I have been studying and reading Louise L. Hay’s books for five years now, and I have gained an enormous amount of strength from her life teachings and lessons. Author to international bestseller, You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay has dedicated her life to those seeking personal growth and self-healing. Through difficult times, she has offered great wisdom and healing to many worldwide for well over 25 years. Today, I dedicate in extending some of her profound words of healing to Holly Fannin, who is struggling with breast cancer, and to others all over the world who are also in need. I ask everyday that our hearts be open and our prayers extend.
Louise L. Hay - Words For Healing:
Think positive, peace-filled, loving thoughts. Every cell in your body responds to each thought you think.
Allow the love from your heart to wash through you and cleanse and heal every part of your body and emotions.
Be assured that every day, your body’s natural desire is to be healthy, whole, and complete.
Feel the glorious, dynamic energy that is flowing through you today.
Feel privileged to live in the wondrous, magnificent machine that is your body.
Inhale the precious breath of life. It is your connection to your Higher power.
Know that your Mind and body are in perfect balance. You are healthy and in harmony with the universe.
Bring into your life every person, place and thing that you need for your complete healing.
Love every organ, muscle, joint, and cell in your body.
Release all negative thinking. Focus on the perfect state of health that you desire.
Remember that you are never alone. Your guardian angels are part of your life and have helped to keep you healthy since the day you were born.
Be aware that your Higher power is always leading you and guiding you. Your prayers for good health and healing are always answered.
Make sure your internal dialogue is positive. What you think affects every aspect of your health.
Inject a lot of laughter into your life - it’s one of the best medicines there is!
Bless all the healers of the world with love; appreciate those in both the conventional and alternative medical worlds. They all have a lot to offer.
When it comes to health decisions, trust your intuition. Listen to that still, small voice within because it always knows just what to do.
Send love and healing energy to everyone in your world. You all contribute to the overall health of the planet.
Accept the challenges and responsibilities involved in taking care of your health and healing. Know that you are always supported by life.
Accept perfect health as a natural and normal part of your being. Send love to every area of your body.
And lastly, I offer the world peace, love and joy. To all, let us pray,
All is well in my world. Perfect health be ours today and always.
A fantastic 10 minute Pilates video for full body flexibility that will stretch you out, open you up, and leave you much more relaxed. Viewed 600,000 times and voted 5 stars.
Improving ones self esteem is vital to our success, and indeed, affects all areas of our lives. It determines how confident we are and it reflects who we are as a person, and how we feel about ourselves. Whatever level of self esteem one has of themselves, it will surely portray itself in an external form. Unfortunately, many people don’t recognize they suffer internally from low self esteem, and more often, are in denial of some of the self-made beliefs they have built up in their minds over the course of their lives. Regardless of whether it is self-recognized or not, it can often become a sensitive or uncomfortable topic for many to discuss. The mere discussion of it can often stir up within ourselves a painful process in which to heal.
The University of Texas at Austin offers a deep understainding on this very subject of its cause and how to improve our self esteem. Building higher self esteem requires dedication, devotion, self love, and is indeed, a process that is achieved through vigilance and patience of oneself. For some, this can be a lifelong endeavor. Yet, every single person has within them the power to experience higher self esteem if one would only choose to tap into a higher source - at the core of their being. Once we get past some of our inner fears and embrace the process of learning to seek more within, it becomes quite impossible to see anything else but the perfection that lies within us all. By learning to be more cognitive -more gentle and kind to the soul, it is amazing the gem that one would soon discover. Below are some of my tips to help start us in our journey.
Forgive Your False Deceptions
A lot of us fall prey to false deception whether we allowed another to pollute our self esteem or whether they are self-inflicted. Often we fall prey to feelings that we lack the ability, we’re not good enough, rich enough, worthy, good looking, charming, or intelligent enough to achieve or accomplish the certain aspects of our lives. These are self-sabotaging habits we have formed subconsciously and have forever held fervently in our minds. This is the very reason why we are getting the same poor results year in after year, while we continue to watch our lives slip away at the hands of lowered self esteem. As we start to become more aware of these traps, we can then teach ourselves how to shut down and turn the self-destructive switch off by reprogramming our minds through the powerful use of positive affirmations.
