Have you ever had someone you love let you down or another who failed to fulfill their end of a deal? Maybe you’ve had complete strangers wrong you by letting a door close in your face or by cutting you off on the highway? Would you believe these are gifts?!

Last week I shared with you that I was starting Debbie Ford’s 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse on Opera.com. Yesterday I finished Day 4: The Gift of Forgiveness.

(It’s an incredible program and only takes 10-15 minutes every day!)

I consider myself a very forgiving person; even thinking on occasion that I let people off the hook too easily.

But after yesterday’s cleansing ritual and meditation, I realized that I was harboring some pretty toxic feelings – and towards people that I absolutely love!

Ms. Ford revealed:

Releasing the invisible ties to those who have left you, betrayed you, disappointed you or hurt you, you open up to higher realms of love, peace and joy. Without forgiving them and cutting the cords of resentment, you continue to be imprisoned by the very people you’ve spent years (or a lifetime) trying to get away from and you are bound to the incidents that caused the resentment in the first place. And because the outer world is a steadfast reflection of your inner world, these resentment and grudges ensure that you re-create situations that spark the same bad feelings you want to escape from. Resentments and grudges are two of the main culprits that perpetuate cycles of self-abuse and victimhood.

What I realized from yesterday’s consciousness cleanse was that when people piss us off, they are actually presenting us a gift – if we choose to accept it.

I can hear you now, “Have you lost your freakin’ mind, Steph? These people are disrespecting us, walking all over us and damn it, we deserve better!”

No, I haven’t lost my mind and yes, we deserve to be treated better. However, people don’t intentionally set out to hurt others (maybe some do but it’s a small percentage); they’re just wrapped up in their own world. They’re dealing with their own issues or simply trying to cope with life the only way they know how.

So what’s this gift we’re talking about?

When someone does or says something that disappoints, angers or hurts us, they are triggering a very old, internal wound within us from childhood. These are our personal issues that we haven’t yet bothered to heal.

Now before you balk at this, saying that you had the perfect childhood, please keep in mind that perfect parenting is impossible! Childhood development is so rapid that no parent has the capacity or resources to fulfill every need a child experiences. Plus, we’re extremely sensitive as children. We get hurt very easily.

Time to get REAL personal

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We talk a lot about detoxing and cleansing the body here on Live Lighter, and even went so far as to detox TV in January. We’ve also touched on how subconscious beliefs sabotage our efforts to change – that’s why I’m psyched to take Debbie Ford’s 21 day consciousness cleanse!

Ms. Ford talks about waking up one day without our old fears, doubts, unmet needs, limiting beliefs and perceptions that keep us locked in our repetitive, destructive patterns. I don’t know about you, but that sounds great to me!

Debbie has written The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse: A Breakthrough Program for Connecting with Your Soul’s Deepest Purpose. But what’s it all about?

She says:

“It’s a practical program that promises to alter the quality and direction of your life and support you in not only obtaining your goals for the new year, but, more importantly, creating a new loving and nurturing relationship with yourself and with the power that sources you. This program will enable you to take back your power from the outer world, turn inward and reconnect with your inner guide and your highest self. Instead of being guided this year by your head and what you think you should do, you will be inspired and directed by your heart’s deepest desires.”

But you don’t have to buy the book to participate in what she describes as “a detox diet for the soul”. Check out Oprah.com to access 21 links (1 per day) for excerpts from the book, exercises and even meditations!

Here’s a 1:28 minute video with Debbie sharing some of the testimonials from her program:

Special thanks to Emmanuel Lopez from Motivatorman.com for notifying me of Debbie’s new break-through consciousness cleanse program.

I’m starting the 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse tomorrow! Will you be joining me on this soul journey? In case you missed it, click here when you’re ready.

Looking over the menu, you catch the description of the chicken linguine. You start salivating. Your eyes slide to the price…$14… not bad for a reputable Italian restaurant. Then you notice another piece of info, and your mouth dries up like a 5,000 year old mummy. It’s 1,300 calories!

Metro reported yesterday that the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) suggested one way to fight childhood obesity was to pass legislation requiring restaurant chains and school cafeterias to post calorie counts on menus. Dalton McGuinty, by the way, responded today that childhood obesity is a federal issue, dismissing it from his jurisdiction.

Overeating is a health issue with western society in general, not just a federal problem or one that concerns only  children and teens. Portion sizes in most restaurants are at least twice as big as they need be to create more value for the price. While you have the choice to doggie-bag it, most people opt for fresh… plus they don’t want to waste money or food, either!

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Cesar Millan, Dog Whisperer, is my new hero. The interesting thing is that I don’t have a dog, wasn’t thinking about getting one, and have never considered myself a real `dog lover’. What impressed me right away about Cesar Millan is his attitude and presence. By the end of the first episode, I was hooked. I realized that I learned more about human psychology than I did about dogs!

This attractive alpha male is the ideal example of a totally healthy, well-balanced human being, which makes him an outstanding dog handler and an even better dog whisperer (psychologist). If you don’t believe me, check him out yourself and let me know what you think!

Here is a 7 minute video, Part I of “Up close with `Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Millan”:

How did he achieve this balance? Although it was probably a combination of many things, I think he answers this question in the 3rd part when the interviewer asks who he finds he has to work harder with, the dog or the owners. He replies in a thick Mexican accent,

“In the show, you get to see how I say, `I train people, I rehabilitate dogs.’ Dogs move more faster than humans and the reason is because they don’t retain the past and they don’t want to know about the future. Humans live in that world. One thing that we can learn from dogs, or animals, is to live in the Now.”

Do you agree with me that Cesar’s picture should go in the dictionary under “total health“? Does he seem to have a good beat on life, embody a balanced life and mind? Can you see why I idolize this man?