Two years ago I was introduced to Dr John Demartini at a Melbourne event and what he spoke about that night really resonated with me. Since then, I have read and studied John’s material and I am writing this special post to add to Jenny Mannions Heroes of Healing Group Writing Project.

Dr. John Demartini is a world leading behavioral expert, speaker and author at the forefront of the burgeoning personal and professional development industry.

He is a philosopher, teacher and healer and his purpose is to step foot on every country of this earth and help people realise they can be magnificent and live inspiring lives.

John has developed methodologies and principles to help people express love and not in a romantic way but in a universal understanding that there is synthesis and synchronicity of complimentary opposites and everything else is an illusion.

At age 7, his parents were told that he would never read, write or communicate so he turned to the sporting field. At age 14, he was a high school dropout and asked his parents if he could go surfing in California. They agreed and they dropped him off on the highway and sent him on his way.

This photo was taken at the Breakthrough Experience weekend I attended in Melbourne September 2006.

Today, John travels the world speaking on 300 days of the year and is very passionate about helping others to find a balance in their lives and have gratitude for everything they have which in turn lets them attract more of what they do want in their lives.

My most favourite Dr John Demartini quote is:

No Matter what I’ve done or not done, I’m worthy of Love

What Ange has learned from Dr John Demartini

What I have learned from Dr John Demartini is that Joy and Gratitude are the most important emotions we can have. All of us have different values in life and if something supports our values, we class them as good. If something challenges our values, we tend to avoid them. If our life is being supported, we feel joy and if it’s being challenged, we feel sorrow.

Sorrow is an assumption of a loss we are striving for and we suffer because what we strive for is unobtainable.

Joy and sorrow show up in every action and the synthesis and synchronicity of these these two emotions are fulfillment which is Love. Gratitude is when we can embrace joy and sorrow at the same time.

Method to Feeling of Gratitude

John taught me this really simple method on how to go about feeling gratitude which I will share with you. Before you go to bed at night, reflect and review your day and anything you can’t say thankyou for, look at it from a more whole perspective until you can. Then in your own mind, run through all the things you can be grateful for and don’t stop doing this until you have a tear of gratitude for all the areas of your life.

A tear of gratitude washes your mind from any delusion you may hold which you can then be grateful for. The moment you do this, go to your innermost being and ask for inner guidance like:

What mission do you have for me, what direction do you have for me, what am I supposed to do next?

Ask this series of questions every night and document your answers. Once you start doing this, your mission or purpose will become clear.

In the morning, then plan your day. Any details you leave out of your life, someone else will fill in so you might as well fill out the day the way you would love it to be so you know exactly what you are up for.

When the voice and the vision on the inside is louder and more profound than the opinions on the outside, then you begin to master your life and do something extraordinary and magnificent!

Here is a video of Dr John Demartini speaking about Gratitude.

Some resources you may like to try:

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The Breakthrough Experience: A Revolutionary New Approach to Personal Transformation

This is from the weekend course I attended and has helped me tremendously to find balance in all areas of my life.

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The Gratitude Effect (The Inner Power series)

Heroes of Healing

Enjoy these other articles on Heroes of Healing written by:

Brandon Bays by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Dr. Michael Beckwith by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor by Jenny Mannion at Heal Pain Naturally

Dr. Joan Borysenko by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Gregg Braden by Sharon — (posting soon)

Paul Chek by Stephen Cox of Balanced Existence

Dr. Deepak Chopra by Dawn Abraham of Qualified Life Coach

Gary Craig by Akemi Gaines of Yes To Me

Dr. John DeMartini by Ange Recchia

Mike Dooley by Camille Olivia Strate of The Raja Project

Bob Doyle by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Dr. Wayne Dyer by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Gangaji by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Thich Nhat Hahn by Isabella Mori at Change Therapy

Louise Hay by Kelly Rigby of She Power

Jerry & Esther Hicks and Abraham by Camille Olivia Strate of The Raja Project

Napoleon Hill by Cath Lawson of Cath Lawson (Tips for Success in Business and Life) — (posting soon)

Ernest Holmes by Lyman Reed of Creating a Better Life

Roy Hunter by Ellie Blunt of The Transparent Hypnotist

Susan Jeffers by Kate of Experiments in Living

Byron Katie by Caroline Middlebrook of Life Should Feel Good

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross by Ari Koinuma of Our Best Version

Michael Losier by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Nelson Mandela by Mark Hayward of My Tropical Escape — (posting soon)

Barbara Marx Hubbard by Slade Roberson of Shift Your Spirits — (posting soon)

Dan Millman by Matthew Wadleigh and Lisa Erickson at Mommy Mystic

Dr. Christiane Northrup by Marilyn Kay at Mommy Mystic

Mary O’Malley by Dr. Nicole -(posting soon)

Dr. Mehmet Oz by Karen Lynch of Live the Power!

