Amazon Littlelessonsonloveandlife.com Category:  Self-Help Publisher: A Rhiannon Waits Company ISBN-10:  0972916237 Pages: 142 Copyright: January 19, 2006 "The book that reaches from the roots of your existence to assist in the evolution of happiness and success in your life. A must read for those seeking answers in relationships and life. Rhiannon tells it like it is" By Rhiannon Waits      This books is comprised of chapter after chapter of short stories that address the very inner spirit. Written simplisticly and with humor to address all who read it. Below is one Chapter.       Joyful Lifestyles: THE NEW YEAR'S MIRROR I recently connected with Rhiannon Waits, author, columnist and motivational speaker, who wrote an insightful piece on New Year's Resolutions — an article so VERY close to my own daily improvement philosophy and simply-make-up-my-mind-and-do-it approach that I'm pleased to share it with you today. Be sure to visit Rhia's Corner for more wisdom from Rhiannon. "The New Year’s Mirror — Is it different from the one in your bathroom? Every year, we make New Year's resolutions in order to better ourselves during the upcoming year. This ritual began long before any of us was born and I have yet to find its true origin. However, in past years I feel we all unknowingly have become part of another ritual group regarding New Year's Resolutions. I'll quickly summarize three groups for your consideration: "There is group one, comprised of people who spend a large amount of time creating a list of resolutions to adhere to in the New Year. They, in essence, pull out their “New Year's Mirror” to reflect upon, scrutinize their every flaw, and carefully make a list of things they will do to become a better person during the upcoming year. "The second group haphazardly formulates a mental “Punch List” of things they MAY attempt to improve about themselves in the new year; although, not really taking the time to thoughtfully compose a single serious resolution because it really does not matter what day of the year it is, they will “get around to it ... one of these days”. "Last, but not least, are those who do not even consider making a list of changes for the New Year. They probably belonged to the first group at one time and failed to follow through with their resolutions; then, eventually slipped into the second group — trying to make a mental punch list and not putting their heart into it. After all, failing to follow your own directions year after year does become disheartening. So, the trend continues with the mental punch list being forgotten — they then quietly take a position among the ranks of those who “IGNORE” the tradition of New Year's Resolutions. "I suppose I belong to the last two groups. I do not sit down and compose a list of my faults and what improvements I desire to make. I feel that I look in the “New Year's Mirror” EVERY DAY, because, to me every morning I wake up, is the start of a new year. I do not believe that I should only take inventory of myself just ONCE A YEAR, but look at myself each morning and affirm that I will try to correct the mistakes I make each day. I look at myself as a sculptor would look at his art piece as he applies the finishing touches. Every single day I am an "Improved Rhia". I am adding finishing touches DAILY, instead of performing a YEARLY dusting. I will work daily towards perfection, knowing I will never achieve it, yet striving for it with earnest. Do I ignore New Year's Resolutions totally? No, because January first is another day ... just as February the first, March the first and any other first day of the month. It is a new beginning — as with every morning, every breath, and every new thought. So do I ignore resolutions? I would have to say, not at all. "I try to stay awake on New Year's Eve, to grab a kiss from Steve or my kids — as if I really needed a reason. I pledge to remember to write the New Year on my checks instead of the old year. I will look up the new car models, the new fads and watch the ball drop in Times Square, but I will NOT pledge to be a better me on ONE DAY EACH YEAR. I will pledge to be a better me EACH DAY OF THE YEAR. If I need to lose weight, I will start working on that today and not wait for January the first to put it on a “Punch List”. When Steve and I quit smoking, we did not wait until January first — although, we did talk about having to quit before the attempt — ultimately we stopped smoking when we PUT OUR MIND TO IT. Everything we do in our lives, we can accomplish once we make the decision. I can truthfully say it is not because we put it on a piece of paper, on the first day of the New Year. "I suppose many of you think I am unrealistic to be working towards perfection each day. I readily admit I will never achieve "perfection, yet I set my goals as such. You could ask yourself, "How could I work towards something unachievable?" Well, here is a Little Lesson on Love and Life: Each day that I work on improving myself is a day that I enjoy better than the day before. I work on my life one day at a time and each day is a new one that is better because of the last one. As a friend of mine often tells me — “Rhia, how do you eat an elephant?” — His answer, “one bite at a time … the same way you eat a mouse.” "I always smile, because that is how I have always looked at life, one breath, one step, one day, and one adventure at a time. I do not have New Year’s Mirrors or New Year's Resolutions — I have a bathroom mirror I look into each day and I make DAILY resolutions. All my resolutions come to fruition when I MAKE UP MY MIND — not when I make a list. A list is made for remembering and my bathroom mirror is there every day to remind me — not just once a year." ~Rhiannon Waits whose motto is: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, margarita in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming — WOO HOO what a ride!!!"

