A sincere smile makes me seem approachable, even from a distance. People feel comfortable coming to me because they feel welcomed by my smile.

When I smile, I do it out of a genuine desire to inspire joy in everyone whom I encounter. My personal goal is for people to walk away from an interaction with me feeling happier than they were before we met.

The world can feel full of unpleasantness and fear, but my smile helps to generate hope. A negative attitude is all too common, and it pushes people away. To enjoy pleasant company, I refrain from giving in to negativity.

Wearing a smile on my face is a conscious choice I make every morning. I smile, not because life is perfect, but because I choose to see the positive in every situation. There is something to find joy in even in the toughest of times.

I make it my duty to find something to be cheerful about at all times. Instead of pushing people away with negativism, I draw them in with my smile.

My friends and family look up to me as someone whose presence they enjoy. They like to spend time with me because I smile. My positive attitude puts me in a position of influence over others.

Today, I choose to find a reason to smile. Whether it is because of a triumph, a lesson, or just the joy of living, I wear a bright smile on my face to inspire others to do the same. With my positive outlook, I am transforming my relationships, my community and my world.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1.  Why should I smile today?

2.  Why is it best to focus on the positive?

3.  How does my attitude affect my relationships?

Discovering Inner Strength
Even though life can be a fantastic ride, sometimes it can also knock the wind out of your sails. When tough times trigger your insecurities, you can discover an inner strength that will get you through practically anything.
Try these ideas to get started:
1. Reflect on the tough times you’ve had before. Ask yourself how you got through it. What did you do? What did you think? What did you tell yourself? Your resilience will become evident as you do this exercise and give you real hope for the future in dealing with other obstacles.
• Recognize that you’ve made it through those difficult situations. Then think about what you’re experiencing right now. Is the current situation similar to or much different from your other tough times? Use what you’ve learned from your past challenges.
2. Learn to talk to yourself in positive, encouraging ways. This will help you build up your inner strength.
• As if speaking to your own best friend, tell yourself what will most help and encourage you. What do you most want to hear? What do you need to hear to help gather your strength? Is there something specific you’re hoping will happen?
• Practice providing yourself with encouraging, uplifting messages. The messages you give yourself can be less than helpful or they can propel you through the roughest of circumstances.
• Talking to yourself with respect, care and positivity builds your inner strength so it’s there when you need it. When the going gets tough, you’ll have yourself to fall back on.
3. Allow yourself time to think through whatever the situation is. It’s okay to feel confused.
• What are your ideas about how to weather the storm? Examine all the solutions you can come up with. Explain to yourself what you’ll do and how you’ll do it.
• A sense of your own resourcefulness can be found in your ability to problem-solve through challenging situations.
4. Consider who you regard as role models or mentors. You selected those people because you respect and admire them. They’re strong enough people that you want to emulate them.
• Think about their strength of character. How do you know they have it? What does that strength look like? How does it manifest?
5. Reflect on what you’ve done or been through that you’re most proud of. Was it making it through college although you had to work while you attended classes? Maybe it was moving out on your own for the first time and figuring out you could take care of yourself.
• Even though you might have felt afraid, uncomfortable, lost, or confused, you discovered your internal resources and made it through those experiences.
• When you examine what you did to handle those situations and how you made it through, you’ll recall your inner strength.
• You can get in touch with your own resourcefulness by re-visiting those events that bring you pride.
6. Sometimes, you’ve just got to “fake it till you make it.” You can probably recall a time when you felt afraid or weren’t sure you could succeed, but you stood up and met the challenge head on.
Discovering your inner strength is possible, even in the toughest of times. Following the steps above will help you discover your courage and resourcefulness. And with this self-understanding, you can handle anything!

What if people could discover alternative ways to resolve our differences and find peaceful activities that would bring out the best in everyone instead of the historic repeated pathways that have led to indifference, prejudices, violence, chaos and wars among us.

