"The Spirit of Light! The Spirit of Wisdom! " byline: Rachel Madorsky

The breath of which gives and takes the form of each and everything. You, to whom the life Of the beings is only a changing shadow or vanishing steam! You, who soar above the clouds and gallop on the wings of the wind! The infinite spaces absorb Your exhaling vapors, while inhaling, everything that originated from you returns. The unceasing motion in eternal barrenness, be You blessed for ages to come! We exalt You, we bless You in the transitional kingdom of the created light, shadows, reflections, and images, and always aspire to Your permanent and imperishable luminescence. Let the light of Your wisdom and the warmth of Your love penetrate into our essence; when all that is moving will become crystallized, the shadow will become the body, the spirit of the air will turn into land, and the dream will turn into a thought. We will not be carried away by the tempest and we will hold the winged horses of the morning and direct the currents of the evening winds, so that we can appear before You.

Oh, Spirit of the spirits! Oh, the imperishable breeze of life! Oh, the inhalation of the Creator! Oh, those who inhale and exhale all that exists in the ebb and flow of Your eternal world, which is the ocean of divine movement and truth! Amen.

BUY HER BOOK: Create Your Own destiny!

Semantics of Prayers, Spells or Affirmations by Leer

In some cases spells, prayers or affirmations are semantics. Some people don't like the work SPELL (sounds evil).

However, a spell or prayer asks the Universe, God, Goddess, or Gods, or gods to help affect your needs. An affirmation is an internal pep-talk which says "I must get my sales up by 30% by May 1." Other than that, I prefer to say spell.

Anyone can write a spell. If a bit of poetry is meaningful, a person can and should incorporate it in asking the Universe for help. And people do improvise in spells, so if they want to put a photo of Donald Trump near the candle to envision Wealth, that's always a good idea.

NEVER write one that would harm another: as yea shall seek yea shall reap!

This collection of writings are based upon the teachings of my family, the Clan Gordon of Glasgow, Scotland. From the time of my Great-Granny, our family worked with Spirit Guides, candles, soaps, herbs, and similar ancient arts. We have inherited the "Second Sight," the ability to see the future as well as the knowledge to direct people toward personal health. My Granny, Daisy knew the Tarot and Astrology, and she taught my Mum to read the Tea Leaves. Keeping up with this tradition, my Granny taught me the Astrology, Tarot, Auras, and more. And so I have written these things for people to use. Daisy told me I had the Second Sight and that she would be with me always, as my Guide for Channeling. Now I present these writings to all who may benefit from them. They are mine and they are yours, so use them well and prosper.

Many blessings upon you,

            Leer

Sacred Journey...A Women's Power of Wisdom- Connection Heaven, Earth, Mind, Body and Spirit part 1 by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

Every day I am becoming more aware that each moment I experience is not just an adventure it is indeed a sacred journey. The synchronicities have begun to occur with such magnitude that I begin to wonder if the dream is reality or reality is the dream. I have learned from these synchronicities that not only are heaven and earth one, but the experiences of mind body and spirit are connected into that existing wholeness. 

This column is dedicated to the life experiences that we as woman encounter. It is about recognizing those mundane everyday occurrences in our busy lives that we often neglect to notice as signs and symbols of a greater connection. The stories contained within this column are there to benefit those who wish to make the connection between heaven, earth, mind, body and spirit. They are the stories of a women's journey. A woman who has been fortunate enough to appreciate and live the sacred journey of life to it's fullest. My purpose in life is to learn and teach that which I have experienced. By reading this column, may you receive an awakening in your own sacred journey.

Title Obsession
Over time I have promised Barrie Switzen to write an ongoing column for The Woman's Connection. The only thing that has stopped me, was finding a title. As I searched for the appropriate title, I began to wonder if Abigail had a whole bunch of letters sitting around for years wondering what to call her column? Imagine all that information and advise waiting to be shared and yet neglected because Abigail could not come up with an appropriate title for her column. 
Finally one day, as not to interfere with the process of someone's sacred journey, Abigail gives up the search for a perfect title and begins publishing her weekly column by starting out with two simple words...Dear Abby. Most times we obsess so long on the obvious that we begin to lose the clear vision of the simplicity that life offers. Our life is truly a sacred journey. With that in mind, I begin this column very much like Abigail did with two simple words. Two simple words that imply the meaning to the experience of life itself.... Sacred Journey. 

Sacred Journey
Is reality the dream or is the dream reality...

We have all had the experience of peaceful sleep, restless nights, vivid dreams, astral visits and gifts of prophecy from elder spirits of another dimension. Yet many of us neglect to acknowledge these experiences and write them off as just a dream. Those of us that are fortunate to have awakened the light within are also those who are able to interpret these dreams and understand their existence. A dream is more than a mere manifestation of some shear bizarre dimension. The state of dreaming is a pure connection between heaven and earth. The dream is a message connecting the mind, body and soul. A message, which if correctly interpreted, becomes a manifestation of reality itself. 

Long ago, a very wise and enlightened spiritual teacher once asked me if I believed that life was the existence of reality or if the dimension of the dream state was reality. I initially shrugged this question off and believed the answer was purely simple. Surely, that which I could physically feel was that which was real. Later on I would learn that not only was my perception of reality wrong, but I also learned a very valuable lesson. Never shrug off a question from an enlightened spiritual teacher as something purely simple. 

Dreaming of the Journey...
The Five Sacred Stones
Suddenly the dream becomes vivid, not like other dreams. Immediately I become aware that I am traveling in another dimension. The colors are vivid and I can clearly define and recall each and every aspect of what I see. I approach a stone castle for what seems to be a simple business meeting. Lured to this majestic location, those that join me wonder how it is that I know exactly where it is I am going. Familiar as it all may seem, I realize the experience is new to me and I begin myself to wonder how easily I have stumbled upon the location of this sacred site.  
Inside the stone castle I meet up with a colleague who is being honored for his accomplishments in his professional field. The room begins to fill with all the people I have ever known and loved, who now join in the celebration. I leave the crowd for a minute and enter an octagon room in which a large screen begins playing. I watch what appears to be a movie of my life; I recall the film in its entirety as if I were once the producer of this film. However, as I leave the room, I can no longer recall any aspect of that which I have just viewed. 

Heading away from the celebration, I begin to explore the majestic castle. I walk out the back gate and follow a dirt trail, which leads to an endless field of green, thick grass. Sitting in the grass a young and beautifully tall blonde women sits playing with a small beige and white dog. She asks if she can help me and I reply yes. "I am lost and I am trying to return to the castle where a wonderful celebration is occurring." I ask if she knows of the stone castle that sits on a hill. She smiles and says, "why of course", as she points behind me to the majestic stone castle. "You must simply return back on the same road you came down." Turning around, I see the castle behind me and I suddenly realize I was still on the same road. Looking now at how simple that seemed I begin to wonder why I even thought I was lost. She tells me she will join me along the way, so that I will not get lost again. 

As we approach the castle, we begin to climb the stone stairs to the back entrance. The women comments on the gown that I am wearing. "You look like a princess", she states. Feeling honored by her comment I look down at the elegant black gown and respond by telling her that a true princess should be wearing white. She corrects me by saying that what I am wearing is appropriate for this elegant occasion and she is glad that I have finally found my way home. 
I thank her for helping me back to the castle and ask her to join in the celebration. As I look in her eyes, I suddenly realize that she is filled with enlightenment and is truly an angel. As we enter back into the celebration, I see my colleague who says, "I was watching you the whole time you were lost. I saw you from the top of the castle." I jokingly say, "so if you knew where I was, why didn't you call me on my cell phone and tell me how to get back?" He assures me that he was never worried about me that I was protected and he knew I would return safely. I begin to introduce him to the women who assisted me in finding my way back. Suddenly their eyes meet and he realizes that he knows who she is. Astound he says to me, " Don't you know who this is?" and I reply, "Yes, she is an angel". 

