“The Universe loves and approves of me. As an individualized expression of the Universe, I love and approve of myself. I am worthy of all the good that Life can hold.”
Self-worth is important for a life of success and well-being. When you reject yourself, then you’re rejecting an expression of the Universe. No matter what you’ve done, the Universe accepts you. Your actions are separate from who you are. You are a unique individual, who deserves to be loved.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
There is only one person that you can change and that’s yourself. It would be nice if you could change the way others behaved and thought. But you can’t. It’s a hard lesson to learn. You can’t keep others from sabotaging their lives, hurting themselves, or how they feel about you. The one thing you can do is change the kind of treatment you’ll accept. If you’re being criticized, hurt, abused, or in some other destructive way, you have the ability to say “no” to it. Set boundaries, and establish consequences if they violate your limits. Even if the decision is to no longer associate with them. You deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You may not be able to change another person, but you can change the way they treat you.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
10 Reasons You Should Meditate Every Day
Research shows that there are many physical and emotional benefits to meditating. It helps to reduce stress, decision making, and having more control over your emotions, among others. This article covers several of them, explaining why meditation is so important.
Count It: How Many Times These Business Leaders Tried Before They Succeeded (Infographic)
How many times have you tried something before you gave up? What if the next time was the one in which you succeeded? This is a cute infographic showing how many times some scientists, businessmen and entrepreneurs failed before they succeeded. It will give you some motivation and encouragement to see that success doesn’t come quickly.
The Placebo Effect Can Mend Your Broken Heart, Study Suggests
This article specifically addresses life after divorce, but the strategy it suggest could be used after any loss. The idea is basically find something that makes you feel better, with the attitude that it might help you move beyond your grief. As long as you’re doing something positive, it can influence your brain and reduce your pain. This article goes into greater depth about the strategy and how it actually affects you.
7 Ways To Truly Master Your Own Mind
Your thoughts determine the life you have. To have a better life, you need to master your thoughts. You need to be aware of whether you’re planting noxious weeds or beautiful flowers. This article gives you several easy, practical ways to become a better steward of your thoughts.
90% Of Startups Fail: Here’s What You Need To Know About The 10%
This article’s goal isn’t to discourage you, but to make you aware of what to do to be successful. If you pay attention to the reasons most fail, and take actions to avoid them, you’ll have a much better chance to succeed. Learn the 4 characteristics to emulate, and find a way to do so.
You’re Not Going to Believe What I’m about to Tell You
This is a cute comic that illustrates why facts won’t change a person’s opinion. Instead, facts will cause a person to hang on harder to their misconception. The comic is very clever and clear, describing a psychological behavior called the backfire effect. Enjoy this comic to find a way to counteract this effect and learn how to consider something different.
by Terri Cole-Whittaker
This title would be a fantastic mantra for most of us. We spend too much time trying to please other people. In doing so, we twist ourselves out of shape, compromise our deepest beliefs, abandon and stifle our uniqueness.
This book is all about our relationship to ourselves and others and how to be true to our real selves. Ms. Cole-Whittaker systematically goes through the different areas that we restrict ourselves to gain approval, such as abundance, guilt, health, relationships, competition and dismantles our excuses for doing so.
In her chapter on “Everyone Can Win,” she addresses the dissatisfaction of employees, and gives guidance to them and their bosses about how to improve their fulfillment.
Each chapter ends with some self-awareness questions and strategies, and includes three affirmations to implement the changes. This book will change the way you think about every area of your life. And as we know, when you change the way you think, your life changes in response.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
How to Stop the Negative Spin of Thoughts, Emotions and Actions
Unfortunately, when we’re feeling down, it colors our opinions about ourselves and our lives. And then those thoughts inspire our decisions and actions, which generally are detrimental to our lives. Learning our negative triggers, and having strategies in place, can stop that downward spiral. This article gives some tips and techniques to use to break that negative cycle.
Complaining Is Bad For Your Health, According To Science
Not only is it unpleasant to be around a complainer, it can become a habit with negative consequences. Constant negativity can take a toll on your physical health as well as your mental health. Here are some reasons that will make you think twice about going down that path.
