indigostone07It is reported that ordinary people think 15, 000 to 50, 000 thoughts a day. How do we keep our thoughts positive and avoid sinking into negative overthinking? Recognize, release, and replace the thoughts with love. Learn how here…
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Believe in Second Chances!
If we really consider the opportunities, we are given the chance to try again. Second chances create learning opportunities. We just need to be open to the chance to be better. Be grateful for your second chances but don’t let them spoil. Use your second chances fully.
Learn more here.
Eclipse the Old and Organize Your Life: Part 2
On April 20, 2023, we have new moon hybrid solar eclipse. This week is a great time to set intentions for a positive productive life. Shed old skin and say hello to new beginnings. Start with organizing your life. When there are many things in our lives outside our control, it helps to learn how to manage the small things.
Remove Difficult People from Your Life – Take the High Road
Difficult people are part of life. Whether you are at work, at home, or simply out in life, there is always that person who annoys you. How do you take the high road and avoid conflict? Why get involved with someone who lives for the fight? Here are three tips to help you take the high road:
Spring Has Sprung – Organize Your Life!
Spring has sprung! Now is an exciting time to organize your life. Get rid of the old that no longer serves a purpose. Bring in the new that will help you excel in work, love, and life.
Here are 5 organizational skills and techniques.
Spring Forward & Let Go of Control
Spring is here! Use this change in season to change your perspective on life. Spring forward into positivity and let go of an unhealthy need to control. Letting go is more of an art than a science.
President’s Day Sale: Be a Warrior of Light
2023 has only just begun. Are you ready for the expected and unexpected? Can you stand strong during political antics, economic turmoil, and this pandemic that goes on and on? Find the wisdom to be a warrior of light by reading the motivational book series by RL Collins.
Love: How to Fight Fair
Love is love. Miscommunication happens every now and then it is normal. Do not lose great love because of an inability to resolve small conflict respectfully. Learn how to fight fair.
Valentine’s Day Book Sale: Satisfy All Your Desires in One Read!
“I once had a thousand desires. But in my one desire to know you all else melted away.” –Rumi
Listen to Understand
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful
Assertive Communication Series: The 3 Communication Styles
Welcome to the final installment of the three-part series on assertive communication. In the first post, we defined assertive communication. In the second post, we helped you clearly define your needs and wants that need to be communicated. In this final post, we are comparing and contrasting assertive communication to passive and aggressive so you can avoid the pitfalls and recognize the red flags in others.
Assertive Communication: Part Two on Self-Advocacy
Last week, we defined assertive communication. This week, we dig deeper. We all need to know how to positively communicate our needs. However, do you understand your needs? Have you defined what matters most to you? Let’s dig into the concept of self-advocacy.
Assertive Communication: Three-Part Series
Welcome to a three-part series on assertive communication. It is a new year and time for new positive beginnings. Start with how you communicate with others. Build bridges and find the support you need to persevere through the expected and unexpected.
Your Mountain is Waiting: New Habits in the New Year!
“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So get on your way!” — Dr. Seuss
It is a new year and an opportunity for new beginnings. We often make new year’s resolutions that fall flat by January 31st. Here are practical tips to create new healthy habits in the new year. With these strategies you can carry your resolutions through to December 31st.
New Year’s Book Sale: How to Rock it in 2023!
The best of us might have long-range plans, vision boards, to do list, and a marked-up calendar. But nothing happens without small steady steps towards progress. Whether your goal is to be a happier you, Rockstar employee, or more organized parent – take it day by day. Use the 50 life lessons in “The Life and Times of Indigo Stone” to guide you.
Shop the Day After Christmas: Book Sale
It is the day after Christmas. After spoiling family and friends, treat yourself to the delectable paranormal romance series: Blood Magic by RL Collins.
