Media misinformation. Do we need it?

Hi Lovely People!

I've been a bit quiet, taking a step back to infuse my life and business with all I've been learning about life and business around intuition, flow and accepting what is. That continues, but I wanted to pop my head out to get your position, and hopefully help you take a step back to breathe, a bit, with all that's happening in our world.

If You Must Read Your Unfiltered Newsfeed

I love the advice given by Ann Douglas (thank you, Ann),

in her blog post

"How to Avoid Being Psychologically Destroyed by Your Newsfeed"

. I believe these words are for those of us who still hold that more information is always better. Read this article yourself, of course, but a quick overview:

1. Informed does not mean immersed - your newsfeed needn't be on 24/7. 

2. Routine helps - "healthy food, regular physical activity, time for fun, and adequate sleep..." (absolutely agree re: sleep being the glue, here Ann - more from Jason Fried on sleep!) 

3. Taking action diffuses anxiety and sadness a bit - "writing a letter, making a donation, attending a face-to-face get-together in your town". 

4. Feel what you feel. Suppressing feelings suppresses the positive feelings as well - "remind yourself that feelings come and go". 

5. Maintain optimism - Ann mentioned it's crucial to believe in a future, or you won't move. 

6. Reach out - don't crumble inward - Ann talks about connecting with community, here. 

7. Talk to your children - Ann talks about acknowledging their fears (they're living this too), sparking compassion and encouraging them to dream of a better future. 

Some of us are already hooked - we can't just put it away. If this is you,

I truly believe Ann's guide is a very sound one. Of course, I'm also a firm believer in being lead from within, so this is good advice only if it resonates with you, within. As always, take what works and leave what doesn't.

If You're Staying Informed To Seem Informed, Keep Up With The Jones', Not Seem Heartless...

...then may I invite you to let that all go?

I invite you to take it one step further, from time to time, if not permanently - consider cutting it out altogether. Instead of using your energy and brain space sussing out fact from fiction, why not

put that energy into seeing and creating what's beautiful

- the love and good we need more of in the world - instead of fretting and fighting over the bad?

If you agree that

"whatever you focus on expands"

,

that Mother Teresa was right when she said

'pro-peace rally, yes. anti-war rally, no'

, then living in constant fear and anxiety hasn't been working. Much like our battles with

perfectionism

, I believe that

'intelligent people remain informed'

is also a myth of what's valuable.

What do you think?

Can we leave the media and 'opinion-based facts' behind and start building the good we want to see in our world?

Here are a few options I've found, myself,

to stay optimistic and let go of the Paranoid Press Phenomenon. Don't worry,

you don't have to drop social media

altogether 😉:

1. Facebook & LinkedIn. Hide posts that upset you. After a while, you'll see who's always sharing those. You don't have to unfriend them. You can Unfollow them, instead. Look for the next happy post. If that person often shares positives, click on their profile for your 'happy' fix. 

2. Twitter. Unfollow = unfriend, here. If you don't want to, simply create a Twitter List for "Informative" people before you Unfollow them, so you can still connect with them there. As with Facebook, find a more positive profile and go through their posts for a quick 'happy' fix. 

3. Instagram & Pinterest. I believe you'd have to unfollow the account (or on Pinterest, the Boards) that shares the content. It is worth it for your sanity. "Bell Let's Talk" didn't get a lot of traction this year because 'mental wellness' is a theoretical issue. It's real - take care of yours. 

4. In the real world, whether in person or on the phone, kindly say "Look, I'm taking a sabbatical from that subject, and any other downers. Can we focus on <something you like> instead?" If you come under attack for 'avoiding', walk away. Decide if that's permanent or not.

5. In your own head, I don't know why we avoid this, have a different conversation. There are a lot of pieces recently on the power of journaling or positive self talk. If you find you're spiraling about all that's wrong, where the world's headed, your own beautiful flaws, stop and breathe. Do whatever works to bring you into a more positive headspace - focus on the positive aspects of any of those things, write, shout, find your favourite happy Pinterest Board, spa day, go for high tea, a walk - whatever you need. You can't escape your mind, so reframe it.

If this made your chest stop squeezing,

your shoulders relax and your breath go deeper, send me a smile or a thanks. It's not an easy path - it requires remaining conscious of what you're reading. Be gentle with yourself, if you can. It'll take time, and you'll fall back into it from time to time. When you do, just catch yourself, laugh it off, and move on.

