'Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.'
                                        -- Mother Teresa

It’s not about doing great things, it’s about doing little things with great love.

It's that time of year . . . decorating, cooking, and yes . . . gift giving.  It's hard to escape the holidays without "having to do" so much.  Who wants to look like Scrooge when the entire world is caught up "celebrating" in the commercialized holiday frenzy?

Don't have time to hand-write Christmas letters, crochet that blanket you've always wanted to make, or craft homemade decorations and gifts?  Well, stop worrying!

Thoughtful gifts don't require extravagant spending or endless hours of intensive labor.  Thoughtful gift giving is actually the seemingly simple action of being in synch with the people you love that produces the most heartwarming gifts and gestures. A book bound of love letters, a sentimental scrapbook, a personalized journal filled with memories and personal sentiments along with a matching pen, a handcrafted ceramic mug, a poem, a batch of fresh-baked brownies, a short homemade family video set to music, or flowers can make one's heart sing in delight.

Rutgers University research conducted by Haviland-Jones and her team found that simple giving with flowers creates instant delight and happiness and increases enjoyment and life satisfaction. Specifically, upon receiving a gift of flowers, the female study participants responded with true smiles and reported positive moods that lasted for days. The presence of flowers also led to increased contact with family and
friends.

M.J. Ryan, award-winning author of the Random Acts of Kindness book series and The Giving Heart teaches individuals how gratitude and generosity can result in greater happiness, health and feelings of human connectivity.

“Gift recipients experience compelling connections with givers, and the positive link is particularly evident in the exchange of flowers,” says Ryan.

“A successful person is not necessarily someone with a lot of money and material goods, but rather someone who is in tune with people and knows how to touch their hearts,” says Ryan. “I can think of no other item besides flowers that evokes such positive feelings and perceptions for both the giver and the recipient.”

So this holiday season, give simple gifts from the heart.  Why not give flowers?

FLOWER POWER
Little Flower, Little Flower
Beams so bright

Little Flower
Scent filled with might

Stillness, life, beauty
The Flower Brings Forth

Radiance, Peace, Love
As it points North

Look to the Flowers when in need
Of understanding, a friend, the truth

Germinated from just a little seed
Awe-inspiring life
It has become, indeed

Flowers bring love
pure and simple

A small gesture anyone can take part
Pick a Flower from a garden
Give it with all your heart

It's Simple
-one-two-three
A Flower’s essence
Reminds me of Thee

Embodies everything within and without
In the little flower
Is God’s Love
No Doubt

Grace is stillness
Not a race
Grace is patience
So I may slow down my pace

Grace is abundance
Sweet roses blooming
Luscious gardens
Butterflies and Buzzing Bees, looming

Grace is without rush
No race
Just time to be
In God’s magical place

Grace is living simply
To fly high above
No entanglements
Just God’s love

Grace is living fully 
So filled with Love & Light
Today, tomorrow, always
Remembering to give thanks & praise each night

Grace is SOARING   
Without a moment's waste
Patience, patience, patience
For heeding Amazing Grace

'Gratitude starts with simple thanks.  It starts by saying, "thank you."

                     It only takes a "thank you."  It's Simple.  It's True.

When we're searching for something more; something to have . . . something we think we need to make us happy, we lack thanks.  We can only give thanks for things that already are.  

It's true . . . we all like being acknowledged, appreciated, noticed. Who doesn't?

If we could just take a moment today to move away from "notice me," so we can notice another.  Today, try really listening and holding space for another.  It takes just a moment to notice our "notice me" mentality.  And if we stop to realize this little truth, life is filled with ease.

Today let's allow another to finish speaking without interrupting to get our point across. Today let's say, "tell me more," "thank you for sharing."  With a big smile and true appreciation in the littlest things that someone says or does for us, let's say, "Thank you."  And let's let life becomes easier, more beautiful.

So today let's see how many things we can find to say "thank you".  Let's look into the eyes of another – feel them fully – and send them love and forgiveness for any ill they may harbor in their heart.  Let's trust people. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Let's reach out. Let's take the lead. Let's turn away from fear & "notice me" by doing things that feel good for another . . .  let's give ourselves to another.

So today let's look to notice another.  Give another acknowledgement.  Allow actions to bless others.  And in so doing bring love, blessings, and gratitude.

Keeping noticing.  Keep passing it forward.  Keep opening the heart to share love, money, time . . . to share thanks.

