Tag: Choices

There is No Repeat of Life – Live it Now!

We only get a one ticket admission to this thing we call life. Make the most of your time while you still can. Use it wisely. Experience it fully with eyes and heart wide open. See the beauty in the obvious, but do not forget the little things that go unnoticed. Take in the fragrance of the flowers in bloom as they are given drink by the early morning dew. Notice the artistry of the sky and the clouds that form recognizable images. Listen to the laughter of a child, still so innocent and unaware of the reality of the…

Read more

5 Ways You Can Stand Up to Challenges

I started writing inspirational poetry for people 30 years ago. It wasn’t because I was a master of the English language; it was because I heard the poems when people would tell me about things in their lives. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first. But after the first hundred you start to notice that there’s something more going on. Over the years I’ve written poems for people facing just about every challenge imaginable. I’ve seen the same themes repeat themselves. For anyone facing challenge in their life, here are 5 things I’ve found to be true for…

Read more

Invite the Lightning Bolt of Change into Your Life

There is a moment when the dirt and the dust rises up in your life, maybe it is abuse, lack of money, lack of kindness, whatever it is. There is a turning point when you stand still in time. Everything stops. It is very quiet. You say, this is going to change. You become a radical demand for change in your life, and in that moment, the world shifts. It is a glorious shift into the light when you know you're knowing, again. When you stand in the brightness of you. This is you that everyone else always knew and you…

Read more
Ben Newman

Choosing Your Response to Challenges

We all inevitably face challenges in life. Situations that rock us to the core and challenge us to keep moving forward. I ask YOU the question, "If tomorrow wasn't promised, what would you do for today?" My mother's death, 11 days before my eighth birthday, left a cavernous hole in my universe. Yet though my mother passed away all those years ago, not a single day goes by without the reminder that she helped me become the man that I am today. Her strength, her love, her work ethic and her legacy live on through me, through the family I…

Read more

Trusting Your Magnificence

You are a magnificent being. Has anyone told you that lately? Well I'm telling you, you are. How do I know? Let's just say I've had experience in that area. You may not feel like you are a magnificent being, but it's true. Your personality is the outside of you and the magnificent being is the inside of you. All of the components to your personality, the enjoyable ones as well as the not-so enjoyable ones, are those you chose to experience this lifetime. They are what make you unique. A fool discounts them; a wise person works with them,…

Read more

Make a Big Impact with Integrity

Integrity, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, has three distinct qualities: 1) firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: INCORRUPTIBILITY 2) an unimpaired condition: SOUNDNESS 3) the quality of state of being complete or undivided : COMPLETENESS Although integrity can be defined in many ways, I believe saying what you mean and meaning what you say lies at its core. So, why is it critical to embody this little word called integrity? I will share my story. I am the daughter of immigrants with little more than honesty, determination and commitment as the demonstration of integrity…

Read more

Overcoming Failure

If you have ever hit a wall of failure at top speed, you know the paralyzing feeling that takes place inside your body. That paralyzing feeling stops you in your tracks, turns a great thing into your worst nightmare. If you have ever poured your heart and soul into something and somehow, someway, it failed, you know what it feels like. This feeling of defeat can lead you down two roads. One is the road to nowhere. This road is the road that keeps you from getting out of bed in the morning, changes your beliefs about yourself, changes the…

Read more

Ask These 4 Questions to Improve Your Life

Open your heart to possibilities, allowing the light of God to give you what you need. You can have plans; however, you must allow space for surprises, delights, connections, and the time it takes for things to unfold. Hope comes from the head and heart, through the soul and the spirit. Don't get stuck in a 'little idea' of you, but find freedom in knowing that beyond you, there is a force working to pick up the pieces in the darkest hours, the brightest days and even through confusion and healing! The four-letter word "Life" has allowed us to be…

Read more

Become Aware

Before you can achieve peace or happiness in your life, you must become aware of yourself. This is never an easy task as it is much easier to recognize the errors of others rather than take responsibility for our own errors. You must become aware of what you say and how you say it. The words you choose, your tone of voice, the expression in your face and eyes. You must become aware of what you do and how you do it. Always pay attention to details, as these are the little things that will make a BIG difference. Honor your word and the promises you…

Read more

Access Your Good!

