Maybe It’s Not What You’re Eating, But What’s Eating You!

Maybe It’s Not What You’re Eating, But What’s Eating You!

Laurie Jackson~6/15/2013

So frequently when we are frustrated with our weight and or our health issues, we fail to look at the deeper and often overlook the root cause of our problem.  We try to over come our weight issues by obsessing even more about what we eat, how much we eat and when we should eat.  There is wisdom as to how to be healthy and it is much deeper then just your fork and spoon.

Usually the reason we have gotten into a trap of unhealthy habits is not simply because of what we are eating, but rather what is eating us!  We almost always have an underlining issue that we are ignoring, unaware of or in denial that we have.

            The best way to approach a better diet is to look at what is not getting satisfied in our lives.  Typically we will over eat to substitute some basic needs that are not being met.  We may try to get others to meet our needs. This will never work and is not the remedy ever!  Usually the next best thing is food!  Here are a few questions we can ask ourselves that may lead us to the way of freedom.

1)   What’s really bothering me?

2)   Do I need help figuring this out? (It’s the emotionally “healthy” people that will seek out counsel)

3)   Do I have the ability to counsel myself? (We often underestimate our own insights about ourselves)

4)   Am I really hungry?

5)   Am I bored?

6)   Am I doing the things that I enjoy?

7)   Am I doing the things that are deeply important to me?

8)   Am I spending time with healthy people?

9)   When I am sabotaging my diet, am I ignoring, running from or denying something?

10)         Am I lying to myself?

11)         Can I hear my inner most thoughts?

12)         What is God telling me?

13)         Do I love myself?

14)         Do I give myself grace?

15)         Do I treat myself kindly?

16)         Do I talk to myself gently?

17)         When I am eating, am I content, happy and peaceful?

These are some simple questions that can help us get our lives back to a stable center.  Usually after doing some basic self-counsel, which we are all more then capable of doing for ourselves, we will come to a place of peace.  We typically can stave off a binge or craving, just by taking a pause and asking ourselves some questions and answering as honest as we can possibly answer.

Another method that also works tremendously well is to write out these questions in a type of dialogue.  If you are a spiritual person, you can write a dialogue between you and God.  You may be amazed at what you think you are writing to yourself, only to realize you just had a divine conversation with the best and wisest counselor that you will ever have!  Plus it’s all free!

I hope this helps.  Enjoy your journey! 

Join In The Celebration!

Running Revelations  ~ by Laurie Jackson 4/25/2012

The Music’s All Around Us… Just Listen… Join In The Celebration!

So I went out for a gorgeous run this morning. I had no thought for how fast or long I would go.  I just wanted to celebrate the day.  Listening to our daughters play list today was so inspiring and a much needed change from the same old music I’ve been playing because I hadn’t gotten around to loading her songs on my I-pod. 

Today I woke up with God speaking to me and asking me to join in the celebration.  I knew exactly what He meant because He had spoken to me about this many times before. 

Joining the celebration is to know and trust all that Christ has done for us.  This is a journey and revelation I believe an individual must personally go to their designer about.

Speaking of a personal designer!  On my run today I felt that the Spirit of the living God was pointing out how no one was running in front of me or behind me while I was running. I wasn’t alone but on my own individual journey.  Enjoying the safety of the people in the cars passing by.  Immensely enjoying the music I was listening to on my I-pod created by amazing musicians! Thank God for music!  I was not isolated from Gods people but I was on my own journey that was paved just for me!  I heard God say something like this to me.

“Isn’t it so freeing to be on your own individual journey that I personally designed for you?  There is no pressure to perform for anyone or keep up with anyone.  You are not striving to imitate anyone else’s design.  You are not on any one else’s journey but the one I’ve designed especially for you.  Aren’t you glad you asked your own designer and creator, about who I truly made you to be, instead of staying in a place where you are frantically trying to please and impress everyone around you?  Welcome to the truth that sets you free.  I’m so elated that you are joining in this celebration that I planned for you today!” ~ God

Just after I heard God say this to me I heard this on our daughters playlist from her August Rush album…. “The music’s all around us, just listen.” 

Running In the Wrong Place? Different seasons and a few takeaways! By Laurie Jackson 4/4/2013

Running In the Wrong Place?  Different seasons and a few takeaways!