Let's make up our minds to share Thanksgiving.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.!"

I write upon awakening from my blissful, tranquil meditation.

Blessed in the knowing that my Lord, my Creator, my cosmic Source rests deeply within my heart; within my Soul.  

Faith is easy knowing I can escape to drench myself and be so truly rich in love, peace, & joy.

Trust is easy knowing I have the ability to dive within at will – at a moment's notice – where everything is here within Me.

This beautiful, blissful, warm interiorization floods me from the depths of my Soul – - Connected and anchored, like the majestic Sycamore tree standing rooted deeply outside my favorite window. 

God's beauty is always here -- within arm's reach – in the beauty of our world -- outside -- and in the beautiful images I create behind gently closed eyes.  

Within lies my power of alignment . . .
Aligning my physical eyes with Your eye . . .  shows me how to fly . . .
Allows for delightful flying -- as I fly unhindered -- with complete trust - for flying freely  -- openly -- trusting the Wind has my back -- so I may SOAR.

Intentional about flying high . . .
I can SOAR delightfully . . . pointing my searchlight of attention wherever I want to go:


                        I glide over the foothills of California.
                       I swim and bless the fishes in the seas.
            I call upon all world leaders and give them thanks and praise.
    I pray for our world and offer love, hope, and healing to all those suffering.


Committed to intentionally co-creating . . . I focus morning and night, determined to fly higher . . . filled with Your love, I ask and receive:

Dear Lord,

Please bring Your sight to this world to allow peace on earth and good will to all men.
Bless my children and fill their hearts with Your love, Your light, Your Truth.
Open their hearts to You -- allowing them to see You everywhere and spread Your love, Light, and Truth

My prayer is for everyone to find You –

Allow Your light to shine through each of us.
Allow Your truth to call us.
Allow Your way to become our way.
May I continue in alignment with Spirit:

Please guide me Spirit.
Please guide my journey to Truth.
Please fill me with Your Light, with Your continued guidance.
Please help me heal and touch all who come into Thy path.
Please keep my heart open.

Please let me do Your work with my hands, my words, and with my actions.

Please allow my open heart to help, to heal whomever You send my way.

And So It IS . . . 

I ask and receive and promise to continue thriving and striving in allowance, with alignment, with certainty that the abundance already provided within will continue to manifest without.  You will always show up as long as I choose to point my searchlight in Your direction.

Thank you.
xo
​Jewels

Seeing Light through the cracks . . .
by Juliette Gamble

Our seemingly, separate or imperfect self roams this earthly plane in a desperate search, seeking to regain truth – to find  home – to get back to Self.

We seek physical places, persons, conditions, or material things, thinking that they will satisfy our inner longing.  But we already are what we are seeking -- we are vibrational energy, non-physical beings, all-pervading Spirit seeking return to perfection.

The human experience is like a play, a theatre performance among souls. The Creator is the projector, projecting His Light onto the screen of our consciousness – creating reality.

As each soul enters onto the stage or physical realm, he wears a perfectly tailored suit or unique costume, needing no alterations. But the actor has forgotten. In order to play his part, he dresses up according to the role he thinks he must play, so he takes on the personality of the part he attempts to express.  Believing in his part, he plays a separate role.  Seeing only the limited part, he loses touch with the Whole.

It's through physical eyes that we're lured toward a material world so abundantly full of sparkly attractions - so full of so many overwhelming choices. It's that urge or apparent need to choose that we forget that we already are -- that we already possess everything and need nothing.

As One with creation, we are already complete.  If we realized this, we could let go of control, just let it go and let it be; be the Light; allow Light in.

The Soul desires to come back to earth in physical form to finish unfinished business; to play out what needs playing out; to evolve; to get one step closer to consciously realizing Itself, shedding layer by layer of It's earthly suit.

This process of realization, the realization of Joy, need not be discovered only after the physical body croaks or is no longer. Divine bliss or heaven on earth occurs in realizing our true nature while still in the flesh.

God desires to express Himself through creation. We are sparks of Spirit, Rays of Light emanating from Source. As physical beings, the little self, or ego is only the thinker. The ego believes it is separate and operates to know things. The ego sees only through physical eyes and lives through habit, senses, desires that suppress the soul.

The ego is body-bound consciousness of the soul.

But the soul is indestructible and waits to be called by the sincere seeker who wants more than what the ego can provide. The sincere seeker no longer wants to feel lost.

