Soulmates in Your Past Lives

Healing From Past Life Relationships

I feel like I've met you before. 

Have you ever had a connection that was so immediate that it seemed like someone you've always known just popped in and re-introduced themselves. How do I know this person? You might think, only to come up short. 

Our culture has done a good job at blowing this whole soulmate concept right out of the water. We're inundated from childhood with images of the princess and prince, the couple who would do anything, including give their lives, for each other. And yet, in my own life, these intense soulmate connections have proved challenging. I tend to run into them thinking, Finally! Prince charming! only to leave going What the hell happened?

It seems that at least some soul connections require healing from past interactions. Certain people do come into our lives to work out past karma, and others will carry an energetic signature of a past dynamic. Were you and a loved one at some point a master and a slave? Do you feel that way in your current situation, like you're playing out a specific role like an actor in a play? Almost without trying, you continue in a behavior that doesn't make sense for the current situation. Why is it so hard to get out of this? You might think. Believe me, I've been there. What we bring in with us from the past can certainly require extra effort to identify and release. 

When I first met Joey (name changed, for obvious reasons) it was straight out of a movie. Dressed in my best, headed to a party, I swept passed a garden stand, relishing the divinely heavy floral scent when out of nowhere; a tall, handsome man in trousers and rolled sleeves stepped out into my path. "Miss, miss, wait a minute, sit with me," he said, gesturing to two chairs off to the side. Immediately, an aura of otherworldliness descended upon me, catching me off guard. What, how, why? I had no words, but hesitantly acquiesced and took a seat across from this man.

Somehow, we had a discussion- names, where are you from, what do you do- but it was as if we were just checking in on the particulars of each others' lives like we would listen to the details of a loved one's day. It was as if we were catching up.

Being around him was like having a spotlight on me. I felt wrapped in a blanket of love and warmth. It was the stuff of old love songs.  

Are the stars out tonight
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I only have eyes for you dear

When it came crashing to an end, which it did after I found out he had lied about some pretty important parts of his life (example: being single, for one); I have never cried so hard. It felt like my future had been taken away from me. The plans we had made were dissolved just like that. It was an abrupt change, and a hard one. I found myself seeking some explanation for the intensity of not only our connection, but the break up. Why had he lied? Seeking answers, I turned to past-life regression.

Past life regression can be extremely helpful and illuminating for things that challenge us for reasons that just don't make sense to us. Why do we get really afraid when we get close to a large animal (maybe you were eaten by one), or why do we have trouble opening up (a loved one in the past betrayed us), or even why we can't have something tight wrapped around our neck (guillotine anyone?). We do come in with certain tendencies. A friend's daughter, for instance, is highly self-conscious, easily upset, always concerned that she's being cheated, and sensitive when even gently corrected. She has particular challenges that her siblings just don't have. There are certainly a number of factors that one can attribute this to. You can put it off to nature, nurture, or a combination of the two, but I tend to think it's something her spirit came in with. Not chemical, but spiritual.

In my past life regression session, I found myself with Joey on a crowded cobbled street. Although he looked different, I recognize him by the way he felt - comfortable, warm, and funny. We were children, poor, and petty thieves. At some point, I stole something, blamed him, and left him to deal with the consequences. Seeing this life play out before me was really helpful by allowing me to see the inner workings of our history that engineered our meeting. Our spirits were connected by a karmic debt. I, in a way, owed him.

So how do we stop this cycle of betrayed-betrayal? How do we come to a neutral place? The answer, I believe, is forgiveness. Forgiving myself, and forgiving him. Without this, I may forever hold a grudge, cease trusting men, or even stop myself from experiencing love again. I might condemn him, never to understand that his motivations for doing what he did were, at least in part, something he didn't necessarily have control over. Perhaps his intentions were really good, and then everything sort of got away from him. It allows me to see the other possibilities rather than feeling like a victim and remaining hurt.