Stop Comparing Yourself To Other People
We are constantly comparing ourselves to others - a sure sign we do not feel adequate about ourselves. TheNemoursFoundation for children and teens explains that this can begin within ourselves as a young child. As we grow older, it’s evident that this type of behavior clearly demonstrates that we are not comfortable within our own skin; that we are somehow no longer equal to, nor satisfied with the whole of whom we are as a person. It is the external manifestation that portrays our inner beliefs, and suddenly we subconsciously find ourselves in a pool of desperation attempting to be more like the person we are comparing ourselves to. This has become nothing more than a fictitious ideal we have put atop the pedestals of our mind - a deception of what we think would make us equal or better if only we resembled more to an other’s character. If we stopped a moment to still our minds and search within, we would see our self-worth; the value and beauty we possess that poses no differences among our fellow man.Surround Yourself With Positive And Supportive People
You remember the adage: you are what you eat, you become what you think, you are the company you keep, misery loves company, negative produces negative results, etc. I can’t share this more emphatically. If we make the shift, and learn to weed the toxic energies from our lives, we would witness an enormous transformation within our lives. This is key.
Regain Control Of Your Power, And Rediscover Your Strengths And Talents
Focusing on your strengths is the key to redirecting your life. By giving yourself the permission to regain your inner powers, you will rediscover that special part of yourself for which you have lost along the way. Spend the time to sit in silence and allow yourself to recall as a mere child what you aspired to become, what your passions were, what you wanted to achieve in your life, what your hopes and dreams were, and to which attributes you were naturally blessed with. Getting in touch with your inner child can guide you back to your core essence where your god-given gifts, talents, and strengths can be revealed and rediscovered.
Take Action And Awaken The Soul
The best way to make a positive change to the quality of your life is through action. Get involved in local group meetings. Sign up for a workshop, read a book to further your personal growth, listen to motivational CD’s during rush hour traffic. Pick up an exercise class or two at your local gym, get involved in a hobby, do something you find passionate about. Be sure to recognize your progress, and be sure to accept new compliments you receive in the process with a positive reply, “thank you!” All of these steps will enforce new beginnings into rediscovering the beauty and special uniqueness that lies within us all.
Tanscendental Meditation (TM) is a meditation technique that is practiced daily for 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening while sitting comfortably with your eyes closed. It requires neither specific beliefs nor adoption of a particular lifestyle. Transcendental Meditation was introduced by a great man out of the Himalayas, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. His teachings of TM was referred as ”one solution to all problems,” and by 1958, Maharishi began to change the trend of time. Because TM’s approach is so simple, natural, and universal, it attracted million of people worldwide. Maharishi, unfolded TM as “Vedic Science.” In Sanskrit, India’s native tongue, the word Veda means “knowledge” of the most comprehensive kind - it is knowledge about the totality of nature’s functioning, from its unmanifest source through all its manifestations. There is a seven-step procedure to follow, and Maharishi meditation centers are in all major cities in the world today. I myself, started Transcendental Meditation in 1992, and found it to be the pivotal point in my life. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Science of Being and Art of Living: Transcendental Meditation was the book that catapulted the start of my journey and into awareness. Maharishi is acknowledged as the greatest teacher of enlightenment of our time.
Reasons You Should Learn Transcendental Meditation
It is easy and very enjoyable to anyone of all ages, cultures, and educational backgrounds.
The benefits are immediate and you will notice positive changes within the first days or weeks.
Clarity is deepened offering full mental awareness which enhances creativity and purpose.
Better health in relieving daily stress, irritability, and increases your energy and vitality.
A peaceful state of mind which reduces stress levels, allowing one to manage daily lives on an optimal plane, and radiates an influence of harmony to your surroundings.
“Transcendental Meditation opens the awareness to the infinite reservoir of energy, creativity, and intelligence that lies deep within everyone. By enlivening this most basic level of life, Transcendental Meditation is that one simple procedure which can raise the life of every individual and every society to its full dignity, in which problems are absent and perfect health, happiness, and a rapid pace of progress are the natural features of life.”
-Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Founder of Transcendental Meditation, Teacher of Enlightenment (1917-2008)
“Meditation helps you find fulfilment in life, helps you to live life to the fullest. I still practice Transcendental Meditation and I think it’s great. Maharishi only ever did good for us, and although I have not been with him physically, I never left him.”
-George Harrison Musician, Producer and Composer, member of The Beatles (1943-2001)
“When I started meditating I had a real anger in me, and I would take this anger out on my first wife. Two weeks after I started meditating, this anger lifted.”
