Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine NK LCM February 2018 Anniversary Issue | Page 9

Janine A. Ingram My grandmother always said, “Life is an inside job. Fix your mind; you fix your life.” These thoughts still carry in my mind. Has life experiences smacked you into reality? Have you ever gotten a “reality smack” from someone you liked and respected a lot? We don’t always “enjoy” these little wake-up jolts. Sometimes, the truth can be painful. But from time to time, we all need a reality smack. We need people to hold us to a higher standard of behavior, or else we tend to fall short of our potential. It was in my pain where I learned to fix my mind. I heard this a long time ago that PAIN is an acronym for Pay Attention Inward Now. Whew! Why is it that we must be pushed around by PAIN before we learn? Because we, as spiritual beings, learn from those painful experience more so than the joyous ones. Part of that pain gets us to reflect, recommit, and sometimes focus on loving the most important person in the equations—ourselves. Loving myself healed the very essence of my being. Love awakened the Goddess in me. Love taught me how to ask empowering questions as opposed to the traditional “Why Me?” Instead, I ask, “What is the Universe trying to express through me?” or “What is the lesson?” Love taught me how to trust in the process of the unknown. Love that taught me how to see myself as a Divine Gift to the planet. So you ask, “How do you fix your mind?” First, by changing your thoughts. Transform your life simply by looking into a mirror. Mirror work—looking deeply into your eyes and repeating positive affirmations—is the most effective method I’ve found for learning to love yourself and see the world as a safe and loving place. Simply put, whatever we say or think is an affirmation, so making certain that those words are positive is important. All your self-talk, the dialogue in your head, is a stream of affirmations. These affirmations are messages to your subconscious that establish habitual ways of thinking and behaving. Positive affirmations plant healing thoughts and ideas that support you in developing self-confidence and self- esteem and creating peace of mind and inner joy. The most powerful affirmations are those you say out loud when standing in front of a mirror. The moment when I made the decision to embrace my grandmother’s words that love is an inside job is the moment I began to own my voice. A voice that awakened my inner lover. When I began to love and honor me, it created a shift in how the world, people, and experience started loving me as well. I invite you to make loving yourself a daily ritual. I invite you to wake each morning and ask yourself, “How can I attract more love and joy into my life?” Then watch things change as others begin to show you exactly what you’ve requested. Loving yourself is the greatest revolution and it will not be televised. That wonderful movement will happen right in front of your mirror Janine A. Ingram is the author of bestselling inspiration book, Born to be Rich, wife to a wondeful husband for twenty years, and mother to three uniquely beautiful and talented daughters. She is also the founder and facilitator of The Love Journey, Inc., a yearly event in Chicago and weekly prayer line for those who focus on healing, love and forgiveness. [email protected] NKLC Magazine | 9