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Energizing New Beginnings

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day,
a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic
waiting somewhere behind the morning.
J. B. Priestly

Good morning! I have a terrific article on “New Beginnings” to share with you today by author Robin Silverman. Robin’s books include: “The Ten Gifts: Find the Personal Peace You’ve Always Wanted Through the Ten Gifts You’ve Always Had” and “Something Wonderful Is about to Happen: True Stories of People Who Found Happiness in Unexpected Places.”

In her article, “Energizing New Beginnings,” she asks us to look at new beginnings in a new way and to “let them go” in order to make them last. I hope you enjoy her article!

I wish you a lovely weekend, and I’ll look forward to introducing our February “Theme of the Month” to you on Monday. Hint: I can promise you it will warm your heart ♥

Robin SilvermanEnergizing New Beginnings

by Robin Silverman

There is always great energy around new beginnings.  When we fall in love with someone or something in our lives, we magnify the good in it or them and tend to rationalize or diminish any possible downsides.  The usual barriers to change—including fear of risk or leaving our comfort zones—disappear, at least for a little while.

New beginnings stir hope; hope that we are more or can have more than we have ever had before.  Something wonderFULL is happening or is about to happen!  Our senses are stirred, our hearts are open, and we welcome every pleasant sensation.  We awaken every day expecting to be delighted by what we discover.

Eventually, though, what was new is not any longer.  Our beloved tells the same joke for the fifth time, and the punchline is no longer funny because we already know it.  The initial excitement of our new job turns to the drudgery of everyday work. The thrill of our new home fades when the decorating isn’t finished or the dishwasher breaks down.  Eventually, we find ourselves longing for new beginnings again.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it keeps the fires of creation burning.  But for some people, it leads to living in the past or worse—not really living at all.  So what makes the radiance of new beginnings last?  Letting them go.

This seems counter-intuitive.  Why would we release something that thrills us to the core?  Because when we hold onto something, we limit it, and ourselves.  Energy wants to transform, not be contained.  This is because the energy of new beginnings is truly love in motion.  We want something new and call it to us, but then, far too often, we try to control or hold on to it, and it fizzles fast.  However, when we release its positive energy, it goes out into the universe and seeks its match in character, tone and intensity.  When it does, it returns to our lives in delightfully surprising ways.

So what does it mean to release a new beginning? It is to become fully aware and awake to what is happening, using our five physical senses and our sixth sense. These are the details that stay in our memory as well as the blessings we have to give.

Once we have received and taken in all we can, we can release it in a myriad of ways.  We can share our good mood by sharing it with another. We can hum, sing, dance or make art.  We can pour ourselves into our work without expectation. The idea is to let the energy flow out of us and back into the world, not hoard it to ourselves.

Other ways to release new beginnings include taking the love and joy of them into meditation, and letting them be transformed into a deep peace that all is truly well with us and our world. Once that happens, our very presence becomes a light to others; people can feel our positive energy without our having to say or do anything…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Energizing New Beginnings”

Copyright Robin Silverman. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Robin’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you many lasting new beginnings!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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New Beginnings! New Hope!

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin.
Beginning makes the conditions perfect.
Alan Cohen

Good morning! I have a great article on “new beginnings” for you this morning by longtime SoulfulLiving.com columnist, Bret S. Beall. His article is certain to inspire and encourage you to make some positive new changes in your life this year!

Enjoy ♥

Bret S. Beall“New Beginnings! New Hope!”

by Bret S. Beall

With January here, it is appropriate for many of us to think about resolutions, change, new beginnings and hope for the future.  While we certainly can (and should) think about these things any day or month of the year, the symbolism of a new year is very strong, and often gives us additional incentive to accomplish what we want to do!

Why might one want to start over?  Maybe our job isn’t meeting our needs.  Maybe we’ve had some sort of loss.  Maybe our lives feel out of control, and we want to take charge.  Maybe we have had troubles, and now it’s time to leave them behind and start fresh.  Or maybe we just had a bad day, and we want to turn it into a good day.  It could be anything, big or small.  All that matters is that we want to change.

If you are reading this and thinking, “Yeah!  I need a new beginning!” then you’ve already taken the most important step of all.  Just acknowledging your need is the first step toward solutions.  Congratulations!  Let’s keep that momentum now!

It’s very important to define exactly what the problem is.  Are you not making enough money?  Are you working too hard?  Are you not getting the respect or acknowledgement that you deserve?  Are you missing someone who has left you by moving away, breaking up, or dying?  Are you tired of being overweight, or smoking, or drinking too much?  Are you partaking in some other behavior you’d prefer to leave behind, like spending too much time on the Internet, or watching too much TV, or spending too much money?  Are you keeping a secret that is holding you back?  Are you denying your true self?

Once you’ve defined your need, you must develop a strategy to solve/resolve it.  Because every issue has a unique fix, I need to move from the general to the specific by sharing some personal anecdotes.  I hope you’ll be able to find some hope from my examples…

Click Here to Continue Reading “New Beginnings! New Hope!”

