If Only I Knew Then What I Know Now

11 Comments
Posted 03 Sep 2010 — by
Category Life Purpose, Spiritual Growth

In my recent post, Do You Teach What You Most Need to Learn? I mentioned that my parents were strict disciplinarians. Being the oldest of three, I got the brunt of their ‘children of Greek immigrants/raised during the depression’ brand of parenting.

I was told what to do, and not allowed to make decisions for myself from the smallest things such as choosing the type of ice cream I wanted at Carvel’s, to what to wear and how to fix my hair.

About the only thing I could do without any questions from my parents was read books. My mother detested frivolous behavior – no slumber parties for us! Education was held in the highest regard in our household. So, I became a championship reader. I won awards for reading the most books during summer vacation in 6th grade, and for fastest reader in 7th & 8th grades. I even read books when I played ‘house’ with my sister and best friend. My character was always the smart kid that read books, so they could play around me. Books were my escape from a home life that centered on the constant drudgery of work to “keep us in line and out of trouble.”

My parents overbearing parenting style resulted in my rebelling big-time in high school. I hung with a fast crowd and did all sorts of things I wouldn’t want my kids, if I had any, to do. All I could think about was getting a good job, so I could get away from home. I remember thinking when I was 16 that I couldn’t wait to turn 30, so that then my parents might respect me and see me as an adult.

Wanting so badly to escape from the clutches of my parents led me to make many mistakes. The voices of my parents were hard to shake and caused me a lot of inner conflict. If I could speak to that young girl, and she would listen, I’d have lots to tell her. I’d want her know:

You’re not crazy. Your gut feelings are right. It isn’t normal for parents to be so over-protective and controlling. Do not let this undermine your confidence.

It’s okay to relax. You don’t have to work all the time to prove you’re worthy of your parents’ approval. They can’t let go of their depression era values, but that doesn’t mean you have to assimilate them.

You’re not “good for nothing” if you want to sit on the porch and sip iced tea on a Saturday afternoon, instead of mow the lawn, or trim the hedges.

Forget about what the “neighbors” think, or anybody else either. What does it matter? You can’t control their minds, so stop worrying about it. Just do what’s in your heart.

Take time to dream – and dream big! Do not put the word dream and practicality in the same sentence, ever! Don’t dial down your dreams to “get a good job with benefits” that will ultimately make you want to walk in front of bus someday.

Leave home. Go away to school. Experience campus life. The friendships you make when you live on campus will be lifelong ones. The campus is a mini-city where you can spread your wings and be an adult for the first time. You’ll look back later and wish you hadn’t given in to being a commuter student.

Normal people have fun! They get together with friends and share a glass of wine and kick back and enjoy their lives. Some go out dancing, some go to sporting event, and some to casinos, but the point is they get out and socialize. There are other things beside academics.

Take more vacations. Go for the R&R. Lay on a beach and read trashy novels for a week. There is nothing wrong with that. Life is to be enjoyed.

Slow down. Take one day at a time. Don’t live in the future. Don’t put off happiness for when you’ve accomplished this, or done that. Time goes way to fast. Before you know it you’ll be through half your life, and you will not have enjoyed the journey, and the accomplishments will feel empty.

Please don’t give away your guitar! Someday you’ll wish you hadn’t stopped playing. Keep it. Even if it sits in a closet for 20 years. You’ll be glad you did.

Just because you’ve been dating someone for X years doesn’t mean you have to marry them. If it doesn’t feel right before you get married, it’ll feel even worse after you’re married.

If you don’t like what you’re doing it’s okay to quit. It doesn’t make you a quitter, it shows that you value yourself and take your likes and dislikes seriously.

Don’t stay in career that’s not for you. So what if you have to start all over at the bottom of the ladder. At least this time it’ll be a ladder you want to climb!

Oh, and when you’re in grad school do not take a part time job in the mortgage business…you’ll never get out – and you’ll be so sorry. Resist the urge to go after money and security all the time. Allow yourself to free-fall. You’ll probably land somewhere ten times better.

When you’re ready to sell your condo for a bigger one - don’t buy a house instead, please? Okay? Stick to your original plan and buy a nice townhouse where you can stay put for a couple of decades instead of having to downsize in a down market 7 years later.

You mustn’t take life so seriously! Forget the rules once in a while. Run through the grass barefoot. Have cereal for dinner. Live, love, laugh and enjoy your life!

That’s what I’d tell her today. Who knows in ten years I might have more insights for her, but for now this what I think she needs to hear.

By the way, I don’t blame my parents – they did the best they could, and I know they thought they were doing what was best for me. I was angry and rebellious when I was a teen, but as I got older I let go of the anger. I realize that everything that I’ve gone through in my life has helped to make me the person I am today, so to change the past would be to change who I am now – and I wouldn’t want that.

What insights would you share with your younger self? What would you want them to know – that you know now?

