The Theory of Stupidity – This Amazing Video Reveals All!

If you’ve been despairing at the state of the world and all the sickness and pure evil that has been allowed to run rampant, if you ask yourself daily, how did we get here? Then this video is a must see. This is how one malevolent ‘influencer’ can gain traction through the idiocracy of their followers and why social media could possible be one of the biggest dangers of our time:

Let me know what you thought of this video in the comments below.

This video is coutersy of SPROUTS channel, you can subscribe here.

If after watching this, you need a pick-me-up, here are some articles you may enjoy:

5 Easy Exercises to Create a Positive Life!

If you prefer, you can listen to this article on my podcast HERE. Or click on the picture below.

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“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

5 Ways to Create a Positive LifeWho’s in Charge?

You’re probably familiar with the saying ‘what you think you create’ but how can you seriously filter every bad thought? There is a way, I promise. But before we delve into the amazing powers each of us possess, we have to get one thing straight.

There’s only one person responsible for what you think and do and that’s YOU.

If the thought of being the creator of your reality scares the willies out of you, then read on…

The Freedom to Be Happy, to Be You

Can you remember learning how to swim or ride a bike?  Can you see how determined you were to succeed because you knew the pay-off was going to be huge?

You may have started off with water-wings, splashing about aimlessly— gulping in water — or peddling your heart out whilst trying to maintain your balance even with the training wheels on!  But that child never gave up.

Then what came next once the wheels were removed?  Probably scrapes and bruises the first week but did that deter you?  Did you give up then?  Probably not.  You wanted to ride!  You were hell-bent on feeling the wind on your face and the freedom that would bring with it.

Same goes for swimming — gliding about in the water refreshes and frees your body of weight.  You knew that swimming was going to be the biggest trip ever!

Where am I going with this?  Your thoughts need training wheels/water-wings if you want to experience the same freedom from negative thought.  And here’s how you’re going to do it…

Getting Real Right NOW

Here are a few things you can start to do today to become more aware and proactive with your thoughts:

  • Morning Motivation — When you wake up, give yourself 5-10 minutes to think about what how you want to see this day play out.  See if you can catch any worrisome or negative thoughts before they take hold of the exercise.  Put up a STOP sign in your mind and gently kick those blighters to the curb.  Then bring your focus back to visualizing your positive day ahead.  Try to smile and see/feel yourself enjoying this bright new day.  Emotions back your thoughts into manifestation.
  • Marrying the Mind — When you start to get a hold on your thought stream and just how much power you DO have over it, you can start to have a better relationship with your thinking.  You are now in control and you can focus your inner dialogue on what serves you instead of calling in all the unwanted experiences.  Start your affirmations off with a strong ‘I am…’.  For example ‘I am going to have a great day today’, ‘I am going to have a safe trip’, etc.  Try avoid the phrases ‘I desire’ or ‘I want’ because it only brings more desiring and wanting for the future.  When you use ‘I am’ it is in the present tense and is happening right now not in some future timeline.
  • Mind Mangle Cleanse — During the day (if you are but a mere mortal) you will probably find yourself slipping into worry, blame, anger, despair and an array of other harmful mind banter.  You may even find that your head is throbbing because of all the distorted ‘mind mangling’ that’s going on up there.  Here’s  your chance to hold up that STOP sign again and see if you can look at things from a different perspective.  Most of what we worry about never comes to pass and most judgments/situations when seen from a different angle can evoke empathy instead of anger.  See if you can alchemize your thinking — in other words, find the treasure in the trash. Read related article: 3 Ways to Alchemize Chaos
  • SmartSelectImage_2022-11-01-15-09-45Re-Member — We often get lost in ‘doing’ and not ‘being’.  Try to remember all the things that make you happy and bring you joy. Start a gratitude journal (see my gratitude journal to your right and you can get yours by clicking on the picture) When you smile the world smiles with you.  So, remember to feel gratitude for life, nature and the people that make your world spin.  Look at every magnificent dawn or sunset as a blessing, every fragrant flower or birdsong as a gift, every smile or hug as a gesture of love and draw on those experiences when you’re in a negative frame of mind.  See if you can remove yourself from a negative situation and sit under a tree or listen to some soothing music.  Seek out those small but beautiful moments in your life and embrace them.  Hold them close to your chest and bring them out when you need to.  It’s bound to make you smile. You can always alter your reality at any time.  Don’t forget that.  If you choose to stay in the gloom, then just know that ‘this too shall pass’.
  • Over and Out — At the end of the day, review what happened and see if you can pick out any situations that you have turned around in reality.  Did you manage to have a good day?  Did things turn out like you affirmed in the morning?  Or close to?  Or can you do better tomorrow?  Keep trying and if you do see results it’s going to make you more determined — just like that little tike on the bicycle, gearing up for the next day’s practice.  Because you know that practice makes perfect!

“You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.” — Joyce Meyer

You will get a grip on your oh-so-powerful thought stream and you’ll be able to eventually steer those thoughts to benefit your life in ways that will make your head spin — in a good way!

Now it’s up to you to give yourself a reason to smile every day.

Cherie Roe DirksenCherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality.

Other articles you may enjoy:

4 Ways to Cure Negative Thinking       

My Top 7 Tips to Beat Inflation

Inflation affects us all. I wanted to share a few simple tips that helps my household budget withstand all the recent price hikes.

  1. Set a weekly budget. I can’t stress enough how important it is to know what you have to spend, what you need to put away for bills and, hopefully, what you can put away for a rainy day. And DON’T spend what you don’t have! This is something that was instilled in me by my parents from a young age and it is advice that has worked well for me. If it’s worth having, it’s worth saving for.
  2. Cook at home. Back in the day, my hubby and I loved dining out but since we made a commitment to save and spend more time and money beautifying our house and garden, I don’t miss it at all! Especially the bill at the end of an evening of merry culinary frivolity. I’m also much healthier now and know what is going into my body, an added bonus.
  3. Turn your hot water cylinder on for 2-3 hours a day, don’t leave it on all day long. This trick has saved us so much on our energy bill. And it gives us plenty of hot water for 2 people showering and doing dishes, etc. We also have a lot of energy saving bulbs and solar lights which help too.
  4. Fix things. Instead of always buying a replacement for a broken item (which I’ve been guilty of in the past), get a tube of superglue and/or get sewing. I’m amazed at what can be fixed, as good as new, around the house. And the clothes I’ve darned and repaired instead of throwing out are worth all the needle pricks (and there were many). I suck at sewing. But practice and even thee shall endure!
  5. Cancel unnecessary subscriptions. Entertainment doesn’t only come in the form of Netflix. Get reading again and dust off that library card! Most libraries also loan DVDs and puzzles too. Board games are a really fun way to pass the time with family and friends, when was the last time you played Chess? Exercise your brain. Read related article here: 8 Life Strategies That Playing Chess Has Taught Me
  6. Save with nature’s gym. Walking is my go-to all over body workout and it’s free. Do yourself a favour and, if possible, walk in nature and get some sunshine too.

I hope these tips help you to thrive even on a limited budget. Do you have a great savings tip? Please share in the comment box below. Oh, and, one last savings tip! I’m having an unbelievable sale at my store with up to 50% off. Please see below.

Up to 50% Off – Think Christmas!

My artsy cushions are only $12.57 each! You can click on the pictures to take you to the store. Funky socks, cool iPhone cases, hoodies and blankets are on sale too! Christmas gift shopping isn’t looking so bad after all! The sale is on from 7 -11th November 2022.

Check out my top cushion Christmas Picks 2022 HERE.

Thanks for looking!

4 Cures for Negative Thinking

Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come. ~Robert H. Schuller

My friend and I were out walking this morning around the neighborhood when we noticed some magnificent landscaping and flower beds to die for!  We were also, funnily enough, talking about having foggy, congested heads (physically and mentally) because of the amount of time we are spending on our computers.  We both happen to be writers.

I found that looking at these spectacular gardens really opened up my heart space and led me to think about this concept of the mind/garden metaphor.

If we can just give ourselves time in our own gardens (minds) to prune back, weed and cut off any dead branches and scrape up old leaves off the grass, we would be able to temper that stuffy headedness.

Back to my morning stroll…we then went on to discuss how meditation, exercise, getting out into nature and yoga work to unclog this tightness and tiredness in the head.

So, some good practices to follow when you feel your thoughts aren’t being honorable paying guests in your head are to:

1. Gift yourself some time for space and clarity

This doesn’t have to be for very long stretches (however long you want) but make sure it is at least 10-15 minutes of down-time.  You can sit in your garden, park or in a comfortable quiet space and reflect on your thoughts.  Realign them to what you feel comfortable with.  Then simply let all your thoughts dissolve and sit in stillness.  Observe what comes up and then put it aside.  Enjoy the space of just being.  We are human BEINGS not human DOINGS.  Don’t forget that.

More important than the quest for certainty is the quest for clarity. ~Francois Gautier

2. Assess yourself and think gratitude 

If you are having a lot of negative, worrisome thoughts, ask yourself if they are really necessary?  Is worrying about it going to change anything?  How can you steer them onto a different more nurturing path?  Can you list a few things you are grateful for? Better still, get yourself a gratitude journal and make it a daily practice.

There is a basic law that like attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. Conversely, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully, his positive thinking sets in motion creative forces — and success instead of eluding him flows toward him ~ Norman Vincent Peale

3. Go for a walk or do some yoga

Any kind of exercise can actually give you a huge boost.  I know a lot of people who are tired and worn out from a hard day’s work don’t particularly care for physical movement.  Perhaps you think it is the last thing that can help but it really can.  Just 20-30 minutes can really get you to shift stagnant energy and get your system up and firing.

Walking is a man’s best medicine. ~Hippocrates

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. ~Raymond Inmon

4. Breathe properly

Take a few good and hearty breathes.  This is a wonderful grounding tool and can get you into balance very quickly.  Most of us breathe very shallowly, not allowing for the body to become fully oxygenated.  Try to take in enough breath as to fill your lungs and spill over into your stomach (you should look like your pregnant — that is an indicator that you have got in enough air). Breathe in to the count of 5, hold it to the count of 5 and then consciously breathe out to the count of 5.  This enlivens and awakens your mind — try it, you’ll see.

Focusing on the act of breathing clears the mind of all daily distractions and clears our energy enabling us to better connect with the Spirit within. ~Author Unknown

Kick out fear, worry and drama to finally start renting your headspace out to positive, nurturing and creative thinking — the paying guest.

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Imagination is a Powerful Tool

You can listen to this as a podcast HERE (or click on the picture below) or continue reading below.

It’s so very important to keep your dreams alive and your imagination well-greased, as the quote below suggests.

Click on the picture to get your dreams and desires journal!

Of course, not the dreams where you’re in your underwear being chased down town center by a T-Rex or rocking up late to school without your PE kit. No, I’m referring to those personal goals and ambitions.

Lately I’ve been musing on my dreams and desires and have found some sneaky outdated ones.

And that’s okay.

I’m entitled to change my mind about what I want now. I thought that maybe not following through meant I was a failure. Upon reflection, I think I was failing at being true to where I’m at now, and clinging onto outworn ambitions has definitely been holding me back.

New dreams pop up like mushrooms. And it’s healthy to assess which ones to keep and which ones to spring clean.

I’m a person that feels the need to follow every idea through to conclusion, to my detriment. I’ve come to face it though, that’s just a recipe for burnout. My new mantra — like the old adage, ‘pick your battles‘ — is ‘pick your dreams.’

An Easier Way to Dream Up a New Objective

The best tool in your manifesting basket is your imagination.

Imagination isn’t just child’s play, it’s a potent projector. It’s a really beneficial practice to engage in some proactive imagining or lucid dreaming (where you get to control where the dream goes) for say 15-30 minutes a day, give or take.

Do it over a cuppa, or when you’re having some downtime. It’s important to be comfortable and to not be interrupted where possible.

Let your imagination soar and explore all possibilities, outcomes and scenarios of your most heartfelt dream. Keep imagining and strengthening your belief in that particular path.

You’ll be amazed at what you can manifest!

Have a Good Cry (If That’s What You Need To Do)

Funnily enough, after I had reassessed where I wanted to point my compass, I had a bit of a…well, you know…meltdown. I went through all the things I was doing ‘wrong’ and had a bit of a tearful moment and, of course, a ‘poor me’ pity party (and, yes, my stoic husband had to sit through the rant).

I was aware that I was being very negative in this rather dark doldrum but I let it happen. Purge time!

You guessed it, literally 15 minutes after I released my tears and fears (yep, ‘shout, shout, let it all out’ moment), I received a very unexpected business phone call that just confirmed the Universe had opened a floodgate for me (yes, very punny seeing I had just released my own tearful floodgate).

I hope this little blurb has ignited a ‘dream spring clean‘ if that’s what you need in your life right now. Share your thoughts in the comment section below 🙂

If you’d like a reminder of using your imagination to pursue your dreams, the illustrated quote above is available on posters, cards (remember cards also serve as mini prints ;D) and magnets, and also a plethora of other products (click here).

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How to Find Peace with Uncertainty

You can listen to this article in my podcast HERE or read below. InShot_20221211_084504288

“There is only one thing for us to do, and that is to do our level best right where we are every day of our lives; To use our best judgment, and then to trust the rest to that Power which holds the forces of the universe in his hands.” ~Orison Swett Marden

Trusting the Universe Has Your Back

One of the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz was to ‘do your best’ in every moment. It’s a great philosophy to practice. Always do your best and make sure you’re following your highest excitement — which simply means you have no resistance to what you are doing, and in most cases, you are actually having fun with what you are doing (singing while cleaning the toilet type stuff or getting excited about the lunch you just made yourself).

Another key aspect to having a great life is to dream big and take action where you can. However, this does not mean that you have to manipulate or control every step of your journey. There is a huge facet of ‘letting go’ involved.

Sometimes we think we have to be in charge of every minute detail but that only gets you bogged down and farther from realizing your dream.

Why?

This happens because, in my experience, you only think you know how to get somewhere or how you want something to play out. In fact, you only have one tiny graphic mental picture of what your dream is. The Universe (or quantum field/Higher Intelligence, etc) holds the blueprint and has the birds eye view of what is going on. You, on ground level, only perceive what is necessary.

Your job, ergo, is to take whatever action is necessary and then ALLOW for the Universe to do the rest. This usually never looks like what we visualize because we are usually directed to something even greater than our little pea-brain can conceive.

However, if we want to insist that the pea-brain version is what we want we will limit ourselves and our manifesting prowess.

Result

Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you’ve dreamed up something wonderful and you’ve taken appropriate action to tell the Universe you mean business, then relax. Even if what you wanted doesn’t happen in the way you think, it could be ushering you to something even better.

And when you think that way, you open up to receive so much more great stuff. Remember to inject gratitude even into the ‘future’ so that you can just snow-ball and enjoy the way your life unfolds. Be in awe when things go even better than you think.

If you liked this article, you may consider starting a gratitude journal. Every day write something you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. You’ll see your life start to change when you focus on the positive!

Get your gratitude journal today (click on this link or the picture below) for yourself or for someone you know who’s starting out on a self-empowerment path and could use a bit of motivation!

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These gratitude journals can be purchased lined or blank (depending on whether you prefer drawing what you’re grateful for or writing it). They are 13.2cm x 18.6cm – a handy pocket-sized journal!

Why We Need to Preserve Earth And Our Humanity

“We are humanity and we are totally and utterly dependent on the Earth.”

Don’t you feel like a lot of people are losing their connection to the Earth (and to reality)?

Of course, it’s understandable in our current climate; we have lost loved ones, we are faced with division every day, financial stress, emotional strain, the toughest decisions, inhumane lockdowns, relentless talking heads punting fear, the breaking of the Nuremburg Code — I don’t need to remind you, I’m sure.

With all that is going on, we need to, now more than ever, ground ourselves and be more present in nature. Spend more time staring at a tree than your device. Spend more time listening to bird song than listening to iTunes. Spend more time contemplating a glorious sunset than your next post.

Meta-Fascistbook: Name Changes and Game Changers

And now, trumpets sound and angels sing, Mark Suckerberg wants us to join him in the ‘Metaverse’. The Metaverse reminds me of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

No thanks. Talk about Mark of the Beast!

“They Tried to Bury Us, They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds” ~ Dinos Christianopoulos

We are humanity and we are totally and utterly dependent on the Earth. We don’t need more distractions and fake realities, we need to get down and dirty, with our hands and feet in the soil of our very real planet who needs our help and our attention — ALL of our attention — because we ARE the Earth. We are made of the Earth.

