#ThursdayThoughts Random Ramblings on Living an Authentic Spiritual Life

Good Morning Friends!

Today is a New Moon and that means new beginnings.

Jesus came so that He could make all things new. The Bible says when we accept Him, we are new creatures and we all know that God's mercies are new every morning.

We learn the Lord's prayer at an early age, but how often do we pray it out of obligation or just mumble the words instead of feeling the heart of them?

In fact, how often do we do that with every prayer about any situation?

While in meditation this morning I had this thought: I want to shine so bright that when people look at me they have to put their sun glasses on!

Shouldn't we all desire that?

We get so wrapped up in this physical life that we believe we're earthly beings having an occasional spiritual experience instead of the other way around.

We are spiritual beings having an earthly experience!

So how can we live an authentic spiritual life while here on earth?

The first and most important step is to decide to live, move, and act from that place of pure positive energy within you - live, love, think and breathe from your spirit or the place within you where the Holy Spirit resides.

Once you've decided to do so, ask for help. God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Angels, Spirit Guides, loved ones who've passed over, are all there to guide us! Ask for their assistance. If you're afraid of meeting up with negative or evil spirits, ask Archangel Michael to protect your prayer time.

Meditate daily (or as often as possible). Don't get wrapped up in the woo woo of this. Meditation is much more simple than we make it out to be. Get comfortable, get quiet and focus on your breathing. Long, slow, deep breaths. If you have to, mentally repeat breathe in, breathe out or something else (Peace and Love, Joy and Happiness, etc.) Do this a few times then try to focus without using words.

When a thought comes into your mind, if it's a worrisome one - mentally say to yourself, "we'll think about that later, let's just sit quiet for now" and then go back to your deep breathing. If the thought is a good one, rejoice, get excited and happy and be grateful for it, but then - let it go and return to focusing on your breath.

The purpose of meditation is to clear and quiet your mind so that God can speak to you. And you'll know when He does. 10 or 15 minutes a day is easy to do and sufficient to produce tremendous results.

Last but certainly not least, become aware of how you're feeling in any given moment/situation. Ask yourself often throughout the day "How am I feeling?" "What am I thinking?"

Your emotions are a sure-fire indicator if you're living from your spiritual being (which is pure love, joy, peace, happiness, wholeness, etc., etc.) or from your natural man (which is worry, anger, frustration, etc.)

By becoming aware of our thoughts and feelings, we can choose better ones by - well, choosing - to focus on the love and light within us and others, and to let go and let God deal with the things we can't control - which is actually everything but ourselves and our own thoughts and emotions!

Does doing these things guarantee you'll never have a bad day or experience?

Of course not. After all, we live in a world where chaos has become the order of the day. What it does mean though, is by living from your spirit, you'll be able to navigate this life so much better and be a shining light for others to help them along their paths as well.

This picture says it all.....

Thank You, Alvar Astulez, creator of this lovely graphic!

Something to think about!

"Inspirational with an Edge!"™

Hope you enjoyed today's random ramblings and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#ThursdayThoughts Random Ramblings on Spiritual Growth

Good Morning Friends!

I pray your week is going exceptionally well and that you are blessed in every area of your life. I've been pondering lately about faith vs fear, surrender vs struggle, and trusting vs trying.

Regardless of our religious orientation, upbringing or belief, we all deal with issues that cause us to doubt our faith. We say we believe, we say we trust, and there's no doubt we do, but...

What are we believing and in what or whom do we trust?

We say we trust God, yet we worry over every little thing instead of surrendering it all to Him and trusting His divine wisdom, divine love and divine timing.

We say we believe in His promises, yet, because of the voices around and in us, we constantly switch from belief to doubt.

We say we have faith, yet we fear so many things.... death, poverty, illness.

Is it any wonder out lives are a mess?!?

I came across this meme and thought it fit perfectly with today's message...

But how do we do this? How do we tap into the power within us and rise above our situations and struggles?

Transformation on any level begins in the mind. The bible says we should not conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) Of course this means we should meditate on God's promises outlined in the Bible, yet so many of us focus on just the opposite!

