Soulshine

“See your problems of self-esteem Could be self-fulfilling prophecies, So probably your best policy is to talk to me. Stop looking over your shoulder Cause if it was up to me I would make you feel right.” Chromeo, Over Your Shoulder People with addictive personalities suffer from many “problems of self-esteem,” which are rooted in problems of self-love. And, more often than not, it seems to me that problems of self-love are based in self-beliefs. Anyone who believes that he/she is unworthy, untouchable, unacceptable or unlovable is going to suffer from tremendously poor self-love. And, as a result, his/her self-esteem is going to be equally as poor. A person with poor self-love sees very little value or worth in him/herself. And self-esteem is based in feelings of healthy self-worth. Self-love requires that we believe we are created in the incredibly beautiful image and likeness of God. It also requires that we believe we are worthy, touchable, acceptable and lo...

   On this Valentine's Day, I offer you a prayer for self-love and self-nurturing:     Love is God’s gift to me. It is a gift I choose to accept today. I will walk into the sunshine of God’s love and allow each love-ray to enliven my soul. As I bask in this great warmth, I will share it with myself— allowing myself to feel my own inner-love for simply being me.    I will nurture that love by kissing my shoulders, by wrapping my arms around myself and giving myself a heart-warming hug. Then I will take time to do something else nurturing for me, like taking a long, gentle walk. It will give me time to talk to my Higher Power and to strengthen my body. Next, I will eat a meal filled with fruits and vegetables. And finally, I will do something I love: Read a book, take a nap, or watch a movie.    Later I will make time for friends. I will call a friend or family member and connect on an emotional and spiritual level. In these and...

Most everyone wants approval from others. And it can be very emotionally painful for some of us if approval is withheld. I didn’t realize how a devastating feeling from the past can arise from needing approval in the present moment until just last week. I was helping-out with a week-long retreat for Catholic nuns. The first of my two talks was one I call “Have I Loved Well.” In that talk I speak of the fact that when our day comes and we stand before God, He isn’t going to ask us how much money we made, or if we were good at bridge, or how well we ate. He’s only going to ask us one question “Did you love well?” As soon as I made that statement, one of the nun’s raised her hand and said “Oh, I don’t think you understand nuns. We don’t have bank accounts, and we don’t play bridge.” It threw me initially because 1) I made no mention of bank accounts. Sure, nuns may not have individual bank accounts, but they still have to “make money” to support their communities;   and ...

Do you give your power away to your “God”? Many people do. Many people still associate with a God or a Higher Power that goes back to their childhood. And often times, this “God” is a false “God” that was taught to them by well-intentioned people who held horrible theological beliefs. It’s also a “God” who has never really been on their side. My parents taught me about God in more ways than one. Sure I heard their verbal stories about God, but I also witnessed their own actions which further illustrated their beliefs about God to me. For example, my mother told me on various occasions “I may not always know what you’re doing, but GOD KNOWS.” In other words, God was a big invisible spy. The “God” I came to know as a child was 007 to the ump-degree, but he really wasn’t on my side. He was out to catch me—and get me—if I did something bad, or made a mistake. There were many times as a child when I also caught my mother spying on me. She was a control freak in that way. And b...

“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery How often do we take the time to allow our hearts to make us the blessed ones? Only the heart can see clearly that true beauty runs beneath the surface of the eye. And only heart wisdom can reveal the mystery of natural beauty: that it begins within and blossoms outward through all of nature. It’s easy to see beauty on the surface. We see the beauty of a sunrise painted paisley across the blue sky with pink, and purple tones. And we see the beauty of red and yellow wild-flowers dancing across green gardens. But do we understand that this beauty emanates from within? That all of nature loves itself enough to blossom on the outside so beautifully? Can a violet frown upon itself for not being good enough? Can a rose have a bad petal day? Does the moon moan over its quarter-face? No. They long to grow into the fullness of their beauty, nurturing themselves fro...

“Hello, good evening, how do you do? you live lives of a gifted few… She sends a message coming through loud and clear She sends a message even though you're not there. Just like a secret code that nobody knows She just wants to tell you the message is you.” Gary Myrick, The Message Is You       When God created you, God had a special message to share with the world—and that message is you! We are all created to bring Light and Love into the world, and every one of us brings that light and love in our own unique way. Every person on Earth is a genuine reflection of the image and likeness of God, and we are all part of Higher Love’s universal puzzle. Most of us are familiar with puzzles and all of the hundreds of varying pieces that somehow eventually fit together to portray a beautiful image. Well, we (as reflections of God) are all individual puzzle-pieces in the vast Universal portrait that is of God and God’s vision. We a...