abundance | Self-Help Books

Fisheye lens view of the ocean with a beautiful sunrise with 2013 written in the sand

Each year provides inspiration and opportunities for growth. As 2013 comes to a close, I reflected on 10 inspirational moments and people of this past year.

This is an image of candles surrounding a photo of Nelson Mandela

1. Nelson Mandela – The death of Nelson Mandela was one of the most celebrated passings that I can ever remember. While the world is sad to have him no longer with us; in addition to mourning his death, everyone truly celebrated his accomplishments, what he stood for, and how he inspired millions of people worldwide to be better. He led by example – to the very end of his life.

This is the image of a memorial in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings

2. Boston Marathon – On April 15, 2013, the world witnessed one of the most gruesome acts. In the crowd of those waiting to celebrate their loved ones achieving a wonderful feat of completing the Boston Marathon, they instead faced terror. The inspiration of this tragedy came in the aftermath. Law enforcement came together to quickly apprehend the perpetrators. The survivors and the world came together to heal.

This is an image of Pope Francis reaching out to bless a child

3. Pope Francis – In March, he was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI resigned, being the first pope to resign in over 598 years. This year he has surprised many by reinvigorating the Catholic Church to be less about judgment and more about love. He has inspired millions and many are looking for him to lead the Church onward into the 21st century.

This is the image of a sign that says, "Equal Love, Equal Rights"

4. Legalizing Same Sex Marriage – equal rights for marriage stood out loud and clear this year, not only in the US, but in 15 other countries as well. Finally, the commitment to love, honor, and cherish your partner, whether they are the opposite sex or same sex, is transforming the world.

Tiles that look like white Scrabble tiles that spell the word, hope.

5. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight Rescue – On May 6, 2013, these three young women were rescued in Cleveland Ohio after being held captive for over 10 years. This amazing story of survival touched the hearts of the entire world.

This is an image of different scientific symbols and formulas denoting physics

6. 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics – Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their theory on how particles acquire mass. While this theory was independently proposed by both back in 1964, in 2012 their ideas were confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs particle. Their theory is a central part of the Standard Model of particle physics that describes how the world is constructed. While the Higgs particle was the missing puzzle piece to the Standard Model, it is not the final piece to the cosmic puzzle. So…more to come!

7. Stock Markets Surge – After years of wondering whether our financial system would recover, we had record breaking returns in the stock market, unemployment figures are down, and the US Federal Reserve may begin to reduce their stimulus package as the economy appears to be on its way to health and prosperity.

8. Malala Yousafzai – Malala is proof that at any age, at any time, you can make a difference. This brave little girl, an activist for education for all, became the youngest person ever to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Image of Healthcare Reform with small text of words evoked by this

9. Affordable Care Act – whether you like the Act or not, the fact is that healthcare for all is being implemented around the country. It is tough to say if this new system will work; but, we must acknowledge the inspiration behind the Act. The intention of having good healthcare available to all US citizens is certainly admirable. Let’s hope that 2014 brings with it more inspired implementation!

Close-up image of the hood of a Tesla automobile

10. Elon Musk – 2013 was a notable year for co-founder of PayPal, CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and Chairman of Solar City. He is living proof that belief in your vision pays off. in 2013, after over a decade of hard work, Tesla has become the world’s most prominent maker of all-electric cars. He is also designing the “hyperloop” supersonic travel machine that would allow commuters to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 30 minutes or less using 100% solar power. Dare to dream!

This is the perfect time for you to reflect on what inspired you in 2013. Take time to become aware of the moments in life that mean the most to you. The past helps us to appreciate our life lessons and those life lessons inspire us to live our best life as our future unfolds.

Best wishes to all for continued health, harmony, abundance and joy in 2014.

Love and Light

Sandra

This is an image of a woman opening her arms to the horizon along the oceanfront

One of the most wonderful ways we can create peace and abundance in our lives is to focus our attention on gratitude. Gratitude is a word that we most typically associate with thankfulness. When we think of thankfulness, many of us focus on the relationships, conditions, and things in our life that we like and enjoy. Being thankful is a very healthy emotion that helps us to reinforce a positive attitude and maintain balance in life.

But what about all of the things that go on in our lives that we do not enjoy, like: getting sick, losing our jobs, the death of a loved one, the break-up of a close relationship, being injured in a car accident, making a bad investment, or experiencing violence? Are we supposed to be thankful for all of these experiences too, or just the “good stuff?”

This is where the infinitely greater meaning of gratitude comes in. When we are only thankful for things we like, gratitude is an emotion that is contingent on our situation, therefore it is a conditional emotion. When things are going well, we are thankful; when life gets tough, we wait until a time when things feel more optimistic before we express thanks again. The problem with this is that no human being is going to spend life here on earth with only positive experiences. So, if we perceive gratitude in a conditional way, we are quite likely going to have long and frequent periods of time during which we do not feel thankful.

In the spiritual sense, gratitude is an ongoing attitude in which we choose to be unconditionally appreciative for all that is. When we think about this, we realize this is a huge concept. This would mean that we choose to see the blessings in every experience we have, every moment of every day. There is so much pain and suffering in our third dimensional world, as well as a plethora of amazingly challenging, downright unpleasant experiences, so how is it humanly possible to maintain an “attitude of gratitude?”

Developing an attitude of gratitude begins by choosing to remember that absolutely everything we experience and everyone whom we meet is happening for a reason. Even though many times we do not understand things that occur in our lives, every experience we have is offering us the opportunity to become more whole. No matter what is going on, we focus on the perfection within what appears to be a lot of imperfection. Through our thoughts, we call into our life the people and situations that teach us what we most need to know when we most need to learn it. This occurs in both positive and negative ways, depending on how we learn best. For example, if one of our large life lessons is that need to stop giving our power away to others, we will most likely attract controlling personalities into our reality until we figure out how to love ourselves enough to take control of our own life.

When we function in a state of gratitude, we begin to appreciate everything. We are not born feeling grateful – it is a frame of mind that needs to be cultivated through practice. We become thankful for the penny we just found on the sidewalk, the parking spot that just opened up at the perfect moment, the smile of a passing stranger, the roof over our heads, and the food we eat. We begin to see the magnificent wonder of life within everyone and everything. We are thankful for something as seemingly small as the petal on a flower to the magnitude of the miracle of witnessing a child being born. We are thankful for a sunny day and equally appreciative for a rainy day. We express thanks for the unhappy experiences from which we grow, just as much as the happy ones.

When we practice being thankful for all things great and small, we are aligning our thoughts with the frequency of unconditional love; thus, we open ourselves to welcoming abundance at every level – mentally, emotionally, and physically. While some days may be a lot more enjoyable than others, practicing an attitude of gratitude is a perfect way to savor every moment of life.

Love and Light,

Sandra

Sandra Brossman is the author of The Power of Oneness, Live the Life You Choose. To learn more about how you can align your life with spiritual truth, order the book at http://www.thepowerofoneness.com/products/

Tag Archives: abundance

Inspiration From 2013

Sandra

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude