A lot of the time we find it easier to forgive others, than to forgive ourselves. We let other people’s mistakes slide, while we expect superhuman efforts from ourselves. What the reality is though, is that it’s ok to make mistakes, it’s fine to be flawed, it’s what makes us all living breathing human beings. We’re all just trying to do our best, and that’s always good enough.

When you do something that you’re not proud of, or if you fail to live up to your moral code in a certain situation, learn from it and move on. Forgiving yourself does not mean that you’re accepting that behaviour as your own, or that you condone what you did. All it means is that you are accepting that you are a human. We are not meant to be perfect and that’s the beauty of us. Holding onto something, and trying to punish yourself continually is not the answer. If you forgive yourself then you can move forward, you can grow from the experience and use it to positively fuel your future actions. Forgive yourself and you will be able to love yourself again. And when you love yourself, for all your positive and negative traits, then you can understand yourself much better. If you know that you re-act a certain way to a particular situation, then when it arises, you will be able to see the warning signs and control yourself.

As hard as it might be to accept, forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength. If you don’t forgive yourself, then whatever you did, that part of you that you are ashamed of, will own you and your actions. But by accepting your own inner apology, by rising above yourself and saying you forgive your actions; you are taking back your strength and your life.

It’s not just adults either. I am sure that you can remember your teacher in school giving you some busy work writing assignment to do before Christmas break. On the big blackboard she would write in big cursive letters, “What is your New Year’s Resolution?” Then you would have the rest of the day to work on it because he/she was on autopilot anyways and you and the rest of the students were pretty much unteachable that close to Christmas.

Because it was that close to Christmas, you knew that Santa was watching and that your resolution list would be one last desperate attempt to prove that you had been good all year. (Statistics show that roughly 11% of children are actually good enough to receive gifts from Santa Claus. The other 89% get gifts from the other big guy in red; Satan.) So your resolutions, written in loopy cursive or big block letters, probably looked something like this:

My Resolution by (Random Kid Name…probably with a simple first name like Todd but has unnecessarily complicated spelling like Ptdaudtd)

1. I promise not to tease my little brother/sister cuz it makes mom mad.
   (Not because you shouldn’t be messing with someone that will eventually get older, smarter, and know where and when you sleep. No, it’s because it makes Mom mad/drink/cry/distant)
2. I promise to try to keep my room clean so mom doesn’t have to yell at me to do it.
   (Oh and I’m a kid so I feel like I am entitled to everything but with none of the responsibilities. Life was so much simpler then.)
3. I promise to feed Finneas and Mr. Fish every day.
   (Both fish were dead before the ink dried on the period of this sentence.)

My point is that those resolutions don’t seem to get any better as life goes on.  Sure, the individual promises are different because most people don’t need to quit smoking when they are eight years old. But what tends to stay the same is the amount of actual intent. If it’s January 2nd and you see a dog running around with half mud and half soap suds then you will know it’s because some kid made a resolution to bathe the dog but barely cared enough to complete it…once. This is the same reason people have old boxed of Nicotine gum in their cabinets and dumbbells gathering dust in the garage.

There is no extra ability given to you on January 1st that wasn’t there on December 31st. Some people are into the symbolism of the new year and feel somewhat imbued with the spirit of a new year. They call it a rebirth and a new chance to achieve your goals. If you are a person that truly feels like you can accomplish feats you didn’t think you could because of the new calendar year then best of luck to you. You probably do feel a weird pep in your step on January 1st. Most people are doing it just because it’s the thing to do. “People have made New Year’s resolutions for years so I am going to make some as well.”  Fitness centers bank on it. Wal-Marts and Targets plan ahead for it. But they too know what I am talking about.

Why else do you think that talk of quitting this or that and shedding pounds stops by March? Is it because St. Patrick’s Day is way more important than fighting obesity? It’s because retailers realize that by March 70% of people will have given up their resolutions and gone back to what they were doing before. If people are going to make drastic and positive changes to their life they aren’t going to wait for a dark, cold, and depressing time of the year. They are going to do it when they finally feel the necessity to do it. I quit smoking in October…on a Thursday. I didn’t wait until a Monday or a holiday. It just needed to be done and I did it. If I had waited until January 1st to stop then it would have been that much harder because I would have been that much more addicted.

It also probably wouldn’t have worked because I would have relied heavily on “resolution magic” instead of what really got me through it which was sheer willpower and a wonderfully supportive girlfriend. I guess, to summarize…resolutions most of the time are ineffective because they are predicated on bullcrap. They are usually shallow attempts at a forced goal that were created due to a feeling brought on by the start of a new year and possibly Jagermeister. The addictions, attitudes, biases you had on New Year’s Eve still exist on New Year’s Day because they have existed for much longer than one night so it stands to reason that they won’t go away in one night nor will you suddenly have the power to defeat them in one night. The power is in you. If you want to quit this, lose that, fix this, adjust that…then do it. Do it right now. Do it because you know you want to and because you need to. But don’t resign yourself to “trying.” If you are going to do it then know you are going to do it. Don’t try to lose weight, know you will lose weight. Don’t try to quit smoking, just quit and don’t look back. Don’t think that because it’s a new year that it’s the only time you can pull this off. If you truly have the desire, the calendar has nothing to do with it. You are what will make it work whether it’s January, May, July, or October.

Make every day your resolution to be a better you.

Image via Wikipedia

Finding your inner strength is also related to finding the power to not only be confident, but to be able to relax, quickly. Through ones Chakras one is able to do so, only if you allow yourself and educate yourself about how these gem stones and colors that affect many of us throughout the day, and throughout our life.

