Memories Of The Heart

Memories Of The Heart
by Annie Tornabene


Locked in between the creases of our mind are memories of the heart since before we were born. Research shows us that we can remember things while we were still in the womb. Seldom do we acknowledge that memory and our early life that had a hand in shaping who we are today. Phobias, fears, anger, anxiety, self-limiting beliefs, creativity can manifest itself in your life without you knowing why.

One man that I knew had a fear that no one else in the family had. In therapy, he realized his Grandfather had the same fear. His Grandfather had been around most of the time while his Mother was carrying him. His Grandfather died just before he was born. Through therapy, it is believed that his Grandfather made audible statements that were heard by the unborn child and transferred those beliefs and fears. Discovering those can help you release those fears, phobias, anger, anxiety, etc. and begin to make your own life. Memories of the heart can be mended.

Envision your body being filled with a healing white light, love, joy, tranquility and peace. Remember that nothing you see or hear will harm you. Ask yourself what you hope to achieve through you discovery and connect with your inner vision. Observe what you see without judgment. When you are done, think about how what you experienced relates to your present life. There may be beliefs from your memories of the heart that you are still operating under but are now ready to let go of. The significance of your memories of the heart may not be immediately obvious until much later.

Together we can make a difference in understanding depression and living our best life now by letting go of unnecessary memories of the heart.

Power From Within

Power From Within
by Annie Tornabene



The power from within allows us to do amazing things. We have a power from within that allows us to conquer all obstacles.

We have a choice to be angry, blue, fearful, and depressed or we can be courageous, happy, joyful, and peaceful. It is not other people that make us this way. We can choose to rise above them and live our best life with the power from within. What do you choose?

Together we can make a difference in understanding depression and living our best life now with the power from within.

My Prayer

My Prayer
by Annie Tornabene


Sometimes it feels like my prayers are not answered. Some people would like you to think that our prayers are to no avail. My unanswered prayers teach me that what I think I want is not what is best for me at the time. Good things come to those who wait. If you are like me, sometimes I feel like saying in anger but I need patience, I want it now!

Some people these days would like you to think that religion is out of style. They say things like I.E., "they cling to their religions..." That is because they have never gotten to know their Creator. Getting to know our Creator is not being religious, it is finding our spirituality which is a part of all of us...mind, body and soul. All three need to be working together in order for us to live our best life now and love our life. The Creator is not found in some book or building. The problem with this kind of thinking is that there is no foundation ... no hope ... no walking the truth. It is like an artist painting a masterpiece in the rain. It doesn't last. However, if you take that same painting into a place of safety to paint, it becomes a priceless masterpiece. Getting to know the Creator is strickly personal...just between you and your Creator. No one can judge you, just the Creator. The Power that created you has the Power to heal you.

During my prayer and meditation, I find that our Creator gives me everything I need. There is more than enough. Together we can make a difference in understanding depression and learning to talk to our Creator through our prayer and meditation. We can live our best life now.

The Joy Of Gratitude

The Joy Of Gratitude
By Annie Tornabene


Every day is a good day...it can be depending on the way you look at it. With the joy of gratitude, I experience good days with what use to be "bad days"... days full of frustration, despair, disappointments and discouragement. I call those days an "unbelievable" day. This habit keeps me from being overwhelmed with stinking thinking and emotions. Why does this work?

Repetitious thoughts and words create feelings ... positive or negative behavioral patterns and increased thinking of those feelings. If I dwell on stinking thing, I feel the gloom and doom; thus increasing my level of depression and I end up moping around. If I tell myself it's an "unbelievable" day this keeps my mind open to possibilities, gratitude, hope, solutions, resilience, and even laughter. The buoyancy creates joy within me.

