, listening, staying open, and giving ourselves time for further internal strengthening.

When we remain open to new discoveries and insights regarding our experiences, our defensive posture takes a back seat to welcoming in an understanding of them. It is with deeper insight we find ourselves remaining silent within, settling into our peace and calm.

When A SHIFT Is Sustained, we are anchored in our truths. And when the waters around us are unpredictable or choppy, our knowing of our truths secures us. We do not react to our unsafe environments or adversaries. Where we “once battled and argued,” we are now “choosing to remain silent.” We now choose a peaceful response. And, when we maintain the posture of a gardener by sustaining our growth in healthy ways, we affirm “we are rooted in our truth and our truth is allowed to shift and transform” (Unknown). We have come to understand that when A SHIFT Is Sustained, there will be evidence of it. We will not be the persons we used to be, things once tolerated will no longer be tolerable, and when and how we speak about ourselves and our truths will mirror an internal representation of lasting strength.

In honoring our voices and affirming ourselves, we have learned the importance of speaking our truths and of presenting them in ways representative of sustainable growth. As we begin to understand the value of our voice, we begin to embrace a deeply insightful and intentional posture of a gardener. It is one that requires quiet perseverance, a steady stream of resilience, and endless patience. With continual growth and increased internalization of our truths, it is a posture that displays an inner core of self-compassion, discernment, and self-empowerment.

In our understanding and application of it, empowerment means valuing our voice by voicing our value . In other words, self-empowerment shows up as clear, confident, authentic representations of our truths and our growth. When we are valuing our voice, we do not seek to dominate or demand. And when we are voicing our value , we do so by representing our strong beliefs in who we are as we thoughtfully and respectfully conduct our lives.

ON AMAZON!

IT'S NOT ABOUT REACHING GOALS — IT'S ABOUT REALIZING YOURSELF ALONG THE WAY

Here is an inspiring and insightful passage in “Be You: The Journey of Self-Realization” by Chris Cirak

 

— In the outer world, there are places you're familiar with, places you're not familiar with, and places you don't even know exist. The more familiar you are with a specific place, the more it feels like home.

Your inner world is no different. It consists of parts you're more familiar with, parts you're less familiar with, and parts you don't even know exist. The journey of self-realization is to feel at home in all your parts.

You can't be yourself if you don't know yourself.

It’s both ironic and beautiful that not knowing yourself is what propels you forward. Ironic because your mind is all about knowing. Beautiful because you get to experience the freshness of each new moment. Every part of you that you haven't yet realized contains both the anguish of not being you and the longing to be more of you.

Self-realization is the process of realizing who you are. You are never not experiencing this process. Every moment of every day, life is pushing you to know yourself better. More specifically, you are the one doing the pushing. Life is just a mirror. Stuck feelings are the fuel of your evolution.

If it feels like you’re taking detours instead of the direct route to your happiness, that’s your headspace talking. That’s when you criticize yourself for making mistakes, thinking you should know better. You forget that you’re a more realized person now, precisely because of how you've responded to things in the past. Ultimately, there’s no reason to fault yourself for anything, ever. In fact, it's the experience of not being you that has prompted you to become more of you. You haven't failed. You haven't taken a wrong turn. You’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing.

You're always you, doing the best you can. There is no other way.

Resist the urge to plan out your life for fear you might go down the wrong road. Right and wrong only exist when you’re in your headspace, focused on outcomes. But in the great unfolding of your life, veering off your path is what accelerates you forward. Each time you veer, you grow in clarity, resilience, and determination. You become more of you. Your journey is meant to take you through a field of experiences. Detours and excursions aren't just part of your journey, they are your journey.

Everything you experience teaches you something new about yourself and puts you in touch with your feelings. How you respond to them directly impacts how much you participate in - and contribute to - the flow of life. When you keep your feelings stuck, you generate friction within yourself and with the environment. But by releasing them, you contribute free-flowing energy to the world.

As you become more realized, so does the world.

Less realized energy, longing to become more realized energy, is the engine behind life's continuous expansion. Everything you do is motivated by this pull. You buy things to experience abundance. You fall in love to experience unity. You set goals to experience fulfillment. You're always replacing what you think an experience is like with the actual experience of it.

That's why you're supposed to buy shiny things and be enamored by them. You're supposed to fall in love and promise each other foreverness. You're supposed to climb to the highest peaks and fall to the lowest lows. You're supposed to experience all those things because it's not about the things. It's not about reaching goals or achieving outcomes. It's about realizing yourself along the way…

P.S.: You will love Chris’ book and his work! He is one of the most genuine and open-hearted human beings I have ever met!

ON AMAZON!

LOVE CAN NEVER HURT US

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “Creating Real Happiness A to Z: A Mindful Guide to Discovering, Loving, and Accepting Your True Self” by Stephani Grace

 — I endured a difficult childhood, but I wouldn’t change any of it. I believe that as humans we learn best through contrast. I needed to be born into a family that couldn’t love me so that I could learn to love myself and in return teach others to love. I have a belief that everything is intended to help us grow into our best, highest selves. In this way of thinking, nothing is trying to harm or punish us. I believe this is the truth because I have learned complete contentment, and I’m not sure I would have understood this love had I not experienced the opposite.