We need the trees for oxygen, we need the soil to grow food, we need the flora and fauna to sustain us (whether chosen for fuel or for clothing), we need to work in symbiance with nature to truly be happy.

Let’s Weigh In

On one hand we’ve got “Mark of the Beast” and his Meta-whatsit, luring us into an AI world of bullshit and triviality while our planet needs our love and attention. And on the other hand, we have the Earth, to whom withouteth we cannot liveth. No-brainer, eh?

I’m sure Mark’s Metaverse, as lame as it looks now, will — in a few years — be like the holodeck in Star Trek. I’m sure it’ll be very tempting indeed to escape reality and get sucked into Suckerberg’s world of machinastic cyber frivolity.

But, please, let’s not forget that we are flesh and blood and our humanity is on the line. The more we get duped into staying glued to our devices and the more we are welded to our social media feeds, the more we take a step away from what is real, what makes us truly happy and what sustains us. And I think most of us can agree that this is found in the wilderness, it’s at the seaside, it’s in a jungle, it’s waiting for us in the garden or park, it’s beckoning to us in a forest, it’s outside just waiting for you to say, ‘hello’.

I’ll Be Happy When I’m Rich, Famous and Thin

Money, although useful, doesn’t make us happy. Having ‘stuff’ can be cool for a while, but soon loses it’s thrill. Fame certainly ain’t all it’s cracked up to be (just ask any celeb who, and there are many if you look, have had their hand caught in the cookie jar or whose hypocrisy has back-fired). And, of course, trying to fit the societal ideal of ‘perfect’ certainly keeps you at arms bay of ever being happy — in fact, it can make you darn right miserable.

People search for happiness when, really, it’s right underneath their noses.

Happiness Is…

Happiness is sustainable if you know where to look. Happiness is sustainable if you remember to connect with nature. Just the act of staring at ‘green’ has a soothing, calming effect.

Read this article by Christi Wharton to learn more about the colour green: The Psychology of Design: The Color Green

The Great Resignation

If we can take just one positive thing from this pandemic, it’s that a lot of people woke up.

They woke up to how much time they’re missing out on with their family and loved ones. They woke up to how much is taken for-granted. They woke up to how much wool is being pulled over their eyes. They woke up to how much time is wasted sitting in traffic on their way to work. They woke up to how much time is wasted at work, especially working at a job you do not care for. The Great Resignation is upon us!

If you don’t know about this latest phenomenon is, please read the article below:

What is ‘The Great Resignation’? An expert explains.

I bet the powers that were didn’t see that one coming! Which reminds me of a line from a Greek poem:

“They Tried to Bury Us, They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds” ~ Dinos Christianopoulos

We can even go a step further and say, not only did they bury us but they shat on us and then wept with laughter…and we all know what happens with seeds, manure and water!

New Ways of Expressing My Love for the Land

I’ve been dreaming of creating something new with my art. Something that explores a diverse range of styles and mediums. My desire was realized when I came up with my new series called, “KAROO ELEMENTS.”

This one is the first painting I did called, “If These Rocks Could Talk.” Click on the picture to take you to my store where you can get prints and products with this design.

KAROO ELEMENTS takes physical pieces of slate (shale), pods, quartz, tin, bark and other fascinating things I pick up on my hikes in Barrydale, Klein Karoo in South Africa, and merges it into an authentically telluric landscape.

I want you to smell the hot, baking air, experience the nutty aroma of the Acacia trees, touch the slate and quartz crystal that’s been around for thousands of years. Come take a walk with me every time you glance at this piece.

My hope is that this new series of art, that takes physical aspects of the landscape, keeps the channel of love, appreciation and fascination of nature wide open. May we never give up our awe for nature and our love for our beautiful planet.

May we never resign our humanity.

“Unity in Diversity”

Here is a picture of some of the artworks in my new series, they are currently on display at the Karoo Art Hotel in Barrydale. Don’t forget to follow my blog to receive new updates.

Other blogs you may enjoy:

What Can Roses Teach Us About Boundaries?

Natures True Beauty

The roses in my garden 🙂

We have the most gorgeous roses in my little Karoo garden. We have red rose topiaries that flank our driveway. These roses (see pic to your right and below) are so red that they actually hurt your eyes when you stare at them too long.

I set out to sketch these roses for a design idea I had for my store.

What stood out for me was that these beautiful roses had massive, massive thorns.

Big ones and little ones — so you can’t even think of touching them. And to pick them, you’d have to don some serious gloves!

Beauty and Boundaries

It got me thinking.

Such fragile and glorious flowers but you can’t touch them…lol. Nature has a great sense of humour!

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s natures way of protecting this grand creation.

After all, if roses weren’t so thwart with sharp sticky outy bits, we’d probably desecrate rose bushes instead of letting them be and leaving the admiration to pure sight — look, don’t touch.

Roses have some pretty strong boundaries.

Our Own Thorns

This is the design I came up with 🙂 For a limited time only, you can get these cushions for $20.83 when you buy 2 or more.

We, as human beings, can be pretty prickly too sometimes.

Occasionally, it takes the care of someone handling us with gloves and taking the time to have proper pruning sheers before they can get to us 😉

Through whatever experience we’ve gone through in our lives, we can sprout thorns on demand when we feel in danger of being torn down or stomped on. Perhaps even when we feel threatened by our own beauty (inner or outer) that can shine out and attract unwanted energy or attention.

It’s a thorny issue (corny, I know).

Some people may call us bitches or bastards for this inherent trait but, upon reflection, I think it could be nature’s very own way of helping us to set boundaries when our innate is telling us someone or something is not serving us. Or, possibly, we could be in very real danger, whether it is emotional or physical.

Sometimes thorns are needed.

My roses seem to be telling me to trust my innate sense of wisdom, it’s there for a reason. Or maybe they’re telling me I’m a prick.

Can I tempt you to read another article? Click on the pics below:

   Win the Lottery Using the LOA

Creating a Forest Getaway in Your Lounge

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One of my favourite places to be is in a forest. How about you?

The comfort of being surrounded by trees, the freshness of the oxygenated air, the coolness kissing your skin, the aroma of organic mulch and the sound of a trickling stream.

Nothing like it.

It’s rejuvenating, refreshing and lets you truly feel your innate connectivity to Gaia. Thing is, not all of us can get to stroll through a forest every day.

This is the reason why I love to create woodland scenes on canvas. It’s my bit of escapism into an imaginary world of forest fantasy. Below is my latest painting called, ‘FOREST CHARM‘.

I’ve tried to capture all of the above-mentioned forest characteristics using a cool, pastel palette. I hope it evokes some of the pleasures of the woods for you.

The original is for sale at Saatchi Art (click here). I also have prints of all shapes and sizes available to fit every budget at Redbubble (click here).

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“FOREST CHARM”

762mm x 508mm

Acrylic and Oil Pastel on Canvas Board

Baboons: A Thrilling Tale of Chaos and the Art of Alchemy

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Most of you may know, I live in South Africa where, of course, wildlife is abundant. Especially a particular type of mischievous (as well as dangerous) primate called a baboon.

You may even recall an incident I had many years back which involved me, a tub of butter and an alpha male baboon. You can recap on who won that particular battle here: The Baboon and the Butter — Part 1 .

I moved away from Welcome Glen in Cape Town, where baboons terrorized the locals, to start my sustainable living adventure here in Barrydale. Barrydale didn’t have the baboon problems of where I’d come from. Or so I thought.

Yes, I was insanely wrong about that.

Although we had a peaceful first four years, things started to change rapidly once I started a successful fruit and veg garden.

Utter Ruin

I got hit hard by a solid week of visitations by troops of baboons in December 2019, and the truth hit hard too.

I had beautiful crops of almost ripe onions (which take around 6 months to grow), potatoes, apricots, apples, almonds, peppers and Swiss chard. They didn’t stand a chance. The baboons ravaged my crops in minutes. I was devastated after putting in so much hard work, as you can well imagine.

To add insult to injury, they don’t even eat chard or peppers but they pulled it all out and left it on the ground. Pfft.

Problem vs Solution

Needless to say I was livid and despondent. I don’t wish any animal harm, so I would never hurt them but I  couldnt see a way out of this gigantic problem. Someone suggested I give up my dream of an edible garden. No way, Jose. I’m probably a sucker for punishment but I can’t do that either.

After an excessive period of feeling incredibly sorry for myself, I decided to try and find a way to alchemize this situation. Here’s what I came up with:

  • Baboons aren’t all bad. Yes, they’re smelly, destructive and deadly dangerous with massive fangs and no fear for women (known fact look it up. Utterly sexist little maruading bastards). However, they are very amusing amidst the mayhem. I’ve had many a giggle watching them frolick in their troops, play daredevil on the R62 with oncoming traffic and torment the tourists by grabbing their freshly acquired snacks in an ambush.
  • Their babies are incredibly cuuuuuuute. Ag vooitog (Afrikaans for ‘Oh bless’ or something like that).
  • I can’t think of a third plus but let’s just say the world wouldn’t be the same without a bumbling band of baboons!

After my above conclusions I decided to:

  • Concentrate on growing things they don’t eat like herbs, green spinach, beans, chili’s, peas, lettuce, etc. They seem to prefer root vegetables. They also didn’t touch my grenadillas or my gooseberries, which I found strange but somewhat comforting.
  • Make myself laugh rather than cry. After reminiscing on all the funny moments they have provided, I came up with ‘ZenBoon’.

The Zenboon Revelation

I’ve decided to put pen to paper, brush to canvas, digipen to screen and I’m drawing my cheeky little friends in an attempt to shed a more humorous light on the whole ordeal. The idea of a Zen baboon is ludicrous and certainly dichotomous (A word that irrelevantly rhymes with hipopotamous). However, these monkeys have gained mastery over mischief. Aka ZenBoon is born, my way of alchemizing my low-lying mood.

So, my lesson in all this is don’t let it (insert your problem here 😉) get you down, let it get you thinking ANEW. You always have a choice.

Here are two designs I have already come up with below, I hope you like them ☺🐒 These crazy fella’s are available on all sorts of products from posters to shower curtains (see below). You can see the full shop scope here and here.

   

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It’s Colour Therapy Time! Download your FREE Pic Today

Going Large: The Start-to-Finish Photo’s of Painting ‘Woodland Stream Gathering’

 

It’s Colour Therapy Time! Download This FREE Pic Today

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I’ve been working on some new colouring doodles and wanted to share this one with you.  Just click on the image, right click and save, then you can print it out as many times as you like or colour it in on your device (the free app Sketchbook works for me). All I ask is that you do not resell this image or change the image in any way, it is for your personal use only. The image is copyrighted.

It should keep you or the little ones busy for a while 😉

If you enjoyed coloring this, then maybe you’ll like my Mandala Colouring Book, click on the picture below – it’s an instant download/printable – and you can get colouring straight away! Did you know that colour therapy is proven to reduce stress and anxiety? You’ll find everything you need to know about the impacts of colouring and your health in the introduction of this book:

Mandala Adult Coloring Book

Is Assumption Destroying Your Relationship?

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One of the Most Poignant Taboos

I would like to delve into the ‘spiritual taboos‘ – maybe you’ve heard of them, maybe you haven’t.  Either way, they are significant enough to address (or re-address as the case may be).

These are concepts put across through the masterful words and teachings, derived from Toltec wisdom, of Don Miguel Ruiz

He sweetened them up by calling them the ‘4 Agreements’ whereas I have used the word ‘taboo’ as a mere marketing ploy to attract your attention.  As shameful as that is, I did it with the noblest of intentions.  We need to hear this – over and over if that be the case.

“To ‘sin’ is to go against your self or to ‘miss the mark’.”

Before we start with these tantalizing taboos, I want to address what it means to sin.  To ‘sin’ is to go against your self or to ‘miss the mark’.  So, go easy on yourself if you see that you have been performing or have been lured into the web of some of these sticky concepts.

Guidelines Along Your Path 

You are on a path to enlightenment (consciously or unconsciously — preferably the former) and when you embark on such a journey you need a basis of comparison.

We have chosen this particular journey into the realms of the soul, so acknowledge your choices and correct them if it suits you.  These guidelines are merely a way to steer you to counter balance your integrity if you do ‘miss the mark’.

The key is to be aware at all times and to realign when you need to.  Oh and did I forget to say FORGIVE yourself if you slip?  These taboos are difficult to master but they can be mastered.  When the seed has been planted as to what they are, it will be up to you – consciously or, sometimes, unconsciously – to water them into fruition.

Assumption — A Deal Breaker!

In this article we are going to address the one spiritual taboo called ‘assumption’.  It is a much overlooked and yet one of the most predominantly adopted characteristic of modern-day society.

A more lighthearted look at this word sees the word ‘ass’ ‘u’ and ‘me’…”

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To assume is to not be in full command of truth or fact.  When we assume something we try to interpret, through sometimes limited knowledge or resources, what the truth might be.  We then run with this perceived outcome, sometimes even starting to believe it to be factual without proof.  It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?  It is.

A more lighthearted look at this word sees the word ‘ass’ ‘u’ and ‘me’.  How succinct, seeing as assuming does normally make an ass out of one or both parties.

Alas, all humour aside, it is something we do too frequently without much thought of the consequences of our minds presumptuous actions.  This is not only dangerous but it is a detrimental factor in limiting us in relationships and with life in general.

Our minds are powerful, this is something most of us know and are starting to quantumly comprehend, so when you mentally construct a truth and play it out over and over in your mind you can either

(a) entirely convince yourself of it’s truth or

(b) bring that scenario into play in reality – in other words, give form to your thought (Law of Attraction).

“When we assume we are potentially shutting a door to further knowledge or clarification.”

Assumptions cloud our discernment and play on our fears.  When we assume we are potentially shutting a door to further knowledge or clarification.

Assumption at Work

Let’s say you assume your husband is having an affair because he has lipstick on his collar.  You do not confront him, fearing the truth to be what you imagine.  You start to treat him differently, as if you are positive that his activities are dubious.  He has no idea why you are acting this way.

Cold shoulders and snide remarks rule the roost.  This could go on for days, weeks or even, God forbid, turn into years of total distrust if it goes unconfronted.  There could be so many reasons and outcomes to this situation but let’s take a look at just three potentials:

  1.  He was having an affair
  2. A lady bumped into him whilst he was travelling in a lift leaving a trace of her lipstick on the side of his collar
  3.  If the latter was the case – you could have irreparably alienated your husband and driven him into the arms of another through your assumptions and unfounded suspicions.   So in this case, you have actually given form or materialized the original fear based on an assumption that was not the truth.  You have forced the undesired outcome.

“Any situation can be resolved.  You never choose any experience in this life without there being a solution.  The only thing standing in your way is your perception of what you want the outcome to look like. “

Don’t assume.  You will undoubtedly pay the consequences.

Always ask.  Communication is one of the keys to living in your integrity.  Always steer yourself towards the light of truth, no matter how hard the truth may be.  Burying the truth will always lead to more pain eventually.

Any situation can be resolved.

You never choose any experience in this life without there being a solution.  The only thing standing in your way is your perception of what you want the outcome to look like.  Sometimes only time can tell whether something serves us or not.

Assumption can lead to a lot of unwarranted unhappiness.  Ever heard of ‘stewing in your own juices’?  Don’t do it!  Rather get to the core of the situation – the source, the truth.

What’s the Alternative then? 

An exercise to try out would be to identify and stop yourself when you are assuming something (big or small).  See if there are any alternatives to your assumptions.  In other words, we often tend to gravitate towards being more negative with our assumptions.

An example would be:

Your friend hasn’t called you in ages, she normally phones you regularly.  You assume she no longer likes you or you have said something to offend her when in fact there may be several reasons for her lack of communication – none of them even involve you!

“You form ideas based on it (assumption) and then your neural pathways fix and that idea becomes your ‘reality’.”

So, try to either get the facts or quell the desire to reach an assumed conclusion.  When you go into this more deeply you will begin to unravel a lot of ‘baggage’ that your mind sets up through the act of assumption.  You form ideas based on it and then your neural pathways fix and that idea becomes your ‘reality’.

Harmful ‘Petty’ Assumptions

Let’s say that you see your neighbour shouting at his children.  You assume that he has anger issues and that he is a bad father.

The truth of the matter may be that you have just caught him on an incredibly stressful day –  he could be father of the year for all you know – but there you have made a mental construct, not through years of getting to know him, but through a momentary reaction that has now tainted your view of his personality and parental skills.

