Write Your Own Love Letter in 6 Easy Steps

You want to tell your partner how you feel about them but you end up staring at a blank screen for so long you give up. Or you try a few lines only to delete them all and start over. Again. Why is it so hard to tell the loved one in our life exactly what they mean to us? Do you struggle to find the words to properly convey how you feel? Or is it that you just can't explain it? Don't let words get in the way of telling your loved one how much they mean to you.

Everyone wants to be loved. When you are busy living life, there never seems time to slow down and really savour that central relationship that makes it all worthwhile. Oftentimes we think that those closest to us know exactly how we feel about them and how important they are to us. But the sad reality is that often they don't.

So how can you write a love letter that you will feel proud to give and one that your loved one will cherish for all time? Where do you start? Follow these easy tips below and you'll be on your way in no time.

1. First write down 5 things that you love about your partner and be as specific as possible. Rather than writing that they are kind, instead be detailed about how they are kind. Perhaps they always smile at waiters in restaurants or they are great at making people feel included, especially at parties.

2. Write down 5 things that they have done that confirms how much you love them and again, give examples. Perhaps they enveloped you in a hug last night when you were feeling frustrated about your family. Or maybe they knew how disappointed you were when you missed out on that promotion and they cooked a special meal to cheer you up.

3. Pick the best three examples from each of the above categories and weave them into your letter. You could start by saying 'I love how you…' and then include the three examples from the first point. Then you could say something like 'I loved the way you…' and then mention the other examples. Make sure you emphasise how their actions made you feel, how loved you felt and how grateful you are to have them in your life.

4. It is best to write up a draft first and then go over it to see if you can improve it. Sometimes it helps to write up what you want to say, edit it until it flows well and then leave it for a day or two before going back for a final edit and polish.

5. Buy some special paper and write out your letter. Don't worry if your handwriting isn't perfect – it's distinctly yours and your loved one will appreciate the time and effort you put into the letter. If you feel your writing is so bad it will be difficult to read or if your illegible handwriting is something you've argued about before then pay to get it hand written by a professional. At a stretch you could use a more romantic font on your computer, say Garamond in italic, but you should really only do that as a last resort. The more personal you can make your letter the more your loved one will treasure it.

6. Think about how you plan on delivering this letter to them. Will you slip it in their briefcase? Mail it? Leave it under the pillow? Do you want to be there when they open it? If you want to see their reaction, then it is best to hand it to them. You could team the letter up with a small gift like flowers or chocolate but make sure the gift doesn't diminish the letter as you want that to be the main focus.

If a birthday or anniversary or other special occasion is involved you'll want to include mention of that too.

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Keep on keeping on!

We all have felt at times like if the world crumbled upon ourselves. We've felt in a hole, a dark bit of reality, caused by negative feelings. It can be disappointments, bad news, a difficult moment in a relationship, failures, you name it.

At those times we don't really know the way out. We only know it's necessary to get out, for our own sake (the realisation can come after a while). How do you put yourself together? What do you decide it's important and you're going to hang on to? What would be the best frame of mind to have?

Whenever you want to get out of a real-feeling-bad situation you just need to realise that the answer is in yourself. Give yourself importance. Realise that there's nobody else that can be you better than you, right now, or ever.

You just need to turn to yourself and focus. Forget about what caused you to be in the bad-feeling situation and forget about all your feelings. Focus on who you are and what you want - to achieve, to become, to have... If you have a clearly defined goal, focus on it.

Concentrate on how it would feel to achieve what you want. Feel good. Enjoy feeling good. Use this energy as strength to go ahead. Whenever you start feeling bad, come back to what makes you feel good and light the fire.

Know that there is nothing to fear and you will never be alone, for there will always be someone at eath time for you. Decide to have a positive attitude no matter what.

Besides, there is nobody or anything bigger than you. You are perfectly capable of enjoying a good life withing yourself, and you do not need anybody else to help you do so.

Have the courage to be yourself and do what you have to in order to reach what you want. The strength that you need is just within yourself. Remind yourself of your goals. Don't ever give up.

Feel good with yourself and keep on keeping on!

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Enlightenment Is Not Just One State

Many people has the notion that enlightenment is one state. Many also believe that when it is attained, a person is forever in that state.

The following is not a definitive article on this subject. It is just an expression of my own thoughts.

My opinion is that enlightenment is not just one state but is a progressive and gradual establishing of states of consciousness.

I, myself have not reach the end of the road. But from years on a spiritual quest, I can safely say that enlightenment happens in a series or stages of self-realisations and self-discoveries.

Usually there is a difference between an initial awakening and a later stabilisation of that stage that happens through practice or experiences. The initial awakenings are new discoveries about the dynamics of consciousness, while the stabilisation is the assimilation of what is being discovered into one's life experience. Sometimes, a new discovery can completely over-rule or modify upon an older one.

Almost all stages of enlightenment can be said to be associated with Presence. However, the enlightening Presence comes in various degrees of intensity and clarity. The degree of intensity is directly dependent on the level and depth of one's clarity as well as one's realisations/discoveries.

Also, as one progresses along, the relationship or connections of oneself to the universe and existence at large also becomes clearer.

Below very briefly illustrates the progressive and stage-based nature of enlightenment:

When one first begin meditating, one may first experience the all-pervading Presence. This Presence, is most often experienced when thoughts are momentarily suspended. This Presence which exists in the Eternal Present Moment is our true self

However such an experience can only be classified as an awakening to the true self.. which is no-self. This is because, after the meditation, the Presence seems to have disappeared. One cannot understand and find the connection of presence to our everyday life. Therefore one will have difficulty re-acquiring the Presence. And it takes many stages and series of realisation to understand the relationship of Presence to our phenomenal world. It can be said that the prolonged sustaining of Presence is dependent on the stages and depth of realisation.

