I’ve always known that being yourself, speaking your truth, being authentic were important ingredients to why I am here on Earth. I knew those things were essential to simply existing, but I’ve never thought about it in regards to being vulnerable. In Brene Brown’s TED speech – The Power of Vulnerability – she gives poignant evidence to, well, the power of being vulnerable.

Her speech initially caught my attention because I wholeheartedly agree and believe that we are here for connection – connecting to each and every person, plant, and animal even while carrying around these body suits.

But here’s where my world shifted: In order to have true connection, you must be vulnerable. Oh shit.

I was thinking back on my own life where I’ve been vulnerable. For the first 29 years of my life, I had never experienced vulnerability. I lived the life of perfection. I was the perfect good girl. I had the perfect grades. And I had the perfect marriage. I was miserable. And then something shifted. I had to tell people that I was getting a divorce. In getting a divorce I felt like a failure. I was no longer perfect. I was vulnerable. And suddenly I was so much more likeable among my friends, coworkers, and colleagues. And for the first time I got a taste of true connection. Ever since then each and every time that I am vulnerable, the Universe rewards me in some way. And most likely you too.

Vulnerable is the willingness to say ‘I Love You’ first. It’s the willingness to do something without knowing the outcome just for the sake of your soul. Being vulnerable is being you without caring what others think.

Just saying the word ‘vulnerable’ is hard, let alone being vulnerable. Another way to think of being vulnerable is being seen. Yes, that’s even scarier, right? But we are at the point of our evolution where it is essential to be our true selves.

And I do believe that it is the secret to happiness. And here’s why. As Brene says, if you block out or numb being vulnerable, you also block out or numb the good stuff too – joy, gratitude, caring, empathy, etc. You can’t choose your numbing. It’s all or nothing.

Be Vulnerable.

Be Seen.

Be You.

Love you.

I oftentimes run into two types of people: those who are feng shui skeptics and those who are feng shui lovers. So just how much stock should we put into feng shui? Clearly there must be something to a 5000-year old practice, right? And why else would businesses in Asia construct buildings based on feng shui principles. According to the Chinese practice, feng shui brings good luck to those who apply it to their homes and businesses.

But what about those who have painted their entire Wealth Corner purple with not a hint of change in their finances? Or those who have placed pairs of pillows, nightstands, and candles in their bedroom just to find themselves sleeping alone?

As usual, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

According to Chinese Metaphysics, success or luck is derived from a combination of 3 factors:

-Heaven Luck

-Earth Luck

-Human Luck

This is known as the Cosmic Trinity.

If you divide each of these equally, that means each of these account for 33% of our fate.

Take a closer look at each one to see if you are taking advantage of all areas of your Cosmic Trinity:

1. Heaven Luck is also known as our Astrology or Natal Chart. We’ve all experienced times when we felt like we were going against a river. You may have wondered or even referred to your chart to see what was going on to explain your run of bad luck. And then there are other times when everything goes your way. It’s in these extreme good and bad times when we feel like we have little, if any, control of our life and destiny. This is your Heaven Luck. Is it possible to trump or override your Heaven Luck? Keep reading…

2. Human Luck is our conscious intentions. This is the aspect in which we feel like our life is in our hands. We are in control. We have free will. Our fate is in our hands – at least 33% of it. The more we make conscious choices, intentions, thoughts, the more we will be in control of our Human Luck. Have you ever come across someone who just seemed to live life in default. They just took what life handed them. This is a case of not using their 33% of Human Luck. On the other end of the spectrum, we sometimes think we have more control over our lives than we really do. This is usually when Heaven Luck or Earth Luck kicks in and teaches us a valuable lesson.

3. Earth Luck is the Feng Shui aspect of our success. Have you ever lived in a house that just seemed cursed? Perhaps as soon as you moved in everything seemed to go wrong. This is an extreme example of how feng shui can affect our lives. Generally speaking though, the energy flow in our home will have a direct impact on our own personal energy flow. This will in effect impact all areas of your life – from finances to love to health. If you don’t believe me, then try living in a house with a missing Wealth Corner!