The women then asks me to open my left hand as she begins to give me five secret gifts. My colleague watches and listens as she continues. She begins by telling me the meaning of each secret as she places a small stone in my hand. The first stone is a rose quartz, followed by a black onyx, a square shaped tigers eye, a tear shaped snowflake obsidian, and finally a small blue triangular piece of turquoise. 

As she places the turquoise in the palm of my hand it begins to slip off. She catches it, places it once again into my palm and tells me to hold on to this stone, as it is the most important secret. She closes the palm of my hand tightly so the stones will remain with me and then she disappears. I immediately realize I have forgotten the secrets, yet I continue to keep each of the five stones with me.

I walk back into the room where the celebration continues. Far across the room, I see my colleague who is surround by those who continue to honor him for his professional achievements. I know that he cannot hear me from far across the room, but I also know that he is constantly aware of my presence. Catching his eye for one brief moment I silently move my lips to say, " I told you it was going to turn out wonderful". Understanding exactly what I mean, he smiles.
Now it is time for me to leave, and although the celebration continues I begin to exit the stone castle. Everyone asks me why I am leaving so early. I tell them I must get back and like Cinderel la I begin to walk briskly down the halls of the castle. Hearing nothing but the sound of my taffeta gown as it flows, I cascade down the hallway. As I turn around to look behind me, I begin to notice construction workers covering the top of the high ceiling to the bottom of the stone floor with a white gauze like veil. Now even though I want to look back, I can now no longer see.
Suddenly and abruptly I awaken, jolting back into my body like a flash of lightening. 
Unlocking Sacred Symbols

Many times as we travel on our sacred journey, we wonder what it is that life has in store for us. We hope that we are following the path we are meant to be on, however sometimes we begin to contemplate what the future has in store for each and every one of us. Along our journey we make decisions daily that not only affect us individually, but also affect the greater whole of those around us. This becomes particularly important in the work environment.

Sometimes we may find ourselves loving with a passion the profession we have chosen, but so many obstacles prevent us from completing the job the way in which we dream it could be. A dream, which in reality benefits the greater whole. It is so easy to quit and give up during such trying times, but the road that is rough makes the journey more of an accomplishment and ones life more sacred for having chosen the difficult path. 

If only we can be told or warned of the future. If only we could be guided gently back onto our sacred path by a message. Imagine the comfort in knowing that we will eventually be able to accomplish the purpose of our sacred journey and that everything will indeed turn out wonderful somewhere just a little further down the road? 

If we listen and look carefully, if we provide a quiet place in our mind uncluttered by stress and busy thoughts, if we except that life is sacred, then the symbols and the signs begin to appear. The dream becomes the reality to those intuitive enough to honor the sacred and embrace the light. 

Sacred Journey...A Women's Power of Wisdom- Connection Heaven, Earth, Mind, Body and Spirit part 2 by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

Discover what secrets lie ahead for you on your Sacred Journey

As you read the following allow the secret of each stone to provide a meaning for you. Relax, take a deep breath and exhale. Now in a moment, allow the secret of the stones to be revealed to you.............

Tigers Eye: A grounding and centering stone, used to enhance intuitive ability. The secret of this stone is___________
(Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-One needs to awaken the intuition inside to connect the signs and symbols along the sacred journey.

Snowflake Obsidian: "Stone of Purity", helps to connect body, mind and spirit and assists one in actualizing serenity of the isolated state. It is grounding and provides protection. The secret of this stone is ________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-Each and every woman that connects body, mind and spirit is truly a princess of purity, one that emits a beautiful white light noticeable through the eyes of her soul. Like the black obsidian, the soul of the white lighter quite often wears black to protect and ground her in earthly functions. But if you look closely, like the snowflake obsidian, underneath the cascades of black taffeta are shinning speckles of white light.

Black Onyx: A grounding and protection stone used to banish fear and enhance the spiritual self. Used as a worry stone because it is believed the stone absorbs negative energy. The secret of this stone is_____________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-The ability to banish fear lies in the realization that fear is evil. You must learn to tell the difference between good and evil in order to enhance your spiritual self. Worrying about any situation that takes you away from the present moment steers one off their spiritual path. Learning how to stop worrying and becoming present in the moment absorbs negative energy and will allow your path to unfold.

Rose Quartz: Enhances all forms of love, platonic, self-love and divine love. This stone encourages tolerance and forgiveness. It opens our hearts and teaches us to be tender, peaceful and gentle. It emanates unconditional love. The secret of this stone is___________________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.
-When you start learning to love yourself, you discover an inner spark of light. Divine love is an inward journey that enables us to open our hearts, teaches us to be tender, peaceful and gentle. It is this unconditional love that makes the journey sacred.

Turquoise: " The most important secret" - Turquoise builds strength and provides protection. It stimulates elevation of goals or understanding. It helps with communication, provides self-realization and helps one get in tune with others. The secret of this stone is______________________ (Close your eyes and reveal the secret meaning this stone brings to you.)
-The most important secret is the realization that in fact, there is no secret. The meaning behind any secret to life's existence, is held deep within our soul, awaiting for us to awakening our inner light so that we can clearly see the goals that lie ahead on our sacred journey. 

- Enjoy your Sacred Journey.

Sacred Journey... The Inner Beauty of a Woman's Soul by Cynthia Knorr-Mulder RNC, MSN, NP-C,CS, C.Ht

Sometimes I wonder how the most annoying people so easily learn how to cultivate the art to charm. One of my more frequent patients who my colleagues describe as annoying, can at times appear to be so charming that as a practitioner you feel completely convinced that this is the session that is going to stop the negative patterns of behavior, change his life completely around and turn prince annoying into a real charmer. Unfortunately, three visits later, you find out you were wrong. 

I started seeing prince annoying over two years ago for many reasons, but more simply put - because everything in his life always went wrong. At the age of thirty something, he was the author of every blind date horror story some sick Steven King wannabe could conjure up. Not only was he longing to find his princess, he hoped his family jewels would soon produce some heirs. 

He was not your typical prince, as princes would go. He was short, not tall, he was not handsome well okay, but he was dark. As a practitioner I am always able to look closely into someone's eyes and see their true soul revealing their inner beauty. Because that is where true inner beauty lies.

Okay by this point you are now wondering why he was crowned the name annoying. I guess you could say it is because he always shows up. With an appointment he shows up, without an appointment he shows up, just because he was driving by, he shows up. For whatever reason he seems to always be there discussing how horrible life is and asking why his princess hasn't shown up.

My secretary learned quickly how to pull up the moat bridge, and put on her armor. "I'm sorry she is with another patient would you like to make an appointment perhaps for next year, I mean next week". Quickly the young prince caught on and when finally one day I answered the phone directly he said, " Oh good, I thought you were avoiding me." I quickly felt pity, until I remembered that such an emotion is negative and invites nothing but bad experiences, so I changed pity to guilt and scheduled him in for next year, I mean next week. 

I dreaded telling my colleagues that he was due for a visit, but sooner or later they found out and as the time approached they scurried into their offices, armor on, doors closed to avoid the soon to be crowned King of annoying. As he sat comfortably in my office chair, looking like he was prepared to stay for a 20-hour session I began to wonder what made us all feel that he was so annoying. 

So how are you? "I'm fine prince annoying. How are you?" I answered. Well you know, so how are you doing? "I'm doing good prince annoying how are you?" I continued. Well I'm not sure. So how are things going..? Stop the press, what was I thinking; now I know why he's so annoying. 

