Intuitive Journal.com » Self Improvement

Jasons Network – Social Networking for Spiritual People

Laura — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:55:55 +0000

Jasons Network – Social Networking for Spiritual People is a website dedicated to bringing together those who share a spiritual approach to success.

Whether you want to develop relationships with like-minded people to build your spiritual business or just connect with inspiring people, I invite you to check it out for yourself.

I know that there are way too many social networks out there these days, but www.JasonsNetwork.com is different in that it takes a spiritual approach to networking. It is a place to find an online home full of people who think much the same as you. Yes, there are real human beings there. You are not alone!

You can find a community of people interested in self help, psychic abilities, spiritual awakenings, alternative healing, angels,personal development, and many other similar subjects.

You can advertise your business, write blog posts, share photos or talk via the forums. Registration is free, so go take a look around.

I also want to note that Jason McElhone, Founder of JasonsNetwork.com is one of the most involved website owners I have seen in a long time. He is an inspiration and always working on something with his site to benefit its members. All he asks is that you get in the game and add some of your own thoughts, via talking to or sharing with others.

I think as someone that follows a spiritual path, it is becoming more and more important to make connections with people who have similar beliefs and values such as your own, but also allows you to grow through new thoughts and ideas.

This site is a chance for you to get to connect with like minded people in the areas of spirituality, psychic abilities, angels, and generally people who follow a spiritual and healing path in life. Even if you are new to the area of spirituality, as I was not too long ago, there are some great souls to get to know.

Here is my profile, for those who are interested: http://jasonsnetwork.com/IntuitiveJournal/

Click here to sign up: www.JasonsNetwork.com

Experience Your Good Now – Learning to Use Affirmations

Laura — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:54:53 +0000

A review of Experience Your Good Now – Learning to Use Affirmations, a new book by Louise L. Hay. Learn to create conscious change in your life right now.

I received an opportunity to review this book a bit early, as it will be available on May 15, 2010. I own a few other books by Louise L. Hay and have been impressed by the depth of healing knowledge she possesses.

The book is 128 pages with 12 chapters, hardcover, and also comes with a CD of affirmations. Check it out here: Experience Your Good Now! By Louise Hay.

Why Use Affirmations?

This is an excerpt from the book:

“An affirmation opens the door. It’s a beginning point on the path to change. In essence, you’re saying to your subconscious mind: “I am taking responsibility. I am aware that there is something I can do to change.” When I talk about doing affirmations, I mean consciously choosing words that will either help eliminate something from your life or help create something new in your life.”

If you are ready to begin consciously paying attention to how you think, this book can be of great help to develop a positive mental attitude. Affirmations are thoughts we think and say to ourselves daily, over and over again and may not even realize it. They may be positive and helpful, or they may be outdated and limiting.

The impact our thoughts have on what we say and do is worth taking the time to decide if they are to be kept or need to be discarded from our mental brain chatter.

The first portion of the book goes into detail of what affirmations are and explains how you can begin to consciously change the thoughts that are outdated and limiting. By choosing which thoughts to think, you can begin to replace the thoughts that have worn out their welcome.

With time and consistency, you can learn to reprogram your thought patterns to have more positive experiences in any area of your life that you choose, beginning now.

Effective Affirmations

In the next section of the book, Louise L. Hay goes into detail on creating effective affirmations that you can customize to any area of your life. Since the Universe hears and gives you everything you say and takes it very literally, it just makes sense to choose your thoughts as carefully as possible.

Through a series of exercises you will learn to identify the source of any outdated and limiting beliefs and create positive affirmations to release them from your thoughts. Some of the areas covered are health, money, relationships, self esteem, fear, aging and many others.

By answering a few questions relating to each area, you will begin to identify the patterns and thought process that cause ailments, dis-ease, and relationship issues. By working through the underlying causes from your past and also present situations, you can decide if these thoughts are worth keeping or if they need to be discarded.

If they do need to be discarded, Louise walks you through step by step how to effectively change the outdated thoughts into useful affirmations that you can repeat to yourself whenever necessary.

Affirmations CD

There is also an enclosed CD of positive affirmations that comes with this book to listen at any time.

Summary

Warning! This book requires work from you! Only you can change your thoughts and only when you are ready for real change. This is not just a feel good book to read and set on your bookshelf when you are done reading it.

