Transformation Magazine: Life Purpose by Transformation Coaching Magazine

INSPIRATION Moving Forward World Peace Via Music, Food & Travel? The Insurance Policy 3 Life Lessons from a Near-Drowning Falling Up, Part 2: We Can Make Change Happen Your Purpose In Life The Ordinary People A Letter to Joseph

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TOOLS & TIPS FOR TRANSFORMATION Letting Go, Letting God, Losing Weight Top 5 Morning Routines for Daily Success Find Your Balance… and Love Your Life

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COACHING TOOLS Invisible “Mind Stuff” Top 10 Reasons Why You Are Not Creating a Viable Business Finding Your Life Purpose Bridging Generations

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ENLIGHTENMENT Enlightened Advice Did My Soul REALLY Plan All This? Your Purpose In Life Includes a Paradox

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Inspiration

Moving Forward By Arielle Giordano

Open your heart to connect with your future using creative expression!

What were your dreams in 2017? What would you like to release? What goals did you achieve? Imagine all that you are Being present means experiencing NOW. A sensory excarrying in your mind, body and spirit is being released and you perience is where you are, what you are listening to, seeing, feelare open and ready for a new beginning in 2018! The less you ing, tasting and smelling in the moment. Review your list from last hold on to from the past, the easier it is for you move forward! year (2017). Let yourself experience your thoughts and feelings and physical sensations. Here is a simple process to release 2017 and Now it’s time to set yourself free from past emotions, dance your dreams in 2018: thoughts, feelings, memories and experiences. Find a means of creBrainstorming is a process that allows you to think outative expression to let go and release the pent up energy that is being side of the box. Write down your answers to the following quesheld in your body, mind, heart and soul. Letting go can be fun. Cretions. Be honest and connect with your heart during the process, ative expression can help you look into the window of the past with and try doing this the old-fashioned way. Take a piece of paper the ability to see and create the future! Some favorites are: dancing, and draw a line down the center. List your responses for questions walking, working out, sharing thoughts and feelings, journaling, mak1 and 2 (2017) on the left and for 3, 4 and 5 (2018) on the right. ing art, painting, using clay, building, cooking, baking cookies—any1) List of all the things that you are grateful for in 2017. thing that appeals to you around being creative and having fun. What were your accomplishments and achievements? By engaging in a process that includes motion (i.e., phys2) What would you like to leave behind in 2017 such ical activity of some type), you are setting the stage for success as patterns that no longer serve you, pain, negative in 2018. Use the positive energy from this exercise to release the thoughts, feelings, unhealthy habits, memories, relaold help you bring your dreams to life as we get ready to ring in tionships, etc.? the New Year. 3) List your dreams for 2018, no matter how big or bold. What would you like to create? What new skills would you like to learn? Where would you like to travel? What Arielle Giordano’s new book, Dancing with Your Story from the Inare your financial, health, wellness, work, career, relaside Out, was released in March 2017. With a Masters of Arts and tionship and family goals? Masters of Education, Arielle is an author, professional dancer, in4) Be creative and write down changes, experiences and spirational speaker, certified Essentrics/Aging Backwards instructor, new ways of being for 2018. and workshop facilitator. She enjoys sharing her gifts and talents with 5) List specific and achievable goals for 2018. What do you an authentic style rich in the grace of dance, psychology, philosophy honestly believe you can create and achieve in the next and the expressive arts. Her career includes: provisional psychologist, guidance counselor and substance-abuse therapist. As a Lead Faculty 12 months? Use your dreams from question 3 as the Area Chairperson and Faculty Member for College of Humanities at foundation. What do you want to accomplish in your the University of Phoenix, she inspired students with her creative personal and professional life?

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gifts. She also writes for Tampa Bay Wellness, We Woman and Transformation Magazine.

Inspiration

World Peace Via Music, Food & Travel? by Terez Hartmann Peace through music? The lights dim. The audience swells to a fever pitch. And as the music begins, thousands of beautiful fires blaze as one, proceeding to light up the night. On this auspicious evening, Carlos Santana and his brilliant team of musicians have joined together in musical magnificence, and a multitude of souls have simultaneously boarded a magic carpet that has elevated and transported their hearts, minds and spirits to a faraway place—a place filled with joy, rhythm, flow and pure LIFE. If you were to interview each and every person in attendance and collect data about her/his social, philosophical, economic, political, cultural and overall life picture, you would indeed find every facet and every color of the rainbow, and a collection of humans that may never otherwise come together. Yet on that night, as we each chose to occupy a common space and span of time together in the name of music, we DID come together to sing, dance, groove, celebrate and ever-so-willingly choose harmony over any perceived dissonance.

Peace through savoring fabulous food and drink? The room is lovely and inviting. The tables are set and ready for a feast fit for royalty. And as the first glass is poured to pair perfectly with the first course that is perfectly placed, lovingly prepared and artfully presented, the joyful anticipation of each and every reveler in the room is palpable. It’s Halloween night in Asheville, NC, and the culinary team at Ruth’s Chris, along with a special guest sommelier, commence a fabulous fall-themed dining extravaganza, and again another group of people who have never met—and who may otherwise never have cross paths—come together to savor and ignite their senses to experience a stunning array of flavors, textures, scents and colors. As each of us allow our palate to dance and swoon in “ooohs” and “ahs,” we choose to leave any tastes of bitterness far behind and give ourselves over to the deliciousness of life. Peace through travel & adventure? The views along the road on the way are utterly breathtaking. We arrive at stop #1 and are so deeply moved by the vistas that surround our nest for the night, along with the incredible red rock world that will be our playground for as long as we choose to stay. We have rented a RV to tour a small slice of the Ameri-

can Southwest for two weeks, and as we repeat this scenario multiple times throughout our travels, we encounter people of all ages and backgrounds, from all over the globe, who share our passion for travel, beauty and adventure… …And as we each marvel in the majesty of nature and the splendor of our planet, we trade borders and walls for shared sunsets, inspiring mountain and canyon master works and trails leading to untold wonders; in so doing, we build bridges. A new groove, food for thought, and ideas to explore…

What if rather than trying to sell others on your point of view and your way of living, you allowed yourself— and them—to just BE, to agree to disagree if need be, and then focus your time and attention building bridges to new territory by starting with your common ground? What if instead of perpetuating a cycle of forcing relationships, timing or interactions with others—be they family, friends or business-related exchanges—ensuring that someone always sacrifices her/his joy and well-being for the sake of another, you instead gave yourself permission to allow a more natural flow. Imagine you connect when you are clear and happy, with people you feel drawn to, at times that are conducive to ease and flow for all, and then you engage in experiences that provide opportunities for ALL to enjoy the experience? What if in your desire to witness greater peace and see our world leaders spend far less time arguing and more time finding common ground and harmony, you first put this process into practice in YOUR own backyard, within YOUR own heart and with all the relationships that matter in YOUR life?

This holiday season and beyond, what if you decided to be part of the solution? The Bottom Line: World Peace Via Music, Food and Travel?

“I dreamt there was a time all gathered under the sun The sun shone down on all, all children of the light, we are one And all did remember we are brothers, sisters And all did remember that we come and we go And all did remember that we share the same Mother And that one day all souls are called home So let us appreciate each other And let us revel in our diversity And let us remember that we all are a part Of one beautiful tapestry Of one human family…” —from “One Human Family” TTRH © 2016 Here’s to expanding peace in YOUR world, THE world, and to even more Merry-Happy-EVERY-days for ALL.

•••••••••••••• Terez “Firewoman” Hartmann,“Your catalyst for all things Fab-YOUlous,” is the author of Allowing Your Success!, a proud contributing author of Transform Your Life! book one and two, a professional Keynote Speaker/Workshop Facilitator, Singer-Songwriter/Recording Artist, “Allowing Adventures!” & “Savor Vacation” Facilitator, and true Renaissance Woman, and Visionary. She keeps her fire lit by embracing and promoting a lifestyle of “Allowing,” and by using creative expression to elevate and ignite the human spirit, a passion that she shares with her husband, soul-mate and creative partner of over 15 years, John Victor Hartmann. Together they share “Allowing TRUE LOVE” workshops and experiences designed to help others attract, allow, and maintain extraordinary relationships, and create custom jingles and voice-overs in their studio, THE Creativity Express. Visit: www.TerezFirewoman.com

Rather than feed dissonance and bitterness by continuing to build more walls via ideas or activities that are conducive to greater separation, imagine how the world— and YOUR world—could transform if you chose to focus on the common ground we share as humans? Whatever you choose to do, here’s what I know for sure: • Those who hear the music are far more likely to experience and create harmony. • Those who savor life are far more able to enjoy the journey and share the sweetness of life. • Those who truly appreciate beauty—and are willing to go forth and explore the banquet of diversity of this planet— are indeed far more likely to expand horizons and build bridges.

Inspiration

The Insurance Policy By Scott Allen I could have died yesterday…Great way to start a story, right? Very dramatic, but also true. If you think about it, any one of us could have died yesterday, whether from a massive stroke, a car wreck or, as in my case, a simple trip-and-fall incident. “Stuff” happens, and that is when you are glad you have an insurance policy. I’ll get back to that later… Not long ago I’m helping my better half move some furniture. She has a home staging business, so it is not uncommon for me, or her family and friends, to help move home decor from time to time. We all know the risk in helping is usually just the possibility of sore muscles the next day, certainly not the risk of death or serious injury. So here’s the story: I was carrying a heavy, awkwardly shaped table out the front door to the borrowed-for-the-day pickup truck. For some unknown reason, the builder of the house included a booby-trap 3-inch-high step to the landing at the front door. Pavers of the same color as the sidewalk camouflage this step. Immediately to the left of the sidewalk is a 2-foothigh concrete block decorative retaining wall for the planter in front of the house. You probably already know where this is headed. Sure enough, I did not see the step as I was leaving the house carrying the table on my right side, and I stepped onto 3 inches of “air.” Okay, I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but carrying the heavy table, and not being a kid anymore, I could have been stepping off the edge of the Grand Canyon the way my body was flung to the left into—you guessed it—the 2-foot-high concrete wall. The left side of my rib cage became the perfect target area for the sharp edge of the blocks. Anyone who has ever watched a football game has seen the “hit to the ribs” delivered by a defensive back to the wide receiver stretched out reaching to catch a ball. Now I haven’t played football since Pop Warner, and I never was a wide receiver, but I now know how those guys must feel. I lay there stunned and literally could not breathe for what seemed like several minutes. I am sure it was probably really only a minute or so, but I am not kidding when I say I could not breathe. Funny thing when you cannot breathe, you really, really want to!

