Maat E's Mental Health Message:
If something from the past year has not served you then consider to leave it behind. At the end of a year or a decade ask the question... How has this served me? Evaluate the relationships, jobs, and all activities in your life. Determine if something uplifts you, has no affect or worse yet, brings you down. For whatever does not uplift you there is reason to move on. Again, answer the question, how has this served me? Decide on what act to take and then move on.
Peace, Blessing & Love, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Habari Gani (What's the news?) Nia -Purpose the 5th day of Kwanzaa - the African American holiday founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga and celebrated December 26 - January 1.

Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Habari Gani (What's the news?) Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics, the 4th day of Kwanzaa - the African American holiday founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga and celebrated December 26 - January 1.

Peace Maat E.

Habari Gani (What's the news?) Kwanzaa - the African American holiday founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga and celebrated December 26 - January 1. Remember and live the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles) 365 days of the year
Umoja - Unity
Kujichagulia - Self-Determination
Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility
Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics
Nia - Purpose
Kuumba - Creativity
Imani - Faith
Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
The greatest gift we can give is Selfless love. No matter what faith, creed or religion we believe in, we are all capable of giving and receiving love. Being selfless does not mean losing ourselves but integrating our higher self into who we are and what we share with others. It means letting a divine power greater than us go to loving work around us. Give freely of this love today. Have a blessed day.
Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Travel light with physical and emotional baggage. Whether taking a long trip, a walk through the park or on your journey home....travel light. It is beneficial to your back and legs to carry less and it certainly makes getting through airport security easier. But, traveling with less on your mind makes any journey better. Carrying emotional baggage from one location to the next, let alone from one moment to the next can be detrimental and wear you down. Put things of the past in their proper place--in the past--and to the best of your ability leave emotional baggage behind. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Unwrap Your Self! Of all the things to open up during the holiday season the Self (our unseen divine essence that functions interchangably with the soul, mind, and body) is probably the most beautiful and precious gift to unwrap. Take off the fear, worry, and stress that cover the confidence, faith and free spirit inside. Tear away all the layers of doubt that cover who you are. Let the power within out. You can save the wrapping if you are not ready to fully let it go. Just set it to the side and it will be there if for some reason you decide to put it back on. If so, remember you can take it off and unwrap yourself again.
Have a free day full of life, healthy and vitality!
Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
You are the gift! During holiday's gift giving is so called the loving thing to do. However, you should know that the best gift you can give is you. The beauty of the Divine exists in all of us and we each manifest it through unique expression. Share the love, knowledge, creativity and talent you possess. Who you are and the love you have to give It is more than enough. Give away some of your love today.
Peace Maat E. O

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Tis the season to be.... Holidays can provide a wonderful excuse to be jolly, but really everyday is a good day to be joyous and have fun. Life is too short and days go by too fast not to celebrate life and the people we love. Waiting until someone passes on is ok, but not really the best time to have a celebration of life. Enjoy life now! Tell people you love them today! Be good to yourself in this moment! Find something in your life to be thankful for and give thanks. If you can't think of anything, come up with something you need and ask for it so you can receive a blessing to be thankful for. We all deserve to live each day with joy. Tis the hour, day, month and season, for life, health, and vitality.
Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
You may not be fully aware of this, but who you are affects many people's lives. God gives each of us an aspect of the Divine to carry as we go forth in life. Sometimes we forget our own Divine spark and we walk around affecting the world in adverse ways. We are not even aware most of the time when we do it. Like in the moments when we have a snappy tone or when we give a luke warm greeting, the energy behind that lack of love has an adverse unconscious affect on the people we encounter. In contrast, when we speak with loving intention (even if the message is harsh) or share a warm embrace, the energy from that exchange has an up-lifting psychological, physiological and spiritual affect. So, we can leave people who come in our midst better off than we find them. Our tone and intention can damage and can heal. Choose the tools by which you will affect the world. Have a blessed day full of life, health, and vitality.
Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Live like you want to be missed when you die. We all have the capacity to touch the lives of others. If today were our last day alive, would we be missed tomorrow? How would our family, friends and loves describe us. What would they have to say about who we are? Much of what will be said and if we will be remembered has to do with the way we relate. Are we loving, kind nasty or mean. How do you want to be remembered. Choose how they miss you. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Be observant of your emotions before you decide to act. It takes a lot of practice but the more we take an observant stance the more we learn to control our thoughts and actions, while not letting emotions dictate our lives. For the next 24 hours watch yourself. Pay attention to what you feel in the moment. Practice choosing how you will act. You may be amazed at how much influence you have over your Self when you pay attention.
Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Being in the moment dosen't mean being happy all the time. As spiritual beings living human experiences we have feelings and emotions and it is a part of being human that we feel and heal. What happens sometimes is that instead of being present in the current moment we are emotionally or psychologically re-experiencing some moment of the past. Unresolved pains or losses resurface if not resolved. When this happens we are less able to return to being happy because we are unaware of living this moment based upon the past. As a result, we may be more angry, more sad, less patient, etc. When we stay aware of our spiritual consciousness we are happy and at peace more often because we are living in the present moment and not carrying issues on to the next moment. Thank God for finding moments of peace and happiness again.
Life, Health & Vitality! Maat E.

