?Hello My Beautiful Souls,
☀️Happy Mother’s Day Everybodeee!! Wishing you all a day of abundance as the days have grown longer and the sun’s rays of warmth deem brighter than ever! If you can’t grab a partner, at least hug your dog, a tree, or a plant, take a walk, listen to the birds chirping, or music playing, and feel the joy from inside YOU! This is the time to find joy in your soul, wake up to the beauty within you, and find your passion of personal tranquility. Letting go of the fear is what keeps you from spinning out of control. It is all within the power of your mind. It is a choice. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Believe that you have the power to bring balance back to your chaotic nonsense. Know that what is within you is greater than any circumstances outside of you. At any moment you have the power to change your thoughts and be in control of your reality…✨
?The COVID19 quarantine has made our lives more complex as our families have expanded to include the elderly, college students, and newborns. We’ve had different work habits to transition into whereby work hours overlap into baby care, online learning, home schooling, and zoom conference calls. Those at home testing positive for COVID19 become our new patients, as we learn to juggle nursing, face masks, and care taking. Choosing a positive 
mindset to conquer this new frontier and an above average emotional intelligence is a profound learning curve in most households. Life has never been so challenging, socially disconnected, physically and emotionally distant, lonely, anxious, and distrusting of others. The mixed media messages screaming at us from social media, news reports, and the White House make it even harder to know how to survive a pandemic the right way let alone the safe and healthy way.
?What’s heartbreaking is a few of the well-known celebrities who counsel people with amazing glow on television have also “hit a wall” due to losing their most sacred routines because of COVID 19’s quarantine. When I saw this it made me wonder how many other people were going through this same panic/anxiety cycle in their lives from being in an out-of-control situation. It happened to me years ago while being abused and journeying through my traumatic brain injuries. Also, when I was assaulted and then last year when pushed off my bike, I felt again the same feelings of being alone to support myself, and suffering in silence. Having to heal from six broken ribs and and another concussion was not my idea of a perfect summer, fall, or holiday season. It’s during these times of trials I lost my sense of connection, ways of knowing, and personal boundaries. I had become incredibly vulnerable, fatigued, and marginalized. My comfort zone was penetrated, violated, and assaulted once again.
?Traumatic situations forced me into isolation for healing and recovery for almost 6 years in different decades. There was mostly silence due to my two brain injuries, PTSD, and other painful bodily anomalies. My athleticism was reduced to painful and long rehabilitation periods. The ability to communic
ate was hindered, as my brain pathways had been damaged in various lobes, and my short and long term memories were not re-membering as they normally did. My cognitive executive functions for critical thinking, math, eye coordination, organization, were damaged as were the lobes that controlled my personality, recognition, speech, word finding, and so much more. I also lost my identity from cognitive injuries that mirrored Alzheimer’s. My home went into foreclosure, my job was severed, my savings and equity was gone, and everything else financially was lost. It was like living a nightmare of insanity. Who knew it could happen to me. Right?!
?The good news is that miracles are abundant. They can bedazzle the most prestigious doctors and present themselves in a brilliance of light that we have no way of refuting except that they exist. That is called faith. Now more than ever we need to believe and have faith. Miracles are God’s way of letting us know He is there and has a purpose for our lives. He doesn’t tell us why or what the journey is we are meant to embark on, but He sends us signs to let us know He hears us and wants a relationship with us. He loves us and has great plans for our lives. He has made miracles happen in my life that are so profoundly unbelievable. I cannot dispute His power nor His omnificence. I am so grateful to Him and that He loves me for me. I know I do. I hope each one of you loves yourself first and realizes your worth above all else. You are in His image and wears the crown most high…? We are His desciples and are here to serve those around us. Let us rejoice and be glad!??
I knew God had a purpose for my life. I believe that if you’re down in the tunnel of darkness right now, there’s only one way to go, an
d that is UP…! There is much suffering in our world, but there is also overcoming that Helen Keller speaks of. She is my hero never to forget and chose to lift people up even through her horrific battle in being blind. She saw more than what most people can see having eyesight. Her voice and soul of passion was how she chose to tell the world of her light. It was a choice for her to live a life of glow regardless of her plight. That is the beauty of life. The conflict we have is within ourselves, not with each other. I, too, choose to thrive in the glow regardless of those who tell me it cannot be done. I am a spiritual rebel warrior. No one can take my power away from me because Christ rules from within me like a star on fire.☄️ And still like air I rise.⚡️ So can YOU!