   The Bagua Map contains nine areas of your life, the energy of which are all contained in your home. Some or all of these areas may be energetically blocked or need enhancing in one’s space, which is the essence of Feng Shui. Ultimately, we are directly affected by the energy of Mother Earth. The plot of land we live on is our host and we must live in accordance and in harmony with it. There are some plots that are more auspicious than others, as well as floor plans, furniture selection, and so forth. How we direct the energy in our home greatly affects how we direct the energy in all areas of our life.

I always encourage my clients to use conscious intentions (Human Luck) while applying Feng Shui remedies and enhancements (Earth Luck) to make a much more powerful punch – 66% to be exact. You can also apply the Heaven Luck to the equation by appropriately integrating the five elements into your home based on a personal Five Elements analysis.

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Tisha Morris is a feng shui expert, life coach, and the author of Feng Shui Your Life. For more information, visit www.tishamorris.com

Get your FREE Feng Shui Bagua Map + Goal Sheet DOWNLOAD HERE!

The accident happened on Mother’s Day and it was my first day home from college.  After Mother’s Day dinner, I apparently needed more excitement so I took off on a 3-wheeler.  The next thing I know I found myself in the woods struggling to stay conscious with blood everywhere and bones protruding. I made my way out of the woods at the exact time a woman and her son were taking an after-dinner stroll.  She happened to be a nurse and she sent her son running home to get a car.  The rest was a blur, except for the look on my mom’s face when she saw me.

For the next month, I was in excruciating pain as the doctors could not put my facial bones back into place until the swelling had gone down.  Not even Percocet was strong enough as I awaited surgery.  Would I ever look the same or was my ET-like face my destiny?  Meanwhile, I was studying for the LSAT.  Nothing was going to stop me from staying on track for law school.  Afterall, I felt fortunate to still have a functioning brain.

I often look back on that time and wonder why that accident happened. What was the message?

As I was sitting in the ER overwhelmed with feeling.  I was feeling everything so acutely.  Worse than the physical pain was the yearning to be having an ordinary Sunday night with my family.  A night that I would have otherwise taken for granted and had taken for granted countless other times.  Sunday nights still remain sacred to me.

And so this time around – 19 years later – I will not take moments for granted.  (And I will certainly not be riding ATVs.)

Enjoy your Sunday evening.

I am well into my third month since my fire was first lit with THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS. In my previous review after doing Module 1, I talked about the fire energy in which the FSS embodies. I am now through Module 3 and still loving it but for a different reason. While Danielle lights your creative spark in Module 1, she helps direct your flame in Modules 2 and 3.

I should probably give you a little background about how I came to purchase the FSS. I was considering hiring a business coach. As a life coach myself, I know that you must commit to multiple sessions to get the benefit and you ultimately get back what you put into it. At an average rate of $150/session, I knew it would be a time and money investment. I wavered back and forth on the decision. I also considered booking an individual FSS from Danielle. That’s when I first considered purchasing the FSS. I again put off the decision.

Then oddly enough, my RSS Feed for Whitehottruth.com no longer came to my Reader and I forgot all about it. I just figured that Danielle was taking a long vacation. But when one day the RSS feed magically resumed, I realized I had missed out on the deal of a lifetime: Danielle’s pay-what-you-can deal on her birthday.

I couldn’t believe that I had missed out on purchasing the FSS at probably $50. It was then that I had an epiphany! Do I want to get a $50 value out of the FSS or do I want to get a $150 value? The FSS is just like hiring a life coach – you get back what you put into it. It was then that I declared that I wanted to get (at least) $150 of value out of the FSS and ordered it. I was only half way through Module 1 when I had new inspiration, new motivation, new… well fire that far outweighed the price tag.

I have been working at my own pace all Summer with the FSS. It took me about a month to get through Module 1. Each time I would sit down to do a Session, I would inevitably only get about half way through when all these ideas would start flowing in. It was as if I was channeling an actual Fire Starter Session with Danielle. And I was so inspired by the ideas that I would actually put them to action – not just write them down and move on.

Module 2 and 3 continue to inspire but with more practicability and application. The resources that Danielle provides are invaluable. I know that I will (and already have) refer back to the FSS like a resource book on my shelf; but even better, I can just click to the resource from my computer.

