Monthly Archives: April 2013

Bouncing with Style: After the Affair

I have been asked a number of times in women's groups, women's recovery groups and group counseling to share my story. I was listening in one of these groups the other night where I was a speaker and I hear the same things over and over and I want to share them here. I am doing this because when we share the same feelings in a similar experience we no longer feel alone, isolated, or well… just plain crazy.  When your spouse cheats on you, many of the following can happen to you: You might feel dizzy, disoriented, and the…

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Bodhi and River Robbins

Today’s Brilliance from Bodhi and River Robbins

Wisdom From Bodhi Do you want to get our home destroyed? Or do you want to help? Let's start to make our wonderful world a better place! First of all, you can recycle. Don't throw everything in the trash! Some of the things, like plastic, glass and paper, you can put in the recycling can. This is how you take care of our amazing environment: reduce, reuse, recycle. We could all help by picking up litter and putting it in the proper cans. Don't litter! Second of all, I want you to get electric cars. This will help us to…

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Harvesting Happiness: Bringing Relief to the Insurmountable

Every day when we turn on the news, we see a world that seems filled with sadness, poverty, loss and grief. We ask ourselves, over and over again, how can we live amidst such difficulty and pain? The task of bringing relief to the suffering often seems insurmountable. The truth is that our hearts ache for those who suffer no matter where in the world they are or for what reason the suffering exists. Yet, as much as we want to offer support and assistance, there doesn’t seem to be enough that we can do to create change. However, we…

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Under Construction: The Sign I Wear Mentally !

A famous psychologist (his first name is Phil) talks about the fact that we all have pivotal points in our lives; crossroads, if you will, where we can turn down a path of self-pity, victimism, feeling anger at the world and an urge to 'give up'. Or turning the other way and seeking empowerment, happiness, and a full life. In August of 2006, I experienced a harsh, heartbreaking pivotal point in my life when my husband of thirty years died suddenly. He took his own life. Sure, I knew he was going through some kind of mid-life crisis or other.…

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What Ripple Effect Are You Creating ?

It always amazes me when people give me the following reasons why they cannot give... I am just one person I don't have enough money I am not educated enough Who is going to listen to me ? Etc... Etc... Etc... EVERY person on this planet, no matter how rich or how poor, can do SOMETHING.... Get creative. Think of ways you can give without spending a dime to ways you can contribute if you are a Millionaire. We all have something to give-contribute. Do you know one of the greatest gifts of giving is an EAR...? Listening to someone,…

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Bouncing with Style: From Pain to Productivity

One of the things that happens when you divorce, when your spouse has an affair and you are left to pick up the pieces, raise your children alone or pay off massive debt is that you get a whole bucket of pain that seems to refresh on a daily basis. It's hard sometimes to figure out the source of the pain: anger, frustration, disappointment, sadness, disbelief, worry, fear, jealousy... well, you get the point. The end result is you hurt. And you hurt in a way that for many of us after a long marriage is only familiar in a…

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Introducing Our Inspirational Photo Quotes

Inspiration, like love, is all around us - if we pay attention. We can be inspired by people, places, everyday kindness, nature, and the beauty that surrounds us. Personally, I’m inspired by the wisdom I’ve learned from nearly 1000 incredible Inspirational Luminaries on InspireMeToday.com, as well as by my passion for beautiful nature photographs. Recently, to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of InspireMeToday.com, we combined the two into what we’re calling Inspirational Photo Quotes. These are a blend of wisdom set with a beautiful photograph of nature. As our gift to you this year, we’re bringing you 365 days of inspiration…

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The Best Dinner I Never Ate

There are approximately 41,000 Christian denominations and organizations in the world, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I do not believe I am the measure of all things. I am aware of many of my inabilities, and because of my shortcomings and lack of understanding, I admit I do not know it all. Because of my limitations in interpretation, I admit I do not know which of the 41,000 denominations are "right" and interpreting the Bible "correctly." So I pray for wisdom and recognize that the Bible is about love. And…

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Harvesting Happiness: 6 Tips To Volunteering

Volunteering can give you an opportunity to recenter and reconnect with your own happiness while at the same making the world a better place. Do you want to help others by giving back? You may be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" Here are some tips to get you started on finding a volunteer opportunity. Research the issue or cause that is most important to you and find a group that works with those issues. Look at the skills you could offer and use them to find the opportunity that suits you. If you enjoy being around children or want…

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Overpower the past… Empower the Present!