The Soul needs a seeker whose desire to express Self is stronger than the ego's desire to suppress Self.  

The Soul only needs to see just the smallest crack of Light. Awakening that Light within is the beginning of the journey of spiritual growth and for finding the way back home.

Ego is that false self or personality parading around attempting to convince itself and others of its righteousness. Soul is the Guide within that waits to be realized so It may guide every action with wisdom so that we may possess the perfect discrimination needed for soul progress.

The Soul awakens when we are ready to get out of suffering, to conquer the ego, and to begin cultivating whatever good habits are the opposite of our bad habits.

Meditation is the way to see the Light.

Meditation is simply reminding yourself again and again that you are not the limited body, but the Infinite Spirit.

The ego or “I” consciousness sides with the materialistic forces of creation and has six (6) faults:

1. lust
2. anger
3. greed
4. delusion
5. pride
6. envy 

​   ​(Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2016. p. 9.)

If the little self goes through life engaging in these tendencies, he forgets Self and lives in pursuit of acquiring the insatiable “necessities” of the ego. The ego masks the Soul. The ego becomes a false personality.

Meditation helps self become aware of ego's behavior or tendencies. Meditation provides space for ego, or the mind, to take a break, to turn the mind's attention away from the five senses so ordinarily focused on imperfect matter. Meditation gives the mind a chance to turn the searchlight of attention inwardly, towards Self, shining that light within, united as one beam – with Spirit – for realizing higher Consciousness.

The Soul qualities that make man Godlike and are the wealth of a divinely inclined person:

1. fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in acquiring wisdom and in practicing yoga, charity, subjugation of the senses, performance of holy rites, study of the scriptures, self-discipline, straightforwardness;
2. non-injury, truthfulness, freedom from wrath, renunciation, peacefulness, non-slanderousness, compassion for all creatures, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, lack of restlessness;
3. radiance of character, forgiveness, patience, cleanness, freedom of hate, absence of conceit

     ​(Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2016. p. 10.)

The ego keeps man bound, as if confined to a bodily prison, preventing him from finding freedom with God in the realm of infinite bliss. The ego keeps searching outwardly, through material channels, in its attempt to quench the soul's constant, insatiable longing for God. Unable to satisfy the soul's hunger with the material, man suffers and creates misery. The physical senses will never satisfy the soul. As soon as man realizes this, he can master his ego, achieve self-control and find the divine bliss while he is still alive, still living in his fleshly suit.

Shifting attention away from being a slave of material desires and appetites and transferring one's attention to the heart of Omnipresence will bring hidden Joy, Eternal Bliss – Will bring all the Jewels that lie within the heart.

If life seems dark, I turn within in meditation.  I find that crack of light and keep focusing, shining my spotlight inwardly until I see the Light, feel the Light, and Trust the Light to take me home again.  

Remembering who I Am -- becoming re-aquainted with Self -- aligned with Light -- gives me momentum for Light to keep pouring in so I continue SOARING in co-creation with Source.


Hallelujah 
x0
​Jewels

Promise Me . . .

To love me . . . please show me -- by selfishly loving You -- All of You --

                                                                        Please love yourself.

Please live with an attitude that embraces You so there can be a better us.

Please make up your mind to give attention to Your voice, use it as a guide to win each day's battle.

Please be good to yourself -- treat yourself kindly, gently, forgivingly . . . nurture your good tendencies.

Please learn how to listen to your feelings as they'll guide you towards overcoming unwanted tendencies, limiting habits of thought and behavior, opening the way for 'Self-expression.' 

Please promise to keep checking in with yourself, beyond actions and reactions, but more deeply into feeling the underlying attitude and motive -- for seeing all the things God is watching.

Please serve yourself first well -- mind, body, spirit -- find space to rest, relax, and recharge -- for seeing from the inside -- for seeing pure, impartial light.

Please find the will to stay . . . connected --  for regaining energy and remaining willful in desire -- for restoring that perfect spark, that spark of Spirit nestled within.

Please promise that you'll keep examining. . . actions, reactions &  adjusting in ways to really "see," All of You.

Please keep tapping the Source within; dialoging with the greater You -- allowing -- promising a greater Us..

I promise to do the same.

I promise I will love the greater Me first.

I promise I will strive to willfully cultivate the best version of Me  
​
-- All of Me.




                Our Promises to Each Other Will Yield The Greatest Merging Of Me & You.

The promises to our Self cannot be any different.

So let's promise each other . . .

