And then I was born

 

I was born out of love and a bit of rebellion, the rebellious spirit of the ‘60s from past century.

I was brought up with care and love, a rustic unshaped love, but lots of love. My needs were satisfied and I felt protected.

I was told and guided… not much guidance there, I had to make up my own mind about what to do.

I was… kind of abandoned on the way… and then…

I was born… out of love and care and power, not physically, but spiritually.

I was brought up with so much more love and care and a new spiritual family. My needs were satisfied, I felt protected.

I was told and guided all the way, by God and people close to Him. That helped me to understand my part in this world and to make decisions about what to do.

I was taken care, I am still cared and I also learned to help others satisfy their own needs and to help others to feel protected.

Today, I celebrate both births I have taken, in the same day.

Gratitude for my parents and family.

Gratitude for my spiritual Parents and family.

 

The power of gratitude

One of my comforts as a child was reading and one of my favorite sources was a magazine that used to come every month or so to my auntie, but it ended at my house, so I used to get to it first.

It came from a Japanese religion, Seicho-no-ie, and the stories were inspiring! But one topic was always present: be grateful.

I confess as the years passed by, I simply forgot about that, until many and many years ago, and since then, I started to practice the simple act of gratitude.

It can be a conscious act, like saying thank you, smiling in a cheerful way or send a message to a person.

It can also be unconscious. As I moved from Sao Paulo, the land of please and thank you – we say that all the time to anyone – I realized people used to look at me differently in situations when my thank you was not really clear, like thanking a bus driver. Slowly, I learned to express the gratitude I was taught in a more subtle way through a small gesture of the head or a different smile. Well, with some friends even a joke can work as an expression of gratitude…

Gratitude turns into a power when, besides the act, it is felt within in a deep way, generating a wonderful healing sensation that life opened its arms to me through this person or situation.

That power can break down obstacles, elevate a person so that they are higher than bad situations and even rebuild bridges with other people.

Be grateful.

Be powerfully grateful.

The fine balance for your success…

There is a special secret for those who believe we all have an inner compass: the East and the West.

Success – real success – comes when there is a balance of excellence in all areas of life: personal, working, health, spirituality, etc. This is why real success is often out of reach…

A few examples: you probably know people, whose health is amazing, but their relationship with others is horrible, and there are those whose career is ascending constantly, despite the fact they feel down in a personal level.

With this special secret, any person can reach for that balance: at every activity, use the light of your spirituality (the East) and the road of your life experiences (the West).

Before doing anything, particularly if it is impacting or relevant, practice spirituality by meditating or a praying. Also, check if the present capacity matches the need of those actions; if it doesn’t, maybe training is in order.

During activities, keep the spiritual light on; something written can serve as a reminder and from time to time, read it. Jump into the action, by being effective and highly productive.

After those actions, sit down and practice spirituality again. Gratitude may be expressed or just a reflection on what took place. Learning the lessons and planning changes will help improving performance next time.

Discovering something new about me

How many new things have you learnt about you in the past twelve months?

Come one! At least one thing…

If you were able to remember at least one thing, well, that is good. If you have found a bunch of new things, wonderful!

But if you struggle and you feel merged until your neck in the bog of routine… you are not alone!

There are times in our lives that we feel we are always learning something new: school, parents, church, neighbors, first job, second job…

However, after a while – and I am not meaning TIME here, just after something that happens in our lives – we start to not see anything new. We are doing everything in a mechanical way; maybe good, but not perfect.

So many movies, songs and books have explored this phenomenon, but instead of expecting a magical thing taking place, there are a few things we all can do.

• Just observe yourself with different eyes.
• See the magic in your own heart.
• Remember the best moments of your life, and bring those experiences in life today.
• Maybe you are not learning anything new, but new ways to do the same.
• See others with new eyes, appreciating things you missed noticing in them.
• GRATITUDE brings about the best in anyone, particularly during critical times.

Is it a new year already?