Say Good-Bye to Ghosts of the Past
There are two weeks left to 2022. It is time to say good-bye to ghosts of the past. Whatever did not work or was a great disappointment, let go and make peace. Learn the lessons and start 2023 armed with an arsenal of life tools to combat the normal challenges and obstacles in life. How do you do this? Read on and find out…
Let Go of the Baggage: Sit in Mindfulness
2022 is coming to an end. If you are like most people, you have had your good days, your bad days, and situations that feel like mountains. Political unrest, COVID, and inflation has hit many families hard. Now, it is time for the holidays, and we all hope to celebrate with loved ones. No matter your personal situation, the end of 2022 is a great time to self-reflect, let go of the past, and sit in the present.
How to Avoid Common Holiday Distractions!
It is the last month of 2022, and the energy is high among family, friends, and co-workers. Avoid the inevitable distractions and slide into the bliss of ending a year well-lived. When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, breathe out old baggage and breathe in new opportunities.
How to Stay Positive During the Busy Holidays!
The holidays are here. It is time for family and friends and togetherness. It is also time for those who feel alone and misunderstood to feel the holidays like a sucker punch. The news shows the mass shootings across the nation. It is time for us to stand in the light, banish the darkness, and ring in a new year.
Books That Feed Your Soul!
The holidays are upon us and soon 2022 will come to an end. It is time for new opportunities to be better than ever. Use this energy and enthusiasm to recharge your mind. Gift yourself or a loved one with literature the feeds your soul.
Overcome Holiday Blues with Gratitude
Each holiday season comes with high expectations for a cozy and festive time of year. However, for many this time of year is tinged with sadness, anxiety, or depression. Certainly, major depression or a severe anxiety disorder benefits most from professional help. But what about those who just feel lost or overwhelmed or down at this time of year? Research (and common sense) suggests that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift the spirits, and it’s built right into the holiday — being grateful.
Hello Daylight Savings! 6 Tips to Manage Your Time…
Hello Daylight Savings! As we fall back one hour, this is a great time, to consider how we spend our time, our free time. Scheduling in free time, and savoring the minutes, is not just a luxury. Giving your mind, body, and soul time to recharge is crucial to a happy, healthy life. Read on for tips and strategies for scheduling free time and having a more meaningful life:
Take Time to Rest: Here’s Why…
If you are keeping up with the news, you hear the constant messages about inflation, politics, COVID, and more. Large and small concerns can make you feel tired. Large and small demands on your time can make you feel tired. Consider scheduling strategic time to rest from the busy world around us. Read on for signs that you need more rest:
The Power of Perseverance
Sometimes, life is difficult. How do you keep going, when the going gets tough? Read on for five practical steps to persevere from published author Rick Hanson.
Practical Steps to Forgiveness
To practice forgiveness, it helps if you have worked on positively changing your inner world by learning to be what I call “forgivingly fit.” Just as you would start slowly with a new physical exercise routine, it helps if you build up your forgiving heart muscles slowly, incorporating regular “workouts” into your everyday life.
Forgiveness: A Time to Heal
When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge — or embrace forgiveness and move forward.
How to Walk the Path to Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is extending compassion to oneself in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Kristin Neff has defined self-compassion as being composed of three main elements – self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.
The Art of Saying No
In work, love, life, you need to know when to stand up for yourself. People-pleasing is exhausting, and it is a dead-end life. Know your worth. Have positive assertive communication. Receive what you need to be happy, healthy, and whole.
Self-Care Tips for Fall 2022
Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health. When it comes to your mental health, self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact.
Practical Steps to Self-Love (Part 2)
Summer is waning. Work vacations are over. School is back in session. It is time to get back into daily life routines. Add a practical program of self-love to make the second half of 2022 shine.
Practical Steps to Self-Love (Part 1)
Self-love is not simply a state of feeling good. It is a long-term appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support your physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. Self-love is ever changing. It grows through actions that mature you.
Self-Love: Own Your Power (Part 2)
Real personal power is generated from within. You can be promoted, elected, or nominated to a position of power. But no one can gift your personal power. Learning how to own your power will carry you forward with success in work, love, and life.