I promise to keep asking for what I need.
I promise to allow myself to receive what I deserve.
I promise to continue practicing . . .  asking & receiving.
I promise to allow forward progress by being unafraid, by feeling & always trusting, believing, and continually loving thy greater Self.

I promise to love thySelf; please promise to love Thyself.

And together WE shall allow His will to flow through our hearts -- in full allowance & with complete trust in a Divinely ordered universe that will always meet us exactly where we are..

Let's pinky swear
xo
​Jewels

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
​
Wake up each morning.

Make up your mind.

Desire what you want.

Go after what makes you feel good. Keep focusing on what makes you feel alive.

Keep on being, living, thinking in alignment with what feels good -- Create that momentum by keeping in alignment with all that encourages that amazing, loving, powerful, creative being already within.

Always Remember . . .  all that has happened -- all that you have experienced, all that has led up to this point -- up until now -- has been, and is no longer.  

Today is what IS -- NOW.

NOW is a fresh start -- a new beginning -- your starting place -- for seeing what was as over -- and for realizing that it was all needed for getting you to here and NOW!  

Let go of what was . . . It is no longer necessary, interesting, or exciting enough for serving your needs anymore.  It's taken you to where you are now and has prepared you for who you are becoming.  

Be unafraid.  Trust & let go.

You are in the beautiful process of becoming -- of unfolding -- of stepping into that new chapter -- into embracing what is now.

So thank what has been and let it go.  Stay right here - stand fully in what is. . .

Keep focusing on feeling good -- keep finding everything (thoughts, images, expression, experiences, people) that assists your realization of who you already are -- for expressing what you truly desire.

I love you as you were, as you are now, and for what you are so deliciously becoming -- always -- forever --

I love you --

Keep on loving and trusting yourself so you may continue rising up and so you may continue rising up others.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

When the world is spinning out of control, when things seem gloomy and depressing, I can choose to see it differently. You see, I have the ability to focus myself into a better place. I can use my emotions as my gauge for telling whether I'm aligned or not. With just the slightest shift in awareness, our life can change dramatically. My shift took place at a low point in my life when I needed something more. Realizing and believing that I am a Source energy being allowed me to shift and focus within, hopeful to bring out my greater Self as I turned away from my little self blocking me and getting in my way.

Knowing that I am a co-creator of my reality and that I'm living in a vibrational universe that's always bringing me what I'm looking for, consciously aware or not, makes everything easier. It's a fact. It's science. It's the law of attraction. Experience, not books, has taught me the hard way that it's easier for me to become a conscious being who can tap within and gain access for attracting a delicious life. Relaxing into life, doing away with resistance, allows my inner being to flow freely with Source, for recognizing the positive aspects of life and for appreciating all things that come my way.

Intentionally asking for what I want, believing that it's already been given, along with the willingness or desire to fully resonate with what I already know and who I already am lets life yield answers to all my questions. Identifying something I want and preparing myself for receiving it is exciting since I am willing to say yes and really mean it. Trusting in the universe, knowing that it's only a matter of time until I'm fully aligned and consistently soaring, brings hope for life's magic. When soaring, everything that's not serving my greatest good or that is outside of my vibrational field, naturally falls away as I keep choosing to keep momentum for flying high.

Asking for what I want or recognizing what I truly desire hasn't come easily. I was conditioned into believing that being single-mindedly focused was selfish. I wasn't taught how to tap my self or to stay tuned in to my emotions as a youngster. School didn't encourage me to pay attention to my emotions or to care about how I feel. In order to create a wonderful life, I was taught to listen to someone else, to tune outwardly for what the world would bring me if I played along. Like most of us, I learned from my parents and from my teachers that I needed to do certain things or behave in certain ways. If my behavior was pleasing to others, then I got rewarded with their approval. Essentially circumstances and feedback from others distorted my view about who I am and what I want. If I could please my parents by getting good grades, they'd be happy. If I paid attention in class and was an obedient rule-follower, then my teachers would be happy. The only problem with this type of thinking was that while I was busy trying to behave in ways that made others happy, my own self worth, well-being, and happiness was slowly eroding.