"Let's get right to the point, how is your life going?" I questioned. Not well, I had a terrible accident I fell into a tree while walking down the street. Well that explained the two black eyes and abrasions that I was trying so hard not to stare at. Yeah and that was 8 weeks ago and I still look like this. "Why did it happen?" I don't know he said. I tripped. Trying to move the conversation along as not to go back to how I was doing, I continued to ask if the princess had yet been found, after all he had been carrying her shoe around for over 19 years. 

Well maybe this time, he replied. I have been dating a girl for the past 5 months, she likes me a lot, we have a lot in common and we are having a lot of fun. But, I said. You knew there was a but coming. If this prince hadn't been titled annoying, he could of been the prince of but. Well but, I' don't know. Yes you do, I thought. Just get to the point and stop being so annoying. 

Well but what? Well there is one thing about her? She broke her leg as a child and now she walks funny, you really can't notice, but I think do I want to marry someone who is not perfect? Before booting him completely out of my office and claiming the title as International President, having been voted in by every single woman in this world, I decided I would give him one last chance before I ditched him into the alligator pit. 

Have you gotten to know her soul? Does her outer beauty reflect her inner beauty? Has she gotten to know your soul? And what about your inner beauty? I fired so many inner soul related questions so quickly, I was sure that not only had I lost him, but I think he was hoping for an out of body experience just to avoid my questions. I waited for his reply but there was none.

And suddenly I realized that if I were starting all over again as a princess bride, I would find the ugliest prince in the world for I was sure he would understand life so deeply in a spiritual sense that he would have to have a beautiful soul, a true inner beauty. And he would truly understand that it is not looking beautiful where true inner beauty lies. If I could find this ugly prince, I would snatch him up so quickly, kiss him on his green froggy lips and know that he would love me for who I truly was. 

Hey doesn't this sound like the frog and the princess story. Of course it does and do you know why? Because it was a princess that recognized the true inner beauty of the frog and in doing so she found her prince. Do you think they would write a story about a prince that kissed a frog because he recognized the frogs true inner beauty and behold he got a princess? Get real. Obviously in all of history nothings changed. It is still the princess that sees beyond the frog. 

I ended the session with prince annoying by asking him to reflect upon what purpose his tree mishap may have had in his life. I also told him that it was important to learn a lesson when approached by a wise old teacher - the tree. In fact some ancient old trees have been known to teach many a wise scholar but seldom a slimy frog. I continued to stress to him that he would be wise to learn the lesson for if the lesson was not learnt the first time the teacher would be back again, only next time with a bigger lesson. 

How many times does it take a big fat tree trunk to hit a guy in the face in an effort to realize that any woman who loves him must be the most beautiful princess in the land?

As for me I will not have to worry my teachers will be very proud, for I learned this lesson quickly. Prince annoying's are just that - annoying. No charm can change my availability to provide healing to a soul that chooses to seek a magic wall that will manifest a beautiful princess so that he can live happily ever after. To find a fairy tale ending we must seek our own inner love, appreciate the beauty of the soul, and respect the true magic of life. 

As for Prince Annoying, until he realizes he is traveling on a sacred journey, I predict there will be many a tree that jumps into his path hoping he will look into the mirror and see beyond the trauma on his face. Until one day he realizes that by looking inward to find self-love and reclaim his own inner beauty he will indeed find his princess has inner beauty. The same inner beauty that I saw in his soul each visit, something that has been there all along, just like the beautiful princess that he could find if only he would step back from the wall to see her. 

And what about me, well I'm living happily ever after because I did kiss a frog, once upon a time, a long time ago. Of course I found that frog only after learning that you couldn't kiss an alligator without getting bit. As for my frog, well he turned into a prince and is now tall dark and handsome. He too has carried around my shoe for the past 19 years, however he knows so well how to look past the material me to where my true inner beauty lies - within my soul. 
       

Rememberance by Alethea Jacob on March 13, 2003

You stand in the center of your own universe.
You are the love in the heart of your creation.
Give voice to the song in your soul longing for expression.
You are the messenger unfolding the message.
A truth ever known yet joyfully forgotten to delight you with discovery as you travel on.
You are blessed and holy despite any appearance of the profane. 
Refining your purity and power, your innocence and peace is a gift of revelation.
The Earth is your home and you are her home. 
For she would have no being without the song of creation you collectively sing.

'Prospecting Success" by Wendy Weiss

I spent my formative years in ballet class. While other kids went out to play, I went to ballet class. In high school while others attended after-school activities or hung out together, I went to ballet class. By my mid-teens I was taking class five or six times a week or maybe even more. This was a habit that continued till injuries sidelined my professional dancing career.

This habit of taking a ballet class every day was not mine alone. Every dancer, professional or those seeking to become professional, takes class every day. It's a habit, it's a reality, it goes with the job. It is impossible to dance professionally without taking class. Even the stars, Barishnykov, for example, take class every day.

In my late teens I had some personal crises that stopped me from going to class everyday. At one of my rare appearances in class, my teacher asked where I had been. I told her what was going on in my life. She said to me, "That's no reason not to take class. You have to take class everyday, no matter what."

Sounds harsh doesn't it? But she was right. Not taking class only gave me something else to feel bad about.

When I started my sales training business, I used that same "no matter what" approach to prospecting. I prospected every day. I started out with absolutely no corporate connections. I was a ballet dancer, I only knew other ballet dancers. I did, however, know how to prospect. On and off for years my "day job" had been telemarketing. I began to prospect the same way I learned to take class, every day, no matter what. Five years later I have a thriving business. Even today I continue to prospect every day, while perhaps not for as many hours. Every day brings some prospecting activity, no matter what.

So how does the busy entrepreneur, busy owner or sales professional find the time to prospect every day no matter what? The answer is simple, put it in your calendar. Schedule time in your calendar every day for prospecting activity. At the scheduled time put aside what you are doing and prospect. Do not take other calls, do not work on other projects, do not  allow interruptions. Simply prospect. When the time you have scheduled is over, stop prospecting and go on with your other tasks.

Schedule appointments with yourself to prospect and keep those appointments. We get angry and upset when prospects miss appointments. Ask yourself: Why is it all right to miss an appointment with yourself? 

Prospecting success (just like learning to dance) comes over time. In order to keep your sales funnel full you must constantly be on the lookout for leads and prospects. By keeping your funnel full you avoid the boom and bust cycles that so many entrepreneurs and sales professionals experience. To be successful you must engage in some prospecting activity everyday, no matter what. It's a habit, it's a reality, it goes with the job.

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing Sales

Power to Within! by Donna Labermeier

After years in the business world, I decided to try my hand at “stay-at-home” mom. I soon realized that it was the hardest job on the planet! With a few years at this under my belt, a four year old on one hip, a two year old on the other, an ailing mother with dementia, an elderly father living on his own, and a husband working more hours than not trying to keep his business going and pay the bills, I had lost myself somewhere down the line. I no longer had an identity. Who was I? Did I have a purpose outside of caregiver? I felt completely drained, used up, a shell of a human being…I had given my power away.

My mother died later that year, and my depression became deeper. I felt terribly disappointed and angry at the way she left me. I was never alone, it seemed, but I felt utterly lonely. My mental anguish had begun to manifest itself physically. Like clockwork, every month, I would acquire an unbearable strep-like sore throat. Knowing what I know now, I realize it was from not speaking my truth, not expressing my authentic self.

In the Spring of the following year, my sister asked me to go on a trip with her. She was sure I needed some time for myself. I, of course, was very reluctant to even entertain the thought with two small children at home. I had responsibilities, and how would my husband feel about the added duties? So after mulling it over for a time, I woke up one morning and made a command decision…I was taking my power back! This was my life, too! I was going to go on a trip with my sister! Everyone was just going to have to make due without me for a few days.

