Healing Childhood Experiences

[free2bunme]

Healing Childhood Experiences

Part 1

Robert Elias Najemy


Our childhood experiences pretty much determine our self-image, perceptions of reality, emotions reactions and thus, in essence, our reality.

If we really want to be free from these self-limiting influences we will have to discover them and transform them. Such work requires an experienced guide, but this list may help you get started.

The first step is to make a list of the childhood experiences which may have developed into mistaken perceptions of reality which cause us today to create lives of lesser health, happiness, fulfillment and harmony.

Possible Childhood Experiences

Following you will find a list of possible childhood experiences. Perhaps they may not have occurred exactly as described here, but may have been similar.
Also, they mind may reminded of something else.
These childhood experiences may have created a mistaken, inferior image of ourselves, others and life in general.
Wherever the questions refer to your parents or other persons of your childhood, think not only of the parents, but also of grandparents, stepmothers, stepfathers, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, cousins, teachers and other people existed in your life as a child and up to the age of 18.

Chose from these and any other experiences those, which you believe, may have caused you as a child to develop false beliefs or emotions around some issues.

For each experience, you will want to discover:

a. What emotions you felt then as a child?
b. What beliefs about yourself, others and life were created in your mind then as a child?
c. What were your unfulfilled needs at that time?

1. Was there someone who got angry with you, scolded you, rejected you or accused you? Who and when?

2. Were there people who fought among themselves or rejected or hurt one another? Who and when?

3. Have you ever experienced the feeling of abandonment (Perhaps because of the death or separation of parents)? Were you ever left alone, or felt that others didn?t understand you (or were distant ? aloof), or that there was no support? When? By whom? How?

4. Did you ever feel the need for more affection, tenderness or expression of love? From whom and when (during which periods)?

5. Were there persons in your environment who were often ill or who spoke often of illness? Who and when?

6. Did you ever experience the feeling of humiliation in the presence of others or in connection with others? In which cases?

7. Were you ever compared to others as to whether you were less or more capable or worthy? To whom, in which instances, and in connection with which abilities or character traits?

8. Have you ever lost a loved one? Who and when?

9. Did anyone ever approach you sexually without your consent?

10. Were you ever aware of your parents or anyone else making love? Who and when? How did you feel and what did you think?

11. Did your parents ever state that you were the only reason they continued staying together and that that had been a big sacrifice on their part? Or, did they ever tell you they have sacrificed a great deal for your sake, and that you are indebted to them? Who? When? About what matters? What exactly do you owe them?

12. Did they ever accuse you of being the cause for their unhappiness or illness or problems? Who accused you and about what exactly? What did they mean that it was your fault, what does this fact mean to you? According to them what should you have done?

13. Did they ever tell you that you are not going to achieve anything in your life, that you are lazy or incapable, or dumb? Who, when and concerning what matters?

14. Were you ever caught playing with your genitals (alone or with others) and did anyone make you feel guilty for that? Who? When? What was their message?

15. Did they often speak about guilt and punishment (either from some person (parent, police or God)? Who? When? About what types of guilt and what type of punishment?

16. Did any teacher ever make you feel humiliated in front of other children? When? How? Concerning what?

17. In the company of other children, did you ever feel rejection or inferiority? By whom, and inferior by what criteria?

18. Were you ever told that you were responsible for your siblings or for others in general, and that whatever happens to them is your responsibility? Who did? About whom? Concerning what matters were you responsible?

19. Were you ever made to understand by some way (negative or positive) that, in order for someone to be acceptable and lovable, one must:
a. Be better than the others?
b. Be first at everything?
c. Be perfect, without faults?
d. Be intelligent and clever?
e. Be handsome / beautiful?
f. Have perfect order and cleanliness at home?
g. Have great success in his/her love life?
h. Have financial and social success?
i. Be accepted by everyone -- him?
j. Be active in many ways? Achieve many things?
k. Always satisfy the needs of others?
l. Never say "no" to others?
m. Not to express his/her needs?

20. Did they ever make you understand in some way that you are incapable of thinking, making decisions or achieving things by yourself, and that you will always need to listen to advice and depend on others? Who passed on this message to you? About what matters are you supposedly "incapable" of making decisions or handling properly?

21. Did you ever have role models (parents, older siblings or others) who were, or still are, very dynamic and competent so that you felt:
a. The need to be like them?
b. The need to prove your worth; to be like them, to reach or even surpass these models?
c. Despair, self-rejection, abandonment of effort, perhaps self-destructive (possibly subconscious) tendencies because you believed you could never measure up to them?