My heartfelt thanks to Abubakar Jamil of AbubakarJamil.com, and Farnoosh Brock of Prolific Living for inviting me to participate in their wonderful Life Lessons series.

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Do You Teach What You Most Need to Learn?

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Posted 01 Sep 2010 — by
Category Change your thinking, Life Purpose, Uncategorized

“My husband talks to me about his writing all the time, especially when I’m trying to watch TV – it drives me crazy! You know he reads and takes notes? Do you do that to?”

I can’t help but laugh as my beautician uses me as her guinea pig to try to make sense of her “writer” husband. She keeps talking without taking a breath, or allowing me to answer her question.

“What do you write about?” she asks combing my wet hair onto my forehead to trim my bangs.

“About learning to develop your intuition and to use it to-”

“To get the lottery numbers?” I see her light up over this as I watch her refection in the mirror.

“Well, not exactly, ” I say. “I write about how to use your intuition to solve problems and get guidance.”

“Oh, I’ve always wondered how all that worked,” she replied, but the gleam had gone out of her eyes when she realized I wouldn’t be sharing the secret to “getting the lottery numbers.”

After this we talk about her children, and other topics. I half listen as she continues talking, nodding appropriately when necessary. But, I keep asking myself, aside from it being a life-long passion, why am I so compelled to write about intuition?

On the way home in the car a thought pops into my mind:

*You teach best what you most need to learn

As I think about this, I realize it’s true. I do teach what I need to learn. My parents were Old World types and made most of my decisions for me. My father once quit a job for me – when I went in the next day I was surprised to learn I no longer worked there! Any decisions I was allowed to make for myself were constantly second-guessed, which undermined my confidence. This led me to stop trusting myself, particularly when it came to listening to my gut, or intuition. As time passed I learned to discount my intuition – to push it down where it was safely hidden. It was easier than trying to argue with my parents. This set me up in a life-long battle over making choices based on what others wanted me to do, versus following my instincts and passion.

I know now that I have to listen to my inner voice. When I look back over the biggest mistakes I’ve made they were all due to my making choices based on being practical, rather than on what I truly desired, or felt in my gut. For example, I’d chosen a career in finance rather than pursue writing, the subject I was truly interested in.

After this revelation I wondered if other bloggers felt compelled, as I did, to write about a topic because it was something they needed to learn as well? I decided to ask a few about this and here are their fascinating and generous responses:

Steven Aitchison:

Change Your Thoughts was born from an idea that my life experiences might benefit other people in some way.  I was socially awkward, didn’t really believe I was that intelligent, suffered from major self doubts and was depressed.  After waking up in hospital, after a failed suicide attempt at the age of 21 in 1990, I decided to change my life then and there.  From that day forward I made changes, lots of them, one of them being my thoughts.  As soon as I changed my thinking patterns my life started to turn around.

I was always interested in writing and wrote short stories across the net and in groups and was looking for something more.  Then in 2006, after gaining lots more new experiences and a degree in Psychology, I discovered  Steve Pavlina‘s blog, and thought he was amazing, and was doing exactly what I wanted to do.  That was it, I had found an outlet and Change Your Thoughts was born in August 2006 with a view to writing for anyone who would listen about the power of one’s thoughts, and their ability to change lives.

Karen Ruby of A Meaningful Existence:

I would definitely say that there are issues in my life that I need help with and one way to help myself is to learn from a variety of sources, including books, other blogs, and people. When I come across something that has helped me in my own life, I owe it to share with others so that they don’t have to struggle like I did. I think that’s definitely part of why I started my site, A Meaningful Existence. My life is not perfect and while I have figured out some things that work for me, there are other issues that I struggle with, just like everyone struggles. I have struggled to give my life meaning and to feel like life is more than ‘just existing’. I think most people who are drawn to self-development are drawn because we can all use some help in our own lives. I don’t know anyone who thinks that their life is perfect and that couldn’t use personal development techniques in some area of their life. Of course, it’s a life-long learning process. Not everything I read about directly affects my life, but I try and share what I’ve learned so that others don’t have to struggle as much.

Tess Marshall:

The Bold Life teaches to serve, to love and to connect with others by being our authentic selves and acting on our dreams. When I inspire readers, I’m inspired as well. When I encourage readers to step out of their comfort zone, I’m encouraged as well. There are moments I want to give up, give in to fear and throw in the towel. Instead I hold myself accountable by taking small penguin steps. I can’t ask you to be something or try something I am won’t. Blogging gives me the opportunity to release my own fears, as I encourage you to release yours. My courage and bravery become yours and your courage and bravery become mine. In the process we become stronger. We are one.

Alex Blackwell writes:

The BridgeMaker is an honestly written blog that focuses on faith, inspiration and stories of personal change. These topics are important to me as I continue learning the past does not have to define my future. I believe to change or grow we must first acknowledge what needs to be healed.