If you're interested in learning more about past-life regression and soulmates, come check out our soulmates and reincarnation class tomorrow night on Learnitlive.com. Janice is leading it, and you're sure to learn alot. If you can't come tomorrow, check out the recording. You can still undergo the hypnotherapy, even if its after the fact. If you have any questions, comments, or maybe even your own story to share; feel free to comment below or email us! 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LIFE COACH AND A LIFE INTERPRETER?

MANY PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE CONCEPT OF A LIFE COACH - BUT WHAT IS A LIFE INTERPRETER?

When Janice used to try to describe herself to people, she would often say she was a life coach with a twist. Eventually, she settled on life interpreter rather than life coach, as the techniques she used in helping people to change their lives was more akin to teaching them to speak a new language than it was in training them for a big game. This metaphor is of course somewhat imprecise, but the take away should be that there is a lot more going on with a session with Janice than there is with a typical life coach. This has to do with her specific perspective and training.

A life coach is a supporter, a confidante, someone who you can feel open with. They are someone who can act as an objective observer in your life. Isn't it true that we can often see what other people should do but it's hard to tell for ourselves what we should do? A life coach can be trained, or untrained, depending on the person. It is not completely unrealistic to think that some people are just better at being objective observers, supporters, and confidantes, and perhaps they wouldn't require training. Others will have a smattering of certificates and trainings. Certainly, licensed psychologists and psychiatrists abound and are well trained. So what makes life interpretation so different from what other people are doing? And what, exactly, are we interpreting?

The easiest answer to this is that we are interpreting your own thoughts, actions and reactions so that you can better understand yourself. Why do you act the way you act? What do you have this job, this sort of relationship? It's deep questioning with often startling answers.  Some people might understand their own motivations and know why they think the way that they think, but surprisingly, most people aren't really sure why they do what they do. Imagine that! Where are you on that spectrum? For most of us, we're operating from our habits, learned behaviors, and false beliefs. It's pretty fascinating when you start to see how you are creating your world from your understanding of it.

You may be surprised to find out that most traditionally trained mental health professionals aren't focusing at all on helping you to re-write your core beliefs. What!? you might be thinking, and I was surprised to learn this too. This idea just hasn't yet made it's way into the mainstream, although it's been very popular in alternative methods and Eastern philosophies for a long time.

The way that Janice has helped people to gain understanding into their programs is typically three fold.

First, to get the hang of this, you need to learn first how to de-stress (most people are way too stressed to even begin to think about changing the way their mind works!).

After people begin to learn how to relax and gain some space in their day to learn about other things, she will talk to them about how energy works. Many studies are coming out about just how interconnected and affected by each other we really are. If someone you don't even know, like a friend's friend, or a neighbor down the street has a bad day, why would that affect you? The answer lies in energy. People are so much more attuned and aware than we give ourselves credit for. The reason for that is that our subconscious is doing much of the processing of the stimulus around us and not letting on to the conscious mind. Surprisingly, even though we aren't consciously aware of it, these stimuli processed by the sub-conscious still affect how we are feeling. In one study done by Cornell University in tandem with Facebook found the following: 

"Over a one-week period in 2012, they changed the content of news feeds for a random sample of Facebook users. For one group of users they removed content that contained positive words, for another group they removed content that contained negative words. They then measured whether subtly biasing the emotional content in this way changed the emotional content of status updates by the users. Sure enough it did. Making feeds more negative led to more negative behaviour, and vice versa."  Source

The good news about this is that as we are learning more about how much we are affected by each other and the subtle subconscious cues we are receiving. We are also learning how to protect ourselves and become more aware so that we can limit the amount of noise triggering emotional responses from our brains. This is the second tier of Janice's work with her clients: she teaches them to protect themselves from unwanted emotional contagions.