Ma'at E's Mental Health Message:
Sometimes it is difficult to live in the moment, but it can be even more difficult when we stay frustrated about the past or worried about the future. Life is sometimes shorter than we think. If this breath were your last how would it be said you lived it. Are you smiling, spreading love, grumpy, or acting mean? Are you depressed, anxious, confident, maybe fearless. In this moment choose how you want to be. In this moment I choose to say I love you. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Keep it real! If that means something other than focusing on the spiritual reality of our existence, then keeping it real means missing our true reality. What's real is our divine essence, that is the beauty that exists in all of us and not the external and material things we often think define who we are. Being real means loving that inner beauty in everyone we meet. Distinguish what is real from what is not. Anything other than our divine essence is temporary and limited by who we appear to be.
Life, health & vitality. Peace, Maat E.

Ma'at E's Mental Health Message:
If we could see with our hearts we would all have twenty-twenty vision. Relating to the world and the people in it from a loving perspective is the nature of our true reality. The source of it all is our spirit and life is all about love. Living from that place in the heart provides tremendous clarity in times of strife and the ability to restore ones's sense of peace. Express love to the people in your life everday. Remember, we are not promised to see another day.
Much peace, more love.
Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
"Distinguish what is real from unreal."
The essence of reality is spiritual and as this ancient principle implies our job is to discern the spiritual nature of all things. The ability to see from a spiritual verse material perspective is one we are born with, but over time it is often forgotten. Regaining a spiritual perspective of reality happens over time and with practice. First we must learn how to access our own spiritual essence and then practice experiencing it with others. The key is that everyone and every thing is spiritual manifesting materially. Our material existence helps us to grasp and manage the magnitude of our spiritual existence. Until we are ready or have appropriate support or guidance many of us will remain lost in an unreal material existence. Seek to know reality, your spirituality. Ask your sense of a higher power for more spiritual perspective and it will eventually come to you.

Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
We are better served trying to forgive ourselves than asking for forgiveness from someone else. It would be great to know that after we hurt someone or did something wrong we are forgiven. Forgiveness is a process not an event. It has to develop internally long before the words, "I forgive you," come out. Learning from our errors to avoid the same mistake or act is really where healing and behavior change take place. Start the healing process by forgiving yourself then changing the behavior. Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Cleaning out the debris In a physical wound or the hurt from an emotional wound can be painful, but until we start that process the healing cannot begin. If you have ever done something wrong to another person or been the recipient of ill will then you know healing from it can be painful and take time. As much as we try to go around it there is no bypassing the pain. Moreover, if you are the one who has done wrong or caused pain the burden on you will be extra heavy. Fortunately, the burdens will lift if we ask for help and not carry the weight on our own.
Have a blessed day.
Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
If you messed, get up! Doing wrong when we know the difference from right happens. When we recognize we've done wrong, it is not the time to beat up on ourselves or anyone else for that matter. Keep that head up, brush the shoulder off, own the issue and let it go. This is easier said than done, but it is doable. Despite how much we judge ourselves, our Higher Power is still loving and forgiving us. If we need to go out and do something to right the wrong that is fine. More important than taking action is having understanding and feeling forgivenees for ourselves and others.
Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Face yourself if you disgrace your Self! We all do wrong at times. Making mistakes and sin are a part of our human nature and experience. Often a mistake is more like a choice. We did something we know just ain't right. It happens, often. With that being the case we could also say that we often have opportunities to accept that we've made a mistake/choice and then love and forgive ourselves. We have lots of chances to distinguish right from wrong and to move toward reconnecting with what is just and right for the greater good. We can always work on changing our actions and forgiving ourselves if we are not doing right. The Creator loves us anyway. Peace & God Bless. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Distinguish what is right from what is wrong. This ancient principle suggests not only that there are fundamental rights and wrongs in the world, but that we know what is just at the core of our being. It urges us not to simply consider what is right for us as individuals, but what is right or good for the greater community. One way to do this is to ask the question, "Is what's right to me right for the greater good?" The answer to that question can solve many dilemmas and be a guide through conflict.
Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Avoid drama by staying out of the drama. Inevitabliy at the next family gathering there will be some conflict. The best way to free yourself from repeated patterns of conflict and stress is to stay out of it in the first place. You do not have to comment or offer opinion on everything. It is not your job to be the agitator or peace maker. Half of the issues about which you feel resentment, nobody else may even remember. So, it is not necessarily the time to address all the old family wounds and secrets. Work on healing your own wounds, be present with loved ones and act with love.

Have a blessed day. Peace

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
If the sweetest revenge is our own success, then we need to stop hate'n and focus on our own business. All the time spent sabatoging the next wo(man) is time that can be spent getting our own act together. Yes we may be hurt or wounded and need time to heal, yet healing does not mean hating. Healing means focusing loving energy on ourselves to nuture the process of moving on. Take back the time and energy used to curse the next wo(man) and use it to create a personal or business plan.

Focus on your Self for the day. Much peace, more love Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
It's not about you! So, learn to depersonalize negativity and maintain clear thoughts and emotions under maltreatment or wrong. For example, the next time you bump into someone and they go off saying you are rude for not saying excuse me (you did but the person didi not hear you), don't take it personal. The angry attitude you are receivig is probably not about you, but some drama or agitation the person allows to linger on.
Have a great day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
When people treat us wrong it is important to address it directly, timely, and to appropriately act. If we speak our peace and it is over and done with then to act with resentment puts us both in the wrong. When this does happen, like lashing out unjustly, it is ok to appologize and take it back. Ultimately, letting go of resentment promotes our own healing and allows for moving on. Sometimes when we continue to resent, it is more an indication of darkness in our own spirit then anything about the person who did us wrong. Address wrong doing with strong energy but release the resentment and try to move on.
Have a blessed day.
Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Let go of resentment or let go of your Self. When we think and act with payback and resentment we are more than likely acting out of character and our actions are indirectly dictated by someone else. When we function from the core of who we are our thoughts are based on the present moment and we act in accord with a divinely based trust that is in touch with our Higher Self. It can be difficult
staying in touch with our Higher Self unless we are mindful and regularly have a way of nurturing a connection. Be mindful of what directs the consciousness. Is it resentment or trust?

