First 30 Days Blog » Personal Stories

Do You Lie to Yourself?

Aaron Ross — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:54:13 +0000

Do you ever have rough moments or days where you keep trying to tell yourself that you’re happy because you should be but you’re actually not? I know I do. I’ll think, “I’m happy,” but sometimes there’s moments or days, I’m not.

(It doesn’t really matter why I have those rough times, but mostly it’s because fear, uncertainty or doubt creep up on me and tackle me for a bit, before I can kick ‘em to the curb.)

I don’t mean to lie to myself, I do it automatically because I feel like I should be happy ALL THE TIME, given I have a clear life purpose, an incredible business, and an inspiring wife.

I feel guilty during times I’m not happy, like there’s something wrong with me. Especially with all the positives in my life, shouldn’t I be happy all the time?

That’s bullshit. I don’t know where my mind picked up the idea that I (or anyone) is supposed to be happy all the time, no matter how “successful” you are. There will ALWAYS be an ebb and flow in your life.

That’s just not real. Part of being human is having a range of emotions, including forms of fear.

In fact, it’s the challenges you’ve been through in life, the downs, that allow you to truly appreciate the ups.

If I hadn’t gotten married and divorced (and had many other short-term relationships), I wouldn’t be as grateful for my inspiring wife Jessica.

If I hadn’t worked in the corporate world (including starting a business and having it fail), I wouldn’t be as grateful for my fulfilling work with my authentic Unique Genius mentoring clients.

So be grateful for the downs - especially if you’re in one now!

Learn something from them, and inspire, educate and entertain others based on what you learned.

What past challenges can you be grateful for? Post them below in the ‘Share Your Thoughts’ section.

PS: those challenges, in some way, contribute to what I call your Unique Genius, and you can authentically help yourself by sharing your story and lessons learned with others.

If you felt moved, inspired, touched, helped, annoyed, or anything after reading this, please let us know. Our wonderful bloggers really do appreciate your comments and feedback. It’s super easy and takes a minute. Click on comments below.

My Past Life Regression Therapy Training with Dr. Brian Weiss

Walter E Jacobson, MD — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:44:08 +0000

The premise of Past Life Regression Therapy is that there is a part of our mind that knows the cause of our physical or emotional distress and knows what the solution is as well.

The goal of Past Life Regression Therapy is to enable us to access that information from our unconscious mind in order to heal and be happy.

The protocol of Past Life Regression Therapy involves standard hypnotic induction and trance deepening techniques followed by suggestions that generate past life information.

What is fascinating and empowering about Past Life Regression Therapy is that we don’t need to believe in reincarnation and past lives for it to work wonders. If we do believe in reincarnation and past lives, all the better.

But if we don’t or are skeptical, it doesn’t matter because even if the material believed to be past life information was created by our imagination rather than recalled, it was, nonetheless, generated by our need and motivation to repair ourselves. Consequently, it will still yield valuable information for the therapeutic process. Our mind is that powerful.

Whether we truly were traumatized in some way in a past life which might explain why we have a chronic neck problem or we constructed a past life “memory” while under hypnosis, through the process of identifying the cause of our problem and re-framing the experience (changing our perspective or attitude about it), we can discharge the negative energy that is generating our neck problem and resolve it.

Bottom line: Past Life Regression Therapy can work wonders. It can heal people. It can relieve emotional burdens of guilt, shame and self-loathing that have been causing chronic physical and emotional problems that other forms of therapy have been unable to address.

When you are ready, a teacher will appear.

Brian L. Weiss , M.D. is one of the pioneers of Past Life Regression Therapy and is one of its most respected and prominent advocates, speakers and teachers. From October 18 through October 22, 2010, Dr. Weiss, a renowned psychiatrist who has treated over 3,000 patients with Past Life Regression Therapy and authored numerous books and CDs on the subject, conducted a Past Life Regression Therapy Training for therapists and allied professionals. Saying I was fortunate to be able to participate in this life-changing, life-affirming program would be an understatement.