Of course my better half comes over and says those oh-sohelpful words in that moment: “Can you breathe?!?” OK, I know, I know, I probably would have said the same thing, or maybe the other classic, “Are you hurt?” For the record, my answers in this case were “No” and “Yes.” As I was lying there for those 60 seconds, it did cross my mind that I might really be hurt, and what if I can’t breathe for something like five or 10 minutes. That would be, as they say in the medical field, Not Good. Since you are reading this story, you already got the spoiler alert that I was, in fact, able to start breathing again. That was, in medical terms, a Good Thing. After a few minutes I could be helped up and, since I was not bleeding and no bones were protruding, just like in football, I walked it off. Five minutes after that, we were back to loading furniture. We had two vehicles, and as I was driving the truck back to our storage unit, my mind started to wander as my ribs really started to ache. What if that wall was just a little farther out and, instead of my ribs, I took that blow to the side of my head. There is no doubt in my mind if that were the case, I would not be writing this story, and I might not have written anything again— ever. I could have “checked out” then and there, not doing anything stupid or reckless; It would have been “like being hit by a bus”—here one moment and gone the next. It got me musing about the concept of mortality and our “purpose” in life. In the book 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, author Wayne Dyer states that when we die we cannot not take any of our possessions with us. What we leave behind is our life’s work. He says, “You’ll find yourself feeling purposeful if you can find a way to always be in the service of others.” Pablo Picasso was quoted as saying,

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Many people know the famous quote from Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” I certainly agree with Wayne, Pablo, and Winston. And I want to add what I call “The Round World Concept,” which I define as doing good things for others and it will come back to you multiplied. We all want to be remembered for the good deeds we did, the “random acts of kindness,” and being there for another person. Many like-minded people are taking action by joining a service club, volunteering, or just lending a helping hand to another person. In a way, these service acts are like premiums paid into the Universe’s insurance policy. When we are down, there will be someone or something there to pick us up. Perhaps the policy even goes so far as a Higher Power metaphorically assuring that a “wall” you hit one day may certainly get your attention, but will leave nothing more serious than a bruise to the ribs. Perhaps everyone should start conducting a Universe insurance policy check-up. In the process, don’t just think about acts of service. Get active and do something for a friend or, better yet, a stranger or, even better, your community. Consider one more quote from John Burroughs: “The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” Be the person who does good deeds for others. Humanity will be better because of your efforts, and the Universe may just find a way to insure that when you need it, you’re covered as well.

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Scott Allen has a bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College, with training in the social sciences. He is an entrepreneur, writer, artist and father of three magnificent sons. He is also a practitioner of New Thought and his dedication to “ARKs” (Acts of Random Kindness) was documented in a television news segment. He is a charter member of The Burg Exchange Club and was Co-Chairperson of the Toss Out Hunger fundraising Committee benefiting local children in need. A contributing author and columnist to multiple publications, he can be reached at jcotinc@gmail.com. This article is a chapter from the book Transform Your Life! written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at Amazon.com, BN.com, www.Transformation-Publishing.com and all ebook formats.

Inspiration

3 Life Lessons from a Near-Drowning by Rena Greenberg Florida winters are cool and breezy. As a daily exerciser, during the cooler months I rollerblade up and down a quiet street in my neighborhood listening to my favorite tunes. However, during the hot, balmy Sarasota summers I can’t tolerate the pounding heat so my exercise of choice is walking in the water. The Gulf of Mexico, close to my Siesta Key home, offers soothing, cool relief from the radiant sun. For years, on a daily basis in the summer I would ride my bike to the water’s edge, wade into the inviting sea and begin my meditative walk. Since moving to Florida from New York City in 1990, walking in the water has truly been one of my favorite things to do. Basking in the sea is soothing and relaxing to my body, mind and spirit, as I drink in the incredible vast beauty all around me in the sand,

water and sky. I also love the benefits: walking through the water gives my body a much-needed enjoyable and fat-burning exercise. Then there was that one unforgettable August day three summers ago . . . It seemed like just another hot day. I didn’t know the water would be rough until I arrived at the edge of the Gulf after my 10-minute bike ride through the heat to get there. I’m always reluctant to go into wavy surf because, as much as I love the outdoors and the beauty of the ocean, I’ve always had a fear of the water. I can’t swim. My husband has tried on numerous occasions to arrange for swimming lessons for me. However, two experiences of near-drowning earlier in my life had kept me reluctant to do so. After researching my situation, I also learned that some people just don’t float, and it has to do with the number of fat cells a person does or doesn’t have. My experience has definitely been that I do not float in the water—rather, I sink! However, on this day I wanted relief from the high tem-

perature, so I decided to go in anyway. I was walking along in the water, entering into a peaceful zone, feeling my body embraced by the sea. I felt safe because I cautiously was making sure that the water would not go over my chest. What I didn’t realize was that the shoreline had changed much over the years and the floor of the sea was no longer consistent in its depth.

All of a sudden, the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, gave way under me. I was in deep water unexpectedly! I thought to myself, if I just go back the way I had just come, I should be fine. But I couldn’t retrace my steps. I could not find my way out of the deep water! I began to feel a sense of panic. I grabbed a breath and looked to the shore. It seemed almost a football field away. I hadn’t realized how far out to sea I had walked. I knew that I could float on my back and do the backstroke. That was one skill I did have. However, my attempts were thwarted by one wave after another, the water spewing into my nose and mouth. I looked to the shore again. It seemed so far away. How could I possibly get there? I tried to calm down and swim toward the sand as best I could. I looked up. I had gotten nowhere. Spitting water out of my mouth, I wondered, “Could this be my time?” I was 53 years old. Was it possible? I remember feeling so surprised. How could this be my time? How could I go this way without saying goodbye? I felt like I was still in my prime with so much to do and share, and my daughters still so young. . . I looked to the shore again, seemingly hundreds of yards away. And then I saw him—one man standing there. He was the only person I could see on the beach and he was standing facing me, ankle deep at the shoreline. I knew I had to reach this young man. I called out, “Help me.” He stood there. He wasn’t coming towards me but he didn’t turn around either. I became more desperate. “Help me,” I cried. “I’m drowning. Please help me.” I didn’t even know if he could hear me. It seemed like minutes went by as I swallowed water, pleading with him to come and save me. And then it happened. He started to move towards me. I watched him come towards me as I battled the waves. When he reached me, I grabbed onto him, and he spoke to me with kindness and compassion. He could see that I was terrified. When we were about waist deep, another middle-aged man waded in and helped the younger man bring me to shore. When I got to the beach, I sputtered out a thank you and told him that he had saved my life. He just turned and walked away as soon as he was sure that I was OK and knew where I was going. Thankfully, I walked down the beach, back to my bike, and headed home. I looked for him every day, that summer and beyond, wanting to thank this angel for saving my life. I never saw him again.

3 Things I Learned From My Near-Drowning: We Are Not Alone God does send us angels when we need them the most. For me, this angel came in the form of an actual man in the flesh. He was there when I needed him to save my life. All those years of faith and prayer culminated in a Divine intervention when I needed it the most. Our Thoughts Matter Because Thoughts are Energy As I went over the events of the morning, I reviewed what I had been thinking about when I lost my footing and fell into the deep water. I recalled that I had been ruminating about an argument that I had earlier that day with someone I love dearly. What was my mental state at the time of this “accident”? I was in pain. I was feeling hurt, anger and blame at that exact moment. Were my thoughts and feelings justified based on what had occurred earlier that day? Yes, they may have been by human standards of right and wrong. I realized that understandable or not, when my consciousness is steeped in negativity, for any reason, I am attracting negativity to myself. Every Act of Goodness That You Do Earns You Grace Sometimes it may seem as if the world isn’t fair. You give to others and they don’t give back to you. And then it dawned on me. Everything is going around and coming around but the people you and I give to may not be the same ones who give back to us. So it may appear that you are a giver and those around you are takers. But your giving is still a gift of deep value that must come back to you. This man—a complete stranger—gave me my life back. I could never repay him in any way and I never have seen him again. The way I save someone else’s life may look completely different. It may be by inspiring them to lose weight and respect themselves. Everything you give does come around to you in this great mystery of life. I learned so much from this experience. Maybe my greatest teaching is that our most frightening or upsetting circumstances always carry the greatest possibility for growth, appreciation, perspective and healing.

Our most frightening or upsetting circumstances always carry the greatest possibility for growth.

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Rena Greenberg, a Hay House author, can be reached at EasyWillpower.com. Her weight loss and gastric bypass hypnosis success has been featured in 150-plus news stories including USA Today, Woman’s World, The Doctor’s, CNN, Good Morning America and Nightline. PBS stations nationally aired Rena’s show, “Easy Willpower,” in August 2015. Her wellness program is sponsored in 75 hospitals and 100-plus corporations. She conducts hypnotherapy sessions with people all over the world on Skype and in Sarasota, FL.

Inspiration

Falling Up, Part 2: We Can Make Change Happen

We Can Make Change Happen By Dana Liesegang with Natasha Stoynoff I was at a dinner party with a bunch of friends not long ago when the subject of rape in the military came up. “It doesn’t happen,” said one guest, a National Guardsman, who was sitting next to me. I’d met this gentleman for the first time that night, and he knew I’d been in the Navy but didn’t know the reason why I was in a wheelchair. His words and dismissive tone made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, like Jack’s do when he senses danger. I was about to rattle off a list of horrifying statistics and stories for this guy when I saw my hostess’s worried face. So I quietly replied, “You and I, sir, should not have this conversation.” It was shocking to me that after so many tragic stories and information had surfaced in the news in recent years about sexual abuse in the military, there were still people—even those inside the military—who denied that it happens or refused to see it. Or they attempted to downplay or make excuses somehow. “Marines don’t rape one of our own,” one member of the Corps said to me a few years ago. “Sure, we’ll rape a whore in another country. But not here, and not one of our people.” As if being on a foreign land with a stranger makes it okay? “Rape is not an occupational hazard,” I told this Marine. Yet no matter how hard I tried to convince him of how inhumane and irrational his thinking was, he couldn’t get it through his thick skull that it’s never okay to rape: not if the victim is a prostitute or dressed “sexy,” not if you or she are drunk at a party, and not if you are in the military where they make up their own rules . . . never.

