From our October newsletter...

Hi Kurlies,

Welcome to 2018!!! Listen, I don't know about you, but I've kicked off the year with some really weird reoccurring dreams. Dreams of missing my train stop. Dreams of missing my flight. My subconscious is trying to tell me something, but what?

That leads to my New Year's resolution.

I recently heard on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday that while you're sleeping, your brain will ruminate on whatever content you were consuming an hour before bed. It's also generally known that your brain works out problems in its sleeping state.

Have you ever been walking around, minding your black business, when suddenly, a great idea pops into your head?! Yeah, your brain was probably working on that all night! Think of your brain as a smartphone. Your conscious thoughts are the apps you have open, and your subconscious thoughts are the programs running in the background. You're not always aware of the thoughts running in the background, but they inform what you're currently thinking and the choices you make in life.

So with that said, why not use sleep to sharpen your intuition? Since your subconscious remains active, allow it to work towards your greatest good. Give it what it needs to build you up, instead of tear you down.

This year, I'm using my hour before bed to life build. At night, I write down my questions and concerns in a letter of surrender to God. Afterwards, I relax into an easy affirmational book that speaks to the woman I know I am - a woman who achieves her personal best. In the morning, I jot down any dreams or ideas I have. They might not make sense now, but they might lead to important insights later.

I don't know what the future holds, but I do know God's plan exceeds the limits of my own imagination. So while I do take personal responsibility in my life, I don't grip so tightly to idols I believe will make me happy - because they won't.

Instead, I'm putting the majority of my focus on improving my character and my emotional health. I'm focusing on treating myself and my needs with more dignity and respect. I'm focusing on telling others what my needs actually are instead of ghosting people (physically or emotionally). I'm focusing on forgiving others, not in a self-righteous way, but in a compassionate way. I'm focusing on remembering my value and reminding others to treat me with the same high value I set for myself.

But what's the golden ticket to my very best future? Saying, "It's over!" to my past. I got this lesson from Devon Franklin's Instagram the other day. Every time I reminisce about the hell from which I came, replacing realities with fantasies that are far from the truth,

I. SHUT. IT. DOWN. STAT.

"It's over," I tell myself quickly, as I refocus on my present freedom. I'm on a train and my stop is coming up. I will get off and I will board my flight. Here's to waking up to a purposeful future.

I pray you soar into 2018, Kurlies! May this next chapter of your life be glorious!!!!