So my sister, Ginny, and I went to Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Arizona. My sister had been there before and enjoyed it so much as a relaxing retreat that she was sure it would be good for me, too. There, I did some reflecting, but I was still very sad. I felt as if I was supposed to be doing something else in life. I was searching for a missing piece of myself. I didn’t know what it was or how to go about figuring it out. Then one day, I scheduled myself for a session called “Healing Touch.” For many years of my adult life I had been interested in the metaphysical and in spiritual development, but energy healing was a new concept to me. This process of healing another individual of emotional and physical blockages using only the healing energy inherent in each of our bodies and minds was positively fascinating to me. When I came home from this adventure, I still couldn’t put my finger on exactly what my larger purpose in life was, but I began studying energy medicine.

After a few more months of feeling aimless and continuing to search for my path in life, I became terribly sick. I had come down with a respiratory illness and coughed incessantly for a month. Again, I now know this was a serious sign that I was shoving negative energy down into my body instead of releasing it through some form of personal expression and having some fun in my life.

I was prescribed stronger and stronger medication, but I continued to get worse. I was desperate to get well. One night, afraid that I might fall asleep and never wake up, I said to myself, “What if these medicines I’m relying on to heal me don’t work? There MUST be a way for me to heal myself.” And the instant those thoughts poured out of my mind, the premise for my book, The Healers, flooded in. The detail was amazing, especially considering my exhaustion and delirium at the time. So crisp and clear were my visions of the characters – children from various parts of the globe, each with their own healing abilities, using specific techniques, teaching other young people and adults, alike, to use energy healing in their own lives.

The next morning, the ideas were still so vivid in my mind that I began writing them down on paper. I had now found what I was searching for: a greater purpose in life, an identity, a creative outlet to express my true self, a way to spread a message of hope and love to humanity. In a world of infinite possibilities and infinite abundance, I had finally attracted what I was ready to have. That was two years ago, and I haven’t been sick or depressed since.
I sincerely hope that my readers will come away from this book with the realization that they have more power than they ever dreamed. The power of the Universe lies inherently within each and every one of us. We live on a vibrational planet, and all that exists is simply made of energy. We have the ability to shape our own realities through the focus of our thoughts, so if you hold your thoughts on the positive and the good, your life will be a mirror reflection of them. This Universe of ours is loving, caring, supportive, and abundant; and I passionately believe that every person on Earth has the inner strength to better his or her own life – to release all fear, worry, anxiety, distress, and dis-ease from their bodies and minds.. It is a gift we ALL possess.

BUY NOW!!  The Healers (Healers Trilogy - Book 1) (The Healers Trilogy)

The Power of Intuition by Judith Orloff, M.D.

I'm a psychiatrist and intuitive in Los Angeles. What I do isn't my job. It's my life's passion. With patients and in workshops, I listen with my intellect and my intuition, a potent inner wisdom that goes beyond the literal. I experience it as a flash of insight, a gut feeling, a hunch, a dream. By blending intuition with orthodox medical knowledge I can offer my patients and workshop participants the best of both worlds. 

Now, listening to intuition is sacred to me, but learning to trust it has taken years. I've described the details in my memoir Second Sight which is meant to assure anyone whoever thought they were weird or crazy for having intuitive experiences, that they are not! This brief synopsis gives you a taste of the book. 

I grew up in Beverly Hills the only daughter of two-physician parents with twenty-five physicians in my family. From age nine, I had dreams and intuitions that would come true. I could predicts illness, earthquakes, even the suicide of one of my parent's friends. This confused and alarmed me, as it did my parents who were entrenched in the hard-core rational world of science. At first they tried to write my intuitions off as coincidence. Finally, though, after I dreamed my mother's mentor would loose a political election--which to my horror, came true--she took me aside and told me, "Never mention another dream or intuition in our house again!" I'll never forget the look in my dear mother's exasperated, frightened eyes, nothing I ever wanted to see again. So from that day on, I kept my intuitions to myself. I grew up ashamed of my abilities, sure there was something wrong with me. 

Luckily, I've had many angels in human form who've pointed me to my true calling as physician. In the sixties I got heavily involved with drugs in an attempt to block my intuitions out- obviously not something I'm recommending to you! Following a nearly fatal car accident at age sixteen when I tumbled over a treacherous 1500 foot cliff in Malibu Canyon, my parents forced me to see a psychiatrist. This man was the first person who ever "saw" me--not who he wanted me to be, but who I was. He taught me to begin to value the gift of intuition, and referred me to Dr. Thelma Moss, a intuition researcher at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. She was to become my mentor and guide to developing my intuitive side. 

While working in Thelma's lab I had an amazingly specific dream which announced, "You're going to become an MD, a psychiatrist, to help legitimize intuition in medicine." When I awoke, I felt like someone was playing a practical joke on me. I'd never liked science, and I was bored around all my parent's doctor-friends. I was a hippie living in an old converted brick Laundromat with my artist-boyfriend in Venice Beach, working in the May Company's towel department. (I've had a great love of towels and sheets since!) The last thing I envisioned doing was medicine. But because I was beginning to trust my intuition, I enrolled in a junior college just to see how it would go. So one course became two, became fourteen years of medical training--USC medical school and a UCLA psychiatric internship and residency. 

The irony was, that during my medical training I strayed far from the intuitive world again. Traditional psychiatry equates visions with psychosis. Working in the UCLA emergency room, I'd keep seeing psychotics who were wheeled in screaming, strapped to gurneys, accompanied by cops with billy clubs. These patients professed to hear God and to be able predict things. They also felt their food was poisoned, and that the FBI was on their tail. No one tried to sort through this mishmash of claims. Typically, patients would shot up with with Thorazine, hospitalized on lock-down inpatient units until their "symptoms" subsided. Seeing this so many times I doubted whether it was safe or appropriate to integrate my intuitions in medicine. 

When I opened my Los Angeles psychiatric practice in 1983, I had every intention of it being traditional; I'd use medications, psychotherapy, but I didn't intend for intuition to play a role. My practice was extremely successful. Since I was a workaholic and also loved helping people, I had twelve hour days, though very little personal life. But then I had a heart-wrenching wake-up call that changed everything. It was an intuition that a patient, on antidepressants, was going to make a suicide attempt. Because she was doing so well--nothing supported my hunch--I dismissed it. Within a week she overdosed on the antidepressants I'd prescribed and ended up in a coma for nearly a month. (Had she not survived I would've been devastated.) The hardest part, though, was that I thought I'd harmed her by not utilizing a vital piece of intuitive information. This was intolerable for me. From then on, I knew, as a responsible physician, I had to integrate my intuitions into my work.

After this episode, my journey to bring intuition into my medical practice began. I didn't know how I'd do it, but I put out a silent prayer to the universe to help me. Soon, I began meeting people, more angels, who showed me the way. Gradually I grew comfortable with my intuition, set out to write "Second Sight." This took me seven years to complete because I had so much fear about coming out of the closet as an intuitive. I was afraid of what my physician-peers would think, that they'd mock me or blackball me from the profession. My mother warned, "They'll think you're weird. It'll jeopardize your medical career." Ah Mother: I loved her, but thank god I didn't listen. Finding my voice as a psychiatrist and intuitive has been my path to freedom. 

Sure, there's a risk when you stretch yourself, but the rewards are enormous. Now, I'm blessed to travel around the country giving workshops on intuition to auditoriums full of extraordinary people--health care professionals and general audiences alike--who long to embrace their inner voice. I'm heartened to see that many physicians are eager to deal with patients in the new way I offer. Recently I gave an intuitive healing workshop at the American Psychiatric Association convention, a annual gathering of the most conservative psychiatrists in the world. I'm pleased to report the response was wonderful. 

