What Choice Are You Making

I often wonder how I fit into this thing we call life.  It seems like I beat to a different drum than many do, and sometimes I feel like I create the drum that I beat to.  Yet, I feel like I'm part of this habitation experience called the world in which we live, only to find out that I feel so much different than most people I meet.  I have no way to fully know how to put all of this into words, but yet I experience it and feel it and see it on display before my eyes.

There are so many out there that I see who are following some myths taught to them as the only truth.  While these myths hold truth within, they are not the absolute truth for life.  In fact, the truths are being covered up with beliefs and opinions that are regurgitated at will.  If you try to breach these subjects with these people, you are met with a skepticism of doubt, fear and trepidation.  You are viewed as one that just doesn't understand, even though I understand far more than they realize.

There are many out there that uncover one rock and think that the grubs they have found underneath are the sole food source for the entire civilization.  As they go around proclaiming this, a funny thing happens.  They stop looking under the rest of the rocks on their path.  They fail to see that the first or even the second rock is but one in the road of life.  They miss the remaining rocks and what is underneath them, because they stop looking.

Daily Angel Meditations April 29

Another website that I have created and write for daily is filled with positive and uplifting messages of growth and awareness.  It is called Daily Angel Meditation and is created from my morning meditations with the angels.  As I take time out in the beginning of my day, I record whatever comes to me.  I start out with a blank piece of paper and no preconceived ideas of what to write.  I then allow the words to fill the page, connecting with what my angels have to say.


Here are selected blog posts beginning the week of April 29, 2013.  I have tried to summarize them briefly and give the actual link to them.  To visit the website, just go to DailyAngelMeditation.com .

Right now, I've not been able to keep up with the blog, Daily Angel Meditations, but I am trying to keep up these thoughts.  Once my schedule permits, I hope to return to these daily journal writings.

April 29, 2013 (Monday)

Topic: No Blog Post
When something knocks us off our center, let us take a moment and breathe.  Just center and focus on your breath.  Think of nothing else but how your breath rises and falls, how it feels, how deep it is and how easy or difficult it may be.  Just focus on your breathing for 30 seconds and see if you don't find your center by that point. 

Men And Vulnerability - Good At Pretending

An excellent part from Brene Brown's book, Daring Greatly.  This shared passage is on how men experience shame, which is much different from women.  While this is a very small part of the overall section on men and shame, it is a good one.  If this rings a bell for you, I would urge you to get her book and read it.  

Here’s the painful pattern that emerged from my research with men: We ask them to be vulnerable, we beg them to let us in, and we plead with them to tell us when they’re afraid, but the truth is that most women can’t stomach it.

And men are very smart. They know the risks, and they see the look in our eyes when we’re thinking, C’mon! Pull it together. Man up.

“Men know what women really want. They want us to pretend to be vulnerable. We get really good at pretending.”   Daring Greatly by Brene Brown (Pg 95 - 96)

Living With Regret

Reading a blog the other day, I shared it on social media, but thought it was so good that I needed to share it on here.  Of course, I'm going to just quote a brief section of it.  You will have to read the entire thing and trust me, it is well worth the read.

Healthy regret gives you a way to reflect on the past and make different choices. Unhealthy regret prevents you from living in the present because you are still carrying the past, like a monkey on your back. It’s like the Zen story about two monks who came across a woman struggling to cross a stream.- From Soulseeds Blog

Qi Activation - National Qigong Conference Orlando

Will I see you on May 25 to May 28?  I will be attending the National Qigong Conference in Orlando.  Qi Activation is the title of the conference and if it is like the one I went to in 2009, I'm sure no one will be disappointed.  It was well worth the 4 days that I spent there and it was one of the most inexpensive conferences I have ever been to in my life.

The first thing that drew me to this conference was the low price for a lot of CEU's.  Since I'm a massage therapist, I look for lower cost classes I can take to meet the CEU's I need to renew my license.  Too many classes out there charge way more than they should because they can.  I'm sorry if that steps on some toes, but I get tired of this attitude.