I was blessed. Getting the professional training was my conscious motive for enrolling in the five-day program and it met my expectations. With my Past Life Regression Therapy Training Manual provided by Dr. Weiss firmly in hand, I know that with practice I will be able to offer this service to others and be good at it.

This blessing, however, proved to be the icing on my cake of blessings.

My cake of blessings was Brian Weiss himself, who provided not just his knowledge and experience regarding Past Live Therapy but also his heart and soul, his wisdom, his compassion, his intuition and inherent healing powers, and his humor, always laced with love and gentle truths.

My cake of blessings was sharing the experience with 128 other participants who were incredibly warm, loving, sincere, supportive, nurturing and spiritually grounded, all of which made the environment for soul searching and past life discovery very safe.

My cake of blessings was observing many past life regressions and related psychic phenomena that were mind-blowing, powerful and healing, and would have made me a true believer in reincarnation and past lives had I been a skeptic in the first place, which I was not.

My cake of blessings was experiencing a past life regression myself that opened my heart, elevated my spirit, and has helped me to be more mindful of where I am, what I am, who I am, what I’m doing, and why I’m doing it. It has helped me to better appreciate all the blessings I have in my life. It has helped me to make better choices.

When we realize that our purpose here on the planet, in our bodies, is not to build the tallest skyscraper or produce the biggest grossing movie, but rather is to learn about love, it inspires us to pay closer attention to the details of our lives, particularly how we treat our family, friends, neighbors, and our enemies as well.

Past Life Regression Therapy teaches us that we are our enemies in the sense that in our past lives we’ve been every type of person — the good, the bad, and the ugly. We have been the oppressed. We have been the oppressors. We have killed and been killed.

We have been black, white, red, brown, and yellow. We have been male and female. We have been straight and gay. We have been American, German, Russian, Egyptian, Irish, and Chinese, among others. We have been Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, Islamists, and atheists, among others.

We’ve engaged in every type of occupation. We’ve been rich. We’ve been poor. We’ve experienced every type of illness, injury and death. We literally have “Been there, done that” in terms of just about anything we can think of.

The take home lesson to be learned from this multiple lives, multiple bodies scenario is that we are not our bodies, we are eternal, immortal spirits cut from the same cloth, we are One, which means that we should put our judgments aside, we should stop hating and attacking each other, we should embrace our spiritual similarities rather than our physical differences, and we should “Love Ye One Another.”

Grieving Is the First Step to Healing

Glad Doggett — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:49:49 +0000

Unexpressed grief is like glue. It keeps us stuck and immobile.

Grief, like a beach ball held under the water, will fight to pop to the surface. The longer you try to hold it under, the harder it is to keep it down.

I used to expend a lot of my energy trying to drown my grief. On the outside, I had a nice life with all the trimmings, but inside I felt as thin and brittle as burnt paper.

I needed to lean into the pain that disappointment and loss brought me. I needed to sob over things from my childhood that made me feel unloved; I needed to wail and say goodbye to my old life; I needed to fall to my knees weep over dreams that didn’t come true, friendships that ended, goals I never accomplished. I needed to allow myself to feel bad.

Honoring loss is the only way to move through the pain. That’s when healing begins.

I didn’t know it at the time, but my refusal to grieve was the thing that kept me stuck. In limbo. In purgatory. Frozen under a sheet of ice.

It took a lot of soul searching and hard, heavy work, but I finally figured out that the only way to change is to face my unexpressed grief. You’ve got to let it swallow you whole, consume you. You have to relinquish control, put down your shield and sword. You have to walk into Grief’s lair and surrender. It’s not easy. In fact, it sucks. When you clean a wound with antiseptic, it hurts. But the burn of medicine is brief, temporary, and healing.

If you feel stuck, or unhappy or numb inside, it’s time to stop avoiding grief. Submit to it. Take a few minutes every day to honor the losses, disappointments and heart breaks in your life.

Let me be clear, I’m not saying you should walk around in misery day after day. What I am suggesting is that you take a little private time to cry or sulk or be pissed off. Shine a light in the dark places. Feel the pain, be with it. Then let it go.