I'm sad to report that my mother didn't live long enough to see this. In 1993 she died of a lymphoma. But, on her deathbed, she decided to tell me our "family secrets." She told me, "I want to pass the power onto you." I was astounded to learn that I came from a lineage of intuitive healers on her side of the family--my Jewish grandmother who did laying on of hands in a shed behind the pharmacy she and Grandpop ran in Philadelphia. East coast aunts and cousins I'd never met since I grew up in California. Also, my mother, herself, had a strong inner voice which told her how to treat patients for over forty years. She'd listened to this voice and secretly used her innate healing powers to keep her lymphoma in remission for many years. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her. She said simply, "I wanted you to lead a normal, happy life, not to be thought of as weird like your grandmother was." Oh Mother... I'll always be grateful for what she shared, but, still... she'd waited so long. Even so, I believe in the wisdom of the paths we've been given. Mine has been to fight for what I believed in despite what my parents or anyone said. An invaluable but rugged lesson in empowerment. 

These days, no matter what I'm going through, especially when my heart is torn in a million pieces my intuition has sustained me. I hope that my journey in "Second Sight" can help you. One thing I'm certain of: if you follow your intuitive voice, you can't go wrong. Stay true to it. Intuition is about empowerment, not having to conform to someone else's notion of who you should be. It's about being true to yourself, and all the goodness that comes from that. 
       

"'Power Language for Appointment-Setting" by Wendy Weiss

1. Use power language: "The solution is." rather than, "I believe the solution is."

2. Never use the word "appointment" when trying to set one. Instead, use the word "meeting." "Meeting" sounds more professional and more important. "I would like to meet with you."

3. Use directed words to reach your prospect. When you ask to speak with your prospect, say, "Jane Jones, please," and not, "May I speak with Jane Jones?" The first sentence conveys authority; the second asks permission.

4. Use directed words (and open-ended questions) to gather information. Ask, "Whom should I speak with?" and not, "Do you know who I should speak with?" The first conveys authority,  and whomever you are questioning, if they know, must answer with a name. In the second sentence, the response could simply be "yes" or "no."

5. Whether trying to ascertain a good time to call your prospect back or trying to schedule a meeting, it is a good idea to give alternate choices. "Is this afternoon good, or would tomorrow morning be better?" It is much easier for your prospect to decide "when" rather than "whether."

6. "I'm just calling." Eliminate the word "just" from your vocabulary. That little word "just" is an apology. It says that your call is not important and that what you have to say is not important. Simply tell your prospects and customers why you are calling. That is enough.

7. ".we will hopefully achieve." Hopefully? No one pays you to "hopefully" do something. They pay you to actually do it! Tell your prospects or customers what they will achieve or should expect to achieve.

8. Be clear and to the point. You are telling your story to a stranger who has never heard it. 

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing

Park That elephant by D.L. Bolk

When my oldest son obtained his learner's permit, his father decided to let him drive our 15-passenger van. When he arrived home, the first thing our son said was, "It's like using an elephant to practice riding a horse."

How's your writing? Are you moving according to plan or are you practicing to ride a horse using an elephant?

Do you have that special story that you've always wanted to write, but haven't because someone convinced you it won't sell?

Are you becoming an expert on synopsis and the first three chapters because that's how you were told to market you story ideas?

Did you whip up a neat little short story because someone told you it was easier than writing a novel?

Or, maybe you penned an Inspirational because Inspirationals are hot right now. Or did you just finish that sweet romance, although you'd rather write something hotter? But you can't do it because your mother might read it.

What! You don't want to write a romance at all! You want to go mainstream, but someone told you breaking into romance would be easier because you have structured guidelines to follow.
I won't say you'll never get published if you've taken a spin on any of these elephants, but I will tell you the ride won't be anywhere near as satisfying if it wasn't what you really wanted to write.

Here are six of the best words ever written: To thine own self be true.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be aware of what's happening in the market. What I am saying is this. What makes you special, as a writer, is you. Telling the story you want in your voice.
I recently dismounted my elephant (romantic fiction) and rode my horse. My first novel (a psychological thriller) WHEN HEROES FALL was released in November 2001.
So, unsaddle that elephant, get on that horse. Your horse. And write your story.
I won't promise you'll get it published, but I will promise you'll enjoy the ride. 

BUY HER BOOK: When Heroes Fall

$$MONEY$$ SPELL by Leer

We all need to come to terms with money. It is a real factor in life, and like our relationship to spirituality and sexuality and kinship, personal wealth is a gift from the Universe. Those of us who possess a positive self-image often have a positive relationship with money. That is not to say they worship or love money; rather, these people have their needs met financially. They feel that they deserve to have their material possessions, and they run their lives to achieve financial goals. Some people are very content making a living wage, having an apartment or small home, others make large sums, and have many toys, many pleasures. Still others feel that they have been short-changed by life, and for those people, soul-searching about wealth seems appropriate. It is to those who wonder, "Shan't I have the wealth that others do?" that I dedicate this Money Spell.

Preparing Your Space for The Money Spell

Any time is the right time if the right time for this Spell, and especially upon the New Moon or Full Moon one should perform it. Do it regularly, for it often takes up time to accept its power. Prepare your room and yourself for this Spell. Take a bath in one cup of sea salt, one cup of bicarbonate of soda. Smooth Florida Water, or Almond Oil on your skin. Clear your room of clutter, and clear your scattered mind by taking a few deep breaths. Feel centered. You may do this alone, and if you have friends who care to do it with you, all the better, since the energy charge increases its effectiveness. Light a candle of gold, silver, or green or any color, which reminds you of Wealth. Perform in the nude, and gaze into the candle before and after reciting the words. You may leave the candle burning in a safe area until it burns out, or if you do it in your bedroom or bath, you might wait for the candle to complete while you share its space. You may snuff it out with your fingers, a snuffer or spoon, but NEVER blow it out, for then the energy is shunted. To begin say these words:

GRACIOUS UNIVERSE, BOUNTIFUL EARTH,
HELP US SEE WHAT WE ARE WORTH,
MAKE US PROSPEROUS FOREVER,
FROM OUR LABORS, DELIVER TREASURE.

SHOW US PATH TO FORTUNE'S DOOR,
HAVE OUR WEALTH INCREASE BY SCORE,
SEND SILVER FROM OUR SISTER MOON
LET FORTUNE'S WHEEL PAY GOLD DOUBLOONS
PLUS BOUNDLESS POWER FROM THE SUN,
SO MOTE IT BE, THIS SPELL IS DONE!

--BLESSED BE-

Lessons For Living by Dr. Lillie M. Coley

Power of Forgiveness - We all need wisdom and discernment in handling any type of problems. If we reacted to the shock our parent's death by being unforgiving and with other types of negative reactions, we would not have made it here today. Life would have eaten us up. Holding grudges will destroy us. 

It takes power to forgive when the pain of hurt aches every part of our body. But through life experiences we must learn forgiveness and the importance of it. As we love and forgive, our divine intervention can help and deliver us, which sets us free to help others who are bound by circumstances and the inability to forgive. It's hard to help others until you have first helped yourself, although it is not impossible for hurting people to help hurting people. We must be very careful and use wisdom, because usually we will find hurting people hurt people. Whole people help heal people and make them become stronger.

Forgiveness, however, frees you to live, grow, and move on. Learning to forgive at an early age prepares us for the hurts that will come later in life. We had to "put something in our hearts called love" in order to receive the reward of being free in our spirits. Remember NO DEPOSIT, NO RETURN; what you put out is what you get back.

Forgive as soon as possible because the longer you wait the more damage it does on your body. Unforgiveness is a form of stress that wears and tears on the body.

