Category: Mind

15 Best Motivational Quotes to Push You Through Tough Times

8/9/2018

Life is a beautiful mixture of ebbs and flows and highs and lows. If life was easy and perfect we'd never endure obstacles or have rainy days. We all hit a rough patch in life. These periods can last for days, or for some, decades.

During tough times, I've used quotes to inspire, uplift and help me through tough times. This is part of the reason my weekly Sunspiration exists. Below are 15 of my favorite quotes to help you when the going gets tough.

"Tough times never last, but tough people do."
—Robert H. Schuller

"To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist."
—Gail Sheehy, Author

"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
―Haruki Murakami

"You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say, 'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events."
-Joel Osteen

"Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal."
-Nathan Chen

"God already knows what we're made of, but perhaps He wants us to learn what we're made of. I think we would all agree that we learn more from our tough times than from our easy times."
-John Bytheway

“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
– Albert Einstein

"The most beautiful people I’ve known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths."
—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
-C.S. Lewis

“When adversity strikes, that’s when you have to be the most calm, take a step back, stay strong, stay grounded and press on.”
-LL Cool J

"Adversity introduces a man to himself."
– Albert Einstein

"Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right."
– Sherrilyn Kenyon

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
– Joshua J. Marine

"Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it."
– Lou Holtz

What is your favorite quote regarding adversity? Know that whatever happens in your life, it's not happening to or against you. It's happening for you, for whatever reason. Maybe it's for a change, growth or to bring awareness to something that is affecting other people. Whatever you are going through, it is temporary but for your highest good.

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Why Everyone Should Hire a Therapist

7/30/2018

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We live in a complex society and era. Our problems greatly differ than those of our ancestors. While our grandmothers and grandfathers fought wars and rebuilt communities, their biggest issues were that of survival and making sure their future generation's life was better than theirs.

Today, society is built and our basic needs are met (in western civilization), which means our worries are channeled into other areas of life. As we've seen this degradation of society, thanks to social media, technology and not having our priorities straight, our emotional and mental health problems increased.

Not only do we have imprints from our parents, and other baggage that needs healed, but now humanity is facing an egoic and spiritual crisis. We've been disconnected from the source and most people do not know how to cope with their problems.

I believe that everyone at some point in their life should hire a therapist, psychologist or counselor. No one is perfect and everyone has fear, baggage, wounds or issues that affect their everyday decision.

Life is a process and even during good times, an old wound may be triggered. If anyone claims that they don't ever need help they are either in denial or obviously to their actions.

The modern dating world is on the brink of destruction. With so many apps and past breakups, men and women are sick of each other and have virtually zero trust for one another. The interpretation of text messages, ghosting and breadcrumbing has everyone on edge and triggering fears and insecurities. Take this on top of childhood wounds, abuse, and being used - people need to process their emotions. Many people who experience horrible situations or breakups become bitter. Their bitterness carries over into the next relationship, which is not fair to the new individual.

So what to do? Hire a therapist.

Are you an addict of some sort? Hire a therapist.

Do you sabotage every healthy relationship that enters your life? Hire a therapist.

Do you live in fear or in anger everyday? Hire a therapist?

Do you reach out to drugs, sex and alcohol to cope with your emotions? Hire a therapist.

No one but you can change and overcome your obstacles. Society will always be messed up and other people will try to take us down. It is up to us to take charge with our lives and find contentment and satisfaction within and with what we have.

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5 Signs Your Work is Overtaking Your Life & Health

7/24/2018

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I've had the pleasure of working in corporate fitness since 2012. As a trainer and a health coach, I listen to people's stories and counsel them on how to navigate through their stressful life.

Life is not only stressful in the corporate world, but also the bottom end jobs where corporations take advantage of their employees whether it'd be over working them or "accidentally" charging them a fee for cashing their paycheck. Life in America has become all work and no play.

This is part of the American Dream experience, but at some point working too much takes a toll on one's mind, body and soul. Especially for millennials, work has become one's identity and gives them a source of identity and belonging. (Trust me I've been there and broke away from that toxic work-identity relationship.)

Balance is key but many people must learn how to separate work and life, which is not easy to do. Many clients I trained have "golden handcuffs." The compensation is so high or too good that they are bounded to job and it is a priority in their life. At some point, we have to make a decision on what is best for us.

Here are five signs that work is overtaking your life, health and soul.

Your Stress Increases

If you notice you are stressed at all times of the day as well as bringing work home, it is a sign that your work is starting to take a toll on your mental and emotional state. Some people easily disconnect from work, others can't. Our brains are all programmed differently, but some need help whether through meditation or counseling on how to disconnect from their work life.