By Laurie Jackson 4/4/2013

            So I went on a short run today for my morning dose of serotonin and my daily bread.  Today I live in Alaska and it is empirically spring here!  I had a very well thought out strategy today!  I went slightly earlier so I could avoid the thawed out mini oceans and the muddy mire that threatens to digest my entire shoe, with or without my foot!  This malicious mud monster enjoys it either way!  As my adrenaline began to pump and life began to course through my body, I couldn’t help but see the numerous life lessons that awaited me at every corner! 

Number one, when you are running outdoors, different seasons bring different navigational challenges.  This winter, with the help of my good friends, Dianna and Katie, who encouraged me immensely to overcome the obstacle of “believing” I would freeze to death if I ran outside at 10 below!  I finally did it once just to prove to myself and my relentless friends that I was sure I would hate it!  To my surprise but certainly not theirs, I realized I had kept myself in a cage the many previous winters and I was finally free from the fear of 10 below!  I loved it!  The sun is crisp and the extra serotonin made winter my friend and not my foe this year!  To my Alaskan friends get out there, you’ll love it!  Spring is lovely on the other hand.  It was 27 ABOVE zero today!  The navigational challenge of spring is tricky here in Alaska.  It’s indeed warmer BUT you MUST keep a close eye with each step forward.  You cannot deviate from this, as rivets from dried out mud, now frozen, could cause you to sprain an ankle very easily. There is tons of ice to avoid that may or may not sink you down two feet under in water.  You can never tell how weak or strong the ice is here in Alaska at this time of year.  So the trick is to constantly find a sure place to confidently put each foot, every single step that you take!  This can look and feel like an obstacle course and takes complete concentration.  A positive attitude would say, “Good! This is developing new muscles and keeping your brain sharp!”  I look like I’m doing an insanity work out, as I run down the road dodging constant obstacles of ice, mud and water.  This season will pass and summer running will bring its own rewards and be more meditative, faster and even warmer without these particular obstacles, but for now, I’m enjoying this season and getting the most out of it!

      Secondly, while I run, I often wear my sunglasses to help with the wind and sun glare.  As my face heats up and I am looking toward the sun, the evaporation causes my glasses to fog up. Remember, I just said that in the spring you couldn’t take your eyes off your feet for even one second!  So I reach up and quickly remove the eyewear, so I can have a clear perspective.  This parallel can go really deep, but lets just say that sometimes in life we have to look at things differently.  When you’re facing the sun, it’s nice and warm on your face but when you are running and your run is challenging you, this may cause you to HAVE to remove your former perspective.  Do you get this?!  I’m not going any further here with this.  It can be difficult to take off a former perspective on things.  Especially when my sunglasses cover up my smeared mascara, my unwashed face and it’s inconvenient to take ‘em off right now while I’m running!  This will just take a second as the condensation lifts off almost immediately and I can place them back on really soon. Hang in there life will soon make more sense.  

      Thirdly, when I go out for a run I often observe two types of drivers.  Some drivers move their cars out of my way and even back up just to let me pass by, as if I’m the queen of England!  I always feel so honored and I give them thumbs up and sometimes even two thumbs up!  Once in awhile I will get drivers that can’t stand that pedestrians have the ride away, or in this case the run away.  I am generally careful with traffic patterns and because I am a driver myself, I can think like a driver.  If I see that they can’t take the turn out because of on coming traffic I will go ahead and use that moment to cross by.  It’s simple, kind and rational.  But to a driver who hates you for no reason they will either flip you off for thinking you are a royal heir to the thrown or spin out just to make sure you know how mad they are at you.  I usually say a little prayer for them because I know what it is like to be angry and sad inside.  For the most part I typically see the drivers that insist on pulling the royal carpet out for me as I pass by!  I always feel great on my runs so they get the reward of thumbs up for what it’s worth. 

