You Are A Masterpiece..Value? Priceless

I was listening to a Wayne Dyer seminar and I was struck by the question "What would it be like to live your life as a masterpiece?".

Picasso immediately sprang into my mind.  In 2015 his painting 'Women of Algiers'  broke records for the most expensive artwork sold at auction, selling for a stunning one hundred and seventy nine million dollars ($179m) amid high demand from collectors.

Have you ever looked at a Picasso?  I'm sure the pundits will carry on at length about his brilliant use of layers of colour, the intricacy of his brush strokes and so on but to the uneducated eye a Picasso looks like the crayon drawings of a demented second grader.

I did a review of the most expensive art on earth and the familiar names showed up, Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol et al.  Of the twenty most expensive pieces only one to me looked like an attractive demonstration of artistic talent, yet these paintings are solid investments to the people who are most adept at determining worth.

I saw a lesson in this.  So often we look at all our flaws, we can point out every brushstroke which went awry, we magnify every smudge and every shadow.  We fail to see that we are priceless just as we are.

Do you know that you are a masterpiece?

You Are The Breath Of God

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2 : 7

I love the imagery in this scripture.  Do you know that when you die your body weighs exactly what it did when you were alive?  That life energy that makes you You has no mass to it, it has no form, no substance, yet when that life force is gone it is starkly obvious.

We are not our physical forms.  We are not black or white, male or female.  We are not fat or slim, healthy or sick.  We are energy.  Can you find fault with the wind?  Can you criticize it "the wind is looking fat today".  Can you berate the wind and put it down and tell it that it is not good enough?

Yet you do all these things to yourself,  the very breath of God.

 You Are The Creation Of Perfect Love

"God created you in perfect love that is changeless and eternal" - Dr Wayne Dyer

A friend recently commented that she felt like a waste of life, simply using up other people's air.  I understand her pain, she struggles under the burden of chronic illness.  Another friend struggles with chronic depression, she sees herself as useless, worthless, a cruel cosmic mistake.

God makes no mistakes.  There are no wasted lives.  Each of us is a creation of perfect love and each one of us is perfectly loved. 

You Are Perfect Just As You Are

"I exist as I am, that is enough " - Walt Witman

I read recently the story of the broken water pot.  An elderly woman carried water from a stream in two water pots suspended on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.  One pot was whole the other was broken.  Every day she would arrive home with one full pot and one half empty. Finally the woman was asked why she did not replace the broken pot.  The woman pointed out that she had planted seeds on the side of the road and the broken pot watered these seeds each day as she walked home.  From these seeds she was able to harvest beautiful flowers for her table.

Each of us has our divinely appointed role and many of us are playing our roles out even now without knowing it.  The next time you are tempted to see yourself as broken remember the broken water pot.   You are never without value because you impact the world around you by simply being and a loving master can use your imperfections to make a beautiful garden.

You Are More Than You Are

Dr Dyer references the story of Michelangelo's 'David'.  Michelangelo said that David always existed within the slab of marble, he just chipped away the excess to set David free.

Maybe you look at yourself right now and you see an unformed, undefined slab.  If you look closely you can see the beauty in the natural stone but for most the beauty becomes apparent only as the sculptor starts to chip away at it, bringing forth forms which our human minds can see and appreciate.

The David sculpture is particularly famous for the attention to detail which Michelangelo brought to his masterpiece.  I am struck by the exquisite skill with which he executed every hair, the textures of skin, even finger and toenails.  He is commended for his perfect mastery of human proportion and then tweaking reality to bring forth the image of a perfectly beautiful man.

God is the master sculptor and the hard knocks which we feel in our lives are simply strokes of the master's chisel.  The refining process can be painful, so much so that we sometimes cannot see beyond our pain.  

Perhaps it would help if we were to accept each time we feel the master's strokes that there is a David inside each one of us and all we go through now is simply the process of creation of a masterpiece.  God is simply chipping away the excess to set you free.

You Are Priceless

“You are uniquely and wonderfully made.  You are just right just as you are.  There is none greater or more worthy than you.  You are child of God and not only are you kings and queens  by inheritance,  you are specially gifted and talented”  – Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind

What is the price of a human soul?  Who can put a value on who you are?  Is your value defined by your job, your house, your kids, your marriage?  Is your value defined by the opinions of others?  Do you need to achieve success, or wealth or any other earthly recognition to be valuable in your own mind? 

In my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Life I speak about my own struggle to recognize my own worth in the face of a lifetime of negative conditioning combined with living with a debilitating illness.  But I am blessed with the innate knowledge that I was born special and there was nothing that I needed to do, to achieve or to be in order to deserve that.  I am special, I am worthy, I am blessed, I am valuable simply because I am.  That is grace,  and grace is available to every one of us.

Your worth has no price tag.  You are uniquely and wonderfully made and none is more worthy than you.  You are more valuable than any Picasso, because you are priceless.

Inspiration Link

* I am in no way affiliated with the sites that I link to here.  The messages presented are in alignment with the thoughts presented in this post and they have inspired me, I hope that they will inspire you too.

The Awakened Life - Dr Wayne Dyer 

How to get Unlimited Universal Energy, Love & Happiness - Dr Wayne Dyer

Author’s note

This post is inspired by Chapter One  of my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind – Know Yourself.   I hope to persuade you that there is no circumstance in your life that can ever make you unworthy of the prosperity and  happiness that you desire.  You can claim your worth by simply changing your mind.   

It would be my pleasure to share a free gift with you, if you would like to receive an excerpt from my book just click here  and mention today's topic.

If you liked this post I would be so appreciative if you would spread the word and like me on Facebook.  I would be happy to email this and future posts directly to you, if you're interested please subscribe to my mailing list. You may also follow me on Twitter #ProsperityIsMind.

I would also be delighted to hear your feedback so do not hesitate to leave a comment if you so desire and be sure to come back for more as I walk you through more of the lessons and exercises from my book.

I bless you, I bless your journey and I am so happy to be a part of it.  May this be the year that you begin truly appreciate your own worth.

The Forgiveness Prayer

"For most of my life I carried around a crippling burden of rage, frustration, resentment, judgement, distrust and negative expectations of others.  Over and over again life threw at me circumstances and people who aroused these feelings within me.  As I began to awaken I quickly realized that if I really wanted to live, I first needed to forgive. " - EmbracingProsperity By Changing Your Mind

People are hurting.  They hide their pain behind a polite smile, or comical cutting up.  They may be aloof, detached, arrogant or suspicious.  They may be critical, judgmental or aggressive.  They may simply wall their emotions off behind a blank stare.

Pain expresses itself in addiction, in promiscuity and infidelity, in food dependencies and body image issues.  Unresolved emotional pain colours every aspect of our day to day existence expressing in our relationships at work, at home, among friends and family and in the world. 

And most damaging is the pain that is not consciously expressed, the pain that we internalize which manifests itself in depression, anxiety and a wide variety of mental and physical ailments.

What if the point is not to hide your pain, not to deflect or ignore it but rather to be free of it?  What if your freedom lies in something as simple as forgiveness?

The Forgiveness Prayer

"Have you heard of the Hawaiian therapist who cured an entire ward of criminally insane patients, without ever meeting any of them or spending a moment in the same room? It’s not a joke. The therapist was Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. He reviewed each of the patients’ files, and then he healed them by healing himself. The amazing results seem like a miracle, but then miracles do happen when you use Ho’oponopono" - laughteronlineuniversity.com

I came across Ho’oponopono a year ago and it struck a chord with me.  I think one of the biggest challenges with forgiveness is waiting for the other person to not only apologize, but to do so in a way which seems authentic and heartfelt to us.  We want them to take responsibility and make amends.  Most of the time they won't.

"Total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life – simply because it is in your life – is your responsibility." - Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len

Ho’oponopono is based on the principle of accepting total responsibility for everything that happens in your lives.  If we start to think of ourselves as the owner of a situation and not the victim  then we lose the sense of powerlessness and we take control of the situation.  We also relieve ourselves of the burden of waiting and carrying the negative emotions as we do so.

Ho’oponopono allows us to set ourselves free, regardless of what the other party does.

I'm Sorry

"When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it. We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is, let its horror shock and stun and enrage us, and only then do we forgive it." — Lewis B. Smedes

Have you ever considered the role you play in any situation in which you are wounded?  Yes there are situations in which you are simply an innocent bystander who gets carried away in a situation which is totally outside of your control but many times when we think we are the innocent victim of a situation, we are actually an active contributor.

What if instead of blaming the other person for our unpleasant experience, we simply take responsibility and say I'm sorry?

I've tried this in situations where I am convinced that I am absolutely 100%, unequivocally and and unquestionably right!  I've found that allowing myself to see the situation from the other person's perspective has significantly impacted the way I look at and feel about the situation.

Even if you can't imagine how you could possibly have any responsibility in the situation, try it.  Just say "I am sorry that I have done XXX to contribute to this situation" and genuinely mean it.

Please Forgive Me

"Because of forgiveness, we are not condemned endlessly to replay the conflicts of the past and that is why forgiveness is logically and psychologically related to hope."—Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Do you have the grace to ask the person who wronged you to forgive you?  Can you genuinely feel remorse and a heartfelt need to make things right?   Are you able to step out of your own pain long enough to say 'forgive me'?

I have developed a fair bit of tolerance over the years for the shortcomings of others. I may still get angry but I am usually able to take responsibility and move to a place of making amends fairly quickly.  It has enabled me to develop peace in my heart with respect to my expectations of other people.  I am better able to simply accept them as they are, taking the good, the bad and the ugly as part of the package and choosing to love them anyway.

"I am sorry for making you feel unworthy, please forgive me for my harsh words..."

I Love You

“If forgiveness is an expression of love..forgiveness does not depend upon the apology of the other.” - Anantanand Rambachan

I love you.  I've always loved people, but now I am learning to be more loving toward people.  I'm learning to say "You have let me down and I'm disappointed, but I love you".

I love you is powerful concept and applicable to all situations.  I'm learning to love the business associates who short-change me and the people who take me for granted or take advantage.  I'm learning to love the bullies.  I'm learning to love the inept souls who can't seem to do anything right.  I'm learning to say it and I'm learning to live it.

Sometimes all you need to diffuse a tough situation is "I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, I love you...".  If you just keep repeating these words to yourself you may be surprised to see the situation resolve itself with no further action on your part.

Thank You

"Suffice it to say that whenever you want to improve anything in your life, there's only one place to look: inside you.  And when you look, do it with love."- Dr Joe Vitale

"I thank you for trying", "I thank you for being you", "I thank you, just because...".  I believe gratitude is an important part of forgiveness because when we are upset with someone we tend to forget everything that is good about them.  In that moment when you are most grieved, if you can manage to think of all the things about the other person that you can be grateful for, then you may find that your gratitude outweighs your hurt.

Forgiving Yourself

"Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world." - Dr Joe Vitale

Forgiving is ultimately about loving.  It is about loving others and it is about loving ourselves also.  There are days when my body is in pain and I can find no peace, then I place my hand on wherever's hurting and I say "I love you my beautiful body, I am so sorry for whatever I have done to contribute to your pain, please forgive me.  Thank you for working so hard to heal".  It is a very comforting ritual.

There are days you need to do Ho’oponopono on your heart to release all the hurt you're carrying around and to free yourself from guilt, shame, resentment and anger.  There are days you need to do Ho’oponopono on your mind to release negative expectations, distrust and insecurity.

Try it.  Try it with your spouse, with your children, with friends.  Try it with the guy who cut you off in traffic, or the a!!hole at work.  The power of this process has to be experienced to be understood.

"Forgiveness has to be repeated, the bible says seventy times seven." - Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind

Don't forget that hearts and minds don't heal overnight.  You may not be able to change a situation right away but what you can do is take responsibility for you.  Do your Ho’oponopono practice daily, be diligent and remain open.  You just may be pleasantly surprised by the result.

Inspiration Links

* I am in no way affiliated with the sites that I link to here.  The messages presented are in alignment with the thoughts presented in this post and they have inspired me, I hope that they will inspire you too.

Ho'oponopono : Dr Joe Vitale 

Consider Forgiveness: Sin, Sinner and Apology - Fetzer Institute

Author’s note

This post is inspired by Chapter Four of my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind – Forgive.  I hope to persuade you that forgiveness is the most important step you can take to change your life by changing your mind.  

It would be my pleasure to share a free gift with you, if you would like to receive an excerpt from my book just click here  and mention today's topic.

If you liked this post I would be so appreciative if you would spread the word and like me on Facebook.  I would be happy to email this and future posts directly to you, if you're interested please subscribe to my mailing list. You may also follow me on Twitter #ProsperityIsMind.

I would also be delighted to hear your feedback so do not hesitate to leave a comment if you so desire and be sure to come back for more as I walk you through more of the lessons and exercises from my book.