So if you are having an unbelievable day like the kids are screaming, you are ready to kiss your boss goodbye, the financial crisis just won't go away or you are crawling in traffic at a snails pace; just take a deep breath and reorganize your thoughts. If you are in the car don't take time to mediate, wait until you are in a safe spot to take a 2 minute meditation. If you are at a safe place, then take a few minutes to mediate and get back on track. If you can't find a place where you can be alone with your thoughts, slip away into the bathroom with the doors locked. A few minutes spent in quiet mediation refreshes you and allow you time to create a more positive feeling within yourself and that you can display to the world. Believe me it helps. You feel stronger and more confident. I think there were days that I could have killed someone without those quiet times. Breathe in peace, hope and tranquility. Allow the joy of gratitude to flow through you and around you.

I don't know all the answers...I do know that it is worth it. In an attitude of gratitude, count your blessings. Never give up. You can make it. Miracles happen every day...we just have to focus on them...look for them. Focus on health, wealth, good friends and family, and anything that you feel make life worth living for. While these blessings are temporary, they do get you in the habit of thinking in an attitude of gratitude.

Having tested this for myself extensively, I found there was an effective way to practice gratitude and an ineffective way. There is a deeper understanding of gratitude and a more effective way to practice it, one that yielded much greater the joy of gratitude.

Genuine gratitude isn’t my feeling because let's face it; my circumstances may not be that exciting. More often than not, it's complicated and it leaves me feeling empty or complacent. This gratitude may be the catalyst for a major attitude change or temporary relief that I need. You can enjoy this state of gratitude temporarily, but overall you’ll remain stuck in your old habits of stinking thinking.

Genuine gratitude is independent of situations and circumstances. The joy of gratitude is a feeling of gratitude for life itself, for our existence, for anything and everything we experience. It is more of an underlying attitude... it becomes part of who we are. It is a sense of charisma or enchantment with the journey of life no matter what the outcome. It is looking at life through the eyes of a child. It is no fear of loss and an enjoyment of the journey of our life, the universe, time and space, our obstacles, trials, and tribulations, our imperfections and bloopers, our realizations, our psyche, our inner child, the difficult people in our lives, our thoughts and angers and happiness, our rights, responsibilities, ideas and concepts, and even the fog.

Gratitude becomes the canvas upon which we paint our life. It doesn’t matter how it looks because we enjoy the experience of painting. We say wow to life.

If we can remain in that state of wonder of a child, we’re likely to find the joy of gratitude...the enjoyment of life. Together we can make a difference in living beyond anger, fear and depression and living our best life now. We will feel the joy of gratitude that resonates with who we are.

A Forgiving Spirit

A Forgiving Spirit
by Annie Tornabene




I will greet each day with a Forgiving Spirit.

I'm often asked "How can I move on?" You can't move on without a forgiving spirit. Forgiveness is the mental, and/or spiritual process of ceasing to feel resentment, indignation or anger against another person or persons for a perceived offense, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. Love is an act of endless forgiveness that becomes a habit.

Moving on, new year celebrations and other similar events are a chance to start over. Starting over often involves forgiveness; both giving it and getting it. Neither one of those is easy, but both are doable.

Forgiving someone means that we find the courage to go beyond ourselves to a place that helps us see those who have hurt us in a new way. It means that we must confront the past and commit to a new way of thinking and behaving. That's a hard cup to swallow.

There are steps that will help make it a little easier. Remember nothing is impossible. The only thing you have to fear is fear itself. Fear will try to talk you out of forgiveness because unforgiveness feeds on fear. Fear has been it's teacher... it knows no other way to survive than living a life in fear and unforgiveness.

Forgiveness only applies to the first person. What I mean by that is that you can only forgive what you have done or someone has done to you. You can't forgive what someone did to someone else or they did to someone else. It is strictly personal. If you are not involved, then stay out of it. You can not force another person to forgive. Each person has to make that decision for themselves.