Wouldn’t it be exciting to think that possibilities exist so that people could access peaceful ways to resolve all our problems instead of resorting to violence and chaos that ultimately hurts everyone? We have learned from quantum research that there appears to be endless possibilities of reality.

Physicians, scientists and researchers are searching to understand consciousness and to locate our mind which appears to be not in our brain, as previously thought, but instead it is part of a vast network of oscillating waves and connections throughout the universe, and perhaps thousands of other unknown dimensions.

The quantum theories being developed from research and experiments in all fields of science are so incredibly mind blowing and seemingly complex that it is easy for the average person to ignore this astounding information. We go on about living our daily lives in which our limiting beliefs that have been cast into our perception and ways of thinking keep our minds closed and skeptical or indifferent. Therefore, our limiting beliefs continue to engineer and drive our habits, emotions, relationships, and health with similar patterns and outcomes.

Meanwhile a vast array of possibilities for renewal and human consciousness evolution awaits the awakening and acceptance of these possibilities so that humans can learn how to utilize these concepts to create a world of peace, prosperity and abundance for all.

For instance, one area of interest that affects people everywhere of all cultures, ethnic groups, governments, and religions is that of society and relationships. What if enough people were able to quiet our fears and opened our minds so that we were able to tap into expanding global consciousness solutions affecting our interactive relationships with one another that are based on underlying premises of love, harmony, kindness, joyfulness, giving and forgiving.

Though most scientific journals and articles are beyond the logical comprehension of human brain understanding, it is becoming clearer that these concepts are open to all people who choose to take the necessary steps to dissolve fears, open our minds to unlimited beliefs, and tap into that great “One Mind” of possibilities.

The mysteries of this great “Source” or “One Mind” are being revealed, and it remains a free choice of humans whether to seek and tap into this information for vast possibilities or to remain closed to these possibilities. Countless books, articles, films, etc. are available for inquiring minds that are changing the consciousness of people everywhere.

Since young we are told to study hard in school, get started and work hard with a respectful career over everything else so that we can have a happy life. We have been bombarded with this message throughout our lives and it has made a deep impact on all of us.

Most of us think that we have no other choice but to keep running on this track mill of life, just like the hamsters that simply go through the daily monotony with no questions asked. Then, we keep our dreams locked in the closet fearing that other people may not believe us or laugh at our “unrealistic” dreams. We want to fit ourselves into the image of being “normal”.

The good news is, we do not have to take the road that everyone takes. Many people have lost their jobs during this recent economic downturn. Now is the perfect time to pursue our dreams, to answer our inner calling. This inner yearning comes from deep within the core of who we really are as a person. Living this dream would bring us a genuine sense of well-being. When we do what we truly enjoy and believe, we live more in the present, feel happier and peaceful with ourselves and our surrounding. Though we may not make a lot of money with this new path, we will certainly enjoy it and live with no regret. The saddest thing in life is to ask “What if” at our deathbed, right?

The secret to happiness is to become courageous and follow what we truly want, that means to follow our hearts. If we have the talent and the ability to sustain that dream, then why not go for it? The world of today glamorizes certain lifestyle and careers, but reality says otherwise. We know things are just different from what we see in the movies. The key to enjoy life is to stand strong and not to live your life according to other people’s opinions. We have to let our inner strength take the wheel of our lives. If we don’t take control, other people will be most happy to run our lives for us. So, do not let the views of others affect our search for self-fulfillment.

We must also realize that following our dreams does not mean that we will always be happy and enjoy every minute of it. There will be times that we will be required to do things that we do not love. However, in the end we do get what we want. Life in itself is a surprise, and we often find ourselves being thrown a few surprises along the way.

Following our dreams also does not always mean that we will experience an overall sense of satisfaction, but this is far better than ignoring our inner cravings and putting them off until it never actually happens. On the road to fulfill our dreams may put us out of our comfort zone but we have to learn to cement our direction just to make ourselves truly happy with how our lives have turned out.