Lastly, we talk about beliefs. Learning to control our stress level and the energetic signals we are receiving is really about understanding what exactly is affecting us and sort of wiping off that extra muck that makes it hard for our wheels to spin. While you are really talking about beliefs the whole time you are working with Janice, beliefs become the main focus at some point when you start to master energetic messages and stress. What things are you creating and why? This is by no means the easiest part of your learning, either. Beliefs exist for a reason, typically to protect us. The road to self-awareness isn't necessarily straight. My own journey has had many detours, re-routes (haven't I seen this tree before?) and breakdowns, but it certainly has left me in a much more livened state than when I started. So, will you take this journey with us? Will you learn to interpret your life and in so doing truly awaken to your potential?

This is a BIG learning curve, and an exciting one. Just imagine, if you knew you were creating your life, what you could create differently? I can think of a few things for myself!

That, in summation, is pretty much the difference, from what I can tell, between a life coach and a life interpreter. Let us hear your thoughts!

Manifestation Magic: How to Get What You Want.

MANIFESTATION IS NO TRICK, BUT HOW DOES IT WORK?

HERE'S 7 STEPS TOWARDS CREATING WHAT YOU WANT!

We decided to put down seven steps on the magic of manifestation. Why seven steps? Because seven is a lucky number, of course! Manifestation is supposed to be fun.  We like to make everything way more serious than it needs to be, which goes against the process of creation. Not that you can't create serious things, of course you can and people do, but at some level; it's good if we can enjoy the process.  If we're constantly pushing ourselves to create things that we think we ought to do, rather than things we really want to do, we may get burnt out on creating and think that in fact, it's not that much fun when really it's how we're doing it that makes it challenging!  We think we need to trudge along and lug every boulder to build what we want, but often its a matter of putting yourself out there time and again and being observant for opportunities. Before you know it, your moment will arrive. If you want more fun times with this, come to our Vision Board Workshop this coming Monday, February 8th at 6:30pm in Monroe, CT (video tutorial to follow for all our non-local readers). Email us for more information!

7 Steps For Magical Manifestation!

1. Get a Clear Idea of What You Want.

You can't make anything happen for yourself when you aren't being clear about what you want. If you are unsure what you want right now but know you want something, see what you think about when you aren't self-editing your inner monologue. What do you dream about, whether it's day dreaming or while you are asleep? You may find that there is some correlation. It may be something as simple as finding yourself saying "I've always wanted..." in a conversation. What is it that you've always wanted, but have put off? What is the next adventure you want to embark on? There's so much we can do in our world. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself as you consider your options. Remember, it's supposed to be fun. Think about yourself as an explorer. What have you always wanted to try?

2. Write Down What You Want. 

Try to be as detailed as possible - not in the way you are going to get it- but the details of having it. What does it look, smell, feel like? Who is with you? What are your aims? How do you feel when you have this thing? Once you have a clear idea of the specifics of what you want, think about it - often. Recreate the experience of having it in your mind, and place yourself there. You can also make a vision board! What is a vision board? It's a collection of words, pictures, and concepts that you want to create in your life. If you want to be walked through this process, come to our vision board workshop this coming Monday! If you're not local, keep an eye out for the video tutorial to follow. OR sign up for our email list.

3. Keep an Eye on False Beliefs that Go Against What You Want

Do any of the items on your list seem to conflict with each other? Such as, if you want to advance in your career but you also want to spend more time with your kids, do you have an innate belief that these two can't happen at the same time? That's what we call a false belief. Many people are able to be both successful and family-oriented. Do you believe that you are capable or worthy of the thing you want? If the answer is no, then we need to start to change that script.

4. Catch yourself when you're thinking negatively.

In order to change the script, you need to keep an eye on your mental dialogue. Sometimes we are so caught up in what's happening that we fail to see that our mind is doing much interpreting of the events of our life. Where are you assuming and jumping to conclusions about in your life? How often do you think negative thoughts about yourself? How often do you say: I can't do it, I don't know, or I'm not ready?