Much peace, more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
"It feels like joy, and it feels like pain, and it feels like sunshine, feels like rain; an excuse for dying, reason to live and if you don't know that's what love is." - What love is...Mary J. Blige

Love is the key, the ultimate answer for all things in life. In relationships, as sure as we think we feel happy about love we will also feel pain. Interestingly, it is not the love that creates the problems or tensions, it is the attachment to people or things that brings on distress. Holding on to thoughts about negative actions is what builds resentment and pain. Remembering injustice, removing ourselves from the situation and protecting our rights can be done without keeping lingering resentment. Keep love in the heart and focus on care for yourself. Do what has to be done, all the while releasing resentment. Love will ultimately heal, but it must be present to do the work.
Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
By being present and living in the moment we can gain freedom from resentment. When someone does us wrong it is appropriate to feel our emotions in the moment. For example, if someone steals from you it is natural to be angry about the theft and sad about the material loss. Another situation may be the loss of a job. Worry and frustration may come up about what to do next or how to manage the situation. These emotions act as distractors to focusing on what is at hand in the present moment. If we practice not to over think the past injustice or not worrying about future plans,we can stay focused on what needs to be done right now or addressed in the current moment. Honor what you feel and live in the moment. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
According to ancient principles of wisdom, to have mental liberation we must learn to be free from resentment under wrong and under persecution. People from all races, ethnicities, nationalities and religions suffer some form of injustice or oppression. As individuals we sometimes find ourselves in relationships where people we love do mean things and treat us badly and out right wrong. One of the most challenging spiritual life lessons in such situations is to cleanse the heart to be free from resentment. This is absolutely easier said then done and can take years to cultivate and develop inside. Nonetheless it can be done and does not mean we forget even though we do forgive. In the example of the chatel slavery system, we can forgive the African brothers and sisters who helped the capturers take people into slavery, but can not forget so we do not allow similar situations to happen again and again.
Have a day full of life, health, and vitality. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Have no worry, have no fear, keep faith in your Self and rewards will appear.
In the darkest and most terrifying moments surrender to the process and maintain faith in your Self. The essence of our Self is a Divine and loving Spirit to which we all are intimately connected. The power of that Self is in us and when we trust it and have faith in it we will prevail. It will give us strength when we ask for it and provide all that is necessary to stay on course.
Life, Health, & Vitality!
Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Sometimes it takes a long time to overcome. When things aren't going our way, especially for a long time, it can be easy to burnout and give up. Some of us take the feelings of frustration and turn them inward to a self attack. In those moments we feed dispair and may lose hope that things will ever take a turn. It is at these moments when we've got to remember that things are in Divine order. The more we remember, the easier it is to persevere. Everything we experience is what needs to happen for us. The more we persist, the more we will learn. The longer it takes, the more chances we have to understand the lesson. Be patient with yourself. The situation is taking time because it needs time.

Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Be advised....life's challenges will continue to present themselves. Be encouraged...every challenge is an opportunity to triumph or to learn a lesson, if we persevere. Go deep inside to the core of your Self and access the strength needed to go on. Ask for help, call in the supports and do what is necessary to get through the next obstacle. You will not just survive, you will prevail! Stay with it, hang in there, get over the hurdle, keep moving on!
May you have life, health, and vitality. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Keep believing in yourself. No one is going to have faith in you more than yourself. If you do not push forward to what you want in life who do you think will? Actually, there is usually at least someone pulling for us, but in all honesty no one has to share our dreams. Of course we will take people with us and we may share vision, but at the end of the day we've got to maintain faith and stay determined all on our own. Lean on your sense of the Creator and ask for strength to carry on. The strength you need will definately come so long as you do not stop believing in yourself.
With life, health, and vitality. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Have faith in your abiliy to assimilate to the truth. This ancient principle means to trust that you will persevere through any obstacles to get to what is just and right for you. To persevere means that no matter what you will push forward. My mother has always said in times of trouble, "this too shall pass." She has always been right. Know matter what you face, at somepoint it will pass. Stay on the path to your truth no matter what you encounter. The universe will conspire with you and the Creator will have your back.
Have a blessed day full of life, health and vitality. Peace, Maat

