Inspiration Archives

An Open Heart Heals

The willingness to meet whatever is showing up in our lives takes courage.  Did you know that the root for the word courage means “of the heart”?   It takes an open heart and deep compassion to see all of the conditioned stories in our heads that keep us separate from life.  It takes courage to see them, love them and, under that gaze of compassion, allow them to evaporate like the summer fog when it is touched by the morning sun. I have been experiencing a lot of pain in my back and leg for quite some time now. …

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struggling, forcing

When Control is Out of Control

Margie was the best hostess. She greeted everyone at the door. She passed appetizers and offered drinks. Margie ensured that everyone had a good time and that absolutely everything was perfect. The problem was - this was not Margie’s party. She was a guest at the party like everyone else and yet she acted as if she owned the place. Margie is a control freak. She needs to be in charge. She needs to be in control. I used to be like Margie. When I was in the height of my Type-A days, I was a major control freak. I…

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In This Moment You Are A Perfect You

Where did you learn what a perfect body looks like? Where did you learn what is beautiful? Where did you learn what is ugly? How old were you when you came to these conclusions? We were walking down the street in Paris several years ago to find ourselves taken by a body image considered to be "beautiful." We were looking at the street lamps in front of the Paris Opera House. Built in the mid-1800's, those lamps are supported by statues of naked women. These castings done in the Neo-Baroque style are curvy with rounded bellies and by today's standards…

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Struggling? 10 Steps for Overcoming Tough Times

As a member of the human race, we have more in common with one another than we have differences. Just like death and taxes, we all experience tough times, and therefore, we can learn from each other’s mistakes to make our walk on the road just a little bit easier. From the more than 1000 Luminaries that we’ve featured on InspireMeToday.com, here’s the collective wisdom on how to get through tough times, that just might help you get through a difficult experience. Look at the worst thing that can happen. Feel it. Mourn it. Cry through it. Then picture the…

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Three Steps To Clarity – 17 Second Meditation

Sit comfortably, eyes closed.  Focus on a point six inches in front of your third eye. Count your breaths, until you feel clear and overjoyed and ready for action. This meditation technique helps you build your energy up to overflow, through breath and focus on the third eye. A quick and easy way to feel centered and calm and to transcend any negative emotion in minutes. Once you have a feeling of overflow and you want to do something, before you engage in it tune yourself to the best of that subject. If you want to focus on work, tune…

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Winning The Lottery Of Life

I’m in Las Vegas for a few days, taking a speaker’s training workshop with the incomparable, Les Brown. As I was walking to our conference room this morning, I had to walk through the casino. I’m not a gambler, rarely walk through casinos, and I felt like I was experiencing sensory overload on this short walk. There were slot machines everywhere, and at each, someone was already aimlessly feeding its voracious appetite. The vast majority of the folks there were over 70, obese, smoking, drinking (in the morning!) and looked haggard and defeated by life. Perhaps they'd been gambling all…

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Issues? Never Let It Take You Down!

I truly believe that everyone has some disability and shouldn't let it get in the way of their dreams. There are disabilities that are visible and others that aren't. Because of my dystonia, I have trouble using my arms to do certain things. I can't carry some things, write or do certain sports. Sometimes I get embarrassed in school when I drop something or my arms twitch uncontrollably. My friend, Max, made me feel so much better one day when he said to me that at least I wasn't short. He said that being short isn't something you can hide…

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How To Work With Your New Year’s Intentions

Here we are again, at the time of year when we are invited to change our lives by making New Year’s resolutions.  So we set goals, but after the first few weeks they begin to fade.  Why does that happen?  Because healing does not come from trying to make yourself or your life into what you think it should be.  In fact, whatever you want to get rid of you actually empower (and if you look closely, you will see most of your goals are about getting rid of something you don't like so you can get to what you perceive as the…

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How To Let Your Brilliant Being Shine

I recently came across one of my favorite poems, My Brilliant Image, by the fourteenth century Persian Poet, Hafiz: One day the sun admitted, I am just a shadow. I wish I could show you The Infinite Incandescence That has cast my brilliant image! I wish I could show you, When you are lonely or in darkness, The astonishing Light Of your own Being! Hafiz is telling us that the astonishing light, the brilliance of our own being, is already with us.  We are filled with great light that permeates everything.    Brian Swimme, Evolutionary Philosopher and Co-Collaborator of the documentary…

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Are You Willing to TRY?