So I am ready to move to the final Module. However, I feel myself stalling – you know how you sometimes do with a really good book that you don’t want to end.

Right now, I am still digesting a concept that has revolutionized my way of thinking:

“Becoming YOU is your [life] purpose. YOU are the very purpose of your existence.”

Chew on that for a while…

Order your copy of THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS by Danielle LaPorte!

Or just try a bite sized version… (it’s the best Module!)

More and more light is infiltrating onto the Planet to where darkness – in so many forms – can no longer survive.

Aside from a minority of followers, Bin Laden was an iconic symbol of evil in our collective consciousness. With the passing of Bin Laden, our Planet shifted. Or, put another way, our Planet has shifted (in vibrational frequency) to the point where Bin Laden could no longer be here. Either way, this political and historical moment also earmarks an important shift of our Planet and our collective consciousness to new ways of being.

Any time our Planet experiences a major shift, such as this, you can expect other things to take place. As the frequency rises, it creates a schism between those who no longer want to be here resulting in an inordinate amount of deaths and those who experience a rise in happiness, i.e. enlightenment or feeling more spiritually connected. A frequency change can also result in couples either separating or becoming closer.

You may have noticed something shifting in your life over the last few weeks. The calibration takes place primarily through the heart chakra as it is our largest electromagnetic energy emitter. Thus, as our Planet and we experience these shifts, living through the heart is our best way to navigate these strange, monumental, and sacred times. If you are being challenged with this – physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, energy healing can be a great way to recalibrate or reconnect you.

Peace to all.

Each month as I prepare to write my Newsletter, I reflect on the past month and muse upon the upcoming.  In my three years of sending out monthly newsletters, I’ve never experienced such a shift in one month as I have this last month. Changes are taking place at a whirlwind speed. I hardly recognize myself.  And I hardly recognize our Planet as it changes daily with the Middle East being the epicenter.

The changes are taking place on every level. For me, the swift changes began shortly after I got my hair cut much shorter. While that doesn’t seem to be a big deal, it is.

You see it’s a physical expression or example of what we all are undergoing personally, locally, globally, and planetary.

We are all freeing ourselves from something.

Freeing ourselves from our own Gadhafis and the Mubaraks.

Freeing ourselves from our inner demons.

Freeing ourselves from our own oppression.

Freeing ourselves from our shadows.

Why?

So our inner light can shine. So that we can be the beacon of light that we are.

So that our Planet can be the beacon of light that she is among the Universe. (Just as each country makes up our Planet, our Planet is but one part that makes up the Universe. Each piece is essential for evolution.)

So that we can experience the joy of life, the joy of the physical experience that we signed up for on Planet Earth.

And so that we can connect with and acknowledge the light in everyone that we encounter.

For we are all, consciously or unconsciously, seeking the feeling-experience of Oneness from which we came from and that we truly are.

It is because of this concept of Oneness that as the unrest goes on thousands of miles away that we are sleeping restlessly and undergoing our own personal battles with the truth.

In some we are victorious.

In some there is bloodshed.

But in all it is worth it. And it is inevitable.

We can no longer sit quietly and watch the injustices that go on next to us. We can no longer NOT speak our truth. And we can no longer NOT be our true self.

We are simply moving to a place where we will have no choice but to BE LOVE.

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Photo credit: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images

Tisha Morris is a certified life coach, feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor, and author of 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Turner Publishing).  For more information, visit www.tishamorris.com.

Also check out the NEW Feng Shui Your Life eWorkbook. NOW AVAILABLE!

If you’ve thought about starting a meditation practice or tried to meditate and gave up, then this is the article for you. I went from being a left-brained business-minded attorney to a right-brained healer with meditation being my bridge. However, when I first started attempting to meditate, I found it extremely frustrating. That is, if I was able to sit there more than 10 minutes without my back hurting or my legs falling asleep. What most people do not realize is that meditation is an art. And all arts take practice.

You may ask why then should I put in the time to practice meditation? Countless studies have shown that meditation has both short- and long-term benefits to brain structure and function. Specifically, the insula which connects the emotional center and thinking center, along with the amygdala, which is tied to the fight-or-flight impulses, actually change in form. Thus, meditators are more aware of what’s going on in their environment and thus more in control of their responses.

