We really are so blessed to be living at a time when technology makes accessing and sharing information so simple...it was not long ago to do research you had to get into the car, drive to the library, and then spend hours searching for books on the suject, if they even had any...and if they did, many were so old they were often outdated. Today, in the comfort of your own home, you sit down in front of a computer and the world is literally at your fingertips. Whether you are searching for information about a disease, a treatment, a person, a place...it is all there, in a matter of seconds!!

Tweleve years ago when I was first diagnosed with CFS we didn't have a computer, they were just starting to become "mainstream", and so I had a difficult time not only finding relevant information about the disease, but also found it challenging to find other people who were dealing with a similar experience that I could talk to. Today you can chat with people around the world, learning and sharing, and never feeling alone. I find it equally fascinating that Heal With Hope has had visitors from around the world - Russia, Holland, The Phillipines, Korea, New Zealand, Japan, and many other places...amazing!!!

Yesterday I visited a new doctor whose office is completly high tech - all of my medical records were scanned into their computer and so when I met with the doctor he just opened his laptop and everything (and then some!) that he needed to know about my medical history was right there in front of him. He had a nurse at his side who typed all of his comments/notes directly into my online file...even my lab slip was generated from that same computer!!!

So as I make my "daily gratitude list" today, I am giving thanks for the blessing of living at a time when everything I need or want to know is just a click away...providing all of us with the power to learn, grow, share and connect.
~ Andrea :-)

This is such a special time of year for me - spring, my favorite season, has arrived...and my daughter and I celebrate our birthdays within days of each other. It has become a family tradition for me to write a poem to celebrate our special events...especially birthdays. Because this last year has been such an amazing period of spiritual growth and enlightenment for both of us, I decided that instead of the traditional rhyme, I wanted to write something special for her...and I know she wouldn't mind if I shared it with you:

If I Knew Then What I Know Now…

I would live a life without regrets.
I would know the past is just that…
it is over and done, and can’t be changed –
no matter how hard I try.

I would see worry and fear for what they really are:
a waste of energy…because the only power I have
is over this moment, right here, right now.

I would recognize the power of choice
that is mine in every situation in my life…
and would use it to focus on the positive,
the lessons, the possibilities.

I would live in acceptance of my limitations and faults,
as well as those of others. I would always remember
that I may not be perfect, but that’s ok.

I would allow myself to only count
the blessings and live in gratitude...
and I would know that wanting and needing
are definitely not the same thing.

I would see difficulties and
challenges for what they really are:
opportunities to learn, change and grow.

I would love myself for who and what I am...
in spite of my flaws and imperfections,
and I would always embrace the fact that
I am a work in progress.

I would know that caring, sharing
and giving are really the greatest gift
I can give to myself, and others.

I would make the most of each and every moment,
because I know how precious they really are.
Most of all, I would live my best life...
because I know that is the only way to honor myself,
and God.

~ Andrea :-) 03/08

I have learned much from Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, with the greatest personal lesson being a better understanding of how the ego can create a false sense of self-image and identity. I have been able to identify how an attachment to material possessions had become very self-destructive - both emotionally and physically. I have come to recognize how attached I had become to "things" in an effort to feel better, to reward myself. I see now that I was trying to buy peace and happiness, but instead of finding satisfaction, I was creating a cycle of wanting and "needing" more...no matter how much I had, it was never really enough.

Shopping has always been a hobby, something I've loved to do. But I began to see that it had become something more. The awareness that this was my ego at work... searching for identity and self-worth through possessions, rather than looking for them within. As Tolle so wisely suggests, awareness creates a space between you and "it", and that space can lead to greater presence in the now. This knowledge has enabled me to begin making decisions from a place of logic, rather than the ego.

Now when I shop I find it easier to admire things and leave them there. I am aware that whatever it is, it will not fill any empty places within me, it will not bring me love, or peace. By being more present and grounded I have become more capable of discerning "need" for "want". How liberating and freeing. Thank you Eckhart Tolle for a very valuable life lesson. ~ Andrea :-)

I have recommended many books, but A New Earth by Echkhart Tolle is an absolutely, positively have-to-read experience!!!! This masterpiece is a blueprint for spiritual awakening and enlightenment. It is an education, and offers insight, inspiration, and more "aha" moments than you can possibly imagine.

I am in complete and total awe of the amazing genius that Tolle is...his wisdom and brilliance are apparent on each page, but what is most awe-inspiring to me is how he translates this into the written word so that each of us can comprehend and personally connect with his message. As someone who is attempting to write a book in which I share the wisdom and knowlegde I have gained from my life experiences, I can tell you it is not easy to take your thoughts and put them into words so that they mean something to someone else. Tolle has managed to take a complicated message and make it easy to understand, and I believe personal for each person who reads it.

For me, each page offers an awareness of all that I have known to be true, but have been consciously unaware of...I can now idenify the patterns of ego that have allowed me to perpetuate destructive behaviors that have blocked healing in my life. I have become aware of pain-bodies (emotional blocks) that attempt to draw me into cycles of fear and negativity.

A New Earth is a gift to the world, and gives something unique and personal to each and every person who reads it. I believe it will offer you the opportunity to look at your life in a new way...and pray you are as blessed from its message as I have been. ~ Andrea :-)

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the launch of Heal With Hope. It has been a wonderful year...I have met some of the most incredible people, and grew in ways I could not have imagined possible. What I find most amazing of all is that although there were so many blessings, the year was also filled with challenges and struggles - none of which "set me back", but actually demonstrated what a strong and resourceful person I have come to be. I finally understand that life isn't always going to be perfect, nor the road always smooth...there will be bumps, twists and turns...but if you can see these obstacles for what they really are: a wake-up call, a lesson, an opportunity - they can transform you in the most wonderful way!

I have discovered that if you challenge the status quo, expect great things, and open yourself to all possibilities, amazing things can happen. A little more than a year ago I had no direction, wasn't sure where to go, or what to do. I asked God to please show me the way...and He did.

The Heal With Hope website has led to an idea for a unique book , which I am just finishing and will be available later this year. It is a wonderful book - at least is has been for me to write - a very therapeutic experience for sure! I have several other projects I am working on as well...it is a very exciting time. And yet I still face challenges each day - balancing the need to do all I want to do, with the knowing that I must honor and care for my body, as not listening to my instincts and heeding the warning signs is how I wound up in trouble in the first place! It is a sad time too as I am watching my mother's health decline and know that she may not be here much longer...

I have made peace with the knowing that there are going to be good moments and bad...happy times, and times of grief and sadness. It is all a part of the balance of life. I give thanks for it all...but most especially for the many blessings that make up my life. I thank you God for the love, peace, and purpose you have helped me to find. Thank you for this amazing year, and I give thanks for all of the continued blessings that will continue to flow into my life...

If you are struggling or lost and can't seem to find you way, ask God (or the Universe if you prefer) to "show me what is mine to do"...and then give thanks for it - as if it has already shown up in your life. Asking for help and believing it was going to happen changed my life, and I know it can do the same for you. God Bless You! ~ Andrea :-)