Here’s the kicker: the feelings you are so afraid will chew you to pieces are what help you heal. The act of surrendering is the first step across the threshold.

Healing will take time and effort, but it will change your life.

My name is Glad Doggett. I help people lean into change by helping them reconnect with their inner brilliance. Check out my online e-course re: Turn to You. You can find me on my blog Best Laid Scheme and on Facebook.

We All Have Our Off Days

Glad Doggett — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:49:19 +0000

We all have off days.

With this in mind, I have a confession. Actually I have several.

Today I ate two donuts for breakfast. I didn’t think twice. I just did it. And then I beat myself up for it all afternoon.

Then, I ate pizza for lunch. And it tasted delicious!

At least it was a veggie pizza. That counts for something, right?

And donuts again for dinner. I was racing to get my monthly allowance of carbs and fats, I guess.

Later, I argued with my daughter over something stupid. We know how to bait each other. How to hit the sore spots.

Today’s petty tiff was an I’m-right-you-are-wrong punch-fest. Verbal punches can be much worse than the physical kinds when you know where to land them.

Also, I skipped my exercise promise to myself. I planned to do it. But it was so hot outside. And I felt sluggish and over-full on donuts and pizza.

So I sat on my ass instead of getting up and moving.

Today, I read a few gorgeous blogs by popular bloggers I envy admire. I covet their followings, their connections and the relationships they have with one another. Even though I know better, I had a pity party. For one.

Today, I measured my morsel of influence in the blog world against the whole freakin’ pie sized influence of the cool kids. And I felt like shit.

Today, I sort of sucked in the self-coaching-love-myself realm.

But you know what? I’m human. And I have my off days. We all do.

So, instead of making this dip a crisis of enormous proportions, I’m going to see it for what it is. An off day.

I choose to be kind to Me today. I forgive my messy-not-so-disciplined-carb-loving-a-wee-bit-lazy Self.

Tomorrow is a new day, after all.

The Magic and Mystery of Death

Mike Robbins — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:07:10 +0000

In the past few weeks, two important people in my life suddenly passed away. These deaths have been shocking, sad, and painful for me. And, in the midst of sadness I’ve once again been reminded of the mystery and magic that I often experience when someone close to me dies.

I find death so mysterious because it doesn’t make much rational sense and often seems so random and unfair. I also find it frustrating that we don’t do a very good job in our culture of talking about, dealing with, or embracing death. It’s seen by most of us as a universally “bad” thing – awful, tragic, painful, hard, and negative in most cases. While all of these things can be and often are true for us about death, especially when the person who dies is someone we love and care about and/or happens to be someone we consider “too young to die,” there is so much more to it than just this.

As I’ve also experienced these past few weeks and at many other times in my life, there can be a great deal of magic, beauty, and joy that comes from death. Due to the fact that we often avoid it, don’t want to talk about it, or would rather not deal with it (unless we are forced to do so) – we miss out on the magical and positive aspects of death and in doing so we aren’t able to live our lives as deeply and with as much freedom as we could if we embraced death more fully.

Why we avoid dealing with death

There are many reasons we avoid dealing with or even talking about death. From what I’ve seen and experienced, here are some of the main reasons:

It can be very painful, sad, and scary

We often aren’t taught or encouraged to really deal with it – just to simply follow the “rules” and rituals of our family, religion, or community in order to get through it

– We don’t know what to say, how to react, and don’t want to upset people

– It can be overwhelming for many of us to consider our own death, or the deaths of those close to us

– We aren’t comfortable experiencing or expressing some of the intense emotions that show up for us around death

– Our culture is so obsessed with youth, beauty, and production (in a superficial sense), death is often seen as the ultimate “failure” – the complete absence of beauty, health, and productivity

– It challenges us to question life, reality, and our core beliefs at the deepest level

For these and many other reasons, death is one of the biggest “taboo” subjects in our culture and remains in the “darkness” of our own lives on a personal level. Sadly, not dealing with, talking about, or facing death in a real way creates a deep level of disconnection, fear, and a lack of authenticity in our lives and relationships.

The magic of death

What if we embraced death, talked about it, or shared our thoughts, feelings, questions, concerns, and more about it with the people around us? While for some of us this may seem uncomfortable, undesirable, or even a little weird – think how liberating it would be and is when we’re willing to face death directly.

One of the highlights of my life was being in the room with my father and holding his hand when he took his last breath about 10 years ago. It was incredibly sad, but at the same time deeply intimate, personal, and beautiful. He was there when I came into the world and I got to be there when he left. And, by facing death in a direct way – we can learn so much about life and ourselves, as I did when my dad died. As one of my mentors said to me years ago, “Mike, if you live your life each day more aware of your own death, you will live very differently.” This is true for all of us.

There are so many beautiful lessons that death teaches us, even in the midst of the pain, loss, confusion, anger, fear and more. When we’re willing to embrace death and remember that everyone and everything in physical form will eventually die, we’re reminded to:

– Appreciate ourselves, each other, and life – RIGHT NOW

– Let go of our attachment to other people’s opinions, our obsession with appearances, and our self consciousness about many superficial aspects of our lives

– Connect to others in a deep, intimate, and vulnerable way

– Speak up, go for what we truly want, and live in the present moment

– Be grateful for what we have and for life as it is, not “someday” when things work out perfectly (which never happens anyway)

Death can be one of the greatest teachers for us in life – but not if we spend most of our time avoiding it because it can be painful, scary, or uncomfortable. Take a moment right now to think about some of the important people who have died in your life. What did you learn from them both through their life and their death? What gifts have you been given in the form of tragedy in your life? How could embracing death more fully impact your life in a positive and important way?

As we consider these and other questions about death, it’s obvious that the answers aren’t simple and easy…neither is life. However, when we’re willing to engage, embrace, and deal with death (and life) with a true sense of empathy, passion, and authenticity – we’re able to not only “make it,” but to actually learn, grow, and thrive – regardless of the circumstances and even in the face of death.

Mike Robbins is a sought-after motivational keynote speaker, coach, and the bestselling author of Focus on the Good Stuff (Wiley) and Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken (Wiley). More info – www.Mike-Robbins.com

You Can Feel Safer

Dr. Rick Hanson — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:00:43 +0000

Feeling safer is a tricky subject, with complications that can be both personal and political.

(This topic and others are explored in depth in my interview with New Dimensions.)

Yes, there are real threats out there, but evolution and other factors have left a lot of us walking around in a kind of paranoid trance. I’ve been there myself, and the results include feeling less peaceful and hopeful, and more worried and cranky, than is right.

So I hope you find this post helpful.

Is There Really a Tiger in Those Bushes?

Consider these two mistakes:

1. You think there’s a tiger in the bushes, but actually there isn’t one.

2. You think no tiger is in the bushes, but actually one is about to pounce.

Most of us make the first error much more often than the second one, because:

· Evolution has given us a paranoid brain. In order to survive and pass on genes, it’s better to make the first mistake a hundred times rather than make the second mistake even once; the cost of the first mistake is fear for no reason, but the cost of the second mistake is death.

· Saturated with media, we get keyed up about murders, disasters, economic turmoil, horrible things happening to other people, etc. – even though our own local situation is usually much less dangerous.

· In ways that have been repeated throughout history, some political groups and even governments try to make the public more compliant by exaggerating the threat of apparent enemies.

· As a child, you were stuck with certain family members or peers, and had little power and limited coping abilities. Naturally, a person develops expectations and anxieties based on that history – even though today, you have much more freedom to find the people you want to be with, much more say over what happens to you, and many more ways to deal with tough situations.

Dealing with the Real Tigers

Certainly, it is extremely important to recognize the real tigers in your life.