I bless you, I bless your journey and I am so happy to be a part of it.  May this be the year that you begin to shed your baggage and reclaim your life.

I Hate You But I Love You

"I hate you , then I love you;  Then I love you, then I hate you;

Then I love you more,

For whatever you do

I never, never, never want to be in love with anyone but you." - Celine Dion, Luciano Pavarotti

I was surprised to read a statistic that 44% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18.  This means that 56% percent are adults.  

Women are sexually abused by their boyfriends and husbands (yes, husbands), by trusted friends, business associates and family members.  As girls we are abused by our grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, neighbors, caregivers and family friends.  I read also that 93% of abuse victims know their abuser.

It would be nice if sexual predators were strangers, disfigured monsters that we could spit at from a distance and hate without reservation.  But what do you do when you love the person who hurt you?

Heartbreak & Betrayal

They broke your trust.  They were supposed to look out for you, to protect you, to keep you safe.  They,  above all people were supposed to respect you and care about you.  They were not supposed to destroy you.

There are many heartbreaks in life, but none so profound as the breaking of a little girl's heart when the man who is supposed to protect her, hurts her. 

Most young girls never heal, never learn to trust again.  Instead they spend their lives chasing the sense of security that they lost and they just keep running into heartbreak and betrayal over and over again because deep down they are really just chasing their abuser.

And it doesn't really matter how old a woman is when she is sexually abused.  The very act strips away her womanhood and returns her to that place where she is a scared, powerless little girl sniveling in a corner, trying to understand that which is incomprehensible.

Healing is about putting your heart back together, it may always carry some scars but you will learn to honor your scars and to stand tall in the lessons you've learnt.  Healing is about learning to trust again and learning to love again.

Guilt

You caused this.  You caused it by being provocative (even when you were five years old).  You caused it by being rebellious.  You caused it by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  You did the wrong thing, you said the wrong thing, you wore the wrong thing.    You caused it..well, just because you did!

How cruel the voices which we carry in our own heads and how viciously they flay us.  How unremitting they can be, torturing us day after day, year after year and we can't get away from them.  Drugs, alcohol, sex, food, work, money, church .. nothing helps,  you can't run away from the voices in your head!

Your abuser is the one who made the wrong decision not you.  It really doesn't matter if you were dancing on his lap half naked stoned out of your mind.  He took the decision to take advantage of the situation, whatever the situation was.

The burden of guilt is not yours to carry.  Let it go.  It is done, you've beaten yourself up enough, it's time to start healing.  As Jesus said to the harlot "woman, thy sins are forgiven".

"In truth, Guilt’s strength lies not in the failure of others to grant us forgiveness, but in our failure to forgive ourselves.” - Kelseyleigh Reber

 Shame

You still want him to love you.  You still want to run to him and hug him, maybe even snuggle up on his lap and hear his heart beating.  You want him to tell you that he loves you, you want him to show you.

And you're ashamed because you shouldn't want these things from him.  Maybe you start thinking that this is why it happened in the first place, because something inside of you is so broken, you brought this onto yourself.

Healing is about letting go of the shame.  It is about accepting what happened, accepting what you could or should have done differently, accepting your own helplessness and absolving yourself of the shame. Jesus said when challenged for his forgiveness of the harlot "I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much"

Hold onto your ability to love.  Above all love yourself, love the person who abused you and allow yourself to love and trust others again.

Confusion

Do you ever look at your abuser and think 'but he's such a nice guy'? 

He's outgoing, he's handsome he has people in the palm of his hand.  Or he may be shy and sensitive, the tortured poet.  He may be hard-working and dedicated and kind.  He may be a policeman, a teacher, a preacher even a priest.  He may be so many noble and admirable things.  You look at him and you see a beautiful soul and you love him.

How do you balance the monster against the man.  How do you hate the monster and love the man?

Acceptance

You can't get from him what he never had to give.  I believe all abusers are broken themselves.  They do not have within themselves that wholeness, that ability to love and be loved unselfishly.  The abuse is their way of running from their own demons, a salve to the wounds which they are still struggling to heal.

In our minds our abusers are so big and powerful.  They hurt us so much, they crippled our lives in so many ways, in our minds they are giants, we can't imagine that they too are somehow vulnerable.

Truth is abusers are only human.  They are simply fragile, flawed human beings who chose the wrong way to deal with their own pain.  They have their own battles to fight.  And they will never understand the enormity of what they have done to you.

