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The Wonders of Vagus Nerves and Vagal Toning

The Wonders of Vagus Nerves and Vagal Toning

Have you ever noticed the immediate sense of relief you get after taking one deep breath? Do you wonder why you feel so amazing after a good, long laugh with a friend? Does rubbing the skin around your ears relax you, but you aren’t sure why? All of these actions stimulate your vagus nerve, one of the major cranial nerves that controls many of the major systems in your body. Read on to learn more about vagus nerve stimulation and how you can practice toning at home.

What Is the Vagus Nerve?

Your vagus nerve is one of twelve cranial nerves in your body, each of which come in pairs. Although we’ll talk about the nerve as a singular entity, it’s actually made up of two nerves that come out of each side of your brain stem at the lowest point. If you place your fingers at the very base of your skull, on either side of the small notch at the top center of your neck, you’ll be pretty close to where your nerves emerge.

Your vagus nerve handles a number of bodily functions, including regulating your heart rate and breathing, managing your digestion, and controlling your reflexes. Your vagal nerve controls when you swallow, cough, sneeze, and even gag. It also controls cardiovascular activity other than your heart rate and can play a big role in heart health.

Somatic vs. Visceral Components

Some of your other cranial nerves control sensory information, such as sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and sensations. Others handle muscle function and operation of different glands in your body. This nerve is one of those pairs that handles both functions, which is why stimulation can be so powerful.

Your vagus nerve functions can have a somatic component, which impact sensations you feel on your skin or in your muscles. They can also have a visceral component, which impacts sensations you feel in your organs. Either of these components can play a role in either sensory functions or motor functions throughout your body.

Sensory Functions

This nerve performs several sensory functions, meaning it provides you with sensation in different areas of the body. It provides somatic sensory information for parts of your ear and throat. If you run your finger along the skin behind your ear, the sensation you feel is running along your nerve.

Your vagus nerve also provides visceral sensory information that comes from deeper in your body. This nerve controls sensation in your esophagus and trachea, larynx, lungs, heart, and digestive tract. Any time you have a stomachache or a sore throat, you can thank your nerve for carrying those signals to your brain.

Motor Functions

Your vagus nerve also controls several motor functions throughout your body. Your nerves carry the signals from your brain out to the muscle or organ that’s doing the work and then back to your brain. This nerve controls motor function in your larynx, throat, and soft palate, which is why it plays a role in your gag reflex.

The nerve stimulates muscles in your heart in order to regulate your resting heart rate, or your heart rate when you’re not doing anything strenuous. It also controls the contractions that happen in your gut as a normal part of your digestive process. These contractions happen along your esophagus, stomach, and most of your intestines to move food along this tract.

What Is Vagus Nerve Stimulation?

Now that we know a little more about the vagus nerve, let’s talk some about nerve stimulation. As you might guess from the name, nerve stimulation involves causing activity along your nerve. Although this can be as simple as running your finger over the skin behind your ear, it can also involve more complicated procedures.

Often, when people refer to vagus nerve stimulation, they’re referencing a procedure that uses electrical impulses to stimulate your vagus nerve. Doctors sometimes use this type of nerve stimulation to treat epilepsy or depression. Some experts also believe this procedure could help with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cluster headaches, and more.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Devices

The medical procedure known as vagus nerve stimulation uses a device to deliver carefully controlled electrical impulses. This device gets implanted under the skin of your chest and is about the size of a military ID tag. It has a wire that runs up to the vagus nerve on the left side of your brain stem and sends electrical signals through the nerve and into your brain.

Most of the time, neurologists program stimulation devices to send signals at appropriate intervals. However, sometimes, patients may be given a magnet that can control the device, too. This can be helpful in the case of depression or cluster headaches, when the patient can tell that their symptoms are getting worse.

Deep Breathing

Although vagus nerve stimulation devices are the most well-researched method of vagus nerve stimulation, they’re not the only way to do it. Because it’s is connected to so many parts of your body, you can perform vagus nerve exercises in a number of ways yourself. This can help to bring you back into balance and may ease some of your symptoms.

Deep breathing and meditation are two of the most effective ways to stimulate your vagus nerve. Remember, this nerve controls movement in your lungs, your heart, and your mouth and throat. Practicing breathing exercises and meditating can send positive signals up that nerve, strengthening and toning the pathway there.

Chanting

Given how connected your vagus nerve is to your throat, it also makes sense that chanting would stimulate the vagus nerve. For one thing, the vibrations caused by singing, humming, or chanting will resonate up the vagus nerve. But chanting a mantra that naturally resonates with the positive energy of the universe can bring even more positivity and light into your being.

Chanting the sacred “om” is always a good bet when you’re trying to stimulate your vagus nerve and you don’t know where to start. You can also say one of the sutras or a favorite prayer from your religion. You may also want to chant a personal mantra that empowers you and promotes healing for your body, mind, and spirit.

Laughter

Another fabulous way to stimulate your vagus nerve is through laughter. Studies have shown that laughter is good for your health for a number of different reasons. It stimulates your heart, improves your intake of oxygen, stimulates your lungs and muscles, and amps up your endorphin production.

If you’re feeling like you need some vagus nerve stimulation, try to make plans with friends or loved ones who always make you laugh, even if those plans happen over virtual platforms. Watch a favorite movie or listen to a comedian you like. You could even play with your pets or your kids, read a book that makes you giggle, or scroll through comedy accounts on social media.

Learn More

The nerve touches many of the vital areas of your body, including your heart, lungs, digestive tract, and more. Vagus nerve stimulation can help to ease symptoms of depression, epilepsy, indigestion, and more. You can practice vagus nerve stimulation at home through deep breathing, chanting, and laughter, among other methods.

If you’d like to learn more about methods of self-healing, check out the rest of my site at PaulWagner.com. I am here to help you awaken and bravely create an inspired life. Learn more about my services today and start changing your life in the most positive way.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire.

 

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The Benefits & Dangers Of Emotional Intelligence

The Benefits & Dangers Of Emotional Intelligence

You might have heard the term increasingly used in the corporate world, but emotional intelligence can be applied to any situation and environment. To keep a healthy state of mind for both you and the people around you, achieving a certain level of emotional intelligence is extremely helpful. But what exactly does it mean to be emotionally intelligent, and how can you improve your skills in this area?

Learning more about being emotionally intelligent is a great way to improve your personal and professional life. I broke down the basics below!

Am I Emotionally Intelligent?

By asking the question, “Am I emotionally intelligent?” you’re already on your way to improving your emotional intelligence. To improve yourself in any capacity, always first to obtain self-awareness. It doesn’t necessarily matter so much where you are on your journey or the spectrum of emotional intelligence–it matters more that you’re willing to assess yourself honestly and work on making those necessary changes.

Emotional intelligence, also frequently referred to as “EQ,” means that a person has the capacity and will to healthily explore and manage emotions in themselves and apply that skill to others. For example, a manager with lower emotional intelligence might be allowing the troubles in their personal life to alter the way they treat their employees without realizing that the source of this anger stems from their home life, not the “incompetence” of their team. In contrast, an emotionally intelligent manager would be self-aware and work to moderate their emotions with therapeutic and reflective techniques so that they stay conscious and respectful of their employees’ experience at work.