You may even do further damage and air your opinions about him to others leading to an even greater adverse effect on his reputation based on your unfounded assumptions.

“If you can just come to the realization that you are assuming you can begin to change it…” 

Now, how often do we do this?  If you can just come to the realization that you are assuming – become conscious of this behavioral pattern in yourself – you can begin to change it and in doing so you can save yourself a lot of anguish that, more often than not, leads to so much heartache and misunderstanding.

What stories of assumption can you identify with and tell us about?  Are there any you are making now and don’t know how to stop?  Share your experiences and feel free to ask any questions.

If you liked this article and you want to start really anchoring a new positive future, you may consider starting a gratitude journal. Every day write something you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. You’ll see your life start to change when you focus on the positive!

Get your gratitude journal today (click on this link or the picture below) for yourself or for someone you know who’s starting out on a self-empowerment path and could use a bit of motivation!

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These gratitude journals can be purchased lined or blank (depending on whether you prefer drawing what you’re grateful for or writing it). They are 13.2cm x 18.6cm – a handy pocket-sized journal!

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Simulation Life on Earth: How to Play the Game

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Let me play devils advocate and say that we’re in a matrix or holographic universe. You can liken this to being in a computer game.

If you’ve ever engaged in a computer game, you know that you’re playing a game.

The only problem with our collective perceived reality is that we’ve forgotten we’re in the ‘game’.

Quiet time quote by cherie roe dirksenWhen you’re immersed in a computer game, you’re physical body is the ‘player’ and can be likened to the higher mind (or HQ). Your avatar body (the dude/dudette in the game) is like your physical body in the matrix taking commands from the ‘player’ of the game (or HQ in the spirit realm).

Your physical body in the game conceives of your moves ‘cause it has the ‘birds eye view’. Your avatar body within the game responds to the prompts from the physical body.

I think our HQ — in so called ‘reality’ — can see what’s ahead as it sits on the mountain (or in the etheric plane) and views the quickest route to any destination.

We, in the physical plane, only get to see what’s dead ahead  or in our peripherals and therefore can’t conceive (the job of HQ) of how we will get somewhere.

When the HQ sends down its ‘command’, we receive the prompt and take action through perceiving and playing the game.

We need quiet time — or meditation/nature time — because this is when the higher self can communicate the plan to you.

Volunteer or Victim?

How to Play the Game of

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I think we volunteered to play this game of life. Through forgetting we are the players immersed in this virtual reality, we became ‘victims’.

There’s a BBC cult classic comedy called ‘Red Dwarf’ that I absolutely love. There are many didactic and philosophical moments to this series.

One of the best episodes was when they were playing a game called ‘Better Than Life’. They were wired up to the console and the computer read their deepest desires and then produced their realities from that.

Out of the four characters playing the game, one had his subconscious mind sabotage his happiness at every point. He could be likened to the majority of humanity. He believed deep down that he didn’t deserve ‘good things’ so his psyche would initially give him what he wanted but then would take it away in the most heinous and gruesomely inventive ways.

The game played out his every horror while the others were in their own personal heavens.

In conclusion, don’t you think it’s time to stop letting the game play you? Instead, you need to start playing the game!

If you liked this article and you want to start programming your game with positivity, you may want to consider starting a gratitude journal. Every day write something you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. You’ll see your life start to change when you focus on the positive!

Get your gratitude journal today (click on this link or the picture below) for yourself or for someone you know who’s starting out on a self-empowerment path and could use a bit of motivation!

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These gratitude journals can be purchased lined or blank (depending on whether you prefer drawing what you’re grateful for or writing it). They are 13.2cm x 18.6cm – a handy pocket-sized journal!

Read related articles: Why You Should Ask Only Once and The Scary Truth About Our Subconscious Programming

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

This article (How to Play the Game) was originally written for and published by Conscious Life News and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons.

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Why Gratitude is Future Projecting a Positive Outcome

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If worry projects a negative future outcome then I think gratitude is its antithesis.

If you have insane gratitude for what has not even happened in your current NOW, you are investing positive, expectant energy into your future NOW. Read related article: Simply BE in Gratitude

Bursting at the Seams

gratitudeI recently had my hot water cylinder burst. Instead of having a hab-dab about it — I got on with boiling a kettle and doing the necessaries to carry on with my life (washing the bod and doing the dishes sort-of-thing).

The plumbers could only come out on the Monday and I had the weekend to look forward to with my new kettle-heating regime.

I actually had fun with it. I became outrageously grateful for having a kettle and running water. Even more gratitude flowed at the thought of a new, swanky hot water cylinder that was soon to be mine!

Give Yourself a Reason to be Happy

how to future project a better outcomeI also like the adage that things happen for a reason. When the plumbers left, they told us that they had to replace the pipes as they were not up to standard and would have created further problems.

I now have a new and working hot water system and it looks like we dodged a bullet that could’ve been an even bigger headache. I’m as pleased as punch.

No-one likes inconvenience but how about transforming even irritants into solutions and something to be happy about? Future project a positive outcome by being grateful for even those broken hallelujahs (read related article: Why Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” Is The Ultimate Thanksgiving Song (You’ll Be Amazed By Its Meaning!)

If you liked this article, you may consider starting a gratitude journal. Every day write something you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. You’ll see your life start to change when you focus on the positive!

Get your gratitude journal today (click on this link or the picture below) for yourself or for someone you know who’s starting out on a self-empowerment path and could use a bit of motivation!

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These gratitude journals can be purchased lined or blank (depending on whether you prefer drawing what you’re grateful for or writing it). They are 13.2cm x 18.6cm – a handy pocket-sized journal!

Other articles you may find interesting:

 

  

 

How to Get Things Done and Create More Space for Things You Do Want

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Just Do It

Apart from the subtitle sounding like a Nike advert, never a truer word was spoken.

How to get things done picture

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We’re all faced with a pile of stuff from time to time (or all the time) that we just don’t want to face up to. Our back-burners have buckled under the weight of ‘to do’.

Trouble is, it can literally weigh us down (I know this sounds bizarre but as I clear out my sh*t, the more weight drops off) as well as figuratively — causing a weight on our shoulders.

I’m quite a neat person (although my husband would protest) and apart from being one of those anal Virgo’s, I’m also slightly OCD. However, I’m just as guilty as the rest in putting things off.

The other day I really noticed it in myself (the inner sloth). I was watering my garden and every flower bed I hit I found my inner dialogue repeating, ‘I must pull that weed out sometime‘ or ‘I must put that back, the wind blew it over‘ or ‘I need to re-pot that poor, dying plant‘.

This scenario may not seem like the end of the world to most but it’s representational of many little things that stack up to form avalanching mountains in our minds.

Back to the Garden Revelation

So, as I was clocking up a list of ‘to do’s’ in the garden I stopped. The inner voice said, ‘why don’t you do it now?’

What a novel idea!

There was another voice in my head that protested that I didn’t have the time now (that voice crops up a lot). I thought about it for a sec and then just bent down and pulled out a half a meter weed (one of those little ones that I kept on telling myself to pull that grew into a small tree).

And there is my ‘ta-daa’ revelation.

Just do it. Don’t think about it. Just DOOOOO it.

Other Applications

I started trying this ‘just do it‘ approach to many other things and was actually quite startled at how LITTLE time it truly takes. I’ve been putting things ‘straight’ as I see them now and — for goodness sake — why have I not done this before?

It really doesn’t take a lot of time to do smaller chores around the house, garden or office and when you act in the moment you save yourself a lot of time, bother and burden.

Maybe you do this already and I’m just a slow learner — kudos to you. But if you are a procrastinator that always delegates odd jobs to another time — I challenge you to the ‘just do it‘ system, see how it works for you.

The great benefit of this is it’s addictive — the more you ‘clear up’ and see how nice it looks, the more you want to achieve. It also clears space (headspace and clutter) so you can make room for more awesomeness to enter your life.

Go on, just do it!

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How To Transform Your Life With One Simple Choice

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A Trip to the Dentist

The dreaded day was coming, I had a dentist appointment. One of my fillings had chipped as I chewed on a gummy mint and I had no alternative but to pick up the phone and make the call.

Apart from snakes (and I’m alchemizing even my reptile repulsion — I even stroked the head of a snake the other day — woohoo for me!), dentists have always topped my fear list.

The night before my D-Day I decided to put on my metaphorical ‘big girls panties’ and give myself a stern talking to. I told myself that everything was going to be fine; that my procedure will go quickly and effortlessly and that when he (*dread*) checks the rest of my teeth, all will be well.

Confidently Enters The Reception

You can alchemize anything and don't you forget it!!!As I marched into the dentists reception area, I was welcomed by the friendly receptionist. I was then ushered into the room where I was about to be ‘fixed’.

The dentist, as always, was amicable and kind. I just kept on reciting my BGPL (big girl panty lecture) in my head.

I then noticed that the reclinin

g chair I was in was really comfortable. It then struck me that this environment wasn’t so bad after all. The birds were chirping outside, and even though the implements of torture were in my peripherals, I felt a sense of peace.

The Truth Struck

As I sat there, m

outh open with gadgets prodding and poking, I felt a huge sense of gratitude wash over me.

What? I hear you yell!

Gratitude for being in the dentists chair with a scraper going at it hammer and tongs! Bits of tooth being drilled away and a smell of cooking bone dust in the air! Never!

Well, as unlikely as it may be, I felt really thankful. Thankful for:

  1. Having the service of a trained professional
  2. Having the anesthetic (two big thumbs up)
  3. Knowing that after this small inconvenience I will be able to chew on the left side of my mouth again after exhausting the right side for 11 days
  4. Feeling grateful that I can afford the service of a dentist (I have no medical aid but had a good month with my art sales)
  5. Feeling really calm sitting in that chair and not digging my nails into my wrist like I normally do.

Wishes Come True

Choice and Awareness

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After he had patched up the problem (which he said was a minor thing…phew), he told me that the rest of my teeth were in great shape. My internal grin broadened and my big girl panties gave a shimmer of relief.

The whole procedure took 25 minutes! I thought I’d be in there for 45-60 minutes.

As I was paying my bill at the reception, I felt so much gratitude for this man going to medical school to be able to provide this amazing service (in lieu of the outrage I normally feel at being presented with the damage). I thought about how awful it must have been — back in the day — to have had to pull out your tooth with pliers or just let it rot…yikes!

The whole trip was a success! I felt elated (yes, walking out of a dentist room feeling gleeful is one for the books).

The moral of the story: you can alchemize anything and don’t you forget it!!!

If you liked this article, you may consider starting a gratitude journal. Every day write something you are grateful for, no matter how big or small. You’ll see your life start to change when you focus on the positive!

Get your gratitude journal today (click on this link or the picture below) for yourself or for someone you know who’s starting out on a self-empowerment path and could use a bit of motivation!

png_20220114_171548_0000

These gratitude journals can be purchased lined or blank (depending on whether you prefer drawing what you’re grateful for or writing it). They are 13.2cm x 18.6cm – a handy pocket-sized journal!

Read related articles: 3 Ways to Alchemize Chaos  and 5 Super Easy Exercises to Creating a Positive Life!

Books by this author you may enjoy – click here.

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5 Easy Steps to Meditating (No Lotus Position Required)

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Why Do You Need to Meditate?

The most important reason why people have been practicing meditation since time immemorial is that it swiftly brings you into alignment with your core being.  This is where you will find balance and true peace.

In our modern-day culture, however, meditation is most commonly practiced to alleviate stress.

Both reasons are as good as any to start practicing this amazing art that is meditation.  If you do already meditate — good on you.  If you are thinking about it — now is the time!

What Exactly is Meditation?

Let’s cut past any preconceived notions about meditation.  It does not require that you:

  • Sit in any position that you find uncomfortable
  • Need to chant or repeat a mantra
  • Need training or classes
  • Need to belong to a specific religion or faith

These things are optional and entirely up to the individual.  The most important thing about meditation is…The art of being still and quieting your mind

How to meditate

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It is the ability to bridge the gap between the thinker and the thought-less.  You are offering your self a chance to still the mind-chatter (you know, that continuous loop of ‘what ifs‘ and ‘don’t mind if I do’s’).  I like to refer to this is mind-static — just like the white noise you see on a TV screen when there is a disturbance with the reception.  Our minds can be on a continuous buzz, enough to drive us to the brink of insanity.

This is where meditation will help you to de-clutter your thought processes and align you to your higher purpose through contact with your higher self.

Okay, Sounds Good but How do I go About This?

Simple.  All you need to do is:

  • Concentrate on your breath — this easy step allows you to be more present and centered in your body. It also diverts your attention from thinking to breathing.  If you like, use a mantra — this is a common tool used to stop any unwanted thoughts from creeping in.
  • Close your eyes and relax your body — Feel and imagine the stress draining away as you begin to let your vitality blossom.
  • Feel the tingle — acknowledge the prana or life force that is embodied in every single cell. This is sometimes felt as a tingling sensation in the body. Starting from your feet upwards, expand on that tingling sensation. This amplifies the life-force in your body. Notice how you feel when you do this. Are you feeling alive and vibrant? Are you relaxed and peaceful?
  • Opening your crown chakra — breathe in and imagine a white light streaming in through the top of your head (crown chakra) and permeating your entire body.
  • Relax — the above are only steps to get you into the present moment. When you feel relaxed and peaceful, just be with that feeling for as long as you can. You are now meditating!

Meditation quoteYou can start with just 5 minutes of still, quiet breathing a day and then gradually work your way up to 10-20 minutes at a time.

You do not have to stick to any method to get you to your place of inner peace, just do what works for you. The main point of meditation is to relax and take a break from the constant mind-chatter.

Try to practice this at least 1-2 times a day.

What are the Benefits?

  • Meditation gives you the space to relax your body and to recoup your mind
  • It is proven to reduce stress
  • It is a gateway to discovering your authentic self

And remember:

“Thoughts create everything ~ have clarity of thought and you can achieve anything…”

This was a guest article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Lightworkers World 

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8 Life Strategies That Playing Chess Has Taught Me

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Being a Rookie

Chess is a game that I love to play with my husband.  He is such an enviable strategist. When I first started playing with him, I felt like a complete fool every time he snookered my king and got me into check-mate.

What playing chess taught me about life

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When I let my pride take the back seat, I discovered a remarkable game that I could undeniably learn from whilst enjoying some quiet, reflective, quality time with my partner.

I found it a relaxing pursuit with red-hot moments of intensive brain-stretching — a great way to quantize your thinking.  It not only takes the grey matter for a stroll around the yard but also teaches you valuable lessons in forethought, planning, awareness and defense tactics.

Has Anyone Seen the Bishop?

I started to see more spiritual truths in chess the more we played; in fact it was beginning to be a remarkable representation of life!

It aroused me to apply these teaching to my own life situations and, if not why not, to other people’s life circumstances too.  A lot of people are already either inadvertently or deliberately playing chess with their situations and relationships.

It opened my eyes and taught me that there is usually either a way to slip out of trouble or to catch yourself and your opponent by surprise with your brilliant and calm maneuvering capabilities.

Be Your Own Knight in Shining Armor

Just when things start to look hopeless, you view your game from a different angle or perspective and you move to the side and allow danger to pass.  What a great allegory for life!

Here are some of the life strategies chess has permitted me to comprehend:

  • Multi-layers — there is always more than meets the eye in any given situation.
  • Patience — slow and steady wins the race.
  • Side-Stepping — there is usually either an evasive move or a counter-action you can take when in the face of danger.  Don’t lose hope.
  • Shifting Views — when things are looking dire for you, all you may need is a shift in perspective that can open up new doorways.
  • Positive Outlook — always try to stay optimistic and you will habitually figure out a good move to make.
  • Acknowledgments — congratulate your opponent on good moves — you can learn from them too.  Don’t let your pride get in the way of wisdom.
  • Grace — be a good loser because you never really lose in life, you just start a new game and learn from the previous one. So hone in on your skills by learning from your mistakes — nothing is ever in vain.  Be a gracious winner too, there is no room for friends in your life if your big head is taking up all the space!
  • Always Have Fun — enjoy the process, the game of chess (life) is exciting, invigorating and challenging — all of which keep you feeling alive, vibrant, polished and motivated.

Metaphors and Metamorphosis — from Pawns to Kings

I love painting life experience with intriguing metaphors and feel even more elated when such an analogy becomes a bald-faced truth.

Chess quoteWhen we can become the observers of life’s smaller things, like an innocent fixture of chess, and transform it into a fresh perspective of life, it changes us.  We start looking all over for these spiritual growth sign-posts and we usually find them in the strangest of places.

