Many people are confused about how to love themselves. Because there were treated poorly by their parents, they naturally feel bad about themselves and treat themselves in a similar way – without respect, without love, without reverence. If we are to live successful lives, we must learn how to love ourselves as the beautiful, brilliant, spiritually divine souls that we are.

So how should we love ourselves? You know you’re on the right path when you love and honor the goodness in others, foster a divine connection and live according to your deepest principles. While we should also love and honor what is not good in others, that does not mean we can’t get angry or express our disapproval. Sometimes anger is a natural, healthy and productive response to reality. It’s all a matter of how you channel it. Imagine if Martin Luther King had not become angry at the inhumanity of social injustice and racism. But he directed his anger toward positive social change.

It doesn’t make any difference what other people say or think about you. You must know who and what you are, and that is all that matters. You need to have [...]]]>

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Many people are confused about how to love themselves. Because there were treated poorly by their parents, they naturally feel bad about themselves and treat themselves in a similar way – without respect, without love, without reverence. If we are to live successful lives, we must learn how to love ourselves as the beautiful, brilliant, spiritually divine souls that we are.

So how should we love ourselves? You know you’re on the right path when you love and honor the goodness in others, foster a divine connection and live according to your deepest principles. While we should also love and honor what is not good in others, that does not mean we can’t get angry or express our disapproval. Sometimes anger is a natural, healthy and productive response to reality. It’s all a matter of how you channel it. Imagine if Martin Luther King had not become angry at the inhumanity of social injustice and racism. But he directed his anger toward positive social change.

It doesn’t make any difference what other people say or think about you. You must know who and what you are, and that is all that matters. You need to have faith in yourself. Trust your instincts. Trust your inner voice. Other people have no right to demean or interfere in the spiritual journey of your divine self, as long as you do no harm to others. Only you know what is best for you, and only you know your true path and calling.

Spiritual Growth & Awareness

Of course, because most people lack spiritual awareness, they will try and block your own progress of spiritual growth. This is normal, and to be expected. Try not to hold a grudge against others simply because they lack your own spiritual awareness. Most people are spiritually asleep. They may mean well, they may love you, but they just don’t know how to express and support you on your spiritual journey.

All of us carry wounds from our childhood. But these wounds cannot be healed by loving others at our own expense. If we neglect ourselves at the expense of others, we will only end up hurting ourselves more in the end. We will darken our inner light. You are an angel. A divine spirit. A beautiful soul. Treat and see yourself that way. Want and appreciate the beauty and bounty that flows into your life. You deserve it.

We depend on others, such as family and friends, to understand and support us, but this can be very discouraging. The reality is, oftentimes they cannot do so because they have their own struggles, their own demons to overcome. Don’t make the mistake of seeing this as your fault. The shortcoming is not in you. They are doing their best with what they know, what they have learned and what they have. Most people, unfortunately, are spiritually stunted by the people who actually love them.

And know that in the end no matter how much people love you, you are ultimately responsible for yourself. You must learn to depend on yourself alone, even if others love and support you along the way. Learning to depend and rely on yourself to overcome the challenges of life is what builds character and self-esteem. Never pity yourself.

By learning that you can depend on yourself to overcome any obstacle, you develop the feeling of being a successful and competent person. This feeling of inner worth is what will support you on the difficult paths your life will take, and is what will make your life fulfilling. As the great philosopher Nietzsche wrote, “Character is destiny”.

Developing healthy self-esteem and a strong character will allow you to achieve anything in life. Your dreams will become reality. If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. You are your own best friend, and your own worst enemy.

The Law of Attraction – Karma

When you have a healthy, vibrant, high vibration spirit, you will attract the same energy into your life. You’ll find that other healthy, successful, happy people will enter into your life without you even realizing it. This is the Law of Attraction. Whatever energy you put out will come back to you. If you think great thoughts, great things will happen. Maybe not the same day. Maybe not exactly when you want or expect it. But over time, you will find greater and greater success.

Likewise, if you fill your thoughts with negative energy, and constantly look at the dark side of life, you will attract that darkness to yourself. Pessimism feeds upon itself. When you intentionally commit an evil act, then that energy will come back to you. That is the law of Karma.

