hope
How Sticky Notes Can Change Your Life
We live in a world where we are bombarded with negativity every day. Whether it comes from social media or the mainstream news, it’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in a sea of negative information and fear-based messages. And the more we are exposed to all this negative input, the more we internalize it, until it becomes part of our self-talk and general state of mind.
Fortunately, the solution to some of life’s most complex challenges can often be found in the most mundane. Enter the simple sticky note! By writing down simple, positive affirmations or slogans on a bunch of sticky notes, and placing them anywhere you will see them frequently, you can significantly change your inner dialogue from constant negativity and nay-saying to one of possibility, hope and optimism.
Choose simple, short affirmations that resonate with who you are, and what you truly want in life. Whether it’s something like, “I am worthy,” or “Love surrounds me,” or even, “I will get that dream job,” it will inspire you to change the narrative and negative self-talk each time you read one of these short statements out loud.
This technique always reminds me of the famous opening scene of the television cartoon, The Simpsons, with Bart Simpson writing a phrase over and over on the chalkboard. There’s actually some method in the madness of this old-fashioned way of disciplining schoolkids. When our brain repeats a word or phrase over and over again, new neural pathways are created with new associations. Saying something once or twice only, we’re just as likely to forget it. But if it’s something we repeat many times, our brain will literally change over time, and so will our patterns of thought, feeling and action.
It’s been shown that establishing a new habit, or making new behavior automatic, takes on average about two months. Try placing your sticky notes in those places you spend most of your time every day: in your workspace, your car, on the bathroom mirror, the kitchen refrigerator, or on your bedside table. The more you see (and repeat) the words written on them, the more you will start to transform your thinking.
The Resilient Spirit Knows No Bounds
Our world has lately been feeling like a carnival ride gone awry. Despite all the madness, one thing bears remembering: the innate resilience of our spirit.
We are still here, and we are still standing. And we are willing, able, and capable to forge ahead. For many the move forward will be in a completely different direction than before, while for some the path has merely been adjusted to better suit us.
To be resilient is to be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Resilience is the ability to bounce back into shape, after being bent, stretched or compressed. This is the essence of what our spirit is designed to do.
Our spirit or soul is the eternal part of us that connects us to the Divine, Source, God, the Universe. It is the Spirit we call upon to show us the way, carry us through, or facilitate the manifesting our dreams, goals and aspirations. It is that unbreakable, unshakeable part of us that fuels us to continue to move forward regardless of circumstance.
Spirit is also the place where our hearts and minds find peace, love, compassion and understanding. Every time our spirit is stretched beyond normal bounds, and we bounce back, we are even stronger, more confident, more loving, and more certain of ourselves.
Through surviving much adversity, we also come to understand that because of this resilience, what we are made of is not meant to be broken. If anything this resilience allows to stretch even further, reach even higher, and accomplish even more.
What To Believe When You Come Undone
So much of the typical human belief system is actually in direct opposition to the concepts of spiritual law. Let’s take the idiom “Life is too short,” for example. This saying is used to essentially suggest or convince oneself or another that we don’t live long…so just live for the now and just do what’s desirable regardless of the consequences. Well, wrong!
The soul’s journey is quite a long one. We reincarnate through many centuries of lifetimes, until our souls have completely evolved, returning to each new life with lessons to learn based on beliefs, karma and decisions made in our prior lives.
For example, a slave master born might return in his next life as a slave, to face his karma and endure what it’s like to be treated as such, and ultimately understand why it’s wrong. So, in reality, life is ‘too long.’ Every action has a reaction – an energetic effect. Thus, we need to be cognizant and conscientious of all that we say and do in this life, and not just engage or divulge in whatever we please, because of a physically limited life span.
That same theory of misunderstandings and contradictions between spiritual concepts and human beliefs, more detrimentally applies to life struggles and emotional well-being. How many times have you prematurely mourned a relationship…then wound up reuniting with your partner? Or maybe you lost your favorite job and felt hopelessly valueless and depleted, foreseeing eternal darkness, only to find your dream job shortly after? Moments, days, weeks, months, years, where you either take on a defeatist attitude, and suffer, or become a control freak and try to take matters into your own hands. Thinking you are, but not trusting that you are not, the wizard behind the curtain?
Small Gestures Of Kindness In A Time Of Cruelty
People are feeling anxious and uncertain with what has been happening in the world in recent months. Many are fearful and stressed, and unsure how to act appropriately in these strange times. Some act out in destructive or dramatic ways, taking their frustration out on others.
