Happy Happy Summer Solstice, it is the longest day of the year and the shortest night. After work I will light a fire and celebrate this day. I am so grateful to be in a place where I can honor our Creator, our ancestors and Mother Earth. I am blessed to be surrounded by great family and friends. I love my children and grandchildren and am so thankful for them everyday. Nobody ever leads a perfect life but you can choose to lead a good life that works for you. I think that you can love and support people but the bottom line is that you are the one to wake up feeling joy at where you are at in life. If you don't, then change it...for you. I wish you a beautiful day and a wonderful year.

I also want to acknowledge that today is also National Indigenous People's Day, which used to be called National Aboriginal Day. For me, every day is Indigenous Day...hahaha. I think it's great, as an act of reconciliation, that we acknowledge and celebrate the First People's of this land. Celebrate the people! yay! and never forget who the original people of this land really is...speak the truth.

 The first time I heard a scaling measure for physical pain was when I was with my dad, he was having a heart attack and the EMT was asking him on a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain. I have since used this scaling measure to ask people at risk of suicide about how they would measure their emotional pain or measure how they were feeling today.
I was reading through some on-line blogs when I stumbled upon "thegracefulpatient" blog. This Mental Health painscale asks the individual to look at themselves and see where they would rate themselves on a daily basis. A measure of their own mental health and also a scale to help when you need additional support.

Here's another one that has been used.

I haven't tried out any of these scales but I will ask other's what they think. Scales might turn out to be a handy tool for some people.

Hi Folks,
Here we are almost to the end of May. It is so amazing how quickly time flies. I have been blessed to have adventures in the last few months that allow me to see new places and meet amazing people.
I wanted to share with you a new workshop that I have developed called "Health, Hope and Healing". It is from an indigenous perspective and it's all about you and what is needed to maintain great holistic Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Emotional Health.
I often see and hear people refer to departments that deal with the individual aspects of the self. Our traditional teachings and stories tell us about looking at ourselves holistically and as we develop into birth, youth, adult and Elder's, we will continue to strive toward out balance as human beings.

I am not sure who to give credit to the picture of the Cree Medicine Wheel I added but I really like it. It adds teachings to it that might be helpful to someone.

Another important topic is our past. We, as Indigenous people, have a different history than Europeans. We need to talk about that. Not just intergenerational trauma but Intergenerational strengths. We have them, let's use them.

When I talk about grief and loss, in this workshop, I talk about healing. Not just from a individual perspective but also thinking about healing for families and communities. We are so interconnected to others that we need to heal these three aspects but finding the balance in keeping ourselves well at the same time.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I am grateful. Hiy Hiy.

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone and often. The Great Spirit will listen only if you speak.

2. Be tolerant of the people who are lost on their path. Ignorance, jealousy, anger, and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they'll find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Don't allow others to create your path for you. It's your road and yours alone. Others might walk it with you, but nobody can walk it for you.

4. Treat your guests in your home with consideration. Serve them the best food, offer them your best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Don't take what isn't yours either from a person, community or culture. It wasn't earned nor given. It isn't yours.

6. Respect every little thing placed upon the earth.

7. Honor other people’s thoughts, desires, and words. Let each person express themselves.

8. Never speak of others in a mean way. The negative energy you put out into the universe is going to multiply when it returns to you.

9. All people make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Negative thoughts cause illness of the mind, body, and soul. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, but a PART of us. Animals, plants and every other living creature are all part of our worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. You need to plant love in their hearts and shower them with wisdom and precious life’s lessons. When they're grown, give them space to mature.

13. Avoid hurting other people's heart. The poison of the pain you cause will return to you.

14. Be honest at all times. Honesty and truthfulness are the tests of one’s will within this world.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Work out the body to empower the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional pain.

16. Make conscious decisions regarding who you'll be and how you'll react. Be responsible for your actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of those around you. Don't touch the personal property of others – especially holy and religious objects. That's forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You can't nurture and help others unless you can nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Don't try to force your beliefs on other people.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Also, participate in charity.

I love making vision or visualization boards. I enjoy looking at and reminding myself  about my plans or goals. I started making vision boards several years ago and have found them so helpful. My vision board reflects what my intentions are and what I would like to see happen in my world. The boards change from year to year, and that's good. Our goals and purpose in life should not remain exactly the same. Flexibility and new learning in life are absolutely necessary.
The pictures below are some examples that I found on Pinterest, there are tons more on that site if you are looking for examples of what your vision board could look like. I hope you decide to give it a try and see how it works for you. 2018 is just around the corner...might be time to start thinking about your goals for the year.

 These messages can be so inspirational and uplifting. One option that I like when thinking about your vision and ideas is to create a beautiful binder which holds your vision, etc. This is portable and can go with you or be tucked away when you need privacy.

I have also used this idea when working with women's groups or at a gathering of friends. Let me know if you decide to give the vision board/binder idea a try, you could even share in the comments section. I would love to hear from you!
Have a great week.