If you are ready to delve in and take a close look at the root causes of many of your outdated, limiting thoughts and work to consciously change them, you can be well on your way to having a happier, healthier life and more rewarding relationships.

You can order this book through Hay House Publishing here: Experience Your Good Now! By Louise Hay.

Spring Clean Negative Energy from your Home

Laura — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:48:27 +0000

Spring clean negative energy from your home by clearing clutter, opening windows and breathing fresh air into your living space. Learn tips and techniques for removing negative energies.

In a recent article, I discussed how to clear the negative energy that can become attached to your body. This post talks about how those energies can affect your home.

Clearing Negative Energies

Clearing the negative energies that have built up in your home over the winter months can help you think more clearly, breathe easier and clear your mind of extraneous thoughts and habits. Eliminating clutter, broken items, and junk from each room of your house will make the house itself feel lighter and you will too.

Even though we are past the first day of spring, it is still a great time to pick up and clean up your home. I spent the day clearing items from my home and was able to remove 119 items throughout the day. My goal for the day was 100 items, but I ended up finding a bunch of magazines at the end, so it bumped up the count to 119.

If you want to regain some lost energy, removing items from your home and work area is just what you need. For each and every item that is brought into your home, there is some type of energy attached to it. Over time, especially winter months, where the windows are closed up tight, these energies accumulate and the house starts feeling heavy, stale, and generally not cheerful.

100 Items Out of the House

I read about a technique last week of setting a goal number of items per day or week, such as 100, and making it a priority to remove at least 100 items from the house.

I started by placing the items I picked up around the house on the dining room table and then throughout the day, I had the intention in my mind to find as many items as possible that were broken, outdated, unused, or I just didn’t need anymore. I kept a mental count of what number of items I was at and made a game of it throughout the day.

This is not something you have to set aside a lot of time for on a specific day. Just set the intention in your mind that by the end of the day, you will have 100 items to discard. It puts your mind into gear and keeps it at the forefront of your thoughts.

When you walk from one room to another, scan the shelves and really look at what you walk by everyday. It is amazing what pops out at you and how many items in your home are either broken or unusable. Scoop them up and put them into your pile. For me 100 items filled up about two thirds of my dining room table and it didn’t look like I had removed a thing from the house.

This is also a great technique to use for those attics and spare bedrooms that hardly ever get visited. Go in with the intention that you are going to remove 100 items from the room within the day. Your brain will help you do the rest. I find this easier than putting aside 4-5 hours to clean out a room. To me that can get fairly overwhelming, so just doing 100 items for today and perhaps again on a weekend day breaks the cleaning job down to more manageable chunks.

Once you have your 100 items, sort them out and throw out anything broken, damaged, or not good enough for charity. Also take a look and see if anything could be sold to friends or family or listed on auction sites. You never know, you could end up with a few extra bucks out of your cleaning spree. Box or bag the rest and take it to your local charity the same day if possible. You won’t really notice the shift in the energy within your home until the items are literally off your property. Storing them in the garage doesn’t count!

My recommendation is to do this at least one day a week, preferably two days per week, until you can noticeably feel the shift in the energy.

What about you? What do you do to clear negative energies from your home? I would love it if you would leave a comment below.

Learning to Love Yourself

Laura — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:33:09 +0000

Learning to love yourself may be one of the greatest experiences you have in this lifetime, but is it selfish? Find tips for raising your self worth and self esteem. Read about my spiritual healing journey and find tips you can use for healing your mind, body, and spirit.

Loving yourself seems to come easily for some and for others it can be elusive and hard to grasp. Many of the messages received from parents or loved ones long ago undermine our sense of self worth and trusting ourselves.

Isn’t loving yourself being selfish? That’s the impression I received from my family from a young age; that putting yourself first was selfish and I was told that I didn’t think of others first, therefore making me a selfish person. I have carried that line of thinking around for many years. At some point a few years ago I asked myself: “So, how’s that working for ya?” The answer I received from my higher self said: “Not so good.”

Here were some of the results in my life of not seeing myself as worthy of being put first:

Waiting for “My Turn”

The mentality of thinking “when is it my turn?” while waiting for something good to happen to me would have feelings of jealousy appear out of nowhere and my temper would make itself known with some kind of sarcastic or cutting remark. Not very flattering, I realize, but until I explored what was underneath the thoughts, this was the mode of the day. Learning Reiki has helped greatly in my healing path.

