WORTHY THOUGHTS [Archive] - Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

MajestyJo

12-01-2013, 03:39 PM

Worthy Thoughts

- Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

- You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future.

- Love... and you shall be loved.

- God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.

- All people smile in the same language.

- A hug is a great gift, one size fits all. It can be given for any occasion and it's easy to exchange.

- Everyone needs to be loved, especially when they do not deserve it.

- The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity.

- Laughter is God's sunshine.

- Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.

- It's important for parents to live the same things they teach.

- Thank God for what you have, TRUST GOD for what you need.

- If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.

- Happy memories never wear out... Relive them as often as you want.

- Home is the place where we grumble the most, but are often treated the best.

- Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks within.

- The choice you make today will usually affect tomorrow.

- Take time to laugh for it is the music of the soul.

- If anyone speaks badly of you, live so none will believe it.

- Patience is the ability to idle your motor, when you feel like stripping your gears.

- Love is strengthened by working through conflicts together.

- The best thing parents can do for their children is to love each other.

- Harsh words break no bones but they do break hearts.

- To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it.

- We take for granted the things that we should be giving thanks for.

- Love is the only thing that can be divided, without being diminished.

- Happiness is enhanced by others but does not depend upon others.

- You are richer today if you have laughed, given or forgiven.

- For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 seconds of happiness that you can never get back.

- Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are.

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"The Mind is like a Parachute, it Doesn't work properly unless FULLY OPEN"

MajestyJo

12-01-2013, 03:40 PM

When it seems we have no recourse, we can always pray.

Coming to believe that a Higher Power can help us and relieve us of our worry may take time if we have spent years trying to stop someone's drinking or worrying about how to keep the family together. From others in this program we can learn the steps to take. Becoming willing to pray is the first one.

We'll soon discover that the power of prayer is awesome. Here are six compelling reasons why:
(1) Prayer promises relief when we are anxious.
(2) Prayer connects us with our Higher Power when we feel isolated and full of fear.
(3) Prayer frees our minds from the obsession to plan other people's lives.
(4) Prayer helps us take action when we feel compelled to change the circumstances of our lives. (5) Prayer becomes a wonderful resource to draw on when living through our painful moments.
(6) And prayer gives us the willingness to accept God's solution for every problem that plagues us.

I will utilize prayer today every time I wonder what I should do. You are reading from the book:

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

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MajestyJo

12-03-2013, 12:37 AM

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SOMETIMES...

We must be hurt in order to grow,

We must fail in order to know,

We must lose in order to gain.

Some Lessons are learned best only through pain.

SOMETIMES...

Our vision clears only after our eyes are washed with tears.

We have to be broken, so we can be tender,

We are sick so we can rest and think better on things more important than work or fun,

We are taken for trip near death, so we can assess how we've run.

SOMETIMES...

We have to suffer lack, so we can know God's provision,

We have to feel another's pain, so we can have a sense of mission.

So take heart, if you don't understand today,

Instead of grumbling, ask God what He means to say,

In order to learn you must endure, and learn to see the bigger picture.

In order to grow, you must stand and look beyond the hurt,

Trust in God's loving hand that takes what is Good, and gives what is Best,

And on this blessed thought, rest your anxious heart with all the questions,

God's hand only gives what his loving heart dictates,

SOMETIMES...

The Lord calms the storm,

SOMETIMES...

He lets the storm rage... and calms His child...

Better go through the storm with Him,

Than smooth waters without Him...

Received with thanks from Lady Linda at Inspiration Plus

MajestyJo

12-05-2013, 12:46 AM

Ten Reasons to believe In A God Who Allows Suffering...

1. Suffering Comes With The Freedom To Choose.

Loving parents long to protect their children from unnecessary pain.

But wise parents know the danger in over-protection.

They know that the freedom to chose is at the heart of what it means to be human, and that a world without choice would be worse than a world without pain.

Worse yet would be a world populated by people who could make wrong choices without
feeling any pain.

No one is more dangerous than the liar, thief, or killer who doesn't feel the harm he is doing to himself and to others.

~Gen. 2:15-17~

2. Pain Can Warn Us Of Danger.

We hate pain, especially in those we love.

Yet without discomfort, the sick wouldn't go to the Doctor.

Worn-out bodies would get no rest.

Criminals wouldn't fear the law.

Children would laugh at correction.

Without pangs of conscience, the daily dissatisfaction of boredom, or the empty longing for signifigance,

People who are made to find satisfaction in an Eternal Father would settle for far less.

The example of Solomon lured by pleasure and taught by his pain, shows us that even
the wisest among us tend to drift from good and from God until arrested by the resulting pain of their own shortsighted choices.

~Eccl. 1-12; Ps. 78:34-35; Rom. 3:10-18~

3. Suffering Reveals What Is In Our Hearts.

Suffering often occurs at the hand of others.

But it has a way of revealing what is in our own hearts

Capacities for love, mercy, anger, envy, and pride can lie dormant until awakened.

Strength and weaknesses of heart is found not when everything is going our way
but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character.

As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond,

The human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time
and circumstance.

Strength of character is shown not when all is well with our world but in the presence
of human pain and suffering.

~Job 42:1-17; Rom 5:3-5; James 1:2-5; 1 Peter1:6-8~

4. Suffering Takes Us To The Edge Of Eternity.

If death is the end of everything, then a life filled with suffering isn't fair.

But if the end of this life brings us to the threshold of eternity, then the most fortunate people in the universe are those who discover,through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for.

Those who find themselves and their eternal God through suffering have not wasted their pain.

They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to the Lord of Eternity.

They are the ones who will discover to their own unending joy why Jesus said,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

~Matt. 5:1-12; Rom. 8:18-19~

5. Pain Loosens Our Grip On This Life.

In time, our work and our opinions are sought less and less.

Our bodies become increasingly worse for the wear.

Gradually they succumb to inevitable obsolescence.

Joints stiffen and ache.
Eyes grow dim.
Digestion slows.
Sleep becomes difficult.

Problems loom larger and larger while options narrow.

Yet, if death is not the end but the threshold of a new day, then the curse of old age
is also a blessing.

Each new pain makes this world less inviting and the next more appealing.

In its own way, pain, paves the way for a graceful departure.

~Eccl. 12:1-4~

6. Suffering Gives Opportunity To Trust God.

The most famous sufferer of all time was a man named Job.

According to the Bible, Job lost his family to war, his wealth to wind and fire, and his health to painful boils.

Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening.

As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven seemed silent.

When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy Satan had challenged
Job's motives for serving God.

Neither did the Lord apologize for allowing Satan to test Job's devotion to God.

Instead, God talked about mountain goats giving birth, young lions on the hunt, and ravens in the nest.

He sited the behavior of the ostrich the strength of the ox, and the stride of the horse.

He cited the wonders of the heavens,

The marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons.

Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe;

There was reason to trust the same God in times of suffering.

~Job 1-42~

7. God Suffers With Us In Our Suffering.

No one has suffered more than our Father in heaven.

No one has paid more dearly for the allowance of sin into the world.

No one has so continuously grieved over the pain of a race gone bad.

No one has suffered like the One who paid for our sins in the crucified body of His own Son.

No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched out His arms and died,
showed us how much He loved us.

It is this God who, is drawing us to Himself, asks us to trust Him when we are suffering
and when our own loved ones cry out in our presence.

~ 1 Peter 2:21; 3:18; 4:1~

8. God's Comfort Is Greater Than Our Suffering.

The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away an unidentified source of suffering.

But the Lord declined saying, "My grace is sufficient for you,

My strength is made perfect in your weakness."

"Therefore," said Paul, "most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distress, for Christ's sake.

For when I am weak, then I am strong"

(2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Paul learned that he would rather be with Christ in suffering than without Christ in good health and pleasant circumstances.

9. In Times Of Crisis, We Find One Another.

No one would chose pain and suffering.

But when there is no choice, there remains some consolation.

Natural disasters and times of crisis have a way of bringing us together.

Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, riots, illnesses, and accidents all have a way of bringing us
to our senses.

Suddenly we remember our own mortality and that people are more important than things.

We remember that we do need one another and that, above all, WE NEED GOD.

Each time we discover God's comfort in our own suffering, our capacity to help others
is increased.

This is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "Blessed be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God"

~ 2 Cor. 1:3-4~

10. God Can Turn Suffering Around For Our Good.

This truth is best seen in the many examples of the Bible.

Through Job's suffering we see a man, who not only came to a deeper understanding of God but who also became a source of encouragement for people in every generation to follow.

Through rejection, betrayal, enslavement, and wrong imprisonment of a man named Joseph, we see someone who eventually was able to say to those who had hurt him, "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good"

~Gen. 50:20~

When everything in us screams at the heavens for allowing suffering, we have reason to look at the eternal outcome and joy of Jesus who in His own suffering on an executioner's cross cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

~Matt. 27:46~

You're Not Alone If the unfairness and suffering of life leaves you unconvinced that a God in heaven cares for you, But consider again suffering of the One called by the prophet Isaiah, "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief"

~Isaiah 53:3~

Think about His slashed back, His bloodied forehead, His nail ripped hands and feet,
His pierced side, His agony in the Garden, and His pathetic cry of abandonment.

Consider Christ's claim that He was suffering not for His sins, but OURS.

To give us the freedom to choose, He lets us suffer.
But He Himself bore the ultimate penalty and pain for all our sins.

~ 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24~

When you do see the reason for His suffering, keep in mind that the Bible says
Christ died to pay the price for our sins, and that those who believe in their heart that
God has raised Him from the dead will be saved.

~ Romans 10:9-10~

The forgiveness and eternal life Christ offers is not a reward for effort but a gift to all
who, in light of the evidence, put their trust in Him.

This was taken from a RBC Ministries pamplet called "10 Reasons To Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering"

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Received with thanks from my friend Carey.

The following was an additional comment from him with regard to the article above :

By and large this essay was good and thoughtful presenting many worthy arguments even though I personally don't agree with the classical "atonement" theory.

God might be dismayed with we errant creatures, but paying for sins through someone else's (even a God) suffering does not balance the scales of justice but adds on another wrong.

My personal thought was that God allowed His Son to pay the price, He gave us the gift of forgiveness, why can't we give it to ourselves. Many times we add to our own pain by lack of acceptance and by our fear of letting go, we make ourselves into the martyr and the victim when the price has already been paid.

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MajestyJo

12-06-2013, 02:09 AM

INNER PEACE

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How would you rate your level of "Inner Peace"?
Enough to stay calm in a den of lions?
Enough to get through a good day?
Enough for the next five minutes,
so long as everybody leaves you alone?

You may need a good case of inner peace,
a disease that could leave you stress-free
and contented for years to come.
A chiropractor named Jeff Rockwell
composed a list he calls
"Symptoms of Inner Peace."
You may have already caught this disease!
See how many of these symptoms you exhibit:

1.
A tendency to think and act
spontaneously rather than from
fears based on past experiences.

2.
An unmistakable ability
to enjoy each moment.

3.
A loss of interest in judging self.

4.
A loss of interest in judging others.

5.
A loss of interest in conflict.

6.
A loss of interest in interpreting
the actions of others.

7.
A loss of ability to worry
(this is a serious symptom).

8.
Frequent,
overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

9.
Contented feelings of connectedness
with others and nature.

10.
Frequent attacks of smiling
through the eyes of the heart.

11.
Increasing susceptibility to love
extended by others as well as
the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

12.
An increasing tendency
to let things happen.

Inner peace is a communicable disease
that could possibly infect
your home or workplace.
You may already be showing signs of it
and quite possibly be passing it along to others!

Rockwell warns:
"If you have all or even most
of the above symptoms,
please be advised that your condition
of PEACE may be so far advanced
as to not be treatable."

Have you caught it?

MajestyJo

12-07-2013, 12:53 PM

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A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....one old love she can imagine going back to and one who reminds her how far she has come...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a youth she's content to leave behind...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....one friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored..

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....how to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....how to quit a job
....break up with a lover

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
....one old love she can imagine going back to and one who reminds her how far she has come...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a youth she's content to leave behind...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....one friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

....a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....how to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....how to quit a job
....break up with a lover
....and confront a friend without ruining the friendship
....and how to change a tyre!!!!!!!

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....when to try harder and when to walk away...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

....that her childhood may not have been perfect but it 's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

.... what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

.... how to live alone even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

.... whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

.... where to go be it to her best friend's kitchen table or a charming inn in the woods when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

.... what she can and can't accomplish in a day, a month and a year...

MajestyJo

12-09-2013, 02:32 AM

“Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences may be.”

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 79.

Over the years I have heard several people say, what is a spiritual experience and awakening. For me, it was me being able to do something that I was unable to do by and for myself before recovery.

Things like setting boundaries, being able to say no, not right now, when I have the times, not in the moment. The ability to allow someone to be themselves, and me not having to tell them the errors of their way and to allow the person to just be. To respect myself and know that I deserve recovery and that I did not have to be subject to abuse, to play the roles of martyr, victim, rescuer or any other “lie” that someone wanted me to live for ‘their’ sake.

The realization that I was the problem, not the substance. That I just used the substance to escape my reality and to escape me. That is wasn’t just alcohol and drugs, I had used sex, relationships, food, work, TV, books, etc. all to not have to look at me and the world around me.

The realization that when I took away that substance, their was a void within me and it would continue to be if I did not fill it up with spiritual concepts and living. The getting out of self and helping another still suffering addict. T

To care and share with another the unconditional love and the Fellowship of the Spirit which can be found in the rooms of Recovery. The awareness that although I am sick, that through the God of my understanding, I can heal and become the type of person He would have me be and live in faith instead of fear today.

There never seem to be an end to a day, I used to fill up my day. Today there are not enough hours. I must always be grateful for “busy” but I must never be too busy to share with others how I got ‘busy’ today. Please share with me your spiritual experiences and awareness so that those who are new can have hope, and have a desire to continue on this journey of freedom we call recovery.

We cannot choose happiness for ourselves or for another; we can’t tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will indulge ourselves in that precious moment, or whether we will renounce ourselves in the present moment, for the sake of obeying the Divine voice within us, for the sake of being true to all the motives that sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has slipped from me again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go forever, I should have no light through the darkness of this life. I pray that I will one day come completely out of the dark and into the light. I should start by getting out of my own way. I can’t. He can. Think I’ll let Him. Just for today, Lord, protect me from myself. Thanks for letting me share.

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MajestyJo

12-12-2013, 02:39 AM

MY FRIEND

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As I travel down life's highway,
I know my Lord's always there,
And I know I can rely upon
His tender loving care,

For He knows all of the byways
that I'm likely to explore
So He watches over me
because He's been that way before.

And when my road seems all uphill
and shadows gather round,
His understanding presence is
a blessing so profound.

I know that when I seek Him and
on Him my problems place,
He turns each stumbling-block
into a stepping-stone of faith.

If I follow His directions,
on the Lighted Path I'll stay,
And I'll reach my destination in the most straightforward way,

For He will not see me burdened
with a weight I cannot bear,
With His help I can stand straight and tall,
because His strength I share.

To me, each day's a beginning,
and a chance for me to show
Just how much I love and trust Him,
how much closer we can grow.

Just imagine, the Creator of the earth,
moon, stars and sun
Is my Friend and, to Him,
my soul is a very special one.

For I know He really loves me,
with a love that has no end,
And for comfort and enrichment
I can truly recommend

The assurance that He gives me,
and the hope that my heart feels,
As my strength grows stronger
with each truth His faithfulness reveals.

There's no limit to His Loving,
to His Patience, to His Power,
As He teaches me and guides me,
day by day and hour by hour.

So, if miracles are missing from your life,
don't muddle through,
Please, just call Him, He will hear you.
My friend could be your Friend too!

Jacqueline Ramm (c)

Brought To You By smilesr4u

MajestyJo

12-14-2013, 04:30 AM

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When life seems empty, cold and drab
As it can often be,
then that's the time to take a break
And take the time to see
The silver lining behind each cloud
The bright dawning of each day
To recognize, to realize - that
There is a better way.

A way to change; a way to grow
To have courage; to believe
That we are given choices
And with guidance will receive
A pre-determined road map
From which a journey can begin
To ease the ever present doubt
To feel there's hope again.

So believe that we are special and unique in every way
that each and every one of us are
God's greatest miracles at play
And instead of living in the past and
Hiding behind protective masks
Take steps to turn our lives around
Be positive and pray
And before too long and with God's help
We'll find, there is a better way.

A better way to look at life; clearly and with pride
To take ownership for what we do; to allow the world inside
To share and care; to do and to say
These precious words, day by day

I believe in freedom; I believe in me
The serenity prayer is my guide to see
That with courage and acceptance; commitment and prayer
THERE IS A BETTER WAY.

By Lois Stargratt

MajestyJo

12-17-2013, 12:50 AM

A.S.A.P.

Normally known as "As soon as possible."

Like this version better: Always say a prayer.

A cartoon version

http://www.funnies.com/asap.htm

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MajestyJo

12-22-2013, 11:34 AM

Change

"I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change."

-- Jim Rohn

"Slowness to change usually means fear of the new."

-- Philip Crosby

“Just as the tumultuous chaos of a thunderstorm brings a nurturing rain that allows life to flourish, so too in human affairs times of advancement are preceded by times of disorder. Success comes to those who can weather the storm.”

-- I Ching No. 3

“If you want things to be different, perhaps the answer is to become different yourself.”

-- Norman Vincent Peale

Courtesy of Higher Awareness

Change, for me that is how recovery works. If I am not willing to change, things will remain the same.

To change, I need to be aware of myself and my surroundings. I need to admit to myself, to my God and others, the nature of my dis-ease. I need to accept what is in the moment, knowing that it is subject to change. I don't have to like it to acceptance, but I can't take meaningful action, without finding the acceptance. In order to take action, I often have to change my attitude. Other times, I need to change my attitude so I can take action. If I think I can, I won't. If I think I can, I will.

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MajestyJo

12-22-2013, 11:35 AM

my son use to say he doesn't identify with me any more, but now that he has been in treatment he knows where I am coming from, but still doesn't like it. He says, Don't preach your AA stuff at me.

All we can do is be the beacon and the light that hopefully one day they will choose to follow.

I often think that my God is sitting over my shoulder saying, "Tsk! Tsk! Here we go again, she didn't listen, and didn't get the message the first time. In today, it doesn't take so long for the light to go on.
:idea:

It is getting better, my selective hearing and tunnel vision aren't so plugged and blurred now as they use to be. At least the vision ranges has a wider field and my mind isn't as closed. As they say, progress not perfection, some days are better than others.

Nothing changes if nothing changes.