What works for You?

This journey of mine has reaffirmed that

diversity truly is beautiful.

 Part of that beauty is that different things work for each of us. I'd love to hear what works for you, to stay positive.

Yours in Love, Light and Joy.

--

Crystal-Marie

My Journey to Love & God - Part 1

Hello Beloved! I hope you feel loved regardless of your current circumstances.

I've been on an incredible journey with God since I've last written you. This is a quick update on my Journey to the Truth, from the

Knowledge of Christ to the Knowledge of All of God.

I thought it was important to share so that you could make a conscious decision about whether or not you'd like to keep reading/following

Love covers All . God is Love

(Facebook).

Yours in Love.

In Love with Christ

Fear versus Love.

In my last post on

the Trees in the garden of Eden

, you'd have started to see a shift in my belief. I believe Jesus Christ is truly my reason for being so aware, so awake, and aware of how loved I am by God, who created us all.

A New View of Jesus

The shift you'd have started to see is that I currently believe Jesus Christ came to let us know that we are

already

Sons and Daughters of God with the same gifts and abilities he had; that we never lost dominion over the earth. He came to let us know that we don't have to

"wait for Him to return"

to walk in that power, but that we

"will do greater things than these"

right now. Sadly, we've run amok

devaluing emotions, intellect and the physical

, so we're not

"free"

in religion to explore the beauty of how these all fit into our spirituality and our relationship with God.

Further, I no longer believe the Bible to be infallible. I do believe that it was God-inspired in many ways, but not that it is flawless. I now believe that authors of the Bible were much like us. Just as we have inspired God-breathed moments, at no time are we completely perfect and representative of the entire body, spirit or soul of God.

Daughter of God Revisited

Feminine energy and the

"male and female"

that God created - and deeply Loves. We often allude, in Church, to the fact that Jesus never shunned women like others did. In fact, that He spent a lot of time with them. Where God is taking me now is opening up a whole new realm of knowledge around the very different, yet equal, importance of the voice of both men and women in getting to know God fully. There's far too much to even begin to scratch the service here. Just a sniff - we have

totally

misunderstood the

"mystery"

of women and have completely reversed (and damaged) our women by enforcing the stereotype that they are 

"givers"

instead of

"receivers"

. That this is how we actually walk as

ezer kenegdo

 (paragraph 6: Genesis 2:18 be translated as

"I will make a power [or strength] corresponding to man."

 & paragraph 7: 1 Corinthians 11:10,

"For this reason, a woman must have power [or authority] on her head [that is to say, invested in her]."

) to our male companions.

More to Learn

I do not profess to have the full picture at all. In fact, I'm sure as I step into a fuller relationship with God, He'll re-frame a lot of what I believe I've learned here. What I will say is, regardless of how you view this, I hope you walk away not worried or sad, but full of joy that you know that God is greater than any error, misinterpretation or anything else we can dream up.

And You? 

Again, this is MY journey. I want to give you the opportunity to follow/not follow this blog/

Facebook page

based on your beliefs. Comments will likely be deleted. If you agree, I'm excited to have you on this journey! If you don't, I'm truly grateful for the part of my journey that we've shared. Thank you!

If you're still on board, you might enjoy reading the application of these lessons in my life, and in the lives of those I'm privileged to walk with, at

protectyourdreams.blogspot.com

Have a great week!

Yours in Love. Crystal-Marie S.

When It's Louder Than Usual (Women)

There's a time every month

when we as women are generally least able to focus on external things because

what's going on inside is much louder than usual.

Your mind is in a fog:

• The lists, plans and logical frameworks that usually keep you on track are meaningless,

• The situations you've trained yourself to ignore, somehow irritate/hurt you more than usual, 

• Your thoughts are suddenly big-picture, philosophical and emotional.

"I Have My Period"

I really want to invite you to consider that

you're not crazy.

You're not "PMS-ing" in that how you feel is not something to apologize for (**we can all work on how we act). You simply cannot ignore yourself any longer. You're in a world that has no time for you, and frankly, you follow suit. Your period is the one time when your spirit, soul and body come together, united, to say

"we will no longer be denied (at least for the next 3 days!)"