The mind-set of both of these men—the ignorance, insensitivity, and fear or inability to see the truth—is why the cycle of violence is still in motion. I’ve talked to hundreds of women in the military about this, and to meet an enlisted woman who has not been sexually assaulted in some way is a rarity. At the end of 2013, a Pentagon summary showed that reports of sexual assault in the military had increased sharply in the previous year: 3,553 sexual complaints were reported to the Department of Defense from October 2012 through June 2013— a nearly 50 percent increase over the same period a year earlier— and the numbers continued to rise after that. Some thought these statistics meant that incidents of rape had suddenly increased, but I think the stats jumped because more women (and men) are coming forward, and this is good news. The rates of sexual assault were always high, but the military kept us silent; it’s impossible for us to ever know the number of rapes in the past that went unreported. But I feel a new awareness brought on by the media, like the 2012 documentary The Invisible War, has made an impact. That film helped victims, myself included, feel more comfortable with speaking out. And the only way change is going to happen is if we all talk about it; numbers make change happen. One change that needs to happen is for the United States

Congress to take the power of justice out of the military ranks. We can’t expect an entity like the military—where the crimes of war are a normal part of everyday life—to judge a crime like rape (and in my case, attempted murder as well) in a fair way. The nature of the job doesn’t allow for a clear and impartial assessment of the crime or the punishment. This is an issue for every person to worry about, not just those in the service. The military is creating rapists who not only harm men and women during their tour of duty, but also after they leave and enter the civilian world. The young man who put me in a wheelchair continued a life of crime until the day he died. Before these legal changes can come about, however, the victims must continue to speak out and band together. I hope that by my telling my story, more women and men will share their own experiences with someone they trust. It will help them shed the burden of shame, blame, and victimization, and that is the first step for the healing process to begin for everyone involved. I’ve done an immeasurable amount of healing—spiritually, mentally, and physically—over the years, and I will continue. The year 2015 marked 25 years since that night on the cliff when my life changed forever. Today, I’m grateful that I’m able to walk. I’m grateful that I can sit by an ocean and not freak out. I’m grateful that I can sit in a café next to a group of young men and not panic. Only once since my trip to Ireland over a dozen years ago did I experience a bout of PTSD as severe as I did then. Two years ago, I planned to temporarily move from Grand Junction to San Diego for six months to do more intensive gait training with a specialist. It didn’t occur to me that going back to the city where I was hurt would have a negative effect on me, but one day after I arrived, the symptoms began. First, I saw the sign for Sunset Cliffs. Then, as I set up my apartment two miles from Mission Beach—the area Bruce drove to get alcohol that night—I recognized that same cold, damp air from 25 years ago. I wasn’t exactly sure what in the end triggered it, but my anxiety grew until I was bursting into tears several times a day. I called up my Grand Junction neighbors Bob Noble and Carolyn White, who have become like parents to me (if my addition is correct, that makes eight moms and dads now!). “I need to come home!” I cried. “I can’t be here!” Within a day or two, they arrived to pack me up and take me and Jack back to Grand Junction, where we belonged. Home. Healing is an ongoing process, and after all the moving around I’ve done in my life, I just want to be home. Bob and Carolyn have been a godsend to me during the last four years we’ve been neighbors. They dogsit Jack when I travel and swoop in when I have an emergency, like the time I broke my foot. They took me for x-rays and made sure I was eating and could get to the toilet and in the shower since I was back to square one again. Thank God for angels on this earth. I dream big, as you know by now, and two months ago, one of my long-held dreams came true. Ever since I stood up and skied at the Winter Sports Clin-

ic, I hoped one day to be an instructor like the Ponderosa Boys and Bobby Palm. In 2012, after almost 20 years attending the Clinic, I decided this would be my last year as a participant. The Clinic and the people there had given me so much, but I knew it was time for a change. I wanted to give back to the new veterans coming in every year—so many had the frightened, baby faces that I did when I first got there. To symbolize my transition that year, I sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at opening ceremonies. I rehearsed for months with a voice teacher, and when the day arrived, I had the option of sitting but chose to stand up. I held on to two chairs and stood at attention, singing into the microphone as several military honor guards posted the flags in the auditorium. I felt proud of our country and the people who risked their lives to fight for it. Bobby Palm had been going to bat for me for years to convince organizers to let me volunteer as an instructor. “She’s been teaching the instructors and inventing her own equipment for years!” he’d tell them. After a woman was put in charge, the door opened for me. In early 2015, I got the call: I’d been accepted to be an instructor for the following year! I went to the Clinic in March to observe the other instructors, and found I already had a protégé. It never occurred to me that I could be a role model for anyone, but that year one person showed me that I could be, and already was. “Jersey Jeanne” is a para with multiple sclerosis, and she’d seen me use the Slider a few years earlier. In 2014, she said to herself, “Dana’s a quad—if she can do it, so can I!” Which she did, and beautifully. This year, she took her progress even higher and went from the Slider to using SideStix (forearm crutches), which is what I use today. And then my protégé one-upped me and used regular ski poles! After her triumphant lap on the Nordic trail, she handed me a thank-you card that said:

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Dana, you are my mentor and inspiration. You are my rockin’ warrior goddess! I had to laugh because I never thought of myself as an “inspiration” to anyone . . . and now that she’d one-upped me, I had serious work to do! “Damn, Jersey Jeanne!” I told her. “Now I’ve got to learn to use regular poles because you raised the bar!” It’s great to be around others who dream big, too, and want to keep moving onward and upward. And I love the idea that something I did convinced someone else that their possibilities are limitless. Two weeks ago, I went flying 2,000 feet high as a passenger in an ultra-light plane. I felt so free soaring through the sky and defying gravity, with nothing around or under me but air. I thought,

This is what a bird must feel like . . . as if the sky’s the limit. 11

Nobody knows exactly how to heal an injury like mine; in fact, most in the medical profession think it’s impossible. It doesn’t happen, doctors say. And yet, it did. So I’ve become a pioneer in spinal cord injury recovery, and I hope to bring other believers with me. I know attitude has a lot to do with healing and that you have to believe your body can actually heal for it to do so. You also have to give your body the tools it needs, be it stem cells, prosthetics, exercise, nutrition, or meditation. There’s no quick fix; it’s ongoing work for a lifetime. But I won’t allow the world to set limits on what I can do, and I don’t think you should, either—whether you have a physical handicap or an illness, or even if you’re emotionally crippled, because there are plenty of people out there who have that handicap as well. I hold in mind what Confucius once said: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

God blessed me with a broken neck and a way to fall up instead of down. If my speaking out prevents even one rape, then all of my struggles will have been worth it. In the meantime, I continue to

work on leaving the chair behind. But I also enjoy every moment of life in front of me and what I’m able to do in the moment. Even if I don’t leave this chair completely, I’ve reached my goal of walking. I can walk half a mile by myself with crutches. With a little help, I walked up the Colosseum and Spanish Steps in Rome. I walked up to Athena’s temple in Greece. I walked around the Statue of Liberty in New York City and held my crutch up high, like her torch, in liberation and victory. It’s like what I told my father on the phone that day right after I joined up. I was excited about my present and my future, and the Navy slogan said it all: I am tomorrow. I am the better day.

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Dana Liesegang is an expert in spinal cord injury recovery, and a 2014 recipient of the Hero of Forgiveness Award given by the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance. When she’s not traveling the world as a motivational speaker, she’s taking university classes and hanging out with friends and the love of her life, Jack (a yellow Lab), in a quaint little town in Colorado. She enjoys every minute of the life she has created in the now. Please visit: www.danaliesegangbook.com Natasha Stoynoff is a New York Times best-selling author. She lives in New York City, where she writes books and screenplays, interviews the occasional celebrity, and eats too much chocolate.

Inspiration

Your Purpose In Life By Gregg Sanderson

through that, what’s left is Love and we win. Since BOB lives through us, It has infinite breakDoes your life have a purpose? throughs as we each express our love in our own way Of course it does. The trick is to figure out what it through our own dramas. For some it’s easy, for some it’s a is, then live it. You’ve come to the right place. I know, and I’ll long journey, and for some it’s a chamber of horrors. To BOB, tell you. it’s always entertaining. If you’re familiar with my columns, you know all about BOB, the Creative Force and substance out of which Get it? The purpose of life is entertainment. we’re all made. The Being Of Bliss—Creative Intelligence, Nothing more, nothing less. Simple, huh? pure Love, and Stuff. Think for a moment. Suppose you were an eternal Surely there are those among you who consider formless Being, all substance, all knowing, and all blissful. this whole idea to be frivolous, since you know the true path How would you feel sitting out eternity with nothing going to Spirituality is to meditate in your cave, or dunk in holy on. All Intelligence with nothing to think about. Pure Love water, or do a handstand under that special tree. Actually, with nothing to love, and just a big blob of formless stuff. it’s all of the above, and more. Whatever you think it is, it is. After eons in this incredibly boring state, It must have asked Your purpose is to use your creative ability to enterItself, “Am I having fun yet?” tain BOB in the best possible way as It expresses through you. So It started to make stuff out of Itself, continually The greater happiness you can enjoy by escaping the RACE adding different elements to Its creation. First rocks, then Trap, the greater BOB’s pleasure. Your struggles, triumphs, elemental life, then instinctive life followed by creative life and tragedies are all part of BOB’s experience through you, (us), followed by BOB-knows-what: No doubt there are diand It really doesn’t care what sort of drama it is. To BOB, mensions as yet inconceivable to us. it makes no difference because it’s all entertainment, but it Meanwhile, here we are fulfilling our purpose of enmight make a big difference to you. tertaining BOB by trying to figure out what our purpose is. If it does, might’s well be happy. BOB doesn’t care. Here’s the game: Each of us is an individualized expression of BOB, made out of BOB substance, and filled with BOB Love, which we conveniently forget, just to make it interesting. Every Gregg Sanderson is author of Spirit With A Smile, The World Accordgame needs an obstacle, and ours is the RACE Trap, The ob- ing To BOB. He is a licensed practitioner in the Centers for Spiritual ject of the game...our purpose, if you will...is to break free Living, and a Certified Trainer for Infinite Possibilities. His earlier books were, What Ever Happened To Happily Ever After? and Split of the RACE Trap and get back to Love. RACE is an acronym. Happens—Easing The Pain Of Divorce. His latest project is the New It stands for “Righteousness and Approval Complicate Ev- Thought Global Network, where subscribers can enjoy the best in erything.” Complications and suffering come from the need New Thought presentations from anywhere at any time. You can to be right and/or the need for approval, and when we get see it at www.newthoughtglobal.org.