Copyright Bret S. Beall. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Bret’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a beautiful new day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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The Secret to Living the Life of Your Dreams

“The secret to living the life of your dreams is to start living the life of your dreams today,
in every little way you possibly can.”
—Mike Dooley

Valerie Rickel

~Valerie Rickel, Founder of SoulfulLiving.com

Photo © 2014 Valerie Rickel

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Becoming New

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

When we dwell in the senses, we downshift from a rushed pace into the slower pace of organic life.
Emotions and mind come into resonance with the deep rhythms of the body, promoting integration and well-being.
We notice the beauty around us, and we use it to grow.”
—Bonnie Gold Bell

Good morning! I hope this winter morning finds you warm, comfortable, and safe if you live in the Northeast  United States. I am dealing with a frozen pipe this morning. It got very, very cold here overnight, and despite my best efforts to protect my pipes, one still froze. Aargh. I am awaiting Roto Rooter as I type this. Wish me good luck!

I have a special article for you this morning, by mandala artist Bonnie Gold Bell. She and her artist husband, David Todd, have been creating beautiful mandala imagery for over a decade. I know Bonnie because I have sold her lovely mandala art prints at SoulfulLiving.com’s online store,  The Mandala Collection for many years, and she has been kind enough to contribute some very lovely and meaningful articles to SoulfulLiving.com over the years.

I have just “officially” reopened The Mandala Collection overnight, after a store redesign and redevelopment. Many of our long-time subscribers will remember it. The store opened in 2001 and thrived for a number of years, but I was forced to close it during the recession, because, well, people just weren’t buying gifts and healing tools during that time — me included. I am excited to reopen the store today, and I hope you will visit and have a look around. I’m still adding products, but, for the most part, it’s open for business! Hooray!

I think you will love this article by Bonnie. She is a very intuitive and soulful woman and this is a deeply touching article about how she used her “senses” to help her heal from stage 4 cancer and “become new.” I hope you find it as touching and meaningful as I have. May it help empower you in your progress of moving forward toward your goals and “becoming new,” too!

Enjoy ♥

Bonnie Gold Bell“Becoming New: Using Your Six Senses to Empower Your Progress”

by Bonnie Gold Bell

You have powerful tools for making progress right in your own hands—and your eyes, nose, mouth, ears and heart. By actively using all six of your senses, you can harness great energy for moving forward and be filled with pleasure in the process. Whether you need to make progress in healing or in realizing other goals, your senses are your inborn allies.

I say this with confidence because my own recovery from advanced cancer has been so empowered by engaging my senses. They have worked like keys to unlock deep resources and capacities. From my cells to my spirit, I have been blessed by my interaction with the living elements around me. In the face of intense challenge, they have helped me to become new. I hope this brief celebration of the senses will support you in your own exploration.

How Does It Work?

Using your senses to become new involves drawing in the beauty-essence of the natural world through each sensory channel. For instance, you can take in the sight of a colorful rose, inhale its scent and touch its soft petals. The uplifting beauty-essence of the flower is really the active agent, and your senses are the means by which you absorb that essence. Input from the senses triggers the organic messaging system that activates responses in your body, mind and spirit. Both modern science and sacred science confirm this effect. We are constantly responding to the sensory stimuli around us. When what we take in feels good to us, it alters our state toward health and optimum functioning.

I use the rose as an example because I have gotten so much healing pleasure from that specific plant. When I first got my diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer, I knew I had to gain space from the doom that seemed to represent. I had been working with essential oils for some years and was aware that rose oil has perhaps the highest vibration of all the essences. The smell of roses has the capacity to truly lift the spirits and ease the heart. Whenever I began to feel stuck in negativity, I opened the bottle on my desk and breathed it in deeply. I had been lucky to receive a bottle of rose oil as a gift. Since it is extremely expensive, I mostly just smelled the oil. But if I felt overwhelmed, I would put a tiny drop on my heart.

I grow roses on my deck, so I also spent time outside with the flowers. Their visible beauty gave me new life through my eyes, while their scent comforted me. I further worked with the roses by creating images out of them. My husband, David Sun Todd, and I create healing art sourced in natural objects. In this case, we put our rose blossoms directly on our digital scanner and turned them into vibrant mandalas (see “CenterPeace” below). This way, I could gaze on the beauty of the roses all year long and draw on their restorative essence. The roses, many other plants and flowers, the animals and the rocks around me have been my active allies in making new art and a new me.

Mandala Art Print

My senses were, of course, only part of what restored me. I want to acknowledge the incredible help I got from family and friends and especially my husband, David. He evolved a whole system of healing just to help me. I was graced to find my way to wonderful healers of every persuasion and treatments that supported my recovery. I renewed a very deep soul connection with the many-formed Goddess and other spirit allies. But, without a doubt, one of the reasons that I am so well today is that I used my senses to feed on the beauty of life.

Make no mistake, beauty is strong medicine. Like love, its emotional counterpart, beauty is a force of positive change. Our hearts and bodies are awakened in its presence. Even when nothing else can penetrate our suffering, we can be moved by beauty’s touch. It arouses us in ways that benefit both body and emotions. It turns on cascades of chemical support to the cells. In its embrace, we can walk past limits that otherwise seem too daunting. So when I say that taking in beauty through my senses helped me move forward, I mean that most literally…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Becoming New”

Copyright Bonnie Gold Bell. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Bonnie’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a beautiful new day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Cherish Yourself and Watch Incredible Things Start to Happen

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

“Much of what our life presents to us is a direct
reflection of how much we love ourselves.”
—Michelle Morris Spieker

Good morning! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful long weekend! I have a terrific article for you this morning, by author Michelle Morris Spieker, called, “Cherish Yourself.” Michelle is the author of the book, The Cherished Self, and I know you will love her article.

