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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…

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Are You Living Authentically? The Answer May Surprise You.

Much of the self help world doesn’t begin to address what we really need: what you need, what I need, what anyone needs in our lives. That’s because our current state of evolution is so fast, that what made sense even a few years ago is no longer current or relevant to where we can go today. Recently, I was invited to take part in a seminar that promised it would teach me how to access my authentic self. That sounded great! Who doesn’t want to live authentically? But as I looked at the list of all the things this…

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The Secret for Effortless Living

Everyone wonders whether or not there is one Great Secret for truly successful living. There is. And it is not a secret. It has been quietly, steadily telling itself right in front of us all along. We just couldn't hear it over the clatter and chatter of our own secret demands. Listen quietly for a moment. Everything can change right now. Learning to hear this Supreme Secret is no more difficult than choosing whether to swim against a current or to let it carry you safely to the shore. Let it speak its wisdom to that secret part of you…

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Ask a Luminary

Why Am I So Alone?

"Why do I always feel lonely? Everyone underestimates me, but I am here for some purpose, I know.... But my silence keeps people from talking to me." ~ Arun, Delhi, India Hello Arun, You are not alone. Loneliness is a universal human emotion, complex and unique to each individual. Loneliness is not necessarily about being alone, but more about the perception of being alone. Separation, isolation and loneliness are enormous challenges for any human being. These feelings can be devastating to physical and mental health. What causes separation, this profound feeling of loneliness and isolation that so many struggle with…

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Let Go and Live the Extraordinary Life

When it comes to letting go and living in the Now, no sincere effort goes unrewarded. In the long run, it is not our ability to succeed with some individual task that determines our spiritual success, but our willingness to learn what is new and true about ourselves. Within each of us dwells a being without bounds, but unless it is explored and exercised wisely we will never know the heights to which we may rise. Imagine a newly fledged eaglet whose home rests high upon some rocky cliff, and that today it rises for the first time to stand…

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Daisy in a Field

Are You Acting from Gratitude, Love, and Trust – or Doubt and Fear?

As human beings, we operate daily reflecting a wide range of emotions with a multitude of motivations fueling our behaviors. All too often, we react emotionally to what others say or do. If our reactions are preceded by the emotions of fear, anger, or sadness, we forfeit our ability to act with personal power and effectiveness in lieu of a knee-jerk response. This reaction is all too often sourced in fear and low self-esteem. We may focus on what’s wrong with us and our lives, fear being controlled, hurt, or taken advantage of. We may overlook the many things we…

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Ask a Luminary

How Do I Find the Courage to Quit?

"I really need to quit my job but have a family to support. The biggest obstacle is money and time. Can you please provide any tips on courage and taking the business leap?" ~ Erick, Henderson, NV For starters, you could start a side business and keep working until the side business generates enough income to quit. That is what I did when I first quit my job. Fear often replaces courage when we become overwhelmed by the monumental nature of the task ahead, like "how am I going to build a business with enough income to support my family."…

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Why Waste Your Energy Worrying?

Are you wasting your energy on the could of's, should of's, would if's, but's, feeling guilty, etc...? If so, here are some things to think about: Staying in the worry - guilt - would of's, could of's - keeps you STUCK in the past. Imagine... if you spent all of that energy focusing on who, what, when, and where you wanted to be, do & become now. Nobody is perfect, we all have a past - own it - learn from it. Learn to LOVE ALL of you. The past? Let it go and forgive yourself and others. The present? No matter…

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Surrender Equals Peace

The other night I had such a moment of clarity and sense of surrender that it took my breath away. I was listening to a track from West Side Story, "Somewhere" (Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim). Here are a few lyrics: There's a time for us, Some day a time for us, Time together with time spare, Time to learn, time to care, Some day! Somewhere. We'll find a new way of living, We'll find a way of forgiving Somewhere . . . As I listened to the lyric: ‘we’ll find a way of forgiving’, my epiphany…

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Empowered YOUth: 5 Ways to Restore Peace and Repair Connection in Your Family

By Michael Eisen. In a day and age where parents and kids text more than they talk, where a family that doesn't feud is an anomaly, and where the one thing that most parents and kids have in common is the stress and anxiety they face—something's gotta give! If we are going to empower the next generation and generations to come to live up to their true potential and to live a life full of passion and optimism, it is incredibly important that we create a more supportive and understanding family unit. Below are five principles and strategies that will…

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Taming the Inner Critic: Seeing Yourself on Camera

By Sheevaun Moran. Now that social media is at a place where you'll find yourself on camera at some point or another you want to learn to clear and resolve that inner critic about the camera. I know I certainly had to and continue to have to do this. I discovered that I have muted energy when using video and when someone is talking to me and asking questions I'm myself and animated. What is your energy like when you do use video? Worried about how you look? Afraid to speak loudly? Afraid or concerned that you’ll seem or look stupid?…

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No More Procrastination

By Sheevaun Moran. One of the most energy sapping things you can do is procrastinate. But how to stop is the real issue. Here are some surefire ways to end that nagging issue of procrastinating. Past – Avoiding things works because doing something may cause fear, anxiety and make us just feel bad. Many people feel, "I’m not doing something right" or "I won’t do it right anyway" so I’ll avoid doing it at all. Solution – Anxiety is just fight or flight and fear is something I can push through and have a victory on the other side. —–…

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Top 10 Things I’ve Learned from Bejeweled

Recently, I learned yet another lesson from a game called Bejeweled 2. I blogged about this game some time ago, but find I'm compelled to write about it again. For me, this game is a form of meditation as it requires great focus. I play it in my spare time, like when I'm waiting at the dentist's office or at the airport. Some days that may be 15-20 minutes and sometimes life gets too busy and I won't play for days. However, I always come away from the experience with a lesson. So, I decided to share my Top 10 Things…

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Blessings from a Bird

Recently I was reminded of the many miracles in my life. Interestingly enough, the messenger didn't come to me as a mighty eagle, but in the humble form of a small bird For those who follow me on Twitter, you know that two nights ago, I had a tiny bird fly inside my home in Montana. It was about 8pm, on a dark, snowy, cold evening, when Koda, our 3-year old Samoyed dog wanted to go outside. As I opened the patio door to let Koda out, I was hit by a very cold breeze AND something ran in and…

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The Traveler in Time

There was that search for meaning, that longing, the perpetual longing. How would I make sense to myself? My eventful life never seemed to stop until I just couldn't cope with all its ups and downs. I had successes and failures; I sensed deep love and then the inevitable separation that followed. There was no sanctuary, no peace, no place to call home. I wondered: is my life controlled by me or am I subject to the whims of events beyond my control? One day I felt great and the next I was depressed. My confusion yielded a search and…

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10 Tips to Get Through Hard Times

Each morning as we wake up we have a choice to determine the direction of the day. We can go into default mode and wake up fearful and worried about things like how am I going to pay the bills, heal this relationship, find a job, etc..... or we can make the conscious decision to choose the kind of day we'd like to experience. Many times the events of the day happen so quickly, we get caught up in the drama and we truly feel that we don't have a choice. Things just happen. Bad things happen to good people.…

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Monday Morning: Time to Reconnect

It's Monday Morning. For many people, this is the most dreaded part of the week. Sometimes the "to do" list seems overwhelming and any relaxation from the weekend seems like a distant memory. For me, I woke early this morning, back in Montana but still on the Eastern Time Zone from having spent the last two weeks in the Caribbean. My "to do" list is amazingly long- but this morning, I'm taking the time for something even more important than my list- me. My dog, Koda, is very, very wise. He woke me early this morning and invited me to…

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