We must realize what kind of life we want ultimately. Though it requires conscious effort, but eventually, we get to spend the rest of our lives without regret. The seeds have been sown deep in our hearts and minds, and it is our job to reap the benefits of what we have planted. By following what we truly desire, not only do we fulfill our dreams and be happier, but we are also uplifting the spirit of the entire humanity!

If someone says, “I am, therefore I exist,” they are showing a confidence that is not common among other beings. Even though it’s a simple phrase, it’s an affirmation that says a lot about the person saying it.
Why do people need affirmation anyway? What’s the point of affirmation?
Affirmation is actually a very powerful tool that shapes your subconscious. Have you ever heard that after you hear something so many times you start to believe it? This is true with the subconscious. This can work with negative or positive words and affirmations are only positive thoughts. After the subconscious believes affirmations, they change into positive actions and feelings. With affirmation, people become empowered and can accomplish more. People learn to believe in themselves with affirmation and change thoughts to actions.
Affirmation can be verbal, thoughts, or visual. It shows the preferred state of mind of someone. Affirmations can be powerful and anyone can use them. They can help people achieve their goals. How powerful the affirmation is depends on how strong it is.
Affirmations are positive thoughts or words a person makes about something. A person can affirm what he wants such as, “I have a wonderful life.” Affirmations can also help one’s physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Strong affirmations need to be stated in present tense rather than future tense. Saying, “I am a happy person” is more effective than saying, “I will be a happy person.” Affirmations always need to be positive and should never be negative. The whole purpose of affirmations are to be positive, to help you and to work with you.
Affirmations need to be simple, short, and to the point to be the most effective. Affirmations should not be very long. The point is to change your subconscious to be more positive and to give yourself a positive mindset. Short affirmations are much easier to say and remember than long ones. It can be something you repeat again and again everyday.
Affirmations need to be repeated in order to be effective. After you repeat something so many times, your subconscious takes notice and the person will act out and make decisions based on their affirmation. When creating an affirmation, a person should use words they believe in. Making strong affirmations can be very powerful and help the person realize their dreams.
However just making an affirmation and repeating it alone is not enough to make the affirmation into reality. A person should try to live their affirmation and do things that will help it become a reality. A person should feel the affirmation, apply it and believe it and then watch it become reality.
Affirmations are usually used to help the person using them, but they can also be used for another person. By affirming another person’s values or existence the person using the affirmations are improving the other person’s worth.

Since Creation, down the ages, men and women, when called upon by God, have stepped out in faith to do His bidding. They were the least likely individuals to accomplish God’s purpose, but they were men and women who had a faith that could move mountains! And their faith came from “hearing the Word of God”.

When God instructed Noah to build an ark of cypress wood, he went ahead and built the boat to God’s exact measurements. He was ridiculed by everybody for building a boat with no water anywhere around, but Noah had heard the Word of God, and he stepped out in faith to do His bidding, and thereby, he and his family found salvation when God unleashed the Deluge to destroy the wicked world (Gen).

Even though Abraham and his wife Sarah were well past child-bearing age, God fulfilled His promise to give them a son. God also promised Abraham that his son, Isaac, would give him descendants numbering as many as the stars in the sky. So, when God asked Abraham to offer his only beloved son to Him, on Mount Moriah, did Abraham hesitate? No, he stepped out in faith to do God’s bidding, because he had heard the Word of God, and he knew Yahweh would fulfill His promise (Gen).

Moses, who murdered an Egyptian, was hiding in Midian when God spoke to him from a burning bush, and commissioned him to bring out the Israelites from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, to “a land of milk and honey”. Moses stepped out in faith to do God’s bidding, and shepherded the Israelites to the threshold of the land God had promised them, because he had heard the Word of God assuring him, “I will be with you” (Ex 3: 7 – 12).