• If you catch yourself saying something negative or that conflicts with what you want to manifest say: Cancel, cancel, cancel! And then re-envision yourself with that thing!

5. Look For Opportunities That Come To You - Develop Awareness

After you have made it clear what you want, you have to keep your eyes open! Remember the anecdote about the man who prayed every day to win the lottery and at some point an angel comes to him and says, "Hey, do us a favor, buy a ticket!"  You have to meet your dreams half way! You always want to stay as relaxed as possible and do away with stress. This is an important step for creating more awareness as it's hard to stay focused if we are over-stressed. Mindful meditation or hypnotherapy is a great way to begin to attune your mind to details you might miss if you are too stressed, distracted, or overwhelmed to notice when an opportunity is looking you in the face!

6.Note Successes With Gratitude! 

When you have made a step towards what you want, celebrate! Don't let the important steps you take towards manifesting what you want go unnoticed! Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. Keep an eye out for opportunities to celebrate, even if they are small. It's important to reiterate and reaffirm that you want your goal and practice gratitude for the things you have been given. Pat yourself on the back for taking advantage of opportunities to move forward, even if it's in small ways! 

7. Let It Go and Have Faith!

Manifesting something small, like an extra twenty bucks this week, may take less time than manifesting something more involved like a big promotion (although maybe not!) It all depends. But the thing to keep in mind is that manifestation works for us, and works much better if we aren't sitting there actively being aware of how the thing we want hasn't arrived yet. This may actually be blocking you from seeing an opportunity to create what you want. You must stay open to possibility. You may get a big promotion, but in a vastly different way that you expected to! It may take time, but as long as you put in there that you want things to happen in a way that has your best interest at heart, you'll be in good hands. Have faith that what you want will find you and remain open to it showing up. Know that it's coming!

Let us hear your stories on manifestation! Have you ever had something you wanted show up out of the blue? 

Who is a Bully?

We've all had issues with bullying in some capacity....


 "Don't pick on her," Jessica said angrily.  We all stood stock still, gaping at the girl who said something to the ones picking on a girl in our class, Maddie.

"Thank you, Jessica," Maddie said in a way that made it seem like she just won an academy award.  I was shocked.  Who was I in all this? I was the bully, and Jessica had just stood up for the girl I was bullying.

I don't remember what I had said to Maddie, but a few friends and I were poking fun at her.  We were in 5th grade. 

The reason we bullied Maddie is because, honestly, she was an easy target.  She was different, maybe a little nerdy, and a little socially awkward.  Basically, she was everything I didn't want to be (but was, anyway) and since I didn't like myself and was afraid to be myself, it seemed the thing to do was to attempt to separate out the things I didn't like about myself.  I did this by finding them in someone else and ridiculing them for it.  I was trying to prove that I was different than her, but instead I made myself into something far worse - a hypocrite and a bully.  It took a long time to figure out what I was doing and begin to accept and appreciate the pieces of myself that I had made fun of in Maddie.

It all seems pretty cut and dry, but there's more to it than that.  Through my work with Janice; I've begun to learn about energy and beliefs. Have you ever been feeling fine, and then you'll get a phone call from someone who is complaining about something they are trying to do and how they can't get it right?  Instead of just calmly being able to answer their question or reassure them they can do it,  you may begin to feel angry or frustrated with them. You respond with criticism or lash out; telling them that they should know how to do this already or ask them, "how many times are you going to call me with the same stupid thing," etc.  What we don't realize is this:

People who feel bad about themselves can draw out anger, frustration, or ridicule with their energy, especially from those closest to them. We can mirror what others feel about themselves without even realizing that is what is happening. 

Have you ever been feeling really bad about yourself, like you just can't do it, or you feel like you're a real screw up; and then someone comes along and says something to reinforce this idea?

