Uplift Your Life: Nourishment Of The Spirit

Fear is the absence of love. The Divine is pure love. When you are in fear, therefore, you are disconnected from the Divine. We are born into this life on earth with fear programmed into our experience. The journey to release fear in all of its various forms, e.g., anger, jealousy, guilt, shame, blame, regret, abuse, is the journey to oneness with the Divine. We do this by letting go of all the aspects of fear that we have collected over the years and by refilling with all the forms of love, e.g., forgiveness, gratitude, kindness, empathy, compassion, respect, hope, service, laughter, positive thinking. As we connect deeply with our Limitless Higher Self, we deepen our connection to the Divine. In doing so, we raise our vibration, which in turn raises the earth's vibration. This is the planetary shift that we are currently experiencing and people, like my guest, are guides on the path. Please join us Thursday to learn how the 12 Archangels can help you release fear and heal your life.

At some point most of us come to the awareness that we don't have to prove anything anymore. We can finally take a deep breath and do what we want to without feeling the pressure of being judged a success or a failure. We can be free to take up that hobby we've talked about for years, travel, play with the grandkids or just watch the beauty of nature. If we're lucky, we're still healthy enough to do the things that we've been putting off until after retirement. Or if we're even luckier, we start asking smart questions of ourselves in our younger years. Most of us, however, need the awareness that life is finite. We need to be up against a deadline to look deeply inside ourselves and wonder who we really are and what we really want during our time on this earth. Our guest this week has a unique way of looking at aging. In fact, Gail Sheehy says The Age of Spirituality is the Best book I have ever read on this most significant passage. Join us Thursday to learn how to age wisely.

Signs, symbols and synchronicity are answers to prayer, messages from the spiritual realm, guidance, our intuition providing insight. They make the invisible visible. They provide information that is every bit as important as our dreams. Most of us are oblivious. Sometimes we catch a glimpse and think maybe this means something, but then our logical mind kicks in and tells us it's nonsense. Stick to the facts, it says. I was awakened from this state when as Director of Research in a school district, I would purchase important books on education for a staff resource library. I noticed that on numerous occasions, a principal would request a book that I just ordered or just received. It happened with such frequency that I couldn't ignore it. That began my journey of paying attention to what I was hearing, seeing and feeling. I started learning about animals as messengers, symbols in dreams, the meaning of numbers. Mostly, I paid attention. Join us Thursday to learn how to pay attention.

What if you knew that there really is a life beyond this one and that you are never alone? Furthermore, what if you allowed yourself to believe that your loved ones on the other side are really trying to communicate with you? We all hear messages in our head and see signs from our loved ones. We are so certain that they couldn't be real, however, that we usually ignore them or deny that we even saw or heard anything. If we could open a door within our minds to the possibility that these signs and messages are real, it would change our lives. Often, I literally feel my mother or sister next to me talking in my ear as if they were truly present. Sometimes they tell me things that we both know but give it a different twist to let me know that I'm not imagining it. That different twist is usually a joke to heal the past or supportive words that they would not have said before all of the healing that we've done since they died. Please join us Thursday to learn how you, too, can do this.

Most of my early career was spent in schools where drugs and violence were the norm. My first teaching job was in Detroit just before the summer riots of 1967 when that school was burnt to the ground. When I arrived in Dallas, I was placed in a junior high where a student had been killed in the hallway the previous year. I had a strong belief that these children could be helped by a teacher who had faith in them. That was true in some instances. In others it wasn't because the problem was systemic. We needed a village to make a difference, not a lone ranger. In my innocence, I did help some children. I remember the young man who learned how to read silently and was so grateful he brought his high school friends back to meet me. Then there were the 2 students in gifted classes who I ran into years later and attributed their current success to my talks with them. Please join me Thursday when Dr. James Garbarino helps us understand how we can save young boys who exhibit violent behavior.

Some of you remember the story of Patty Hearst-Shaw, the granddaughter of the American publishing magnate, William Randolph Hearst. In 1974, she was kidnapped and told that she could either help her captors or be killed by them. This ended with her participating in an armed robbery and serving a prison sentence. Eventually she was released by presidential order and then pardoned. Most women coerced into illegal activities do not receive early release or a pardon. Patty Hearst-Shaw was targeted because of her lineage. Most women caught in intimate coercion got their because of growing up with abuse, coercion, control and feelings of hopelessness. Their childhood set them up to repeat the familiar pattern. There is hope, however. When we understand the roots of our behavior, we have the opportunity to change and start behaving in ways that are true to our own values and belief systems. Please join us Thursday when our repeat guest, Dr. Marti Loring, will show us the way out of coercion.

There was a time when women were in power and the number 13 was sacred. We were more connected with the Earth, that is, Mother Earth. Witches were women who used their wisdom and the products of the earth--plants, herbs and flowers--to cure disease. They were respected healers. Then the energy of domination took over. Witches became feared and were systematically killed. It became dangerous to be a woman and to use your natural powers of intuition and connection with the spiritual realm. The logical mind was all that mattered. If something couldn't be proven scientifically, it couldn't be true. We began to distrust our inner wisdom, the still small voice within. We only trusted the masculine way of being in the world. The energies are shifting again--this time, to wholeness. To eliminate illness and to have world peace, we need a partnership between the divine masculine and divine feminine to balance the energies on earth. Join us Thursday to learn more about awakening to wholeness.