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Inspiration

The Ordinary People By Jo Mooy 2017 was a year defined by endless and unthinkable catastrophes. Charlottesville was a watershed moment for the most hideous rants of white supremacists who wanted to turn the United States backwards into bigotry and racism. Three record-breaking hurricanes destroyed homes, left residents in despair, and wiped out their jobs in industries ranging from chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Still numb from the daily updates of hurricane news, Las Vegas happened. Stunned silent again by another mass shooting, the why and how could not be answered even after 58 deaths. When the fires in northern California erupted the burden of their immensity swamped whatever was left of our ragged emotions. One morning while sitting in meditation all the calamities of 2017 passed across my vision. Feeling the pain of each event, tears fell from under my closed eyes. I wondered how humans could continue to rally despite these endless setbacks. In answer a deep voice spoke in my head. The voice said, “They continue because of the ordinary people—the ordinary people— the ordinary people.” After meditation was over I sat for a while pondering the message of The Ordinary People when the “ah-ha” moment arrived.

Who are The Ordinary People? They’re not jet setters. They’re not on the covers of magazines. They didn’t invent anything. They hold jobs like firemen, nurses, gardeners, teachers, policemen, sales reps and clerks. They used to be called the “middle class,” but many now work two or more jobs to make ends meet. They define themselves as spiritual rather than religious. They are the ones we see in the grocery store checkout lines, or at the car wash, never giving each other a thought. But we should! For Ordinary People do extraordinary feats. Without fanfare they rush into the path of danger. Ordinary People go to white supremacist rallies with their own banners supporting diversity or turn their backs on the speakers. It’s is the nurse who stood her ground to protect her unconscious patient from an illegal blood test and got arrested for her efforts. Ordinary People create gatherings to collect clothing and food for the people destroyed by hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Ordinary People drive hundreds of miles towing their boats so they can rescue victims from the floodwaters in Houston. Ordinary People are the police officers and rescue workers who rush directly into the path of 90 bullets a second. Ordinary people are terrified concert goers

running away from bullets. It is the man who made 58 crosses for the victims of Las Vegas and placed them on the Strip. And lest the animals be left behind, Ordinary People are those digging through the unstable rubble of an earthquake to rescue a child’s puppy.

This holiday season we remember all who lost their lives to natural disasters and those felled by man-made atrocities. And we honor all the Ordinary People who came to their aid. Like the Samoan Hotshot Firefighters who, after battling the northern California fires for days, came down the mountains singing a Samoan hymn ‘Fa’afetai i le Atua’ that roughly translates Thanks to God. Thank you, Ordinary People!

Ordinary People always say, “I’m not a hero, anyone would have done it.”

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Ordinary People always say, “I’m not a hero, anyone would have done it.” They are much more than that. Ordinary People are the spiritual backbone of humanity. In the face of disasters they truly are “the first responders.” When hatred becomes intolerant they hold high a moral compass setting a direction for others to follow. They open their hearts with compassion asking for no reward. They stand as beacons of service to the suffering of others.

Jo Mooy has studied with many spiritual traditions over the past 40 years. The wide diversity of this training allows her to develop spiritual seminars and retreats that explore inspirational concepts, give purpose and guidance to students, and present esoteric teachings in an understandable manner. Along with Patricia Cockerill, she has guided the Women’s Meditation Circle since January 2006 where it has been honored for five years in a row as the “Favorite Meditation” group in Sarasota, FL, by Natural Awakenings Magazine. Teaching and using Sound as a retreat healing practice, Jo was certified as a Sound Healer through Jonathan Goldman’s Sound Healing Association. She writes and publishes a monthly internationally distributed e-newsletter called Spiritual Connections and is a staff writer for Spirit of Maat magazine in Sedona. For more information go to www.starsoundings.com or email jomooy@gmail.com.

Inspiration

A Letter to Joseph by Ann Darwicki The tranquility of the evening was disrupted by the ringing of the phone. A frantic voice on the other line belonged to my nephew: “Aunt Ann, I did not mean to call you; I meant to call my dad. My cousin just got hit by a car.” The nurse in me immediately began asking questions: “Were you with him?” “Is he ok?” “Are you okay?” His reply, “They are still working on him,” silences me, and I feel my chest tighten. So many questions are swirling around in my head, but I understand that he needs to make the phone call he intended to make. We hung up, and I began to quietly pray. An hour later I heard that Joseph did not survive. He was the victim of a drunk driver. A 17 year old’s innocent walk to the store to get ice cream and a soda ending in tragedy. Killed by the very thing he so desperately wanted to become—a Marine. It made me reflect on the preciousness of every moment of our life: I did not really know you Joseph, having only met you once when you were a small child, but your death affects me on a very deep level. I grieve the loss of your young life, of all the potential things you could have accomplished, all the experiences that you will no longer get to have: graduating high school, becoming a Marine, getting married, all of the things this life has to offer, great and small. Perhaps it is because you are so close in age to my youngest child that I feel the pain of your loss so strongly. Your death is a reminder of every parent’s worst nightmare come true. Your death challenges my belief that everything happens for a reason. How could this happen? How could there be a greater purpose than you having the opportunity to live a rich, full, long life? What is the point in all of this? The internal search for an answer to reconcile your death takes me to a much deeper place within myself. A truth that I so often overlook and ignore as I go about my daily life emerges for me to acknowledge: Your time here is finite. One of these moments it will be your time to depart this life. A story I heard Michael Singer, the author of the Untethered Soul, share with Oprah comes to mind. “The angel of death comes to take you saying it is time to go. You ask for more time, you were supposed to

give me a warning, so I could decide what to do with my last week. The angel of death replies, what could you possibly do with one more week? I gave you fifty-two weeks just this past year alone, look at all the other weeks I have given you. I gave you your whole life. Why would you need one more week, what did you do with all of those? How will this one be different than the others? If asked that, how will you answer? I wasn’t paying attention, I didn’t think it mattered, I was too busy?” Joseph, your death quickly cuts through all my defenses to show me what I am often too afraid to see. Your death reminds me to ask myself those tough questions. Are you living your life in a way that you will be pleased with when it ends? What have you been waiting for? When the angel of death comes for you, will you be ready to go, satisfied that you truly lived?

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Ann Darwicki RN is a Certified Professional Life Coach who completed her training at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. She is the owner and founder of Whole Being Coaching, specializing in coaching others to live the life of their dreams. Prior to becoming a life coach, Ann obtained as Associates Degree in Nursing from Delaware Technical and Community College. She has 25 years of nursing experience caring for women and children, with a life long affinity for holistic medicine. She is a Reiki practitioner and Nurse Luminary. She is also a freelance writer. She can be reached at 302.750.0574 or by email at adarwicki@comcast.net.

Tools & Tips

Letting Go, Letting God, Losing Weight By Ruth-Ellen Wiersma

Because I feel that, in the Heavens above The angels, whispering to one another, Can find, among their burning terms of love None so devotional as that of ‘Mother’ —Edgar Allen Poe My place in motherhood helps me to reflect my health and wellness, physically, emotionally and spiritually. A healthy lifestyle for me is living out an active life with my family and friends and being engaged in theirs. To carry out this goal I have to take care of myself (and by the way, it is a misconception that self-care is selfish). As I reflect upon the past 28 years of motherhood at the end of this year, I realize the best way to handle the seasons of life are: Letting Go, Letting God and Living healthy (including maintaining my weight) to keep my energy and activity available for whatever opportunities my family and friends bring my way. Let’s take a closer look. LETTING GO: What do I (we) need to let go of? Here is part of my list: Children, worries, stress, what others think about me, and above all: CONTROL. Our Children. A recent study examined parent-child relationship quality. They found that the children who exhibited a positive mental wellbeing later in life were raised in a home with parental support, affection and child-appropriate autonomy. Conversely, children with controlling parents (defined as intrusive and manipulative in the child’s emotional development) had a much lower sense of well-being later in life. Our Worries and Stress. Chronic stress wears on your body and is dangerous! Stress can make existing problems worse, causes disease (such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease), and makes it more difficult to recover from being sick. LETTING GOD: If we give up control, who should we let take it? God (or your Higher Power by whatever name you use). I’m sure you have heard this saying, “Let Go, Let God.” It doesn’t mean we sit around and do nothing; it means allowing the time and opportunity to work on our relationships. Let’s start here: Be Vulnerable. Have the courage to be vulnerable. Dr. Brené Brown is a mother and research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past 13 years studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness and shame. In her Ted talk on the power of vulnerability she found that “people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they’re worthy of love and belonging.” Further, those who felt worthy had the courage and compassion to connect to others with “authenticity . . . and fully embraced

vulnerability.” If you struggle with a fear of unworthiness, search out a safe place where you can be vulnerable. Start with Who created you, your inmost being, while knitting you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13) Go to this resource and begin the process of understanding the lies you tell yourself, the ones that feed your frustrations, false guilt and disconnection. Get a fresh start and begin living the truth of God’s love for you. LOSING WEIGHT: What does losing weight have to do with all these weighty topics (pun intended)? Going back to Dr. Brown, she continued her research on vulnerability since she herself found it difficult to practice. She found that people “numb” vulnerability and this affects all our emotions. We try to dull our hurts with overeating or not eating enough, drinking excessively, shopping too much, or blaming others for our mistakes, instead of living wholeheartedly (courageously). So, I did my own informal study and, like Dr. Brown, looked for common themes from clients who have found their own courage and success as they worked toward their health goals with someone they trusted: My story of emotional eating and image struggles began decades ago, so unraveling it to figure the best plan possible for change has been a challenge. This journey was never about how much I weighed or how much weight I could lose. It has been about becoming a whole person in every area of my life—physically, emotionally and spiritually. It’s not about a diet routine; it’s about an attitude and lifestyle change! Rediscovering a new attitude with food, sleep, exercise and faith in myself. I wouldn’t have these statements to share with you had there not been trust and transparency from these individuals. It took courage for them to share their hearts and feelings. It was the good, the bad and the ugly that helped them get to a level they could be confident enough to persist and pursue choices for an improved quality of life. Really, losing weight, or any other health goal(s) you may be looking to attain, begins with vulnerability. Be vulnerable with your emotions, image and attitude while using your own faith to be courageous and make positive changes for yourself and your family!

