Actively Seeking Expansion

Empowerment is a conscious choice we get to make.  We can remain where we are right now, with our life picture being what it is.  We can continue to tell ourselves the same stories and hold the same beliefs or we can choose to step onto the path of empowerment.  We can actively seek our personal expansion. We can choose to grow, learn, and open ourselves to new experiences.

If you are not happy where you are, you can choose to empower yourself. Stones with the printed words inspire, dream, imagine, success, create The act of deciding that you want more and purposefully looking for it, brings this into your life.  From this first step, you soon find that a person or an opportunity appears if you are open to it.  And if you step bravely into that opportunity or cultivate that connection, it will bring more such people and experiences to you.  As you continue to empower yourself and choose your growth and personal well-being first, focusing on what you need right now, your life begins to shift.  Within a few months, you will look back and find that the first step you took set you firmly on a new path.

Unconsciously, and often unintentionally, we can become our greatest obstacle in our quest for the life we desire.   When we cultivate awareness of our thoughts, our choices, and our actions, we overcome the unconscious programming.    Often, we tell ourselves the same stories about our past experiences, abilities and potential.  We repeatedly think the same thoughts, which then become our beliefs.  These beliefs then define the direction of our lives.   We can renew and refresh our lives by beginning with our thoughts.

Take a moment to become conscious aware of the thoughts you are thinking.  What thoughts do you think about yourself?  What beliefs do you hold about yourself and what is possible for you?  What thoughts can you change and what will you change them to?

Close your eyes and step into the vision of what you want your life to look like a year from now.  Choose one area to focus on in this moment.  Holding that thought, what can you do to take a step towards your vision?  E.g.  Perhaps you are wanting to start a business – can you hire a business coach?  Maybe you are focused on healing right now.  Is there a community you can join or program you can take that will get you to your next step?

Our beliefs about our past experiences may have held us captive from fully living the life we desire.  Today, know that you can have the life you want if you are willing to take the first step forward and embrace the future ready for you to claim.  The smallest step will start the greatest journey of your life. 

In what area of life would you like to step forward and what step are you choosing to take?

Many Blessings,

Santa

RUNNING THROUGH DARKNESS
MEMOIR OF A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

BY SANTA MOLINA-MARSHALL ‧ RELEASE DATE: MAY 3, 2022

This debut memoir chronicles a woman’s spiritual exploration and growth as she overcame a disturbing childhood and helped others heal.

Brought to America from the Dominican Republic as a youngster, Molina-Marshall should have led a happy life. Her father was a diligent worker, and his large family wanted for nothing. But the author recounts that her dad had a drinking problem and was a serial philanderer. Molina-Marshall’s long-suffering mother left him for a woman. Then it was all downhill for the bright, 12-year-old girl, who was shuttled between foster care and relatives. According to the author, she was sexually abused by the husband of one of her siblings. This resulted in Molina-Marshall becoming alienated and moody. By 15, she simply tried to survive. In her favor were grit and a restless intelligence. She quit school, rented a room, and found a factory job. Time went by, and for a while she was happily married. Yet when her husband left her, her life truly began. She turned to religion for answers but decided that blaming God for her woes was a cop-out. 

In this absorbing and moving memoir, Molina-Marshall’s vivid storytelling is fearless. She frankly discusses the truths she discovered and the indignities she suffered. These admissions are disclosed with a touch of resignation and plenty of bite. However painful, everything she experienced was a lesson, and she bravely realized that she was part of the problem: “The fear of being hurt, rejected, or abused often led to me feeling lonely and misunderstood. No one knew the agonizing pain I felt being trapped in my thoughts and anger. I was becoming my biggest threat.” 

The author skillfully recounts her intricate spiritual journey. To deal with her psychic wounds, she searched for an inspirational system. Her open-mindedness led her to the interfaith concept—cherry-picking from various religions and spiritual movements, yoga, and Indigenous beliefs as a way of finding peace. Along with her female partner, she built a therapy practice, making use of every spiritual element that aided her and others. The road was bumpy, and she found that women of color in same-sex relationships were not welcomed everywhere. To do good works—and finally live on her own terms—she effectively overcame bigotry.

An engrossing, cathartic account of empathy and success through determination and confidence.

Pub Date: May 3, 2022   |    ISBN: 978-0-578-38315-6  |   Page Count: 264    | Publisher: From Trauma to Triumph  |   Review Posted Online: June 13, 2022