Maat E's Mental Health Message: The more we know Self the more we can trust and love ourselves. Individually and on a collective level it is so important to develop Self knowledge. Self with the capitol letter "s" refers to the Divine Power above us, within us and all around us. As we become closer to these aspects of our Self we will become more and more comfortable with trusting our wisdom. Practice listening for the messages that come to you, through you, and are around you. Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Be quiet long enough to listen to your intuition and speak when it tells you what to say. We all have an inner voice and it will guide us to say and do exactly what we need, when we need it. The problem is that sometimes we do not know how to listen to that intuitive voice because we have so many other messages from outsiders running through our heads. Our intuition is rooted in a knowing that tells us to act despite any fear. Be still for a moment each day to get in touch with your intuition. You will know it when you hear it because it will speak with pure clarity.
Have a blessed and loving day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Heapth Message:
Have faith in yourself to find your truth. In addition to trusting in our Higher Power we must also trust in ourselves to know what is true, right for us, and what we want. Within us are our own answers, but we sometimes forget how to listen within. Know without a shadow of a doubt that you have the answers and will follow the path you are meant to take.
Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Even in a black forest there is light! Recently, I had the occassion to walk in a place called the Black Forest. It is named after the thickness of the trees which make it appear at times to be totally black. The black of the forest reminded me of when in our darkest moments it is virtually impossible to see the light. At these times having faith in anything may seem unimaginable. What I learned in the forest and experience in life is that there is always light. In the forest you just have to keep walking, look for a fire fly or wait until the sunrises. One way or another light will shine. As in the forest so it is in life. If we keep moving forward, have faith, or just wait till the sunrises, there will be light after our darkest day. Trust, there will be light.
Peace, Ma'at E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Even if we are terrified, there is a divine lesson on the other side of the fear. Sometimes we are so afraid of the circumstances we encounter in life that we are immobilized and can not see or experience the lesson we are in. The fear grips us and it seems to never want to let go. Despite the intense fear we have, there is always, always, a divine lesson in the experience waiting to be revealed. If we allow ourselves to pass through the darkness and ask for the lesson, then we eventually will see the light. There is always light, even in a black forest.
Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Practice unwavering faith in God's order for your life? Most of us have a level of faith and belief in some form of creative life force or energy. That force, known by many names is formless and shapeless, yet it can take on any shape and any form. It manifests in all that we do and all that we are. That energy is the life force in us that inteacts with our thoughts, emotions and actions. It is the divine energy behind the order of our lives. Unfortunately, we some times forget that the forece is with us. Every step is supported by divine order. When we have faith in that order we are ok. When we remember to trust it, we are ok. Practice remembering the faith today. The Creator will have your back. Peace, Ma'at E.

Have faith in your Higher Power to teach you the truth! This ancient principle attempts to help us understand that if we have been blessed with realizing a connection to a Power greater than ourselves we need trust that it will present, guide, and support us with all the opportunities for life's lessons that we need. Every situation we encounter is an opportunity to learn something that we need to know or have not learned yet. For example, many of us have struggles in relationships. Over and over again we seem to encounter the same difficulties with different people. The Creator wants us to ultimately love and come closer to it's power and energy. That is the truth. Our difficulities push us closer and closer to our Spirit if we have faith that it is helping us no matter what life looks like. Trust that what you are going though will get you to the truth. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:

Go for it!!!!! Follow your dreams. If we are clear on our purpose then there is no reason not to pursue it. Yes there are probably a ton of fears and excuses we could come up with to keep us away from our divine path, but why let those things stand in the way. Live, live to the fullest. Start small if you need to. Test it out first if you must, before going full speed ahead. Just do not stop. If you are still unclear then keep praying for clarity. The world, our communities, our families, and friends are waiting. Go for it! Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
A well spring of joy flows from deep inside when we live in accord with our purpose. We smile from inside instead of just on face. Some of us have no idea what that good feeling is but when it comes you know and will want to stay in the glow that it brings. Look for joy and the purpose will follow. Have a blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Stay determined to figure out or continue doing what is right for you. We all get confused sometimes about staying commited to our purpose. We feel discouraged when other people don't like or support our ideas. Most successful people enounter tons of opposition before reaching their goal or living life on purpose. Haters will be abundant, yet they really do not matter once you are living on purpose. When the Divine order of your plan is in action nothing can destroy it. The obstacles and hurdles will present themselves, but they are meant to be jumped over and can make you even more dertermined with the right frame of mind. Stay determined, recommit and devote to your pourpose. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Devote to your purpose! We are all born with particular blessings and talents. In traditional cultures these gifts were intuitively revealed to ones parents or family at the time of a child's birth, the naming ceremony or soon after in life activities. Many times one's name itself would explain the blessing. Naming ceremonies and seeking Divine guidance about who we are and what we are here to do are not practiced as much in modern day. If our personal talents are not nurtured or recognized early many of us have little sense of our purpose or the life work we are best suited for. Thankfully, it is NEVER too late to discover and devote to one's purpose. Just as with everything else in life, love is a key component of our purpose. The activities that we love and enjoy provide clues to our purpose. We should not get hung up on if our purpose right or wrong, if we missed some calling or what other people think. If you do not know what purpose you have, start with devoting to do more of the things you love. Eventually, the purpose will follow. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Devote to your purpose! We are all born with particular blessings and talents. In traditional cultures these gifts were intuitively revealed to ones parents or family at the time of a child's birth, the naming ceremony or soon after in life activities. Many times one's name itself would explain the blessing. Naming ceremonies and seeking Divine guidance about who we are and what we are here to do are not practiced as much in modern day. If our personal talents are not nurtured or recognized early many of us have little sense of our purpose or the life work we are best suited for. Thankfully, it is NEVER too late to discover and devote to one's purpose. Just as with everything else in life, love is a key component of our purpose. The activities that we love and enjoy provide clues to our purpose. We should not get hung up on if our purpose right or wrong, if we missed some calling or what other people think. If you do not know what purpose you have, start with devoting to do more of the things you love. Eventually, the purpose will follow. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
When we fail to act or can't control our actions it is important to be forgiving and simply try again. The powers of the Creator and in the universe are very forgiving and resilient. If a flower is stepped on a new one grows. If an ant hole gets knocked down a new one is built. If high tide washes away the sand eventually it is replaced. We have the capacity to forgive ourselves and to be compassionate when we mess-up or don't act right. More important than forgiveness from other people is our ability to show compassion for ourselves when we make poor choices or act out of character. Find love and understanding within first. Let some of it rub off on others and they to may learn to act with forgiveness. We have the power to control our own actions and to influence others more than we know.
Have a blessed day. Much peace and more love.
Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Speak from the heart and be present! When we get in to discussions or conflicts, criticisms about the other person and issues of the past can be quick to come out. We may start telling a story or giving a lecture about what the person has or has not done. Less often do we speak from the heart about how we FEEL in the MOMENT. "I'm angry, hurt, sad, scared...etc." Most times we don't speak our truth and we simply act defensive. Instead of defending the past be present and use the Spirit within for courage to say what we feel. During the next conflict get in touch with your Spirit and speak from the heart. The conversation will stay in the moment and you will feel present. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Remember you are divine and divine actions will follow! Often we forget how beautiful and loving the core of our nature is. Beneath the emotional stress, trauma, and abuse we have endured over the years is a loving and divine being. When our memory is flooded with dysfunction we act that way because that is what we know. The chaotic behavior is familiar and comfortable, even if it is destructive. Loving behaviors ultimately feel better, but if we've been away from them for a long time they are harder to access. Remember there is a loving being inside of you. Surround yourself with loving people and experiences to help trigger the loving person in you. Then, act with love and shine in all your divine nature.