      Finally, in the spring in Alaska sometimes you have to run in the wrong place or rather an unlikely or unfortunate place.  Like Moses parting the Red Sea, or Gandolf and or like Jim Carrey, in his old 80’s movie called the Truman show, where he completely stopped the traffic, as he was figuring out that something weird was happening.  If you live in Alaska, you know that I am not exaggerating when I say that in the springtime we have some semi flooding going on.  So for a runner, that refuses to be confined to the treadmill, you have to break the rules.  You will simply have no other option.  There is only one place I can go and that is in the middle of the road.  I’m not talking about a highway, just the back roads. This will just take a second if the cars would just wait one minute I’ll run even faster through and then they can have their turn.  Today I did just this.  The Red Sea was parted right down the middle.  On either side was, no exaggeration, about 3 feet of water and a thin line in between where an avid runner could quickly sneak through.  Now, these back roads are not that busy, so there is always a moment that I can squeeze through.  Today I went for a run close to or around the school drop off time.  I didn’t want to cool down too much longer, when I motioned with my hand to an oncoming car that I was going to take my turn and run through.  They seemed to be obliged.  Did they have a choice?  Nope, I took my royal self, crown and all, in between the two gulfs of water.  I ran faster and harder to be fair and then motioned some nice gestures, with a smile as I pointed to the water flow to be sure they understood my reason for running in the middle of the street.  The take-away here is something that I’ve been going through the last few years.  Sometimes life forces you to do things that SEEM like you’re on the wrong path.  But with the right perspective and understanding you can see that sometimes you have to run between the two gulfs of water and stop a small amount of traffic, just for a moment to accomplish what you need to accomplish.  It’s the journey of life and it brings lots of rewards, challenges, and different navigational directives, but the run is worth it and makes for a much better day in the “long Run of life!”

1) In certain seasons of life you will need to navigate differently and face many

            obscure trials and obstacles that are unknown to you.  A friend of mine is

            Inspiring me every day as she is going through a very difficult trial.  A verse

     She posted was this one: Joshua 1:5 God tells us that he will always be with us

      And will never leave us even in the very difficult seasons of our lives.  Thank

      You Nancy for showing us all what Love and Faith look like!

2) Take off your glasses and look at things differently!  Sometimes life will force

      us to remove our former perspective.  Things will fog up!  The very simple

      answer is to look at things differently and take off your previous perspective!

      your obstacles may put you in a vulnerable place but you will see clearly and

      be able to finish your personal run of life.

3)   You will have negative and positive people in your life at all times.  Your haters and your helpers in life.  How to deal with your haters.  Forgive them! They really don’t understand what they are doing.  Cling to your helpers for dear life! Give ‘em a thumbs up, no wait, two thumbs up on your run and thank them profusely!

4)   Finally, sometimes what looks like you are going the wrong direction to some onlookers may actually be the only way to go and in fact, the right way to go in that particular season for your own personal run in life! Isaiah 40:41

Risky business ~ by Laurie Jackson

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“With the risk of being known comes the risk of being misunderstood.”

I posted this on face book today and couldn’t help thinking about all that this means to me.  I felt like writing about it, plus it helps me process my own thoughts as I write them out. 

             If I die knowing that I’ve been my true self, I’ll feel I’ve done what I was made to do, which was to be who God made me to be.  The people I feel mostly loved by are the ones who have taken the time and have the patience and wisdom to understand me.  The people who do this in general are patient, willing and have the power to extend grace. I believe the only way we can extend these good virtues are if we’ve received them for ourselves. The most loving person of all must know you better then you know yourself, have all wisdom and complete understanding… of course I’m talking about God.  This is why God can love us so completely but we can only love him partly.  We just don’t have total omniscience, wisdom and the understanding to do any better.  I believe this is what God is teaching us through his Holy Sprit day to day, to know Him is to Love Him. He has been Misunderstood more then any of us.  My friend Darin Hufford, penned one of the best books I’ve ever read called, The Misunderstood God.  I loved every bit of it!  I’ve been totally frustrated with God and His ways at times and I’m certain I will go through this again, but so far I just end up loving Him all the more after a hard trial, task or wilderness season.

            Identity has been a huge issue in my life albeit to a fault at times.  I’ve always wanted to know my self, motives and purpose for life more than anything else.  I’ve also sought to be perfectly known only to never accomplish this and cause much frustration for myself.  This is where grace and mercy must become a strong force.  To have true intimacy is dangerous but can be tremendously rewarding.  I believe in healthy boundaries, as my personality tends to want to tell all, I’ve had to learn the hard way.  Wisdom will guide us to guard our hearts at times as well as teach us much more in regard to healthy boundaries, especially those of us whose boundaries have been personally violated at any given time.  This is more then likely all of us.

