Positive changes ...

"I choose to remain aware of these positive changes that I am worthy to enjoy." (p. 41, Creating Love and Joy)

Each time I see the New York Times home page that comes up when I enter the internet, many disturbing headlines blare out like an orchestra's horn section gone wrong. It's easy to allow current events, and the roller coaster economy, to bring us down. It takes a bit more work to acknowledge these circumstances without losing our focus.

Even in a difficult economy, we can use the power of our thoughts to bring positive experiences into our life. When we focus on what is going WELL in life, that part gets stronger and is reinforced. We can also imagine what it would be like to see, feel, taste, and experience the improvement we desire in some aspects of our life. By envisioning the goal as if it is already happening right now, we train our subconscious mind to believe these situations are already in our life. We then draw into our conscious experiences the various people, events, and relationships that reinforce the reality we envision.

In his positive thinking audios (the Self-Talk Solution), Shad Helmstetter tells of prisoners of war who used this technique to stay healthy while in captivity. They envisioned every detail of their golf game, using the imagination to see themselves teeing off, chipping onto the green, and making that perfect putt into the hole. When released, these former POWs were able to play golf as well as, or better than, they had before their capture.

Athletes also use this technique. During the Winter Olympics, did you notice that the skiers would close their eyes and imagine themselves skiing perfectly down the slopes, just before they actually raced? When we learn to train our mind, we can achieve all that we imagine.

Hugs--tc

Inspirational images

"There's just something so magical about capturing a moment in time..." (Robyn T. Lisone, p. 82, Creating Love and Joy

It's amazing how a photo can invoke so many emotions: joy, love, peace.... Sometimes, we can almost taste the salty spray of the sea on our lips as we gaze at a picture of the beach. We can hear the wind whistling through the leaves of a tree. We can smell the fresh scent of the flowers, grass, and trees. We image ourselves being in that beautiful place ... and we realize we are now calm, relaxed, and smiling. Share your favorite landscape photos here! Hugs--tc

"...the universe is impartial..."

"I trust that the universe is impartial, allowing each of us to experience the consequences of our unique thoughts, feelings, choices, and actions (Creating Love and Joy, p. 49)."

It's amazing to think that our thoughts are so powerful they created our current life situation. We often forget that we have conscious thoughts AND subconscious thoughts. That's why it's so important to pay attention when we can identify subconcious beliefs. Once the subconscious belief is raised to our awareness, we can celebrate our achievement. Hooray! Now we can make a free will choice about whether or not that belief brings joy and positive relationships into our life. If it doesn't, we can choose to permanently release that belief. Hugs--tc

I choose to ...

"I choose to use the power of my thoughts to create abundance in my life." (from "Creating love and Joy, p. 53)

Our thoughts are so much more powerful than we realize. Many of us have so many thoughts flowing through our mind that we can hardly distinguish one from the next. When we take ten minutes each day to relax the mind, and slow the flow of thoughts, we begin to feel less anxious and nervous. Rather than worry about the thoughts of the day, we can reflect on where our mind has been focused. By using a childlike curiosity, we can explore the two or three areas that our mind is obsessing on. Are these thoughts bringing us joy, abundance, and peace? Wherever our thoughts are focused, that is what we bring into our life. If we focus on the lack of money, we bring more lack. If we focus on the abundance around us--friends, family, work, hobbies--we bring more abundance into our life. Think about it--our thoughts are VERY powerful! Hugs--tc

Exciting News!!

Exciting news!! Creating Love and Joy and AchieveYourPassion.com are featured in an Examiner.com article by Martha Van Winkle. Enjoy!! Hugs--tc

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-47281-Tucson-Places--Faces-Examiner~y2010m6d25-Achieve-Your-Passion-founder-works-on-second-book-in-series

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1676010/Creating_Love_and_Joy_news_release

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1676195/Creating_Love_and_Joy_news_release_2

Today, I discovered Wordle.net. It creates a picture of the words in an article or text. For fun, to see what Wordle might draw, I created a wordle of the news release for "Creating Love and Joy." It's wonderful how the most important words are highlighted! Love and light--tc

"Creating Love and Joy: Uplifting affirmations to strengthen your spirit" is now available on Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/098186130X !!!

Each of us shapes our lives through our thoughts. When our thoughts are focused on positive relationships, abundance, love, patience, and all the key affirmations presented in this book, our life becomes rich with positive energy. By reading "Creating Love and Joy" each day, we can develop new mental habits to help us break out of the cycle of negative thoughts.

As we begin to focus our thoughts on the positive aspects of our situation, it becomes easier and easier to attract more positive opportunities. We no longer spend our time worrying; instead, we now experience all the abundance, vitality and joy we choose to create in our life.

Most people TRY to remove negative aspects of their life. To better understand how we get stuck in in this unproductive cycle, simply "try" to sit in your chair. You are neither standing or sitting, you are "trying" to sit. Your arms hold your body weight, your legs are bent, your backside is unsupported, and you find yourself uncomfortable in a short period of time. It is better to either sit or stand--and commit to it--than to "try" to sit down.

People who TRY to remove negativity from their life don't realize they simply create more hardship by focusing on what they don't want. Their own conscious and subconscious thoughts are blocking the way to the easier life that they desire.