You Lose Interest in Hobbies & Social Life

Overworked individuals come home flat-out tired because they zero energy left in the tank. This is understandable for people who work too much. Eventually, this snowballs into not having enough energy to do anything or leads into a mild case of depression. When people are too tired they feel like decompressing from work, which leads into decompressing on the weekends and not wanting to socialize.

The best thing for these people is to maintain a social life, because the human emotion is what keeps people going. Being alone, stuck in thought and worry leads people deeper into isolation and depression.

Negative Habits Increase

Do you need pot or alcohol to decompress from work? Are you only craving junk and comfort food? Is your alcoholic consumption increasing? Are you spending less time at the gym? Are you chugging caffeine to get you through the day?

If so, these are signs that work is overtaking your life. Most people who are angst, worried or sad connect to things that comfort or relax them. Many people reach out for substances, which works temporarily, but long-term, has adverse health affects as well as co-dependency problems. Being dependent upon caffeine for energy is a clear indicator that your body is out of balance.

Work is Your Identity

If your happiness levels are correlated and linked to your work accomplishments, it is a sign that too much of your identity is attached to your job performance. What will happen to you if you get fired? Or if a company doesn't like your work?

Most people need to severe the cord of their identity with their work accomplishments. Work is work. It will always be there and there will be another day that contains endless hours of emails, phone calls and meetings. The point is that life is not perfect and the work world is brutal. So why attach your self worth with your work? It is setting one up for disappointment.

Even for me as a blogger, I realize that people critique articles and writers in the most cruel way. I need to keep a sense of personal identity and emotional attachment to my life accomplishments and not just my work.

Your boss won't be by your side in the hospital. Your company may not even exist while you're on your death bed. Work is a temporary experience. Our loved ones, friends and family will be there for us during the lowest moments in life.

You Lose Sleep or Have Sleepless Nights

Sleep is necessary for one's wellbeing. Research shows that some people make worse decisions while sleep deprived than while intoxicated. Losing sleep is a sign that the body and mind is too stressed, out of balanced and overworked.

One sign that an athlete is overtraining is that they lose sleep. Their body's sleep-wake cycle is out of balance because they pushed themselves too hard. The same goes for being overworked, on top of working crazy hours overnight.

Those addicted to caffeine will disrupt their sleep-wake cycle. The body cannot function while doped on a stimulant. It's common sense and our ignorance of the human body makes us egotistical to think that what we ingest and consume can't affect our health.

If you stare at the ceiling overthinking, sleeping pills will not cure your sleep issues. This is a problem rooted to the mind and overthinking. Your brain needs to be retrained to stimulate the "rest and digest" phase of the nervous system to get out of "fight of flight."

Most people need to step back and analyze how their job affects them. There is no perfect job or work place, and many people are stuck in their job until something better comes along. Until that happens, people need to learn how to maintain their stress and actively pursue things that improve their wellbeing.

Trust me on this. I've been there myself as a stressed out insomniac, which is why I ended up, "Finding Om," in India to study yoga to figure out what the hell was going on in my mind, body and soul. Most diseases are rooted to the mind and a lack of spirit or joy in life.

Do you suffer from work-life balances? If so, how has work affected your health and wellbeing?

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The Ultimate Watch Dog: God is Your Surveillance Camera

7/23/2018

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Unbeknownst to most people, technology and spirituality have more in common than what meets the eye. Although we cannot physically "see" the unforeseen world, it does not mean that it doesn't exist.

Like the ballet, one sees a group of ballerinas performing on stage, but does not see what happens behind the curtains.

I believe the technical world utilizes the same concepts, structures and ideas as the spiritual world.

Whether one believes in it or not, AI surveillance watches us 24/7. Alexa, cameras, drones, satellites, some form of artificial intelligence, or machine, watches us all day, everyday. Personally, it freaks me out as I am an advocate for humans and the emotional experience (the same experience that our ancestors endured).

"The concept of surveillance is ingrained in our beings. God was the original surveillance camera."
-Hasan M. Elahi

What is fascinating is that so many people believe in and put their faith in technology. And these same people are also fascinated by Marvel movies and Star Wars, which portray spirituality in the never-ending battle between the light and the dark.

Life is a battle between the light and the dark in the individual and collective environment. In a past blog post, Sunspiration #78: Which Wolf Do You Feed Inside Your Head? The Light or the Dark?, we have the capabilities to feed various wolves inside our head.

Even if one does not believe in God, one does not lose anything, besides faith, to believe in him. So what does this have to do with the light and the dark?

