A Homeless Single Mom Cooked for a Cancer Patient. What He Gave Back Is the Surprise of A Lifetime!

November 29, 2015 by Power of Positivity

In 2005, the United Nations attempted a global survey to estimate the number of homeless people worldwide, and found that as many as 100 million people were homeless.

With these numbers rising every year, many people around the world want to take part in combating the homelessness crisis. One such person is Brice, a cancer patient who met a single mom named Francesca at a homeless shelter.

When Francesca found out Brice had cancer, she selflessly offered to cook for him to show her consolation, despite her situation. She even offered to help Brice surprise someone else in need, but he had a big surprise planned just for her.

When Brice met Francesca, a single mom to a four-year-old girl, he instantly wanted to help her out somehow.

“Lots of women in our shelter struggle every month,” said Francesca. “I’ve been sharing what I have with them whenever I can, but sometimes it’s hard and I run out.”

After Brice found out about her love for cooking and struggle to keep food on the table, he invited her to his house in order to surprise her with an unexpected gift.

“I was really touched when you reached out to me and offered to cook,” said Brice to Francesca. “But I was even more touched when you told me that you’re a single mom and you’re helping to share food with other women in the shelter. I just felt so touched when you came today to help surprise someone else in need that we all decided to give you a little surprise.”

The surprise? Two months of organic food delivery to the shelter from a local farm, made possible entirely on a donation basis through the website fundrazr.com. In addition, a company called TangoTab decided to donate 250 meals to Francesca to share with the rest of the shelter.

“We’re all so inspired by you, and we just love you,” said Brice.

After receiving the food, Francesca happily shared it with six other women in the shelter. Although the meals greatly helped Francesca and the other women in a time of need, Francesca’s term at the shelter ends in February.

To give her a permanent home, Brice wants to help build a solar-powered tiny house for Francesca and her daughter as a Christmas present. He also wants to start an international pay-it-forward housing movement so that others just like Francesca may have a place to call home, too.

“This could be a solution to the refugee crisis and climate change.” said Brice.

To help them raise the necessary $25,000 for the tiny house by December 25, make sure to share this video below and visit tinyhomebighearts.com for more information!

“This pay-it-forward housing campaign could be the greatest gift to help heal humanity. It’s the spirit of giving and unconditional love.” – Raamayan Ananda, Unify CEO

5 Things Sensitive People Should Avoid

November 28, 2015 by Chris Butler

Sensitive people believe things can be better and work hard to make it so. It is hard for a sensitive person to see suffering without trying to relieve the pain, to see heartache without expressing love and to see a challenge without problem-solving. The empathetic nature of a sensitive person is often invisible to most, and as such, is often ignored or misunderstood.

Sensitive people are often so giving of their time and energy that they forget to worry about their own lives and the habits that may be overwhelming them. It’s an innate quality that can be difficult to navigate with outside influences establishing the expectations of how you should act.

Sensitive People Should Always Avoid These Twelve Habits

1. Drinking too much caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant that increases blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration, and activates your “fight or flight” response. These symptoms can often lead sensitive people into an anxiety attack.

Moderate amounts of caffeine can bring some mental benefits – increased alertness, motivation, concentration, memory, and attention. The key word is moderation; no more than 400 mg for a day. Too much caffeine triggers irritability, nervousness, restlessness, upset stomach, fast heartbeat, and muscle tremors.

As with nearly everything, use caffeine wisely and in moderation. This is certainly advisable if you are a sensitive person.

2. Emotional eating

This habit can be tough to break for sensitive people because food can help them absorb emotion, and it often leads to overeating in stressful situations. If they have a bad day at work, they can come home and make a favorite comfort food to take the day’s stresses away. While the food they eat might make them temporarily happy, it doesn’t solve the underlying issues.

If you’re a sensitive person who feels overwhelmed, try to get at the heart of the problem instead of covering it up with sugary or fattening foods that won’t serve your best interests in the long run. Feel the emotion that makes you want to eat and analyze the triggers, then create a favorable substitute that will actually benefit your mind, body, and spirit.