Personality and past experiences play a role in how emotionally intelligent a person is naturally, and no one is perfect. Some people are naturally empathetic and in tune with their emotions, such as highly sensitive people, while others have a habit of repressing emotions and allowing unresolved issues to affect other aspects of their life. No matter where you land on the emotional intelligence spectrum, there is always an opportunity to improve.

Wondering how emotionally intelligent you are? Ask yourself these questions:

      1. Do I recognize when and which emotion I feel when I feel it?
      2. Do I lose my temper quickly or give up easily when I’m frustrated, sad, or angry, or can I effectively calm myself down and react healthily?
      3. Do people often come to me to talk about their feelings or get advice about complex situations because I’m a good listener who understands?
      4. Am I aware of which situations cause me to feel certain emotions?
      5. Do I pay attention to and understand the emotions of those around me?

Don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself. Understanding where you are at in your emotional intelligence journey will help you take the right steps to move forward.

Why Should I Become More Emotionally Intelligent?

It’s no surprise that emotional hangups can deeply affect our growth in other aspects of our lives. If we have unresolved feelings in our personal life or in our professional life, those feelings can leak into the other and affect our performance and enjoyment. Our own emotions can also get in the way of our relationships with others or cause undue stress and tension. To free ourselves from these obstacles and improve our lives, we will have to do some hard work including addressing those emotions at the source and learning to moderate them or resolve them.

Many people find that becoming more emotionally intelligent has helped them to:

      • Create a more positive environment for themselves and others
      • Reduce stress, frustration, and anxiety
      • Better handle constructive criticism, adversity, or change
      • Learn more about themselves and pursue a life that fits them better
      • Improve their social life and make deeper connections

How can all this be possible? Think about how deeply and strongly emotions drive your daily decisions and actions. Many people think of themselves as fairly rational and reasonable people, but human beings are emotional and social animals as well. Emotions, no matter how repressed or small they are, play a huge role in the trajectory of our lives and our relationships with others.

Encourage Positivity

Learning to moderate your own emotions helps to build a more positive environment. Instead of dealing with an underlying atmosphere of tension, stress, and frustration, an emotionally intelligent person can acknowledge these negative feelings, pinpoint the source, and implement an active resolution or coping techniques to straighten them out and encourage positivity.

Diminish Stress and Anxiety

By learning more about your emotional tendencies, you can recognize when stress, frustration, or anxiety is taking control. Then, you can address the source of those negative feelings and learn that anxiety and stress are normal, but you can react to unfavorable situations more positively. Instead of worrying about the future or possibilities, you can take charge of a situation or become more present in the moment, accepting that anything could happen and anxiety has no benefits–it only negatively affects you.

See Life as a Journey

Every day, we are met with several opportunities to either grow and embrace change or reject growth and change. Everyone is met with adversity, and while each situation is unique, emotional intelligence can always help when dealing with those situations. If you’re responsible for a negative event, you can more readily accept responsibility and work to right the wrong. If you’re not accountable, you can still react positively to help fix the situation instead of getting defensive or angry. When you get constructive criticism, you take it as a rare opportunity to see yourself through the eyes of others and not as an insult. When there’s a fork in the road of your life, you can celebrate a new opportunity for change and adventure rather than allowing fear and stress to engulf you.

Dig Deep into Your True Self

Emotional intelligence allows us to assess our emotions and how they impact our lives successfully. By being reflective and self-aware, we can truly get to know ourselves. Applying this knowledge of ourselves moving forward, we can choose to engulf ourselves in environments, opportunities, and social circles that will help us improve and move forward towards our goals rather than staying stagnant or regressing. You’ll be able to sit down and decide if your career is the right one, if your relationships are benefitting your life, and if you’re taking the necessary steps to do what you’ve always dreamed of doing.

Improve Your Social Life

Finally, improving your emotional intelligence doesn’t just affect how you deal with your own feelings–it also helps you to listen better and empathize with others. Of course, learning to moderate your own feelings and be honest about your emotions will help others to connect with you and feel closer to you. At the same time, you’ll be able to understand your friends and family better and learn how to improve their lives. Suppose you have a social circle or family that experiences a lot of tension. In that case, you’ll also learn how to better predict unfavorable situations that could harm those people and work to resolve them to avoid conflict or stress. Overall, you’ll build your ability to communicate and problem-solve.

What Are the Dangers of Emotional Intelligence?

For the most part, emotional intelligence is an amazing skill and highly recommended for everyone looking to improve themselves and their lives. At the same time, it’s also important to remember that all skills can be used for wrong reasons. People who have high emotional intelligence have an excellent understanding of how emotions affect and drive people, so they can use this knowledge to manipulate others. They’re also very good at self-control, so they might be masterful at hiding their own emotions.

In conclusion, always be wary of others who seem to be incredibly in tune with others’ emotions and make sure they do not have ulterior motives. You might be able to spot a trend of manipulation, and you should steer clear. They could be energy vampires!

REMEMBER!

Emotional intelligence is a journey, and you are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire.

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us.

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The Sedona Method: Release EVERYTHING & Heal Your Life

The Sedona Method: How To Release EVERYTHING & Heal Your Life

We have all used this command as a way to help others and ourselves: “Just let it go!”

In The Sedona Method, the journey to releasing every pervasive emotion and negative experience – and improving your life is propelled by just that: “letting go” – through the process of allowing and releasing. We allow the emotions, encourage ourselves to feel them more and more, and then ask ourselves if we can release them. This creates vast space within us so that we can continuously and more deeply enjoy our true nature.

You might be thinking that it’s not that simple. True, we often overcomplicate things, and we entrench ourselves in the worst way. We hold grudges, we imagine vengeance, we play the victim, and we cling to stress as human beings trying to coordinate this chaotic three-dimensional reality.

It’s not fun to admit it, but some people thrive on chaos and drama. If you’re one of those people, don’t feel ashamed. We all do it. Acknowledging your tendencies and pinpointing the source of your emotions and complex feelings are the first steps toward healing and transformation. Going forward, if you can learn to breathe deeply, allow your emotions, release them, and finally let it all go, you’ll find an enduring process in your journey of transcendence and spiritual illumination.

In this article, I’ll explore this “letting go,” the allowing and releasing process at the core of The Sedona Method, a scientifically proven technique that helps people release all the emotions and feelings blocking up their life so that they can heal and find peace.

What is the Sedona Method?

The Sedona Method was originally created by Lester Levenson, a kind and loving entrepreneur and physicist who enjoyed outward success – yet suffered silently from physical and mental health conditions. Despite achieving all he had dreamed of in his career and personal life, Lester never felt that he had achieved true happiness. As a man who embraced every challenge, Lester stepped up to the challenge to devise a solution to this inner discontent.

