-Stop SHOULD-ing  yourself.

-Make reasonable, effortless commitments to treat yourself better.

-Let go of all emotional baggage you drag around your ankle like a ball and chain that has kept you victim for perhaps decades.

-Look in the mirror buck naked, into the looking glass of your soul—your eyes, and say, “I LOVE YOU, EXACTLY IN THE PACKAGE YOU ARE” and watch the magic.  Say it daily for at least 21 days and like all habits you want to develop, you will have it for life.

-Do not pine for youth: it was the stepping stone to the magnificence and wisdom of the goddess-years: remember that in Native culture, only when women ‘held their blood’ (became menopausal) were they allowed into tribal politics.

-Make a list of everything and everyone that you are grateful for, including those you perceive have hurt you, for they are your greatest teachers.

-Spend time this holiday season eating all your favorite foods, for they often are lovingly prepared only once a year; realize, however, that you probably will overdo it, as I do with struffoli  – deep fried pieces of white flour dough cut in tiny pieces and soaked in honey :  wowie, zowie, I could eat a pound, and when I do I get the greatest tummy ache, but ah, once a year?  I am worth it!!

- So to follow up with the prior confession: after indulging in the sweets, rich foods: commit to at least one day after the holidays to do a lemon water/juice/herbal tea fast, eating no food to give your liver and digestive system a break.

-I love this quote from Marianne Williamson: “You can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your EGO (edging God out).

-Guilt sucks.

-Mother Theresa said to do small things with big love.

-Surround yourself with people who have succeeded in living a treasured life: those with patience, persistence, and passion.

-And that means as well, surround yourself with uplifting people who love you enough to be ruthlessly honest with you and not flatter you.

-Shrug off complainers and fear-mongers and those who demean you and say that you cannot do what it is that you have been sent here to do–  BECAUSE,

-Each of us has been given a divine mission: I cannot do yours, you cannot do mine; and when you do not do that which you have been given, you cheat me and the world of your magnificence.

-LAUGH- especially at yourself.  Having a smile on your face develops crows feet, which to folks in the know, acknowledge you as a spiritually evolved being.

-HUG TREES: grandfather trees are here to protect our MOTHER EARTH with her shade, her moisture, her nurturing fruits and seeds, and during the hug, if you listen with your heart instead of your head, you will receive a healing message.

-Eat chocolate, especially dark: it contains ‘anandamide’ which in Sanskrit means “bliss.”

-Tell your beloved you adore him or her every day and leave love notes around the house and in lunch boxes;  and if you do not have a beloved, write a letter to yourself as if it came from him/her.

-During your shower, brush your skin to stimulate your lymphatics, which transport toxins out of the body; and—not for wimps—I still complain but do it anyway:  finish your shower with bursts of hot then cold then hot then cold, ending with cold to push all that oxygenated blood deep into your core.

-Deepak Chopra taught this: whisper the words “aham, bramasmi” to each child you see (it means in Sanskrit ‘you are in the world, and the world is in you.”)

-If you cannot go to the gym or do not have a treadmill, march in place to some funky music and get your blood pumping.

-Lastly, GUILT SUCKS!!  (I had to say it twice:  we need to be reminded!!)

Treat everyone you meet with love and compassion and a smile: it will make you feel wonderful, as well as the person you are gifting.  We all need love—actually we are HARDWIRED FOR LOVE;  in the great scheme of things, love is all there is.

Hugs,
HBL