Dealing with multiple family issues in varying depths of negative physical & emotional drama, I keep hearing the message…. “When you starve your spirit, the body compensates.”

Or in most instances, over compensates.

Illness, weight issues, depression, addictions; many times these are all physical and emotional symptoms of a starving spirit.

The Bible teaches us that “a merry heart does good like medicine” (Prov. 17:22).

Proverbs 15:13 tells us, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

Bible believing Christian or not, there are medical studies that substantiate this idea. But forget medical proof for a moment and think about the people in your life who are ill.

What does their countenance (face, attitude, actions) reveal to you?

Are they upbeat and positive or “down in the mouth”?

Are they the picture of health (acceptable weight, tolerable or manageable level of physical ailments, sensible/rational attitudes, realistic/practical actions) or just the opposite?

Now I’m not going to try and convince you that every person who has been a victim of physical or mental abuse or who has contracted an illness of some sort is merely suffering because they neglect nurturing their spiritual life. I know many devout spiritual beings who suffer diseases.

Nor am I making light of either.

I merely want to point out that feeding and nurturing your spirit is one way to get your physical and emotional well-being on the mend. When the spirit is healthy, many times the body follows.

So how do we get from starving to nurturing our spirit?

Often a simple shift in perception from “woes me” to gratitude can start you on your way to spiritual health. Forgiveness also plays a huge part in this.

“I’ve forgiven but I can’t forget” is a cop out.

I know that sounds harsh but Scripture tells us to speak the truth in love and sometimes love has to be gentle but firm and sometimes the truth hurts; hence the term ‘tough love’.

The Bible tells us that God remembers not our sins, yet we tend to wallow in those perpetrated against us and/or cling to guilt and self-condemnation for those we committed against others.

If God, who is holy and just forgets our sins, who are we, to hold onto those memories and rehash our pain and anger, or disappointment and self pity?

Here’s the rub: As long as you feel and act the victim, you can not live a victorious life!

To put it another way: You can’t have a positive, healthy life (spiritual or otherwise) if you have a negative outlook.

Oh and if you think you are “only being realistic,” think again.

You are hurting no one but YOURSELF when you drag the past into the present and project it into your future.

“But it hurts so much…the pain is so deep….”

Then STOP focusing on it! Focus on today and the good present in your life right now.

Now that I’ve given you something to ponder, here are some ideas and resources….

• Prayer, fasting, and meditation are all proven methods to regain and optimize health and are as important to your overall well-being as diet and exercise.

• Read your Bible! Highlight Scriptures on health and wellness, depression and forgiveness, etc. Or better yet, pick up a copy of God’s Promises, The Tongue a Creative Force by Charles Capps or You’ll Get Through This by Max Lucado.

• Start and maintain an attitude of gratitude.  The Magic by Rhonda Byrne breaks this concept down to expressing gratitude for the simplest things! She also offers a “gratitude journal.” Success coach and author, Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul books) also has a gratitude journal as do numerous authors!

• Read some of the books listed in my post What You Don’t Control, Controls YOU!

• Read and do the exercises in Marianne Williamson’s A Course in Weight Loss. This wonderful resource gets to the heart of the matter with practical yet very personal ways to connect with and nurture your spirit.
• Implement energy work such as EFT/Tapping
• Work with a Life Coach or Therapist

​These are just a few examples but I promise, as you get started feeding your spirit, you’ll see and feel a difference in your overall condition and discover more ways to enforce the new, happier, healthier you.

Something to think about...
*Image by Gizelle from Pixabay*

I’ve had this conversation with others many times and it’s frustrating when some just don’t get it!

What you don’t control, controls you…

Don’t control your flesh, you are constantly at its beck and call to do things you know you shouldn’t do… Over indulge on food, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, sex, shopping, or other unhealthy habits. Or on the flip side of the coin—starve yourself, binge and purge, exercise excessively, pinch pennies so tight you have no enjoyment in the fruits of your labor.

Don’t control your thoughts; you are planting a harvest of similar circumstances you will reap in the future. You can’t have a positive life with a negative attitude.

Don’t control your mouth; you’re sowing seeds of discord and destruction (see statement above about attitude).

Don’t control your emotions; you will constantly be on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs based on your circumstances. Happy when everything is going your way, moody and irritable when they are not. Allowing others’ emotional drama affect you and jerk you around.

Don’t control your money, you’ll constantly be chasing a dollar, always be a day late and a dollar short or never have two nickels to rub together.