As a child of an alcoholic parent, the biggest piece that needs healing is my sense of worth. When a parent chooses the bottle over a child, the wounds cut deep. My blog, however, allows me to explore what happened a long time ago and reframe it in positive ways. While I can’t undo the past, writing about these topics helps me see how far I have come as a parent, husband and person.

The BridgeMaker is my testament that real change can occur when we allow our faith to inspire us to discard feelings that no longer serve us and replace them with healthier ones.

Betsy Henry:

Prior to starting, The Zen Mama’s blog, my relationship with my three boys had changed. We’d gone from being able to talk about everything to my suddenly being shut out. I couldn’t sleep thinking about how everything was wrong! I was trying to let go of worry and get closer to my three boys again, and I knew the only way that would happen was if I changed. That’s when I started writing my Zen Mama ideas on paper as advice to myself that eventually turned into the book, How To Be A Zen Mama. My relationship with my boys changed once I embraced positive parenting. Two years ago none of the boys wanted to sit at the table with us – now all that’s changed.  Zen Mama made us positive parents who wait to get angry. When you wait you usually realize that there’s nothing to get angry about.

With the blog, I wanted to share this knowledge others. I wanted to help other mothers let go, too. What I didn’t realize is that the blog would take on a life of its own. I had started out by writing about things I knew and had already experienced.  Now I find that I’m writing about what I’m learning about. I’ve been exploring Buddhism over the last year, so I write about all sorts of Buddhist principles. I find myself following my own advice about positive parenting and I’m having great results with my children.

Marko V of Calm Growth:

Earlier in my life, I was always upset because of small things, and I was frustrated by the most common events. Then I discovered the basic techniques to achieve calmness of mind. I still think that calmness is the pillar for our growth and therefore in the name of my blog is the word “calm.” Soon after I started blogging, I discovered other techniques to improve productivity, communication and planning, and my whole life changed. Since then, the more I research about the principles of self-development – the more I grow. Whenever I’m interested in some principle, and I want to learn more, I explore and then write about it in my blog.

Manal Ghosain of One with Now:

One of the things I always desired in my life was to be at peace. My journey led me to realize that I cannot seek what’s within—I only need to uncover it. My writing is mostly inspired by what I’m trying to incorporate into my daily life to become more present and in harmony with life as it unfolds now. Sharing enforces the concepts I’m trying to learn and apply. I hope my readers find such ideas useful in becoming more aware and at peace in their everyday life.

After reading every one’s responses I realize I’m not the only one who is “teaching what they most need to learn.” I can already feel a difference within me in the eight months since I’ve been blogging. I’m much more in touch with my true feelings and desires. I never would have put my house up for sale, so that I could eventually live on earnings from my blog and readings had it not been for the focus that blogging about intuition gives me. It does seem that for many of us blogging is a healing activity of sorts – a way to grow past the ingrained patterns that have held us back in the past in order to reach our fullest potential.

What about you? Are you blogging/teaching what you most need to learn? How has it affected your life?

*You teach best what you most need to learn, is a quote from Richard Bach, the author famous for writing Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

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The Indescribable Feeling of Love from A Non-Physical Being

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Posted 30 Aug 2010 — by
Category Developing Intuition, Spiritual Growth
Example of a subject in a Ganzfeld experiment.
Image via Wikipedia

Hulbert Lee of From Bottom Up was kind enough to interview me recently on the topic of my psychic and mediumship abilities for his psychic series.

Hulbert had some terrific questions prepared for me, and the time just flew by.

I describe what it was like to encounter beings that have crossed over, how to get answers in your dreams, gave several tips on how to develop your intuition, and described a clairvoyant vision I’d had.

Have a listen:

Here’s the link to listen to our audio interview.

Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again Hulbert.

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How To Be Your Best – Surround Yourself with Inspiring People!

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Posted 19 Aug 2010 — by
Category Law of Attraction

Ever since I joined the blogging community in January, I’ve found it to be the most inspiring journey I’ve ever been on.

I’ve come to believe you not only have to be self-motivated to be a blogger, but pretty darn optimistic too. Why else would anyone publish something they put their heart and soul into several times a week for no pay, and for possibly very few readers? It’s pretty incredible when you get right down to it.

I guess we’re the kind of people who might have built a baseball field on a corn farm in the middle of nowhere and said, “If you build it, they will come.”

And, that’s why I say it’s been an inspirational trip. To see all these talented writers and entrepreneurs cast their nets out each day and pull in schools of readers and new subscribers, and to know they all started just like me – with maybe a handful of subscribers, or less. It’s amazing, and it sure should give brand new bloggers a lot of hope too.

The other thing I find so inspirational about the blogging community is the helpfulness of bloggers. I’ve never experienced such openness, sharing and camaraderie in any of the work experiences I’ve ever had. I would never have dreamed that someday I’d call people I’d never met from across the globe – my friends, but I do now. I also could not have imagined that starting my blog, which led me to join the A-List Blogging Club, would’ve opened the door to my becoming the marketing director for The Daily Brainstorm – but, remarkably, it did.