Chess is the ultimate sport of existence and even though I know the strategies have been used in more negative life experiences, such as war and devious corporate obliteration, it can also be used to your advantage in co-creating your reality.

Give yourself a game plan and be flexible enough to discern inherent dangers whilst on track, this way you will be able to metaphorically duck and dive bullets (just like Neo in The Matrix movie).  Be cunning and graceful and you will never be caught off guard.  When you are, don’t give up, learn from it and reload your experience as ammunition for the next round.

There is never failure, only feedback.

Original article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Positively Positive

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Audio: 1 Common Mistake Using the Law of Attraction (via Higher Self Channel)

You can read the article here: 1 Common Mistake You May Be Making When Using the Law of Attraction

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Why Taking Things Personally Could Be Ruining Your Life

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Be Honest With Yourself

Are you easily offended? When you take something personally or are affronted, you are — in a claustrophobic little nutshell — agreeing with what has been said about you.

Does this ring true or are you shaking your head profusely?

When you feel offended you are agreeing with the offender because it has touched a nerve. Let’s try unravel more of this…

Nerves Weren’t Always Twisted, You Know

If someone tried to hurt you, or perhaps even inadvertently, says something to you that you don’t agree with – no problem – you usually shrug off this kind of ‘offense’ because it really doesn’t bother you.

For example: You are happy with your appearance and feel you are a fine specimen, someone passes by in a vehicle and shouts out ‘hey, freak!’

Here is your moment; do you agree with that or not? If you are 100% confident that you are a perfectly chic human being then you would most likely shrug the comment off and have a good laugh.

Why? Simply because you don’t agree with the statement.

“Who get’s to be the judge and jury on what is deemed beautiful accepted or hideous? The tabloids? Hollywood?”

Now, if you think you are ‘okay’ looking but there could be room for improvement, or, in the extreme, if you are someone with downright low self-esteem, this statement would be devastating because a part of you, or perhaps – most of you, agrees with this. You are shocked that someone else has found you out!

You thought if you could keep your head down no-one would notice you but here someone has clearly seen your faults. This feels like a low blow and you become all knotted up in your stomach (solar plexus area).

The Illusion of Appearance

The ultimate fear of imperfection and/or of not being accepted is, of course, an illusion.

Who get’s to be the judge and jury on what is deemed beautiful accepted or hideous? The tabloids? Hollywood? Just spare a thought as to who you give your power over to, that which dictates what beauty and normal is, and try to see that it is all fake.

True beauty and acceptance is in the eye of the beholder. So anyone claiming to know what beauty or normal definitely is needs very close examining if they are not including every member of the human race in their synopsis.

To agree with anyone over anything stemming from feelings of lack would be disempowering.

“The person doing the insulting is only reminding you of something that needs to be taken on within yourself to have a good, long and hard look at – and to either change or accept.”

The same could be said over someone slighting your intelligence. If you don’t feel stupid then any snide remark over your competence could be easily overlooked but if you are worried about what others think, a dig at your IQ could mean the world to you.

Are You to Blame?

This is not truly the fault of the insulter (although they will have to deal with their contribution via their karma) – it is actually your fault.

Yeah, it sounds harsh and it is. But if we are going to get real about this we need to dive right into the core of the problem and bring it up for close scrutiny.

The person doing the insulting is only reminding you of something that needs to be taken on within yourself to have a good, long and hard look at – and to ultimately change or accept.

Although you probably won’t want to give them a gold medal for their efforts at the time, I assure you that some people are in this life to push your buttons — in a seemingly unloving way — to actually give you the opportunity to reconsider your belief structures.

This may be on a level that even they are not aware of.

If there are no buttons to push, then you can walk away head held high knowing that it is something you have overcome or never had a doubt about in the first place.

It is the slights that leave us feeling wounded that mean that we have a program still running within us that wants to be ended, a cache that needs clearing.

What Insults You?

You have to be cruel in examining these beliefs in order to be kind to yourself.

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We all face difficult, dark moments of self-realization, when we see the agreements we have made about ourselves and have to try to turn it around. When you can out these undesirable contracts you can begin to repair them.

We have to discover why we felt the lack and how we are feeling now about the same issue. Then we must align it to our higher self by breaking down the agreement piece by piece and offer it up to the light to be cleansed.

What do I mean by this?

This simply means to shed light on a problem. When it has come to our full attention we can dissemble it and make a new beneficial agreement about ourselves.

We need to look at ourselves and find the beauty inherent in us, not always trying to fish out our perceived faults. When you treat yourself with loving kindness and nurture your self-esteem with positive thoughts, you will begin to shift into alignment with your higher self.

“However, we must consider that some things are said in the heat of the moment and not really meant by the offender, so we really need to see why we made the agreement.”

Some of these agreements we made at a very young age. When we are young we have no inhibitions and sang at the top of our voices, danced our hearts out (whether someone was looking or not) and thought we were princesses and superheroes.

Then one day someone came along and made you feel less than what you felt about yourself. You may have paused to take it in – then you made a crucial decision.

Making the Agreement

Either you agreed with what they said or you didn’t. That is why some of us can still dance freely and not be bothered whilst others cringe at the thought of dancing in public – this could be due to an earlier experience of being made to feel like you were ‘no good’ by someone who was only giving you one piece of the puzzle.

What Puzzle?

When I said that the person was only giving one piece of the puzzle I mean that they have a preference based on their version of reality.

That is one person’s perspective in a sea of other possible candidates – ones who may have loved your form of expression.

This person could have also been a child, an acquaintance, a stranger or it could have been someone you trusted and loved deeply. The latter is often the case and can make the hurt twice as strong.

However, we must consider that some things are said in the heat of the moment and not really meant by the offender, so we really need to see why we made the agreement.

“We sometimes tend to disregard the ones who encourage us, leaving only space in our thoughts for the ones who hurt us.”

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You also need to know that you can never have universal appeal with absolutely everyone.

You or your talents may not be one person’s cup of tea but what about all the other people in the world who will resonate with your particular brand of uniqueness.

Neither being important though because it is ultimately you who needs to please you. When you do this then you are immediately accepted and no outside influence can make you feel anything other than what you know yourself to be.

“Without diversity in hair colour, body shapes, talents, voices, tastes, etc we would be tantamount to sheep running around in a field day in and day out – bah-bah-boring!”

We sometimes tend to disregard the ones who encourage us, leaving only space in our thoughts for the ones who hurt us.

Why is this, I wonder?

Everyone has the urge to be liked and accepted for who they are. This is normal. But what we need to redefine is what is normal?

Every soul is special and has equally unique attributes, abilities and ways of expressing themselves creatively. There should be no judgment.

What do We do About That Sheeple Judge?

When there is judgment on this, we must question the one doing the judging.

Without freedom of expression this world would be a very dull place. Without diversity in hair colour, body shapes, talents, voices, tastes, etc we would be tantamount to sheep running around in a field day in and day out – bah-bah-boring!

Love your difference, embrace yourself.

Begin to discover, on the deepest level, who you truly are and what you have done – not only in this lifetime but in the countless life experiences you have had. Draw on the wealth of talents you have that you haven’t even begun to extract from your being.

Know Thyself!

As the oracle in the movie The Matrix had written above her kitchen door: ‘Know thyself’ (a long-established ancient Greek aphorism).

When you do, there is nothing anyone can say or do to you that would ever hurt you because you will be resolute as to who you are and nobody can take that away from you, unless you allow them to.

 “Empowerment comes from fearing no-thing and facing every day with courage and love in your heart.”

When you are living with the statement ‘be the best you can be’ and you are doing this with all your integrity and might then you have nothing to fear.

Empowerment comes from fearing no-thing and facing every day with courage and love in your heart. Strive to be the best and do the best you can in every situation and you will be living in your integrity and you will know yourself.

Then words or energy that does not fit with your frequency or vibration will not even penetrate your field of self. You have become the master of your life and your reality.

Something worth looking into, wouldn’t you say?

Do you have something that you just can’t not take personally?  What is it and can you perhaps trace when you made the agreement?

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Audio: Go Slow to Speed Things Up (via Higher Self Channel)

Catch my article, ‘Go Slow to Speed Things Up‘, being read out loud (by me :D) on the Higher Self YouTube Channel below:

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3 Ways to Alchemize Chaos

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How to use a Little Spiritual Alchemy

the art of empowermentDo you sometimes feel that you are manifesting the good along with the bad? The good manifestations are fantastic but what do you do when you have created a not-so-desirable situation?

The best thing to do is to start to see your potential problems in a new light — what can they teach you?

Once you figure out why they are there and what your lesson is you can turn them around.  Does it work?  Hell yes!

Here’s some helpful advice:

  • Accept — when life throws a curve-ball (or 3 or 4 or 12 or whatever your circumstance has chucked at you recently), you need to give yourself some time and space to absorb.  To give your acceptance to what cannot change because resisting it will fuel its growth or allow more negativity to enter your slipstream.  Acceptance

    how you can easily transmute chaos

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    can even transmute the problem as you give it no power.  You can visualize how you would rather see it and then let it go.  I did this with many problems I have recently faced to see those very situations change to positive in a very short time and I did very little (just a bit of positive affirmations and visualizations) to make it happen.

  • Act — take action with what you can do and don’t stress about what you are not able to do.  Simply knocking down one thing after the other gives a great sense of satisfaction even if you have a mountain of things to do.  You will conquer Everest one step at a time.  Then when you look back, you’ll see just how much you can get done and how powerful a being you are.  I felt completely swamped lately with so much to do but little by little I got things done.  Most of the ‘struggle’ was actually in my mind.  I still have a few things to wrap up but I know I’ll get it all done in divine time!
  • Trust in the Flow — I find myself surrendering to the present moment a lot and blissing out even amidst the most chaotic times.  I just have a knowing that I am in that Universal flow and everything is going to be alright.  So exercise that grounding present moment awareness and trust that everything is in divine order.  I have literally sat back and watched the most astounding things flow and fit into place like a giant jigsaw puzzle that I could never have orchestrated if I tried to control the outcome.

Try and perceive your problems as learning curves and transmute the bad to good — after all, you’re an alchemist you know?! Read related article: Why Rejection Can Be a Blessing

The Definition of Alchemy

In times bygone, alchemy was turning matter into gold (the short and sweet version :D).

What you are going to achieve with ‘spiritual’ alchemy is turn your ‘matter’ (situations, etc) into ‘gold’ (treasure/abundance/wealth).

To alchemize a situation is to step inside it and transmute it from the inside out.  Get into what is bugging you (through meditation or quiet visualization) and start working your magic — find that gem of understanding/learning that the situation has to offer and morph it (through picturing what you want to see in your mind’s eye) into what you do want to see manifest in your life.

Keep on aligning yourself to your ‘new’ vision especially when you feel that sinking feeling in your stomach (solar plexus) when thinking about the distress it may be causing (keep alchemizing it!).

Please let me know if this works for you (leave a comment below). 🙂  I love to hear your feedback.

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3 Vital Steps to Forgiveness and Self Acceptance

“When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future.”
Bernard Meltzer 

Forgive and Let Go

You may already be aware that to forgive another person does not condone their actions but frees you from bondage.

When you hold a grudge, you inadvertently hold yourself in a head-lock with the other person until you can forgive.  So, without releasing that person through the process of forgiveness, you tether yourself to him/her/them indefinitely.

If that’s not encouragement enough to start the process of forgiveness then I don’t know what is.

However, what I want to explore in this article is self-forgiveness.  A topic that can easily be misunderstood, brushed aside or not even thought of.

Surely it’s those people in our lives that have done us wrong that need our forgiveness, not ourselves?

Why You Can Be Your Worst Enemy

Funny thing is, a lot of us find it much easier to forgive others than to turn the action inwards.

It’s so much simpler to have the heart to exonerate another but we go into a flat tailspin when we start to dive into the watery abyss of all the things we’ve done to ourselves that need absolution.

You know what I mean, don’t you?

We have done so much harm to ourselves through:

  • Negative Self Talk
  • Missed Opportunities
  • Laziness
  • Fear
  • Stubbornness
  • Disrespecting Ourselves and Others (whatever harm you have done to another is a direct blow to yourself — there is no separation)
  • Lack of Willpower and the list goes on…

Have you forgiven yourself these indiscretions?

Steps You Can Take Today to Start the Healing Process

Do you know that we each have a shadow self?  A part of us that feels unworthy, guilt and shame.  Do you squash this part of yourself every time it pops up to say ‘Yo!’?

You’re not alone.

First things first — we are dichotomous by nature.  We live in a third dimension of duality and we experience the yin and yang, light and dark, feminine and masculine, good and evil aspects of everyday life…well…every day!

You can’t truly be a human being if you are not experiencing these dualistic traits on a daily basis.

And there is your gold!  We are ALL human — we ALL make mistakes.  Goodness me, if we were all to carry the blame and shame on our backs as a physical representation of how we feel about ourselves, we would all be seriously misshapen.

Isn’t it about time to embrace your duality in order to truly feel whole?

Here’s what you can do to start making peace with your faux pas’:

  • Know that you are required to make mistakes in order to grow, learn and have a contrast with which to work from (i.e. how would you know what you want if you don’t experience what you don’t want?).  Affirm:  I forgive myself for making mistakes and give myself permission to live to my best ability even if it means making more blunders.
  • Cut yourself some slack — to err is human, to forgive is divine and seeing you are both, I think you have permission to accept your mistakes and find the hidden gems within your ‘unworthy’ experiences.  Affirm:  I forgive myself and will look for the positive aspects of my seemingly negative actions and where they have brought me on my life path. 
  • Put the whip aside!  We are all guilty, I’m sure, of being an asshole at some point in our lives — it doesn’t mean you have to flay yourself for your lack of good judgment over and over again.  Be kind to yourself as you would any other.  Affirm:  I forgive myself and will not, from this point in time, rehash past mistakes to punish myself further.  I am whole.  I am human.  I am Divine.  I am.

You are proving your worth when you’ve tripped just by picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and carrying on down that yellow-brick road.  Be kind to yourself when you stumble and know that there is always a lesson in the fall.

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Mark Twain 

The true warrior always mines the mistakes for the treasures and let’s him/herself be at peace with making miscalculations.  This is divine balance and the acceptance of every aspect of the self.

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Come peek at the other things I do besides blogging :)…

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Why it Hurts So Much When Someone Lies

“No legacy is so rich as honesty” — William Shakespeare

What really grates my carrots (and just about any decent, authentic person trying to live their truth) are liars — those truth benders, fibbers, perjurers and yarn spinners.

Since moving to a small town, I have discovered that there are more fabricators in this world than I ever dared believe!

I’ve come to truly grasp that people judge you on their own principles. In other words, if they lack certain morals, they’ll assume you are just as devious as they are.

Trusting People are Honest

I love Nelson Mandela’s take on believing that people have integrity until proven otherwise.

He used to start off with the assumption that you are dealing with him in good faith, in the hope that this will bring out the good in people and improve the chance that they will reveal their better selves.

Some might say it is naive to give others the benefit of the doubt but Mandela believed that, even by making oneself vulnerable by trusting others, we at least give decency and honesty a chance. And in doing that, possibly attract integrity and honor from others.

This is how I’ve tried to live my life but, oh boy, I’ve been challenged lately! How are things your end?

Hitting the Ball Out the Park!

I love how synchronicity works, listen to this: I was pondering all the fibby-fibblers people have told me recently and trying to better understand why they behave in such a way.

I settled down for the evening with my favorite series when one of the characters started lecturing another character about telling the truth and said something in the vein of, ‘when you don’t tell the truth you deny the other of their dignity’.

Whoa! Well, I don’t know about you but I almost fell out of my seat…that really hit home with me. So that’s why it hurts so much!

Why We Feel Deflated with Liars

Dignity can be defined as our magnificence. I don’t truly think anyone can strip us of that but it can really sting us for a while.

In my opinion, the liar’s dignity is more fragmented when trust is broken. So, anyone hatching an equivocation should seriously ponder that one!

When we are the ones on the receiving end of a bald-faced lie, it may hurt our pride/ego/feelings/heart but inevitably we can pick ourselves up and learn from the experience with head held high (don’t be disheartened by the experience! There are plenty of genuine gems in the world.).

However, it hurts when trust is broken, but — as Mandela tried to purvey — your heart is in the right place when you give people the benefit of the doubt.

“In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell

Don’t call yourself ‘stupid’ or ‘foolish’ when this happens, call yourself integrous — it’s a good thing! However, you must learn to guard yourself, set boundaries and try to identify the traits of a liar if and when you come up against the universal test again.

