Book Review: Soul Wounds & Sacred Revelations

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Hello everyone!

I thought I would do something a little bit different, today: I’m going to share my thoughts about a book I just finished reading, kind of like a personalized book review. I was positively affected by this inspirational book, and I think you’d get a lot out of it, too.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

The book is called Soul Wounds and Sacred Revelations by Deneen Joyner. If it sounds familiar to you, that’s because I briefly mentioned it in my post accepting the nomination for the Liebster Award.

Deneen Joyner is based here in Pittsburgh, and I had the pleasure of meeting her at a holiday craft market back in December at the Green Heiress Yoga Studio. When I met her, I was immediately struck by her warm and friendly nature. We talked for a few moments, and I found out that her book, Soul Wounds and Sacred Revelations, would be the featured Soul Cafe Book Club book for February.

Anyway, I bought Ms. Joyner’s book in the Kindle edition and hunkered down for some reading in preparation for the meeting on February 6th. I thought I knew what I was getting into based on the description, but to be honest, I had no idea! What I thought would be a light, inspirational read turned into some soul-searching of my own.

In her book, Ms. Joyner takes you through a journey that starts with staring at herself in the bathroom mirror as she contemplates ending her life. In her darkest hour in that bathroom, she had a choice to make: surrender herself to God in order to fully heal, or end it right there and then.

She tells her story so vulnerably, transparently, and beautifully. Her voice is warm, accessible, and friendly. You feel like you’re getting to know her as you read. There may be points in this book where you find yourself crying along with her, but you will also smile with her or pump your fist in the air and yell “YES!” when she makes a breakthrough. (I legit did this!)

You may even feel chills as something she says resonates.

But most of all, you may see yourself in her story.

At about halfway through, I realized that this book was giving me an actual road map to root out and deal with some deep-seated emotional pain that I’ve been carrying. Because we all do carry pain from our experiences with us, right? Some of us more than others. If you ask yourself, “What emotional pain am I carrying?” I bet you’ll find something in there.

Does it feel comfortable carrying that pain? 

I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say: sure, yeah, in some way, it does, because it’s been a part of me for so long. But I realize that I don’t have to live like that any more. While I've done a lot of healing in my life, there is always room for more. :)

As she writes, Ms. Joyner details the approach she took to finally confront the pain she’d been carrying and then progress her life forward without it. It’s a story of hope, renewal, forgiveness, love (for others and self), and being real with yourself. It’s about connecting your past to your present and becoming whole. It’s about stepping into your full realization in life instead of blindly “living” it.

After reading this book and sitting back and taking a deep breath, I’ve started some more soul work. I feel like some kind of soul archaeologist right now, digging into myself to get to the bottom of things. It’s like I’m meeting me all over again: Beth as a kid. Beth as a teen. Beth in her 20s. Beth in her 30s. And onward...

This is kind of deep, ya’ll!

If you want to read someone’s amazing, inspirational and uplifting story, then this is definitely the right book for you! Who knows, you may even find yourself on your own journey to your whole, healed self.

At the time of this writing, it’s free on Kindle Unlimited or very modestly priced if you buy it outright in either the Kindle edition, hard cover, or paperback. If you live in the Pittsburgh area and meet Deneen Joyner at some point, I bet she’ll even sign it for you.

I give it a 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you read it, let me know what you think!

Until next time: Be Well. 💛🐝

 ~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Fortune Cookie Friday: The Roving Bee

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Hello, and happy Friday! I hope you've all had a great week. It is Fortune Cookie Friday, so let's see what today holds:

It's the roving bee 🐝 that gathers honey. 🍯

First of all, I'd like to start with a side note: I love how my house is a virtual scavenger hunt when it comes to fortunes. It's fun for me when I find them. I have these things tucked away in all kinds of tiny little places, and it never ceases to amaze me when I come upon one that seems to speak exactly to what I'm thinking at the time. This one was tucked away in a drawer, with a rusty old paperclip on it. I have no idea what it used to be clipped to, by the way, but I took the clip off to take the photo, and it left those imprints on the paper. I don't even know how long I've had this one, but it has probably traveled with me through several moves over several years. :)

Anyway, here's my take on today's message:

In order to reap the benefits available to us, sometimes we have to get out of our comfort zone. Nothing changes by doing the same thing. So if you're looking to get some more honey (abundance) into your life, switch up the routine and do something different.