I was also intrigued by the size of this conference.  Never before had I been in a conference like this with 2000 people.  Let me tell you, it enhances the experience in so many ways.  I met people from all walks of life and actually saw a few familiar faces.

Hopefully We Evolve As Humans

I got chastised not long ago on a website about this concept and I thought it was time I needed to clarify what I mean.  Obviously what I wrote missed the point as to what it means that hopefully we evolve as humans.  The dictionary refers to it as developing gradually or working something out.  It may also refer to the way a biological organism will change and develop through the evolutionary process.

Evolve is not a negative in my mind.  It doesn't mean some horror movie of creating a monster.  It is not harmful.  I see it as completely positive and developing process.  It is an evolutionary process within each one of us and the world or universe at large.

I really don't understand how it can be viewed as a negative unless it is something that makes an individual uncomfortable.  If that's the case, I get it.  Many people don't like our beliefs and opinions challenged.  We tend to go into our respective corners and hold dearly and tightly to everything that we claim as our own.  Unfortunately, the more we do that, the less we evolve.

The Truth Of Healing

It is so easy to lock ourselves into one viewpoint of how we see the body.  As medical and allied medical professionals, we all tend to scurry to our respective corners and only see truth as our brain filters it or according to the beliefs we have been taught.  Yes, I know everyone tries not to do this, but we are human and we live in a society that corrals us into a set of norms just to keep the status quo operating in a way that is comfortable to everyone.

In order to heal others, this is not helpful and unless we challenge ourselves and push ourselves outside of this norm, we will remain part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.  If we continue to follow our own paradigms, we lose sight of truth and discovery.  I am just as guilty of this as the next person, but I write this to give a nudge of challenge to every healing professional in our world.

Often what we perceive as fact and truth, may apply for one moment in time or it may be a result of how we filter data and experiences in life.  I have seen far too many research studies that were downright flawed or were so one sided, that I cringe from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes.  I have seen people base beliefs and practices on what they consider to be the truth, only to find out that they are regurgitating what has been taught to them.  I am speaking to all medical professionals and to the all new age folks.

Easy Veggies Rice and Cheese Recipe

This is one of my favorite things to make!  It is simple and easy and nutritious.  The raw taste of the veggies just brings it alive.  Outside of cutting up some vegetables and steaming them and the rice, it is not a hard thing to make.  It takes very little time. So, here's what I do with my recipe and you of course can create it in whatever way works for you.

Sometimes I use a veggie chopper to chop the vegetables up, but tonight I just cut them up.  It all depends upon what you have and what you want to do. The veggie chopper really makes cutting vegetables up so easy.  There is no right way or wrong way to do this. 

Cook time for the veggies and rice was around 45 to 50 minutes, but of course that depends upon your steamer.

You can use whatever vegetables you wish to use.  Your favorite veggies are the ones that work the best.  Tonight, I used broccoli,  cauliflower, carrots, green pepper, red pepper, and snow peas.

Daily Angel Meditations April 22

Another website that I have created and write for daily is filled with positive and uplifting messages of growth and awareness.  It is called Daily Angel Meditation and is created from my morning meditations with the angels.  As I take time out in the beginning of my day, I record whatever comes to me.  I start out with a blank piece of paper and no preconceived ideas of what to write.  I then allow the words to fill the page, connecting with what my angels have to say.


Here are selected blog posts beginning the week of April 22, 2013.  I have tried to summarize them briefly and give the actual link to them.  To visit the website, just go to DailyAngelMeditation.com .

April 22, 2013 (Monday)

Topic: No Blog Post
Sometimes it is important that we just let an experience go and release it into the wind.  We have no control over external events and if we try to control them believing that we do, we will be holding on to something that is not ours. 

Brene Brown on Wholehearted Living

Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough. It’s going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging. - Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Healing Through Expressive Writing

“Since the mid-1980s an increasing number of studies have focused on the value of expressive writing as a way to bring about healing. The evidence is mounting that the act of writing about traumatic experience for as little as fifteen or twenty minutes a day for three or four days can produce measurable changes in physical and mental health. Emotional writing can also affect people’s sleep habits, work efficiency, and how they connect with others.”  - Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Healing Abandonment Issues

This blog post is actually the second part in this series and was written that way, but since it was so long, I decided to split it up into two parts. To understand more on what this post is about, I would suggest that you read the blog post from April 18, 2013, Healing Abandonment Experiences.

I could go on about different experiences of abandonment that I have been through in my life, but these are the main ones.  They show in a broad manner what can happen.  However, it is the issue of how abandonment follows you through your entire life.  It is not something you can easily walk away from or ignore.  It permeates every relationship, every job, every social contact, and all parts of life.

In the post, I Have Abandonment Issues, from the blog Together We Heal, I was struck by one of the portions of text.  I would like to share this with you because I think it goes to the heart of what abandonment is all about.

For quite a long time, I had the false belief that “people always leave.” As a result, guess what, people around me often didn’t stick around for long, because I would pretty much act in a way that ensured they would not want to! It is hard to acknowledge, but we have to be straight about the role we play that leads us to re-create the experience of being abandoned over and over again. - Together We Heal Blog

Healing Abandonment Experiences

I was reading a WordPress blog that I stumbled into the other day and it really hit home.  It is a topic that I normally don't hear people talk that much about, let alone share it from their personal experience.  I've went through abandonment, maybe not like some people, but in a more covert way.  I'm not sure it makes any difference how it happened, as the effects are all the same.

Another story I remember beside my own was a roommate I had in college.  He was a very nice guy and seemed to get along great with people.  He had a great personality and was fun loving in nature.  I still remember the day when he and I were talking and he shared something very personal.  He told me that a social services worker had found him in a garbage can.  His own mother for reasons he did not know, left him in a garbage can.  He could have died.  I don't remember how young he was, but I think he was just a baby.

My story is not that dramatic as this roommate story is on abandonment.  However, what I went through was more covert and more subtle.  Yes, there was the time in the hospital when I was just a baby that my mom had to choose between being close to my father who had hepatitis or stay with me.  I'm sure it wasn't that she didn't want to be with me, but he had much more control over her and he was extremely insecure.  Of course, there is no way I can recollect this in my memory, but my body still feels it.

Book Review: Daring Greatly - Brene Brown

I'm only partially into this book and I can barely put it down!  I saw the original TED talk on YouTube and that blew my mind away.  The book is basically adding to that!  Thanks Brene Brown for blowing my mind!  (and I say that in a good way).  Daring  Greatly was featured on OWN Super Soul Sunday a few weeks back and rightfully so!

Most likely there are people out there that are yawning and thinking that talking about vulnerability and shame are like the most boring subjects one could discuss.  Or perhaps like an example I just saw, they dismiss it because it hits too close to home.  It could be that others just don't see this as being worthy enough of their time to read.  I'd offer up in a very strong and forceful way that if you fall into these categories, you really need to read this book.

It is so down to earth and a very simple read.  It is written just as Brene Brown would give a lecture and tell a story.  There is not one part of it that is boring or just academic or one of those college texts you have to read when you're in school.  Most books like this, I can only read a little bit before my eyes are drifting off, but this one - it holds my attention.  In fact, Daring Greatly, holds my attention to the point I don't want to quit reading it.

Human Trafficking

Source:  Elite Continuing Education
Home Study Course
Human Trafficking

While I don't like to see anyone taken advantage of in this world, what I read as part of a home study course today for continuing education woke me up to something of which I really was not aware.  In fact, many people probably go through a day not even thinking about human trafficking, but yet it is a very widespread problem and is most likely taking place right before our eyes.

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries throughout the world.  In fact, it is estimated to be a 32 billion dollar industry with 27 million people being enslaved in the world today.  While law enforcement  is working to try and stop the flow of victims into the US, it takes all of us to be aware and assist to help stop this.