Don't waddle in your forgiveness. When you have decided to forgive someone (that includes yourself), make the statement and let it go. Hanging on to it or to keep nagging about it only means that you haven't been willing to forgive. Don't start listing all the problems at once. Take one at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself or the other person with all the mistakes. I've seen couples try to ask for forgiveness for a thousand mistakes - listing them one by one until the other person is overwhelmed. It's not the time or place to explore the problems. It is simply the time to ask for forgiveness in a forgiving spirit. Some mistakes can be bundled together and sometimes you can just say "Forgive me for all my mistakes." Love is the endless forgiveness that becomes a habit. Love your life. Love the other person. Every time fear pops its ugly head to remind you of the past wrongs, bring love in... think or say "I love you." The same goes for when someone apologies for their mistakes, accept it and let it go reminding yourself to send them love. Each time you do this, it will strengthen you in a forgiving spirit.

Remember none of us are perfect. We have all made mistakes and in a forgiving spirit, we move on. We do not want to be held hostage to our past. A forgiving spirit brings us to a better tomorrow ... a new relationship with the other person and our self. When I learned to forgive myself for past mistakes, it was like a different person. Because I became a different person. The key to forgiveness is to be able to look beyond all the problems, all the faults, all the mistakes and love them and/or yourself anyway!

If you are not ready to forgive, tell the other person that you will need some time but you want to begin a new level of relationship. Remember forgiveness is not the end but the beginning.

Forgiving yourself with a forgiving spirit is the act of beginning to move on ... to live again.

In starting a new beginning and moving on, celebrate that moment with a hug, a smile, a toast or even a dinner. You have made the first step, however small it may be, you have made the first step to moving on in a forgiving spirit.

Remember to forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness and most importantly, forgive yourself. Do whatever it takes to forgive in a forgiving spirit with an attitude of gratitude. No one said it would be easy, just that it is worth it. Together we can make a difference in learning to live with a forgiving spirit in an attitude of gratitude.

Take Action

Take Action
by Annie Tornabene



Fumbling through some old books, I found a book called Adrift 76 days lost at sea by Steven Callahan. It caught my eye and I began to read it. Adrift and lost at sea is much like being in the mist of a dark fog of depression ... at least I saw the similarities.

In 1981, Steven was sailing by himself from Spain to Antigua. (Ok, so it wasn't a ship as big as this one ... it's the only picture I could find.) Somewhere west of the Canary Islands, he notices that termites have eaten into the mast. He takes action and lowers the sails. It was a good thing that he lowered the sails because a storm came through. If the sails had been up, the boat would have been toppled and most likely sank at that moment.

After the storm past, he noticed the boat was sinking. So he had to take action. He managed to grab the life raft, a knife, his emergency duffel bag, a piece of the mainsail, and a sleeping bag. Luckily he had read other books about people being lost at sea such as, Staying Alive, 1974; Survive the Savage Sea, 1973; and Sea Survival Manual, 1975. He took action and was prepared before he started his journey. He followed the advice of others that had gone before him in similar journeys. This was the first account of anyone surviving alone for so long of a time.

He endured hardships, depression, anxiety, loneliness, cramped living space, hunger, pain and thirst, yet he creatively had determination and perseverance to take action to survive. Sharks, barracudas, doradoes and storms faced him daily. If he hadn't gone through this hardship, this storm, he would have never discovered the treasure. How many of us could survive under these conditions in stormy waters?

Many of us are having difficulty doing the same thing on dry land much less stormy waters. It is no different. Not to say that he didn't bravely face and take action or discredit his experience. Depression is much like facing stormy waters on a lifeboat lost at sea. The only difference is that nobody knows you are lost at sea in the mist of a dark fog of depression. They think because they can see you that you are not battling for your life. They don't see the stormy waters.

They don't see that you are adrift in your mind and lost at sea. They don't see you struggling to find your way in the misty dark fog of depression. They just see you sitting there. I know, I've been there. The more we sit, the darker the fog becomes until all about us is darkness. I don't know how long I sat there before I noticed a tiny pinhole of light. I didn't know if it was a light at the end of a tunnel or a tankard coming to blow me away. A key to understanding depression is to take action. Get up. Take a walk. Turn yourself around. Do anything even if it means just wiggling your little finger. A little wiggle today means two little wiggles tomorrow. Each step of the way is a day of victory. One baby step at a time.

