I Choose to Embrace What I DO Have

Christmas can be a time of great joy. Christmas can also be a time of great sadness. What causes the difference? Sadness abounds when a person focuses on what they do NOT have. This was brought home to me just this last week.

Decorating for Christmas is so much fun for me! I remembered that my precious daughter in love, Tisha, had adorned a special ornament with a large bow and tied it to the leg of a table in my den. The ornament is a red ball with a dog sitting on top. My previous dog's name, Miracle, was engraved on the red ball. I looked forward to finding the ornament and tying it to the leg of the table once again. As I was tying the bow around the leg, I suddenly got this heavy feeling. I felt some sadness. I felt a sense of loss. Miracle had made her transition last December 30th. All of the goodies Miracle got to eat last Christmas was a part of our farewell to her.

Suddenly I thought, "What am I doing here? Why am I going back into the past? I have a GREAT new dog, Grace! How about I embrace having Grace instead of feeling sad that I no longer have Miracle?"

I took the ornament down and placed it back in the box. I found Grace and gave her a big hug and thanked her for being my precious doggie companion.

I choose today to embrace what I DO have instead of focusing on what I DON'T have. This is a much happier way to live!

Two Wolves

Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves.”
“One is Evil. It is anger, envy, fear, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, hate, superiority and ego.”
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
“Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied,
“The one you feed.”
Energy Flows Where Attention Goes
A friend shared with me the news about a horrible accident involving an SUV going way too fast, hitting another SUV and then hitting a guardrail. The friend said, “That would be something to see. Maybe I can watch it on the news.” I thought to myself, “Why in the world would you want to watch that and have that in your reality?” Two nights later, that same friend called me with shaky voice. An SUV driving at very high speed had swerved right in front of my friend, then swerved back into the adjoining lane, hit another SUV and the 2 SUVs collided, throwing one of them into the guardrail. He got what he wanted. He got to see “it”. My friend had spoken his word and the words were acted upon by the Universe very quickly.

Today is a great day to make a commitment to watch your thoughts and your words to be certain that you are creating a great life for yourself. Feed the good wolf and let that be the wolf that wins in your life!

No Unfulfilled Desires!

The doorbell rang at 5:30 p.m. I was on day 36 of the prosperity plan as outlined in John Randolph Price's wonderful book, The Abundance Book. The meditation for that day was: "My inner supply instantly and constantly takes on form and experience according to my needs and desires, and as the Principle of Supply in action, it s impossible for me to have any needs or unfulfilled desires."

On Sunday evening, I had made a list of what I wanted to accomplish personally for the week. On the list was to get my pool squared away for the winter. I needed to assess what pool covers I had, and in order to do that, I wanted a strong man to get all the boxes down that had all the covers in them.The boxes were heavy and cumbersome, and were on a high shelf in my garage.

The man at the door was a gentleman that helps me with heavy stuff in the yard. He needed a letter written for him. Perfect! I said, "Great! I need some boxes taken down from the shelf. Would you please do that while I write the letter?"

The boxes came down, the letter was written, and I was reminded of the meditation for the day. Our good can come in so many ways when we are truly committed to having our lives work! It was so easy! What I know is that if I had been thinking "I can't, I don't have, etc." it would not have crossed my mind to ask him for help.

Today, I invite you to make a commitment to hold the thought that your "inner supply" is at work for you, fulfilling all of your needs and desires!

Let it go!

I began to sense that the romantic relationship that I had been involved in was coming to a close. I really didn't want to accept what I knew to be true. One day a beautiful client brought me a piece of paper on which were the wise words of T. D. Jakes. I knew when I read these words, that my client was a messenger, letting me know that what I sensed was indeed right on and that it was time to let the relationship go. I share this with you today in hopes that you are walking in integrity with your guidance, and enjoying the great freedom and empowerment that results.

"There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you, let them walk. I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone. When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. ....People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person, it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead. You've got to k now when it's over. Let me tell you something...I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift; I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful.... And it it takes too much sweat I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!! If you are holding onto something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to ....LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts or pains...LET IT GO!!If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth...LET IT GO!!! If someone has angered you...LET IT GO!!! If you are holding onto some thoughts of revenge...LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction....LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents>>>LET IT GO!!! If you have a bad attitude...LET IT GO!!!If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better...LET IT GO!!! If you are stuck in the past...LET It GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship...LET IT GO!!! If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves...LET IT GO!!! If you're feeling depressed and stressed..... LET IT GO!!!" T.D. Jakes

Stand at the Doorway of your Thoughts!

Stand at the doorway of your mind and allow only thoughts of that which you desire to experience cross your mental threshold.
Just as Pavlov, the father of unconscious conditioned response, trained his dogs to associate the ringing of a bell with the appearance of food, you can train your mind to associate each new day with infinite possibilities, and the belief that you can have whatever it is that you desire. As automatic as the dogs’ salivating when they heard the bell ringing, you will automatically assume that there are infinite possibilities for the new day and proceed to create your good.
You must stand at the doorway of your mind, and allow only good to enter. Remembering that thoughts are things, and whatever is in your consciousness is what will show up in your world, you will begin to cherish and protect your mind as your most valuable asset in creating your life.
One night many years ago I was driving to a class on my way back from therapy in Dallas. My night vision wasn’t the greatest at that juncture in my life, and I was still spacey from doing some deep inner child healing. (We didn't have the techniques to close the inner child files and be sure that a person is fully back in the present that we have now.) I took the exit and then turned before I had crossed the median without realizing my mistake. In a moment I noticed that there were headlights coming my way in the lane in which I was traveling. I assessed the lane situation and realized that I had turned too quickly and was going southbound on a northbound side of the street. I simply made a u-turn and got on the side of the street where I needed to be. Everything was fine. No big deal. The oncoming cars were still about 2 blocks away.
Suddenly, “the voice” started. You know the voice. It is the voice of the inner critic. The words I heard were, “You can’t do anything right! Now you are going to be late! You should have been paying more attention!” I realized that these thoughts were not rational. They were how one of my parents taught me to talk to myself. I began to shake with anxiety.