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MajestyJo

12-26-2013, 10:24 AM

Do I have balance? Most definitely not, at least not to other people's standards if I want to compare.

I look at my sites as a job. I do have to take 'walk abouts' and do things, which I don't do often enough lately as I have a lot of commitments. I don't have a schedule where things have to be done at a certain time or in a certain way.

My son is no longer a part of my life. My sister lives several miles away and we talk about once a week on an average. I don't have a car. She doesn't drive. I had dinner with her family at her oldest daughter's place not too long ago.

Depending on my health, I try to get to my Al-Anon meeting. I play bridge once a week. On alternating weeks, I play twice a week if I am available. This Monday, I will be going into the jail if my partner is available. I hope to hear from her later today.

I guess you could say, I balance my time when I am up. The only problem being, when I am up at night, no buses are running and nothing is open for my usual stroll on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to the market and the library. I can't go into the laundry room after 7 p.m. or before 9 a.m. Life just is in today.

What I have learned in the program is how to just be. No matter where I am in the day, it is important to stay centered and balanced within myself. It doesn't matter what is going on or not happening around me. If I tried to balance myself to life around me, I would go crazy. It is me that needs to be balanced.

posted at Recovery Inn on September 2010

Proof that this is a one day at a time program. :169:

MajestyJo

12-26-2013, 10:26 AM

Finding Balance

The goal of recovery is balance - that precious middle ground.

Many of us have gone from one extreme to another: years of taking care of everyone but ourselves, followed by a time of refusing to focus on anyone's needs but our own.

We may have spent years refusing to identify, feel, and deal with our feelings, followed by a period of absolute obsession with every trace of emotional energy that passes through our body.

We may succumb to powerlessness, helplessness, and victimization, then we swing to the other extreme by aggressively wielding power over those around us.

We can learn to give to others while taking responsibility for ourselves. We can learn to take care of our feelings, as well as our physical, mental, and spiritual needs. We can nurture the quiet confidence of owning our power as equals in our relationships with others.

The goal of recovery is balance, but sometimes we get there by going to extremes.

Today, I will be gentle with myself, understanding that sometimes to reach the middle ground of balance, I need to explore the peaks and valleys. Sometimes, the only way I can extricate myself from a valley is to jump high enough to land on a peak, and then slowly ease myself down.

Today I am willing to let go of all my fear so that I can find out what is real in my life. I will take whatever comes without judgment. I am ready to release all my resistance and struggle so that I can find out the good and truth inside me.

From..... The Language of Letting Go

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MajestyJo

12-26-2013, 10:28 AM

For so many years, I was so busy in service, that I didn't know how to practice self-care. I still didn't make healthy choices for me. I had to learn balance. I can't give away what I don't have.

I had gotten away from a lot of the meditation I use to do. I stopped lighting candles. I stopped using my crysals. I still took time in the morning. I still took time during the day when I came upon a situation. As Osho says, "Even doing dishes" can be a form of meditation and a connection with God.

When I go to post, I always ask that I be guided in what I say and the choices I make. It has always been the Serenity Prayer, Third Step Prayer and the Seventh Step Prayer for me. The asking for help and the getting out of the way, so God can work through me instead of going around me.

I also had to learn to not take on what is not mine! That was a biggy. I was and still can be a perpetual sponge that just seemed to absorb other people's sh*t! I took it all personal.

Acceptance is the key to my sobriety. Accepting what is allows me to keep my emotions balanced. Without it, I can be off the charts. What I don't find acceptable, I ask to leave. I accept and love my son, I did not love and accept his behavior. His going away to treatment through my life out of balance and made me realize how much I had depended on him to do things for me. His talk of leaving for B.C. turned my life out of balance again after I got to a place of acceptance. My life doesn't depend on him being in it. It just seemed empty and void with him God because his father left when he was 2 months old and there has always been him and me, even when we never lived together. So I as a result of that void, I had to fill it up with spiritual things. I had to bring my life back into balance. Reach out and ask for help. It has been a grieving process.

The other day I met someone who said to me, "Giving rides home to people from meetings is not AA's job." What ever happened to, "Get yourself to a meeting and you will always get a ride home." I can get out in the day light hours, but have difficulties at night. With my sleeping patterns being off, I am not always awake to go to morning meetings. My recovery has been online for several years, without it, I would not be sober today. Many nights when I have been in pain, I have gone to sites and looked at old posts to find the spiritual food I needed. Have never done chat rooms except at three recovery sites. Another Empty Bottle which is no longer, Essence of Recovery, where I chair a weekly meeting, and Milkman's Circle for Recovery.

The last time I asked the doctor for help with my sleeping, he wrote a prescription for Clonazapam." I refused to take them. For one thing they are for anxiety disorder and panic attacks and I don't have either. I did prior to recovery. I haven't had them for the last 12 years. Before that in part, but there were occasions prior to that time when I was 7 years sober. I had migraines for the first 7 years of my recovery and haven't had one bad enough to put me in bed let alone in the hospital since then.

God has been very good to me. As Sam said, "We have the tools to apply to our life."

Posted on Recovery Inn in 2010

MajestyJo

12-26-2013, 10:33 AM

When I come across Step Ten, which I am doing now, I always see that I never work it to it's full potential. I don't get all the Power that is available from doing it the way it is written. It always seemed like I was leaving some part out.

For the first 6 years, I did an Inventory every 2 years because I was evolving and changing. Then I did face to face work with therapists. I went a while without a sponsor because the one I had wasn't willing to go through the Steps with me. I have a new one and we hope to find some time to get together. She is a busy lady. She has been out on the golf course this summer and had visits from her family and she goes to see them in California. We hope to work on the Blueprints to Progress from Al-Anon together. I had a woman in AA with 26 years of sobriety at the time say she thought it was one of the best Step 4s to be had. I have always done it with the Big Book in early recovery.

Sam I think the key to Step 10 is to work it all day long, not morning and night. As someone says to me, "What Step are you on?" I say, "Some days all 12."

Ironically, she is heading to California again, and although we have marathon phone calls, we still haven't done the promised Step 4.

Now that I am feeling better, I hope I can find my copy and work on it while she is away for 4 months.

Being ground is so important to finding balance.

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MajestyJo

12-29-2013, 07:26 PM

Releasing the Past

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Today I have the willingness to release myself from the past and give myself the gift of comprehending all that exists in my present.

I am tired of being mired in the past, running my every experience through the old damaged notions that seemed to have gotten stamped on every cell in my body. I am tired of using misinformation as if it was truth and recreating over and over for myself the same result. I am tired to the bone and yet when I try to escape this alone, I sense my efforts are useless.

I believe that a power greater than myself can release me from the bondage of my past. I ask this higher power to help me now find the truth of my present. It feels unfamiliar to stop the movie of my past from running in the background and encounter silence in its place. But I practice learning to sit still with the quiet. Gradually, I awaken to what is here in my present. I let myself know it is enough. I am well when I let myself be.

You are reading from the book:

Daybreak by Maureen Brady

It was important to identify, that was then, this is now. Not expecting things to be the same, happen the same with the same results, because in today, I have my Higher Power to lead and guide me.

I am not my disease. I am not someone else`s disease, unless I choose to take on their stuff and be an enabler and caretaker. It is so important to accept what is in today. It may have links and strings attached to my past, but with the help of my HP, they can be severed, divorced, and detached.

Acceptance is the key to ALL my issues in today, knowing it is subject to change, if I have the willingness and faith to trust in the process.

MajestyJo

01-03-2014, 05:26 PM

Today's Reminder from Courage to Change:

My thoughts are my teachers. Are they teaching me to love and appreciate myself and others, or are they teaching me to practice isolation? Today I will choose my teachers with great care.

"Live and let live" sets us free from the compulsion to criticize, judge, condemn and retaliate...[which] can damage us far more than those against whom we use such weapons. Al-Anon helps us to learn tolerance rooted in love.

- This Is Al-Anon

This was today's reading and gave me pause for thought. My thoughts are energy and what I think, I put out to the Universe. What I put out comes back to me.

So much of it calls for good motive and intent. Do I have good intentions towards myself and others. What is my motive for saying and doing what I do (did)?

All pause for thought!

Posted on another site on February 3, 2011

Like this squirrel, I couldn't make up my mind and would could've and should've all over the place.

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MajestyJo

01-03-2014, 05:27 PM

When I re-read the quote, the thought that came to mind was, "Just because I had a feeling or a thought, didn't mean I had to act on it. That was something I had done wrong all of my life. I would see or hear and would immediately presume you were looking or talking about me and often in defense, I felt like I had to retaliate.

There was very little stop before I spoke. I would hear things and perceive them as derogatory and hurtful, and would either want to pay you back or would burst out in tears and role play to the hilt. All in response to "It is your fault, look at what you made me do, if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have...."

I took everything personal. I used my thoughts to beat myself up royally and I used your words as I perceived them to be, which were never validated, to put myself down, or I would hit back and put you down to make me feel better.

An ugly world, an unkind place, and I am glad I don't have to go there any more. I don't have to buy into other people's game and I don't have to role play and be someone I am not.

I had to heal those thoughts. I had to change the thinking. I had to allow myself to heal and forgive myself. Often it was my disease acting out. Many times it was all I knew and what I heard growing up and didn't know my thoughts were outdated.

I had to learn to allow others to have their thoughts. I just had to learn not to buy into them and give them power over me. It was important to not give up my own power. Power that I didn't know I had.
This is a dis-ease from within, it was the thinking behind the drinking and drugging. That is why I have to go within to heal.

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MajestyJo

01-10-2014, 03:46 AM

When you consciously invoke growing, you consciously invoke the parts of yourself that are not whole to come into the foreground of your life. With each recurrence of anger, jealousy, or fear, you are given the choice to challenge it, or to give in to it. Each time you challenge it, it loses power and you gain power.

- Gary Zukav

For so many years, I gave away my personal power. I did not know I had a choice.

Each time I am faced with an old scenario, I am given the choice in recovery as to whether I am going to let it continue to play out in my life or am I going to step up to the plate and challenge it and do what I can do to heal and change things.

When I surrender, I am empowered to do what I need to do for myself. I no longer have to give those old patterns and behaviors the power to rule my life.

Just for today, I take back my power. I am worthy of a new life and a new sense of well being and peace.

Just because you are a strong woman, there is no reason to give up a part of yourself for someone else. It is okay to be you. Own your own power.

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MajestyJo

01-11-2014, 08:14 AM

DON'T REJECT THE EGO

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"Nourishing the soul is the process of drinking at the life stream, coming back to one’s true self, embracing the whole of one's experience - good, bad, or ugly; painful or exalted; dull or boring."
-- Jon Kabat-Zinn

Spiritual teachings sometimes counsel a need to let go of the ego. In our view, though, ego and personality are essential players in our theatre of life. Personality is the vehicle for Spirit to evolve through form. Soul sparks the potential that exists within the personality.

We don't want the ego to disappear - we want it to open to divine guidance so the two may work together in alignment.

And so the path of personality aims to build a healthy, skillful ego. Ironically, only a strong, mature ego can take responsibility for carrying the consciousness of soul.

"How do we nurture the soul? By revering our own life. By treating it as supremely important. By reaching for the best within ourselves. By learning to love it all, not only the joys and the victories, but also the pain and the struggles."
-- Nathaniel Branden

Is your spiritual development important to you?

There is a positive and negative to everything. When you look at EGO as "Easing God Out," it is not good. I look at it as the Higher Self, instead of the Lower Self that lived in the darkness of addiction and couldn't see God., and only reached out during the tough times.

When we nurture the Inner Self, we connect with our God and the selfish, self-centeredness is no more, unless we choose go there.

MajestyJo

01-12-2014, 02:18 AM

THERE'S HOPE!

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"No matter how painful our early experiences were, our Essence cannot be harmed. Our Essence is waiting for the opportunity to reveal itself. In a very true sense, we are waiting for the opportunity to become ourselves. Our spirit is yearning to break free, to express itself ...

"And yet, ironically, we always fear and resist opening to that which is most real in us. When we trust in the process and give ourselves over to it, however, our true nature comes forth. The result is real integrity, love, authenticity, creativity, understanding, guidance, joy, power, and serenity-all of the qualities we are forever demanding that personality supply."
-- Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson

MajestyJo

01-14-2014, 03:17 AM

Discover the treasures inside

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"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."
-- Denis Waitley

Peace, joy, health and well-being can only be found inside us. They exist within us now, as our essential nature, waiting for us to call on them.

No matter what our income, body shape or situation in life, each of us holds the power to take the inner journey to find our treasures within. This is what makes the inner journey so exciting!

"When we cannot find contentment in ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere."
-- Francois De La Rochefoucauld

MajestyJo

01-19-2014, 04:43 AM

Befriend yourself

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"Self-contempt never inspires lasting change."
-- Jane R. Hirschmann & Carol H. Munter

The journey to know ourselves ideally brings us to self-understanding and acceptance. It is NOT a quest for self-improvement.

When we open to love and accept ourselves, no matter what, we allow our innate love, power and wisdom to emerge naturally.

"Who you really are is enough."
-- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

MajestyJo

01-19-2014, 04:44 AM

Capture your inspiration!

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"Ideas can come from anywhere and at any time. The problem with making mental notes is that the ink fades very rapidly."
-- Rolf Smith

Insights and inspiration come to us for a reason. Don’t let them disappear on you!

When a great idea pops into your mind, write it down and capture it. Keep a mini-journal or piece of paper with you at all times.

Reflect on your insights. How might you anchor this great idea so it enhances your life?

"Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference."
-- Nolan Bushnell

MajestyJo

01-20-2014, 08:10 PM

Why are you here?

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"You can come to understand your purpose in life by slowing down and feeling your heart's desires."
-- Marcia Wieder

What do you love to do? What gives you greatest meaning in your life? Let your answers trickle through and keep a record of the key words that come up.

Life becomes so much richer when we choose to live from our heart.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
-- Steve Jobs

MajestyJo

01-23-2014, 04:10 AM

How aware are you?

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"The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."
-- Julie Cameron

How aware are you of:
- your senses?
- your body -- its condition, needs and wisdom?
- your fears?
- your defences - how you hide what you’re really feeling?
- your self talk?
- your beliefs and their power to create your reality?
- your passions?
- your purpose?

Go on a treasure hunt to discover your authentic self and the truth of life in and around you!

"Relative to the level of awareness that is possible for us, our ordinary state of consciousness is as far from a direct experience of reality as sleep is from waking consciousness."
-- Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson

MajestyJo

01-24-2014, 01:56 PM

Labels limit us

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"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."
-- Lao Tzu

How do you define yourself, to yourself and others? Are you first and foremost a husband/wife? A mother/father? A bus driver, dentist, musician ... ? A Christian, Muslim, Jew ...? A nag, joker, dreamer ...?

Be aware that any label puts limits on you. Today, experience how it feels to let go of the labels to rest in ‘I am.’ Feel the freedom, the spaciousness, the infinite potential of simply being.

"With every breath, the possibility of a new aspect of self arises."
-- Wayne Muller

"As long as I am this or that, I am not all things."
-- Meister Eckhart

*** Do you feel an urge or calling in you to be or do more? Then honour it and open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose. Maybe it is time to do life instead of life doing you!

MajestyJo

01-26-2014, 03:32 PM

Open to the new

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"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
-- Alvin Toffler

How willing are you to learn something new? How open are you to new perspectives?

When we are open, we are willing to move to places we've never been before. We are willing to continually review our belief systems so we can test out new ideas.

Be open to seeing things:
- from another's point of view,
- from a higher and more inclusive perspective
- with a beginner's attitude of wonder.
"I am always in quest of being open to what the universe will bring me."
-- Jill Bolte Taylor

MajestyJo

01-28-2014, 08:30 PM

Give yourself free time

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"What is it that makes all of us end each day with the sense that we have not lived our time, but have been lived, used by what we do?"
-- Jacob Needleman

How can you free up more time for yourself?

All of the great masters counsel that we need time daily for solitude. And if our journey in life is to become more aware of who we are, then surely we need some free time each day to explore our inner landscapes and uncover our passions.

What activities can you cut out of your life to give you more growing room?

"Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long, stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live."
-- Anna Quindlen

MajestyJo

01-30-2014, 01:34 AM

Give yourself free time

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"What is it that makes all of us end each day with the sense that we have not lived our time, but have been lived, used by what we do?"
-- Jacob Needleman

How can you free up more time for yourself?

All of the great masters counsel that we need time daily for solitude. And if our journey in life is to become more aware of who we are, then surely we need some free time each day to explore our inner landscapes and uncover our passions.

What activities can you cut out of your life to give you more growing room?

"Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long, stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live."
-- Anna Quindlen

MajestyJo

01-31-2014, 12:41 AM

Soul lives in connection

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"We all seek Soul. While Soul is always present, it doesn’t appear in our lives automatically. Soul requires our attention and reflection. Offering our respectful regard to the Soul is a way of loving it, caring for it, nurturing it."
-- Benjamin Shield and Richard Carlson

How do we experience soul in our lives?

It’s so simple! STOP AND PAY ATTENTION! Soul lives in connection. Whenever we are present and conscious, soul emerges.

To easily experience soul, find something you love to do and immerse yourself in it. Consciously savour a favourite piece of music. Consciously enjoy a walk in nature. Really experience your breathing and the pounding of your heart as you exercise. Really be present to your partner, your kids, your pet or another, and you will know the contentment of soul.

"I think that whenever soul is present, it’s because what you’re doing, whom you’re with, where you are, evokes love without your thinking about it. You are totally absorbed in the place or person or event, without ego and without judgment."
-- Jean Shinoda Bolen

MajestyJo

02-01-2014, 02:26 PM

Play with the growth journey!

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"Humor is the instinct for taking pain playfully."
-- Max Eastman

Banish bad baggage, backward beliefs, boring boundaries, big blocks and belittling blame by building your beingness bridge by becoming a beautiful, bold, balanced, broadminded, boundless being.

"If life doesn't offer a game worth playing, then invent a new one."
-- Anthony J. D'Angelo

MajestyJo

02-04-2014, 04:03 AM

Be aware of duty

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"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart."
-- Pearl S. Buck

Many of us have been taught to do our duty. What reaction does this bring up for you?

For me, ‘doing my duty’ often means doing something I really don’t want to do. My heart’s not in it. When this is the case, tasks may get done but there’s no gift to the world. We do not truly serve if we give to others with resentment.

Perhaps we need to give ourselves permission to say no and look after our own needs. When our own needs are met, we are much more likely to want to give from a full heart.

It’s not selfish to look after ourselves -- it’s essential!

