Category: Core

Forgiveness

Our thoughts, feelings and emotions have consequences in the physical realm of our bodies.

Day 8

Again, going back to what we were created for, to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. What if He is calling us to ‘serve’ someone for whom we are holding a grudge? Maybe the Lord has given us a special message that they need, or vice versa. If anything is holding us back from being totally open to do God’s will, that needs to be resolved immediately. We are closing ourselves off from receiving the graces that were meant for us as well. We are all so interconnected, it’s like the feet being angry at the stomach…and making the whole body suffer by refusing to walk to the fridge. 😀

The other aspect of unforgiveness is how toxic those types of feelings can be in the long run. Our thoughts, feelings and emotions have consequences in the physical realm of our bodies. For instance when we start thinking of a delicious food that we love, our mouth may start to salivate in preparation of consuming it. Or if we start thinking of a project that we are dreading, then maybe our heart will start pounding. This is because at the cellular level we are Chemical beings and all Chemistry as we may have learned in high school falls into Alkaline(base) or acids.

Our wonderfully created body is the same, there’s a balance that must be maintained for health. For instance our blood needs to maintain a balance averaging around 7.4 or so. That is just slightly alkaline and it will do whatever it takes to keep it within a particular window or we would die. So the blood will draw necessary minerals from every other part of the body in order to keep us alive, it’s an extraordinary feat. However the rest of the body may not fare so well. That’s what happens when we are in constant emotional turmoil, our bodies need to work extra hard to keep us balanced.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Forgiveness, release, detox, alkaline, healing, wholeness

Young Living Essential Oils


“The lesson is simple:Give forgiveness and you will unleash a flood of grace on yourself and those around you. When you clench your fists and grit your teeth in anger toward someone, you have no room in your heart for God to place His hand in yours. Replace your clenched fist with an open hand and watch as God fills your soul to overflowing.”

Week 1: Loving God with Our Whole Mind

Health as officially defined by the World Health Organization, is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

I want to suggest that total wellness goes even further, let us take a look at what we were created for.

"Why did God make you?" The Baltimore Catechism says the answer is: 
"God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him 
in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next."

The following passage tells us what that entails.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your STRENGTH and with all your MIND, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27

(Psalm 139:14) also tells us that we have been fearfully and wonderfully made. Our loving Creator has given us exactly what we need to accomplish His purposes…Mind, Body and SOUL. Then looking at it this way, ‘un-wellness’ or ‘dis’ease…becomes anything that blocks the way of this.

The first week we started with the Mind.

Philippians 4:6-9

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
 with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which
 transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
 whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent
 or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received
 or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be
 with you.

(Please click on the underlined words to take you to a previous post on the subject.)

First we began with Thanksgiving which helped us to take inventory of all that we have been blessed with and put us in a position to now be attentive to and in turn to receive all the blessings that the Lord wants to give us. Then we made a Commitment to following the Lord and whatever path He may lead us on during this journey. We confessed our Trust in Him and His ways, and we looked at the role of love and kindness in the healing process and in defining our mission. Then finally the week ended with Tenacity and our need to keep going back to the ‘core’ for nourishment.

The Young living products that I find helpful for mind health.

Please check my YOUNG LIVING PAGE for more information.

Some of the books we looked at this week were.

Next week we will be focusing on Loving God with our whole ‘HEART”…which is the seat of our emotions. And we will also be looking at Mary’s role in helping us ascend the spiral stair case. Please keep checkin back. If you are doing this program with me, please leave a comment for me, either here or on my social media sites so that I can add you to my prayer list. I think the Lord is getting ready to release an abundance of graces!!! Many blessings to you all.

Tenacity

Day 6

In setting up our ‘Boot Camp to Kingdom Living’, it is imperative that we set aside some specific time for the Lord. We will be living in Him and Him in us, but to start we need to be deliberate. Even Jesus had to go away on occasion to commune with His Father.

My favorite time is first thing in the morning when the house is still perfectly quiet and the sun hasn’t quite come up yet. I like to read the day’s readings and reflect on them. This is where I get my ‘marching orders’ for the day. I think at this point, He speaks to me more than I speak to Him. It’s throughout the day that the more formal praying time comes in for me. But it’s this little quiet time with Him in the early morning that excites me the most. He knows exactly what my needs are and the best way to lead me. I just need to set time aside to listen.

It’s important to be tenacious about it or so many other things will come in to distract us and steal this important time from us. So to start, ask the Lord what the best time for you is, and then stick with it. It doesn’t have to be lengthy to begin with, it’s best to start simple and then increase as you feel lead to. 