That said, I’d like to introduce you a group of bloggers most inspiring to me:

Leo Babauta (who needs no introduction) – Zen Habits & mnmlist & Write to Done, co-founder of the A List Blogging Club – best selling author of, The Power of Less. How could you not find someone who set the standard for self-development blogs, and whose blog was named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 best blogs in 2009, inspiring? ‘Nuff said, right?

Mary Jaksch – Goodlife Zen – and co-publisher of The Daily Brainstorm & co-founder of the A-List Blogging Club, editor-in-chief of Write to Done – Mary’s personal story is very compelling. If you haven’t read it – you absolutely must. You will be inspired. Here’s the link: How I Met Good Fortune Half Way – and You Can Too.

Barrie Davenport – Live Bold & Bloom – editor-in-chief of The Daily Brainstorm. Barrie’s work ethic is unparalleled – I know this from the emails I receive late into the night. She launched her blog only 6 months ago, gave it her all, and now has over 2000 subscribers. That’s incredible!

Katie Tallo – Momentum Gathering – managing editor for The Daily Brainstorm. Katie writes beautiful posts – some read like poetry. I so admire how often she publishes. She was back from vacation one day and she had a post out. If she could bottle her energy and sell it – I’d buy it!

Jean Sarauer – Virgin Blogger Notes – managing editor of The Daily Brainstorm. Jean writes for new bloggers trying to master the techniques and technology that come with blogging territory. She writes incredibly funny, down earth informative posts that have me in stitches, and have helped my blog immeasurably.

Steven Aitchison – Change Your Thoughts – guest post editor of The Daily Brainstorm. Steve’s passionate about helping others and passing on his immense knowledge, and you can clearly see it in his work. He constantly comes up with new and fresh ideas to help his readers live more fulfilling lives.

Arvind Devalia – Make it Happen – editor for Self-development and Spirituality sections of The Daily Brainstorm. Arvind’s blog is so totally heartfelt. The first post of his I ever read about the loss of his father made me weep. Trust me, Arvind’s posts will be move you to tears and to joy.

Lisa – Privilege – editor of Lifestyle section of The Daily Brainstorm. Lisa writes about the high WASP privileged lifestyle – something I know very little about. Lisa’s blog absolutely fascinates me in the way I was captivated by the BBC series, Upstairs Downstairs.

Scott Dinsmore – Reading for Your Success – editor of Biz & Bucks section of The Daily Brainstorm. Scott consumes books like I eat Raisonets® and whips up book reviews for the fun of it. If I don’t have time to read a self-development book – I now just go to Scott’s site for a great synopsis!

Aileen Mahoney – Kaizen Vision - editor of News & Views section of The Daily Brainstorm. Aileen writes about small changes we can implement that have a big impact upon the quality of our lives. I’m the type who looks to make big sweeping changes – but I’ve learned the value of small steps from Aileen.

Farnoosh Brock – Prolific Living – photo editor for The Daily Brainstorm. Farnoosh writes about a myriad of topics in her lifestyle blog from communication to entertainment, my favorites being books and culture. And, she illustrates many posts with her own terrific photography!

I find many, many bloggers inspiring, but this group is particularly inspirational to me because of how much they give. Leo goes way beyond the call of duty in the A-List Blogging Bootcamps. He turns an hour session into 1 1/2, and sometimes a nearly 2 hour course where he allows us to pick his brain clean of blogging knowledge! Mary is a master juggler able to keep, what appears to me, an infinite number of balls in the air, while at the same time selflessly reaching out to offer help and advice to struggling bloggers.

As for the volunteer staff at The Daily Brainstorm who work tirelessly to put together a new edition each day, while still maintaining their jobs, relationships, responsibilities, and their own blogs too – I take my hat off to them. Can you imagine what kind of orchestration it takes to put together a publication of this kind when there are nearly 115 contributors, and each of the editors is located in a different time zone? It boggles the mind! (Of course, without the steadfast efforts and technical know-how of co-publisher Geri Langlois, who is truly the man behind the curtain, none of this would be possible.)

All these hard-working talented bloggers inspire me to be my best, and for that I say, Thank You. To be so inspired is truly a priceless gift.

Who inspires you? How has it affected your life?

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How to Walk Through Walls

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Posted 15 Aug 2010 — by
Category Change your thinking, Dream Interpretation, Law of Attraction

“Angela, would you come in here, please?” I heard my boss calling from her office.

“Uh, sure, be right in,” I replied hesitantly.

My boss wanted me in her office, but the problem was that her office was located in-between the walls, and there was no door!

I must be dreaming, I thought. How am I supposed to get in there? On some level, I was aware that I was asleep and dreaming.

I heard her call me again, so I had no choice but to “enter” her office. I focused my eyes straight ahead and walked steadily up to the wall, all the while wondering if I’d really be able to pass through it and – promptly smashed my face into it.