I am often asked what made me able to accomplish the things I have at my age. My answer is simple. I was willing to try. I'm a regular teenager. I wouldn't consider myself gifted, special, or anything else. I'm just someone who thinks "I can." Sometimes that is all it takes. I have done lectures and workshops for young people all over the country and the greatest ideas I've heard have come from other youth. Sometimes those great ideas never take flight because the kids who came up with them are looking at all the reasons they can't make…

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10 Priceless (And Free) Gifts For Parents To Give Their Child

Many are saying this generation has bred some of the rudest, crudest and most insincere children there are. Every older generation has probably said that about the younger ones. Let’s face it, folks, the generations are what we create. We are, after all, the ones molding them. Though it is not necessarily true (Generation: R for Rude), it is the collective perception. With iPads, iPhones, iThis and iThat out there, perhaps there is a disconnect at home. More time is being spent virtually, with technology rather than with people. Amidst all of the technological advances (distractions), the seeming chaos and…

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7 Ways to Slow Down and Live Full Today

Often times, our days get ahead of us and by the time night falls, we cannot even remember what we did or how the hours passed by so quickly. Here are some ways you can catch yourself from running blindly through your day like a tornado, missing everything, so that you can live fully and with intention.  Set intentions. This may sound silly, but the way in which you wake will determine much of your day. When you open your eyes (before anyone - human or companion animal - notices you are awake), take a few moments to pay attention to…

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Top 5 Ways to Truly Love Someone

The word "love" is one that is thrown around perhaps more often than it should be. We all want to share love with someone, to receive love, to feel loved. It's a driving force in our lives. But, the term "love" has so many different versions that its meaning has become rather subjective. "If you do this, you love me..." So on and so forth. We find ways to measure someone's love - and our own - and use that to build a case for or against them. Love is used as a guise for fear, insecurities, voids and deep-seeded issues…

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lion, tinman, scarecrow

You Had the Power All Along

Like the Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, I sought an expert to provide me with what I already held. Over a decade in corporate America led this Type A into physical distress. I was fatigued and irritable. My muscles were tight and painful. My digestion and reproductive systems were broken causing intense issues and discomfort. I was a wreck. Visiting doctor after doctor I was told there was nothing wrong. No illness. No disease. Prescriptions of all sorts were recommended – none of them really worked. After more than three years, I was frustrated, tired,…

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The Zen Master and the College Professor: Letting Go of What You ‘Know’

Transformation, self–realization, enlightenment – is not understandable through what you already know. In fact, what you already "know" is keeping you from discovering what is possible. There is a story that demonstrates this idea: There once was a college professor who was interested in learning about the study and practice of Zen. He decided that the best way to do this was to find a Zen master to interview. Being struck with an inspiration, the professor did his research and found one on the Internet by Googling, "Zen Master". The professor shot off an email and made an appointment. On…

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stressed at work

4 Ways to Manage Workplace Stress

Workers seem more and more stressed every day. Technology has created expectation of an immediate response 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Short-term thinking and planning based on the focus of quarterly stock reports has increased the sense of importance for every project. We feel everything is an urgent priority needing instant attention. The “doing more with less” mentality has increased the amount of our responsibilities and what is expected of us. This has created a culture of inefficient multi-tasking. Below are four ways you can reduce the amount of stress you feel at…

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Find and Stand In Your Truth

Take a long look in the closest mirror.  Look up, look down.  Notice what you are thinking and how you are feeling in doing so. Then, ask yourself... Do you recognize that person? Is your external being a true reflection of the soul on the inside? Do you bear slight resemblance to the face in the mirror, or are you identical twins?  Are you happy with that person?  Are there things you notice you want to change? What is the chatter going on in your mind and heart right now? Often in life, the face we put forward in the…

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7 Ways to Have Some Feel-Good Fun for the Changing Season

There are many jokes on the rise right now about pumpkins being everywhere and in everything. But there is much truth to be found underneath the humor. And a pumpkin stampede is just one of the many (awesome) indicators that the season is changing! For me, autumn brings with it a tranquility unlike any other season. It also inspires a sense of creativity, self-reflection and nostalgia. This time of year is my absolute favorite... and there are so many ways to enjoy the transition! Here are 7 ways to have some feel-good-fun to appreciate Autumn rising: Enjoy a hot beverage in a fancy…

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4 Ways to Accept Where You Are

“Now that I am trying to change, I don’t like who I am.” At some point, many of my clients say this or something similar. When they finally see a new way to be, but are not yet capable of acting that way, they begin to attack themselves. “I am a horrible person.” “Being this way is bad.” “It is wrong to act like this.” These thoughts are natural, but not helpful. There are some very simple ways to begin accepting who you are so you can move into who you want to be. See the Truth When I work…

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Facing Pain And Finding Freedom

So... I was at the nail salon once and decided I was quite overdue for an eyebrow wax (admittedly I don't go as often as perhaps I should - only several times a year max - since I don't really grow messy or bushy eyebrows). I'm not sure if it's because I am not used to it, or if it is just plain old painful, but each and every time I go, my eyes water from the discomfort (I habitually leave with black mascara running down my face), and I try to find ways to distract myself from it. I…

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