This blog is largely about

hearing your own thoughts

and the importance of self-care. I don't know about you, but despite all of it, I have to wonder why it's taken me all of my 33 years to realize that 

it's not a good thing that this is what my body has to do to be heard.

I believe if we're paying attention to all of our needs all month,

our

entire being

wouldn't have to "line up" for this small window of time in order to be heard

and, for most of us, we wouldn't walk on eggshells for fear of breathing fire on everyone. I'm sure, we'd still be more conscious and aware at this time of month, but

it wouldn't knock us off our feet

if

emotional and spiritual self-care (love, compassion, grace, playfulness) were a part of our daily lives.

This was huge for me, and yet every time of the month since, I've been caught by surprise. It takes a while to move things from the head to the heart. Funny how, when you're studying something in earnest, God brings everything you need your way. Here's what I found.

Embracing All of You

You may not share the beliefs

or practices in the video below, and thus may not agree with the specifics of Joanne's "time of the month" package, but I'd like to invite you to create your own. What items can you make a habit of surrounding yourself with during this time?

What excites your sense of sight, smell, taste, sound and touch?

These are the things that will help you to listen to yourself.

Here's what 

Joanne Ameya Cohen

 does.

 Perhaps it will help you create your own ritual, or your own 'space' in time and energy, to honour and listen to what you (spirit, soul and body) has to say...

Again, take from this what speaks to your inner self -

the individual that is known and loved completely and unconditionally (good, bad and ugly) only between you and your maker. Really invite yourself to consciously see how your spirit, soul (mind, will, emotions) and body respond.

Where Are You in All of This?

I'd love to hear what works for you.

So far, I'm stuck on:

• Visuals, flowers, minimalist architecture and all things in my shade of pink (see pics)

• Scent, still seeking, but a very unique French Vanilla and baby powder

• Taste, still seeking as well, but grapes, Raspberry Kefir and spicy Cheetos

I'm still working on the

textures for touch

and

sounds including words,

 which I'm very sensitive to regardless of time of month.

You?

Remember,

you are worth every bit of the time, energy and space

 you're willing to invest in others. If you're not filled to overflow, your giving will not be from a cheerful place of overflow, but from a place of duty which, when you begin to run low, turns to resentment.

So stay full!

Emotion & Urgency with Clients

Happy Spring!

Source: http://writerfox.hubpages.com/hub/Flower-Clip-Art

Logic & Emotion - The Paradox

If you've been following, you know I shifted gears in 2014.

I'm no longer the pure-logic, mission-driven lady I started this blog as.

Logic still has its place, but I've grown significantly since

I've welcomed my emotions back.

By distinguishing between fear and love as motivators,

 for example, I am making far more logical decisions. Ironic? Not really. Not if you understand and value the human being as a whole.

We need all the parts to be healthy if we're ever going to be truly whole.

If you missed these earlier posts, check out

"Your Thoughts, Your Future"

,

"The Audacity"

and my

"2014 Review"

.

Logic & Emotion - Decisions

Like it or not, 'ignoring' and belittling your emotions doesn't make them go away.

It isn't logic that drives your inner critic, but emotion.

In the past, your inner critic was your primal protector.

It told you when you were in danger.

Today, your inner critic is driven by your internal 'lessons' from experiences.

As much of our media and entertainment is

negative / fear-based,

the primal protector has become the inner critic. We'd like to think that logic makes us stop and assess risk, but it's the critic. You have to reprogram him / her.

S/he is the harsh version of you.

'Ignoring' emotion

leaves you extremely vulnerable

to those who manipulate your

'logical approach to emotion'.

 It's the very thing you don't want - to be tricked. With your emotions, as with your time, energy and intellect, 

if you're not managing them, someone else will

(or worse, someone else already is).

You see, back to the inner critic,

unless you learn to trust yourself, you will not trust your decisions.

Worse, you might remain indecisive. If you don't get to

know your emotions

and their triggers, you can't manage your inner critic. Self-control and self-trust will remain elusive.

Action point:

Decide today, right or wrong, to commit to one difficult decision, and see where it takes you.

Let no one sway you, even if you hear and learn from their advice.

Follow your decision to the end, and

see where it takes you.