Dr. Eric Pearl by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Rachel Naomi Remen by Mokihana Calizar at Heal Pain Naturally

Susan SARK by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Eckhart Tolle by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Vaishali by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Doreen Virtue by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

Neale Donald Walsch by Evelyn Lim of Attraction Mind Map — (posting soon)

Ron Wilkens by Jennifer Abbott of Principles for Peace

Marianne Williamson by Lisa Erickson of Mommy Mystic

Oprah Winfrey by Jenny Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally

Brad Yates by Suzie Cheel of Abundance Highway

It’s like climbing a mountain don’t you think? Now I know a thing or two about climbing mountains and asking YOU if you care enough about yourself is a valid question.

How often do you say to yourself and others, “I wish there were more time in the day!” I know you would be lying if you didn’t think this at least once a day. Correct me if I am wrong! Time is a very precious commodity that we never get back so use it wisely.

Being a work at home mum inevitably leads to being in the same surroundings day in and day out. Getting out of the house to work for me is a real treat and something I have scheduled in more often with my mobile broadband connection.

If you work from home, you can probably identify with this. The other issues are of course that there is always something to be done around the house and if you have young children, they need attention too. So how do we find the balance and care enough about ourselves to do something about it?

Here’s a question for you and I want you to say it out loud so it really resonates with you.

“How often do I spend time on myself?”

Is it an hour a day?

An hour or more a week?

An hour or more a month?

I think you get the idea. And by this, I mean time just for you and you alone. Whether it be taking a leisurely stroll, meditating, reading a book, listening to your favorite music or maybe sitting amongst nature and listening to the birds! Whatever it is that brings you peace of mind - spend time doing it.

Do you think about the food you eat and whether it is “good” or “bad” for your body? I use those words loosely as one person’s idea of good and bad can be different to the next person.

Do you exercise and stretch your body to keep it flexible and strong? Do you do Mentalrobics for the brain to keep it active? Is this too much of a list for you?

These are basic things we can do for ourselves in the quest to caring for ourselves. I know when I hit 40 I felt fabulous… now a few more years down the track… time seems to slip by me so fast that I can’t keep up with all I need to do!

Does it show to those around you?

Do you care enough about yourself that it shows to those around you? Do your friends comment on a great hairdo or a nice outfit you are wearing? Perhaps your skin always looks great and you receive compliments about this. Or perhaps you showed compassion to another and word got around. You may find that you have more respect than before. That’s not why you would it, it would be a consequence after the fact.

Now you might be asking “What does showing compassion to another have to do with caring about yourself?” Well if you didn’t care about yourself, you wouldn’t be showing compassion. By showing compassion to another, you would have put yourself in their shoes and whatever it was that prompted you to offer them help would have been something that happened to you in the past or to someone else you know and what they went through during that time. If you didn’t care enough about yourself, then how can you care for your fellow man?

Care Enough About Yourself

Some of the things you may want to take on if you care enough about yourself are things that you are passionate about and it really could be anything you find joy in doing and linking pleasure to doing it.

If the traditional way of exercising is not for you, think about taking a dance class like Salsa or Belly Dancing for instance. You will find muscles you never thought you had in those classes, or find someone that has group exercise classes outside of a gym if it’s the gym thing that doesn’t appeal. A simple brisk walk or light jog for 20 minutes everyday may do the trick too with stretching before and after the event.

When it comes to do the grocery shopping, do it after you have had a meal so that you are not tempted to buy extras that you don’t really need. Shopping on a full stomach will lessen the chance of buying something that may not be so good for you and your body.

Grooming is another thing to take note of. Having your hair tidy, makeup done (if you wear makeup that is) and clean well kept clothes also shows if you care enough about yourself. You don’t need to have the latest fashion as the latest fashion doesn’t suit every body or personality type. Wear what you feel comfortable in and remember to check your shoes too. These are things you may not consider on a daily basis and especially if you don’t have to leave the house to commute to work. It’s easy to become nonchalant in this situation and awareness of this is important… well to me anyway.

So do you care enough about yourself? If you don’t, then who will?

