Tag: Inspirational

Something New

Published on by Jan Sikes38 Comments

In Texas, and all across America, we have this thing called “Taco Tuesday.”

Being the curious soul that I am, I wondered how that tradition got started. What I found is that a restaurant in California, Taco John’s, started and registered a trademark for this tradition in 1989. And it has been carried forward since that time to become a national celebration every Tuesday!

But, I digress.

I am going to start a new weekly post here on my blog site called, “TAROT TUESDAY.”

I’m sure many of you have worked with Tarot cards in the past and some of you have written books based on Tarot cards, so you are no stranger to this method of divination.

Tarot Cards likely originated in Northern Italy in the late 14th century. The oldest surviving set, known as the Visconti-Sforza deck, was created for the Duke of Milan’s family around 1440.

So, they’ve been around a LONG time!

I’ve been working with Tarot Cards for over twenty years. I use the standard Rider-Waite deck, which has been around since 1909.

The way I like to work with the cards on a daily basis, is to light incense and a candle, meditate, ask the Angels for guidance, then pull one card from the deck. I then look at it as my message for the day or my focus for the day.

Every Tuesday, I will be pulling a card to share with you here. The translation I like best is Biddy Tarot. And that is where I will go for the meaning of the card drawn.

This is all done in fun, light and love and only meant to give you food for thought or an uplifting message for the day. So, take it in the spirit it is given.

My first post will be on Tuesday, June 11 (which just happens to be my oldest granddaughter’s birthday!) After that, I will post weekly on TAROT TUESDAY!

Feel free to share with me any and all thoughts about the cards, your experiences, or your insights. This is meant to be an interactive post.

See you on Tuesday with the first card!

An Inspired Endeavor

Published on by Jan Sikes30 Comments

I hesitated to blog about this because it is SO new that the wrapping isn’t fully off the box yet. But I decided to share for two reasons. I am excited about this new endeavor and I feel it serves a large purpose.

A friend recently, while discussing the writing crossroads I find myself sitting in the middle of, suggested that I consider writing a book entitled “The Next Chapter.”

This comes on the heels of yet another rejection from publishers, of my fiction series. Perhaps fiction writing isn’t my forte. Or, perhaps the timing simply isn’t right. Who the heck knows? I certainly don’t.

At any rate, as we talked, I got inspired and excited about writing “The Next Chapter.”

The more I thought about it, the more I discovered a treasure trove of hard-earned insight and wisdom I have to share. And, it just might help someone else in the same situation.

I tossed together a rough draft book cover in Canva late last night, to get the project started. It is not set in stone but is a place to start.

And, based on your feedback about the X across the man on the cover, here’s a rough attempt at putting in a ghostly man image instead. Of course, this is still a Work In Progress.

You see the premise of the book. I’m going to share my opening paragraphs and I welcome your comments and suggestions! This is going to be an incredibly rewarding piece of writing.

INTRO:

“You can never move forward if you are always looking back.”

Did you know that in 2018 there were over eleven million widows in the United States alone? Let that sink in for a minute. Over eleven million women faced with rebuilding a life after the loss of a spouse.

And yet, at that time; when you are one of those eleven million in the throes of the loss and grief, you feel completely and utterly alone. No one could possibly know the degree of pain and emptiness you feel. Surely, no one else has ever had such an irreparably broken heart as yours. But they have.

The average age of a woman, when she loses her spouse, is 59. I was 57.

It is statistically proven that women live longer than men for many different reasons. Mathematics plays a large part. Most often, men marry younger women which adds to the gap in the equation. Generally speaking, women take better care of themselves, eat healthier and are more aware of their overall well-being than men. But, none of that lessens the intensity of grief when your spouse dies.

The widow faces a life of many years, perhaps even decades, without a partner. While there is a small percentage of widows who remarry, statistics show approximately ninety percent do not.  

The purpose of this book is to encourage and empower women in the process of reinventing themselves after such a loss. Many of the same principals could apply to men who have lost a spouse or even divorcees. But, for the purpose of this book, I am focused on women forced to start over ― alone because of death.

There you have it. Please share your thoughts! In the back of the book, I am going to share stories from other women who I know personally and who are also widows. I want as many different aspects of re-inventing oneself as I can gather.

F.E.A.R.

Published on by Jan Sikes21 Comments

Fear concept with word eraser and pencil on white background

Just last weekend, I attended an Author’s Marketing Event. There were so many interesting, informative and educational workshops and I learned lots.

But, one workshop, in particular, started off with the letters above.

F alse

E vidence

A ppearing

R eal

That gave me pause. How many times do our fears (false evidence appearing real) stop us in our tracks? We can imagine failure before we even embark on a quest. So, this thought came to mind. What if we could immediately erase “fear” (cancel, clear, delete) and replace it with a positive vision? I personally think that would change our entire gameplan. Just the incredible energy of switching one thought is extremely powerful and produces results.

We’ve all been programmed to think and act a certain way. We have filters that we view through. Not all of these are bad. Some are extremely beneficial and positive. But, anytime we let even the tiniest bit of negativity in, a seed is planted and grows like a proverbial weed.

So, I thought about a few ways to turn “fear” (false evidence appearing real) into “FEAR” (Fearless Eager Approach Reward).

Finding a quiet space of solitude to do some meditation is first and foremost the number one most effective way to release fear and gain a different perspective. There are some excellent guided meditations on YouTube. If you are a beginner, search for the ones that say “beginner meditations.” Of course, it would be wonderful if we all had our own private beach for practicing meditation, but the truth is most of us don’t. And you don’t have to sit in the cross-legged position on the floor to do meditation. You can practice that quietness sitting in a chair or lying on your bed. It doesn’t matter. The importance is going within and letting your own sweet soul help you gain a more open and more positive perspective.