Any of this sound familiar?

The Bible teaches us in Galatians 5:22-24 (NKJV)… “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJV) exhorts… “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

And, Titus 1:7-9 (NKJV) insists that, “For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”  The footnote for this scripture says that “bishop” literally means overseer, but aren’t we all kings and priests? (Rev. 1:6 & 5:10).

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, or stuck my nose right in the middle of your mess, please allow me to share some insight with you on how you can change all of those “out of control” things in your life.

#1: Get clear about what you want (or don’t want)! Sit down with a pen and paper and make a list. Ask yourself, ask your SOUL… “What is wrong in my life?” Or, better yet… “Why am I not happy?” Then write down the answers. Don’t just put ‘everything’, get downright honest with yourself and be specific.

Many folks don’t realize the absolute power in writing things down. When you ponder your life, your mind will keep going in circles…. Criticizing and explaining (or making excuses) until you are mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted with no answers.

#2: Ask yourself… “What would make me happy?” Again, get clear and be specific. Don’t discount anything that comes to your mind. Don’t decipher the answers. Don’t scratch anything off that list.

Now is the time to get completely, even brutally honest with yourself and remember, this is between your soul and God so don’t feel any answer to either question is stupid or insignificant!

Give yourself as long as you need to answer these two questions….a few days, a week maybe, then put them away for a day or two and look at them again. Add anything else that comes to mind. Again do not decipher or delete.

Now that you are clear, ask God to show you how to make the necessary changes in your life. Write down what He shows or tells you. As with the answers to the first two questions, don’t discount anything.

I know sometimes those answers may appear crazy or impossible, but remember, nothing is impossible to him that believes… AND… with God all things are possible.

#3: Take action. Start with one area/answer at a time (more than 1 is ok as long as you don’t get overwhelmed). Read books, listen to CD’s, write affirmations, make (and follow) a budget or financial plan, exercise and eat right, keep a journal (or several), create a vision board (or several), pray and meditate. All of these activities are proven methods of taking control, taking back your power, and healing your life.
Some people won’t do this because it appears too easy (or too hard), but trust me, if you take the time to get clear about your life then follow through and stick with the plan(s) God gives to you, your heart, mind, soul, and spirit, and, oh yeah, your future will thank you.

Added bonus: All the people in your life will thank you too!

Something to think about…..                                         
“Inspirational with an Edge!” ™

Some Resources: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life & There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Dr. Wayne Dyer, A Return to Love & The Law of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson, You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay, Real Health, Real Life by Jillian Lambert, The Secret & The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey, I Declare by Joel Osteen, Battlefield of the Mind & Change Your Words, Change Your Life: Understanding the Power of Every Word You Speak by Joyce Meyer, Open Your Mind to Receive & The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder, any/everything by any or all of these authors as well as others mentioned on this blog.

A few weeks back I mentioned Kathleen Cameron, a wealth/manifestation coach. In that post I shared her website and YouTube channel. 

Today I'd like to share with you some nuggets of gold I gleaned from reading Kathleen's debut book, Becoming the One.

Let me begin by saying Kathleen's journey from RN to Manifestation Queen/Diamond Academy CEO is an inspiring one. Like many people who embark on a spiritual/personal development journey, Kathleen found herself exhausted and in a health crisis from continuously striving to better, be/do more.

The Foreword in Becoming the One is written by none other than the late, great Bob Proctor. That alone makes the book worth reading!

Nugget: Your reality is what you decide it to be in your mind.

Sound familiar? Proverbs teaches us, as a man thinks in his heart so is he.

My favorite chapter is 3 in which Kathleen tackles the mindset issues she dealt with (and changed) as a "plus-sized" woman. Low self-esteem, non-existent self love, judgment, self-loathing, etc. In this amazing chapter, she encourages us to be our own cheerleader, to shift our perceptions from what those outside of us say and to take back our power by understanding we are not our bodies - we are in our bodies.

Nugget: Stop letting your body (physical appearance) be the reason you're not successful. It is a choice to let fabricated beauty (or success) standards in from the outside.

The next several chapters go into how Kathleen discovered the power of positive thoughts, affirmations, visualization, scripting, and other manifestation techniques. She gives examples of what she acertained, how she put these processes into practice, and the amazing results she garnered. She puts forth questions she asked herself to get the most out of her transformation journey.

