What did I learn today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self Love

You cannot get sick enough to help sick people get better. You cannot get poor enough to help poor people thrive. It is only in your thriving that you have anything to offer anyone. If you're wanting to be of an advantage to others, be as tapped in, turned in, turned on as you can possibly be." - Esther Abraham-Hicks , best-selling author and lecturer Just when I thought I heard it all, I get a reminder that there’s always more! On the base headquarters where I am there is always action, people coming in and out, telling their stories, looking for assistance. For me, it’s always a lesson so I talk to everyone because I just find their stories so fascinating! I am talking to a lady she asks me if our country’s school system has A Levels. I said yes we do. Then she says, I need to check if my tribe mate made it. Naturally I said, ok you are going to check if she passed? She said no madam the school that she attends is in the Mukono area it’s a boarding school and surround...

Breaking through to Boldness," means empowering yourself to be the strongest version of you possible. It is not for the faint of heart, because when you break through to boldness you are accountable for your life and the choices you have made. Breaking through to boldness means that you take absolute, total, and complete responsibility for every condition in your life. I yanla Vanzant, author and coach I am having a conversation with the ladies, they are upset, and voices are raising. I decide   to stay quiet and listen, to pay attention, to listen. “Madam, it is not my fault, it is never my fault, I think it’s your fault” “Someone must be blamed, someone must be blamed, and it’s not going to be me” I am still listening; I am still paying attention with an open mind. Normally, I would be jumping in ready to “defend” myself, to “make someone own up and pay”. No one blames me, are they mad?? These are the days of trying a different approach.   Then I hear   ano...

Respect and appreciate your feelings, but don’t allow them to completely dominate you. Let your feelings inform you, enhancing and expanding your experience of life, but don’t let them imprison you. Ralph Marston One of the greatest lessons I have learnt over the past few months is called Feel. Deal. Heal Why was it important? Well for me I skipped the first part of feel, I just went to deal! A situation would occur and immediately I would run towards “solving” it, resisting the feelings or should I say ignoring the feelings! But what happened is that the feelings that were unresolved and not dealt with remained and according to Iyanla “until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed.You can bandage the healing with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex but eventually it will ooze through and stain your life.You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of your pain that is holding you...

The secret is alignment: when you know for sure that you're on course and doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing, fulfilling your soul's intention, your heart's desire, or whatever you choose to call it (they're all the same thing). When your life is on course with its purpose, you are your most powerful. And you may stumble, but you will not fall. I know for sure that in every challenging experience there's an opportunity to grow, enhance your life, or learn something invaluable about yourself. Every challenge can make you stronger if you allow it. Strength multiplied = power. For real. Oprah Winfrey It’s really just very simple, when you are doing what you love, what fills your heart with joy, it truly doesn’t feel like work. The trouble begins when you resist and fight it! And we resist it for many reasons. One is that we live other people’s dreams, be it our parents or our partners, parents, although well intentioned, have a dream for you a...

When you have an emotional reaction to what you see, you are judging. That is your signal that you have an issue inside of yourself - with yourself - not with the other person. If you react to evil, look inside yourself for the very thing that so agitates you, and you will find it. If it were not there, you will simply discern, act appropriately, and move on." - Gary Zukav , page 157 from his book "Soul to Soul". Zukav is a best-selling inspirational author Woke up early this morning to take a run. Have I ever told you about an African sunrise? It’s pretty awesome! It just seems that the entire process moves in slow motion, the sun seems larger and more colorful, it takes up the entire sky. I must say it’s one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! I never get tired of seeing it and every time I do I shout WOW!!!! And if I am on the road running I get these strange looks!! Anyway I digress, I came out of the compound and saw the kids playing, I’m thinking,...

There is no shortage. And any attention to shortage of something wanted will always produce negative emotion within you because your guidance is letting you know that you have strayed from your broader basic understanding of abundance and Well-Being. Whether you are focused upon the shortage of money—or seeing yourself as having only so many years to live (and so each day that is expended is one day closer to the end of your years)—that feeling of decline is contrary to your broader understanding of the Eternal nature of your Being . (Marianne Williamson author) Took me some time to soak in the statement “there is no shortage”! I fully believe it now, having been here in Uganda for the few months and a few other parts of Africa, no one can convince me that this continent is poor! There is an abundance of everything here, what trips us up is the perception that there isn’t and the grabby grabby people who assume power and take for themselves! I have seen with my own eyes, mineral...

One of the roots of unhappiness is telling yourself that you are better than others, that you do not do what others do, or that you are incapable of their negative actions. You’re not. None of us is incapable of any negative action because we are all made up of the same ingredients. In fact, pretty soon, we start believing we can strike up our own bargains with God. Here’s a popular one: If I am a good person and do everything right, nothing bad will happen to me. After all, I’m special and entitled . Carolyn Myss author In Trinidad and where I spent most of my life the population is very cosmopolitan, you can see any and all types living together and loving one another! It is something that I thought was just the norm and possibly even took it for granted! I mention this because I am now living in a society that has a number of tribes and tribal loyalty is fierce!! In Uganda there are 56 tribes and they all have their own unique culture and language!   There was a situati...

What is your deep intent? Is your intent to have a win-win for everybody? Is your intent to embrace your fellow human beings of all walks and stations in life as equal to you in stature and nature? Is your intent to live? Is your intent to be a harbinger of good will and an ambassador of peace? Are you willing to clear out the rubble, the weeds, the thorns, the thistles, the rocks from your own consciousness so you may create the fertile soil of Oneness to germinate and grow to complete fruition? What exactly is your intent? (Deborah L Johnson, minister) The lessons have begun! But then life is always in session so it really never ended right?!!! So I got back all excited and rearing to go! Gender training and entrepreneurship in full force, new ideas and concepts! I come and I am throwing out the concepts and ideas like a woman possessed! I finished and the question was asked, just as Deborah Johnson said in her talk “what exactly is your intent?” Now, I for one never even tho...

