My MISSION!

I'm soooo super excited for my "Commitment List"
Thank you Snoopy for "loving me" and helping to transform my life.

I recently started another seminar at Landmark Education titled "Commitment" it is a free 10 week course that is given when you take the Forum (as i did) There is so much i have learned in just one day (already)

One of the main things is the real true meaning of "Commitment" Now this could be related to anything in you life. Your job, children, community, relationship, friends, volunteer, and the list goes on. We were told to write a list of things you are committing too and so i did.

I will NOT tell you what all of them were but i will mention a few:

Writing a full chapter a week in my book (So i can hurry up and finish it)
Making a date night for the kids every week
Mission Trip before the summer

Ok now there are about 6 more but I'm here to talk about one main one; My Mission Trip.

I have been putting this on hold for wayyyyyy to long now. I would say, i first wanted to take this trip about 5 years ago. I kept thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it LOL.
Finally after taking the Landmark Forum and started the JoyeRide Project http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJoyeRide
I decided to give it my all.

The girls and i (Natalia, Snoopy, Lasha, Veena) have all taken the Landmark Forum and are all on the same page in regards to "community outreach and helping the helpless"

So we agreed a "mission trip" would be the most rewarding thing we can possibly do. When i mentioned it to my son (in hopes he would come) he jumped on it ASAP! His reply was "Mom i would love that"

So we are looking into "Costa Rica" and will be booking it next month once to depart either May or latest June :-)

After watching tons of video footage of these mission volunteer trips on YouTube i decided i would devote my life to take a trip at least once a year and also getting my Captain (2 and a half old) involved once he gets old enough to remember the trip.

I know that my outreach work that i do on a regular basis may not be much to some people BUT there is no feeling in the world like the feeling i get when I'm out there with these people looking into their eyes and seeing their unspoken pain. They are so thankful for the smallest gifts. Mittens, hats, food etc
I can only imagine what this "trip" is going to do for my soul and for my teenage son.

 We have so much to give thanx too. Clean water. Heating in our homes. Food to eat everyday. Toilet paper. Blankets and a mattress. Family. Our health. I mean i could go on and on mentioning all the wonderful simple things we can thank God for. But these people have none of the above. They have to wait for a delivery date and can barely have a full meal a day. They can NOT be promised tomorrow. Many of them don't even have family members close by. They have all been separated due to unfortunate circumstances.

I'm committed to making a difference in this world. I want to be remembered for what i did for the less fortunate men, women, children and babies.

Despite where I am in life or what i may be doing, my children and i will be giving back. Some way, some how.

I invite you to take your children on this journey. If you do not have any children, take yourself or family members. Or maybe like us, take a group of friends along with you. You will be transformed for life. You will never be the same.

Let's be more compassionate towards others and each other. Understand and forgiving. I spent time with "unforgiving feelings" for too long. It ate away at my soul and my joy. It destroyed me inside. Finally i LET IT GO and I'm free to LOVE and express my compassion in ways that i was not able to in the past. I'm at peace with my family and myself and that is truly what life is about. You have got to remember that "people" hurt us because of their "own" pain. It never has anything to do with you-directly. So don't hold them hostage for your pain. Because the truth is, they are also in pain. Silent pain. Forgive them and forgive yourself.


I love you all and we will chat soon.
xoxoxo

Soul Sista's Potluck

A few days back i told you i was attending my soul sister's potluck with 5 of my closest friends. Well let me tell you....this was one of the best days of my life outside of giving birth :-)

We had the laugh of our lives. I don't remember a single moment in the evening where we were not laughing. Well outside of the moments we were crying while expressing our love for one another.