I know something compelled me from within to take action. Get on up. Go toward the light. It was a lighthouse that guided me safely in. The Lighthouse of Halo is here for you too. Do you have your SOD Emergency Kit? If you don't, contact me and I'll help you get one. For those who don't know what a SOD Emergency Kit is. . . it is Survival of Depression Emergency Kit. Together we can make a difference in battling the stormy sea of depression and take action.

What Is Within?

What Is Within
by Annie Tornabene



Are you struggling with negative thoughts? Depression? Anger? Anxiety? Hatred? Fear? What is within you? Take a good look at what is within you.

You are like a stain glass window that you never realize its true beauty until darkness sets in and the light from within shines through. How beautiful is you stain glass window that is within you? Is the light that is within you barely a spark of light? Is it almost dark or does you light shine brightly from within?

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a present. Every day of you life should be an empowering affirmation of you best life now. Love your life. Each step you take, every though you have and every action you make needs to ring true what is within you. Love, love and laugh. Together we can make a difference in understanding depression and expressing what is within your life.

Grain Of Sand

Grain Of Sand
by Annie Tornabene

Have you ever seen a pearl? Probably you have. You admire its color, its glimmer, and its smoothness. It all started with a tiny grain of sand. A little grain of sand logged in the clam. It irritated the clam but he turned it little by little (one baby step at a time) into something beautiful.

That little grain of sand became a beautiful, radiating pearl - a priceless gem. So can you. Those troublesome, irritating things that get under your skin. Those rough edges of anger, anxiety, fear and other issues can be smoothed and polished.

Don't worry if you feel that you are not finished. Just take one baby step at a time. It's the process that you are working on turning that grain of sand into something beautiful not the completed product that is important.

Be patient. Enjoy peace, tranquility and laughter. Together we can make a difference in understanding depression with a grain of sand.

Are You Weary?

Are You Weary?
by Annie Tornabene



Have you ever been in a situation where you felt no matter what you did everything was falling apart? Or maybe you found every time you open your mouth, something negative was coming out? Without even thinking you hear yourself tearing a co-worker or family member down or criticizing their work. You feel the anxiety, the anger, the fear. Then you realize what you are doing. Wow, an eye opener!

You were created by your Creator for the utmost good. You were created to give out goodness. That is why when you do something good for someone else without concern for yourself you feel good. You feel the peace and tranquility. Wow what empowerment.

When you go against giving goodness you feel weary...you feel depressed. Are you weary?

When you give out goodness you will find peace and tranquility flowing through you. Life doesn't have to be exhausting. There is a better way! Together we can make a difference in understanding depression and weariness. Live, love and laugh. Get refreshed and live your best life now.

Glamour Shots

Glamour Shots
by Annie Tornabene

Put your best face forward is what my Mother always said. Your Mother may have told you similar statements. Whatever trouble gets you down, whatever circumstances you face, hold your chin up high and smile. It makes your enemies wonder what is going on in your life that makes you smile in the face of adversary. Your friends will admire you for your courage.

It is like a stain glass window. You can rave about its beauty in the daylight. However, you never know its true beauty until darkness sets in and the light from within shines through.

Glamour shots are being taken every moment along the strings of life. What does your latest glamour shot say about you?

As you look through the glamour shots along the strings of life, what are you portraying? Are you angry and scowling? Are you peaceful and tranquil? Are your eyes full of compassion? Do you have an attitude of gratitude and a thankful heart? Shine your light for all to see your beautiful glamour shot. Love your life. Together we can make a difference.

Toxic Emotions

Toxic Emotions
by Annie Tornabene

SEXY & HOT COMMENTS



Have you ever felt the venom of anger? The bitterness of fear? Or the sting of hatred? All of these emotions are toxic to our bodies just like poison. It's like going pass a chemical plant that is releasing toxin gases into the air. It makes it hard to breathe. Have you passed a chemical plant like that? It takes your breath away.