It is common knowledge that the digital age and social media has spawned a generation of computer warriors and online bullies who express their insecurities and fears, in often extremely mean and cruel ways, from the comfort of their living rooms and basements. This savage lack of empathy and decorum has seemingly now spilt over into our streets and neighborhoods too, in the midst of a global pandemic.
It is easier for many to be critical and judgmental, to complain and argue, instead of facing facts, dealing with the truth and seeking lasting solutions. Often not knowing the entire story, many people choose to see only see one side of things, while telling others off for disagreeing with their limited point of view. The computer has unfortunately given some people a platform to spread strife and hatred, instead of love, hope and kindness.
I pray that more people will strive to seek the truth and learn to look for the good and kind in others. Showing tolerance, patience and kindness is always the better, more open approach. And always remember that if someone attacks you directly, then it often means they are somehow struggling or hurting. It usually serves no real purpose to attack them back.
Streaming With Your Angels
At the moment, our world is still seeking answers and solutions to what appears to be a never-ending stream of challenges and concerns. And some days it appears as if we are moving backwards, instead of forward! Our concerns for our homes, livelihood and loved ones are more prevalent than ever right now. We are also bearing witness to incredible acts of giving, compassion, courage, and sacrifice, that remind us who we can be – even during the most stressful of times.
Many of us are also streaming more every day. We are being inundated with massive amounts of information, that we must sort through and decide what to believe and trust, what we should or should not do, and most importantly, how we are going to be present in our rapidly changing world.
The most important consideration for all of us right now should be: what are we going to show our loved ones, colleagues, friends, about who we are choosing to be here and now, today? The beginning of each day in this challenging new world is a powerful opportunity for change and transformation.
The angels remind us that there is a difference between awareness and fear. Fear causes reaction, awareness creates discernment and wisdom. During stressful times, fear is easily triggered. Tempers flare, and arguments are sparked that are not always very easily resolved.
Soulmate Love Requires Patience, Hope and Perseverance
Should I wait for him? This is a question I have been asked many times in my work. Especially when there is a deep, strong soul-to-soul love, with a sense of eternity and meaning to it, this question naturally arises when such partners are parted.
The answer, I find, is within. It is not a matter of should or shouldn’t, good or bad, right or wrong, nor even a matter of the outcome. It is a matter of heart. And it is a very individual choice.
An intuitive reading can support, but not substitute the process of discovering such a personal choice. As an empathic intuitive, for example, I can offer you a description of the energy I feel around your relationship situation, to provide you with information that may help you discern. I can also support you in trusting your own heart, and then in moving forward accordingly.
But the ultimate answer always lays within your own love and desires. From my experience of love in separation, I have learned that the path of patience, if chosen, will call for a profound degree of it, along with several stepping stones of spiritual qualities and concepts to uphold it.
Love between souls is a spiritual exchange. It steps back and views the beloved through the lens of eternity. It sees the individual spirit soul – the birthless, deathless being within – who is on an evolutionary journey, passing through human experience in this world.
Tibetan Prayer Flags Are Blessings In The Wind
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to constantly have your prayers and blessings emanating into Universe? Well, you actually can achieve this by hanging a Tibetan prayer flag. Also known as lungta and darchor prayer flags, these beautiful, colorful flags are traditionally found festooned along the Himalayan trails. They are believed to bring peace, prosperity and good fortune to all.
Although it is a Buddhist tradition, you don’t have to be a practicing Buddhist to hang your own prayer flags. Anyone can use them with the intent to spread positivity and blessings in the wind, far and wide.
One of the most beautiful aspects of Tibetan prayer flags is that they are unique in design, and calming to look at. Each flag carries a variety of prayers, incantations and sacred symbols that represent specific blessings to be carried by the wind. Each set of flags has several different prayers written on it – one even has a special prayer specifically for the person who is hanging the flag!
A set of lungta flags feature five separate rectangles that represent the five elements, to create energy and a strong connection to the Universe. They start from the top with a blue flag representing sky or space, then a white flag representing air or wind, a red flag representing fire, followed by a green flag representing water, and lastly a yellow flag representing earth.
Most often hung vertically, with the blue (air flag) at the top and the yellow (earth flag) at the bottom, these flags aim to bring good fortune, blessings of opportunities, abundance and prosperity, inner strength, compassion, and wisdom to all.