As a daughter, sister, wife, and mother, I am fully aware of the attitudes and moods of those around me; however, I am no longer willing to take responsibility for another person's happiness. I am no longer carrying the burden for conditional states occurring outside of me. I have learned to become selfish enough to care about what I want and am intentional about focusing single-mindedly on what I want. In this way, I can thrive by alerting the universe that I am ready to receive. My selfishness does no disservice to others. As a matter of fact, it is my willingness to be selfish about my needs that allows others to thrive along with me. My well-being is my responsibility, and all I have to do is to live up to who I already am. When I align with Source, I can have well being at all levels and my thriving will never deprive another. The universe is so full of everything I want, it always has been; I simply needed to learn the art of allowing.

So today my words are fewer and my experiences, greater. I refuse to spend time up in my old, chattering monkey mind. Instead, I rest and relax my mind and body for allowing my inner being to speak. With less time spent arguing, debating, or teaching, there's space for receiving.

The “old me” or my unrealized self wasted time. I spent time small-talking, chattering with other similarly tuned beings– comparing, competing, complaining, commiserating – wrestling in the muck, so to speak. Back then I never realized that my thoughts created my mood and negative pattern or frame of mind that was attracting words, thoughts, images, people, and experiences that matched vibrationally. I was receiving whatever I was broadcasting. I never gave a second thought about half the things that seemed to be happening to me or around me. I'd dismiss the speeding ticket as bad luck or make the excuse that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,; I thought gossip was the norm or the way moms communicated; and I attributed my frequent bumps and bruises along the way to simply having to do too much with not enough time to get it all done. I blamed. I made excuses. I looked without because I didn't know how to look within.

Always racing here and there, I lived a life that was perpetually stuck in fast-forward. Arriving late more often than not seemed to be who I was. I lived off adrenaline. I played beat the clock, rushing to fold one last load of laundry, vacuum one more bedroom, or to pay one more bill as the minutes quickly dwindled. My rush was often met with obstacles, especially when it came time to picking up my son from school. That dreaded construction truck always seemed to pick me to stop my rush. Unaware and out of touch, I failed to see the messages in those flashing caution lights. Hijacked by emotion, I was incapable of seeing beyond my little self, so full of fear, worry, and anger, I couldn't see how I was contributing to each now experience.

Each one of us is given countless opportunities to see the warning lights stopping us dead in our tracks. Some of us choose to wait longer than others to open up their hearts to see beyond what the physical world is showing us. For me, the enormous pain and grief I experienced losing a baby brought me to the point of wanting more than where I was. Deep feelings of loss led me to start asking questions. I wanted to understand more, beyond what I could only see with my physical eyes. I wanted to believe there was more. I knew, deep down, that there was truly more within me. I just needed to learn how to allow things I want. I needed a way to reorient myself for remembering who I am.

I wanted to create a more positive reality. I wanted to feel hopeful. The world was full of disappointment, enough so that I needed to turn somewhere else to find my way. I had to focus, to ask for what my heart longed for, to open up and allow myself to receive all that I deserve. And that could only happen once I realized that I already possess everything I need within.

I needed to stop trying to be something else for someone else. I had to learn how to recognize how I have been thinking, behaving, and living up until this point. I had to learn how to forgive myself, to approve of myself, and most importantly, to acknowledge Source flowing within and allow it to reflect It's magnificence back to me. Learning how to come back to my Self within has allowed me to come back more and more and more.

Tuning into my own vibrational frequency means paying attention to my emotions. Feeling, not thinking, gets me back on track. If I feel doubtful or am worried, it's a good indicator that I'm on the wrong track. When I'm aligned and right where I'm supposed to be, I feel inspired, ready, excited, and things seem easy. When I am aware and tapped into what's going on within me, I have such momentum that no one or no thing can knock me out of alignment.

Re-discovering who I am brings life alive and invites things, people, and experiences that are ready for me. It's exciting meeting life in this way. I'm choosing to feel good and while most of the world won't be flying with me, it's a delightfully delicious new world with those who are getting on with me.

The race to nowhere has us at a dead end, with no where to turn. When our wheels are spinning dead in their tracks, we panic and fear floods us. When we can't get where we need to go, fear kicks in and takes over. With the fear switch up, our rational, cognitive brain turns off. We are without clarity; we cannot see calmly, rationally or logically. Lacking a sense of agency or control, we blame.

Our superficial world has citizens competing, and our kids are paying the price. Many overworked parents are feeling the effects of trying to keep up with the Joneses. Living up to expectations that belong to another can leave us feeling empty and lost, needing something more. At a loss for answers, we are becoming a heavily medicated society while our children are heavily scheduled and learning by example. With every moment managed and well mapped out, there's little or no down time or freedom.