?So it is for us today. It is not in the trauma, anxiety, or circumstances that imprisons us. It is how we choose to respond to it. We can allow it to suffocate us or we can use it as an opportunity to breathe, exhale, let it go, and move forward to glow into a thriving mass of glow!? Survival is not a life. Thriving is, because it opens up opportunities that we manifest in our minds to evolve into. Our minds control our destiny. If we only knew how powerful our minds were, we would think twice before putting our thoughts out into the universe.
?For the record, there is no shame in “hitting the wall” at any point in our lives from out-of-control manifestations or transitions. It is a game changer. Not everyone’s body, mind, and soul is made with an easy button to withstand change. I came from a military family where we moved every two years until my 7th grade. I was used to changes, the different cultures, the new schools, making new friends, and living by new rules. I became a ch
ameleon and was good at it. This is what saved me from my home life as did my academics and athleticism. Fake it until you make it…doesn’t always change your circumstances but it does change your mindset for survival.
?The point is, my life revolved around change and I had the ability to be flexible beyond the status quo. I became the catalyst of change, a risk taker, and soon realized I did not fit into anyone’s box nor would I. Flexibility is a choice in how we move our cheese to accommodate the world in which we live in. For some people this is agony. Structure and routine is all they have been role modeled. It’s their safety zone. Structure is their best “normal” in order to be productive. And for those individuals, these parameters set them up for success. For others, flexibility is an amazing release of creativity, stretching them across boundaries to find new opportunities for growth, boldness, capitalizing on their strengths and visions. If we choose not to change we become stagnant like a time capsule. It is when we change the structure and parameters of our box to move beyond to glean new knowledge for forward movement is when we confront our fears. Fear can and will paralyze us if we let it. Fear initiates self-doubt, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, unworthiness, and negative self-talk. It triggers the fight or flight repsonse. Don’t let it have power over you. You’ve Got This!! Because, the other side of fear is freedom. And, freedom is where you thrive.?
?Working in higher education was all about flexibility. Having students as my clients meant leaning in to their academic and personal needs to make them successful. They were my priority and I wanted them to always follow their dre
ams. That meant changing my hours for them, working weekends, advising them, taking them to universities for presentations, and engaging them with service learning, mentoring programs, academic programs and services, and parent programs. I was forced to ‘move my cheese’ all the time. It didn’t bother me because change made me stronger, wiser, and more fluid for what I was to overcome in the years ahead.
➡️Even so, having a life of structure is also important for setting ourselves up for success. It gives us routine, keeps us organized, and helps us flow better and seamlessly. We are all out of our comfort zones right now fumbling around trying to make order of it all. That is a gracious way of dealing with life. It is humbling and lets us see our weakest link so we can fortify it and build on. We cannot remain creatures of habit. Habits die hard and will destroy us in the end. Our minds, bodies, and souls are resilient, just as our human spirits are magnificent in their recovery of traumatic experiences. If we choose to develop new pathways and think beyond the box we live in, there are so many new insights we can glean from our anxiety by tapping into our strengths and rewiring our brains.
?Positivity is a learned rewiring of the brain. It re-circuits trauma and overcomes negative th
inking patterns. The Oxford English Dictionary shares the definition of positivity as: “The practice of being or tendency to be positive or optimistic in attitude.” Tapping into positivity is a mental choice. It is something we must choose to practice even on our worst mentally savaged days or when we are at our breaking point. It is a coping strategy for chronic health conditions, mental illness, and for dealing with crisis situations.
?Learning to think positively is not magical. Thinking differently does not take us out of crisis mode nor remove the mental illness or trauma we suffer from. Changing our mindsets to think more positively, however, does restructure our perspective in how we see our circumstances. Instead of seeing the glass half empty, we find the silver lining in the cards we are dealt to re-frame the lens we view our experiences from in order to find opportunities for growth and evolution. Just like physical therapy can improve the functions of our bodies after an accident with practice and patience, so do our minds with practice in positivity when hit with an overwhelming pandemic, trauma, and/or abuse.
SEVEN POSITIVITY FACTS
1. Positivity changes the anatomy of the brain.
There are actually “positive” benefits to thinking and practicing positivity. These are backed by science and are destined to enhance a glowing attitude, overall health and well being. Norman Doidge, MD, a psychiatrist and researcher of the book, The Brain Can Change Itself, has done extensive research on the neuroplasticity of the brain. The brain it seems is not hard-wired as first thought, but has the ability to be resilient and transform itself after trauma. Case studies show that those with acquired brain injuries, genetic malfunctions, learning disabilities, stroke paralysis, lower IQs, and blindness can be altered just by imagining it. Our thoughts can literally switch our genes on and off, which rewires the anatomy of our brains. By practicing mindful exercises it is possible to change the way we think.
2. Positivity enhances your acquired skill sets personally, professionally, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually
The power of positive thinking is believed to increase our strengths allowing us to build on the skills we use daily at work, at home, in relationships, and creatively so our dreams do come true.
3. Positivity helps you glean new knowledge
As you enhance your skill sets by thinking positively, you also become more receptive to learning at a higher level of knowledge. Barbara Frederickson, the evolutionary psychologist behind the Broaden and Build Theory of 10 positive emotions describes how they synergize our personal growth and evolution. Thus, positive emotions drive our minds to be more receptive to the environment which allows us to sustain more long term positive outcomes.
4. Positivity reduces negative self-talk and improves physical as well as mental well-being
According to the Mayo Clinic, those individuals who harness the power of positive thinking have reduced blood pressure, are more capable of handling stress, enhanced cardiovascular health, deeper slumber, and a higher resiliency to troubling circumstances.
5. Positivity boosts your immunity
Positivity is a way to expand the mind to a higher consciousness. It is releasing it of negativity and not allowing the brain to be poisoned by dark thoughts or lies we tell ourselves from the past. Positivity brings joyful emotions and the hormone serotonin to enter into our brains for happy arousal and pleasant thoughts. In this way the hormone cortisol is not being released into your body, which brings on depression, fatigue, self-doubt, and anxiety.
6. Positivity enhances your social life
When we practice positivity in ourselves, we are conscious of how we present ourselves to the world. Positivity is a gift of light, joy, humor, amusement, love, hope, awe, and inspiration that we offer to others so they glow with us. When we open ourselves up through our body language with open arms, laughing eyes, a brilliant smile, and gentleness in our voice, we are sharing the positivity of light to another human soul. People of light will gravitate toward you because your glow will shine brighter when surrounded by other stars who mirror yours. Beware of those people who want to diminish your light by sucking the joy out of you in order to prosper from your pain. Narcissism runs rapid when yo
u least expect it.
7. Positivity is in Your Control
Believe it or not, you have more control than you know over your own positive emotions. Emotions are like seasons, they come and go. Yet, we also allow certain negative emotions to rule our minds, like negative self-talk and pessimism instead of turning our perspective around to see the brighter side of things. There is always two sides to every circumstance and when we view it through our lenses, we may only see half of what is possible. It is possible to train your brain to find the positive possibilities that exist even when you can’t “see” them right away in your lens. And, it could be, the people that surround you have brainwashed you to believe a distorted view of the world. A delusional sense of reality may be someone else’s truth. But that does NOT make it true.
Emma Marie Smith has listed in her article, How to Develop a Positive Personality, some traits to help you spot those magical, optimistic people:
- Alert: Positive people are self-aware. They know their strengths and limitations and they respect them.
- Compassionate: Positive people encourage others rather than tearing them down to feed their own insecurities.
- Joyful: People with positive personalities focus on the good in life. They acknowledge negativity, but they know it is impermanent.
- Self-confident: Positive people usually have a high degree of self-confidence because they have worked on building themselves up. This doesn’t come across as gloating or boastful, however.
- Honest: Positive people know that dishonesty breeds negative emotions, so they always strive to tell the truth.
“Your mind is like a garden. If you do not deliberately plant flowers and tend them carefully, weeds will grow without any encouragement at all.” – Brian Tracy
?Loving yourself first is the greatest gift of positivity. That truly is our light source. Our God Spark is what glows from within us and only positivity can come from it. We are pure love. So, as we fumble through these desperate times, whether alone or together, it is up to each one of us to determine how we choose to transition back into society. We can behave and respond negatively, anxiously, overwhelmed, blaming others, cause chaos, and conform to old habits of the past. Or, we can be willing to rise above the suffering and pain and be change agents. We can release our fears and be open to learn new knowledge, embrace our differences, and find clarity in flexibility. We can craft organization out of the chaos, refine and enhance our skill sets to ones on the cutting edge, and be open to the possibilities that exist for now and the future. We have choices available to us. What a privilege to have them! We are so blessed. May we all find a way to glow in to them together with patience, civility, grace, humility, faith, integrity and love…❤️ And, let us be responsible when we do so.
?Wishing my Shining Stars a sunbeam to light the way for a better tomorrow. My hope is that you all remain safe, healthy, and abundantly positive as we reconnect to each other in the days to come. Sending love, light, and joy.
In light and love,?
Kimberly ox
letyourlightshineon.org
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.