Have a loving day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Wait a minute, literally! Before you act wait 60 seconds. There is an old saying that good things come to those who wait. Good things come in all forms and fashions too. Your good thing could be one less argument because you waited a moment to respond to an unwanted comment. The good thing could be a kind gesture because you waited patiently for the person in front of you to move out of your way. The good thing could be your life because you waited and let your road rage pass and did not get out of the car to argue with the gun carrying driver that cut you off. When we take a minute to wait before responding to the external influences in our lives, we are controlling our actions and potentially our outcomes. Experiment with waiting a minute today. Practice acting in ways that are going to reinforce the outcomes you want. The practice will make waiting a minute and getting your desired outcomes a regular practice.
Have a blessed day. Much peace, more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Control your actions! It can be very easy to let other people and the circumstances around us influence our behaviors. We may want to place responsibility on someone else (e.g., blame others), yet ultimately as adults, we are fully responsible for our own actions. People or bad situations may set off FEELING unhappy, angry, frustrated or confused. These emotions can be triggered. However, that does not mean that we have to follow our emotions with actions that are mean, aggressive, destructive or violent. Some times we act out of control. The emotion centers in the brain trigger adrenaline and we are responding in harsh ways before we know it. PAUSE before acting on intense emotions. Get in a habit of taking a deep breath or counting to 10 before you do something. In that breath or seconds ask your Higher Power for help. Ask for control over what happens next. Repeating this small skill will begin to help control one's actions before they are out of control. Just keep up the practice. Control your actions for a day of much peace and more love. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Think creatively and approach something in a new way today. When we get tired of the some old, same old situations, it is time to switch things up. We are all endowed with creative thinking and have the capacity to not only think outside of the box (as the saying goes) but to live as if there isn't one. The truth is that all the resources in the universe are available to us. Many times we create our own limitations or give up on facing the ones before us. Think beyond what you see and hear. Listen for the Divine voice within. Develop the discipline to be aware of thoughts as they come. When the thinking is limiting just notice it. Building awareness will gradually, prompt a desire to change the thinking. Have a joyful and creative day. Peace Maat

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Thinking about what we lack is a form of self-attack. It is just as destructive to beat up on ourselves with negative self talk as it is to take the abuse from someone else. We are all worthy of love and respect, especially from ourselves. We are imperfect (by nature) reflections of the Divine. Entertaining self-doubt, lack of confidence, and critical judgments about who we are, what we are wearing, how we talk and so on, just is not necessary. Whatever creative force we believe in is still working with us on our so called imperfections and will continue to do so. Let's practice soothing ourselves and asking for help instead of making judgments and attacks when we feel a low sense of self or lack of confidence. Think about love for yourself today. Peace, Maat.

Maat E's Mental Health Message: When we get our thoughts in order other things will follow. The relationships, the family, the house, the career, and the community will eventually come in to order. The situations in our lives will workout or resolve in someway if we focus on clarifying our thoughts. Everything is already in Divine order, but if our thinking is in chaos we will have so much difficulty trying to process what we need to do. Spend time clearing the mind. Breathe, pray, meditate, play music...get good things going on that will cleanse out the chaos and make room for divinely ordered thinking. It is not about right or wrong, but about clarity or confusion. Start everyday clearing our thoughts to get the mind in order.
Much peace and more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Our thoughts can become our reality. If we focus on something long enough it is bound to manifest in some form or fashion...the good and the bad. Evidence to support our worst fears will manifest, in part because we are giving the thought of our fear so much power. Likewise, our everday desires can be reality if that is where we focus our energy. Since perception is said to be 99% of reality, whatever we think has a strong chance of being true for the person that thinks it. Try spending time and energy thinking about the outcome you WANT not what you don't want or fear. We all have a divine right to our hearts desire when we are clear about what it is. Ask yourself the question, "Is this way of thinking moving me toward what I really want?" "How does it serve me to think this way." If you don't know the answer KEEP ASKING until it is revealed. Then stay with that thought and watch your perception become reality.
Think today will be a blessed day. Much peace, more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:

Fill your mind with the Divine. The more we spend thinking about the loving and Divine essence of who we are the less we will spend on all the things that we are not. Thinking over and over about what coulda, shoulda, or woulda been the case if we were someone or had something to offer other than who we are is not fruitful. Find a word, a phrase, a song or any up lifting thought that you can sing, say or recite to youself to help rid the mind of mental negativity or clutter. Keep the mind focused on the Divine. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat .

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Figure out what feels good, real good! Oh it is so wonderful when we experience things that feel good and are good for us. If we are unsure or can not remember the last time we did something so good, then now is the time to try a new experience. If it serves our spiritual, mental, or physical well-being than all the better. It can be scary to be in a state of joy and ecstasy because it is unfamiliar. However, it is surely no worse than living in an emotionally unhappy place. Go for feeling good today. Peace & Love, Ma'at.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Put your Higher Self care first! If you have not already or do not have a plan for how you are going to take care of yourself and well-being today, STOP. Momentarily put whatever you are doing aside and pick one act of Self care. For example, eat something, pray, or take a walk. You know that everything can wait a minute. Just stop, give some attention to the Divine Spirit that you are. The Spirit needs nurturing and to be cared for including the soul, mind and physical body. Knowing and caring for the Self is the highest form of love because what happens within us affects the people and things around us. Have a blessed day of life, health, and vitality. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Let go of the need to be right! We sometimes spend a lot of energy trying to prove a point. Depending on how much we fuss and fight, when everything is said and done we don't feel any better because we were so hostile trying to make the point. Try being more righteous about the issue than right. Be the bigger person, the grown woman or the real man. It may actually feel better and ultimately move the issue in your favor. Just because you are not right in the moment doesn't make you wrong.
Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Loving others is a way to heal thyself. When we are in the midst of our own stress and pain life seems overwhelming and it is all about us. Little do we know that the love and attention we wish someone would show us is the same loving energy that we have to give. Directing love and care toward someone else helps us come out of our own head, our own judgments, our own resentment and own pain. The fact that we hold on to negative thoughts is part of what keeps us from healing. We can turn the negativity around by choosing to come from a place of love. Of course it is not easy. Life's greatest rewards usually come with some difficulty. Let love out today. Heal thyself.
Peace Maat

Maat E's Mental Health Message: Have faith in your Self to follow your heart. In moments of uncertainty one of our best tools is having faith in our own ability to cultivate the outcome through trusting what our heart indicates. We typically call friends, seek out family, even confide in strangers looking for an answer. It is important to ask for help and support, yet it will always come back to you. What does your heart say. Hopefully, if nothing else it says, "I am going to be ok no matter what I do or decide." Be still for a moment or long enough for your heart's message to be revealed. Have blessed day. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
If the pen is more mighty than the sword as the saying goes, then write down your prayers and pray to overcome the force of the so called enemy. The Universe will conspire with us to handle all stress and strife. A major challenge is controlling our actions so that we are doing things in the interest of the outcome we would like and not becoming the very negative energy we are trying to escape. Striking with a sword so to speak or some act of violence or aggression (yes yelling and cursing someone out is aggression) may get our point out, but whether it really gets the message across is another story. Kill them (the negative energy) with love. Our kindness is not a weakness, but a commitment to stay true to who we divinely are. When we stay grounded in love and being ourselves the negative folks and things will go away. Write and journal, use your pen as a weapon. Have a blessed day. Much peace, more love. Maat.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
This is a test...this life is a test! First, we are given an answer key at birth, with the main item we really need to know...Love. Most of us for one reason or another (e.g. Dysfunctional families, lack of intimacy, etc.) do not remember that one answer. Secondly, we are given a series of life quizzes. These small challenges are opportunities for demonstrating the knowledge we possess from birth including daily activities like interacting with family, friends, and situations at work. Most of the quizzes we pass with no problem, but if we forget to remember Love (of our Divine Self first) the quizzes turn in to the equivalent of life exams. These major tests (e.g., deaths, tragedies, divorces, job losses, etc.) challenge the core of who we are and no matter how detached we get from what we were born to know, the test will always bring us back to where we have to Love in order to heal. We all know the most important way to cope with life's tests. Love today, it will help you pass through life and make you feel better. Much peace, more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Thank you, thank you, thank you! If we have at least one person or thing we can say thank you to or for, then we are among the extremely blessed people of the world. Sometimes it is difficult to accept being loved and kindness. The key part is realizing our blessings and staying open to them. If someone appreciates us listen. If we feel love coming our way embrace it. If we are given a gift, take it. Then, say thank you. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Enjoy the day! No matter what your plans or obligations, find a way to enjoy the day. Smile, tell a joke, play a game, hang with a friend or send an instant message to someone you love. Do at least one thing you enjoy today in the midst of all you feel and are dealing with. Life may be shorter than you think and only the Creator knows if tomorrow will be promised. Enjoy the day in both big and small ways. Have a loving, peaceful and blessed day. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Pursue your purpose! Each new week offers another opportunity to start fresh or to build upon our unique dreams and passions. If we are already making progress and things seem to come together easily, then we know all is in divine order. If what we're expecting is not quite happening or obstacles seem to keep getting in the way, then we can take the indication that the chaos still needs to settle and be sorted out. Once this occurs, we can pursue our purpose with passion and go for what we were born to do with every ounce of everything we've got. The plans and details will all fall into place.
Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Reach-out today! We are all divinely connected even when it feels like we are alone. In our moments of isolation and distance it can be such a challenge to reach-out to the people we love. We act grumpy, confused or move with self-doubt that the warmth we put out may not be met with love. It is the reaching out not the taking in that fosters the love. However, some of us also get stuck on our ability to receive. Reach-out today! Much peace and more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message: 9/17/09