Advertisers and politicians like to keep us busy, distracted, and out of touch. Subliminal messages are much more easily penetrated by overwhelmed minds desperately searching for a way out. So, we convince ourselves that we have to work to pay the mortgage and to afford college for our kids. We convince our kids that they have to go to college if they want a good life. It's easy to get all caught up in this vortex of doing. But eventually, it catches up with us. So absorbed in doing what everybody else is doing, we lose who we are. So narrowly consumed and following the crowd, we lose our way – we forget that we have other options. So stress-filled, we become a part of a chronically stressed and traumatized society that is living by musts and shoulds. So out of touch with the self, we have become victims, without even realizing it. We lost our voice, our power, and are without the proper tools for finding a balance.

The flood of high speed technology makes it easy to get caught up and taken over by all the hype. Many of us have become addicted to devices, unable to turn them off – feeling trapped, overwhelmed, with nowhere to run to catch our breath. Compulsive use of technology, such as iPhones, tablets, and computers can interfere with your daily life, work, and relationships. When you spend more time on social media or playing games than you do interacting with real people, or when you can’t stop yourself from repeatedly checking texts, emails, news feeds, websites, or apps—even when it has negative consequences in your life--it may be time to reassess your technology use. [1]

A recent study looked at two elite East Coast high schools and researchers surveyed and interviewed 128 students, teachers, and administrators about students’ stress levels and coping strategies. They found that 49 percent of students reported feeling “a great deal of stress” on a daily basis. Half reported doing three or more hours of homework per night, and 26 percent noted that they had been diagnosed with depression—over four times the national average of 6 percent. [2]

While students are increasingly reporting feeling overwhelmed and stressed, they are doing what they are told they must. Parents are often the first group to be blamed for their kids’ stress since many equate their children’s success with their own, or push their kids to go to an Ivy League college because the parents assume that will help them lead happier lives. [3] Despite feeling stressed, kids like the prestige and enjoy overhearing parents' bragging about their accomplishments. Suzie takes pride in being the top-scoring captain of her lacrosse team, Tommy likes receiving praise for earning National Merit Scholarship and graduating at the top of his class, with acceptances to top name schools like Harvard and Johns Hopkins. But teachers, high school guidance counselors, and administrators are contributing to student stress, boasting about acceptances to prestigious schools, touting impressive standardized test scores, helping real estate agents sell homes and townships raise taxes. It seems everyone wants to jump aboard the success train, hoping that it will get them somewhere.

Striking a balance in life is hard to do and a recent survey shows that the effort to balance work and family life is, for many, a struggle. It shows the stress of balancing work and family life is felt most acutely by middle-class, college-educated families. For women, the struggle centers on time. For many full-time working moms, “feeling rushed is an almost constant reality,” and 4 in 10 working moms say they “always” feel rushed, according to the report.[4] When mom is stressed, the entire home will feel it. Left unchecked, the family suffers and blames.

The yellow school bus can be a source of anxiety for many children.  It triggers a mixture of emotions for students; fear, excitement, worry, sadness. But as those yellow doors close and cart away our youth, many moms are rejoicing, some more vocally than others. Nonetheless, “freedom,” is being celebrated, at least seven hours of it anyway. For one-half of the waking day, these kids are “safely contained,” and for the time being, are someone else's "problem." As a teacher, counselor, and mother who home-schools her son, I am familiar with the many problems contained within those school walls, and they extend well beyond the realm of academics. With so many parents working full-time, there's no one home for the kids after school and definitely no time to sit about chatting about the day's events. Our kids need a place to feel safe -- to be listened to and to relax.  Instead, our schedule has us racing from one thing to the next . . . off to karate, violin lessons, Kumon, sporting activities, & more tutoring . . . Dinner is a quick grab from the nearest drive through window and the bottle of wine waits to be uncorked as soon as the kids run off to their rooms in order to get ready to do it all again -- bright and early.

Chronic stress is an epidemic and is being felt by everyone, young and old. We are conditioned by a system packaging and selling fear. Parents are buying it and consequently, our children are being brainwashed -- threatened by the mindlessness of adults chanting, “college,” “college,” “college.” The status attached to wearing name brands has so many of us duped into believing that a “good” college education is the only way to get a job, to become successful, and to be “happy.”