When you vibrate energy at a high level, you’ll find that what you desire and need will naturally flow to you. People who are around you – successful people – will feel better and happier and become more attracted to you. If you’re a man, women will naturally find you more attractive because most women love success and confidence in a man more than anything. They are attracted to a man’s power. Most men too – or at least those with high self-esteem – are attracted to confidence in a woman.

Sometimes loving others will require making sacrifices for them, but not to the detriment of your core self. Sometimes loving others means saying no; you have to take care of yourself first. Despite what you may fear, people will not usually become angry when you define your boundaries, but will respect you for your power and strength of individuality. They will see you as a role model, someone to emulate and respect. They will admire your courage.

So that’s how to make your dreams a reality. Not by seeking support from the outside world, but by looking deep within and finding your own strength, your own power, your own dreams and visions – your own ecstasy. Then work like hell. People will follow you on a stairway to heaven.

Most people find this path of self love difficult. Women especially have been taught by tradition to love others ahead of themselves. But just because we put ourselves first does not mean that our love for others becomes diminished.

In fact, when we love ourselves first, we become more powerful, our love becomes more powerful, and we have more to give others. We can help others most when we learn to love ourselves well. That means discovering the divine spirit within. Discovering our own beauty and genius. Our own light. Meditation is one way to discover the divine within.

And don’t forget to be grateful. Gratitude is everything. Be thankful for all that you have. The more you learn to appreciate what you have in life, the more you’ll have to appreciate.

Most of us believed the injurious things that people told us when we were children. They told us we were stupid, or fat, or ugly, or too skinny, or weak, or just not good enough. So we tried to compensate in ways that would make others love us, at the expense of our integrity, our individuality and spiritual wholeness.

We spent so much time attempting to prove our goodness and worthiness to other people that we forgot how to believe in ourselves, determine our own goals and reward ourselves for our progress, rather than basing our self-worth and self-respect on the belief or attention of others.

But the truth is, they were not good enough. And they tried to pawn off their own inadequate feelings on us so they could feel better about themselves. But in the end, we must all learn forgiveness. Forgiveness is the seed of all healing. When we learn to fly in the divine light of forgiveness, we learn what true love is. All true love is born in forgiveness.

It is never too late to have a happy childhood. No matter what you have suffered, others have been there too, and not only survived but thrived. It is never too late to begin loving yourself, and when you do you can be reborn, because the universe will shower you with this love and all the love it contains and will bring you back home to the miraculous. Ask and you shall receive, because the universe is listening right now.

Truly successful people believe in themselves first, and only then seek out the resources and support they need to make their dreams come alive. Unsuccessful people don’t have faith in themselves or their ability to create what they desire, so they wait for others to give them what they need, or blame and resent other people for not giving it to them.

Your decisions – your destiny – are yours to write. You are writing the story of your life. What story are you going to tell?

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Stress may be the number one killer of modern times. Everywhere you go, you hear people saying how stressed they are. This is due to the fact that life is changing and progressing at an exponential rate. People are losing their jobs or changing careers and relationships faster than ever before. Debt is at record levels, at least in America.

Of course, this change is both good and bad. It is good because it means knowledge and technology are advancing exponentially, increasing our life-expectancy and standard of living. It is bad if we do not learn to cope with this change.

Statistically, about about 12% or 13% of all Americans ages 18 to 54 suffer from an anxiety disorder at some time in their life. That’s about 20 million people. This is the number one health problem among women, and the number two health problem among men second to alcohol and drug abuse.

More people suffer from anxiety than any other mental health [...]]]>

Vitamins and antioxidant health supplements, along with healthy diets of natural, organic foods for weight loss, exercise and fitness are necessary for optimal mental health and anti-aging. But it goes further than that.

Stress may be the number one killer of modern times. Everywhere you go, you hear people saying how stressed they are. This is due to the fact that life is changing and progressing at an exponential rate. People are losing their jobs or changing careers and relationships faster than ever before. Debt is at record levels, at least in America.

Of course, this change is both good and bad. It is good because it means knowledge and technology are advancing exponentially, increasing our life-expectancy and standard of living. It is bad if we do not learn to cope with this change.

Statistically, about about 12% or 13% of all Americans ages 18 to 54 suffer from an anxiety disorder at some time in their life. That’s about 20 million people. This is the number one health problem among women, and the number two health problem among men second to alcohol and drug abuse.