I was completely surprised that almost 300,000 children are sexually exploited in the US.  Around 17,000 victims are trafficked into the US with about 800,000 trafficked in the world each year.  In my mind, one is too many, but think about the number of people for a moment.  It is a far bigger problem than most of us realize or even may want to admit.

Some of the places where sex trafficking can be found include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, live cyber-sex sites, sexual services through massage parlors, truck stops and escort services.  I have heard so many men especially talk about massage in such a way that is degrading and this is part of the problem.  The minute you say you do massage, the first thing many men will say is a statement that is sexual in nature.  It is like some of these individuals in our society can not see the difference between massage and sexual activity, and to me they are part of the problem with their primitive mindsets.  True healthy massage has nothing to do with sex and if you are part of that situation, than please learn what it means to be a man, woman, or human, not just a brain dead animal.

Daily Angel Meditations April 15

Another website that I have created and write for daily is filled with positive and uplifting messages of growth and awareness.  It is called Daily Angel Meditation and is created from my morning meditations with the angels.  As I take time out in the beginning of my day, I record whatever comes to me.  I start out with a blank piece of paper and no preconceived ideas of what to write.  I then allow the words to fill the page, connecting with what my angels have to say.


Here are selected blog posts beginning the week of April 15, 2013.  I have tried to summarize them briefly and give the actual link to them.  To visit the website, just go to DailyAngelMeditation.com .

April 15, 2013 (Monday)

Topic: No Blog Post
What we do to the least among us, we do unto ourselves.  If we hold one another up in honor and respect, we show the respect we have for ourselves.  If we mistreat others, we mistreat ourselves.. 

Stay As The Self by Moojiji

The other day, a friend of mine sent me a link to this video.  It seems almost too simplistic, but I know from first hand experience just how difficult it is to trust the self.  To trust our inner self and be at one with it in peace, is just not easy for humans to do.

In the video, Moojiji gives some great advice and here are some of the words that I transferred from this video which I thought said so much.

Pay attention to what's not changing, and gradually, only what's not changing is there. That even what is changing becomes what's not changing. It may sound over-simplistic, even naive as an advice. But it is the sage's secret, and it works. Don't keep picking up thoughts; just stay Here. Here is your monastery, your ashram, your temple, your home, your Self. Know this and move wherever your Heart and the winds of life and existence takes you. And even this day when your body shall fall, you'll be here to watch it also.  - Moojiji

YouTube Video - The Sage's Secret:  Stay As The Self

Remove Space Within Atoms Of Human Body

This is a great quote that I saw come through on Twitter from Brian Greene.  According to his Facebook page, he is the author of The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos.  I have not read his book, but it sounds interesting.

Remove all the space within the atoms making up the human body, and every person that’s ever lived would fit inside a baseball. - Brian Greene

Drake University Bans Plastic Water Bottles

The other day I was reading in the Des Moines Register about a story that just made me shake my head.  In the story, it was stated that Drake University in Iowa has now banned plastic water bottles.  In their defense, this was a student led initiative.  While they have banned plastic water bottles, it appears they are giving each student a refillable water bottle and making hydration stations plentifully available.

Yet, I am waiting for the moment when these same people who are so against plastic water bottles, ban all soft drink plastic bottles.  I mean, fair is fair, right?  Of course not!  I know the twisted logic that will not allow this to happen.

Before you think that I am completely missing the point, if you banned all purified bottled water, I would be completely behind you on that one.  To ban water that is carefully bottled and not just purified is short-sighted to say the least.  Of course, it means that you have to do your research and understand how each brand and supplier packages their water.

Living As A Highly Sensitive Person

For those who aren't in touch with their emotions, this may or may not mean much to you.  However, I would hope that you will read this so you can understand more what highly sensitive people deal with in a day.  Everyone interacts with sensitive people each day of their life.  The more you know about how they operate, the more you can function more effectively in this world.

As I have written before, I am one of these highly sensitive people.  I sense, pick up, and connect with so much that I even have a difficult time making sense of it.  In fact, I am sometimes not even aware of all that I pick up, but I feel it all the way to my bone.  Some days it helps me greatly and other days it is pure hell to deal with in life.