            This seems so sad for God because I don’t feel we people have the full capacity to love Him completely.  The verse 1 Corinthians 13 makes us realize that we will one day see him face to face and be complete in our faith, hope and love! Then I believe we will love God completely and for who He is! We will love Him so completely and so perfectly because He will completely be known and understood by us! Mysteriously we will, in a sense, be swallowed up and consumed by Love Himself. 

I’m not so into being pure that tends to make me religious, pious and fake but I’m into being real, this always leads me to the truth and you know what that does right?  Sets us Free!  I used to be completely disconnected with my true feelings for reasons that are deep, boring and dealt with for the most part, plus this blog is not about all that healing stuff.  When I was disconnected I heard the Lord speak to me in my heart and tell me to become connected to my real feelings.  This was a long and often terrifying process but yet the beginning of a real authentic relationship with God as well as myself.  At first this didn’t help with other relationships except the one I had with God but in the long run it’s been the biggest reward in my life.  As God adds wisdom and more health to my life this journey seems to become even more fruitful! Life can feel so hard sometimes and I’ve even blamed God for not understanding me. LOL!  That didn’t go over well because I knew deep inside that this was a goofy thought.  But He loves when we hash stuff out with him with our true thoughts and feelings. He already knows what we are thinking and feeling so its important we come to Him completely honest.  He didn’t create robots but rather real people, with real hearts, opinions and we’ve all been given each the same amount of faith. It seems like the more connected I am to my true self, the more connected I can be with God, just because I’m conversing on a pure and honest level.

  I suppose we just need to allow Him to take us by the hand and keep walking with Him as He does the real work in us. Sometimes He has to stop with us, wait with us, watch us turn the other direction and finally He will often carry us too. I feel sad that I’ve caused my savior grief by not trusting Him, even though I realize now, that He can not only handle it but that He understands why I have acted the way I have. He walks with me and He talks with me and tells me I am His own. It is good to be known so well and still completely, totally and so lavishly loved at the same time!

Captain Hook Versus Peter Pan and Tinker Bell!

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Captain Hook Versus Peter Pan and Tinker Bell!

Here are my observations about us people so far.  We start out one way and end up another only to be compelled to seek out and go back to where we started.  Our change isn’t just crows feet and gray hair, unless you color it, no one really knows how much gray you have, not even ourselves but our thoughts and ways about life change.  Youth seems to bring a natural humility and innocence to it but then the worries of the world come along and we become anxious and “try” to be self-sufficient.  When Jesus attempts to teach us about being child-like He is trying to bring us to a place of not worrying and attaining the humility and trust of a child.  The only difference is that we have much more to worry about and therefore we have tons more to give up and trust God for. Our faith is essential to God and He will do anything to help us enter into His “eternal riches and glory.”  For the sake of this metaphor though we’ll call it “Never, Never Land.”   This seems to be the Dichotomy of the spiritual freedom that some of us have tasted, some have never known and the really mature spiritual ones have learned to walk and stay in the place of child-like humility.  There is an amazing rest here for the ones who are so tired and worn out with all their own self-sufficiency and striving.  It seems to be harder for the ones like Peter, who had been there but then got caught up in fear and doubt and the worries of the world.  Why is it always Peter?!!!

In the movie, Hook, where Peter Pan returns, reminds us of the part of the change that we want and should try to resist.  “I’m never growing up!” says Peter Pan.  The catch 22 is that getting older is inevitable as we have more to worry about and the more we are pushed passed our own limitations the more we have to give up and trust a so called good God for. This is not an easy feat as we can see in the metaphorical movie script.  It’s hard to imagine some people who can handle so much on their own.  For some of us it doesn’t take much stress to force us to our knees and call out for help but for others it seems that they can spend all their lives in a type of hell/pride and self-sufficiency just like Captain Hook!  This place is exhausting for some of us to live their too terribly long and at some point we break down and finally come to the end of our own resources and cry out for help like a child or let’s say we become like Peter Pan again. This is a sign of true humility and strength versus pride and self-sufficiency, not to be confused with being a victim, which is just more self-sufficiency trying to disguise its self in a false humility.  This seems to be a layer-by-layer process opposed to a onetime deal or experience with God. Tinker-Bell is the Spiritual metaphor that can lead us to freedom.  Obviously this blog is not intended to make us believers of fairies but maybe they do exist when we’re on our summer hikes, giggling in the trees?  