God knows exactly what is going on inside your head and your heart.

God is like Santa Claus. In fact, if you believe in Krampus then you know Santa is God and Krampus is the devil. Our "silly" little, ancient "fairy tales" symbolize the light versus the dark.

God is omnipresent. God knows when you've been naughty or nice. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows when your heart has been broken and he knows what energy lies in your heart. Some people's hearts are filled with innocence and purity, and others have hearts as dark as night. Jealous, anger, vengeance, greed, hate - life on planet earth is not easy but God will keep sending you lessons until you finally get it or change.

Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

Most people know what to do, but they don't know how to do it. The biggest challenge people have is to transfer the head knowledge to the heart application. Many people have the knowledge in their head but they just can't seem to acknowledge or act upon that wisdom that lies in their heart.

They know God loves them, but they hate themselves (aka lack of self love). In their head they love their partner who left them, but their heart contains so much bitterness that they hope their ex "gets their karma."

The reality of life is understanding how to live through love but learn how to navigate through the darkness. Life on this planet will never be a utopia. This planet is an incarnation of polar opposite energies. Right vs left. North and South, East and West. Love vs. hate.

We need to balance the head and the heart to live life without destroying others or destructing the planet. However, sometimes dipping into darkness is necessary. For example, anger is seen as something toxic and destructive. But anger also creates change. However, the analytical mind is not made to understand or believe in faith. The analytical mind is what has saved the human race as we've been biologically programmed to survive against dangerous people, situations, cultures and wars.

Everything is a balancing act and God knows your intentions. It is why most Christians or people who love God have pure intentions as they know God is watching them 24/7. They don't want to disappoint God, and will live their life with their best intentions. Judgement or karma comes around when messing with other people's emotions or dabbling in unethical behavior.

Our ancestors knew this truth. They lived a life in nature, gazing at the night sky, using the stars and the constellation as their road map. Now that we have Google maps, we are ignorant to the sky above because light pollution blocks our ability to "see" the heavens above.

I see people moving into two directions. Some people continue to think the stuff of the past is stupid since we are so intellectual today, we must be smarter than our ancestors right? On the other end, there is an awakening and people are questioning what is happening in our world today.

What do you think? Is God our ultimate surveillance camera?

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Why You Should Pursue Joy, Not Happiness

7/16/2018

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Have you ever searched for happiness and noticed that the pursuit of happiness actually made you sad or depressed? All too often we search for happiness, when we need to pursue states of joy.

Many feel their happiness or “peace” in their life will come once they get that raise, publish that book or marry that man. Many people are not spiritually evolved enough to distinguish the difference between internal and external happiness. And most people chase the external world to fulfill their inner world happiness.

Happiness, like a treadmill starts and stops frequently. Many people believe that once they reach a state of happiness that life will be forever smooth sailing. This is not the case. Life is a continuous process of processing life situations, emotions and events.

Happiness is not forever. Happiness is defined as "a state of being happy." And being happy is defined as, "a feeling or showing pleasure or contentment." Why is being happy so difficult?

What most people lack in their life is contentment. As stated above, most people seek material things or pleasures from the external world in order to fulfill their inner world.

Without contentment, we never seem to have enough in life, which is ironic as modern society is the most abundant life mankind has ever experienced. We want more money. We want a nicer car, better clothes, a better job title – most people are not content with what they currently have or own. And most people do not appreciate the basics such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

And when we’re not content, how can we be happy?

Happiness seems like an end point, but life has no end point until we’re six feet underground. Even if you reach a state of happiness, life will flow like a river with highs and lows. We will enter time periods of happiness and sadness. It is the reality of life.

Joy on the other hand is, defined as “The emotion evoked by well being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires,” and a “feeling of great pleasure and happiness.”

I don’t believe that joy stems from success or good fortune. I see it as an internal fulfillment of being content and finding love and joy in the divine.

Whether you call the above, God, the creator or the universe, receiving love from the divine is one of the best moments of joy one can experience. God loves us unconditionally. It's the same unconditional love you receive from a pet.

We find joy through things that we love like reading a book, hanging out on a beach, cooking for friends, making love to a spouse. Joy is living in the moment and enjoying the happiness from that activity. Generally, happiness is connected to material items as an outcome or reward once you achieve or get something.

Joy is also appreciating what you have during times of stress and chaos. We may not be happy, but somehow we can be thankful and find gratitude in one area of our life.

Happiness is an emotion. Joy is an attitude of the heart.