I found a truly remarkable book by John Randolph Price that helped me to move forward in my spiritual life at a time I needed guidance. This article is a summary of that book entitled The Manifestation Process: 10 Steps to the Fulfillment of Your Desires by John Randolph Price, A Quartus Book Publication. I asked Mr. Price's permission to print this summary and it was granted to me. I have found his book to be very inspiring in my life and in sharing it with others through my workshops, seminars and lectures, we've all been blessed. If you practice or go through…

Read more

Tips to Get Through the Holiday Blues

For some, the holiday season is a joyous occasion. For others, holidays bring to the surface feelings that are the complete opposite of Christmas cheer, usually unwrapping sad reminders that may start as early as Halloween. The holidays can be a roller coaster ride of emotions for many. Below are some steps to a smoother journey through the holiday season. A lot of people consider the holiday season one of the loneliest times of the year. Many of my clients who come to me for counseling ask whether they are the only ones who feel this way. Coupling this with…

Read more

Exercises to Develop Your Attention Muscles

Stephen Levine, author and spiritual teacher, once told me that focused human attention is as powerful as taking a magnifying glass and putting it right above a leaf with the sun shining through it. Even weak winter sun will start a fire on the leaf. In other words, focused human attention is phenomenally powerful. Focused attention is the ability to have your attention and your immediate experience come together. How do you bring these two things together? It begins with curiosity. Curiosity is becoming interested in what is going on right here right now without needing it to be any different…

Read more

7 Simple Reminders to Bring You Back to Soul Space 

So often, we get carried away in the human-ness of our lives. We forget kindness, love, patience, understanding and forgiveness. We forget our interconnectivity. We forget to trust, to have faith. We forget to stop, be mindful and appreciate. Absorbed in dramas, negativity or stress, for example, we spiral into and get trapped in the ego's lair. Sometimes we need a reminder of why we are here, and some simple guidance to bring us back to our Soul, our Self. We are here to experience life in the physical world. We chose our physicality, what we would be born into,…

Read more

Chase Your Dreams

I was sitting around the other day and began daydreaming about horses. I have loved horses with a passion for as long as I was aware of their existence. For decades they consumed my existence. I wanted a horse of my own with every ounce of my being. And always knew one day I would have one. Such magic, beauty. Words cannot describe their magnificence. The smell of a barn, the dust from the paths, the wet mark on the horse's back from under the saddle, the sound of a canter or trot  -- ah, nostalgia. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I…

Read more

School of HP: The Universe is Here to Help! (Poem)

When fate says “Hi”, what do you do? Is “run and hide” the choice for you? Or are you willing to accept The change in order to adapt? These are the choices that we make The chances are but yours to take For Universe will show the way It’s up to you to seize the day We often wish upon the stars Protected ‘cause they seem so far We want the wishes to come true But they won’t work unless we do The Universe’s not there to please But it is also not a tease It will provide the tools…

Read more

From Victim to Victor

We all know the story of the man who was trapped in a flood, who refused a ride out of town before the storm, then also refused a canoe, a motorboat and finally a helicopter, saying, "I'll wait, God will save me". The story tells us that when the man drowned and met God, he asked, "Why didn't you save me?", to which God answered, "I sent you a car, a canoe, a motorboat and even a helicopter. What more were you waiting for?" The reason I share this story with you today is to ask, what are you waiting…

Read more

Why Stay Angry?

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” – Mark Twain What was the last thing that made you angry? The bad driver cutting you off? Your kids not picking up their toys? You were passed over for a promotion? How long did you stay angry? An hour? A day? A week? According to Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, your anger should only last for ninety seconds. To feel an emotion we need to think a thought which then stimulates an emotional circuit…

Read more

Bouncing with Style: Getting Back on Track

A few weeks ago I was on a roll. I was working out, eating healthy, working hard and parenting at my best. Then a truck came again, in the form of an ex-relationship rearing its ugly head, and ran me over. It knocked out one of my kids and flattened the other. So I found myself in “Stop! Assess! Manage! Survive!” for a few weeks while I guided our tippy family ship into safe waters. It took all I had to keep a baseline going in my business, handling the emotional fallout for my kids, and you guessed it –…

Read more

Change Your Focus – Change Your Experience

I recently had the honor of interviewing Neil Findlay on The Empowerment Show. In his episode, we discussed his charity work. He helps children living on the street in Madagascar who may be as young as five years old. No resources. No education. No future. A situation he could only describe as hopelessness.  He also works with teens in Australia who often turn to drugs and alcohol due to their family situations. The teens have access to everything - food, shelter, education, and technology - yet there the suicide rate is rising. Suicide is rare in Madagascar where living conditions are…

Read more

Bouncing with Style: Better Boundaries

Yesterday I read a book about boundaries. Why? I had to for one of my upcoming shows.  Much to my delight, I started understanding what that bandied-about term meant in relation to me, my family and friends, and my kids. Even my dogs will benefit from my reading the material. We hear a lot in the media about boundaries. Gotta set boundaries. That’s a boundary violation. I have firm boundaries.  I have no boundaries. But what does that really mean? I started thinking about how boundaries are being erased as we groove into a society where personal choice often trumps the rights…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Solve My Financial Problems?

"I'm doing financially horrible. I needed to get some food and household items... I was flat broke and I had no other choice than to take my 7 year old boys' Xbox back. I feel so bad, I'm losing sleep. Did I do the right thing?" ~ Tiffany, Effingham, IL Dear Tiffany, We all run into problems from time to time, and often they are of a financial nature. I believe that most of the time, the problem comes from our thoughts. The most difficult thing to do when we don't know how we're going to feed our family is…

Read more