Translation: People who meditate deal with stress much better and thus have fewer stress-related illnesses.

Step 1: Set up a Meditation Space

Once you’ve made a decision to start practicing meditation, the first step is to designate a space. For tips on setting up a meditation space in your home, read 4 Steps to Create Your Personal Sanctuary. Having a designated space is, in my opinion, crucial. Ask any artist. They will tell you that a designated space to paint, write, cook, etc. is a necessity. The size of the space is not important, but privacy is. If you are unable to close off the space, then using a decorative screen to create a boundary is an option.

Step 2: How to Sit

This may seem pretty straight-forward unless and until you’ve tried it. Sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion or folded yoga blanket(s) is the most common “seat” for meditation. If you find that your back starts to hurt, then start out sitting against a wall or in an upright chair.

If you can sit cross-legged with not much problem, I would recommend using a meditation cushion to prevent your legs from losing circulation and falling asleep. For me, I had been doing yoga for years which is a great preparation for meditation. (In fact, yoga was originally used for preparing for yoga by the ancient yogis.) Even so, it took me about 6 months until I could sit for 30 minutes without my back hurting. There are “meditation muscles” in your back that most likely have been dormant. So make as many adjustments as you need.

You don’t need to sit like a monk in Tibet. But you do want your spine upright.

Step 3: How to Meditate

Once you have your space with a comfortable sitting position, the next step is the actual meditation. For any first-time meditator I recommend to start out listening to a guided meditation or meditation music using headphones (the bigger the better). Headphones not only help block out noises, but create an inward world where it’s just you. In other words, your attention turns from the external world to your internal world.

There are countless options for guided meditation. I am particularly picky about the guide’s voice and my personal preference is Deepak Chopra. So before you purchase something, listen to a sample to make sure you find the voice soothing and not annoying. As for meditation music, I prefer the technological entrainments that help balance the right and left brain. Anything with sudden noises, such as birds, cricket and thunder, I find very disruptive.

Whether you use a guided meditation, music, or go it alone with silence, the most important tip I can share is contrary to what any meditation source will tell you: For the first 5 minutes, let your mind run wild! Let it go wherever it wants. Set it free. Instead of fighting it, just let it go. Your mind will feel like wild horses having been cooped up for years. Free them. You’ll be amazed at what might come up. For me, I might recall a dream I had the night before, remember that I was supposed to call someone, or think about what I want to do that day.

And then after you’ve given your mind 5 minutes to basically flood itself (use a timer if you feel like you might get carried away), start to rein it in. And then start to quieten your mind.

Or another way to think of it is this: Create a space in between your thoughts.

From here, bringing your focus to your breath is a good starting place. For the breath is always there in repetition. Counting breaths can be very effective, i.e. Inhale One, Exhale One, Inhale Two, Exhale Two. Start out trying to do this for ten counts without thinking about anything else. Sound easy? Give it a try. You may be surprised. Once you can make it to ten, do it to twenty, and so on. You are controlling the mind instead of the mind controlling you.

This is the part of meditation that will take the most practice. Not thinking about anything!

Each time you can quieten the mind or create more space in between thoughts, it will be easier the next time. Let it gradually build up over time. For example, you may start out for 10 minutes the first week; 15 minutes the next week; and so forth.

Set reasonable goals.

Don’t expect to be a master after one week or even one month. It took me well over a year before I got to a place in my meditation where I felt comfortable with it, which for me was sitting in meditation blissfully for 30-45 minutes.

The work that you put into your practice will be mirrored in your daily life.

You will automatically start living more and more in the present moment. And then one day when your mind is completely quiet, you realize through a deep and profound feeling of knowingness that you are not your mind, but spirit. And this, in my opinion, is the most important benefit of meditation.

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Tisha Morris is a certified life coach, feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor, and author of 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Turner Publishing).  For more information, visit www.tishamorris.com.

Also check out the NEW Feng Shui Your Life eWorkbook.  NOW AVAILABLE!

And the time is NOW.

