Having an Awesome Life, Lesson #7: Small Victories Add Up

One important facet in leading a life of utter awesomeness is the concept of having goals.  Even the things that you think might be small, stupid, or unworthy can actually be very important pieces to your awesome life!

Make a list of goals that interest you.  Again, they don't need to all be insanely elaborate or ambitious -- it could be simple things like getting your hall closet organized, catching that new movie that you've been seeing ads for all week, or trying a new restaurant for dinner.  These things can really help on your journey to awesomeness, because even getting those small things accomplished can lead to a richer life experience.

Sometimes, we have small life goals... things that we've always wanted to do, yet never had the chance.  It might be something as simple as taking advantage of your vacation time and driving to some local tourist attraction that you've always thought about seeing.  Or, maybe you just want to make a phone call to reconnect with someone.  Get those little tasks accomplished!  You'll feel fantastic knowing that even a small victory can be an important one in leading an awesome life!

Etiquette, Success, and Deutoronomy

The Bible is full life lessons.  Even if you aren't Christian, it is always a good idea to read it at least once in order to glean its lessons and to experience the richness of its literature.

One such important lesson is illustrated in the second chapter of Deuteronomy.  The wanderers consider waging war with various peoples as they encounter them in their travels, but instead they are advised by God to keep the peace.  Instead of pillaging, plundering, and helping themselves to the spoils which are not meant for them, God instructs them to pay for their food and water fairly, to behave graciously and not to harass or bother anyone across whom they come during this journey.


Not only is this prudent behavior in order to keep positive relationships with one's neighbors, but it is also important to remember that it's important to choose one's battles wisely.  If you are positive that you cannot win or make a positive impact in any way, then war is pointless as it wastes so many resources.


Deuteronomy 2

New International Version (NIV)
Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,[a] as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

8 So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and traveled along the desert road of Moab.

9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.”

10 (The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.” So we crossed the valley.

14 Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. 19 When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”

The Benefits of a Spiritual Awakening

The positive advantages of a spiritual awakening cannot be underestimated.  Inside yourself, you can gain a newfound sense of peacefulness and calm that will carry you to heights you have never imagined.  You will become braver and more confident, as well.  Because you'll become more comfortable, kind, and loving with yourself, you will feel a lot less lonely when you're alone.  You can keep much better company with yourself, as you'll become more introspective and have more thoughts to process and enjoy.  Although someone may have had painful and sad experiences in the past, the spiritual awakening can make a person stronger and more self-aware, so that painful memories do not hurt as badly as they might have done earlier.  You also become more able to appreciate the here and now; the gifts that the universe has given become more precious and meaningful when you put them into perspective and realize your good fortune.  What you don't have becomes far less important to you, and you feel much less focused on material wants and more trivial issues that seem to matter so much less in the grand scheme of things.  Fear and uneasiness may be replaced by a newfound sense of calm.  Your new faith can give you a pervasive sense of inner strength.

The benefits of a spiritual awakening do not begin and end with your sense of self.  Interactions with other people will also be improved.  You shall find yourself being less judgmental of others, more open-minded and more accepting of those who live their lives in ways which are different than yours.  One of the reasons for this is stronger connection that you'll feel with other people; simply by experiencing your own spiritual awakening, you will be able to put your issues into better perspective, and understand where you fit into the world better.  Thus, you can connect and interact much better with other people.  You will feel a renewed sense of love and faith toward humankind, as well as experience more tolerance and acceptance of others.  A spiritual awakening often enables people to feel less inclined to argue that our ways are the best, or the right ways; and that others' ways are the wrong ones.  Because you are also more confident and happy, you feel better about sharing with other people.  Your giving nature and loving tendencies will emerge stronger than ever, as you share of yourself without the anticipation of receiving anything from others in return.  The simple act of giving and sharing your blessings will bring you more happiness once you've come to understand the joys of giving of yourself.

The Halo: Crystal Grid Layout for Head Pain, Migraines & Headaches

As promised, here's another crystal grid layout for you!  I call this one "The Halo" for pretty obvious reasons. :)  I have illustrated it with round circles to represent your gemstones.  If you have pointy crystals to use, those would be just fine.  Remember to lay the crystals so that the points face outward, though!  Otherwise, your standard polished/tumbled crystal gemstones will work perfectly here.