This can apply to career/work decisions, feeling stuck on personal goals, or wanting to learn a new skill. I'll give you an example:

The only reason I never went into business for myself in the past is because I wasn't willing to learn the secondary skills necessary for that. What does this mean? It means that I can be the best proofreader or writer or what-have-you out there, but if I'm not willing to actually learn how to market myself, learn social media, learn how to make a website, learn accounting, etc., then the likelihood of success I would have as a proofreader or writer or what-have-you is minimal.

And I won't lie: the reason why I wasn't willing to learn them is because I was a little bit afraid of business parts of the thing. For instance: I'm an introvert, but I have to go out there and network. And I'm not fond of math and expenses and keeping track of all that stuff. For that reason, something I felt drawn to doing years ago never happened until this year because FINALLY, I was willing to get out of my comfort zone and just do the thing, whatever it took. The funny thing is, I'm finding out that I'm actually pretty good at all of that secondary business-y stuff, so now that I'm actually doing it, it's just not that big a deal!

What if you're holding yourself back from doing something you've always wanted to do, because you're afraid to push your limits or get out of your comfort zone and learn something new to do it? Where's the fun in that? You may surprise yourself if you try!

Drop me a line and let me know: what is something you want to do, and what is holding you back from doing it? What comfort zone do YOU need to get out of?

GO GET THAT HONEY, my fellow bee-peeps! 💛🐝

 ~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there! ~

Want some fortune cookies so you can play along? Get them here.

Fortune Cookie Friday: Human Resources

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Today's fortune was sent in by a reader. Let's take a look at it!

Of all our human resources, the most precious is the desire to improve.

Humans are very resourceful creatures, aren't we? When I go to museums and look at exhibits of ancient tools and how ancient civilizations lived, and then compare that to where we are now, I am constantly amazed by humanity's capacity to improve their lot in life.

This seems to be something innate in us, too. We aren't content to just sit there and keep doing things the same way. Cars, tools, medicines, healthcare, machines, industry—we are constantly surrounded by examples of innovation and creativity that serve to improve our lives.

Feel free to use this cookie to inspire you today! What about yourself do you desire to improve? Figure that out, and then figure out the steps you need to make that happen.

Drop me a line and let me know: where do you want to see improvement in your life? For me: I'd like to get better at spinning yarn. I'm fairly inconsistent in my output, so I'll either need to practice more, or take a class.

Thanks for reading today's fortune cookie! Until next time! 🥠🐝

If you want to get some fortune cookies and play along, you can get them here.  And if you want to send in a fortune cookie to be featured, you can do so through the Facebook page. You'll have to send me a picture in order to be featured. Thanks!



 ~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there! ~


Audible is offering 2 free audiobooks.

The Voices You Have Not Heard

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Today I'd love to share an inspiring person with you all!

Her name is Ms. Spearman, and she's an entrepreneur, life coach, and all-around awesome person.

I met Ms. Spearman many years ago when we both worked at the same firm. We hit it off pretty quickly, and I was immediately struck by her joy, realism, and fun attitude. I left that job in 2011, but we stayed in touch over time. I'm glad we did, because she is KILLING IT. She is on message, on point, and on topic, and I love what she is offering to the world.

After losing her job unexpectedly, Ms. Spearman has done what not many people believe they can do (but all of us can): she doubled down and got working on her TRUE life path. And she is here to tell us all how we can do that, too.

If you want a swift kick in the pants to go out there and live your best life — besides getting any inspiration you get here, I mean 😁— I highly recommend you go and check out her site.

Photo by Álvaro Bernal on Unsplash

Additionally, Ms. Spearman has a podcast that I am enjoying a lot! It's called The Voices You Have Not Heard and offers inspiring content about how to get out there and live the life we are meant to be living, and she will be featuring interviews with other entrepreneurs and inspiring people along the way. Her episodes are relatively short and digestible, so they are not a huge time commitment, and I have found that after each one, I just like to sit and think about what she had to say.