3. Participation in chaotic social situations

Highly sensitive people react to certain stimuli much more intensely due to the programming in their brains – their frequencies pick up noises, emotions, facial expressions, and energy in much more depth than others might. For example, if they go into a grocery store or mall packed with people, they might instantly feel negative energy permeate their body, which will affect their mood and emotions. When they pick up on the collective energy of certain places, they can become easily overwhelmed by intense emotions and vibrations.

Tip: Try practicing grounding techniques, such as root chakra meditations to help feel secure and connected to source energy at all times.

4. Avoiding your gut instincts

Gut instincts are defined as something you know or sense, and sensitive people can closely tune into their intuition. Or course, this is a natural, unlearned, predictable response to stimuli.

But more than that, gut instincts help people survive. Humans are also thinking beings, and when someone feels something is not just right, instead of taking action based on the feeling, they stop and think about it. It’s this pause that can sometimes work against sensitive people.

5. Not spending time in solitude to recharge and reconnect

Highly sensitive people (empaths) might be seen as loners or outcasts living on the fringes of society, but they know that to cleanse themselves of the energies they take on from others, they must recharge often.They truly enjoy spending time in nature, and while they have an infinite love for other beings, they can only best express when they have time for themselves to decompress.

doing the things important to you – seeing friends and family, taking a vacation, doing work that matters, etc. Continuing to participate in areas of life that you deem important is another big aspect of self-care. When these things are neglected, it can cause problems – from mental (depression) to physical (blood pressure, sickness, etc.)

6. Violent movies or books

Sensitive people should avoid violent movies, televisions shows, or movies. Seeing or hearing violent acts will make you feel physically sick. Some sensitive people actually feel as if the violence is happening to them. Stick to more fun, happy movies that won’t emotionally overload you.

7. Ruminating about negative comments

Criticism is difficult for a highly sensitive person to process. They rehash the conversation and mull over what someone said or didn’t say. Sensitive people want to make other people happy, so when they receive criticism they feel like they’ve failed someone. They may think about this for days or weeks. Sensitive individuals will try to read between the lines of what was said and assume the person doesn’t like them. If you’re a sensitive person, maybe you need to develop tougher skin to accept input without it overwhelming you.

8. Taking too long to decide

Sensitive people think deeply about every decision to the point of not being able to decide. Even things like what to buy at the grocery can become a major challenge. It’s hard for a sensitive person to consider all the possibilities or outcomes regarding their choices. You know how difficult decisions are if you’re one of these people.

9. Deadlines cause extreme stress for sensitive people

Deadlines are extremely stressful for sensitive individuals. They hate time pressure because it overstimulates and makes them feel out of control. They need time to move slowly and get things done at their own pace. Knowing this about yourself should help you choose a career that doesn’t include deadlines or time limitations, including

Massage therapist
Occupational or physical therapist
Dietician
Tattoo artist
Astronomer
Artist

10. Being in loud places

Sensitive people can’t tolerate loudness. They get overwhelmed by sensory noises. It messes with their minds. They hear everything and it can distract them. Noise-canceling headphones are a blessing for these folks. If you react to loud noises at work or school, purchase a pair of headphones that you can put on whenever the volume gets turned up.

11. Not getting enough sleep is typical for sensitive people

Sleep is an important health care component of everyone’s life. But a highly sensitive person needs a good night’s sleep more than most people. Sleep can soothe their senses and help them relax. It helps them adjust their strong emotional needs. If you’re a sensitive person, keep a regular bedtime routine. Wind down before your bedtime so that you’ll be able to fall asleep without your mind racing.

12. Saying “yes” all the time

It’s not just highly sensitive people that fall into the trap of saying “yes” to every request. But sensitive people are especially prone to this. They are empathetic and feel like they want to help everyone. But sensitive people are more prone to exhaustion and burnout than other folks. If you’re a sensitive person, set boundaries for yourself. Ask a good friend or family member to help you set limits on yourself so that you won’t fall prey to trying to help everyone.