Also, during the earlier stages we may mistaken another state to be the pure presence. For example, we may mistaken 'I AM' for pure presence. This is because the thinking mind has created a reflective image of Pure Presence. This reflection of the absolute is 'I AM'.

Usually, in order to pass through the 'I AM' stage, the person must move unto even deeper understandings. These understandings may include realising that one's personality is not the doer of action. This stage may persist for a while before the person realises the illusion of subject-object division. This stage involves recognising the hypnotic impression of there being an observer and the being observed. Here is where one begins to see through the illusionary nature of our phenomenal world.

I cannot comment on the stages before me as they are beyond me. Nevertheless, one can still see from the above description that enlightenment is not so straight-forward after all.

For your necessary discernment. Thank you for reading.

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Choosing the right path

When someone does something that they know that they shouldn't do, did they really have a choice. Maybe what I mean to say is did they really have a chance. You can take two people, present them with the same fork in the road, and one is going to have an easier time than the other choosing the right path.

Is there such a thing as the right path? You could argue back and forth with God and Evolution and such topics. The side that you take in an arguement like that might lead you to think that you know the meaning to life. How can we really know though. At least up until now there isn't and 100% proof to either side. If God was a gaurantee - why would he leave so many of us here to die, without the information or say it as proof that we individually would have needed to make that choice? If Evolution was a gaurantee - why would there be two thousand years of person to person proof that Jesus walked on Earth? We've already seen alot of weird things happen in our lifetime, and I think that we will see alot more. Our world is too much of an unstable place, and as time grows on we just grow out further. Every Civilization has fallen. How long do you think we have? Look at America. We're built on a pretty rough foundation. Events like the Hurricanes, have humbled us, and showed us how vulnerable we are to things we can't avoid. Our entire economy is built on Oil, and we are feeling the effects of the instability in the Oil world. Will the next war be over oil. Was the last one

The Persian Gulf has over half of the word's oil sitting underneath it, but they can't seem to get their act together above the surface. The United States is the larget consumer of Oil, and they only have 3% of the world's oil reserves. How long can they go on, being so dependent on Oil, and borrowing as much as they do. Well into the Trillions, the US is the world's largest debtor. That makes me wonder where all that money is coming from. The 30's showed us what happens when the markets collapse. Are we smart enough to keep our economy going in the 00's? I don't think so. Not when we have monkeys like Bush kicking about. Not to pick on him in particular but here are some funny links

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Happiness Takes Work: 5 Choices to Create Happiness

All of us have met people who just seem to be happy most of the time. Perhaps you have assumed that these people are just naturally happy, or that they are the lucky people who have an easy life, or they had really loving parents. Most of the time, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Happy people are making specific choices regarding their thinking and behavior. Happy people consciously choose to think and behave in ways that result in happiness. Unhappy people are unconsciously thinking and behaving in ways that create unhappiness.

Following are five of the specific choices that happy people make:

OPTIMISM

Happy people see the glass as half full, while unhappy people choose to be pessimistic – to see the glass as half empty. Optimistic thinking does not just happen - it is a choice regarding how you see life. Optimistic people are optimistic because they CHOOSE to be optimistic. Instead of allowing their ego wounded self to be in charge with all its doom and gloom, happy people put their loving adult self in charge and open to the wonderful possibilities that life has to offer. Happy people realize that their thinking is the beginning of a creative process that leads to manifestation. By thinking in positive ways, they move themselves to act in ways that manifest their dreams.

KINDNESS

Happy people choose to be kind and compassionate toward themselves and others. Happy people have learned that how they treat themselves and others determines much of how they feel. Happy people do not wait to be happy before being kind to themselves and others. They realize that their happiness is the RESULT of their caring behavior, not the CAUSE of it. They are kind, caring and compassionate whether or not they feel like it. They have chosen this way of being, and their happiness is the result.

FORGIVENESS

Happy people do not harbor resentment toward others, even others who have been mean and hurtful toward them. They realize that resentment makes them unhappy, so they choose to allow people their humanness and forgive them their hurtful behavior. Because happy people tend not to take personally others' uncaring behavior, they don't get their feelings hurt in the same way that people do who take others' behavior personally. Happy people recognize that another's behavior is really about that other person, so they move into compassion toward themselves and others rather than into judgment.

ACCEPTANCE

Happy people realize what they can control and what they can't. They live by the Serenity Prayer, accepting the things they cannot change and changing the things they can. Unhappy people are constantly trying to change people and circumstances and do not accept their lack of control. As a result, they are constantly frustrated. Happy people realize they cannot control others and outcomes, so they focus on what they can control – their own thinking and behavior. Acceptance of what they can and cannot control leads to happiness and inner peace.

GRATITUDE

Finally, happy people are consistently grateful for what they have, rather than complaining about what they don't have. They notice the many gifts and blessings that come their way and they frequently express gratitude for the everyday things in their lives – the beauty of nature, the food they eat, the smile on a friend's face, their ability to see, hear, walk, talk. Even many disabled people who may not have the blessings of eyesight, hearing, speech or legs are often happy people because they focus on what they do have and what they can do, rather than focusing on what they are missing out on.

If you want to be happy, then you need to recognize that happiness is the result of your thinking and behavior, not the cause of it. If you choose to focus on becoming conscious of what thoughts and behavior make you feel happy, you can become a happy person – regardless of your present circumstances. Happiness does not just happen – it takes work!

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