Spiritual Disciplines

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. Hippocrates

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Beauty and wellness is the main objective at So Beautiful Ministries International. Spiritual practice such as prayer, meditation, mindfulness, all these are components to living a happier and healthier life.

Healing is a component of spiritual practice or as I call it “Beauty from the inside out”! Last year, I incorporated Aromatherapy into my beauty practice and I am impressed with the positive impact of essential oils on my clients emotional and physical health. Emotional health has a direct influence on beauty. When you are anxious,stressed or depressed-it shows on your face! Anxiety and depression also affect your health, such as high blood pressure, headaches and a host of other maladies. Prayer and meditation enhances mental function and supports physical health.

This year, I decided to go deeper into Beauty from the Inside Out and it has been awesome! I have completed training in Reiki and by combining it with Aromatherapy, it has increased the healing benefits from stress reduction to increased happiness!

What is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It can be administered by palm healing or non-touch methods. It is described as “life force energy” that flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. My personal practice has helped me to understand this energy as the same flow of the Holy Spirit that I experience through personal meditation and prayer.
The word Reiki is a combination of two Japanese words – Rei which means-God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power and Ki which is life force energy. This is the energy that flows through all living things. Reiki is defined as “spiritually guided life force energy.” A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that relieves stress and helps the body return to homeostasis thus promoting physical healing.

When you feel good, you can’t help but look good!

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Free your mind!

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Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:5

The other day, I sat listening to an inspirational speaker in my quiet time, which usually helps me to get my creative juices flowing for writing.

It has been a busy week, with everything from bills to personal commitments-due today!
I was not feeling very inspired.

Then the speaker began to share a personal story of how his father had died at 48 years old. The speaker described how his own life had been held in the balance because in his mind, he believed that he would suffer the same fate. It was not until he had reached 49 years old that he was able to truly dream and go after the desires of his heart.

How many of us suffer from this mental malady?

Sometimes the bad experiences that we had growing up or words that were spoken over us as children can still cling to us today. We may have buried them deep within our psyche but deep down is alive in our subconscious. We may not even realize why we do the things we do or why we might sabotage our good. However the catalyst may be something from long ago, hiding in our hearts.

The Prayer of Reflection is a type of prayer that allows us to see these things (through the help of the Holy Spirit) and consider them as they pertain to our daily lives or future goals.

St. Ignatius called this the Examen prayer. Ignatius was a Jesuit priest and he developed spiritual disciplines to assist his priests and other followers, to grow in understanding of the things of God and to discern His presence in their lives.

Do not be afraid to reflect. Rest in God and the protection of His holy will.

You may find treasures that only you can provide which may help shape the world!
The world desperately needs some shaping up. Wouldn’t you agree?

As always, seeking to help you discover Beauty, from the inside out!

Forgot about J?

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Lately, I have been focused on Beauty ‘outside’ , skin care, cosmetics, etc. It is all about healthy skin and toned bodies at this time of year. The summer season is underway! You can’t help but think about looking good at the beach, on picnics or just laying out at the pool!
However, I would be remiss to leave out the main ingredient, the One factor that makes Beauty possible- Christ in you!
I was in my prayer closet the other day and I got a little nudge in the spirit-“Isn’t your byline-Proclaiming Good News through Beauty”? So what about Beauty Inside?

So what about it?

Prayer is the key. We have so much on our minds these days, like what to wear, where to go this weekend, what to eat, what Not to eat, how many vacation days do I have left,…the list goes on.
Just under the surface we may begin to feel a little antsy or we are on edge and we can’t figure out why.
I am reminded of a lyric from “Forgot About Dre” by Dr. Dre-

Nowadays, everybody wanna talk like they got somethin to say.
But nothing comes out when they move their lips.
Just a bunch of gibberish.
*You look at their life and they forgot about J.
*my artistic license

Prayer is our opportunity to get the latest downloads on what is really happening in our lives and the world around us. That edgy feeling, feeling overwhelmed or confused, it could be the Holy Spirit telling you to stop by for a chat.
Peace is His specialty.

