Hi Everyone,

Over the years and even in my book, I Never Held You: Miscarriage, Grief, Healing and Recovery , I've talked about how guided meditations have helped me get through some pretty dark times. I didn't know about them right after my miscarriage, but wish I did. Actually, they were around, but not like they are today. There are many more available.

After I miscarried, my panic and anxiety attacks kicked in full force. I've suffered from them since around the age of twenty shortly after living through some very scary vision problems. One day, panic attacks were "there" and I'll never forget how terrifying my one was. I know I may seem a bit off topic, but things as painful as miscarriage can trigger things like anxiety, or panic attacks. That's what happened to me and many of you might be feeling the same. Believe me, you're not alone. I know it's scary and it, well, stinks, for lack of a better word. But, regulating your your breathing, slowing your mind and body down do help. Guided meditations combined with a lot of faith, helped me a great deal. As I said earlier, they still do.

I have a tough time focusing when trying to meditate in silence, although over the years I've tried to just 'go with it' and see what happens. I've gotten better, but find myself turning to guided meditations when I'm very stressed, sad, confused, etc. They calm me, soothe me, put me in a much better place, helping me to regroup. I also suffer from ringing in the ear, (my right one), and have special headphones, (Sleep Phones- they're great), I use at night to listen to guided meditations so I can sleep.

One of my favorites has been The Healing Waterfall my Max Highstein. I've been listening to it for years and love it. There are two versions of it, now.

If you're having a tough time sleeping, relaxing, getting your mind in a better place, these meditations, (along with many more I can recommend), may help you. I hope they do- as much as they've helped me.Click here to discover all of The Healing Waterfall guided meditations. If you decide to download one, I'd love to hear how you felt about it.

Now, I love these meditations, and there are MANY more online for download or on CD. You can find them everywhere- simply google "Guided Meditations".  I want to let you know I've become an affiliate for The Healing Waterfall, (that means I get a percentage of the sale should you decide to purchase one), but that is NOT why I posted this. I went to their site to get the spelling of Max's last name right, "Highstein", and saw they had an affiliate program. I've been working with companies as an affiliate for years on several of my other websites, so I decided to join. I wanted to let you know this because I got a feeling in my gut that told me I should. So, I followed my gut.

Here's a free download from The Healing Waterfall called "Healing With Love". You may want to give this a listen and see if guided meditations feel right to you.

Love and Light, Ellen

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Life is a great teacher. Sometimes, the lessons we learn are through pain and adversity. Those aren't fun. However, they teach us something. We may not see it right away, but it's there. The lesson life has beckoned to learn, whether we want to or not, often inspires us to do something with the bump in the road we stumbled on.

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I'm one of those people who writes when I feel inspired. It's more of a need than a want.

That's how I Never Held You   [I NEVER HELD YOU] [Paperback], (in paperback and Kindle) began. The inspiration nearly knocked my off my chair. I was sitting in the kitchen, some eleven years after my miscarriage, and something, (inspiration- or "in-spirit"), told me to write about life after miscarriage. I couldn't shake the feeling, so I followed through. Completely unaware of where my words would lead, I began writing with a passion, allowing my thoughts to flow from my mind to my fingertips. I wrote and wrote, then wrote some more.

It's also how I got my greeting card published by Blue Mountain Arts. My BFF had gone through losing her husband. I wrote her a poem and later submitted it to Blue Mountain Arts.  So much of my heart went into that poem because it was my way of showing comfort to my very best friend at a time in her life was rocked to the core. As it turns out, those words became an inspirational/encourgement greeting card that's still carried in their line of cards and gifts today. That poem has been used on many of their gift items: bookmarks; magnets; wallet cards, a necklace. I believe it's because I Whispered a Prayer or Two says what many of us want to say to someone who is going through a rough time. It's universal, and doesn't apply to any one topic, other than offering encourgement and support.

I'm feeling inspired right now. That's what led me to this site and my fingers started "doing the walking".

If you feel inspired and your thing is writing, give it a go. It doesn't matter if you're writing in a journal, in a blog or working on a book. When Inspiration, (In-Spirit), is tapping on your shoulder, there's a reason for it.

Wishing you all the very best.

Ellen

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You know, I've had my share of book reviews, and not all have been great. Actually, some seemed plain cruel! However, the good ones help balance the bad, as with everything in life.

The thing is, I don't let book reviews define me- even the great ones. To me, that's all about ego. The ego can be a pretty dangerous thing and can get you into trouble. It tries to beat you down. The ego screams at you when you get a less than favorable review. It screams again when you get a great book review. Personally, I've learned to tune my ego out and listen to myself. The see-saw my ego wants me to play on is one I walk away from.

Why? Well, even with bad reviews, there's something to learn. My first book was NOT that great. It's not terrible, either. It's a decent read, but there's too much going on. The story line is okay, but I could have worked a lot more on my characters. I've learned this through life, trial and error, and reviews. So, some have liked it, some haven't, and I don't know about the rest who have read it, (Jackie's Heart).

You learn. I wrote that book over ten years ago, and it was my first! It was a learning experience. There are actors who are terribly embarrassed about some of the first movies they were in. If they let their ego define them, they'd never act again.

I believe learning is much more important than whatever my ego wants me to believe. So, when my ego tells me I'm not much of a writer, I say, "Okay. I know you feel that way. But, what do I need to learn to become the writer, (or whatever), I want to be?"

The best to you, Ellen

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Why do write? It's a need, I suppose. A form of communication I've always turned to. A thought strikes, and I write. When I can't verbalize what I want to say, I write. When I feel inspired by God, nature, loss, love, friendship, family- I write. When I want to reach out to others to let them know they're not alone, I write.

We all have our reasons for writing. Some keep journals and their words are for themselves. Some of us share what we write with a loved one, a friend, sister, brother and so forth.

Some desire to create stories, be they fiction or non, get published and share their 'creation' with the world.

I aspire to do all of the above. Life dictates what I write and what I plan to do with it. From the most initimate note for one person's eyes only, to a book or greeting card I want the world to read, my writing is an extension of who I am, how I communicate, and part of the path I've found my feet upon.

I write because I want to. I write because I need to.

I write because it's right- for me.

Ellen

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