The Opposite Side of the Scale ain’t Pretty

The antithesis would be walking around in a world where we are suspicious of everyone — not a very nice projection, wouldn’t you say? You may even start attracting unsavory characters purely through your intention.

I’m not saying that you must just trust willy-nilly — no, you can initially give people the benefit of the doubt but if any of the below traits start red-flagging you are perfectly within your integrity to put a stop to it and walk away or not buy into the BS.

What to do About Liars

Learn to:

  1. Trust your gut instinct (what is your first impression? Your body can pick up on the energy fields of others),
  2. read body signals (especially rapid eye movements and people who can’t stare you in the eyes when talking. There can also be excessive fidgeting),
  3. take note of inconsistency and
  4. rely on your innate wisdom — if alarm bells are going off it’s time to wake up. Some liars are master manipulators and lies can only be detected once you really get to know them. So, your first impression may be positive but, down the line, things may change. Heed those warning signals!

I suppose, more importantly, don’t let it get to you. Don’t let it change your conduct. Don’t let other people’s lack of morality alter your authenticity. Don’t let it change your view on people in general.

Yeah, there are liars out there but there are a lot of good people too. Keep your focus on them. Navigate the minefields of deceivers but keep you eye on the prize — a world where truth is the only way forward.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now to drop the spanner in the works: Try to bear in mind that there are no facts only interpretations. Everyone has their own truth and our job is to find the compassion for the ones whose perspective differs from our own.

We’re all walking a difficult path. Barring the ones who lie for their own ill gain, most people lie because of insecurities or to mask their own pain. Compassion goes a long way.

However, compassion doesn’t mean you put your neck on the chopping block — it merely offers a deeper understanding of why people lie.

“Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.” — Swami Vivekananda

Good luck out there!

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Anxiety Got You All Wired Up? Here Are 7 Tips to Help You Relax…

7 Ways You Can Conquer Stress

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Stewing in Your Juices

I’m normally quite a chilled person. Nothing phases me. Until…

  • I take on too much work
  • I get into my ‘yes’ mode and make arrangements and dates that clog my diary
  • I volunteer my services willy-nilly
  • My housework starts to mount
  • My ‘to do’ list grows around the garden (especially as I’m trying to do the whole sustainability thing)
  • I have awesome ideas but have to implement them (adding to the head clutter and time/schedule disaster)

I’m sure you can probably relate to most of the above. Then what happens is that chilled out person who thought they could take on the world in a heart beat starts to panic.

Related article: Feeling Stressed? 10 Natural Alternatives To Prescription Anti-Anxiety Drugs

The Signs of a Meltdown

The walls of my diary close in and anxiety starts to rear its ugly head.

  • Panic attacks
  • Sweaty palms
  • Emotional outbursts (usually involving tears)
  • Temper whirlwinds
  • Depression
  • Feeling defeated and impotent
  • Losing it over the smallest things

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We can experience the above on a smaller or larger scale, depending on the level of anxiety and what looms ahead.

Okay, so what can be done?

Anxiety Be Gone!

Well, I’m trying to give myself a well-deserved pep talk here ’cause I suddenly realized the other day that I was slipping off the cliff of the ‘work’ I had piled up.

Amid my darkest moment, I came to the conclusion that it was going to be done whether I fretted about it or not. And what couldn’t be done was just not going to be done. It’s really quite simple.

So, on a practical level, try to:

  1. Get what’s in your head down onto paper (this works a treat!)
  2. Now you can make a priority list
  3. Schedule your time wisely and you’ll find you can fit a lot into your day
  4. Don’t stress about how much you’ve got to do by getting tangled up in the future tasks — concentrate on the task at hand
  5. Read no. 4 again.
  6. Yip…read no. 4 and 5 again!
  7. As Yoda said, ‘Do or do not’ — in this context, do what you must do and stop whinging about it. Have you ever stopped to think how much time we waste worrying or bitching about what we have to do instead of doing it?

Example: I have a mountain of clothes to pack away. Every morning I get up and look at this mountain and feel despair. It affects me greatly. I don’t like a messy bedroom — that’s where I’m supposed to go to relax, not stare at a heap of rags.

What not to do: Whine about the job. Look at the heap in deflated impotence. Complain about how much other stuff you have to do. Sit and have a cup of coffee and catch up on your Facebook feed. Or, in my case, write a blog about it, whilst — out of the corner of my eye — I can see into my bedroom and the washing pile is staring happily back at me.

Solution: Do it. A 5 minute rant could have you half way done by now. You can have that cuppa AND pack the washing away (what a novel idea!).

There is actually plenty of time in a day when you use it wisely. The above example is small fish compared to some of the whoppers we have to face in life and prepare for. However, inevitably, we are remarkable creatures with an ability to squeeze a lot into our lives when our minds are prepared well enough.

Let’s go back to no. 4, 5 and 6 of the tips list. This tip has helped me exponentially over the past few days. I’m a Virgo and a control freak. When my schedule starts mounting up and I feel like I’m losing control — it’s a blood bath! I have the tendency of looking ahead at what I have to do tomorrow, the next day and so on into infinity. This makes matters worse.

All we have to concentrate on is what lays before us today. You can deal with tomorrow, well, tomorrow! If it’s really a pickle, then set aside 10-15 minutes of today to work out a game-plan for tomorrow so you can at least get some sleep.

If there is ever something to remember about anxiety it’s this: one step at a time! You’re amazing and you’ll do it all, only if you tackle what’s in front of you now. As my dear mother used to say, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.

And now for something completely different…a little humour to liven up your stress monster:

cropped-cherie-profile-pic.jpgCherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author and multi-media artist from South Africa. To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com.

Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE. Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of Subscribe buttoncreativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can also follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment).

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Synchronicity is Your Ultimate Guide

“According to Vedanta, there are only two symptoms of enlightenment, just two indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward a higher consciousness. The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don’t bother you anymore. You become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous.”

~Deepak Chopra (Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles)

Well, the dictionary states that it is the occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality.

In laymen’s terms, it is simply being in the right place at the right time to receive the right information.  Now, why is this important — surely these kinds of events are just coincidences?

Defining Coincidence

End of season sale!Let’s break this word down to better understand it.  ‘Co’ means mutual and, of course, ‘incident’ means an event or occurrence.  Coincidence is pretty much a dead ringer for synchronicity but why do most people ‘brush’ things of as mere coincidence when, in fact, both coincidence and it’s relative – synchronicity – are profound states of universal flow?

When we are young, magic surrounds us — life is the biggest trip ever!  Sadly, as we become adults, we lose that awe for the mysterious and start putting things down to chance or luck and we start to give a rather cynical meaning to a beautiful word: co-incidence.

Should You Read More into Coincidence?

Yes!  The statistics of you being at that ‘right place at the right time’ are phenomenally low, so when they occur it is in your best interest to take very serious note of the message behind the encounter.  Then act on it.

“All of us, whether or not we are warriors, have a cubic centimeter of chance that pops out in front of our eyes from time to time. The difference between an average man and a warrior is that the warrior is aware of this, and one of his tasks is to be alert, deliberately waiting, so that when his cubic centimeter pops out he has the necessary speed, the prowess, to pick it up.”

~Carlos Castanada

For example:

You have been thinking of an old childhood friend, even possibly been dreaming of them.  Then one day, at the supermarket, your trolley collides with another trolley.  You look up to apologize and there is the friend you’ve been thinking of.

So What Does it all Mean?

All meaning could be different according to personal circumstances but let’s take a few possible meanings:

  • This person may have some valuable information for you. It could be that they know someone who could help you with that project you’re working on.
  • It could be that your friend may need your expertise with solving a problem.
  • Or it could simply be that you need to catch up and share some precious life experiences with each other.

The meanings may differ but the little gems that pop up as ‘coincidences’ are rarely of no use.  Sometimes we have to pan for gold.  It can take days to recognize that little nugget of truth that was meant for you in the synchronous event that took place.

Flex That Synchronous Muscle!

The good news is, the more aware you are of synchronicity and how it breezes in and out of your life to steer you to your greater good, the more you’ll start unraveling the unique tapestry of your life and destiny.  This is why Deepak Chopra refers to this phenomenon as ‘Synchrodestiny’.

When you learn to use synchronicity, you’ll start to follow the breadcrumbs to fulfilling your dreams.  Be careful of shrugging events off as mere coincidence because that’s exactly what they’ll become.  Take joy in uncovering the pearls of wisdom in these packages.

The Fury at Being Robbed Blind!

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Let me give you an example of a huge shift that took place recently in my life thanks to allowing synchronicity to work for me.

 

I recently had my bank account hacked into and a vast sum of money stolen over a period of 2 days.  It was a red-tape nightmare but I eventually got refunded by the bank.

Just last month, the same thing happened with an account I have at a different bank — thankfully, a smaller amount was stolen but the same principle had occurred.  I started to get metaphysically suspicious.  What was the universe trying to tell me?

Sometimes synchronicity isn’t as pleasant as having a catch-up cuppa with an old friend — it can come as an earthquake to rattle your cage of complacency.

Figuring Out the Puzzle

Suffice to say, I don’t believe in mere coincidence in the dull sense of the word — everything happens for a reason.

I started to pick this puzzle apart.  What I found stunned me.

I realized that I had a tremendous ‘painbody’ (a phrase coined by Eckhart Tolle to describe a collective energy within the self that feeds of the pain of a certain incident(s) and affects us subliminally) around money.

I am good at accumulating lump sums but then proceed to either spend, lose or give it away bypassing any form of financial literacy or sustainable income.

The Puzzle Goes Quantum!

A friend of mine also pointed out that money is just energy.  If I was having large sums of this ‘energy’ stolen from me it could also be a reflection of my personal life.

She was right.  I was also giving away my energy (in the form of attention,  in this case) to something that did not serve me.

I started hauling in all this valuable information to analyze.  Synchronously, my neighbor gave me a book to read, called ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki, which I devoured.  It was as if it was written just for me!

I started to implement some of my findings and got immediate feedback from the universe.

Within days of me making a conscious shift about my attitude towards money, someone accidentally put a large sum of money into my bank account.

Even though, a week later, the sum of money was reversed — my situation had changed!  Instead of people taking money out, they were putting it in!  That was my confirmation that I had truly shifted my perspective and that things were on a new track.

But You Never Kept the Money!

Carpe Diem or Bust Book by Cherie Roe Dirksen

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In both instances (whether having the money purposefully stolen or accidentally given), a message was being delivered.  I always had the money reimbursed by the bank in the case of the theft and my account returned to normal in the case of the deposit.  So there was no physical gain of money but the metaphysical message was received.

The message delivered was that there was a problem with my mental attitude towards money and the message was received and acknowledged by the shift in physical occurrence — one could say a wink from the universe.

If I didn’t realize that my money being stolen was no mere coincidence, I would have plodded on feeling like a victim of circumstance instead of seeing the opportunity that was being offered to change my financial attitude.

Coincidence is the word we use when we can’t see the levers and pulleys.
~Emma Bull

Keep your eyes peeled for meaningful coincidence and start shaping your destiny through synchronicity today!

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6 Impossible Things To Do Every Day

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“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

6 Impossible Things to do Every Day

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Go Easy on the Mundane

Life can be wonderful when you’re a dreamer. Life can be even more wonderful when you are a dreamer and a doer!

Nothing trips us up more that boredom or monotony. As the saying goes, ‘boring is as boring does’. But, lucky for us, we live in a world full of unmapped, unexplored and unchartered territory — both physically and metaphysically.

What a cause for celebration!

Ready For Expanded Thinking?

“After all, the word ‘impossible’ only really spells out ‘I’m Possible’.”

You’ve probably realized by now that you are the one creating your life experience by what you’re feeling and doing in this NOW moment. Your past does not define you but your present shapes your future.

If your life is not exciting you, you’re the one forgetting to inject the zest.

So why not start the day, as Lewis Carroll so aptly suggested, by thinking of 6 (even 1 will do!) impossible things you could do to explode the old and catalyze the new. After all, the word ‘impossible’ only really spells out ‘I’m Possible’.

Let me suggest some starting points:

  1. Start Small. Imagine something you want that you’re likely to be able to achieve today. This could be anything from doing that chore that’s been irritating you to exploring a new path whilst taking the dogs for a walk. Why is this going to help you? Because tackling household/garden jobs that you put off give you an immense sense of satisfaction when you finally do them — it incites you to do more tomorrow. Trying new things like taking a walk where you’ve never ventured before is breaking routine and while routine can be a good thing in some areas of your life it can also kill adventure.
  2. Think Big. Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but never got around to? Do you think you’re too old to play the piano? Or too overweight to water ski? Or maybe you think you’re too poor to travel? Think again! It’s those ‘I’m Possible’ dreams that light a fire under the derriere and bring back sensational living! Where there’s a will there’s a way, so start off by finding a picture of your desire and pin it to your vision board (you know, that thing you have up somewhere in your house to remind you of what you want to manifest. Don’t have one yet? There’s your other I’m Possible task!) and start taking action along with looking out for synchronicities (don’t know what that is? READ HERE). Impossible is sure to follow!
  3. Visualize. Like I said in point no. 2 — get your vision board started and watch the impossible happen! There’s nothing like walking into your office (or whatever room applies here) and seeing all those pretty pictures of things to keep aligning yourself to. We think we know what we want but, back in reality, there are so many thoughts coursing through our brain that we tend to ‘backseat’ our dreams in lieu of daily matters. Then we forget the things (big or small) that mean something to us. Don’t let your dreams escape you! Every time you think of something you would like to experience — pin it! I walked into a fabulous spa the other day and took one of their brochures. Why? Because even though I wasn’t in town to get a massage that day, it’s something I would love to experience — so, it’s now firmly pinned to my vision board. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve eventually disregarded wanting a sensational 2 hour treatment and would’ve also probably forgotten about the spa itself nevermind it’s location. Now I won’t ’cause I see it every day and smile when I think of going there for my special treat.
  4. Alice in Wonderland QuoteA Pat on the Back. Stop every day to think of the wonderful things you have accomplished thus far in your life. We very seldom stop to let things sink in. It could be the fact that you raised an awesome child (it probably felt impossible when you first looked into his/her eyes as a newborn) or you finally conquered a fear and boarded a plane one day and went overseas for the first time (which may have sparked many other trips). Some things may seem old hat to some and incredible feats to others — don’t underestimate what you’ve accomplished. Even the little things shape our lives. Give yourself some kudos and then keep doing more impossible things!
  5. Burn the Box! You’ve heard of thinking outside the box — which is the Impossible Club’s credo — but burning the box is more potent. In fact, the box never existed in the first place, Schrodinger! Stretch your mind to the infinite possibility of all realities in all directions of space and time. Try lucid dreaming and cruise the universe — let your impossible imagination run riot. The universe is expanding and creating the most beautiful work of art with all its nebulae, solar systems, whirling galaxies and neutron star collisions just to name a few. Expand your mind to take it all in and then apply it to your life. How can you be creatively expansive? How can you use your divine talents to smear this life experience with explosive colour, fizzing verve and sparkling tenacity? Baby, you’re a firework! Thanks Ms. Perry, how right you are.
  6. Rest. Doing relentlessly impossible things all day requires that you need a balance of good R&R. But don’t stop your imagination from thinking of impossible ways to relax. You can dream up a wild bath-time relaxation routine that involves submarines, rubber ducks and lavender oil or you could take some time out to shut those weary little eyes and have a night full of dreaming up new ways to be a super nova!

And remember — you’re the only one who can make the impossible possible.

“Door: Why it’s simply impassible! Alice: Why, don’t you mean impossible? Door: No, I do mean impassible. (chuckles) Nothing’s impossible!” — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll)

“The Alice books belong to a branch of literature that speaks deeply and clearly to the human psyche–stories of the journey.” Stephanie Lovett Stoffel, The Art of Alice in Wonderland

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Original article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Conscious Life New (CLN) – click here and join their growing community!

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Did You Know That ‘Abracadabra’ Really is a Magically Loaded Word?

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It is said that the magic word, ‘Abracadabra’ may have Aramaic origins meaning ‘I create as I speak’. Not such a childish word after all, eh?

Law of Attraction fundi’s (a nifty little African word for ‘experts’) will probably resonate with the above definition of this magical incantation — is it ringing a few bells for you?