While the Israelite armies, led by King Saul, trembled and fled before the giant Philistine, Goliath, a young shepherd boy, David, stepped out in faith to do battle “in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1Sam 17: 45). As he told Goliath, “…for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands” (1Sam 17: 47). This shepherd boy, filled with the Spirit of the Lord, armed only with a sling and five pebbles, prevailed over the giant, fully-armed, fully-armored Philistine!

Faith always played a crucial part in the signs and wonders worked by our Lord Jesus Christ during His short ministry on this earth. From curing the leper, or the paralytic lowered through the roof, or the twelve years hemorrhaging woman who touched His cloak, it was their great faith that brought about their cure. From curing the Roman centurion’s servant, to bringing to life Jairus’ dead daughter, it was their great faith that helped to accomplish the extra-ordinary events.

If you want to have a faith that can move mountains, what you say is very important. Remember, when Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered away? Peter pointed out the fact to Jesus, who replied: “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you” (Mk 11: 22 – 23).

The key phrases here are “do not doubt in your heart”, “believe that what you say will come to pass” and “it will be done for you”. From this, it follows that you get what you think in your mind, believe in your heart and speak with your mouth. So, to have a faith that can move your mountains of failures, your mountains of sickness, your mountains of financial problems, or your mountains of relationship problems, you have to get out of the habit of letting your thoughts and words dwell on your health problems, weaknesses and failures.

Rom 10: 17 tells us: “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the Word of Christ.” So, fill your mind, heart and mouth with the Word of God.

Tackle your mountains of financial problems by memorizing and repeating often: “And my God will satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4: 19), and “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps 23: 1).

Tackle your mountains of failure by memorizing and repeating frequently: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).

Tackle your mountains of health problems by memorizing and repeating frequently: “By His wounds you have been healed” (1Pet 2: 24).

Remember, these are God’s words that you speak, and there is power in the Word of God. You will develop a faith to move your troublesome mountains as you hear the Word of God flowing from your lips.

If you are like the rest of us and getting a little older, even over 40 years of age, you may find that you are starting to forget things a little easier. Part of this is due to the fact we are  so busy these days, it’s hard to remember everything. Try some of  these  tips to help you remember things a little easier.

If you need to remember to bring something with you the next day either put it in your car now, if it’s not perishable, so you don’t even have to try to remember it, or put it in front of the front door so you will almost  trip over it on your way out. If you must leave it in the refrigerator, then put something in the fridge that you definitely won’t leave the house without, say your keys, you get the idea, or put a note on the door that you go out of. 

If you want to remember to look something up next time your PC is on, put the paper, article, coupon etc on the keyboard or write your note on a post it and put it on the keyboard, mouse, stick it on the on monitor.
If your spouse forgets to tell you things when you get home, have them write down just a word or two on a post it and put it where you set your keys, purse, wallet etc when you get home. This is also a useful trick for yourself, if you want to remember to do something when you get home from work, just leave a note where you will be sure to see it upon arrival.

If you want to remember to do something in the morning, just put a note on your bathroom mirror.

You can leave odd items that will spark your memory like leaving an empty cupcake pan in the middle of the table because you are suppose to bake something  the next day or two or maybe on the weekend, but you want to remember to buy the mix sometime this week.

You don’t always have to write yourself a note, you can use items already available to help you remember. For example, let’s say you need to remember to pick the next Netflix movie you want from your queue, just use the outside part of the return envelope that you would normally recycle and leave it on your keyboard or laptop. It’s larger and red so it stands out more that a post it.

If you are washing and drying work clothes and you want to avoid ironing them as much as possible, simply set the timer for the approximate time it will take to wash them, promptly put them in the dryer and reset the timer again so you can promptly take them out before the dryer has stopped.

These days you can set reminders on Outlook, at the office, on your cell phone, your iPhone or just your old fashioned digital watch if that’s easier. Keep an erasable board you can write large notes to all on the fridge.

