“The key to loving how you live is in knowing what it is you truly love.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Profound, isn’t it?  As I am embarking on this journey, one thing I discovered about myself is that I didn’t know a whole lot about myself – my likes and dislikes, where I stand on some issues, etc.  I have spent so much of my life living to please others that I didn’t have a strong enough foundation in who I am and what I stand for.  One thing I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that I have a God who loves me and has a plan for my life.  But He has blessed me with free will, so I decided it is time I figured out how I as an individual desire to use that free will outside of the influence of others and the desire to please them.

“To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.”  Robert Louis Stevenson

I love, love, love Robert’s quote.  I am going to try the illustrated discovery journal as Sarah suggests, but there will probably be more words, quotes, and articles than pictures, because defining who I am as a person is what I really need to discover.  As an artist, I know what pleases me visually.  Now my mission is to continue discovering what it is I want to stand for intellectually.  Love, kindness, honesty, integrity – these I know for sure.  But what about the complexities of an individual beyond that?

Maya Angelou will show someone the door if she hears so much as a whisper from them that is negative toward another human being.  Literally.  She will get them their coat and walk them right out.  She will not allow that negativity to permeate her walls.  Can you imagine?  Oh how I would love to have the strength of character to do that.  I worry so much about protecting family relationships, afraid to rock the boat, that I tend to say nothing.  I won’t participate in the negativity, but I don’t speak up against it, condoning it by omission.  That is one of my goals for this year, to become better at taking a stand on things and voicing my opinion.

I think as one’s identity is developed through the use of the illustrated discovery journal, it will help to create an inner confidence that supports this desire to take a stand more often.  What about you?  How will  you use the illustrated discovery journal?

Shalom!

“What I was doing was not so much recording the events in my life as much as eliminating the mental minutiae that was depleting me of my creative energy and driving me crazy.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

As much as I love to write, I have never been good about keeping a journal.  I’ve started one – I can’t tell you how many times – but I never stick with it long enough for it to become a habit.

“I call this ritual the daily dialogue because you are really conversing with someone much wiser and saner as you write:  your authentic self.” SBB

Maybe part of my problem has been that I buy these beautiful journals and want my writing to be this fabulous prose.  I’m going to try Sarah’s suggestion, and use a simple spiral notebook to just empty my brain of my thoughts, and see what results I get by reaching Sarah’s 21-day goal.  Will you join me?

Shalom!

“Give yourself the gift of one hour a day to journey within.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

This sounds like a luxury that would be hard to achieve to me, and I am sure it does to most of you as well.  I absolutely agree with Sarah though.

“You need enough breathing space to allow your heart to ponder what is precious.” SBB

I started small, getting up 15-30 minutes early to have time for prayer and meditation before jumping head-first into my day.  I can tell you unequivocally that it makes a tremendous difference in how my day goes and what I am able to accomplish.  This quiet time helps me to set the stage for the day, and I find myself being much more present in each moment when I start my day this way.

“If you go deep enough, often enough, something good is bound to come back to you.”  SBB

Will you give it a try?  Let us know how it goes!

Shalom!

“Life never calms down long enough for us to wait until tomorrow to start living the lives we deserve.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Are you like me?  Do you find yourself saying, “I’ll do that as soon as …”  I have been very guilty of doing that in my life.

“Procrastination has robbed us of too many precious opportunities.”  SBB

For me, ill health had become an excuse for not doing so many things.  But here is what I learned:  failing to do the things that I should be doing and want to be doing because I just don’t physically feel up to it only creates increased ill feeling.  I was failing to do all of the things in life that bring me joy:  activities with loved ones, playing music, writing, doing for others.  The only thing this accomplished was to make me feel worse than I already did.  I not only felt poor physically, but I was allowing my poor health to steal my joy!

“Life begets life.  Energy creates energy.”  SBB

Since becoming determined to live my life and do what I do whether I feel up to it or not, my life is joyful again.  I may not feel well physically, but that does not stop me from having a beautifully joyful, fulfilling, and meaningful life!

What excuse are you using to avoid living your best life right now?  What will you leave undone if you continue to wait for the perfect time, only to find your time has run out?

Shalom!

“Bless a thing and it will bless you.  Curse it and it will curse you … If you bless a situation, it has no power to hurt you, and even if it is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out, if you sincerely bless it.”  Emmet Fox

This is not an easy task, but if you want the Universe to send you what you want, you must pay attention to the vibrations you are sending out to it.  What you send out to the Universe, it will send back to you.

How are you doing with meeting this challenge?

Shalom!

“It’s as if the steam of struggle has been allowed to escape from life’s pressure cooker.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Have you ever noticed that things don’t seem as bad once you let go and stop fighting against the situation?  Here is the thing I have learned about the Universe:  whatever you send out, comes back to you.  If you send out fret and worry, the Universe will send you more to fret and worry about.

“Accepting and blessing our circumstances is a powerful tool for transformation.  In fact, this potent combination is a spiritual elixir that can work miracles in our lives.”  SBB

Want to be happy and have good things happen in your life?  Be happy and expect good things to happen in your life!  When you send those vibrations out into the Universe, you’ll be surprised what comes back to you.  An example of how I have experienced this first-hand is my beautiful husband.  I was divorced and on my own for many years.  I did the online dating thing and kissed a lot of frogs.  Finally, I accepted my situation and stopped looking.  I not only came to the conclusion that when God wanted me to meet someone, He would make sure it happened, but I also became very excited in knowing deep in my heart that God had someone amazing planned for me.  It wasn’t long before I met Danny, and I have to tell you, he is the most exceptional man I have ever met, and about as perfect a husband as there ever was.  All I did was accept and believe!