When we cherish ourselves, we naturally honor the longings in our hearts, become more authentic in how we live our lives, feel more joy and passion. And, we find the courage to embark on new life journeys, projects, passions, and dreams!

Enjoy ♥

Michelle Morris Spieker“Cherish Yourself”

by Michelle Morris Spieker

Somewhere along the journey toward living the life of our dreams, we lost our way. We forgot the importance of taking care of ourselves, of nurturing our soul, and of filling the well in order to live the life we’ve been longing for. Yes, somewhere along life’s path, we forgot to cherish ourselves.

Roles in society are expanding more and more. We strive to accomplish, manage, organize, direct, and star — all in an attempt to make our lives richer, fuller, more meaningful. Yet as we look outward for fulfillment, we are depleting the essential source of nourishment to the soul — the self.

Unfortunately, many of us are busy doing things mostly for others, and as a result, we tend to neglect ourselves. Some people might say it’s selfish to do nice things for yourself. But what’s actually dangerous is giving so much to others that we deplete ourselves.

When we slow down and make giving to ourselves a high priority, we are cherishing ourselves. Soon we begin to have a glow about us. We start to have more energy. And we make healthier choices in all areas of our life. When we address our inner needs and nurture our authentic selves, all areas of our lives improve.

After deciding to cherish myself, my life miraculously transformed. I welcomed true love, discovered my passion for working in the field of personal empowerment, let go of struggle, and found the courage to be my true self. I can look back now and say that the twists and turns of life that led me to this point all make sense, but I had a choice to make and so do you. I could have continued on the path of not loving myself and my life would have proceeded as a series of events and dramas to painfully awaken my soul. What I did instead was to make a decision to love and cherish myself and a whole new journey of life began.

So take a moment, breathe, and decide to cherish yourself.

The key to cherishing yourself is recognizing that you are valuable, lovable and definitely worth being cherished. Once you are ready to make this decision for yourself, you will discover an inner confidence that was trapped just behind your fears.

Be aware that there is a distinction between wanting to cherish yourself and actually fully accepting that you are worth being cherished. When you accept in your heart that you are worth cherishing, from that moment forward your life is enhanced…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Cherish Yourself”

Copyright Michelle Morris Spieker. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Michelle’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a cherished day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Gateways to New Beginnings

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

“Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.
—Ralph Blum

Good morning and happy Friday! I have a Visual Inspiration for you today featuring a favorite “New Beginnings” quote that I hope might inspire some creative new ways of thinking about our lives. Can we look at the obstacles in our lives differently? Can they be transformed into gateways that move us forward into a new future? I encourage you to set aside some time this weekend to consider the possibilities. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave your comments below and let’s have a conversation about it!

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend ♥

New Beginnings quote

~Valerie Rickel, Founder of SoulfulLiving.com

© 2014 Valerie Rickel

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Fresh Starts

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

“Each breath is a de facto fresh start. Use it as such. With each inhalation, open your mind and therefore the door to the winds of change. Breathe in what you want to see realized while at the same time exhaling what no longer serves you.”
— Wayne Hatford (Valentino Speaks)

Good morning! I’m very pleased to share this morning’s article with you by author Wayne Hatford. Wayne offers us a beautiful piece of writing for our “New Beginnings” theme this month, called, ‘Fresh Starts,” which is excerpted from his fabulous book, “Valentino Speaks: The Wisdom of Rudolph Valentino; Cues and Views from the Other Side.”

Wishing you a fresh new start today! Enjoy ♥

Wayne Hatford“Fresh Starts”

by Wayne Hatford

(Excerpted from Valentino Speaks)

“A fresh start is the equivalent of being fully present in the NOW. We literally make a fresh start each time we take a breath. As a matter of fact, every breath is both a re-birth and an opportunity for us to see what’s up. The ‘fresh start’ point of power is the realization that each inhalation gives us an opportunity to examine what is currently going on in our lives. Breath is an awakener. Just one inhalation/exhalation cycle may be all that’s needed to catch ourselves in action, causing us to reflect on what we are doing and why. By continually checking-in, we’re able to make more informed decisions and, as a consequence, effect mid-course corrections.

If we can but consciously embrace the breath-centered awakenings I refer to here as fresh starts, we’ll find ourselves becoming increasingly more aware. The practice of yoga and other body-centered disciplines put great emphasis on working with the breath. This is not by accident. When we focus on breathing not only do we feel more alive but we’re also able to go inward. It is in the breath that our disparate parts are able to dialogue and come to terms with each other.

Breathing is evidence of Spirit, the animating principle, and the primary mechanism by which the soul and personality stay in tune with each other.

Fresh starts also offer us opportunities to unhook from karmic patterns that may have outgrown their usefulness. With each breath, there are choices to be made. Do we choose to do something new or do we trod the ‘something old’ pathway, welcome in its familiarity yet at the same time rather uninspiring? This is an age-old dilemma. Hopefully, we’ll find ourselves opting for something new more often than not. Repeating the tried and true has its blessings and may even be prudent at times but by exclusively focusing on what’s old we create a lack of forward momentum.

At some time or another, most of us have been known to say ‘been there, done that, nothing new.’ But, that’s just not true. In fact, each moment in our mutually agreed-upon construct known as time and space is, by definition, new. Therefore, no one can ever claim to have done it all because that is an impossibility. What we often do, however, is revert to our default behavior whenever it seems expedient. If, on the other hand, we decide to behave differently we’re all the more likely to fine-tune or enhance ‘what is’ ~ while in the process of discovering what can be.