22. Has there ever been in your environment someone with unexpected, unpredictable, nervous or even schizophrenic behavior (possibly alcoholic or drug addict) so that you might not know what to expect from him or her? Has there been violence (physical or psychological)? By whom and what was the behavior like?

23. Have you felt rejection towards or shameful about one or both of your parents? Why?

24. Did you ever make the discovery that one of your parents has had an extra-marital affair? When and under what circumstances? How did you feel about that?

25. Did they speak to you often about "God the punisher"?

26. Did you ever feel that they told you one thing but did another, that there was no consistency between their words and actions, that they had a double standard, one for themselves and another for the others, or that they were hypocrites, false and not true? Who and when? Concerning what topics?

27. Upon what was your parents? security based? a) on money?, b) on the opinion of others? c) on education? d) on personal power? e) on the unity of the family? f) on property? g) on one?s spouse? h) other?

28. Were you a spoiled child that always had whatever it wanted and to whom no one ever refused a favor? If so, what effect did that have on you?

29. Did they suppress your freedom of movement and expression? Did they force you to do things you did not want to do? (study, visits, dress). Did they forbid you to do things you wanted to do? What were you forced to do or prevented from doing?

30. (For Women) Did they in some way make you understand that since you are a girl:
a. You are worth less than a man?
b. You are not safe without a man?
c. Sex is dirty (a sin)?
d. In order to be socially acceptable you must get married?
e. You are less competent than men are?
f. Your only mission is to serve others?
g. You must not express your needs, your feelings or your opinions?
h. You must submit yourself to your husband?
i. You must be beautiful to be acceptable?

31. (For Men) Did they in some way make you understand that since you are a boy:
a. You must be strong?
b. You must be superior, more competent, stronger and more intelligent than your wife?
c. Your worth is measured according to your sexual prowess?
d. Your worth is measured according to your professional (financial) success?
d. You must compare yourself with other men?

[free2bunme]

Healing Childhood Experiences

Part 2

Mistaken Conclusions

Robert Elias Najemy

We suggest that you also read the parts previous and following to this.


As children we tend to make many false conclusions about reality, usually burdening ourselves with the responsibility for everything including our parents? anger, absence, abandonment, unhappiness, illness, separation, death etc.

We tend to conclude that there is something wrong with us and that we do not good and do not deserve the health, happiness, love and attention we need.

Possible Mistaken Childhood Conclusions

Please make a mark next to beliefs or feelings which you have observed in yourself, so that you can work on them in the next stage.

Some possible false beliefs might be:

1. I must be like the others in order for them to accept me.
2. If they do not love and accept me, I am not safe.
3. If others do not accept me, I am not worthy.
4. I must be "right" in order to be worthy and for them to love me.
5. I must be perfect in order for others to accept me and love me.
6. I must be better than others in order to be worthy.
7. I must have _____________ in order to be safe.
8. I must have _____ in order to worthy.
9. I must achieve ________in order to be worthy.
10. I must be loved and accepted by those close to me in order to be happy.
11. In order to feel worthy I must be able and successful.
12. My happiness is not in my own hands. I am the victim of external factors.

13. My self-worth is dependent on:
a. What others think of me.
b. The results of my efforts.
c. My appearance
d. My money and fortune.
e. My knowledge
f. How I compare to others.
g. If I am married.
h. My professional position.
i. Other __________

14. I am safe only if I have:
a. A spouse
b. Money
c. Specific persons in my life
d. The others? approval
e. Other ________