When I am working with people to help them find happiness, I am coming from a place of knowing. I know absolutely that it is possible for anyone to be truly happy, regardless of his or her circumstances or origin. The amazing thing about this is that it is all within our own control. It is all about our conditioning and our beliefs about ourselves and what we think we deserve. When we learn to shift these beliefs, we shift everything.

My clients are on a journey with me. As I am learning and discovering things in my own life, I weave these teachings into my counseling practice. Anything that I am utilizing in my practice comes from what has worked for me. I have deep empathy for those who suffer, and because I have learned how to create happiness out of struggle, I know that no one should settle for suffering. Therefore, I am tenacious in my patience with others in their search for happiness. I know it’s possible to create happiness, and I also know that it’s not difficult, although it seems impossible at times. Happiness is always available to us, always within our reach.

I want to help as many people as possible understand this process and to help them learn how to love themselves. I have been in practice for 20 years and have helped hundreds of people find happiness and live a more authentic life. With this book, I hope to reach a wider audience and share the tools that have helped not only me but also my clients. We all deserve to be happy. This is our birthright. Just think how things would shift in our world if we were all coming from a place of absolute self-love.

ON OPENNESS

— Openness is being open to what life has to offer. If we pay attention, we will notice that we open and close throughout the day. We also have ways of thinking or have had experiences that close us down to certain aspects of life, or sometimes everything. We close down to protect ourselves. We believe we are keeping ourselves safe, but the problem with being closed is that we are also closed to the positive things we want to experience as well. For example, if we believe we have been hurt by love and we decide to shut ourselves off from love in order to keep from being hurt again then when love comes along we won’t be open to receive it. Remember, love actually never hurt us in the first place. It was anything other than love that hurt us. Love can never hurt us.

We are always safe with love. Sometimes we might be closed to love because we are reserving it for the “right” person, or maybe we are afraid to be loving to everyone because we don’t want to give people the “wrong” idea. Any of these ways we are closing only keep us from love because we are not open to receive it. We can love freely, knowing we can trust ourselves to manage any situation that presents itself. Remember, love cannot hurt you, so when anything arises other than love, you will know what you need to do in that moment. We always have everything we need to manage any situation in the present moment.

Practice: Throughout the day practice being aware of whether you are open or closed to love. Another way to say this is: Is your heart open or closed? What do you notice that helps your heart open? What do you notice that makes it close? See if you can practice remaining open when you feel inclined to close. Please be gentle with the part of you that wants to close. Let this part of you know that she is safe—that love can’t hurt her, that she has everything she needs to keep herself safe.

On Amazon!

BREATHING BETTER — LIVING HEALTHIER

A NOTE OF APPRECIATION!

I recently had Darren Lopez on my podcast show. He is a wonderful human being who deeply cares about helping others live their best lives.

In that interview, Darren introduced me to a nasal spray that made my husband’s life much healthier! He has been dealing with allergies for years. The first time my husband used the nasal spray he felt incredible relief and breathing became instantly easier for him! In addition to breathing better anywhere he goes, this amazing nasal spray is also helping him sleep deeper! Thank you so much, Darren!!!

— WHAT CAN BE-ONGUARD NOSE SPRAY DO?

Just like washing our hands, washing out our nose and upper airways often with Be-OnGuard Nose Spray can be vital at getting the upper airway to function at the highest level. I know from firsthand experience that keeping these passages clean has many benefits.

— UNDERSTANDING THE NOSE AND WHY YOU NEED TO KEEP THE NOSE CLEAN WITH BE-ONGUARD NASAL SPRAY

The nose and upper airway are an amazing part of your body. They are the first filter your body uses to clean the air you breathe. The nose is so good at cleaning the air that it will pick up allergens and pathogens by catching them in the mucous. This helps to protect our bodies from becoming sick from these diseases.

But like all filters, if we don’t clean them out, they will continue to build up with dirt and debris. What happens to our car’s engine when the air filter fills up with dirt and debris? It doesn’t run as well because it can’t get enough clean air. With our cars, we can just change out the air filter. We can’t do that with our nasal airways.

Would you let your car run on a dirty air filter? Of Course Not, you Replace it. You can naturally help your body function better by keeping your nose filter clean.

— NATURAL REMEDY

Be-OnGuard Nose Spray is a combination of patented mineral oxides that harnes the power of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide to naturally battle viruses, bacteria, nasal dryness, inflammation and existing viral and bacteria load. It is safe to use daily and multiple times a day.  There is no age limit. 

— HOW TO USE BE-ONGUARD NASAL SPRAY FOR BEST RESULTS?

First thing in the morning, insert the Nasal Spray tip into each nostril and fully pull back the trigger once or twice.  Try to avoid blowing your nose for 5 to 10 minutes after you use it.  Repeat as needed through the day.

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EXPRESSING LOVE THROUGH YOUR EXPERIENCES, YOUR VOICE & YOUR GIFTS

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “Unapologetic: Shedding Inauthenticity To Become Uniquely You” by Natali Brown

 

— As each painful part fell away and other beautiful parts of my Soul returned, to awaken within me such a deep remembrance of my healing gifts and the power of my innate universal knowledge and connection with all that is, there was an intense outpouring of love that flowed from this crack.

The intensity and vastness of this love would often scare me and make my human side feel incredibly vulnerable.  It would sometimes make other people feel very uncomfortable too as it always came with a great big bag full of truth pouring from my lips in words and energy. 