“Yoga introduced me to a style of meditation. The only meditation I would have done before would be in the writing of songs.”
-Sting Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Actor, formally The Police (1951-)
“Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity.”
-Voltaire French Writer, Essayist, Deist, Philosopher (1694-1778)
“Sleep is the best meditation.”
-Dalai Lama Spiritual and Political Leader of Tibetan People (1935-)
“Basically, I came to yoga and meditation so I could undo some of my past, and I believe that you can do that.”
-Mariel Hemingway Nominated American Actress, Author, Granddaughter to Ernest Hemingway, Sister to Margaux Hemingway (1961-)
“I am a practicing Buddhist. In Buddhism there are words you can say… as you say the words with rhythm, the conscious tells the subconscious.”
Pilates, without a doubt, has taken the fitness world by storm in the last several years. Everyone is doing it - from dancers to footballers - and the benefits are as much mental as they are physical. Pilates is a disciplined and focused form of exercise intended to strengthen ligaments and joints, as well as increase flexibility and lengthen muscles. A Pilates exercise move is designed primarily to focus on elongating the body through various stretching movements. Additionally, its style focuses on training the muscles for core strength to better support the ligaments, tendons, and joints.
Pilates exercises was developed and formed by Joseph Pilates during the 1940s with the proposal to improve the mental and physical health through a rehabilitation program for World War ll veteran soldiers. Pilates created, The PilatesPrinciples to condition the entire body through proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement, and today, it is more centered around injured dancers and the likes.
Pilates Benefits
Pilates offers many benefits. Many people with back problems ask whether Pilates work for back pain. The answer is most definitely. If your posture is bad, your lower back and hips will then adjust themselves accordingly which means they’re essentially out of alignment which then causes back pain. By strengthening and stretching the back muscles, it will improve overall flexibility, mobility and bring back precision at which you move.
Other benefits are:
Improved circulation which awaken all the cells in the body and carries away the wastes related to fatigue.
Unity of mind and body which creates balance, and vitality.
Improved sleep, with total mind and body relaxation, and alleviates daily stress.
Improves clarity through concentration exercises which centers you and enhances rhythm and motion.
Types of Pilates
There are three types of pilates, the most popular being the mat workout, where much time is spent on the floor using gravity and your own body weight to create resistance. There is also a pilates class that incorporate weights and one that uses special equipment. Joseph Pilates developed these machines which allow people to do the pilates moves using a pulley-system of resistance. Most places, however, preform the mat workouts.
Who Can Benefit From Pilates?
Pilates are most beneficial to people with injuries, weak muscles, and particularly bad posture because it encourages you to strengthen your problem areas in a relaxed and low impact way. It is advisable to anyone with serious injuries to consult their doctors first. Pregnant women should also get clearance from their doctor before proceeding.
“People should also be very careful to ensure that the instructor who is taking the class is fully qualified,” says Dr. Ibrahim. “No one should be twisting and turning their body unless under professional guidance.”
Pilates is offered through most gyms as part of their membership program, however, there are many people that chose personal pilates trainers as they find that the individual attention helps them to tailor the moves to their body needs.
To understand yoga, one must first realize that it is a sort of journey, if you will, as it is not a quick fix at all. In fact, it requires one to develop discipline, and there is hard work involved especially for beginners. The word yoga means “union” in Sanskrit - a language of ancient India where yoga originated well over 3000 years ago, and it is considered to be the oldest physical discipline in existence. Yoga, is a spiritual practice or discipline that helps the individual to unify ones body, mind, and soul. Yoga can be more accurately referenced to its Sanskrit word “asana”. Asana, however, is only one part of the eight limbs of yoga.
Many people mistakenly think that yoga is just stretching. While stretching is certainly involved, yoga focuses on harmony between mind, body, and self-enlightenment which is attained through poses, breathing, postural alignment, relaxation and meditation in order to establish wellness, happiness, and a balanced approach to every area of life. If you stay with yoga long enough, you can discover a “spiritual awakening” or better put, “enlightenment”. You will find out that who you are, is not just a body, and not just the conversations in your mind. Yoga will open windows to things you have never experience before as it will take you beyond the mundane survival level and into a whole new appreciation of life.
