The Gift of Choice and a Free Manifesto Poster

Today's quote from the Universe by incomparable asset-based thinker Mike Dooley is a 
recipe for a dream life. 

Live your dreams now, _______________________ (insert your name here) , to any degree that you can. 
With every purchase. 
Every decision. 
Every hello and goodbye. 
Every assignment. 
Every conversation. 
Every meal. 
Every morning, afternoon, and evening. 
And never, ever, ever look back. 
Reframe every thought, word, and deed from the perspective of the person you've always dreamed you'd be, 
as if your life was already as you've always dreamed it would be. 
Die to yesterday's illusions and be reborn to the truth of your vision. 

And let's just see if you can handle the torrent of treasures I send your way. 

Your greatest admirer, biggest fan, and truest friend - 
    The Universe

_______________________ (insert your name here)  thrilling you is what I live for!

Today's treasure is the gift of choice. 

Being aware of the people, places and things that make us smile and feel energized is an internal gift that is often undervalued. This priceless internal barometer can move us toward health  beauty, peace and happiness, or depression and despair. The choices we make every day create the quality of our lives. 

Years ago I realized that my essence - our essence - is our energy - our shakti. Our choices determine whether our energy will increase or decrease. At that time in my life, more things were draining my energy than increasing it. Deficit based thinking was the framework of my world. I was mired in working with drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction, adjudicated youth, the homeless, and people in prison. Working to repair broken people seemed much more important than the work I had done previously to build asset based foundations through my job as a training director for the Girl Scouts. 

It was spilling into my personal life as well. I spent more time watching television than exercising, moving, and creating and living my own life. I was mired in media manipulation - concerned about aspects of the news and politics that were actually smoke and mirrors. The real issues weren't even on my radar screen. Media manipulation from big businesses making money through our ignorance and emotional response keeps us politically divided, angry and malcontent. 

I even began to study and train courses on how media is used to lead us to self defeating choices. I did lectures on the techniques used to make us feel bad about ourselves in order to sell us everything from bottled water, purses and politics. My mind was becoming murky and contaminated because I was focusing on the ugly instead of the oasis of beauty in my life.

Poor choices began to have an impact on my body image, and my health. I was eating for entertainment or to relieve stress instead of using food as fuel. Now I silently consider, "What is the value in what I'm eating? is there protein, calcium? Are their vitamins and minerals?"

Choosing beauty will often lead us to vitamins and nutrients. Natural vibrant colors - ruby red strawberries and tomatoes, deep orange apricot, vibrant greens in endive, basil, spinach and kale. A rainbow on your plate will ensure an abundance nutrients!

Conversely, the three white powders - sugar, salt and flour - are best avoided. Not only are they empty calories, but they can have a damaging impact on our health. I recently watched a lovely woman eat a huge lumpy biscuit covered in butter.  All I could think of was clogged arteries and cellulite!  

Fortunately, I returned to my focus on some of the lessons I had embraced in Girl Scouting. I was introduced to the Search Institute, Dr. Peter Benson's 40 Assets for Youth, and the Healthy Communities movement, and was hired as the director of Capital Region Health Futures. I began to focus on assets instead of deficits. Every aspect of my life changed. I created a manifesto, a work in progress, to post and remind me of the power of my choices and the impact they have on the quality of life. 

Recently there have been some frustrations in my life and the lives of dear friends and family. Having a manifesto, or the recipe for our dreams as Mike Dooley recommends, can keep us focused on blessings and assets, even more needed during challenging times. You are a miracle and deserve the very best! Wishing you beautiful, healthy choices!

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