Humans are scared to face their truth because the truth hurts, so they steered away from me or would often be nasty and venomous because they did not have the capacity to receive or could not comprehend this potent outpouring of love. 

Over the years I’ve helped and guided many lightworkers and light leaders to their truth, their gifts, soul mission, and purpose. I often guided them to where no one dares to go because sometimes you have to traverse the deepest and darkest spaces of pain and trauma and heal those parts of you first, so you can let the light come through you. 

Due to our upbringing and societal influences, we have been conditioned not to feel, not to be sensitive or show emotions, not to be too much, too powerful, too strong, too honest, too vulnerable, too feminine or too masculine. 

So often our dialogue with ourselves and each other is based on apologies and excuses.  Instead of saying Heck Yes to life! We often choose a more mediocre response because it’s too hard or too much or not perfect. We fluff our way through life and never really anchor our dreams and intentions. 

This world would be a very different place if we stop apologizing for hard things and take a stand for our yes and our no, take a stand for what we feel and what we want. Humans have been kept under this matrix of control and fear for too long and only the truth will set us free. We have to feel to heal.

I fought many of my own demons and battles—depression, anxiety, alcohol, sexual abuse—and did the inner work and healing to peel away my own untruths. I’ve been hurt by people I trusted so deeply, because they were hurting too. I know this now and hold no grudges. I only have love for this crazy life we get to live. The good, the bad and the ugly. I didn’t want to give up on people, I didn’t want to think the worst of them so this love within me turned to passion and passion turned into helping those who were stuck but who knew that their soul was calling them to be more, to rise beyond fear into their next level greatness. Through healing each of my clients I healed a part of myself too. We would cry together and laugh together. In their eyes, I would see myself. After all, we are all connected.  I will never regret any of my experiences and am so incredibly grateful for each beautiful soul I get to meet. When we come together and see each other, really see each other and support each other we can move mountains.

My wish is that we can live life without any regrets but turn our experiences into powerful catalysts for change to create a world that we are all proud of, a world where we won’t destroy each other and our planet but love and see each other’s truth and beauty.   world where we can co-create as sovereign beings living in harmony with our planet and all living beings. For this to happen, many structures within and without will fall away. It starts with a simple choice: “What do you want now?”  Because all that needs changing starts in the now, this present moment. 

Life is not meant to be mediocre, you are meant to express yourself as love through your experiences, your voice and your gifts.

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GENDER EQUALITY FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “A Global Dialogue on Masculinity: 33 Men Speak Out” by Gayle Kimball

 

— We are limited by outdated gender stereotypes, both men in their lack of access to a wide range of emotions and caregiving and women in their limited access to leadership and power. It’s in our best interest to move towards flexibility and being instrumental or nurturant as circumstances require. This means we stop telling boys not to cry or be like girls and stop telling girls to be nice little ladies. We need to encourage girls to go into leadership and STEM fields of science and technology and boys into caregiving professions, like many of the men in this book, did as therapists, instructors, and heads of helping organizations.

The consensus of our experts is that boys and men are not permitted to show vulnerability, a word often repeated in this book. From the Netherlands, Stephan van de Ven, 32, said, “I don’t know how to really express my emotions, not having had that many examples in my environment from men around me, from movies, from TV series, or anything.” This prejudice shuts down even being aware of some emotions, which is why EVRYMAN and other men’s groups begin with identifying body sensations.

Asking for help may require being vulnerable, which fits in the “threat to masculinity” danger zone. This fear of being perceived as weak contributes to men’s health problems and a higher suicide rate. Being shut down emotionally also inhibits men’s intimate relations with people they love, one of the reasons why women in English-speaking countries are much more likely to initiate divorce than men. Femininity is seen by sexists as weakening precarious masculinity and can increase the fear of intimacy.

Divorce and poverty lead to an increase in single-mother households, which MIT Economics Professor David Autor links to worse outcomes for the boys than the girls with single mothers. This is part of the explanation of why boys are falling behind girls in higher education. This equation is shutting down boys’ expression of human feelings leads to health and relationship difficulties, which is especially harmful to boys raised by single mothers. As Jed Diamond said, mothers, can’t teach boys what it means to be a man. The solution is to educate parents and teachers about how to encourage boys to be in touch with the full range of human feelings, as modeled in countries like Denmark.[i] As with other social and environmental problems, solutions are available but the will to implement them is lacking.

Why are some men willing to advocate for changes in male socialization and risk being seen as outside the norm of masculine interests? We’ve learned that it’s mostly women who take men’s studies college courses. Our changemakers, similar to men I interviewed for 50:50 Marriage and 50:50 Parenting, were influenced by a very positive or very negative role model, either a loving involved father (the minority) or an absent father due to death, divorce, or long work hours.

Many of our contributors felt that they didn’t fit the masculinity standard as boys and were concerned about ways girls and boys were harmed by sexism. Gary Barker’s female friends told him about forced sex, leading him to want to take action as a man: “This kind of manhood, with so much violence and anger, is not who I think I am.” With feminist analysis, John Stoltenberg said, “I felt freedom from the cookie-cutter I was trying to fit into. I found it was possible to be who I am without constantly thinking about, am I male enough?”

Many of the contributors agree that schools need to accommodate boys’ need for more physical activity, especially with many boys being developmentally behind girls. Boys of color act out their own versions of masculinity, which may include looking at school success as “acting white,” as our men of color reported. Wanting improvement in gender liberation, changemakers organize men’s groups, teach courses, research and write about gender socialization practices and lobby for legislative change--particularly in child custody.

