Of all the lies you were ever told

Of all the lies you were ever told, the worst, and by far the most damaging, is the one that led you to believe that you are not good enough.

This could never be true. That you have lessons to learn, yes. That you have made mistakes and hurt others, yes again, in fact who can honestly say they haven't,  but that you are, at the most fundamental level of your being 'not good enough', no.


To those who told you this, say:

"No thank you. I don't accept what you're saying to be true. If there are lessons to learn, I will learn them. If there are changes I need to make in myself, I will make them but I choose to do so from a place of Power and not from being diminished and devalued as a human being."  

And then, from this place of Power show compassion because it is only someone so deeply wounded who could find it useful to hurt another in this way. 

Don't pass the pain on. Be the courageous agent of change who stands up and says, it stops here, it stops with me.


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The Emotional Detox Diet: Consume less, Give more

Over the years you have, no doubt, heard of many diets and wellness plans for optimal health.

When distilled to their core elements, most of them speak of consuming fewer bad foods, eating more healthy foods, drinking lots of water to flush out toxins and stay hydrated, supplementing with vitamins and other nutritional supports to fortify your body and of course, being more physically active to burn of the unwanted pounds.

Well, how about using this model for optimal Emotional health? As I see it, the Emotional Detox and Wellness Diet would look something like this:

1. Consume less: anger, impatience, resentment, judgment, fear, apathy, addictive behaviours and negative thoughts

2. Give more: consideration, tolerance, understanding, support, encouragement, forgiveness, compassion and Love

3. Cleanse and Hydrate your emotional body by thinking thoughts that fill you with Hope, Joy and Inspiration


4. Fortify your life by surrounding yourself with positive, uplifting people and a loving, encouraging support system

5. Burn off old, toxic emotional energy by doing things that make you glad to be alive, bring a smile to someone's face and make a positive difference in the world. 

Seriously, shouldn't we all be on an Emotional Detox and Wellness Diet?  :) 


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Slow down!

Prolonged stress does unbelievable damage to your life, so in the best interest of your physical, mental and emotional health....slow down!

Here is a great link that will give you practical ways to slow down your very busy and demanding life. If you're unable to  click on it, cut and paste it into your browser.

http://brightdays.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/12-tips-to-help-you-slow-down-and-relax/

Remember, the key to making long lasting change is to do one new thing consistently and repeatedly over time and you'll soon find that it feels like a normal way of living.  So just start with one tip at a time, do it until you master it, then move on to the next one.

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Darkness cannot remain dark in the presence of Light

It is precisely into those areas that keep us from our greatness, that we must step.

Being diminished through control, bullying, manipulation and deceit as well as our self-generated shadows of lies, resentment, apathy, addiction etc. lessens the integrity with which we live life, wounds the truth of who we are and asks that we settle for less.

And this is exactly what we must not do, for each time we allow ourselves to 'turn a blind eye', let things slide or be beaten down, we give more of our power away.

Darkness cannot remain dark in the presence of Light. When we summon up the courage to face the things that control us, they lose power over us and we reclaim our Dignity.

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Seek first to Understand

Have you noticed how Reactive you are? We all are.  Before the person we're speaking with has even finished what they're saying, we've already decided what our opinion is on the matter. The opportunity for misunderstanding is so great that it's a wonder we communicate at all!

I believe a sign of intelligence, not to mention evolution, is to make sure we have as much information and have understood the other as much as possible, before responding.

So today, why not make it your priority to first understand the other. Truly listen, ask questions, clarify what you've heard and when you're sure you've thoroughly understood what was intended, then respond. You'll find that this:

1. Greatly reduces misunderstandings
2. Fulfills one of our most basic needs as human beings, which is to be heard
3. Creates a climate of communication where even if the other disagrees with your opinion, they are more likely to be open to what you have to say because they feel their thoughts were received respectfully.
4. Increases the quality of communication tremendously 

Share your experiences of doing this by posting a comment!

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The Power to create Change

At any given instant you are both the individual droplet of water in the ocean and the Ocean itself. 

What I mean by this is that you are an individual being, complete with your joys, sorrows, courage, fears and gifts and at the same time, you are a vital part of the Whole: family, community, town, country and Humanity itself. And there in lies your power to be an extraordinary agent of change.  

At the microscopic level, when that tiny droplet of water raises its frequency by cleansing the pollutants it has been carrying and purifies itself, the quality of the Whole at the macro level is positively affected. 


We are often overwhelmed by the issues that are taking place in the world around us; oil spills, natural disasters, wars etc., and to find a way to make a difference  when our own lives are so demanding, can be daunting.

But this little analogy of the water droplet illustrates how you can, in fact, make powerful changes.


Start with yourself! Turn your eyes inwards and locate an area of your thoughts,feelings and behaviors that are heavy and non-productive, then make it your focus to think, feel and do differently on that one issue. It won't happen instantly but keep at it and it will change, you will change and therefore, so will the world around you.

This, I believe, is what Gandhi meant when he said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." He profoundly understood the power of One.

Now imagine what would happen if many, many 'droplets' did this :)

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