As you may be aware already, there are 3 fundamental steps to using the LOA:

  • Ask (formulate the desire or thought then write it down/and or verbalize it)
  • Believe (embody the feeling of having what you want)
  • Receive (make believe as if you have it already, act like you have it, speak as if you have it, know that it is coming and…voila!)

Create Your Life Through Magic

Is magic real? The dictionary definition for magic says it all:

The power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.”

Well, my friend, you are that mysterious force!

Read related article: Do You Believe in Magic?

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What is the difference between prayers, affirmations and spells? In my opinion…nothing. They are just different tools to accomplish the same thing.

We all know that words are powerful. Their very vibration can heal us, build us up, convey our love or sway us to kill each other, tear us down, cast doubt and pain…you get the picture.

How you use the word is your baby — as is using any kind of energy (words are energetic as they carry a frequency). It’s a responsibility in and of itself.

Hate speech or gossip can greatly affect the lives of the people you are casting the words at or about. Speaking positive, loving words can also affect the ones we are directing the energy towards.

Which Team Are You On?

There are pretty much 2 teams that I know of:

  1. Service to self or
  2. Service to others.

If you want to get clearer on the above terms, read this: What is Service to Self (STS) and Service to Others (STO)?

“A person standing in the light has a shadow.  A person standing in the dark has none.  What does this mean?  Even the best of us have shadows.” Read more about the Shadow Self here.

Even Star Wars brings up this concept through the Sith and the Jedi.

The Sith are classically STS and the Jedi are STO. They both know how to use The Force and there is a fine line that separates ‘good’ from ‘evil’ (something we all must discover within — use our intuition/discernment) which is why it is important to work on accepting and understanding your shadow self.

Read related article: Shadow Self: Embracing Your Inner Darkness

Did you know you’re already an all-encompassing magician? Let me explain…

Party Tricks and Life Conundrums

We all use words, don’t we? Every day. For some of us, every second of every day.

I create as I speakOn some level, you have been casting spells all the time. Look back at your life and try to see how the words you use — to describe yourself or your body, your partner, your children/family/friends, your colleagues, your job, your finances, your car, your neighborhood — are all what you may be experiencing now.

It’s one thing to know a good card trick or to pull something out of the hat but it’s another thing to consciously realize that every thought you think, every word you utter is a declaration of what you are calling into being.

Makes you think, doesn’t it? It also makes you want to staple your gob shut! Lol. Good news is, you can direct your words through awareness.

Here’s what you CAN do to be more mindful of the words you are speaking and how it can change your life and the lives of those around you:

  1. You can easily catch yourself gossiping and turn it around or just stop, apologize to whomever you are speaking to and explain that this is not serving anyone.
  2. You can undoubtedly stop criticizing yourself, your appearance, your children, your partner or anyone else when you’re alert.
  3. You can assuredly choose better words to describe your situation, whatever it may be, to reflect a proclamation of what you want instead of what you think ‘is’. Life doesn’t have to be what it is right now if that’s not what you want. What you are experiencing now is the magic performed yesterday. You’re not a victim of circumstance — you can participate right now in creating a new life as if by magic (*wink, wink, nudge, nudge*).

Hocus pocus? Well, if you think so then so shall it be. That’s how magical you are, you prestidigitator!

This article was written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Conscious Life News — CLICK HERE to visit their awesome site!

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Why ‘Heart Talk’ is SO Important

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  • Ever spoken to someone who isn’t really listening?
  • Ever started a conversation and you can just sense your partner is more interested in saying what he/she wants to say without regard to your input?

We’ve all been there.

It’s not a great feeling to waste your breath and effort when you just know it’s falling upon deaf ears or when you’re just not being ‘heard’. Sometimes we feel like we’re in the firing range of someone’s motor-mouth and you’re being spoken ‘at’ and not ‘to’!

Wits End Meets Heart Opening

I’m afraid I’m losing my patience with people who are talking to me with their ‘heads’.

What do I mean?

You’re being spoken at by a person who is only interested in getting their logical perspective across irrespective of what their heart is trying to express. It’s kind of a heart bypass that shoots straight to the thought process.

When we communicate with our hearts we first open a space for dialogue to begin. A dialogue that is receptive as well as giving — where you give a person a chance to speak and they reciprocate.

Read related article: Neurological Indicators Show That Your Heart Is Your True Center of Consciousness

How Do I Begin Heart Dialogue?

Firstly, you need to drop into your heart space (where your physical heart resides).

Your heart emits a frequency that can be measured (in fact, its electromagnetic field is 500 times stronger than that of the brain) and when 2 or more people are communicating through this frequency, you will have a better chance of clear, pure, flowing, integral dialogue.

“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye” — H. Jackson Brown, Jnr

Your quality of conversation is going to be better because you are not only conversing with language and emotion but with feeling too. The other person is going to connect with your field and be ‘in tune’, so to speak, with you. So, it’s more likely that any deception will be picked up by that innate part of you that can hone in on these things.

Read related article: The Heart has it’s Own ‘Brain’ and Consciousness

Secondly, when you communicate from your heart, you open yourself up to a more truthful, no-bullsh*t kind of conversation (you know — the ones worth having!).

Your words will flow with more ease and fluidity.

When you trust that what needs to be said will be said, you have no need to rush your words. Have you noticed how most spiritual teachers speak very slowly and with great distinctness? You will, most likely, be guided to say what needs to be said without having to beat around the bush, flounder or hog the floor unnecessarily.

Straight From the Horses Mouth

I was having a conversation the other day and what would have taken me half an hour to explain just drifted calmly out of my mouth in about 3 sentences. They were succinct, truthful and to the point. No waffling.

It was great!

I haven’t been particularly loquacious these past few months and have been feeling very foggy and scrambled in the head of late (ditsy blonde that I am!) but more frequently I am finding the right words at the right time.

Either that or I end up grinning like a Cheshire cat or expressing myself through interpretive dance.

I’m really rooting for full-on telepathic communication in the not-so-distant future. Truth be told, I’ve already begun to experience this kind of connection and I can’t wait for it to go mainstream!

I hope you will start to have more meaningful, inspiring tête-à-têtes in your NOW moments.

  • What’s your take on heart versus head communication?
  • Have you tried it? If so, spill the beans in the comment box below 🙂

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The Secret Ingredient to Happiness

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‘Love is what binds us, respect is what unites us. To have love and respect for all life forms guarantees you an excellent quality of life because you will be walking around in sheer reverence to all you come across. There will never be a dull or uninspired moment.’

You want to know what that tangy little secret ingredient is, right? You clicked on this article because you’re itching to find out if you own this substance — if it’s hiding in your pantry waiting to be shaken in to the soup of existence. You want that brilliant and fulfilling life, don’t you?

Well then, you may initially be disappointed to know that the secret is not going to be found in:

  • great looks (sorry…pouting for the next Instagram selfie just ain’t going to bring you lasting satisfaction),
  • money (money can’t buy you love — thanks Mr Lennon/McCartney for those words of wisdom),
  • stardom (celebrity is as celebrity does…you can have fame and be happy — if you possess the ingredient — but fame itself is barren without it),
  • recognition (it’s nice to be ‘noticed’ for your achievements but that still won’t fill the void).

While all the above attributes may bring temporary satisfaction, none of them will necessarily contribute to lasting joy.

That can only be found in one tasty ingredient.

But first let’s examine what could bring this entire planet into alignment (metaphysically speaking, that is).

What We Can Do NOW to Expedite Love in the World

In Lak’ech Ala K’in is a Mayan saying that simply translated means ‘I am another you‘ or ‘I am you, you are me.

This principle begs us to treat each other with appreciation — it asks us to see our sisters/brothers from other mothers as our own kin. It implores us to love all the children of the world as if they emerged from your own womb/seed. We need to rekindle the spark that respects everyone and everything’s right to life and a reverence for existence.

When you are able to love yourself (not to be mistaken with narcissism or selfishness), you naturally begin to love and respect others as well as every other form of life you encounter — including inanimate objects.

Huh?

Everything on this planet has a presence, from the rocks, plants and animals to the soil, worms and the very core of the earth itself.

Imagine a world where everyone had the exact same amount of love and respect for EVERY life form as they do for their own self (assuming that you have mastered the ability of self-love, that is).

 ‘Self-love is the source of all our other loves.’ — Pierre Corneille

Related article: Do You Feel Worthless? 2 Reasons Why You Need to Love YOU

But now we’re encroaching on the nitty-gritty…the ingredient!

Stocking Your Pantry With*Drumroll*…

The secret ingredient, self love.

‘Respect yourself and others will respect you.’ — Confucius

You can’t possibly expect other people to love you if you don’t love yourself. It may appear as if people love you but if you harbor resentment, self-hate or any kind of negative emotion towards yourself, you’re setting yourself up for huge pitfalls in all your other relationships.

I’ve heard people say that they can’t love themselves because of all their ‘imperfections’.

Just the word ‘imperfect’ states that I’m perfect.

You’ve got to learn to love all the ‘I’m Perfects’ in yourself. I’m not talking about empty affirmations, I’m talking about getting down deep and dirty and dusting out all the corners of your self. Ask yourself:

  1. What is it I don’t like about myself?
  2. Can I do anything about it?
  3. If yes, am I willing to change and start loving myself through the process?
  4. If not, can I learn to love the way I am instead of the way I think I ought to be?
  5. Is it society/family/friends/religion that prevents me from accepting myself?
  6. If none of the above existed would I feel happy with who I am?

‘Know Thyself.’ — Greek Proverb

You’ve got to mine yourself for these answers. Whatever you come up with, then ask yourself:

If this trait was in someone else (preferably someone you love — like your partner/child/favorite celebrity) would you still love them?

The answer, in my experience, is usually an emphatic ‘Yes!’. So, why don’t we give ourselves the same leeway?

Related article: Why Being Weird is Unusually Cool!

IMHO…Weird is Wonderful!

If you don’t love yourself for:

  • something you’ve done in the past then try to make amends for it and/or forgive yourself. If you find it difficult to forgive others then you may find that it’s because you are not forgiving yourself for something. If you find it easy to forgive others but not yourself, you need to question why you think you’re not worth it. Every single person is a creation of Source and, yes, that includes you! You need to embrace the inner divinity that is craving your love.
  • the way you look then try to remember that the most intriguing people are beautiful despite not having ‘model’ looks (beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in having moxy!). Sometimes what we consider hideous others consider unique and beguiling. Your personality and integrity is what is most attractive. Get the inside right and the outside will glow — even if you don’t look like J-Lo.
  • certain traits that you feel you can’t change. Remember that you can completely turn your life around if you think you can. If you feel you can’t change your actions or ways, you’re wrong. When you are aware of something within you that needs to be worked on, you can do or change anything! But remember to love yourself through the process.

Self love will change the world as we know it. Everything I’ve studied to date with regards to the human condition and self development has always led me back to self love. Without it we are lost. With it we are whole. With it, we can change the world.

I love you, you are worth it!

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CRDCherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can also follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment)

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Subliminal Acrylic Pours That Lead to Strangely Insightful Art and Poetry

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I started experimenting with acrylic pours (just putting a whole lot of different colours into a bottle and letting it loose on the canvas) when I was painting for my solo exhibition ’42’. You can get the FREE booklet for my exhibition HERE.

After I do the pour, I extract objects/faces/weird things out of the shapes in the paint. The painting I’d like to introduce you today to is called ‘The Trickster’.

There is a lot going on in this painting and I accompanied it with a poem rather than a description as I’d like to point you to what I see and feel in the artwork but I’d like you to also use your imagination and use your own interpretations. Please feel free to let me know what you see and how you feel about the painting.

The poem is under the painting below…

The original is still available HERE for $295 (international shipping included).

The Trickster - 40cm x 40cm x 2.5cm

The Trickster Description

You can view all my available paintings at Saatchi Art by CLICKING HERE.

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Gracefully Receiving is Just as Important as Giving

 

The Law of Giving and Receiving

“Giving opens the way for receiving.” — Florence Scovel Shinn

Deepak Chopra wrote a book that changed my outlook on life. I stumbled upon it very early on in my quest for spiritual truth — it’s called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

Now I know most of you have probably read it or heard of it (if you haven’t yet put eyeballs to paper/kindle yet I strongly urge you to do so) but I wanted to briefly recap on Law no. 2, seeing it is the season of giving and receiving.

Deepak states that the flow of life is the harmony of interaction between all elements and forces that make up the field of existence. Because our mind and body are in constant flux (as is the universe), stopping the circulation of vital energy would be tantamount to stopping the flowing of our blood.

No blood flow = blood clot. Now, you don’t want to be a clot, do you?

Girl-with-the-Flowers-by-Cherie-Roe-Dirksen-680x392His conclusion was that in order to keep this vital chi force from stagnating we must learn to give and receive. So whatever you are wanting to manifest in life — be it good company, money, affluence, love, joy, etc — that is what we must give out into the world.

 

Related post: Deepak Chopra: The Seven Principles of Manifesting Your Desires

Easier Said Than Done?

A lot of people have no problem giving — it is the receiving part that most shudder at.

Perhaps we were taught that receiving was impolite and we should graciously decline offerings of any sort. Or,  maybe some think that if someone is trying to give us something it appears that we are lacking in some way. Therefore we shun the gift so as not to look needy or ‘down and out’.

This is an ego trap.

When you block someone from giving, you are stopping that vital energetic exchange from circulating. How would you feel if your gifts weren’t received?

It gives most of us great joy to be able to give, so why stop that joy from others? Allow other people to give to you or you may be hampering their ability to be in the universal flow.

Don’t be blood-clotting anybody, you hear?!

How Do I Start Today to Bring the Flow into My Life?

According to the book (7 Spiritual Laws of Success), when you come into contact with anyone, you give them something. This doesn’t have to be material things, it could be a blessing, a flower, a sincere compliment, etc. You’ll find that sometimes the most powerful gestures of giving are non-material (you can occasionally throw in something of a material nature too though).

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” — Lao Tzu

SUBSCRIBE icon 1Think about it — giving the gift of your undivided attention or heart-felt affection and caring are priceless gifts and they won’t break the bank!

Related article: 9 Reasons You Need To Be Giving and Receiving Hugs Everyday

In a Roasted Nutshell…

Don’t underestimate the power of giving as you will receive it back ten fold! Just keep that flow going and be aware every time you feel you want to decline a gift or gesture — try remember to allow for others to give as well.

The art used in this blog can be found HERE.

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You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

 

 

 

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

This article (Gracefully Receiving is Just as Important as Givingis published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.

 

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

 

 

 

 

Do You Need To Meditate? Part 1

There are so many beautifully written books on the subject of present moment awareness, my personal favourites being the Eckhart Tolle books, ‘The Power of Now’ and ‘A New Earth’.  But I would like to touch on it a little bit in this blog.

Why must I be still?

When we are still, we are in the present moment.  When the continuous noise of the mind is silent we experience present moment awareness.

“We use mantras and meditations as ‘training’ wheels to the stillness that is at the very core of our soul.”

Boat on a Lake by Cherie Roe DirksenEasier said than done, of course, but it can be mastered.  With regular meditation (this just means breathing and quieting the mind for as little as 5 minutes a day) and proper breathing techniques and mantras, one can easily become a master of ones thought pattern.  We use mantras and meditations as ‘training’ wheels to the stillness that is at the very core of our soul.

Once you have mastered this you will no longer need the ‘training’ wheels as you will be able to attain stillness instantly.

The Art of Letting Go

For those of you who are new to these practices, some of the techniques used to bring oneself into the present are very helpful but always bear in mind that you will never need anything to realize this potential whenever you want it.

“…when you feel the need to move onto something else or perhaps nothing else, as the case may be, then trust your intuitions.”

Some people cling to their mantras and meditation techniques and this can become a very stagnant practice as the Earth shifts into a new gear.  Some practices will already be felt as outdated and one needs to change with the times, so to speak.

So when you feel the need to move onto something else or perhaps nothing else, as the case may be, then trust your intuitions.  As practices for the sake of keeping a ritual going is of no good if you are not progressing.

The STOP Signpost

A useful tool to use is the STOP signpost.  Clearly see a stop sign in your mind’s eye, now use it every time you identify yourself wondering into the terrain of useless or negative thought.

STOP! 

Hold up the sign to your mind.  When you do this it is a distraction to get you to stop dead in your tracks.  Try it for yourself.  Be the ‘lollipop lady’ of your mind by holding up the STOP sign and bringing the traffic of mind noise to a halt to let the helpful and positive thoughts across the road.

For what purpose do I need to get to this ‘Present Moment Awareness’?

Now that you have an idea of how to get to the present moment – what does it do?

