By Nanice Ellis
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

The Ripple Effect of Conscious Family Relationships

Even if we are conscious and awake, we often find ourselves in families where judgement, blame and negative energy is the norm. Maybe we also contribute to this dynamic, even though we “know better.” When family members are not responsible with their energy or accountable for their behavior, family dysfunction is often the result. In one way or another, this is true for most families and the very reason why we experience so much family discord and disconnection. From a higher perspective, what we consider normal, in many cases, is actually abusive.

But what if you could live in a family where everyone is responsible with their energy and everyone is accountable to a higher (more aware) way of living and loving?

By Chris Thomson
Guest Writer for Wake Up World

The world is shifting rapidly towards a new global paradigm. It is replacing modernity, which is well past its sell-by date. Although no one can say exactly what the new paradigm will be, some of its features are already apparent. It promotes a healthy balance between spirit and matter. It has as its central purpose the nurture of all human beings and the wise stewardship of this planet. And at is heart is the idea and practice of “spiritual wealth.”

There is a scene in the movie Dances with Wolves where the Lakota are discussing the invasion of white people into their country. The tribe’s holy man, Kicking Bird, captures the mood of the meeting when he says: “The whites are a poor people, but there are too many of them.” When he says “poor”, he does not mean they lack money or material things. He means they are spiritually poor...

This isn’t the first time I have gotten onto My pulpit, shall I say, and urged you to come from plenty and not from lack. The world has taught you otherwise. The world has taught you to come from lack which amounts to the same thing as coming from possession and attachment. You become possessed or obsessed with possessions. Beloveds, there is nothing you own.

Ownership is an illusion. You become a collector of what? Matter. If you have the Kohinoor diamond in your safe, you are not the owner of it. If you paid a trillion dollars for it, whatever a court might say, you are not the owner of it. You hold some possessions in your hands for a while, yet you are not the owner of what is in your hands.

“This lollipop is mine,” a child might say to a friend. “I have ten lollipops, and you can’t have more than one of my lollipops or they will be gone, and I won’t have any left.”

Lollipops will multiply themselves. In life, the more you give, the more you have. The world has it backwards. Possessions are not yours. You really don’t need to hold on so tight.

When you are attached, it’s harder to give. Do you want to be attached? I’m not asking: Are you attached? I am asking: Do you want to be attached? Wanting and being are often two different questions.

I’m guessing that you would say: “Oh, no, I do not want to be attached. I know attachment is a trap. It keeps me prisoner. I do know that, in life, it is better to not be attached.”

HJ: What are challenges but unforeseen opportunities for growth?  Within every setback, within every obstacle lies a piece of wisdom — a lesson that when learned will help you grow and live and love and create at an even higher level when overcome.  This is mastery.  Knowing that challenges will arise and deciding to overcome them anyways, no matter how big or small.  Where there is a will, there’s a way and a golden opportunity.

- Truth

7 Ways to Bounce Back from Life’s Inevitable Setbacks

By Marc Chernoff | Marc and Angel

It’s your choice…  To be positive and free or to be imprisoned by your own negativity.  To live in the past or to be hopeful about the present.

When suffering from an illness that requires a lot of attention, many of us tend to do the wrong thing and focus all our energy on it. We let it become a big part of our lives and eventually it begins to take over our lives. We let our illness define us as people and form an attachment if you like. Perhaps this is why it takes so long for people to fully recover and heal?

The mind and body are connected, and what we focus on grows. People who are suffering from an illness or are recovering will be sure of telling you at some point about it because it’s a big part of their life. They make it a part of who they are now. If you become attached to the illness and make it ‘yours,’ then how are you going to let it go and get better?

The ego will not enjoy reading this truth, I know because I have experienced it myself. It is not to say you’re not suffering from an illness, but by making ‘your’ illness a part of who you are then, you are letting it define you as a person, you’re letting your ego latch on to the illness and the story of what it has made you become.

By Frances Masters

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

There’s a lot of research into happiness right now. You know it’s serious when even the government wants to know how happy we are!

The success of any nation can no longer be judged just on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A lot of time, money and resources are now being focused on measuring our Gross Domestic Happiness too.

There are various ways of measuring well-being. The current one favoured in the UK asks people their rating of life satisfaction.. rating of how worthwhile the things they do are.. rating of happiness yesterday.. and rating of anxiousness yesterday.