Self-Love: Own Your Power (Part 1)
There are situations outside our control such as flash floods, the money pox outbreak, and political unrest. The concept of owning your power may sound like a difficult mountain to climb. However, awareness of an unhealthy pattern is the first step to change.
Self-Love: Set Internal Boundaries (Part 2)
Happiness is an inside job. In this life, you are responsible for identifying what you need to feel loved, safe, and appreciated. When you stop relying on other people and situations outside your control, you are free to soar.
Self-Love: Set Internal Boundaries (Part 1)
Too often we look to family, friends, and co-workers to fill us up and make us feel loved. We look outside ourselves for validation that we matter. The path to self-love begins with creating internal boundaries that give us space to be our own best friend, lover, and hero.
Wait, the Answers are in Stillness
As soon as we wake up, we are on our phones, scrolling through social media, turning on the stream TV. On the way to work we are listening to the radio for road delays, or listening for speed traps on Waze, or even navigating the honking horns of impatient drivers. When the “noise” of life screams at you, you find the answers to your most frustrating problems by sitting in stillness.
Personal Motivation: Sink or Swim
Depending on the season, depending on the year there are 101 gimmicks around personal motivation. Get a leadership coach. Try this communication class. Watch this podcast series. Buy the latest and greatest self-help book in personal empowerment. Despite the tool or strategy, the ability to motivate yourself through the ups and downs of life determines whether you sink or swim.
Blood Drops on the Virginia Trail: Hot Summer Read!
Selina Anderson, Vampire Hunter, is back in this sequel to “Blood Magic.” She is a small-town woman living in Culpeper, Virginia, torn between the forbidden desire for two beautiful men.
Accepting Unexpected Change
We have been rolling through unexpected change for some time. Whether it was the COVID shut down, the need for reform in law enforcement, or overturning 50-year-old Supreme Court ruling—change is inevitable. The way to survive is to grow through it.
How to Manage Difficult People
Whether it is work, love, or life we all come across difficult people from time to time. How do you manage the snarky co-worker? How do you manage the competitive neighbor? How do you manage the person who wants to be your fiend to be in your business? Read on and find out…
How to Stop the Pity Party – Ack!
Everyone has challenges and obstacles in their life. Family and friends may or may not understand you or be able to support you. Sometimes the person closest to you is the source of conflict. How do you do you stop the pity party when life feels out of control?
Resurrection: Believe in Second Chances
When life gives you a second chance, take it. A specific person may not give you a second chance, but we are often presented with the same life lesson until we get it right.
Healthy Boundaries, Get Some!
Isn’t she sweet? Isn’t he kind? What a lady. What a good man. Yes, you can be things all great and good, but you better get some healthy boundaries with the people you meet out in society. The takers have no boundaries.
Meet Yourself Where You Are
It is normal to experience ups and downs in life. We typically have plans to accomplish goals large and small. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we fail. Meeting yourself where you are is walking the path, enjoying the path, before you arrive at the destination.
Celebrate Your Differences & Uniqueness
At work, at home, and in our communities, people typically prefer the company of someone who looks like them, thinks like them, acts like them. What do you do when you are different and do not fit in with general society? Celebrate it! Here is how….
Seize the Moment! Let Go of Negative Self-Talk!
Seize the moment and let go of negative self-talk. Most negative self-talk is ruminating over the past, fearing the future, or internalizing the criticism of people in your circle. Learn to live in the moment and drop the limiting self-beliefs.
Using Patience to Achieve Your Dreams
I want. You want. We want. As children we are often told to be patient until whatever we desire arrives at the right time. Youth and being impulsive go hand in hand. As adults, we often just put more strength into the push to grab whatever it is we want in life. However, patience, real patience is a gift we give ourselves that is timeless.
2/22/22 – Grateful, Thankful, Blessed!
Any time you turn on the news, there are 101 reasons to be afraid, depressed, and hopeless. There is an air of doom and gloom around the pandemic, inflation, and more. Having an attitude of gratitude is the best way to deflect the chaos in our world. Focus on what is going well in your life.