Prayer as communion (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
2565 In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is "the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit."12 Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ.13 Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ's love.14

Here’s a refresher on what we are accomplishing here…

Kindness

Day 5

No matter what happens in the world around us, our mission never changes…and that is to bring forth the Kingdom of God. It’s so easy to get trapped in the news of the day, I’m very guilty of doing that myself. But today God is calling us to go beyond. To see each person we encounter as someone in need of the Kingdom and whom the kingdom needs. Whatever talents or passions we’ve been given, it is with that in mind. As Amy Coney Barret says, even “Your legal career is but a means to an end, and that end is building the Kingdom of God.”

Kindness then becomes the means in which this happens. Unlike the type of kindness that the world presents to us, like love…a watered down fake version. Godly kindness makes use of prudence to get the job done. It is a gift from the Holy Spirit where true love for the person before us can come forth, always wanting their ultimate good. So let’s start with ourselves and those closest to us.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

So for today, let us watch thoughts and emotions, and how they may be sneaking out in unexpected ways. It is said that out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks. Let’s make sure that our hearts, minds and souls are SO filled with Him, that that is the only thing pouring out of us.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels, so please dear Lord ask your angels to keep an arm over my shoulder and a hand over my mouth. 😉

Trust

day 4

Jesus I trust in You! I know that You lead me step by step, I don’t need a fully developed plan, I just need complete trust in You and to love You with my whole heart…like a child!

Today is the Feast Day of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. Her whole message was about child like trust in God. 

Today's Responsorial Psalm
I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

I believe and fully trust, that God is with me right now, that His Word is real and that He guides me step by step and feeds me with His Sacraments. I don’t have to wait for the end of this life in order to be brought into His Kingdom. The process begins here and now.

We can be filled with confidence…not self confidence as the world teaches us, but confidence in Him…that in Him and with Him, we can accomplish all that He has entrusted to us. There is no room for playing small in the Kingdom, we have all been given a huge assignment. And we all have through His grace, what it takes to fulfill our assignment.

I got this book yesterday, How to Pray Like Mary. It says LOVE the Word. L: Listen, O: Observe, V: Verbalize, E: Entrust

As a Third Order Carmelite, I learned to practice Lectio Divina, it’s what this book is about. Praying and Obeying.

Use it to greet each morning with a positive attitude.

Love

Day 3

Mary’s Mantle by Christine Watkins

Love is one of those words that our society has nearly completely butchered, it can now mean almost anything…but especially ‘tolerance’. However we are called to love as God does. Which goes way beyond just wanting the other to experience temporary pleasure. He wants the very best for each one of us … holiness…a life of grace. He wants us and every single person that we come in contact with to be in union with Himself. 

God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God and God abides in Him
(1 John 4:16)

Our mission then becomes to simply love God with our whole heart, mind and soul. God IS love, so as in Acts 17: 28 “for in Him (LOVE) we live and move and have our being”. So love isn’t something we feel, or even do…it’s something that we as Christians ARE. This is our Core…it’s only from there that our ‘steps’ can develop. Our life then becomes love ascending to love. And each step we take, each cross we embrace along the way, it becomes a labor of love.

You can read more on LOVE at the link below.

Deus Caritas Est

Commitment

Day 2

This whole process that I’m calling a ‘boot camp’ is not about achieving perfection. It’s about living a life grounded on our faith, listening to the voice of God within and taking the necessary steps from there…no matter how many slip ups we may have…we don’t give up. That’s where this sense of commitment comes in handy. You won’t be following my plan or anyone else’s plan for you…you will be following God’s will and once you know that Voice, there’s no way that you won’t want to commit.

Life these days is going by at a fast clip and social media and the over abundance of information…even really good stuff…can overwhelm us. We read a post and we move on, many times barely acknowledging it. But this boot camp isn’t about acquiring new knowledge…you most likely already know everything that I’m going to be sharing with you here. It’s about moving that information from your head to your heart. Acquiring a purpose and keeping a laser focus on it.

Our ultimate goal in all that we do is Union with God Himself. So give Him the areas that you are the weakest in and let Him strengthen you.

The following video is part one of the Marian Consecration Series. It’s so good…a must watch if you are doing this boot camp with me.

Sometimes our focus needs a little bit of help from the physical realm. I try to always go to my oils first. So here are a few things that may help. I was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive and was put on stimulants at one point. Then I felt the Lord leading me to a better way for me. This is where I tell you to ‘pray and obey’…do what is best for you.