Emotions, like the ocean, ebb and flow, and happiness, like our human body, is a temporary experience. We are emotional high addicts (stimulus and response). It’s why people are shopping/drug/sex/food addicts.

Eventually, the “high” of the new item wears off. And we need more of the stimulant in order for the body to respond with that happiness / high feeling.

Happiness will come, and happiness will go. It is important to find the joy in everything, even during the hard times, as these are the moments where you grow and transform your life.

What do you think about happiness? Is it better to chase joy instead of happiness?

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The Eternal Search for Freedom: Set Your Soul Free

7/4/2018

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Happy Fourth of July.

Today is the day of freedom. The day we reflect on our rights, happiness and freedom as a country. America is not a perfect country but there has been no better time in human history than the present.

Freedom is a bell that rings daily, a bell that we all want to ring.

We all seek freedom. Financial freedom. Freedom from our jobs. Freedom from the system.

Most people will never find freedom because they are solely focused on the material and earth-plane world. They believe money will set them free. They believe a relationship will make them happy. They believe a car will make them look cool.

Many of these "things" are compensation tools for something that is lacking inside.

What most people "need" is to set their soul free. This doesn't mean through self-employment or globe-trekking, but to walk the path of growth for their mind, body and soul.

“The great efforts to move our lives forward always come down to a new moment when we interrupt our fear and activate our freedom by choosing how to feel, interpret, and direct our lives.” – Brendon Burchard,

There are two types of wolves that exist in life and in our mind. A white wolf (being of the light) and a black wolf (darkness). Most people torture themselves with dark wolves and invite them in carelessly into our lives, and repeat the same behavioral loop patterns. The lower mind focuses on these instant pleasures, which in turn keeps us locked in from the freedom we seek.

Most people need to break free from the constraints that agonize their soul.

The soul yearns freedom from behavioral loops, bad habits and limiting self beliefs.

“I used to spend so much time reacting and responding to everyone else that my life had no direction. Other people’s lives, problems, and wants set the course for my life. Once I realized it was okay for me to think about and identify what I wanted, remarkable things began to take place in my life.” – Melody Beatti

It takes strength and courage to walk away from the things that no longer serve you, but nourish your higher mind, the higher self that seeks more in life.

Stop letting people walk all over of you.

Stop saying yes to everything when you want to say no.

Stop doing things that make you feel empty inside.

When you remove the clutter and dirt from your life you purify the soul. It's like cleaning a garage.

So how do you remove the clutter? Listen to your intuition and seek help. Counseling, yoga, mediation, vacation, eating healthier - whatever is driving you to a better life, seek that out. You need to choose tools that will help you deprogram your mind.

Humans are biologically programmed to focus on the negative. It's how we've evolved for our species to survive. At some point in your life you have to draw the line in the sand and take a stand for what you want in your life. Something healthier. Something more inspirational. Something just better.

Unless it's a loved one, stop worrying about other people and begin to take care of yourself. The more you focus on your soul development the more you break free from the constraints on society. The higher you vibrate and trust in God, things in life will manifest - we just don't know when, where or why. The divine has no timeline.

“You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.” – Philip Arnold

What do you think? How can you set your soul free?

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Is Love the Most Powerful Force on the Planet?

6/4/2018

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Is love the most powerful force on the planet?

I’ve pondered this question countless times. Each time I enter deep thoughts regarding this topic, I do believe the base of human existence roots to love.

I have two cats. Snickers and Smittens. They are like the sun and the moon. Snickers is as emotional as the moon and craves chronic affection. Smittens is as fiery as the sun. You don’t touch her unless she comes around. She hisses and sometimes swats her paw if provoked. Some would call her a bitch cat. No matter how fiery she is, she too craves love. Although it’s on her terms, even the most miserable human being craves love, affection or attention from other human beings.

One example is through the Christmas Carol story of Ebenezer Scrooge. He looked at his ghosts and witnessed his life as a miser. Through processing the emotions of his life, his family and Tiny Tim, Scrooge was touched by love. Love, and personal reflection, changed his life.

Years ago, I read a study that housing professionals conducted with homeless people. Through the eyes of the homeless individual, they saw everyone living these perfect lives with people they love meanwhile they suffered on the street not knowing when they’d eat or how much money they’d get that week. They too craved love.

I talked to many friends who’ve had cold or tyrant parents say that all they ever wanted was their mother to share that maternal love and affection with them or their father to show emotion.

So maybe love is the most powerful force on the planet?

Humans continuously search for love. I believe it is natural to want to give and receive love in various forms. We want something to love so we buy a pet. We love watching things grow so we plant a garden or raise a child. Many spiritual people are obsessed with finding self-love.