While there are said to be four main paths (Margas) to yoga, its ultimate aim is to guide you through a spiritual healing or higher experience that it will literally change your life, your thought process, your attitude, your outlook and your awareness. Through steady practice, you will manifest less self-importance, less material attachment, a much higher level of happiness, and will evolve into a less judgemental state. It is the fundamental path in alleviating chronic daily stress, and to which leads to a longer, more meaningful, and healthier journey through life. You will gain profound wisdom and learn how your conscious and unconscious mind can either support or harm you. Ultimately, yoga is about transformation and is studied both on a physical and mental level uniting the individual with the supreme.
The Four Main Paths
Jnana Marga - The path of Knowledge in which one learns to discriminate between what is real and what is illusory.
Karma Marga - The path of selfless work, and emphasizes spiritual practice to help the individual toward union.
Bhakti Marga - The path of devotion to god, and encompasses chanting, spiritual reading practices, and worship.
Yoga Marga - The path of control of the mind where all the activities of the mind and consciousness are studied and brought under control.
Others, highly recognized, have come to include the path of yoga and are:
Raja Yoga - Involves mastery of the mind and senses in Samadhi; essentially the advanced aspects of Patanjali’s astanga yoga.
Hatha Yoga - The yoga of the will which involves cultivating ones energy to arouse Kundalini primarily by means of asana and pranayama.
Mantra Yoga - Involves reciting sacred syllables to reach perfection.
Laya Yoga - Involves absorption in god to experience ultimate bliss.
references:
Sri Swami Rama (2008) The royal path: Practical lessons on yoga. Himalayan Institute Press; New Ed edition.
Zen Buddhism: A History (India and China) By Heinrich Dumoulin, James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter
Healing with the Angels is an inspirational and insightful way that can help you communicate and receive guidance from your angels within many areas of your life. I have been using Angel cards for four years now, and I often find myself buying them as gifts for loved ones. I am amazed at how useful they are and, most importantly, in their accuracy. Healing With The Angels, Author, Doreen Virtue, holds Ph.D., M.A. and B.A. degrees in counseling psychology and is a clairvoyant psychotherapist and metaphysician teaching people of all religious and nonreligious backgrounds how to hear, see, feel, and know their angels. Doreen has appeared on Oprah, The View, CNN, andGood Morning Americaand she teaches several ways for giving yourself and others an “angel reading” on an intuitive basis.
Using 44 angel oracle cards, its central focus surrounds healing messages from your angels giving you insight into areas of your life that you are wanting help and guidance with. All cards come with a “card meaning” and include a detailed description for better understanding; allowing one to receive the most from each reading. By simply asking your angels a question, your angel cards can lend you the insight you are seeking. Often if you don’t know how to ask, a simple question might be, “Please show my anything I need to know.” I like to quiet my mind first and surround myself in healing music, candles and incense. Angel Therapy teaches one to read with an open heart, allowing your angels’ messages to guide you in forms such as thought, idea, vision, dream, inner and outer voice or even a smell or taste. Often, your angels will give you signs that will appear in the physical world confirming and validating the messages given to you by your angels. Likewise, angel messages often come as an emotional or physical feeling. When life poses questions, lessons, challenges, or uncertainty, we can learn to work with our spirit guides for guidance.
Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa Incense - Agarbatti Holy Ash
One of the most wonderful ways to calm, relax and clear the mind is through the healing ofSatya Sai Baba Nag Champa incense; an Agarbatti which is a holy ash. In all my days, I have never come across so powerful an incense. With its renowned and almost hypnotic approach, it’s no wonder it is commonly associated for its healing effects. It can easily be explained as having the unique ability to release the mind, body, and soul by making way for ones spiritual healing; and to which becomes extremely affective during meditation. The great Bob Dillon had been known to burn Nag Champa incense during all of his concerts.
Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa incense, the most popular used, is a special blend of natural herbs, resins, flowers and oils, hand-rolled to perfection. Its rich earthy fragrance enhances any environment. While it is mostly used for meditation, it is the quintessential incense that is used world wide in meditation centers, alters and sacred ceremonies. Mostly found in novelty or new age book stores, people from all over the world have used Sai Baba’s incense to reach a higher state of awareness and for other healing purposes.