“If we could all operate in this space a lot of problems would be alleviated.”

Well, it is the grounding force that enables you to truly live.  The present moment is bliss, peace and tranquility.  It is a tool to help you to find clarity.  But intrinsically it is the place where we are most at peace with ourselves and the outer world.  If we could all operate in this space a lot of problems would be alleviated.

When you are in the moment, there is no thought pattern about past or future there is only the ‘now’.  You experience life as it is now.

When the constant stream of mind-numbing thought is detached we have no fear/stress of future or regret/anger about past.  We are supremely concentrated in the ‘is-ness’ of the now.  It is as simple as it sounds.  When you attain this degree of inner peace you will find out just how perfect you are and everything around you too.

Problems will lose their potency and you will be able to laugh in the face of fear.

What could harm a being as perfect as you? 

You are a soul with no beginning and no end.  What a marvelous space to be in!  That is why some people are addicted to meditation and forget to live!  But the true master finds the balance in-between.

“There are so many basic things that we, as humans, have forgotten.”

We are still human and have to face the outside world but through the practice of being in the present moment and through awareness itself, you will be able to operate in your current reality with a more peaceful and accepting demeanor.

There are so many basic things that we, as humans, have forgotten.  We don’t forget to eat or drink – so why do we forget to breathe correctly?  We don’t forget to sit on the couch and turn on the telly – so why do we forget to be present?

I am scared of stopping for fear of having to confront what it is I really need to address

Most of us are nervous about being still and we try to occupy every bit of spare time we have in filling it up with nonsense.  All this is really just a cover up for the fact that we fear what we may face when we quiet our minds.

We fear the psyche and all the hidden corners that we have not explored.  We fear the clutter that we have stored in there, packing it in boxes and labeling it for another day that we know, deep down, we don’t ever want to face.

We must face these fears if we are to move on.

Read Part 2.

Excerpt from Part 2:

“You can plaster a wall over and over but if there are cracks of unresolved past issues hidden in the concrete, they will always break through leaving imperfections in your wall…”

 

The above blog has been taken from an extract in my latest book ‘Divine You — Redefining Love in the New Earth’, which is available at all leading bookstores.  For more information please click here.

You may also be interested in reading this article:  

Wherever You Go, There You Are: A Short Course in Mindfulness and Meditation

4 Nice Ways to Say ‘No’

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  • Are you the type of person who doesn’t like letting people down even when it doesn’t suit you?
  • Do you eventually end up letting yourself down — time after time — with your yes’s which should’ve been no’s?

Then this blurb is for YOU!

“Saying no doesn’t make you a horrible person — you are merely a person with healthy boundaries.”

People Pleasing 101

how to nicely say 'no'Take it from a people pleaser — it ain’t easy saying no…or is it? In my 40 odd years on this planet, I’ve only recently discovered it’s actually quite easy and painless to say no if a situation doesn’t suit you.

Most times, people move on and ask someone else or respect you for your honesty. Some people (the ones who need to realize the world doesn’t revolve around them and their needs) don’t appreciate no’s (these are the ones people pleaser’s are most afraid of).

Thing is, you don’t have to please everyone. If you are going against your grain in doing something you would rather not do — you have every right to say NO. Please read this article which explains more: Boundary Setting 101 — Target: Empaths

4 Phrases to Commit to Memory!

Without hurting or being unreasonable — you can actually decline a request.

There are 4 easy ways to say your no’s, here they are:

  1. Saying no doesn't make you a horrible person — you are merely a person with healthy boundaries.‘I’m sorry but I won’t be able to’ — and you NEVER have to justify why you can’t — you don’t have to give up voluntary disclosure. Don’t fall into the trap of rambling on and on about why you can’t. You simply can’t do it — your reasons are your own. If they ask why not, you can just say you are busy or have too much on your plate right now – finito.
  2. ‘I’ll have to think about it, I’ll get back to you’ — this can buy you some time to work out your succinct excuse and bow out without physical confrontation, if needs be.
  3. ‘I’m going to have to decline as I have plans for that day/I am busy that day’ — again, as in no. 1 — you don’t have to get graphic.
  4. If it’s about lending money then this one works a treat, ‘I have a strict policy about not lending money’. If they try to twist your arm, you can always say that you have been burnt in the past and will not be swayed. End of story.

Saying no doesn’t make you a horrible person — you are merely a person with healthy boundaries. When you can help someone out, do. Bear in mind that to do something against your true wishes is never going to send out a good vibration — for you or the other person.

Related article: How to Recognize a Dream Thief

CRDCherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She also has just recently launched her official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates).

Other articles you may enjoy:

What playing chess taught me about life  Win the Lottery Using the LOA  7 things teenagers should know

Catch My Latest Audio About Redesigning Yourself via Higher Self Channel

 

 

Get Your Smile On — Laugh Your Ass Off!!!

Smiling at strangers, spreading good cheer and laughing until you wet yourself are some of the most important things you can do for a healthy life. It literally can heal you. I recently read this article, ‘You’re Not Laughing Enough, and That’s No Joke‘, which stated:

“The average four-year-old laughs 300 times a day. The average 40-year-old? Only four.”

Related article: Ageing Healthily, Happily, and Youthfully

Image may contain: 1 person

Fun fact: The adorable child in this photo is my husband 🙂

Put the HU Back into the Human

The Remedy for Everything at the Tip of Your Tongue

I want to share an ancient mantra/prayer with you and it is simply to sound out the word HU (pronounced like Hugh or hue). It is used to harmonize and retune the very atoms of your body.

First, let’s explore a little bit about this words origins…

Background Credentials

  • The HU has been used by various different cultures over thousands of years.  It is a way to align with God or Source.
  • HU is actually an ancient name for God and is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word ‘HU’.
  • Ancient Egyptians and Greeks also referred to the word HU as a refere
  • nce to G
    od.  It is interesting to note that we are HUmans — God in the form of (wo)man.
  • Many different religions, such as Sufism and the Kabbalah, talk about the HU as the original sound of the universe.

Using HU Now

When you sound out the mantra HU (you can also do it silently in the mind but I prefer to chant it out loud) you are aligning with source.  I feel it gives one an immense sense of personal power.

The first time I ever heard of it was on an Art Bell show — I, unfortunately, don’t remember the guests names but it was a couple (it could indeed have been this couple: http://www.divinedecisionmaking.com/Just_Say_HU_Technique.html).

I remember them saying that it sealed off your aura. I tried it immediately and I now do it every evening before bed.

So, if during the day, you had any breaks, bleeds or tears in your auric field, the HU makes sure they’re healed.

I do it by:

  1. TakSUBSCRIBE icon 1ing a deep breath and then
  2. Letting out a long HUUUUUUU until all the air is out of my lungs
  3. I then repeat this 3 times (you can do it as many times as you like).
  4. Make sure you do this as a daily practice for optimum results.

Reasons to start HU-ing today:

  • Relieves anxiety, fear, tension and depression
  • Induces joy, love and serenity
  • Wards of psychic or negative emotional attacks
  • Tunes you in to your higher ‘God-self’ vibration

So get your HU on and see what it can do for you! Feel free to share your experiences with this mantra by leaving your comments below.

Other articles you may enjoy:

Why You Should Turn Disappointment into Opportunity

How to Create Opportunity

Eco Bricks Just Might Help Save the Planet and YOU Can Start Yours Today!

Comfort Zones: Embracing the Beauty of Awkward and Uncomfortable


You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

 

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

This article (Putting the HU Back into the Human! is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

4 Tibetan Tips for Longevity

Tibetan Wisdom

Most of us want an abundant, full life. I stumbled across a beautiful Tibetan proverb on my facebook feed that really made sense.

Let me share it with you:

“The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure”

How simple is that?

  1. Eat half — in today’s world, most diets are just too much. A small step you can take to a healthier lifestyle is to lessen your food portions at meal-times. Eat so that you are satiated and not stuffed — take my word for it, it makes you feel much better too! There’s nothing worse than feeling like an overfilled burrito. Read related article: 11 Essential Rules for “Clean,” Healthy Eating
  2. Walk double — I’m a great advocate of walking. It’s free and easy to do. All you have to do is don your sneakers and head out the door — no gym fees required! Not only does it help you to maintain a healthy weight, it helps in the prevention or management of various conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. It also strengthens your bones and muscles. Read related article: Science Proves What You Suspected: Walking in Nature is Good For Your Mental Health
  3. SUBSCRIBE icon 1Laugh triple — there are reasons why you should take up laughter today! A good belly wobble decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies. This will improve your resistance to disease. It also triggers the release of those much desired endorphins (your body’s natural feel-fabulous chemicals). Endorphins induce a sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain hence why cancer patients are encouraged to watch copious amounts of comedy. There’s nothing better than laughter on the path to healing emotional or physical conditions. Related article: Use Laughter to De-Stress & Connect With Others (TED Video)
  4. Love without measure — unconditional love does not judge. When you can see the divine in another, you are spreading peace like wildfire. An open heart that has an abundance of love to pour out is the only way we are going to heal not only ourselves but the world. This doesn’t mean you are used as a doormat — some loving is done from a healthy distance. But love and forgiveness can only help heal ourselves and our globe. Read related article: How to Cultivate Unconditional Love and Forgiveness

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant”. — Martin Luther King, Jr

May you live long and prosper.

CRD

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

Cherie posts a new article on CLN every Thursday. To view her articles, click HERE.

This article (4 Tibetan Tips for Longevity) was originally written for and published byConscious Life News and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons

More articles you may enjoy:

3 Ways to Wave Goodbye to Fear

The Art of Pastel Poppies — Come See the Photo Process

Why Not Imprint How You Want to Die?

4 Reasons to Entice You to Quit Drama

“If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.” — The Duchess (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)

Hmmm, yes.  What is it about human nature that keeps our noses continuously stuck in other people’s affairs?

I’m sure we’ve all been lured into, blind-sided or even voluntarily stepped into drama at some stage of our lives but it always tends to leave us feeling mad, depleted, hurt, worn out, angry and a host of other undesirable emotions.

Perhaps you are the director of drama?  Do you find yourself thriving on creating new havoc in your life or the lives of others?

Well, the 4 suggestions below might help you to diagnose why we create or involve ourselves in such amateur dramatics and can hopefully tempt you to have a better insight to and possibly disengage in the frivolous activities of other peoples business.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall — Whose Inner Reflection Will Tell All?

  1. The Smoky Mirror — Right in at no. 1 is our behaviors reflected in others. People that volunteer themselves to get entwined in the business of their fellow man, usually have some characteristic of what they are judging about others lurking about in their own foggy behavior. Sometimes we hide these attributes so well, that we can’t seem to see those traits in ourselves.  This takes a lot of introspection and complete honesty to weed out. The next time you find yourself judging someone else’s behavior, try to see if there is any essence of ‘you’ in that judgment. The ‘smoky mirror’ (smoky = hard to see through, mirror = others reflected in us) is not going to be the case every time you identify or see a particular unnerving trait in another but the projection of our own inadequacies sure does tend to happen a lot, so be aware and look out for it — best to nip this mannerism in the bud before that bud turns into a fairly peckish venus fly-trap and makes a meal out of you.
  2. Deflecting Attention —  Some people classically try to avoid their own perceived short-comings and inadequacies by not taking responsibility and deflecting the attention to make themselves look and feel better.  In other words, you know you’re a gossip but you make sure you let the world know what an even bigger tittle-tattle Peggy-Sue is.  Or, you feel ugly so you point out all the negative aspects of others constantly and this, somehow, makes you feel a little better.  Now you’ve safely fudged over your own issues and redirected attention elsewhere.  But how long is this ‘success’ going to last?  Not long at all — it’s a hollow place to operate from.  You’ve  got to face your shadow head-on or you will inevitably suffer and bring others down with you.  If you find yourself on the receiving end of an attention deflector just remember to not take it personally.  It’s not about you, it’s about them.  Leave the drama arena unstirred.
  3. Ego Trappings — Good ‘ol no. 3 is that juicy little sh*t-stirrer — the ego (or more like e-go away!).  The ego thrives off drama and misery and putting itself ahead of the pack.  Sticking your nose into someone else’s business is ego-fodder. You can make yourself better than, thinner than, prettier/handsomer than, cleverer than, more successful than so-and-so just because it gives your ego those 15 minutes of superiority— even if you don’t say it out loud, you know it’s true! The silent ego is just as dangerous as the overly loquacious  e-goo (terribly gooey and all that jazz).  Just like the sticky residue in the venus fly-trap — your icky e-goo can get you into some sticky situations if you are not aware it’s rearing that self-important head (down boy!). When the ego has you by the short and curlies, you tend to compare yourself and you’re usually the one that comes out on top.  However, don’t be fooled!  The ego is cunning and manipulative and can make you feel less than too.  Both are a trap and both are easily avoided with the light of your illuminating awareness.  Have a good laugh at your ego if you find yourself in its throes — nothing kills the ego more than hilarity and humility.  Show the ego who’s boss — they key is to control your and not to let it control you. Read related article: How to Stop the ‘Monkey Mind’ Phenomenon
  4. The Amateur Dramatics Society — Putting on a Show Near You!” — This is like the smorgasbord of the lot.  You can find a little bit of each trait in no. 4 — the drama addict! Have you noticed how some people can’t live without drama? There you are trying to get off the wheel of karma and drop your drama while others are trying to hook you back into the cycle.  There are some who will purposefully go out SUBSCRIBE icon 1and buy a ravenous venus fly-trap, stick their finger in the jaws of the plant and howl when it clamps down and draws blood (of course, whilst facebooking the entire event post hast!).  If you are one of these eager dramatists, I wish you luck on your journey and can’t quite understand the pay off.  However, if you are someone who wants to keep a potting shed full of petunias rather than a dangerous carnivorous plant, take my advice and set your boundaries.  If someone is trying to lure you into drama, don’t try to run away from them (fence-sitting is just not an option anymore — it’s all about facing your stuff now), don’t confront them with the ego (as in start an argument — you will then have stepped right into the trap and fed the drama) — simply speak your truth and stand firm in your conviction.  Walk away if appropriate. Empowerment is always about standing your ground and not letting people overstep your boundaries and doing that in a way that does not provoke aggression or submissiveness. You’ve got to aim straight down the center and tell it like it is — speak your truth straight from the heart.  If you offend someone, that is their choice and they will have to deal with it.  Remember that taking offence is a choice.

The Long and Short of Your Schnozzle and Where to Put It  In Future

So, what’s the moral of this tale?  Live and let live.

You can powder your nose, you can blow your nose, heck, you can even pick your nose if that’s your thing — but whatever you do, keep your nose out of other people’s business.  If they want your hooter present they’ll ask for it.

Other articles you may enjoy:

Why You Should Turn Disappointment into Opportunity

How to Create Opportunity

Eco Bricks Just Might Help Save the Planet and YOU Can Start Yours Today!

Comfort Zones: Embracing the Beauty of Awkward and Uncomfortable


You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

 

 

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

This article (4 Reasons to Entice You to Quit Drama is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

What You Can Do to Help in Chaos

Misery and Mercy by Cherie Roe Dirksen

Dining on a Rancid Take-Out Menu

As society and the media pumps out more pandemonium, bedlam, jiggery-pokery and mayhem for our global dining-room table consumption, one wonders just how much more one can take?

The ways we cope and react are numerous. One can spontaneously break out into interpretive dance (as mentioned in my  ‘heart talk’ article, which you may find interesting — READ HERE), churn out a few Shakespearian sonnets, join one’s local Hare Krishna movement or go and make like an ostrich (only to name a few saucy coping-mechanisms!).

Dust Off Your Head — You’re Needed!

It’s no small wonder that my close group of friends (and officially me too after last night) are all having the same dreams — unfortunately, that of the ‘end of days’ scenario with those four epic horsemen!

I mean WTF(udge)? The battle for middle earth has begun (Tolkien was way ahead of his time)!

Can you feel it? Yeah, I know a lot of you will say that people have been predicting the apocalypse since the dawn of mankind and naught has happened yet but, seriously, there is something up of late. And I know it’s not just me who’s feeling it.

Has the battle betwixt good and evil reached a climactic pinnacle? If so, whose side will fall?

Okay, this is where you come in…

What Can I Do?

In the throes of mass panic, fear, galvanization and all the rest of it, you can be that still presence.