Ow! That’s not working, I thought rubbing my sore nose.

Then I realized, as I’d walked toward the wall I’d been skeptical about whether I could really walk through it.

I took a few steps back and then began walking toward the wall again. This time I heard myself thinking, I want to do this. I can walk through that wall!

The next thing I knew I was aware that my body had penetrated the wall. It was a strange spongy sensation something like walking through jello. I got my head through then pulled the rest of me through, and I was in. Her office was spacious and luxuriously furnished. Sun drenched the room through huge windows lining the walls – not what I was expecting to find in 4 inches of empty space between two sheets of dry wall.

I was curious as to what dimension we were in? The astral plane, the etheric dimension? But, all she wanted to do was talk business. She acted very matter-of-fact about it too, as if offices located in-between walls were as common as finding staplers on desks.

I woke up soon after this, and couldn’t get the dream out of my mind.

An interesting post I read by friend and fellow blogger, Scott Dinsmore (ReadingForYourSuccess.com), came to mind.  Scott’s article titled, “The Beginner’s Guide to Being Congruent,” is about how we easily achieve our goals when our emotions and beliefs are aligned with our intentions.

I realized my dream wasn’t about the physicality of walking through the wall, but about dealing with inner conflict when we’re trying to accomplish something. To achieve  our goals our desires, intentions, emotions and beliefs must all be aligned – or what Scott refers to as “congruent” in his terrific article.

To illustrate this, think of something you’re trying to achieve and read the terms and their meanings below.

Desire – wish, want, a longing, yearning, craving, need, aspiration. You have to really, really want this.

Intention – meaning, purpose, aim, intent, goal, target, objective. It has to give your life meaning and captivate your soul.

Emotions – feeling, sentiment, sensation, passion. You have to feel good about doing whatever it is you’re doing.

Beliefs – attitude, viewpoint, idea, thinking, way of life, values. You have to truly believe it’s possible for you to achieve.

Can you see how important it is for all four to work together instead of against one another? Think of a table with four legs – if one is missing the table top will rock unsteadily. It’s the same with us when we decide to accomplish something. Inner conflict will cause us to be unsteady and waiver – thwarting our efforts to achieve the goal.

As all of this flashed through my mind – I realized that my dream had answered a question I’d been been repeatedly asking myself lately: Why wasn’t my house selling?

It occurred to me that I’d been vacillating on my decision to sell my home. One minute my desire was to stay and then next to sell. Consequently, nothing seemed to be happening. My going back and forth on what I wanted was canceling out my intention to sell. I realized I’d have to become very clear and steady about what I want. Only then would there be any progress.

The other key part of my dream was questioning my boss about what dimension her office existed in. I understood this to mean that when we decide to do something, with no underlying emotional conflicts or doubts about it, we’ve actually entered another dimension. In this dimension resides the Truth that all possibilities already do exist, and that we are the creators of our reality. Once our consciousness is harmonized, and we’ve internalize this truth – the goal cannot help but manifest in our lives.  The more we understand this, and allow our consciousness to reside in this other dimension, the faster things will manifest in our lives too.

In my dream, I wasn’t able to penetrate the wall until I truly desired and I believed I could, in other words, when my emotions and desires matched my intention and beliefs. It’s the same with anything else we undertake in our lives. No matter what you want to accomplish if your desires, emotions and intentions and beliefs aren’t in alignment – no amount of trying is going to make it happen. Just like my dream, you’ll smash into the wall until all these elements are harmonized within you – and then, and only then, will you find you that you can walk through walls!

By the way, as soon as I had a good long talk with myself and re-aligned my desires with my intentions about selling my home – I got an offer!

What walls have you been able to walk through once your emotions, desires, intentions and beliefs were in alignment?

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Hey! There’s a Face in That Orb!

34 Comments
Posted 10 Aug 2010 — by
Category Mediumship, Spiritual Growth

Last year I took a week long advanced intuitive training, taught by medium James Van Praagh, at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. I made many close friends, among them was Mary Shannon Bell.

At times during the class James would say he felt the presence of many spirits in the room. It was then that he’d stop and tell us get out our camera’s and snap away. Silly me hadn’t brought a camera, so while everyone else was taking pictures that captured many orbs all in one shot – all I could do was look at the viewfinders on their cameras and feel sad that I wouldn’t be taking home any of these amazing shots. It was incredible. Every last single person in the room with a camera was getting photos that captured dozens and dozens of orbs in each frame.

After the course was over Mary kindly sent me a CD of 20 unbelievable photos she’d taken from our course. There were big orbs, and little orbs and if you magnified the photos, some even appeared to have faces in them – oh my! I’ve included one of her photos from the seminar, so you can see just how many orbs there were.

Since then I’ve gotten to know Mary quite well. I’ve realized she has an amazing talent for photography; particularly photography that captures orbs. I’ve never seen anything like it. I keep telling her to put out a book on her orb photography – it’s that amazing!