When we begin to accept our abuser's humanity, we begin to heal.

Forgiveness

"The soul that is unable to forgive is sentenced to an endless purgatory where time stands still and it is forced to relive its pain over and over onto eternity." - Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind

In my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind I have an entire chapter devoted to forgiveness.  I believe the single most important thing an abused woman can do to help her own healing is to forgive.

                                                        - nitesoul.wordpress.com

“When you initially forgive, it is like letting go of a hot iron. There is initial pain and the scars will show, but you can start living again.” - Stephen Richards

First and foremost you must forgive yourself.  It doesn't matter how many ways you can find for blaming yourself, it doesn't matter how many things you have told yourself, or other people have told you, you can forgive yourself.  You must forgive yourself.

                                                       - nitesoul.wordpress.com

Then you must forgive your abuser.

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” - Catherine Ponder

The anger, the frustration, the resentment, the fear which we hold inside kills us slowly.  It poisons our hearts, our minds, our spirits and our bodies.  It leads to depression, heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.  It is like a slow acting acid that eats away at our very souls. 

To neutralize it's effects we must forgive the one that hurt us.  There is no other way. I can't promise that it will be easy.  I can't promise you'll do it one time and be done with it.  But I can promise that it will set you free.

"Forgiveness is opening the door to set someone free, and realizing that you were the prisoner" 

- Max Lucado

Finally, you must forgive everyone who was involved or who knew about the situation and failed to make it right.  There are so many dynamics at play here, so many reasons why so many failed to do what you needed them to do.  Like your abuser, they too are human.  They make mistakes, they fail us.  It is pointless to hold grudges, if you are to be free you must freely forgive and release everyone involved.

"I fully and freely forgive everyone for everything, real or imagined, known or unknown, in all dimensions of time and space and I go free..." - Catherine Ponder

If you work at it you will one day get to the place where you can look at your abuser and say "I love you" and the "I hate you" will be irrelevant.  When that day comes you will know that you are truly free.

Inspiration Link

* I am in no way affiliated with the sites that I link to here.  The messages presented are in alignment with the thoughts presented in this post and they have inspired me, I hope that they will inspire you too.

Forgiveness And LoveConquers All  - Stephen Richards : 

Author’s note

This is the second of a two-part post on healing from sexual abuse.  Part One is "When The Pain Runs Too Deep To Heal".

The post is inspired by Section 2 of my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind – Release The Negative.  I dedicate several chapters to the issue of healing because it is the most important part of changing your mind.  I also dedicate an entire chapter to the subject of forgiveness and walk you through activities and exercises to help you with the process.

I hope to persuade you that your pain can heal and forgiveness is the most important step in your journey to healing. 

It would be my pleasure to share a free gift with you, if you would like to receive an excerpt from my book just click here  and mention the topic 'Forgiveness'.

If you liked this post I would be so appreciative if you would spread the word, Share and like me on Facebook.  I would be so happy to email this and future posts directly to you, if you're interested please subscribe to my mailing list. You may also follow me on Twitter #ProsperityIsMind.

I would also be delighted to hear your feedback so do not hesitate to leave a comment if you so desire and be sure to come back for more as I walk you through some of the lessons and exercises from my book.

I bless you, I bless your journey and I am so happy to be a part of it.  

When The Pain Runs Too Deep To Heal

Cause I'm a warrior

Now I've got thicker skin

I'm a warrior

I'm stronger than I've ever been

And my armor, is made of steel, you cant get in

I'm a warrior

And you can never hurt me again

- Warrior : Demi Lovato

As I was working, the song 'Warrior' by Demi Lovato was playing on my computer.  The words immediately took me back to a familiar place, and I knew I had to write, for all the women who have been victims of abuse of any kind, but in particular the many, too many,  who deal with the stigma of sexual abuse...

This Is A Story That I Have Never Told

This is a story that I've never told

I gotta get this off my chest to let it go

I don't know that there is any atrocity which can be committed against a woman that cuts more deeply than sexual abuse.   We're taught not to talk about it.  Many are taught that this is normal, it is our lot as women to be used and abused by the men in our lives. 

We are taught to be ashamed of it and to somehow hold ourselves responsible. We learn that we are weak, powerless, unlovable and unworthy.  We reach out for help and support and we find out that our sisters and mothers can be even more cruel than our abusers.