My entire life i never truly knew the meaning or value of friendship. I guess this is because i have never been "present" until very recently. There so much hurt and "racquet's" that i did not care to truly experience "real friendship" when i say this, please don't think i have never known how to be a friend or have never had a friend. That is not what I'm saying at all. Rather, i did not know how to value it or i have never really felt it in my soul and spirit. I was just "doing...doing...doing..." what i thought was right or maybe what kind of felt right. There has always been so much going on. Whether it was work, family, personal, it was always there ...int the way of my deep rooted "self"

I have never been so in love with my family and friends than I am now. I know what and who they are to me. I know that i can't live without them and even if i did, i would not be happy. They are apart of my journey. My joy. My peace. My laughter and my world.

I have learned that what is uttered from the heart alone will win the hearts of others to your own.

A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and excepts you just the way you are.
But this is deeper than it sounds right now. When i look at these ladies, i fell nothing but PURE LOVE! No negative thoughts of feelings cross our minds or hearts even for a second. Who ever said there is no such thing as a group of real friends? I don't blame them though...because i really do feel like we are one in a million. I feel like there are no other groups like us. When i see pictures of The Sex In The City Gals, i think of us all.

Love is when people know everything about each other and are still friends.
I heard my course leader this week say "True friends stab you in the FRONT" LOL soooo true.

I don't want my friends to walk in front of me, because i may not follow. I don't want them to walk in front of me because i may not lead. I just want them to walk beside me and be my friend.

For as long as I'm fortunate to be alive, i will live the rest of my life being the best i can be as a friend, mother, daughter, sister and woman. I hope and pray i can make God smile while I'm at it.

Here are some of my FAVOURITE Friendship Quotes for my FAV friends;

To my friend Natalia

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.”

To my friend Snoopy

“Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you. -Charlie Brown to Snoopy”

To my friend Tamara

“One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention.”

To my friend Ernie

“Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.”

To my friend Trinia

“A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.”

To my friend Colleen

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out but to see who cares enough to bring them down"

To my friend Lasha
“Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.”

To my friend Veena
“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your smile, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.”

To my friend Camilla
"May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."

To my friend Vanessa
"An honest answer is the sign of true friendship." - Proverbs 24:26

To my Familia

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.
- George Moore

At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable.
-Mark V. Olsen and Will Sheffer

Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts.

Family is just accident.... They don't mean to get on your nerves. They don't even mean to be your family, they just are.
-Marsha Norman

My 2 favourite ones;

Family life is full of major and minor crises -- the ups and downs of health, success and failure in career, marriage, and divorce -- and all kinds of characters. It is tied to places and events and histories. With all of these felt details, life etches itself into memory and personality. It's difficult to imagine anything more nourishing to the soul.
-- Thomas Moore

Family quarrels have a total bitterness unmatched by others. Yet it sometimes happens that they also have a kind of tang, a pleasantness beneath the unpleasantness, based on the tacit understanding that this is not for keeps; that any limb you climb out on will still be there later for you to climb back.
-- Mignon McLaughlin

I love you all and always pray that you are happy and at peace.
Have an awesome Christmas and i will see you all soon :-)

Quality Gifts from The Heart!

I'm so excited for the holidays and to be honest i have never felt so alive and happy. Every year for the past 5 to 8 years seemed so routine. Although i was happy, there always seemed to be something missing. It had nothing to do with those around me. It was just ME!

I have done most of my Christmas shopping, however there are a few things i still need to purchase. Although this is the first year i have been very ummm let's say "cheap" with my gifts lol i feel like i have so much love to give and come on now, what price do we put on that? Really?

I bought Captains (my little one) gifts. All toys of course. I figure you know what, for his birthdays and other special occasions i have always gotten him educational toys, books etc So for this Christmas (since he is aware of what gifts are now) i would go all out on toys! So i went and bought his favourite toys. Although they still got an educational kick to them lol they are fun and he will love them all.

Now for Keeno; i had bought him a gold chain and cross a few years ago that he NEVER took off. He wore it every day...day in and day out. But, he lost it and wanted one ever since. So i decided to buy one this year. He will be very happy. I also had the choice to spend another couple hundred on him. I could have either bought him a few games or some gadgets BUT i chose to pay for him to take this life transforming course at Landmark. I had no idea what he would say to that, but surprisingly he took it very well. He has been witnessing the transformation in ME and knows exactly how powerful this program is. So he is enrolled to start January 14th.