Meditation_Beach

Take a step back and look more objectively at whatever is causing fear.

Kitty Lion

Listen to some uplifting music. Music is an excellent way to raise our vibration.

Music_Uplifting

Get outside in nature and reflect on the reality of what is causing fear.

Nature

It has been said that the opposite of fear is acceptance. There is a nugget of truth in that. Find what works for you, but most of all, don’t let FEAR cripple you and keep you from going for that pot of gold or rainbow.

There are approximately 3,600 books published per day in the United State. That’s a heck of a lot of books!

But, there will NOT be one book exactly like the one you write. Organizations can often be helpful in the entire frightening process of publishing your first book and I’ve listed some of the ones I know to be excellent below.

What do you do when you find yourself dealing with the fear of moving forward? I’d love for you to share your experiences, including any organizations that you’ve found to be supportive and helpful.

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF AUTHORS

THE ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT AUTHORS

Take time to research active writing groups in your area. They can be invaluable for feedback and critique.

LIST OF WRITING GROUPS

Seeing Through The Eyes of the Heart

Published on by Jan Sikes43 Comments

red-heart-love-eyes-wallpapers-1680x1050

We all have filters that affect the way we view different people, situations, and circumstances in life.

And, when the Universe sends me a message in multiple forms, I take it as a sign that it is something I need to pay attention to. And that is the case with the title of today’s blog.

Listening to the radio yesterday, I heard a song that caught my ear. The man was singing about two lovers and the lyrics went like this: “He didn’t see her through his eyes, he saw her through the eyes of his heart…”

I loved that line.

Our physical eyes are very related to our conditioned or filtered thoughts. You’ve heard the saying, “Seeing is believing.” But this is actually totally inaccurate. Instead, scientists have discovered that ‘Believing is seeing.” We only see what we believe we are seeing. Our conditioned thoughts filter and re-arrange what we see to fit our beliefs.

So if we want to see the world as it is, we can’t rely on our physical senses. They are much too distorted by our conditioned beliefs. Instead, we can learn to see through our heart. We can learn to see the world through feeling.

The Oglala Lakota Chief, Black Elk, said, “We can all see in the day, and this seeing is sacred for it represents the sight of that real world which we may have through the eye of the heart.”

This morning on Annette Rochelle Aben’s Attitude of Gratitude blog, I found the same message about looking through the eyes of the heart, and how different things appear.

So, I felt compelled to pass along that thought.

I recently found myself in a social situation where there was this perfect woman. She had the perfect body, blonde hair, straight shiny white teeth, fashionable clothes, the latest trendy shoes, and she exuded money and social perfection.  As any other woman would do, I felt intimidated and small next to her.

I don’t know about you, but I hate that feeling of inadequacy. I know it goes back to my childhood and being an outcast in school because of the religion forced on me,  but I fight it with every ounce of my being.

As soon as I could do so with appearing obvious, I slipped away and went home. Did I feel down? Heck, yes. Should I have? Heck, NO!

Because at the end of the day, our physical appearance is not the reality of who and what we are. The physical body will disintegrate into dust (or ashes in my case) and what remains is the heart and soul of the person.

I don’t know this woman on a personal level. I only judged her through my mind’s eye, not from my heart.

So, even though this powerful message was for me, since I am compelled to share it, I am to believe it may be for someone else as well.

We know who and what we are on the inside. And, when our earthly journey ends, that is what will remain. Perspective is everything.

Try looking through the eyes of the heart for just one day and see what a difference it makes.

Big Hugs and thank you for taking the time to read this message. I hope it inspires one person today!

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Footprint

Published on by Jan Sikes39 Comments

footprint

Everyone’s footprint, like their fingerprint, is unique and individual. Today, I was talking with a friend about famous singers and how ofttimes, their children try to fill their shoes.  For instance, more than one of Merle Haggard’s children have tried to break into music without their father’s degree of success. Another example is Shooter Jennings, who is a great artist in his own right, but not of the caliber his father, Waylon was.

In the course of our conversation, these words came out of my mouth and were so profound that I had to share. I said, “No one can walk in the exact same footprint as another person. We have to make our own footprints in life.”

The more I thought about it, the deeper it got.

As an author, I have at times doubted whether I have anything to contribute that hasn’t already been done. The old saying, “There is nothing new under the sun,” comes to mind.

But, when I think about it from the context of my quote, it all changes. No one can tell a story exactly the same way I can. You could take one hundred people, give them all the same subject title and you would get one hundred different stories. That is because we are all different. We view the world through unique lenses and no two are alike.

In the middle of writing this post, I received an email from a dear friend who is a psychic medium. She said she had a message from the Angels. Here was the message: “I asked my own Angels if they had an affirmation to share with you today. Their answer is that your unique self is special and enough, don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. ”

I swear you can’t make this stuff up. Obviously, some of are needing to hear this.

So, if you ever think that you may not have anything to offer this congested world, think again. You do!

You have your own footprint to make. Be brave, bold and sure and move forward with your dreams, goals, and ambitions. Even if it’s been done thousands of times over,  it has not been done like you can do it.

To celebrate April – National Poetry Month I give you this food for thought.

Make your own footprint

Wherever you roam

Whether near or far

Let your dreams be known

The race is one of endurance

Not merely a sprint

Be bold and brave with assurance

That none can copy your footprint.

Happy Footprinting!!

beingyourselfquote-299