Tag: health

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A Place To Breathe

Good Morning PeaceMakers. I pray that today holds all the peace, love and acceptance that your heart can hold.

If this is your first time on my site, My name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Creative Peace Designer. That means I use my gifts of creative writing & teaching to help others manage conflict and create mental space for more peaceful opportunities in their lives. My motto for today is: “peace starts with a made up mind.”

So let’s get to it:

My intent for this post – I’m writing this morning at 4:30 am because writing/ journaling settles my mind and helps me to organize my thoughts. I guess you could say that I am at peace when I create a short narrative, or inspirational message. Writing is one of my Origins of Peace and my place to breathe. It’s important for each of us to find what helps us breathe deeper and a little easier. The sweet aroma of creativity helps us not to take ourselves so seriously and as adults that can be hard to do.

What’s important for you to know: You gotta breathe. Close your eyes and visualize those activities that you participated in as a kid. Did you dance, sing or take piano lessons. Maybe it was art class or violin practice. Whatever it was, did it provide a few minutes of relief and escape for you? Along with writing, I absolutely loved ballet & gymnastics class. I can remember practicing my back-flip and no-hand cartwheels for hours on end. I’ve never really been great at ballet, but I can remember putting on my pink ballet slippers for the first time along with my white tights and black leotard. I was free to be me.

What matters: You were created to be serious and carefree at the same time. Life will impose it constraints and restrictions upon you but you cannot let that stop your creativity. Your foundational purpose is found in the weeds of your place to breathe and your responsibilities. Intentionally show up for yourself each day in a creative way. If not, you’ll get lost and be afraid of who you truly are. You have too much goodness, purity and creativity to be anyone other than yourself.  Show up for you & breathe.

I offer a session called Peace Mapping where I help you identify areas of conflict in your life and design a strategy that helps you to make different choices and create mental space for a more peaceful lifestyle. I would love to help you find your place to breathe.

To book a session, simply click here to get started.

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Slay The Day With an Intentional Morning Routine

https://melissaarivers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/morning-routine.m4a?_=1Good Morning PeaceMakers!

If this is your first time on the site, my name is Melissa Rivers of OriginsofPeace.com. I am a Peace Coach helping individuals and business owners take action to solve problems using their unique gifts and talents.

Last week we spent time developing a routine with our 3 Day Fast, The Fundamental Necessities of Success. We denounced procrastination and made room for process, completion and reward in our lives. We completed a fast, studied scriptures and affirmed positivity. Click here to grab this essential free tool.

In keeping the same momentum, let’s talk about the importance of having an established morning routine.

If we’re honest with ourselves, routines are difficult to implement. Getting started can be tough.

I would like to encourage you that establishing a morning routine is totally worth the effort. Waking up at a designated time, and putting a few tasks in place will set the tone for your entire day.

My morning routine includes 3 fundamental necessities:

  1. Waking up to a musical alarm. I’ve programmed Alexa to wake me up to some good, inspirational, soul-stirring music. This week’s song of choice is “Thank You”, by Benita Washington. Listening to this song reminds me of how grateful I am for life. I lay in bed while the song plays listening to the words and thinking about all the victories in my life and the obstacles that I’ve overcome.
  2. I read scripture or an inspirational quote. I am very much an Old Testament girl. A Torah girl to be exact. I love the first 5 books of the bible. Most days you will find me in Exodus. I love Proverbs and Psalms as well.
    1. I love the book of Exodus because it reinforces the necessity of progression for me. It inspires me to keep moving forward through conflict, doubt and uncertainty. The only way out of a tough situation is to keep going. Exodus gives the direction to “gather & go” when dealing with situations like anxiety, unfaithfulness and lack of resources, just to name a few. You gather the lesson that you need from the event and then you move on! There’s so much instruction in Exodus. I encourage you to spend time reading this extremely informative book if you haven’t recently.
  3. I speak positive affirmations over myself and silently meditate. I believe in positivity and I very much believe in the gift of silence. In a time when things seem to be extremely negative and moments of silence are hard to grab, you have to make time to be kind to yourself and speak life affirming words of encouragement. I am providing an example of a few affirmations that I speak over myself throughout the day:
    1. I am loved
    2. I am appreciated
    3. I am rewarded
    4. I am successful
    5. All things work together for my good

After repeating the affirmations 3 times, I sit in silence for a few minutes and take time to absorb the words. I visualize what each phrase represents in my life.