More people suffer from anxiety than any other mental health disorder. Women suffer from anxiety at twice the rate of men. The cost to society approaches $50 billion a year. And what is the cause of this anxiety? Very often it is triggered by stress.

Stress does not just cause anxiety, it also leads to depression, another scourge of modern society. Stress is a killer, which can cause many horrible diseases from high blood pressure, strokes and cardiovascular illness to autoimmune disorders and cancer. We know that stress weakens the immune system, which is responsible for fighting nearly all disease.

During stress, the body releases hormones that can be useful against short-term threats or for physical activity, but when released for an extended period of time lead to the break down of the body and disease. In addition, stress leads people to unhealthy habits such as poor diets, drinking, smoking, lack of exercise and drugs.

So how do we fight stress and become more relaxed? There are many ways, and each person must find what works best for them. Here are a few suggestions that seem to work well for many people.

The first thing is to realize that almost all stress is caused not by events in the external world, but by how you react to those events. Stress is produced by the thoughts in your own mind which you are responsible for creating.

One of my favorite techniques for reducing stress is listening to music. When you are feeling stressed, your body is vibrating at a low level of energy. Beautiful music vibrates at a higher energy frequency. So by listening to music, the higher levels of vibrational energy will lift and increase the energy levels in your own body and naturally decrease your stress levels. Music will help your body to vibrate at a higher frequency, and has been shown in scientific studies to reduce stress levels.

Meditation has also been proven to reduce stress levels. If you have not learned how to meditate, now is a great time. Meditation is a great way to reduce stress and gain control over your life. Everyone I know who meditates appears more calm, relaxed and in control of their emotions and their life. Meditation clears your mind of the negative thoughts that produce stress and draw negative experiences into your life. Remember, stress is produced by the thoughts in your mind. By learning to meditate, you are taking control of your thought process which produces your reality.

Exercise has also been proven to reduce stress. When you are feeling anxious, stop what you are doing, get up and move your body. This can be as simple as going for a walk, or just doing some stretching exercises. You will be surprised at how effective this can be at reducing stress in your body and mind, as simply moving will help you feel better. I find for myself that a good exercise workout in the gym lifting weights is a tremendous stress reducer. Fitness is fabulous. In fact, at no time in the day do I feel better than after a good hard workout. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain that are responsible for elevated mood and just plain feeling good.

Most people spend their entire day inside. They go from their house to their car to the office, back to the car and back home again. They get no direct sunlight on their skin, which is necessary for creating vitamin D, serotonin, melatonin and other hormones that help you to feel good and get adequate sleep. If you are feeling stressed out, go out and get some natural sunlight on your skin, and even better, exercise in the process. Additionally, commune with nature. If there is a park or some woods nearby, take a nice walk and soak in the calm and beauty of the natural world.

Learn to laugh more, and laugh and play every day. Laughter is a great stress reliever. Watch a funny movie or a comedy routine on TV. Or better yet, go out and see one live. Getting out of the house will increase your confidence and help you to feel that you can master your world. Laughter has even been shown to fight disease. Figure out what gives you joy and pleasure in life and do more of it. Find and learn to love the child within.

Make friends and socialize. Studies show that people who are socially active have less stress, are less prone to disease and live longer. Married people live longer that singles. Even people who have animals that express the positive vibrations of unconditional love have reduced stress levels.

Eat a healthy, nutritious diet of natural, organic foods. These should include lots of organic fruits and vegetables (and fresh juicing), whole grain carbohydrates, quality proteins such as eggs, spirulina and lean meats, and healthy fats such as olive oil (no trans fats).

This is critical for maintaining fitness and feeding your cells with the vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and nutrition necessary to support your immune system to fight disease, and give you the mitochondrial energy to live an active, long and productive life.

Supplement your natural food diet with extra vitamins, anti-oxidants and hormones for maximum anti-aging health benefits. These should include powerful multi-vitamins, herbs and health supplements such as DHEA, melatonin, pregnenolone, fish oil, green tea, ginseng and resveratrol.