11 Things You Need to Know About Being In A Relationship With A Creative Person

November 28, 2015 by Power of Positivity

A creative person makes this world a much more interesting place; without them, we wouldn’t have books to get lost in, art to marvel at, movies to take us into another world, or music to inspire and move us. It seems that creative people live in an entirely different galaxy sometimes, always living within their heads and letting their imaginations carry them away. This makes them very intriguing and alluring, but also, it can frustrate others who just don’t understand how the artist’s mind works.

According to a study published in NeuroImage, artists have a totally different brain than their counterparts, with increased neural matter in various parts of their brains. With that said, loving a creative person comes with some challenges, but if you just take the time to learn more about them, you can start to unveil the mystery of how their mind works.

Here are 11 things you need to know about being in a relationship a creative person:

1. They have strange sleeping schedules.

A creative person’s mind never stops ticking; it often keeps them up at night, racing with new ideas that they just have to write down before they forget them. They have an intense desire to understand all of the intricacies of this world. Because of this, they never stop asking questions. They never stop exploring, wondering, dreaming, and thinking. They often do their best work at night, when their mind won’t allow them to sleep. Therefore, they sleep in spurts, jotting down ideas and creating between small periods of rest.

2. They have a hard time finishing projects.

Creative people don’t work under deadlines or time tables; they simply create, and let their imaginations decide how far a project will go before they can deem it complete. They often flit from one project to another, as their mind doesn’t work in a linear fashion. As soon as they have a ground-breaking idea, they want to put their vision into action, no matter how many other things they have going on at the time.

3. They only work when they feel like it.

A creative person doesn’t pay attention to the time, and they certainly can’t work under the strict regime of a 9-5. Their mind works in short bursts of creativity, meaning that they do their best work in a “flow” state of mind. They can’t force themselves to write a book or create a painting; they have to wait until they feel the passion flowing through every bone in their body, and pour all of those emotions into their work. A normal schedule just doesn’t fit with the mind of a creative person.

4. A creative person spends a lot of time alone.

Obviously, a lot of noise and commotion only masks the ideas of a creative person. They need solitude in order to create their best work, and they don’t mind spending time alone. In fact, they prefer it, as they can hear all of their thoughts clearly, and transform them into a masterpiece.

5. They feel emotions on an intense level.

Creative people feel everything deeply, and sometimes feel cursed by this. However, without the ability to feel their emotions cutting through them so acutely, they wouldn’t have any foundation for their art. Their emotions create the elaborate story in their heads, and from there, they can create something beautiful that other people can relate to.

6. A creative person is deeply in touch with their inner child.

Creative people sort of missed the bus on the way to adulthood; they stayed behind, not wanting to face the monotony and drudgery of growing up. They realize that staying in touch with their inner child allows them to keep that innocent curiosity and open-minded view of the world intact, so if they seem like an eight year old trapped inside a thirty year old’s body, now you know why.

7. They put off their work until the last minute.

Creative people work best under pressure; if they have a deadline, they wait until the last possible minute to get their work done. Why? Because this allows their “flow” state to take over, making their creativity peak and their imaginations soar. The pressure of a deadline doesn’t intimidate them; in fact, it exhilarates them.

8. They are highly unorganized.

Have you ever walked into an artist’s room? Exactly. You likely saw papers strewn about, paintbrushes all over the floor, many art books opened to random pages, and notes written feverishly on Post-Its. Artists and organization don’t even belong in the same sentence, because an orderly creative person doesn’t exist. They have a method to their madness, though, and do their best work in the midst of chaos and disorder. Because art in itself is a bit chaotic, unsystematic, and unplanned.

9. A creative person forgets the world around them when immersed in their work.

If you want to talk to a creative person while they do their work, good luck. They have already entered an entirely different universe, where they can only see their ideas, their stories, and their passions. They lose themselves in their art or music, allowing it to carry them away and totally take over their mind and body. A creative person runs on raw emotion, and when they feel something deeply, they can’t help but pour that emotion into their work.