Learn How to Welcome Peace
You may think the title of this blog is very odd. Who needs to learn how to welcome peace? Isn’t peace what everyone wants in their life? Well…
Positive Communication through Difficult Emotions
We all have those days where life gets the best of us, and we are simply ticked off by a person or a situation. Navigating different personalities at home, at work, and in the community is part of life. Knowing how to have positive communication to resolve issues, is golden.
G-R-I-T, Grit, Get Some…
The gift of grit is the ability to push through challenges when there is no guarantee of success. Many times, in life we have a blueprint or steps to follow that promise obtainment of goals. Surviving on grit is like being in the Artic wilderness with flint for fire and a compass to find your way back home. You just go for it and hope for the best!
The Art of Doing Nothing
We live in a “go hard or go home” culture. The art of doing nothing must be honed over time. Not everyone can do it right away. But it is a worthwhile skill to develop.
Dirty Feet & the Opinion of Others
The main thing to know is often our biggest critics are unhappy in their own lives, and misery loves company. Or our biggest critics are envious and jealous that we have large and small successes. The Ghandi quote means do not focus on the haters. Do not focus on people who are constantly negative.
Knowing When to Let Go
In this life there are many messages about perseverance, determination, going the long haul and more. But sometimes, you also need to know when to let go of people and situations. There is a difference between fighting the good fight and endless knocking on a closed door.
Self-Love vs. Being Selfish
It is okay to take time for yourself. At times society can promote endless giving to prove you are a “good” person or worthy of recognition and acceptance by others. Loving yourself and putting yourself first in healthy ways, helps you stand strong in times of uncertainty.
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Treat Yourself!
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Treat yourself and consider two book series.
Last-Minute Gift Ideas: Choose the Light or Dark!
Ready for the holidays? Need a last-minute gift? Choose the light or the dark…
Flashback: The Power of Words – Use Wisely!
Words have power. You can build bridges or destroy with the power of words.
Flashback: Adulting Can Be Hard! Need Advice?
Your elders might remember “Dear Abby.” We all need advice from time to time. We find ourselves in a situation and we do not know what to do or who to talk to about it. Shared wisdom about life is precious. Treat yourself to sage advice within the pages of good literature written by RL Collins.
Cyber Monday Deals: Books, Books, and Books!
Just as the trees release their old leaves in preparation for winter hibernation – you can release that which no longer serves you. The motivational book series, “The Life and Times of Indigo Stone,” will help you reinvent yourself into a warrior of light. The books contain tips and suggestions for riding the peaks and valleys of life.
Flashback: Dating Online During COVID
Online dating sites have become super popular during COVID-19. It is safer than mingling face-to-face. It is easier to screen people before approaching them. You think you have more options.
Flashback: Kicking Butt with Oral (Dating Tips)
Sometimes, as a man, you just have step up, be the hero, and slay those dragons! Great men, leaders, friends, and lovers know how to master oral…communication. Words are power!
Flashback: Celebrity Fantasies (Dating Advice)
All we know about romantic love is what we see from celebrities, movies, magazines, and other forms of entertainment. Pop culture makes love and romance seem super easy. BUT…
Flashback: Beware the Saucy Girlfriend (Dating Advice)
In the 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit is this red-headed, voluptuous vixen, that makes the men drool and lose all reason. Whatever your sexual orientation if you are dating a woman, beware of the saucy, sexy girlfriend.
Flashback: Taming the Hen Party (Dating Advice)
No matter your sexual orientation, if you are dating a woman, beware the hen party. Until you say, “I love you,” the messy details of who you are as a boyfriend are discussed among the girls solely for their entertainment.
Prepare for the Hunter Moon
Fatten your soul on the light and love in motivational books. “The Life and Times of Indigo Stone: 50 Life Lessons” is a delightful read for family, friends, and teens. Choose to savor the paperback or get a fast download of a digital copy.