The beginnings of The Sedona Method stemmed from Lester’s realization that we are unlimited Beings. We limit ourselves with concepts, labels, and categories that are not true, yet we find comfort in their limitations. We embrace being limited so that we might temporarily feel better.

By creating labels and setting boundaries, we create structure for our lives, but these limiting paradigms can easily oppress us. Luckily, they can also be released – because they have no foundation in truth.

Since Lester was an innovator in this line of thought, he did not have any available vocabulary that could help him spread his ideas to others. He wanted to help others release and heal like he had done for himself – so he sought other philosophical leaders’ advice. He began partnering with evangelical leaders and reading books from both the eastern and western schools of thought.

Lester was opposed to becoming a guru because The Sedona Method fundamentally teaches that the journey is within the Self, not dependent on external sources. Still, his leadership caused many people to follow him as students. Soon, he realized that his ideas needed to be formalized.

Ultimately, The Sedona Method teaches that you are more than you ever realized. You don’t need to be limited by the limiting concepts of our society, and you can heal by releasing those limitations that aren’t founded in truth.

How Does The Sedona Method Work?

Just like life, you receive from The Sedona Method what you put into it. The guides are just that–guides–and the true instrument and driving force of your healing is YOU. No external forces can help you or hurt you. The process happens entirely within yourself and depends on you to fully manifest and serve you.

The Sedona Method is as effective–if not more effective than–other types of treatments without the downsides of treatment. Many people fear that they will become emotionally spent, become dependent, or experience forms of trauma from the treatment of emotional issues.

The Sedona Method does not involve any substances, so there is no fear of addiction or dependency. The technique also focuses on the good and is a restorative practice, not exhaustive, so you will never get to the point of feeling emotionally spent or traumatized. Overall, the Sedona Method is about finding freedom and release.

Is The Sedona Method a Religion or Belief System?

Practicing the Sedona Method is easy and unproblematic because it simply teaches you an effective method for letting go of unwanted emotions, feelings, and thoughts that hold you back from fully living and being yourself. It is not a system or religion, as the founder himself did not believe that external forces were responsible for your path to self-healing.

Rather than weekly meetings with other people, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, talk therapy, or church services, The Sedona Method empowers you to heal yourself whenever you want, as much as you want, without needing to depend on any external structures or other people. Because of this empowerment, you can achieve release and freedom quickly rather than the weeks, months, or even years that other forms of “therapy” require.

What Results Can I Expect from The Sedona Method?

The results you’ll get throughout your time practicing The Sedona Method can evolve as you get better at the practice, but you can feel immediate results in each release you allow.

Over time, you’ll feel lighter, more optimistic, and positive. You’ll also have this spiritual sense of future similar conditions, helping you to navigate them and continue the allowing releasing process.

In turn, your relationships will improve, you’ll make significant decisions, and take the wheel of your life rather than taking the punches. Exactly which results you’ll experience depend on your own personal issues and what you’d like to accomplish.

For many people, the emotions and thoughts they’ve been holding onto for so long begin to swiftly exit their minds and hearts. Those who practice The Sedona Method report feeling such great relief that it sometimes leads to laughter and phenomenal life changes. You’ll be able to access your core Self, your spiritual core, where you can experience life without feeling oppressed or limited by external events. By continually practicing allowing and releasing, you begin to prefer NOT holding onto thoughts and feelings in the first place. Your prior traumas eventually evaporate, and all emerging hurts will slowly move past you, never truly infecting your heart and well-Being.

Sounds Good! How Do I Get Started?

There are five main ways to use the Sedona Method, and it’s important to try them until you find that fits you. Everyone has a unique personality and has experienced different things, so the method is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In a way, that makes the technique so much more effective.

First, you can attempt the Sedona Method by acknowledging an unwanted or pervasive feeling and simply choosing to let it go. This method can be difficult for many who have gotten into the habit of holding grudges and feeling pain. In a way, letting go of pain can be a painful experience within itself. Only people who have achieved full Self-control and have accessed their core Self can fully succeed in this first technique. If you pursue this method, it night helps to attempt it on only minor feelings first until you get the hang of it.

Second, you can choose to allow that emotion or thought to exist as it is and not interact with it extensively. Welcome it into yourself, acknowledge that the feeling has the right to exist, and then leave it be. Third, you can aggressively confront the emotion. When you feel that emotion, you can dive in and fully feel that emotion so that you have satisfied its existence before you let it go.

The fourth way is to acknowledge that the way we define emotions in opposite polarities is actually hurtful to us. In society, we say that we are either happy or sad, stressed or calm. Impressing upon ourselves these limiting categories stops us from addressing our emotions and thoughts as they really are and validating their sources.

Finally, the most advanced way is the fifth way, which is to stare that emotion in the face and see through it to the “effortless Awareness” that exists.

The journey to Self-healing is different for everyone, but the power ultimately lies within you!

The Sedona Method Questions

Here are the questions you can ask yourself to help you emerge free and clear of debilitating emotions, thoughts, attitudes, and conditions.

  • How do you feel now?
  • Where might you feel this in your body?
  • Can you allow this feeling some more?
  • Can you allow it even more?
  • There might be more, can you allow yourself to feel this emotion more?
  • Can you let it go? If not, can you sense what it’s about? Is it about Approval, Control, Security, Oneness, or Opportunity? Whatever it is, can you let it go?
  • If you say yes to being able to let it go, ask: Would you let it go?
  • And then simply, WHEN?

This process most often products an inner-allowing where the ego, mind, and emotions acquiesce to the spirit – your core Being within you. With each release, you become more free. If you can allow for micro-releases over time, you’ll find quite a sense of liberation amid even the most challenging circumstances.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust and myriad miracles. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire.

Pray for others and the Universe prays for you!

Love this kind of powerful transformative experience? Try out my Free Yourself Audio Courses! Or click the box below to schedule a session.

Meet Paul Wagner

Paul Wagner (Shri Krishna Kalesh) is an Intuitive Mystic, Author, Life & Business Coach, clairvoyant reader, and a five-time EMMY Award-winning writer. He created “THE PERSONALITY CARDS,” a powerful Oracle-Tarot deck that’s helpful in life, love, and relationships.

For years, Paul studied with Lakota elders in the Pecos Wilderness, who nurtured his empathic abilities and taught him the sacred rituals. He has lived at ashrams with enlightened masters, including Amma, the Hugging Saint, for whom he’s delivered keynotes at Her worldwide events.

You might also checkout the groundbreaking divination tool The Shankara Oracle – the most penetrative and life-changing oracles on Earth. It takes you far beyond what tarot and oracle cards can do – helping you manifest a truly divine transformation.