Questions we'd all do well to ask and get honest with ourselves about how we might be self-sabotaging our dreams and goals.

Nugget: Becoming "the one" means taking responsibility. I am the only one who can change my circumstances.

This wonderful book shows the awesome power of our thoughts and feelings-our internal world's-effect on our external circumstances and the work we can do to change anything about our life. I recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement on their spiritual/personal growth journey and proof that the mind/body/heart/soul connection is real and how powerful we truly are.

Nugget: Trust - in yourself and God/the Universe.

Becoming the One is worth every penny you'll invest in purchasing it but Kathleen offers a free pdf or audio version to download as well as a 15 minute call to one of her success advisors, to those who simply fill out the form on her website. 

Read my Amazon review HERE.

I hope you enjoy this post and that you'll check out Kathleen's book! Her newest release, The Best of Yourself is on my wish list.

Until next time take care and remember.... the power of life and death are in the tongue. Prov. 18:21

PamT

To Thine Own Self be True

From birth we are groomed for marriage and babies. Sometimes a career or dream will take precedence, but for most of us it’s domesticity. Even if we pursue those other aspects, marriage and babies always seem to be a huge part of our life plan.

How often though do we teach our daughter and/or granddaughter to seek, listen to and honor her soul?

I’m not talking about the words of the world or voices of their piers.

I’m talking about the still, small voice inside, the wisdom and direction we can only gain by going within.

Going to God.

From the time I could articulate, my desire was to be a wife and mother; a stay-home mom who would create a wonderful life and beautiful memories for my family. Not a bad dream, but not once did I sit quietly and check with my soul before jumping into the relationships that resulted from that ambition. Is it any wonder the “stay home” part never materialized? Though not disastrous, the results of my choices were less stellar than they could have been had I simply asked….

Is this the path I’m supposed to be on? Do I have another purpose? Is this the person to help fulfill my destiny?

No, I just did as my heart urged, dealt with what life handed me thereafter, and devoted my whole being to the tasks, wrapping my entire identity into being So and So’s mother or Such and Such’s wife.

My initial impatience to fulfill my “life purpose” ended in divorce. The second attempt was the exact opposite. The love we experienced rivaled that of the best romance novel. Life was a carousel of laughter and tears, adventure, and fun. In twenty years, we had less than a handful of minor disagreements and even fewer major ones. My hero wasn’t perfect. Far from it. However he had my heart and I, his and I knew I’d found my happy-ever-after.

Until he died and everything fell apart.

I had no idea who I was or what I was supposed to be doing. My reason behind nearly everything I did–the very breath I took–was gone.

My purpose ripped out from under me.

Over the years of grief and growth, search, and discovery, I’ve learned to be still and to ask, then to listen for and honor the answers that come from the wisdom within my own soul.

I can’t say I’ve perfected the process. Self-care, growth, and discovery are lifelong developments. I still get confused by the voices of those who love me and those whom I love, the society we live in and the world at large. I don’t always make the right choice or decision. Sometimes I’m afraid to rock the boat or veer too far from the conventional wisdom with which I was raised or taught.

But I try.

Which is more than a lot of women can say.

I believe along with traditional education–religious and secular–we should teach our children, especially daughters, the art of meditative prayer, to listen to and honor their soul and to be true to their deepest self.

Not in a selfish or rebellious manner, but with honesty and truth, kindness, and grace. But until we as a collective whole see the absolute necessity of this, it’s never too early or late to cultivate this practice in our and our children’s lives.

Nor does it take long.

Studies have proven it takes between 16-18 seconds to change a thought and sustained for that minute amount of time, the brain has the power to attract similar reflections, thereby propelling the trajectory of your day–and therefore, your life–in the direction of your attentions.

Start with five minutes, 2 or 3 times a day. Set a timer if you have to. Pick a thought or emotion you’d like to exemplify in your daily life: Love, peace, joy or if your desire is more spiritual in nature, Jesus, God, Angels.

Inhale (deep breaths) on the thought then listen to the silence as you exhale. If your mind starts to wander, gently bring it back to your point of concentration.

Before long, you’ll reap the benefits of regular, focused prayer/meditation and you’ll find yourself making time for longer interludes.

As you develop your practice, keep a journal or notebook handy and jot down imaginations or ideas that come to you, solutions to problems and even answers to prayer or petition. Most of all seek answers to the most important questions in your life and take time to connect to the deepest part of you.

Your soul.
Your self.
 
Something to think about...
PamT