10. They don’t believe in limits.

If you tell a creative person they can’t do something, it won’t phase them. They see everything as a possibility, and know that the only limits that truly exist are inside the mind. And, when it comes to their mind, they see nothing as restricted or inaccessible. They simply laugh when people tell them the impossibilities of following their passions, because they know that many who came before them accomplished great things by not caring what other people think.

11. A creative person constantly questions the quality of their work.

A creative person is a perfectionist, and even though they may have plenty of critics, they still are their number one enemy. They look at their work from every possible angle, always wondering how they can make it better. They always ponder how much farther they could push themselves, and constantly attempt to break new barriers.

What Does Your Zodiac Sign Reveal About Your Personality?

November 28, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Obviously, everyone possesses both lightness and darkness within them; it keeps us balanced, humble, and on a quest to continue growing in order to put our innermost demons to rest. Though all people have positive qualities about them, they also have weaknesses and things they could improve on. Today, we want to bring the darkness to light and talk about the downside to each zodiac sign, not to knock anyone down, but to show you possible areas to develop yourself further and expand upon.

What personality traits does your zodiac sign reveal about you?

Aries

Aries, you’re one tough cookie. You have big goals, and will stop at nothing in order to achieve them. You run headfirst into whatever you face, never looking back or thinking before you leap. While your drive, ambition, and courage are honorable, you can also sometimes come across as combative, bossy, and downright hurtful.

Make sure not to steamroll others in order to get what you want or to strengthen your own ego.

Taurus

Taurus, you have natural leadership abilities, and your work ethic knows no bounds. You have an unbreakable spirit, and never let your emotions get the best of you. However, you can sometimes let your work consume you, and avoid talking about your feelings so that you don’t have to face vulnerability. You use work as a barrier between you and your emotions, and can come across as obstinate and unmoving.

Make sure you listen to others thoroughly, and try to open up a little more. It wouldn’t hurt you.

Gemini

Gemini, you have a charming, charismatic, open personality that draws people to you like a moth to a flame. You don’t let life get you down for too long, and always seem to have a smile on your face despite any adversity in your life. You excel at communication, and your open-mindedness is highly attractive. However, you can get bored of people quite easily, leaving them in the dust when they need you the most. Also, you can be a little self-absorbed, and lack sensitivity for other’s feelings at times.

Try to understand other people’s perspectives, and be up front with people about your feelings, even though you tend to shy away from confrontation.

Cancer

Cancer, you are something else. You are undeniably the deepest, most sensitive, caring sign, willing to give your love wholeheartedly and freely to whoever you deem acceptable and worthy. You feel everything deeply, and live totally by raw emotions. However, this can keep you from seeing the reality of a situation sometimes. Also, you tend to live in your head too much rather than allowing yourself to let go and experience each moment.

Try to open up to people more, and not let the voices in your head get in the way of you living a happy life.

Leo

Leo, you can light up a room the moment you step foot in it. You don’t need to even say anything; you carry yourself with confidence, and people can feel that radiating from you. You love the spotlight, and people gravitate toward you because of your warm, charming, outgoing personality. You have all the makings of a star, but this can make you self-centered and reliant on other people’s opinions of you.

Make sure you don’t lose yourself in the views of others; stay humble, and remember to value yourself.

Virgo

Virgo, you could solve any problem, even if the world was coming to an end. You have a knack for remaining the voice of reason in a sea full of emotions, and never lose your head in favor of what your heart wants. However, you can be a little uptight, and set unrealistic expectations for yourself and others.

Try lightening up and going with the flow instead of always needing to control every aspect of your life.

Libra

Libra, you have a way of keeping others balanced and comfortable, even if you don’t feel that way sometimes. You carry yourself with a nonchalant, carefree attitude, and people love that about you. However, you sometimes take too long making decisions, and tend to think too much instead of just acting on your instincts.

Try believing in yourself more, and nitpick the details so much.