Finally, remember one thing if nothing else: the law of attraction. You are the master of your thoughts. You create the thoughts in your mind, and the thoughts in your mind create your reality. Learn how to think positive thoughts, and learn how to imagine and visualize the things that you want in your life. The more you do this, the more you’ll attract these positive qualities and experiences into your life, the better you will feel about yourself, and the more success you will achieve.

in college. Now, seven years later, her drinking had slowly increased and she drank more than ever. One Thursday night when she wasn’t feeling all that well, Daniel decided to stay home and watch some TV to relax and forget about her troubles.

While searching for something to watch that she would find interesting, she immediately became attracted to a special program about adolescent and young adult drinking difficulties, problems and addiction. She felt something within herself begin to wake up. She felt nervous but excited.

When Everyday Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs are Manifested by Alcohol Dependent Individuals

The spokesperson of the TV program was discussing the difficult subjects of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction, and then discussed the subject of alcohol dependency symptoms and alcoholism warning signs. When the television spokesperson went into more descriptive detail about a person’s alcoholic behavior and some of the more widespread alcoholic symptoms and signs that alcohol dependent individuals exhibit, Daniel became quite alarmed because it truly seemed as if the speaker was talking about her.

Daniel knew this was an important moment in her [...]]]> Daniel had been engaging in excessive drinking, or alcohol abuse,  since her freshman year

in college. Now, seven years later, her drinking had slowly increased and she drank more than ever. One Thursday night when she wasn’t feeling all that well, Daniel decided to stay home and watch some TV to relax and forget about her troubles.

While searching for something to watch that she would find interesting, she immediately became attracted to a special program about adolescent and young adult drinking difficulties, problems and addiction. She felt something within herself begin to wake up. She felt nervous but excited.

When Everyday Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs are Manifested by Alcohol Dependent Individuals

The spokesperson of the TV program was discussing the difficult subjects of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction, and then discussed the subject of alcohol dependency symptoms and alcoholism warning signs. When the television spokesperson went into more descriptive detail about a person’s alcoholic behavior and some of the more widespread alcoholic symptoms and signs that alcohol dependent individuals exhibit, Daniel became quite alarmed because it truly seemed as if the speaker was talking about her.

Daniel knew this was an important moment in her life, and she had a sense that something had to change, and that something was about to change. After watching the television program, Daniel made a promise to herself that she would telephone her physician the next business day and make an appointment to discuss her drinking problem. This took a lot of courage as she didn’t want to face her problem. She was terrified.

When the following morning arrived, true to her word and despite her fears, Daniel called her health care professional and made an appointment. In the meantime, she went on the Internet and did a search for alcoholic symptoms. Especially difficult for her to read as they hit so close to home, were the following signs or symptoms: sneaking extra drinks before social occasions, increasing irritability, making excuses to drink at almost every opportunity, sleep problems, and serious work-related and relationship problems.

Due to the fact that Daniel manifested all of these symptoms, she went deeper in her Internet research and found a tremendous number of websites and blogs that gave lots of valuable information about various alcoholic warning signs and symptoms, which further clarified her situation. She couldn’t deny the evidence any longer; she definitely had a drinking problem.

One of the signs that really captured her awareness and made her sit up was the following: “Do you ever drink after stating to yourself that you won’t?” While Daniel never before totally comprehended the fact that she may have a serious drinking problem, after reading about the many diverse alcoholic symptoms and warning signs, she couldn’t deny the fact that for the past several years, she again and again tried but was unsuccessful at decreasing her drinking or stopping entirely.

When Family Members Aggravate You by Denouncing Your Excessive Drinking Behavior

Another alcoholic symptom that really troubled her was: “Have people at home or work aggravated you by bringing up the subject of  your excessive drinking?” When Daniel read this she without delay thought about a recent fight she had with her uncle about her abusive drinking. In addition, Daniel openly reflected on a recent fight she had with her parents about her abusive drinking. Since Daniel sincerely thought that she didn’t have a problem with her drinking, when relatives mentioned her drinking she quite naturally got angry and upset.

A third alcoholism warning sign she noticed was: “Do you want a drink when you first get up in the morning?” That one really got her. Until now, Daniel had been untruthful with herself about the circumstances of her drinking. She was always able to rationalize things to herself or others. However, after reading about the aforementioned alcoholism warning signs, she knew if she was sincerely honest with herself that she was facing a serious drinking problem – especially since she now believed she needed to drink first thing in the morning when she woke up to reduce her constant worry, tension and anxiety.