Power of Healing - It is always best to expose the enemy or our bad habits in our own lives before someone else does. Often, when people find out something negative about you, they cannot wait to tell someone else. This is why we are telling our story, because nobody can tell it like we can tell it. When we tell, we are healed from it faster. Of course, we always must use wisdom and common sense. Use wisdom before you speak to provide clarity of thought and articulation of speech about what to say and not to say. But the healing process requires that we release that which hurts us in some constructive way. Communication is the best way, because it is so therapeutic. As we release the negative in a healthy way, then we have room to fill ourselves up with positive things. During our mending process, our broken hearts will be placed back together one day at a time and one piece at a time. But first, we must admit the problem has literally crushed our soul. Then we must seek to get the ultimate healing. No food, job, sexual experience, money or person can fix a problem like divine healing can. 

Memories are reflected encounters of life that have taught us and brought us to where we are. In other words, we are the sum of our past that has been designed to help us grow into our future. As we reflect and understand where we have been, it is then and only then that we can go to the next level in life. People have a tendency not to want to think about the past because it brings up so much hurt. But, often we must face our accuser, and it is through these encounters that healing can take place. We can be healed in the very place of our pain. Ask me. I know! 

Look at healing as living water. It never touches one person or one place, but, just like water, when it spills, it touches all that is around it. Now, living water will ignite what it touches, to bring life to anything that needs life. It is imperative that we get these lessons, because, otherwise, we may find ourselves falling into the same behavior patterns. Lessons in life teach us about ourselves and lead us on a road to recovery. The roads where it lead us often help us to apply what we have learned during our pain and healing to help others who are going through similar situations. This is what true destiny and purpose in life is all about: helping those to help themselves. The same comfort of healing we received from our parents, we are now able to use to comfort others.

Power of Loving Yourself and Being Whole - We must seek help for all the hurts and pains in our lives. We should take care of them like we would take care of other areas of our lives. Unresolved issues do nothing more than get worse over time. We are not in our problems alone. There is somebody somewhere who is going through something similar. Seek help because it is the right thing to do, and do not worry about what people think. Mentally and physically free yourself from people and their negative opinions. We must seek to be around people that will not poison or vex our spirit but build us up. We need people for encouragement and correction in love. Being free in our minds from carrying unnecessary weight is really the life we want to live. Otherwise, we will be enslaved to ourselves, and our problems will mentally weigh us down. Destruction usually follows along with a life of unfulfillment. Please seek help until it is found, and continue to knock until a door is opened. After every 'No' there is a 'Yes' somewhere.

We must be honest with ourselves first, and then take it to someone who gives us morally and sound counsel. This person should be a good listener. Remember that love is the only thing that changes people. We cannot change anybody but ourselves. As we love people where they are, we love unconditionally, and this helps them move into wholeness. This direction of growth must be our own self-will.

Life's not designed for us to make it by ourselves. Everybody needs help. Seek to find the strength to overcome, and become a VICTOR instead of a victim. After divine revelations, we finally felt completion or closure to our parents' tragedy. Our mind was at rest, and we had peace with the situation. In addition, our mended broken heart was now in sync with our renewed minds. They were of one accord. From this encounter, we became completely "whole" in this area of our lives. We now felt free and had more strength to share our story with others. From these encounters came our mission in life and Community Empowerment Outreach was born. An organization to help those who have similar stories as ours and those who need to be empowered. As we understand our self-worth and have self-identity we can become whole and complete with strength to move on and help others along the way.

BUY NOW My Story: Tragedy Turned to Opportunity

Instincts - The Answers to a Better Life by Lillian Monterrey

Have you ever thought one thing, felt something else, and ended up saying something completely different?

Everyone at one time or another has faced this dilemma! The reason for thinking, feeling and expressing yourself differently, is because as you were growing up family members and society started giving you messages different from what you felt inside.

Your instinct connection was perfect when you were born. What happened to some of us was that as children the adults in our lives ("the Big people" -- as I call them) began to influence our thinking by creating programs that were in conflict with our instincts, thus programming us to follow our head instead of your heart.

When you were hurt as a child and went to an adult (perhaps your mother or father) to express your hurt feelings, they might have said something like: "That was not so bad…You are not supposed to feel that way." This created confusion between your God-given instincts and what "the big people" in your life were telling you. Therefore, you learned at a very young age not to express or honor your feelings. You created the scenario of feeling one thing while thinking something else, and yet expressing something totally different. What you needed then was assistance in directing you to the instinct blueprint.

Instincts are part of your subconscious mind placed there by the Creator, and intellect is part of the conscious mind. The conflict appears when the conscious mind has different information than the subconscious. 

The instinct program God placed inside us is geared toward helping us cope in every area of our lives. This can be clearly observed in all of the animal kingdom. Understanding our instincts is very important because through connection with them, we get to know ourselves. As an additional benefit, we will get to know our fellow man. All humans have the same instincts.

God gave the animal kingdom (of which humans are a part) instincts to help them function on earth. The difference between animals and humans is the degree of intellect. If you really want to get in touch with your instincts, it is necessary to understand the separation between intellect and instinct.

Animals tend to depend more on instinct, whereas humans have, over the ages, reversed this and rely mostly on intellect. This is most unfortunate because instincts can be of great assistance to us in our lives.

By re-connecting yourself with your instincts you will be able to think, feel and communicate the same message. You will also be able to discover the real you. 

Self-understanding is knowledge about yourself. It allows you to discover the kind of person you are and the person you would like to become. It allows you to be free to become the best person God intended you to be.

The Creator gave you instincts, as a gift for you to live in a successful, abundant, and happy manner all you have to do is to understand, connect with it and follow your instincts to CREATE THE LIFE YOU REALLY WANT.

BUY HER BOOK: Follow Your Instincts

Heaven On Earth byline: Dr. Adrian Calabrese

When someone dies we realize how short life is. You know I'll never forget something I saw on television many years ago. The actor, John Travolta, had been in love with a women who was many years his senior, an actress, named Diana Hyland. She had a terminal disease and passed away. He was quite young at the time and was devastated by her death. Later that year she won an Emmy award. John accepted that award and I will never forget what he said that night. He said, "I realized something when Diana died. Death is right here," and pointed to his left shoulder. He said, "Death is right here, learning right over our shoulder." It impressed me that there was a man who would live the rest of his life cherishing each day, because he had a personal tragedy to remind him of how wonderful life is. What about the rest of us? 

Are you living each day as if it were your last? Think about that. We have to. We have to put all sadness aside and we have to live, and live and live. We have to not let hardships in this life, the ups and down's, take away the joy. We don't know how long we're going to be here. I'm not saying that to be morbid. I think we have to realize that there are things on the planet that make us happy now. We can enjoy them everyday, and not put them off. Don't be one of those people who says, "When I have enough money ..." or Next week, after I finish such and such I'll do something for myself." Do what makes you happy now, not only for yourself but for others.

Treat people as kindly as you can. I want to leave a legacy of love behind me, and I think you do, too. If you treat people with love and kindness each day it doesn't matter what the fates have in store for you because you're leaving your legacy of love to them, but, if you live each day in sadness dreading the morning, you're not leaving a legacy of love behind. You are leaving a legacy of sadness and depression.

I think we have to learn to value each moment on this earth. We have to live as though today were the last day of our lives, with joy, love and happiness. If your attitude is pleasant, or at least you try to be happy and joyful each day you'll begin to see life in a different way. You will truly be living the spiritual life. We all know people who carry negativity around with them. They have an energy about them that is heavy and dark. These folks don't have one nice thing to say. They have a critical comment about everything and everybody, and we don't want to be around them. These are people who are not leaving a legacy of love and they are not living a spiritual life. If they were to leave the planet tomorrow how many tears would be shed? The point is what are you leaving? What is your gift?