15. I am responsible for the others? reality, (Their health safety, happiness, success, and satisfaction
16. Others are responsible for my reality and how I feel.
17. I am not a good person.
18. I?m unworthy, no matter what I do.
19. I?m unworthy when I?m scolded, rejected, accused or when others are angry at me.
20. I?m in danger when others are angry at me, when they scold, accuse or reject me.
21. People don?t love me.
22. I?m responsible for the others? misery.
23. I?m alone in life.
24. I am unprotected, vulnerable, in danger. (
25. No one wants to be with me.
26. I?m not worthy of a permanent, steady relationship - I will be abandoned.
27. There is no steady support, friendship, love in this world, or, if there is, I cannot have it or I am not worthy of it.
28. I am unworthy of affection, tenderness or expression of love.
29. I am and will be treated unjustly. There is no justice.
30. I cannot have what I want or what I need.
31. I must not ask for what I want.
32. The human body is weak and vulnerable to illness and pain.
33. It?s my fault when someone close to me is ill.
34. I have no right to be happy or in a good mood when others are sick.
35. Illness shows weakness and I must not get sick so as not to show weakness.
36. My self-worth is measured in relation to how I compare with others.
37. Others accept me and want me only if they believe me to be strong and superior.
38. Others don?t love me enough to stay with me.
39. I cannot trust men (women).
40. Those of the opposite sex want me only for my body.
41. Sex is violence.
42. The sexual act is violent and causes pain.
43. The sexual act is dirty and brutal.
44. I must definitely repay others what they have given me.
45. I don?t want to receive anything from anyone because then I?ll be indebted to them. I will not be free.
46. I am always obligated to others no matter what I do.
47. I must sacrifice what I believe in and want, in order to satisfy my parents (or others).
48. The others are obliged to me for what I do for them.
49. I ?m guilty (responsible) for the others? reality (for their health, peace, success etc.
50. I have no right to be well, happy, in a good mood or to rest when others have problems or are not well.
51. Others are responsible for my unhappiness, illness, failure.
52. I must save others and the world. People are incapable of doing it themselves.
53. Others don?t know, they must listen to me. I must solve their problems.
54. I cannot have confidence in others to do things because they might make mistakes.
55. If I don?t do it, no one will.
56. I am treated unjustly because I always help and sacrifice myself for others, but they don?t help me when I need help.
57. I must be always strong, must never show weakness or ask for help
58. I am incapable.
59. I?m not intelligent.
60. I will be unable to succeed in my purpose.
61. I am bad, dirty and guilty because I have sexual drives, feelings or needs.
62. I am unworthy of God?s love.
63. I am a sinner, and God does not love me.
64. God will punish me in life. Bad things will definitely happen.
65. Things cannot be always pleasant.
66. Teachers and people of authority want to oppress me, to make me feel inferior, hurt me.
67. I am in danger of being controlled by those in positions of power.
68. We must fight authority.
69. Others will laugh at me, make fun of me.
70. Others cannot be trusted.

[free2bunme]

Healing Childhood Experiences

Part 3

Beginning Transformation

Robert Elias Najemy

We suggest that you also read the parts previous and following to this.



Having recognized some of our childhood experiences and mistaken conclusions in parts 1 &2, here we continue to investigate the messages we received as children through people?s words, behaviors or attitudes.

If this process causes you to feel disturbed, seek the help of an experienced professional. If possible find an practitioner trained in TFT, EFT or EMDR.

Questionnaire for Getting Acquainted with our Inner Child

Complete the following sentences with as many answers as come to you mind:

1. As a child, I heard that my most significant faults were.....

2. As a child, I felt guilt for /when ....

3. Messages I received about God were ...

4. Messages I received sex were ...

5. Messages I received about money were ...

6. I felt rejection when...

7. I felt fear whenÉ

8. I felt anger whenÉ

9. I felt shame or inferiority when...

10. I felt secure whenÉ

11. I felt peace when É

12. I felt loved whenÉ

13. I felt love whenÉ

13. I felt happy whenÉ

Procedure for Liberation from Childhood Wounds and Obstacles Toward Emotional Harmony and Happiness


A. Daily Communication with the Child Within

This can be done daily as an exercise in itself or as a prelude to meditation or prayer.

1. Sit or lie down with the spine straight.

2. Relax the entire body and mind with any relaxing or concentration technique.

3. Now imagine or feel your inner child and communicate with it.
a. Ask it how it feels.
b. Ask if it has some needs it would like to satisfy.
c. Express to the child your needs and goals as an adult.

4. Give it the positive reinforcement it needs to hear about love, security and worth.

5. Embrace the child mentally with tenderness and love.
a. Feel the child in your arms and then
b. Identify with the small body and feel yourself inside the embrace; accept the love and tenderness offered to you.

B. Analysis

1. Write the story of your childhood years.
a. Add whatever additional memories you remember each day.
b. It doesn?t need to be in chronological order.
c. You can write in the third or first person.
d. Ask others (parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, grandparents) what they remember.
e. Look at old pictures and seek to remember how you felt then.

2. Questionnaire for the analysis of unpleasant childhood experiences

Now choose the experiences, beliefs or emotions, which you would like to transform:

Having done so, we now move on to the following process.

a. Describe an experience or general situation which was unpleasant, that made you feel fear, sorrow, guilt, rejection, danger, injustice, jealousy or any other unpleasant emotion.

b. What were the exact emotions which you had as a child?

c. What thoughts or to what conclusions did you arrive as a child because of this experience or situation?

d. In what way did you react then as a child?

e. What effect did this experience have upon you later in your life or even today?

f. If you could have been at that time absolutely open and honest, what would you have said to your parents or to others who played a role (or who were with you) in this event or in this situation?
1. What did you feel then as a child?
2. What were your needs and desires?
3. What did you want them to do or not do?

(Write the answer in the second person to your parents and / or to others as if you were speaking to them or writing them a letter).

When you finish with one experience or situation, go on to another and another, answering the same questions.