Scorpio

Scorpio, you have a creative, artistic mind, and you make one of the best lovers in the zodiac due to your sensual nature. You have a mystique about you that makes people come back for more, even if they don’t quite get you during the first few conversations with you. However, you can hold a grudge like nobody’s business, and tend to seek revenge when someone rubs you the wrong way.

Learn to forgive and move on, otherwise you will forever be at the mercy of other people’s actions.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius, you have a fiery, funny, explosive personality that easily attracts friends and lovers to you. You are not shy about what you think, always voicing your opinions for all to hear. You’re also very spontaneous, and fun to be around. However, you are sometimes inconsiderate of other people’s feelings, and can seem emotionally unavailable.

Remember to take other people’s emotions into account, and listen to them before speaking.

Capricorn

Capricorn, you work harder than any other sign, and it pays off quite considerably. You never give up, and never let a challenge scare you from achieving your goals. However, you are a workaholic, and often neglect other parts of your life in favor of getting ahead.

Slow down, and savor each moment before it’s gone.

Aquarius

Aquarius, you are endlessly captivating and alluring, with your insatiable love for travel and adventure, your wit and charm, and your worldly knowledge. You can carry a conversation for days, and your intelligence is one of your best attributes. However, you are sometimes a little too independent, and people have a hard time getting to know you.

Open your heart a little, and maybe take someone with you on your next adventure.

Pisces

Pisces, you have one of the most beautiful, pure hearts, always looking out for other people. You crave solitude though, using that time to work on your art or music. You have a big imagination, and think that the world in your head makes more sense than the one you wake up to each day.

However, don’t lose yourself so much in your thoughts that you totally disconnect from the world around you.

5 Things to Remember When You’re Surrounded By Negative People

November 27, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Being constantly surrounded by negative people can affect every area of your life. Identifying when there are too many negative people and energy around you is an important part of being able to change yourself for the better. It can improve your relationships and your overall outlook on life.

Keep these things in mind when you find yourself surrounded by negative people and use them to help you move out of the negative space.

5 Things to Remember When Negative People Surround You:

Remember to stay focused on solutions

When questioning and understanding the negative people around you is to focus on how to eradicate it, and prevent it in the future.

Why focus on the solution?

The answer is simple: not only do you end up receiving more of what you focus on, you also send out a ripple of positive energy that is received by others. With that basic principle in mind, it makes sense to focus on the solution rather than the negative energy and problems associated with it.

Remember to accept possibility and release expectation

Happy people aren’t happy because bad things don’t happen to them, they are happy because they know how to handle the bad things better. Someone who is happy has similar challenges to those that are not happy. The difference is that they release expectation of what might happen, and focus to create their best possible situation – no matter whether it ends up good or bad.

Knowing that life could deal you some good apples (and some bad ones), releasing expectation makes it easier to work through situations because you are ready to accept whatever happens. The key is to take action right away to move back into a positive space.

Remember to show yourself compassion.

No matter how bad surroundings may get, remember that the negative people around you aren’t necessarily a problem you have to deal with. While you are responsible for the energy you create, the burden of others shouldn’t be carried on your shoulders.

See the importance of this distinction, because if you can separate yourself from the negative energy of others, you can focus on getting to the heart of the matter logically, without allowing the emotion to latch onto you.

Remember to Focus

Sometimes when negative energy is coming at us from all directions, we have a hard time knowing what to do. It is so intense that it can paralyze us into inaction. Instead of tackling the big ball of negativity all at once, try doing one small thing. Just one.

Doing one thing will crack open a space in the negative energy for the positive to begin to shine. That little bit of positive will begin to build and your motivation to do more “things” will propel you to eliminating the harmful energy.

Remember to accept them as they are, and release them if you have to

With everyone in our lives, whether positive or negative, we have two choices: to accept them as they are or let them go. Accepting them means accepting the negative source to the point where you can begin to move through it. It doesn’t mean you must allow the negative people to remain in and influence your life. Accepting them means handling the challenge and creating change.