"Nothing truly valuable arises from ambition or from a mere sense of duty; it stems rather from love and devotion towards men and towards objective things."
-- Albert Einstein

MajestyJo

02-05-2014, 06:08 PM

You are complete

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"Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else."
-- Wayne Dyer

Close your eyes and imagine that everything you are is enough. You don’t need to be better or different -- you’re great just as you are. Can you experience the peace and contentment that owning that perspective brings?

Moving into such total acceptance does not mean that we stop growing. When we can accept who we are now, we open the doors to our own inspiration to do and be even more!

"Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are."
-- Julia Cameron

MajestyJo

02-07-2014, 09:04 PM

Look for the gifts

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"In school you get the lesson and then take the test... In life you take the test and then get the lesson."
-- Unknown Source

How is a problem in your life really an opportunity?

Problems invite us to go inside to recognize a bigger picture of ourselves and of life. This bigger picture brings meaning to what is unfolding.

When you feel trapped in a problem, see if you can shift your perspective. Ask yourself, "What am I being invited to learn from this situation?" The answer will always revolve around a quality or value, like gratitude, freedom, compassion, love, will, humour or acceptance. The answer will also always promote union rather than separation.

As soon as we find the meaning in our challenge, our resistance to it melts away. Often, awareness of the lesson is all that is needed to resolve the problem. If not, the awareness brings us courage and ways to work through it.

"The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one’s life."
-- Dalai Lama

MajestyJo

02-10-2014, 09:59 PM

Slow down

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"The soul requires duration of time -- rich, thick, deep, velvety time -- and it thrives on rhythm. Soul can’t be hurried or harried .... We may go through many events in the day and experience nothing because the soul has not had the opportunity to feel them from many different points of view."
-- Robert Sardello

Soul cannot exist when our connections in life remain superficial. An experience of soul requires that we take time to be fully present to the details of our lives.

Explore what happens when you take the time to STOP and PAY ATTENTION. When we choose to slow down and really experience the qualities of our lives, we get a whole new perspective on what living is all about.

"We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery."
-- H. G. Wells

"The well of Providence is deep. It’s the buckets we bring to it that are small."
-- Mary Webb

*** Awareness is the key to all change. Begin to trust yourself more deeply as you uncover new dimensions of who you are.

MajestyJo

02-12-2014, 05:00 PM

Willingness to change

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"At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it."
-- Thich Nhat Hahn

How are you feeling in this moment? If you are not feeling great, are you willing to make the effort right now to shift your focus so you feel better? Finding something to appreciate will do it.

If you are not willing, that’s okay. Don’t judge yourself. Just be aware that you are choosing to stay where you are.

"Choice of attention... is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences, whatever they may be."
-- W.H. Auden

Our process is clear. First 'know yourself' - your personality and direction in life. Then 'create a plan'. Next 'heal yourself and what holds you back. Then you can expand and 'grow yourself'. Are you ready to commit to changing your life for the better?

MajestyJo

02-14-2014, 01:22 PM

MAKE TIME TO PLAY

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"If we fail to nourish our souls, they wither, and without soul, life ceases to have meaning.... The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worth living."
-- Marion Woodman

Stress, fear, negativity, too much to do and doing things for others at the expense of our own needs -- these all stifle our innate creativity. Relaxation, fun, meditation, and going after our dreams all get the creative juices flowing. Soul is always creative, always fresh and new.

How can you create more space in your life to allow the soul's energy out to play?

"I learned... that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic, striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness."
-- Brenda Ueland

"I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of quiet life stimulates the creative mind."
-- Albert Einstein

MajestyJo

02-16-2014, 01:51 AM

SEEK UNION OVER SEPARATION

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"Beliefs separate. Loving thoughts unite."
-- Paul Ferrini

Our ego focuses on how we are different from the rest of the world. Our soul lives when we experience how we are the same.

Any time you separate yourself from other people or from situations, you know your personality is in control. At such times, shift your perspective to build connection and you will move into soul.

As our picture of life becomes larger, more things make sense and we have a greater playing field for life to unfold - naturally.

"As a holistic being you shatter the illusion of your separateness and reveal your connection to everything. This empowers you in a way that the ego-driven self could never contemplate."
-- Wayne Dyer

Watch yourself shift from the self-centered, controlling behaviours of the ego to the power, love and wisdom of the soul.

MajestyJo

02-18-2014, 07:32 PM

LOVE YOURSELF

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"If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?"
-- Rob Bremer

Thanks to the power of our inner critics, most of us have a very poor opinion of ourselves. Yet self- contempt merely keeps us miserable and stuck in our mediocrity.

If we were to make only one change to transform the quality of our lives, we might try sending a little love our own way.

"A critic is a legless man who teaches running."
-- Channing Pollock

"Unkind criticism is never part of a meaningful critique of you. Its purpose is not to teach or to help, its purpose is to punish."
-- Barbara Sher

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."
-- Buddha

MajestyJo

02-20-2014, 11:59 PM

LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE

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"We don't always know what makes us happy. We know, instead, what we think SHOULD. We are baffled and confused when our attempts at happiness fail...We are mute when it comes to naming accurately our own preferences, delights, gifts, talents. The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people's expectations. The tongue of the original self is the language of the heart."
-- Julia Cameron

We are each unique beings with a unique path in life. If we wish to be fulfilled, we need to go to our own hearts for direction. We might regularly ask ourselves:

"What do I really want to do?"
"What brings me greatest happiness?"
"How can I bring more of these into my life?"
Life wants us to go for what brings us most joy and meaning.

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. ...I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing."
-- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

"Let me listen to me and not to them."
-- Gertrude Stein

"What you must dare is to be yourself."
-- Dag Hammarskjold

*** Do you feel an urge or calling in you to be or do more? Then honour it and open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose.

MajestyJo

02-22-2014, 02:40 AM

KNOW YOURSELF

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"What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself."
-- Abraham H. Maslow

STOP AND PAY ATTENTION! Set an intention to be more aware. Become a watcher, of yourself and what's around you. Develop the witness, the part of you that can step back from life and impartially observe how you react and think and feel. We learn so much about who we are!

"Knowing others is wisdom; knowing the self is enlightenment."
-- Tao Te Ching

"The true profession of man is to find his way to himself."
-- Hermann Hesse

Become aware of your subconscious limitations, your character strengths, weaknesses and potentials, your life challenges, gifts, talents, and your deepest desires and aspirations.

MajestyJo

02-24-2014, 10:26 AM

JOURNEY HOME

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"Everything seeks its source."
-- a universal principle

Our spiritual journey unfolds through 2 stages.

THE PATH OF PERSONALITY - We arise from the one source of all, to be born as individuals in a world of form. In this physical world, we experience separation and limitation. This is a time of immersion in a world of effects, form, ego, distortion, illusion and pain.
THE PATH OF SOUL - When we have experienced enough pain, we find our way back home to our spiritual source. We let go of the illusion of separation to embrace unity and wholeness. We work with cause instead of effects.
Paradoxically, it's only with a strong and healthy personality that we become capable of expressing soul. WHERE ARE YOU ON YOUR PATH? Are you struggling to do more and have more? Are you aware of your soul challenging you to open to the bigger picture of life?

"Two people have been living in you all your life. One is the ego, garrulous, demanding, hysterical, calculating; the other is the hidden spiritual being, whose still voice of wisdom you have only rarely heard or attended to - you have uncovered in yourself your own wise guide."
-- Sogyal Rinpoche

Watch yourself shift from the self-centred, controlling behaviours of the ego to the power, love and wisdom of the soul.

MajestyJo

02-26-2014, 08:00 AM

BALANCE MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL

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"What is [the role of money] in the search for meaning? Is our relationship to it one of the chief factors that keeps us in our prison, or could it also be a tool for breaking out, for awakening to a life filled with intensity of purpose?"
-- Jacob Needleman

Our personality has a need for security. As a human in a material world, we need money to survive. If we don't have enough for basics, our lives cannot function. At the same time, with too much emphasis on the material, we lose the spiritual awareness that brings meaning and fulfillment. The key lies in the balance.

What draws most of your attention, time and energy: spiritual growth or money? Reflect on (or better yet, journal on) the balance or lack of balance of these two in your life.

"Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul."
-- Henry David Thoreau

"View money and things not as something you create to fill a lack, but as tools to help you more fully express yourself and realize your potential."
-- Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer

*** Tackle your financial challenges holistically! Learn the basic steps to managing money, explore your beliefs around wealth, and open to the spiritual laws of abundance

MajestyJo

02-28-2014, 06:36 AM

LOVE YOUR SHADOWS

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"There is that part of ourselves that feels ugly, deformed, unacceptable. That part, above all, we must learn to cherish, embrace, and call by name."
-- Macrina Wiederkehr

Each of us has characteristics we define as good and those we define as 'bad.' The parts of ourselves that we continually reject want to be acknowledged and loved. Until we honour these aspects, they will continue to assert themselves. They will do whatever they can to get our attention.

What aspects of yourself do you reject?

Take a few moments to open to the parts of yourself that you do not love. See each one honestly for what it is. Explore the wounds and the motives that gave rise to its condition. Love a wounded part of yourself and it will heal.

"...self-contempt never inspires lasting change."
-- Jane R. Hirschmann and Carol H. Munter

"The first step toward change is acceptance. Once you accept yourself, you open the door to change. That's all you have to do. Change is not something you do, it's something you allow."
-- Will Garcia

MajestyJo

03-03-2014, 09:20 PM

TAKE A BREAK!

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"A good rest is half the work."
-- Yugoslav Proverb

Strong work ethic? You can still justify taking a break. In fact, we NEED to take breaks -- regularly and frequently. Why? WE WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY WHEN WE DON'T WORK SO MUCH.

Rest periods and vacations break our work routines. They help SHIFT OUR THINKING from its habitual, stuck patterns. They create the SPACE FOR ENERGY AND CREATIVITY to flow. They give us TIME FOR REFLECTION, so we can step back and look at what's happening in our lives with greater detachment. We become more sensitive and aware.

And finally, we are stronger when we BALANCE DOING with BEING. All work and no play throws our life out of balance and endangers our health. Our bodies and minds need sufficient rest for recuperation. This is critically important with the level of stress in our lives these days.

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."
-- Sidney J. Harris

"I still need more healthy rest in order to work at my best. My health is the main capital I have and I want to administer it intelligently."
-- Ernest Hemingway

*** Step by step, progressively learn basic meditation methods to relax, concentrate, focus, reflect, contemplate and illuminate.

MajestyJo

03-05-2014, 10:09 AM

SEEK INSIGHTS

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"The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival."
-- Aristotle

INSIGHTS happen only when we shift to a higher, more inclusive perspective. As we grow in wisdom and experience, we become less attached to the form of reality and more aware of its spiritual side - its qualities, values and meaning. As we get to know ourselves as souls, we begin to let go of the self-consciousness of the ego. This allows us to more effectively include others and work with the whole picture.

When there is more in sight, we get more insights.

Try becoming aware of those times when you focus on differences. At those times, STOP and PAY ATTENTION and IDENTIFY SIMILARITIES INSTEAD. See how all parts fit into a bigger picture. Expand your perspectives. Find common causes, motives and needs. Go to another level of thinking and problem solving. Be open to using more imagination and creativity. Shift your thinking from "either/or" to "both/and" and be prepared for more insights.

"Insight occurs when, and to the degree that, one knows oneself."
-- Andrew Schneider

"We are not what we know. We are what we are willing to learn."
-- Council on Ideas

Capture your insights. Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision. Go deeper...

MajestyJo

03-06-2014, 05:12 PM

LOVE YOURSELF

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"It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself, you can't be comfortable with others."
-- Sydney J. Harris

"We have the need to be accepted and to be loved by others, but we cannot accept and love ourselves. The more self-love we have, the less we will experience self-abuse. Self-abuse comes from self-rejection, and self-rejection comes from having an image of what it means to be perfect and never measuring up to that ideal. Our image of perfection is the reason we reject ourselves the way we are, and why we don't accept others the way they are."
-- Don Miguel Ruiz

"There is no freedom like seeing myself as I am and not losing heart."
-- Elizabeth J. Canham

"If we could learn to like ourselves, even a little, maybe our cruelties and angers might melt away."
-- John Steinbeck

Is your spiritual development important to you?

MajestyJo

03-08-2014, 05:31 AM

DON'T AVOID THE VOID

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"When we feel stuck, going nowhere -- even starting to slip backward -- we may actually be backing up to get a running start."
-- Dan Millman

To change, we must go through a transition zone. It's not easy being in transition. Thoughts, beliefs and habits are all in flux. It can create a sense of groundlessness, of being in a void that can be quite uncomfortable.

When we're in the void, our first impulse will be to revert to old habits because they feel comfortable. Our goal is to hang in there until the change is complete. Knowing that TRANSITIONS ARE PART OF THE CHANGE PROCESS helps us muster the courage to put up with the discomfort, the uneasiness, the void.

Change requires a letting go of what we've always known and done to allow in something new. We need to trust ourselves and higher forces to unfold a new reality for us.

"Every positive change - every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness - involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception."
-- Dan Millman

Understand the workings of consciousness. Our process is clear. First 'know yourself' - your personality and direction in life. Then 'create a plan'. Next 'heal yourself and what holds you back. Then you can expand and 'grow yourself'. Are you ready to commit to changing your life for the better?

MajestyJo

03-11-2014, 10:52 AM

CO-CREATION STARTS WITH IMAGINATION

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"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question."
-- Decouvertes

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."
-- Muhammad Ali

Imagination is a tool of the soul. Our imagination gives us the opportunity to 'try on' new qualities and perspectives in our life. Through imagination, we can explore our past, problems, patterns, processes, plans, perceptions, principles, passions and purpose to uncover new possibilities.

Without imagination, we stay stuck in the realm of the material, the past, the superficial and the literal. We remain one-tracked, instinctual and one-dimensional.

Our imagination comes from the soul, subconscious and senses. Only through our imagination can we become multidimensional, experience more love, create more beauty, manifest more results, change our conditions, rewrite the past, and connect with divinity, purpose and others.

"You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'"
-- George Bernard Shaw

"Reason can answer questions, but imagination has to ask them."
-- Ralph Gerard

MajestyJo

03-13-2014, 07:44 AM

APPLY WHAT YOU KNOW

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"Knowledge of any kind ... brings about a change in awareness from where it is possible to create new realities."
-- Deepak Chopra

As we evolve, we handle knowledge in different ways. We tend to move through these stages:

We are unaware.
We become aware of facts, data, information.
We comprehend meaning from the facts.
We can personally apply the information in our lives.
We have wisdom - enlightened, we can lovingly apply our knowledge to world affairs.
We live in truth.
How have you personally experienced a shifting of applying knowledge from one level to the next?

"More important than finding the teacher is finding and following the truth of the teaching...."
-- Sogyal Rinpoche

"There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours. To the cognition of the brain must be added the experience of the soul."
-- Arnold Bennett

On any journey, it is important to know where you have been, where you are now and where you are going.

MajestyJo

03-15-2014, 04:56 AM

EXPLORE WITH QUESTIONS

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"The word 'question' is derived from the Latin 'quarrier' (to seek) which is also the root of 'quest.' A creative life is a continued quest, and good questions can be very useful guides. Most useful are open-ended questions; they allow for fresh unanticipated answers to reveal themselves."
-- Source Unknown

Questions hold the power to draw out answers that surprise us. If we are on an inner journey to greater self-knowledge, we must seek to understand unfamiliar parts of ourselves. The most enlightening answers are released by our subconscious minds or by our intuition. Use questions frequently to go exploring.

Try these out:

What qualities do you find most attractive in others? How do you exhibit those same qualities?
What is your greatest fear? Why do you fear that?
What message is your body trying to get through to you?
"If we would have new knowledge, we must get a whole world of new questions."
-- Susanne K. Langer

"You don't want a million answers as much as you want a few forever questions."
-- Richard Bach

MajestyJo

03-18-2014, 04:46 PM

SHIFTING CONSCIOUSNESS

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"The world we are experiencing today is the result of our collective consciousness, and if we want a new world, each of us must start taking responsibility for helping create it."
-- Rosemary Fillmore Rhea

Below are 7 levels of consciousness that clearly outline a path for our evolving consciousness: tribal and mass consciousness - one obeys the group and lives by trial and error individual consciousness - one develops a stronger sense of self and ego seeker's consciousness - one asks questions and seeks independence intuitive consciousness - one develops the heart and is becoming spiritually aware group consciousness - one serves a higher good filling the needs of others soul consciousness - one experiences spiritual service.

On which level do you spend most of your time? What are you doing to shift to the next level of being?

There are as many paths to understanding, awareness, peace, freedom, love and meaningful service as there are people. Enjoy your journey!

"Consciousness is not just some by-product of the human brain mass. Consciousness is all pervasive. It is in everything and is everywhere. Your individual human consciousness exists within and is a part of a universal consciousness."
-- Delfin Knowledge System

"God acts in history: that is, God provides ideas, methods, and experiences intended to bring comprehension to man, an understanding heart, a conscious life."
-- Jacob Needleman

Become aware of your subconscious limitations, your character strengths, weaknesses and potentials, your life challenges, gifts, talents, and your deepest desires and aspirations.

MajestyJo

03-18-2014, 04:50 PM

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

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"There is in all visible things - a hidden wholeness."
-- Thomas Merton

"From a hologrammatic viewpoint, ...you are one little physical image that reflects all of humanity when projected spiritually upon the cosmic screen."
-- Wayne Dyer

"As above, so below."

Everything is connected. The universe is a hologram where every part contains the whole. Outside echoes the inside. The lower is a reflection of the higher. The other is a reflection of you. We are all a microcosm of each other. The big picture is within us and even our cells.

Be open to see the interconnections, influences and inter-relationships of things.

"Unity consciousness is a state of enlightenment where we pierce the mask of illusion which creates separation and fragmentation. Behind the appearance of separation is one unified field of wholeness. Here the seer and the scenery are one."
-- Deepak Chopra

"To me there is no difference between one person and another; I behold all as soul-reflections of the one God. I can't think of anyone as a stranger, for I know that we are all part of the One Spirit."
-- Paramahansa Yogananda

Explore what blocks and enhances intuition. Your answers and guidance lie within.

MajestyJo

03-21-2014, 04:53 PM

YOU ARE WORTHY!

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"A person's worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not in doing, not in having."
-- Alice Mary Hilton

As a human being, as spirit manifested in form, you are innately worthy. Your worthiness does not have to be strengthened or improved. However, you may not PERCEIVE yourself to be worthy.

If you doubt your self-worth, consciously or unconsciously, you will limit the good things you will allow into your life.