They come in many shapes and sizes: perhaps an impending layoff at work, a cough that won’t go away, a spouse who might yell at or even hit you, a crime-filled neighborhood, a teenager growing pot in the attic, a friend or co-worker who keeps letting you down, or the health risks of smoking cigarettes.

Try to notice any tendencies to overlook or minimize tigers, and do what you can about the ones that truly exist.

Seeing through the Paranoid Trance

Meanwhile, try to recognize the ways that you – like most people – routinely overestimate the threats coming at you while underestimating the resources inside you and around you.

In effect, most of us feel much less safe than is right.

The unfortunate results include: unpleasant feelings of apprehension, worry, and anxiety; a hunkering down and failure to reach as high and wide as one might; stress-related illnesses; less inclination to be patient or generous with others; and an increased tendency to be snappish or angry (the engine of most aggression is fear).

It’s enormously costly to feel like it’s always Threat Level Orange!

How to Feel Safer (As Safe As You Reasonably Can)

Some people get understandably nervous about feeling safer – since that’s when you lower your guard, and things can really smack you. So be careful with the suggestions here, go at your own pace, and perhaps talk with a friend or counselor.

Further, there is no perfect safety in this life. Each one of us will face disease, old age, and death, as well as lesser but still painful experiences. And many of us – an “us” that includes every person in the world – must deal with unsafe conditions in the community, workplace, or home.

This said, consider in your heart of hearts whether you deserve to feel safer: whether you are more braced against life, more guarded, more cautious, more anxious, more frozen, more appeasing, more rigid, or more prickly than you rightfully ought to be.

If the answer is yes, here are some ways to help yourself feel gradually safer, so that your inner reality of calm and confidence matches the true reality of the people and settings around you.

First, take a quiet moment in a protected setting – perhaps while cozy in bed, in a church or temple, under a tree, or with a friend – to explore anxiety and safety. Notice if you feel more watchful, more nervous deep down than you truly need to be.

And then bring to mind the sense of being with someone who cares about you; recall a time you felt strong; recognize that you are in a protected setting; mentally list some of the resources inside and around you that you could draw on to deal with what life throws you; take a few breaths with l-o-n-g exhalations and relax. All the while, keep helping yourself feel more sheltered, more supported, more capable, and safer. And less vigilant, tense, or fearful.

Become more aware of what it’s like to feel safer, and let those good feelings sink into you, so you can remember them in your body and find your way back to them in the future.

Second, in daily life, look for legitimate opportunities to feel safer. Use some of the methods just above – such as the sense of being with someone who loves you, or the recognition of your resources – to help yourself feel at least a little safer, and maybe a lot.

Then see what happens. And take it in, again and again, if in fact, as they usually do, things turn out alright!

And there is really no tiger in the bushes after all.

***

This post is from my free newsletter, Just One Thing, which offers a simple practice each week to bring you more happiness, love, and wisdom. Over time, just one thing can add up to big results! You can subscribe if you like; I’ll never share your email address, and you can unsubscribe any time.

* * *

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. His work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and Huffington Post, and he is the author of the best-selling Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom.

He writes a weekly newsletter – Just One Thing – that suggests a simple practice each week that will bring you more joy, more fulfilling relationships, and more peace of mind and heart. If you wish, you can subscribe to Just One Thing here.

What You Mean to Me

Jay Forte — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:33:37 +0000

I am in a relationship unlike any other – ever. My partner and I are different – in the way we support each other, care for each other, respect each other and love each other. We fit. We go together.

So to say, “I love you” isn’t large enough for all that we are to each other. It needs something more – something different and something more personal. And as the holidays were on us, I was looking for an exceptional way to appreciate the gift of this relationship.

I found some inspiration on a plaque I saw in the the airline SkyMall Magazine (company name is “Signals”) on one of my recent speaking trips. I borrowed a few of their lines, then added more. The result is a great list of new ways to say how much someone means to you. The life ones start the list – the emotional ones end the list. My favorite two – the ones that mean the most to me – are highlighted.

You are the cheese to my macaroni.

You are the horizon to my sky.

You are the bacon to my eggs.

You are the laces to my sneakers.