Over the last year, it seems that every client that has come to see me for energy healing has received, either spontaneously or related to why they came, what I call a “heart upgrade” during the session. What is happening is that our hearts are needing to adjust or calibrate to the new energies and higher frequencies that are coming to our Planet. We must adjust in order to maintain resonance with the Planet. This inherently involves releasing density or lower frequencies from our heart chakra.

Why is this happening now?

We are moving from a head-based consciousness to a heart-based consciousness. If you’ve heard buzz words, such as the 2012 shift or shift of consciousness, this is it.

If you’ve noticed that your spelling isn’t what it used to be, then you are experiencing this shift. If you’ve noticed that you can read others more than ever, then you are flowing with this shift. If you have or are transitioning from a head-based job or career to a heart-based job or career, then you are aligning with this shift.

It is a total and complete change in how we have operated in the past.

And it is happening very quickly. Have you noticed that you can’t accomplish things like you once could? But with other things, it’s like magic? Instant manifestation.

The sooner we each shift from head to heart, the easier life will be. Not only easier, but more joyful than we could ever imagine.

In an article I wrote a while back – Doing Less, Being More – I spoke to this same issue. It is a shift from the masculine to the feminine, from doing to being, from head to heart. However you want to think about it. But now I speak about it with more urgency. This shift is happening so quickly that it is affecting people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Here are some suggestions on easing this transition:

• Have awareness. Just by reading this post, you are bringing awareness to your heart.
• Feel. Our heart is our feeling center. We must start to feel. To feel emotions. In fact, this will be the only way to accomplish or manifest anything in the physical world. Even businesses and businesspeople will have to feel in order to navigate in the material world.
• Be in your body. In order to feel, you must be present in your body. Throughout the day, check in and just feel your body from the inside out. Activities, such as yoga, tai chi, even golf, or any activity where you have to be present with your body form, help immensely.
• Feel your heart. Bring your awareness to your heart. Feel it from the inside out. Breathe into it. Or just physically touch your heart.
• Stop judging others. Judgment arises out of the ego’s need for separating ourself from others. This couldn’t be further from the heart.
• Forgive. This is the density around the heart that I referenced above. Forgive everyone, especially including yourself. Don’t forgive intellectually, but with your heart. If you don’t shed some tears in doing this, then you haven’t forgiven.
• Be love. Spend 5 minutes a day just being love. Let it radiate out of you as you sit in your chair. You don’t have to actively send out love, just be love. This is your essence. This is really you.
• Love Mother Earth. Our Planet is our home. Be here with respect as you would if you were staying with a friend over the weekend.

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Tisha Morris is a certified life coach, feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor, and author of 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Turner Publishing).  For more information, visit www.mindbodyom.com.

This is a repost from The Elephant Journal originally posted on October 19, 2010.

My favorite quote and the mantra I try to live by is Ghandi’s ”Be the change you want to see in the world.”

But there is another Ghandi quote that to me is equally poignant.  He says:

“Our contribution to the progress of the world must consist of setting our own house in order.”

As a feng shui consultant, this is music to my ears. You can take this quote as literal or figurative as you want. Either way, I can’t help but think that if we each placed our attention on our home or whatever space we take up on this Earth, how amazing our Planet could be. It would be wonderful if we could all have a perfectly feng shui-ed home with its energy perfectly harmonized with Mother Earth.

But, to me the ultimate goal of feng shui is to love your home as if it’s a sanctuary.

In doing so, you are simply loving yourself and treating yourself as the sacred temple that you are.

So here are some simple suggestions to turn your home into a sacred sanctuary. And, in doing so, it can be a beacon of light on our planet as will its occupants.

1. Decluttering. I mention decluttering first because you must get rid of the old before you can bring in the new. If you are one of the many who has gone through or wants to go through a massive purge, you are certainly not alone. Our planet is going through a major clearing and that trickles down to each and every one of us. If decluttering sounds monumental and overwhelming, then just start with one drawer. It may lead to another one and another and so on. If you are someone who declutters on a regular basis and thinks that this doesn’t apply to you, then think again! There are so many layers to our things. That which we most need to get rid of is oftentimes right under our nose. What is taking up valuable space in your life? What item(s) are preventing you from loving your home?