Even Einstein, a brilliant man of science, questioned the capacity of love. He wrote countless letters to his daughter, Lieserl, one that had a powerful impact on his thoughts of love, which you can read here.

Einstein stated, "To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of
E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits."

Love is spiritual, and science is beginning to understand spiritual experiences through experiments and research. As seen in this article, research shows that falling in love activates a hormonal flow that is similarly experienced in euphoric, “high” states. And that recovering from a breakup is like detoxing from drug use.

The same article above states, “Some scientists think that love used to be one of the only highs people experienced in ancient times. Only in the modern age have we felt the need for anything else.”

Could this be why we are so enchanted with medieval or ancient love stories? People lived in a village and worked from sunrise to sunset in order to survive. Whether one tended to the crops or was a blacksmith, work was vital and life was simple. When we lived likes tribesman or in small villages, there were only a handful of people to choose from. Besides wine, the only emotional high people experienced were through love, sex and possibly through spiritual experiences.

Ancient tribes and cultures did experiment with plant-based drugs, but nothing compared to the substance abuse of today. Maybe since emotional highs were not readily available, humans cherished love more along with life being so hard that any ounce of love brought them out of the trenches (literally and metaphorically).

Could you imagine how an act of kindness or the loving touch from a person affected people during World War II? Living in complete and utter destruction, any bout of euphoria seemed like magic during that time of chaos. Maybe that is why we love World War II love stories?

I have not dated online, but I can only imagine the amount of emotional highs and hits to the brain one gets everyday “winking” at the opposite sex. Between that, social media, drugs, illicit sex, porn, blow-'em-up video games and God knows what else, we are emotional high addicts.

Although pumped on dopamine, we still yearn and search for love. No matter how calm, cool and collected we are on the outside, each and every one of us to some degree crave love. It's why people abuse sex, and have one night stands to fulfill a void that is within them. I feel at the core of us we crave unconditional love. We receive unconditional love from out pets (think of the loyalty and love we get from a dog). Look at the unconditional love a mother gives to her child. No matter how bad he or she messed up in life, (most) mothers will forever love their child.

Einstein is one of the most brilliant minds to ever exist. He understood the universe more than 99.99% of this planet.

So what do you think? Is love the most powerful force on the planet?

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Heaven & Hell Exists in Every One of Us

4/4/2018

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The mind is a beautiful tool. But it can also be a destructive device too. Similar to a computer, we continuously upload and download information in our minds throughout the day. And similar to a tape recorder, what we fill and record in our minds vastly affects our thoughts, behaviors and actions in life.

No matter what religion or spiritual belief – even atheism – lightness and darkness exists in the real world and within our individual souls. If you don’t believe than take a look outside at noon and then midnight. The yin-yang symbol is the perfect example of the dualities between masculine and feminine, lightness and darkness and hot and cold.

It is no secret that there is a psychological epidemic today. I believe social media and the internet contributes to this problem. Our brains, and souls, have not yet evolved to process this much information.

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

Within each and every one of us is the option of choice. We can choose to find heaven in our minds or we can sink our minds to the depths of hell. Spiritually, some people do believe that good and evil spirits contribute to our thoughts and wellbeing. Logically, we have the choice to focus on the positive or dwell in the negative.
I believe in balance and I don’t think we should view life through rose-colored glasses. It is important to be realistic about life but accept our thoughts, behaviors and actions. And trust me, I can speak on experience.

I view stages of life, or mindsets, as seasons. My mind dwelled on certain topics of life, which meant in some areas of life I was stuck in winter, dreading basically everything. Thankfully, I’ve transitioned out of winter into spring and hopefully soon, summer. Everything, even our thoughts, die, rebirth and evolve.

If it happens in nature, it happens to us.

Whether or not you want to believe it, heaven and hell (the light and the dark) exists in each and every one of us.

What is heaven?
Heaven activates our higher mind. It’s our soul and our intuition. And its the place where we view things from a higher perspective to see the whole story. It understands cause and effect and brings wisdom to chaos. The higher mind empowers you with knowledge and brings a better perspective than the lower mind.
The higher mind differs from the lower mind, the seat of logic, and tends to accept the flow of life. Heaven is our higher consciousness and is also idealistic and artistic. It’s the place of our ideal manifestations and the place we want to see ourselves going. Some forms of spirituality note this as, “self-realization.”