When negative people surround you, it’s obvious that change is needed. That doesn’t mean change will immediately occur or solve the problem. If the negativity persists you may see that it has become a toxic cycle that no longer serves you, and have to come to terms with letting them go.

In the end, you have to do what is right for you and your mental well-being and overall happiness. It isn’t easy to let go, but when they aren’t contributing to your highest good anymore and possibly even harming you, what choice do you have?

Become aware of the messages you are receiving throughout the day. Find the sources of negative messages and begin to eliminate them from your daily routine. Learn to recognize the type of unhealthy thinking you are most likely to encounter. Start having an inner dialogue about how to handle these situations now, before you are in the moment. Knowing how you will handle the situation before it occurs, will help you when the time comes.

7 Ways to Overpower Negative Beliefs

November 26, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Negative beliefs hold us back. They reinforce feelings of failure, fear, and apathy. When we believe these beliefs, we allow them to control our destiny and to take back control of our journey; we must stop ignoring and trying to work around them and confront them instead.

These beliefs can be about anything and are influenced by everything around us, including the people we know, the books we read and the social networks we visit.

Here are seven ways to overpower negative beliefs:

“Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.” – Tony Robbins

Explore

Exploring what fuels our negative beliefs will allow us to address the habits and behaviors and make changes. It’s helpful to understand how our beliefs are formed and what influences them.

When we have a complete understanding, it will help us change our behaviors, it will help us recognize when certain beliefs are limiting our potential.

Be Curious

Being curious takes what we learn in the exploring phase and questions how we will move through negative beliefs into beliefs that support our vision and potential.

The curiosity factor will help us explore what happens on the other side of the belief and the different scenarios we might encounter along the way. It helps us see possibility, and the negative belief becomes more positive.

Determine if The Limiting Belief is Fact or Fiction

After exploring the beliefs and being curious about it, it is time to take what we’ve learned and determine if the belief is fact or fiction. You are holding on to the belief for a reason, you were either convinced of it or the belief may have been valid at one time.

But just like we change, so do our beliefs. Now it’s time to reflect on the belief and determine why we are holding onto it. Once you realize the negative belief no longer offers value, it is easier to discount it.

Isolate Negative Beliefs

Negative beliefs become more powerful when other negative experiences are present or when other people are fueling the fire. Isolate the belief and work through it on your own by exploring it, being curious about it, and determining if it is fact or fiction. Our beliefs and the transition from limited to supportive need to happen in our minds.

Find Supportive Evidence

Finding evidence to support why the negative belief isn’t valid will help us put it into perspective. In many cases, negative beliefs are playing to our emotions. Counteracting that with logical evidence might be just what we need to put it to rest. Listing all the reasons why the belief is not true or no longer valid provides an internal release of the power the belief holds.

Reframe the Negative Belief

It’s not realistic to think a negative belief will just go away, so to help them move along it is important to reframe it in a way that supports you. You can state the belief followed by why it is false or doesn’t provide you value anymore. Reframing the belief into what is true for you now is a very effective way of changing the negative belief into one that is supportive and purposeful.

Move On

Negative beliefs hold power when we allow them to continue to influence us. Remember the past is the past, and it doesn’t influence our now or our future unless we allow it. It is often easier to say let it go than it is to do it. When you have a negative belief you have two choices: 1. accept it and let go or 2. change it. The tips in this article will help you change it when you can, but if you can’t, you need to learn to live with it. What’s more important is you must stop allowing it to prevent you from achieving your goals.

Ultimately, it is important to remember that negative beliefs exist because we allow them to be. We have the power to change them from negative to powerful positive ones with a mindful journey through changing the belief into something that works for us, not against us.

Ed Miliband said it best:

“My beliefs will run through everything I do. My beliefs, my values are my anchor and when people try to drag me, as I know they will, it is to that sense of right and wrong, that sense of who I am and what I believe, to which I will always hold.”

Find your truth and go there when your beliefs are challenged.

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