Image Source: http://writerfox.hubpages.com/hub/Flower-Clip-Art

Urgency & Clients

What does this have to do with

clients?

Where does

urgency

fit into all of this? Knowing yourself means knowing your true values. Here's why that matters:

1. We, clients included, are largely overwhelmed today, so many find it increasingly difficult to make decisions - except in urgent situations.

2. We, clients included, have an ever-increasing "urgent to-do list" we're trying to check off so we can get to the "important". Sadly, the "urgent" list grows too fast.

3. Today, many business and marketing professionals use this urgency to get sales.

Am I raising any flags with that last point? You see,

each of us falls under point #3.

The question is how do you use it?

Urgency & Your Values

The difference between you and the people who came to your mind on point #3 is

your values.

 I see two options, depending on your perspective:

1. Urgency by Fear: you pick away at your clients' confidence in that area until they realize how 'urgently' they need you to help fix it. Here you take them to a desert, where you're the only source of water.

2. Urgency by Empowering: you listen to your clients' pain, uncovering solutions within their reach; solutions they're empowered to check off their "urgent" list, today. Here, you take them to a safe place and show them that they had access to water all along.

Still struggling

with which to choose? It helps to remember you're on both sides of this equation.

1. Do you want to work with the person you can't do without? It's great for their pocket, but not your confidence, or

2. Do you want to work with the person who shows you that you can, and go back to them as needed for each new level of success? 

Now that you know who you'd want to work with,

who do you want to be?

In closing

Logic and emotion.

Getting clear on who you are in both logic and emotion, your needs and intrinsic business goals (money is just one element) makes it easier to remember

why you wanted to serve this specific ideal client.

It wasn't because you can wind them up easily.

Was it? So, what was it?

Action point:

You Decide.

The Trees in the Garden of Eden (Part 2)

In part 1,

I went through

the root fear

we all face and

how we conquer that fear.

We delve into the role of love and fear and

our role as sons and daughters of God.

Why it's so important that we find

our true individual identities

in relationship with God, so that we can be

a stronger community.

If you haven't,

you might want to read it

before getting into the actual trees, but

part 2 will still make sense if you don't.

The Trees in the Garden of Eden

The two trees we hear of in the garden of Eden were the

Tree of Life (#1)

and the

Tree of the Knowledge

of Good and Evil (#2)

.

 Note,

it's not just "the Tree of Knowledge". I'm sure growing up you, too, were taught that when the Word said

"their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked"

, it meant they

suddenly knew too much; things they didn't know before.

Recently, however, God took me on another very visual, very vivid journey, to reveal

this new perspective.

(It is so true that no one knows the whole mind of Christ. It is beautiful that He gave us a lifetime of mystery and relationship with Him to learn it! So amazing, our God!)

All the knowledge we had was shrunk to knowledge of just good and evil.

 In short, I've learned that the Knowledge of Good and Evil shrank the Knowledge of Life in it's Fullness to just black and white, good and evil, perpetual judgement. Get it?

Tree of Life, Tree #1,

revealed to us the

full range of colours,

the role of good and evil in the midst of the rest of life, and

the role of Love

in keeping everything else in place, in the 'right' roles. Perhaps this will help:

Tree #1 (Life)                                                                    / Tree #2 (Knowledge of Good & Evil)

• All colours (which make up white, coincidentally) / Black and white only (oh, and grey *sigh*)

• All: good, evil, beauty, Love, growth, learning       / Good and evil (and constant fear of falling)

• Love keeping perfect balance, harmony                  / Perpetual judgement (fear of falling)

Source:

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-trees-in-garden-of-eden-part-2.html

You see, Adam and Eve didn't not recognize evil because it was in it's place, when they had only seen Life to the Fullest.

They enjoyed what was good because by contrast evil shows us that good is good - that way good is never boring or 'status quo'. Remember, the enemy fell before they came - they always knew he was always there - but they (and he) always knew his place, until they submitted to him. That is why it's called the Fall. They, we (we would have done the same thing),

fell from the

Full Knowledge of Life

to the mere

knowledge of Good and Evil.

Good news!

This is why

Jesus Christ's

coming, our LORD and Saviour, is just that - salvation - because

He restored to us the capacity to see that, again.

Our gospel is that!

Hence, Love is His message!