My advice is to be creative in your moment to moment decision-making. By being conscious about what we are choosing to do and why, not only are we supporting our natural inclinations, we are open to change…”

Click Here to Continue Reading “Fresh Starts”

Copyright Wayne Hatford. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Wayne’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a fresh new day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Start Today and Make a New Ending

Farm

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
—Maria Robinson

Good morning! I had such a fun time making today’s Visual Inspiration for you. I really love this quote by Maria Robinson. It is such a great quote… Isn’t it the truth! Not happy with your life story? We can all start today and make a new ending!! Yes!

The photo I chose for the Visual Inspiration seemed like the perfect pairing for the quote. I remember the winter afternoon I took this photo well. It was several years ago, and I had let the wind “blow me” through the winding roads of Central New York to do some photographing. I decided to make a right-hand turn up a road I had never driven before, and, much to my delight, I came across this wonderful, colorful family of cows!

As luck would have it, the owner of the farm drove up just as I was getting out of my car, and she invited me onto her property to take some up-close and personal photos of her cows. These were the most unique cows I’d ever seen, each with such special beauty and character. It was the best day!! I am always blown away by the kindness and hospitality of people in Upstate New York, and I have the best collection of cow photos to remember this special day 🙂

Enjoy ♥

New Beginnings Quote

“Calling the Cows Home”

© 2014 Valerie Rickel

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New Beginnings

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

“You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner.
If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.”

– Barbara Sher

Good morning! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend! I’m very excited to share this morning’s article with you, entitled, “New Beginnings,” by award-winning author and transformation coach Alan Seale.

Alan is the director of the Center for Transformational Presence and the author of five books, including “Soul Mission * Life Vision,” “The Manifestation Wheel,” Intuitive Living,” “The Power of Your Presence,” and his newest, “Create a World that Works.”

Alan’s article is sure to inspire you to start each moment of each day anew!

Enjoy ♥

Alan Seale“New Beginnings”

by Alan Seale

What if every single day offered you the opportunity for a completely fresh start to life—a chance to start with a clean slate—no baggage, no expectations, nothing holding you back?  The truth is, it does!  Every single day, and actually every moment and every breath you take is an opportunity to expand beyond what has been and step into the next moment of possibility.  You may absolutely love what has been, or you may have regrets or be facing challenges that make you wonder how things will ever turn around.  Regardless of your situation, each breath you take can usher you into new possibility.

The key is choice.  You have the opportunity to choose in every moment to free yourself of what was, as fantastic or challenging as it may have been, and step forward into the next moment.  You can choose to “shed skin,” in a manner of speaking, as you walk through your day, instantly growing the appropriate “new skin” to meet the next moment, the next opportunity, the next gift of life.   Your physical body is, in fact, doing  that all the time.  Your cells are constantly dying and being created anew, so that within a year every cell in your body has been replaced.  From a cellular perspective, you have an entirely new body every year.  Isn’t that amazing?

When we are fully engaged in “being,” we are in a constant flow of change.  Therefore, we are constantly experiencing new beginnings.  This does not mean that each day we have to start life all over again, having lost what was before.  Instead, it means that every day we get to reflect back on what has been, choose how we wish to relate to it and the role it will play in our lives going forward, and then start afresh.  Through this approach to life, we can constantly let go of old opinions, beliefs, habits and behaviors that no longer serve us and replace them with new beliefs and behaviors that are in harmony with our evolutionary process.

Take a couple of moments to reflect on how you approach each new day now.  Do you wake up excited about discovering the possibilities that the new day holds, or do you approach the day as a series of pre-set commitments to be met and responsibilities to fulfill?  Be honest with yourself.

Now close your eyes and take a moment to settle into a meditative state.  Then invite the concept of “Beginning” to be present with you.  Let go of any pre-conceived notion of what Beginning should mean.  Ask Beginning what it has to say to you and what role it wants to play in your life.  Ask what new opportunities await you if you allow each moment to be new.  Then step into and fully inhabit the potential that Beginning is showing you.

What does it feel like to inhabit Beginning in this way?  How has your energy shifted? How is your attitude different?   Can you feel your “new skin?”  What is it like?

Living in this new concept of Beginning can lead to new choices and habits in your daily life.  How do you feel called to live your new concept of Beginning right now?  How can this new Beginning awareness influence your thoughts about who you are, how you interact and communicate with the world, and the life you are creating?

If you lived in this new Beginning awareness, how might your life transform?   How many ways can you imagine that your life could be different if you lived in this concept of Beginning?  Choose it, even if only for a day, and see how your daily experience shifts as well as your overall approach to life…

Click Here to Continue Reading “New Beginnings”

Copyright Alan Seale. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Alan’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a beautiful new day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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What new story will you write for your life?

Every day is an opportunity to write a brand new story for your life.
There’s no need to continue living yesterday’s story.
Today, we can begin our lives anew!

What new story will your write for your life?

Valerie Rickel

~Valerie Rickel, Founder of SoulfulLiving.com

© 2014 Valerie Rickel

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25 Resolutions for Happiness

Valerie Rickel :: Soulful Living

Happiness, not in another place,
but this place…not for another hour,
but for this hour.

Walt Whitman

Good morning and happy Wednesday! I love, love, LOVE today’s article by Molly Stranahan. Molly is a speaker, storyteller and happiness facilitator. Perfect for the new year, her article offers us “25 Resolutions for Happiness.” I think you will find every single one of her 25 wonderful resolutions joy-filled and inspiring.