I truly believe this is the BEST gift i have ever or will ever be able to give him. The older i get, the more i realize that despite the price of the gift, it is not the "price" that matters. It is the thought and the love in which you give it with. Mind you, the course is NOT cheap. It costs $635 BUT that is pennies considering what the course does and how you walk away feeling. Keeno will forever thank me.

There are very well known successful men and women who went into this program with no direction or title in life and are now millionaires. For example the founder of Lulu Lemon discovered his "plan" in this program and now pays all his employees world wide to take the course. Movies like "The Matrix" was discovered by a man who took this program and the list goes on and on. It is mind blowing what happens to you. If you have someone very dear to your heart and care deeply about him/her please consider paying down $100 on this course to secure their seat (as every month the seats are sold out) they can than pay in installments and start the program when they are ready. be it one month or 3 months, it's up to them. But the $100 down will start the journey. This is the greatest gift....

Now for my siblings, as usual we are doing our Kris Kringle potluck. Only this year, i have written them a letter in which i will be reading to them out loud just before we have dinner. I spent so many years in my own "story" and often neglected them with no regards to their feelings or what they were going through at the time in their own lives. Funny enough, because i organize motivational workshops and seminars for a living :-/  Well this year, i will be sharing with them; my thoughts and feelings about my selfishness for the past 30 odd years and making many changes in regards to my siblings, nieces/nephews and parents.

What matters most is your FAMILY! Once that is RIGHT everything else falls into place. This is real. Your family is who you need to mend things with. Stop worrying about boyfriends, men, women, friends, co-workers etc
Start with your family and that will empower you to fix everything else. Even if you think you have done nothing. Say sorry for what you did not do or say. meaning apologize for not being there for them or caring about what they were going through at a particular time because you were to busy in your own "story" or just say "sorry" for something you have done and don't even know what it is. You will be amazed at the window that will will open.
free yourself so that you can freer someone else. It's like a domino affect.

For my closest friends, we are having a potluck indoor movie night (tonight) We are all so excited. It will be very intimate and about 6 of us. No material gifts (just food and some wine :-) ) We will share love and happiness all at one time lol. Sounds like fun huh? Yes and i can't wait. We will be meeting up at 6pm, eating, sharing, laughing and then we have the movie theatre in the condo booked for a couple hours to watch a Christmas movie. Just us. We have the theatre all to ourselves.

I will be spending time with mom and dad as well and we have a couple stops in between....including our Project Blanket tomorrow.

Ernie and i are totally looking forward to this event. We have been collecting items for the past couple months and it's time to deliver them to our homeless friends who will be in desperate need for the holidays (everyday actually)

Please give a gift from your heart this Christmas. I don't mean expensive material gifts. I mean things like a hand written letter, a baked cake, community outreach, feed the poor/homeless, donate toys, send cards, a hug delivered in person, a photo memory album, scrapbook album, a framed picture, an engraved inexpensive personalized item, a teddy bear that records your voice and there are many more things you can do that cost little to nothing.

Live a life of love and peace. Stop all the drama and hatred and paint your own canvas. Vision yourself like a fresh white canvas and you have got a box full of paint ready to paint the life you want. This is possible and FREE!

Have a FAB day and we will chat soon.

Love, Liz

The Joyeride - Project Blanket

Log onto our JoyeRide You Tube page and subscribe as we bring you along with live on our Blanket Project.

Although we have made a couple trips downtown to drop off items to the homeless, our BIG day is Dec Wed 22.

Join us as we give back what God expects us too :-)

Please subscribe to our page at http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJoyeRide
We have posted many videos of this journey.

xoxoxo
Love
Liz & Ernie

NO Filters!

Good morning my bloggers;

I feel amazing and so full of LOVE.

For the past year i have been driving to the same Tim Horton's drive through 2 minutes away from my house. Its all the regular routine; i pull up and place my order and then drive to the window and pay. Only this morning was a bit different. There are about 2 or 3 ladies i usually get  at the window depending on the time. There is one particular woman who never smiles and barely looks at me. There has been times where i just say thank you, give her my money, take my change and drive off thinking "She is so miserable"

The Landmark Forum has completely altered and transformed my entire life and totally erased all the FILTERS i see people through. I had a different filter for every human being in my life. We all do, by the way.

As soon as i drove up to the window and saw her. I SAW HER. I mean i actually looked into her eyes for the couple seconds she made eye contact with me and i smiled. I could see that she was caught off guard and knew that my smile was genuine. For some reason she looked different and very angelic.
I said "You look so pretty this morning" And i promise you, she looked like she was going to cry. For the first time in a year i saw her smile. It was real.

She replied "Thank you. I have always wanted to ask you what you do because i see that green magnet on your car door" We then chatted for about 8 minutes as there was no one behind me so there was no rush until the moment someone pulled up to order.

She told me she has been wanting to go back to school and has been putting it off for awhile and does not feel motivated to do anything. She is a mother and wife and also takes care of her mother in law who lives with her and her family.

For a moment i wanted to get out of the car and hug her as i could see she needed a hug but i stayed in the car and enjoyed hearing her voice and seeing her smile. I took a few moments to tell her about Landmark because i truly don't have anything else to talk about when it comes to transforming someones life. I have tried it all and read all the "self-help" books in the world lol so now this is it for me :-)

For a year i created a STORY that she was miserable or maybe did not like me...for whatever reasons. We always come up with something even when there is nothing. All she was doing was expressing outwardly how she was feeling inwardly but there i went "judging"

Ever since i took this course at Landmark, my eyes have been wide open. I'm present when I'm speaking to people. I'm aware and there are no filters. It does not matter what their story or my story WAS, I'm aware of their emotions and understand their pain and why its all happening.

I can't describe what happened to me in this program but i do wish we could all feel what I'm feeling.
I have been hearing about breakthroughs in church for years and never really GOT IT! If you know what i mean. But i can now say i GOT IT!

I recently saved a close friend/family member from making the biggest mistake of their life. How did i do that? I got him to see and understand that he was just acting out on the "story" he created about someone and that he needed to go and find out what "their story" is. Only then, he will know exactly why that person is acting out the way they are. Days later he called me and said "Liz, i did what you told me to do and i just want to say thank you" This person does not normally take advice because "he knows it all"

I love this. I do. I want you all to GET THIS!

Transform your thoughts and your life!


Love, Me!

My Weekend!

I was logging on to blog and started reading some comments on google regarding The Landmark Education where i recently went to for 3 days and transformed my life.

Everything i was about to write about was literally smack dead on another page online and so i will save myself the typing and attach below the entire article.

This speaks from my heart and was written by Tim Burness. Please read this entire article.

The Landmark Forum

They run personal transformation seminars my experience of Landmark courses was extremely positive. In fact it would be no exaggeration to say it was the most extraordinary and inspirational experience of my life. I have rarely felt so ALIVE!


These days there are many other self help or awareness courses of a similar nature available, but having talked to many people who have attended such similar courses, many people feel that The Forum remains the most powerful and inspirational in the entire world. Perhaps this is because Landmark have been developing their course far longer than anyone else, and so over the years have had the chance to carefully refine the whole process.



What is the Landmark Forum?

"The Landmark Forum is a seminar extending over three days and one evening. It allows people to create something that is truly extraordinary. It is conducted as an inquiry, and poses questions and explores issues that are most fundamental in living our day-to-day lives. These questions are about how to be effective in our relationships, how to operate at our peak performance, and how to communicate so that we bring out the best in others. In The Landmark Forum, participants look at their beliefs, choices and actions, and, perhaps most importantly, what underlies who we are as human beings.

This inquiry is a guided dialogue between the instructor and the participants into what is possible in their lives, a dialogue that gets at the heart of what it is to be human. In The Landmark Forum, participants examine the basis of their identities and their personalities, as well as our formulas for living, relating and achieving success.

Approximately 150 people take part in each Landmark Forum. The Landmark Forum is conducted in a workshop setting in a college or university auditorium, hotel conference room, or one of our meeting facilities in major urban areas. The program is held in a room most often set up in a classroom type of format. Each day begins at 9:00 AM and ends about 10:00 PM. Breaks are approximately every three hours, and there is a 90-minute meal break each day.

The men and women who lead The Landmark Forum are extensively trained senior program directors of Landmark Education Corporation. They conduct our programs on a regular basis in more than 90 locations in the United States and Canada, the Middle East, Australia, India and Europe. The training program which qualifies them to lead The Landmark Forum includes three to seven years of full-time, rigorous and specialized study, preparation and practice" (Landmark Education).



My positive experience of the Landmark Forum
by Tim Burness

In late 1993, a friend of a friend came in to the university bar where I was working at the time, and enthused to me about a course called The Forum. As soon as she mentioned that it used to be called est, I could feel that now was the time to follow up on an introductory evening of 12 years previously... yes it’s always good to take some time to think things through before committing oneself! The astrological picture for me at the time was also an influence on me deciding to do The Forum. Astrologers may note that the next available course at the time (January 1994) coincided exactly with the final pass of transiting Saturn conjunct my natal Aquarius ascendant, a sure sign that something significant was coming my way.

So what exactly did I get out of The Forum? Was my life "transformed", and if so, what exactly does that mean and is it still relevant several years later? And if the course sorts out so many of your problems, or at least your relationship to them, why did I go back and do it again in March 1997 and September 2001? After the last one I even did the Advanced Course. As it happens, I found it worth several times the financial cost.

I have vivid memories of many conversations from all the courses and other one off introductory seminars I attended in London and Brighton. There can be an extraordinary quality to the communication that opens up in the Landmark environment. You can choose to stand up and talk about your own life, or else remain seated and listen. Either way, the psychological and emotional barriers come down and secrets are openly shared by those standing up in front of everyone or sometimes with the stranger sitting next to you. A handful of people find this disturbing or threatening and walk out. On the whole I personally loved the intimacy. During the breaks, some people go off to phone relatives who they may not have spoken to for years. Many people share difficult or even traumatic childhood experiences with tears running down their faces. People get to see how our holding on to their interpretation of past events, the "story", has been preventing them from living fully in the present moment.

Other times, the whole thing is hysterically funny for many people. I spent a very large proportion of my second Forum in fits of laughter! This relates to the est or Zen idea of "getting it", "it" being the meaningful/meaningless tragic joke of life, or enlightenment, the truth, call it what you will. You are born into this life, you do some stuff for 70 years, you die, they put you in a box... that's it. Except that it doesn't mean anything that it doesn't mean anything. So what? There is the possibility that you can create the life you wish to have from "nothing".

 Specific measurable results


1) During the Advanced Course I stood up and declared, "Who I am is the possibility of Love". There is something very empowering about literally making a stand for something to a room full of people. I believe this one act has improved my ability to give and receive love in all areas of my life (relationships, family, music, nursing).
2) After the Advanced Course I said "I love you" to my Dad for the first time in many many years. In the context of my difficult early childhood, my mother's mental illness and other family problems, this was an important step forward (or 'breakthrough' as Landmark would have it).

3) Had a profound realization about the nature of the word "God" and that it can mean whatever you want it to mean. I recommend the "Conversations With God" books by Neale Donald Walsch here.

4) Gained an increased general awareness of the communication process in myself and others that will remain with me for the rest of my life.

5) Experienced a real sense of how similar all human beings are when the surface layers are stripped away i.e. basically the same hopes, fears, insecurity, need to be loved, and so on.

6) Made some very good friendships that have continued outside my involvement with Landmark.

By Tim Buness


A Few Words From Me!

Susan Johnson (Snoopy) you saved my life. Literally. I owe you my word, that i will carry this new found life with me forever and promise to spread the word, my word. We have lot's of work to do now amiga :-)

My friends, bloggers and familia, this is beyond what you could ever imagine. I have never experienced such joy, happiness, peace and a zest for my NEW life. I feel like anything before this past Friday was a dream. It was NOT real. It was just a story i created with my racquet's/drama. Not drama caused by one other single person but myself. Someone hurt you? Look it's just the story they are carrying around with them from their OWN story. Their pain. Their hurt. I have nothing to gain by posting this blog but to help set you FREE! I have all the books in the world for "Self-Help" but nothing and not one single person has ever ever been able to get in my head in regards to love and happiness like Landmark. NO person, parent, friend, partner, being or pastor has ever been able to give me what i got Friday December 10 2010. Freedom. Peace. Self Love. Happiness. Forgiveness. Courage and LIFE! I have not one tiny tiny bit or regret in my heart. This is so real. A New Life.

I'm going to say this like it is. The churches have lost its foundation. Its all so sugar coated and a bunch of politics. This is the closest i have ever felt to GOD in my entire life. This is the deepest form of  love i have ever felt in my 35 years of living.

I feel like i can fly.

The 160 people i sat in this room with for 3 entire days became my brothers and sisters. But no, you see not like it is in church or in our everyday lives. I'm talking real, raw and no filters. No cover ups. No make up. No fasad. Never seen before. The hugs, the tears, the stories.....it all blew my mind.

I'm on a mission like never before. I have a BIGGER problem. My ministry is on another level. My bigger problem is "I'm out to transform lives forever....to set people FREE"

Give yourself the best gift you can ever imagine and enroll into The Landmark Forum. It will blow your mind.

If i had the power to make rules, i would say  from this moment on, every human being would HAVE to enroll in this program. I would give up my life if i had to prove that this is REAL!

Go and give yourself a gift of "happiness" so that you can in return share it with the world.

This is GOD!
 

My Story!

I have been writing chapters of my book for over 2 years with many breaks in between lol due to my busy schedule. However, i have been receiving many emails asking when will be the release date of my first book "If You Played In My Playground"

I now know more than ever, that i have to got to complete this book so that i can go ahead and start my sequel "Cass........The Friendly Ghost"

(it was also my favourite cartoon growing up)

While you wait patiently for this date, here is a sneak peak of MY STORY!

Preface

My Story

I had been living in a story of my own creation my whole life without even noticing it! Once i had this awareness, i started to question everything in my story. Is it true that I am what I am? Is what i believe about everything else true? I have already reviewed the story of my life and I did not like all of the drama that I had created. I wanted to reinvent myself.

The first step was to take away from my story what I felt was not true, and to find out what was true. I discovered that what I called the FRAME of the dream is true because God creates the frame, and its the same for EVERYBODY. Our agreements about what to call the objects in the frame are also true because it is how we described our virtual reality.

Almost everything that is abstract is a lie: what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, what is beautiful or ugly. I have discovered that almost 90% of the concepts I have stored in my mind were based on lies, especially the concepts I believed about myself: I can do this, I cannot do that. IAM this way, I will never be that way. The problem is not really knowledge; the problem is what contaminates knowledge-and that is a lie. I could see that there was a lot of nonsense in the way we learn to write our stories. It’s kind of like a make belief system.

Before I was born in the physical body, a whole society of story tellers was already here. The story was on going and from their story I learned how to create my own. Our story tellers teach us how to be human, they tell us what and who we are what we should or should not be. They teach us how to be a woman or how to be a man. They teach us to be a proper decent woman and a strong brave man. They even tell us that “boys don’t cry” Or that “men are stronger than women”

They give us a name at birth and they lead us into the role we are playing in their story. They prepare us to live in the human jungle, to compete with one another, to control one another, to impose our will, to fight against our own kind.