Within heaven, we can also create hell through fear, sabotage, building walls or blocking receptivity. I also feel “hell” exists when a person is in the flow but creates problems due to their psyche or past wounds. Freak outs, crisis’s and chronically living in fear results in the evolution of hell amidst your heavenly state. Some spiritual beliefs/religions believe that “demons” are behind this, confusing the mind and steering people off track of God’s will or a godly life. Even if you do not believe in this, something stirs internal chaos to initiate negative thoughts and behaviors.

When this happens, keep reaching for the light. The higher mind speaks through the voice of our intuition and pulls us to live a better life. Heaven, as some say is paradise, is what we need to tap into our mind. Our bodies are a temple and the mind is the gateway to what we want to experience, manifest and be within ourselves.

“All you may know of heaven or hell is within your own self.”
-Edgar Cayce

What is hell?
Hell exists in the lower mind. The lower mind is not always hell, but when in overdrive it leads us to the deepest and darkest areas of our mind.

The lower mind is the seat of logic and the headquarters to our ego and egoism. The lower mind focuses on reality using facts, reason and logic. The lower mind, when in overdrive, is critical, analytical, irrational, skeptical and linear.

Some claim that the lower mind is the representation of our wounded ego and deceives our higher mind by focusing on the limitations or things we lack in life and love. When triggered, the lower mind focuses on negative emotions and leads us to actions that do not serve our higher purpose; thus, igniting hell in our mind, body and spirit.

Most people live in the lower mind, and keeps in the mundane patterns of life and our choices, like a hamster in the wheel, re-running through the same karmic patterns. The lower mind is the gateway to fear, doubts and uncertainty.

Have you ever wondered why most corporations, hospitals, government and financial agencies, school systems and various religious center seem to never change? It’s because they function “souly” in lower mind thinking. Everything is linear and the only way to “reach” and satisfy the masses. Marketing and mass media tap into our lower mind, the reptilian part of our brain. Like a snake, these techniques instill fear, dissatisfaction and ignites the fiery depths of hell within us.

Those who are depressed, suicidal or struggle with mental health need to tap into heaven (their higher mind) to trump the hell that exists inside. Others who are “healthy minded” ignite hell into their mind through sabotage or being lured into the dark side of life.

It is very difficult to heal, or progress in life while solely looking at life through the lower mind. When here, the mind gets stuck in hell as it refuses to believe in faith, God or something higher than him or her. Eventually, the ego starts to circle in though and could lead to narcissism, selfish or self-centered behaviors.

Life is best served in balance. Extremism leads to no where and this includes the thoughts that are within. Even in heaven, it doesn’t mean one should block or repress emotions. Hitting rock bottom, crying or being sad can be healthy if we learn from those lessons and strive to become better people. When in hell, reach for the light. When in heaven, stay balanced and allow the light to continue to pour in.

Stay tuned next week for my blog post regarding how to balance the higher and lower mind.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts below.

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Most People Fall in Lust, Not Love: How to Tell the Difference

3/7/2018

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Are we losing our minds when it comes to matters of the heart? Divorce rates continue to rise. Pornography sites continue to grow in hits. Tinder is the new one-night stand. And many people are in the belief that polyamory is the future because they can’t get all their needs met through one person.

The hyper connectivity of people, specifically good-looking socially engineered / edited pictures, demonstrates that not only is the internet a land of false fantasies, but it is a make-believe landscape of superficiality that goes against the natural process of love. Now this doesn’t mean that true love can’t exist over the internet, but when judging and selecting people based on a profile, most people choose dates based on lustful feelings. She’s beautiful. He’s handsome. He’s got a nice job. She wears nice clothes. Why not get together?

We must ask ourselves, deep from the heart, are we really headed in the right direction?

As a counselor and coach, I have been fortunate to understand life from a different perspective. Many clients trust me with their deepest, darkest secrets. Many people don't have "bad" intentions, but are blinded by lust coupled with selfishness to fulfill their desires or fantasies (if not consensual for all parties involved).

People getting involved in other people’s marriages, married couples inviting other people into the bedroom, “single” women praising about their three boyfriends, we should ask ourselves,

"Where are we going?"

It seems as if confusion pollutes the mind everyday to go against true, pure, authentic and Godly love. Whatever people want to do is fine, but those who’s soul is suffering, one must question if what they are doing is healthy?

The reality is that we reap what we sew. It is very rare to find true love in a nightclub or through a one-night stand. The seeds you plant eventually grow and harvest.

Do you want to harvest a soul mate? Or a counselor to cry on all your heartaches of being used for sex?

Infatuation is not a new concept to humans. The Romans were the “original” spin doctors and were not shy about sex, brothels and beautiful women. And I believe the Roman empire is repeating itself.