Do you consider yourself worthy? It may help to answer these questions:

Do you find it easier to give than to receive?
Do you have as much money as you would like?
Do you feel driven to improve yourself?
Do you value other people's time more highly than your own?
How would you feel if someone offered to pay you a salary of $1 million/year?
If you find you lack self-worth, don't despair. Just being aware of your self-worth issues will help you let them go.

"Every achiever that I have ever met says, 'My life turned around when I began to believe in me.'"
-- Dr. Robert H. Schuller

"We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our heart of hearts we deserve to have."
-- James R. Ball

MajestyJo

03-23-2014, 03:32 PM

ASK YOUR BODY FOR ADVICE!

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"The body has its own way of knowing, a knowing that has little to do with logic, and much to do with truth, little to do with control, and much to do with acceptance, little to do with division and analysis, and much to do with union."
-- Marilyn Sewell

Are you aware of your body’s wisdom? Our bodies usually know us better than our minds do. If you have a decision to make, consult your body before making a final choice.

Reflect on an option before you and then pay attention to your body. Are you breathing deeply or barely at all? Are your muscles tense or relaxed? Is your energy blocked or flowing?

Your body knows what it likes and it feels good when it's happy. As your body is the source of your vitality, your motivation, your inspiration and enthusiasm and most importantly, your intuition, it's best to get that part of you on-side if you are venturing into a new activity.

"When you are saying that you are happy and you are not, there will be a disturbance in your breathing. Your breathing cannot be natural. It is impossible."
-- Osho

"Our inner guidance comes to us through our feelings and body wisdom first -- not through intellectual understanding. ...The intellect works best in service to our intuition, our inner guidance, soul, God or higher power -- whichever term we choose for the spiritual energy that animates life."
-- Christiane Northrup

*** Awareness is the key to all change. Begin to trust yourself more deeply as you uncover new dimensions of who you are

MajestyJo

03-25-2014, 02:21 PM

TUNE INTO THE INNER CRITIC

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"A critic is a legless man who teaches running."
-- Channing Pollock

Are you aware of your inner critic? We all have this voice that tells us we are bad, stupid, clumsy, cowardly.... Although its intent is to help us succeed, the harsh self talk of our critic just serves to drain our energy and lower our morale and immune system.

To defuse the inner critic, we need to recognize when the critic is speaking. We need to know that this voice does not necessarily speak for who we really are. This is an old pattern that may no longer be serving us. We want to open to the possibility that the words are not likely true. We can ask ourselves, "Are these words helpful?"

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Abilities wither under faultfinding, blossom with encouragement."
-- Donald A. Laird

"Never react emotionally to criticism. Analyze yourself to determine whether it is justified. If it is, correct yourself. Otherwise, go on about your business."
-- Norman Vincent Peale

*** Restart building a new foundation for your life. Clear blocks and transform your life. Discover a whole new way of working with life's challenges.

MajestyJo

03-27-2014, 09:12 PM

CHOOSE DIFFERENTLY TODAY

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"It is always your next move."
-- Napoleon Hill

The great benefit of heightened awareness is that we have more choice in how we live our lives. At any moment, we can purposefully choose a new experience for ourselves. We can choose to pay attention, breathe more deeply, laugh, rest, play, appreciate, do something different - the possibilities are endless.

Whenever you remember, TAKE YOURSELF OFF AUTO-PILOT and really examine your situation. Take charge and make a choice that will enrich your experience. At the end of the day, reflect on what happened and how you felt when you chose a new line of thought, feeling or action.

"We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens in us -- how we can take it, what we do with it -- and that is what really counts in the end."
-- Joseph Fort Newton

"When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment, or let the moment define you."
-- Tin Cup (the movie)

And remember: "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
-- Neil Peart

MajestyJo

03-29-2014, 02:26 PM

TRUST YOURSELF

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"I never know what the next lesson is going to be, because we're not supposed to know; we’re supposed to trust ourselves to discover it."
-- Melody Beattie

How deeply do you trust your own guidance?

Always trust that you know what's best for you. To move forward in your life, gather information from the 'experts,' consider how their advice relates to your situation and then act only on what feels right for you. What does your whole being (mind, body and soul) say 'Yes!' to?

You are the only expert for your own life.

"I trust so much in the power of the heart and the soul; I know that the answer to what we need to do next is in our own hearts. All we have to do is listen, then take that one step further and trust what we hear. We will be taught what we need to learn."
-- Melody Beattie

"Ultimately, we must learn to trust ourselves. When we do this intimately and intelligently, the world opens full of meaning before us. We find that we ourselves are the doorway to a fathomless understanding of the source of life itself. We need only to learn to walk through it."
-- James Thornton

MajestyJo

03-31-2014, 10:56 AM

STEP INTO SELF-AWARENESS

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"Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority."
-- Tom Hopkins

Here are some different aspects of self-awareness:

Know yourself - Explore who you are: your defences, your blocks, your talents, your aspirations, etc.

Accept yourself - We are at war with ourselves when we resist or deny certain aspects of who we are. Acknowledge the truth of who you are right now - the positives and the negatives. Only when we own our present reality can we change.

Control yourself - Set clear, conscious intentions and discipline yourself to meet them.

Express yourself - Go to your heart to identify what has meaning and purpose for you. Live your truth. Identify ways you can give back to life and be in service.

We work on each of these aspects all the time. But as our lives go through cycles, we predominantly work on one of them more than the others. Which aspect are you more conscious of lately?

"Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."
-- Walter Anderson

"Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient that fuels daring."
-- Grace Lichtenstein

MajestyJo

04-02-2014, 09:14 PM

PRACTICE DETACHMENT

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As our consciousness rises, our perspective becomes more and more impersonal. What does this mean?

It means we are increasingly able to view our lives and the rest of the world with detachment. This does not mean we are cold and uncaring. Rather, we are self- contained. We have well-defined boundaries and we are able to think and act objectively, clearly and responsibly.

When we have learned detachment, we do not get hooked into the thoughts and feelings of others. We are not easily upset or manipulated. We may feel compassion for others but this does not cloud our ability to choose how we think, feel and behave. We also do not need others to behave in any particular way.

"Until we take how we see ourselves (and how we see others) into account, we will be unable to understand how others see and feel about themselves and their world. Unaware, we will project our intentions on their behavior and call ourselves objective."
-- Stephen Covey

Learn how Journaling helps you be more objective and detached.

Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision. Go deeper....

MajestyJo

04-04-2014, 02:24 AM

LOOKING FOR SAFETY?

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"Security is when everything is settled, when nothing can happen to you; security is the denial of life."
-- Germaine Greer

Our personality likes to be in control. It likes to know how things are and what's going to happen. Underlying this desire for stability and predictability is a deep fear that the world is a dangerous place. The personality fears it will not survive without continually being on guard.

The truth is: we cannot control what happens in life. And under the natural law of attraction, we tend to attract to us what we focus on. EXPLORE SUBSTITUTING TRUST FOR FEAR and the world becomes a gentler, happier place.

"There are no guarantees. From the viewpoint of fear, none are strong enough. From the viewpoint of love, none are necessary."
-- Emmanuel

"One thing we can do is make the choice to view the world in a healthy way. We can choose to see the world as safe with only moments of danger rather than seeing the world as dangerous with only moments of safety."
-- Deepak Chopra

*** Do you feel an urge or calling in you to be or do more? Then honour it and open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose.

MajestyJo

04-06-2014, 05:24 AM

WE PROJECT OUR STRENGTHS

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"Any situation that you find yourself in, is an outward reflection of your inner state of beingness."
-- El Morya

We have discussed that OUR WORLD MIRRORS WHO WE ARE BACK TO US. When we get upset by something outside of us, our reaction shows us that we have an inner wound to be healed.

Just as we can be unconscious of our wounds, we can also be unconscious of our strengths. If you are really drawn to the positive qualities in another person, you are being invited to own those same qualities in yourself.

"The people we are in relationship with are always a mirror, reflecting our own beliefs, and simultaneously we are mirrors reflecting their beliefs. So relationship is one of the most powerful tools for growth... if we look honestly at our relationships we can see so much about how we have created them."
-- Shakti Gawain

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
-- Henry Ward Beecher

Watch yourself shift from the self-centered, controlling behaviours of the ego to the power, love and wisdom of the soul

MajestyJo

04-08-2014, 06:10 PM

FEEL YOUR EMOTIONS

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"The key is to not resist or rebel against emotions or to try to get around them by devising all sorts of tricks; but to accept them directly, as they are."
-- Takahisa Kora

Emotions are energy in motion. They bring us information if we are willing to experience them. Unfortunately, many of us are afraid of the energy of emotions and so we automatically resist them. And when we refuse to experience our emotions, we block them up. They become trapped and that entrapment drains our energy and brings continuing discomfort.

Don't let emotions push you into action or reaction. Just STOP and PAY ATTENTION. Allow them to be and to speak to you. Oncem they are acknowledged, their energy is released.

"Instead of resisting any emotion, the best way to dispel it is to enter it fully, embrace it and see through your resistance."
-- Deepak Chopra

"We have to become more conscious of our feeling-world. By learning to identify the ‘emotional baggage’ and manage our feeling-world reactions, we can view life based on current information instead of being held captive by our past."
-- Doc Childre

"Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge."
-- Audre Lorde

*** Awareness is the key to all change. Begin to trust yourself more deeply as you uncover new dimensions of who you are.

My meditation card before I started posting was "New depths of Creativity. ;)

MajestyJo

04-10-2014, 08:03 PM

5 STEPS TO SELF-ACTUALIZATION

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"Every human action, whether it has become positive or negative, must depend on motivation."
-- Dalai Lama

Monitoring what motivates me has helped me see how I am growing. I do things for different reasons now than I did 10 years ago. As we pay ongoing attention to our motives, we can see how both our conscious and unconscious attitudes are changing.

Here are some ways that our motives can shift with rising consciousness:

I desire
I want to collect things
I want to know
I want to serve
I want to be
What are your motives as you participate in life?

"There are three kinds of people and three kinds of richness:

people who want to have, to collect
people who want action, work and labor
people who want to be
"The real richness is in be-ness. People can take all that you have, all that you collected. People can stop your labor, or an accident can stop you. When you are, you never lose what you are."
-- Torkom Saraydarian

"You are what you think. You are what you go for. You are what you do!"
-- Bob Richards

"A good intention clothes itself with power."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our process is clear. First 'know yourself' - your personality and direction in life. Then 'create a plan'. Next 'heal yourself and what holds you back. Then you can expand and 'grow yourself'. Are you ready to commit to changing your life for the better?

MajestyJo

04-12-2014, 07:54 PM

WHAT IS YOUR BODY SAYING?

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"Many people treat their bodies as if they were rented from Hertz -- something they are using to get around in but nothing they genuinely care about understanding."
-- Chungliang Al Huang

"As we explore the extraordinary interplay of energies between the many aspects of our personality -- our needs, unconscious reactions, repressed emotions, aspirations and fears -- with the functioning of our physical system and its capacity to maintainm itself, we soon realise how very wise the body is. With its intricately detailed systems and operations it portrays infinite intelligence and compassion, constantly giving us the means to understand ourselves further, to confront issues we are not looking at, and to go beyond that which is holding us back."
-- Deb Shapiro

Scan your body with your awareness. Are you experiencing any aches and pains? Any stiffness?

What might your body be trying to tell you about how you are living your life?

"Your body is the ground and metaphor of your life, the expression of your existence. It is your Bible, your encyclopedia, your life story. Everything that happens to you is stored and reflected in your body. In the marriage of flesh and spirit divorce is impossible."
-- Gabrielle Roth

"What is always speaking silently is the body."
-- Norman Brown

MajestyJo

04-14-2014, 10:44 PM

LIVE NOW

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"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
-- Annie Dillard

We lose the power of the moment because we're so rarely in it. We're reliving the past or speculating about the future. We continue to believe that tomorrow's the day when I'll be more capable, more wealthy, more fit and more loving. Meanwhile, I'm just putting in time, dreaming of better things but not making any concrete move to realize them.

When you find yourself thinking of the future or the past, bring your awareness into the present moment. Really experience how you feel and what's happening around you, without judgment. If we can treasure each moment, our lives will be rich, no matter what we have accomplished.

"Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever."
-- Horace Mann

"If, before going to bed every night, you will tear a page from the calendar, and remark, 'there goes another day of my life, never to return,' you will become time conscious."
-- A. B. Zu Tavern

*** Awareness is the key to all change. Begin to trust yourself more deeply as you uncover new dimensions of who you are.

MajestyJo

04-17-2014, 07:23 AM

EXPLORE YOUR FEARS

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"Fear is a question: What are you afraid of, and why? Just as the seed of health is in illness, because illness contains information, our fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them."
-- Marilyn Ferguson

In our world of duality, fear and love sit at opposite ends of the continuum. Fear belongs only to the personality because it believes in separation and impermanence. The soul never knows fear because it understands the unity of all.

When fear arises, we can invite our soul to sit with our frightened personality. What soul energies are waiting to be acknowledged? When we bring higher energies into the presence of lower energies, the lower energies are transformed.

"What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it."
-- Jiddu Krishnamurti

*** Restart building a new foundation for your life. Clear blocks and transform your life.

MajestyJo

04-20-2014, 05:39 AM

WHY MEDITATE?

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"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."
-- Buddha

Meditation is considered an essential practice for those who seek self-knowledge and self-mastery. Why? Basically, meditation brings awareness of how our minds work. Over time, we become watchers, able to detach from the thoughts and emotions that play out in our minds.

With this detachment, we gain the freedom to choose whether or not to act on our thoughts and emotions. We learn to distinguish between objective reality and our mental and emotional dramas.

"Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."
-- Hans Margolius

*** Step by step, progressively learn basic meditation methods to relax, concentrate, focus, reflect, contemplate and illuminate.

MajestyJo

04-21-2014, 07:09 AM

WHAT IS YOUR DESTINY?

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"The significant business of your life is alive and well, awaiting discovery, within your very soul. You and I were born to come into ourselves as complete and distinctive persons. Accepting this, we build a valuable life."
-- Marsha Sinetar

What is the significant business of your life? What is your purpose? Andrew Schneider says that purpose "is more than just having a direction. It is about one's place in the universe. It is the journey of finding that place and being there and living fully whatever that place is. It is your own unique place that nobody else has, had, or will have."

How would you describe your place in the universe?

"We become powerful in the face of our fears when we have a sense that we make a difference in this world. Affirmations of purpose communicate the truth that we are all meaningful participants in this Universe and that we are worthy of giving and receiving love. Some affirmations of purpose are:

- I know that I count and I act as though I do.
- I spread warmth and love everywhere I go.
- I am a healing force in the Universe."
-- Susan Jeffers

"The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."
-- Joseph Addison

*** Do you feel an urge or calling in you to be or do more? Then honour it and open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose. Maybe it is time to do life instead of life doing you!

MajestyJo

04-23-2014, 05:36 AM

SUPPORT OTHERS WITH YOUR PRESENCE

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"The purpose of therapy is not to remove suffering but TO MOVE THROUGH IT to an enlarged consciousness that can sustain the polarity of painful opposites."
-- James Hollis

How do we support others who are suffering?

When we understand how soul works through us, we begin to see how pain generates the impulse to change. We see that our aim in supporting someone is NOT to get rid of their pain and suffering. Instead, we want to assist them to understand what the pain is trying to teach them -- to find meaning in their distress.

Often, all we need do is be fully present to them. It also helps to be present to our own experience and genuine in our feelings. Living our own truth helps create the space for the other person to live theirs.

"The first duty of love is to listen."
-- Paul Tillich

"With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing."
-- Catherine de Hueck Doherty

Is your spiritual development important to you?

MajestyJo

04-25-2014, 04:29 AM

RELATE TO YOURSELF THROUGH YOUR JOURNAL

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"To write spiritually is to engage in a search for authentic language. You’ll find your truth by writing your way to it."
-- Patrice Vecchione

Who would allow you to totally ignore, abuse, laugh with, swear at, shed tears on, get angry at and be totally honest with him/her? Your journal does.

Your journal is an unconditional friend. It does not reject, manipulate, judge, laugh at or ridicule you. It's always there for you. So be honest with your best friend and it will help you discover who you are.

"The positive thing about writing is that you connect with yourself in the deepest way, and that's heaven. You get a chance to know who you are, to know what you think. You begin to have a relationship with your mind."
-- Natalie Goldberg

Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision. Go deeper... Reach higher.

MajestyJo

04-27-2014, 02:12 PM

ACCEPT CHANGE

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"We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life's morning; for what in the morning was true will in evening become a lie."
-- C.G. Jung

Life continually evolves. We’re always moving into new experiences, new possibilities. This constant change unsettles the personality, which finds security in stability. But with life always in flux, that security is an illusion. We experience pain by trying to hold on to things that are not solid.

Life becomes joyful when we can open to the constant flow and ride freely with it. This requires us to let go of the need to control. We need to learn to trust.

"Can it then be that what we call the ‘self’ is fluid and elastic? It evolves, strikes a different balance with every new breath."
-- Wayne Muller

"We're never the same; notice how you’re called to write something entirely different about a topic you responded to weeks or months ago."
-- Patrice Vecchione

Our process is clear. First 'know yourself' - your personality and direction in life. Then 'create a plan'. Next 'heal yourself and what holds you back. Then you can expand and 'grow yourself'. Are you ready to commit to changing your life for the better?

MajestyJo

04-30-2014, 09:57 AM

DOES MONEY RULE?

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"If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master."
-- Francis Bacon

In what ways does money rule your life?

Money has entered so deeply into our lives that it can become our primary reference point. We make so many of our decisions based on how they affect the bottom line. Do you compromise things you really value for money? Has the power of money hurt your relationships, your health, your work or your self-respect?

"If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life."
-- Billy Graham

*** Tackle your financial challenges holistically! Learn the basic steps to managing money, explore your beliefs around wealth, and open to the spiritual laws of abundance

MajestyJo

05-01-2014, 09:41 PM

BE, DO AND HAVE

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"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you love to do, in order to have what you want."
-- Margaret Young

The formula for success is Be, Do, Have. If we seek abundance, we must be abundant in spirit. We can begin to cultivate spiritual wealth by opening our hearts in gratitude.

Start a gratitude journal today. Each evening, write down at least 5 things for which you are grateful. This simple tool will help you open your eyes to the abundance of your world right now.

"Who does not thank for little will not thank for much."
-- Estonian proverb

MajestyJo

05-03-2014, 06:50 PM

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR EMOTIONS

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"Emotions are the next frontier to be understood and conquered. To manage our emotions is not to drug them or suppress them, but to understand them so that we can intelligently direct our emotional energies and intentions.... It's time for human beings to grow up emotionally, to mature into emotionally managed and responsible citizens. No magic pill will do it."
-- Doc Childre

Many of us believe that we need to keep a tight lid on our emotions. We fear that if we ever allow these emotions to be expressed, they will do serious damage.