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Ruth-Ellen Wiersma is the founder of REWellnessHealth, a company devoted to listening, educating, and empowering individuals who desire improved health, energy, and vitality. Her quest toward improving her own health led to formal training, and she is now certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and a graduate and certified health coach through Integrative Nutrition. Ruth-Ellen also holds a Master of Arts in organizational communication. Her passion lies in helping others make informed choices by understanding emotional eating, the physiological connection to food, and showing how to incorporate positive and sustainable lifestyle habits while living in the day-to-day. For more information, visit REWellnessHealth.com or email RE@REWellnessHealth.com.

Tools & Tips

Top 5 Morning Routines for Daily Success By Kristie Kennedy The secret to success is hidden in our daily routine, which consists of powerful habits that create favorable outcomes. In the simple words of Emerson, “Do the thing and you will have the power.” Here are the “Top 5” morning routines that salesmen use for success and you can adopt to enhance your performance regardless of your profession: 1) Beat the Sun! We often overlook the power of ending our day early. Our physical body goes into its most regenerative state between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. A lack of proper rest can create medical problems such as obesity, fatigue, hypertension, premature aging, and poor memory in the long run. Having the proper amount of rest allows you awaken revitalized and ready for limitless opportunities. Top salesmen have learned to detach from yesterday and approach each new day as a clean slate to surpass goals. They live in a constant carpe diem mindset to seize the day! The sales

industry requires thick skin, unshakable confidence and internal resilience. The objective is to BEAT THE SUN and get plenty of work completed before the day is done! 2) Hydrate! Peak performers know the value of staying hydrated and immediately kicking their metabolism into high gear. One of the first things health-conscious performers reach for is a bottle of water. The key benefits of water are energy, brain alertness, toxin elimination and headache prevention. This is a high-impact profession and salesmen need to operate at optimum capacity for extended periods of time. There are over 180 million individuals who begin their day with coffee. We were raised to the melody, “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.” The long-term side effects of caffeine are insomnia, nervousness and restlessness. 3) Elevate to Great! The sales industry is full of twists and turns that can

be highly stressful for individuals who have not invested quality time in nurturing their mind. Sales leaders are readers. The best sales performers focus daily on mastering the inner game. This would be a great time to do meditational work such as affirmations, review your vision board, journal writing, or use audio and video motivation. Succeeding begins with BELIEVING. Starting the morning off with positive reinforcement places you in the best mental position to crush your goals for the day. One of the greatest attributes a salesperson possesses is OPTIMISM. 4) Move Your Body! The sales rock stars understand they are fully responsible for their own results. One of the best ways to skyrocket your energy in the morning is to incorporate physical fitness. This will allow you to be more active all day long, consume less calories and decrease blood pressure. The sales leader who stands apart from the masses of mediocre knows the power of aesthetics. Look the part, be the part and get the part. Research shows that 10 minutes of stretching can boost your mood instantly. Think of exercise as the gift that keeps on giving back to you. Your fitness regimen can be as easy as a walk in the neighborhood to get your blood circulating or using a fitness video in your living room. Either you find an excuse or decide to execute.

5) Plan to Win! The old adage still rings true, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Victory loves preparation and you must believe that you are too big to fail. Top sales leaders prepare a concise plan of action to follow through in order to hit the bullseye. They are focused on closing a set amount of sales for the day and that means being ready for every objection thrown their way. A winning attitude is essential to being a leader in the sales industry. Zig Ziglar once stated, “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” Lastly, on your way to the top remember the words of Brian Tracey, “Get in line and stay in line.” Our lives are just like a buffet which requires self-service. Decide what you want and take full responsibility for your choices. If you persevere and willingly pay the price eventually you will reach the pinnacle of your potential.

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Kristie Kennedy, Owner of Queenfidence® Image Consulting, provides personal development and peak performance training to emerging, established and enterprising 21st century transformational leaders. www.kristiekennedy.com.

Tools & Tips

Find Your Balance… and Love Your Life By Mary Boutieller Ah yes! The holidays are upon us and no doubt we are already starting to feel busier than usual. Christmas and Hanukkah decorations line store shelves, plans are being made with friends and family, lists being written and checked twice. In my mind’s eye, I can picture Professor Hinkle from the movie “Frosty the Snowman” saying,

“I must get busy writing. Busy, busy, busy!” Being busy is an interesting thing to consider as we promenade ourselves toward year’s end. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Is it a worthwhile goal to be achieved or a necessary evil that keeps us from feeling whole or calm? The answer is: it depends. When you contemplate your life as it is right now, does the amount of activity and obligation in it bring you joy and fulfillment, or does it drag you down so that you can’t wait until the day is over? Is there too much to do or too little, or does it feel just about right? You see, I have been all over the busy-ness spectrum. I’ve

been so busy that I felt I didn’t know my own name, and at times I’ve been bored out of my mind looking for something else to do. What I know now is that I prefer the middle space: busy enough to feel vital, productive and happy, without everything feeling like a task that has to be completed. I have friends who do twice as much in a day’s time and wonder what I do with myself all day long. It works for them and they seem happy with the pace of their lives. And that’s the difference. Does it make you happy? For a long time, my standard answer to “How are you doing?” was “I’m soooo busy,” said with an air of finality and exhaustion, as if someone out “there” was doing this to me. Sound familiar at all? If you are one of those folks who always says “yes” when “no” would be an act of kindness to yourself, what can you do? We tend to pile life’s stuff onto and into our lives like so many unworn shirts, filling every nook and cranny. So maybe it’s time to clean out the proverbial closet! That’s right! Take a look at all of the obligations, activities and things you have on your life’s to-do list and start seeing them as

the great organizer Marie Kondo would suggest. She wrote a book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up—The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Now, I haven’t read the entire book, but I’ve read several articles on her methods and they are pretty fascinating! Here is a link to an article about it that was written by Cate La Farge Summers, in case you are curious: https:// www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/marie-kondobook-declutter/. After reading the article, I thought about the many parallels between organizing our homes and organizing our lives to bring out more joy. Here are a few twists on ideas she had in the article:

a time, and find your way out of the muck, the routine, the habit, the rut. Call a friend. Go for a walk. Sing, shake, scream, laugh, start moving. Take time to be in gratitude for the big and small things in your life. Take a deep breath and smile. There was a recent article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper about staying active after 50. In the article, the writer talks about James Owen who, at 70 years old, looked in the mirror and said to himself: “Oh my God, this can’t be me.” He said that he was overweight, his knees were shot and he had back pain. He decided that day that enough was enough, and started walking. At first, he walked 10 minutes a day and after one week, he added five minutes. And he didn’t look back. He is now 76 years old, does an hour-long workout five times a week, wrote a book, and feels better than he has in years. Here is the link to the story: http://www.heraldtribune. com/news/20171017/after50-workouts-should-be-ageappropriate. Some quotes come to mind as I finish up here:

I prefer the middle space: busy enough to feel vital, productive and happy, without everything feeling like a task that has to be completed.

Lesson #1: Tackle your thinking, not who you are as a person. So often, we judge ourselves more harshly than even our worst critic. Our own negative self-talk skews our perception of who we are and reinforces an outlook that we are not worthy. So instead of beating ourselves up for our mistakes, our looks, our weight or our previous choices and thinking that that is who we are, change the way you speak to yourself. Give yourself a break and know that you are doing the best you can do with where you are right now. Instead of seeing “fault” in the mirror, see love; instead of wrinkles, see wisdom, and; instead of mistakes, see experience. Each little change in our perception, each dose of love we give ourselves, changes the pathways in the brain and reinforces positive habits. As Douglas Wood said: “The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for. And the more we find to be thankful for, the happier we become.” Lesson #2: Respect Yourself. When we respect ourselves, we make better choices. That’s really all there is to it. We are not perfect and we don’t always get it right, but the more we make choices from our hearts and for our highest and best good, the closer we come to figuring out what brings meaning into our lives.

Lesson #3: Nostalgia is not your Friend. These words are verbatim from the article, but apply beautifully to our lives. The past is the past, so let it go. I’ll never be as fit or as young or as dumb as I was 20 years ago, but I’m happy to let go of all of that for the wealth of wisdom I now possess. When we stay in the present moment, we are alive with potential. When we live in the past, our energy stays there with us and keeps us from moving forward. So whatever it is that you are holding onto, let it go with grace and ease.

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” And,

“No matter how slow you go, you’re still passing everybody sitting on the couch.” Find out (or come back to) what fulfills you and, in this season of gratitude and light, look for and acknowledge the people, things and activities that bring you joy. Make small changes, relish your accomplishments, smile often, and know that you are a child of the Universe—whole and complete just as you are.

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Mary Boutieller has lived in Florida since 1970 (almost a native), and is a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. She has been teaching yoga since 2005. Her work experience includes 22 years as a firefighter/paramedic and 10 years as a Licensed Massage Therapist. Mary’s knowledge and experience give her a wellrounded understanding of anatomy, alignment, health and movement in the body. She is passionate about the benefits of yoga and the ability to heal at all levels through awareness, compassion, and a willingness to explore. She can be reached at: SimplyogaOm@gmail.com.

Lesson #4: Fall in Love with your Life. What are you waiting for? If you feel too busy, what can you do without that will bring more joy into your life? If you are unhappy or bored or in pain, take the necessary steps, one step at

Tools & Tips What are some of YOUR limiting concepts? Do you see yourself as smart, creative, loving, attractive and talented? No? Then you’d better broaden your self-concept, because you are all that.