You are the jelly to my peanut butter.

You are the smile to my face.

You are the gravy to my mashed potatoes.

You are marshmallow to my hot chocolate.

You are the bubbles to my bath.

You are the milk to my cookie.

You are the ink to my pen.

You are the ketchup to my french fries.

You are the water to my ocean.

You are the icing on my cupcake.

You are the salt to my pepper.

You are the mustard to my pastrami.

You are the toner to my printer.

You are the charger to my phone.

You are the caramel drizzle to my macchiato.

You are star to my Christmas tree.

You are the key to my home.

You are the BBQ sauce to my ribs.

You are the cornbread to my greens.

You are the dressing to my salad.

You are the lens to my glasses.

You are the moon to my stars.

You are schmear to my bagel.

You are the noodles to my pad thai.

You are the tequila to my margarita.

You are the flower to my plant.

You are the first thought to my day.

You are the cocktail sauce to my shrimp.

You are the pesto to my pasta.

You are the quiet to my night.

You are the wind to my kite.

You are the strength to my fear.

You are the spotlight to my painting.

You are the curtains to my windows.

You are the art to my walls.

You are the flame to my candle.

You are the lemon to my hummus.

You are the toothpaste to my toothbrush.

You are the honey to my tea.

You are the key to my car.

You are the GPS to my road trip.

You are the garage to my house.

You are the tea to my hot water.

You are the butter to my bread.

You are the cover to my pan.

You are the olives to my pantry.

You are the caramel to my apples.

You are the sun to my summer.

You are the star to my sky.

You are the green light to my intersection.

You are the ring to my phone.

You are the wasabi to my sushi.

You are cash to my bank account.

You are the letters to my words.

You are the keyboard to my computer.

You are the images to my photos.

You are the Armani label to my ties.

You are the winner to my race.

You are the comfort to my sorrow.

You are the breath to my lungs.

You are the inspiration to my mind.

You are the passion to my soul.

You are the hero to my life’s story.

You are the beat to my heart.

Create your own – use the the things that have great meaning for you and who you are sharing it with. Never miss an opportunity to share how you feel. Never wait; never impose any limits on how personal and clever you can be. Loving someone and being loved in return is the greatest gift in life.

And though I know what “I love you” means, I get a much stronger feeling when I hear “you are the hero to my life’s story…” And by the way, don’t wait for holidays to use these. May they become the way you constantly share what special people mean to you.

Jay Forte is a greatness coach and motivational speaker. He is the author of The Greatness Zone – Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, Transform the World and Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition. He coaches and inspires people to access their personal and professional greatness, to bring their best to their world. More information at www.TheGreatnessZone.com and www.LiveFiredUp.com.

Destined Encounter – Part 2

Moti & Ronit Peleg — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:33:13 +0000

For me, in order to connect to the mystery, signs and synchronicities, I need to be in silence.

This connection occurs when I take a walk on the beach listen to the sounds of the ocean, feel the sunshine, feel the immense power of the waves as well as the gentle tide by my feet, or listen to the birds chirping. It can happen when I watch a sunset, a sunrise, feel the wind, and the rain; or even when I look at the moon, when I am in the desert, or walking in a forest among the trees.

My first powerful connection I remember happened was when I lived in LA, owned an international boutique in the late 70’s called Fiorucci, and had 20 people working for me. I received a lot of media exposure, and became busy with PR and marketing at that time. I was in my early 30’s, had been married for 10 years, and birthed 3 children. We had a couple working for us to help with driving the kids, taking care of the big house, the cooking and errands. As a result, I ran a busy, stressful life with great ego attached to it.

One Friday morning, I decided to go away for the weekend by myself. This has never happened before. With the top down on my little red 1962 Corvette, I drove to Santa Barbara. I checked into a small hotel called San Yasidro Ranch. (I heard JFK stayed there at one time.) My cozy cottage had a fireplace, a sitting room and a comfortable bed. Cell phones didn’t exist at that time, but there was no TV and nature surrounded me.