Then I took charge of the situation. At the top of my lungs I shouted, “SHUT UP!!” The voice stopped, and my body calmed down.

The few moments of discomfort were surely worth the lesson that I learned. I spoke my word. I chose what was real for me. I decided how my world would be. And I came to peace.

Today you can stand at the doorway of your thoughts and create the world you would like to live in. Enjoy your life. It is your choice!

Are Your Relationships Healthy?

The Karpman Relationship Drama Triangle is a very common, yet very destructive way of relating. Many of us hop on this triangle without realizing we are doing it.

The following story makes the dynamics of the Relationship (Karpman) Drama Triangle easily understood.
The woman makes dinner. The alcoholic husband, usually home by six o’clock, does not arrive. By six thirty, the wife is becoming irritated. The children are hungry and she feeds them. By seven o’clock, she is beginning to become angry. By nine o’clock, she is furious, feeling she has been victimized now for three hours by his behavior. Certainly this was not the first time. Up to this point, she is operating as the Victim on the triangle. By eleven, he has still not arrived, and she becomes worried. She calls her best friend to come stay with the sleeping children. The children safely with the friend, she leaves in her car to go find him and bring him home. She has now moved into the Rescuer role, seeing him as a Victim who is unable to take care of himself. By midnight, she has located him, quite drunk at a bar. She drags him to the car and to the safety of their home. She gets him in bed. Once she takes off his shoes, she moves into the Persecutor role and starts in on him, “How could you do this to me? How could you do this to your children?” And on and on she goes. All throughout the evening, the alcoholic has been in the Victim role, where he is most comfortable. He has had enough of her persecuting, and starts in on her. “If you weren’t so fat, I might want to come home. Who would want to come home and listen to your mouth?” Now he has become the Persecutor. Her feelings are hurt, and she wonders if there is some validity to what he is saying. She feels helpless to establish the kind of relationship that she wants to have with her husband. She is now in the Victim role.
The rule is that the Rescuer always becomes the Victim. I have never seen an exception to this rule.
The next morning, seeing that he has victimized his wife, he is full of remorse and becomes the Rescuer. He makes promises and tries to make her feel better. She has hope for an improved relationship, trusting that her efforts to rescue him will someday transform him. She will continue to rescue him, and then become his Victim, over and over again. The pattern will repeat, over and over again until they both become aware of what they are doing. I met a woman at an Al-Anon meeting who had rescued her alcoholic husband for thirteen years. They owned a parts store. He got drunk during lunch, and she would cover for him all afternoon while he lay in the back room drunk. Once again, the Rescuer becomes the Victim.

Take a moment and ask yourself, "Is there someone that I am rescuing in my life? Am I a person looking for a rescue?" If so, I encourage you to get some help to find your self-actualization, take care of yourself, and live a happier life with much more rewarding relationships!

Are you behind a Rock?

I love Harry Potter! I realized that I had not seen the latest movie, "Half Blood Prince." Because it had been awhile since I had watched the previous movies, I decided to start at the beginning and watch them all the way through to the "Half Blood Prince."

What I noticed was that Harry was phenomenally brave in all scenarios up until the "Goblet of Fire." Harry faced challenge after challenge without flinching and with confidence that could serve as a model to us all.
Something happened though during the "Goblet of Fire" movie. Harry was scared. Harry was scared about being in the TriWizard Tournament. Harry was scared about facing the Hungarian Horn Tail dragon. He was scared to go into the Black Lake. He had a basic attitude of, "Yeah right. Like I can really do this stuff."

This attitude was so very unlike Harry who had even learned to produce the Patronus charm at his young and tender age. Throughout all the previous battles and obstacles, Harry had continued to have the "I can handle this; I will figure out a way" attitude.

Now Harry was scared. He faced the most dreaded opponent, the Dark Lord Voldemort. Voldemort had amassed his dark, evil intentioned troops to support him while he killed Harry. Harry hid behind a rock. Suddenly, something happened. Harry's face changed. Harry found his determination, got out his wand and came from behind the rock with invincible determination. Harry stood tall and faced the powerful Voldemort. Because of the strength of Harry's determination, benevolent forces of love came and enfolded him. Harry escaped and had saved his life though his determination.

Is there some area of your life where you are hiding behind a rock in fear, lack of confidence, cloaked in beliefs that you can not do what you want to do and what you know must be done in order for you to be truly free and happy?

Come out! Remember your strength! Remember all the times and ways that you have faced a challenge and have come out winning, triumphant against the odds! Take a deep breath and say to yourself, "I am doing this. I am enough to succeed!!!!" Then take the steps to arrive at that next step in your dream.