No one knows better how to trigger stressful responses in you than your family members. Maintaining your inner peace is often a real challenge at holiday times when you are around family that you haven’t seen in a while.

No matter what your age is now, they expect you to still respond in the same manner to their remarks and antics as you did when you were younger. They don’t understand that you have grown mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. They are comfortable with the “old” you and seek to see that “old” you.

Can you smile at their antics, recognizing their discomfort with change and the fact that they are just reflecting where they are now? Can you honor who they are now with tolerance for they, too, are on their own spiritual path?

You are entitled to the opinion that while your spiritual path is on the “straight and narrow,” theirs is wandering all over the place, but can you respond without making that opinion a judgment? Can you reflect back peace with respect in your voice and manner?

Unconditional love accepts people for who they are. Acceptance does not mean that you aren’t expected to set a better example. People learn by example.

We are all teachers for others, but lecturing and berating others often turns them away. The axiom goes: “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” So, be sweetness and light.

These are some of our challenges as we seek peace within and cultivate true peace in the family and on the planet. Let’s make a plan to help you make it through these holiday times and beyond.

· Remember to do your Grounding every morning and every time you get upset. This will help you to run off your stress and see the world more objectively and less emotionally.

· Do your Brain Balancing every morning so you have the knowledge and wisdom to respond calmly and respectfully.

· Don’t take things personally, because people are really just trying to tell you where they are emotionally.

· Don’t let their drama become your drama.

· Remember, all are on their spiritual path no matter what route they take.

· Set a better example that you want them to follow. Be sweetness and light.

· Accept gifts graciously, because it shows the person was at least thinking of you.

· Set boundaries. This may be the season of giving but that doesn’t mean you have to give in to everyone’s demands of you. Acting out of Guilt is not coming from Love.

· When negativity comes into a discussion, change the subject.

May you find these suggestions helpful in cultivating true peace this holiday and beyond!

If you need to know how to Ground and Brain Balance, go to www.youtube.com/alterra1

The Magi brought gifts to the Christ child of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

None of us have any difficulty understanding why gold would be a great gift but what about that frankincense and myrrh.

While getting started on my Spiritual path I learned the importance of starting my day with an exercise to get me grounded and another to get me brain balanced.

Grounding helps me to run off my stress, hold my ground through challenges and look at things more objectively instead of emotionally. It helps to give me a bigger energy field. This is helpful since, my teacher claims, the person with the biggest energy field always wins and we all want to be winners.

Brain balancing gives me the benefit of looking at things from both the masculine and the feminine side with both knowledge and wisdom and seeing both the whole and the parts of an issue. This is a great benefit for my decision-making. In addition, with a regular practice of brain balancing, I have the additional assistance of spiritual guidance.

So what do these two exercised have to do with the Magi’s gifts? Frankincense assists with grounding and myrrh assists with brain balancing. When applied to the skin in the form of essential oils, the person cannot help but get some grounding and brain balancing.

How about if you gift yourself with some of the Magi’s gifts of frankincense and myrrh and perhaps the gold will soon follow.