2. Set Up an Altar Space. Early architects truly understood sacred geometry and how to build churches and cathedrals. They built tall steeples to reach God. You can do this, too, with an altar space—except your steeple is energetic. Each time you sit down to meditate you are a steeple. This is the benefit of an altar space. It creates an energetic vortex so that each time you sit down to meditate you ‘plug-in’ quicker and deeper. Your altar space can be as simple or elaborate as you want. The most important thing is that it is a designated space for this purpose. It is best to have a centering device—whether it be a table, shelf, or cardboard box. Place objects on your altar that are sacred to you.

3.  Display Power Objects.  We all have certain items that are really special to us. These are items that energize, inspire, and connect. For example, one of my power objects is a hand-made tapestry that I purchased in Peru. When I see it across from my desk it energizes me. The colors, the symbols, and the craftsmanship are inspiring. Other examples could be a love note from your beloved, a powerful crystal, a piece of pottery from your travels, or an art piece you crafted. Ideally, every item in our home should be a power object. Do an inventory of your home and notice what energizes you and what depletes you and rearrange accordingly.

4.  Designate a Yoga Space.  By creating a space for doing yoga, you are creating new space for your yoga practice to deepen. Your home practice is where you begin to truly tune in to what you want your yoga practice to be. You become your own inner guru, or upaguru in Sanskrit.  Maybe you are feeling energized and do an extensive series of warrior poses and arm balances. Or perhaps you are feeling tired and need to do slow and deep hip openers on the mat. If space allows, you can arrange your yoga space and altar space in the same area of your home. If space is at a premium, then you may have to be more creative with your arrangement, but it should at least be the size of your unrolled yoga mat.

5.  Space Clear.  There is an invisible world of energy in your home that you probably are not aware of. Like cell phone and radio signals, our thoughts and emotions swirl around in our spaces. But what you may not have thought about is the energy from previous owners’ emotions and traumas, your furniture’s history and stories, or even your own stuck patterns and habits. Space clearing is a term used in feng shui that refers to clearing the energy in spaces. There are many methods used for space clearing. And in some extreme cases, you may need a professional to come in. Otherwise, you should space clear your home yourself periodically. Sage smudging is the most common method. With a bundle of sage, light the tip and waft it around your space. It’s best to start around the perimeter—especially hitting the corners—and end up in the center of the room. When the smoke has cleared, you may notice the room looks crisper and feels lighter.

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Tisha Morris is a certified life coach, feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor, and author of 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Turner Publishing).  For more information, visit www.mindbodyom.com.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be spiritual. There was a time when I really liked thinking of myself as ‘being spiritual.’ But as ‘being spiritual’ has become more mainstream (which I am happy to say) the more I think it’s odd to refer to myself as spiritual. To me that’s like saying, I’m a human being. It’s obvious, isn’t it?

Ultimately we are all spiritual beings having a physical experience. Some of us gravitate toward the spiritual part and others more to the physical. Ideally, we should have a balance of both. As a culture, we have been too much in the physical. Even with regards to religions, very little is discussed as to our being spiritual beings. Several years ago when I started to tap into and realize my spiritual side, so to speak, the pendulum swung in that direction as I too had been too much in the physical world for most of my life. Now I think I am able to strike a balance between both worlds.

“Being spiritual” has become a new identity in our culture. And identities are all about the ego – not our true spiritual nature. Some of the most unbalanced people I meet are the most “spiritual” – at least in identity. Instead I think of myself as a balanced person (or at least what I strive to be).

Balance is really at the heart of everything in our life. And no longer do I think of the work I do as “spiritual” work. As a healer, I’m helping people and spaces to be balanced. In feng shui, it’s all about balancing the energies in a space. And the same is true in energy healing with the body and in life coaching within your everyday life. It’s all about balance. It’s not coincidental that “holistic” means to make whole. Inherent in being whole is to be balanced. Of course, working with energy, per se, could be considered “spiritual”. Or is it science?

I do believe that in being balanced physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, you will inherently radiate your true nature of love. Which is the ultimate goal.

What do you think it means to be spiritual?

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Tisha Morris is a certified life coach, feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor, and author of 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Turner Publishing).  For more information, visit www.tishamorris.com.