LOVE AND FREEDOM

By Marianne Williamson

June 3, 2017

In a free society we do not all have to agree with each other. That’s pretty much the point of freedom. And no one has a monopoly on truth.

Our challenge today, it seems to me, is to find a way beyond the propaganda and stereotypes to reclaim the high minded core of both conservative and liberal principles. Both deserve respect, and have had and continue to have an important role to play in our nation’s history. At best, they form a kind of yin and yang of our collective conversation. It is not either one of them, but rather the radical perversions of both that form too much of our public dialogue today, that threaten the fabric of our democracy.

This is not a time for knee-jerk attacks on people who don’t agree with us, although it’s absolutely a time to stand passionately for the things we believe in. That’s a challenging juxtaposition at times but we owe it to ourselves, and to our country, to find the sweet spot where we can bless even those with whom we politically disagree.

To those who might say you can’t bless someone and politically oppose them at the same time, I say, “Oh yes you can!” In a way, it’s no different than in sports. The competition is on another level. The fact that I understand and respect you does not mean that I have to agree with you.

What is going on in our country now is profoundly dramatic yet deeply significant, and nothing is more important than that we view the happenings not as Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives, but as Americans. This is way too important a moment to diminish with personal disrespect or shoddy thinking. All of us need to rise to the occasion, think deeply and love wisely. For only from that place will we forge a better future.

We will emerge from this time a somewhat different country than we used to be. We will either be worse or we will be better, and each of us with our own thinking and behavior are basically voting for one direction or the other every day. First, let us love each other. Only that way will we choose correctly. God bless us all, and the country, the planet, and the world that we all share.

Source

Pharrell Williams - Happy

3 Powerful Habits For Building Your Self-Esteem

If you would like to build your self-esteem, remember to love yourself daily.

Many people don’t practice building self-esteem daily because they don’t realize that it’s something that they can learn to do, no matter what experiences they have had in life.

The key to starting the process is to recognize that self-esteem, self-love, self-worth—whatever you feel drawn to calling it—is a seed that grows if you water it.

How do you begin to grow your self-esteem? You start by recognizing that you deserve to be loved. You deserve to love yourself.

Sounds like such a simple thing to do, right?

The truth is: one of the things we struggle with the most in life is being true to ourselves. When we have been hurt in the past, we sometimes hide parts of ourselves so we can protect ourselves from being hurt again.

One of the reasons I talk about loving yourself is that when we practice loving ourselves, we develop a certain trust that brings us closer to being true to ourselves.

For some of us, this is easier said than done. If you’re finding that you’re saying or doing things just to appease others, then you’re denying your soul’s purpose.

You’re denying yourself happiness.

I encourage you to practice loving yourself often, because it’s the best way to get closer to who you are.

Begin to Trust Yourself

Many times we find that we’re unsure of ourselves. We constantly second-guess our decisions, or we make them based on others around us. Why are we so willing to trust others, but not ourselves?

You are a unique, beautiful soul.

It can be difficult to not suppress your true self in a world that is so quick to judge or compare you to others. We learn from our culture or parents, and we start to judge ourselves constantly, because that’s what we’re taught.

That is no way to live a happy and loving life. You’ll constantly be chasing something that is untrue to your Divine being.

The Benefits of Being True to Yourself

There is no wrong way or right way to build self-esteem. Your inner child or inner compass is there to guide you. Trust it. Love yourself and always be true to the best version of yourself.

Being true to your self is a constant decision that we make daily.

And don’t think that just because you made a mistake you’re a failure.

Life is a learning experience. Sometimes we make decisions true to us, and sometimes we don’t. It’s OK because we learn.

We are not defined by the mistakes we make. Allow yourself to let go of your negative self-talk, and love yourself.

When you do this, you will noticed many powerful shifts inside of you, such as:

1. Compassion

When we love ourselves in each situation, we learn to be the best version of ourselves. We become more compassionate towards ourselves, and we stop judging ourselves based on past decisions or actions. We learn from our mistakes, and move on to the next moment. When we are compassionate with ourselves and others, it’s easier to adapt to changes in our life and to bounce back from hardship faster.

2. Bravery

Being your true self  moment after moment makes you courageous and strong. When challenges or anxieties mount, you might feel the pressure, but you face them with grace, because you learn that you can count on yourself—your true self—to do your best, whether you fail or succeed!

3. Comfort

When we express our true self we become comfortable in our skin and a weight is lifted off our shoulders. Self-berating diminishes, and with time, we’re less worried about the future. We are comfortable in the present, and we no longer carry the past around with us.

We pay attention to the present, and it brings us comfort to be here—no matter where we are.

4. Positivity

You’ll notice that when you practice trusting your inner voice that your relationships with others will change. You’ll start surrounding yourself with people who help you or encourage you to be yourself. You will not spend so much time around people who drain your energy, and you’ll gravitate towards others who inspire the best in you.

5. We Get Our Needs Met

We in turn live a happy, fulfilling life. We get our needs met because we trust what we’re doing each day in each moment. We know that we deserve to be happy, and we have hope, and the belief in the value of pursuing our dreams.