Be Blessed!

“Fasting is the greatest remedy– the physician within” Philippus Paracelsus

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Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9:3

Beauty Inside Out

Originally, my endeavors in fasting were out of the need to go before The Lord in prayer as I had been taught as a child, growing up in the Catholic faith. I came upon the “Beauty” benefits of fasting by accident. As I began to study on the Book of Esther, I felt compelled to fast and pray for understanding. Having studied various types of fasting methods, I knew that the traditional Water fast would not work for me initially. Like most people in western society, my diet was full of junk food, caffeine, and prepared foods, aka “T.V. dinners”. Juice Fasting was the best alternative to jumpstart the process and still have the benefits of detoxifying the body.
Fasting with natural fruit and vegetable juices provides vitamins and energy while your digestive enzymes work to rid the body of waste and congestion.
The Natural Health Techniques website is a useful resource.
http://naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniquesjuice_fasting.htm

Righteousness is the truth revealed and working in you!

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Walking as the Bride in the Kingdom of God

The tenets of this path were inspired by the Book of Esther.
The beauty treatments prepared for the maidens who were to go before the king consisted of 6 months of purification with oil of myrrh and 6 months of perfumes and cosmetics. As I continue to “walk as the Bride”, I am growing in understanding as I experience it. Prayer, Praise, Purity, Practicing the Presence of God and the Beauty of Holiness are metaphorically speaking, the ingredients that detoxify our hearts and minds, to increase our capacity to receive spiritually. As we activate the 1st 5 treatments, we are being cleansed of the dead weight that we have been carrying around most of our lives. Low self-esteem, guilt, insecurities, past hurts, shame, etc.; all these and more are drawn out and burned by the fire of the Holy Spirit as we pray, praise and practice His presence in order to heal and make us new in Him.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61

Let me be clear, this walk is about Christ Jesus! The above scriptures were spoken by our Lord when he introduced his ministry on earth (Luke 4). Christ is our Bridegroom. Our growing in intimacy with God through Christ brings the reality of “Christ in you” to bear in our lives!

The cleansing water of the Word of God and the precious Blood of Jesus entitles us to partake in that which has been obtained for us. It is our intimacy, our developing relationship with the One who loves us that enables us to acquire and establish the Kingdom of Heaven within. Not head knowledge only but a true experience that can be seen and demonstrated in our lives. Thus the purpose of becoming “oaks of righteousness”, whereby those in our circle of influence may come under our shade to grow in the things of God and to establish His Kingdom in their lives.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.
Psalm 30:11-12

Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need

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What are the special ingredients or spiritual recipes used in the preparation of the Bride?
First and foremost, reading The Holy Bible. The Walk of the Bride in the Kingdom of God was developed from studying the Word, specifically the Book of Esther.

There are other tools and teachings that I have found to be helpful.
One of the tools I used to launch out into the deeper waters is, A Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

“A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then the natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain…This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines – they are a way of sowing to the Spirit… By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.” Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

How did I get started on this path? After accepting Christ as The Lord of my life in my late 20’s, I realized there had to be more to salvation than going to heaven after death. I had heard the Word preached regarding the abundant life through Christ but I did not have a practical experience. Although I continued to reverence God and believe on Christ, I remained on the fringes of the Christian faith. Honestly, I was more interested in the here and now than the “sweet by and by”. I am sure there are many people who can identify with this kind of thinking. The funny thing is that you will no longer be able to stray away as easily as before salvation. Once you say yes to The Lord, the connection is made. He will begin to woo you, gently, as a lover. God is Love and He is the Greatest Lover of all.

I FLED Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter. 5
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase, 10
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat—and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet—
‘All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.’

Excerpt from The Hound of Heaven by Frances Thompson

http://books.google.com/books/about/Celebration_of_Discipline.html?id=FR4z93ezwqwC