What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon. Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested." - Paulo Coelho , from his best-selling book The Alchemist . Back in Kampala! I passed through London, I stopped over for a day and one of my mentors from London contacted me, I haven’t heard from her in AGES! And just like that I get a message from her! I thought ok you have learnt that there are no coincidences in life so there must be something more going on here so let’s follow up on this! I jump on the tr...

"First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst." "If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done." - Dale Carnegie , best-selling author of How to Win Friends & Influence People . So here's the story, I have been thinking about the word and concept of rejection! It's pretty much something that happens every day of our lives, we are either rejecting something or someone or on the flip side of it and receiving it! And depending on the meaning you give to this, most times it sucks!   What I have learnt is that we get to give meaning to an experience.So what experience do I give to not getting what I want, be it a job, a relationship, an experience? Brutally honest, before I would throw a right strop! I would look at it as if so...

"Let today be a day where you take nothing for granted. For life is fleeting, fragile and precious and can change on a whim. Say all the things you really want to say to your loved ones today, say the things you would regret should they pass on and your words remain unspoken. Rejoice, for you and they are alive today - and should you or them pass on to unknown shores, rejoice even more for you have a wonderful love story to tell." - Jackson Kiddard , author So today I head back to Kampala via London. I arive on Tuesday night and will be straight back at it on Wednesday morning! Being home was great it was an opportunity to not only have fun, and fun I did have!! but also to see how far I have come on the journey towards unconditional self love! The journey continues and I have made some progress!! So what did I learn today? I love being here, it fills me with joy and a TRUE and authentic ME is a magnet for ALL things good! Peace!!

"From your limited point a view the comings and goings of Life can seem chaotic, confusing and unfair. But if the ant could see the street from the bird's eye view she would see the order of things. Think of your Heart and your Intuition as guidance from above and you'll begin to see how everything is in perfect order." - Jackson Kiddard , author I was talking to one of my angels, a good friend of mine. In my mind, I truly believe there are angels surrounding me on this journey! Anyways, I was telling her that I want to move back home to Trinidad, she says well move back then, what's stopping you? Right there and then I knew it was fear! She asked me if Trinidad was my Kryptonite! Got me thinking,  when fear rears its head what is my response? I think of myself as a courageous person in every other aspect, like dealing with the army in Gulu, on the border of South Sudan. Normal, normal I will handle that situation and with a smile! So my friend says ...

"When you welcome your emotions as teachers, every emotion brings good news, even the ones that are painful" Gary Zukav, best selling author I made it to Trinidad and Tobago, my country! It's been a blast so far seeing family and friends and just being here around a time when the energy and vibe in the country is so high being Carnival time. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tara-donaldson/trinidad-carnival-7-things-to-know_b_2564574.html Let me be brutally honest here, coming home has raised some emotions, some of them heavy! Let me explain. One of the reasons I left home was because I felt that my "perfect" life fell apart and I was falling apart right along with it! Marriage blew up like a fire in a petrol station, income dried up like a drought in Africa and I was feeling that nothing was going right! I decided to make a move and get involved in something that is bigger than me and my problems! Anyways, I came back and some of the emotions raised its he...

Take risks. Purposefully put yourself outside your comfort zone and focus on the knowledge that you WILL land on your feet. Oprah Winfrey So I have just concluded the first leg of my journey, Kampala to London! Second leg is London to Port of Spain. First leg went pretty well, I decided to get to the airport early given the fact that to check in to the Kampala airport takes time, there are numerous police checks, and they are no joke!! Flying into London always brings back memories, I spent the majority of my adult life in the city so it is almost like a second home to me and I have some really good friends here too who are very welcoming and accomodating. What was evident to me when I arrived was not just the bloody freezing weather but the way I felt! Have you ever had that feeling of comfort but your heart didn't sing? I said wow this is how I felt living here. I was comfortable but there was something missing! The proverbial comfort zone, where I have learnt that it...

We build kingdoms, townhouses and condos for our problems, or we invite them in and run baths for them – Iyanla Vanzant How many times have you had a problem or a challenge and it’s all you talk about? The issue takes over your life, it starts to define you! Your entire focus is on this so called problem. I’ve learnt that when that is the approach, the situation just grows, you praise it and make a God out of it! I’ve learnt to shift the focus from the problem to the solution! You may not even know what the solution is but sure enough you can shift the thought process to something other than the problem and how much of a victim you are! Stand in your power. I have heard it time and time again here, “there are no victims here” how awesome and powerful is that outlook! I am not a victim, I refuse to be called a victim, I refuse to be labelled a victim by myself or by others. That is not to say that you deny or ignore your problems, of course not, it is acknowledging it and s...

" Hey there, don't you know, there's an isle with a style and a wind that sings a calypso, a people's who's passion a fashion forged from a fire, Super Island, call it T&T" - David Ruder, calypsonian   The North of the country is poles apart! It’s the area where Kony and the LRA ran amuck for over twenty years, just on the border of South Sudan. For me it’s like someone pressed pause in 1989 on the district. So I am there to work on a project to increase the number of women doing commercial farming and increase the income of the small scale women farmers along with the implementation of a Gender Policy for the Company that work with the women farmers. Why women? They were affected by this conflict like no other, losing their children as many were taken as child soldiers and their husbands or partners who were killed or left. So far, it’s been truly for me a transformational experience. I can say without a shadow of doubt that I have learnt so m...