Enjoy ♥

Molly Stranahan“25 Resolutions for Happiness”

by Molly Stranahan

At some stress-filled moment, have you had the experience of realizing you had forgotten what you learned in the past, the self-knowledge that healed and brought joy or just got you through a tough time? The anniversary theme of Life Lessons created an excuse to write down the lessons I have learned, but sometimes forget to use. I’m pledging to renew my commitment to living them, and offer them in the hopes they might help you, or they might inspire you to remember your greatest life lessons.

Even though I’m a psychologist, I’ve learned more of life’s lessons through personal experience than through my formal education. Many of my lessons have come from hearing (or reading) the transformational moments of others — their own life lessons — which they were generous enough to share. And the most important lessons I’ve learned are those that have led me out of pain and into happiness.

And so, dear reader, may you find some message below which leads you to a new belief or understanding, releases you from some burden, or takes you to an even higher level of happiness. In keeping with this hopeful season, I’ve put the life lessons I’ve learned…so far…in the form of these New Year’s resolutions to remind myself daily that I know how to be happy, despite the challenges life puts in my path. I will be even happier if some of them increase your happiness.

I will make happiness a worthy goal, for achieving it is entirely within my power. Our nation’s founding fathers declared the pursuit of happiness to be an important and inalienable right. I choose to use it as a primary measure of my success in life. I believe I will die peacefully if I can say I have lived a happy life and helped others to do the same. Achieving both goals is well within my grasp because, as Abraham Lincoln noted, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” So all I have to do is help people change their minds. It isn’t what happens to us that determines how happy we are, it’s what and how we think about what happens to us. Some people call it attitude. Whatever name you give it, it’s the key to happiness.

I will use my feelings to tell me when things aren’t working for me. When I‘m angry, sad, upset, afraid, frustrated, or irritated, when any of those “unpleasant” feelings come over me, I will recognize them as signals that something needs to be changed, so I can regain my happy state. I will use them as cues to examine the situation at hand, particularly my thoughts and beliefs about what is happening to me. I will look at how I am interpreting what is happening, what thoughts are leading to my hurt or anxious or angry feelings. Some have described the process as watching themselves experience the feeling, and then looking for the thoughts behind the emotion. I find that doing this lets me be a grownup, empowered to take responsibility for my feelings, rather than a child victimized by them.

I will let go of what I cannot change: other people, the past, the future. This resolution takes the constant reminder to stop being upset over what isn’t in my control. Reinhold Niebuhr’s serenity prayer helps me do that. “Grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I have to remember that I don’t get to decide other people’s feelings or behavior. I can’t make them act the way I want them to act. I can’t make them love me. I can’t make them happy. What I can do is ask them what they’re thinking or how they’re feeling. I can ask them for what I’d like them to give me. I can control my response to their behavior, creating a reward or punishment for their choice. I can warn them what consequence I will provide for each of their choices.

When I find myself regretting something from the past, I will ask myself if it will help to talk to someone, to get a new perspective on the situation or to share mine, or decide whether I need to apologize for what I did to cause my regret. I will let go of my worries of the future by thinking about what I can do to prepare for the situation that is making me anxious. Then I will let go of pointless worrying about what I can’t control. I can choose to stop investing my physical and emotional energy in the things I cannot change.

I will focus on what I can change–my thoughts, beliefs, expectations, and behavior, which will change how I feel. When I examine, for example, why I’m upset over other people’s behavior in traffic, it’s often because I’m afraid I’m going to be late for an appointment, which usually happens because I didn’t leave enough time for lost or leisurely motorists and red lights. Rather than yell my frustration (with the windows rolled up, of course) at the “slow” driver in front of me, I can take responsibility for having brought my tardiness on myself and accept the fact that I will be late rather than shift the blame by focusing on other people and circumstances. I will then use my time constructively by phoning the person who’s expecting me or thinking about how to apologize when I finally arrive, while resolving to allow myself more transit-time in the future. Caught in similar frustrating, unavoidable circumstances, rather than fume at other people’s “selfishness” and inconsiderate behavior, I can remind myself I have no control over what others choose to think or do. Instead, I can refuse to turn into a whining child because of situations and events beyond my power to alter or fix. By keeping my attention on the things I can control — my thoughts, beliefs, expectations, feelings and behavior — I will remain an empowered, responsible adult. And I will have transformed my anger into calm.

I will appreciate the moment. I will notice the good things that are happening to me right now, whether it’s a beautiful sky, a happy child, an efficient grocery store clerk, or hitting all the green lights for a change. I don’t know how many years or days I’ll live, so I want to live this moment fully.  I will ask myself often, “If this turns out to be the last day of my life, have I enjoyed it to the fullest extent possible?” It’s easy to lapse into worrying about the future, or dreaming of better things to come, or stewing in our regrets over the past while we miss the golden sunlight streaming in our window, or don’t hear the lovely song playing on the radio. I will try not to miss this moment because I’m so focused on what I should be doing next. Even when I am working toward a future goal, I will try to enjoy the process of getting there. I will ask myself constantly, “What can I do to wring the most joy from this moment, from this experience?” I will remind myself that taking out the garbage in the rain is a chance to smell the wet earth, to feel nature’s fresh raindrops on my skin, maybe even to stomp in a puddle. I will seize every opportunity to laugh and have fun and learn from every task, no matter how routine or boring. Housework becomes fun when I blast Motown and dance while drying the dishes or sing along with the Supremes while making the bed, so this is what I will do to make my life joyful.