Check out The Voices You Have Not Heard via iTunes or your other favorite podcast aggregator! And thank you, Ms. Spearman, for adding value to my life with your words.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think of Ms. Spearman's blog or podcast, or feel free to make recommendations of other inspiring people you read or listen to! 🐝



 ~~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!

Fortune Cookie Friday: The Worth of Water

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I've been so happy to get your feedback about Fortune Cookie Friday. It seems like so many of you are loving this feature, and I'm loving it, too. If you have any fortunes you'd like to share, let me know!

Here is today's fortune cookie:

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

Now ain't THAT the truth! How many of us go through life never even registering the people or things we should be grateful for? How much do we take for granted in our lives?

Take some time today to think about what you have in life and be grateful for it. It can be the most minuscule thing. Sometimes my gratitude journal will have nothing more than something mundane, such as "I'm grateful for my car. It gets me where I need to go so I can support myself." Things like that are still worth noticing in life.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as well! Comment below or on social media and let me know what are you grateful for? Let's have a gratitude fest!   💛🐝

Want some fortune cookies so you can play along? Get some here.

 ~~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!

Quiet Your Mind And Your Heart Will Follow

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"Quiet your mind and your heart will follow."

I woke up with that in my head on a recent morning. It was the last thing I remember from a dream I was having. I sat straight up, grabbed a pen and paper, and jotted it down. It was loud, too, as if someone in the room had said it right next to me. You don't ignore something like that!

At the time, I was struggling with some decisions I needed to make. Well, decisions we (my husband and I) were mulling over. It's a good problem to have when you have a lot of options for a situation, but for me, sometimes having too many options makes it difficult for me to see the path right in front of me.

I knew what I was being told: that I needed to quiet my mind and my heart would know and seek the true path.

I have a habit of letting things get to me, and they get all swirled up in my mind. It's like a cacophony of mental sound inside of me, every thought fighting to be heard.

Can you relate at all? If so, what do you do to quell it?

I've explored various techniques on how to deal with this over the years: pro/con lists, journaling, talking it out with people, but today I would like to share a meditation I've been doing that has been helping me with this problem.

I start by sitting quietly and comfortably, feet flat on the floor, hands in my lap. If you try this and you feel you need calming music, then play some music softly in the background. I prefer to sit in utter silence, and you'll see why, below.

Take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly but fully. Let each breath go deeper than the one before. Let the tension of the day drop away with each breath. Stretch a little, settle into how your body feels and consciously relax each muscle, joint, and limb.

If thoughts crop up, acknowledge them, and then let them go. They will probably crop up a few times, and that's okay, just keep acknowledging them and letting them go.

Take more deep breaths, and SMILE. Did you know smiling can calm you down and raise good endorphins?

After several clearing breaths, I let my awareness extend outwards to connect with sounds around me: children playing, birds chirping, cars passing by on the road, a dog barking in the distance, that really insistent woodpecker in the backyard. It takes my mind out of myself and connects me with the outer world. (This is why I often don't use music.) The reason I do this is because by putting my awareness OUTWARDS, I stop focusing on what is INWARDS in my head.

After a few moments of being out of my own head, I am then able to bring my awareness back within, and picture myself in a place that is calm and happy. For me, it's often a quiet beach with calm waves lapping the shore, much like the beaches I grew up with in Connecticut.

Then, I let my higher 'self' connect with heaven, and I pray. I ask God to guide me down the right path.

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash

After praying, I sit silently again, just paying attention to my breathing, and continue to acknowledge and let go any confusing thoughts that crop up. I sit in a space of quiet gratitude and light, continuing to breathe. By this point, the confusing thoughts are generally gone, and I have only one or two thoughts happening. If I try to jettison them and they come back solidly, then I know those are the ones I should address.

I don't really know how I arrived at this method. It's just from a variety of things I've tried over the years and it's developed from there. One thing I know for sure is that this doesn't come from me. The letting go of my ego and connecting my awareness outward during the meditation is necessary for me to truly quiet my mind, connect above, and know the right path. That step came during another moment of intuition and message last year, and I took it to heart and started implementing it.