In the morning I went on a hike to explore the land, found a small creek among the trees and sat down. I sat for a while. As the sun peeked through the tall trees and birds chirped, I saw a leaf falling from a tree into the stream and watched it flow down the stream until it disappeared. There were little flies there. I heard a frog making his funny noise. At that moment, I felt held, wrapped, and supported by something greater then myself. Awed by the beauty and the magic of this place, I felt this sacred moment! I felt God. As if something came over me, I got up and started running down the hill back to the ranch. I had to share what just happened! I met a young man who was taking care of the horses and I shouted” I FOUND GOD.” He smiled, and I felt he knew what I was talking about.

Over the years, I have been told to “love yourself.” I did not quite know the meaning of that statement. I thought, “I love myself.” However, I was not really connected to my essence yet.

Then one day I received a book as a gift entitled, You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay. Inscribed on the front page there was a dedication: “May this teacher help you discover the place inside of you where you connect to the part of you that recognizes your true worthiness, the place in you that is all love and self acceptance.”

One of the chapters talks about how we are all part of the awesome creation, a miracle, and we are divine beings.

As I read, this concept resonated with me: if I looked at the world from above, from a higher perspective and watched myself in the world, I would understand that I am no different then the beautiful flower I admire, the powerful trees, and the rocks. I am no different then the ocean, the sun and moon, animal world, Mother Earth, and Father Sky. I am creation, perfect just the way I am. Just like the trees don’t compare themselves, the rocks, the birds, and the cows. They are magnificent just the way they were created.

Wow, what a relief! I finally learned what it means to love myself; it is to be love. Love is to show up every moment mindful, present as if it is the only moment with gratitude, humbleness, and surrender.

I offer my story to you in the hope that it will open a small window where skepticism lives, to allow the awe, wonder and the mystery to unveil.

When you are in nature, ask what is in your heart. Ask for the answer and trust that the answer will come. It will come from the deep knowing that is part of you, part of the divine presence that resides in us all.

Ronit Rinat

For more information on Dr. Moti and Ronit Peleg, Ego to Heart workshops, their Oprah Show appearance and their upcoming book, Destined Encounter, go to www.ego2heart.org.

You Have a Dream Inside of You!

Deborah Battersby — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:38:36 +0000

This holiday season with your permission I’d like to remind you of your special gift.

You have a dream inside of you that the world would love to see you make real. I know you can do it because this dream came to you. You are its owner and it’s your power and potential that is required to make it manifest. Doubt, fear, dead ends, delays and setbacks can make you feel like it’s not meant to be, but I’m here to tell you you’d be wrong. To quote Marianne Williamson, “you are powerful beyond measure.” Your light is meant to brighten this world.

Nine years ago I had a dream, literally. It emphasized the need to teach the children differently. The result of that dream is finally tangible in my first book, The Magic Mirror and The Grandma Message. Many times over these 9 years I abandoned this project only to be drawn back to it. I share this with you not to brag but to beg you to take your dream off the shelf, the back burner or out of the closet and breathe your passion back into it. It is your dream for a reason.

And now, 9 years later, my dream – The Magic Mirror and The Grandma Message – is published!

This book arose from a practice that I began with my own grandchildren: The Grandma Message practice. It’s all about telling the children in your world how amazing they are, that they are loved and cared for at all times, and they don’t have to do or be anything to earn your love.

Can you imagine what a gift such a message would be for those you love – big and small! What a difference it could make in their lives and yours.

So this holiday season give yourself a blessed gift; recommit to your dream. It’s waiting for you and only you can fulfill it.

Deborah Battersby, creator of the emMatrix Coaching System, and trained by Tony Robbins and other leaders in the field, is a coach known for innovative solutions and dramatic results. She’s helped thousands increase their incomes and take the joyful journey to more abundant living.

Her book, The Magic Mirror and the Grandma Message, is available now at www.themagicmirrorbook.com

Heart’s Destiny

Moti & Ronit Peleg — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:50:42 +0000

When Oprah Winfrey Show producer Hilary Jane Robe searched for couples for the show’s “Greatest Love Stories” she discovered a story about Dr. Moti and Ronit Peleg in a New Jersey newspaper.