The only time I’ve ever captured any orbs was this past Christmas – just a few months after the passing of my father.  One orb appeared in my family photos. When the orb was enlarged sure enough there was a face in there and you guessed it – it was my father’s face! To tell you the truth, I really was stunned.

If you want to see some amazing photos of orbs you really must visit Mary Shannon Bell’s website. She’s also written a wonderful book about her experience receiving signs from the “other side” from her parents that I recommend as well.

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Develop Your Intuition: It Could Save Your Health

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Posted 05 Aug 2010 — by
Category Developing Intuition, Psychic Development, Spiritual Growth

Not too long ago I had my first bone density test.

I wasn’t worried. I take vitamins and exercise, so I thought nothing of it.

When my gynecologist’s office called and wanted to schedule a consultation after the test, I was annoyed. Why did I have go to her office? Why couldn’t she just give me the results over the phone?

The reason she wanted me to come in was to tell me that my bone density test was showing early signs of osteopenia, a precursor of full blown osteoporosis. I was shocked! How could this happen to me? I’m too young, I thought.

“It’s a normal part of the aging process,” my doctor said matter-of-factly while scribbling something on a prescription pad.

Huh? What’s she talking about, I heard myself thinking….aging process? Me?

My doctor told me not to worry about it too much. She said I should step up my resistance exercise, take a calcium pill everyday, and take the bone building medicine she was about to prescribe.

I left the office feeling very deflated. Is this how age sneaks up you, I thought? One day you feel young and there’s a bounce in your step, and then the next thing you know your bones are Swiss cheese, and then you’re waiting for a hip replacement? Hearing I was “old,” when in fact I’d just barely passed my mid-forties had stunned me. Then, to be told to just accept it, completely undermined my confidence and made me feel weak and vulnerable.

I guess she knows what she’s talking about, I thought as I pulled into the drug store parking lot feeling quite defeated. I walked in, prescription in hand, and headed to the back of the store to drop it off with the pharmacist.

As I approached the counter, I heard, “STOP!” I froze and looked around to see who had said this. As far as I could tell there was no one calling me from within the store.

I was about a foot from the counter and the pharmacy assistant watched me impatiently as I just stood there.

“Can I help you,” she said trying to coax me into taking the extra step to the counter.

“I uh, uh – no,” I said, and spun around and walked out of the drugstore.

In that split second when I’d heard, “STOP,” and looked around I’d realized it was my intuition telling me – not to fill the prescription.

I left the store, and when I got home not only did I read any and all information pertaining to bone loss drugs but, I also began a huge Internet search for the things that could cause bone loss in women. After about a week of research I felt that I knew what had been happening to my body.

A week later, I was in my regular physician’s office insisting on a battery of tests. The doctor tried to tell me that I should have filled my gynecologist’s prescription and that my theories were unsubstantiated, but I stood my ground. I basically said, rather uncharacteristically for me, “Do it, or I’m changing doctors.”

A week later the doctor’s nurse called with the results of the tests I’d insisted upon. It turns out I was dangerously deficient in Vitamin D, which after researching the symptoms I’d been sure was part of my problem. I was given a prescription of 50,000 units of Vitamin D to be taken weekly for three months. I also had raised levels of a certain marker indicating I had a gluten intolerance, just as I’d suspected. Luckily, I didn’t have a full blown case of Celiac disease, which is a gluten intolerance so severe that it can be fatal.

What had been happening to me was that in the course of eating what I thought was a very healthy diet packed with whole grains, my intestines had become so inflamed from the gluten that they weren’t able to absorb the nutrition in the food I’d been eating. I became Vitamin D deficient. Without Vitamin D your body doesn’t absorb calcium well. With little to no calcium being absorbed into my bloodstream, my body began to draw on my bones to get the required amount needed to sustain me, and that caused my bone loss.

It took over a year for my Vitamin D levels to rise enough to go off the prescription. During that time I stopped eating all gluten products and began taking a high dosage of calcium citrate, which is the most easily absorbed form of calcium, along with Vitamin K, which is needed to absorb calcium. I continue to take a high dosage of Vitamin D each day on my own to keep my levels high.

When I went back for another bone density test earlier this year – the bone loss had stopped. I was elated! It hadn’t gotten better, but it hadn’t gotten worse either.

All this because I’d listened to my intuition. Intuition can take many forms, and comes to each of us differently at different times. In this case, I literally heard it.

By the way, after reading about the horrible side effects of those bone loss drugs I’m so glad I didn’t fill that prescription. Even if the chances were slim that I just might get necrosis of the jawbone, or thighbones that snap like twigs when I walked, I wasn’t too inclined to take that chance.

So, listen to your intuitive voice – it could save your health. In my case it saved my bones, and maybe even my jaw and my thigh bones too.