We are labeled, blamed and shamed, so we keep quiet.  We pick up the pieces as best we can and we try to move forward, but the truth is most of us never do, we just spend our lives going in circles, reliving the pain over and over again.

Healing begins with talking about it.  You have to get it off your chest to let it go.  But talking is just the beginning.

All The Pain And The Truth I Wear Like A Battle Wound

All the pain and the truth

I wear like a battle wound

So ashamed so confused, I was broken and bruised

I have often wondered at the cosmic irony of the fact that people who are abused tend to attract partners who abuse them.  So many wounded women fall for their prince charming who they think are the opposite to their abusers, only to find out that they went out and with unerring accuracy found the man who would cause them to relive their pain over and over.  It hardly seems fair.

I often hear males say they are not interested in getting involved with a woman who has 'baggage'.  I keep thinking, what is an abused woman to do?  Likely she had no control over her abuse, she was a victim and yet she's forced to pay for it for the rest of her life.

But I can understand the male perspective.  Wounded women wear their scars like a coat of armor.  This armor though is brittle, it cracks easily and when it does the woman within becomes a she-devil.  

She may be aggressive and temperamental, jealous, possessive and violent. She might be controlling, obsessive or prone to addiction.  She might be moody and unpredictable taking everyone around her with her into spirals of anxiety and depression.  She may have difficulty enjoying intimacy with her partner or even in forming intimate relationships at all.

Truth is, a wounded woman is only tolerable to a man who himself has issues.

There's A Part Of Me I Can't Get Back

There's a part of me I can't get back

A little girl grew up too fast

All it took was once, I'll never be the same

I wonder if a woman ever truly heals from sexual abuse.  Many rise above it, they strap on their armor and take the world by storm, they build businesses, they have families, they make homes.  But in the stillness of the night when they are alone with their demons, the wounds reopen and they bleed.

When a woman is sexually abused she loses a piece of herself.  Religion doesn't get it back.  Success, money, beauty even love does not get it back. Nobody can ever give it back, it's gone, forever.  

Our little girls are forced to grow up too fast and they never grow up at all.  We go on, but a part of our spirit remains trapped in that place, scared, hurt, betrayed, confused, lost.

I Need To Take Back The Light Inside You Stole

I need to take back the light inside you stole

You're a criminal

And you steal like you're a pro

When that little piece of a woman dies all too often her light goes with it.  She loses her sense of self, she struggles to find her direction, her place, her value.  
How many young girls try to find themselves in the back seats, under the bleachers and in the beds of too many men to count.  How many grope around in darkness trying only to escape their pain through drugs, self abuse and accepting abuse form others.  How many spend their lives trying to be perfect on the outside because on the inside they feel so irreparably broken?

To my abused sisters you need to take back the light they stole, it may be buried but it's not out.  As you learn to peel back the layers of your pain and to heal, you'll find your light glowing hopefully, just waiting for the opportunity to shine forth strong and true.

Out Of The Ashes,  I'm Burning Like A Fire

Out of the ashes,I'm burning like a fire

You can save your apologies, you're nothing but a liar

As women we go through so much, we take so much and still we keep going. That is because the spirit of woman is indomitable.

We were built to be resilient, we were made strong.  So often abuse leaves us feeling absolutely powerless and this is something we believe for the rest of our lives, but it's not true!

We are powerful enough to have had our bodies violated, our hearts broken and our spirits destroyed and the flames just made us tougher.

Out of your ashes, let your flame ignite and let it burn bright enough to light a path for those who come behind you.  Let its heat be felt.  Transmute your pain.  Take the energy, the passion and the rage and direct it towards creating an environment in which what happened to you does not happen to your daughters, to your neighbors, to your friends.

Out of your ashes, burn baby, burn!

Now I'm Taking Back My Life Today

Now I'm taking back my life today

Nothing left that you can say

Cause you were never gonna take the blame anyway

Your abuser cannot give your life back to you.  They can never take back what they have done.  They may say sorry and it may help, but likely it won't.  Most abusers will never comprehend  the enormity of the grievous sin which they committed against you.  

They may never understand the destruction of your heart and mind and spirit that they caused.  They may never comprehend the many ways in which the cascade they started will keep bringing pain into your life over and over again.

