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Living Simply, Kindly, and Compassionately Despite Tragedy

Some lives seem riddled with sadness and even tragedy. Many live a life of grief and despair. And yet there are others who experience similar lives who somehow become stronger and decide to make a difference in the world. I believe we have total control over how we respond to things that happen to us. We can choose to remain a victim or, after we have worked through our grief, we can decide to come out swinging. I have had my fair share of sadness in my life – some from mistakes I’ve made, others from mistakes others have made.…

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You Are Brave, Bold, Loving, Kind and Confident

Your job, your absolute duty is to embrace every feeling that increases long-term happiness. Nothing else is more important. Once you live by this guideline, every single day will be happier than the day before you read this email. Just by reading this sentence, you have already sparked long-term positive change that will only increase as you read on and make my suggestions your own. From now on, in every situation, you will be brave, bold, loving, kind and confident. Take a second to reflect on each of those words and what they mean for you. Tell yourself everyday that…

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How To Create Inner Peace

World peace begins with inner peace. Your greatest impact on others and the world will only come when you have looked deeply inside and made peace with what you find there. But what if what you find makes you squirm? What if you hate what you find? The answer is love; it is always love. The person you need to love most--who most needs your love--is YOU. Loving and caring for yourself first isn’t selfish, it’s self-full. This means caring for your Self with gentleness and compassion. If you need to forgive yourself or others, do it and the energy of…

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Are You Willing to Take Advice?

I don't think anybody needs a speech on what is right and what is wrong. Most people don't want to be told how to live their lives either. Through the years, I've continually fought against everyone's advice. If I could go back with the knowledge I have now and with what I have experienced, things would be so very different. Even basic "listen to your parents" kind of advice -- and I know that, yes, I should have listened to my parents more. Besides the typical teen screw-ups, which I think most of us are guilty of, it can get…

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Taking Control of Your Story

None of us know when our last day in this realm here on earth will be, as each moment dies in order for the next moment to be born. Know that we are not our experiences. What happens to the physical does not need to alter the spirit, the essence of who we truly are. You are not your stories: if you don't like your history, tell yourself a new one, a more positive one. Create your story the way you want it to be. In full knowledge that I am lucky to be alive, each day is a blessing. Each…

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Your Top Priority This Year

In my opinion, there is one thing that is much more important than anything else: learning to be happy and fulfilled in your life. Truly happy people tend to be richer, more giving, more productive, and even a lot healthier than everyone else. So how can you easily become much happier in this fast paced, crazy world we live in? Fortunately there are many simple, powerful methods that can make a dramatic difference in your level of happiness. In fact, some methods that take only a minute a day, have been proven to have more effect on your level of…

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How You can Find Healing that Lasts

How would your life change if you trusted that your challenges are a part of your journey home – back to yourself and back to Life – instead of feeling that your challenges are here because you have done something wrong or you are being punished or God fell asleep on the job? What would happen if your illness, your difficult relationship, your demanding boss, your compulsions, and maybe even your troublesome dog were showing up in your life to help you heal? The healing you long for comes when you discover how to play the warmer, warmer/colder, colder game. Remember that…

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Allow Kindness to Heal Your Struggling Self

With the return of my son’s cancer, I have had lots of opportunities to be with fear and despair.   Sharing this journey with my son has taken me to a deeper level of presence than I have ever known. My body has been a very dear friend throughout this fierce process, especially my belly and my breath. Whenever I am caught in the fear-based mind, sometimes all I can do is soften my belly and allow a deeper breath. The belly is one of the best biofeedback mechanisms we have.  If it is tight, we are up in our…

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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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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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Here’s Your Daily Reminder

I don't often get to spend hours of quiet time with my mother, seeing as I have a soon-to-be 5 year old and a newborn.  But recently, I stumbled upon some free time so my mother and I sat down together to watch Heaven is for Real. (The little boy in the movie is simply delish, so cute.). My mother was especially touched by the film, citing a message she received from it. She said so often we go to church or hear a message, and for that short period of time we "get it." We are kind and patient and living…

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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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Kindness- The Gift that Keeps on Giving

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. Each day, with every action or inaction, whether intentional or not, we change the world around us. With every smile or grouchy comment, we affect others and as they pass it on, we change the world around us. We’ve all heard the expression that we’re all one, and what we reap we sow, yet sometimes they sound like just expressions and we lose the meaning behind the words. But, when you go a level deeper, it’s so obvious that everything we do affects those around us. If we’re snippy to the woman at the coffee shop,…

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Little Notes of Appreciation and Words of Thanks Make a Difference!

All of us like to feel valued and appreciated. However, it is easy for most of us to go through our day forgetting to complete simple acts of kindness. My husband is in sales, and much of the time he travels. I try to find little ways to tell him that I appreciate his work and that I will miss him while he is gone. I might stick little handwritten notes in different parts of his suitcase. One time I made him a set of note cards with numbers marked on the front to show him when he should open…

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Kindness: The Core of 12 Religions

Kindness matters. In fact, it may be the only thing that really does. In today's world, kindness is one of the things we appreciate most, yet it oft time remains one of our least shared attributes. We buy books about sharing random acts of kindness, yet cut someone off in traffic. We are kind with our friends, yet quick tempered with strangers. We say nice things to one another, yet gossip behind someone else's back. We've learned to compartmentalize our kindness rather than make it a way of life. The vast majority of us believe in God and follow one…

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