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For Spiritual Growth – Keep it Simple

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Posted 30 Jul 2010 — by
Category Spiritual Growth

If I told you there was a simple way to boost your intelligence, reach your highest potential, feel peaceful and serene – and, that this simple thing could put you in touch with an infinite source of creativity, and love in just minutes a day.

Would you be interested enough to want to commit to it?

You probably guessed that I’m talking about meditation, right? Meditation is the simplest and most effective tool there is for spiritual development. Reading books and joining groups of like minded individuals is great but, when it comes to actually making consistent progress only the daily practice of meditation will kindle your spiritual growth.

Awakening and transforming spiritually takes place gradually. The expansion of consciousness is slow – a bit like the process of a water flowing over rocks in a river; eventually with enough time you’ll see that the water has carved a deep “S” pattern into the landscape and smoothed out all the jagged edges in the rocks. It takes commitment and a deep desire to stay the course until the beginnings of that reshaping becomes apparent.

And of course – you’re never done either, just like the water flowing in that stream is never finished reshaping it or the rocks it flows over. There’s also never an end to our spiritual growth – we can only continue to evolve.

Life experience is the premier teacher in all things. We learn through our mistakes and through the pain those mistakes cause us, but if we choose there is a way to grow spiritually by expanding our consciousness through meditation, rather than through painful experiences.

Here are 8 reasons why meditation is such a powerful tool for spiritual growth:

1. The first thing you might notice when you start meditating is that you feel calmer during the day. Learning to slow down thoughts allows us the space between all the mind chatter to experience true peace of mind. This marvelous feeling of serenity is enough to keep us committed to a practice of meditation.

2. Slowing down our thoughts also creates greater clarity in our thinking. We can focus on one thing without the distractions of hundreds of thoughts clamoring for our attention. When we can direct our thought with precision we’re able to think more intelligently. We have access to more of our creativity which is no longer obstructed by constant thought-traffic.

2. After practicing for a while you’ll also notice that you no longer react to the things that used to push your emotional buttons. You’ll find instead that you’re able to “step back” and pause, giving yourself time to think and reply, rather than react. When we can step back and pause our negative reactions we’re also able to handle stressful situations better too.

3. Quieting the mind and letting thoughts go by allows us to really hear what we’re thinking too. We start to realize how many negative thoughts rumble through our minds each day. We begin to notice how often we put ourselves down and undermine our self-confidence. This new awareness helps us to understand that it’s these false beliefs that hold us back from reaching our highest potential. With time the false beliefs fall away as we stop listening and allowing them to stir us up. Free of those false beliefs, we now achieve our full potential.

4. Meditation brings our emotions into balance which is the state of being centered. When we’re centered we let go of extremes; highs and lows of emotion that pull us into the future or past. We return to a natural calm state of being. We live in the present with acceptance of what is happening in our lives now.

5.We’re no longer drawn into emotional sparring matches.We stop judging others, and assigning a negative or positive meaning to what we may be encountering. We’re therefore less likely to be pulled into dramas (both yours and other people’s) regarding these events. When we no longer allow our emotions to ensnare us we’re free to rise above them. And, when we rise above our emotions we begin to see that we’re all one. We begin to feel a greater love and compassion for all our fellow human beings.

6. When we stop the perpetual mind-traffic divine guidance can actually get through. This state of thoughtless awareness allows us recognize the presence of the observer – who is our true self, higher self or soul. We begin to recognize that we are limitless with infinite potential.

7. The process of meditating will help you to recall your dreams. Many times answers and guidance are delivered through dreams. Sometimes I have only a snippet of a dream that I know was important when I wake, but if I meditate right away I can usually recall the entire dream.

8. Daily practice of meditation heightens intuitive ability. The more often you receive intuitive insight the more you will be in tune with your higher self and true purpose. Your life will flow more easily and opportunities to act upon your purpose will present themselves more frequently.

It’s truly remarkable how much insight, self-control and emotional freedom the simple practice of meditation produces. We feel so much more love coming from others and coming from us – it really opens your heart. Your capacity for compassion, and interest in others over yourself increases tremendously too. And, once we become fully aware and begin making conscious choices, rather than allowing ourselves to be batted about like boats on turbulent waters, our lives glide effortlessly over calm seas toward the shores of our desired destinations.

Has meditation affected you’re life? How? Share your experience. You never know when what you have to say will be of help to someone else.

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Learn to Listen To Your Intuition and Never Miss An Opportunity Again!

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Posted 25 Jul 2010 — by
Category Uncategorized

Synchronicity abounds when you follow your intuition

Some years back I read a book that made a huge impression on me. It was about a young woman who let her intuition lead her in every decision she made. (Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of it or the author.) This  young woman followed her inner promptings which resulted in a series of serendipitous events; she went back to school, then moved out of state, met her perfect soul mate, and ended up working for the Edgar Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach – her dream job. I remember thinking as I read, Why doesn’t my life flow like that?

