Praying the Rosary: Prayer is a form of meditation. Like all meditation, the goal is to focus on clearing the mind of all distraction and/or focusing on one mantra, image, thought, etc... When praying the Rosary, one focuses on one of four Mysteries of Jesus Christ. They are the Glorious Mysteries, the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries and the Luminous Mysteries. Each decade of the Rosary is one of five scenes from his life that you meditate on. There are five decades in total of one Our Father and ten Hail Marys.
The best advice I can give you to feel the full effect of such a meditative prayer and feel closer to Our Saviour is to visualize vividly each scene. Imagine seeing the baby Jesus just born in the manger. See him in front of you. If need be, imagine him as a baby you know personally to make him appear more real in your mind's eye. The more real he becomes to you, the more you will feel his presence. The more you see and feel of his life the more you will come to understand the magnitude of his for you and the sacrifice he made to assure our place in heaven with him.
Visualization is key to many aspects of a successful life. Before anything or any structure there is the idea of a structure. Whether that be a career path, a business or an actual building, it all starts as an idea. In the case of spirit, the more you believe and conceive of Christ, the more he will become an active part of your psyche and life. Good thoughts equal good things. Bad thoughts bring bad. ALWAYS THINK GOOD THOUGHTS AS ALL THOUGHT IS ENERGY, SO BE POSITIVE! Be positive, I say, even in the face of adversity because, as my mother always says, "This too shall pass."
Remember love, that God loves you and prayer is the best way to invoke his protection and love for you. He/she loves us so much that they allow us to live and will only come when invited. That is free will. The freedom to decide to go to light or to darkness. To look upon the countenance of God or to hide with the "Devil" in the shadows.
And the devil looks suspiciously like you, so turn to God and be light.

Sermon 1 : God Exists

Dear Isis,
If you get any one concept from this book, let it be that God does exist. In your lifetime you will encounter many people and events that will test your faith on this fact. Just remember that He does exist. Religion is a concept of man. It is our feeble attempt at trying to comprehend the infinite power of the One and Only. It is a pity that we all argue over the details of his existence and ignore the fact that we are all praying to the same God. We differ in our perception of Him.
There is an old saying that goes, "The devil is in the details," and he truly is. However, you choose to perceive Him, remember that quote before you begin to judge and condemn others for not following your way. All good paths lead to God and they are often narrow as Jesus pointed out in his Gospel.

Forward to Dear Isis, Life Lessons on Life, Love, Sex, Spirit and Finance From Your Mother with Love

I do not have a daughter...yet. I am a mother, blessed with a beautiful boy named Zeon. The refrain, "Oh, you're so lucky to have had the boy first! They are so much easier," has echoed in my ear more than once. Followed closely by, "Girls are such a headache."
I wanted a girl first. I wanted to buy the frilly dresses and pretty matching bows and headbands. I smile happily, longingly at my friend Evelyn's little girl as she shows me pictures of her in her flamenco dress and shoes. I wish I had my own little one to dress up like a doll.
The problem with little dolls though, is that they grow up to be tumultuous, precocious, rebellious young ladies to put it lightly. At three years old, Kaitlyn, Evelyn's little one, is already a headstrong firecracker. She laments often on how she has to continuously reinforce polite behaviour amidst the cartoon inspired fart noise sessions and "pee-pee, ca-ca" fueled hysterics preschoolers get caught up in. Despite these moments, she is also already begging to wear high heels and insists that dresses are the only things that make a girl "pretty."
It is from these conversations with Evelyn and other mothers like her, plus own experiences growing up, that I decided to write a handbook for my own daughter. A handbook of my personal life lessons and what I learned from other people's mistakes along the way. Do not get me wrong, my parents did their best. That did not stop me from falling into common adolescent traps. Things like depression, poor self-esteem, poor self-image due to perceived "obesity" and acne, toxic relationships, poor money management skills and peer pressure to name a few.
Believe me, I would have loved to have had a point a reference to look at whenever I needed some advice. Especially, from a person I knew only had my best interest in mind. I would have probably preferred to stab myself in the eye with a pencil than admit to my mom that I read such a book from her had she given me one. You bet your butt I would have read it though. That time of my life was tough for me, I do not know about you. So here I go, Dear Isis,...