While you are considering this, here’s another dance you may be interested in and I look forward to your thoughts. Watch this video… um… you could get out of your chair and follow along… perhaps!

As a founder on the Go Smell the Flowers blog, I have been privileged to be able to hand out these lovely Flower Smeller badges. These are to be presented to bloggers and non bloggers who are smelling the flowers in their own way.

Smelling Flowers means different things to different people. It could be that you are 100% happy with your life and you wouldn’t change a thing. Or perhaps you are working with what you are most passionate about and sharing your knowledge with the online and offline community. It could be that you have had a major re-direct in your life, or writing a book, or already written one with the result ending in it being published. It could even be because you are running a household with a family, working a job, taking care of everyone and still find time to spend with your hobby or passion.

Well today I would like to present this badge to five people (who are bloggers in this instance), who I think will enjoy the Flowers blog and have all achieved milestones in their lives and are heading for more. The badge up at the top of this post takes you to the origin of this award and you are most welcome to come and enjoy Go Smell the Flowers which has a community not of just flowers, but thorns as well… you will see when you get there

So without further ado… and oh… btw… I will be doing this once a month so please leave me a comment to let me know of your blog as I will be seeking out new blogs for this award… this month however, I would like to share it with:

My Aussie mate Allan over at Coffee with Allan Cockerill who is always around to give me a hand if I need it. Allan is also the only male in a household of four teenage daughters and any man who can live under those circumstances deserves a flower smelling badge!

Pearl who writes her thoughts on Interesting Observations and is always a pleasure to read. Having recently lost her father suddenly, Pearl is slowly making her way back into the online community showing her strength of character and I look forward to reading her blog.

Michaela, my niece, who introduced herself here a few weeks ago writing a guest post and then went on to start up her own blog called Michaela, Plainly Me so of course, I would like to encourage her.

Cory over at Dental Plan and Dental Care Tips who gives great dental advice for your pearly whites and offers some great dental plans if you happen to be over in the USA so check out his blog… I found some very funny dentist visit videos there… a word of warning though, if you get queasy visiting the dentist, watch out!

Doc KC is a professional psychotherapist who recently came into the blogosphere and is sharing her vast knowledge with the online community.  She writes in depth articles that make you think and offers advice both publicly and privately and is very approachable so please stop by Doc KC’s Blog and welcome her.

Please enjoy all the above blogs who are all making a contribution in there own way and you are all welcome in the garden at GO! Smell the Flowers any time.

What do these three little words mean anyway? We use them often for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes we use these words with our kids when showing affection. I think you know what I mean if you are a parent and you embrace a child… it seems only natural to say I Love You at the same time as the embrace, or it does for me with my kids.

When we are in the heat of passion with a husband/wife, girlfriend/boyfriend, or even someone we are in lust with, we can say these three little words… they seem to roll off the tongue quite easily under these circumstances don’t you think?

________I Love You____________I Love You__
_____I Love You Love_______I Love You I Love You
____I Love YouI Love Yo___I Love You Love You I Lov
___I Love You Love You Love You _______I Love I Love I
__I Love You I Love You I Love You I _________I Love You I
_I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love_______I Love You I
_I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You______I Love You
__I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Lo__I Love You
I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love
I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Lo
_I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You
__I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love
____I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love You I
_____I Love You I Love You I Love You I Love
______I Love You I Love You I Love You I
_______I Love You I Love You I Love I
________I Love You I Love You I Lo
________I Love You I Love You
__________I Love You I Love
__________I Love You I L
__________I Love You
_________I Love Y
_________I Love
________I Lo
_______I L

We say it to our folks and yet, for some reason, it doesn’t come all that easy to say to our siblings. Is this generalising? I’m not sure about you, but I only ever recall saying these words to my sister once and I have never told my brothers that I love them. Why is this?

I believe that unless some real bonding happens between siblings, the opportunity doesn’t arise all that often to say these words out loud, and it’s kind of an assumed understanding because unless you totally do not get along with your siblings, then the unspoken law suggests that we indeed love our siblings. But now, here is another thing.

I LOVE YOU can be used in more than one context! It has a different meaning when you are in love with someone than when you say it to a friend or relative. Those three little words certainly get around and are the most precious words you could hear. So today’s task is to be aware of how many times you say I LOVE YOU if at all and who you reference when saying it. I know I use it with my kids more than anyone else… maybe I need to pay more attention to my other half and let him know more often. Who is someone in your life that you could go up to right now and say these three little words too?