But if we summon up the courage to truly feel our emotions, we discover that they don't last. The monster in the closet turns out to be a *****cat. In fact, if we are willing to experience our emotions completely, without resistance of any kind, they burn themselves out in only a few minutes.

The only thing that keeps emotions alive within you over long periods is your unwillingness to acknowledge them.

"By starving emotions we become humorless, rigid and stereotyped; by repressing them we become literal, reformatory and holier-than-thou; encouraged, they perfume life; discouraged, they poison it."
-- Joseph Collins

*** Restart building a new foundation for your life. Clear blocks and transform your life. Discover a whole new way of working with life's challenges.

MajestyJo

05-05-2014, 03:42 PM

VALUING THE MOMENT

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"... the only time you ever have in which to learn anything or see anything or feel anything, or express any feeling or emotion, or respond to an event, or grow, or heal, is this moment, because this is the only moment any of us ever gets. You’re only here now; you’re only alive in this moment."
-- Jon Kabat-Zinn

Many people regularly squander their time. They live under the assumption that they'll live forever. As a result, they don't value the present as a precious opportunity that will never come again.

Others continually race against time, trying to cram too many activities into each hour, and suffering stress in the process.

In our view, we are more effective and most happy when we balance being and doing. We continually ask ourselves what's most important to get done. And we're learning to BE -- fully present -- when we do. We also regularly give ourselves permission to relax.

Make today really matter. It's all you'll ever have.

"Very few of us know how much we can put into life if we use it properly, wisely, and economically. Let us economize our time -- lifetimes ebb away before we wake up, and that is why we do not realize the value of the immortal time God has given us."
-- Paramahansa Yogananda

Never have time for what you really want in life? Take control of the time of your life by changing your mind.

MajestyJo

05-07-2014, 05:09 PM

NATURAL VIBRATIONS

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"I sing the body electric."
-- Walt Whitman

The water that makes up so much of our bodies is like oceann water. The salt crystals in this water vibrate at ever-changing frequencies. Our hearts are the emotional centers of our bodies, and they put out frequencies that are 10 times the power of the frequencies of our brains.

When we are happy, we vibrate at a higher frequency than when we are angry or sad. Our emotions change the chemical composition of the water in our systems. That's why happy tears taste different than tears of sadness.

Experiencing physical, emotional and mental stillness harmonizes the vibrational output of the body, heart and mind and we become stronger.

"The message we give our bodies -- one of irritation or acceptance -- is the message to which our bodies will answer."
-- Deb Shapiro

Our process is clear. First 'know yourself' - your personality and direction in life. Then 'create a plan'. Next 'heal yourself and what holds you back. Then you can expand and 'grow yourself'. Are you ready to commit to changing your life for the better?

MajestyJo

05-10-2014, 01:19 AM

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

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"To know how to choose a path with heart is to learn how to follow intuitive feeling. Logic can tell you superficially where a path might lead to, but it cannot judge whether your heart will be in it."
-- Jean Shinoda Bolen

"When you have compassion and surrender to your own heart, you are surrendering to the hidden power in your heart, God. You are surrendering to love, because God is Love, the cohesive force of the universe that connects us all. Surrender is not just a religious concept; it's a power tool for listening to the voice of your spirit and following its directions. When you surrender your head to your heart, you allow your heart to give you a wider, higher intelligence perspective. Remember the phrase, 'The real teacher is within you.' Very simply, that teacher is to be found in the common sense of your own heart."
-- Sara Paddison

"Surrender is faith that the power of love can accomplish anything... even when you can not foresee the outcome."
-- Deepak Chopra

MajestyJo

05-14-2014, 01:29 AM

REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM

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"We focus on the negatives, losing ourselves in the 'problem.' We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings. This is the easy way out. It takes, after all, very little effort to feel victimized."
-- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Nothing and no one can make us a victim. We do it to ourselves when we allow external circumstances to hold power over us.

Although we have no control over what happens to us, we ALWAYS have a choice in how we respond. We hold our power when we accept complete responsibility for our thoughts, feelings and actions.

"A man may fall many times but he won't be a failure until he says someone pushed him."
-- Elmer G. Letterman

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
-- Steven Biko

Become aware of your subconscious limitations, your character strengths, weaknesses and potentials, your life challenges, gifts, talents, and your deepest desires and aspirations.

MajestyJo

05-14-2014, 01:31 AM

UNDERSTAND DUALITIES

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"Life is the coexistence of all opposite values. Joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, up and down, hot and cold, here and there, light and darkness, birth and death. All experience is by contrast, and one would be meaningless without the other."
-- Deepak Chopra

Life is full of dualities, opposites. Despite their apparent opposition, each extreme in a duality is necessary to fully actualize the other. Each depends on the existence of the other. For example, we cannot know honesty if we don’t know deception.

The key is to not resist or suppress the negative. We need to acknowledge its existence, though we may choose not to express it. When we embrace wholeness, we move to a higher perspective.

"The light which man has discovered within himself makes him more aware of the dark; through the good which attracts him, he sees the evil which is the line of least resistance; the activity leading to pain simultaneously permits him to visualize the contrasting pleasure, and thus he experiences something of both hell and heaven."
-- Aart Jurriaanse

*** Restart building a new foundation for your life. Clear blocks and transform your life. Discover a whole new way of working with life's challenges

MajestyJo

05-16-2014, 10:20 AM

WORK SMART, NOT HARD

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"The whole secret of freedom from anxiety over not having enough time lies not in working more hours, but in the proper planning of the hours."
-- Frank Bettger

We need to commit time to doing the right things for ourselves, and only we can judge what’s right for us. We need to clearly know what we want, and we need to believe we can have it. Having goals in mind, we can avoid the trap of busyness and get right down to business. Efficiency is not nearly as important as effectiveness.

For fulfillment, we need to take our lives off autopilot. We need to consciously decide what we will and will not do, moment by moment. We need to give ourselves the space, support and freedom to be proactive in choosing how we live each day.

"Learn to use ten minutes intelligently. It will pay you huge dividends."
-- William A. Irwin

MajestyJo

05-18-2014, 12:51 AM

GO FOR WHAT YOU LOVE

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"Follow your bliss."
-- Joseph Campbell

It's hard for some of us to believe that the world is served when we seek our own happiness. We've been taught that this is selfish.

If we stop to reflect on how we are in the world when we are happy, we can see how this serves. We have more vitality. We're more loving and generous to others when our own needs are met.

What activities bring you greatest joy? Your unique gift to the world will be found in those pastimes you love the most.

How can you live your joy each day?

"Spiritual growth is not made in reaction against, for all striving against imposed restrictions is imaginary. Spiritual growth is accomplished by inclination toward. We grow like the sunflower, following the light."
-- Joy Houghton

*** Do you feel an urge or calling in you to be or do more? Then honour it and open to more meaning and fulfillment by exploring your life purpose. Maybe it is time to do life instead of life doing you!

MajestyJo

05-20-2014, 01:09 PM

THREE LEVELS OF PROSPERITY

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"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."
-- Woody Allen

To become more prosperous, we need to change on at least two levels. First, we must ensure our financial affairs are in order. We need an income that at least covers our expenses. And we need a foundation of habits, tools and skills so we achieve some financial stability in our day-to-day experience.

Second, we must become aware of the beliefs we hold around money and prosperity. If we unconsciously believe we are lacking in some way, then no matter what we do, we will unconsciously sabotage our own efforts to improve our finances.

And third, it's helpful to understand the spiritual principles that govern our level of abundance. Once we know those principles, we can work effectively within them to attract abundance to us.

"If you're prosperous in soul, you'll be prosperous in whole."
-- Mark Victor Hansen

MajestyJo

05-22-2014, 03:33 PM

REFLECTIONS ON EFFORT

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The anxious student asked the Zen master how long to enlightenment. The Zen Master answered a long time, at least 10 years. The student said, "Well I will work twice as hard." The Zen master said, "Then it will take 20 years." "No!" said the committed student, "I will work three times as hard." "Well then," said the Zen master, "it will take 30 years."

Do you need to work at being spiritual? No. You already are spiritual. Do you need to work at being human? No. That's just who you are.

The spiritual path doesn't require us to get anything. It's a process of opening to new dimensions of who we already are. It's a process of awakening to our own truth. It’s a process of allowing ourselves to be authentic.

"It is not by your actions that you will be saved, but by your being."
-- Meister Eckhart

"People ask what must they become to be loving. The answer is 'nothing.' It is a process of letting go of what you thought you had become and allowing your true nature to float to the surface naturally."
-- Stephen Levine

Access your own inner wisdom by tapping into your subconscious and intuition. Release stress, blocks and negative emotions, and spark imagination and greater vision. Go deeper...

MajestyJo

05-23-2014, 11:02 PM

LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

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"The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind."
-- William James

Here is one perspective on levels of consciousness and some descriptive words to help us identify the differences:

Not conscious - instinctual, follower
Subconscious - habitual, robotic, reactive
Conscious - aware, intelligent, conceptual, reflective
Superconscious - intuitive, guiding, truthful, loving, universal
Reflect on how you typically move through your day. As we use our minds more consciously, we open up to the superconsciousness.

"Utilizing your conscious mind to direct the subconscious mind to enter into communication and harmony with the universal mind is the secret of personal power."
-- Delfin Knowledge System

Our process is clear. First 'know yourself' - your personality and direction in life. Then 'create a plan'. Next 'heal yourself and what holds you back. Then you can expand and 'grow yourself'. Are you ready to commit to changing your life for the better?

MajestyJo

05-26-2014, 07:36 AM

ON FREEDOM

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"Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us."
-- Stephen Covey

A Greek myth can help us understand the freedom that comes with power of choice.

In the Underworld, Sisyphus was condemned to roll a large stone up a hill from which it always rolled down again. Realistically, he was trapped in an endless cycle of rolling the stone. When he perceived himself to be imprisoned by the curse, he was a victim.

At one point, however, he turned the tables -- he changed his mind and decided to CHOOSE to roll the stone up the hill. In doing so, he empowered himself and defused the curse.

"Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you."
-- Jean-Paul Sartre

"One cannot make a slave of a free person, for a free person is free even in a prison."
-- Plato

Watch yourself shift from the self-centered, controlling behaviours of the ego to the power, love and wisdom of the soul.

MajestyJo

05-28-2014, 06:39 PM

SPACE TO EXPLORE

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"No one can find his work, what he really wants to put all of himself into, when everything he does he is made to do by others. This kind of searching must be done freely or not at all."
-- John Holt

We all need space -- free from demands, deadlines, expectations and judgments -- to explore who we are and what life is all about. Free time, with absolutely no agenda, is rich with potential. How can we grow if we have no space and freedom to dream?

"Deny children -- or anyone else -- the chance to do 'nothing,' and we may be denying them the chance to do 'something' -- to find and do any work that is truly important to themselves or to someone else."
-- John Holt

Create space in one area of your life and it affects other areas of your life.

MajestyJo

05-31-2014, 11:31 AM

LIVE IT WELL

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You know, time has a way of moving quickly
and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was a young man,
just married and embarking on my new life with my mate.
And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago,
and I wonder where all the years went.
I know that I lived them all...

And I have glimpses of how it was back then
and of all my hopes and dreams ...
But, here it is...the winter of my life
and it catches me by surprise...

How did I get here so fast?
Where did the years go and
where did my babies go?
And where did my youth go?

I remember well...
seeing older people through the years
and thinking that those older people
were years away from me and
that winter was so far off that
I could not fathom it or
imagine fully what it would be like...

But, here it is...
wife retired and she's really getting gray...
she moves slower and I see an older woman now.
She's in better shape than me...
but, I see the great change...
Not the one I married who was young and vibrant...
but, like me, her age is beginning to show
and we are now those older folks
that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now,
I find that just getting a shower
is a real target for the day!
And taking a nap is not a treat anymore...
it's mandatory!
Cause if I don't on my own free will...
I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so, now I enter into this
new season of my life unprepared
for all the aches and pains
and the loss of strength and
ability to go and do things.
But, at least I know, that though the winter has come,
and I'm not sure how long it will last...
This I know,
that when it's over...its over....
Yes , I have regrets .
There are things I wish I hadn't done ....
things I should have done .
But indeed , there are many things I'm happy to have done ....
Its all in a lifetime ...

So, if you're not in your winter yet...
let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think.
So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life
please do it quickly!

Life goes by quickly
So, do what you can today,
because you can never be sure
whether this is your winter or not!

You have no promise that
you will see all the seasons of your life ...
so, live for good today and
say all the things that you want
your loved ones to remember...

"Life is a gift to you.
The way you live your life is
your gift to those who came after.
Make it a fantastic one."

LIVE IT WELL!!

~author unknown~

Haven't been able to get into my Hotmail a/c to get to the Higher Awareness readings.

MajestyJo

06-03-2014, 03:23 AM

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof."

-- Barbara Kingsolver

What an encouraging thought. Very empowering for me. My son called today and said, "I guess I have to go back to those da*n meetings. He knows where the help is. It would be a real answer to prayer.

I love the concept of putting all good things in your sacred space and surrounding yourself with them.

For many years, I wasted time sitting hoping for things to change, not realizing that I had to do the footwork to bring it about. I just couldn't sit around on my laurels and wish my life away.

Allan K. Chalmers:

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

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When the world says "give up." hope whispers, try it one more time.

Those who see continually see success in their lives, are those who are always willing to show cheer, and are also those who are always willing to remain full of hope.

MajestyJo

06-05-2014, 10:22 AM

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1 Corinthians 10:13-14
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

Idolatry is one of the reasons I had trouble accepting religion. I felt that I had a direct line, and didn't need a mediator.

MajestyJo

06-08-2014, 08:53 PM

Be aware of your motives

"Ordinarily, everything we do is in our self-interest. Everything."

-- Anthony de Mello

"Remember, most of the things you think you need are ego trips designed to bolster your image and your perception of security.... You'll waste a lot of energy satisfying your ego only to find that, as soon as it's got what it wants, it ignores all your efforts and promptly nails another list of demands to your forehead. The ego will always try to force you to slave for its vision. I wouldn't stand for that BS if I were you."

-- Stuart Wilde

"We have no need to teach pure motives to the mind. All that is necessary to make the mind pure is to undo the negative conditioning to which it has been subjected; then we will be left with pure, unconditioned awareness."

-- Eknath Easwaran

- Higher Awareness

My sponsor said to be aware of my motives and intent. Make things right by cleaning your side of the street and making things right with your God.

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MajestyJo

06-11-2014, 04:11 AM

Meditation for the Day

Keep as close as you can to the Higher Power. Try to think, act,and live as though you were always in God's presence. Keeping close to a Power greater than yourself is the solution to most of the earth's problems. Try to practice the presence of God in the things you think and do. That is the secret of personal power. It is the thing which influences the lives of others for good. Abide in the Lord and rejoice in His love. Keep close to the Divine Spirit in the universe. Keep God close behind your thoughts.

Prayer for today
I pray that I may keep close to the Mind of God. I pray that I may live with Him in my heart and mind.

This was posted on my site Star Choice in 2009.

It looks like it could be a Daily prayer to practice, rather than a prayer you say just one day.

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MajestyJo

06-13-2014, 01:52 AM

“Life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites
in fruitful harmony.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“When we pay attention to nature’s music,
we find that everything on the earth
contributes to its harmony.”
Hazrat Inayat Khan

“But what is happiness except the simple harmony
between a man and the life he leads?”
Albert Camus

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MajestyJo

06-17-2014, 09:15 AM

Positive Thought Of The Day

"May today bring you the joy that escaped from your reach yesterday; the focus to strive for a better tomorrow; the motivation to live victoriously today."

Written in 2014 by Janice Harris --- Florida

Thought For The Day

"Just imagine for a day that you do not know anything, that what you believe could be completely false. Let go of your preconceptions and even your most cherished beliefs. Experiment. Force yourself to hold the opposite opinion or see the world through your enemy's eyes. Listen to the people around you with more attentiveness. See everything as a source for education; even the most banal encounters. Imagine that the world is still full of mystery."

Robert Green --- Submitted by Dan Smith --- California

Motivational Thoughts Of The Day

"It's by one's own actions that we clearly define our existence, our reality and ultimately the outcome. Seek truth, build character, find happiness and most of all share and be grateful to those that encouraged you to never give up!"

Written in 2013 by Trey Eastwood --- Texas
Living by it!

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MajestyJo

06-19-2014, 01:59 AM

Thoughts for the Day

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

“A river is victoriously persistent,
overcoming all barriers.
For a while it goes steadily on its course,
but then comes to an obstacle.
And for a while it is blocked,
yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle.
Or a river will drop out of sight for miles,
only later to emerge again
even broader and greater than ever…
Never focus your eyes
on the obstacle or the difficulty.”
Oswald Chambers

“Success is determined
not by whether or not you face obstacles,
but by your reaction to them.
And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence,
they become your excuse for failure.
If you look at them as a hurdle,
each one strengthens you for the next.”
Ben Carson

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
“Obstacles come to instruct, not obstruct.”
Brian Tracy

======

Thoughts for the Day

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

“If you hear a voice within you say
'you cannot paint,'
then by all means PAINT,
and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent Van Gogh
“Art is your personal diary
where you may color your thoughts
and emotions on a page.”
Sara, Los Cerros Middle School, 1999

“Art enables us to find ourselves
and lose ourselves at the same time.”

http://angelwinks.net/images//flowerpod/flowerpod87.jpg
Thomas Merton

MajestyJo

06-22-2014, 11:17 AM

New Inspirational Quote About Hope

"Don't worry. When life puts you down, hope will push you up."
Written in 2014 by Mohammed Sekouty --- Egypt
Push yourself up!

New Inspirational Quote AAbout Forgiveness

"Forgiving those who hurt us is key to our personal peace."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Sher Muhammad ---Pakistan

New Inspirational Quote About Life

"It is not necessary that tears must fall when you are sad and lips must smile when you are happy. Sometimes life catches us in certain situations when we smile in pain and cry with happiness."
Written in 2014 by Uday Uprety --- Texas

http://www.angelwinks.net/images/bowser/bowser2.jpg

MajestyJo

06-23-2014, 08:05 PM

FORGIVENESS

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Forgiveness is letting go of the pain and accepting what has happened, because it will not change....

Forgiveness is dismissing the blame.

Choices were made that caused the hurt; we each could have chosen differently, but we didn't.