For instance, when I walk into a building and/or office, I can sense an energy or a feel to the place.  Within moments, I get a generalized sense of many characteristics of that building and/or office.  It isn't just the decor or interior decorating.  It isn't just the pleasantness of the receptionist or the cold hard stares.  It is much more than that and I base all of my reactions in regards to what my senses tell me.

Another case where this comes into play is in a sense of knowing that certain events may take place.  I'm not talking about being psychic here, although many may claim it is and they may be right.  I'm talking about a sense of knowing that things aren't going to go the way everyone intends or that things aren't quite right.  Recently, I went to a potential job site the night before so I could make sure I would be able to find the building.  When I arrived at the building, I instantly knew that this was not the place for the job, but had no way to verify it.  Sure enough, the next day my intuition and gut sense feeling was spot on.

Thou Shall Make Fun Of People

Treating others without respect seems to be an obvious part of being religious.  I mean, I see all these people that hold religious institutions up as a badge of honor in their life, yet their words and actions fail to hold up to the same degree.  It is almost like their religion demands that thou shall make fun of people.  Don't believe me; just look at the stuff that gets circulated on Facebook, Twitter, and comments on news sites.

It angers me to see just how we treat each other and how much we show contempt for one another.  I don't care what side of the political spectrum you are on or who you are or what you think you know.  If you feel the need to ridicule and making fun of others is appropriate, than I'm sorry to tell you this, but it is a bigger reflection of who you are, than the person you are disrespecting. 

What we say about others is a very direct reflection of who we are and what we harbor within our soul.  It demeans not only the person we refer to, but it demeans humanity as a whole.  It shows how little we respect ourselves and the essence of life.  I find it appalling to view on a daily basis.  No matter where you turn, this lack of respect is shoved in your face.

Snake Oil Or New Age Miracles

These days I see so many things out there that make me eyes roll in amazement.  So many people claim to have new age miracles, but in many ways I think it looks more like snake oil salesman.  You might think that is harsh and you may think I'm way off base.  Of course, you are entitled to your opinion as I am.

People often look at someone who can talk big and mighty as a person of authority.  They assume and give credibility to these people without ever so much as exercising all the brain cells of common sense.  It is almost like their brains shut down and they feed upon every word as it is the living morsel of truth in the universe.  I know, I'm making a lot of flowery speech here, but I'm doing it to help illustrate my point.

Unfortunately, the claims that many make about new age miracles, cures, and practices are not backed up by science or even by an authentic measurement.  Often it is gut feeling or some limited observations of who they have witnessed gaining from a treatment or cure they gave them.  While I know full and well, that it is sometimes hard to measure everything that happens when it comes to healing, some new age practices don't even attempt to try.

Daily Angel Meditations April 8

Another website that I have created and write for daily is filled with positive and uplifting messages of growth and awareness.  It is called Daily Angel Meditation and is created from my morning meditations with the angels.  As I take time out in the beginning of my day, I record whatever comes to me.  I start out with a blank piece of paper and no preconceived ideas of what to write.  I then allow the words to fill the page, connecting with what my angels have to say.


Here are selected blog posts beginning the week of April 8, 2013.  I have tried to summarize them briefly and give the actual link to them.  To visit the website, just go to DailyAngelMeditation.com .

April 8, 2013 (Monday)

Topic: No Blog Post
When we travel within, we discover all the possibilities that our life holds now and in the future. 

Embrace and Discover Possibility

Each new day has a beginning and that is the point where possibility exists.  It is up to us to carry the ball forward, or let the ball lie on the ground.  Either way, we are in charge of what we do with possibility in our life.

All too often we wonder why the ball is still lying on the ground, but we fail to see that we are just staring at it.  The ball will not move unless we pick it up and move it.  It will not change its place, unless we initiate that change.

In life, possibility only happens when we take the initiative to take the necessary steps that we need to take.  Standing back and waiting for everything to happen will get us no further to our goal, than wishing we can sustain ourselves without food.

Embrace possibility.  Embrace taking one step after another.  Discover possibility.