I've said this before and I'll say it until it resonates strongly within me and with everyone who reads my blog: As a man thinks in his heart, therefore he IS. (Prov. 23:7)

We should strive to turn every negative, fearful, doubtful thought into its exact opposite.

Instead of focusing on our sickness, ponder His promise of healing. Instead of ruminating on our lack, meditate on His promises of provision and prosperity.

If you know me, you know I love learning new spiritual practices that enable me to do just this. One of the things I've found that truly resonates with me is the book, The Power of I Am by Joel Osteen and many other books by spiritual teachers: Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, and Louise Hay are just a few.

Another is the teachings of Abraham through Esther Hicks. She/they talk about releasing resistance to our good.

Isn't that what faith is all about? Surrendering, releasing, trusting?

Surrender our thoughts for God's. Release all fears and doubts to the Holy Spirit and the Angels for healing and purifying. Let go of our ideas of how and when He should answer our prayers and let Him guide us, every moment of every day in each situation!

Trust that He always has our best interests and highest good in mind.

Always.

After all, Jesus said He came so that we would have life and have it in abundance.

Why do we insist on thinking the opposite of His word?

Something to think about!
"Inspirational with an Edge!" ™

I hope you gained even a tiny bit of spiritual growth from my random ramblings and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT

#TuesdayTreasures The Empath's Survival Guide by Judith Orloff, MD

Good Morning!

A couple of years ago I featured, The Ecstasy of Surrender by Judith Orloff and loved the book so when Nikki Leigh contacted me about Dr. Oloff's current title, I jumped at the chance to read, review and share it with you.

The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People
By Dr Judith Orloff

What is the difference between having empathy and being an empath? “Having empathy means our heart goes out to another person in joy or pain,” says Dr. Judith Orloff. “But for empaths it goes much further. We actually feel others’ emotions, energy, and physical symptoms in our own bodies, without the usual defenses that most people have.” The Empath’s Survival Guide is an invaluable resource for empaths and anyone who wants to nurture their empathy and develop coping skills in our high-stimulus world—while fully embracing their gifts of intuition, compassion, creativity, and spiritual connection.

This practical, empowering, and loving book was created to support empaths through their unique challenges and help loved ones better understand the empath’s needs and gifts. Dr. Orloff offers crucial practices, including:

• Exercises to help you identify your empath type and where you are on the empathy spectrum
• Tools for protecting yourself from sensory overload, exhaustion, addictions, and compassion fatigue while replenishing your vital energy
• Simple, effective strategies to stop absorbing stress and physical symptoms from others and protect yourself from narcissists and other energy vampires
• How to find the right work that feeds you
• How to navigate intimate relationships without feeling overwhelmed
• Guidance for parenting and raising empathic children
• Awakening the empath’s gift of intuition and deepening your spiritual connection to all living beings

For any sensitive person who’s been told to “grow a thick skin,” here is a lifelong guide for staying fully open while building resilience, exploring your gifts of depth and compassion, and feeling welcome and valued by a world that desperately needs what you have to offer.

Watch the book video HERE.

About Judith Orloff, MD

Judith Orloff, MD is author of The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People. Dr. Orloff is a psychiatrist, an empath, and is on the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating empaths and highly sensitive people in her private practice. Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, the Oprah Magazine and USA Today. She is a New York Times best-selling author of Emotional Freedom. To learn more about Dr. Orloff's free empath support newsletter as well as her books and workshop schedule, visit her www.drjudithorloff.com

She has a Facebook Empath Support Community (over 8K empaths) that people can join here  https://www.facebook.com/groups/929510143757438/

My Official Review:

We all know people who are "sensitive." They feel things other people are experiencing. They exhibit mood swings when the moon is full, or new. They get depressed when the world is in chaos. This may even be you! If so, you owe it to yourself and/or them to read this book! Empaths have gotten a bad rap, but Dr. Orloff does an excellent job of describing the signs of being one and offers ways to manage symptoms and reactions. I truly enjoyed this book and will be rereading The Ecstasy of Surrender in the near future.

Hope you enjoyed the post and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT