Nurture Your Soul

When you nurture your soul through self development, you create a strong sense of gratitude. Instilling gratitude in your soul enables you to be thankful for what you currently have and see past your physical surroundings and circumstance and not let them dictate your possibilities. Before you read further, consider this fact. There is over 6.2 billion people in the world and if you are online reading this then you are in a much better position in life then over 2/3rd's of the worlds population.

Once you realize that things really could be worse in your life, this knowledge helps you to gain some hope. When hope is coupled with faith you can start to move forward and get past what has been stopping you. I am not discounting bad things that have happened to people, many face extreme adversities everyday. Be grateful though that in this day and age you can easily access information about people who throughout history have lifted themselves from the same or worse circumstances and accomplished the lives they desired.

You can learn from them and by trying similar actions you can obtain similar results. The world has been evolving for the better with each generation that passes. It does take time, but if you study history, you will find that in the last ten years we have advanced more then in the last two hundred. It will continue to accelerate at an even faster pace for one reason. Global access to information and education.

Education and learning are needed to nurture your soul. Education though is not just basic schooling or post secondary degrees. It is the constant learning you do throughout your life that helps you to be more successful. As people learn more about their minds and become enlightened of their own possibilities and the differences they can make in life they begin to find empathy for others and use their success as a tool to assist in the increase of life to the less fortunate.

Too many people overestimate the abilities of others and strongly underestimate their own. Why? The popular mindset is that if someone achieves success they are geniuses who's names all have endings like, phd, bsc, etc! There are many 'educated' people who have accomplished great things and have added to the betterment of the world. However for every 1 educated person there are 10 so called ordinary people who have also left huge imprints on world history. In fact more of the 'ordinary' became very wealthy and use their wealth to help to contribute to the betterment of many people all over the world.

Take Oprah Winfrey for example. Oprah began her broadcasting career at WVOL radio in Nashville while still in high school. At the age of 19, she became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. Now she has such an influence in today's society that her recommendation on a book or a product will cause them to become overnight sensations. Her inspiration has caused countless millions to work at improving their lives and the lives of others. Check out Oprah's biography to learn more about her history and accomplishments.

When you take time to nurture your soul, it becomes evident that money, although important, is truly just a tool that you use to access the things you need to live a full and abundant life. When you are happy and at peace with who you are and approach your purpose with integrity to yourself and others then you will always have money. There are those who do make money and become wealthy without integrity and although they may be financially rich, they have a poor relationship with themselves and others and often find themselves alone with their money.

If you are not happy with things the way they are and do not have an inner feeling of peace, you can take steps to nurture your soul which in turn will transform your inner self and because it feels good to feel good, you will want to pass that feeling onto others. Consider the following five ways to nurture your soul.

1. Have Faith. In yourself, in your family, friends and if you believe in a higher being, then have faith in God as YOU define God.

When you develop strong faith, it gives you the power you need to build the life you desire. The best definition I have seen to date on faith and the application of it is the following excerpt from The Master Key to Riches by Napoleon Hill

Faith fraternizes only with the mind that is positive! It is the "elan vital" that gives power, inspiration, and action to a positive mind. It is the power that causes a positive mind to act as an "electromagnet," attracting to it the exact physical counterpart of the thought it expresses. Faith gives resourcefulness to the mind, enabling the mind to make "grist of all that comes to it's mill." It recognizes favorable opportunities, in every circumstance of one's life, whereby one may attain the object of Faith, going so far as to provide the means by which failure and defeat may be converted into success of equivalent dimensions. Faith enables all humans to penetrate deeply into the secrets of Nature and to understand Nature's language as it is expressed in all natural laws. From this sort of revelation have come all the great inventions that serve mankind, and a better understanding of the way to human freedom through harmony in human relationships, such as was provided by the Constitution of the United States. Faith makes it possible to achieve that which anyone can conceive and believe! If you would have Faith, keep your mind on that which you desire. And remember that there is no such reality as a "blanket" Faith, for Faith is the outward demonstration of Definiteness of Purpose! Faith is guidance from within. The guiding force is Infinite Intelligence directed to definite ends. It will not bring that which one desires, but it will guide one to the attainment of the object of desire.