Circles of Light Book Review
Rhiannon Waits, a psychic medium and ancient Oracle, as well as the author of the syndicated column, “Rhia’s Corner,” has compiled a collection of some of her finest inspirational messages that highlight her talents as a motivational and spiritual speaker and she’s wrapped them into her gift to the world entitled “Little Lessons on Love and Life.” While it only seems appropriate that a medium of Waits’ caliber started life near where Edgar Cayce, the famous American psychic diagnostician, was born and buried, it’s her writings that have actually brought her more pride than the psychic skills that were bestowed upon her. And proud she should be.

I confess that the title made me immediately wonder if this was going to be another “Life’s Little Instruction Book” or “Random Acts of Kindness” guide. Perhaps Waits was also concerned about such a comparison as she begins by stating that she’d “rather have too many gurus in the world trying to help than to have a world of people who didn’t give a darn about others.” And while she also worries that, “it is extremely difficult to stay on task and keep the spiritual messages pure when having to edit the words of spirit,” she’s done a great job of finding her own unique style for sharing her ideas about “spirit, heart, and earthly life.”

While Waits has no desire to tell us how to live our life, she freely discusses her refreshing and to-the-point thoughts about many topics. Even though the resulting lesson of each chapter is classic in its message, its applicability to the current world we live in is the focus. This is especially obvious when Waits discusses her feelings about the importance of making “the ‘No Child Left Behind’ law as much about child support as it is about education,” the need to deprogram “the Nintendo children” who have become “desensitized to blood, guts, and gore,” and her hope that the term “significant other (SO) children” replaces the use of the phrase stepchildren.

This book goes far beyond child-related topics though. When it comes to love, we are reminded that “relationships are not diapers to relieve yourself in and cast away” and that being needed can actually ruin your dream of being wanted. Waits refers to aging as a time when “….women look as if they have laid out during a hailstorm as the dents and dings of cellulite start to make their debut and men begin to grow ‘boobs.” However, we can take comfort in knowing that “there is nothing wrong with improving your physical self, as long as you remember the greatest quest is that of spirit.”

When it comes to letting go of past hurts, Waits also reminds us that we are “in charge of damage control” and that we can actually choose to “let it be their nightmares and their life chore to redeem themselves, not [ours].” I particularly enjoyed Waits’ ideas as they pertained to how we often incorrectly consider kindness or caring as a sign of personal weakness, how “a request for an opinion does not give [us] the right to insult another,” and how we can learn a lot, not from “fearless bravery in the face of death,” but from fearless bravery in feeling and showing love while in the midst of life.

Any person that is capable of staring at a stack of coffee filters and realizing that, for each filter we handle, we start “a new day that [holds] so many possibilities, dreams, and emotional earmarks,” therefore let our “first drink of coffee be filtered through this blessed contraption so [we] will have a wonderful day from the inside out,” truly does have lessons to share with the world. While the testimonials for “Little Lessons on Love and Life” focus on Rhiannon Waits’ psychic abilities, the soon-to-be-released second printing of this book will have words of praise for her actual writing talents. As Waits believes that karma isn’t so much a “judgment on your actions but [more] a mirror that reflects them,” such praises are truly well deserved.

> Click here to learn more about, the book, "Little Lessons on Love and Life."


Donna McLaughlin Schwender is the “soul proprietor” of One-Eared Dog, Ink. As a freelance writer living in upstate New York, she can be reached at schwender@aol.com.




Lisa Iris - Artist
Lisa Iris, an artist., 05/02/2006
Straight from the Heart
This book deals with the realities of daily life, but imbued with an enlightened perspective. Funny, poigniant, and always the truth, Rhiannon's spirituality has a distinctly American timbre, recalling the earthiness of Walt Whitman.