 God is His message! God is Love! We utter words and don't hear our selves. Try this: Say it out loud and sit with it -

God is Love!

Are you free now to walk in that?

The Fullness of Life

A huge part of knowing the Fullness of Life, in Christ,

is knowing the place of Good and Evil in that Fullness. It is, then, that we begin living from a place of

restoring our Knowledge of the Fullness of Life.

That means dropping all that baggage - perfection, appearances, joggling balls, fears - and

choosing to walk (doing it, afraid or not) exactly as you truly are,

skeletons and all, right now. You will literally feel it physically: you breath more deeply, more slowly, your shoulders relax (or you finally realize they hurt! Lol), you stand straighter.

You simply are. No pressure.

No burden. You see,

we were not designed to carry all that weight.

That baggage is what came with the Knowledge of (only) Good and Evil.

That baggage is why death entered the equation. All that stress destroys us, and the enemy continues to deceive us into thinking

"oh, that's just the way it goes".

It doesn't have to be. It's why Christ revealed that it is this very body that will be transfigured. Why not start now? First, we have to accept and love our current selves, good, bad and other, before we can go any further. As long as you're holding on to all that baggage, your hands will be too full to walk out of that prison -

the prison you created after Christ died to free us from it.

This is what Christ died to give us.

That is

reconciliation with God

and

walking in Life Abundantly.

I know and honour the fact that this is not likely a perspective you've heard before. I just want you to know that. If you can see it, however, if this has awakened something in you or if it's put together all the pieces of a puzzle for you,

I'm honoured to have been a part of that.

Be & Love the True You

If you truly lived this, being true to who you are,

where you are, at all times, then light will always shine on what needs to change or a new opportunity for growth.

Your truth will illuminate your next level of learning and growth.

As you explore that new area of growth

in freedom, love and faith

(instead of the bondage of doubt, fear of doing wrong and guilt/shame),

you will enjoy it!

You will enjoy learning

"wow! all the time I thought X, and God's revealed Y to be true."

You'll want to learn more, no? Making mistakes is a part of the growth process! Learning from experience rather than the words of others is a part of the growth process.

Being a part of your own growth process is relationship with God!

Your pastor, priest, mentor, counselor cannot have that relationship on your behalf.

You have to live it.

You need to love it, however, in order to keep wanting to do it!

Look back on your life.

We make mistakes and then we see all the "negative consequences" of our action and we think

"I'm paying for..."

Isn't that, technically, blasphemy, if Christ was supposed to have paid? Aren't we supposed to truly repent,

and know that it's been paid for?

Take a look at one mistake you made

that you can see the trail of "consequences" for. I'd like to invite you, now, to 

look at that same mistake, and see what you've learned from it,

what good things came out of what you learned, what good things you've learned about yourself, and how you can use all of that to empower, encourage, others who perhaps have made the same or similar mistakes.

Can you?

I'll ask the questions from the image in

Part 1

, again:

Source: 

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-trees-in-garden-of-eden-part-1.html

Write me or comment and let me know your thoughts?

I truly believe that as we discover our purpose in Christ, through relationship with Him, our lives will be the examples that empower others to do the same.

The Trees in the Garden of Eden (Part 1)

To those of you who've been following me consistently for some time, I'd like to say thank you for reading. You know that before 2014 the tone of my posts has been to

ask why, to encourage

and, at times, to

admonish us for hurting each other.

2014, however, was

life-changing for me

.

God broke through so much fear, that now I see so much of it where I never saw it before in our Church. I'll get into that in today's post, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on my new direction.

[P.S.

Part 2

actually gets to the trees. ;)]

The Deepest Fear

This fear that God broke in me was

not the surface fears

- fear of man, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of unforgivable sin, fear of not being righteous, fear of not trusting God, fear of unbelief - the list is long.

Those are not the worst fears.

The fear that God dealt with in me is invisible until He shines His light on it.

It is fear of the unknown.

The surface fears above are somewhat knowable, but fear of the unknown is a greater obstacle, as the unknown can lead to ALL others!

Once God broke me free of it, it was all I could see in the Church (the body) around me.

Our sermons are so full of

"no", "the law"

and living within

a very small, but widely approved, box,

that none of us feel safe enough to

find out who we

individually are in Christ,

so that we can be

a stronger community.