Often it seems that when you try and say something encouraging to someone who is really down, it has no effect. You could become the target of misdirected anger or disappoint. Maybe they feel shame or embarrassment and shut down or turn away from you – change the subject.

It is difficult for some people to accept or hear positive things about themselves because they don’t believe in themselves to begin with. What we know to be true in our mind we sometimes cannot embrace with our hearts.

At difficult times like these it is important to stay positive and encouraging, and to perservere. This eventually lets the person know that you are not just trying to flatter them, but genuinely care about how they feel. When you really care, your heart will be felt in the weight and tone of your words.

Positive, encouraging feedback from others: family, friends, a community, is necessary for us all to feel whole. It helps us realize that we are human like everyone else, that other people are hurting too, and that [...]]]> When someone is sad, depressed, feeling anxious or insecure about themselves and in pain, what can you do to help them?

Often it seems that when you try and say something encouraging to someone who is really down, it has no effect. You could become the target of misdirected anger or disappoint. Maybe they feel shame or embarrassment and shut down or turn away from you – change the subject.

It is difficult for some people to accept or hear positive things about themselves because they don’t believe in themselves to begin with. What we know to be true in our mind we sometimes cannot embrace with our hearts.

At difficult times like these it is important to stay positive and encouraging, and to perservere. This eventually lets the person know that you are not just trying to flatter them, but genuinely care about how they feel. When you really care, your heart will be felt in the weight and tone of your words.

Positive, encouraging feedback from others: family, friends, a community, is necessary for us all to feel whole. It helps us realize that we are human like everyone else, that other people are hurting too, and that we can take strength from them.

What part do you play in the lifting up of others? Have you said something nice to your kids today? Have you offered them words of encouragement; told them you were proud of them? Have you tried to reach out to someone who needs help?

If this is hard for you to do – the spiritual uplifting of others – then look inward and think about what might be blocking your feelings of love and support. Perhaps you have hurts you still carry within you, that prevent your heart from unfolding.

When you give positive words and emotions to others you are like a gardener or farmer planting seeds. If you have ever gardened or farmed, you know that planting and tilling and sewing seeds is hard work. They may not grow right away, or as fast, or in the way that you would have liked, or they may not grow at all.

But if you nourish them steadily, reinforcing feelings with words and words with feelings – and good deeds – usually they will grow and blossom into something greater, something beautiful. Whey you speak kindly and encouragingly to others you are planting seeds that one day can make a big difference in a person’s life, when they finally take root and blossom.

So we are social animals and get our identity from the feedback of people and culture around us. We all have this power to uplift others, which in turn will help uplift ourselves. We must also be aware of our ability to hurt others through careless words and selfish disregard. We each have a responsibility to uplift each other.

When you hurt others you injure your own heart, and you can no longer walk without a shadow over you, in the light of integrity. You will no longer feel whole within yourself.  When you hurt others your soul dies a little too. There is no greater feeling, or task, than empowering another through love and support. But the work comes before the reward; as ye shall sew, so shall ye reap.

If you think that your life does not touch others, that they are not your business, you will find yourself cut off from those around you, from the society around you. And even if you form your own little society, it too will be alienated from society at large.  There is a communal soul we all must share and take part in.

When you try to encourage others, don’t try and force a solution onto their life, or set a timetable for them to heal. Some people get over a relationship in 2 weeks; some take 2 years. Practice patience. Be like an old Oak Tree by their side. Listen to them closely enough and they will tell you what they need to heal. Then help them to get it.

Have faith that you can be a positive influence in a person’s life. Believing something makes it much easier to do. When you see some of the fruits of your efforts and find some success, you share in the bounty. You begin to have more faith in yourself.

They are saying that health is a lot more than just the absence of disease. It is much more than that. But good health usually comes down to personal responsibility: choosing to live a healthy lifestyle or an unhealthy one. It is our choice.

It doesn’t help that the media and food industry are loaded with messages encouraging poor health. Most of the food manufactured and produced in the US, for example, is junk filled with disease causing chemicals and stripped of almost all nutrition. And we wonder why there is a cancer epidemic in the US?

There are 4 main steps to a healthy lifestyle.