In this Information Age, people have unlimited access to other people around the globe and the ultra-abundance of corporate money gives people the freedom to experience anything they want in life. Without wisdom, inner strength and a well-defined spirit, people can fall into temptation and corruption.

This type of lifestyle inspires many to the dark side of love (which is lust). Most don’t get what they need from their partner so they go and discover it with another person. But what you sew you will reap

So what is the difference between lust vs love?

LOVE is
patient and waits
respectful
unselfish
protective
faithful and upholding
generous
forgiving
soulful / emotional fulfilment
grows organically
unconditional
deep affection / spiritual bond

LUST is
impatient and impulsive
violates
self-centered
endangers, or looks to its benefits
disloyal and unfaithful
greedy and selfish
condemns
physical / imaginative
at “first sight”
conditional (I love you if…)
craving for sexual desires

Love is more spiritual where lust is physical. Love fulfills the mind, body and soul where lust satisfies our animal instincts and desires. Lust is intoxicating and can blind us to the truth.

Although the money, sex and conversations maybe nice, most people ignore their soul crying inside because lust has become the drug that's consumed all rational and logical decisions.

Ask yourself, "Am I in love with this person? Or am I in lust?"

True love is Godly.

God is love. And He wants the best for every person on this planet. Now for that lustful red devil, he wants to keep y'all hooked on drugs, sex and rock-n-roll to trap you from the truth - a soulful, deep connection between two people.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Let's Connect!

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Following the Moral Compass: The Evolution of the Soul

2/26/2018

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A moral compass is defined as, “an inner sense which distinguishes what is right from wrong, functioning as a guide for morally appropriate behavior.”

A moral compass can be seen as “doing good,” or interpreted today such as, “I’m better than you” because I am doing good. The perversion of social media stigmatizes kind acts because everyone wants to be in the limelight or to be praised for their good work.

A compass is a navigation tool to get you back on path when lost in the wild or in the dark. Ironically, the needle points northward, which symbolizes our souls connection to God, the universe and source. The moral part of the compass includes the mental processes of our soul’s direction or guidance. It's the balance between the head and the heart.

"On the ocean of life, let your mind be the ship and your heart be the compass."
-James David Manning

If anything, a moral compass teaches us to swim out of the depths of our psyche, addictions or destructive behaviors, and follow the light to a better and brighter future. In simple terms, the moral compass chooses things that better serve us and is the guider to the evolution of our soul.

According to Psychology Today, one of the problems in today’s society is that we are “amoral,” meaning lacking a clear compass or a foundational guide. Although there are plenty of immoral things happening today, as well as throughout human history, it is evident that people are losing their way.

In the past, our ancestors used tools like the Bible, The Golden Rule or nature as their moral compass. Religion was used as a method, or a compass, to control the primitive pagans and instill some form of “humanity,” which led to the church controlling the state. Since then, we’ve evolved and it seems that people need a new set of values for their compass.

Today, the social media-induced, corporate culture is harsh, competitive, prideful, egotistical and selfish. While surrounded in that environment, it is easy to get lost, or thrown off path since many people find fulfillment and confidence through the external world.

Humans are multifaceted creatures. There is no one perfect person and it easy to admire and love someone like JFK, Martin Luther King and Oskar Schindler for their courageous work. However, all three of these men were either womanizers or had multiple affairs outside of their marriage.

So how moral were these characters? It is only fair to analyze all areas of the character. It is easy to judge the moral humanitarian character as a ‘good’ person, but what about the destruction caused to the wife’s heart? Today, with the exposure of powerful men taking advantage of women, we see another part of one’s moral compass suffering. People are human and make mistakes.

But it is important to learn from these mistakes so one can better setup their future. People who don’t have a moral compass (or a connection to it) often make the same mistakes again and again. Most cannot look in the mirror and admit their mistakes, weaknesses or the pain they caused to other people.

So how do I improve my moral compass?

There is no one viewpoint on this topic, but three prime focuses are respect, well-being and integrity.

Respect is a quality that we should have for ourselves and others. It is defined as, “a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.” We respect ourselves and others through our thoughts, actions and behaviors.

What do you think of yourself? How do you speak about others? How do you treat your body? How do you treat your coworkers? If we respect ourselves, we generally respect others (and our home).

Well-being and respect go hand in hand. Well-being is the state of health of our inner and outer world – the mind, body, soul and environment. Our moral compass should respect ourselves to balance and harmonize ourselves and discover that self-satisfaction comes from within, not others. Balance is key. Aim for equal parts of activity, rest, recovery and maintenance. In the world of well-being, fitness and dieting, it is easy to go extreme, but the reality is that the body is best in balance when in harmony, or in a state of equilibrium.