If you are having serious trouble remembering things be sure to see your doctor for a professional opinion. If you are just busy and don’t have a great memory, then try some of these  tips here and you’ll be able to sleep better knowing it’s all taken care of.

Today, Christianity is faced with increasing religious indifference and secularism, moral degradation and sexual immorality, consumerism and greed for wealth, shameful public life and unethical scientific experimentation in the name of progress, as well as terrorism and violence in certain parts of the world.

To deal with this unprecedented situation, Christianity must find new and effective ways of evangelizing and proclaiming the Good News. It must evolve ways that are in keeping with today’s culture, ways that will meet the spiritual demands and find a response from today’s mankind.

As usual, the answers we seek are in the Holy Scriptures. Looking back to the beginning of Christianity, before Jesus was taken up to heaven, He gave the following mandate to His apostles, to be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit:

To “preach the Good News to everyone” (Mk 16: 15), to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28: 19-20), to “heal people and set them free” (Mk 16: 17-18) and to “be my witnesses to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8).

No doubt, this mandate was given to the apostles 2000 years ago, but it also holds true for every Christian today, because this privilege was passed on to us by the Lord’s own words: “Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (Jn 20: 21).

Further, the Lord has stamped a “Guaranteed To Succeed” watermark on this assignment He has set before us: “I tell you for certain that anyone who has faith in me will do the same things I am doing” (Jn 14: 12).

Yet, most Christians will balk at the mere suggestion to take on this awesome mission for the Lord. The majority will not feel qualified and gifted to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, others may even be reluctant to preach or to heal, but all Christians are in a position to be authentic witnesses to the Lord, as He was to His Father in heaven.

Today, Christians are called by the witness of their lives to take part, in an increasingly important way, in spreading the Good News to those that come in contact with them in their day to day lives.

Today, there is an urgent need for Christians to involve themselves in groups and movements to safeguard human rights and to promote truth and justice in public life, to reach out to the weaker sectors of society, to address the social evils of alcoholism, drug addiction and sexual child abuse, and to infuse all cultures with the values of the kingdom of God.

Today, it is the duty of the Christian laity to be at the forefront in seeking to apply the teaching of Jesus Christ to the ethical, moral and social questions which arise in their communities.

The task before every Christian, therefore, is to ensure that they are true witnesses to Jesus Christ, able to face the challenges of today’s world, not just with worldly wisdom and work ethos, but with their hearts renewed and strengthened by the two basic tenets of Christianity – love of God and love for their fellowmen.

If we truly love God, this immense love will radiate out to all those who come in contact with us – in our families, in our work places, and in our communities – making us true witnesses to the Lord.

Right from ancient times, faith has been the essential ingredient in getting God’s blessings showered upon His creation, mankind.

Adam and Eve were privileged to enjoy everything in the Garden of Eden except the fruit from the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. When Eve listened to the voice of Satan, it was the first failure of faith. She didn’t believe that what God had restricted was for her own good, because she didn’t have faith in His perfect love for her (Gen.).

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God’s approval (Heb 11: 1 – 2).

It was faith that made Noah heed God’s warnings about the things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved (Heb 11: 7).

Again, it was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God promised to give him, and it was faith that made Abraham able to become a father in old age. He trusted God to keep His promise that he would be the father of a multitude, and have descendants as many as the stars in the sky (Heb 11: 8 – 12).

It was faith that made the walls of Jericho fall down after the Israelites had marched round them for seven days! (Heb 11: 30).

The Old Testament is full of incidents that were brought about only because the Israelites believed in God’s Word and had faith that He would keep His promises to them.

The New Testament also abounds in miracles that were wrought by Jesus, because of the faith of the recipients, as well as the failures that resulted because of a lack of faith in Him.

Jesus healed the leper who came to Him in all humility and deep faith, saying, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out, touched him, and healed him (Matt 8: 1 – 3).