Shalom!

“There is a prosperity of living which is quite as important as prosperity of the pocketbook.  Where we were specialists in spending, we are becoming specialists in living.”  Ladies Home Journal, October 1932

Many of us are living in times that are much leaner than any we have experienced in the past.  It can be scary.  The gratitude journal can be one great way to avoid losing sight of all of the blessings you still have in your life.  Living in the moment and having faith that God will provide for our needs is another way to keep from letting financial worries control your day-to-day life.

“Like pioneers on the trail, we will learn to live by our own lights and the stars of heaven, for that is all we need.  There is no obstacle that true grit and Amazing Grace cannot overcome.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I am grateful that my husband and I have been given the opportunity to learn about the prosperity of living with an empty pocketbook.  Don’t get me wrong, it can be very difficult at times,  but I believe that it has brought us closer and that we have both grown spiritually and learned to appreciate the simple things in life in a much fuller way.  There are many valuable lessons that have come from the financial challenges we have faced, and we wouldn’t be who we are today without them.

How have these times changed your life?

Shalom!

“Today, be willing to believe that a companion spirit is leading you every step of the way, and knows the next step.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I guess Sarah and I are on the same page after all!  Yesterday, I spoke about adding faith to Sarah’s equation, and today she is doing exactly that.

If you are one of the skeptics, I say to you this:  what have you got to lose?  If life isn’t treating you right, or if externally everything seems just grand, but for some reason you can’t put your finger on, you just aren’t happy, what is the harm in exploring the possibility that there is a Universal Spirit?  If you follow yesterday’s suggestions for finding happiness and success, it will certainly cause no harm to you or anyone else.  Why not try investing love, creative energy, perseverance and passion in yourself while living joyfully in the present, and praying with belief that your life will be enhanced exponentially?  What, my friend, do you have to lose? Give it a try, won’t you?

Shalom!

P.S.  If you are new to these posts, Transforming 2014 is an online book club of sorts.  We are reading Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book, Simple Abundance:  A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, together so that 2014 can be a transformative year for all of us.  Use the comment section to inspire fellow readers or share your difficulties so that we can support you.  You can find Sarah’s book on Amazon, and it is available in the Kindle version as well!

“Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them.”  Russell H. Conwell

I can’t begin today’s post without wishing my daughter Katie a happy birthday.  Katie would be 22 today.  She left us when she was but 18 months old to join our Father in heaven, and I know that heaven is much brighter because of her beautiful big blue eyes that would light up a room.  Katie was one of the most beautiful diamonds in my life, the daughter I always dreamed of having, and I am grateful to have had her, if only for a little while.

“When we cherish our dream and then invest love, creative energy, perseverance and passion in ourselves, we will achieve authentic success.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I personally add one more item of criteria to Sarah’s list:  prayer and faith that God will answer our prayer.  It can be difficult to believe in dreams that seem unrealistic, but that is because as ordinary human beings our dreams are unrealistic.  But if you have faith in the power of the Spirit that loves you and resides in you, nothing is impossible.  In fact, if He put the dream in your heart, you can rest assured that he will provide you with the tools to make it happen.

When you follow Sarah’s path of simple abundance, believing in yourself and your destiny, and couple it with prayer and belief, nothing and no one can stop you!  How easy is it to live fearlessly in the present moment if you believe that God will provide for you needs and always has a plan for you?

Have you ever noticed that when things seem the most hopeless, an answer or solution appears from the most unexpected place?  That is God taking care of you – He has solutions that you could never come up with on your own, no matter how hard you try – so why try so hard?  I am not saying you should sit around and wait for life to hand you everything on a silver platter, but when you cannot make something work no matter how hard you try to force it, let go and let God.  He has a plan that you could never imagine.  And it will be much better than anything you could come up with!

“For each of us there is a deeply personal dream waiting to be discovered and fulfilled … Let your imagination soar, for it is your soul’s blueprint for success.”  SBB

What dreams do you have that you let fall by the wayside because you are afraid of failure?  Will you open yourself to the possibility that the Holy Spirit put that dream on your heart for a reason, and that He wouldn’t give you a dream without the ability to make it come true?  What do you have to lose?

I hope you will share with us what dreams you are willing to reignite for yourself.  I am so excited to hear about it!

Shalom!

 “Many of us unconsciously create dramas in our minds, expecting the worst from a situation only to have our expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Are you creating self-fulfilling prophecies with the dramas in your mind?  It is so easy to do, isn’t it?  I highly recommend Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book, Wishes Fulfilled – Mastering the Art of Manifesting.  Dr. Dyer practices what he preaches – he was diagnosed with incurable cancer which “inexplicably” disappeared.  His doctors can’t explain it, but he can!  Wouldn’t you rather create a positive self-fulfilling prophecy, like he did?

“Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy.”  SBB

Living in the present is not so easy.  We in our culture are not wired that way.  Even we Christians, who know we are not supposed to worry but should trust God, struggle with it.  We spend many a sleepless night filling our heads with what if scenarios.

Here is the bottom line:  worrying about a situation will not change the outcome.  It will only rob you of your present joy.

“You’ll discover, much to your amazement and delight, that such blessings have been waiting patiently for you to claim them all along.”  SBB

Give it a try – stop worrying and expect the best, and see what happens.  What have you got to lose?

Shalom!