Inspiration From 2013

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

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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

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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

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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

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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"

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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.

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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

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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!

 

Image of the Bull on Wall Street in NYC

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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.

 

This is a photo of Malala Yousafzai

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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

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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

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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

 

What is the Difference Between Conditional Love and Unconditional Love?

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Love – This is a word that is very frequently used in every language to describe our emotions ranging from something as relatively trite, such as, “I love your shoes,” to something as deeply significant as a mother saying, “I love you” to a child in the most vulnerable moment.

 

 

Is there really a difference between conditional love and unconditional love? 

 

 

The answer is, yes.

 

 

What is conditional love?

 

 

Conditional love is a polarized emotion, meaning that it has an opposite emotion.  The opposite extreme of love is hatred.  Conditional love comes from ego and  generally focuses on someone (like a romantic partner, child, parent, friend)  or some thing (like a house, a car, or a job).  When we love someone conditionally, we tend to want them to look, act, and think in ways that fit our own paradigms and expectations.  We hold others accountable to our expectations in order to qualify for our affection.  If they act the way we want them to, we express our approval; if they act contrary to our wishes, we withhold our expression of acceptance of them, usually in some form of anger.  Conditional love polarizes our internal thought process to believe, “I am right, and you are wrong, so I think you should see things my way.”  As soon as begin to judge someone as being right or wrong, it is our cue that we are not in a space of unconditional love because we are perceiving that we are the authority for someone else’s life.  This ultimately results in a power play for everyone involved because it focuses on control, which typically elicits a defensive reaction from the people whom we are trying to change.

 

 

Another version of conditional love is passion, a term we use for the sexual feelings we have when we meet someone with whom we have “chemistry.”  The term “falling in love” is a revealing expression indicating that we sometimes lose ourselves when we are involved in a passionate romantic relationship based on conditional love. Possibly, this is because we are looking for another person to complete us rather than looking to share our whole self with another. “Looking for our other half” is a statement that strongly indicates we are seeking to make ourselves whole through someone else, rather than working on ourselves to become more of who we truly are.

 

 

When someone acts in a way that vastly deviates from our expectations or does something to hurt us or someone we care about, we can transform the emotion of conditional love to the complete opposite end of the spectrum – hatred.  Hatred is a very strong emotion that is rooted in fear.  Hatred is extremely destructive and wreaks havoc on our mental, emotional, and physical well being.

 

 

What is Unconditional Love?

 

 

Unconditional love is neutral and has no opposite polarity.  The source of unconditional love is Spirit; therefore it is available to everyone without discernment, and there is absolutely nothing we need to do to qualify for it.  Unconditional love comes through to us at a soul level, beginning at the level of self-acceptance and self-forgiveness, and radiates divine light to everyone and everything.  When we make a conscious decision to choose thoughts based on unconditional love, it does not mean that we agree with everyone and everything.  It means that we consciously commit ourselves to expressing respect, kindness, and cooperation to everyone and everything in our environment.

 

 

Unconditional love is not something that happens to us or outside of us.  It is the life force of energy within our very being and is ingrained in every cell of our bodies.  We don’t have to search for love–we ARE, each one of us, the physical embodiment of unconditional love.  Because unconditional love is life energy, it is formless, infinite, constantly in motion, and unconditionally available to us 24/7!

 

 

Unconditional love has a positive effect on our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual state of being, creating truth, joy, beauty, health, harmony, and everything in the world that is in our greatest good.  The benevolent, compassionate nature of universal love flows through us and blesses everyone and everything it touches.

 

 

When we open our hearts to receiving and expressing the love of the universe, we feel expansive and radiant.  We automatically rise above the limitations of fear because unconditional love is infinitely more powerful than fear; in fact, unconditional love is the most powerful force in existence.  There is no amount of darkness that can blot out light; yet the tiniest amount of light can overcome darkness. This means that no matter how dark and chaotic our lives may seem at times, we can find comfort in knowing that our earthly world is always held within an infinitely larger context of universal love and light.

 

 

Remembering that we are each created in the energy of divine love gives us great inspiration and renewed hope that we each have the power to bring our own unique expression of unconditional love to the world, which brings healing to everyone and everything we touch.