Of course I believed what the story tellers told me. Why would I not believe them? They filled me with knowledge to copy their style and create my art in a similar way. I mean they are or were the leaders in our lives and of course they knew best, right?

As children we witness the way other people relate to one another, and this becomes normal behaviour for us. We see our aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and neighbours in romantic relationships. They suffer but they believe they love. All of the drama we suffer in our relationships is because we witness so many lies when we are innocent, and we use these lies to form our own stories. Do we even know what real love is like?

I continue to study the story of my life, and what I discovered is that everything in my story is about me. Of course it has to be that way because IAM the centre of my perception, and the story is from my point of view. The main character that lives inside my story is based on someone who really exists-that is true. But what I believe about me is not true-it’s a story. It is a story that others created, not me.

I project my image to other people in society, and other people perceive that projection, modify it, and react to me according to their stories they have created for themselves or the lies they were told by their story tellers. Through this, I discovered that because it’s my story, I also create an image for every character that lives in my story. The characters are based on people who really exist, but everything I believe about them is a story of my own creation. I create the character of my mother, father, sister, brothers and friends. I qualify the person. I make judgments about the person based on all of the knowledge in my mind and my own personal experiences with them. This is how I keep their image in my memory. Example, you project what you want me to believe about you, and I modify it depending on what I believe. Now, IAM sure you are what I believe you are and I might even say to you, as you have said to others “I know you" when the truth is I don’t know you at all. I only know the story you show me or the one I created about you. And it took some time for me to understand that I only know the story I created about MYSELF!

For years I thought I knew myself (most of my life), until I discovered that what I knew was not the truth. I only knew what I believed about myself. This wasn’t much. Then I discovered that IAM not what I believe IAM. And it was very interesting and also frightening, when I discovered that I really didn’t know anybody, and they don’t know me either. Not 1 single person, but GOD!

The truth is that we only know what we know, and we only know our story. But how many times do we hear people say "I know my children very well, they would never do something like that" Do you think you really know your children? Do you think you really know your partner? Well, you are probably certain that nobody really knows you, but do you really know yourself? Do you really know anybody?

I use to believe that I knew my mother, but the only thing I knew about her was the rolls I assign her to play in my story. Everything I know about her is what I believe about her. I have no idea what she has in her head. Her secrets she hid from me to protect me, as I did my children. Only my mother knows what and who she is, and surely she doesn't know either. The same is true for you; your mother can swear she knows you VERY well. But, is it true? I don’t think so. You know that she has no idea what you have in your mind. She only knows what she believes about you, which means she knows almost nothing...Your mother creates an image about you, and she wants you to fit the image she creates. If you are not what she wants you to be, guess what happens? She feels hurt by you. But when you know that it’s just her story, why bother defending your point of view? The argument will only get ugly. It doesn't matter what you say; she will not believe you anyway. How can she believe your story when it is not her point of view? The best you can do is to change the conversation, enjoy her presence, and love her for the way she is. Her story makes her react the way she does. The story you do not know. When you have this awareness, you will forgive everyone around you for trying to change you or forgive yourself for trying to change someone else. Recently when I discovered that people are creating and living their own story, how could I judge them any longer? And whatever people say about me is just a projection of THEIR image of me. It has nothing to do with me. I spent so many years worried about people’s thoughts of me and was always wasting so much time trying to prove myself. Now, I don’t waist my time taking anything personal. I focus my attention on creating my new story. My OWN story.

We want people to be the way we want them to be, well bad news, that will NEVER happen.

When I discovered how short life is, I decided not to waist my time in conflict, mainly with the people I love! I want to enjoy them, and I do that by trying to love them for who they are, not for what they believe. It’s so hard but IAM trying. I have made up my mind that I will let Go and let God.