I'll give you an example: I was running behind one morning and didn't clean up my dishes from breakfast.  As I'm walking out the door, I am feeling frustrated, like I just can't get anything right, be on time for anything, and am generally just a disaster.  As I am driving to work; I get a message from my roommate "Can you please clean up after yourself!? You always leave things a mess!" it said.  I already felt bad about not being able to do my dishes, and I was beating myself up for running late.  Then, I get this message and it just reiterates to me that I am a screw up.  

It felt awful.  But is it real?  

My roommate was responding to the way I already felt, and her emotions, fears, and beliefs got mixed in there too.

Bullies and their victims often share similar beliefs.  Often, they both feel there is something wrong with them, that they won't be accepted the way they are, that they don't matter, and/or that they can't do anything right.  For these reasons, they feel they are different or don't fit in.  We often hear in our work that people feel like they just don't really belong, that no one will accept them the way they are and that no one really cares.  Underlying all of this, are the feelings that we are "not good enough."  The difference is in what people do with it.  Some people hide, and hold their energy in close to themselves. They are fearful that others will see their flaws and they try to keep people from seeing them.  They don't feel good about themselves and try not to draw attention to themselves. They can feel very victimized by the people around them and the world.

The second type of person is someone whose fear and dislike for themselves is also profound, but instead of turning in; they turn out. The will strike first, draw attention to others, ridicule, can be abusive and mean.  By doing this, they feel more powerful. Instead of being the victim they become the victimizer.  They use their abusive actions and judgements to make themselves feel better, feel like they matter, and/or are important. They instead choose to focus that dislike outside themselves and blame others.  

People are afraid to really be seen, but how we handle it will differ from person to person.  A bully and their victim typically have more in common then people really realize.  It is a relationship that is built on the beliefs they share about themselves.  It is almost more like a dance.  One of the ways Janice helps people manage bullies is to teach them about this energy connecting them, and help them to alter or change it so that the bully isn't drawn so much towards the would-be victim.  She also emphasizes the need for the group to stand up against bullies.  Many people are afraid that they'll be next if they stand up to a bully, but typically a person who doesn't feel bad about themselves already can stand up to a bully and avoid becoming a victim.  Even if the bully says something mean; it won't affect them because they feel good about themselves.

Bullying is a real problem, and one of the biggest issues with it is that a lot of adults actually bully. It may seem different, or that we have a good reason for the way we treat others. The judgement, the hate, and the fear may feel different than when we were children.  We may have grown up but we, most of us anyway, have not grown out of our own insecurities that we felt as children. We are the role models for our children and what we teach them, whether we know it or not, is very much the same cycle as what we learned.  It is possible to change this, but it must change from a standpoint of awareness, not blame. Most of us don't go around hurting others on purpose, and if we do it is because we feel we have been hurt. 

Bullying isn't a child thing, it's a people thing and a world epidemic.

That's why we call our program Bullying Exposed.  We are working on getting to the root causes of bullying: which are our feelings of low self worth and self esteem, and our feelings of not being good enough.  We try so hard to be the same or to fit in with the crowd instead of embracing our differences. 

Bullies are really people who are just afraid of their own insecurities.  When kids, adults, organizations, or governments bully; it's because they are afraid.  Often, they are trying to make themselves feel better by highlighting the difference between themselves and the people or ideas they are ridiculing.

​We have to help people who abuse, try to control, make fun, and cut others down understand what they are actually doing, which is really just hiding behind their fear/anger and not actually dealing with the real problem.  They think that by hurting others; they will make themselves feel better.  Well, I can tell you from first hand experience that this is not the case.  When Jessica stood up for Maddie that day; I felt really bad about what I had done.  Here, Jessica was one of the more popular girls in school, and I wasn't.  The fact that she would stand up for Maddie, a girl who I considered "below me" really stuck with me, and I realized that what I had done was wrong and I was really mad at myself.  I had been punishing myself for a long time for that, believing myself to be a mean or bad person, and treating myself as if I was.

