As human beings, we are conditioned to be logical and use our heads when it comes to making decisions. And, why not? The brain is a masterful tool, after all, it is responsible for creating order in our lives and developing plans. However, while the mind may be the content of who we are, the heart is the core, the essence. So when you only ...
-By Meadow DeVor We are constantly making decisions. Some of them are easy. Simple. Routine. What to wear? What to eat? Which one to buy? But every once in a while, we're faced with a pretty big decision. A decision that might take us off the road we've been traveling. A road that we've grown to tolerate. Or even love. A decision that has led us straight into the unknown. When to leave? When to ...
The journey through spirituality is a curious thing. Amidst days of working, tending to children, trying to navigate relationships, and dealing with life’s challenges, sometimes the soul gets lost. What starts out as a desire to fill ourselves up with everything that we ever wanted ends up leaving many of us feeling stressed, broken, or just confused about what really matters in our lives. At some ...
-By Suzanne Nielsen The late Steve Jobs once said "I want to make a ding in the universe." And yes, the idea of just one person making a contribution to the whole world would seem absurd at first. And yet, reviewing Jobs’ life, his products --- and the man himself --- have made such a big impact in people’s lives, you get the notion that it can, ...
The lavender plant is native to North and East Africa, the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, India and Arabia, but is also now cultivated and grown in such places as the United States and Japan.
The beneficial constituents of lavender include flavonoids, tannins, courmarines, and essential oil containing camphor, geraniol and linalool.
We all know that the key to a long and healthy life is the combination of the right diet and moderate exercise. The good news is that it’s not always as difficult as it seems. Making a few simple changes to our diet will allow us to eat the right food for a healthy heart.
We all know to reduce our intake of salt and sugar and eat more lean meat, fruit and vegetables but here are ten easy ways to change our diet which could make a big difference to our long-term health.
Words do not teach, only life experience teaches. Whatever is coming into your life at this moment – welcome it, because it is your greatest teacher.
Whatever it is, it’s not here to make you unhappy or happy – it’s just passing by to help you become more conscious, so be curious. The truth is the only thing that has no agenda. Your mind has endless agendas.
Waking up is happening, whether you like it or not. Trying to control things will probably provide you pain, so trust that there is universal intelligence in play and release. Continue reading
-By Venesa Milek
Are you the type of person who perceives the glass to be half full or half empty? Can you look beyond a bad situation and see the bigger picture? When we experience difficult times that is usually when we experience deeply profound spiritual growth. Learning to flow through difficult situations with a positive mindset can make all the difference in your life. The way we think, whether it is positive or negative is a habit. If your thinking is more on the negative side, thankfully, those habits can be changed.
Your thoughts and worries can create a barrier to your happiness. So why not let them go? When you are calm and detached your happiness will start to leap forward from within. Your attitude will automatically adjust itself. When you start to recognize your thoughts as negative you can shift and change things to a more positive light. Thoughts are always under your control. Continue reading
-By Suzanne Nielsen
Let’s face it. Life can be challenging at times. There are occasions when people you care about would hurt you, even leave you behind. There are times when, inspite of the hard work, you didn’t quite achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself. And there are moments when, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to catch a break.
But what is important is that no matter what situations are thrown your way, you can always go back to yourself. You must always ask: do I let this experience change me? And if yes, in what way? After all, life is but a journey towards an actualized self. The aim is always to change into the best possible version of yourself based on what you make of your circumstances.
By-Venesa MilekOften times we fear letting go of situations that no longer serve us, because we feel that staying is the better (easier) option, not realizing that there is more out there for us to discover. When fear starts to reside within you, it can bring up a plethora of other negative feelings like powerlessness or lack of self-worth. But often times, letting go maybe the best thing that one can do. Letting go, living in the moment and envisioning the opportunities that are waiting for you, you will wonder why you didn’t let go sooner. That which holds you back is what limits you from living your highest and greatest potential. Continue reading
-By Erin Mathiason
If you’re among the 45% of Americans who typically make New Year’s resolutions, odds are you’re no thinner, fitter or closer to achieving your goals than before. The truth is, only A meager 8% of resolution makers successfully achieve their goals. Don’t pat yourself on the back just yet if you’ve skipped the resolution making this year. Those who avoid resolutions are ten times less likely to attain their goals than those who do. Why is the failure rate so high? Does this mean we’re all doomed to accept a life more ordinary?
If you rely solely on willpower, self- discipline and self-control to achieve your goals and improve your life, you’re actually more likely to experience failure. Sure, you can achieve short-term success by digging in your heels and gritting your teeth, but long-lasting success is highly unlikely. Willpower, self-discipline and self-control are all products of your conscious mind, otherwise known as the ego. Your ego is all too happy to keep you in the great illusion of lack, to remind you of your previous failures and to keep you sidelined with the belief that you’re just not good enough. True self mastery doesn’t come from the ego. In order to achieve your goals and obtain lasting fulfillment, you must move beyond the conscious mind. Continue reading
By Venesa Milek
What do you believe in? What makes you who you are? Do you believe that what you think can shape your world? What limits you? What strengthens you? Believing in oneself and the power to change any situation is a very powerful feeling within.
There is no belief that can be right or wrong; empowering or limiting. In essence, a belief can be nothing more than a generalization of the past. Yet you can change any particular pattern…You can identify those beliefs and change your course. Continue reading
-By Kate Smedley
Life sometimes has an unexpected way of pulling the rug from under our feet. It often happens when we feel that things simply couldn’t get any better. One minute we have everything we want, the next we’re flat on our backs in a bewildered daze, wondering just where it all went wrong.
Emotional shock may manifest itself in many different ways, from guilt, anxiety, fear and a feeling of being disconnected from others. You may feel numb, experience disrupted sleep or simply be exhausted. At this point, it seems like you will never make it through. Continue reading
-By Suzanne Nielsen
Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist had experienced synchronistic events all throughout his life. A famous psychiatrist, he was the first one to coin the term “synchronicity” as a “meaningful coincidence”.
Synchronicities can be thought of as those uncanny coincidences or unlikely conjunction of events that tie together somehow.
Synchronicities are the universes way of giving us a gentle nudge in the right direction. Synchronicities allow you to be in the right place at just the right time. If you think back on your life, you can probably view some events as synchronistic. Perhaps you ran across a friend that you hadn’t seen in a while only to find out they had something valuable you needed. Maybe you got stuck in traffic much to your dismay only to find out later find out later that you managed to avoid a terrible tragedy or other kind of unfortunate event. If you believe in the theory that there are no mistakes, it gives everything that happens in your life an entirely new meaning. Continue reading
-By Suzanne Nielsen
For the past two years, I have learned what it means to clear the heart, to go within and face my shadow and those dark parts of myself I have tried to keep at bay for so many years. And to be honest it wasn’t always fun; I’m not going to sugar-coat it. It’s a continual process, it’s hard and emotionally taxing, but it’s worth it.
I think that anytime we feel the need to clear our hearts, whether it be anger, bitterness, jealousy or traumatic situations, the underlying emotion is always fear. Fear can generate a plethora of negative emotions that can hold us back from expressing the true essence of ourselves.
-By Suzanne Nielsen
Singleness can be hard. Really hard. Most days, the kind of companionship I long for I don’t have. This has forced me to practice faith in the most painful areas of my life. This constantly drove me to seek answers from God, and the answer I kept receiving was, “Keep Searching”. My initial response was, “What kind of question is that? Where? And for how long?