Sai Baba - Light Master
Today, there are well over 50 to 100 million people that follow the Light Master and Spiritual Healer, Sai Baba. Described as “Godman” and “miracle worker,” Sai Baba believes “There is only one religion - The religion of love,” and states, “There is only one language - the language of the Heart.” “There is only one law - the law of Karma.” “There is only one God - He is Omni-present.” An Indian guru, religious leader, healer, and orator, Sai Baba teaches love and unity of all world religions, and asserts that people who follow him do not need to give up their original religion. Apart from teaching unity and equality of all religions, he places a particular emphasis on the role of women (especially mothers) in society. He has stated that mothers build society and is why he teaches respect for parents, especially for the mother. He states the level of a nation depends on their respect for women.
Flower essencesare thedilute extracts of various types of flowers and plants used to treat people of ALL ages, and animals, with a host of emotional and mental symptoms. Dr. Edward Bach (1886-1936) who was the first to discover and develop these herbal extracts, was a physician well ahead of his time. Moving away from orthodox medicine, he became increasingly dissatisfied with its limitations and started focusing on curing symptoms which involved addressing the causes of the illness; not the masking of the illness that orthodox medicine so often plays its role.
“Health is our heritage, our right. It is the complete and full union between soul, mind and body; and this is not a difficult far-away ideal to attain, but one so easy and natural, that many of us have overlooked it.” Dr. Edward Bach
Dr. Bach’s philosophy was simple and profound; diseases of the body come about as a result of imbalances or negativity at the level of the soul, and by correcting the problem on a homeopathic level, harmony would be restored between our spiritual and moral selves. “Disease is the re-action to interferences. This is the temporary failure and unhappiness and this occurs when we allow others to interfere with our purpose in life and implant in our minds doubt, fear, or indifference.”
How Do They Work?
Dr. Bach’s flower essences, like other forms of natural medicine, take effect by treating the individual, not the disease or the symptoms of the disease. They work specifically on the emotional condition of the person concerned. The effect of taking the essences is not to suppress negative attitudes but to transform them into positive one, stimulating one’s own potential for self-healing.
In his pursuit, Dr. Bach discovered 38 essences which he called, Rescue Remedy, and divided the 38 essences into seven groups, representing fundamental conflicts, which prevent us from being true to ourselves:
Fear
Uncertainty
Insufficient interest in present circumstances
Loneliness
Oversensitivity to influences and ideas
Despondency or despair
Over-care for the welfare of others
To name Bach Flower Essences on a very basic, keyword meaning, are listed below; but to study deeper into their abilities is rather fascinating, since I myself have been studying and using Bach Essences for myself, my children, and Heidi, our puppy, for at least five years now, and so I am happy to share what I know about them.
Agrimony: Hide Problems Behind A Cheerful Face. People who appear to be carefree and humorous, but is just a mask.
Aspen: Fears And Worries Of Unknown Origin; for no apparent reason. Seized by sudden fears. Nervous; anxious.
Beech: Intolerant Of Others. Critical of people’s shortcomings. Unable to make allowances; finds it hard to see the good.
Centaury: Weak-Willed And Easily Led; overly submissive by letting themselves be imposed upon.
Cerato: Seek Advice And Confirmation From Others. People who do not trust their own judgement in decision-making.
Cherry Plum: Fear Of Losing Control. People who fear of losing control of their behaviour. Verge of breakdown.
Chestnut Bud: Failure To Learn From Past Mistakes, which leads to an inability to make progress in life.
Chicory: Possessive, Over-Protective; these people expect other people to conform to their values.
Clematis: Dreaminess; Lack Of Interest In Present; for people who live in a world of their own.
Crab Apple: Poor Self Image; Sense of Uncleanliness. May be obsessed with housecleaning, trivialities.
Elm: Overwhelmed By Responsibility of their workload; usually competent and capable, but a feeling of losing ground.
Gentian: Discouragement; Despondency. Sufferers are easily discouraged and depressed.
Gorse: Hopelessness; Despair. For people who have given up the fight. A feeling that they are at the end of the tunnel.
Heather: Self-Preoccupied; Self Concern; Talkative about their own situation or ailments.
Holly: Envious, Jealous, Feelings Of Hatred. They find it difficult to open their hearts to love.
Honeysuckle: Dwells On The Past. People who tend to live in the past. Having regrets.
Hornbeam: ‘Monday Morning’ Feeling; mental rather than physical. Difficulty in coping with the day’s program.
Impatiens: Impatience; people who are easily irritated. Wanting everything done instantly.
Larch: Lack of Confidence. For people who won’t even try because they are sure in advance they will fail.
Mimulus: Fear Of Known Things, such as illness, death, accidents, pain, the dark, cold, poverty.