The positive affirmations presented in "Creating Love and Joy" are extremely powerful tools to develop new mental habits and help us see and implement positive opportunities in our life. Suddenly, we are experiencing healthy relationships, abundance, and joy. Those who brought negative energy into our life seem to fall by the wayside, allowing us to enjoy the flow of positive experiences.

These powerful affirmations are accompanied by beautiful, inspiring photographs that take our mind to a place of relaxation and joy. The photos enhance our ability to visualize the life we choose to create.

This life-enhancing gift can be appreciated by anyone who is facing a challenge or looking to make positive changes. Order your copy today!

Published "Creating Love and Joy" at last!!!

It has been quite an accomplishment to publish my first book, "Creating Love and Joy: Uplifting Affirmations to strengthen your spirit." The response by family and friends at the book signing was overwhelming. It is such a joy to be surrounded by the support of so many people who have accomplished so much in their own lives.

Now, the book is available on Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/098186130X.

The next adventure is getting it on the shelves of appropriate book stores and gift shops!

Trusting the Divine Plan

Recently, it seems that life is showing us many ways that we must accept and trust the Divine Plan. There are moments when life seems completely unfair and out of balance. Yet, it is precisely at these moments that life is teaching us something. It is up to us to protect ourselves with light, and have the courage to see and learn.

My cousin in Spain passed away a week ago--he was 48 with 2 children just out of high school. He had lived with a severe heart condition from the time he was a child. Imagine what life is like when you know, at any given moment, that your heart could just give out and--instantly--this life could come to an end? While many of us may intellectually accept that there is an end to this existence, it is quite another thing to be constantly reminded of it each and every day.

As a result, my cousin lived his life seeing the world with a unique perspective. He had witnessed many things he did not agree with during his years in Catholic schools, so he did not affiliate with any religion. Yet we shared long conversations about philosophy, the meaning of life, and whether or not a Divine intelligence, or energy, existed. By the end of my last visit, we had agreed there is a loving, intelligent source in the universe--and that we are all connected to this source.

This understanding has helped to counterbalance any thoughts of a loved one dying so young. His wife confirmed that he must have had a positive experience as he transitioned--she said he had a soft, peaceful smile on his face. It gave her comfort to know that he was in no pain, and seemed to go to the other side willingly. He is at peace with the light now. It is up to those of us here on Earth to support each other, and unite in our love and compassion for each other.

While we don't always know, or understand, why life unfolds the way it does, by holding on to our trust in the Divine Plan, we demonstrate our true faith. By trusting our connectedness to the universal light source, we find the strength and optimism to move forward and do the best we can at each and every moment of the now. tc

Moving toward the light

Recently, I spent the entire day with a friend who has a fatal brain tumor. I've read somewhere that we find our greatest harmony and peace when we allow things that seem to be opposites to lie side-by-side.

I found myself tested to allow that to happen during my visit. Every single ounce of my physical being was yearning to make her brain tumor go away. Like a small child, I felt like throwing a temper tantrum, stomping my feet, and crying out, "No, no, no! I don't want you to leave us yet!! You're not even 55 years old. Life has just come together for you. How can this be??!! NO, no, no!"
And, at the same time, something beyond me lead me to initiate a discussion about spirituality, when we had a moment alone. "I know that you have explored Buddhism," I began, hesitantly. "Have you thought about the spiritual side of what is happening right now?"

Her blue eyes sparkled with a light I had not seen earlier. She smiled gently and joyfully as she replied, "Yes." Her tumor would not allow her to express her complete thought, even though I could see in her eyes it was there, waiting to be released. I pressed on, a bit more bravely now, as I sought to help her express her spirituality without feeding her something that might not be true for her.

"I have also been exploring spirituality, " I told her. "I've been immersing myself in it for about 4 years now. I think I understand your journey of exploration. To me, there is a divine intelligence in our universe. Whether we call this divine light "God" or "Spirit" or "Buddha" or "Yahweh," we are referring to the same loving, divine intelligence in our own heart."

Her eyes grew large, her smile broadened, and the twinkle in her eyes grew brighter and more lively. "YES!" She exclaimed. "Oh, this is so wonderful. I haven't been able to talk with anybody about this."

"Have you given any thought to the moment of transition?" I asked gently.

"YES." Her eyes filled with tears of joy and her smile now went from ear to ear. She exuded peace, joy, and...longing. Longing? Yes. I could sense it. For the first time in my life, I met someone who was looking forward to the moment of transition from physicality to spirituality. Her inner peace and joy was contagious.

"Oh, Camille," I gushed. "How is it possible? How is it possible that, right now, what enters in my mind to say to you is that I am happy for you...?!!! I feel guilty even as I admit this to you. I mean...I don't want you to leave us physically. If I could wave a magic wand and make it all better, I would do it in a heartbeat. Yet, I sense your joy and inner peace and spiritual understanding..and, for that, I am extremely happy for you."

She smiled with a worldly, wise sense of knowing. She patted me on the leg as she said, "I'm glad you came to visit today."

What more could be said? Our spiritual connection said it all. "I'll see you later," I said, as I left that evening. "Yes," she smiled softly. And our spirits connected in a way that I had never before thought possible.

Yes, opposites can lie side by side. My heart was breaking at the same time as it was soaring with a renewed faith.

Hugs, love and light--tc