Paul tours the world lecturing on spiritual liberation. He lovingly offers intuitive readings, inspirational coaching, and illuminating courses to help others with self-discovery, decision-making, healing, and forgiveness. Book a session with Paul: HERE

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Psychedelics & Substances That Improve Mental & Spiritual Health

Psychedelic Mushrooms & Other Awesome Substances That Inspire Psychological Health & Spiritual Transformation

The war between those who want it to be legal to get “high” and those who want to ban all substances that get you “high” has been raging on for years, but the history of using mushrooms and other hallucinogenics has gone on for much longer across the globe. Almost every culture has had widespread use of substances to achieve an altered state of mind, including mushrooms, plants, oils, beans, and more. During this historical use of substances, many cultures revered these altered states of mind as ways to reach a higher power, speak to other worlds, and further the journey of their higher selves. Now, we know there are substances that improve mental health and spiritual health.

As modern governments have begun restricting the use of these substances more and more, groups who still wish to use them are fighting back. Marijuana, for example, has been illegal for so long and is finally being slowly legalized because studies reveal that claims of its dangers were unfounded. The benefits far outweigh the risks–and marijuana is not the only substance now being investigated. A new movement to legalize psychedelics claims that these substances have huge benefits for those with mental health struggles.

Interested in how these substances might help you tackle your own struggles, whether they’re psychological or spiritual? Here’s a list of some awesome substances that improve mental and spiritual health that you can discover.

Psilocybin or Magic Mushrooms

One of the most significant innovations in recent mental health advancements regarding the use of substances is psilocybin or the main active ingredient of “magic mushrooms.” The movement is so massive that major outlets are now calling it the “psychedelic gold rush.” This gold rush is a pushback from the government’s use (and some would claim misuse) of their categorizations of substances. Psychedelics like ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin are classed as Schedule I substances, which means they have a high risk for abuse without the counteractive benefit of medical value. Many scientists and innovators are exclaiming that the categorization is just plain false. Further, that banning these substances that improve mental health will negatively affect us for generations to come.

Many innovators are experimenting with combining psychedelic-based drugs with conventional therapy, and they’re coming up with promising results. Those who suffer from PTSD and depression, for example, are currently undergoing clinical trials with psilocybin and reporting relief from their symptoms. As a result, many U.S. cities have begun decriminalizing the drug so that its benefits can be explored and enjoyed as of the recent Presidential election.

Psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, have a long history of spiritual benefits as well. The indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica used these substances for healing and divine inspiration. Art created in reverence of these substances date back well before Columbus’s time, even dating back to 6,000 years ago. In 1955, European Americans took part in an indigenous psychedelic mushroom ceremony and published an article in Life magazine, inspiring Harvard academics to attempt the ceremony as well and to eventually start the Harvard Psilocybin Project, which covered religious and psychological effects of the substance.

An altered state of mind is exactly what many believe is the key to accessing the higher self or divine powers. As humans trapped in our flat reality, our minds have a hard time escaping the view of what’s around us. Turning inward and breaking down the mind’s boundaries can help us explore new mindsets, think thoughts that were otherwise impossible, and tap into previously unreachable dimensions.

Peyote Cactus

Speaking of the American indigenous peoples, Peyote was a widely popular substance used for accessing a new level of spirituality as well as for medicinal purposes. Peyote is a cactus found in the Southwest and in Mexico which you can pull buttons off and chew on them to experience a “trip.” Like magic mushrooms, Peyote was also outlawed by the U.S. government, but its use is still prevalent. As an exception, Native Americans who are a part of the Native American Church are allowed to continue using Peyote for their religious ceremonies.

Research on psychedelics has been mostly shut down by the U.S. government, as the general claim is that the use of these substances can lead to brain damage and altered personalities. Scientists agree that long-term heavy use of psychedelics can be damaging but argue that use in small, controlled doses can actually offer many benefits. John H. Halpbern, a psychiatrist from the Harvard School of Medicine, has been studying the use of Peyote by Native Americans for years. Specifically, Halpbern believes Peyote and other Native American substances can help to fight addiction and alcoholism. He claims that tribes that use Peyote for religious ceremonies have much lower rates of alcoholism, which is a rampant issue among the Native American population.

During these religious ceremonies, only three teaspoons on average of Peyote is ingested by participants, which Halpbern explains is only enough to experience a buzz of stimulant, not hallucinate. He explains that it most likely only serves to deepen the emotions felt during the ceremony and helps the participants to open up their minds and hearts to the spirituality of the ritual.

Peyote, therefore, is another powerful substance that, when used properly, can help open up our minds to access our higher selves and even to dimensions beyond our own. Combined with rituals and meditation, Peyote helps the Native Americans to come together in spiritual enlightenment and speak to the divine. It’s truly a powerful substance that improves mental and spiritual health.

Ibogaine or Iboga Bark

In Africa, the Tabernanth iboga plant has been at the center of religious experiences. The Babongo people worship this plant and the drug that derives from it because of its strong hallucinogenic effects. It is used as a part of their religious ceremonies, as the Babongo people feel it is a way to tap into spiritual knowledge. When the bark is pulverized and ingested, those who take it can experience a wide range of emotions and visions, including anxiety, euphoria, and a blending of their senses to create other-worldly experiences.

Ibogaine is so powerful that it’s influence has stretched far outside of Africa. In fact, it’s been used in Western medicine since the 1800s to lower blood pressure, treat fevers, and even help with toothaches. However, the United States has since banned the use of Ibogaine, claiming it has no medical value yet has a high potential for abuse. Researchers are still investigating the drug and suspect that it may play a valuable role in mitigating the opioid crisis as well as provide medical value in other ways if controlled.

Kava

Kava is a popular plant extract used mostly in beverages in the South Pacific. It’s been used in spiritual ceremonies to relax participants and relieve symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and even drug withdrawal. Kava was made illegal to sell in the Canadian and European markets due to its history of causing liver damage and death, but after reviews of the lack of evidence, it was reinstated on the market in most countries. In any case, Kava affects the brain and central nervous system and can be taken for up to 6 months straight safely for anxiety. Now, it’s even a popular substance sold as drinks and used socially similarly to beer.

Pacific Islanders highly revere kava for its ability to bring people together and channel communications with the spirits. Kava is regularly consumed during religious ceremonies in efforts to strengthen kinship and speak with divine powers from other dimensions. Kava drinking was also used as a way to reaffirm the status and hierarchy within societies.

When diluted properly, Kava can cause a state of aloofness, where one is happy and unconcerned. They might feel more free of their mind and body, and they’ll never experience unpleasant feelings like alcohol can cause. While feeling free, the Kava user never loses control of their reason. On the other hand, excessive use of Kava can cause a lack of control over muscles, making it more difficult to move quickly. Eventually, heavy Kava users can lose sense of objects around them and drift off to sleep.

When it comes to accessing deeper spirituality with Kava, therefore, you can quiet your mind, pull your senses out of the physical world, and get in better touch with the higher self and the divine. Further, it’s definitely one of the powerful substances that improves mental health.

REMEMBER!

I am here to help you awaken and bravely create an inspired life. Learn more about my loving services today and start changing your life in the most positive way.

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire.

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us.

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The Ho’Oponopono: Ancient Rite of Forgiveness

The Ho’Oponopono: The Ancient Rite of Forgiveness

Do you ever get the unshakable feeling of being unwanted or unwelcome around specific people or in a certain environment? Do you ever avoid attending certain events or being around a select group of people because there is “bad blood?” Whether you are at the center of these negative feelings or removed by a degree or two, the effects of grudges and unforgiveness are strong, widespread, and life-changing.

In an unsavory situation such as this, everyone involved can own up to some responsibility. You might have been the one who made the first mistake and then was shunned. You might be the one shunning. Either way, both parties are perpetuating the issue by not taking responsibility for their actions. With both parties unwilling to confront the issue, grudges and negative feelings can last a lifetime and lead to many missed opportunities and ruined experiences.

If you are ready to take control of your side of the situation, it’s time to learn from the masters of forgiveness. Whether or not the other side is ready or willing to move on, you can begin practicing Ho’Oponopono, the ancient Hawaiin rite of forgiveness.

What is Ho’Oponopono?

In Hawaii, “Ho’Oponopono” means “to make things right” or to “move things back into balance.” Unlike other understandings of “making things right,” this ancient ritual is focused on the self and introspection. Many people might think that confrontation with the other party and working things out verbally is the only way to reach forgiveness, but the Hawaiians believe that self-love is at the center of life’s balance in this ritual.

Without any intervention or knowledge of the other party, you can practice Ho’Oponopono by yourself. This ritual cleanses the body of all those negative feelings left over by unfortunate events and helps you to rid yourself of your guilt. This ritual is especially powerful for those who need to forgive themselves, even if the only wrong they committed was to themselves.

How Do I Do the Ho’Oponopono Ritual?

Forgiveness can seem extremely complicated, but the beauty of the Ho’Oponopono ritual is that it’s simple. The ritual is a manta made of four phrases that you can repeat to yourself as much as you need, as often as you need to. Find comfort in a still position, and close your eyes. If you think you need more confrontation with yourself, I like to look at myself in the mirror! Do what you’re comfortable with and go at your own pace.

The next step is to really visualize who you need forgiveness from. If you have wronged someone a long time ago, it’s time to confront them in your mind. You might never be able to face them again, but this ritual will allow you to ask for that forgiveness, and on some level, that person will feel the effects of this powerful ritual, too. If you need forgiveness from yourself, this ritual is an extremely powerful way to begin that healing process and jumpstart your journey towards wholeness and gentle self-love.

When you’re ready, repeat this mantra:

“I love you. I’m sorry. Please Forgive me. Thank you.”

This mantra might come in different forms for different people. If you are struggling to forgive yourself because you don’t have any self-love, it’s important to begin this ritual with “I love you.” Make sure you say it over and over until you start to feel its effects. Make sure you really mean each phrase as you say it.

For others, saying “I’m sorry” might be the biggest struggle. Having a hard time admitting guilt is common, so focusing on “I’m sorry” first could be most important. It is only by breaking down the first wall that we can continue to the next.

Repeating this mantra will help you dive deeper into the meaning of the mantra and slowly cleanse yourself of the guilt and pain. Now, you can begin to heal.

Benefits of the Ho’Oponopono Ritual

Beyond getting past an awkward or unfortunate mistake in the past is just one reason why you should practice the ancient rite of forgiveness. There are so many benefits to performing frequent forgiveness rituals that even fairly content and healthy people should still consider trying Ho’Oponopono!

Self-Love

At the center of this ancient Hawaiin rite of forgiveness is self-love. Learning to love yourself is the first step of many aspects of your life’s journey. Without self-love, every effort and action you take is rooted in hurt and a misunderstanding of yourself. You won’t ever get to know your needs or embrace your true self. How can you ever reach your goals and enjoy life without first discovering and loving yourself?

Sitting quietly in reflection or staring yourself in the face while repeating these mantras can help you delve into yourself and begin breaking down walls. Extend yourself an embrace and accept every edge and corner. By being more loving to yourself, you can also more fully give of yourself to others.

Letting Go of the Past

Many of us live in our past. We think too much about where we’ve been, what we’ve done, and who we’ve met along the way. Because of this, we are creatures of habit and tend to sulk in the darker corners of our minds. We struggle to break the chains of past faults and broken relationships.

Forgiveness requires us to let go of the past, and ultimately, the past doesn’t exist! The past is made up of our memories, many of them faulty and distorted due to our emotions and perceptions. The sooner we accept that the past doesn’t exist and cannot come back to do us any more harm, the sooner we can move on from our guilt and negative experiences.

Improve Mindfulness

Mantras and meditation of any kind are wonderful ways to improve our mindfulness. Not only does Ho’Oponopono help us to forgive ourselves and move on from the past, but it helps us to better root ourselves in the present. Making a point to set an alarm or stop to reflect each day pulls us from our busy routines and forces us to live in the present. The Ho’Oponopono ritual forces us to reflect on ourselves and be with ourselves in the now.

While we’re practicing this ancient ritual, we’re also given the opportunity to check in with ourselves. How do we feel when we tell ourselves “I love you” or “I’m sorry?” Are we uncomfortable, squirmy, unable to make eye contact without ourselves?

How about asking ourselves for forgiveness? Do we feel ready for forgiveness?

Ask all these questions throughout your forgiveness journey so that you can track your progress and understand where you’re at in your development.

Looking for More Guidance?

The Ho’Oponopono is by far one of my favorite rituals to practice. I do it sometimes a hundred times a day, making sure to always show myself love and forgiveness. I encourage you to practice this mantra, even if only for a moment in the day. I’ve also created a video on Ho’Oponopono to help you get started!

If you love these types of rituals, I have so many more to offer you to try. You can visit my free resources page to find more mantras, prayers, and practices for all types of healing. Check out this great list as well of Divine Masters for more spiritual inspiration.

REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire.

Pray for others and the Universe prays for us.

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The Year of the Rabbit: The History, Meaning & Power

The Year of the Rabbit: The History, Meaning & Power

Throughout time, rabbits and their animal cousins have been one of the most personified and utilized animals in metaphors, stories, and legends. From cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny to legendary tales like the Tortoise and the Hare, rabbits are at the center of creativity and intrigue. It’s no surprise, then, that an institution as old as the Chinese Zodiac includes rabbits as one of the 12 signs.

If you’ve just found out that your Chinese Zodiac sign is the Rabbit, or you’re approaching a Year of the Rabbit, this article is the perfect place to learn about the sign and what it means for your personality and fortune this year. Using this new information, you can dive deeper into self-reflection and meditation on the Universe!

The Origin of the Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese have been using a celestial calendar for centuries, depending on the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars, as well as religious and political forces to mark the passing of time. Many historians believe the Chinese Zodiac predates this calendar, but ultimately they come together to create one powerful 12-cycle institution.

While the Chinese lunar calendar is the oldest known structured use of the Chinese Zodiac animals, there’s no way to pinpoint its exact origin. The earliest known evidence is from the 5th century B.C., but the Han Dynasty officially identified those animals between 206 B.C. and 9 A.D. People weren’t being identified as born during years of different zodiac animals until late in the 500s A.D.