Mustard: Deep Gloom With No Origin. For sudden depression out of the blue, and then lifts, such as suddenly.
Oak: Exhausted But Struggles On: For people normally strong whose inner strength wanes and fatigue sets in.
Olive: Lack Of Energy: Exhausted in body and mind after a long period of strain through personal difficulties.
Pine: Self-Reproach; Guilt: For people full of guilt who blame themselves for other people’s mistakes.
Red Chestnut: Fear Or Over-Concern For Others: Those who fear the worst or worry for the welfare of others.
Rock Rose: Terror. Such as may occur after being in an accident, having a near escape, or from witnessing it.
Rock Water: Inflexible, Self Denial. People who set themselves very high standards thay may be self-denying.
Scleranthus: Uncertainty, Indecision. People who suffer indecision or find it difficult to make decisions.
Star Of Bethlehem: After Effects Of Shock. Trauma, mental or physical from a accident, bad news, bereavement.
Sweet Chestnut: Extreme Mental Anguish. For agonizing, mental anguish, or loss of hope; despair. Reaching limit.
Vervain: Over-Enthusiasm. With fixed principles, ideas, which they are confident are right, but rarely change.
Vine: Assertive; Inflexible. People who dominate or bully others by using their gifts to manipulate or control others.
Walnut: Protection From Change And Outside Influences. Finding it difficult to adapt to change, atmospheres, ideas.
Water Violet: Proud; Aloof. Calm and capable but private, and sedate who unwillingly impose their opinions or wishes.
White Chestnut: Unwanted Thoughts; Mental Arguments. Obsessive, and worrying thoughts that are uncontrollable.
Wild Oat: Uncertainty As To Correct Path In Life. People who have reached crossroads in life and unable to decide.
Wild Rose: Resignation; Apathy. Those who have resigned to an unpleasant situation in work, illness or life.
Willow: Self Pity; Resentment. Self pity, and bitterness with a loss of sense of humor.
Forgiveness is a powerful but underrated and often overlooked force in our lives. It is an essential part of living life to the fullest. Give yourself the freedom and allow yourself to raise your awareness of those that you may silently hold past resentment, and allow yourself to release the subconscious blocks that may hold you back from experiencing the life that you were intended to live, and created to enjoy. Butforgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting, condoning or excusing whatever happened. It’s acknowledging hurt and then letting it go, along with the burden of anger and resentment.
Regain Empowerment
You must remember that, “FORGIVNESS is not something we do for OTHER PEOPLE. We do it for OURSELVES - to GET WELL and MOVE ON.” Forgiveness is a letting go. It is a freeing of yourself.
If this is true, then why is forgiveness so difficult?
It is difficult because it can seem like “giving in” or being weak. We don’t want to be weak, so we don’t forgive. It can seem like an approval of what happened. We may worry thatforgiving might be an invitation to be mistreated again. Also, not forgiving can give you a sense of power and control through the holding of a grudge. These are illusions, and only keeps you bound to your pain.
Some shared wisdom:
“Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” -William Arthur Ward
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” -Lewis B. Smedes
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future.” -Bernard Meltzer
“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” -Mark Twain
“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.” -Cherie Carter-Scott
“The hatred you’re carrying is a live coal in your heart, far more damaging to yourself than to them.” -Lawana Blackwell
Forgiveness recaptures the energy that you were giving away to sadness, anger, and resentment. Forgiveness also empowers you. It actually puts you back in charge of you.
Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource offers four steps in learning forgiveness:
Acknowledge the pain and anger felt as a result of some one’s actions. For forgiveness to occur, the situation needs to be looked a honestly.
Recognize that healing requires change.
Find a new way to think about the person who caused the pain. What was happening in that person’s life when the hurt occurred? Sometimes, the motivation or causes for the incident have little to do with those most affected. For some people, this step includes saying, “I forgive you.”
Begin to experience the emotional relief that comes with forgiveness. It may include increased compassion for others who have experienced similar hurt.
And finally:
Forgiveness is acquired. It is not inherent in the mind. Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
All of us perceive how our bodies appear in different ways. Some people feel they are too fat, others lament being too thin. You may obsess about the size of your nose, while your best friend may wish her feet were smaller.
Our perception of how we look is known as body image. Some people are pleased with their body image, however, many more dislike one or more aspects of their physical appearance.