 Anyway the story about Peter Pan is a great lesson and reminder for us to try and believe.  Believe what?  The story never really conveys the “What” but yet in the movie, Captain Hook The Return Of Peter Pan, reveals what ends up motivating Peter is the fear of losing his children.  This seems to do it every time.  The motivation of actually losing what we love most, seems to be the only thing that can move us into this place of spiritual freedom.  It may be adventurous to say that Peter starts out with the love for his kids and then ends up loving himself better as he finds his inner child again.  Some of us may need to begin at believing that love even exists and that we ourselves are greatly loved.  The stress, danger, wars and evil in our world do not seem to help us trust God with this but that’s where Tinker Bell sprinkles her magic fairy dust because in the end we are not really in charge of anything, even our spiritual journey itself needs to be given up and surrendered to God.  Great movie to re-watch this Christmas Season!  Have a very Merry Christmas!      

Dialogue with God. by Laurie Jackson.

Dialogue with God.

(Maybe I’m 10 yrs old)

Can you believe me Laurie?

Uhmm, maybe?  Can you help me?

Absolutely!  Can you trust me?

I’ll try to?

Smile from God.

I see you kinda, and maybe trust you a little.

(Years go by)

(Teens to 20ish)

Lord are you there, really?

Yes always.

Why the pain?

Silence from God.

Are you real?

Can you believe me?

Yes, will you help me believe you?

Yes always!

(More years pass 20’s…1…2,..3 etc.. )

Lord I need to know if you are really real?

I am!

How do I know for sure?

Keep asking.

Ok.

(A few more years go by)

No more alcohol for joy and peace I know you are the better source for this!

Yes I am.

I quit…. Where are you?!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m here with you.

Where is joy and peace?!

In me.

How do I get it?

Silence from God….

(A yr or so later..)

Why am I so depressed, discontent and dead inside?

Can you trust me?

Yes, I will.  Will you please give me relief and some joy? I haven’t been drinking I’ve been waiting for you!!!!!!!?

Yes!  Here is a hunger for my truth… read on… I’ll reveal to you my love in Jesus’ life.

Oh my goodness!  I love this.  The bible never was this exciting to me ever!

I’m giving you revelation!

Thank you… so I can’t give myself the revelation?

Hell to the “know”… revelation comes only from me.

You wanted this and your heart was receptive to the true gospel.

Thank you Lord so much for Jesus…. I love Jesus!

(A few more yrs go by..28, 29… etc….)

Where are you Lord, I’m still struggling so much but I know you are good!

Can you trust me more?

Yes… with what?

Will you do something that makes you scared?

Yes!  No wait. That!????? No way… ok…scared.. you’ll help me I know.

(One day goes by)

I can’t do this I need to pass it off!!!!… frantic phone calls… a word aptly spoken from a true sister in Christ….

(I was asked to lead worship for a small group and this freaked me out… insecurity galore!  Very afraid! She said something that challenged my inner spirit “you can’t lead where you are not going.”  This spoke volumes to me and basically said to me that if I would authentically worship God myself as I led with the music that I chose to use for leading the worship sets, then God would give me the ability and strength, little did I know I would find great Joy in His spirit and find a taste of freedom that I’d never known existed.  This went on for over a decade and God taught me much about surrendering to him.  He never forced me, only asked me.)

(around 33 ish… etc… )

Lord, I’m still so restless.  I haven’t touched, needed or wanted alcohol and have only sought you for Joy and peace but I still feel so empty and often scared.  I’m tired.. So tired of being scared.

(A book and word aptly spoken, ”Practicing the Presence of God”)

I began seeking His presence and truth with all my heart.

March 3^rd 3:00 in the morning 2002… He touched me with His love it is to this day the most amazing experience I’ve ever had in God!  It’s indescribable other than that I felt his love for me and loved others in a divine way. I continued to seek his touch for years and learned that I must seek His face now and not his hand if I wanted to go further with Him.)

Lord!  Please I need your touch again!  I’ve been ruined by your presence I can’t enjoy normal living. I need your manifest presence again please please please!

Silence…

(A couple of years later)

Lord?

Seek my face not my hand.

Ok… show me how..?

(More and more revelation from glory to glory and even some manifestations but never as intense as march 3^rd.)

I was becoming familiar with God now and our dialogue changed.

Isn’t that funny Lord?