Then why to we rob ourselves of precious moments of life with these toxic emotions? It's not the emotions that are bad for us, it is how we deal with them. These toxic emotions let us know that we are human, we all have them. These emotions are toxic subtle energy. If you hold it in, they fester in your system, eating you alive, or else exploded. I'm sure you have heard of at least one or two who have made the headlines. They were seemingly quiet people who suddenly snapped and took revenge. I remember having days like that. Maybe you have too.

I remember one day being so frustrated with insurance companies and pharmacies after my accident. I yelled and screamed at the pharmacy because my pain medicine wasn't ready. Finally I snapped and screamed, "What do I have to do to make someone notice that I have a problem? Kill someone? Or kill myself?"

Everyone in the store heard me. Everything got quiet. The pharmacist was trying to keep me calm. That was a wake-up call for me. I realized I had to start monitoring my emotions. It was not healthy to allow my emotions to get so far out of control. I had to learn to diffuse my emotions before they got to that point.

I had to learn to identify the source of my emotions. What was the trigger? On a scale of one to ten, what was the level of anxiety that I was feeling? Impulsive and unconscious emotions were ten and mildly agitated was a one or two. I had to learn to slow down my reaction.

You can 't run or hide from your toxic emotions, but you can slow down your reactions. In the heat of the emotions is not the best time to try and correct the problem. Otherwise, you're like a snake coiled to strike at it's victim. No one wins but damage is left behind from the toxic emotions. If you can avoid confrontation and allow the emotions to cool, you can calmly talk out your problems and come to a peaceful resolution.

I learned when I was feeling these emotions, I had to take a deep breath and remove myself from the situation at least by the time it got to a four. Sometimes I didn't notice I had the emotions until it got to a three. Then had to quickly rate it and realize that I had to have the courage to get out while it was on the rise. Taking a deep breath helped me slow down my toxic emotions. It gave me time to think what was the source of my feeling and what was the rate of it. Most of the time, 24 hours made a big difference. After 24 hours I could look at the situation a little different and was more realistic about the outcome. I could write about it in my journal which didn't hurt anyone or I could do a painting which again didn't hurt anyone.

Some of my paintings have become known as the suicidal paintings. My family learned when I was painting one of those to get out of my way while I was painting. After I got the emotions out, I was calm and could talk to them. If they interfered while I was in that mood, they were liable to get blasted.

Sometimes after I wrote about it in my journal or did a painting of it, I could see the humor in it. I learned to laugh about the problem and about how quick I was to coil over the problem. Does any of this sound familiar?

I learned to meditate to help me stay focused; to allow peace to enter into my life. Those two minute meditations became calming for me. They became my lifesavers. The longer meditations helped me start and end the day in peace.

I learned to drop my fears and human emotions into our Creator's hands and watch them sink from sight just like a drop of water into a pool. Together we can make a difference in understanding depression and toxic emotions. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Hit Me With Your Best Shot
by Annie Tornabene

Sometimes we feel like nobody notices all that we do. We feel nobody knows how deeply we love. Nobody know how hard we try. Little acts of kindness never go unnoticed. Someone is always watching. You may not realize it, but someone is watching. They may not tell you, they may not be thankful for all that you do, but they notice. Don't worry, be happy that you are able to do those little acts of kindness, that you are able to love so deeply.

Turn your fears into little steps of faith. Trust in our Creator. No excuses, no fear, no boundaries. Forget about the past. Forget your resentment. Live in the present. Allow abundance to flow through you. In an attitude of gratitude be thankful for all that you are able to do. Be thankful for this moment to love. Don't worry about the approval from others. Live your life to the fullest. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. It is your life!

