=&0=& A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about our happiness levels being the average of how happy our top few friends were. This is so interesting to me, and it really brought home the fact that we are all so sensitive to the energy around us. (You can read more about this here.) Because we are like sponges and tend to take on other people’s moods and emotions, I think it’s a good idea to be careful about who we let into our inner circle.   By surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones who give us energy instead of take it away, we fill ourselves up by being around them instead of feeling depleted.  By surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones who are positive and grateful, we raise our own vibration to meet theirs – and being more positive and more grateful is such a wonderful way to experience life! By surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones who are filled with happiness and pure love, we become happier and love flows more easily.  *** I know that it’s not always easy to weed out your friends and family who don’t feed your soul. I know that ties run deep, and it can be hard to loosen the grip that they have on you.  But I also know that your happiness is worth it. You deserve to be happy and positive and radiant and grateful. And if you are surrounding yourself with anyone who isn’t on this same path, it is only making it that much harder for you to be on yours.  Spend some time today thinking about who is in your inner circle. Do they feed you or drain you? And then begin the process of only allowing into your circle those who support you and feed your soul. You are special, and your inner circle is a sacred space. Be conscious about who you allow in. And then celebrate being with those who celebrate you, who are happy, who support you, and who radiate love.   

Today’s post is a continuation of yesterday’s post about Mirror Work, where you say, “I love you” to yourself each time you pass by a mirror.  In addition to feeling a bit goofy and awkward, this exercise can also bring up feelings of insecurity. Your inner critic may appear and start pointing out all of your physical “flaws.” If this happens, here is a great writing prompt from our Journaling Further Within book to help combat this voice and move on in a positive way: =&0=& =&1=& By choosing to focus on what we like about our appearance instead of picking out our so-called flaws, we give energy to positivity instead of letting our inner critic control our lives. You could even take this exercise a step further if you would like. 

The next time you are standing in front of a mirror, make sure you have a pen and notebook with you. Look at yourself from top to bottom and write down every single thing that you like about your body. Leave out anything More

I love that last month’s post about Mirror Work is one of our most read posts.  I think this is so great because I feel that self care and self love are essential for lasting happiness, and mirror work is one way to begin to love yourself.  I hope you have been participating in my 30-day mirror work invitation:  =&0=& I have found that if you can commit to something for 30 days it truly becomes a habit, and you are much more likely to continue it throughout your life.  (That’s how I started this blog, actually. I committed to myself that I would do it every day for 30 days and see where it took me – and now I am almost at 100 days! It’s become such a crucial part of my routine that I would miss it if I didn’t write each day.)  And it’s the same with mirror work (or anything else you commit to).  Louise Hay (a woman that I truly admire and look up to) believes that mirror work is the essential most powerful ingredient toward self love and self esteem. I was listening to Hay House Radio last night and the wonderful Lisa Nichols was speaking about mirror work as well! (You may remember her as one of the prominent speakers in The Secret.) A caller asked her what is the quickest way toward feeling worthy and deserving of love, money, happiness, etc.  This is what she recommended: =&1=& I am proud that you…  =&3=&
I forgive you for… =&3=&
I commit to you that… =&3=& Imagine how loved, acknowledged, and validated you will feel after doing this each day!And remember that it’s completely okay if you don’t have seven things for each category. The point is to get into the habit of acknowledging yourself and praising yourself. If you have one thing that you are proud of, make sure you say it!  Mirror work is such a great way to start loving yourself and realizing just how wonderful you truly are! Give it a try today and see how it feels! Remember that it may feel awkward and silly at first, but keep at it! Soon it will feel completely normal and wonderful. And soon you’ll start to notice positive changes happening in your life – all because you have begun to put yourself back on your priority list.  And if you miss a few days, it’s okay! (I know that I definitely have.) Just start up again and recommit to making self care a habit.  Your soul will be forever grateful!

I woke up today thinking about yesterday’s post where I wrote about Sanctuary One.  I am so inspired by the wonderful ways they are helping animals, people, and the planet.  I believe that we all want to be of service in some way. We all want to help others.  And maybe we are clear about how we share our gifts.  Or maybe we need a bit of guidance to figure out what we can give, see what our talents are, and learn how others could benefit from them. Dan and I were filling out some paperwork yesterday for an authors’ program that we are a part of. We came upon the question, “What can you do to help others?” That is – what gifts do you have to offer that are unique and beneficial?  We really had to think about it (and are still thinking about it, actually). The answer didn’t just flow out for either of us, which got me thinking about how deep this question really is and how important it is to really feel and be able to embrace what we are able to give to others and to the world. This seemingly innocuous question really has us thinking about our lives and going within to find out what gifts we are truly able to bring to others. What talents do we possess that will ultimately help others live their ideal lives? What can we offer in terms of skills, talents, personality traits that will be of service somehow? .  We will be spending the day really thinking about this question, and I thought it would be great if we could all think about it together.  What gifts do you bring to the world? What do you have to offer that would be helpful and make someone’s life better? It could be a specific skill that you are trained in (e.g., computer knowledge, editing, etc.) Or it could be a personality trait that you have (e.g., listening, compassion, etc.) How do you use your gifts to help others?  How could take it a step further and use your special talents to reach more people? Opportunities to go within and get to know ourselves better sometimes appear unexpectedly, such as this questionnaire. And staying open and seeing it as a way to learn and grow is a great way to embrace your own inner wisdom and learn what your gifts truly are. And once you know what your gifts are, you can share them with the world!