It is worth noting that the teacher was right there, and hadn't said anything to myself or the other girls.  It was only Jessica who said something, and then, after the fact, the teacher gave her a pat on the back for sticking up for Maddie.  Janice says that this is actually a good thing.  The adults shouldn't get involved with the group dynamics of the kids.  Children need to learn to band together as a group to stand up against bullies.  Otherwise, they will always be looking for an authority figure to protect them or handle their problems.  This is all well and good until there isn't one to be found.  

As a side note- I really wish that at some point, the teacher had spoken to me about why I bullied Maddie, and helped me understand that the anger and frustration I was feeling was a normal thing to feel at that age, but that I needed to find ways to deal with it other than lashing out.  Another options was if she had helped to facilitate a talk with Maddie where we went into bigger depth about what it had made Maddie feel for me to be mean to her, and why I had done it in the first place.  It's important to realize that bullies are hurting too.  They just are funneling that pain into anger and hate rather than into sadness.  I'm not saying it's excusable, especially when people know better, but it is understandable, and what's more, given time, patience, and practice; I do believe it is possible to fix as well.  We need to expose the dynamic that creates bullies and we need to help victims to begin to gain self confidence and love for themselves so they don't present as targets so easily.

No one is truly a victim, we all have a choice about how we feel.  No one can make us feel anything.  They can try.  But on some level we have to agree with them.  We have a choice how we react to people.  Awareness is key.

It's worth mentioning that in my youth; I was bullied, too.  I had blocked this out for a long time,  but I remembered recently that in 3rd grade, my whole class made fun of me for having a crush on a boy.  I think someone had overheard me say something and it began to spread throughout the classroom.  Everyone began singing and chanting, "Christine has a crush on Jeremy" and I got really upset, and started to cry because he was sitting there.  I didn't go back to school for two weeks.  So, maybe that has something to do with why I wouldn't want to feel vulnerable anymore, and made fun of another girl.  And that is typically the way it will go.  Bullying is a cycle, just like abuse is a cycle.  People learn it somewhere, and it's usually because they have been hurt and don't want to let that happen again.  I have learned alot just from looking at the ways I have been hurt in my life and how I then changed my behavior to try to protect myself from further hurts.  If you've ever had an experience with bullying, whether you are the bullied or the bully; I highly suggest you begin to explore the programs we offer here at Miylana and Bullying Exposed.  Janice offers much in the way of workshops and resources to begin to identify the parts in you that were hurt, felt victimized, or lashed out to protect.  As Janice says,

"Most people are not trying to hurt you unless they are mentally unsound.  If they are hurting you, it's because they themselves are in pain."

Learn more about bullies and ways to use your energy to protect yourself, check out upcoming Energy Affects classes or our Bullying Exposed programs.

Next Class: Energy Affects on Thursday August 20th at 6pm

CLASS RESCHEDULE- PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR NEW DATE/TIME OR SIGN UP FOR EMAIL LIST BY GOING HERE.

Why Come to This Class?


- Have you been feeling extra sensitive? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Cranky?

- Do you feel like you have no time for yourself?

- Are you having trouble focusing?

- Do you feel yourself getting angry and frustrated easily?

- Are you beating yourself up?

- Do you flip flop between extreme emotions and then all the sudden you are ok again?




You DO NOT have to feel like this! This class will help you to break through the illusion of these negative feelings to see how YOU actually feel. We're all being bombarded by these high intensity emotions from people around us and taking them on as our own.




In this class, we explore how we pick up thoughts and feelings from others around us, learn to block and protect ourselves, and create healthier connections.

It is so important to begin to use our gifts consciously instead of just acting like a sponge. You will be AMAZED how much better and more like yourself you will feel after this class.