Forgiveness is looking at the pain, learning the lessons it has
produced, and understanding what we have learned.

Forgiveness allows us to move on towards a better understanding of universal love and our true purpose.

Forgiveness is knowing that love is the answer to all questions, and that we all are in some way connected.

Forgiveness is starting over with the knowledge that we have gained.

I forgive you, and I forgive myself.

I hope you can do the same.

unknown

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MajestyJo

06-25-2014, 06:13 AM

BEST POEM IN THE WORLD

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I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or it's decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp --
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
the alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must have made a mistake'.

'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush child', He said. they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

JUDGE NOT!!

Remember....Just going to church doesn't make you a
Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

Now it's your turn to share this poem.

MajestyJo

06-26-2014, 10:18 PM

Thoughts for the Day
Thursday, June 26, 2014

“Stop beating yourself up.
You are a work in progress;
which means you get there a little at a time,
not all at once.”
Author Unknown

“Sometimes you have to stop worrying,
wondering, and doubting.
Have faith that things will work out,
maybe not how you planned,
but just how it’s meant to be.”
Drake

“When the deepest part of you
becomes engaged in what you are doing,
when your activities and actions
become gratifying and purposeful,
when what you do serves both yourself and others,
when you do not tire within
but seek the sweet satisfaction of your life and your work,
you are doing what you were meant to be doing.”
Gary Zukav

June 25, 2014

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Thoughts for the Day
Wednesday, June 25, 2014

“To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist, that’s all.”
Oscar Wilde

Live your life so that when it’s time to ask
where the time went, you can answer:
“It went to joyful moments with family and friends,
to my search for passion,
to doing work that felt like play,
to standing up for what I believe in,
and to exploring this beautiful world we live in
with an open heart.
My time went to LIVING my life!”
Author Unknown

When we focus on leading a passionate, meaningful life,
we are also inadvertently creating
a spectacular ripple effect of inspiration
in the lives around us.
When one person follows a dream,
tries something new, or takes a daring leap,
everyone nearby feels their passionate energy;
and before too long,
they are making their own daring leaps
while simultaneously inspiring others.
Author Unknown

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MajestyJo

07-02-2014, 04:46 PM

To me, people are helpless unless they want to help themselves. There is nothing we can do but pray for them.

Many times, I was close to hopeless, not only for me but for my son. But while their is breath there is hope. As long a God is on the throne, there is always hope. When I stop praying, I am the one who is hopeless.

As my sponsor use to say, "Pray for a spiritual awakening" and the person won't be able to continue doing what they are doing." That applies to myself, I need to do Step Ten to see where I am at in today.

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There are different kinds of helplessness, and for whatever reason, be it mental, emotional or physical. If I reach out, the help is there. There was a barrier there which prevented me from doing that reaching out, mainly an old tape that told me I should be able to do it myself without asking for help. I expected me to do the job, no matter what and put up high expectations. In today, I know that through my God, all things are possible. The difference is knowing that I don't have to do it alone.

Hopeless to me is having tried and couldn't do and you feel you have no hope of ever being able to do it. I was pretty hopeless when I came into recovery. The Twelve Promises are what gave me hope. My first meeting, where I heard two very powerful women share their story, gave me a little hope, but wasn't too sure that the program would work for me. Yet when I looked at where I had been and where I was in the moment, I realized that I had inner resources that could be channelled into my recovery, and the program would work for me if I worked it.

Hope is a strange bedfellow, there will be let downs and disappointments, but all we have to do is try. As the saying goes, the failure isn't in doing and falling short of your expectations, the failure is in the not trying.

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MajestyJo

07-04-2014, 08:53 PM

"USING TRUST AND LOVE - I CHANGE AND GROW INTO HIGHER AND BETTER THINGS."

We are aware that blaming and arguing never helps us and only creates a wider gap between us, and that only understanding, trust and love can help us change and grow.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Learning to trust myself has been a long and difficult journey for me. Even though I was told many years ago, "If you doubt yourself, you are doubting God!" Yet when the old tapes play, when people project their thoughts and feelings onto me, and I push the play button and give up my power, then I put myself in a place of mistrust, doubt and low self-worth.

Someone can't put me down unless I allow them to, they can't have the power unless I give it up, and today, thanks to the program, I can pause and take and inventory and prioritize my life and redirect my actions.

Today I know that God is love, that all He wants for me is love and goodness, and that my purpose is to carry that message to others.

In the past I was always told, "Who are you to say? Who are you to know? What makes you think..." In today it isn't about what others think, say and do, it is about my recovery. My serenity and sobriety (soundness of mind) is what has to come first.

I have to learn to listen for and trust that voice within. i had to learn to believe that God loved me and that He directed people, places and things into my life to show me a better way of living, so long as I follow that way, I have nothing to fear. I can walk in faith and know and trust that God is with me.

Something I posted on another site in 2004.

Meditation for the Day

Keep as close as you can to the Higher Power. Try to think, act,and live as though you were always in God's presence. Keeping close to a Power greater than yourself is the solution to most of the earth's problems. Try to practice the presence of God in the things you think and do. That is the secret of personal power. It is the thing which influences the lives of others for good. Abide in the Lord and rejoice in His love. Keep close to the Divine Spirit in the universe. Keep God close behind your thoughts.

Prayer for today
I pray that I may keep close to the Mind of God. I pray that I may live with Him in my heart and mind.

This was posted on my site Star Choice in 2009.

It looks like it could be a Daily prayer to practice, rather than a prayer you say just one day.

Posted in 2012

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MajestyJo

07-06-2014, 12:47 AM

“The word listen
contains the same letters as the word silent.”
Alfred Bandel

“With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing.”
Catherine de Hueck Doherty

“Too often
we underestimate the power of a touch,
a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
Leo Buscaglia

http://angelwinks.net/images/iq/qc2sleepingkittens2.jpg

MajestyJo

07-10-2014, 03:58 PM

FULLY RELIANT ON GOD

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Do I rely on Him completely?
Do I trust Him with everything?
Or do I try to carry all the burdens
that each day so often brings.

It's not enough to simply say it.
But can I live it day to day?
Relying fully on the One who loves me.
And the precious words He has to say.

He's waiting there to hear me.
He's watching over me, I know.
Why do I only talk with Him
when I've no where else to go?

Fellowship isn't just believing.
It means allowing Him into my heart.
The light of my salvation
leaves nothing hidden in the dark.

Father, do not let me continue
hiding what I think you cannot see.
For it is because you love me
That you came to set me free.

"Child come out of the darkness.
Take my hand and follow me."
No matter what is in the shadows,
forgiveness and love is what I see.

"Rely upon my love," He says.
"Trust that I have it all in hand."
Do I believe Him? Do I trust Him?
Is He as shifting as the sand?

Are the words He's spoken
lies ... or in faith can I truly live
FULLY RELIANT ON GOD
for it is the only way to Him

- Misty Taggart

MajestyJo

07-13-2014, 02:50 AM

Unhealthy boundaries about what we allow ourselves to receive from others will not lead to healthy relationships with others or ourselves.

Melody Beattie

Found a link that about a book I think I should see if I can order from the library.

search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9780310247456&ourl=Boundaries%2FHenry%2DCloud

Posted in 2009, should check the library and see if it is still around.

I think I felt that if my son was working there was still hope. Yesterday I took some steps to make changes in my life. I have to give myself permission to make healthy choices for me.

Heard from my son. He made the decision to take the week off and contacted his employer. He said he was okay. I don't think we are on the same page about that, but it is okay.

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MajestyJo

07-15-2014, 02:05 PM

Night Light

Without prayer, I should have been a lunatic long ago.
-Mahatma Gandhi

How can we make our prayers more satisfying and fulfilling? One of the best ways is to see and hear ourselves as we pray, as if we were getting a bird's-eye view of what we look like and how we sound when we pray.

Seeing from above in this objective way gives a good overview of the strength and the meaning of our prayers. Are we whining and fidgeting as we pray? Maybe we aren't really praying but instead are asking to get our way. Do we sound angry, with fISts clenched? Maybe we need to work on letting go first before we pray.

This is how our Higher Power sees and hears us. Our Higher Power know which prayers are serious, meaningful conversations and which are fuled with self-pity, resentment, and anger. Tonight we can hear ourselves pray and learn whether we are truly praying or merely taking time for self-centered feelings.

Before I pray tonight, let me run through the things I want to say. Help me keep self-centered feelings at a minimum and true sharing and communication at a maximum.

This is a spiritual program. Pray to the God of your understanding. If you don't understand God, go on a spiritual quest and He/She/It will be revealed.

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MajestyJo

07-22-2014, 01:10 AM

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Faith isn't anything you can see;
It isn't anything you can touch.
But you can feel it in your heart.
Faith is what keeps you trying
When others would have given up.
It keeps you believing in
The goodness of others
And helps you find it.

Faith is trusting in a power
Greater than yourself
And knowing that whatever happens,
This power will carry you through anything.
It is believing in yourself
And having courage
To stand up for what you believe in.

Faith is
Peace in the midst of a storm,
Determination in the midst
Of adversity,
And safety in the midst of trouble.
For nothing can touch a soul
That is protected by faith.

- Author Unknown

MajestyJo

07-27-2014, 03:35 AM

RIGHT ACTIONS

Samuel Thadeus Short

“By learning to contact, listen to, and act upon intuition, we can directly connect to the highest power of the universe and allow it to become our guiding force,” — Shakti Gawain

Right now in the silence of this moment let us be filled with wonderful healing light — as it moves into every cell and atom of our body —— we will be renewed and regenerated in body, mind and soul. We become inspired from within, and guided into perfect right action. We are in effect moving into Oneness with Spirit, or in tune with the vibrations of the universe.

In this way God is our source and supply for everything, actually our constant companion. As we move closer into this Divine relationship we become more whole, more complete and more perfect which is always our nature in the spiritual realm. As a result we think right thoughts received from inner direction which produce right actions in our life and affairs.

The Antesian Road To Enlightenment

antesianroadtoenlightenment-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

EXPANDING CONSCIOUSNESS

THOUGHT FOR TODAY: From another site in 2011,

This is a beautiful concept of what Step Eleven means to me. It doesn't matter what you believe in. When I realized that my Higher Power was a Source rather than a person (Holy Spirit), I was able to 1) Have more trust, 2) Learn to be open more to it, and 3) I became more willing to receive the gift of enlightenment.

Like all things in this program, it takes practice, practice, practice; but more importantly it is daily, and often in the moment. I can make that contact at any given time or place, no matter what is going on in my life.

This is a spiritual program and I had to learn to differentiate the two. I couldn't share and discount others and their beliefs.

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MajestyJo

07-28-2014, 03:48 AM

Ten Guidelines From God

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Effective immediately,
please be aware that there are changes you need
to make in your life. These changes need to be
completed in order that I may fulfill My promises
to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in
this life. I apologize for any inconvenience,
but after all that I am doing, this seems very
little to ask of you. Please,follow
these 10 guidelines

1. QUIT WORRYING:
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit
and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here
to take all your burdens and carry them for you?
Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little
thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST:

Something needs done or taken care of. Put it
on the list. No, not your list. Put it on My
to-do-list. Let Me be the one to take care
of the problem. I can't help you until you turn
it over to Me. And although My to-do-list
is long, I am after all... God. I can take care
of anything you put into My hands. In fact,
if the truth were ever really known, I take
care of a lot of things for you that you never
even realize.

3. TRUST ME:

Once you've given your burdens to Me,
quit trying to take them back. Trust in
Me. Have the faith that I will take care of
all your needs, your problems and your trials.
Problems with the kids? Put them on My list.
Problem with finances? Put it on My list.
Problems with your emotional roller coaster?
For My sake, put it on My list. I want to
help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE:

Don't wake up one morning and say,
"Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think
I can handle it from here." Why do you think
you are feeling stronger now? It's simple.
You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking
care of them. I also renew your strength
and cover you in my peace. Don't you
know that if I give you these problems back,
you will be right back where you started?
Leave them with Me and forget about
them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME:

I want you to forget a lot of things.
Forget what was making you crazy.
Forget the worry and the fretting because
you know I'm in control. But there's one
thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't
forget to talk to Me - often I love you!
I want to hear your voice. I want you to
include Me in on the things going on in your life.
I want to hear you talk about your friends
and family. Prayer is simply you having
a conversation with Me. I want to be your
dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH:

I see a lot of things from up here that you
can't see from where you are. Have faith in
Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me;
you wouldn't want the view from My eyes.
I will continue to care for you, watch over you,
and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me.
Although I have a much bigger task than you,
it seems as if you have so much trouble just
doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE:

You were taught to share when you were
only two years old. When did you forget?
That rule still applies. Share with those who are
less fortunate than you. Share your joy with
those who need encouragement. Share your
laughter with those who haven't heard any in
such a long time. Share your tears with those
who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith
with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT:

I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime
you could have so many diverse experiences.
You grow from a child to an adult, have children,
change jobs many times, learn many trades,
travel to so many places, meet thousands
of people, and experience so much. How can
you be so impatient then when it takes Me
a little longer than you expect to handle
something on My to-do-list? Trust in My
timing, for My timing is perfect. Just
because I created the entire universe in
only six days, everyone thinks I should
always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND:

Be kind to others, for I love them just
as much as I love you. They may not dress
like you, or talk like you, or live the same way
you do, but I still love you all. Please try
to get along, for My sake. I created each
of you different in some way. It would be
too boring if you were all identical.
Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF:

As much as I love you, how can you not
love yourself? You were created by me for
one reason only -- to be loved, and to love
in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me.
Love your neighbors. But also love yourself.
It makes My heart ache when I see you
so angry with yourself when things go
wrong. You are very precious to me.
Don't ever forget......

A rerun but worth a re-read.

MajestyJo

08-01-2014, 08:53 PM

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Affirm yourself, you are worthy of recovery. You are not your disease. You are a child of God. As I was told in early days of recovery, "God doesn't make no junk!"

MajestyJo

08-07-2014, 12:45 PM

Why Think Positive?

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When things go wrong, remember:

It's not WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU that matters most.
It's how YOU THINK ABOUT what happens to you .

Example:

Let's say that you are at the airport, waiting to catch a flight, and the airline tells you, "Sorry! Mechanical trouble. You won't be leaving for three hours!"

You get very angry. You tell yourself: "This is terrible! This is a disaster!"

While you remain stressed, things will get worse!
People will trip over you, spill coffee in your lap and lose your baggage.

When you fight life, life always wins!

Then finally you cool down.

You tell yourself: "There's nothing I can do about it. I am probably where I am meant to be. I'll make the most of it."

Suddenly, everything changes!

From nowhere an old friend appears, or you make a new friend, or you stumble on a fresh opportunity - and life begins to support you.

Once we change our thoughts about "a bad situation",
we can take advantage of it.

You already know this!

Life's great opportunities mostly arrive disguised as misfortune and disaster.

Example:

Imagine two women, Mary and Jane.

Both get divorced.

Mary says, "I've failed. My life is over."

Jane says, "My life has just begun!"

Who will blossom?

In a nutshell:

Every "disaster" in your life is not so much a disaster, as a situation waiting for you to change your mind about it.

MajestyJo

08-21-2014, 09:43 PM

NOW THAT'S GOD!

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/phone-240x320-sunsets/0324.gif

LIKE THE SAYING, "THAT'S NOT ODD, THAT'S GOD!"

http://www.passionup.com/mp/blank/blank100.htm?e=imkld%40yahoo%2ecom&f=imkld%40yahoo%2ecom&cfp=1&h=7a49f7e8064d5e26&mp=1

MajestyJo

08-23-2014, 01:40 AM

MountainWings A MountainWings Moment #2066 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
-------------------------------------------------

Hurt
=====

Dear MountainWings,

This story changed my life and I thought maybe it could change
others too, so I'm sharing it with you.

This story was told to me by my sister, whom it happened to.

She was really upset because she hadn't seen or spoken to her best friend Jim in a couple of weeks. Finally he shows up at her door and commands her to get dressed and go riding with him. So she finally does.

As they were riding, they passed a garden full of flowers.

Jim says "Do you see those flowers?"

"Yes," she says.

"Do you think that when someone steps on those flowers that they lie there and feel sorry for themselves?" Jim asks.

"No."

"No, they immediately start to mend their wounds so they can
heal, and grow strong and healthy!"

They ride a little further and Jim points up in a tree,
"You see those squirrels up there?

Do you think that when people shoot at them they go hide
forever?"

"No," she says.

About that time the ocean comes into sight.

Jim says "You see that ocean out there?

Do you think that when there's a hurricane out there that the
ocean doesn't go back out because it's afraid to face the
storm?"

"No," she says.

"Then, why have you stopped living because you have been hurt?"

That story really hit me like a ton of bricks!
The worst part was the fact that Jim died a short time later.
And that's when she realized how much precious time she wasted.

Why have you stopped living because you have been hurt?

~A MountainWings Original~

MajestyJo

08-28-2014, 07:18 AM

Worthy Thoughts

- Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

- You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future.

- Love... and you shall be loved.

- God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.

- All people smile in the same language.

- A hug is a great gift, one size fits all. It can be given for any occasion and it's easy to exchange.

- Everyone needs to be loved, especially when they do not deserve it.

- The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity.

- Laughter is God's sunshine.

- Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.

- It's important for parents to live the same things they teach.

- Thank God for what you have, TRUST GOD for what you need.

- If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.

- Happy memories never wear out... Relive them as often as you want.

- Home is the place where we grumble the most, but are often treated the best.

- Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks within.

- The choice you make today will usually affect tomorrow.

- Take time to laugh for it is the music of the soul.

- If anyone speaks badly of you, live so none will believe it.

- Patience is the ability to idle your motor, when you feel like stripping your gears.

- Love is strengthened by working through conflicts together.

- The best thing parents can do for their children is to love each other.

- Harsh words break no bones but they do break hearts.

- To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it.

- We take for granted the things that we should be giving thanks for.

- Love is the only thing that can be divided, without being diminished.

- Happiness is enhanced by others but does not depend upon others.

- You are richer today if you have laughed, given or forgiven.

- For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 seconds of happiness that you can never get back.

- Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are.

"The Mind is like a Parachute, it Doesn't work properly unless FULLY OPEN"

- source unknown, could have been here! :)

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/insects-butterflies-many/0004.gif

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time.

You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end, Be afraid that it will never begin.

~anonymous~

MajestyJo

09-03-2014, 08:00 PM

The Problem or The Laundry List

The problem: We seem to have several characteristics
in common as a result of having been brought up in a
dysfunctional family system.
We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures.

We became approval seekers and lost our identity
in the process.

We are frightened by angry people and any
personal criticism.