When you least expect it, someone will notice and it will come back to you when you least expect it. The expecting it blocks the flow of abundance. Take a deep breath. Let go of your fears. Let go of your worries. Your Creator is always by your side, no matter what good or bad. Meditate and talk to your Creator--talk, laugh, cry, scream, sing. You'll discover that you are never alone on this journey, and knowing this is vital in getting wherever you want to go.

Turn those stinking thinking to positive and move forward in your life. You'll be saying hit me with your best shot. Nothing can get you down. Trust that everything you do is notice.

Lessons Learned From Johnny Cash

We've been jamming tonight and listening to JC - no other than the late great Johnny Cash. Inspiration comes from strange places. Here's what I've learned about depression.

1) Understand Your Man ...er, you are the man! Huh hum! In understanding depression, keep the spirit of believing in yourself. You can do it! The power of believing is amazing. You are right whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can't. So choose to believe you can.

2) A Boy Named Sue - Life isn't always easy. You gotta be prepared. Don't let anyone steal your dream from you or steal your thunder. Many will try to sway you away from your dream or target, you have to stand your ground. Having goals and a plan for your life, ensures that you will make it. Like the song says, "This world is rough, and if you're gonna make it, you've gotta be tough." Your life requires you to get tough about you and your life! Not in a forceful way but with gentle strength. My Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster said, "Train tough!" It's the same with life. Who wins out if you don't?

3) The Man In Black could be called Branding 101 JC - Johnny Cash wore all black because it was his trademark. He had a reason for dressing in black. When you saw him in black, you knew or quickly knew what it was. Johnny Cash didn't waddle in depression, he found a way to honor it. Life can be depressing but depression does not have to get you down. Make the most of your life. Everyone gets depressed sometime, just remember one step at a time.

4) The Legend of John Henry's Hammer - John Henry's Daddy told him to: "Learn to a turn a jack, learn to lay a track, learn to pick and shovel too." Same with your life. We have to pick and choose what we think about to empower our lives. Computers and the Internet are great, but it can't take the place of the human touch. Remember there is a real person on the other end of the computer connection. We need human interaction. The movie "Wall-e" makes a point of how we need the human touch. See how Walle and Eve interact. Learn to use technology to increase your interaction and know that it needs a human touch. Here is a summary on YouTube.


5) One Piece at a Time - Stealing one piece at a time from the assembly line to build a Cadillac without costing him a dime didn't turn exactly how it should look. Remember there are people out there that try to steal one piece of your joy and happiness at a time. Don't let them rob you of you joy and happiness. It's not worth it! You take control of your life and you will find that you have the real thing. They can never own you unless you allow them. Take one step at a time.

6) In The Jailhouse Now - Some days it feels like we're in the jailhouse now, but don't be held a prisoner by depression. Depression can hold you and your loved ones hostage. Learn to take baby steps, one step at a time in learning to Walk The Line. Don't let it hold you back, use your understanding depression to conquer depression. Are you a victim or victor?

7) Ring of Fire - Is just one of those storms of life. When you find yourself in a ring of fire, let it burn, burn, burn your passion for life. Let your ring of fire, ignite a spark of passion to come out of the ashes with your light from within burning bright; you will find a sandcastle was built out of the storm. What lessons did you learn?

8) A Bridge Over Troubled Waters - When you find you're in the storm water, find a bridge to cross over to the other side. There is always a bridge to safety. No matter how stormy the waters, there is a better way. Just find that connection and stay connected.

9) The Beast In Me - The beast in me has had to learn to live with pain and anger. We must learn to control our anxiety and anger which helps reduce our pain. Doing daily meditation and music are to the soul like a bandaid is to a cut or as sleep is to rest. They help control the beast in me. Can you feel the music?

10) Walk The Line - Doing our daily routine, we are able to take baby steps toward learning to walk the line toward peace, tranquility, joy and happiness. It's the Texas two step in making progress to understanding depression.

What kind of music are you creating with your life? Hope it tops the charts!

