Greetings from the
Editor:
Gift Yourself with Your Resolutions
January is a great month to spend time with
yourself and to recommit to your intentions for a better you.
Consider giving yourself another gift, that of meeting your
true needs. Now you might ask, "What exactly are my true
needs and how do I get them met?" Luckily we have things
in common, so I can share a few of my mine to get you started.
I like to divide needs into five categories, social, physical,
emotional, mental, and spiritual. Examples of my true needs
are the following:
social –
strengthen connectedness by nurturing friendships by meeting
for coffee, sharing a meal, emailing, or phoning.
physical –build
a stronger body by going to yoga class 3 times a week, get
quality sleep by clearing my mind before bedtime and deep
breathing, eliminate one item from my diet that I know is not
right for me, stop one activity that no longer supports me to
have free time.
emotional
– gain clarity about my feelings by writing in my journal,
take a risk to share what I am really feeling, when
appropriate, with loved ones, enjoy my close friendships.
mental –build
my awareness by listening to a lecture on CD while driving in
my car alone, write affirmations to make concrete what I want
to create, daily think about what I am grateful for.
spiritual
–help another in need on a regular basis, focus on
self-discipline to use my gifts of writing and painting, make
a contribution to others, volunteer my time, spend quality
time with my grandchildren.
Besides meeting your true needs, also
ponder things that will simplify and improve the quality of
your life. Gift yourself by eliminating things or activities
that no longer support you. One thing I am gifting myself with
is to transform this newsletter to bimonthly in 2007. I have
enjoyed the 3½ years of creating a monthly newsletter and it
is time to ease the deadlines and play more.
Fortunate Blessings,
Suzanne
Question: I had always understood
that to love someone unconditionally meant that you loved them
no matter what their behavior. It was with this
understanding that I entered my last relationship with a man,
but the result of this was that I became the victim of
domestic violence. I've had to reassess my contribution to the
abuse. Can you please explain your definition of
'unconditional love' in more detail so I can try to understand
how 'saying no' is a part of it?
(read the
whole article)
What is the root of
immortality and the soul? Point a finger at yourself. If you
are an average person, you will point a finger at your chest.
You think of yourself as your body. But is your body the real
you?
Imagine what it would be like
to undergo a brain transplant. A man might be suffering from
an incurable disease in his body, but still have a healthy
brain. The donor, on the other hand, would have suffered
irreparable brain damage, but otherwise have a perfectly sound
body. The brain is removed from the sick body and placed in
the healthy one. Who is the new man? We have an old brain with
all its memories, personality traits and behaviour patterns.
But it has a brand new body. The old body might have been old
and sick, while the new one may be young and full of energy.
Let us ask this man to point
to himself. Will he point to his body? Is the real you your
body or your brain?