Let's be thankful for our troubles. Better yet, be thankful that our troubles are not worse." If we don't believe they can get worse, notice how we feel after each time we complain. Now these thoughts do not discount that we all are worthy and deserve to acknowledge when things are hard. This line of thinking also does not suggest we compare our problems to anyone else and make judgements. If we can just remember that things could be worse and at some point, if we have faith in our Higher Power's ability to teach us life's lessons through experience, things will definitely change. If our thoughts change our circumstances change. May something change for us all today and things get better because we know they could be worse. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Be loving to the people you live with! Are we yelling at our sons, daughters, spouses or mates and saving being nice for our co-workers, pastors, friends and strangers? If so, we cannot expect to have peace in our own house. The universe will just keep surrounding us with more of our own ugly ways. We can't see the Divine in the people we live with because we carry resentment which shuts down the capacity to forgive and love. We can combat this by seeing our loved ones the way we want them to see ourselves...with understanding and forgiveness. If the Creator can do it for us we can do it for each other. Be loving to the people you live with today. Have patience. Be blessed. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Keep it Real! Real loving, real open, real kind, real courageous. Our reality is that we are both spiritual and material beings. With that as our nature we are in a position to manifest many things seen and unseen. The Divine Spirit within is pure love and needs us to demonstrate its reality. Every time we are loving it gives our Spirit a chance to shine and affirms there is more to life then what can be physically seen or touched. Send real loving energy to someone today, maybe even to a person who has been mean spirited and therefore needs it the most. If you are in need of a touch of reality, sit still, take a deep breath and feel that there is love coming your way. Have a blessed day. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
We can use our suffering and our struggles to help us grow and be closer to God. Sometimes people feel guilty or criticize others when they only talk with God during times of trouble or need for help. It is ideal to have a daily practice or ritual for being in touch with one's Higher Power, yet if having problems is what it will take to foster a spiritual relationship, then go with it. In fact, when we have long or repeated suffering that may just be a call to move us closer to our Divine Self. Use whatever the problem is today to grow in your spirit.
Be blessed. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Make losses life lessons!
When we lose loved ones (and possessions) it can be excruciatingly painful. We go through the usual stages of denial/shock, anger, depression and eventually we accept and heal. It can be helpful to allow ourselves to experience the full range of emotions. They will not last forever and the crying will stop. Until then, we can only be where we emotionally are. If the question of "Why?" comes up shift to asking "What?"...What is the life lesson, the blessing that this event can bring. Ask "How?"...How can I get though this? There is a divine growth lesson in all of life's experiences, especially ones that bring us grief. Healing can be found in the lesson of the loss. When we are ready for it, the lesson will appear.
Have a blessed day full of life, health and vitality.
Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Reinvent don't resent! When we are hurt by people a possible outcome is to become resentful. This involves holding on to the angry (natural response) feelings. However, anger is not meant to last. As a feeling it is by nature fleeting. When anger hangs around it can become resentment. Staying with these negative emotions uses a lot of energy and takes important focus away from your well-being. Redirect resentful attention to self reinvention. Put all that focus on renewing yourself. Get in touch with the sweetest form of revenge...success. Don't let whatever it is break you, let it help make you into a wiser, smatter and more spiritually grounded being.

Have a blessed day today, full of life, health and vitality. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Stay strong and don't let 'em break you. Whatever 'em is, a job, a man, a woman, a child. We all get taxed by the things and people in our lives. Have faith, ask for Divine intervention and don't let 'em break your spirit. Hang in there. Peace Maat

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Stay disciplined. As a child my mother frequently would tell me..."Anything worth having is worth working for." I didn't like the phrase because it implied that I had to work at what I wanted even when I didn't feel like it. Over the years that phrase has rang true time and time again. No matter what the task staying disciplined will generally result in what we want. So despite those times when you are not "feeling like it" have faith that the strength and discipline is in you. The Creator will provide you with the will to stay disciplined or to get back on track when you fall off.
Have a blessed day full of life, health and vitality. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Let God Do You! - Elder Wheeler

Many people have used the popular phrase, "Do you!" We all have a divine purpose and devoting to it is like doing you. A twist on the idea is to let God do you by staying committed to the divine purpose you've been given. Life will flow with so much wonder and joyous challenge. The obstacles we face will test our faith and make us stronger if we see it that way. Realign with what you were born to fulfill. The Creator will DO the rest. Have a blessed day. With much peace and more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Spiritual people have feelings too! No matter how enlightened, educated or wise we become, we will always have feelings and emotional reactions to things. Emotions are biological and psychological. They originate in both the body and the brain. Even if we wanted to stop them we could not. However, they can be changed and managed with lots of practice. We can also learn to lessen their impact. The secret is that we can control the thoughts and actions we associate with the feelings. As we become more spiritually connected we learn to recover more readily from mishaps. No matter who we are we will make errors in judgment and complicated or simple mistakes. Being spiritual is a process not a destination! The point is to be gentle and forgiving of ourselves when feelings get the best of us and to surround ourselves with supportive people who hold us spiritually accountable for our thoughts and action because the emotional reactions are bound to keep happening.
Have a blessed day with much peace and more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Check in with your intuition before you take action. As easily as our emotions can become triggered for stress (even exciting stress) it is important t get in touch with our inner sense of knowing before we act. That inner knowledge is connected to our Divine wisdom. Relying on the wisdom rather than rational thinking is not always easy because many of us do not trust our Self (the inner Divine wisdom). We've answered to so many other people or worried about what they think for so long that we've given away our personal power. Reclaiming our strength comes with listening to one's Self. Slow down, pay attention and sense your intuition's messages.
Have a blessed day full of life, health and vitality.
Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
There are no material distinctions in a spiritual world. Everything is connected. As much as we may perceive our neighbor as a different, the reality is we all are a part of the same source of energy. The conflicts and contradictions are lessons to help us strengthen our spirits and grow. At some point we all know this, but we either forget or have not remembered what we already know. The spiritual reality of life will reveal itself one struggle at a time. If we choose now to open our hearts just a little bit and experience the spiritual reality of love, we will feel connected. Make no distinctions stay connected in love.

