All We Need is Love

We have all heard the line that we must love ourselves before we can love another but do we understand the true meaning of this thought? The idea that we are all connected and bound together by the same creative force that connects the oceans and the stars is one that is mind-boggling, but when we accept that there is but one creative energy that runs through us and our neighbor then we begin to understand that what we think, say, and do to others we do to ourselves.

There is no getting ahead of our neighbor or the person in line or the person on the freeway. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a powerful statement. When we understand that their is no competition only cooperation we understand the true meaning of the statement. The converse is also true. When we love ourselves and give to ourselves all that we need without judgement and allow our best self to shine through we make the world a better place. We literally help others when we become the best person we can be. Now this may happen indirectly or directly but we literally make the world better when we live up to our highest potential.

So instead of waiting for somebody to give you something for Valentine's Day or to do something for you, try loving yourself and doing something nice for yourself first and then others. Write yourself a love letter and tell yourself all things you love about yourself. You can start by writing: Dear____________, I love__________, and I love________. See if you can make a long list that you can keep with you. Remember to sign it with a loving signature and put lots of X0X0X0.

You can also send out thoughts of love to all those that are not with you, and to those that are you can express it to them directly through your thoughts, actions, and words. You don't have to go out and buy anything. Make your love a gift or better yet do something nice for them. It can be anything from making them a cake to making their favorite meal, or doing something thoughtful like washing the dishes or other task.

If you're not feeling particularly loving then this is a clue that you need to fill your love tank. Go to the mirror and look directly into your own eyes and tell yourself, "I Love You." At first it will be difficult and your mind will resist, but keep saying it in as a convincing voice as you can. Tell yourself all the things you love about yourself. Keep doing this until it begins to feel true. You will notice a shift in your affect and your thoughts will change as well.

When we feel good about ourselves we feel good about others! Think good thoughts and do something nice for yourself and those around you.

Wishing you much love today and always,

George

George Castro, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist and life coach. He can be reached at gccoaching@yahoo.com or visit him on the web at www.georgecastromft.com

The Thoughts We Think The Words We Speak

The words we speak are a manifestation of the thoughts we think. Want to know how somebody is thinking then just listen to him to speak. People who speak words of gratitude, love, and peace, are thinking these thoughts!

The words we speak are blessings and curses depending on how we use them. This is why we must be mindful of the thoughts we think so that we can speak the truth as we know it. The clearer we are in our mind and in our thoughts the quicker we will attain the things that we want. Listen to the things you say. Your words are very powerful. Do you affirm abundance, health, and success or do you condemn yourself and others and create more of the same?

Some people have been living without consciously thinking about what they are saying about themselves. They call themselves dumb, stupid, or fat. Think about how horrible this feels to hear and that is exactly what the sub-conscious mind does when we say these things. It records them and does not judge them. It is a like a super-computer whose only job is do what you tell it. If you say you are poor, dumb, and fat, so be it. Not only does it store the information, but it goes into action trying to attain what you asked of it.

Many don't even realize they do this to themselves daily. Many of us have been conditioned from such an early age about a multitude of things including how to feel about ourselves. Where did we get that conditioning you ask? From family, friends, teachers, mentors, the media, etc. When we are children we are very impressionable to wide range of influences and not all of them positive.

Over time we "believe" what others have told us on any given subject. We have not learned to critically "think" about anything. To think requires energy and conscious action it is not just responding to what we "think" we know. We respond usually with the information we have stored in the super-computer the sub-conscious. Now if all we have in there is negative thoughts and ideas then we need to start to clean house. Many of us have negative ideas about ourselves, our family, money, other countries etc. The list goes on and on and it is up to us to start to really think about what we want our lives to be like.

We literally can have anything we want when we use this wonderful gift we have and decipher what is true from what is not true. Many times the critical parent or teacher can have such a negative impact on us with just their words. Just by stating something in the negative is all it takes. This is like a poison and can infect your thinking for a long time. You see the sub-conscious mind will store this information forever. You can learn to replace these thoughts and ideas but the majority of people have them running like bad computer programs. Just like a virus these negative thoughts and beliefs slow us down and drain our energy.