They may watch you fall apart and judge you for becoming who they made you into and they won't understand your pain.  They don't get it, they can't.  Most will never be able to see past their excuses and rationalizations and most will never admit to themselves or to you that they have committed a grievous and unforgettable crime.

So we must learn to take our lives back, no apologies needed. Whatever they think, feel or have to say is irrelevant.  Get up, pick up the pieces, put them together and tape up the seams, then start moving forward.  Rise above it, don't spend the rest of your life trapped in it.

I'm A Survivor

I've got shame, I've got scars

That I'lll never show

I'm a survivor

In more ways than you know

You are a survivor.  Someone took from you one of your most precious gifts and it hurt.  It cut deep and it left behind nasty scars that refuse to heal up completely no matter how hard you try. 

Maybe you're not standing on a very firm foundation right now.  Maybe your life is a mess and your head is a mess and your heart is a mess and you know it.  But you're still standing.  You are stronger than you know.  You are a warrior.

I'm A Warrior, You Can Never Hurt Me Again

And my armor, is made of steel, you cant get in

I'm a warrior

And you can never hurt me again

It's time to stand up and proclaim, "I'm a warrior, now I've got thicker skin, I'm a warrior,  I'm stronger than I've ever been and my armor is made of steel, you can't get in, I'm a warrior!  You can never hurt me again".

The person who hurt you did not hurt you back then.. he hurt you yesterday, he's hurting you today, he will hurt you tomorrow, and the next tomorrow and the next.. unless you take away his power to hurt you again.

Taking away his power is twofold.  

First you have to get out!  If you are still in an abusive situation you need to get out.  You may not be able to do it today, but you can start thinking about it.  You can start planning, getting information, making contacts.  You can start avoiding, or diffusing.  You can start preparing.  Your most important act in this moment is to determine that you will not allow your abuser to hurt you again.  If you remain true to this determination, the doors you need will open, believe in it, prepare and be ready to move when the time is right.

Sometimes getting out is the easy part.  Then you have to get him out of your head, out of your body, out of your heart, out of your spirit.  We carry our wounds in every dimension of our being and purging ourselves is often a long and painful process.  Know though that it can be done.  Never give up on your healing, be relentless in pursuing your health, wholeness and happiness.  

The first step toward healing is forgiveness.  It is the hardest thing to do when you have been so grievously wounded but you will never, ever be free until you master forgiveness.  You must forgive your abuser, you must forgive those who knew and did nothing, you must forgive yourself.

In my book 'Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind' I have several chapters dedicated to releasing and purging your pain.  It speaks about forgiveness, about facing your pain, about handling it and about releasing it.  
Read, seek professional intervention, talk, pray, weep!  Process your pain.  Don't run from it, don't cover it over, don't deprecate it or discount it.  Honor it and honor yourself, and learn to let it go.  Then go one step forward by helping someone else.

Remember, you are strong.  You are unbreakable. You are a warrior!

Inspiration Link 

* I am in no way affiliated with the sites that I link to here.  The messages presented are in alignment with the thoughts presented in this post and they have inspired me, I hope that they will inspire you too.

Demi Lovato - Warrior

"If you’re an adult who experienced sexual abuse as a child, know that you are not alone. In the U.S., 44% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18, and 93% know the perpetrator. Many perpetrators of sexual abuse are in a position of trust or responsible for the child’s care, such as a family member, teacher, clergy member, or coach." - RAINN

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network - Adult Survivors

Author’s Note

This post is inspired by Section 2 of my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind – Release The Negative.  I dedicate several chapters to the issue of healing because it is the most important part of changing your mind.   I hope to persuade you that your pain can heal, you can be free, you can be happy, you can prosper no matter what has happened in your past.

In the book I walk you through activities and exercises to help you through the process of coming to terms with and releasing your pain.  I also point you to professional interventions which may also be helpful.

It would be my pleasure to share a free gift with you, if you would like to receive an excerpt from my book just click here  with subject "I want a free gift", be sure to include today's topic.

If you liked this post I would be so appreciative if you would spread the word and like me on Facebook.  I would be so happy to email this and future posts directly to you, if you're interested please subscribe to my mailing list. You may also follow me on Twitter  #ProsperityIsMind.

I would also be delighted to hear your feedback so do not hesitate to leave a comment if you so desire and be sure to come back for more as I walk you through some of the lessons and exercises from my book.

I bless you, I bless your journey and I am so happy to be a part of it.  May this be the year that you begin to find healing.