The question has been posed, integrity examined …. “Do you REALLY believe all this positivity stuff? Do you REALLY believe it can change a life?”

In John, Jesus said “This is the work of God, that you believe…” Now I know the Scripture goes on to say that we believe “on him whom He hath sent” meaning we are to believe in HIM. But think about it….

He also said, “Whatever you say when you pray, believe you have received, and it shall be given unto you.”

God told us in Deuteronomy that the power of life and death are in our tongue. So to answer the question, Yes, I believe….

I believe Jesus is my Lord and Savior but He is also my brother, friend and teacher. I believe God is the Almighty creator of the universe as well as my loving father who wants to bless me with the wildest dreams in my heart.

I believe God is much bigger than the boxes we put Him in, especially those outlined in the Bible. I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God but it has been written by man, filtered through human consciousness and subject to the circumstances and culture of the time. I believe there are depths and levels of faith and spirituality we may never understand but I also believe it pleases God when we try, ask questions, seek after answers, and knock on doors of knowledge.

I believe, next to love, gratitude is the greatest asset we can ever aspire to have. I believe fear is our biggest obstacle and judgment and guilt are useless wastes of energy. I believe we can rise above our circumstances and “call those things that be not as though they are” (actually the word here is were…. past tense as in been there, done that…so why is it those things we desire are not showing up in our life?)

I believe you can not have a positive life with a negative attitude. I believe, with the help of God, you can create a better life for yourself than anyone in your family has ever experienced. I believe selfishness is the root of all evil and that money is simply a means through which God blesses you so that you may be a blessing to others and thereby build His kingdom.

I believe love is the most powerful emotion and we are at our highest level of spirituality and closest to God when we give it freely, without expectation of reward.
I believe some people love their misery. They are comfortable in it and although they say differently, they really don’t want to change, but want others to change for them. This is the highest level of selfishness.

I believe you can’t change the past but you can change the future by your thoughts, words, emotions and actions of today.

I believe the past is over, the future isn’t here yet and today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the ‘present’ and we would do well to live fully in the moment. I believe our past may be a contributing factor in our lives today but with love, gratitude, and forgiveness, we can rise above the pain of that time and life a blessed and happy life.

I believe heaven is nearer than we think and our loved ones who’ve crossed over as near as our next thought and if we listen close enough, they will continue to speak to us and  if we let go of our preconceived notions of heaven being “out there somewhere”, we will experience it here on earth.

I believe life is 100% perception…how you perceive things is how they’ll be for you.

I believe with God all things are possible and nothing is impossible to them that believe…. Believe in God, believe in yourself, believe in your dreams, believe in your goodness, believe in your beauty, believe in the power of love, peace, joy, happiness, bliss.  Believe God is on your side and wants to bless you and quit speaking the opposite!

I believe we “eat the fruit” of our words. Speak negative (poverty, lack, sickness, disease) and you’ll attract those things into your circumstances. Speak positive and you’ll create a better life for yourself and those around you. I believe we give too much of our power to others by allowing them to control our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

I believe forgiveness unlocks the door to happiness and opens channels of blessing because when we forgive we become more like Jesus.

I believe when you heal your own life, you do your part in healing others.

I believe there is no time in eternity, so the reason creating a new life takes ‘time’ is because we let doubt and fear block our good and I believe we talk ourselves out of miracles every day.

Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I never have a bad day despite all I believe. But I will tell you this much, as I continue to walk by faith (not by sight) and speak words of life and love, gratitude and peace, those bad days or incidents are less traumatic and easier to get through than they were before I understood the power of my own thoughts and words.
​
Something to think about….
“Inspirational with an Edge!” ™
"Coaching in PJs" ​™

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*

In last week's post I talked about Pam Grout's books E2 (squared) and E3 (cubed) in which there are experiments to prove the Law of Attraction works. I also gave an example of a couple of things that showed up for me while reading and looking for items in one of the experiments that included 8 things to be conscious of and watch for (this is actually experiment #2). Since that post, I remembered another thing off her list: The number 222. On our way home I spotted a bilboard sporting an attorney's office and guess what his number was? (areacode) 222-2222!

Some folks might believe asking God, or the universe for a sign is immature or showing a lack of faith. But, many spiritual teachers encourage us to do so and there are instances in the bible where someone asked God for a sign. Gideon for example.

Dr. Joe Dispenza says in many of his meditations to ask the Divine for a sign if you really connected. Another meditation teacher says to ask God or your angels for a sign not specifying what that sign should be, but instead, pause when asking and see what pops into your mind or drops into your spirit then say, "thank you," and be on the lookout for whatever was whispered in your mind or heart.

Meditation teachers also advise you to pay attention to whatever visions or "downloads" appear to you during your practice and to keep your eyes open to receive.

One day I had a vision of a butterfly sitting on my shoulder. Now, frankly, I've never had a butterfly land on my shoulder or anywhere else. Even though I have seen a lot of them. But what struck me about this vision was how colorful the butterfly was.

So I kept my eyes and heart open and while on vacation, this lovely young woman waited on us and her eyes were painted up to look like a butterfly!

Instances like these to me are miracles and wonders and help me stay in faith that I am on the right path spiritually.

​Signs can show up in many ways and forms so be open to how yours may show up. For example, you ask to see a bear. You may see one in the wild, on a bilboard, a picture in a book or magazine, on a license plate or bumper sticker, something on your SM feed.

Can you recall any signs in your life? Please share, I'd love to hear about them!

Until next time, stay open to the signs, miracles and wonders God is trying to show you.

​PamT

When I received an email from Hay House that the book E3 was on sale, I grabbed it and commenced to reading right away.

I absolutely adore Pam Grout's writing! She explains spiritual and Law of Attraction concepts with depth and humor in this and her previous book, E2 (squared).

Both books have experiments for the reader to prove the authenticity of the Law of Attraction. One in E3 (#3 I think) Pam lists 8 things to intend to see and be on the lookout for. One was a toy from childhood and another was your favorite song from highschool.

I couldn't even think of a "favorite" song from highschool or toy from childhood so I set the intention and decided to stay open for some of the other signs... A belly laugh, beachball, and couple other things.

The belly laugh was easy to come by from watching AFV and other funny shows. Then, I noticed The Jungle Book was coming on TV and that brought back SO many memories from childhood. I remembered reading the book, watching the animated version, listening to the album (yeah, vinyl that's how old I am LOL!) and dancing around to the "Bear/Bare Necessities."

I took that as my sign and happily and gratefully watched the movie version with a real human actor as Mowgli.

If you are a fan of LOA literature, these two books should be in your repertoire. Both are filled with rainbows (knowledge) based on the author's and others' experieces, nuggets of gold (wisdom), and invite you to dream big and co-create your reality with God.

One of my favorite lines from E3 is, "Something amazingly awesome is going to happen to me today." I've added that to my daily affirmations.

From E2, "Align yourself with God consciousness and you can bring about truth in material form. What you think, you create." This quote is attributed to Peter Caddy of Findhorn - a place I'd love to visit!

I can't recommend Pam Grout's books enough especially for those who want proof LOA is real and how it works.

Until next time, take care and happy creating!
PamT

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.