What depletes your soul?

"Certain activities, attitudes, foods, and persons support the cultivation of an unconscious life. They draw us away from our center. They throw us off-balance. They deplete the soul."

-- Patricia Lynn Reilly

Some activities we think are restful are, in fact, draining. Set an intention to really become aware of how you feel after you've engaged in different activities. Solitude and awareness help us make better choices for ourselves.

"Enlightenment is not about imagining figures of light but of making the darkness conscious."

-- C.G. Jung

Purpose brings joy

"Our purpose is hidden in our joy, our inspiration, our excitement. As we act on what shows up in our life our purpose shows up."

-- James King

For many of us, our joy is truly activated when we get a bigger picture of who we are and why we are here.

Most of us need to enlarge our self-concept. We may see ourselves as a bag of bones but, in truth, we are eternal, multi-faceted and multi-dimensional spiritual beings having a human experience. It�s time to think of ourselves as much larger and grander than just a physical and emotional being confined in a body.

"There is no more important step you can take than to define your life's purpose. It develops your sense of belonging to our universe."

-- Arnold Patent

Know yourself through journaling

"The blank page gives us the right to dream."

-- Baston Bachelard

Journaling takes us on adventures of self-discovery that explore two different directions:

- DEEPER into the realms of the subconscious where we can clean house of personal problems, pains, patterns, and reactions; and,

- HIGHER into the realms of our potential, where we can connect with intuition and higher guidance and uncover our essence and purpose.

"Life is a narrative that you have a hand in writing."

-- Henriette Anne Klauser

"I want you to get excited about who you are, what you are, what you have, and what can still be for you. I want to inspire you to see that you can go far beyond where you are right now."

-- Virginia Satir

Connect with the life force

"The spirit down here in man and the spirit up there in the sun, in reality are only one spirit, and there is no other one."

-- The Upanishads

We regard our lives as made up of an infinite number of separate bits and pieces. That is how our senses perceive our universe.

But science has now affirmed what the sages always knew. The life force is the foundation of all, unseen and untouched though it may be. It flows through everyone and everything. It is impossible to exist separate and apart from the source of all creation.

"Everything you see has its roots in the unseen world.
The forms may change, yet the essence remains the same.
Every wonderful sight will vanish; every sweet word will fade,
But do not be disheartened,
The source they come from is eternal, growing,
Branching out, giving new life and new joy.
Why do you weep?
The source is within you
And this whole world is springing up from it."

-- Jelaluddin Rumi

Why laugh?

Laughter nourishes the soul and triggers joy. It's a natural stress reliever. It stimulates the immune system and increases oxygen, stamina and our breathing capacity. Medical literature is full of reasons to laugh for the health of it.

Don't rely upon your funny friends, favorite sit-com or jokes to tickle your funny bone -- just laugh for the joy of it!

"Laughter is like the human body wagging its tail."

-- Anne Wilson Schaef

Andrew Schneider describes violence as an issue of power. People become violent when they feel powerless. Violence is used as an inappropriate way of attempting to re-establish one's own sense of power over whatever or whomever is perceived as a threat.

The antidote to violence in ourselves and in society is empowerment. We need to empower people to live out their best without fear. When people feel strong and able within themselves, they do not see themselves as potential victims. They do not have to struggle against others in order to feel secure. The curriculum for empowerment is learning and loving.

"Never use violence of any kind. Never threaten violence in any way. Never even think violent thoughts. Never argue because it attacks another�s opinion. Never criticize because it attacks another�s ego. And your success is guaranteed."

-- Mohandas Gandhi

What Are You Fighting

What are you fighting?

Resistance always brings pain. Examine your struggle. What does your personality want from the situation? What does your soul want? What can you learn from this?

Always strive to mend separation and achieve unity. Always choose love over fear. If you can embrace whatever you are struggling against, the struggle will disappear.

"What you resist persists. And only what you look at, and own, can disappear. You make it disappear by simply changing your mind about it."

-- Neale Donald Walsch