I don’t want to impose my story on anybody. If other people try to write your story that means they don’t respect you. Simply put. Because they consider that you are not a good writer of your story. Respect comes directly from love; it is one of the greatest expressions of love. Without respect, there is no love. Not Gods love anyway.

I also respect myself and I don’t allow anybody to write my story. It is my responsibility and my own creation. I can compare my chapters with other people’s chapters, but it is still my own story.

When I first had awareness that I didn't like my story, I thought "Okay, IAM the author, I will change it" And I tried and failed, tried again and failed again and again. The truth was I did not have to change my story but to just find my true self. Seems like a lot of work huh? Well it was and still is.

This is like a big step in awareness. If we clean up the lies we believe about ourselves, almost like magic the lies we believe about others will change. If we truly stopped every time we are about to tell a lie and decide, we are going to tell the truth, everything around you will change. You will no longer be living a lie.

I’m the only one who can change my own story. Humans are the storytellers of God. I would love for you to take the time and patience to hear my real story, the story that IAM still writing.

Love your friend, Elizabeth Correia

Take Advantage!

So as many of you know, i work for Mississauga Transit as my 9-5 and on a day to day basis i listen to customers complain about bus timings etc

Today, i had a lady tell me she travels from Scarborough everyday to Mississauga on the bus just to get to work and she even mentioned she only gets paid $12 an hour. But there was something very interesting about the turn this conversation took.

I asked her if she does anything else on the side. Like own a business, school etc and she replied "No, but I'm really thinking about starting my own business"

I of course asked "What type of  business" She answered "Well i was thinking about a cleaning business because a lot of the people in my area hire Molly Maid and other cleaning services. I hired Molly Maid once and know for sure i can do so much better. I'm a clean freak"

I thought "Hhhmmm" ok let me minister to her for a minute while i have the chance.

"I don't know if maybe i was suppose to answer your call but i have an idea for you that worked for me for the year and a half i took the bus almost everyday (recently).....Go to dollerama and buy yourself 2 note books. One for your To-Do list and the other for your Business Planning. Write down everything you need to do in order to start that business and while you are travelling on the bus start writing down your plans in order to start this business. Take advantage of the time you spend on the buses. Don't just sit there and watch people or fall asleep. If you are going to read, read books on "Your Passions" or what you want to do. In your case, there are plenty of books on "How To Start A Cleaning Business" You will have to learn the legalities and how to run a legitimate business in cleaning. Start NOW. You may not be taking the bus forever and the bus is probably the only time you are doing NOTHING so take this time to build something for you while you are on your way to work every day and back home. I built my current business D.e.v.a on the bus. This is why i know if you make this choice, it will be one of the best things you have ever done for YOU. I had my big heavy carry on bag on the bus with me everyday. I took 4 buses all together and travelled 2 hours to work and 2 hours back. I read and was writing non-stop. More than 80% of my business was built on the bus"

We shared a bit more before she commented.....
Her reply "Ohhh my goodness you have no idea how much you have just encouraged me. I'm going to get those notebooks today and get on it. I already have the vacuum and the most important tools at home. I will register the business this week too because i already have a name. Thank you sooo much.....GOD BLESS YOU"

Those last words really stuck with me as i hung up the phone.

My people, take advantage of the time you spend on the bus every day.

Invest TIME in YOU and your DREAMS!

There is no excuse why you can NOT do what you want to do or what you sit there and dream about doing. Get UP and GET on IT!

I'm not going to sugar coat this. Because i know it can be done. If i were to tell you what i was going through while taking that bus just a year ago to and from work, 4 hours a day in travel time, you would NEVER in a million years believe i established my D.e.v.a business in the midst of all that. But i did it. I was determined to occupy my mind and life with bigger and better things (outside my kids) I was not letting anything or anyone hold me back, despite the pain and story.

So I'm a living testimony of what can be done with your time travelling on a bus or train.

Let me know how it goes.