Sunday, September 21, 2008

Depression Shifts with Gratitude


Here is an email I received today that I wanted to share with you:

" I have to tell you that my husband has been getting a dose of Dr. Cynthia Miller and Gratitude. So, today, when he got home from work, I was telling him something about gratitude yet again and he said he had picked up on it and had been saying "gratitude" to himself. That is a real step for him. He constantly fights depression and has for years and can usually find something negative about most anything. He's a real skeptic/cynic. For him to be going around saying "gratitude" to himself all day is amazing. I also guess that "gratitude" has a different meaning to him than the words "Thank You" and your message has helped him discover that.

Now, I get it, gratitude is a condition that we must learn to live in. He is a very sensitive man and he picked that up. His sensitivity is part of his depression, he really feels bad for the bad things that happened in Rwanda or any of those places. Anyway, your saying that gratitude permeates all things in our brain and will sort it all out for us was his next message from you. It will be become more and more real for all of us.

Thank you very much Dr. Miller!"

Monday, September 8, 2008

What do the candidates' faces reveal?

by Jean Haner
Author of The Wisdom of Your Face


There are many aspects of Barack Obama's face that indicate a man who has a clear vision and the ability to achieve it. The shape of his eyebrows and eyes show that he is not impulsive, nor is he a 'pleaser'; instead, he'll take time to evaluate any situation logically before making a decision. But once he's decided, he'll move forward with no delay. His lower eyelids signify that he will always care about creating a win-win for everyone involved in any situation.

His temples are slightly indented, which reveal a tendency toward being compulsive about work, but also a highly spiritual nature. He will need to be sure to include exercise in his life, in order to relieve any stress.
His jaw is well-defined but narrow. This shows someone who's willing to listen to all sides of an issue, considering diverse needs without being too set in his own opinions. His ears stick out, indicating an independent nature, and this, along with his hairline means he's a bit of a rebel! He also has a mole in an important place near his nose, a sign that he has a powerful purpose in his life.
Overall, there are some significant things to be gleaned from his face as a whole. It'll be important for him to live a life of authenticity and meaning. He wants to make a real difference in the world. It would be especially uncomfortable for him if people misinterpret his words or motivations, because he does have such a genuine nature.
Obama is a practical idealist - he has his head in the clouds but his feet on the ground, a wonderful combination. The same aspects of his face that show this visionary nature also indicate someone who may be experienced by others as a bit aloof. He isn't the warm and fuzzy teddy bear type, and he definitely needs his 'alone' time. But it's a mistake to think he's distant or arrogant. On the contrary, he has a true inner passion, and his path in life is about the devotion to helping others live their best lives.

Joe Biden has the face of a diplomat, able to deal very graciously with a wide variety of situations and personalities. His hairline and forehead show he's open-minded yet thinks for himself. His level eyebrows and squared-off chin indicate a strong practical streak and good common sense. The joy lines around his eyes (what Westerners usually call 'crows' feet') reveal a genuinely caring heart. All this bodes very well for his abilities on many levels and I think he's a spectacular choice for VP.
What interests me most about his face, however, is the difference between the left and right sides! If you use your finger to cover one side of his face, and then the other, you'll see distinct differences.
In Chinese face reading, the left side of the face is said to show someone's more private self, and the right side, the public self. Here we have someone with a much brighter, friendlier expression on his public side. This isn't a surprise. You'd expect a politician to show a very friendly face publicly - it convinces us that he does want make a real connection with us.
So we turn to the left side to see what's also going on privately. On many people, if you look only at the left side of their face, you often see a sad face or even a very negative expression. But here we see a really grounded, authentic expression. Certainly you can see touches of the grief he's experienced in his life. But there is still a genuine warmth. Biden's private self is in balance and encourages trust.

John McCain is a courageous man with great personal strength. He also is a loyal friend, for whom relationships are important. We know this by his life story, but also by looking at his strong lower face. Having said that, this aspect of his face also concerns me. Such a powerful jaw and lower face also indicate someone with enormous potential for anger.
But you can't tell everything about someone simply by looking at one feature on their face. So we need to consider what the rest of McCain's face is saying to us. His eyes are deep-set, and held in a narrowed fashion. This reveals someone who 'plays his cards close to the vest' - you will not always know what he's thinking. And this also signifies that he is not comfortable with his more difficult emotions. He doesn't know how to easily communicate what he's feeling when he's upset, or how to do it in a healthy manner. McCain's tense mouth also shows he's trying to suppress his feelings.
So these three indicators on his face show me that this is someone with 'anger issues', who'll be likely to hold his feelings in until he explodes. They also show at least a tendency toward secretiveness. Now, this can be a good quality for a president, who certainly would need to withhold information on a regular basis.
We also notice a difference between his right and left eyes. Although it may seem like a minor thing, the lower eyelids reveal how much we care about how others fare, or whether we're mostly concerned with our own well-being. His right lower eyelid is rounded, which means that he wants you to believe he cares about your needs. But when we look at his left eye, we see it's more narrowed and the lower eyelid is more of a straight line. This is someone who privately is not overly concerned with creating a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Sarah Palin has the jawline of a successful politican. Studies have shown that politicians with strong, well- defined jaws tend to win elections. In Chinese face reading, her jaw indicates someone who is very competitive, and not shy about pushing forward toward her goals. Her jaw also reveals a rigid belief system, kind of a 'my way or the highway' attitude toward others.
One of the things the jawline shows is how easily influenced someone can be. A strong jaw can be an indicator of firm beliefs and integrity. But Palin's jaw is so powerful a force that it shows she is too stuck in her own way of seeing the world and not likely to consider others' beliefs, values or needs.
Her rounded eyes and curved eyebrows do show a tendency to be kind to others, thanks goodness, and her mouth shows that she cares very much about family and her relationships.

Her prominent cheeks reveal her desire to express her opinion, tell others what to do, and to hold authority overall. She is very well-equipped to speak up and will not be shy to give orders! This is a tough cookie.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Self-Doubt, Fear and Radical Gratitude

I want to share this email and my response about joy and radical gratitude. After reading The Art of Radical Gratitude, the following question arose:

“Your book is full of beautiful images and words that cause me to reflect and put into practice.

My question as an analogy:
My question is, when you get there, when you have obtained joy, happiness and bliss, then what? I feel undeserving of it. I feel as if I have earned my way to the end of the diving board and I have a decision. I can either dive my favorite, most beautiful, elegant dive or allow my self-doubt to push me off, plunge in fear and have to climb the ladder again and try to find my way to end of the board to experience again. Is the answer in the rainbow, the glass ceiling?”

From what I have read and from my personal experience, there is the choice, moment to moment to choose grace, joy and gratitude or self-doubt and fear. This is not a one-time event for most people; it is a choice at each breath. The joy and gratitude keep going deeper, ever deeper, with no end. The gift of the self-doubt and fear is to follow that, rather than run the other way, and breakthrough into joy in the absolute depths of fear, terror and self-doubt. That is the practice!

The answer is in the moment, living your life in joy and gratitude, no matter what! What a truly radical stance to take!

“Thank you so much! Now I understand how radical it is. And how difficult it is to have such joy when the rest of our society and world does not feel this way.
Thank you, in the moment, I choose gratitude!”

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Gratitude Postcard Project

“Seeing blessings in the little things has lead me to a much happier experience and prevented me from going further into complaining, depression and being unsatisfied with my life,” says founder Damaris Pierce. “When you put appreciation into sincere words, it actually manifests that intention. Auspiciously, there is now a lot of scientific research and proof that any mental activity, whether it be fear, love or inquiry, has a direct impact onto the physical world. Whatever we put out there, we get back. Gratitude is a beautiful way to let the Universe know what you love, what you are grateful for - isn’t that what you want more of?”

The national I-Am-Thankful postcard art project encourages you to show your thanks! Postcards submitted can honor people, places, things or circumstances. They can be simple or elaborate, as long as they remain two-dimensional. Please visit http://www.iamthankful.com/ for more information.

Create your postcard and send it to Damaris. Join in by sending gratitude out into the world. Thank You!

Giving Thanks is not just for Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Vote!















Walking in downtown Durango, Colorado I saw these wonderful women with their signs encouraging each of us to vote. Sponsored by The Women's Resource Center in Durango, Colorado, which promotes resources and advocates for the personal empowerment and economic self-sufficiency of women and girls in La Plata County.

Today marks the 88th year where women have the right to vote. This year it is very important that we all get out and exercise our right to vote and make our voices heard.

Using Anger for Transformation

In an earlier comment, Rebecca asked about anger. “During transformation, I sometimes notice anger and frustration more than fear or terror. While it can feel as if the anger is a response to deeper fear, sometimes it feels as if the anger is a stand-alone emotion stirred up or unleashed by the changes going on within.”

In my work I have found that anger is a deep-seated emotion in the ancient parts of our brains. Anger and rage are the impetus to change and transformation. Anger creates movement, while many times fear can create a frozen state.

This excerpt from my new book, The Art of Radical Gratitude addresses rage. Take the depths of rage that have been building since the dawn of consciousness and use it for your personal breakthrough and transformation. Add gratitude to the rage. This rage is really the energy behind creation; it is the force of evolution. We can choose to consciously thank that power- the energy of destruction and annihilation that brings about the birth of the new.

The raw power of anger is a formidable match to break through old stuck energies that block your dreams. Use the tremendous force and power of your anger, mixed with gratitude, to bring radical transformation to your life.

Maintaining the Discipline of Gratitude


I received this comment on my YouTube video, One Minute Shift - Gratitude Transforms the World! “The problem for me is maintaining the discipline of being grateful moment by moment for the necessary time required for building the powerful state.”

In my new book, The Art of Radical Gratitude, the Gratitude Tool Kit offers techniques and practices to easily create moment-by-moment gratitude. Each of the tools offers a unique practice to bring gratitude into your body, into your cells so that the commanding energies of gratitude can transform whatever is arising in the moment. As you work with the Gratitude Tool Kit, the process deepens creating a powerful vortex of transformational energy.

The award-winning photographs in The Art of Radical Gratitude also trigger awakening and change within your body to assist in the process of bringing gratitude into your life. Practice Radical Gratitude and watch your life transform.