2. Give. Of your time, your money and possessions. When you give, do it because it makes you feel good and not because you feel obligated to. The key to giving is not to keep track. Of course you keep your receipts for tax purposes, what this means is don't keep track mentally, thinking ok I gave this person this and now I should expect..... You give just for the sake of feeling good.

If you can't afford to give money right now, it's ok. Give of your time. Go through your possessions and purge what you do not need or use. If you sell the items at a yard sale, donate the proceeds. The items that don't sell, instead of throwing them out take them to a second hand store or a shelter. When you give unconditionally with no expectation of return, you start in motion a natural law that will bring back more to you and nurture your soul in a way like no other.

3. Have Integrity. When you approach everything you do with Integrity, then the seeds you sow in life will reap a bountiful harvest for you.

Remember, if you have been unethical in your past or in your current situation. You can change at any time. You just have to decide you are going to do it. There is no big ceremony or quest involved. Draw a line in the sand for yourself and decide that you are no longer going to cross it. If you want certain things out of your life then realize that there are things that need to be changed to get them. If you have wronged people, open your heart to them. They still may not like you , but they will appreciate your honesty and should you have to deal with them again they will likely give you another chance.

Also when you release yourself from all the negative thoughts associated with your being unethical you start to nurture your soul and the changes that occur in you are noticed by others and they are attracted to you and your business will flourish.

4. Add beauty to life. Use your talents to inspire and to help others feel good. It doesn't matter what your talent is, there is always a way to use it to provide service or entertainment to others. When you share your talents it helps to nurture your soul and you will be compensated for it.

Watch the video below, the artist is Ed Alleyne Johnson, a British electric violinist and prolific busker. He has been busking for over 20 years, since he was a Fine Art student at Oxford University. He uses an electric violin that he carved with a kitchen knife, a custom pedal-board, and an amplifier which he modified to run off rechargeable batteries. This setup has enabled him to perform on the street in almost every major city in Europe, and across the United States and Canada.

He can often be seen performing in Chester town centre, near the Grosvenor shopping precinct, and more recently on the streets of York. This Youtube video of Ed busking in Chester has gained the attention of many YouTube members around the world, with over 472,000 (March 08) views, and much praise. As you will see his music is haunting and beautiful. He shares his talent with others with no expectation of gratuities or pay . Because of this and because of the way his music makes people feel, he continues to be well compensated through music sales and performances.

5. Be Inspired and Take Action. Learn from others, let them help to nurture your soul through their inspiration. When you are inspired, you feel empowered to take action and to do the things you need to do to fulfill your desires. Most successful people have been inspired by others and in turn have gone on to inspire more people and help show them the pathway to the greatness inside them. Bob Proctor for example was a fireman in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. He was given a copy of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. At the time Bob was in his early 20's and was making $4000.00 a year and he owed $6000.00, he thought he had a great job but saw no way to get ahead financially. Think and Grow Rich inspired him so much that he quit his job and started a cleaning company. The Fire Chief thought he was nuts and tried to talk him out of it. Before long Bob's business took off and he was hiring people from the Fire Department on their off time to work for his company. He later worked for Earl Nightingale in Chicago and since then has been teaching and inspiring millions to be all that they can be.

One of those people Bob inspired was Les Brown. Born a twin in low-income Liberty City in Miami, Florida, Les and his twin brother, Wes, were adopted when they were six weeks old by Mrs. Mamie Brown. Mrs. Brown was a single woman who had very little education or financial means, but a very big heart. As a child Les' inattention to school work, his restless energy, and the failure of his teachers to recognize his true potential resulted in him being mislabeled as a slow learner. The label and the stigma stayed with him, damaging self-esteem to such an extent that it took several years to overcome.

Les has had no formal education beyond high school, but with persistence and determination he has initiated and continued a process of unending self-education which has distinguished him as an authority on harnessing human potential. Les Brown's passion to learn and his hunger to realize greatness in himself and others helped him to achieve greatness. He rose from a hip-talkin morning DJ to broadcast manager; from community activist to community leader; from political commentator to three-term legislator; and from a banquet and nightclub emcee to premier keynote speaker. He is currently one of the most sought after and highest paid speakers in the world. Watch the video below and you will see why.

Have faith, be generous, act with integrity, inspire others and be inspired! You will nurture you soul, become empowered and achieve your dreams!

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