As a very young woman in my early twenties, I had a block about giving compliments. I would look at a friend and think, “Wow her hair looks great today,” but I wouldn’t express it. Crazy as it sounds; I somehow believed that complimenting someone else might take away from me, possibly exposing what is wrong and ugly in my body and persona, instead of giving to both of us. When I set out to be the best I could be however, this was the first aspect of my personality I wanted to change. So I put out my intention to heal from this issue hoping to be able to share the love I had with more and more people.

I will never forget my first attempt. I was standing on a train platform one really cold morning and spotted a beautiful woman standing by. She was dressed in black from her raven-like hair to her cashmere coat and boots, but she accentuated the look with crimson-red leather gloves. It took a little mental cajoling, but I finally got up the nerve to talk to her. “Those gloves are just perfect with that coat. You look incredible!” Her eyes lit up, and we started a conversation that continued all the way into Penn Station, leading to a friendship we shared for years.

Once I started the practice of sharing sentiments, it prompted many more opportunities to “gift” others. It took time for me to understand the energy exchange and how truly healing it could be, but once I did, I couldn’t stop! I was a complimenting fool and made it a goal to express every positive thought, emotion or notion I had. If I didn't see the beauty in someone right away, I looked for it so I could pass it on. Of course what we say has to be real and truthful…not contrived or the other person will know, creating the opposite effect energetically. Instead, if you think or feel something wonderful and positive then say it!

A penny for your thoughts may have been a good deal a long time ago, but we know better now. Science is proving that we can afford to be generous too, because what we give out, the universe will give right back…and more and more and more.

The Answers Lie in the Face of Every Child

We have many problems in America. From money and budgets, to illiteracy and violence, we run the gamut of low to high stats that dictate just how dysfunctional we are. But there is one issue that makes us far worse than the rest of the world…one really ironic issue considering what we are called: We are one of the most un-united countries in the world.
There is no imaginary line from north to south. No fences or gates, but there is a clear delineation. In our effort to be a “democratic” nation, we divided ourselves into two parts with two totally different belief systems that are pulling us apart. Divided we stand, and we have been “falling” out of stature for quite some time. We are aware of the problem, but what are we doing about it?
This latest tragedy in Connecticut has tugged at the heart of every one of us. The idea that we can send our children off to school in the morning and have them shot dead by early afternoon was not even a viable notion to most parents. Now it is a reality…there is no safe place. But the reaction in the wake of this heartbreak is not understandable. Instead of pulling together, we stay true to our division. There is no agreement from left to right on how we should deal with our issues going forward. Creative, intelligent people are digging their heels in the ground, standing true to their beliefs even though that is not going to help or solve the problems we face.
The verbiage I hear from both sides is redundant. Constant inculcation of the same message tells me that no one is utilizing their potential as a human being. When we close off our minds and hearts, we are weak. When we decide to look at every aspect with openly, we become omnipotent. We tap into energy and intelligence far greater than our own human potential. We only have to decide to see truth, then ask for answers and they come. And there are plenty of both to behold!
Since we are physical, emotional, mental and spiritual beings, we need to look at every aspect of life from those same four perspectives. It is not difficult to recognize that we need to seriously rethink what we are doing to ourselves. We are ingesting chemicals through bastardized food and drink every day and have NO IDEA what effect they have on the mind and body. How about the constant interruption of brain wave activity with the radiation we are exposed to? Are we in denial of the potential that all technology has to re-wire the developing brains of our children?
There is a tremendous disconnect between mental illness and violence, meaning that we have no clear cut system in place to deal with people who are functional but socially “distorted.” If that isn’t bad enough, we commonly treat mind and body as two separate entities within one human, using many practitioners to handle the same person. Most often, they never even discuss their patient’s needs, let alone come together to treat them. How do we allow this detachment knowing full well how much our bodies’ bio-chemistry can dictate our minds, moods and decisions?
And we ask why are we seeing so much violence? What are our hate-mongering video games, TV shows and movies doing to our children’s personas? There is evidence out there proving that it has a negative effect, yet more horrible depictions of human behavior are popping up regularly in every form of media. Emotionally speaking, what are we doing to our young people’s ideals by constantly exposing them to hatred?
There is no greater spiritual sorrow to the vast majority of the population (almost 90% shown in polls) than to see our children shielded from religion in schools. From taking the word “God” out of our pledge to eliminating Christmas and Hanukah references, we are literally sending the message that having a soul and faith in a power greater than ourselves is “politically retarded.” What in God’s name is so awful that we can’t expose our children to it? When did we decide that it was more beneficial to eliminate all references rather than allowing for the exposure to ALL religions they can learn and grow by?
I don’t profess to know all the answers to every issue, but I write, advocate and teach many. It is possible to change, and it wouldn’t take much, though the key to accomplishing it seems implausible. It would mean all of us dropping our guard and fear of being controlled and legislated. It would take living up to our country’s founding promise.
We need to finally decide that our individual beliefs, coupled with our division about it, is getting us to a place we can’t return from. We need to fully comprehend for the sake of our kids that we aren’t going nowhere. We are going somewhere. What is the expression, “to hell and back?” Hopefully the faces of those little angels will help us return to reality. We are called the United States. Let’s start acting like it. DM 12/2012