When in doubt, just take the next small step.
— Regina Brett
90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland
I’ve just finished Called Out of Darkness – A Spiritual Confession by Ann Rice. It is beautifully written with wonderful descriptions of New Orleans, Catholic liturgy and the Catholic Churches of the 1940s and ’50s. It was amazing to me both how different from, and how similar to mine, were her experiences.
In the middle of my listening to her book, all of the hubbub about Rice leaving the Catholic Church AGAIN became the subject of much discussion both on talk shows and on the internet. Listening to her describe her complete devotion to Christ and the Catholic Church at the end of the book and then reading her comments online made me feel very sad for her. But more than anything else, it made me envious of her certitude. I don’t know that I’ve ever been as certain as she is of all four stances that she took; first as a devoted Catholic, then as a certain atheist, then as an even more devoted Catholic and finally (at least for now) certain that she can no longer be Continue reading » Faith and Doubt
Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness and weakening its power.
— Anonymous
Recently, I’ve been reading another book about how our brains work. In Dr. Daniel Amen’s book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, he describes the chemical interactions that occur as a result of our thoughts. Putting these various pieces of research together, I have learned that I can affect how my mind behaves and I can create an outlook that serves me. With that comes greater freedom from anxiety and depression and that makes it worth working at understanding the science, and developing the skills that conform with the research.
In some of my most recent posts, I’ve written about the effect of thoughts on the shape and structure of our brain. Repetitive thoughts or actions become imprinted in our brains and the more repetitive they are the deeper the imprint. The deeper the imprint, the harder it is to change them.
With the addition of Dr. Amen’s research, we start to understand how Continue reading » Get Rid of the ANTS
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
— Mahatma Gandhi
Every Sunday, after I go to Mass, I meet a friend for lunch. She has two sons, both of whom have struggled with addiction issues. Both have also been trying to figure out what to do with their lives. The younger son, Rhett, has tried to find a career of sorts but he’s struggled because he did some not-so-smart stuff a few years back. Because of his record, he finds it hard to find a job with a future and is waiting for these items to “fall off” his record. Even then, finding a job he’ll like is a challenge.
Recently, Rhett has been showing signs of moving forward. First, he decided that even though it may be difficult to succeed in this overcrowded field, he would enroll in a film study certificate program at a local junior college. (As a graduate of a junior college system, I can only say, “Thank heavens for junior colleges!”)
To get started, he enrolled in six units during the summer semester. For someone starting out cold, summer semester is a huge challenge. The same amount of study material is squeezed into Continue reading » A Story of Personal Power
You can have anything you want if you will give up the belief that you can’t have it.
— Dr. Robert Anthony
In 1956 Earl Nightingale wrote and recorded The Strangest Secret on the technology of the day, an LP record. It became the first non-entertainment record to sell a million copies. What caught everyone’s attention was the simple, yet true message, “We become what we think about.” At the time, there was no scientific evidence to support that claim, but in the past 10 years, scientists have proven that our thoughts do shape our world.
Scientists have named the ability of our brains to adapt, neuroplasticity. This is the ability that our brains have to physically adapt to new circumstances. Neuroplasticity is what allows people with traumatic brain injury or damage from a stroke, to recover. Not so long ago, scientists believed that when Continue reading » To Create New Beliefs – Start HERE!
If you don’t know where you’re going, can you get there from here?
We can’t have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.
— Saint Thomas Aquinas
Recently I wrote about my frustration at not having a vision for going forward: And, as often happens, a teacher (several in fact) appeared… First I came upon a simple e-mail poem that struck a chord:
It is only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God’s design;
But I cannot unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily, but in my hands they die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud, this flower of God’s design,
Then how can I have the wisdom to unfold this life of mine?
So I’ll trust in God for leading each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance in each step of the way.
The path that lies before me, only my Lord knows.
I’ll trust God to unfold the moments, just as He unfolds the rose.
— Unknown
Interesting, simple analogies about roses and butterflies are teaching me that I don’t need to figure it all out right now, I can figure it out as it unfolds…
The Power of Intention
Continue reading » Start Somewhere
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