Happy Father’s Day: Dads, Grandpas, Uncles
Whether you are a father, grandpa, or uncle, your time and attention towards the children in your family are priceless! You do not need to wait until summer vacation to start making a powerful difference. …
Dating Tips: Kicking Butt with Oral
Sometimes, as a man, you just have step up, be the hero, and slay those dragons! Great men, leaders, friends, and lovers know how to master oral…communication. Words are power! Considering the pandemic, today’s common …
Community Service
It is important to have men involved in their communities. Traditionally men are seen as providers and focus on paid opportunities, but there are great benefits to performing community service. A few benefits include: • …
Dating Advice: Celebrity Fantasies
When it comes to dating and relationships, half of us have no real-world role models. All we know about romantic love is what we see from celebrities, movies, magazines, and other forms of entertainment. Pop …
Dating Advice: Saucy Girlfriends
“Jessica Rabbit: You don’t know how hard it is being a woman looking the way I do.” –Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988 In the 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit is this red-headed, …
Fur Babies – Adopt One
“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”―James Herriot Dogs rock! Cats rock! Horses are beautiful. Behold the stoicism …
Get Ready to SIZZLE: Memorial Day Reading!!!
May 31, 2021 will be Memorial Day in the USA. Grab a cool drink, sit back, and be ready to sizzle with the romance novel “Blood Drops on the Virginia Trail.” Selina Anderson comes back …
How to Build Trust – Part 2
Welcome to the second installment on how to build trust with romantic and platonic partners. The most important thing is to have good intentions. Be a trustworthy person. Have a genuine desire to build a …
Summer Reading: How to Build Trust
“Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.” – Author Unknown Trust and communication are the key to any successful relationship. When you first start dating or begin a platonic relationship, …
Happy Mother’s Day!
Mothers, grandmothers, female warriors – life can pull us in different directions. Family, friends, and co-workers need us! People count on us to problem solve, motivate them through difficult times, or to buy milk from …
Dating Advice: Taming the Hen Party
Congratulations! The term “hen party” is officially in the dictionary. What does it mean? hen party (noun) Definition of hen party: a party for women only No matter your sexual orientation, if you are dating …
The Good Fight
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War We have all had the experience of dealing with someone who brings us unnecessary conflict. You …
Stand in the Light: How to Have Hope
Hope is the belief that something good will happen in the future. You accept that challenges are part of life, but you can persevere and have a positive outcome. Having hope builds optimism. We all …
Adulting Can Be Hard, Need Advice?
Remember “Dear Abby?” We all need advice from time to time. We find ourselves in a situation and we do not know what to do or who to talk to about it. Shared wisdom about …
The Mysterious Red Leather Journal
Selina Anderson, vampire hunter, is a small-town woman living in Culpeper, Virginia, battling the light and dark to save family and friends. In the first novel, “Blood Magic,” she is bustling around her quiet community …
Hello April!
Hello April! Each day, each week, each month is an opportunity to start fresh. Say good-bye to that which no longer serves you. Plant seeds of strength, motivation and positivity. Prepare yourself for the expected …
Dive into a Saucy, Spicy Romance Novel!
Spring holidays are here! Turn off the TV. Put the phone on vibrate. Push away from the computer. Dive into a saucy, spicy romance novel with a twist. Selina Anderson, vampire hunter, is a small-town …
Desire, Danger, and Determination in Small-Town Virginia
Selina Anderson, vampire hunter, is a small-town woman living in Culpeper, Virginia, battling the light and dark to save family and friends. In the first novel, “Blood Magic,” she is bustling around her quiet community …
Take Time for Yourself!
Depending on where you live, it is time for Spring Break, Easter, or Passover. Use the down time to refresh and recharge your mind. Enjoy the simple pleasure of reading literature that motivates and encourages …
Finances and Self-Esteem Part 2
When you define who you are by finances and material things, you are on a rocky road. Money may come and go based on situations outside our control. Pandemics hit and may close a business. …