Old news – terrifying old news – are taking over the world and #ThirdWorldWar is trending.

Actors change, play looks the same… not too new, right?

But there is a big novelty that we as humans can experience, particularly if things are still the same: a change of attitude that makes me see life with different glasses.

How to change it? Let’s focus first on the positive side of life.

Although there is always something constructive in every scene of life, sometimes the good gets hidden behind a wall of negativity.

By using your memory to remember the fantastic things that have happened to you, you will experience it as if this would be happening right now. By the way, don’t underappreciate hope – it will show you the way out of the fog of hopelessness.

Another change you can do is to generate positive emotions like forgiveness and gratitude. They work as if you would be taking a fresh shower during a really hot day, calming your being, making you smile and showing you different ways to handle whatever is happening.

Last, I would strongly recommend meditation, as it works on two different levels. On one hand, it enables you to move beyond the present circumstances and focus on your thoughts instead of the sometimes hard reality. On the other hand, it helps you to realize your own power, which empowers you to face reality.

How many candles?

In some cultures there is the habit of putting a number of candles corresponding to the number of years the person is celebrating and for some people it may be embarrassing as they have an age consciousness.

For me it is pretty good, as I carry my 54 years with the greatness of being such a special person and the humility of so much I have to learn yet… However, as part of my personal tradition, I have been doing a double birthday.

The reason is that on the same day I was born, I became aware spiritually, 36 years ago. Both summed up to 90 years. So, yes, I am 90 years old...

As the sum of its two digits is 9, if you ask me, that is the number of candles in my cake… But which candles?

Candle # 1 must go for GOD; without Him, I can’t even imagine how my life would be. I think candle # 2 is for GRATITUDE, for all I have had the chance to be, for the greatest opportunity of all to be born. The # 3 is for ACCEPTANCE… I took some time to accept myself as I am and to change on the basis of what I have accepted. I tell you, this procedure is working… Number 4 is CHANGE and my life is dedicated to change every day, towards my self-transformation. SPIRITUALITY was not in my map, it was not part of my paradigm and now it is my paradigm; number 5 is for this important aspect of my being.
 The candle # 6 is for LOVE, a feeling with which I have struggled for some time, but I realised it has been within me all the time. Definitely, I need a candle for DETERMINATION, which is # 7. Particularly In my darkest days, being determined was the way to come out of situations and re-create my life, again and again I was thinking # 8 should be hope, but then I remember another pillar of my personal process has been CREATIVITY. I am not sure how I became a creative person, but that is what I am, and I love it. For a deep reflection, UNDERSTANDING is my last but not least candle, # 9. I am not always looking for understanding from others, but my main effort in life is to understand what happens and get the best from it.

And you, how many candles in your next birthday cake?

A Happy birthday from me to myself…

Gratitude as a key to a great life

Life is great. That is the basic conclusion I reach at this point of my existence.

Only a few years ago, I wouldn’t say this, at least not loudly or writing for the public, but now, yes, I realize how great life is.

And because of that, I feel so grateful for everything I have and for all that I don’t have. After all, those things I have, I try my best they reflect who I AM.

About those things I don’t have help me in two different ways: on one hand, they support my humility so I don’t ever think I am what I am not. On the other hand, they stimulate me to work harder to get them, if they are necessary.

See? Be grateful is important for your own development. There are so many things to be grateful for: your body, the computer you have, internet, family, friends, neighbors, governments, people, life… It does not mean you love that fully or you agree with it.

Just the other day, someone gave me and a friend a wrong information, but she did it with a good heart and certain effort. I said thank you because I meant it. What is the logic behind? It was not a big issue, we could fix it very easily and the person will feel happy in her heart because she helped someone, one of the most wonderful feelings the soul can have. By not saying thank you or even reproaching her for a wrong information, nothing of that would be attained.

If I may suggest you: Just sit quietly somewhere, just let your heart opens, just smile genuinely, and say: THANK YOU! Say it with words or thoughts, feelings or emotions, actions or reflection…