The Power Of One

Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you. ~ Marsha Norman

The power of one is a tremendous force. It doesn't seem like much by itself. In a dark room, try lighting one candle and see how much light appears. Add another candle one by one and see how bright the room becomes. The same with water. One drop doesn't look like much, but keep dropping water until you have an ocean. Just one drop of water can cause a ripple effect that courses across the terrain of water. Just as our words positive or negative can make such an impact on the people around us. Our thoughts and actions that we have can plow a course through the universal consciousness. Wow what power we have when we control our thoughts and words and speak with wisdom, love and clarity for human kind. Together we can make a difference in changing the course of depression.

Just one though, then add another thought. Like a magnet, more positive thoughts are added. Others do the same thing and together we change the universe with our thoughts. That is power.

Learn to control your thoughts. We can begin to control our thoughts in meditation. This is your way of finding peace, reducing stress, and finding your tranquility. You may find that meditation helps you keep focus and dedicated. Lighting a candle reminds us of life. I use a purple lotus tea light holder and ask for quietness.

Meditation is my way of staying organized, focused and in control. Be still and know the power of one. Sometimes I need just a two minute meditation time, sometimes I need more to keep my thoughts and body in control. How do you feel about harnessing the power of one?

Live Joy

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. ~ Socrates

Whether you are in depression or simply trying to enjoy life a little more, turning your mind into a more positive state is a great idea. We all need to look at things in a more positive way. Fact of life is there are things all around us that work on pulling us down like gravity and aging. It's the way we choose to look at circumstances and events that impact us.

If we focus on our shortcomings, then we tend to become depressed or negative such as when we get angry or resentful and start blaming. This causes more anger and resentment and even self hatred. Or take for example the couple that has an argument, one brings up something from the past and starts blaming the other person. This only perpetuates our pain. We must get beyond our pain in order to live joy and happiness.

Has something like this happened to you? Whenever something like this happens, stop yourself and rethink how you really feel and why. Dissipating the negative will allow your positive energy to flow and you will find more peace, joy and happiness flowing through you.

Rediscover love within you. It is a key to mind healing. You must love yourself before you can love others. So finding the love within you helps you find the love for others. I have seen many a person transformed by love. It is a basic need of all humankind; maybe all creatures need love too. I don't care how big a bully or mean they may appear, they are trying to hide their feelings of inadequacy and need for love. They have been deprived so many times in the past that they feel they can never be loved. Are you that bully? Try finding a spark of love from within.

Don't be afraid of being alone with yourself to help you find that love from within. You can't move forward until you do. Are you sabotaging yourself? Spend a few minutes each day with the love from inside you, experiencing love, peace and joy.

Think about how you would feel if you had a friend over for dinner that you had taken a great deal of time to prepare. If all they did was complain, you would be hurt, wouldn't you?

It's the same with you. If all you do is complain about your life and criticize, the person inside you is hurting. The person you hurt most is yourself. The person inside you is dying. Is that what you want?

Turn yourself around. Live in the beauty of today. . .this very moment. All possibilities lie before you. You have the right to choose any of them. All your hopes and dreams lie before you and you can have them if you want. You have to choose to live joy, peace and happiness. No one can do it for you. Which one do you wish to live you life?

You can look at obstacles as stumbling blocks or stepping stones. Either way you are right. It's the same with a different outcome. It's just a matter of the way we choose to look at life's events and circumstances. Which one do you choose?

Isn't it time that you live the abundant life. . .live joy, peace and happiness? Make the most of whatever time you have. You are worth it.

Learn Baby Steps

Life is a series of learning baby steps along the way. It's not how fast we get there, it just that we make our destination. So slowing down and learning baby steps along the way is no problem. If we take learning the baby steps of whatever it is we are trying to accomplish, we will master it faster. Slow and easy builds confidence. Don't be surprised when something doesn't come naturally. Have courage until the flow becomes natural.