So far, the best idea we have of how the Zodiac animals are explained is the legend of the Great Race. In the story, an emperor set up a race where all the animals must compete to reach the other side of a river. As a reward for finishing as one of the first animals across the finish line, the first 12 animals would be revered in Chinese culture for the rest of time. The first 12 animals, which now make up the Chinese Zodiac, were the Rat followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

While many people understand that the 12 animals cycle in the same order over 12 years, it’s less known that the Chinese lunar calendar uses a 60-year cycle. The 60 years are divided into 12-year segments where the animals repeat but are differentiated by five elements: water, fire, earth, metal, and wood.

Why a Rabbit?

In Chinese culture, Rabbits have long been revered as divine symbols of luck, mercy, and longevity. They are often compared to the moon, an essential element of how the Chinese mark time and source their rich divine culture. In fact, early Chinese beliefs held that rabbits were only female and were impregnated by the moon.

The Chinese see rabbits as quick, quiet, observant, and more likely to flee than fight. They are agile and witty as well as able to offer solutions to complex issues quickly. If you have found yourself to be marked by the Rabbit, rejoice! Your sign is the luckiest sign in the zodiac. Learning more about the sign might help you learn much more about yourself!

What Does It Mean If I’m Born a Rabbit?

The Year of the Rabbit happens once every 12 years. Most recently, the Years of the Rabbit have been 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, and 2011. The next Year of the Rabbit is in 2023! If you were born in any of those years, it most likely means that the Rabbit is your zodiac sign.

The caveat is that the Chinese lunar calendar runs later than the Westen calendar, so you might actually be a Tiger if you were born in January or February. Further, the lunar calendar lands differently every year according to the moon’s cycles, so to know for sure, you can find where your birthday lands in the Chinese celestial calendar for that year.

If you were born during the Rabbit’s segment of the zodiac, the Chinese have assigned quite a few traits as typical of your sign. For example, people marked as a Rabbit are commonly cautious and self-protective as well as vigilant and witty. Overall, Rabbits are quiet and elegant, but the traits can differ depending on your sex and the element assigned to your birth year. For example, male Rabbits are polite, friendly, and trustworthy, while female Rabbits have an innocent appearance, pure heart, and are loyal to a small group of people.

Seers have based fortunes on the Rabbit sign for personalities, years, and even set lucky and unlucky things. Some seers say that Rabbits should avoid 1, 7, and 8 but hold the numbers 3, 4, and 6 dear. They also say that Rabbit’s lucky colors are pink, red, purple, and blue and that their lucky directions are Northwest, East, and South.

Fortune tellers also warn Rabbits to stay cautious of relationships with Roosters and Rats and seek connections with Dogs, Pigs, and Goats who have more complementary traits.

How Do the Chinese Zodiac Elements Affect the Sign?

As mentioned earlier, Rabbit signs are affected by the zodiac elements of their year. Wood Rabbits, for example, are more lively in appearance, wise, and might be selfish. Fire rabbits are more open-minded, flexible, and tend to hold unique opinions. Earth Rabbits tend to be more grounded in hard work and straightforward, while metal Rabbits are more conservative and kind-hearted. Finally, water Rabbits tend to be gentle and flexible but lack set values.

What Happens in the Year of the Rabbit?

Many people believe that the year of their sign is the lucky year for them, but it’s actually the opposite! In Chinese culture, your natal year is one you should enter cautiously. In opposition to Jupiter, Tai Sui, the divine being works to bring misfortune on Rabbits during the Years of the Rabbit.

As a result, Rabbits should keep their career and financial efforts conservative and guard their hearts a bit more in 2023. Focusing on one’s own self-development and wellness rather than outward moves towards new relationships and situations is the best way to play it safe. While 2022 is an excellent year for Rabbits to make big moves in relationships and personal life, 2023 is the year of the Black Water Rabbit, meaning that there will be even less stability and predictability than usual.

The Chinese recommend wearing red to bring in good luck and to lay low during your natal year. The year following your natal year is often one of much more luck and stability!

REMEMBER!

In all things astrological, please realize that these aspects are only suggestions to help you better delve into self-reflection and ease some stress. You are far more powerful than you realize.

The blueprints that astrology suggests are not hard and fast rules. It might also be that you have other influences in your life that might greatly enhance your ability to receive what you desire.

To improve your vibration, luck, and happiness, spend time chanting Sanskrit mantras and love-filled sutras.

Pray for others and the Universe prays for you.

If you’re looking for more tools to delve into self-reflection, you can try out my personality cards or look into my FREE YOURSELF course. It’s wonderful.

YOU ARE LOVE!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire.

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How Empaths Can Build A Beautiful Intentional Life

Amma is a living enlightened Being, the ultimate Empath. Learn more at Amma.org. 

 

How To Build Intentional Lives As Empaths

As a coach, clients and friends will often seek my counsel. While each of their challenges appears to be unique, I believe many of the problems, especially the recurring ones, stem from one simple idea: We have yet to release the past, forgive everything, and construct new, durable personas (temporary self-identities) – ones that can establish and sustain an enjoyable, stable life.

Instead of plunging into forward movement, we tend to repeatedly reaffirm the past and go in circles.

We can change this. We can recreate our lives with the purest, clearest, and most focused intentions. Living an intentional life is not for everyone, but it’s the only path to liberation and peace.

Even amid being pummeled by karmic repercussions that stem from prior lives, if we establish a strong and deeply rooted self-concept, we can withstand any storm.

Let’s Dive In, Empaths!

From the moments of our births, we begin to build temporary self-identities or personas to maneuver through our lives. These personas are most often born from outdated beliefs, confused family dogma, codependent social paradigms, and limiting religious doctrine. Along the way, we weave guilt, shame, and regret into the fabric of our personas to the point of imprisoning ourselves in loops of repeated behaviors, decisions, and addictions.

Because of this, most of us live as if we’re strapped to rollercoasters, whereby we continuously react to external stimuli as if we have no control. In the short term, we enjoy the results of our impulses. In the long term, we find ourselves in complex situations that erode our senses of Self and peace.

Over time, consequences and complications emerge. We cope, medicate, and try to assemble a quick-fix response to it all. 

We try everything but eventually find that quick fixes do little to address the deeper issues. We look at every aspect of our lives and realize that our marriages, jobs, and environments are not aligned with who we know ourselves to be. 

In a moment, we understand that we are not self-aware, and therefore, we are not free.

This is the moment of decision. 

Do we continue to shrink and hide or do we choose the road less traveled, finally embracing our true Self as beautiful empaths?

If we choose the latter, we begin to wake up!

We soon feel or sense deep-seated emotions and regrets. We might feel anxious or panicked, feeling unable to source remedies. We finally see the weight that we’ve amassed atop our souls. We remember the stories and justifications we used to keep our outdated personas in charge and in motion for so long.

In a pure moment of delight, we decide enough is enough!

Intentional Spiritual Living is a decision and commitment of the mind and heart to live a fully conscious, pre-meditated life according to our deepest values, ethics, and beliefs, without story or excuse. 

We build an intentional life through self-inquiry, ritual, ceremony, and forgiveness. We own and acknowledge every aspect of our choices amid our tumultuous lives. We own it all – from every teensie bit of minutia to every decision we’ve made.

Empaths! We take responsibility for EVERYTHING. 

We blame NO ONE.

Beginning an intentional life often comes with a year or more of crying a few hours every day. It requires complete transparency with our core Self, God, and the eternal consciousness. We can no longer hide. We refuse to hide. We are now on a mission to unearth every truth about ourselves and the nature of the Universe.

We begin to imagine a new persona, one that is built upon virtue, transparency, vulnerability, and truth. We no longer carry regret or shame. We no longer blame. We own it all – every molecule of every instant.

We process it all, pounding the earth in anger and crying for every lost moment. We cry to God and the Universe to nurture and save us. We do this until we are drained of all projection, attitude, and ego. We realize we know nothing and we are nothing. 

From there, we build our new, more durable, more holy persona – not from the rubble, rather, from the truths we’ve uncovered and become.

We grow our personas into emotionally, psychologically, and financially stable warriors – through whatever means. With meditation, mantra, and Divine grace, we begin to strengthen and stabilize. 

We continually release emotions, attachments, and the past. 

“The past is a canceled check. It no longer exists.” – Amma

After some time, we realize that we’ve become warriors of self-care, self-responsibility, and self-awareness. 

Having built an intentional spiritual persona, we can now build an intentional spiritual life.

How Do We Do This as Empaths?

      • We are careful welcoming people into our lives
      • With a new friend, we are careful when choosing to engage in sex. While sex is certainly wonderful, it can be distracting and harmful. Get to know your friends before jumping into bed with them.
      • We are careful before solidifying a marriage. According to the rishis, it is best to know and live with someone for 3 years prior to committing to a marriage.
      • We carefully research and plan job and home changes
      • We don’t “jump” into anything, instead, we pause, reflect, and consider
      • We refrain from feeding our addictions
      • Less screen time and more prayer time, like letter-writing
      • We pray as often as we can
      • We continuously have faith hope
      • We forgive everything
      • We own everything
      • We do not dwell on our negative feelings
      • We remember that we are never a victim
      • We work to completely dissolve our egos
      • We choose our food carefully (organic, grass-fed, no chemicals, lots of greens and vegetables)
      • When we are able, we strive to find the balance between western medicine and naturopathic medicine, knowing that pure food is our best medicine
      • We realize our thoughts sustain us, so we choose them carefully
      • We learn to place our attention on aspects that truly serve and uplift us because we know what we contemplate is what we become. Mediate on the rose and you become the rose.
      • We realize that our self-esteem can only come from ourselves
      • We decide to be happy because happiness is a choice
      • We say goodbye to people and events that do not serve our liberation and peacefulness
      • We say goodbye to deep attachments, except GOD & THE DIVINE
      • We have boundaries
      • We only speak lovingly about ourselves
      • We stop all projection
      • We maintain a healing attitude
      • We find ways to selflessly love and serve others while also not hurting ourselves
      • We root ourselves in self-inquiry, honesty, and love
      • You might enjoy releasing processes and modalities like The Sedona Method (search it, it’s awesome)
      • When we’re ready, we can seek out living enlightened masters like Amma, Karunamayi Ma, and Mother Meera
        • We can ask to receive a mantra from one of them
        • We can ask Her to be our guru or spiritual master which can expedite our pathway to liberation.
      • If we feel so inclined, we honor the purest and most non-judgmental tenets of our birth religions
      • We enjoy our fellow empath birth masters, including Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, and others

IN ALL THINGS, PLEASE KNOW …

You are more than you realize. You have resources far beyond your wildest imagination. It’s time to commit to a more eternal game. It’s time to release it all and become your most vibrant, eternal, and empowered Self. SURrender!
As you reach toward liberation, you might want to explore having a coach, guide, or therapist to help you along your path. In the meantime, meditate, pray, and chant with loving attention toward the divine.

 

Other articles you might enjoy:

Helpful Ways To Inspire Rebirth During Challenging Times

Amma: The Loving, Hugging, Humanitarian Saint

Transformation Rituals and Ceremonies

Check out Paul’s EMPATH OATH.

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How to Make the World A Lovelier Place

YAY! It’s a Beautiful Shutterstock licensed image!

How to Make the World Lovelier

You are the embodiment of love and light.

Your heart is far bigger and far more expressive than you might realize.

You have stardust in your bones. You’re on a rock that’s spinning thousands of miles an hour, and somehow you have a refrigerator, phone, and loved ones.

If you’re looking to make the world lovelier, that’s just amazing. Let’s explore how!

1. REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE A MIRACLE!

It might be challenging to stay positive when bombarded by news, gossip, and social media. It’s time to take a deep breath! Exhale the negativity. Infuse your mindset with warm and positive light. Want to make the world lovelier? YOU GOT THIS!

To fully embrace your depth of light and love, decide to help the world become a lovelier place to live, both for yourself and those around you!

Are you having difficulty digging yourself out of a rut and don’t know where to begin?

Looking to shed layers of ego and self-abuse so you can feel and affirm your value and divine gifts?

This list will help you nurture and server the world. Every time you roll out of bed, commit to at least one of these things – and you’ll become an even brighter beacon of light.

2. Share Your Positivity to Others

Positivity is contagious! If you encounter other people today, whether they are friends, family, or strangers, you can be sure that they need a positivity boost.

Intentionally share your positive energy and outlook with them by helping them see things in a better light.

Happily share your warm, loving presence.

Whether it’s a hug, a phrase, or just a sweet smile, we always have the ability to add goodness and make the world lovelier with incredible power. 

3. Learn To Listen With Empathy

Are some of the people around you in the middle of a chaotic or challenging situation? Is someone you know hurt, confused, or frustrated? If you love them, do you feel you can help them by lending an ear?

If you can, lend these loved-ones a few minutes out of your day. Listen to them with your heart and help them approach their feelings from a new perspective.

Your loving attention can be life-changing for them. When you help and pray for others, the Universe does the same for us.

For an extra spiritual boon, try to inspire them to pray, meditate, or forgive someone near and dear to them. 

4. Nurture Yourself So You Can Be A Vibrant Light

When we heal ourselves, we send healing vibrations out to the entire Cosmos. Even a subtle shift in our mind and heart can inspire other Living Beings throughout All The Worlds to do the same.

When you deepen or self-acknowledge, you open doors for every soul to transform and transcend their challenges and ego into bright bursts of light.

If you’re finding it challenging to share your goodness with others, you might need a positivity boost, spiritual ceremony, or healing ritual. You might just need to journal and cry. 

Evaluating and attending your own needs first means that you want to practice what you preach. Start your day with prayer and meditation so that you can align your spirit with love and expand yourself.

