Vol 5, No. 4

Roadblocks

I face the roadblocks to my progress
and create healing affirmations and visualizations
to easily move forward.

-- from Seed Thoughts for Loving Yourself
by Suzanne Harrill, M.Ed.

This Month's Issue:

By Suzanne E. Harrill

Poems

By Peggy Floyd

By John V. Shindler, Ph. D.

One’s True Identity

By Gena Smith

DOES EVERYONE REALLY CREATE THEIR OWN REALITY?

by William Bloom

Goodies

Enlighten Up

Greetings from the Editor:

Hot Off The Press

I am about to give birth to a new book! Seed Thoughts for Loving Yourself, Cultivating the Garden of Your Mind Day by Day, is coming off the press this month. It is a reincarnated version of my original affirmation book, Affirm Your Self Day by Day, first published in 1991. I am really excited and think it is the best book I have produced yet. Seed Thoughs is designed to inspire those new to self-discovery or seasoned travelers.

Some of you may remember that I have a special calling, sending books to prisoners. In 2003 I began writing a woman in a Texas prison and sent her some of my books. Soon thereafter, I began receiving touching letters, many heartbreaking, from incarcerated woman requesting the affirmation book. I regret that I had to stop sending the books a year ago, as they ran out. My inner guidance directed me to rewrite the book and give it a new personality. Soon, I plan to send the new book to the many women who have written me in the last year. If you feel called to help me send books (no cost to you,) please contact me.

Fortunate Blessings,

Suzanne

 

Personal Growth

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

By Suzanne E. Harrill

Recently, I looked online to review Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I was giving a talk and wanted to use Abraham Maslow’s ideas to help others understand how important it is to look at our needs when we want to discover what motivates us. While in graduate school in the 1970’s, I was introduced to Abraham Maslow as a personality theorist and liked that he studied healthy people. His theory of human needs, first presented in the early 1950’s, had five levels. At the bottom of the pyramid were physiological needs, then moving up to safety needs, next belongingness and love needs, next esteem needs, and finally self-actualization needs...

(read the article)

 

Poetry

Poems

By Peggy Floyd

AS DAWN BREAKS

 

TODAY

 

MOVING AWAY

 

(read the article)

 

 

Personal Growth

Creating a Psychology of Success in the Classroom:
Enhancing Academic Achievement
by Systematically Promoting Student Self-Esteem

By John V. Shindler, Ph. D.

Over four decades of research has shown a clear relationship between levels of self-esteem and academic achievement.   While this relationship may be well documented, it has not been shown to have widely or systematically informed practice.  I propose that examining self-esteem through the lens of two epistemological constructs can provide the classroom teacher with a set of powerful tools to promote self-esteem in his or her students. 

First, I offer an operationalized definition of self-esteem. Utilizing three well established behavioral correlates, locus of control, belonging, and self-efficacy, the concept of self-esteem can be treated in a very practical manner.  Second, I propose that self-esteem be examined as a manufactured construct.  By this I mean that we as teachers manufacture the self-esteem of our students to a large extent by what we say, our daily practice, and the way we assess, instruct, and manage our classes.  In other words, every one of our acts as a teacher either promotes or detracts from our students’ self-esteem...

(read the whole article)

Discovering who we are is a very important developmental milestone. Our self-identity is created by our internal character, personality and appearance. By knowing ourselves, we can create inner-peace and a successful life for ourselves. Everyone views success differently. Some people view success through religious believes or being in a position of authority. Others view success as having a family and a home. Though everyone views success differently, we all want to be successful in the way we view it. Our self-identity is also important in relationships because to be able to love and learn about other people in our lives, we must first learn and love ourselves. Our self-identity is very important; therefore, we should learn how the negative influences deter us from being at peace with ourselves, while also learning how we can be at peace with our selves.

(read the whole article)

Consciousness

DOES EVERYONE REALLY CREATE THEIR OWN REALITY?

William Bloom - Cygnus Magazine

Over the years it has been an honor for me to advance and defend new age and holistic spirituality. I love its open-mindedness, its embrace of metaphysics and the way it combines spiritual work with healthcare. But I have also despaired at times about its apparent lack of morality and compassion when faced with the realities of people's suffering.

This coldness is often explained away with half-baked ideas about how energies, karma and the laws of attraction work. This often reach a peak of disturbing smugness when a new age 'philosopher' faced with cruel suffering says authoritatively: 'People create their own reality' or 'Their soul chose it - its their karma' or 'Everything is perfect in God's Plan - you just need to perceive it differently'. People who say such things seem to have no idea how smug and nasty they sound...

(read the whole article)

Enlighten Up   --    Humor

Seniors Giving Birth

The Bathtub Test

God is so Good!

Church Bulletin Bloopers

(read the Humor)

Goodies

Women In Art

In Life

Kosmos Journal

The Art of Enchantment -
Faeries, Mermaids, Angels, Fantasy

(read the Goodies)