The body of Christ is us. If we each have a purpose in Him, we will not all look alike. We cannot. Your stomach, baby toenail and lymph nodes do not, cannot, be the same if you are going to live. Why can't we understand that in the Church? It's time to stop holding hands with the enemy and singing,

"you're right, accuser, we'll just stay under this bushel and never shine, because you're right, accuser, it's vein, prideful, and will lead us astray"

! We're not 'wusses' in Christ!

We're sons and daughters of God in Christ!

Source:

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-trees-in-garden-of-eden-part-1.html

Conquering Fear

I kept saying above that God broke me free of it, but the truth is

I broke free of fear in God's strength.

We can do nothing without Christ, but

He does nothing until we take that step in faith.

As soon as I said,

"enough! I don't know what this block is, but I'm over it!"

, He literally said

"Finally"

in a fit of immeasurable joy,

and opened my eyes to a host of amazing wonders!

It's like He could finally hold my hand and run with me!

I can keep up because I'm no longer heavy with fear! Don't you want that? Don't you want to know Your God on every level? Are you willing to take the risk and step out in faith to find out?

Do you trust Him to take care of you wherever you go?

You and I both know there's something holding you back.

If you're not shining, if you can't say the words "I love, love, love myself" and

ooze nothing but joy to overflow,

if you can't walk by different religions without feeling sad, then something IS holding you back and, perhaps, you don't know the power of Your God! Perhaps.

Fear is only conquered when we truly trust God,

when we love ourselves as He loves us,

so much so that we can't help but

share that love with others,

and teach them to do the same.

Darkness cannot exist when light is present. Fullstop.

Fighting darkness and fear is a waste of time and energy. Light! Be light, be love, focus on the good, and that will overflow to cast out the negatives.

Food for thought:

all those people we judge - 'backslidden' brothers and sisters, other religions, cult groups, sociopaths, criminals, other Christians with different perspectives -

can only be changed by personal encounter with God. Not a word you utter means anything without that.

Plus, you don't know enough to know that you're absolutely right about everything you believe, so stop worrying about it and stop fighting it.

Love them instead, but first, love yourself!

If it was not God's will that any should perish, why do we focus so on who will perish? Why don't we become, as individuals, a safe space for all to come and be, and be loved? Why don't we do that, our part in Love, and let God do His work? Let us focus on love and light. The details will be worked out by God. You'd be surprised to see true Serendipity, which is His.

Your Powerful Mind

Let me tell you what I've learned about Love - I'm still learning.

Love, not courage, is the opposite of fear.

That is why it is the gift that is above all others.

Love frees us so we can see more clearly.

We are not anxious, worried, distracted juggling multiple "what if" thoughts. We see clearly what is in front of us, even in some small part the way God sees, when we see in Love.

The battlefield is truly in the mind.

It is why the New Testament is so focused on

renewing your mind!

All the gifts in Corinthians - love, tongues, understanding, faith, knowledge, interpretation of tongues - are there!

It is the battlefield because

it is what we, in God's image, create with!

The

heart, mind

and

tongue

are what we're cautioned about, because they are the most powerful aspects of our being. The heart and mind both feed thoughts and feelings.

Our hearts and minds,

produce emotions (love and fear) and feelings (joy, sorrow, hope, anger).

Our tongues,

the words we speak, form the declarations and contracts we seal (with God or the accuser) to create what we see. We may want to, but we can't avoid the responsibility of being creators if we are made in the image and likeness of God.

If you don't wield your mind and heart, regardless of how much you say you surrender to God, the enemy will.

Surrendering to God is empowering, not oppressing.

The scripture

"I become less that You (God) might become more"

does not mean that you disappear. In the Holy Spirit, you'll learn that

'the old you becomes less, that the new you - in the true image of God in Christ - becomes more'

.

The manifestation of the part of God that only You can carry,

because of what He created You to be. So surrendering to God means freedom for You to wield your mind!

God has empowered you.

Fear or Love?

If you can't hold every thought captive,

use your feelings as an indicator

of whether or not your thoughts are positive. If you've surrendered to God, you have nothing to worry about. Good feelings - joy, peace, calm, contentment - come when we remember that we are righteous (even if not always right) in Christ. When you're angry, afraid, resentful, jealous,

what are your thoughts?