Price:
$60

***Bring a friend special!***
Buy one, get the second half off! ($45/person)

Finding Meaning in Tragedy

UPDATE: After posting this, we received feedback from one of Janice's clients, Jeff W., who lives in Charleston. He wanted to let us know how the community has been responding:

"I was reading your post about the tragedy here and wanted to tell you what our experience has been. Sandy, Sophie and I have been attending many of the vigil's since it happened. To say the least, it has been an amazing, uplifting, inspiring experience for all of us. The family, friends and associates of the deceased have responded with Love and Forgiveness since day 1! Unbelievable, to say the least. We have not seen a moment of hatred, bigotry, or violence.. Sunday night, for example, we all went to the Ravenel bridge vigil where upwards of 20,000 people from all faith's and denominations showed up to join hands in unity to pray for love, forgiveness, peace and acceptance. We renamed the Ravenel to the "Bridge for Peace" for the night. The people, police, firefighters, politicians, relatives of the deceased, joined hands on the bridge to shout this message. People were high fiving, raising their hands in the peace sign. Cars traveling on the bridge were blowing their horns. Everyone had a huge smile on their faces. I was so grateful to be there. For this moment in time, from this community, a message to the world and beyond has been sent out! I am so proud to live here in Charleston County right now. I think it all started at the bond hearing for the young man who committed the crime. Relatives of the deceased attended and instead of screaming out their grief, turned to him and said, "I forgive you"! Not a new message for sure, but, in this case, a new astounding reaction to a violent act. Well, we all heard their voice. For this moment we have woken up and joined them in celebrating peace, love and forgiveness instead of hatred and violent reactions. I think God is smiling right now. I only hope this message travels far and wide and doesn't fade away too soon. It has changed many of us here in Charleston. Three cheers for this community and the people who started it!"


ORIGINAL POST: The Charleston shooting has been on the periphery of my vision. It was only today that I could really think about what it means and why it happened. To think about the horror of such an act, and how many we've had to process recently, it really is hard to come up with ways to explain it or find purpose in it.

As most of you know from working with me, the guides teach that we create the circumstances of our lives for a reason and to learn. The people who lost their lives the night of the shooting were prayerful, loving, beautiful people. Many close to them attest to their goodness and their kindness. The idea that something like this befell them, these good people, is tragic. Still, I can't help but find meaning in the fact that these people, these good people, would not have wanted their deaths to be used as fodder for hate or for fear. These good people would have wanted the tragedy of their deaths to somehow inspire connection, love, and understanding. It is with that in mind that I think we may find a way forward. It would be so understandable if people retracted, hid themselves, and stopped taking risks. Of course, a part of us wants to not face the problems in our society that need fixing at all; addressing mental health, race inequality, and weapon control not the least of these. How do we come to an agreement with so many dissenting voices?

Far from hiding, and playing into the illusion of our separateness; we must take this moment to connect even more to those in our community, to cross boundaries, and to stop being afraid of that which we don't have much experience with. Often, when we approach the thing we have anxiety about; all fear drops away and we are left wondering why we were afraid in the first place! We are so afraid of being judged, of not being accepted; sometimes we stop trying. Fostering our own worth of self and continuing to be an emissary for light in this world, despite the obstacles entailed, will remove these fears. Perceived judgement cannot touch you when you know and love yourself as much as you deserve.

Help support those who who need it in finding assistance, be aware of those in our lives that are not receiving what they require and take action, support equality, bridge understanding and differences, and alter your way of life to make more time for connection: these are the things that will help us to move into a more peaceful and happier world. I believe that this is what the shooting in Charleston can teach us. Let us honor these amazing souls by endeavoring to create a better, kinder world. Maybe, if we can start to create that world, these atrocities will end.

Remember, we are all connected. If you are feeling sad or overwhelmed by emotions circulating right now, remember to bless the feeling and then shake it off and let it go. You will be better able to handle everything from a place of quiet.

Thank you so much Jeff for sharing this with us and for sharing your love with the community of Charleston. It's people like you and your family that are really doing the work of bringing everyone to the next level!