The common concern for gender liberation and equal opportunity doesn’t mean these activists are united. Every progressive or liberal group I know argues over who is most politically pure and the men’s movement is no exception. They debate who is most oppressed by traditional gender roles and if gender is more shaped by nature or nurture. As Michael Messner reports, “Those schisms between different groups run pretty deep and have been going on for many decades.”

Men’s rights advocates think men suffer more, while feminists think women suffer more from gendered power systems. The latter don’t want to talk with the former, thinking problematically in a zero-sum game so that if I win, you lose. Daniel Ellenberg reported, “It’s remarkable how many smart, professional people seem to think it's an either/or game. I think it's both/and. It tends to trigger a lot of vitriol from different folks. Until we change our mindset about it, we're still going to be at war.” Some blame the peer-led men’s groups for not being political and “getting stuck looking at our own belly buttons,” as Barker said. However, many of our men have been part of men’s groups.

What surprised me from interviewing these men of different ages, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and ideologies is that some felt disadvantaged in relationships and in school, including young men like Tristan Glosby. (I Hate Men is  the title of a recent book by Pauline Harmange, translated from French.) I was also surprised that young men still hear, “don’t be a sissy.” Some felt being male was under fire with the frequent use of the phrase “toxic masculinity.”

Progress certainly isn’t a straight line upward, as evidenced in the sexist cult led by Donald Trump. George Simons finds in international surveys that about one-third of men support gender equality. I’m hopeful because Generations Y and Z tend to not limit themselves in regards to their gender roles or skin color. They have models to emulate as they assume more political power, learning from Nordic gender equality programs, Danish emotional literacy instruction for children, research on boy’s development (like that done by Andrew Smiler and Warren Farrell), and support groups for boys like those developed by Jerry Tello and Ashanti Branch. Promundo and MenEngage provide models of how to involve boys and men in activism for gender equality for all human beings.

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THE HEART’S DESIRE, EMPATHIC KONSCIO AND A THRIVING HUMANITY

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “THE KONSCIO METHOD™: Heal. Expand. Evolve.” by Milly Diericx

 

— If the heart is the seat of the soul, the place where you can connect to know your purpose and the things that fill you with joy, and the brain is a problem-solving machine that takes you where you want to go, then together they are the greatest team to help you manifest who you are in the world. However, they have to be aligned toward the same goal. What usually happens, is that our heart desires one thing, but we have been taught that following our heart is not rational and doesn't make sense—that we have to think and be logical—so we follow the path of the head, which is the one that everyone else approves of because it makes sense. We do so and end up being wretchedly unhappy. We end up living lives that are not what we want them to be, because our alignment is off.

We need to know our heart's desire very clearly, then enlist the mind to tell us how we can make that happen with who we are and what we have. Then, we can start doing what has to be done to achieve our desire. This is the sequence and formula for living the life you really want and not the one that makes sense to others.  When you align yourself with your heart’s desire, a plan, and action, magic happens.

— The empathic movement would be a social movement in which we refuse to be bigots: We treat each other kindly, and we denounce social injustice, police or other authority’s brutality, and criminal behavior every time we encounter it. If we have a firm set of values, we can act from them and ask others to do so with us; the values of the majority—those who hold in the face of the opposition that will surely arise—will, I assure you, provoke social change. This movement should be based on the sincere desire to serve, to be a team, and not in values that are self-righteous, for they tend to exclude those who don’t share such values. The whole idea of being in Empathic Konscio is seeing the richness of diversity, and how every single individual, viewpoint, idea, and value contributes to Team Humanity. Of course, I am not talking about destructive or divisive ideas, like hatred, intolerance, or greed. I’m talking about Higher Konscio values, which will always be cooperative, cohesive, loving, and compassionate. If you are unsure about which values come from Higher Konscio states, go back to the values exercise and read the list to get the gist of the values that contribute to Team Humanity.

Caring for the environment is the same kind of movement; if we, as people with economic power, stop buying goods that are damaging for the environment, they will stop producing them. It's up to us to make large businesses and corporations change their practices with the power of our money. When we invest in something, it thrives; what we don't spend money on becomes unprofitable and stops being produced. Imagine if we stop buying products that damage the environment, like plastics. What would happen to the plastics industry? They would have to adapt to the new market trends or go out of business. If we continue to buy their products as they are, with no criticism, with no conscience, it will continue to be good business, and such corporations will continue to produce them, damaging our environment even further. Just as governments seek power, corporations seek profit, so let's make what is damaging to us and the environment unprofitable for them, so they will adapt and produce things that are both good (or at least not destructive) for the environment and still meet our needs. Power and money are forms of energy; if we give our energy to that which is aligned to our Higher Konscio values and stop giving it to that which is not, we will change what thrives and what doesn’t in our world.

Human ingenuity has no bounds. We can make the things we want and need in different ways, using different materials, halting the destruction and still enjoying our commodities. It is amazing to think that we already have solutions for most of the problems facing us; we are not implementing them because they are not profitable, but they already exist and are quite viable. As an example, we can take the problem of climate change, which we know is produced by an excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mostly carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels. There are many alternatives to the use of fossil fuels, from the use of electric cars to the electricity produced by geothermal, wind, solar, and other ecologically sound means. Why, then, do we keep using fossil fuels? Because large corporations lobby the governments for their use so they can continue to make huge profits. What if we stopped using things that burn fossil fuels, like gasoline cars? What if each of us invested in solar cells for our homes instead of consuming electricity produced by fossil fuels? What would those petroleum consortiums do? Adapt or die. That's what they would do.