3 Habits for Building Self-Esteem

There are many ways to help you build self-esteem along your journey to being your true self. Here are 3 of my favorite daily tools for loving yourself:

1. Keep a journal.

Write down your experiences, how you felt about them and whether you felt you dealt with it in way that aligned with your inner voice. If you felt upset toward someone, did you confront them or hide it? The more you write down and notice when you’re doing what’s best for you, the more you get close to expressing your true being more often.

2. Practice Meditation.

There is no better way than to relax, breathe and rest your thoughts. This is a great time to practice affirmations and reflect on what you want for your life.

Below I share a meditation for increasing your self-love and self-worth. Self-esteem can become a habit when you practice loving yourself every day.

3. Practice Mirror Work or Tapping.

Looking into your eyes and expressing your true feelings is a great way to discover your underlying fears and finally face them with compassion.

Many people think that affirmations are my most powerful tool, and yes, affirmations are powerful, but the truth is, that affirmations are most powerful when combined with tapping or mirror work. My friend Robert Holden, Ph.D. helped me create a free video series about how to do mirror work. You can watch the free series here.

A Meditation for Building Self Esteem

No person, place, or thing has any power over me unless I give it, for I am the only thinker in my mind.

I have immense freedom in that I can choose what to think.

I can choose to see life in positive ways instead of complaining or being mad at myself or other people.

Complaining about what I do not have is one way to handle a situation, but it does not change anything.

When I love myself and find myself in the midst of a negative situation, I can say something such as, “I am willing to release the pattern in my consciousness that contributed to this condition.”

I have made negative choices in the past, but this does not mean that I am a bad person, nor am I stuck with these negative choices.

I release old judgments and love myself unconditionally.

 Source

Emotional Oneness - Matt Kahn/TrueDivineNature.com

Matt Kahn is another of my favourite speakers - he has a great sense of humor, and I love the way he sees the world - watch and let me know what you think!

Meditation Can Be Linked to Success

by Deepak Chopra, M.D., and Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.

As a lifestyle choice, meditation appeals to people who want to see improvements in their health. As a spiritual choice, meditation appeals to people who want to reach a higher state of consciousness.

It’s the second group, we strongly suspect, who keep meditating regularly for years and perhaps a lifetime. Their goal may be invisible, but it’s clear and creates a long-term motivation. On the other hand, if you take up meditation to feel better, there’s not a strong reason to do it on the days when you already feel good.

Meditate with Deepak Chopra on his new customizable website and mobile app Ananda.

Our way to get past this problem is simple: Make meditation the centrepiece of your total well-being. Adopt it, not because you’re motivated to meditate, but because you’ll use it as a means to get something you want very badly. Only a need that is tied to desire will be fulfilled. Desire is the most powerful motivator, but in most people’s lives there’s no need to meditate the way there’s a need for food, shelter, companionship, money and sex. One strong desire, however, is general enough and long-lasting enough to fit the bill: success. If meditation can be linked to success, we feel that many more people would stick with it.

Making this connection requires a major shift, however. Both sides of the meditation divide—those who want better health and those who want higher consciousness—focus on a goal that is very different from worldly success. If you listed the most prominent traits of millionaires, entrepreneurs and CEOs of major corporations, their success wouldn’t be attributable to meditating. But the stereotype of the ambitious, competitive and ruthless climber doesn’t square with reality.

The bottom line is that success is a more potent word—and a stronger motivator—than prevention, wellness and well-being. The attributes of highly successful people can be linked with the benefits of meditation.

Elements of success

• The ability to make good decisions
• A strong sense of self
• Being able to focus and concentrate
• Not being easily distracted
• Immune to the approval or disapproval of others
• Sufficient energy for long workdays
• Not easily discouraged
• Emotional resilience, bouncing back after failure and setbacks
• Intuition and insight, being able to read a situation ahead of others
• A stream of new ideas and solutions
• A cool head in a crisis
• Strong coping skills in the face of high stress

If these aren’t yet considered the key traits associated with success, they should be. Each trait is strengthened through meditation. How many people realize that they can make better decisions if they meditate, or keep a cooler head in a crisis? The stereotype of the navel-gazing, self-absorbed meditator is just as false as the ruthless climber clawing his way to success. The main reason that meditation caught on for many people in the West was that doctors and psychologists found a way around the image of the world-renouncing yogi with a long beard isolated in his Himalayan cave. But only recently has research in altered gene activities proved that meditation created thousands of changes with holistic implications for mind and body.

That’s a great advance, but attitudes need to shift even more. When success is defined by externals—money, possessions, status and power—it’s granted to the few, who usually begin from a privileged background. But what if success is defined differently, as an inner state of fulfillment? If you turn within, you can be successful at this very moment, because success is a creative process. You are engaged in it already, because true success is something we live. It’s not an end state we arrive at. This is the message Deepak has been spreading for thirty years and exemplifying in his own life. It’s the message he takes to business schools every year, teaches to CEOs, and expands upon in books.

Source

Deepak Chopra : Physical Healing, Emotional Wellbeing

Deepak Chopra on physical healing - something that I believe in time, the brain will be proven can help more and more than drugs

Bruce Lipton: We Communicate Through Energy

I am a big fan of Dr Bruce Lipton PHD, because he, along with others, is using science to explain much of what I do in my Therapeutic Coaching Let me know what you think!