The meaning of substantial and how it has changed me.

I recently became interested in the word substantial.

The definition of substantial is: adjective
1.of ample or considerable amount, quantity, size, etc.: a substantial sum of money.
2. of a corporeal or material nature; tangible; real.
3.of solid character or quality; firm, stout, or strong: a substantial physique.
4.basic or essential; fundamental: two stories in substantial agreement.
5.wealthy or influential: one of the substantial men of the town.
(Sourced from dictionary.com)

The definition that stood out to me was number 3: of solid character or quality; firm, stout or strong. I pondered on that. How could i develop a more substantial life and character? And then how can I transfer that to my life, relationships, and work?
I was then drawn to the synonyms for substantial: (sourced from thesaurus.com)
big consequential considerable extraordinary meaningful significant solid steady strong valuable abundant
big-deal durable firm goodly key major-league plentiful principal sound stable sturdy superabundant

well-built worthwhile


Wow! Quite the list right? These are just a few of the words that stood out to me. All of these are qualities that I am working on developing.


How am I developing these qualities? Through developing integrity, keeping my commitments to others and my self, and working through my concerns through journaling and prayer.

I have seen such great results through focusing on becoming a substantial person. I have learned to persevere through tough times and continue journaling. My journal is becoming one of my closest confidants. I can count on it to never judge me. I only judge myself.

I am realizing that through becoming more substantial I can be a greater influence for good for all those around me.

My relationships are getting better; not only with others but also myself. I am gaining greater love and respect for myself. I am learning to love and accept myself for who I am today. My past is in the past and the future isn't here yet. All I have is what I have here in the present.

So I ask you, what are you doing today to make the best of today? What are you doing today to have the best experiences possible?



Cheers!


Rachel

The problem with gossip and how it can hurt everyone involved.

The other day at work (my hospital job) one of our patients fell. He ended up breaking his hip. The nurse who was trying to put the pieces together was put in a hard spot. She was trying to figure out who was at fault. What ended up happening was assumed accusations.

After I left work, after 12 hours of hearing about how to deal with the situation, I felt completely drained. I also made my fair share of mistakes at the end of my shift. This also left me feeling like a failure.

What did I learn from this experience?
1. Don't assume anything. Communicate the facts and the rest will work itself out.
2. Don't gossip. We all have something important to contribute.
3. If you're unhappy with where you are in life then change it! Life is too short to be unhappy.

I also left work evaluating my own life and where I'm happy and fulfilled. Where am I making the best contribution in life? Am I happy with my current situation? If not, then where can I make adjustments? What are my priorities? How can I succeed as a health coach? How can I succeed as a doTERRA leader? How am I going to accomplish all I want to with my current financial situation? How much do I trust my intuition, and how do I recognize what my intuition?

I've done a lot of pondering the past couple days since my experience at work. What is my purpose as a registered nurse? Am I still fulfilled? How can I become more competent as a rehab nurse?

When we are going through a life change and we are being led in a direction we are unsure of, faith is required to lead us to where we need to go. My faith is being challenged. Not my faith in God, He is always with me. Faith in myself...rather trust in myself is being challenged. Do I trust myself enough to do what needs to be done to be successful in this new path? What changes do I need to make? How much sacrifice will be required for me to find happiness and homeostasis again?

By now you're probably wondering what I like about being a registered nurse? Here's a few things I like about my job as an RN:
1. Being in charge! I love being in charge and being in control.
2. Changing cool dressings and seeing the miracle of healing first hand.
3. Making a positive impact on someones life. I love being able to make someone smile and help them feel better
4. Flexibility. I appreciate working my required hours in a shorter period of time. Yes I work 12 hour shifts but I only work a couple times a week. That leaves more time for me to be with my friends and family. Also more time to do what I want: exercise, studying, and reading.

There are a lot of perks to being a nurse. I guess for now it's still one of my callings in life :-)

The beauty of essential oils and how they enhance meditation

I love using essential oils! I enjoy how they can uplift my spirits, help me feel grounded, and open communication between me and God. 

I was praying this morning and decided to put InTune on my third eye (the point between the eyes). Oh my gosh!! My prayer was so much more focused and the communication between me and God was so much more fulfilling! 

I had alot of revelations and insights. Here's a few:

1. I have been holding/carrying burdens for others here on Earth, those that have passed, and those that are not here. Those that are here on Earth include my mom, brother, and friends. Those that have passed are ancestors that didn't take care of their worries and mistakes and anger before they passed. Those that are not here are the children I am not able to bring to our family (this I'm sure is my own burden but to make letting it go and dealing with I have labelled it this way). 

2. Holding resentment and shame for past mistakes and pain I have caused others. I was not the best teenager to my parents. I did a lot of things that hurt them and caused sorrow. I allowed myself to feel that pain, shame, sorrow, resentment, grief. And then gave the burdens I had been carrying that are not mine back to those whose burden it is. The burden, shame, resentment, and anger that was mine I put in a box so it wasn't with me anymore and gave it to my Savior, Jesus Christ. He knows what to do with it and through His Atonement I can be made whole again!

