Self-Help
Healing Through Radical Self-Forgiveness
There’s no getting around the fact that we’re our own worst critics. There has been much written on the subject of forgiving others, but what about forgiving ourselves? This is the first and most crucial step to real, lasting, healthy self-love.
The roots of the pain many of us feel are guilt and shame – the knowledge that we have wronged or hurt someone else, and the lasting fallout resulting in self-harm. Guilt is sometimes a catalyst to change behavior, but shame often comes with long-term effects, such as negative thinking patterns, self-harming behavior such as addiction, depression or anxiety, and self-sabotage.
Over long periods shame is like a poison in our bloodstream which touches every aspect of our lives. But it doesn’t have to last! There is a healthy way to overcome the legacies of shame and guilt, and it all starts with compassion.
A Sense of Calm – A Message From My Guides
Sometimes the emotional charge of something as simple as a misunderstood comment, or a statement taken out of context, can throw even the most level-headed person into a tailspin. Developing a general demeanor of good humor can assist you in dealing with some of these most difficult, embarrassing or awkward situations encountered in life.
Everyone handles things differently, doing the best they can with the information they have at the time. Although, generally, the goal is to come to a better understanding and reach common ground, sometimes this takes much more time, effort and compromise than expected.
Although it is important to resolve an issue and clear the air, if possible, it is equally important to put each issue into context. Years from the date of the affront, will the issue be remembered at all and, if so, will it have anywhere near the importance that it did at the time? Certain issues will never be forgotten, however, they can often be forgiven for the sake of all parties involved.
Coping With The Pain Of Loss And Grief
Going through grief is a very natural response to loss. The more significant the loss, the more intense our grief will be. Grieving can result from the passing of a loved one, losing a job, divorce, loss of health.
Coping with loss can be overwhelming. We usually go through all kinds of difficult and very unexpected emotions – from shock to anger to disbelief. Sometimes we also feel guilty that maybe there could have been more one should have done. And then there is the sadness, which is hard to even put into words.
The pain of grief and bereavement can, and often does, also disrupt our physical health, making it very difficult to sleep, eat and function normally. It is very hard to think straight at such a time, but these are normal reactions to significant loss.
Chiron Retrograde Can Heal The Empath
There is much talk lately regarding astrological retrogrades and the seven planets involved, including Mercury, Mars, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter. The fact that some of this energy will be around until next year, led me to reading up on the potential negative effects, but also the metaphysical power of the retrogrades.
As an empath, I am particularly drawn to Chiron, a planet about which I was woefully uniformed in the past. If you are an empath (even if you are usually not paying close attention) it is worthwhile looking in into the role of this planet in your everyday life.
Apparently Chiron was named after a centaur Chiron from Greek mythology. Chiron is known as the wounded healer in astrology or metaphysics. He was the god of healing… but was unable to heal himself. He is epitomized by the concept of ‘healer heal thyself.’
Releasing Toxic People In Your Life
Every person has at some point in their life had a person in their life whom they believed had their best interests at heart. Yet, that person blind-sided them by doing or saying something to knock them off kilter. This happens to the best of us.
Often we continue to believe that this person will change, that they are our true friend. But they might just be using us, and we allow it. They might take from us, and we allow it. They might advance themselves because of something we did, and then when the roles or positions are reversed, they will let greed and ego take over and knock us to our knees.
This kind of thing happens in life and in relationships all the time. I do not feel any of us is totally exempt from this – whether we were the one being used, or the one using someone else.
Karmic Issues Versus Karmic Debt
There is a vast difference between karmic issues and karmic debt. Suppose you have a neighbor that you don’t like. Maybe he is a braggart and a show off, but what might complicate this further is that he appears to be totally successful. He buys a new car every couple of years, while you are lucky that your old clunker is still getting you back and forth to work each day.
His pretty wife and three whiny, noisy children go on marvelous vacations every year and you are always made to know about their adventures, whether you care to listen, or not. You have to hear how exceptionally exotic and expensive all these getaways are. Meanwhile, you cannot even remember the last time you took your own family for an outing that required more than a tour through the entire kitchen of the local Golden Arches!
Your Soulmate Buddy Is A Keeper!
This year I have been hearing of more friendships ending like never before. I believe there may be a cosmic influence at play which currently prompts the clearing out of the old to let in the new.
I have witnessed this trends also in a couple of my own friendships, which initially I thought would last a life-time, but they ended quite suddenly. In hindsight those friendships ended in my best interest, and who knows, perhaps in the best interest of the other parties too.
One such friendship was very toxic all the way through, but I now realize that I was probably enabling this friend, both on the phone and in person, by always being available to her. Meanwhile, she had been bad mouthing me and spreading vicious rumors about my personal life and my relationship with my father. This cut me deeply in the end, but I was only too glad that my dad, who was still alive at the time, never got to hear any of this. He would have been devastated that something so evil could be fabricated about me.