Invisible “Mind Stuff” By Marla Sanderson I’ve always been fascinated by the unseen and unusual. Over the years I have explored areas including psychic phenomenon, tarot, astrology, healing, and channeling. On this journey, one subject that has consistently peaked my curiosity is our mysterious power to form the world around us according to our personal creative mindset. If that interests you, too, let’s look at the invisible “mind stuff” that affects how you create your life. Keep in mind that you are already whole, complete and perfect. There’s nothing you ever need to add to yourself. All you ever need to do is let go of any idea that there’s something wrong with you or missing. Since DIVINE MIND creates the universe, and our personal minds create our personal worlds, it’s good to examine our mental structures to discover the limitations we’ve put on our own lives. It’s important to keep our minds open and our structures flexible. Here is SOME of the mental stuff that limits us: • Concepts of self, life, what we deserve, how things ought to be • Opinions and judgments about the world, people and ourselves. CONCEPTS: Let’s just say that our concepts develop over time as we pick up ideas from the world around us. This is what the world is like. This is what people are like. This is what I’m like. Concepts don’t let us see things clearly or broadly. When a problem arises, we don’t see the available solutions because our concepts limit our vision.

When we expand our view of what’s acceptable or possible, it allows the invisible Creative Principle to act in our lives under new rules. We see more and better answers, solutions and opportunities. 22

OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS: Opinions are concepts to which we’ve become attached. They keep us from learning anything we don’t already agree with, and act as an automatic rejection device for new or different information. Anything opposing our opinion is automatically relegated to “ridiculous” or “worthless” with hardly a thought to its legitimacy. Politics, religion and sports are popular battlegrounds for vehement opinion. People have maimed, mutilated and killed for their opinion, yet it’s nothing more than a concept gone bad. Opinions can be a sign we’ve stopped thinking. Judgment is an opinion that something is right or wrong, good or bad. Any idea we have about how people should be keeps us from enjoying others and keeps them from being comfortable around us. But the truth is that judgment starts with self. If I’m critical of others, it’s because I’m critical of myself. And it follows that the ideas I have about how I should be keep ME from being myself. Only when we no longer judge ourselves can we extend love to others. Love yourself unquestionably and unconditionally. You have the choice to love and support or judge and condemn. Love and support is more fun and rewarding.

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Rev. Marla Sanderson is a skilled spiritual counselor, speaker, teacher, and workshop leader. She has studied and practiced the Science of Happiness and Science of Mind for over 40 years. Her website, The New Thought Global Network, showcases ideas from many New Thought disciplines. She is ordained in the Centers for Spiritual Living. (Religious Science). Contact her at 727-475-8991, or revmarla@ newthoughtglobal.org or visit www. newthoughtglobal.org.

Coaching

Top 10 Reasons Why You Are Not Creating a Viable Business

By Sheri Rosenthal One of the most common questions I get asked as a coach is: How long will it take me to start my business—and by that I mean ANY heart-centered, service-orientated business? Sometimes I think that this is a loaded question—one that I can’t really answer without taking the person who is asking the question into consideration. Certainly I could give the typical answer—which is to say that it’s very possible to be making a nice income by the end of your first year. But is that going to be YOUR truth? Hard to say. When I first started my coaching business in 2003 it was a different world out there. All you had to do was lecture around and you were able to get clients for your workshops and programs. Today there’s a whole new paradigm. You have to be Internet savvy if you want to have a sustainable and abundant business no matter what you do. Of course you can just squeak by, but I’m talking about creating the life and business of your dreams, not a life of mediocrity. It amazes me how many people start out with the dreamy idea of being an entrepreneur and working with people to help them in some way—after all, who doesn’t love being in service and helping others (other than psychopaths)? It’s sooooooo romantic and fulfilling! Yet the number of people who don’t fulfill their dreams and only make a minimal living from their business is huge. So why is this? Simple. No plan. No big idea. No why. No audience. No discipline. No persistence. No mental fortitude. No backup. No help. No focus. So let’s take some time to explore each point so you can make sure you’re really clear so you can deal with any of these issues right from the get-go! #1: No plan. If you’re creating a business you need a business plan. It’s important to be able to lay out the actions you’re going to take over a one-year period (at least). Without knowing your actions how can you possibly get the correct reactions? If no plan is your action, then no outcome is going to be the correct result. #2: No big idea. Every entrepreneur needs a really cool solution to a seriously annoying issue that their audience is suffering from. That solution is your main signature program that you’re known for. Nope, it doesn’t have to box you in at all—it just has to be the main unique offering that folks get to know you by, the thing that sets you apart from others. #3: No why. Your audience has to know what gets you pissed off and why you’re doing what you’re doing. Wanting your own business or wanting to help others is not a why. Your why is what is driving you to torture yourself for years to build your business. My why is I detest mediocrity (yuck)—to me it’s selfish to play small and deny others your gift because you’re afraid to live audaciously. If you can’t wrap yourself around that you probably shouldn’t be on my list. #4: No audience. If you don’t know specifically who your audience is, how can you expect to speak to them in a language they can understand? And if you’re not serving your people by

giving them solutions to their specific problems, then why should they follow you? Goodness knows we all have better things to do than read boring emails about stuff that has nothing to do with us. #5: No discipline. Don’t get wigged out here. You don’t need a nun standing over you with a ruler ready to beat you. What you need are systems to keep you on track everyday so that you’re consistently taking the actions you listed in your business plan. I believe in a daily time-block calendar to keep people accountable. #6: No persistence. People who have worked as an employee their whole life have a hard time understanding that starting a business is not like having a job. It is a test of your faith in yourself. Every. Single. Day. By that I mean that most folks quit way before the miracle can happen. There is a tipping point in any business, you need to keep taking action with very few signs of your work bearing fruit until that day when everything changes and you finally have momentum. #7: No mental fortitude. Mindset is everything in life—at least until your transcend your ego-mind and become enlightened! If you have a whole lot of “I’m not good enough,” “I’ll never make it,” “What if I fail,” and “I don’t really deserve to make 250k a year” in your subconscious mind – what do you think you’re going to create in your life? Nisht as my grandma used to say (means NOT!). #8: No focus. Wow! I want to podcast! I want to blog! I want to launch a product! I want to do a ton of social media! I want to create and launch a program! I want to do a giveaway! I want to create a telesummit! I want to create a retreat! I want to be a Facebook ads expert! I want to be a speaker! I want to create a three-day event! I want to write a book! I want to do weekly webinars! I want to institute the newest, shiniest, Internet marketing strategy! Really, all in one day? #9: No backup. Many folks end up never living their dreams because they didn’t have a backup plan. In other words, they quit their job and didn’t have any other means of income while they were building their business. As brave and devoted as that might be, smart it’s not. It takes time to build a business and if you’re focused on financial concerns that worry is going to crush your creativity, joy and passion. #10: No help. When I decided to become a doctor I went to medical school. In other words I had someone working with me to show me best practices and how to be a good healer. That goes beyond what you can obtain from just reading books. Same in business. Seriously, if you think you can do it on your own without guidance – I don’t think that’s a realistic goal. Since I’ve started I’ve had a coach and I can’t imagine doing otherwise. So I’m curious what YOU think about this list and what your experience is regarding these 10 touch points. Think about it and then plan for the New Year.

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Sheri Rosenthal, DPM, is a master Toltec teacher and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Toltec Wisdom and Banish Mind Spam! She also developed the online program, The How To Forgive E-Course. Having trained with don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements®, she currently takes students on spiritual journeys www.journeysofthespirit.com works with personal apprentices and enjoys being extremely happy. You can reach her at info@sherirosenthal.com or www.sherirosenthal.com and www.withforgiveness.com.

Coaching

Finding Your Life Purpose By Dolores J Gozzi Life Purpose has many meanings and interpretations depending on each individual. When I ask, “What is your Life Purpose?” most people say to have a good job; to be with family; or to be a good citizen. These statements are all great goals, but they are only scratching the surface of Life Purpose. We need to dig deeper because true Life Purpose is using our gifts, talents, and skills to create the life and lifestyle that will fulfill our divine plan for being on earth.

Life Purpose is “unique” for each individual—as it should be. Some will know that their Life Purpose is to reach out to the world and share their gifts, like a Dali Lama. Then there is the individual who knows how to guide her family—and she’s the person everyone goes to for support and guidance. She could be a “life coach” not only for her family, but for others as well. While not everyone is destined to be a world-renowned spiritual leader, we still need to recognize that each and every person plays a vital role in and contributes to the world in many wonderful ways! That said, there are many paths and roads that we travel to find our Life Purpose, and along the way we are faced with different challenges to help us grow. Without growth, we stand idle and do not give ourselves the opportunity to LIVE fully and experience what the world has to offer. We also need to be reminded that we cannot always fall back on the same gifts and talents we were born with. We come to earth to learn, as well as to share, and by facing challenges we grow and learn new skills to weave into our lives over time. Moreover, some of us know at a very young age what those talents and gifts are, but we don’t

always know how to share them, so this can become another part of the journey.