As a child, did you ever talk to your dead relatives--that is, before someone told you that that was nonsense? I have vivid memories of lying in bed at night and having long conversations with my grandmother, who I loved dearly. She was the only one who truly listened to me. So if I couldn't talk to her in the physical realm, I didn't have any fearful beliefs that prevented me from talking to her spirit. I don't know how I would have gotten through childhood without her love and our nightly conversations. We reached across the realms and healed each other's hearts. That's probably why now I am able to communicate with those who have passed to the other side. Recently, I have shared messages from other people's loved ones. These spirits come to me when I'm with their relative, usually a son or daughter. They obviously feel my openness and always send a message of love and comfort to their child. I find it a blessing. Join us Thursday to learn how you can have After-Death Communication.

Most of us parent the way we were parented. If we seek to do it better, we search out the best advice we can find. If it's part of mainstream thinking, however, it is probably an improvement but still not giving us the results we want. This was the journey Teresa Graham Brett was on. As she says: In spite of my espoused professional values, I realized that I had accepted, without question, the dominant cultural beliefs that adults have the right to control and coerce children. The children in my life have challenged me to live according to my values of liberation, freedom and respect as a parent and human being. As individuals and a society, we can create a base of love, wholeness, authenticity and integrity that is the foundation for just and empowering relationships. And, as we are each reflections of the world, the world is changed by our commitment to wholeness, liberation and freedom. Please join us Thursday to learn how to create empowering relationships with our children.

Recently I was listening to a news report that about 4% of Drone pilots suffer from PTSD. This seemed to surprise the newscaster since the pilots are not physically on the battlefield. It did not, however, surprise me. These pilots are still responsible for the deaths of fellow human beings. Regardless of the reasons for their actions, the fact remains that the person pulling the trigger or guiding the bomb or drone is still taking a life. They are aware that the person killed was a son or daughter, possibly a sibling or spouse, parent, friend, co-worker, relative, neighbor. Lives are changed because of their actions. Even if their actions were necessary and even if they don't develop PTSD, the taking of a life affects a person's mind, heart and soul. The returning warriors may even question themselves as the moral and ethical human beings who they thought they were. Join us Thursday to learn how veterans and communities can heal and turn pain into strength and wisdom.

When someone we know seems wise beyond their years, we call them an old soul. This is so common that we don't really think about what it means. In fact, in the next sentence we might say that we don't believe in reincarnation. Contradictory beliefs often sit side by side within us until we look deeply at them. Sometimes we have to examine the inexplicable in our own lives before we are able to see the truth. That was the case with me. My earliest memory of such an experience was in Venice as a young college graduate. It was our first day there and my girlfriend and I were lost. We were tired from travel, not very good with maps and wound up far from our hostel when we realized that we had a very short time to return before we would be locked out for the night. In a panic, I uncharacteristically said, follow me. I blindly led us through winding streets to our destination with no conscious awareness of how I did it. Please join us Thursday to hear the evidence for reincarnation.

Did you know that people with mild anxiety die 7 years earlier than they should? If this shocks you, good. We all ignore stress and anxiety assuming that it’s a normal part of life. Maybe it is, but it doesn't have to be--And it's killing you! We are not responsible for what happens to us, but we are responsible for how we respond. Is your go to reaction one of worry, fear and anxiety or do you first calm yourself so you can think clearly and respond in an appropriate fashion? EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, often referred to as tapping, is scientifically proven to help reduce and even eliminate psychological, emotional and physical problems, including but not limited to: anxiety, depression, phobias, pain, addictions, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and the lingering effects of abuse and trauma. Like anxiety, we assume physical pain is just part of life. Actually it is most often caused by emotional pain and can be reduced by 2/3 with EFT. Join us Thursday for more about EFT.

There's a lot of wisdom in Will Bowen's belief that Hurt people, hurt people. It is easy to judge others for their actions. It takes a lot more humanity to look deeply at the tortured soul who would commit crimes, like murder. Dr. James Garbarino has taken that step to actually see the human being behind the crime and to see them as hurt but not beyond redemption. He quotes one killer as saying, I cry myself to sleep every night. Some children can survive childhood abuse, some can heal and others are so damaged that they grow up lacking empathy. These people become abusers and sometimes so many cards are stacked against them that they become killers. In the United States, we tend to punish rather than rehabilitate. Other countries incarcerate for a shorter period of time and have more success with rehabilitation. It turns out that reading and meditating actually create change in the brain, which can change the killer. Please join us Thursday to learn how to save human potential.

Relationships are about the choices we make in life. Sometimes we make choices that are not healthy for ourselves because we have been conditioned since birth by our families and-or society to act and think in certain ways. The conditioning can even start in the womb where we hear conversations between our mother and other people and feel her emotions. All of this goes deep into our cells and limits our choices--until we make a new choice and take charge of our own life. We can choose to stop putting the emotional, physical, mental or financial needs of others before those of ourselves. We can begin to ask the question: if we don't take care of our own needs, who will do it for us? And if we do keep putting ourselves last, do we realize that we will deplete our energy? If the well is dry, we have nothing to give! We must fill ourselves and make self-loving choices. This is our life and we are the most important person in our life. Join us Thursday to learn about the choices we make.

The world is in a lot of chaos right now due to fear caused by everything from war to natural disasters. This chaos affects the energy in the world which, in turn, impacts each and every one of us. Knowing that we are in the midst of upheaval that is leading us to peace, harmony and unity can help us through this difficult transition. We even have sayings for it, like: The darkest hour is just before the dawn or The dark night of the soul. When we get through the darkness, there is always light and after the rain, there are rainbows. The peace that is coming starts with us. As we are able to create peace within ourselves, regardless of what is going on around us, we become part of the solution. We help to change the energy of everyone we come in contact with, spreading peace and bringing us to a time of world peace with more speed and ease. Please join us Thursday when Betsy Otter Thompson will share her wisdom on how to find comfort in a world where uncomfortable things happen.

I'm not creative. How often have you said that or heard others say it? You can stay stuck in false beliefs or you can realize the truth: We are all creative. We all have intuition. We all have access to inspiration. We can all hear the wisdom of our soul. We can all communicate with the spiritual realm. The escalating crises in our world require us to discard outmoded and limiting ways of thinking. We must understand and believe what Albert Einstein said: “Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them.” Furthermore, this vast wellspring of creativity and inspiration is available not only to geniuses and mystics, but to all of us. It is the wisdom that our soul carries deep within each and every one of us. Humanity is evolving and access to this information is becoming easier. You can speed up this evolution by choosing to, as Mahatma Gandhi said: Be the change that you want to see in the world. Join us Thursday to learn how to access the wisdom of your soul.

Proof, a fascinating new television series appearing on TNT, uses fictional characters to investigate whether there is scientific evidence to document the existence of an after-life. Over the course of the first few episodes, we discover through the skeptical main character, who is a medical doctor, more and more convincing evidence that near-death experiences are real. In reality, the people who have had such experiences are numerous and even include skeptical medical doctors who have been convinced by their own near-death experiences. Usually, we hear how wonderful these experiences are, but that isn't always the case. When a near-death experience occurs because of malpractice, anger and chaos can enter the picture. When you add embezzlement by the malpractice lawyer, you really have the makings of a TV drama--only this story is true. Please join us Thursday when our guest talks about his real life experiences with all these challenges and his transformation from victim to wholeness

We are all one. You often hear this spiritual wisdom, but do you stop to think about what it really means? And if you do think about the concept, do you realize that it includes all living things? When we recognize that we human beings are part of nature, it is easy to move to the awareness that nature is composed of living, breathing beings with souls and hearts. We know this about our beloved pets and this truth extends to all animals, trees, plants, birds, insects, water and everything on earth, even rocks. Actually, I should say, especially rocks, because they carry the wisdom of the ages. Just think what they have heard, seen and experienced over millennium. Quantum physicists, shamans, psychics and all who study, work with, live with or love nature, know the truth that nature is alive. How wonderful to then expand and enrich our lives by communicating with and learning from all that is nature. Please join us Thursday when our returning guest will help us speak with nature.

We've all heard about eating disorders, but disordered eating is new. Yet, intuitively, we all know what it means. More of us have an unhealthy relationship to food and our body than have a healthy one. Now that's just not right! More than a third are obese and another third, mostly Baby Boomers, are overweight. Even more shocking, if that's possible, are these statistics: 57% of Millennials obsess that they eat too much; 91% of female college students diet; and 95% of all dieters regain their lost weight within 5 years. This obsession with food, weight and our body image is literally killing us. It is harmful physically, emotionally and mentally creating illness, shame, stress, body-hatred and self-recrimination. And it isn't just a woman's problem. 1 in 10 cases of eating disorders are attributed to men and that doesn't include disordered eating. We can stop these harmful patterns. Please join us Thursday to learn how connecting your body with your brain can help you heal.

We often have more contact with nurses than we do with our doctors, especially when we are in a hospital. They do much more than administer doses of medicine. They check on our comfort, develop a rapport with us and our frequent visitors, they watch our emotional state and progress and offer words of encouragement. I remember when my best friend was in Intensive Care in the hospital and I had her medical power of attorney. It was the nurses who I would check with on a daily basis. Of course I would speak with the doctor as well, but he had limited availability. The nurses were always there and could fill me in on more aspects of her health and wellbeing than the doctor could. They saw the total picture, the whole person. Was she eating well? Was she responsive when we weren't there? How was she coping? I valued the nurses and relied on them to keep me informed, and they did. Please join us Thursday to learn how a pioneer in holistic nursing is helping nurses become even more effective