 

 

Love and Light,

 

Sandra

 

Forgiveness – The Greatest Gift We Give To Ourselves

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I have often shared with others my belief that forgiveness is the greatest gift we can ever give to ourselves.  This many times surprises people, because it is a commonly held perception that forgiveness is something we do for others – almost like a favor that we are doing for someone. Sometimes we perceive our forgiveness as a reward we will give someone if they apologize first or change their behavior to accommodate our expectations. 

 

It is extremely important that we understand the actual meaning of the word forgiveness.  When trying to accurately interpret a word, it is many times helpful to go back to the original definition as it appears in the dictionary.  According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the actual definition of forgiving is allowing room for error or weakness; and the definition of forgive is to give up resentment.  When we remember that we are all fallible and that the only thing we have to lose by forgiving anyone is the self-destructive resentment and judgment we are carrying, we begin to see more clearly that the person who benefits most from the process of forgiveness is self.

 

Let’s discuss just a few of the many reasons that help us to understand why forgiveness is essential for our OWN health and overall well-being: 

 

Forgiveness is rooted in Self-Love – Self-love is the fundamental principle of all healing and the root of all compassion for self and others. When we hold on to anger and resentment with people from the past, we hurt ourselves by continuing to experience the emotions that are associated with these painful experiences.  This takes a heavy toll on our mental, emotional,  and physical health. It is also important to remember that life is a two-way street.  Either knowingly or unknowingly, we too have hurt others through our unkind words and actions.  We can only give to others that which we give to ourselves—so developing the attitude of being compassionate and kind to ourselves is a very healthy way to develop the habit of forgiveness.

 

Forgiveness creates harmony – It frees us from the need to be “right,” which automatically makes someone else “wrong.”  This attitude breeds constant conflict with others and within ourselves.  Every person who is in a disagreement thinks he or she is “right,” or there would be no discord in the first place.  By letting go of our need to be right, we are not admitting we are “wrong.”  We are simply being wise and compassionate enough to realize that we do not know what someone else is experiencing, what they are feeling, or why they have responded to a situation in a way that does not match our expectations. Simply stated, we are not the authority for how someone else thinks and acts, so it does not serve us well to criticize others.  By judging others, we plant the seeds to remain entangled in an unproductive drama that intensifies the struggle, rather than focusing on the resolution. 

 

Forgiveness creates inner peace – A peaceful mind is a quiet mind.  Paradoxically, I think most of us would admit that we have cluttered minds.  Forgiveness promotes mental clarity by cleansing our minds of unhealthy, resentful thoughts from the past.  This creates the mental space for more expansive perceptions based on our spiritual values.  Our society is extremely focused on physical fitness and cleansing diets for our bodies; yet we ignore our mental fitness and the critical need we have to houseclean our minds of the toxic thoughts that we constantly recycle in our minds based on our anger and resentment toward others.

 

Forgiveness frees us to be in present time – Blaming others keeps us stuck in the past and reinforces thought patterns that create the same dramas in the future.  The only time in which we can create new realities is in the present.  Since our thoughts create our personal reality, why not choose to forgive the past and adopt a new way of thinking? Why look backward?  It’s not the direction you want to go.

 

Forgiveness shifts our self-perception – We can transform our perception of ourselves from being a victim of our circumstances, reacting to hurtful situations from the past, to one of being a student of life.  Seeing ourselves as a student of life means choosing to interpret all the situations we have ever had and all the people whom we have ever met as lessons that help us to learn more about ourselves, others, and life in general.  Since our perceptions determine how we experience everything in life, shifting from a self-image of being a victim to the more enlightened self-image of being a student of life empowers you to create new, more expansive realities that align with your desire to live the life YOU choose.   

 

Forgiveness, like any form of thought, can be consciously chosen.  While it can seem difficult at first, the more we practice forgiveness, the more natural it becomes.  We begin to feel better about everyone—especially ourselves.

 

Do you have a challenging forgiveness situation that you would like to share?  I welcome your comments and questions.

 

Love and Light,

Sandra