Thanksgiving

Day 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwiFNqR8svA

What a beautiful place to start, just being grateful for all we already have, before we set forth asking for more graces and more blessings. It’s all pure gift, as we go about ascending the staircase of holiness, let us never forget that it’s all by His grace, each baby step, it is He that makes it all possible with Our Blessed Mother and all the saints interceding for us.

It’s a good idea to take inventory of where we are, all that we already possess. Being aware of and counting our blessings, opens us up to receive more. We are all so greatly blessed in so many ways, regardless of whatever current situation we may find ourselves in. But sometimes grumbling becomes our default option. That’s the first thing that needs to change on the path to total wellness (aka holiness).

The saints show us how to be grateful in all situations, we are able to do this because we know that God is in control and what He allows is for our own ultimate good and He can bring many blessings out of it. So whatever you are struggling with a this very moment…ask the Lord to give you a heart that is filled with gratitude in that very situation.

IV. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

2637 Thanksgiving characterizes the prayer of the Church which, in celebrating the Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is. Indeed, in the work of salvation, Christ sets creation free from sin and death to consecrate it anew and make it return to the Father, for his glory. The thanksgiving of the members of the Body participates in that of their Head.

Eucharist literally means ‘Thanksgiving’.

Prayers of Thanksgiving

 

My Wellness Journey… part 1

So you may be wondering what is up with all this ‘wellness’ stuff. When did I get into all this, is it a new religion? lol. So I owe you the whole back story.

I see my whole life as one amazing journey with my Lord, the highs and even the lows all have lead me down a particular path. I love it when all the pieces of the puzzle start coming together and begin revealing a beautiful scene. It fills you with hope and desire to continue.

I guess I have to go pretty far back, I had my first experience with doctors and the medical industry when I was around 6 I think. I remember that’s when my sore throats started, and my parents were told that I needed to have my tonsils and adenoids removed…so off they came. I hope that parents today are a bit more educated and know the importance of keeping their child’s entire lymphatic system whole and not give in to the first suggestion of surgery…but we’ll get back to that later (maybe). They were also told that this might help in getting me to gain weight (I guess that kicked in around 30 years later…oh where’s the rolling eyes emoji when I need it.)

Anyway…I’m not sure how much that all helped, I continued to get awful strep throats and a myriad of other illnesses through my early years. Then along came the sinus infections in my adult hood. Antibiotics for the win, right? Ummm… again… we’ll leave that for later. Then there was the whole infertility fiasco…shocker of shockers…come on…I was so darn healthy all my life…how could this be? But no worries…the medical industry has a pill for that (injections actually)…and nope…no lifestyle changes needed…gosh…you don’t even have to find out why your beautifully created body isn’t doing the thing it was created to do…you know…self heal.

And then Panic Attacks…what? Where did that come from? No just kidding…that was never asked. But here honey…more pills for you. How long after that did my heart start going off kilter? Is there a correlation? Shhh. It’s SVT…here take these…that is if you don’t want to have surgery. Are you sure you don’t want to have surgery? We can burn that little extra pathway in your heart and it will be good as new? What…I have an extra pathway? Did you see it? How do we know? Shhhh…you’re not very compliant…we think you need to go see a psychiatrist. Ok…but wait, how am I not compliant…I’ve taken every single thing that you have given me….all the things you said would heal me. Oh right…you didn’t use the word ‘heal’ …so what were we trying to do? Shut me up? :'( Anyway…the diagnosis and the list of medications we’re growing exponentially, until I said enough. Thank You Lord for giving me the strength to say ENOUGH!!!

Finally found an MD who didn’t push meds, who was willing to do all the tests and work with me. We looked at diet and how it was causing inflammation. Then the Lord took over from there and continued to inspire me to keep learning. This desire to learn and to reach others with whatever I was learning was growing right along with my frustration with the medical and pharmaceutical industry. I remember when I was in middle school wanting to be a Pediatrician. Then in high school that changed and I now wanted to go to Nursing school. I can now see how that wasn’t the path the Lord had in mind for me as that would have gone right along with the status quo of conventional medicine… I was meant for something different…to live life outside the proverbial box.

This may sounds like I’m totally dissing conventional medicine and I’m really not. It has its place for sure. When my son swallowed a few magnets that perforated his intestines, it was a medical team at Children’s Hospital that saved his life. Our medical industry as it stands is great for critical care, but when it comes to chronic ailments it can be such a struggle. In that case we need to become self advocates, we need to learn about our own bodies and its needs and we have to have the strength to do all that is required.