We have little awareness of the power each of us has in our own wallet, or the votes we give and the policies we support or protest, but we hold all the cards; they are just trying to cater to us and get our money or our votes. Where we put them is our choice. Money is also energy; just as we are sovereigns in our choice of where we want our energy and how to get it there, we are also sovereign in where we invest the fruits of our labor. We are extraordinarily powerful in all regards. How we behave dictates social trends, laws, and directions of the governing class; where we invest directs the market trends; and how we feel and treat each other directs our own life, our own well-being, and that of those around us.

Take responsibility for your own life and healing, expand your consciousness, and become who you really are: A magnificent being full of light, made of love. By healing the wounds of your own history, you remove the obstacles to being the magnificent light-bearer you were created to be. By healing your heart and creating better relationships with others, you heal your family and community. Healthy communities build better societies and so forth until we have a whole world attuned to Empathic Konscio, acting from love and compassion, being a team, focused on the greater good. Pass every decision through the wisdom of your heart, be empathic to others and nature, and watch the magic happen around you.

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LIBERATING SUPPRESSED EMOTIONS — RETURNING TO A SENSE OF WHOLENESS

These are some inspiring and insightful passages in “Quantum SHIFT: Healing the Fragmented Soul” by Lorna Wilson

 

— “Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.” Carl Jung

‘Fragmentation’ or the creation of what we perceive to be negative feelings or emotions, remain buried within the shadow ‘parts’ of our consciousness, whether created through the stories of past-life individuals, or the current-life personality. They are compartmentalizations of the fragmented self and are similar in their effect on the current personality. Reintegration of these unconscious stories does not negate the value of the lessons learned or the value of life issues, but it does initiate closure for the current personality. By liberating the suppressed emotions, a unification takes place within the self, returning to one a sense of wholeness.

To simplify things, let’s think about aspects of ourselves, or our soul, as consisting of parts that are in the ‘shadow’ or unconscious, not visible but affecting us adversely. Integrating them creates wholeness. A shaman ‘sees’ through an altered state of an expanded consciousness where problems may be, or what they are exactly. This is similar to what occurs during a hypnosis session, or any other non-physical exploration, as our own subconscious mind knows, holds the answers, and has recorded our individual history.

Soul ‘retrieval’ is not exclusive to shamanic techniques, although it is one way to attain lasting results. The subconscious knows what is needed and will therefore initiate its own process to achieve the desired results. 

Session – An Interesting Way Our Shadow 'Stuff' Can Look Dark 

I had some theta music playing quietly in the background to distract the noise of the neighbors as it was a weekend session and outdoor sounds were a bit more active. Leading up to a ‘significant moment’ the client tells me that she hears music in the background. Because I’d quietly put on the music, I hadn’t known if she was speaking about the music in the room or if it were something in her mind. She spoke about the music emitting waves of energy all around her. I told her to just be with the music and to see what it brought to mind.

C.  I see an image of something hunching forward, but I’m seeing it from the side. It’s a black face with wings. I can see the wings. It looks like it’s sad as it’s hunching forward; I can’t see the face.

L.  Let’s see why your subconscious has brought this to mind. What do you sense about this thing? You mentioned wings... is it bird like?  

C.  It’s human and is turned to the side so that I can only see the wings.  

L.  Go backward to just before this thing with the wings came to be there. Let’s find out what led up to this moment and what’s going on for it that led up to the hunched feeling of sadness.

C.  It doesn’t talk to me.

L.  Mentally – like telepathy – ask it to help you to understand more.

C.  Maybe the sound of the music is healing that angelic person.

L.  Ask it if it’s connected to you or wants you to know something.

C.  Goya came to mind, that sadness in Goya’s painting. It’s now looking at me.

L.  Ask it what it wants you to know or understand.

C.  It just says one-word “heal”.

L.  What does it mean to heal?

C.  I think it’s me because when I asked is it me, it felt happy.

We explore this more and she discovers that it’s her heart that carries the sadness. The figure is representative of her heart and that the loneliness from her childhood is the source. It shows her the life experiences that caused that, by bringing back childhood memories and past lives. The goal was that she was to discover that it’s time to take care of herself.  

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5 HEALTH BENEFITS OF SPENDING TIME IN NATURE DURING ADDICTION RECOVERY

The natural environment has a pure and healing quality to it. 

Just imagine you are hiking across the mountains on a cool October morning. 

You are sitting on the beach, watching the waves pound the sand, or just looking up at the starry night sky. 

These visuals elicit strong emotions in us.

The theory behind nature therapy for depression and drug addiction is that spending time outside can help you recover more quickly. So if you're trying to overcome a drug or alcohol addiction, nature could be the perfect remedy.

Ascendant, a popular New York rehabilitation center, states the benefits of spending time in nature during addiction recovery, which is why they have included nature therapy in their treatment approach.

Why Should You Spend Time In Nature During Addiction Recovery?