Jesus healed the servant of the Roman officer, who begged Him, “Just give the order, and my servant will get well.” Although a Gentile, the officer’s extra-ordinary faith moved Jesus to heal his servant (Matt 8: 5 – 8).

And Jesus healed the paralyzed man because of the faith of his friends, who lowered him down from the roof unto his presence (Matt 9: 1 – 8).

Again, Jesus brought back to life the daughter of the Jewish official, because of the man’s extra-ordinary faith, who knelt down humbly before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and place your hands on her, and she will live (Matt 9: 18 – 23).

But, see what happened when faith was lacking, even among Jesus’ own disciples.

When Jesus was in a boat on the lake with His disciples, a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. The frightened disciples woke the sleeping Jesus, begging Him to save them. Jesus calmed the storm, but rebuked them, saying, “How little faith you have!” (Matt 8: 23 – 27).

Jesus worked miracles everywhere He went, but in Nazareth, his own home town, He hardly succeeded because lack of faith and prejudiced opinions of the local people, made this impossible. They could not accept that anyone who had lived among them, especially a carpenter’s son, had any right to preach and work miracles (Mk 6: 1 – 6).

Again, when Jesus came walking over the lake waters to His disciples in the boat, Peter wanted to emulate the Lord. He got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus. But, when he took off his eyes from the Lord, he was frightened by the choppy waves and began to sink. Peter was rewarded with: “How little faith you have! Why did you doubt? (Matt 14: 22 – 31).

Faith is still the only ingredient that can make a difference in our lives. So, how do we get faith? There’s only one way. Holy Scripture says that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the preached Word of God” (Rom 10: 17). As we allow God to speak to us through His Word, we’ll not only get faith, but our faith will keep on increasing.

God has many wonderful things to give us. But, all His gifts are gifts of grace, and we need faith to receive those gifts.

To have faith in God means to trust Him, and to believe what He has said in His Word, in spite of what our feelings may tell us, or what other people may tell us. It’s as simple as that.

Much that is said about opportunity suggests that it is something that comes to you arbitrarily: “Opportunities like this don’t come every day” or “Opportunity only knocks once”.

But if we see opportunity as something that only comes by chance, are we not leaving ourselves powerless? In this scenario we have no control in what comes to us.

If you have a dream, or a goal, you have to create your own opportunities and the way to do this is by focusing, believing, being and thinking.

We all get into a negative state of thinking from time to time. This can manifest in many different ways: anxiety, anger, resentment, bitterness, etc, etc. When we operate within these states we are closing the door to opportunity, and we cannot create constructive ideas that will move us forward.

However, when we operate from a positive state of mind, e.g. peaceful, loving, trusting, relaxed etc, we are more open to what is around us. It is from these states of mind that we can create new ideas and find new opportunities.

If you think that it’s too difficult to switch from one state of mind to another, then you are again leaving yourself powerless. Your emotions are controlling you instead of you being in control.

Once you realize that who you are being at any one time is completely within your control, you are then putting yourself at the control center of your own life. Once you are aware of your negative state, it is entirely your choice to switch to a more constructive one.

The way it works is this: What you focus on has a tendency to become a reality. When you are thinking negatively, your focus is bound to be negative. The first step in changing your state is to be aware of your thoughts. If you are feeling low, then it’s likely that your thoughts are negative.

Once you have noticed this, it is then a short step to creating new, positive thoughts.

Creating positive thoughts is just a case of changing your view of any given reality. For example, most of us know the feeling of suddenly getting a huge bill we weren’t expecting, or finding we’re overdrawn. Negative thoughts tend to crowd in at these times, making us feel powerless and depressed.

But instead of such thoughts as “I just never seem to have any money” or “Why does this always happen to me?”, both of which tend to keep us in the same situation, you can switch to something like: “The money I need is always available for me” or “My life is rich with opportunities” – or whatever works for you.

Once you start switching your thinking like this, you may notice an increase in energy and an increase in your ability to create solutions and find the opportunities that are all around you.