Next week I will break down each phrase and tell you what each represents to me.

The 3 practices that I’ve mentioned are the core foundation of my morning routine. Some mornings I add journaling while enjoying a cup of herbal tea from http://www.handsofsage.com.

If you currently do not have a morning routine established, I encourage you to get one. Doing so will be one of the best and most strategic decisions that you can implement along your path of peace.

Have an awesome week!

Much Love,

Melissa

**Bonus content included in the audio!**

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The Best Program I Ever Developed Turned Out To Be An Absolute Bust ☹

For months I spent countless hours praying, researching, developing and consulting to include the right content that would make my program memorable and successful.

In spite of my efforts, there were things that I missed. I failed to include some important factors, which turned out to be a major misstep for me.

The program that I am referring to is my wedding and subsequently, my marriage.

September 18, 2010 was supposed to be the beginning of a life full of wedded bliss for me. In spite of the time spent planning and preparing, things didn’t quite turn out the way that I envisioned.  Yes the ceremony took place and it was beautiful but the marriage didn’t last.

In hindsight, more time should have been spent understanding what I needed in a spouse and what would be required of me in order to have a successful marriage. Although I believe wholeheartedly in redemption, I can honestly say I consider this to be one of my biggest missed opportunities.

Can you relate? Have you ever exhausted all of your efforts and energy working on a ‘thing’ that didn’t turn out right? Are you tired of starting a project but never seeing it through to completion? Like years in the past, did you set goals for 2019 but have no idea how you’re going to accomplish them?

I believe that all things start from within and now is the perfect time to start fresh. In order to properly set my intentions toward success in 2019, I am dedicating three days to fasting, prayer & meditation, visualization and affirmations.

I invite you to join me.

Beginning January 14th, we will spend the first 20 minutes of each day with scriptures, affirmations and guided words for visualization that promote success, empowerment and completion.

I will post the affirmation cards on Sunday, January 13th at midnight. If you’re in, comment on the post or shoot me an email at melissarivers75@gmail.com.

You owe it to yourself to finish what you’ve started.

Let’s do this!

Much Love,

Melissa

 

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My Soul Says Yes

Being emotionally well means that you have the ability to be aware of and accept your feelings, rather than deny them. You’re attentive to your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, both positive and negative.

I work with many women who carry an immense amount of guilt for various reasons. They feel guilty for settling in life, love and career. They feel guilty for occasionally wanting to choose themselves and say no to the demands of others. They feel guilty for wanting to be number one but always settling for a lower position.

This guilt carries a lot of weight and many adverse affects. Before you know it, feelings of stress and overwhelm consume you and you’ve lost your true self. You’re no longer the bold and confident woman that you once were.

When is enough…enough? When is it okay to put yourself first? Do you even know how to ask for better treatment and what does better treatment look like for you?

My goal as a Peace Coach is to help re-write your personal narrative. If you’re currently living a life that is not authentic to who you truly are, allow me to help you find your “Origins of Peace.”

Your “Origins of Peace” are the fundamental necessities that keep you grounded and at ease. The circumstances of life tend to make us forget what makes us happy, peaceful and full of joy. I can help you reconnect the dots.

If you are experiencing a disconnect in your life, start by reciting the Personal Plea below to make room for peace in your life.

Personal Plea

It’s me oh Lord. Standing in the need of being free from myself. Free from fear, self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy. These feelings have prevailed for far too long.

No longer do I want to worry about trivial matters that highjack my attention and hold my emotions hostage.

Today I will focus on calming the noise, accepting my vulnerabilities and being free to explore new perspectives.

No more mental battles. No more thoughts of defeat.

No more.

My Soul says yes to change. Restore my compassion towards myself. Renew my mind from crippling information. Touch me so that I am made whole.

I am strong and mighty in the earth. I have purpose and a mission to complete.

Thank you God for leading the way.

Much Love,

Melissa

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Be A Living Demonstration

Starting the New Year with renewed perspective. “It’s not always about what you do. Oftentimes it’s about how you do it.” Here’s to a year of saying yes to yourself and no to what you simply don’t want to do.🎉

” We carry the message in many small, subtle, but powerful ways. We do our own-recovery work and become a living demonstration of hope, self-love, comfort and health. These quiet behaviors can be a powerful message.” – The Language of Letting Go (Melody Beattie)

The best way to make an impact on others is to be a living demonstration of the message you want to communicate.