Looking back now, I know exactly why my life never flowed like hers. This young woman let her gut guide her – I never did. I was too scared of making a mistake, instead I played it safe and dismissed the many urgent promptings of my intuition.

Physician heal thy self

A year ago I decided that I needed to start practicing what I preached. Here I was an intuitive easily able to dispense advice for others, but when it came to myself not able to trust my own intuition. I decided I would allow my intuition to lead in my decisions from that point forward. And, when I did start to base my decisions on my gut and not my rational mind – my life began to improve immediately.

At the time I was also miserable in my job. Soon after a great job appeared for me, and after checking in with my gut I jumped ship leaving the old place behind. As soon as I returned from new hire training business started heating up and my finances improved. And, all it took was giving that intuitive voice the respect it deserved.

Intuition is easy to overlook

Intuition is very subtle, which is exactly what makes it so easy to miss and overlook. It can come as a feeling in the gut – one that tells you that something is right or wrong, or it can come as a warning and a feeling of dread. Just as frequently, it’s quiet like a whisper, or the flitting of a butterfly that touches down ever so lightly in our consciousness before disappearing.

With intuition, until you start paying attention you may not be aware of these flashes. Although once you begin to notice them it’s a bit like buying a new car you start seeing that model everywhere. When you put yourself on alert to be aware of these stirrings the same thing happens; the frequency of your intuitive insights increase. After that once you begin using your intuition to make decisions, it takes no time at all to see serendipitous events begin to appear in your life.

The serendipitous events are proof positive that you’re hearing and following your intuition. When we receive this direct knowledge we’ve tapped into the source that keeps the planets in their orbit, and the earth spinning on its axis. This infinite intelligence doesn’t make mistakes. By plugging into it and using these intuitive insights our lives flow and all the details come together seamlessly.

Most people don’t recognize or trust their intuition

The biggest hurdles most people face in putting intuition to use are in recognizing the voice of intuition and differentiating it from their own thoughts, and trusting what they get. Intuitive thoughts stream through the mind more rapidly than our own thoughts. Not only that, but when they do appear they’re usually complete ideas. In many cases they feel as if they were downloaded whole into the brain. As far as trust goes, only jumping in with both feet and following hunches enough times to know that it’s real will build that trust.

Here are 5 easy tips to help you hone your intuition and put it to work for you:

1. Create the intention to begin noticing your intuition. Tell yourself that you want to become aware of your intuitive insights and that you will become aware of them.

2. Keep a small notebook with you at all times where you can jot down any thoughts that appear to have been downloaded whole into your mind without you generating them.

3. Give yourself many opportunities to practice. Before answering the phone ask yourself who it might be. When meeting with friends see if you get any impressions about what they will be wearing. For 25 tips to hone your intuition read this post.

4. Make it a habit to meditate every day. Meditation is the most powerful way to boost your intuition. If you don’t know how to meditate read my post.

5. When you’re faced with a decision close your eyes and clear your mind. Ask yourself what you should do – then stop thinking. See what comes to mind no matter how silly it might be. It could be an image, a word, or a thought. Examine this closely. It’s usually your answer.

Work on incorporating these tips into your life and I guarantee you’ll see a huge rise in your intuitive insights and the number of seemingly miraculous coincidences that occur in you life.

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Small Ways to Make a Big Difference

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Posted 23 Jul 2010 — by
Category Life Purpose, Self-improvement, Spiritual Growth

How many times have you wished you could do something that made a difference in the world?

I know I have. But, I’ve always thought – who am I? What can little me do all by myself?

Well, I want to show you what one person can do, and did – and it’s going to blow you away.

Raam Dev, whom I’m proud to call a friend and blogging colleague has done something amazing.

Raam gathered more than 40 bloggers from across the blogosphere and asked them what they would do to make a difference in the world. Then he spent three weeks working 12 hour days putting together this beautiful book full of all of their ideas on how to make a difference.

I was humbled that Raam asked me for my input, and to be in the company of so many other outstanding bloggers. I can’t list all 40 fabulous bloggers, but here’s a sampling of the innovative talent he gathered:

Farnoosh Brock of Prolific Living
Hulbert Lee of From Bottom Up
Karen Ruby of A Meaningful Existence
Everett Bogue of Far Beyond The Stars
Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering
Jeffrey Tang of The Art of Great Things
Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity

Please visit and subscribe to Raam’s awesome blog. He’s a fascinating, compassionate, adventurous nomad – with a great story to tell about how his heart has opened even more since he began his travels. Here’s the link to his blog where he introduces how the project came about: Small Ways to Make a Big Difference.

The ebook, Small Ways to Make a Big Difference, that Raam has created is free and meant to be shared. So, please download your copy now and share it with everyone you know. If everyone who reads the book acts on just one of the tips – we will see ripples of good begin making a difference in our world.

Here’s the link to download the book: Just click here.

Please be so kind as to share this article on Facebook and on Twitter so we get the word out and start sending out those ripples~!

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