Not only are the Pelegs destiny-driven soul mates with an incredible love story, but they’re also humanitarians whose Ego to Heart workshops emphasize heartfelt listening and communication between other couples.

It started when a 17-year-old boy became smitten with a magazine cover of the newly crowned Miss Israel of 1964 — Ronit Rinat.

Moti said, “There was some kind of spirited glow in her.” He stressed her eyes beckoned to him, and he kept that photo, feeling they would someday marry.

Meanwhile, Ronit married a physician from the United States at age 19, and had three children.

“I went to college and opened an international store in Beverly Hills,” she said. But Ronit said her husband was neither a communicator nor spiritual.

“We went to a workshop for couples called “Flesh & Spirit” and it was just what I was seeking: to be listened to without judgment, to be spoken to from the heart and, most of all, to listen to my own heart before I spoke.”

She studied for five years under Dr. Jack Zimmerman and Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless, certified in the couples’ intimacy practice. She brought this counseling method back to Israel in 2002 and became the founder of “Council” in Israel.

“Council” helps one openly explore, offer heartfelt expression and learn to listen attentively. It is said to be the gateway to intercultural understanding and the non-violent exploration of conflict.

After her husband’s death, Ronit was empowered to continue with a full life.

“I have trained, mentored, spread the practice all over the country (Israel),” she said, “it is recognized as a way to reduce violence in schools, empower women, men, and children — to build community and connect through dialogue between Arabs and Jews.”

Simultaneously, Moti came to the States in 1970. He received his psychology degree from Queens College, got married and had two children.

“Sadly, my wife and I didn’t have communication skills,” he said. “We struggled with fears and insecurities that eventually drew us apart and caused us to divorce.”

Peleg completed his Doctorate at Yeshiva University, and has been a psychotherapist and psychologist for more than three decades, specializing in traumatic stress associated with pain and relationship issues.

However, his desire to meet the girl with the eyes that seemed to signal him remained constant. So in 2004, a friend called Ronit to say he had someone who wished to meet her.

At first, Ronit thought it was a joke, but realized this man’s voice seemed truthful. Moti communicated with Ronit via phone calls, e-mails, love letters and songs.

“The lyrics and songs talked to my soul,” Ronit said. She flew to New York and visited Moti.

For the first three hours of their visit, Ronit asked Moti to join her in “Council.”

Ronit said, “We shared deep stories from our past, our childhood fears and dreams.” After two years, they were married. The “destined” couple combined their counseling methods to form “Ego to Heart”.

The workshops enable people to listen to the “voice of the relationship,” thus eliminating the ego of “me,” transforming it to “we”, which diminishes the power of ego that reduces a heart’s connection,” according to the Pelegs.

“The results of respect, humility and compassion, allowing a person to be seen as perfect in their imperfections, without judgment … empowers each one of us and the relationship,” Ronit added.

They provided workshops in New Hope, but realized the location did not have the karma and warmth they sought. Once more, destiny called the Pelegs to the Hudson Valley, where Moti’s son, a construction engineer, came upon a place in Esopus.

The 10,000-square-foot mansion with heart carvings throughout the structure overlooking the Hudson River was called “Heart’s Ease” and served as a labor school for newly arrived immigrants. By working with the Esopus Historical Society, the Pelegs’ research revealed that one of America’s greatest humanitarians, Eleanor Roosevelt served on the board of the labor school.

Architectural heart-shaped appointments, the name “Heart’s Ease” and the grand humanitarian connection? This certainly seems like destiny. And if historical renovations and construction go as intended, by August 2011, the couple’s destiny will be fulfilled.

For more information on Dr. Moti and Ronit Peleg, Ego to Heart workshops, the Oprah Show video and their upcoming book, “Destined Encounter,” go to www.ego 2 heart.org or visit their blog at motiandronit.wordpress.com.