Such feelings are especially prevalent among women. Peer body image can lead to significant problems, including depression, eating disorders or other health issues. It doesn’t take much to alter our body image for the worse. A recent study by the University of Missouri-Columbia found that women of all sizes felt more negative about their bodies after viewing the models in magazine ads.
Fortunately, there are ways to help boost your body image.
Know What You Can and Can’t Change
Improving your body image is as simple as changing your mind about how you look. As most of us realize, this is much easier said than done, however, that doesn’t mean it is impossible to shift your feelings about your appearance. To start, it may help to realize that virtually everybody has hang-ups about some aspect of their bodies. Even the most successful and seemingly confident people privately fret about at least one of their physical attributes, including women who model for magazines.
It is also important to recognize what you can and cannot change about your body. In some cases, it is relatively straightforward to change the aspect of your appearance that you dislike. For example, changing your eating habits and taking up an exercise program can shed pounds if you are unhappy with your weight. In other cases, achieving physical change may be more difficult. If you dislike the shape of your nose, your only real options are to undergo plastic surgery to have it altered for a more aesthetic appeal.
For the things you can change, focus on establishing goals and creating a plan for achieving them while using positiveself-talk. Making specific goals is crucial. Don’t say, “I want to lose weight,” instead, say, “I want to lose one pound a week forthe next three months.”
Shifting Your Attitude
Of course, there are always some things about your body that cannot be changed. We can never gain that extra 2 inches of height that we believe will make our lives perfect.
It is important that you learn to accept these aspects of yourself as they are.Poor body image can have serious consequences - a recent study by three organizations (Bradley Hospital, Butler Hospital, and Brown Medical School) found that poor body image contributes to depression, anxiety and suicidal feelings in adolescents.
Negative self-talk is the main source of poor body image. It is all too easy to obsess about the handful of things you don’t like about your body and to forget about all the other aspects of your appearance, and your person, that you do like.
Tips For Making That Shift
Don’t compare yourself to others - whether it’s the slim girl next door or the airbrushed ideals presented byHollywood - it’s sure to undermine your body image. Instead concentrate on the positive aspects of your body and your life.
Remind yourself every day that your value reaches far beyond your physical appearance. Reflect on the positive things you have achieved during your day or in recent weeks. Think about the things for which you are grateful, from the love of your family to the warmth of the sun on a nice day.
Focus on the areas you can change in your life, and not on the areas you can’t. By doing this, you will learn to love the skinyou’re in!
It might be the right time for detoxification if you are feeling sluggish, bloated, or just feeling out of sync with your body. Other symptoms might be digestive problems, skin problems, aches and pains and the likes.
Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world - including ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems - detox is about resting, cleansing and nourishing the body from the inside out. Co-author, Peter Bennett, N.D., of 7-Day Detox Miracle explains that detoxification means cleaning the blood. This is usually done in a 7 day period by removing impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph and skin. Bennett suggests that everyone should detox once per year, but cautions against it without discussing it with your care practitioner first, should your medical conditions not support detoxification.
Where Do You Begin?
There are many choices to detoxification. Finding the right one for you should be the one that suits your lifestyle and personal preference. Be sure to take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that drives away toxins.
Juice Fasting
The best for detoxification, because it supplies an abundance of nutrients, including enzymes and calories to reduce the cleansing intensity to a more comfortable level. If you do not have a juicer, you can fast by blending fruit and filtering it. You should start on a day that will not require a lot of activity, and a period when stress levels are kept at bay.
Lemon Juice and Honey
This can be easier than water fasting. The honey and lemon supply nutrients that assist in detoxing while the honey provides a more comfortable level as well.
High Fiber Fasting
The high fiber content of fruits and vegetables is excellent for flushing toxic residues out of the body. Begin with drinking at least 2 liters of water per day. Herbal teas are ok as well. Choose fruit and vegetable juice - either carrot or apple juice and include fresh watermelon juice per day. The flesh of the watermelon is high in beta-carotene and vitamin C. The seeds are high in vitamin E, as well as the antioxidant minerals zinc and selenium. You can make a great antioxidant cocktail by blending fresh fruit and seeds in a blender making a great tasting drink.
Eat in Abundance:
Fruit - the most beneficial fruits with the highest detox potential include the flesh apricots, all berries, cantaloupe melons, citrus fruits, kiwis, papayas, peaches, mangoes, melons, and red grapes. Vegetables - especially good are artichokes, peppers, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, red cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, kale, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato, tomatoes, watercress and bean sprouts. The vegetables should mostly be eaten raw, but can also be lightly steamed.
