Gratitude - 4 27 09

Today I am thankful..

• for today's positive results
  
• for meeting new pleasant faces, hearing pleasant voices
  
• for a promise of a bright future
• for snippets of learning from Cherie Carter-Scott's book, "If Life is a Game, These are the Rules."
  
• that I was able to learn how to control my anger
• that I have realized that I have a choice whether to be the victim, villain or victor
  
• that I have received a call that I have been waiting for 4 months now.
  
• for great surprises!
• for a generous best friend
• for the grace that lets me experience the blessings of today
• that I have recognized unpleasant circumstances as life lessons
  
• for great surprises!
• for a generous best friend
  
• for the grace that lets me experience the blessings of today
• that I have recognized unpleasant circumstances as life lessons
  

You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "life." Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as a part of your curriculum ~ Cherie Carter-Scott in If Life is a Game, These are the Rules

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Gratitude - 4 24 09

Today I am thankful..

• for somebody who truly knows who I am, accepts my faults and loves me unconditionally. She is one of the most generous, patient and courageous people I know...my mother
• that this morning, I have received a call from my mother. It's more that a month since we last talked. I miss her so much and these times I just want to run to her side and cry it all out.
  
• for an unexpected call from the company I've been praying to get feedback from. No biggie at the moment, but the thought that I am still being considered, is something to smile about
• that I am my mother's daughter.
• that I have a loving daughter like Chloe. I asked her if she could pray for me and I was moved by her prayer. She even offered me her necklace with a cross pendant for good luck.
• that I knew there would be bumps in the road, and I have made it through all them one at a time, but what I didn't expect were all the days of peace and serenity that keep falling into place. What a gift!
  

“Who ran to help me when I fell, And would some pretty story tell, Or kiss the place to make it well? My mother”~ Ann Taylor

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Gratitude - 4 23 09

Today I am thankful..

• for signs
  
• for two positive calls today
  
• for enjoying a good interview today.
  
• for new friends
• for loving friends and family, and friends that are family
• that we have a new landline
• for rediscovering good old books
• that the sneezing attacks I was having for a couple of weeks now seem to have subsided
• for trusting that if I did't get an offer, I would have one very soon.
• for the joy of watching Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo all over again with my kids.
  
• for the weather.
  
• that I'm not sad anymore.
  
• for discovering how my gratitude rock can make me feel good.
  
• for the watcher of my thoughts and the power behind my breath
• for prayers of gratitude and 'that before you ask, I have answered'

You will not have that for which you ask, nor can you have anything you want. This is because your very request is a statement of lack, and your saying you want a thing only works to produce that precise experience—wanting—in your reality.

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The correct prayer is therefore never a prayer of supplication, but a prayer of gratitude.
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When you ask God in advance for that which you choose to experience in your reality, you, in effect, acknowledge that it is there…in effect. Thankfulness is thus the most powerful statement to God; an affirmation that even before you ask, I have answered.

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Therefore never supplicate. Appreciate. ~ Conversations with God

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Gratitude - 4 21 09

Today I am thankful..

• for halo-halo.
• the sumptuous dinner
• a positive text message
• the wonderful book and movie, The Secret Life of Bees.
• for memories of Tita Linda
• for memories of childhood, of Serg and ice scramble.
• for memories of crushes and first loves.
• that I have been concentrating on gratitude so I don't play into the thoughts of the future being any less abundant than this day for my hot chocolate every morning.

And even if you were in some prison, the walls of which let none of the sounds of the world come to your senses - would you not then still have your childhood, that precious, kingly possession, that treasure-house of memories? ~Rainer Maria Rilke

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Namaste

I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells.

I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace.

When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me,
We are one...

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Gratitude - 4 20 09

Today I am thankful..

• for my hot chocolate every morning.
• for realizing that I have to shape up.
  
• for the yummy spaghetti and buttered toast I had last night. Yum!
• for the leftover icecream I shared with the kids.
  
• that Angela and I enjoyed the lrt ride to Marikina.
• that we were able to have a good family weekend.
• for loving friends and family, and friends that are family.
• that I've made peace with my brother.
  
• for special memories of Tita Linda who passed away yesterday.
• for my guardian angel.
• for my sun which is up again.
  
• for a Higher Power that sustains my life and my future

Why is gratitude so very powerful? Because it keeps you connected to all the good things in your life. ~Ralph Marston

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Gratitude - 4 16 09

It is easy to be independent when you've got money. But to be independent when you haven't got a thing...thats' the Lord's test. - Mahalia Jackson

Today I am thankful..

• for my sweet Angela whose sweet embrace erases all my worries
• the food on the table
• that a prospect employer called me for a final interview schedule.
  
• for discovering the books that my mom left for me
• that I learned a few French phrases and words. I can definitely use it when I visit Paris.
  
• that I will never have to worry about hair, because I love my hair as it is.
  
• for a friend who taught me that love is simple. We only make it hard with our trappings, expectations and demands. We alone make loving difficult, painful, hurtful and regrettable because we keep trying to figure out how to do love, give love and get loved right.
• that I have realized that worrying steals the joy of living
• for my guardian angel
• for letting me realize that I have the power to change my lifestyle and move from a feeling of lack and deprivation to a feeling of abundance and fulfillment.
• for letting me realize that there is no scarcity except in our souls.

When money is plenty this is a man's world. When money is scarce, it is a woman's world. When all else seems to have failed, the woman's instinct comes in. She gets the job. That is the reason why, in spite of all that happens, we continue to have a world. - Ladies Home Journal, Oct. 1932

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Is it Recession or Depression?

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. - Hellen Keller

"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job," Harry Truman observed, "and it's a depression when you lose your own." As downturns in the economy disturb more and more households, we begin to question seriously the financial yardstick by which we have been measuring our personal net worth and therefore something happens.

As a lot of my friends know, the recession has personally affected me. It's hard to believe that there's anybody that it hasn't touched. at least indirectly. It is easy to surrender to an emotional depression when a financial one occurs. It's easy to be pessimistic about tomorrow when today seems so bleak.

But I trying my best to put thoughts of lack behind me. I have yet to discover the secrets of the stars, to sail to an uncharted land, to open up a new heaven where my spirits can soar. But first, I'll have to make changes. And lasting change does not happen overnight. Lasting change happens in infinitesimal increments: a day, an hour, a minute, a heartbeat, at a time. I'm taking a deep breath. I'm learning to become an optimist.

Optimism, like the happiness habit, can be learned. Today, I am expecting that something good will happen no matter what occurred yesterday. The past no longer holds me captive. It can only continue to hurt me if I hold on to it. I'm letting it go. A simply abundant world awaits.

-Simple Abundance

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Meditation from Conversations with God

On this day of your life, (your name), God wants you to know that today will you have an opportunity to attend your own inauguration.

You are invited by life to elect yourself a Spiritual Leader, and to take office today. What does a spiritual leader say? A spiritual leader does not say, "Follow me." A spiritual leader says, "I'll go first."

Decide today to take the oath: I promise to "go first" in demonstrating forgiveness, compassion, understanding, generosity, kindness, cheerfulness, positivity, and love.

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Gratitude - 4 14 09

Today I am thankful

• for my beautiful loved ones
• for that yummy chocolate cake
  
• that Issa warned me against being duped
  
• for a late night chat with a friend
• for finding my old friends on facebook
  
• for acknowledging life's mysteries
  
• that I have the daily habit of saying Thank You
• that the "rest is still unwritten" and I do have the power to create my own life story
• that I am no longer in the dark place where I kept my face turned to the floor, now I can see the light in others faces
• for my guardian angel
  
• that I have today, in all its glory. Tomorrow is not a concern and the past is long gone. And I just have to stay sober for today.
• for a Higher Power that sustains my life and my future

Happiness is all around us, but it often comes in small grains. When we gather it grain by grain, we soon have a basketful. ~Today's Gift

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Gratitude - 4 13 09

Today I am thankful...

• that my life works today
• that pain can be conquered by love
  
• that I do not have to gossip today to feel better about myself
• that we have food on the table
• that Cathy made herself available to help me in "household management"
  
• that I have received a couple of opportunity calls
• that I can enjoy reading without time limit
• that I still have an internet connection
• that I am learning from past mistakes
• that I am learning from my friends' wins and loses
• to know that I am truly blessed
  
• that I am learning to trust the program
  

As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy. ~Keep It Simple

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ABCs of Life

I open my heart and mind to be aware...
how my ABCs will lift my spirit.

Almighty Creator of the Universe;
Beloved Father, Mother, God;
Create in me a clean heart this day.
Deliver me form the limitations of the ego.
Exalt Your presence in my mind.
Forgive all that I have held against You, myself and others.
Grant me peace this day.
Hold me steadfastly within the boundaries of your truth.
Inspire my heart to know you, my ears to hear you, and my eyes to recognize you.
Justify me in the presence of all enemies.
Knead my heart with words of kindness.
Let no harm befall me or my loved ones.
May all I do this day glorify you.
Nourish me with your wisdom.
Open my eyes to know the truth.
Purge my heart of all the things that are offensive to your law.
Quiet my soul in the midst of confusion.
Renew my connection to you.
Save me from my secret fears.
Teach me to trust you at all times.
Use all that you have given me to serve you.
Victory for your cause is my desire.
Walk with me so that my strength will never be diminished.
Xamine my heart continually.
Your love and grace are my good fortune.
Zealously I commit myself to your will for my life.

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the warrior needs to cry

O divine power, I need strength. Doubt is penetrating my being. I do not want to. I want to believe that everything will be okay soon. I have been patiently waiting for answers. I have been battling with negative thoughts. But at this moment, I want to run to your side and just cry for I am growing weary.

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Sniffing Around

What does my life smell like? If we were to take a whiff of my life, which response would be activated? A gag reflex? The laugh button? A sigh of relief? Or unspeakable joy?
Quite often, what our ears, eyes, and hands miss, our nose could detect. The sense of smell is also quite useful because it evokes memories. With a whiff of something, we can be thrown back into a memory of something that happened, how it happened and whether or not we liked what happened. Likewise, the sense of smell could evoke feelings. If something in our lives doesn't smell right, we will not feel right. If we don't like what you feel, it is high time that we clean up.
We may only have been concerned with the way how our life looks. We may have ignored certain things we heard or saw but we cannot ignore a smell.

Today, I will be devoted to sniffing around my life and be on the lookout for rotting things I need to discard and frangrant things I can put on display.

excerpt from: Until Today, Iyanla Vanzant

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