Now, beware that bad feelings were created by God (just as physical pain was)

to let us know when something is wrong. Don't ignore them,

 but put them in their right place, deal with the cause, place your burden at God's feet and then turn your thoughts back to what is good.

Spend most of your time on the good.

Energy invested in negatives is energy positives don't have access to. Let it go, for your sake.

You see, you can't do any of this if you don't love yourself.

This is why I ask you to

choose - fear or love?

What you choose for yourself is what you will choose for, and impart to, others. You can choose. In terms of complexity, thoughts are the most difficult to manage. Feelings are easier, but still fairly complex if you're at work or in the midst of a task. Emotions, which actually chart the direction of our thoughts, love or fear, are easier to detect. If you can detect your feelings, do so. If your heart starts racing, you're not breathing deeply and it's not accompanied by a smile, perhaps your thoughts are infused by fear.

Turn it around. Infuse your thoughts with love.

You can choose to stop, make yourself breath - envision inhaling love and exhaling fear

- and choose to think, and put your energy into, good thoughts. "Nothing is too big for God, who has entrusted me to be right where I am right now, in Him", "things always work for good, for those who love God", "if there is power in my words, I declare that all is well starting now".

Think about the good thoughts that empower you, and think those.

That's why the Word is our sword.

Write your good thoughts for a week, and see what you learn about yourself!

You might empower others!

Try It

I think there's a lot to chew on here.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

After you try this, listening to your feelings,

click here to read part 2,

where I finally get to the

Trees in the Garden of Eden.

What Do Your Words Create

We've been taught 

"

Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a destiny

"

. I suspect that this proverb is found in teachings across cultures globally. The point is, like it or not, 

we're not on autopilot.

 If we want change, 

we have to change our minds.

Renew Your Mind.

Thoughts & Feelings

Medicine, science and your own experience (even if you've ignored it) have all made it clear that 

your thoughts can heal or harm your physical body.

 Thinking about things that 

we fear will happen,

 for example, creates feelings of 

anxiety, anger, despair, self-doubt, depression and negative stress.

 These cause heart failure, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and more debilitating unmentionables, which over time become chronic ailments. "The power of life and death lie in the tongue..." (

Proverbs 18:21 ESV

). If we already know all of this, 

why have we done nothing to change it?

Thinking about positive things, things that 

we want to happen,

 our past miracles or good things that are happening at the moment, literally bring healing. The bible says that testimony builds faith. Faith brings joy. Your own testimony enhances the faith of others, yes, but it builds your faith as well. On a 'practical' level, if you will, when you feel joy, 

you breathe deeper, your muscles relax, you have an involuntary smile and your heartbeat is less erratic.

 All of this sends more oxygen to your brain, fosters cell repair, releases endorphins (that creates a 'happy loop') and reduces the stress on your heart, respectively. In miraculous terms, have you met a cancer survivor or someone whose tumor just disappeared? I have - 

it rocked my world.

What do you want?

 Restored health? Love? Financial freedom? More consistent inner peace? More supportive community? Why not 

start thinking about what you want,

 instead of what you don't want? I'd never thought of it that way, but I heard this guy, Greg Braden, say 

"Who taught us to think about what we don't want instead of what we want?!"

 It was suddenly so obvious what needed to change. Perhaps we won't track all our thoughts, but we can all stop to acknowledge how we feel, how we're breathing. Feelings tell you where your thoughts (conscious or subconscious) might be. 

Let's start there.

Emotions versus Feelings

Let's make this a bit easier.

 At any given moment, we're dealing with a myriad of feelings. It's no wonder so many of us ignore our feelings! At the base of it all, however, our feelings are fed by one of 

two emotions - 

Love or Fear.

 Fear is the opposite of Love.

 Courage is merely a manifestation of love - ask most parents. Every feeling we have is rooted in fear or love. Now, it won't always be obvious what you're afraid of, or what you love, that's driving the feeling. You know, however, that negative feelings are driven by 

fear, which holds you back,

 and that positive feelings are driven by 

love, which empowers you.

 If you can believe that, which would you choose?

Positive feelings create positive outcomes because 

we attract what we think about.