Integrity is moral uprightness and the quality of being honest, and having strong moral principles. This is self-explanatory, but many people lack integrity. For example, a woman meets her soulmate. But, her soul-mate is married. Confused by lust and emotion, she cannot see that his heart is already taken and that he is a human being too. I’ve seen this happen where the two have an affair and the man ends up not leaving his marriage and the soul mate is crushed.

Let’s look at this scenario from the lens of respect and integrity.

Why do people ignore respect for their pure selfish motives? Why did the woman not have respect for her body, but also for the wife and child? Why did she not respect her emotions? High emotions clouds good judgement.

Instead of rationalizing and respecting the situation (or keeping it platonic), both succumbed to love, lust and animal instincts without integrity or thought of how these actions will affect other people. The reality is that infidelity always catches up and the truth will always be exposed.

Marriage is the most sacred bond on this planet and it is important to block temptations and respect the bond and vows that were created by two people. Read more thoughts on my "Soul Mate is Married" blog.

What are your thoughts on a moral compass? Check out my latest Sunspiration post on Steering your Ship with Your Moral Compass.

Sticking to your moral compass isn’t easy in today’s world, but it’s the one way to evolve our souls and consciousness.

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A Journey into Thought & Spirit

"Tough times never last, but tough people do." ​—Robert H. Schuller

"To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist." ​—Gail Sheehy, Author

"You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say, 'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events." -Joel Osteen

"Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal." ​-Nathan Chen

"God already knows what we're made of, but perhaps He wants us to learn what we're made of. I think we would all agree that we learn more from our tough times than from our easy times." -John Bytheway

“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

"The most beautiful people I’ve known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths." —Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” ​-C.S. Lewis

“When adversity strikes, that’s when you have to be the most calm, take a step back, stay strong, stay grounded and press on.” ​-LL Cool J

"Adversity introduces a man to himself." ​– Albert Einstein

"Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right." – Sherrilyn Kenyon

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." ​ – Joshua J. Marine

"Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it." ​– Lou Holtz

Your Stress Increases

You Lose Interest in Hobbies & Social Life

Negative Habits Increase

Work is Your Identity

You Lose Sleep or Have Sleepless Nights

"The concept of surveillance is ingrained in our beings. God was the original surveillance camera." -Hasan M. Elahi

God knows exactly what is going on inside your head and your heart.

Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

And when we’re not content, how can we be happy?

Happiness is an emotion. Joy is an attitude of the heart.

“The great efforts to move our lives forward always come down to a new moment when we interrupt our fear and activate our freedom by choosing how to feel, interpret, and direct our lives.” – Brendon Burchard,

“You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.” – Philip Arnold

Is love the most powerful force on the planet?

So maybe love is the most powerful force on the planet?

The same article above states, “Some scientists think that love used to be one of the only highs people experienced in ancient times. Only in the modern age have we felt the need for anything else.”

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..” ― John Milton, Paradise Lost

If it happens in nature, it happens to us.

“All you may know of heaven or hell is within your own self.” -Edgar Cayce

We must ask ourselves, deep from the heart, are we really headed in the right direction?

Do you want to harvest a soul mate? Or a counselor to cry on all your heartaches of being used for sex?

So what is the difference between lust vs love?

"On the ocean of life, let your mind be the ship and your heart be the compass." -James David Manning

So how do I improve my moral compass?

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"Tough times never last, but tough people do."
—Robert H. Schuller

"To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist."
—Gail Sheehy, Author

"You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say, 'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events."
-Joel Osteen

"Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal."
-Nathan Chen

"God already knows what we're made of, but perhaps He wants us to learn what we're made of. I think we would all agree that we learn more from our tough times than from our easy times."
-John Bytheway

“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
– Albert Einstein

"The most beautiful people I’ve known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths."
—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
-C.S. Lewis

“When adversity strikes, that’s when you have to be the most calm, take a step back, stay strong, stay grounded and press on.”
-LL Cool J

"Adversity introduces a man to himself."
– Albert Einstein

"Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right."
– Sherrilyn Kenyon

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
– Joshua J. Marine

"Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it."
– Lou Holtz

"The concept of surveillance is ingrained in our beings. God was the original surveillance camera."
-Hasan M. Elahi

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

“All you may know of heaven or hell is within your own self.”
-Edgar Cayce

"On the ocean of life, let your mind be the ship and your heart be the compass."
-James David Manning