One more thing: I've found that there will be what Kim Chestney calls "Godwinks"—signs from above to do something—that are obvious to me if I bother to pay attention. I know for myself, whenever I ignore them, they will fight to be heard even louder, sometimes to unpleasant consequences. When I look back on my life now, I see them so clearly. I've just had another situation in which it was clear I was not in balance with who I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do, and I'm listening up. BIG CHANGES coming in my life right now, but they're GOOD ONES. Being in balance with God and the universe has never been more important to me, and makes my decisions even easier when I listen instead of ignoring it.

Comment below or on social media and let me know: have you ever felt something similar? How do you quiet your mind so that your heart can follow? Do you have any favorite tricks for this?

🐝

Want to read Kim's book? You can find it here. And if you are local to the Pittsburgh region and get a chance to do a workshop with Kim, I highly recommend working with her. You can find out more about workshops and events she offers at her website. You may recall I attended an event she helped create back in January, and you can read what that was like here.



 ~~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!

Fortune Cookie Friday: Watch One's Thoughts

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Greetings, fellow fortune cookie lovers! Today's fortune is a good one, once again.

Watch one's thoughts, as they become actions. 

There's a theory out there that what we think is what our reality will be. I know this holds true for me. Anyone who's read The Secret or practiced mind over matter would probably know what I'm talking about.

I like to "keep a clean house," mentally. I find that if I start using certain language, that language does have the power to affect my perception of the world. This cookie reminds me to keep my thoughts aligned with how I want my life to be.

What does this saying mean to you? Comment below or on social media. I'd love to hear your thoughts! 🐝


 ~~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!

Fortune Cookie Friday: Make Your Life A Mission

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Ok guys, if you read the last Fortune Cookie Friday post, you'd have seen that that one referred to life being a play.

And then:  THIS cookie was the next one I opened:

Make your life a mission, not an intermission.

What is up with the theatrical references lately?! That's pretty neat!

Just last week, we talked about how, if life is a play, that you should choose the role that you want in it, before the curtain comes down.

This fortune is a great follow-up to that, isn't it?

And it's pretty simple, to me: don't treat life like an intermission. Life isn't simply a break where you run and get some coffee or a beer, or maybe go stand in line for the bathroom before the lights flicker, signaling that it's time to rush back and re-take your seat for the next act. Blink, and you miss it. Intermissions always go too fast.

Treat life like your mission. Don't waste it on mundane things. If you don't like where life is going, then make a plan and tackle it. Start by writing a mission statement. What would you change in order to feel like you were living fully?

A mission statement can be a simple one-sentence statement, from which other things can then grow. I'll start with the sentence that I had in my head when I started this site:

My mission at positively b.e.e. is to disrupt negativity by focusing on positivity, light, joy, and gratitude.

And now it's your turn: what's your mission? 

Comment below or on social media if you want to share your mission or any additional thoughts! And if you want any of your fortune cookies to be featured on Fortune Cookie Friday, feel free to send me pictures of your fortunes.

Have a great weekend! 🐝



~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there! ~

Fortune Cookie Friday: Life Is A Play

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Hello, and welcome back to Fortune Cookie Friday! And welcome to our new readers, too!

If you're new to positively b.e.e., the idea is simple: I will be using some Fridays to post bits of wisdom that come from fortune cookies I have opened, or ones that you share with me. I use the saying inside to think intuitively, and then share those thoughts with you. If you'd like to play along, make sure to get some cookies the next time you get Chinese food, or you can order some here.

Alright, let's get started. Today's is a good one, and I was so excited when I opened it!

Life is a play. It's not its length, but its performance that counts. 

So, I have some questions for you:

Are you the playwright? Are you writing the script and deciding how the storyline will progress? Are you dictating how the characters interact, creating relationships, and figuring out what plot points will move the story forward?

Photo by Wei-Cheng Wu on Unsplash

Or are you an actor, following someone else's script? Maybe someone else wrote it, and a director is calling the shots, giving you notes, and telling you how to play it, but you can bring your interpretation and motivation and emotional range to the play and make it a moving and memorable performance that wows your audience.