It is helpful to include exercise, and also to sweat in a sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through perspiration. Not only will you lose a lot of weight in a safe manner, but you will feel light and clean on the inside.
If you want to keep your skin healthy and hydrated, cucumbers can be one of the solutions. As cucumber and the skin share the same level of hydrogen, it becomes easy for cucumbers to help soothe and relieve eye puffiness, dark circles under the eyes, sore eyes, eye fatigue, hay fever symptoms, eye strain from jet lag, computer use, reading and sun exposure.
With so many useful ingredients in cucumbers such as its high water, silicon and sodium content, it has become part of daily beauty products, into facial packs, juice and many other remedies. The sodium content helps draw excess water from the tissue surrounding the eyes, reducing puffiness. Due to its cooling effect it can be termed as a magic wand for all your skin problems making it not only soft and supple, but also as the most wonderful and natural eye pads you can ever find for yourself. The regular intake of cucumber juice is very useful both internally and externally.
Some additional tips given by experts for relieving swollen or puffy eyes in the morning suggests drinking plenty of water while reducing your sodium intake and sleeping with your head elevated on a pillow. Two cool cucumber slices placed over your eyelids can constrict blood vessels because of the astringent properties, allowing you to relax while they do their miracle work.
For healthy glowing and smooth skin use this recipe:
Blend 4 - 5 leaves of fresh mint.
Peel and deseed the cucumber.
Add mint leaves to the cucumber to make a puree.
Beat egg white and keep it separate, then add this egg white to the cucumber mixture.
Apply this evenly on your face for 20 minutes and then rinse with cool water and pat skin dry.
Aloe Vera has long, spiked leaves, which are thick-skinned and contain a clear gel-like substance. The Aloe Vera plant has a wide ability to aid in the healing process, to protect, moisturize, and even extend life. Its gel is often used as a cooling and healing aid for sunburns, skin wounds, irritations, cuts, insect bites, burns, among other injuries. Today, Aloe Vera is found in many products, including cosmetics, skin lotions, and moisturizers.
The Benefits Aloe Vera was used in ancient times for medicinal purposes and one of the first documented users of Aloe Vera was Cleopatra, who lived from 68 to 30 B.C. She is said to have used the gel on her skin as protection from the sun, and to have thought the gel helped keep her skin young-looking. In fact, the Egyptians reportedly used Aloe Vera in their embalming of bodies, among other uses.
Aloe Vera contains numerous vitamins and minerals, enzymes, amino acids, natural sugars, and agents which may be anti-inflammatory. Today, it is not just for external remedies, but now can be ingested by pill or as in a drink. Juice is also taken from the Aloe Vera leaves. The bitter juice is often prepared as a flavored drink and is used to help with digestive problems. Taken internally, it can be used as a laxative and to destroy bacteria and parasites in the intestines.
Aloe Vera is a cellular regenerator and has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects. Studies have shown that animals showed lowered occurrences of various diseases. Aloe Vera plants are very common and some people keep a potted plant in the kitchen for external and internal purposes and used under strict controls.
A natural healing art, reflexology is based on the principle that there are reflexes in the feet and hands which correspond to every part of the body. By stimulating and applying pressure to the feet or hands, you are increasing circulation and promoting specific bodily and muscular functions. Kevin Kunz, one of the pioneers of reflexology, puts it best –
Imagine stepping on a tack. Your whole body reacts because of something perceived by the foot. Reflexology with a full range of pressure sensors, utilizes the same body system of fight or flight to relax the body.”
Indeed, the feet and hands are more sensitive than most people realize. Similar to how we use our eyes to detect light, the hands and feet detect pressure, stretch, movement and weight distribution.
So if you rub or massage a specific part of your foot, not only will your foot feel better, but so will the corresponding body part! Here’s a quick overview on what you need to know about reflexology to give a great foot massage:
When rubbing the ankle area, you are connected to your body’s reproductive area
Reach down and feel the base of your heel - this whole area is related to the back bone
When you rub the bottom of the foot, you are hitting the adrenal areas to detox the body
The areas between the toes are related to the sinuses, eyes, ears, nose, and the facial area.
The base of the big toe is related to the base of the neck
Reflexology works to release negative energy as well. So next time you give a foot massage, try it and see what they think!