I will focus on what I have so that I experience abundance, remembering that unhappy people focus on what they want, and they feel deprived. I accept that I won’t get everything I want. I will remind myself that if I base my happiness on getting what I want instead of enjoying what I have, lasting happiness will be unattainable as my wants will constantly expand to exceed my ability to attain them. I will try not to turn my wants into needs. I will embrace this healthy attitude: I will go after what I want, but I will detach my happiness from the outcome. In other words, not getting my way, even if I worked really hard for it, doesn’t have to make me unhappy.

Happy people choose to see the best in people and the world. Unhappy people choose to see the worst. People argue over which view of the world is “true” but very little is truly knowable. We tend to see only the “evidence” that confirms our beliefs, thereby convincing ourselves those beliefs are “facts.” I will challenge that tendency by being open to everyone’s convictions and viewpoints, and then choose the belief that makes me feel happiest.

I will be grateful. Taking stock of all the good things in my life and being grateful for them will keep me in the moment and make me happier. I will remind myself of all of the people who have less than I have, whether it be health, resources, family or friends. I know that if I choose to believe there is a gift in everything that happens to me, I will always find one.

I will believe that all people are equally valuable and worthy by virtue of being human, and that makes me valuable and worthy. I will accept that I don’t have to be perfect, I don’t have to meet anyone else’s expectations or needs to be a worthy and loveable person. And they don’t have to meet mine…

Click Here to Continue Reading “25 Resolutions for Happiness”

Copyright Molly Stranahan. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Molly’s article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a joy-filled day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Making Your Dreams Come True

Snowman

“Reach high, for the stars lie hidden in your soul.
Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.”
Pamela Vaull Starr

Good morning! I’m super pleased to share today’s article with you. It’s called “Making Your Dreams Come True” and it’s by one of my favorite authors, Carol Adrienne. Carol was one of the very first authors to write for our website. Her first column appeared in our very first issue of SoulfulLiving.com in January 2000.

Carol is a life purpose coach and the best-selling author of the book,”The Purpose of Your Life” and “When Life Changes or You Wish It Would,” which I had the honor of being interviewed for! She is also the co-author with James Redfield of the “Celestine Prophecy Experiential Guide.”

I hope Carol’s article inspires you to make your dreams come true! Enjoy ♥

Carol Adrienne“Making Your Dreams Come True”

by Carol Adrienne

Gregg Brown, a training consultant in Vancouver, British Columbia, is living in the dream condominium overlooking the Pacific Ocean that he once thought was out of his price range. More than a year ago, Gregg saw a listing for a beautiful condo on Beach Avenue. He cut out the ad and looked at it every day for a month, and eventually forgot about it. In July of this year, he bought a condo in this same building on Beach Ave. “As I was packing,” says, Gregg, “I found the condo listing that I’d been looking at a year before. Guess what? Without realizing it, I ended up buying the exact same apartment that I had visualized a year before! The owners had taken it off the market a year before, because it hadn’t sold. They reduced the price and had just put it back the market when we were apartment hunting. For a year, every time I’d walk along the beach, I’d look up at the building and say to myself, ‘I’m going to live there.’”

This is how life works when you do your inner work. What is inner work, you ask? It’s asking for what you want with a deep and true desire and staying open to seeing opportunities when they arise. Inner work is creating a space within for what you want to manifest. It’s choosing to feel good and choosing to look for good everywhere in your life. When you imagine good things coming to you, and you eliminate doubt and negativity in thoughts and conversation, you literally open the channel for your dreams to come true.

The Past is Over and the Present is Unfolding

At the moment, you may have an illness or financial problem that doesn’t feel all that good to you! The spiritual challenge for all of us is to stay open to possibility—even miracles. Pain is a part of human existence. Our inner work is to avoid the trap of thinking that our future will be just like our past. The pains and frustrations of the past were created out of the beliefs you were manifesting then, and the choices that you made from the information you had then.

Create a Happy New Year

To create a fertile beginning for an exciting 2004, clean up your actions, thoughts, and conversation. Here’s how:

  • Eliminate the words “don’t,” “not,” and “no” as much as possible. Maintaining awareness and choosing different words will bring a new reality.
  • Avoid the temptation to talk about problems. Wow, that seems like a conversation-stopper, doesn’t it? However, we know that thought, language, and action creates the world we live in. The key is not to speak from a dis-empowered stance. For example, instead of saying, “I can’t afford to take a vacation. I’m too broke. I can’t get time off.” You could choose a different presentation, such as, “I’d love to get away for awhile.” “I’d love to travel to Italy or take a cruise around the Greek Isles.” (and stop there! Don’t add on, “but I can’t because I can’t afford it and I’m working ninety hours a week, and my boss won’t give me time off, or, I’m afraid I’m going to get laid off.”) Don’t throw out details that you don’t want to manifest.
  • Keep your focus on the overall positive qualities in your life. Offer gratitude whenever you have a few spare minutes, in the shower, driving, or waiting in line.
  • Look at the big picture. Imagine finding your house on the Internet using Mapquest.com. Increase the detail until you can see yourself thinking about losing your job, trying to find clients, how you are going to come up with health insurance, worries over your children, or the lack of a sweetie in your life. Now use your mouse button, and click several times until you see your house from further away. You see lawns, and flowers and trees, and people’s cars and the lushness of a whole neighborhood. Then zoom to a higher view and sense serenity and well-being as a predominant force. Babies are being born, people are doing good things for each other, and life keeps flowing. Remember the good times you’ve had. Notice how your body does keep healing itself. Notice that good people do keep coming into your life. Money does have a way of showing up, and friends do call you up and seek your company or your advice. Don’t worry about turning into a pie-in-the-sky idealist. Anytime you want to land with a thud emotionally, just turn on the radio or TV!
  • Raise your vibration. Once you hold positive thoughts, you begin to vibrate with the energy of well-being. Once you are radiating and vibrating good energy, by Law of Attraction, good things of a similar vibration–which means they feel good to you and match a desire you have expressed—begin to come to you.
  • Put yourself in the medium of that which you want to manifest. In the story above, Gregg walked by the condo building on the beach and said, “I’m going to live there.” He immersed himself in the vibration of the beach. Similarly, my friend, Gary McAvoy in Seattle, Washington, wanted to write a novel. He took a temporary part-time job escorting authors in town on book tours. He met an incredible array of famous authors, and today is co-authoring a book with legendary anthropologist, Jane Goodall. He immersed himself in the medium of writing, books, and authorship.
  • Let God handle the details. Gregg wanted that condo. It wasn’t his job to figure out how to make it possible. He just had to keep holding a good feeling and keep making choices in that direction (for example, committing his search to that building.) He didn’t ask the landlords to take the condo off the market until he could afford it, nor did he ask them to reduce the price. Those are external attempts to control a situation in order to “make things happen.” Gregg did both the internal work of continuing to vibrate at a high frequency, and the external footwork of following up when opportunities arrived.
  • Your desire is there for a reason. We summon everything into our lives by the power of our desire. When our life doesn’t reflect what we desire, that contrasting energy fuels our desire for something else.

Synchronistic Signs Signal a Higher Order

Often during transitions, the universe sends us encouragement. For example, Hiroko Takano teaches Japanese at an all-girls school in Palo Alto, California. The small enrollment in her class may mean it will be cancelled. Shortly after a discouraging meeting with her boss, Hiroko had dinner with a friend, Misao Takahara, who shared incredible synchronicities with the repeated occurrence of the number 22. When Hiroko left, she noticed that her odometer read 222.2. “Even though I realized that the last two numbers of my license plate were also 22, I didn’t take this second occurrence of 2222 seriously,” she said. “The next morning, on the way to work, I was worrying about the future of my class. I stopped at a red light and noticed a number 22 bus stopped at the side of the road. The license plate on the car behind the 22 bus was 222. Across the street was another 22 bus.

“Recently, when I was trying to decide whether or not to get a substitute teacher so I could go on a trip I was planning, I thought ‘Well, if I’m meant to go, things will work out. I must focus on the present, not the future.’ As I was thinking this, I saw a car with the license plate number 222 right in front of me! This seemed to be an affirmation for staying in the present. On the way to work this morning, I was thinking so much about my future that I missed the exit and ended up taking the next one. The number 22 bus was right there as if it were waiting for me. These incidents made me realize how important it is to live in the present, without worrying about outcomes. I know everything happens for a reason and that everything is perfect! I have a feeling that 22 is teaching me that it’s time to move out of my comfort zone.”

Hiroko’s attention to the number 22 serves as an affirmation that a higher source is always available to open doors for us and calm our fears of the unknown.

What Is Your Dream?

Have you ever dreamed of pulling up stakes and moving to another country? Do your dream of learning another language? Or raising funds for a good cause? Or developing your creativity? Or starting completely over?

The first part of manifesting a dream is to have one…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Making Your Dreams Come True”

Copyright Carol Adrienne. All Rights Reserved.

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And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Go For Your Dreams!

Snowman

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
Live the life you’ve imagined.”
—Henry David Thoreau

Good morning! If you live in the Northeast, I hope that you and your loved ones are warm and safe this morning. As many of you may know, we are in the midst of a significant winter blizzard here in the East, and it is COLD!!! Brrr.

Today, I want to share a wonderful article with you, called “Go For Your Dreams,” by author, speaker, and “dream coach” Marcia Wieder. Marcia is the best-selling author of the book,”Making Your Dreams Come True

If you have a dream in your heart this New Year’s, Marcia’s expert wisdom and advice will certainly help make it come true!

Enjoy ♥

Marcia Wieder“Go For Your Dreams”

by Marcia Wieder

If you are starting to think about your New Year’s resolutions, or perhaps have already blown them, I have a better solution. This year, why not go for your dreams? Do you dream of doing less and having more? Would you like to be more successful and less stressed out? How about being healthier or in better shape? Do you want more quality time with friends and family? A new job, more passion, more money, greater ease? How about more fun? These are all great dreams and probably have far more chance of happening than your resolutions.

Why don’t resolutions work or typically last very long? Consider this. Your dreams and desires have more power than your doubts and dislikes, so it’s easier to move towards what you want, then it is to get rid of or move away from what you don’t want. Getting a healthier more vibrant body will be easier than losing weight. Building a successful business is more exciting than getting rid of debt.

By reading this article and taking a little time to dream, you can reconnect to your passion and to what really matters to you. Explore how you want the next year of your life to be and get inspired to make something big happen!