Learning to love myself fully and unconditionally has allowed me to realize that those negative thoughts are nothing more than a program running in my head. I now understand that we choose our experiences to help us learn and to work through our mental blocks.

Depression

How can you give your love to someone else when you can’t accept your own love? One day I came to the realization that my parents and other family members were just wrong in regards to this line of thinking. The more I studied past episodes, I saw that the overriding and prevailing feeling that you were selfish and you should put all others needs and wants before your own did not resonate anymore.

Giving My Power Away

Not trusting yourself is giving your power away to others. If you haven’t taken the time to really figure out what your values are and what you stand for, you can end up taking what others say and believe as truth instead of your own thoughts or inner knowing. You can also give your power away by waiting for others to give you their love and acceptance instead of reaching down and looking for it within you first.

I have now learned quite a few different techniques for forgiveness and healing listed below.

How to Heal – Learning Self Care

Use your intuition or inner knowing to ask yourself what you need most right now. Find a quiet spot, and take a deep breath for a count of four, hold for a count of four and exhale for a count of eight. Repeat three times. Center and quiet your mind and ask the question, “What do I need most right now?” Don’t try forcing the answer, just let it come to the surface. Give meditation a try. Meditating has a lot of benefits that can work really well to bring clarity and peace of mind.

You can also try writing the question down on paper and then writing what immediately comes to mind. It may be a one word response that comes to mind, such as rest, calm, forgiveness, or peace or you may write an entire page. It may also come across as a feeling, such as needing to move – as in exercise, a change of scenery – like dropping the household tasks and getting out of the house for the afternoon, or friends – perhaps needing to reconnect with good friends that will listen to you. Read more about automatic writing.

Eliminate Negative Self-Talk

Don’t say anything to yourself that you would not say to another person. Easier said than done, I know! Listen to your self-talk on a normal day. Would you say your deepest thoughts to your spouse, child, or best friend? I doubt it.

Say I Love You to Yourself

Try standing in front of a mirror in the bathroom and smiling and saying “I love you” to yourself.

The first few times I tried this I just cringed at the site in the mirror. But after repeated attempts I am now able to hold my head up and honestly say that I do love myself with a smile, with no feelings of guilt or fear attached at all. I am proud of who I am now. Using positive affirmations has helped tremendously. I highly recommend this book by Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your Life . I do own it and it has been a fantastic resource in healing.

Say No!

If you are overwhelmed with your day to day life, the time has to come when you start saying NO to requests from others. Prioritize your day with your needs first, including time to relax. By doing so, you will have the energy necessary to give to family and friends but on your terms.

Overall, have compassion for where you are at. Self love is not something that is going to turn around in a day. There will be relapses and high and low points along the way. Remember that each low point is peeling back another layer on the way to healing.

I also recommend this Audio CD: Defy Gravity-Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason by Caroline Myss . I own this and it has really given me a wonderful perspective on my life.

Feel free to leave a comment below. I would love to hear your responses, especially what has worked for you to help yourself heal.

Personal Development Books

Laura — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:24:55 +0000

A list of personal development books that have helped me with my spiritual growth and healing along with my reviews of each self help book. These books have transformed my mind, soul, and helped to nourish my spirit when I needed it most.

Below are links to some of the books that I have purchased along with my reviews of each product. I will add to this list as I read more books about self improvement.

Personal Development Books

Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth

This book takes what most would consider a radical approach to personal development, by looking at your life from the viewpoints of truth, love, and power. Steve states that everything you do and experience in your life should come from one of these viewpoints. When we do things that are out of alignment with truth, love, and power is where our struggles begin. His book goes on to discuss how we can incorporate those truths into our career, habits, health, money, relationships and spirituality.

The Unmistakable Touch of Grace: How to Recognize and Respond to the Spiritual Signposts in Your Life

This is one of my favorite personal development books. It tells the story of how grace transformed the author’s life and also the lives of others. This book made me realize that I didn’t have to look very far in my own life to find grace. It is a very touching story of a spiritual journey that leaves you feeling empowered and energized when you are finished reading it. I highly recommend reading this book. It really helped me see things through a different lens.