Spending time in nature to recover from drug addiction can have great benefits and help you focus on healthy living and sobriety. Once you plan some activities outside, you can identify how they help you stay sober during addiction recovery:

1: Strengthens Immune System

Nature aids in strengthening our immune systems, which might be impaired as a result of addiction.

Going outside will provide your body with Vitamin D, essential for your immunity. People who don't receive enough vitamin D are more likely to get sick, develop diabetes, develop atrophic arthritis, and develop heart disease.

A person's immune system is also vulnerable to the same risks if they spend all of their time indoors. 

The body cannot create a new form of reaction without experiencing the outside world and meeting new people. As a result, spending time outside and in nature will significantly aid in the development of your immunity during your addiction recovery.

2: Improves Sleep

It is prevalent for people in recovery from addiction to lose sleep.

However, because you are burning up your energy, indulging in outdoor activities in nature that make your heart pulse faster can help with sleeplessness. As a result, you're more likely to feel tired and sleepy

A good night's sleep is also essential for keeping a healthy lifestyle. 

Unfortunately, almost everyone has fallen victim to a faulty sleeping system at some point in their lives. 

Spending too much time indoors, in front of artificial light from TVs and computer screens might disrupt your sleeping cycles. The simplest solution is to spend more time outside. Going outside, especially in the early morning sunshine, can help you find your natural daily rhythm.

3: Manages Anxiety And Stress

Nature assists us in coping with stress and worry. Stress is processed differently in the body when you are surrounded by nature, and it becomes more bearable. 

Even the scenery outside your window can help you calm your mind because seeing green instead of a screen is always a good idea to reduce stress and manage anxiety. 

Nature can help us relax and think more creatively, just as it can help us relax and think more creatively. 

Take your diary outside and write poetry while relaxing in nature if you enjoy reading and writing. Another advantage of the outdoors in addiction therapy is mental serenity and new coping skills.

4: Improves Focus

Staying outside and being surrounded by vegetation will also help you concentrate. 

Even looking at greenery for 40 seconds, whether in an urban or natural setting, can boost our focus, which is beneficial for addiction treatment.

You can also employ mindfulness to help you focus on the sights, sounds, and smells while also generating sentiments and excitement. Additionally, because spending time outside refreshes one's mind, it can increase one's function and problem-solving abilities.

Hence, when you are in addiction recovery, you must focus on something, and spending time in nature can help you do that.

5: Encourages Exercise

We will be more likely to exercise if we stay outside. Nature gives us the freedom to move, walk, run around, or at the very least take a stroll and enjoy the landscape. 

Physical activities like exercising outside can also help you get in better shape, allowing you to feel stronger, more robust, and more confident.

We can also work out outside with individuals we enjoy. 

Loneliness can result from spending time alone at home. Instead, surround yourself with people, share your thoughts and ideas, and enjoy nature while distracting your mind from your addiction. Meeting new people and mingling can sometimes provide the most beneficial healing sessions.
 

Nature Activity Ideas

— Outdoor journaling is one of the most popular activities to do in nature. When you come out of rehab, you must have a lot of emotions piled up inside you, and if you start writing them in your journal, you will feel a lot better  

— Gardening is also one of the best activities to do outside after addiction recovery. When you dig the soil, plant the seeds, water, and take care of the plants, you release the piled-up energy in a positive manner.  

—Going for a hike is also a good way to spend time in nature, and it is one of the best exercises to do outside. So instead of taking a stroll around the block, head to the forest or mountains, and when you reach the top, you will feel a lot better.

—Getting creative with your artistic nature is another good suggestion to spend your day outside. You can sit in your backyard and draw the scenery you see in front of you. You can also let mother nature inspire you to write poems or song lyrics. 

—Exercising in nature is indeed a good activity to adopt post-recovery. So instead of hitting the gym, do 30 minutes of exercise in nature. It will help you breathe fresh air. You can also go for a jog in the local park because staying in touch with greenery can help you commit to sobriety better.

Go Green!

Once you find out how spending time in nature helps you grow, you can recover from addiction and commit to your sobriety better.

Even if you are not undergoing recovery, spending time in nature is always a good decision.

So, if you want more information on these, reach us in the comment box. We will get back to you with an answer in no time.

DISCOVERING, REDISCOVERING & REDEFINING THE MEANING OF HEALING AND LOVE

Here is an inspiring and insightful passage in “The Holding: Prequel to The Healing” by Lynda Faye Schmidt

 

— …Cate walks into a quiet house. Lady hears her and comes padding out to greet her, tail wagging. She seems to sense Cate’s heaviness as she presses her muzzle against Cate’s shin. Cate bends down to pat her and Lady licks her hand. The simple gesture brings a flood of fresh tears. Cate throws herself on the couch. She doesn’t know how to do this. She retrieves her journal, still in her purse. She looks out the window at the sky. The stars twinkle. Cate hopes to spot her father’s spirit ascending to heaven, but all she sees is space. She turns to a fresh page and begins to write.

“Looking out the window into the dark night sky,

I glimpse the beginning of a new and spectacular dawn. The sky in the east transforms from inky black to

rusty indigo, to majestic magenta, to a soft cherry pink. It seems to speak to me of promises and dreams, of someplace I recognize but feels like so long ago.

I don’t see my father’s spirit out there, but I picture him in my mind, playing baseball. I see him standing

at the plate, legs planted firmly, his expression deadpan. I see him looking over at me, sitting in the bleachers— a conspiratorial wink. The pitcher releases the ball.