Death is really nothing to fear. It's bliss over there, that's why they call it Heaven. It's better there. When people cross over, they're in a better place. It's a happy state, not a sad one. The people that we love who are on the other side live in happiness eternally. We're the ones who live with the possibility of darkness and sadness. I'm suggesting something to you today. I'm suggesting that you create bliss. I'm suggesting that you create Heaven on Earth because you can have it. Many people see death as a solution to their problems and their agony. It's not. Death is a reward for your sticking it out here and paying your dues. That's what death really is. Its a compensation for having stuck it out, having struggled and having made it. When you die you go to bliss because you deserve it. It's not an escape, it's a gift. You stayed, you learned your lessons and you did all you could. If you create a happy life you'll carry that joy with you to the other side. If you created a life full of distrust, greed, negativity and sadness that's what you will carry to the other side.

Live each day as though it was your last. See each new day as your first. Make it a good one. Get up in the morning and don't say, "Oh I've got to go through one of these again." Instead, get up in the morning and say, "Thank you God, for giving me another one of these beautiful mornings. What can I do today tot make it worth living?" Do one thing each day to make your life joyful whether it's paying someone a compliment, doing a favor for someone else, or bringing artistic beauty into your life. All you need to do is gaze at the sunset, or the moon, or the river, or a flower. Bring one into your home. That's all you have to do to make your day worthwhile. Live each day grateful to God for the valuable gift of life. Don't yearn for things. You have everything you need right now. Don't long for the future. Instead, make today count. Create heaven on earth.

BUY HER BOOK: Sacred Signs: hear, see and believe messages from the Universe

Got The Secret? Now Get The Tools by Caroline Reynolds

This year's phenomenal success of the book, "The Secret", opened many people up to a new reality. It assured us we live in an intelligent universe as responsive to our desires as an eager sales person. It offered us a magic formula for creating the life we want - the perfect relationship, career, prosperity and all that our heart desires. But how do we put this formula into practice?

No matter how hard we try, we have to acknowledge that things can only come to us when we're ready. Beyond the much-vaunted Law of Attraction there are some other 'laws' or processes we must follow in our process of manifestation. Here are some of the tools you can apply to create the life you want by using the heightened consciousness of "Spiritual Fitness".

1. Nurture Your Dream

Before you can fulfill a dream you first have to nurture it. In my book, "Spiritual Fitness - How To Live In Truth and Trust", I describe this process as finding out what you want, then holding that truth deep inside your heart. Allow it to grow and guide you from within, making sure you focus on what you can do each day to move towards it. It does not mean focusing endlessly on the future until you feel such a gap between where you are and where you want to be that you never get started! The secret is to stay focused on the 'now', since the future never comes because it is in fact just a series of incremental 'nows'. If you can align your present reality with your heart's desires, you will create a 'future' that is a reflection and manifestation of your dream.

So what dream could you be nurturing right now? Do you want a relationship, job, good income or just a simple quality of being such as peace or contentment? If you'd like a relationship, for example, you can nurture your dream by taking immediate concrete steps such as making space in your life and your home. It's amazing how many single people have very little physical space in their home or time in their lives for a partner. Break your dream down into manageable, bite-size chunks and start to nurture it on a daily basis.
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2. Become Your Dream Self

The next step is to become the person you need to be to achieve your dream. As statistics show, around 90% of lottery winners blow their winnings within five years. This is because their manifestation was too quick, too unprepared for, and they didn't have time to think of themselves as rich or deal with any negative beliefs they had about wealth. If we don't prepare ourselves for success it can very easily make us uncomfortable and we will sabotage it to return to our small familiar selves.

I can recall the ten years I spent in my native Britain longing to live in the US and watching as all my opportunities to do so seemed to evaporate. While I waited, I was nevertheless gaining more experience and confidence in my work. It was only when I finally got to America that I understood the necessity of all my years of waiting. They had slowly enabled me to align with the bigger self I needed to become to succeed in my new home.

How can you constructively spend your time waiting for your dream? What beliefs do you have that might prevent you from being able to hold and enjoy the experience? For example, if you'd like a relationship do you have a belief that love hurts or that you don't deserve to be loved? Start to dissolve your negative beliefs by tracing them back to their source; to the first time you ever took them on. Take a 'soul level' look at that time and ask yourself what were the lessons and gifts in that situation? Which of your strengths was it meant to develop and how would you deal with it differently now? Then practice forgiveness by seeing through and beyond that situation to its highest truth and letting the 'earth level' experience go.

Next, do you have a peer group or mentor who holds a vision of your highest potential? No-one can rise to low expectations! During those years of my 'preparation' in Britain, I was blessed with friends who believed in and encouraged me (despite my frequent nosedives into health issues) and a teacher in the US who both praised and goaded me into being more courageous and aligned with my highest truth. During one particular health scare, I wrote what I called my "contract with God" and listed the many ways I pledged to own my truth and step into my greatness if the scare proved to be unfounded. It did and I kept my promise. Within two years I finally got my visa and as soon as I arrived in the US, my health also radically improved.

3. Develop Gratitude

The third essential tool for manifestation is gratitude. While you're waiting for your desired outcome, focus on the gifts you currently have. If you don't have riches, do you have health? If you don't have a relationship, do you have family? If you don't have peace or fulfillment, do you have hope? This not only helps you feel less incomplete but also prepares you to deal with holding on to your dreams when they materialize. Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by our blessings. We reach an incredulous stage where our surprise at our good fortune is about to turn into panic because we don't know how to handle it. Since our beliefs create our reality, saying "I can't believe how lucky I am", is a sure fire way to stop your luck from flowing! At these moments I've learned to just keep saying "thank you". This way I affirm the reality of all the goodness and good fortune around me and strengthen and perpetuate it.

What can you give thanks for today? Look for the little blessings as well as the big ones - a stranger's smile, a touch from a friend, an uplifting phone call or an inspiring book or movie. In practicing the art of gratitude, you will develop a much greater capacity to appreciate your dreams when they come true. 

By living in truth and trust, you gain clarity on the things you want and how to create them. By practicing "Spiritual Fitness", you can "Get the Secret!"

BUY NOW!!!  Spiritual Fitness: How To Live in Truth and Trust

Fine Tuning the 6th Sense by Jane Bernard

You were born with 6 senses. Each sense gives you pleasure and protection. Your 6th sense is your intuition, or instincts. It is an inner drive that puts you on the path of possibility. It is the sum of your potential and it is always available. Tuning into your 6th sense can happen quickly but it is at first subtle. When as you trust yourself to rely on your intuition, the insights become more apparent.

Even though we are each unique, we all search for the same answers. Your inspiration, your intuition, your instincts are your birthright. Tuning into your 6th sense is the secret to overcoming loneliness, realizing dreams and finding comfort with your choices. Fine Tuning all of your instincts is the way to tune into your intuition because all of our senses work together. There are practical ways to do this. When you connect to your 6th sense, you focus on your inner strength. You empower your self and tune into your sense of purpose and joy. 

Your instinct is a guiding hand available only to you. However, life is not a cleared path. When you are conscious of your senses, focus on positive thoughts, your goals and what you are communicating to others, then your path will be broadened.

When you feel like you want to get more out of being alive, when you want to evolve, then it could be time. If you are feeling stuck, confused, as if something is not right, then it might be time to tune into your 6th sense. It will guide you to the core of your unique self. When you tune into your 6th sense you find the possibilities and clarity in your life. Tuning into your 6th sense can also give you a sense of control over your life and at the same time, a sense of freedom.

Empowerment byline: Carol Drinkwater

The Oxford Dictionary definition of empower is : give (someone) the authority or power to do something.  Make someone stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.  The noun is Empowerment

What fascinates me about empowerment, particularly as a writer, is how we can create our own power, how through the experiences of loss or grief, learning or challenge we find the inner strength to grow and move forward with a broader and richer understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live and function.   