Understanding depression is no exception. Maybe your past is dotted with compulsive behaviors such as eating too much, too much anger, avoiding too much, drinking too much, spending too much, gambling too much, working too much, having sex too much or using drugs too much. To much of anything can cause us problems. Now is the time to learn those baby steps and build your confidence in balance and comfort. Taking time to learn baby steps in our new found behaviors will empower our success in reaching our balanced and abundant life and allow joy and happiness to flow through us.

Together we can make a difference by showing support to each other in truth. Never give up.

What Really Matters?

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, lessons can be learned on what really matters in life. In the heat of an argument, the main thing to remember is to be respectful of others opinions while discussing your views. Fact of life, we will have disagreements on some things in life.

When I was in high school and college, I was on the debate team. One of the things I learned was there were several ways to win an argument. At first I thought it had to be brute force in convincing others. Yes, I have met many persons with good intentions that used anger and fear as their backbone to living life. I was petite and learned that kindness and soft answers were a real blow to some hot headed argument. When in the throws of an execution of disagreements, I could deliver a fatal blow with a soft answer. Wow was I totally surprised.

I had to remain calm, keep my cool and just make my point while the other person became red faced in anger. Have you ever been in a heated argument and remained calm? If you can remain calm while others are losing theirs, you have won the battle. You will feel the confidence building inside you. Your courage will flourish. Your inner strength will strengthen. Happiness and joy will abundantly flow in your life. You won't have regrets that send you into depression.

I admired Tim Russert for being a lifelong liberal who was fair and polite even with the hardest of the hard-line conservatives who appeared on Meet the Press. What really won me over to Tim Russert, however, was his unabashed love for his father and son relationship. He never concealed his devotion to his wife, but it was the way he magnified the special bond between grandfather, son, and grandson that became a hallmark for him.

Showing kindness, gratitude, and graciousness will gain you more respect and raise your credibility more than most of the stuff you're babbling about. In your own life, whatever you believe, utilize kindness and respect for other creatures. Don't be afraid to show your love for your family. You'll be admired and respected by others. Remember what really matters in life.

While writing this, I was reminded of Rudyard Kipling's poem IF.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

~ Rudyard Kipling

Look Through The Eyes With Love

Did you know you can see things in different ways? Sometimes I have looked at a situation and thought it was the worst thing that could happen. When I rethought my position and look through the eyes with love in my heart instead of anger, I have seen the otherside. The more you give the more you will have. Teach, and you will learn.

Listen, and you will understand more. Learn to show kindness, and kindness will come back to you. Keep a grateful spirit, and your life will be filled with abundance. Seek to bring out the best in others, and they'll give you the best that they have.

Give your genuine love to those who thirst for it most, and you'll be loved beyond all measure.

Speak positively of your life, and your life will be a rich and fulfilling place.

The life you influence with your thoughts, words and actions is the life in which you live. Always look through the eyes with, and your life will empower you.

To Thine Ownself Be True

You can run, but you can't hide from yourself. Sometimes we learn as children not to be totally truthful. We think we are being good, but the truth is we are hurting ourselves. We are lying to ourselves and those around us when we don't face the truth.

It is important to know our true feelings in order to manage a happy life. You can't ignore our feelings or repress them. They are still there. It is best to express those feeling and emotions.

What are you feeling? Why do you feel that way? By expressing your feelings and emotions, you are understanding your depression. By listening, you understand anger, fear, anxiety, blues, joy, peace and laughter. When you try to repress them, they will simply return later in a more forceful manner which sometimes gives us a yo-yo effect on our life. Sound familiar?

Our minds get conflicted when we try to repress our feelings and emotions. Instead we need to learn to control our feelings and emotions. Our thoughts create our beliefs. Our beliefs create our actions about ourselves and those around us. Our actions create our environment. Our environment creates our communities. Our communities create our world. See how we effect everyone? Together we can make a difference in learning "to thine own self be true" with our feelings and emotions. Something can be done about it. We can empower our lives.

Are you true to yourself? Or are you sending mixed messages to yourself and those around you?