Yogin with 6 Chakras

Wearing a bracelet for many is a reminder of the order of charkas to be used, helping us to focus because it is all right there on the bracelet. The idea of the Chakras, is to help you re-energize using the energy that surrounds us.

We start at the top of the head, and working down the spine, ending at the tip of the tail bone, which is where we are grounded. Grounded to the energy around us, surrounding us at all times, we are all grounded to the earth, all which helps provide the means to relax and revitalize our body

            Starting with the Colors, we start with the top of our head, using the white color, for purity, first we relax our face; then focus on the very top of our head down around the back to about our ears, just relax. White is always a symbol of purity, so stay focused.

Now slowly bring the feeling over your brow, and eyes; slowly bring white to a purple color. This is where it all begins, the purple represent the awareness, opening your subconscious mind, which bring forth thoughts of purity and simplicity.

Once you feel at peace move on down to your face, relax it, your eyes, your nose and relax your mouth including your cheeks and unclench your teeth. This is a blue purple chakra which is located in the center of your forehead and help us to calm down. Opening the chakra at this point and relaxing, enabling ideas unclear to us, to open and present a clear vision.  The energy has cleansed your mind, which is now open to new ideas.

Then we move onto the sky blue chakra a very soothing color. Which is located in our throat and neck region, which helps us to breath, and to speak; after the energy has been release and re-energized it help us  by enabling us to visualize what it is we what to say,  and where we want to be.

As we proceed further, to matters of the heart we encounter the green Chakra, we need to release any anger we are holding onto. Whether it is jealousy or the anger that rises when those we love hurt us. It helps bring together the love we physically feel for other and the spiritual love that surrounds us. Once the negative energy is calmed and slowly subdued it is then we are able to slowly connect with our inner strength, located in the center of our stomach, the yellow Chakras. It is at this point that you begin to believe “I can”; because your in touch with your personal powers.

These two last Chakras are the orange and red. The orange one helps you to know what you want and feel, located in the lower region of the stomach; while the red located at the tip of the tail bone is the Chakra that connects us with the energy surrounding us all. It is at these two points that we are grounded with our inner strength. The red Chakras is always connected with the earth and energy that flows from it; allowing us to physically seek survival.

Through these Chakras once cleared it enable us to stay focused; it guides us to where we what to go, helping us to see what we want while giving us the inner strength to obtain that of which the heart desires.

 Simplified 

• Purple to clear the mind,
• Violet is to relax,
• A soothing calming color,
• Love and jealously needing to be recognized and released,  
• Empowering and gainful strength,
• This leads to the ability of needs and desires,
• While this is the connector, connecting us with the earth and the desire to LIVE!

While some may look to the colors of ones chakras, others look to stones, in a quick description starting with the top of our head to the bottom of our spine. We look at the different gemstones that were used in years gone by.

Starting with a Rose Quartz, which represents the compassionate one holds within ones heart, moving to the Turquoise, which enables us to communicate our wishes.

The Aventurine is the chakra that holds our personal powers while the Tiger Eyes is our physical energy; these two gemstones help us to keep the energy within us; balanced.

The next two stones are the Carnelian Gem stone, which connects us to our creativity, and the Sodalite Gem will lead us to higher intuition; when we truly clear the energy that builds up around us these Chakras it is then that we can totally be open to new ideas. Finally is the Clear Quartz, which connects us to our world will help restore the balance within us. In the order mentioned, is the order to focus on, helping one to obtain inner peace and a quiet heart.

Never underestimate the power of your Intention. It represents the most powerful tool in your life manifestation box. Why…because that…my friend… is pure Energy! It is the divine creative Force behind all cosmic, universal and human designs.

Let’s consider the two parameters its efficiency relies on… The first one is: establishing a purpose, which I call “the doing” and the second one is the intensity, which I call the “being” element.

The doing is necessary for it gives the direction. It affects the trajectory of the creative Energy.

The practical question is: what do you wish to achieve? The more precise your answer is going to be and the greater the path will unfold in front of you. Each stone that will be placed ahead will be part of a meaningful trail that will match your expectations. You will attract the perfect fitted piece to your journey.

The second element, not the least, is the intensity. This is the focus you actually can drawn into your thoughts.

The greater concentration, passion and amount of energy you will be able to surround to your intention and the greater and faster the result will appear. Coincidences won’t be coincidences but messages and divine signs that will automatically make sense.

The practical question is: How much do you want this dream to come true? To be part of your reality? To be fully experienced?.…

You need to engage your entire being into this process. The understanding of who you are is the key.

Be aware of your thoughts, your choices, your decisions, your beliefs and more so your power… Remember that your reality always matches the way you perceive the world outside. And remember that the way you perceive the world outside always matches the way you perceive your…Self. So, now…who are you?…

With each event in our lives, that experience evolves your inner spirit to your personal growth and how you operate in your life. That you keep going and use everything that you are to keep moving forward and how you keep gaining more and more experience throughout time. Your beliefs and what you feel about your beliefs makes your inner spirit. You make your inner spirit what it is.

But as I say all this I realize that I stated that accessing your inner spirit is simple. Well it is simple for each individual. I wouldn’t say that accessing someone else’s inner spirit was simple in fact it would never happen. Unless you were going to share your life with that person and they share their inner spirit with you you will never know what a persons inner spirit contains and how much of a drive they have because of it.

Everyone is unique, that also goes for inner spirit. Each inner spirit is much like snowflakes. There are so many designs, but no two are the same. Alike maybe but never ever the same.