We either become alcoholics, marry them or both,
or find another compulsive personality such as a
workaholic to fulfill our abandonment needs.

We live life from the viewpoint of victims and are
attracted by that weakness in our love, friendships,
and career relationships.

We have and overdeveloped sense of responsibility
and it is easier for us to be concerned with others
rather than ourselves; this enables us not to look too
closely at our faults or our responsibility to ourselves.

We get guilt feeling when we stand up for ourselves
and instead give in to others.

We become addicted to excitement.

We confuse love and pity and tend to "love" people
we can "pity" and rescue.

We have stuffed our feelings from our traumatic
childhoods and have lost the ability to feel or express
our feelings because it hurts so much. This includes
our good feelings such as joy and happiness. Our
being out of touch with our feelings is one of our
basic denials.

We judge ourselves harshly and have a very low
sense of self-esteem.

We are dependent personalities who are terrified
of abandonment and will do anything to hold on to a
relationship in order not to experience painful
abandonment feelings. We received this from living
with sick people who were never there emotionally
for us.

Alcoholism is a family disease and we took on the
characteristics of that disease even though we did
not pick up the drink.

We became reactors rather than actors.

Adult children of alcoholics guess at what normal is.

We have difficulty having fun.

We take ourselves too seriously.

We have difficulty with intimate relationships.

We constantly seek approval and affirmation.

We usually feel different from other people.

We are either super responsible or super
irresponsible.

We are extremely loyal even in the face of
evidence that the loyalty is undeserved.

We tend to lock ourselves into a course of action
without giving serious consideration to alternative
behavior or possible consequences. This impulsivity
leads to confusion, self-loathing, and loss of control
over our environment. As a result, more energy is
spent cleaning up the mess than would have been
spent had the alternatives and consequences been
examined in the first place.

We think we have more problems with sexuality
than the general population.

We tend to look for immediate as opposed to
deferred gratification.

We are overly sensitive.

THIS IS A DESCRIPTION, NOT AN INDICTMENT!

Source: Tony A. authored the original Laundry List.
It later was adopted as "The Problem" (c) 1984 by the ACA World Service Organization in Torrance California. The above is an expanded version, origin unknown.

Think this is posted elsewhere, but always good to be reminded.

MajestyJo

09-03-2014, 08:00 PM

Styles of Distorted Thinking
Filtering: You take the negative details and magnify them while filtering out all positive aspects of the situation.

Polarized Thinking: Things are black or white, good or bad. You have to be perfect or you are a failure. There is no middle ground.

Over Generalization: You come to a general conclusion based on a single incident or other piece of evidence. If something bad happens once, you expect it to happen over and over again.

Mind Reading: Without their saying so, you know what people are feeling and why they act the way they do. In particular, you are able to tell how people are feeling about you.

Catastrophizing: You expect a disaster. You notice or hear about a problem and start, "What if's?" What if a tragedy strikes? What if it happens to you?

Personalization: You think everything people do or say is some kind of a reaction to you. You also compare yourself to others, trying to determine who's smarter, better looking, etc.

Control Fallacies: You feel externally controlled, you see yourself as helpless, a victim of fate. The fallacy of internal control makes you feel responsible for the pain or happiness of everyone around you.

Fallacy of Fairness: You feel resentful because you think you know what's fair but are sure that other people won't agree with you.

Blaming: You hold others responsible for your pain, or else you blame yourself for every problem or reversal.

Shoulds: You have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should act or feel. People who break these rules anger you and you feel guilty if you violate them yourself.

Emotional Reasoning: You believe that what you feel must be true automatically. If you feel stupid or boring, then you must be stupid or boring.

Fallacy of Change: You expect that others will change to suit you if you just pressure or cajole them enough. You need to change people because your hopes and happiness seems to depend on them.

Global Labeling: You generalize one or two qualities into a negative judgment. When you make a mistake, instead of describing your error, you say: "I'm a loser." If someone irritates you, you label them, "He's a louse."

Being Right: You are continually on trial to prove your opinions and actions are correct.

Heaven's Reward: You expect all of your sacrifices and self-denial to pay off, as if there were someone keeping score.

by Adult Children Anonymous

MajestyJo

09-06-2014, 02:39 PM

The Meaning of Peace
=====================

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/phone-240x320-planets/0276.gif

There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who
could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried.
The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two
that he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror
for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was
a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture
thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The second picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged
and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in
which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled
a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny
bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird
had built her nest.... a perfect picture of peace.

Which of the pictures won the prize?

The king chose the second picture.

Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a
place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.

Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be
calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

That is the REAL meaning of peace.

~Author Unknown~

MajestyJo

09-13-2014, 10:47 PM

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am getting all the guidence I need to take care of myself.

I need not keep pushing beyond my limitations. I am learning to listen to my body and my mind, and rest when I get the message.

When I was sharing with my friend this morning, we talked on how we both needed to practice self care.

There is a big difference between selfish, self-centeredness of my disease and practicing self-care, learning to live each day to the best of our ability. Not abusing ourselves and others, but practicing a healthy life style and finding the balance needed in all things.

When I couldn't do the things I thought I should be doing, I beat myself up. I had to learn to listen to my body. I had to stop listening to old tapes.

In today part of that is reading labels and not eating processed foods. Eating fresh food or fast frozen, and not eating foods with additives, colouring, and substitutions which are full of chemicals. Even though I am diabetic, diet-pop is more harmful to me then regular pop because of the chemicals. I drink fruit juices or herbal teas with no sugar and plain. I have yet to learn to drink my coffee black, so don't drink coffee.

I had to look at my thinking behind my eating. When my body was swollen because of my arthritis, I would think fat and not want to eat or I would think, "What is the use, I am fat anyway," and not care about what I ate. I went to my doctor's a few weeks ago and I had gained 10 lbs and I realized I had been in an "I don't care" state of being and hadn't realized until I got on the scale. Ironically, I hadn't even noticed the change after I prayed and asked for help and turned it over to my Higher Power. When I went back, I had lost 8 lbs, and hadn't consciously tried to lose it. I had just ate healthy and it came away. For me, it is working my program.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/religion-angels/0099.gif

MajestyJo

09-23-2014, 08:30 PM

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said 'I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.'

'Is the man of the house home?', they asked.

'No', she replied. 'He's out.'

'Then we cannot come in', they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

'Go tell them I am home and invite them in!'

The woman went out and invited the men in ''We do not go into a House together,' they replied. 'Why is that?' she asked.

One of the old men explained: 'His name is Wealth,' he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, 'He is Success, and I am Love.' Then he added, 'Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.'

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. her husband was overjoyed.

'How nice!!', he said. 'Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!'

His wife disagreed. 'My dear, why don't we invite success?'

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of
the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: 'Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!'

'Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice,' said the husband
to his wife.

'Go out and invite Love to be our guest.'

The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, 'Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.'

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The
other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: 'I only invited Love, why are you coming in?'

The old men replied together: 'If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.

Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!'

MY WISH FOR YOU...

Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy.

Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your ability to work through it.

Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renew-ed strength.

Where there is fear, I wish you love, and courage.

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/phone-240x320-angels/0161.gif

MajestyJo

09-26-2014, 12:13 AM

http://boardofwisdom.com/cachetogo/images/quotes/56733.png

To have faith is to defy logic.
It takes faith to think positively.
It takes faith to believe that there
is a loving God who cares deeply
about our pain.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRDajd_2Q4bueiM_wa7fpMk0Cr5kw-YGgkhiwUfooPTR24VxqRamA

To believe in life, the universe, or yourself
after numerous failures is to have courage.
Faith is an act of courage. It is choosing to
get up in the morning and face our fears and
believe that God will help us.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJS62-Uio59tJDeseVf5jygSNC1iN9RRzgS6975Jl_NrRi__eUAQ

Faith is choosing to believe that even though
we may have failed one hundred times before
that we can succeed the next time.

Faith By Family Friend Poems / CC BY 3.0

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSrSr_46ug7AGllbW1FyBVGopF13amLf h59mkJuCAvWsBgVuDKd

MajestyJo

09-28-2014, 07:47 AM

The following is a list of 110 self-nurturing ideas that have to do with "Esteem Needs." Do at least one of these activities every day.

Psysiological Needs:

Eat breakfast
Take a nap
Break a bad habit, if just for today
Get at least 7 hours sleep
Drink 8 glasses of water today
Eat a healthy snack

Safety Needs:

Repair something in your home
Learn how to protect your health
Wear a seat belt

Belonging and Love Needs:

Call your mother or father
Search out a long-lost friend
Open up to the person closest to you
Pay a compliment
Turn off the TV and talk
Get to know the neighbor's dog or cat
Listen to what you hear
Tell someone you love him or her
Hold a hand
Hug someone
Contact someone you've been thinking about
Admire a child
Get to know the neighbors
Kiss a friend
Tell someone how much you appreciate him or her

Esteem Needs:

Blow up a balloon and turn it loose
Make your own candles
Walk instead of ride
Give yourself a compliment
Read a poem aloud
Look at the stars
Use a new word
Frame a picture
Forget an old grudge
Take yourself to lunch
Go to the library
Try a new food
Listen to the rain on the roof
Feed the ducks
Jump in a pile of leaves
Appreciate trees
Sign up for a class
Study a dew-laden cobweb
Learn something new
Sing in the shower
List ten things you do well
Walk in the rain
Waste a little time
Curl up before an open fire
Buy a ticket to a special event
Return something you've borrowed
Organize some small corner of your life
Pop popcorn
Draw a picture, even if you can't draw
Keep a secret
Enjoy silence
Walk to the nearest park
Go wading
Light a candle and read by candlelight
Pick up some travel brochures and dream
Smell a flower
Clean out your wallet
Take an early morning walk
Look at old photos
Run down a hill
Write a poem
Start a new project
Walk barefoot
Tell a joke
Take a different road to get home
Build a sandcastle
Ask someone for help
Let someone do you a favor
Reread a favorite book
Listen to the dawn
Imagine being your favorite tree
Watch the sun set
Hide a love note where a loved one will find it
Make a surprise gift
Go to a fair
Lie on the grass
Go for a swim
Rearrange a room
Let someone love you
Drop a quarter where someone will find it
Hum
Bake bread

Self-Actualization Needs:

Visit a lonely person or a shut-in
Help a stranger
Be thankful
Take a risk
Do something you've always wanted to do
Say "yes"
Say "no"
Meditate
Throw away something you don't like
Try to feel another person's hurt (or joy)
Practice courage in one small way
Warm a heart
Laugh at yourself
Send a card to someone for no reason
Encourage a young person
Follow an impulse
Put yourself out for someone
Acknowledge when you are wrong
Volunteer some time to a good cause
Give yourself a present
Allow yourself to make a mistake
Allow yourself to make another mistake
Do something hard to do
Don't do something -- sit there
Take time to talk to neighborhood children

Source unknown to me

MajestyJo

09-28-2014, 07:49 AM

Hugs to you all.

Steps To Happiness

Author Unknown

Everybody Knows:
You can't be all things to all people.
You can't do all things at once.
You can't do all things equally well.
You can't do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's.

So:
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*.

Then:
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you'll be a most vital mortal.

Dare To Believe:
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you'll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.

http://angelwinks.net/images/animated/animated141.gif

"People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel"

MajestyJo

10-04-2014, 05:22 AM

Greed according to Zen, is wanting to be other than where you are at the moment.

It just came to me how much this has been a truth in the last few weeks since my aunt passed away. How many times I have wished that she was still here because I miss her and have reached for the phone to call her. Yet this is a selfish self-centered action on my part, because to my knowledge, she is in a much better place and to want to keep her here for my own gratification and comfort would be purely selfish.

It is really difficult to let go of loved ones so that they may rest in peace. I don't have the right to keep them here by prayer and thought when they have an opportunity to pass onto greater and better things.

I need to hang onto the memories not the person.

The same applies to our addiction and our past life. We are free to move on to bigger and better things, yet we cling to the past, fear letting it go because it is the known.

May I continue to let go of my past, stop grieving the coulda, woulda, shouldas and get on with living my life in today. I believe those of us who make it to the rooms of recovery have been given a second chance at life because many of us 'missed' out on a great portion of our previous one.

Let us remember that each day is a new beginning and to have a good one, free from the past and giving praise and glorifying another new today.

Caressa going through the grieving period takes time. Don't think of wishing she were still here as being selfish. She was good to you and you loved her. Think of all the good memories. When I was in Nursing school I took a course on Death & Dying . It was all about the different stages that each person has to pass through to put their loss to rest. One of the books we used was written by Elisabeth Kubler Ross. It was called On Death & Dying. She has a web site at :-

www.elisabethkublerross.com/

Check the quote section. I hope you get a chance to read some of her work, it has helped me get through all the losses in my life.

Love you and God Bless
lildee

From 2004

Looked up this old post, and when I read it, I have realized that even though the person hasn't died, they are no longer the person, not the one they were.

I didn't realize the extent the addict in me changed over the years, and what I became. I knew it was bad, but I have had a new awakening.

Grief isn't just about the passing of a friend, it is about change, what is no more, the end of an era, the end of what is and is no more.

http://angelwinks.net/images/kayomi/kayomi34s.jpg

MajestyJo

10-27-2014, 04:42 AM

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k488/sqacct7/thereisalwayshope-1.jpg

Through the midst of some of the most trying adversity, you have to keep your head up, and your feet moving forward, while thinking to yourself, there is hope. Life may not be treating you the way that you want to be treated, things that you have expected to happen by now may not be happening for you. There may be relationships in your life that haven't developed the way that you wanted them to, or job offers that you expected but haven't received.

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k488/sqacct7/thereisalwayshope.jpg

There is always hope. Even in times in which we feel that we will never arise from being down in such a horrible way. There is always hope. When you feel as if you have gone as far as you can go, and all forward progress is halted. There is always hope. When you have tried to get a loved one to see that what they are doing is not only hurting themselves but is hurting everyone around them. There is always hope.

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k488/sqacct7/jan11/sayingimages_tumblr_lbbn6h9kJo1qarkt7o1_500.jpg

MajestyJo

11-03-2014, 03:29 PM

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MajestyJo

11-04-2014, 04:09 PM

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MajestyJo

11-05-2014, 11:29 PM

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MajestyJo

11-06-2014, 04:34 PM

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MajestyJo

11-07-2014, 11:19 AM

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MajestyJo

11-09-2014, 05:10 AM

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MajestyJo

11-10-2014, 07:31 PM

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MajestyJo

11-11-2014, 09:04 PM

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MajestyJo

11-12-2014, 05:29 PM

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MajestyJo

11-13-2014, 03:15 AM

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MajestyJo

11-14-2014, 10:02 AM

Cleanse the body, mind and spirit, release the old to make room for the new.

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/images/AnimalSymbolismFrogMeaning.jpg

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-frog.html

http://angelwinks.ca/images/thoughtpod/thoughtpod1064.jpg

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MajestyJo

11-15-2014, 12:15 PM

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MajestyJo

11-16-2014, 03:49 AM

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MajestyJo

11-17-2014, 11:21 PM

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MajestyJo

11-18-2014, 09:24 AM

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MajestyJo

11-19-2014, 06:35 PM

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MajestyJo

11-20-2014, 08:14 AM

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MajestyJo

11-21-2014, 08:55 PM

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MajestyJo

11-22-2014, 04:11 PM

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MajestyJo

11-23-2014, 06:17 PM

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MajestyJo

11-24-2014, 11:54 PM

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MajestyJo

11-25-2014, 09:29 AM

I TAKE COMFORT IN YOUR FRIENDSHIP!

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MajestyJo

11-26-2014, 07:39 PM

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MajestyJo

11-27-2014, 06:28 PM

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MajestyJo

11-28-2014, 07:25 PM

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MajestyJo

11-29-2014, 09:25 AM

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MajestyJo

11-30-2014, 06:41 AM

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MajestyJo

12-01-2014, 04:23 AM

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Help me to notice the little things and the blessings of the Creator. mj

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MajestyJo

12-02-2014, 03:27 PM

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MajestyJo

12-03-2014, 10:42 AM

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MajestyJo

12-12-2014, 11:50 PM

Today's thought is:

Sincere love is not born of possessiveness but of necessary space and distance.
--Melanie Gainsley

Dimestore romance novels and the passion frequently portrayed in movies invite us to mimic behavior that's seldom in our best interests. Focusing attention too narrowly on another person stifles our personal growth, without which we die, as does the relationship, in time.

Real love means we will celebrate one another's avenue to fulfillment, feeling joy when our paths are parallel, trusting the growth process when our directions seem at cross-purposes. We'll know that, whatever our destination, we'll each be in the right place at the right time truly free to love one another -- not forced because we've been trapped in a binding relationship mistakenly defined as love.

But where are our role models for healthy love? Few of us have been privy to them. And yet, we can discover responsible, loving behavior for ourselves if we'll risk honesty about our personal goals, our fears, our dreams, and allow our loved ones the same honest openness.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

It is so important to recognize and acknowledge the person behind the disease. So many times we feel hurt, angry, abandoned, rejected, etc. and take it personal and forget that we need to forgive the person although sometimes we have trouble forgiving the action. Some things are unforgiveable and not acceptable, and we need to learn to differentiate between them. So often we need to do it for ourselves and our own recovery and our own peace of mind. Sometimes it is just too much pain to carry around and we just have to let it go.

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MajestyJo

12-13-2014, 07:11 AM

COME FROM A PLACE OF LOVE!

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MajestyJo

12-14-2014, 11:38 PM

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MajestyJo

12-15-2014, 11:59 AM

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MajestyJo

12-16-2014, 09:07 AM

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MajestyJo

12-17-2014, 11:46 PM

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MajestyJo

12-18-2014, 09:02 AM

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MajestyJo

12-19-2014, 07:20 PM

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MajestyJo

12-20-2014, 10:33 AM

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MajestyJo

12-21-2014, 01:00 PM

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MajestyJo

12-22-2014, 05:30 AM

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MajestyJo

12-23-2014, 09:41 AM

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MajestyJo

12-24-2014, 02:57 AM

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MajestyJo

12-25-2014, 11:11 PM

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MajestyJo

12-26-2014, 01:31 PM

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MajestyJo

12-27-2014, 06:12 AM

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MajestyJo

12-28-2014, 03:41 AM

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MajestyJo

12-29-2014, 04:01 PM

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MajestyJo

12-30-2014, 04:10 AM

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MajestyJo

12-31-2014, 05:25 PM

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MajestyJo

01-01-2015, 03:07 PM

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MajestyJo

01-02-2015, 10:45 AM

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MajestyJo

01-03-2015, 05:20 AM

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MajestyJo

01-04-2015, 02:02 PM

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MajestyJo

01-05-2015, 10:55 PM

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Love is the power of the Spirit to cleanse and make whole. mj

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MajestyJo

01-06-2015, 10:38 PM

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MajestyJo

12-06-2015, 10:28 AM

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There's Sunshine In A Smile

Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain,
Laughter and pleasure, tear-drops and pain;
All days can't be bright, but it's certainly true,
There was never a cloud the sun didn't shine through.
So just keep on smiling whatever betide you,
Secure in the knowledge God is always beside you.
And you'll find when you smile your day will be brighter
and all your burdens will seem so much lighter.
For each time you smile you will find it is true
SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE will smile back at YOU!
And nothing on earth Can make life more worthwhile
than the sunshine and warmth of a BEAUTIFUL SMILE

- - Helen Steiner Rice

MajestyJo

12-10-2015, 09:10 PM

In the “Star Trek” science fiction series,

the Vulcan greeting is sometimes heard

from Mr Spock or Ambassador Sarek:

“Live long and prosper.”