For many, routines and rituals are wonderful ways to re-establish our balance and peacefulness. If you love rituals, check out my Free Resources pages. You’ll find ancient ceremonies, lovely prayers, and encouragement that you might find helpful during times of change and transition. You might also consider using my Personality Cards – they’re wonderful for all sorts of spiritual work and rituals – they’re far more powerful and precise and self-advancing than tarot. 

Spiritual renewal will come from identifying the negative forces and experiences in our lives and ourselves, then setting goals and courses for change that will help us rebirth. 

After you heal yourself, and own and embody your love and light, you will become effulgent in the light. Doing so, you’ll regularly offer your love and gifts to others without even thinking about it. 

5. Practice Forgiveness

For many people, forgiveness is a mystery. In many religions, it’s become a cliche catch-phrase that most people don’t truly understand.

You can forget someone, but truly forgiving someone requires some effort. To start, open your heart and owning every lesson that you needed to learn from that person or event. Once you own all of your part in these experiences and relationships, you can begin to grow. With a little growth, you can more easily release what you feel is an infringement on you and your life.

Forgiveness is acknowledging that you are a Divine Being and that no one is responsible for your happiness. You are the only one in every intersection. There is no OTHER.

When we fuel our negativity and hold grudges, we are delaying our personal growth and spiritual expansion. When we identify as a victim, we are telling God, “hey, you fucked up.” God did not fuck up. You had an experience and you are denying the deeper lessons and holding onto the past.

The past does not exist. It’s a canceled check. It’s gone.

You cannot resurrect the past.

Since everything has changed, why have you not changed?

The most advanced path to world peace and love is learning forgiveness and practicing it in our daily lives. Forgiveness is the key to making the world a lovelier place for ourselves and humanity.

The Steps To Forgiveness

One: Acknowledge the real-world cost of the experience and your pain.

Two: Own your challenges and shortcomings.

Three: Acknowledge what you need to learn.

Four: Accept those who harmed us as perfect.

Five: Accept that our experiences as perfect.

Six: Ask God/Universe/Divine-Mother to awaken us to our own power to become whole.

Seven: Allow yourself to feel into the pain until it’s unbearable. Notice the pain the body and related pains in your heart, nerves, and mind.

Eight: Accept this pain, own it, love it, and honor it. Speak it’s name. Shout to heavens and celebrate its existence. This is your doorway to transcendence.

Nine: Now – release it all – again and again and again – release ALL OF IT.

Ten: If you have not struck a chord aligned with forgiveness, begin this process again – and repeat it until you arrive at forgiveness.

Take the time to sit with yourself and go through this process being fully vulnerable and open.  

If you’re struggling to find yourself, release your pain, and establish a deep personal peacefulness, I have many tools to share! Check out my wonderful Personality Cards, which can help you assess your life, relationships, career, and more – and help you better respond to your desires, emotions, and core Self!

6. Offer Healing And Selfless Gifts

Is there someone specific in your life right now who is experiencing spiritual and emotional turmoil? As a loving friend, I bet they would love your support. A great way to help others is to surprise them with healing gifts!

Are they in need of spiritual renewal and self-discovery? There are tons of gift choices, big and small, which can help them on this journey. You might consider gifting them crystals, chakra energy jewelry, self-care gift baskets, or even self-development courses. And there’s always my beautiful Personality Cards!

If they’re more receptive to self-help books, gift them a set of self-renewal and spirituality books like The Power Of Now or A Course In Miracles. You can find some lovely spiritually healing books by Amma at Amma.org.

If they’re looking to get more in touch with their mystical self, you can offer them courses in intuition, rituals, and tarot readings. 

You can also gift someone a massage or you can be their masseuse!

7. Do Favors & Perform Small Acts of Kindness

While the former recommendations require forethought, more extended periods of effort, and sometimes money, there are many quick, easy, and free ways to improve the world. There are millions of opportunities every day to do the little things that make a huge difference, even if you never leave the house!

Acts of kindness, and every other altruistic and self-developing practice, require a layer of sacrifice. All kinds of belief systems, religions, and lifestyles rely on selfless service as a way to clear the heart, align one’s spirit with love & light, and truly help others.

What can you do today to share your time and energy in service to others?

Is it someone’s birthday that you haven’t spoken to in a while? Send them an email or text message, and consider striking up a conversation to learn about how they’re doing.

Is there someone that seems lonely, bored, or in need of friendship? Set up a meet over coffee, food, or some other mutual activity that they can look forward to and enjoy.

Do you notice someone that usually gets left out or ignored? Go out of your way to throw them a party on a special day, invite them to events, and engage them in conversation regularly.

Buy a drink or pay for the groceries for the person behind you.

Endeavor to pick up something when dropped by another.

Tell a stranger that God loves them.

When you like someone’s outfit or hair, share the compliment aloud. 

At the very least, show a smile! Smiling is proven to be contagious and uplifting for our moods, even if it’s intentional or forced! Smiling is the most significant small act of kindness you can offer. It can truly make the world a lovelier place to be.

8. Share Some Love When Traveling

When we travel, even if only to a restaurant, store, or to grab a quick bite, there are multitudes of things we can do to improve the conditions and feelings of others. Try a few of these on for size:

Give a humungous tip to someone who appears a little sad or broken – or who is working hard.

Carry small gifts in your car to share with others, a box of Kleenex packets, crayons, and chocolates. When you see someone like a fast-food check-out person who looks a little grumpy, give them a gift!

Carry used clothes, bottles of water, and single dollar bills in your car just in case you see a homeless person who needs some love.

When staying in a hotel, remember to leave at least a $5 tip for each night you stayed in the hotel – and add a loving note to brighten someone’s day! You might even clean the room a little bit by prepping your sheets and towels in easily portable piles. You might also pour all of the trash buckets into one bucket and place it near the door.

Buy a stranger a meal by giving the server some cash. This way they cannot find you to return the favor – which makes it part of the fun.

Help others at airports, especially in security lines! Take your time, make sure those around you know what they’re doing. Ask if you can help them. When you move through the machines, tell the security personnel that you appreciate them.

Clean up public bathrooms to make it more palatable for others. I always wipe off toilet seats and pick up the trash on the floor so that others might feel less uncomfortable when entering.

If you’re feeling naughty, write a little graffiti on the bathroom wall, like, I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! AND SO DOES GOD! You can also remove the paintings in hotel rooms and write loving messages on the back. Yes, these things are naughty, but they’re loving and fun!

Make eye contact with everyone you meet, especially those who are clearly working their butts off.

You can check out my article on loving travel tips, too!

Truly, you are the embodiment of God’s love. The more you acknowledge this and fully own it, the more love and light you can spread to the world.

GO FOR IT!

Want to make the world lovelier? REMEMBER!

You are a beautiful Living Being filled with light and love, born from stardust. You are unlimited potential in every direction. With a focus on discipline, virtue, and your own goodness, you can become as expanded and liberated as you desire. Pray for others and the Universe prays for us. 

I love to serve others and make the world lovelier. Learn about my services and let me know if I can help you. It’s always an honor to serve kind, honorable, and loving people like you.