Once we are aware of our talents and gifts, we have a foundation to build on. As a result, our environment begins to change, and we see shifts in our home, the city or town where we live, and in how our location impacts our life and lifestyle. For example, an individual who is helping others is likely to strive to establish a tranquil and peaceful home, while someone working in the computer industry or programming is likely to invest in designing a high-tech living environment. Others may have the perfect home for their Life Purpose, but do not have a job that reflects that Life Purpose, and this leaves them frustrated. Those who do begin to incorporate their skills and talents into their current job may get feedback from coworkers that prompts them to branch out into another part-time practice that is more in alignment with their Life Purpose. Some may end up relocating to live in an area that is receptive to their physical body and emotional awareness, while others may utilize the Internet to work from home. The possibilities are as diverse as the people on this planet, and what is right for you will become clear once you come to know your unique Life Purpose! You see, once you begin the process of examining your life to determine your gifts, talents and skills—and ultimately find your Life Purpose—others who complement your world with merge with you and help you to create an environment filled with new possibilities. If you are wondering how to start on this journey, the following set of questions will help point you in the right direction. Answer without hesitating or thinking too much, and trust your

inner guidance. • What does Life Purpose mean to me? (Write down the first thing that comes to your mind.) • What are my talents/skills? (These are the gifts that you were born with, those that come naturally to you.) • Where do I use my talents/skills? (Do you use your gifts 1. at home in your personal life, 2. in your professional life or 3. in both?) • How often do I use my talents/skills as a percentage of my day? (Note the percentage of time during the day you utilize your gifts in 1. your home and personal life and 2. in your professional life.) • Do you value your skills? (Yes or no.) • Do others value your skills (Yes or no.) • What skills do you desire to learn? (Listen to your desires; they usually will give an indication of new skills you should be working on.) • What are my challenges? (These are the lessons you need to learn to move forward in your Life Purpose.) • Do you feel the need to constantly create change? (Yes or no. Constant change can indicate two things. Either you are frustrated in your current life/lifestyle and need to change it often so you can satisfy your soul, or you know that with every change you are achieving the skills you need to move on to the next step. In other words, you are working to get all the pieces of your life into alignment with your Life Purpose.) • Write a summary that outlines where you need to develop in life to find and live your Life Purpose. (Your own thoughts on what feels right for you to do next.) • What does Life Purpose mean to you now? (After finishing this exercise, has it changed? Do you need to look at it from a different angle?) Answering these questions should give you a clear picture of where you are using your gifts and how you can integrate them into other areas where you are not using them. It also should prompt you to start thinking about the value of your gifts and what you have to offer the world. Be sure to examine the areas you need to work on in both your personal life and professional world. Look at your desires and how you can start to bring them into form and weave them into your current gifts. Look at your challenges as an opportunity to learn. And, most importantly, enjoy the journey!

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Dolores J. Gozzi is a speaker, coach, and healer who guides women to follow their heart and lead with their wisdom. She teaches women how to access their gifts, challenges, and desires as the core thread of their life purpose. Her nature-inspired programs, oracle readings, women’s retreats, and creation coaching are designed to educate and empower participants to connect to their unique sacred essence and bring desires naturally into form. Dolores’s mission is to support women in reconnecting with their inner strength for transformational change. She offers coaching and healing sessions in nature’s classroom where she lives in Florida, via the phone, or online at www.naturescycles.com This article is a chapter from the book Transform Your Life! written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at Amazon.com, BN.com, www.Transformation-Publishing.com and all ebook formats.

Coaching

Bridging Generations By Ryan Miller Not long ago I came across a powerful quote from a reporter named Jim Nauton that made me stop and reflect. It was in an article about life coaching that originally was published in the August 2002 issue of Psychotherapy Networking: “The ever more challenging character of modern life has created a market for men and women that can provide, for a fee, as service that older generations once performed for younger generations. Since World War II, increased mobility and the decline of family and community ties have reduced intergenerational contact, with the result that a lot of the support structures in people’s lives have broken down.” What caught my attention in particular—and sent me on a pleasant trip down memory lane— is the part of the quote that reads:

“…a service that older generations once performed for younger generations.” As a life coach today, I have many experiences and human

interactions that have helped to steer my career. I am a spiritual leader, a husband, a father, and an employee of a human services agency that is pioneering strategies to combat intergenerational poverty in our community and beyond. I have been an advocate for the aged and those with mental illness and, for a season of my life, covered the night shift at a local emergency room to help those in crisis situations (homicidal, suicidal or just hurt and confused by other people and life events). Through all of these roles—and the training, experience and people that came along with them—I have learned a lot. I am also an avid reader with a college degree, and the academic world has provided another foundation for learning. However, some of my most valuable lessons have come from being raised in a rural community by a single mother. I did not grow up with a father, but I was blessed to have a number of men in my local faith community, from my extended family, and even from the wider community who shared life lessons and hard-earned wisdom with me. Some of the greatest lessons were “taught” while fishing along streams with a great uncle. Others came while taking leisurely rides down twisty back roads looking for wildlife with another uncle and sitting in a garage on upside

down five-gallon buckets trying to put a bike back together. One of my most memorable teachings came along the historic Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania as cars sped by. Between my home and my grandmother’s home was a bright green house. In that house lived an elderly man I only had the pleasure of meeting once. But what a memorable meeting! I stopped by his place often in the summer, though, looking for bright red treasures. They were the fresh garden-grown tomatoes set out on a table alongside used shopping bags and an old butter bowl for payment. You would drive up, bag your own tomatoes and leave a few bucks in the bowl. One day, while completing my transaction, Nasby appeared from his green house. As we stood by the road for about 20 minutes, I learned about life from Nasby’s perspective. I heard about the importance of being a person of your word, not spending more than you made, and many, many other pieces of valuable life wisdom. He didn’t know me, but he had lived for many years, and he had advice to share that he felt could help me throughout life. He was right. Jim Naughton was also right in his quote. There is a need for life coaches today. The process of life coaching includes, among many other things, championing, affirming and stretching clients. Each of the many people who spoke wisdom and value into my life over the years was doing one, or more, of these three things. They were cheering me on (championing), affirming me by giving me time, and often stretching me with their insights. But these are just three of the many things that a life coach can do to help clients succeed. Other parts of the process include helping people discover their identity, their deepest values and their purpose.

Indeed, a coach can help you discover life goals and create strategies to reach those goals—one step at a time. They hold you accountable as you move forward and cheer you on as you hit milestones. There is little looking back, or moving backward, in life coaching.

A coach is like a life architect who focuses on the present and builds a solid plan for the future. It is not about archeology, or digging through the past. Life coaching is about moving forward into your future—and destiny.

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Ryan Miller offers coaching based on practical life experience, two decades of spiritual leadership, and nearly 20 years in human services development. He uses personal wisdom about life, people and how to overcome obstacles to help others develop a vision and achieve their destiny. His first book, Stepping Stones: A Pathway Into His Presence, was released fall 2016. For the past several years, Coach Ryan also has been partnering with a non-profit in pioneering 2G strategies to break intergenerational poverty in the United States through familycentered coaching practices. Coach Ryan has a Master Life Coach Certification through Transformation Services Inc. and is a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer and Speaker. He is the founder of Ascend Life Coaching at www.AscendLifeCoacing.net. This article is a chapter from the book Transform Your Life! written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at Amazon.com, BN.com, www.Transformation-Publishing.com and all ebook formats.

Enlightened Advice

Dear Ms. Spiritual Matters, I live in an age-restricted (55 and older) setting. The mission of this village is to provide food choices, exercise and companionship that will maintain and improve health. Each apartment has a living room, bedroom, bathroom, porch, and mini-kitchen. Communal meals are offered. Residents can practice Tai Chi, yoga and group sports together. There are nondenominational church services weekly. But, something is missing. My wife of 50 years died a year before I moved here. Her picture is prominently displayed on a living room table. People come and go but never comment on the photo. My heart still aches. I wish visitors would ask me about my wife. I think of her every day. She’ll never be gone from my life. Yours, Brad Dear Brad, You are not the only one connected to a loved one who has died. Over half of surviving spouses say they have been visited and talked to their deceased spouse.

Witness talking at a cemetery. You will hear people speaking aloud to folks who are no longer present. It’s normal to want people to ask you about your wife. Visitors may need a hint from you that speaking about her is welcome. You might say, “This is a photo of my wife. We were married 50 years and had two children. There is not a day I do not talk to her.” Although people tend to see themselves primarily as physical beings, we are not primarily a body housing a mind and a spirit. We are a spirit animating, for a time on this earth, a body with a mind. When our body and mind wear out and are gone, the spirit remains. These spirits come into our thoughts and give rise to our voices as we encounter experiences throughout our days. Our relationship with a loved one never ends. It just changes form. “Death brings an end to life but not to relationship.”—Robert Anderson in the play I Never Sang For My Father Good wishes, Ms. Spiritual Matters

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Susan Schoenbeck holds Baccalaureate and Master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an experienced educator and teaches nursing students at Walla Walla University -- Portland, Oregon campus. She is an oblate of a Benedictine Monastery where she learned centering and contemplative meditation practices. She is author of the book, Zen and the Art of Nursing, Good Grief: Daily Meditations, and NearDeath Experiences: Visits to the Other Side.

Enlightenment The questions above are most haunting when you view life from a duality perspective. Dualism is the belief that life is divided, that you are separate from others and the Source of all life. Einstein considered the belief that you are separate from the rest of creation to be an optical delusion. When you believe only what your five senses report, you are trapped in dualist beliefs. You suffer from illusions that warp your perceptions of reality. Even though your five senses are amazing, it’s a scientific fact that they detect much less than 1 percent of reality. It’s as though you’ve looked at life through a tiny pinhole and then wondered why it doesn’t make sense. The more you see beyond your five senses, the greater your degree of unity consciousness. You enjoy an increased awareness that all life is interconnected, ever-expanding and never-ending.

Did My Soul REALLY Plan All This? by Mark Pitstick, MA, DC Have you ever wondered . . . 1) Are the events that happen while you are on Earth planned? 2) If yes, who does the planning? God? Your soul? Your guides? 3) To what degree are events planned? Are they completely “set-in-stone” or just partially influenced? 4) Do souls always succeed with their plans, or do they sometimes fail? 5) Can pre-planning be changed and, if so, by whom? 6) And—the biggest question—why in the world would souls choose to suffer with illness, disability, death of loved ones, etc.? If you have thought about these questions, you have lots of company. I hear them almost daily from people around the world, especially those who are experiencing significant tragedy, pain, sadness, loneliness and hopelessness. It’s completely understandable that they ask these questions. Those who have endured tough changes and challenges struggle to discover if there really is purpose and meaning to life. Or is life just a series of random, chaotic and unfair events? One couple wrote to me after a horrible event: “Our daughter was murdered and the man who did it was never caught.” A mother wrote: “My son was addicted to drugs for many years and eventually died by suicide.” These are very difficult and heart-breaking events. I’ve wrestled with these questions for over 40 years. Working in hospitals with many suffering and dying people, including children, can do that. In addition, I’ve worked with many people like the parents above. A person with an open heart on this planet can either find sensible answers, shut down emotionally, numb out with drugs and alcohol, or go crazy.

