Have an attitude of gratitude! It's fun to say, if you are the sarcastic sort, it's what you say when you are really trying not to implode over the ridiculous wrrongs  you are encountering, right? Well, I was challenged by my virtual mentor to keep a journal - a gratitude journal. Every day, write 5 things that I am grateful for or one thing and 5 reasons why. It was not so much that I honored those blessings in my life that I notice most. That happened, but what I notice, after a couple weeks of this practice,  is that what once was a discipline that required intention, more of something I made happen - is becoming something that happens to me. A seemingly ordinary moment becomes a transcendent moment that floods me with a sense of purpose and mission, with hope and joy. I did not expect that so much. I love that, it reminds me that I am part of something so much bigger. We are connected and we are meant for a Kingdom that is not this, but at the same time - it is here, if we choose it. A Kingdom of love and hope, of joy and purpose, of wholeness. 
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• Gratitude puts situations into perspective. When we can see the good as well as the bad, it becomes more difficult to complain and stay stuck.
• Gratitude helps us realize what we have. This can lessen our need for wanting more all the time.
• Gratitude strengthens relationships, improves health, reduces stress, and, in general, makes us happier, according to Dr. Emmons, who explains his research in this video.

​Essential oils have been used since antiquity to assist meditation practices, prayer and spiritual worship. Anti-Aging Blend combines the power of high vibrational oils alongside grounding oils to assist the connection between spirit and body, heaven and earth. This blend encourages positive states of being and supports the development of faith, hope, gratitude, kindness, love, patience and trust in the Divine.

This blend of oils offers grace and comfort when one feels discouraged or distressed. This oil can assist individuals in transcending the darkness, heart ache and stresses of life. At its core, Anti-Aging Blend offers support in raising levels of human consciousness and preparing individuals for new heights of spiritual transformation.
​Ingredients: Frankincense, Sandalwood, Lavender, Myrrh, and other essential oils

Enlighten (2014-09-18). Emotions & Essential Oils, 3rd Edition: A Modern Resource for Healing (Kindle Locations 748-752). Enlighten. Kindle Edition. Enlighten (2014-09-18). Emotions & Essential Oils, 3rd Edition: A Modern Resource for Healing (Kindle Locations 743-746). Enlighten. Kindle Edition. 

​What trajectory does life seem to have you on? Look back over your life and consider the events, the accomplishments - both good and bad. What does the time line of your life tell you? Are you honoring the trajectory that life seems to place you on? If it's necessary, are you changing it to head in a direction that you intend for it to go? 

Ya know when someone says something that you've heard many times before - maybe even had occasion to say or think before...but this time it hits a little harder? I was talking to a patient last week and she said, with tears streaming down her face, "I just don't know how I got here." She is in her twenties and facing a very long battle over her physical, emotional and spiritual health - because of choices made, by her and by her family in her childhood. 

None of us want to end up somewhere by default. We want to get to choose where we end up, not just get there and wonder how, right? 

So often all the answers to what we are meant for is right there, in the time line of our life. We just have to trust it, trust ourselves, trust our God. We need to have the courage to honor that trust, and move in the direction we were created for. 

Geranium:  The Oil of Love & Trust

Geranium restores confidence in the innate goodness of others and in the world. It facilitates trust, especially when an individual has lost trust in others due to difficult life circumstances. It also assists in re-establishing a strong bond to one’s mother and father. When there has been a loss of trust in relationships, geranium encourages emotional honesty, love and forgiveness. It fosters receptivity to human love and connection. Geranium heals the broken heart. It encourages emotional honesty by facilitating the emergence of grief or heart ache that has been suppressed. Geranium softens anger and assists in healing emotional wounds. It assists in re-opening the heart so that love may flow freely. Indeed, Geranium could be called emotional healer.”
 
Geranium is a gentle oil, perfect for babies and children. It nurtures the inner-child and supports in re-parenting this aspect of the Self. The individual who has a difficult time accessing their emotions can be supported by Geranium, as it leads away from the logical mind and into the warmth and nurture of the heart. At its root, Geranium heals the heart, instills unconditional love and fosters trust.
 
 Enlighten (2014-09-18). Emotions & Essential Oils, 3rd Edition: A Modern Resource for Healing (Kindle Locations 405-409). Enlighten. Kindle Edition.