Old phrases from the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Sour grapes” - Ezek 182

“The writing’s on the wall” - Dan 525

"She is “the salt of the earth” - Mt 513

“To go the extra mile” - Mt 541

“Not letting his left hand know

what his right hand is doing” - Mt 63

“On the straight and narrow” - Mt 714

“Fallen by the wayside” - Mt 134

“The blind leading the blind” - Mt 1514

“Good Samaritan”

“Seeing is believing” - Jn 2025

Doubting Thomas;

I’ll believe it when I see it.

Let us pray:

Lord, inspire us

in every moment before we speak,

so that our words to others today

may all be positive.

Amen.

- someone who doesn’t

“pass by on the other side” - Lk 1031

Other biblical passages used in ordinary

speech, include:

“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” - Ex 2123

“Tablets of stone” - Ex 34

“Scapegoat” - Lev 1616

“To spy out the land” - Num 1316

“The apple of his eye” - Deut 3210

“Someone after his own heart” - 1 Sam 1314

“How the mighty are fallen!” - 2 Sam 127

“Escaped by the skin of their teeth” - Job 1920

“Pride goes before a fall” - Prov 1618

“Don’t know what tomorrow may bring”- Prov 271

“Put your own house in order” - Is 381

“No peace for the wicked” - Is 4822

“Holier-than-thou” - Is 655

“He is found wanting” - Dan 527

“Don’t cast your pearls before swine” - Mt 76

“O ye of little faith” - Mt 826

“Fallen on stony ground” - Mt 135

“Walking on water” - Mt 1425

“The first will be last;

the last will be first” - Mt 1930

“A worker is worthy of his hire” - Mk 107

“The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” - Mk 1438

“Physician, heal thyself - Lk 423

We have our “cross to bear/carry” - Lk 923

“Once you’ve put your hand to the plough...

there’s no turning back - cf Lk 962

“Kept the good wine until last” - Jn 210

“A law unto themselves” - Rom 214

“The love of money is the root of all evil” - 1 Tim 610

“I have fought the good fight” - 2 Tim 47

“He’s got the patience of Job” - James 511

“Streets paved with gold” - Rev 211

& Oh the w
ord of my Lord

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MajestyJo

12-15-2015, 06:44 AM

Grace

The grace of God has prepared for me a way of life that is altogether good.

The grace of God is not something that we must earn by making sacrifices or doing penance. It is a free, wholesome, impartial gift from God that none of us can escape. Even the most forsaken soul may cherish the hope of infinite grace.

The grace of God is more than mercy. It is complete forgiveness and full, unbounded love. It offers redemption from unholy thinking and living to every person who will accept it. Through grace, God reveals the true nature of the Divine within each person.

Abiding under divine grace, you are spiritually secure and your steady, unimpeded progress into the kingdom of perfection and all good is assured. The grace of God opens to you the swift, glorious, positive way of Truth.
For by grace have ye been saved … it is the gift of God.—Ephesians 2:8

Daily Word

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Grace is what kept me in recovery. Many times I have said that something had my name on it. In reality, JoAnne means God's Gracious Gift.

I looked back on my life and saw how He had worked in my life and brought me to the program. I should have or could have been dead.

The best we can do for our loved ones is to live in a way that they can see the change within us and want it for themselves. We can't help anyone who doesn't want help, yet we can help by prayer and meditation and walking our talk so others may see.

Pray and ask that their God give them the Grace that they need to get them into recovery.

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MajestyJo

12-20-2015, 12:51 AM

"Watch your thoughts, they become words;
Watch your words, they become actions;
Watch your actions, they become habits;
Watch your habits, they become character;
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. "

- Tom Robbins -

What you put out, comes back to you. I believe a thought is a prayer. Sending good thoughts to everyone this holiday season.

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MajestyJo

12-24-2015, 07:16 PM

That's How Much I Love You
by Max Lucado

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Untethered by time, God sees us all.
From the backwoods of Virginia
to the business district of London;
from the Vikings to the astronauts,
from the cave-dwellers to the kings,
from the hut-builders to the finger-pointers
to the rock-stackers, he sees us.
Vagabonds and ragamuffins all,
he saw us before we were born.

And he loves what he sees.
Flooded by emotion.
Overcome by pride,
the Starmaker turns to us,
one by one, and says,
“You are my child. I love you dearly.
I’m aware that someday
you’ll turn from me and walk away.
But I want you to know,
I’ve already provided you a way back.”

And to prove it,
he did something extraordinary.

Stepping from the throne,
he removed his robe of light
and wrapped himself in skin:
pigmented, human skin.
The light of the universe entered
a dark, wet womb.
He who angels worship nestled himself
in the placenta of a peasant,
was birthed into the cold night,
and then slept on cow’s hay.

Mary didn’t know whether
to give him milk or give him praise,
but she gave him both since he was,
as near as she could figure, hungry and holy.

Joseph didn’t know whether
to call him Junior or Father.
But in the end called him Jesus,
since that’s what the angel said
and since he didn’t have the faintest idea
what to name a God he could cradle in his arms.

Neither Mary nor Joseph said it
as bluntly as my Sara,
but don’t you think their heads tilted
and their minds wondered,
“What in the world are you doing, God?”
Or, better phrased,
“God, what are you doing in the world?”

“Can anything make me stop loving you?”
God asks.
“Watch me speak your language,
sleep on your earth,
and feel your hurts.
Behold the maker of sight and sound as he
sneezes, coughs, and blows his nose.
You wonder if I understand how you feel?
Look into the dancing eyes of the kid in Nazareth;
that’s God walking to school.
Ponder the toddler at Mary’s table;
that’s God spilling his milk.

“You wonder how long my love will last?
Find your answer on a splintered cross,
on a craggy hill.
That’s me you see up there,
your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding.
Covered in spit and sin-soaked.
That’s your sin I’m feeling.
That’s your death I’m dying.
That’s your resurrection I’m living.
That’s how much I love you.”

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Something posted in December 2010. So grateful for my God's ever lasting Love.

MajestyJo

01-06-2016, 01:52 AM

HE CHOSE YOUR HEART

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He could have chosen anywhere
Throughout this world to live
He could have chosen any heart
With the many gifts He's given.

He could have come to anyone
Of any color, size or form
He could have come as anyone
But He came as a new-born.

He chose the humble nature
Of a blessed little babe
As He began His mission
Many troubled souls to save.

He walked upon this earth
we share
Touching people near and far
And for His final resting place
He thoughtfully chose
YOUR heart.

So when you feel troubled
Or perhaps you are in pain
In silence God will bless You
If you let Him lead the way.

MajestyJo

01-18-2016, 09:35 PM

Instead of letting your mistakes and shortcomings grow more costly by denying that they exist, choose to see the real value in them. Decide to confidently deal with them and transform your liabilities into assets.

-- Ralph Marston

Many people say, "Oh that is negative, don't think that way!" Negative is a part of life. It isn't about ignoring it, it is about what I can do to change it or to let it go and let God.

Denying what is doesn't make it go away. Denial just keeps things buried, which in turn starts to fester and eat away at the soul. What brought me to recovery will take me back out if I don't deal with it.

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MajestyJo

01-30-2016, 09:29 PM

The Weight Of Objects
Clearing Your Space For Change

In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than
we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that
is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with
material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most
people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their
possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely
hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or
comfortable. While it's true that the ownership of "stuff" can make
you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner
longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction.
It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be
vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold
that our possessions can have on us.

It's not uncommon to hold on to material objects because we are
attached to them or fear the empty spaces that will remain if we get
rid of them. Giving away the souvenirs from a beloved voyage may
feel like we are erasing the memory of that time in our life. We may
also worry that our loved ones will feel hurt if we don't keep the
gifts they've given us. It's easy to convince ourselves that unused
possessions might come in handy someday or that parting with them
will cause you emotional pain. However, when your personal space is
filled with objects, there is no room for anything new to enter and
stay in your life. Your collection of belongings may "protect" you
from the uncertainties of an unknown future while keeping you stuck
in the past. Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand
in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting
go of your material possessions may help you release emotional
baggage.

When you make a conscious decision to fill your personal space with
only the objects that you need or bring you joy, your energy level
will soar. Clearing your personal space can lead to mental clarity
and an improved memory. As you learn to have a more practical and
temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and
you'll have space to create the life that you desire.

What do you think?
Discuss this article and share your opinion

MajestyJo

01-30-2016, 09:31 PM

Have been posting pictures of frogs today. The frog means cleansing away the old to make room for the new. It is about change, transitions, and letting go of the old to make room for the new.

www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-frog.html

Jamie Sams' Medicine Card

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MajestyJo

02-11-2016, 01:17 AM

"The Wise Woman's Stone"

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a
precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another
traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her
bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious
stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so
without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good
fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him
security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to
return the stone to the wise woman.

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the
stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give
me something even more precious. Give me what you
have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."

- - Unknown

MajestyJo

02-21-2016, 10:29 AM

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MajestyJo

04-17-2016, 06:47 AM

This is an old one, but it still warms my heart and makes me smile.

Customer Service Rep: Yes, Ma'am, how can I help you today?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install love.
Can you guide me through the process?

CS Rep: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready to install
now. What do I do first?

CS Rep: The first step is to open your HEART. Have you located your HEART ma'am?

Customer: Yes I have, but there are several other programs running right now. Is it okay to install while they are running?

CS Rep: What programs are running ma'am?

Customer: Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE, LOW-ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and RESENTMENT.COM running right now.

CS Rep: No problem. LOVE will gradually erase PAST-HURT.EXE from your
current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it
will no longer disrupt other programs.

LOVE will eventually overwrite LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own
called HIGH- ESTEEM.EXE. However, you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Those programs prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

CS Rep: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE. Do
this as many times as necessary until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done. LOVE has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?

CS Rep: Yes. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for the life of your HEART. Do you see that message?

Customer: Yes I do. Is it completely installed?

CS Rep: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to
begin connecting to other Heart's in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops. I have an error message already. What should I do?

CS Rep: What does the message say?

Customer: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS." What does that mean?

CS Rep: Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It means that the LOVE
program is set up to run on external HEARTS but has not yet been run on
your HEART. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in
non-technical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your own machine before it
can "LOVE" others.

Customer: So what should I do?

CS Rep: Can you pull down the directory called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE"?

Customer: Yes, I have it.

CS Rep: Excellent. You're getting good at this.

Customer: Thank you.

CS Rep: You're welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to
the "MYHEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF.DOC, REALIZE-WORTH.TXT, and
ACKNOWLEDGE-LIMITATIONS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting
files and begin patching any programming. Also, you need to delete
SELF-CRITIC.EXE from all directories, and to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back, you will need to empty your recycle bin.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with new files. SMILE.MPG is
playing on my monitor right now and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and
CONTENTMENT.COM are copying themselves all over my HEART. Is this normal?

C Rep: Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everything
gets downloaded at the proper time.

So, LOVE is installed and running. You should be able to handle it from here.
One more thing before I go.

Customer: Yes?

CS Rep: LOVE is free ware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to
everybody you meet. They will in turn share it with other people and they
will return some similarly cool modules back to you.

Customer: I will. Thanks for your help. By the way, what's your name?

CS Rep: You can call me the Divine Cardiologist, also known as The Great
Physician. Most people feel all they need is an annual checkup to stay
heart-healthy, but the manufacturer suggests a schedule of daily
maintenance for maximum efficiency.

http://www.angelwinks.webby.com/images/giggle54.jpg

MajestyJo

05-11-2016, 05:40 PM

http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab177/OWENANDJESS4LIFE/LIFE%20QUOTES/193939310517599335.jpg

"The Best Day of Your Life....

is the one on which you decide
your life is your own.
No apologies or excuses.
No one to lean on, rely on, or blame.
The gift is yours-
it is an amazing journey-
and you alone are responsible
for the quality of it.
This is the day your life really begins."

—Bob Moawad

MajestyJo

08-20-2016, 07:30 PM

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Proverbs 30:5

For many years I walked in fear of God. Every step was taken with the thought, "He will surely get me for this one!" Today, thanks to recovery, my Higher Power is my friend, my companion and walks with me in love.

I like the saying, "He is a port in the storm." When I walk in fear, I have lost my faith and trust in my God. He doesn't take me from it, but gives me the courage, strength, and wisdom as to how to deal with it.

As I like to say, "Where ever you go in today, remember to take your God with you.

http://angelwinks.ca/images/versepod/versepod1072.jpg

MajestyJo

08-30-2016, 10:20 PM

If you are planning your own way, trying to make things happen in the strength of your own flesh, then you are frustrated. You probably have said, "No matter what I do, nothing seems to work!"

Relax. Let God be God.

Stop being so hard on yourself.

Change is a process, it comes little by little.

You are on your way, Enjoy the trip!

- Source unknown to me

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDPKVPFan1VgRDbTfSkZ6uefVQnm6_q 8fnUXOQWdAV0tABvKSx

MajestyJo

08-30-2016, 10:22 PM

SING TRUST AND LOVE - I CHANGE AND GROW INTO HIGHER AND BETTER THINGS."

We are aware that blaming and arguing never helps us and only creates a wider gap between us, and that only understanding, trust and love can help us change and grow.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Learning to trust myself has been a long and difficult journey for me. Even though I was told many years ago, "If you doubt yourself, you are doubting God!" Yet when the old tapes play, when people project their thoughts and feelings onto me, and I push the play button and give up my power, then I put myself in a place of mistrust, doubt and low self-worth.

Someone can't put me down unless I allow them to, they can't have the power unless I give it up, and today, thanks to the program, I can pause and take and inventory and prioritize my life and redirect my actions.

Today I know that God is love, that all He wants for me is love and goodness, and that my purpose is to carry that message to others.

In the past I was always told, "Who are you to say? Who are you to know? What makes you think..." In today it isn't about what others think, say and do, it is about my recovery. My serenity and sobriety (soundness of mind) is what has to come first.

I have to learn to listen for and trust that voice within. i had to learn to believe that God loved me and that He directed people, places and things into my life to show me a better way of living, so long as I follow that way, I have nothing to fear. I can walk in faith and know and trust that God is with me.

From my site JoAnne's Spiritual Journey

I had to get out of my own way and allow my God to work through me, instead of around me. I had to trust, without trust, there is nothing to build a relationship on.

http://angelwinks.ca/images/kayomi/kayomi12.jpg

To hang onto my past is to live in fear instead of walking in faith today.

Some of these may be duplicates. I share them because they spoke to me in today.

MajestyJo

09-04-2016, 04:21 PM

Don't ever quit believing in yourself

As long as you believe you can,
you will have a reason for trying.
Hold your happiness in your hands
so it will always be within your reach.

Don't let bad moments overcome you;
be patient, and they will pass.
Don't hesitate to reach out for help;
we all need it from time to time.

Don't feel like you've lost when plans
and dreams fall short of your hopes.
Anytime you learn something new about
yourself or about life, you have progressed.

Don't do anything that takes away from
your self-respect.
Feeling good about yourself is essential
to feeling good about life.

Don't ever forget how to laugh or be
too proud to cry.
It is by doing both that we live life to its fullest.
When hope is all you've got… You've still got a lot!

- - unknown

MajestyJo

10-07-2016, 10:27 AM

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k488/sqacct7/jan11/moonlight-path_tumblr_ldob8lzX3s1qb13xjo1_500.jpg

MajestyJo

10-21-2016, 12:39 PM

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14642073_10206555208993076_7634825205107717825_n.j pg?oh=028c1984ddb40cc0cc3bc98ff254d246&oe=586213C5

MajestyJo

10-23-2016, 08:26 AM

http://angelwinks.ca/images/iq/qcsunset1.jpg

Caring starts with little things...
A smile, a word, a deed,
The quiet understanding
Of another person's need.
It grows with every thoughtful act,
Each laugh or secret shared,
And all the little kindnesses
that whisper "someone cared."
I care...Just wanted you to know.

MajestyJo

12-16-2016, 08:39 AM

“Dare to Be

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.

When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.

When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.

When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.

When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.

When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.

When times are tough, dare to be tougher.

When love hurts you, dare to love again.

When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.

When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.

When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.

When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.

When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.

Dare to be the best you can –

At all times, Dare to be!”

― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

http://img.picturequotes.com/2/6/5630/be-grateful-for-small-things-big-things-and-everything-in-between-quote-1.jpg

MajestyJo

01-14-2017, 09:16 PM

http://angelwinks.ca/images/naturepod/naturepod337.jpg

I'm Thankful For You
© by AngelWinks

I count my many blessings
And thank the Lord above
For giving me such happiness
And special people to love.

I may not be rich
Or have all that I wish for
But I've been given such joy
I could not ask for more.

I'm thankful for many things
Though, I will list just a few
I'm most thankful for my dear friends
And, of course, my family too.

So, on this beautiful day
I just wanted to say
Thanks for being my very good friend
I appreciate all your loving ways.

©AngelWinks 2000

MajestyJo

02-16-2017, 05:04 PM

RED MARBLES

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprizing a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.

Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

"Hello Barry, how are you today?"

"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good."

"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"

"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with?"

"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."

"Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.

"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I got's my prize marble here."

"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.

"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.

"Not zackley but almost."

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and
next trip this way let me look at that red marble".
Mr. Miller told the boy.

"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous
one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts..all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged
her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and
reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not
change his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt."

"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,"
she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho ."

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of
her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.

Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot
of coffee you didn't make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Green stoplights on your way to work. The fastest line at the grocery store. A good sing-along song on the radio. Your keys found right where you left them.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER, BUT WHAT YOU SCATTER THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU HAVE LIVED!

Somethings may be repeats. I forget what is where or even if it got here before! :)