Here’s another way to look at it. Life can be viewed as either: 1. meaningful and purposeful, or 2. chaotic and random. If it’s the former—and there’s good evidence for that perspective— then from where/whom does the meaning and purpose stem? Some find peace in the answer that those come from selfless service to others. Others feel that the “meaning and purpose department” is staffed by an all-knowing God. Still others prefer a model that our souls choose events that will result in optimal growth. Each of these answers is like a blind man’s description of an elephant. They’re each true, but only partially so. Whenever discussing big questions like this, it’s important to realize that everyone is unique. There’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer that will be accurate and satisfactory. Likewise, life before and after an earthly incarnation varies greatly—it’s not the same for everyone. Here’s an example: What if someone asked you, “What is it like on planet Earth?” You have only experienced a very small fragment of the entirety of life here and that experience is greatly shaped by your beliefs and what you focus upon. There are over 7

billion humans and probably that many different answers to the question, “What is life on Earth like?” The same problem exists with general answers to questions about afterlife, pre-birth planning and other “spiritual topics.” That’s why wise ones teach with stories, metaphors and parables. There’s a story about a traveler who arrived at the outskirts of a city. An old man was sitting in the shade and the traveler said, “I’m looking for a new place to live. What’s it like here?” The old man paused and asked, “What was it like where you came from?” The traveler said, “Oh it was awful. People were negative, selfish and ignorant. I was so glad to leave there.” The old man replied, “It’s pretty much that way here too.” At that, the first traveler continued on to find a better place to live. A few hours later, a second traveler approached the city and asked the same old man, “What’s it like here?” The old man answered, “Tell me what it was like where you lived before?” The new arrival beamed, “Oh, it was wonderful. The people were so nice and peaceful. They went out of their way to be friendly and follow the Golden Rule.” The old man smiled and replied, “It’s pretty much that way here too.”

This lesson is especially vital for the topic of pre-birth planning. The maturity of the soul involved affects the degree to which pre-birth planning (PBP) is wisely designed and carried out. All souls, it seems, develop goals that they hope to reach during an upcoming “physical” incarnation. And this planning is always assisted by the Light and their spiritual support team. However, depending on the degree of soul evolution, that guidance may or may not be followed. Let’s consider two extremes. Beginner souls are just learning their way around the block, so to speak. They may not even ask for, let alone follow, wise guidance from their angels, guides and the Light. Once on Earth, they may completely ignore the little guidance they did absorb. They may totally go off plan and, as a result, their lives are chaotic. Lives like this make it seem that there is no soul planning. Advanced souls, on the other hand, understand the importance of seeking wise guidance and following it to the best of their ability. They know about the Law of Attraction and are mastering application of that in the most difficult circumstances. As a result, they are quite adept at successful planning and fulfilling of their soul’s missions. Lives like theirs strongly reflect how soul planning can ideally work. Many times, a soul does not fulfill its plans. The “One Mind” knows those probabilities and factors and understands that perfection exists in all aspects of Life. Do you participate in that? Do you consistently believe and demonstrate that? Spiritually transformative experiences (STEs) awaken

you to a greater reality that helps all life events—even the sad and bad ones—make more sense. STEs can be triggered by: neardeath experiences, after-death contacts, out-of-body experiences, birth or death of loved ones, mind-altering drugs, encountering a miracle, religious/ spiritual revelatory experiences, or a close encounter with death or violence. STEs can also occur spontaneously without any identifiable cause, thereby supporting the notion that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Centering practices that can facilitate STEs include: spiritual study and fellowship; meditation; deeply loving a person or pet; drumming and chanting; service to others; quiet time in nature; sacred lovemaking; crafts; and inspirational artwork, literature, or theater. These help quiet the mind and strengthen an inner knowing that there is much more to life than meets the eye. The more you know that you are one with All That Is— now and forever—the less important the six questions above become. You may be curious, but you don’t ask them because you are motivated by fear. You know that life is a never-ending, albeit often-changing, dance of energy. The more you glimpse this bigger picture, you more you realize that your earth experience is a totally safe, meaningful and magnificent adventure amidst forever. Glimpsing that you—and everyone else—are indestructible, interconnected and eternal beings of spirit/consciousness/ energy removes or greatly decreases fear. A dualistic perspective creates needless melodrama. The more developed your unity consciousness, the more peace, joy, comfort and hope you will feel. However, some people aren’t ready for a discussion that goes beyond dualism. And so, as I answer the questions above, I’ll often use some dualistic language that implies you are separate from your loved ones, your spiritual support team, and Universal Intelligence. But you’re not. My answers to the questions comprise 14 pages that can’t be shared in this article. You can read them in Foundational Article for Healing & Transformation #25: Did My Soul REALLY Choose All This? on the left lower part of the SoulProof.com homepage.

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Mark Pitstick, MA, DC is an author, master’s clinical psychologist, holistic chiropractic physician, frequent media guest and workshop facilitator. He is Director of The Soul Phone Foundation, Vice-President of Eternea, and board member of Helping Parents Heal. Mark can help you know and show that—no matter what is going on around you and even though it may not seem like it at times—this earth-experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst forever. Visit www.soulproof.com for free articles, newsletters and radio shows with top consciousness experts.

Enlightenment

Your Purpose In Life Includes a Paradox by Owen K Waters The Age-Old Questions of Life 1) “Why are we here?” 2) “What is the meaning of life?” According to basic spiritual principles, we are individual expressions of Infinite Being and we are here to experience life. Each person is unique, and our purpose on Earth is to experience life from our own unique perspective. We are the eyes and ears, so to speak, of Infinite Being. You are here to experience your uniqueness, and to experience it as fully as possible. That way, you learn as much as possible from the experience of being who you are in this particular incarnation. The Paradox

It is a paradox that everyone is here for the same reason and yet everyone has an individual purpose. Everyone is here to experience life as deeply as possible, and yet your individual purpose is to explore your unique character. Everyone, therefore, has a unique function within the infinite variety of Creation.

And, there is another paradox—the question of destiny versus freewill. People seem to have freewill, and yet, if destiny exists, wouldn’t pre-destiny cancel freewill? Not exactly. Here’s how it works.

You planned your overall path through life before you were born. That life plan is your overall destiny, but the details of life leave plenty of room for freewill. You could even use your freewill to change your whole life plan, but then, why would you want to change your own life plan? The fact that your physical brain doesn’t remember your own pre-made plan doesn’t hinder the fact that it continues to unfold as time goes by. Your inner self, your soul, remembers your plan perfectly. One of the functions of your inner self is to give you hunches that you can follow. These hunches, when acted upon, assist you to explore your life’s potential to the fullest effect. Meditators Have More Fun Regular meditation keeps you in tune with your inner self and helps to guarantee that you get the most out of life by being in the right places at the right times. Then synchronicity can unfold in the form of meetings and events that support your life’s purpose. At a soul level, you are a member of an extended family of many hundreds of people. All of these people know and love you, so there are always ample opportunities available for incarnation through parents that you already know at a soul level. People usually choose lives where they can surround themselves with members of their extended soul family. People in the same soul family share com-

mon themes. They are in tune with your consciousness and therefore interested in the same issues and experiences in life. Before the Veil of Birth When it was time for you to incarnate into this life, you viewed several alternatives, including several possible sets of parents. Your final choice offered you the best opportunity to explore the activities and issues that you have been experiencing. How much detail goes into planning an entire lifetime? Destiny exists for the main events in your life—the major choices, events and connections in your life. Important relationships are carefully planned so that they have the best chance of happening. Your parents and your environment are chosen for how they will mold your life in the direction that you wish to explore. In the pre-life planning stage, you actually get to see how everything will turn out as you explore different alternatives and scenarios. Then you make your big choice. You say, “I’ll take Fred and Freda Smith as parents. I’ll be their baby boy, starting in eight months when I get born. Until then I’ll hang around them in spirit, at least on and off, until it’s time to emerge and become a baby person. Then I’ll grow up in their family, attending that local elementary school. When they move to Phoenix as planned, I’ll go to high school there and meet my old buddy, who’ll be called Freddie, and he’ll be the same age as me. Sylvia’s family will move into town when I’m 16, and being her boyfriend will start to shape the direction of the rest of my life. We’ll go to the same college together and explore the idea that she will need me to support her while she goes on to medical school to become a doctor.” And so on, and so on, as the plan unfolds. Each plan eventually includes a series of agreements orchestrated to interact with the plans of other souls.

place—the shift from a consciousness of separation to one of integration. Separation consciousness has been the theme for thousands of years. We have separated into tribes, then countries and empires. We have separated ourselves by race, sex and religion. We have even separated our own consciousness, focusing it further into the external world and away from the inner light which is the very source of our consciousness. One of the first differences that will be noticed as the world evolves towards integrated consciousness is that people will care more about their work. Most people today see their work as a means to an end, as a way to pay the bills and maybe get ahead a little. Tomorrow, people will work at what they love and they will care deeply about the quality of service that they provide because they will care for their customers. Of course, there are people who work just like that today, but they are in the minority. Tomorrow, it will become the new standard, the new work ethic. Loving what you do and doing what you love. The purpose of being human in today’s Shift to the New Reality is to learn how to translate universal love into human form. Universal love is the aspect of original consciousness that holds Creation together. The universe is, by its very design, filled with the love of the Original Creator. Once universal love has been transformed through the heart-consciousness of a human being, it enters the global mind atmosphere of Earth, which we all share. This upgrades the entire human experience, taking us one more step into the unfolding New Reality.

The purpose of being human in today’s Shift to the New Reality is to learn how to translate universal love into human form.

Themes, Issues, Adventures Personal themes are planned for exploration in life, as well as soul family themes. Also, there are cultural themes and global issues, especially in today’s growing global awareness. One theme that society has been developing over the last few decades is the issue of liberation from the imbalance of a patriarchal society. At the same time, an even larger shift has been taking

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Owen K Waters is a cofounder of the Spiritual Dynamics Academy, where a where a free spiritual growth newsletter awaits you at: www.SpiritualDynamics.net. He is an international spiritual teacher who has helped hundreds of thousands of spiritual seekers to understand better the nature of their spiritual potential. Owen’s life has been focused upon gaining spiritual insights through extensive research and the development of his inner vision. For the past 12 years, he has written a spiritual metaphysics newsletter which empowers people to discover their own new vistas of inspiration, love and creativity. Spiritual seekers enjoy his writings for their insight and clarity.