Free From Our Past

Do we allow the programs of yesterday to run unhindered in our mind, or do we evaluate the credibility of these outdated programs and insert new ones that gives us options like we have never seen before.  It is up to us to make the choice between living in the past, or embracing each new moment of the future, free from our past. - Don Shetterly

Allow Things To Fall Into Place

Sometimes I am such a good worrier that I really mess life up.  For me to wait for things to fall in place is like asking a politician to tell the truth.  Yet, politicians aside, I am trying to teach myself that worrying is not going to get me very far.

You see, the more I worry about things, the more I hinder things from happening in my life.  It is like I choke off the blood supply and watch it die a slow and painful death.  I do this to myself as I'm sure many others do and no matter how much I try to avoid it, I seem to revert back to my old patterns.  I curse them, but I embrace them.

On the other hand, I notice that if I don't worry about what is taking place, an unusual thing happens.  It appears that if I quit hindering stuff in my life and manifesting abundance, that in all reality, I open myself up to a flow of manifestation that I didn't know existed.  Once I step out of the way and let go, things fall into place.

Know Thyself

If you think that you really know yourself, then open the door that is before you.  Know thyself. - Don Shetterly

How Long Should You Be In Therapy?

I just read an article titled that had merit to it, but then it probably inadvertently offered some bad advice for people.  I'll explain as I go through this blog post.  The title was In Therapy Forever and was published in The New York Times.  In many respects, I'm glad to see this subject being talked about, but I fear that in our instant society, it will send the wrong message.

Many years ago I had a friend who was seeing two therapists a week, going to group therapy and seeing a psychiatrist weekly.  He was complaining to me that he was making no progress and is one of those that could depress you after an hour conversation on the phone.  My response to him was, "maybe you are seeing too many therapists and you should cut back."  After hearing an audible gasp on the other end of the phone, he politely let me know that I was crazy for suggesting such a thing.

Other people that I have known who should have continued with therapy, quit long before they made progress.  They would come up to the edge of a major breakthrough only to run back to their safe space and avoid what they needed to deal with in their life.  Many humans do that because the fear of confronting these tough spaces is much greater and more difficult than actually doing the work to heal.

Marriage Equality

It is sad to see statements made in debate playing out across this country.  The people for and against marriage equality are voicing their complaints in the loudest ways possible.  I know which side I come down on and if you read all the way to the end, you will see which way I fall.  Of course, you might be able to tell that before you get to the end, but I'll try to be balanced in what I write.

I realize there are people who live by faith and according to their faith (or religion), homosexuality is wrong.  They will quote referenced statements that they have been taught in justifying their stance to the world.  While I think that they have every right to say what it is they want to say, I believe they are missing the point.  To me, people who call themselves religious but then go around telling people that they love the sinner but hate the sin, are quite frankly judging people.  According to the bible I have read, it says "judge not, lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1).  There is only authority that these people claim to believe in and according to the bible, is the only one that can judge anyone.

Often people get so bent out of shape over what is done by others.  It is easier to point a finger at others and make a spectacle out of someone, but at the end of the day, it says far more about the individual than the people they are adamantly against.  It would be much better in this world if we spent more time focusing on how we could be better people ourselves, rather than spending all our waking minutes consumed with what others do.

Daily Angel Meditations April 1

Another website that I have created and write for daily is filled with positive and uplifting messages of growth and awareness.  It is called Daily Angel Meditation and is created from my morning meditations with the angels.  As I take time out in the beginning of my day, I record whatever comes to me.  I start out with a blank piece of paper and no preconceived ideas of what to write.  I then allow the words to fill the page, connecting with what my angels have to say.


Here are selected blog posts beginning the week of April 1, 2013.  I have tried to summarize them briefly and give the actual link to them.  To visit the website, just go to DailyAngelMeditation.com .

April 1, 2013 (Monday)

Topic: No Blog Post
As a new day begins, let us seize each moment with openness, gusto, and a desire to embrace each part of it as if it were the most precious gift we had ever received.