The converse of this is also true! We can bless ourselves and others. We can think good thoughts and tell ourselves good things about ourself and others and we begin to actually feel good. Try it! Tell youself something good about yourself like, "I am a good____________" and see how you feel. Now imagine you did this all the time with the different areas of your life! "I have wonderful friends and a beautiful relationship." You get the idea. Our lives would be transformed. Want to have a good day then think positive thoughts of everybody! Give everybody the benefit of the doubt! Be grateful for everything you have and wish the best for others and you will see it comes back to you.

Wishing you health, happiness, and prosperity,

George

George Castro, M.S., LMFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Life Coach. You can reach George at gccoaching@yahoo.com or visit him on the web at http://www.gccoaching.com

Letting Go

We often don't think much about letting go, but rather gaining or attaining. The secret to really getting what we want is one of letting go. We have to be able to let go of ideas, things, behaviors and relationships that no longer work for us. How do we know if they work for us you ask? Well if we are not happy with what we have in our lives then they are not working for us. The paradox of the situation is funny because in order to gain more of what we want we must be o.k. with what we have. I know it sounds contraditory but it's not.

When we think we do not have something we create the feeling of lack or of need which does not attract success. Ask anybody who has been looking for a date or life partner. When we feel the energy of desperation we are not attracted, we usually run the other way. We must begin to feel o.k. with what we have and really come to peace with ourselves, our jobs, our cars, our pay.

Now just for clarity sake I'm not suggesting complacency by any means, I'm suggesting we come to accept where we are and to appreciate all that we do have. When we think, "I'm pretty happy" with myself, my job, my life, then we create feelings of love and peace and that's extremely attactive! Think about it. Are you more attracted to the desperate car sales man trying to make a sale or the high-end person who knows they have the goods and lets you make your own decision. See the difference. It is one of attraction and we are all attracted to loving and peaceful people.

So where do we start? We begin to cultivate the seeds of gratitude in our minds. We can begin by just being grateful for what we have here and now. Whatever your situation is you can be grateful and express this in a multitude of ways. You can consciously choose to think positive thoughts. Don't let negative thoughts enter your mind as they grow like weeds! You can also begin to slow down and notice the beauty that surrounds you and thank your creator whoever that may be for you. Lastly before you go to bed, run through your mind briefly the thoughts of the day and "thank" The Universe for providing you with everything you needed. You can start by saying "thank you for________," and "thank you for_________." You want to get to a place where all you are filled with is an abundance of gratitude. When we become so full that we fall off to sleep only thinking of the good that surrounds us we will be over flowing with love and peacefulness.

Another step we can take is to rid ourselves of things that no longer serve us or drain our energy. We tend to hold onto things much longer than is good for us. We need to flow more and allow good things into our life and this requires making space for those things to come into our life.

If we have a house full of junk and a garage full too we only clutter up our brains with thoughts that drain us. We want to be renewed and born again for the new year. This is our life and it's a celebration so we must be willing to let go of the past which only holds us down. Have a garage sale or give things away. We often hold onto items that we perceive have value when in reality they are costing us so much more in mental energy to support them.

Look at the storage business in the U.S. We've created large receptacles to hold our "stuff" until a later "time" when we will "use" them. This is crazy! The only time is now and we have to be willing to release what is not working if we want a different life. We must think differently and only then will we feel and behave differently. For everything that surrounds us started from a single thought.

Clear out all the cobwebs of your mind by taking care of your body, mind, and spirit. We need to be mindful of what we think and what we say. Even saying words like "dumb" "stupid" or "poor" or whatever negative word you may be using drain our energy to create. Say those words over and see how you feel as compared to "happy" "loving" "peaceful" "abundant" "joyful" "healthty" "prosperous". Feel the difference?

When we use our words we are putting into action all our thoughts and intentions to The Universe. We are literally creating our life by the thoughts we think of ourselves and others. Don't believe me think good things of yourself and the people in your life and they appear loving and god-like. Think negative and angry thougths and watch the re-action you receive. Lets live our lives on purpose and make conscious decisions about what we want for ourselves.

Wishing you much health, happiness, and prosperity,

George

George Castro is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Life Coach and can be reached at gccoaching@yahoo.com or visit him on the web at http://www.gccoaching.com