Many talk about self-love in public but fail to demonstrate it in their private lives.

A thorough self-love routine can include pampering and relaxation but more importantly it should involve setting boundaries, making time for self and doing things that promote positive mental and physical health.

Setting boundaries is how we demonstration our love of self to others. If we’re constantly saying yes, over-extending ourselves and repeatedly putting the needs of others ahead of our own, we’ve failed to establish necessary boundaries in our lives. The problem with always being available and always saying yes is that you eliminate time to be still and self-evaluate. If you’re constantly chasing everyone else’s needs you could miss those internal signals that alert you when things are going wrong internally.

The best way to set personal boundaries is to ask yourself a few questions?

  1. How can I peacefully co-exist with myself?
  2. How can I balance my desire to help others with my obligation to care for myself?
  3. How can I make the most impact in the shortest amount of time?

Answering these questions will help you create an action plan to lead a more balanced life.

Prayer: Today I am thankful for a balanced life. I am thankful for opportunities to serve others and myself. I acknowledge quiet moments of reflection and I value the self-love and empowerment contained in those moments. Thank you for opportunities to release co-dependency and to embrace self-love. By doing this I will be of greater service to myself and others.

Much Love,

Melissa

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Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself

My name is Melissa Rivers and I am a Peace Coach. My mission is to help entrepreneurs and individuals manage conflict, make brave choices and take action to achieve their goals. I’ve been in business for myself for nearly four years and I’ve successfully helped dozens of clients achieve their own personal measure of success.

Like many others, I’ve made some pretty lofty goals for 2019. The most important one for me is to do more of what I love.

I think after my divorce, cancer, job loss and a handful of other setbacks, my focus shifted from hope and expectation to survival. Survival is necessary but there has to be a healthy balance between obligation and enjoyment.

My obligation for 2019 is to show up for myself and to do the work for my clients. Enjoyment for me comes in the form of writing & blogging. There’s definitely more of that coming this year.

So, I will end this year with a declaration: I make room for intentional enjoyment in my life!

Here’s to a year filled with bold, confident and powerful prayers. Intentional declarations of progress, growth and opportunity. Resources to be a blessing to others and invitations that will set you in the presence of Kings and Queens. May your focus be consistent and intentional, may your actions be deliberate and kind, may your opportunities be often and abundant. May you find peace in all you search for and may you empower the good in yourself, others and life. Release anything that no longer serves you, add all things that give you positive vibes and love!

Much Love,

Melissa

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What’s On Your Peace Map

As a Peace Coach, I’m often asked why I choose to pursue Peace and what kind of things bring me Peace. In all honesty, I choose Peace because it wasn’t present in my life for a very long time. In my early years I had to deal with a lot of stuff. One of the most memorable is a relationship in my mid-twenties that made me question who I was and what I stood for. I wish that I could say I made all the right choices in handling my hurt, but I can’t.

Today I’m a completely different person. I made a lot of selfish choices that have had lasting affects in my life. What I know now is that I forgive myself for not taking the time to properly grieve the loss of the relationship and for not allowing myself sufficient time to heal.

As a commitment to my peace and mental health, I surround myself with people and things that bring me Peace and provide opportunities to release tension.

I created my first Peace Map several years ago to intentionally call Peace into my life. My Peace Map has evolved over the years but I can truly say the things that are on it now, bring me unspeakable Peace.

Did you notice A Different World seasons 2-6 on my Peace Map? I am absolutely in love with the evolution of Dwayne and Whitley’s love story on the show. I’m also captivated by the quality and substance of the show. It really details some serious life lessons and cultural awareness. A piece of my heart has been broken since Netflix removed the show from their catalog on March 15th. If anyone reading this has any influence at Netflix, please tell them to add it back.

Another one of my peace providers is Brussels Sprouts. Yes, I said Brussels Sprouts. No matter how you cook them, I will eat them. I’ve even chopped them up and added them in my green smoothie recipes. 

If you haven’t already, take a few minutes to consider those things that accentuate Peace in your life and create a Peace Map!

PeaceMode,

Melissa

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