I would always recommend using three amethysts for headaches and migraines; not only has it been typically carried and used for such ailments for thousands of years, the color purple also corresponds to the crown chakra which is just where we want to concentrate on when pain occurs in the head.  You can also use indigo stones like lapis if you would prefer to do so.  (Use what you like -- I happen to like amethyst!)  Place two just above the sides of your head, and add one to your forehead.

You'll need two orange stones as well.  I also recommend using orange or brown agate, or perhaps tourmaline to represent the sacral chakra, which is a great source of fortification for pain management.  Place them just above your eyebrows.  Agate is well known for its healing properties, and pain soothing attributes.  I'd try to find some agate first, but tourmalines are also wonderful healing stones. 

Thirdly, turquoise stones are required -- you will need two of them.  They should go directly underneath the amethysts which are laid around your head.  Turquoise is great for its uplifting and positive energy, as well as its protective properties.

What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four legs?

This is a joke which has been circulating for a long time!  Here's the joke as I originally heard it... however, I don't really like jokes that make fun of a particular stereotype.  Nevertheless, it's a cute joke!


A blonde and a lawyer are seated next to each other on a flight from LA to NY. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a fun game? The blonde, tired, just wants to take a nap, politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists and explains that the game is easy and a lot of fun. He explains, "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5.00, and vice versa. " Again, she declines and tries to get some sleep. The lawyer, now agitated, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5.00, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500.00." This catches the blonde's attention and, figuring there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, agrees to the game. The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches into her purse, pulls out a $5.00 bill and hands it to the lawyer. "Okay" says the lawyer, "your turn." She asks the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four legs?" The lawyer, puzzled, takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references, no answer. He taps into the air phone with his modem and searches the net and the library of congress, no answer.

Frustrated, he sends e-mails to all his friends and coworkers, to no avail. After an hour, he wakes the blonde, and hands her $500.00. The blonde says, "Thank you," and turns back to get some more sleep. The lawyer, who is more than a little miffed, wakes the blonde and asks, "Well, what's the answer?" Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5.00, and goes back to sleep. And you thought blondes were dumb!

By the way... if you don't know the answer to the question "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four legs?" The answer is: A chair that's on its way to be fixed by a carpenter who lives on the top of a hill!

Someone else had suggested the alternative answer, which is an uphill three-legged race.  The contestants are tied together when they go up the hill, but when they're on the way down the hill, they are untied, and have four legs.

Latest Cancer Information From Johns-Hopkins

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook today.  I'm not vouching for the validity of it, as I am not a medical professional. However, I did want to post it here because it is definitely a concern that Americans have, as cancer rates in the USA are out of control.  Cancer is a frightening disease, both to have and also to witness in a loved one.  Take care of yourself, my friends!

Here is the post in its entirety, as well as the cancer cell pic that was included:

~~~

LATEST CANCER INFORMATION
from Johns Hopkins

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY …


1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.


11. An effective way to battle cancer is to STARVE the cancer cells by not feeding it with foods it needs to multiple.

What cancer cells feed on:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Note: Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.


b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells will starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes t o nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines will become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.

Anger, unforgiving and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

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The True Story of Brenda Geck and "Family Sins"

One of my favorite Lifetime movies is called "Family Sins," starring Kirstie Alley as Brenda Geck, the evil matriarch that we all love to hate! 

This movie is actually based on a real family, the Burt family of Pawtucket, Rhodie Island, who was led by their beloved mother, Frances Burt.  "Family Sins" is the story of Frances Burt, who was a mother to many of her own children and a foster mother to several more.  She was unspeakably cruel and abusive to her children -- mentally and emotionally tormenting them, but also physically abusive and violent with them.  She beat them and harmed them physically in many other ways, forcing them to commit crimes for her.  Younger ones were forced to shoplift items for her, and the older children were then groomed to carry out more sinister crimes as they grew, including arson, racketeering, and fraud. 

Their family kidnapped a disabled woman and kept her prisoner in their home, cashing her Social Security checks, raping her repeatedly, and forcing her live as a servant.

Frances Burt was eventually tried and convicted in 1994 of kidnapping, welfare fraud, disability fraud, extortion, sexual assault, and kidnapping.   She was sentenced to 30 years in prison, though after serving 11 years, Burt was released in June of 2001.  She is currently on probation.

Although this movie is entertaining, it also serves as a reminder that even people who seem the most perfect and "together" on the surface may be hiding their own dark secrets.  You can never judge a book by its cover!