It sails through the air. Dad swings the bat. Crack.

It makes contact. Dad drops the bat in the dirt and starts running.

I pray that somewhere in that forever sky my father is running free, watching over me, proud of who I’ve become. I pray he will always be with me, bonded in spirit, in our hearts, for eternity.

I don’t know how I’m going to do this, how to carry on without him. God knows I’ve endured one hell of a lot of hardships in my lifetime, but this feels like too much. My father was my rock, the one true thing I always could rely on. He was a simple man. He didn’t change the world, but he changed mine. I felt witnessed, accepted, perfect. His hands have always held me as I laughed and cried. My father’s hands, they were my refuge. I always felt safe in his arms, with him only a phone call away. Where will my strength come from now? How will I manage, stuck in an unhealthy, unhappy marriage? How will I be the good mother my children need me to be, deserve me to be?

I don’t have the answers. All I have left are the memories, of the holding. I suppose it will have to be enough. “

Cate is crying so hard by this time, she can’t write anymore. Her tears fall onto the page, smudging her words. She closes her eyes. She sits in silence, for how long she doesn’t know. After a while she stirs as if aroused by divine inspiration. She has the strongest urge to write a poem for her father. She goes into the office and sits down at the computer to write. The words flow out of her with lightning speed, her fingers on the keyboard barely able to keep up….

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CBD HEMP FLOWER: HEALTH BENEFITS, COST AND VALUE

Health benefits of the CBD Hemp flower

So, why do people use the CBD hemp flower?

CBD hemp flowers have many health benefits and are not addictive, unlike pharmaceutical drugs. The CBD hemp flower is believed to be one of the most effective painkillers and may help relieve muscle spasms.

They can also help to alleviate depression and to manage other mental issues such as stress and anxiety. Besides, people with sleeping problems due to pain, stress, depression, and other issues find the product a great help because it improves their sleep patterns. Additionally, CBD hemp flowers can aid in the prevention of seizures in children and lessen the need to depend on medications for one's entire life.

Furthermore, CBD hemp flowers have great cosmetic benefits and are used in many body care products and beauty skin creams. These products can reduce wrinkles, give the skin a younger look, and treat acne and other skin problems.

 

What is the Cost of the CBD Hemp flower?

Cannabidiol (CBD) has certainly been making waves in the cannabis industry and will continue to do so. But, what does a CBD flower actually cost? In places like Canada and America, CBD is no longer classified as a controlled substance. The 2018 Farm Bill in the United States gave CBD consumers a green light to use the non-psychoactive substance. Ever since the laws governing CBD were relaxed in the states, at least 1 out of 5 US adults have used the substance at least once.

 Premium CBD products can be very expensive. Because of this, some people wonder what exactly makes CBD hemp flowers valuable. Here is all that you need to know about the price of CBD hemp flowers and their value right now.

 

High-CBD Hemp Flower

Unlike regular hemp that's mainly farmed for extraction applications, high-CBD hemp flowers are different. After harvesting them from the cannabis sativa strain, people dry and process hemp flowers. They can then be smoked or eaten as an edible or capsule.

Farmers who grow hemp flowers on a large scale are able to lower their prices after harvesting. However, low-price CBD often means that the quality is not that high. To produce high-end CBD, farmers have to invest more resources into the production and processing of the crop. These often require more labor and time.

 

The Price of Premium CBD Hemp Flowers

Want to know the exact cost of a CBD hemp flower per ounce? Well, a myriad of factors determines the cost and value of CBD flowers. You will have to take various factors like shipping costs, location of hemp flowers, quality of the hemp flowers, and, probably, taxes into account. Having said that, on average, premium CBD hemp flowers may be priced between $40 to $150. 

Premium CBD hemp flowers may indeed prove to be too expensive for the average consumer. But, it's crucial to note that they do offer you more value for your money. Additionally, because high-CBD flowers are bioavailable, they are not adulterated. 

If you invest your hard-earned cash in premium CBD products, you will enjoy using them for a long time. Moreover, when you buy CBD flowers in bulk, the prices can usually be reduced.

 

CBD Biomass and Dried CBD Flower Market Value

CBD biomass talks about the whole hemp plant material. The CBD market largely uses biomass to make CBD, which can be extracted from the plant's leaves and stalks. As of June 2019, Hemp Benchmarks reported that 25k of CBD Biomass was priced at $4.02 per %CBD per pound. In October, the price fell to $2.32 before further dropping to $1.32 in early 2020.

On the other hand, dried CBD flowers also refer to the buds and trichomes from the hemp plant. Dried CBD flowers may be more expensive than CBD biomass due to the cost of cutting and trimming processes that are involved in their processing.

 

In conclusion, the price and value of high-CBD flowers often make sense. It's costly to produce premium CBD, but if you invest in it, it offers extra value to consumers.

OUR POWER IS THE INFINITE PARADISE WITHIN US

Here is an inspiring and insightful passage in “Letting Go So You Can Thrive!!: The 5-Step Process That Gets You Unstuck” by Moira Hutchison

 

— Sometimes the hardest thing to do in our spiritual lives is let go. So many chains can burden us and then we drag them around with us throughout our life. These might be attached to the heaviest, most cumbersome loads and yet we trudge on, struggling against our very own true nature most of the time, usually because we just do not know how to, or we are afraid of, letting go.