Your Brain Actually Shrinks While You Sleep To Help You Learn
While you sleep, your brain rests and prepare for the next day. You aren’t preoccupied with external stimuli, and your brain can normalize itself so you can learn new things. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, this article could easily give you some motivation to do so.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Question: I’ve been taking medication for depression, but what are some more holistic ways for me to deal with it?
Answer: I’m not a medical doctor nor psychologist, so I can only give you some suggestions. But first, I completely support taking medication to start feeling better. Ernest Holmes, founder of Science of Mind said something to the effect of, “You might as well feel better while you’re getting better.” The medication will give extra energy to help think straight. And until that happens, healing can’t happen.
Studies are finding that much of depression is caused by the way we think, and what we think about. A thought always precedes a feeling, even if the thought is a fraction of a second long. It can create a downward spiral that results in depression. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns, M.D. has exercises to help you turn those thoughts around. Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, Ph.D. discusses much of the research into this.
Walking or exercise is also effective to improve one’s mood. They’ve done studies that have shown that walking 30 minutes a day 3-5 times a week (depending on the study) is as effective, by itself, as antidepressants. But when you’re feeling so down, you can’t get yourself moving, which is why medication can help jumpstart you.
One more suggestion, do some journaling. It’s been found to help depression when you write about your feelings about the traumatic events of your life. Not just about the experience, but your feelings about it. By itself, it doesn’t help PTSD a lot, but it does help. Write 15-20 minutes on at least four consecutive days, preferably in the morning.
A final note, STOP MENTALLY BEATING YOURSELF UP! If you notice you’re getting negative, so what? Condemning yourself for it will just give it more energy. Start writing down what your negative thoughts are, and then you can see if they’re valid.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
by James R. Lewis
I’m not one much for dream interpretation books. Dream symbols tend to be personal, but sometimes I encounter a very puzzling symbol. In this case, I use a guide like “The Dream Encyclopedia” to help give me a direction to explore the meaning for myself. This encyclopedia has an excellent section on dream symbol interpretation that’s been very helpful, but it’s only about one-third of the book. The rest of the material is about much, much more than that.
The bulk of the information covers everything related to dreaming in an A to Z format and goes into great depth. The entries explain who various people, religions, cultures and deities are in relationship to dreaming. It explores various approaches to dreaming, from the ancient past to the present, including sleep research. It would be hard to believe there’s anything even remotely related to dreaming that doesn’t have a mention in this book. Each entry also has a bibliography of the source of that information.
I was enthralled with this encyclopedia. If you’re interested in dreaming, more than just interpreting them, then you must have this book. It would also be a great gift for someone who is interested in this subject.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Everyday we have an undercurrent of statements that we repeat to ourselves. Most of them are neutral as we talk our way through our day. But many of the statements are self-derogatory. Putting ourselves down and criticizing what we do. How would a friend respond to this kind of condemnation? The Universe certainly doesn’t believe this way. You are your best friend, and need to treat yourself as one. Become aware of your automatic remarks, challenge them, and change them into positive ones.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
10 Difficult Life Situations And How To Make The Best Out Of Them
No one’s life is perfect, smooth and harmonious all the time. Life is messy and not all situations are under our control. We lose people and circumstances change. The best we can do is take them philosophically and find the best in them. Here are 10 life situations that many of us deal with and how to approach them.
The Psychological Strategy That Will Up Your Game in Anything You Apply It To
In order to change your experience, you need to change your attitude behind your current behavior. How important is it? What will it bring you? Here are some tips to help you achieve your goals more easily and quickly.
13 Realistic Self-Care Tips That Will Keep You Calm In Stressful Times
Everyone gets stressed and overwhelmed at times. To decompress, you need to take care of yourself so you stay mentally and physically healthy. Meditation and deep breathing are helpful. But these tips are ones that everyone will enjoy and be able to implement without any training. For instance, one of the tips is to zone out watching TV.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