There are 2 things you can adopt when you feel you’re in the middle of something chaotic:

  1. Be Aware — drop into your heart space (read more about ‘Heart Wisdom’ HERE). Instead of spontaneously bursting out into reaction, take a knee (even if it has to be a quick one!). Centre yourself and see things for what they are. If you can react from your heart instead of sweeping fear or anger, you are opening a space for resolve or balance even if you can’t see it yet.
  2. Be Calm — energy compounds energy. If you react with more chaotic, aggressive, panic-stricken energy you are not helping, you are adding fuel to the fire. If you can act with calm, balanced, centered energy you may just be able to dissolve some of the chaos and be the watering can to those licking flames.

SUBSCRIBE icon 1Now, if you’re able to use the above-mentioned traits, you will be in a space where you can be of more help than if you were to become erruptively reactive. When you are reactive without these 2 attributes you will more likely cause more chaos than help to bring about any kind of reconciliation or balance.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing erroneous about taking action in a situation — just be equipped with a calm awareness firmly tucked under your coping-strategy belt.

Your ability to remain calm and aware will be key to bringing about a new consciousness movement.

Other articles you may enjoy:

Why You Should Turn Disappointment into Opportunity

How to Create Opportunity

Eco Bricks Just Might Help Save the Planet and YOU Can Start Yours Today!

Comfort Zones: Embracing the Beauty of Awkward and Uncomfortable


You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

 

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

This article (What You Can Do to Help in Chaosis published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

Why You Should Turn Disappointment into Opportunity

Featured

Disappointment: Your Passport to Greater Things

“Sometimes when you get disappointment it makes you stronger.” — David Rudisa

mindset challenge

Don’t forget to pin it!

Some existential theories suggest that the Universe or our current reality is impartial — it’s neutral, like Switzerland. There is no meaning to life except that which we give it.

 

Now before this article starts to sound like a downer, I want to interject that this is actually an outrageously great opportunity and here’s why:

  1. If life has no meaning (impartial, neutral, etc) and we are the ones giving it meaning (after all, it is our playground — our realm of freedom to choose) then we can change the game at any time which is cause for massive celebration!
  2. If we truly are creating our reality (as states the Law of Attraction — which, coincidentally, is also impartial. Read more about that here in this 4 part Law of Attraction series: LOA – Aligning with How You Are Feeling), then we are endowing meaning to our existence all the time whether we’re conscious of it or not. How about making a conscious decision to make it a good one, eh?
  3. We are at a tipping point when we are faced with disappointment — we can either choose to see it as a negative experience or choose to see it as some kind of Divine timing and fall into the arms of the Universe and Trust (with a big T) that the Universe has our backs no matter what.

Let me explain: When you trust with a figurative big ‘T’ it simply means you know there is a bigger picture than the one you are experiencing. When someone breaks your trust (little ‘t’) you still Trust that there is a greater lesson for your soul in there. When you can do this, you’re going to put a positive spin on your life and all the situations you find yourself in.

Choice — Your Gateway to Opportunity

“Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.” — William Throsby Bridges

Meaning to Life quoteIf life is indeed meaningless and you give it meaning by your choices, you’re in the drivers seat! Every choice you make could be steering you to positive outcomes, if you allow yourself to charge your life in this new way.

My Recent Disappointment

I was recently very let down by someone that I trusted. I thought they were impeccable with their word and — long story short — they weren’t.

At first I vented out my anger and had a good rant. You know the type, ‘how could they do this to me?’, ‘what an asshole!’, ‘why do people act this way — don’t they have any scruples?’. I’m a huge advocate of letting out your emotions. Think of it like a kettle boiling on the burner with the lid on — you’ve got to relieve the lid at some point to let the steam out, right?

When I’d done my venting and had let out of my system all that needed to be — I started to ask myself these 2 important questions:

  1. What was my lesson? I concluded that this person I was dealing with was not impeccable with their word and that I needed to be cautious with them — which is why I got this ‘little burn’. In fact, by heeding the warning signs of this first let down,  I may have prevented having a kettle full of hot water poured down my front by their actions. Rather a little burn than being scalded.
  2. Is there perhaps something better around the corner that this fallen through agreement has made space for? Yes! I believe so. I don’t know what it is yet but I’m paving the way to give this situation a positive meaning. I trust that everything happens for a reason and that the Universe has my back (‘big T’ Trust in action). The timing is indeed Divine and I’ll curiously await either a better opportunity than the one on offer or keep my eyes peeled for a crisis I may have averted.

Other articles you may enjoy:

How to Redesign Yourself From the Cellular Level and Beyond!

How to Redesign Yourself From the Cellular Level and Beyond!

How You Can Beat the Matrix

How to Stop the ‘Monkey Mind’ Phenomenon

The art used in this article is called ‘Proliferation’.

Click on the picture of the painting to your right to take you to my gallery. The original painting is still for sale (at the time of this article publication).

Proliferation’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas

70cm x 80cm x 2cm

$890 (international shipping incl.)


You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

 

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

How to Create Opportunity

Image

I have to laugh…whenever I write articles, my first step is to check that I’ve written a kick-ass title. When I typed this title ‘How to Create Opportunity‘ into my headline analyzer it scored 125%. I didn’t even know that was possible! Clearly the Universe wants you to hear this.

Why Do We Have More Opportunity Than Ever?

Here it goes:

I, all too often, hear the same stories of people wallowing in their lives because there is lack of opportunity to get them where they want to be. I’m afraid I don’t buy into that and here’s why:

  • Never before in the history of civilization (Ancient Alien theorists may suggest otherwise but for the sake of the article, let’s soldier on) have we had something called the World Wide Web!
  • Never before in the history of civilization (insert Ancient Alien disclaimer here too) have so many people been literally at our fingertips.
  • Never before has the world been at our feet like it is today (again…insert Ancient Alien blurb here — BTW, I’m a complete Ancient Alien theory freak so I’m totally open to the idea that civilization has risen and fallen many times but — for the sake of this article — let’s say we’re treading new territory here).

Don’t Buy Into Lack

Don’t talk to me about lack of opportunity. The world is literally bulging with opportunities our fore-fathers couldn’t have dreamed about!

So, how do we create opportunity? The answer is simple (and you’re probably not going to like it, or maybe you’ll prove me wrong?).

Take action.

You can make all the vision boards in the world, you can visualize your butt off, you can do mantras and meditations (and all of these things help exponentially) but it is meaningless if you do not TAKE ACTION. Creation itself implies action. No action, no creation.

Read related article: How to Turn Disappointment into Opportunity

What this DOES NOT mean:

  • You try to control and force something to work
  • You stop doing things like meditating, visualization and making vision boards

What this DOES mean:

  • Authenticity QuoteYou get your derriere out the door and mingle with REAL people (there is NOTHING that gets you further than speaking and putting your feelers out there). You can meet like-minded people, people who may hold a piece of your puzzle or people who have ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of. Get out there and talk, you may even have some information that will help others. This life is all about us helping each other, right?
  • When you do something like make a vision board or write down a set of goals — it’s important to stay in that energy and feel what it’s like to have that manifest now but it is just as imperative to let it go. You need to learn to ‘let in’ (things that are representative of your ‘joy’ frequency) and to ‘let go’ (things that don’t feel comfortable or are incompatible to your ‘joy’ frequency).  When you let it go and don’t try to control the outcome, you allow the universe to get you there on the quickest slipstream.
  • Meditate on opportunity, ask the universe for synchronicity and when you get it — take action! It may not come in the shape or form that you think, so keep those eyes peeled. Read related articles How Weird, Little Synchronicities Can Actually Be the Bomb! and Why Synchronicity Can Change Your Life.
  • Search engines are a great tool to zip you about the globe. You can read up on what you want to achieve. You can see other peoples success stories or read tips and tricks on your given field — go take a look at Pinterest (if you haven’t ventured into the obscenely creative world of Pinterest, I suggest you set aside a good couple of hours and a flask of tea). Don’t forget that it is great to be inspired by others but don’t be a copy-cat — always be authentically YOU. Don’t be afraid of that, that’s where your true power is. Your dream requires WORK (but the nice kind of work). There are so many things I still want to try my hand at and I know it’s going to take strategy, dedication and some serious time-management with copious doses of patience but it doesn’t put me off.

Creative Expression Book CoverIf you truly want what you say you want, you’re going to be driven to try any and every avenue. The world is your oyster, so crack open the Tabasco sauce and start slicing up those lemons!

And, because I want to see you succeed, I’m giving away free copies of my eBook ‘Creative Expression — How to find your inspiration…’ to all who click HERE (or on the pic to your right).

Other articles you may enjoy:

5 Tools to Stop You Worrying

3 Ways to Kick Your Fears to the Curb

It’s Time to Go Beyond Belief — Here’s How…

How to Stop the ‘Monkey Mind’ Phenomenon

How to Redesign Yourself From the Cellular Level and Beyond!

Dancing in the Void FINAL lo rs

The art used in this article is called ‘Dancing in the Void’ and was part of my solo exhibition called ‘Rocking Art’

Click on the picture of the painting to your right to take you to my gallery. The original painting is still for sale (at the time of this article publication).

Dancing in the Void’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Boxed Canvas

30″ x 30″ x 1.5″

$1800 (international shipping incl.)


You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook(The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

Comfort Zones: Embracing the Beauty of Awkward and Uncomfortable

Exploding this Reality by Cherie Roe Dirksen

“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” — Brian Tracy

The comfort zone, for those who are unfamiliar, is that cozy place where we feel all squishy and safe. Trouble is, the comfort zone is not progressive.

Kicking Butt or Laying Low?

Let’s face it, if everybody was indeed Kung Fu fighting, we’d have a global population of ninja’s urinating all over their comfort zones. Any dedicated activity, drive or passion requires — at some point — the collapse of the comfort zone or pushing yourself beyond what you think you can do or achieve.

No great man or woman became great by not bothering.

“I have stepped outside my comfort zone enough to know that, yes, the world does fall apart, but not in the way that you fear.” — Tan Le

Hence, — if you don’t push yourself past your comfort zone — there will be very little chance of:

  • Super serious adventure (the type that involve dizzy daydreams and hullabaloo)
  • Mind-pickling creativity (envelope-pushing, innovative stuff)
  • Dashing acquaintances (bow-ties, glass slippers…maybe even a hint of Spandex?)
  • James Bond type action sequences or even those swanky Bond-ish cocktail parties (no, not in your cards if your comfort zone has it’s way — it’ll be Saturday night at the town hall playing Bingo for you!)
  • Rave reviews, lavish affections and golden opportunities (the kind geese lay with cherries and lashings of champagne on top)
  • Anything more exciting than fluffy slippers, junk food and watching Netflix…(as lovely as that can be, that isn’t all life has to offer)

“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” — Denis Waitley

Not bothering quote

What Mr Waitley is trying to convey is that an exciting life — injected with passion and pizzazz — is never going to be yours if you’re not willing to dip your toe into the icy waters of liquid potential. Liquid potential can be freezing, dark and wet but it could also hold the treasures of a sunken ship in it’s watery abyss.

If you never try, you’ll never know…sad thing is — if you don’t try you’ll always know. Familiarity breeds contempt. You’re potentially going to lose respect for yourself if you don’t pluck up the courage to venture into the unknown.

“Comedians tend to find a comfort zone and stay there and do lamer versions of themselves for the rest of their career.” — Chris Rock

Heart Wisdom, Feedback and a Gushy Ending

When you fling yourself out the door of familiarity into the wild and exciting wilderness, always remember that there is never failure only feedback. Even if you do stumble out there in the ‘uncomfortable’ zone, don’t give up! The only place you’re going to find wonder and miracles is out there — so dust off and soldier on.

Thing is, IMHO, your comfort zone is in your heart — it should be what you carry around with you on the inside. It’s never going to be ‘out there’. Read related article: How to Use Your Heart Wisdom

If you’re comfortable with change and you’re 100% in your integrity, you can demolish the comfort zone and never look back. All the magic you may be yearning for lies just outside of that comfort zone — the enchantment is just waiting for your leap of faith.

“The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.” — Benedict Cumberbatch

Other articles you may enjoy:

5 Tools to Stop You Worrying

3 Ways to Kick Your Fears to the Curb

It’s Time to Go Beyond Belief — Here’s How…

How to Stop the ‘Monkey Mind’ Phenomenon

How to Redesign Yourself From the Cellular Level and Beyond!

Find Out How to Tune Into Your Personal Higher Vibration

Prayer: Where Did it All Go Wrong?

exploding-this-reality-queen

 

The art used in this article is called ‘Exploding This Reality’ and was part of my solo exhibition called ‘Rocking Art’

Click on the picture of the painting to your right to take you to my gallery. The original painting is still for sale (at the time of this article publication).

 

Exploding This Reality’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Boxed Canvas

28″ x 28″ x 1.5″

$1645 (international shipping incl.)


You can now hear Cherie Roe Dirksen on Big Indie Giant radio as she reads out select articles on air.

She also gives weekly news headline updates taken directly from the Conscious Life News site, so be sure to tune in.

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author/columnist/radio presenter, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook(The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She has an official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates). You can also check out her Facebook band page at Templeton Universe.

Self-Empowerment Books by Cherie Roe Dirksen:

              

 

5 Tools to Stop You Worrying

Why Do We Worry So?

When it comes to concerns about life’s uneasy or potentially disastrous situations, we start to worry.  I don’t think there is a single person in this world that hasn’t experienced a copious bout of the collywobbles in their lifetime — but why do we do this?

There could be a number of reasons, some being:

  • You feel you need to ‘prepare’ yourself for the worst
  • You are a ‘glass is half empty’ kind of person and just expect the worst to happen
  • It is in your experience that disaster always strikes, so worry is a necessary coping mechanism
  • There are so many things that could go wrong and you feel you need to focus on each one to embody it or try to find a possible solution for it in the event of it happening.

Now, if we actually look at this list from a transpersonal point of view — we take ourselves out of the equation and are impartial — these worries are not only a waste of precious manifesting time but they are a reinforcement of nonconstructive potential timelines.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK

Just remember you bring about what you think about the most.  This is not meant to scare you, it’s a preparation tool so that you can steer your thoughts to more positive neurological pathways.  When you reinforce encouraging situations in your mind, as opposed to harmful scenarios (aka worrying), you are creating potential for a more fruitful future.

Easier said than done?

Sure, but it is possible.

Answer this: Has worrying ever solved your problems anyway?

I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say ‘no’ it probably hasn’t, right?  So, what can you do now to alleviate any future concerns you have?

Eckhart Tolle has pointed out three memorable and straightforward options that you can apply here, either: remove yourself from the situation (in this case, remove the worry), change it (transmute the worrisome thought form), or accept it totally (surrender to any future possibility).  But let’s go into it a bit more:

Here are 5 simple techniques you can carry out when you find yourself in a state of worry:

1. Do Something

Swap worrying for doing. Can you actually do something about it now?  If the answer is yes, take those first steps and you will begin to lighten the load off your mind.  Even if it means writing the problem down.  Just getting it out of your head and onto paper can be a relief.  You can even then burn the paper or trash it symbolizing your new stance on worry.  Tell your troublesome thought who’s the boss! The best thing you can actually do is visualize what you DO want to happen — I can’t stress this enough.

2. Find a Solution

solutions quoteMap out a possible solution. Again, it’s always helpful to write it down so that your mind is free of it.  When you can look at some achievable solutions, you may gain a better perspective of how you can change or alter the course of your quandary. Remember to focus on the desired outcome.

3. Acceptance

If there is absolutely nothing you can do, then try acceptance of what is.  If you cannot change what is, you need to let it go and find peace within your situation. How has this situation affected your life? Is there any diamond you can mine from it? Hint: there usually always is a positive learning when you can train yourself to see something from an alternative perspective.

4. Meditate

Solutions will present themselves when we quiet the mind.  There is a wealth of information just waiting for you to tap into when you are in a meditative state.   Clearing your mind of what I like to call ‘mind-static’ (continuous loops of mind chatter — read related article: How to Stop the ‘Monkey Mind’ Phenomenon) will help you to excavate that pearl of truth and gain a lucid perspective. When you step out of the way — solutions can come in. Your higher self never gives you any challenge that you cannot conquer.

Read related article: How to Communicate Instantly with Your Higher Self for Speedy Manifesting

5. Positive Reinforcement

Remind yourself that what you think you attract. Do you want to attract more of what you are worrying about? If not, then switch to thinking about what you do want to manifest in your life and let all negative outcomes go — you don’t need them. Capeesh!

“Make sure your thinking is pointing you in the right direction to manifesting your ideal destination” 

The mind can be trained to think differently — you are 100% in control of your destiny.