I was the baby in the family, born 11 and 8 years, respectively, after my siblings. Not until just a few years ago did I hear that my mother "farmed out" my sister and brother to strangers. The term usually referred to children who were sent to a relative back in the day, but in my siblings' case it was an indenture. My brother and sister had to work for their keep,  ages six and 11. They told me these stories as part of my research while writing Wild Violets, a romanticized version of my Mother as a flapper and entrepreneur in the 1920's in…

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Shifting Gears – Take Your Life To The Next Level

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing..." - Helen Keller I am committed to living my life out loud and being a catalyst for others to blaze their own trail. Some say, “Life is short,” yet, there are abundant reasons for it to be filled with extraordinary experiences, breathtaking fulfillment and ongoing joy; of course, we could perceive a myriad of obstacles in getting to this exulted state. In actuality, there is only one. Ask yourself two questions: Are you living your dream life?  If not, why not? The most common responses: “No, not really,” for the first and,…

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Bouncing with Style: Reverse Forgiveness

One of the things that strikes me on a weekly basis is how I can in one week forgive my ex-husband for his cheating and abandonment of me and then the next week I'm back to hating his guts and those of Bozo his mistress. Am I bitter? You bet. Angry? Totally. Able to let it go and move on... not so much. What I have found with forgiveness is that it's not really a one-shot deal. Now sometimes it's because the original sin is aggravated. When my ex gave my child's mother's day card, made in his kindergarten class,…

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Today’s Brilliance from Jack James

At first when I was asked to write this article, I was nervous. I mean, Jack Canfield, the coolest guy on the planet has written one. But then, I started thinking, I have a good idea for the world I live in and this will be a good way for me to help it. The thing I want to spend my 500 words on is Self-Esteem. Self-Esteem is simple. It is how you feel inside about yourself. It is simple to define, but it is hard to keep. It's hard to keep because there are always people who try to…

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Harvesting Happiness: Small Steps to Happiness Even When You’re Anxious

Here is a truth: you can be happy, even if you feel sadness, anger or suffer from anxiety. Happiness is an inner state of being that does not get lost. It stays with you even in dark times. How can you achieve an inner state of happiness? It starts with small steps. Gratitude. Many of us on Inspire Me Today have talked in the past about gratitude journals. Just look for a few things in each day that you are thankful for. It isn’t as hard as it seems. You can be grateful for so many things. Just the fact…

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Growth through Writing… Empower Yourself!

Since man formed his first vocabulary, family and tribal news was carried from tribe to tribe, village to village by a storyteller. They would be welcomed in each cave, hut, or council house as an honored guest and nights would be spent around the fire listening to the latest news from family members living afar. Famine, a good harvest, movement of wild herds, warring tribes, births, deaths, alliances, all were carried by the professional storyteller. After a few days passed the news had been told and the storyteller, rested and refreshed, would move to the next tribe or settlement. While…

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Using Our Innate Power

"I like the dreams of the future, better than the history of the past." - Thomas Jefferson "To hold fast to history is to be swept aside." - John F. Kennedy I’m not psychic, but I’m pretty sure that 100 years from now (hopefully sooner), future generations are going to look back at our belief in separation and limits and wonder, “What were they thinking? How could they be so misinformed?” They’ll scratch their heads at our refusal to use our innate power, our natural energy in much the same way we look back at the Roman Circuses. “Are you kidding…

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Bouncing with Style: Old Sayings Prove True

It is said that old sayings prove true. When I was writing the title to this blog post, I was thinking to myself, "Could it get any more cheese ball than this? I’m starting to sound like my mother." But I realized today that she was right and most of those hokey-dokey sayings have a lot of truth to them. You are what you think about all day long. Recently I have gone through separation, divorce, death, foreclosure, custody battles and a financial upheaval in my personal life. Most of these things were out of my control and I had…

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Celebrating Inspire Me Today’s 5th Birthday with Gifts for YOU!

Today, InspireMeToday.com celebrates our fifth birthday. Since our launch in 2008, we've featured nearly 1000 different Luminaries and have inspired millions of people in more than 150 different countries around the world. We receive thank you emails from folks telling us the difference that a particular inspiration made in their life... and that makes us smile. We are proud of the difference we are making, and wanted to express our appreciation to you, for we couldn’t have done it without your continual love and support. In appreciation to you, our loving community, we want to celebrate our birthday by giving…

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