Emotional Options: A Handbook for Happiness

Are you as happy as you would like to be? Break through your limiting beliefs and emotions with the techniques explained in this book. Learn how to turn explosive anger into useful fuel and find peace in your life. Find out how to identify what you are unhappy about and work through steps to discover why you believe what you do. Once you understand the source of your unhappiness, you can then focus on changing the belief into something you can use to your benefit.

Life on Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life

Are you burned out on the inside, but showing a smiling face on the outside because you feel you don’t have any other choice in life? Uncover what has been shaping your life so far and what roadblocks you are facing.

Clarify your life purpose with Dr. Swift’s 6 step program and make a noticeable difference in the quality of your life. Develop your own unique vision and learn to lead a divinely inspired life.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

If you haven’t yet read this personal development book, it really is one to put on the must read list. Tolle goes into a great amount of detail on how our ego affects our day to day lives and what we can do to bring awareness to unhealthy thoughts and actions such as jealousy and unhappiness. He teaches how awareness can help to let go and break free of negative self definitions and self imposed roles. Find out how great you really can be by learning how to listen to your inner self.

The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content.

If you are ready to quit your job due to stress and overwork, this book will definitely shed a new light on your way of thinking. This book was quite an eye opener for me that someone could actually not live the standard life of working 9-5. It is a breath of fresh air to know that there are other ways to make it through life rather than living paycheck to paycheck. Learn how to redesign your lifestyle to have more time for the things you want to enjoy in your life.

Which books would you add to this list? I am always open to hearing reviews of other personal development books that have made a difference in your life. Add your comments below.

Christmas – A Healing Holiday

Laura — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:58:50 +0000

Christmas can be a healing holiday if you intend to make it that way. Learn tips and techniques to bring healing into your upcoming family gatherings during this Christmas season.

Stress, fear, anxiety, and depression can take their toll on a person this time of year. Past holiday experiences can bring up unresolved feelings and old issues. Perhaps someone you really cared for wasn’t there or had recently passed on. Perhaps an expectation you had was not met or someone disappointed you deeply.

A broad range of previously buried or forgotten feelings, like hurt, anger, and pain can creep up during a holiday celebration when you are again faced with seeing the same people.

Those feelings are making themselves known for a reason. It is because your soul wants the healing to begin. Your ego may have other thoughts, however. The Christmas season is a time to put your ego aside and listen to your heart. Here are a few ways to bring some healing into your upcoming family gatherings during this Christmas season:

An Extra Hug

Don’t hold back this time. It is okay to hug! Reach out and give that relative or friend that you know has been going through some hard times an extra hug when you see them. Let them know that you are really glad to see them again.

An Extra Prayer

Is someone in your family or circle of friends going through an unpleasant experience? Sit quietly and think about that friend of family member and send them healing thoughts and prayers that they will have the strength to get through their problems of the day. Do not make the problems your own, but show compassion and kindness that you understand their problems.

An Extra Loving Thought

Catch yourself in mid-thought when you are making a judgement about someone, particularly if a certain scene is replaying itself again this year. Replace it with an extra loving and healing thought about what you do like about that person. Realize that they are a part of lessons you are learning and love them for it.

An Extra Apology

Apologize for the things that were said or went unsaid that may have hurt someone else this year. Let go of your ego and make the first move toward healing. By letting go, you can bring healing to another and in return receive healing yourself.

An Extra Phone Call

Take an extra 10-15 minutes to call a friend you have fallen out with or a relation who may be in a nursing home. Talk about the old times and reminisce.

An Extra Good Deed

Do the good deeds we didn’t do for each other this year. Whether it is shoveling someone’s driveway, or inviting an elderly neighbor over for dinner or any of the other “should do’s” that come along, take the time and do at least one or two of the thoughts that have crossed your mind recently.

An Extra Happy Person

Make sure you find time to be around people who make you happy, especially if your family gatherings are a bit stressful. Seek out at least one happy friend and give them a phone call or arrange to finally get to visit them.

Realize that we are all one and all part of the whole. What brings healing to another brings healing to ourselves.

Do you have any special tips or techniques for healing that you do around the holidays? I would love a comment below if you are willing to share.

A Conversation with Louise Hay

Laura — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:34:25 +0000

I am currently reading the book “You can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay. She is turning into a favorite author of mine. I found this video on YouTube and thought I would share it here. Louise has an incredible outlook on life. I am working daily to bring bits of this into my own life.

I hope you enjoy this video!

A Conversation with Louise Hay