Sometimes we come to recognize our burdens and baggage and sometimes - we cherish them, hoping that others will feel pity for the great weight we carry, or in some way, will respect us more. And yet other times we just don't know any better.

Can you imagine anything dafter than all of this?

We are trying to travel our best journey in our spiritual lives, and yet our path and progress are hampered by our selves insisting upon dragging around these massive weights. Do you know what these chains and burdens are for you?

Is there someone that irritates you or that you dislike? Perhaps even someone that you hate? Is there someone that you have not forgiven? Maybe someone that you cannot forgive? These are all massive weights that we burden our hearts with, scarring them. They are perversions to the perfect unconditional love we each have at our core.

These impurities drag our love down. In fact, they pull our love into common, conditional expressions. We will not be the first to apologize or the first to extend a hand because it is 'their fault' or 'they started it.' We will not be the first to forgive, because 'they do not deserve it.' 'I will not love him until he loves me, and if he stops loving me then I cannot love him.'

What a heaviness we can carry!!

Are there things in your past you wish you had done better? Or other things you’d like you had not done at all? Do you have a cupboard full of 'if- onlys' that haunt you? Do you think about your past or your current situation and have regrets? These are large, heavy anchors that we drag around with us. They stop us from gaining any traction in our spiritual evolution; they lessen our ability to grow and develop and above all, they dim our light.

Do you worry too much? Do you lie in bed worrying? Thinking about whether you have done the right thing, or paid your bills, or what you will do tomorrow and 'if only' this or that. All these are chains. Burdens.

Let them go – release them once and for good!

— You cannot control all the events of your life, but you can control your state of mind during them. It is your state of mind that determines your happiness, not the events of your life. You are the master of your happiness because you are the master of your state of mind - take control.

Our time is now at this moment. Our power is the infinite paradise within us. Our future is held within the realization of our highest and best way of being, anything that detracts from that are burdens…

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PAY ATTENTION AND HONOR WHAT YOUR HEART DESIRES

Here is an inspiring and insightful passage in “Fresh Courage In Retirement: Finding Purpose, Essence, And Fulfillment” by Sharon Rolph

 

— Fresh Courage is what we have when we’ve taken a new view of life after a vacation or a wonderful trip or been with a dear friend. It comes with that contented, settled, clear-headed feeling. Our spirit wakes up in pleasure. We are able to make better decisions and call the shots that make us happy. Pay attention and honor what your heart desires. You may not realize why you desire what you do, but give it attention. Its message will come to you.

Being happy, loving life and finding joy, in my opinion, is nearly “Heaven on earth.” Using your natural talent, gifts and strengths are also often keys to your joy. You are enough. You are valued!

I love inspiring and encouraging people. I also lose track of time when I sew. Over the years, I’ve collected words of wisdom. So, when I started quilting, I realized I also loved working with color. At one of my temporary jobs in Texas at a JOANN Fabrics store, we were taught to ask people what project they were working on. Even now, as a customer, I still like asking people what they are working on. That’s when a postal letter carrier told me she made fabric postcards for various holidays for friends. That particular day was Halloween. A couple of weeks later, I realized how my words of wisdom, love of color and sewing could all come together to inspire others with postcard-size fabric art.

I really want you to be on a quest to realize what makes you happy. The first coaching book I read from our recommended reading list was The JOY Diet by Martha Beck. It made such an impact on me. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say it could transform you, too.

I was profoundly moved by the first chapter as it got me in touch with the wisdom I have inside. I take seriously the need to take care of myself first, before my clients. There are so many fun and delightful ways to feed the spirit and soul. What I learned is how serious a business it is to treat myself well every day and to honestly desire what I want.

One of the things deep in my heart is to be fully using all the gifts I’ve been given. I feel very responsible to use them for the purpose for which they were meant. You see, I don’t want to stand before God and have to admit that I buried any of them! I don’t want that for you, either.

Would you be willing to be curious about what your talents are and how they could be used to serve others? (We change, when our brain lights up!) When I realized that I could get paid to use my talents while living my joy in service to others, it seemed like Heaven on earth. Wow! Really? How IDEAL!

So, wouldn’t you rather decide to live from your heart, use your talent, and serve others, since you’re the boss now and it’s your time to shine? We’ve got untold years and decades yet to live. I wonder if it’s possible to find fulfillment and meaning along the way that make our heart sing? Time flies when we are having fun.

Time is marching on. Use it wisely. Refuse to become bored, confused or aimless. I’m here so you don’t spend two to five years to get focused or to find your new center. I’ve collected lots of possible resources for you to explore. Perhaps listening to some of the fifty-plus podcasts I made while you drive or walk will inspire possibilities, too. (One of my favorites is with Joyce Major, author of Smiling at the World, which I’ll tell you more about later.) The Internet puts a world of information at our fingertips. Explore.

This past year or two I’ve worked on loving and honoring myself more. As a single, never-married woman longing to be cherished and waiting, and waiting, this was BIG. It’s made such a difference! When I started reminding myself, “I’m doing the best I can,” it shut up the critical or judging voice in my head! Whew! Stop judging or comparing yourself so much! You could do this too, couldn’t you?

Self-care is often a low priority, but it certainly matters. Just buying a rose or small bouquet helps me be more in love with life. I’m getting better at decluttering and am surprised at the impact it has on my sense of me, too. It’s another method of self-love….

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