 It may be draining to 

"hold every thought captive"

(

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ESV

) for examination, but 

you are almost always aware of how you feel

 - good or bad - even if you can't place a finger on how or why. If the cause of your 'bad' feeling is coming from within, then assess what thought(s) contributed to that, make it a positive thought. Look at "I hope I'm not late" as "everything is running smoothly so I'll be on time".

Note:

this does not advise that you are governed by your feelings, merely that you use it as it was designed to be used - as an indicator that something is amiss, or that all is well.

Food for thought:

 Wars are borne of fear. Courage, as an element of Love, seeks to protect, defend. Love in all its elements (generosity, kindness, hope) finds a place for all.

[

Side bar:

 I believe in intuition, so if you're feeling 'bad', look around first to make sure there are no threats. The threat doesn't have to be obvious. If your gut says move, then move. Regardless of how rude it may seem. Move.]

Decisions & Commitment

Globally, spiritual movements teach 

"be specific when you ask"

; "no one who is double-minded receives from the Lord...ask and you shall receive"; "believe and then receive (stay open to) what you've asked for"

 and 

"if you can imagine it, you can have it";

 believe and you can receive 

"immeasurably more than you can imagine".

The point is, if you are to ask, believe and receive (

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV

), you have to first 

decide on what you're asking for

 before you can see it (

James 1:6-8 ESV

). Trust that God orders your steps, particularly as you trust Him, in stepping out in faith, rather than fearing what can go wrong if you get what you want. If you make your decision from a place of love, true love, then you've automatically infused that decision with self-care while being considerate of those impacted by that decision. 

Ask, commit to that specific "ask",

 expect to receive it, then release it to God and go on living.

"No", "Don't" and Your Ask Words

"Ask" essentially means praying.

 The challenge is for us, as Christians, to get to the stage where we understand what God means when Jesus says "ask boldly". We must stop 'begging' in prayer, and walk as empowered sons and daughters in Christ. Once you decide to ask boldly, focus on positive words. Truly,

ask for what you want;

not for what you don't want. Asking for what you don't want brings to mind... what you don't want... and all the feelings that come with thoughts of what you don't want. It takes energy (brain space) away from thoughts of what you do want and the feelings that those thoughts come with. 

Mother Teresa said she will not attend an "anti-war" rally, but she'd love to attend a "peace" rally.

 Are you getting the picture? 

"No"

 and 

"don't"

 have no weight in our brains other that to 

produce negative feelings.

 Those words do not eliminate what follows, they merely attach a feeling to them. 

What are your "ask" words?

 Instead of "I don't want debt" or "I'm not in debt", perhaps say "I have a lot of money" or "I'm always in the black".

Note:

It is not a sin to want wealth to overflow when it is overflowing for God's glory. Money is only a problem if it replaces God in your life.

The present tense

 also helps when you're asking. 

"I will"

 often, keeps us in the 

"one day in the future"

 frame of mind. That perspective doesn't drive us to get up and get, because 

it's not a priority.

Speaking as though it already is,

 puts us in a place to 

expect, act, believe and receive, now.

 We start preparing to receive it. 

What will you do with it? Where will you put it? When will you have time to enjoy it?

 We are conditioned to think that doing that means we're lying to ourselves; we're not. You want it and you're going to make it happen. Full-stop. Infuse it with love, and see what happens. (P.S. It helps to be persistent.)

In Closing

Once I committed to changing my thinking,

 all of 2014 was, to me, evidence that this is true. Essentially:

1. Stop! Stop the rat race, the "oh no" conversation and the "I really don't want" thoughts.

2. Breathe deeply. Choose not to rush and do just that for 2 minutes (the whole 2 minutes).

3. Dream. If 'reality' wasn't a ceiling, if no one could 'laugh'... What would you want? Expect it.

4. Feel. What would it feel like to have your dream life? What would you be able to do? See it.

5. Gratitude. Smile in gratitude for what you have now. Really feel it. Thank instead of Begging.

6. Plan. In that grateful mindset, what steps do you need to take to get to your dream? Write it.

7. Act. What steps can you take today? Take at least one step. Even if it's just to think positively. Start.

In all of this, 

start with your mind.

 Start everyday focused on 

1-3 good things

 in your life, 

1 dream

 and 

what those things make you feel.

 Hold on to that all day. 

What do your words create?

[Adapted from:

"Your Thoughts, Your Future."

at

protectyourdreams.blogspot.ca

]