Maybe you're the stage manager. Someone else may have written the script, and other people are out front making that script come alive on stage, but you take the necessary actions behind the scenes to make it all happen. You create the unseen magic and make others look good, while providing a seamless, enjoyable experience to the audience without them even realizing that you've done it. You're a bit of an unsung hero.

Or maybe, just maybe: you're the director. You see the plan set out by the playwright, and you have a vision for it. You can interpret it and harness the creative and technical resources to make the play happen beautifully. It becomes a masterpiece under your expert guidance.

All of these roles, both figuratively and in life, are valid and meaningful. Everyone, no matter what their role, brings something of value to the table. Each person has something to contribute, as long as they show up.

But if life is a play: are you happy with your role, or do you want to change it up? Are you contributing to your life in the way that you want to? Who do you want to be: the playwright, the actor, the stage manager, or the director? Or someone else?

We don't know how long the play will be. It could be a one-act play, or it might have several acts with intermissions, but no matter how you play it or what your role is, ENJOY IT. Take charge of your own happiness and play the role YOU want to play. After all, we are only promised RIGHT NOW.

This play is the play we're in, so let's make it the best-produced play ever, okay? 

Live your best life always.

Oh, and one final thought: who cares about the critics or what they say—some will love you, and some will hate you, so just live your best life anyway...

...before the curtain comes down.

Photo by Rob Laughter on Unsplash

💛🐝


Comment below or contact me through social media (links below) and let me know if you have any fortunes you want to share!

 ~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there! ~

Fortune Cookie Friday: The Means of Happiness

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Ok, so, as I mentioned in this post here, Fortune Cookie Friday will be an occasional feature here at positively b.e.e. I get a lot of these every time I order Chinese food or go out, plus I sometimes buy a package of them (you can get a big box here), because I like them a lot.

I find the sayings inside often start a train of thought, for me, so I may as well share those trains here and see what you have to say about it, and I invite you to share your fortune cookie fortunes with me as well!

So without further adieu, the first fortune cookie fortune on this site:

"We cannot be happy unless we think we are the means of good to others."

What do you guys think of that?

My first, knee-jerk reaction to this was: "Nah."

But that was my brain trying to get in the way of my heart. When I tell my brain to pipe down, I get so much more out of this.

Remember when I said in another post that connection may involve letting our guard down so we can heal and heal others?

Maybe this cookie refers to connection, how we cannot remain an island and be happy. By connecting with others on a true soul-level, we can be the means of good to others, thereby elevating our own happiness quotient.

And then there's the fact that for many people, volunteering our time or donating money to a good cause makes us feel good, right? And that is also a form of connection, so that holds true here, as well.

Wow, that cookie was deeper than I expected!

Tune in next time I open a fortune cookie. In the meantime, let me know: does this fortune cookie's message mean anything to you? Comment below!

Oh, and by the way: Happy Lunar New Year!


 ~~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there! ~~

Introducing: Fortune Cookie Fridays!

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures & Policies on my About page.

So I had this crazy idea.

I seem to have a plethora of fortunes from fortune cookies.

I don't know why I kept them; I just did. Compounded by the fact that every time I order Chinese food from my favorite local restaurant, they throw in at least 3-4 cookies each time, I seem to have collected a lot.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

And I know the sayings are sometimes kind of cheesy. Half the time, they're not even fortunes, such as "You will win a million dollars." Instead, there are cryptically-worded bits of wisdom packed into each sweet treat, along with some lucky numbers. I often get something out of them, though, because they kick off some creative, intuitive thinking on my part. I think they're my favorite part of the meal.

So, you've heard of Throwback Thursday? Well without further adieu, I introduce to you: Fortune Cookie Friday.

(I know, I know, it's "Flashback Friday" elsewhere. I'm paving a new path!)

I don't know that I'll post one every Friday, but when I do post a fortune cookie fortune, I'll do it on a Friday, as a way to kick off the weekend. With it, I'll post some thoughts about whatever comes out of the cookie, but I'd also love your comments on what each one says to you! Let's have some fun with this!

If you want to play along, you can open some fortune cookies, yourself, and post them in the comments! If you don't have any, you can get them at this link.

Look for this feature to start soon!

 ~~ positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there! ~~