I believe that no experience is worth having if it does not takes us further. What have I learnt? What can this teach me about myself and the my relationship with the world about me?

In the OLIVE trilogy I am writing, stories about buying a delapidated villa in ten acres of land in the south of France and transforming that ruin and its Mediterranean terraces into a glorious olive farm that produces first class olive oil, there are numerous examples of challenge and loss, some painful, some very funny. Each of the books recounts some of these challenges and how they can be transformed into rich and uplifting and often humorous experiences.

In THE OLIVE SEASON, the second book in the trilogy, I find myself pregnant. The news is joyous to myself and my husband, Michel, because I had a history of miscarriages. Unfortunately, I lose the little girl at seventeen weeks into the pregnancy. The devastation is compounded when I learn from my gynecologist that I will never be able to carry a child full-term. For almost any woman this is a profound tragedy and one that takes a great deal of courage to face and move through. For me, personally, there were two issues that took my grief way down. Firstly, my husband has beautiful twin daughters from his first marriage and though I love them to bits and they love me I will never be their mother and, secondly, I am an actress and and as such my life is sometimes lived in the public domain. On television I have been described as 'womanly', 'attractive', 'feminine' etc and now here I am childless. Being denied the quintessential female experience. How was I to go forward ? How was I going to come to terms with such a deprivation? 

Running alongside tales of the rich and colourful world of life in southern Provence, this loss, these questions and their answers, is one of the themes of THE OLIVE SEASON. I believe that I allowed myself to go through the grieving and, slowly, as the seasons changed on the olive farm, as winter turned to spring, as a new harvest of olives was gathered and pressed, as sapling olive trees are planted, I began to find strength in nature. I began looking for what was good in my life.

What makes my cup half FULL and not half EMPTY?

The olive tree is considered to be the Tree of Eternity. It lives sometimes to a thousand years. It does not begin fully fruiting until is about twenty-five years and its finest fruits can be harvested when it has reached a century or more.

We have recently planted another two hundred small trees. Sometimes, these days, I stand on our farmland and I look about me and I thank Life for all that is wonderful. I will never have children in the physical, the conventional sense. But we have young trees that will be fruiting long after Michel and I have passed through this life, I have my books to write, roles as an actress to take on and we are creating a farm that will be there for many future generations to come.

Of course, I remain sad that I don't see that little girl at my side on the farm, that I don't hold her hand, but she is there in spirit and I am stronger and richer as a woman now because I have learnt to celebrate what I have. 

I have been empowered - been made stronger and more confident - by the facing of my loss and I have discovered joy in the everyday world around me. 

© CAROL DRINKWATER, France 2003

Choose Optimism byline: Debbie Gisonni

Have you ever wondered where the expression, “knock on wood” comes from? There are several theories dating back to the Pagans, Christians and ancient Celtics. The most common is that knocking on a tree woke the good spirits who would protect people from evil. Today’s version includes knocking on any wood-like surface, but the premise remains the same--preventing bad luck. To me, it’s just another form of negative thinking--focusing on the bad instead of the good.

You bring into your life that which you focus upon. If you’re one of those people who thrives on gloom and doom, yanking others into your web of despair, and then gloating about your foresight when life becomes as miserable as you feared--guess what? This becomes your own self-fulfilling prophecy! You will always live in victim mode, shunning happiness, while you anticipate your next inevitable misfortune. 

Amid these forces of negativity, notice that there are others who always seem cheerful, finding the good in any situation or person. The words, “Murphy’s Law,” never touch their lips! You may think that they have all the good luck. And they do! Because they focus on how great things are or can be, versus what can ruin it. And, if something does go wrong, they find the lesson in the experience--maybe even the silver lining--and move on positively. These are the people who choose optimism. 

When I woke up one day to find my car tire flat in my driveway, I didn't think, “These things always happen to me. This car has been bad luck since I bought it.” Instead I chose to think, “Wasn't I lucky to have this happen here, instead of while I was driving 60MPH on the freeway?” OK…you say, “Big deal! It’s just a flat tire. What about the really bad stuff that happens to us, like death, divorce, 
bankruptcy, illness?” My answer stays the same--How you see it is still your choice. I lost four family members in four years, and my mother was ill for ten years. After that devastating time, I decided to write a book to help others deal with tragedy. I wanted to turn those tragedies into something positive for others and myself. That was my choice.

Optimism is a learned behavior. If no one in your life has ever taught you to be positive, then it becomes your choice to learn. You create the reality around you with your thoughts, words and actions. It’s the law of the universe--what you put out, you get back. Simple. 

Negativity zaps so much energy from you and comes back ten times stronger. It’s cold, dark and heavy on your soul, while being cheerful and optimistic feels like a cool summer breeze--light, sweet and airy. Try it sometime; you may never go back. 

Five ways to choose optimism in your life
1) Hang around positive people even if it seems uncomfortable at first.
2) If you work or live with negative people, don't get pulled into their fear or impose your opinion upon them.
3) Try to change every negative thought and word to a positive one. 
4) Always assume the best from people and situations.
5) Make positive affirmations--if you say it enough, you'll start believing it.UY HE

BUY HER BOOK: Vita's Will: Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On

Choose Acceptance byline: Debbie Gisonni

It’s so easy to accept the good stuff when it happens to us. We savor those fortunate moments, like a piece of Godiva chocolate slowing melting in our mouths. But when we’re faced with bad news or unpleasant feelings, we fight, ignore or deny them like the plague. We dig in our heels and think, 

“Not in my lifetime is this going to happen!”

There is a generation of people who experienced more than the usual death and loss, while they struggled through WWII and the great depression. Having gone through so much pain, they seem to be more accepting of what happens in their life. My parents were part of that generation. After my mother became disabled, she would often say, “I never imagined I'd be living like this.” Then in the same breath, she'd follow with, “I guess it’s God’s will.” Whether it was God’s will or not, the acceptance of her uncontrollable misfortune helped her stay sane through ten consecutive years of chronic illness, disability and near death experiences.

Now, I'm not suggesting you roll over and play dead when life deals you a bad set of cards. You should always attempt to change and improve whatever you can. But sometimes, a tornado sweeps into your life without cause or warning. While you can't prevent it, you can certainly live through it. That means acknowledging it and adjusting your life to accommodate and embrace it--without anger or guilt. Major setbacks are often lessons that help you change your life for the better. 

Death is one of the most difficult events in life for us to accept. Often family members choose to deny a terminal diagnosis or worse, assume they’re doing the dying person a favor by not telling him. Then the person dies without the opportunity to say good-bye, make amends or get his affairs in order. Afterwards, the remaining friends and family are left with an even larger burden --sorting out the mess and all their emotions of denial. They may never accept their loved one’s death, which can cause a domino effect of emotions from anger to hate to depression. On the other hand, had they accepted the impending death, they might have been able to make that person’s last days more joyful and their own less frustrating.

By accepting the events in your life, you accept life itself.  You become more tolerable of others and more content with your personal situation, whatever it may be at the time. You realize that every event in your life--trivial or life changing, fortuitous or tragic, eventually comes to an end. 

Life will always be a series of ups and downs. For some of you, it’s a roller coaster ride. For others, it’s just a few bumps on a rather flat road. Either way, you'll be happier if you hold on, pay attention and embrace every bit of the ride.

Five ways to choose acceptance in your life: 
1)   Say and believe each morning that you are open to whatever the day brings.  
2)   Consider death a natural part of life--talk about it, work through it.
3)   Remember that unhappy events and emotions are temporary--don't deny them, they'll come back to haunt you.
4)   Embrace misfortune; it will make the good times feel that much better.
5)   Don't worry or blame yourself for things out of your control--go with the flow.

BUY HER BOOK: Vita's Will: Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On