3. Through prayer and meditation today I am truly able to accept myself, both past and present. I am here on Earth to bring light and love to others. I want others to be happy because life is supposed to be happy, not heavy and sad. I'm not bragging or saying I'm better then anyone else. Each person has gifts and talents that makes them unique. That's the beauty of being human. We are all different and unique. Isn't that great!? God made each of us unique with gifts and talents. He made this Earth and a plan so we could have a greater experience here on Earth to grow and have JOY! Life is meant to be enjoyed! It won't always be easy because we are here to learn. However, we have a Savior who loves each one of us. He already suffered and felt our pain for each and every temptation and sorrow we may feel. We don't have to carry them. We can hand them over to Him and He will do what is supposed to be done with them. After we can fully let go of our sorrow, resentment and pain Jesus Christ fills up the emptiness with light, love, joy, acceptance, peace, and support. I know this because I felt it today! After letting go of things we have held on to for so long it is normal to feel awkward and a little out of place. Don't give up and don't give in! Ask Jesus for help and support! He will provide that through supportive friends, ancestors, and the present of His spirit. He loves each one of us for our unique gifts and talents. I know He loves me and accepts me for who I am!

4. I realized I am a Type 1 (Carol Tuttle energy profiling) woman! I love my bright cheery self! I love bringing light and love to others! The shapes that represent the Type 1 are circles, hearts, and stars. How fitting for someone who is represented by the elements of nitrogen and air :)

Through using essential oils, whole nourishing food, and great supportive supplements I have provided support to my body to heal. Through that healing I have been able to let go of burdens and open up to new possibilities! 

I look forward to what today holds and being able to bring light, joy and love to those around me and most importantly to myself!

Social Eating

I am finding it easier to control my portions when I'm by myself. but as soon as I get in a group my discipline goes down the toilet. For example, I set a goal this week to eat more vegetables (I eat quite a few now but wanted to eat more greens) and I did. I also am trying to not over eat.

Tonight I went to my friends house while our husbands watched the priesthood session of our church's general conference. We indulged in ice cream yummyness with hot fudge, peanut butter, chopped almonds, and reeses mini's. Oh and bananas. Yes it was good and I did enjoy it. Here is the problem and why I"m struggling to not beat myself up about it. I ate not only mine but the rest of my daughters and a lot, and I mean a lot of cinnamon bears. I find connection with people through food. I love connecting with people though eating good food and enjoying their company.

Here is another thing I want to work on. Connecting with people in other ways. Like through games, getting outside and being active. Making this change will also help me change my relationship with food. Instead of getting together with people for great food, why not connect with them in other ways?

I have set a goal for myself to be a comfortable, strong, sexy size 3 by our trip to California, May 25. It's possible. I'm afraid I won't achieve it. I AM TRYING and AM DOING MY BEST. I keep telling myself 1 indulgence, such as tonight, each week isn't going to undo all the healthier eating I did earlier this week.

I am practicing more self love this week through taking time to journal, listening to my cravings, drinking more water, exercising more, and talking positively to myself. I try to talk to myself as I would talk to my best friend or daughter. I would never tell my daughter or best friend the terrible things I say in my head. Things like, "Oh you totally messed up!" "You're such a failure!" "You can't do anything right!" "You didn't even stick to the food plan you set for yourself, what a failure. You will never reach your goal, you're not good enough!"

I'm trying to be better about saying things like: "So you had a little too much, try better next time to have better portion control. You can do this and You'll do better next time." "You're still an important person, just because you indulged doesn't mean you're any less of a person." "You do deserve to have the best things inside you." "You are worth the effort and deserve to feel good about yourself and to look good. If people judge you by the way you look they are probably jealous. Love them anyway."

I know I am still worth it and deserve the best. I deserve to look good and feel good all the time. Part of that feeling good is putting good things in my body and feeling good after I eat. Not overfull or stuffed. I do not feel good after doing that.

I am trying and know it will take time. Any change takes time. I now I am learning to listen to my body and respect it a divine creation. God blessed me with my amazing body and He also understands I am not perfect. He wants to teach me to love and respect my body. He wants me to feed it good things. I want to feed my body what it needs and to understand it's cravings better.

In school we are learning about cravings and what they mean. Craving sweets usually means craving sweet attention. So touch, love, affection, warm connection, fun, etc. Anything that means sweet or uplifting. I hope that makes sense lol. I am a naturally uplifting happy person and love connecting to people in that way.

The friend I met with tonight, her and I have always connected with food. So now I want to change that connection. In fact, all my friends we have always connected with food. I want to change that. I want to start connecting with my friends through other things: activities, outdoors, etc. Things other then food. I mean food is fun don't get me wrong....but I want to change the pattern. I think first I need to continue to change my relationship with food. I need to balance my primary foods: relationships, career, physical activity, and spirituality. This will help me to change my relationship with food from primary nourishment to secondary nourishment. I enjoy food and love the way I feel when well fed. However, I also love feeling connected and loved with others.