I hear Him laughing… in the spirit.. can’t explain it.

I just love her Lord.

He speaks insights about her and we enjoy her together.

Help me love this person Lord.

He gives me insights and opportunities to love.

Thank you so much Lord.. I’m so blessed to love and serve her and you.

(A few years of this..My family, friend’s, neighbors, prisoner’s and amazing love!)

The dialogue is less wordy and more feel.

Seeking

Finding

From Glory to Glory

I love to know you Lord.  How lovely is your dwelling place help me to know you more and more.  You are the treasure that I seek.  I trust you with this journey with all the pain and pure delight together.

Can you trust me Laurie?

Yes!  Will you help me?

Absolutely. You know I will!

I know

We both smile at each other.

Three years ago, around 41-ish, He asked me to trust him with something very precious to me, I barely said yes…. I was confused for three years… I learned a lot about myself and Him.  He revealed deep doubts and replaced them with trust.  I would have not said yes had I’d known the loneliness and emptiness that I’d face all over again. The storm has subsided and love and joy seem to be more constant and less like a roller coaster now.

What do you think about that storm Laurie?

I think you protected my loved ones and asked me to give up a cherished friendship.

It will be whole one day.

Yes, I trust you for this Lord.

We both smile! 

Thinking For Your Self. by Laurie Jackson

Thinking For Your self!

My mother always told me that I didn’t follow the crowd and that I would just do what I wanted, which was sometimes with the crowd but often times not!

As a kid I always liked everyone for the most part.  In high school and in junior high I wasn’t oblivious of the clicks but I constantly countered the pressure to be in one of them.  It was a natural instinct in me.  I later married a “black man” and depending on which side of this country you lived on this was “against the grain” so to speak.  I had “home-births” and decided to “home-school” as well as be a “stay at home” mom!  Being a Christian and follower of Jesus has been my own decision and not based on churchy people, parents or friends.  In fact many years ago I was ready to give up the whole Jesus thing, which made me seek out many answers to my deep- hearted questions in life.  I know better now as to why I believe the way I do and that is good for me.  

The interesting thing that happens when you make choices based on your own “thinkage” is that you don’t feel the need to argue, persuade or force someone to feel, think or choose like yourself.  You lose the need to convince another as a means to feel more secure about your own decision because you’ve already made it in a healthy and stable way.   This has brought much freedom in my life.  Lots of so called, non-conformity in my life choices and I won’t even get into political by- partisan issues!  Sheesh!   Each time I was met with disdain or opposition and differences of opinion I usually listened and thought through the arguments.  One question to ask your self in these situations is, “do I want to be like this person that I’m following?”  Truly I look back and this is what I definitely did and still practice doing today.  Typically I come back to my original decision but being open-minded has convinced me to do the opposite as well.  At least I knew that I wasn’t setting out to make a decision simply based on trying to be a “non conformist” which by the way, I rejected that click as well.  At the end of the day I am glad about my decision making process and it comes down to thinking for yourself and not allowing persuasion to move you with dysfunction.

             Recently I’ve looked into On-line schools and after thinking it through and researching much.  I’ve come to my conclusion.  There is a stigma to all of the things I’ve mentioned above and there is one to on-line schools as well that I’m willing to deal with.  This goes on and on depending to whom you are talking to.  This school that school, Christian or home-school, working mom, stay at home mom, rich, poor, black or white.  Seriously we will be tossed to and fro if we don’t know why we think the way we do.  This doesn’t always mean you think you are right but rather you made a decision in the right way for the right reasons.  This isn’t a quick and easy route!  The quick and easy route is to follow the masses.  The wise and stable way to make decisions is laborious and time consuming.  Most people will not take the time to even think anymore.  I see this so much in our health care system.  Do what the doctor says because they must know best?  Not a good way to process.  I’ve learned that to trust God and seek his wisdom with my decisions, to have a stabilizing affect.  James 1:6 “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.”  This has proven to bring much peace and stability in my life.  

               I’ve seen myself and others be tossed back and forth like a piece of garbage in a windstorm by the media, advertising and even their own friends and family.  This political season is bringing so much of this type of wind, in fact, it’s a storm and no one seems to be going inside to just think alone.  If you try thinking for yourself, you’ll have to face opposition, disdain, prejudice and more.  This is the truth but it does set you free from the storm.