With much peace, more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Restart, adjust, change, make a mental shift...do whatever you need to do to improve your attitude and let love flow. Count your blessings if all else fails and you will see your perception change. Making an adjust to our attitudes is not always easy. In fact, much of our thinking and feelings are influenced by neurobiological processes outside of our awareness, yet they are not out of our influence. Take in 20, even just 10 deep breaths and notice how it can shift your mood. Test it out sometime when you are struggling to make a mental shift. Have a good day of blessings you can see. With much peace & more love. Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Give birth to something new! Although the child birth process is one of the most beautiful manifestations of the Divine, it is one of billions. We all have purpose and are here to create something in the likeness of the Creator. That likeness is not just about a physical image or something material. Not at all. The Creator is boundless energy manifesting in both seen and unseen forms. We can create even when we don't see it happening. Love for example is created sometimes without any clue we are building a relationship. Start creating with ideas on an unseen basis. Eventually you will give birth to magnificent ideas in line with your purpose.
Have a blessed day full of life, health and vitality. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Keep up the faith and you will persevere! Our Higher Self has a multitude of lessons for us to learn as we go through life. We must continue to believe that we can get through whatever the seemingly challenging situation may be. Everyday we make small triumphs and if we fall then we are taking two steps forward as the old wise tale says. Forgive yourself and know that inside of you there is an endless Divinely inspired well of strength. Tapping into that internal power can be done by taking in a deep breath and telling yourself while exhaling, I know I can do it and will get through it.
Have a peace filled day full of life, health and vitality.
God Bless Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
SHINE! The light of the sun shines and transforms energy from carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis in plants. It also shines and generates vitamin D within our own human skin. We too can transform our energy into radiance that shines and gives off a loving glow. We all know it when we see it and feel it when we have it. Shine today! Let Divine light radiate from your being. Be infectious with it so that a sense of love is felt by everyone you meet. Have a blessed day of life, health and vitality! Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
We are all sources of inspiration! Stop for a moment and in your silence reflect on the fact that is some shape or form you have touched someone's life for the better or greater good. If you believe that experiences in life are opportunities for a lesson then it is possible that our interactions (even the adverse ones) can generate inspiration. Be you today with the intention of inspiration. Much peace, more love. Maat E.

"Distinguish what is real from what is unreal." - Ancient African Principle of Maat

Many of us walk around everyday believing what we see, hear, smell, touch and taste as reality. According to ancient wisdom (and demonstrated by modern science), our reality is known through an extra sensory fashion. The truth being we are all part of one unseen Divine energy manifesting in different material forms. Sometimes we realize this reality, that is a sense of oneness and connection to everyone and all things. This wonderful state can get distorted if we loose our sense of boundaries while trying to experience oneness in the material realm (e.g. over involvement in other people's lives, inappropriate intimacies, being responsible for someone else's happiness). So recognize that we all are one, but distinguish how to function in the physical realm. Have a blessed day of life, health and vitality. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Think Big! You may have absolutely no idea of the possibilities for your life. It is the limits of what we think and don't imagine that restrain the possibilities. Stretch your thoughts, push the envelope, go over the top with devoting to your purpose and fulfilling your dreams. Have a blessed day of life, health and vitality. Peace Ma'at E.

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Maat E's Mental Health Message:
Everybody has issues! We are all going through the daily struggles of life, and some! Often in our friendships or intimate relationships we become bitter and resentful when we don't hear from each other or are not feeling supported. Times are tough and many of our lives are in chaos. Know this and be gentle with yourself and others. Get out of your own head and resist being resentful. Use that Divine energy to be more loving toward yourself and to give love to someone else who probably has issues. The point is to understand we are all connected experiencing the lessons of life. Live life, have health and move with vitality. Peace, Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message:
If your passion in life is driving you then move full speed ahead! Then, stay devoted to what you love and it will remain the driving force behind your actions. The universe will then conspire with you to fulfill your dreams. The trick is to know what you want in your heart and to believe it is yours. Lack of clarity and faith leave the forces of the Creator unsure about how to help. So get clear about your purpose or passion and move froward, act now to fulfill your dreams. Life, Health & Vitality - Peace Maat E. (Erica)

Maat E's Mental Health Message:

Have a bad day! Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good. A strength of the Black culture is its ability to be creative and to flip language so that the meaning of things serves our higher good. This skill of changing the meaning of words can be adapted to any thoughts we think. We have the capacity to change our reality by changing our thinking. If perception is in fact 99% of reality as some say, then the chance of being able to redefine our circumstances is stacked in our favor. Try flipping the meaning of your thoughts today...make negative thought patterns, divinely positive. Have a bad day full of life, health and vitality. Peace Maat E.

Maat E's Mental Health Message

Start the day where you spiritually want to stay! Have you had mornings where you wake up and stub your toe or get into an argument for example, and the rest of the day seems to stay 'off'? Nothing seems to go right. Well that initial stress sets in to motion a series of biological activity in the brain that primes you for reacting and continuing to react adversely to stress. By staring the day engaging in whatever spiritual or religious rituals we use to get grounded we prepare the brain to handle repeated taxes on our psyche. Start the day breathing, praying, or meditating. The resources will subconsciously protect you and consciously be in your awareness for use at any time. Start in a spiritual state to stay or be able to return to a spiritual state.
Have a blessed day full of life, health and vitality! Peace, Maat E."

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