Where You Are and Where You Want To Be

As you begin to gain some clarity about where you want to be in life, it is important that you also look at your current reality. The road to your dreams starts here. In order to design a successful strategy for getting what you want, you need to know two things: where you are and where you want to be.

I can’t stress enough the importance of making an honest assessment of where you are now. Starting with inaccurate information will lead to erroneous decisions about what has to be done, and how far you have to go, to reach your dream. For example, where are you currently with respect to the person-al, professional, health, and family aspects of your life? What concerns do you have in these areas? Do you worry that going for your dream will take more time than there is available? Perhaps you don’t believe it’s possible to make your dream come true. All this is part of your reality too.

No doubt you will find that you’re at a different place within each aspect of your life–closer to your dream in some and farther away from it in others. That’s a typical pattern. Ask yourself where you are not only with respect to your dream, but also with regard to your support system, your financial aspects, and your feelings. What are your concerns and beliefs?

The critical question becomes whether you’re more committed to remaining where you are or to getting where you want to be. The difference between the two is what will propel you forward. As you look at where you are, you are likely to hear an inner voice whispering all your limitations–all your attitudes and beliefs, concerns, fears, worries, and tales about why you can’t have what you want.

Fortunately, your positive attitudes and beliefs also will arise–that is, you do believe your dream is possible, it’s something you’ve always wanted, something to which you’re committed, something you know you can have. I’ll discuss the importance of your beliefs in just a moment. But first, let’s take a little inventory of your life…

Click Here to Continue Reading “Go For Your Dreams”

Copyright Marcia Wieder. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about today’s articles! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a dream-filled day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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How The Power Of A Single Wish Can Change Your Life

Snowman

As you think, so you are. As you dream, so you become. As you create your wishes, so they create you.”
Wendy Garrett

Good morning and happy New Year! I hope today’s blog finds you feeling joyful and optimistic for a wonderful 2014! I’m very excited about the new year, as I have many exciting plans for new features and growth at SoulfulLiving.com! Our Facebook page is growing rapidly and just reached a major milestone of 100,000 friends this past weekend. There is so much to be grateful for this New Year’s, and I am so pleased that our SoulfulLiving.com family continues to grow further and wider with each passing year.

I’m very excited to announce our topic for January, as well. We’ll be looking at the theme of “New Beginnings” this month, and during this first week, we will be looking at the sub-theme of “making dreams come true,” as a passageway to new beginnings.

Today, I want to share one of my favorite articles with you by best-selling author Laura Day, called “The Circle.” Laura is the author of many wonderful books, including, “The Circle: How The Power of a Single Wish Can Change Your Life,” “Welcome to Your Crisis: How to Use the Power of Crisis to Create the Life You Want,” and “Practical Intuition,” among others.

If you have a wish in your heart and a dream for a new beginning this New Year, Laura’s article is sure to help you make it come true!

Enjoy ♥

Laura Day“The Circle: How the Power of a Single Wish Can Change Your Life”

by Laura Day

To start this new year off on the right track I’d like to invite you to make one single wish, the one change you want more than anything else in the world. You can make others after this one comes true. Your wish can be anything, “realistic” or not, as long as it is the one thing that you hunger for when you wake up and go to sleep yearning. Perhaps that wish is for that thing that you envy in others. Make your wish and write it down before you read the rest of this article. Keep this wish in your heart as you read on. We will work more on it later. You are going to use your own inner resources in The Circle to grant yourself this wish.

How many times have you started diets over the holidays or greeted the first of the year with an overwhelming exercise program and a list of New Years resolutions. Huge, seismic, self imposed (mostly punishing) changes rarely work. They overwhelm too many different parts of us. These solutions deny the hunger and need, the insecurities and experiences that created the problem in the first place. If we could truly change our lives this way we’d all be thin, nonsmoking, vegetarians working from home making enough to donate large sums of money to our favorite causes while being able to afford all the organic produce we could eat!

The conceit of the “thinking” mind assumes that we can overcome years of programming, subdue our conflicting subconscious desires and the patterns we have created in ourselves and our world, by simply deciding. As a human being you are composed of many parts, intellect, intuition, the subconscious to name a few. We create our outer world and our experience of it, through these energies and perceptions. In a sense, we each live in our own world. The miracle of creation is that you can change your world by making subtle, organic changes in yourself.

Think back to the first time you fell in love. Remember the first time you found a mentor, a passion, a perfect job, friend, sport or hobby. Your life changed miraculously in that instant. And yet notice that the transformation was probably not a result of perfect planning, hard work, punishing exercise or self control. The change was simply a miraculous coincidence, an apparent accident of timing and opportunity. All that came before the change in your life was transformed in that synchronistic moment. Though it may have seemed to be the result of “luck,” you created that metamorphosis by subtle shifts within you.

These subtle internal shifts induced external shifts in others and the world around you, paving the way for the synchronistic moment or series of evens that permitted your “miracle” to become real.

A circle is the most energy-efficient geometric form. All of life, from our cells to our planet, strive for the form of The Circle. A Circle occurs when all energy, within us and around us, is working together in perfect creative harmony, to form a life-giving pattern. The virtually limitless energy of The Circle is available to us all. It is available to you, right now. In those moments of “luck” or “miracles” you have stumbled into this energy unknowingly…

Click Here to Continue Reading “The Circle”

Copyright Laura Day. All Rights Reserved.

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Wishing you a very blessed 2014!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you love, peace, joy and many
blessed new beginnings
in 2014!

Happy New Year




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