You may be surprised to hear that roughly 50% of American students who enter college don’t end up graduating! (According to U.S. Census figures, 6-in-10 high school seniors go on to college the following year, but only 29% of adults 25 and over had at least a bachelor’s degree.) Certainly, finances and life circumstances play into that figure, but the stress of college life cannot be ignored as a factor as well. [5]

Being on duty 24/7 is not sustainable. Even the best of us need time out for rest and relaxation. A lack of space and free time to partake in enjoyable hobbies, for simply taking a nap or for going for a hike, has taken a toll on kids and adults alike. Instead of turning within for answers, we are unconsciously turning outwardly towards unhealthy means for satisfying our longing for something more.

It's time to put on the brakes and to take stock of ourselves. Each one of us needs to drown out the world long enough for finding necessary quiet space for looking within. We must take back the right to do what is in our best interest and that means taking back our power, jumping into the driver's seat and navigating our own course in life.  A course or path is unable to be successfully forged without inner examination.

There was once a time in our life when we felt connected and alive. Can you recall a time when you felt free? What were you doing when you were so immersed in something that time seemed to stand still? Were you building blocks? Playing the piano? Rock climbing? Playing basketball? Dancing?  Riding the roller coaster?  Only in stillness can we reawaken who we truly are. Only by reconnecting our busy mind with our body can we hear the messages lurking deeply within.

Parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, and society cannot tell us who we are, what we want, and where we we need to go. The joy of life comes from self discovery, from finding our life purpose by remaining connected to our heart. We cannot get in touch with our Divine purpose if we're busy listening to the voices in the crowd. We must be willing to take the path less traveled and risk criticism if we want to live fully and to fly freely. Life can become more hopeful, even magical, when we learn how to equip ourselves with the proper tools for coping with daily stress. Possessing the know how for finding our way when all the signs seem to be pointing in a hopeless direction, allows us to remain focused, calm, and confident despite adversity.

The college-bound path does need not be a path that feels force-fed, leaving you silently gagging and gasping for air. Below are eight (8) easy ways for finding space, for catching your breath, and regaining your footing so you can fly wherever you want:

1. Create a journal. Get in the habit of writing.  Write whatever comes to mind.  Purge all that needs to get out of your head and onto paper.  Write just before going to bed so that all negativity gets out and make time to be grateful for what transpired throughout your day.  Go to bed feeling grateful.  As a matter of fact, create a gratitude journal.  Write daily the things you are most grateful.  Get into the habit of appreciating the littlest things in life.  Appreciation is the key to shifting away from negative thinking in order to cultivate positivity and to bring abundance into your life.
2. Write a list of your good qualities: I am a good person, good athlete, intelligent, funny . . .
   Really feel the truth of these qualities on a deep level. Start to understand the need to feel more compassion for those who criticize you, take behavior of others less personally, and begin seeing others in a better light as you begin to recognize and believe the good qualities about yourself.
3. Stop Negative Thoughts Before They Gain Momentum.  Trace back to a time when you started feeling negatively. Was it something someone said to you? What was your first negative experience you can recall?  Why was it negative?  Did you feel unworthy or incapable of speaking up for yourself?  Were you unable to say, "No?"  Now, go back and recall an image in time when you felt most free, happy. What was it like? Describe those feelings? What were you doing?  Did you feel "good" because you were getting attention?  Or did you feel "good" because you accomplished something you felt proud or worked hard towards mastering? Our thoughts have a lot to do in generating self worth and self confidence. What we think, we become.  Our thought process can cause us discomfort and can lead us to more stress and dis'ease. So, make a daily habit of cultivating positive thoughts. Try focusing on one simple thing (i.e.):  “I prepared a wonderful meal for myself.” “I decluttered my pantry and it feels good..” "I listened well to a friend who needed me.  As you learn to pay attention to your pattern of thoughts, try practicing stopping negative thoughts and then turning them into positive thoughts. It only takes 17 seconds for a negative thought to stick and just 17 seconds more to generate the next negative thought, and so forth . . . In just 68 seconds, you did it!  You created negative momentum.  So INSTEAD, Today try noticing a negative thought, simply acknowledge it, and try to stop it before it picks up momentum. . . simple say "Cancel, Cancel, delete. "  THEN, replace that thought with an image -- move out of the mind and into the heart --  FEEL your way out of thinking -- Recall a place that makes you FEEL really good.  Go there.  Really be there - Feel it.  Smell it.  Taste it.  Hear the sounds.  Stay in that feeling.  Now say out loud how you're feeling -- NOW -- in the present moment. STATE HOW YOU FEEL, for example:  "I love being [by the ocean,] listening to the waves, smelling the salt air, feeling my feet in the warm, soft sand. I feel relaxed.  The ocean soothes me and makes me feel peaceful.  I feel peaceful.  I feel calm.  I like feeling calm.  I am worthy of feeling calm and relaxed..  The ocean is a place that allows me to feel my breath, to feel free, and to live in the present moment.  I feel connected to mother Earth when I'm near the ocean.  I feel alive.  I am completely free of stress and connected to my highest Self when I'm connected with the ocean."  As you stay with an image for 17 seconds [listening to the waves,] you add another positive image, [smelling the salt air,] and then add, [feeling your feet in the warm, soft sand.] Each 17 seconds of positive imagery creates positive momentum and shifts you into positive thinking and being.  You can do this with any general positive image.  Try It!!
4. Practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is a way to align to the powerful feeling of self worth. Make a list of critical things you remember others saying. Practice forgiving yourself for believing them. See yourself as worthy of being appreciated, despite words. Work on appreciating yourself, for being loving and unique.  Self love is critical for being able to shift out of negativity.
5. Listen to your body.  Our body has a lot to tell us. Over time we inherit a lot of negativity which gets a hold on us.  Our beliefs stop us up and get in the way of creating a happy, healthy attitude. Failing to listen to our body and to our feelings by monitoring our thoughts, keeps our energy split as we turn away from our inner being's longing to feel happy. Today, listen to your body. Eat only when hungry. Drink when thirsty. Make good healthy choices of what you choose to put into your body and bring into your mind. Keep your thoughts positive and clean. Do only what feels good. Listen to your gut. Avoid negativity and doubt. Notice your heart rate, be aware of your surroundings, practice being more aware of whether another's negative thinking or action is affecting you negatively. If so, act to change the situation.
6. Create a safe space . (physically, mentally, emotionally). Use this space to take care of yourself. Meditate, listen to music, go outdoors into nature. Use this time to practice feeling, to process your thoughts, and to return to balance -- back to your true nature.  Or simply learn how to do TRE® Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises with me!  Shake it off naturally and restore back to balance and into healing.
7. Practice awareness. Pay daily attention to what you are thinking and how your are acting or re-acting throughout the day. Practice being more patient with yourself and others. Observe your reactions. Do not judge or criticize yourself. Be calm and try to change your thoughts to something more positive.  At day's end, take inventory.  How did my day go?  Who upset me?  What could I learn about myself from my reaction?  What can I work on?  What do I need to do to feel better about myself?  In the morning, wake up and make up your mind to work on that something . . . listening, smiling, finding gratitude . . . and go about doing it.  Be easy on yourself.  Recognize when you're falling into old patterns of thinking, behaving, then make an effort to keep practicing.  Be like a warrior.  Look at each day as your battleground.  Take stock and assess if today was a win.  If it was a loss, and you told the Comcast girl to go F*ck off, then see what you need to do tomorrow to make communication clearer.
8. Lighten up. Find time to laugh. Smile. Do something that brings you joy. Look into the mirror and tell yourself, “I love you.”  Try to get 8 heart-to-heart hugs a day and at least three (3) belly laughs!

The race to nowhere can come to a halt as you deliberately choose to stop running and to deliberately make a positive shift.  Our course in life can change drastically in just 17 seconds!  We can shift direction and quickly pick up positive momentum by embracing feelings of positivity, by appreciating our self worth. It's by feeling our way back to center that allows us to open up the heart to get re-aligned with who we really are.  

Start by intentionally doing things that bring greater Self alignment -- play the piano, color, sing, dance, sew, walk, sit in nature, breathe, do yoga, cook, buy fresh flowers, hum, listen to music -- do simple things that bring rhythm and joy.  Consciously cultivate an attitudinal atmosphere filled with love and positivity to help fly into greater momentum and raise your vibration so that you can continue flying effortlessly.

The soul waits until we're ready to come back home; it provides us with necessary rest, relief and reassurance.  In our haste, we can't see clearly; we can't find that diamond we're searching for until we stop long enough to recognize that it's already around our neck.


[1] http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/smartphone-and-internet-addiction.htm
[2]http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/high-stress-high-school/409735/
[3]Ibid.
[4]http://www.ocregister.com/articles/time-691063-work-working.html
[5]https://www.verywell.com/college-stress-causes-3145172

From Jewels Heart
xo