3. Write letters to the people who played an important role in the unpleasant experiences of your childhood (parents, teachers, uncles, aunts, siblings, grandparents & others).

a. Communicate totally openly and honestly.

b. Add new thoughts and feelings each day.

c. No necessity for chronological order.

d. Express how you felt at that young age (not how you see it or explain it now).

e. Release and express your negative (and positive) feelings.

f. Express your needs, feelings, desires and thoughts you had at that time.

Note: It is not necessary to give these letters to the people you are writing them to, only to have expressed them yourself. In some cases, however, once you are clear about this, and have released the emotional charge concerning theses issues, you may want to communicate verbally or in writing with those concerned ? whether they are living or not.

Remember however that life has given you the experiences you need to proceed in your evolutionary process and that you have probably gained much internally from all this.

4. Read the letters to someone who is experienced in active listening.

a. If you find that the reading causes strong feelings, express and release them, before you continue reading. Don?t hold these emotions locked inside you.

b. You may need to read these letters additional times until the emotional charge is released.

If you can find a practitioner experienced TFT, EFT or EMDR, you will be able to get free even more quickly from these emotions.

[free2bunme]

Healing Childhood Experiences

Part 4

Positive Affirmations

Robert Elias Najemy

We suggest that you also read the parts previous and following to this.


The next step in healing the Inner Child is to free it from its mistaken perceptions of itself, others and life.

This will require first that we are able to some degree erase our old programming so that the new beliefs can be recorded. Otherwise, it is like recording new music on an old cassette, which we have not erased. We will hear two pieces if music at the same time.

Programming our minds with positive affirmations is useful and important but it does necessarily remove what is previously recorded.

Getting Free from the old Mistaken Beliefs

These old emotionally charged beliefs can be most effectively be removed by the following, all of which require experienced and dependable guides.

1. Regressions to our childhood years where we first release (perhaps through some sort of catharsis) and then transform our conclusions based on what happened. We do not change what happened, but rather the conclusions we made. So when we remember an angry or violent parent, for example, but realize that our self-worth and inner security are not in danger.

2. EMDR, which has, pretty much the same effect, but usually is quicker and more effective.

3. TFT or EFT heal the energy fields associated with these memories and often allow us to quickly and painlessly get free from the old emotions and perceptions.

Programming the Mind with Positive Affirmations

We can then move on to strengthen our belief in logical or spiritual truth.

This can be done in many ways. Some are:

1. Make signs of these or similar phrases and place them where you will see them often.

2. Write these phrases many times, or repeat them verbally often, so as to reprogram the subconscious mind.

3. Make deep relaxation or mind control and repeat these phrases into the relaxed and receptive mind.
We will give more details about that in future parts of this series.

4. Think deeply about them and attempt to discover in which situations you forget these truths and act without clarity and responsibility. Practice remembering these truths even in those moments of despair or emotional upset.

They are much more effective and lasting in their results than any type of tranquilizer or other chemical substances.

These attitudinal changes compliment and make more effective any other efforts toward self-healing, such as physical exercises, breathing techniques, cleansing techniques, proper diet, fasting, relaxation, mind control and meditation.

Possible Messages from us to our Inner Child

1. I love you and accept you exactly as you are.

2. I appreciate you and respect you.

3. I feel affection and tenderness for you.

4. You are free to do what you like, provided you are not hurting anybody.

5. You are capable and strong.

6. There is an infinite spiritual power within you, which protects you from illness, events and dangers.

7. Your body is healthy and strong and resistant to illness.

8. You live in a wise divine plan which brings to you only what is useful for your development.

9. You selected your parents and the events of your childhood and thus you created the perfect conditions for your development.

10. There is a Divine Power, which guides you from within.

11. There is within you an all-wise voice that leads you correctly in your life. Follow it.

12. You have the right and the responsibility to express your inner strength and beauty creatively.

13. You deserve love and respect from everyone, regardless of your appearance, social position, profession, knowledge, achievements and what others think of you.

14. Your self-worth is the same as that of every other soul, no more no less.

15. No one else can create or have the responsibility for your happiness, health or success.

16. You can help others but cannot create or assume responsibility for their happiness, health or success.

17. You are an eternal, divine consciousness in the process of developing the ability to express the beauty that exists within you.

18. Everything is Divine. There is no one or thing that is not the expression of the one universal consciousness - you are no exception.

19. It is not necessary to live your life according to the convictions or expectations of your parents or others. Love, respect and help them, but live according to your principles, needs and convictions.

20. Your parents are two eternal souls in a process of evolution whom you selected to play these roles in this incarnation. Your only real parent is God.

21. You have the same worth, wisdom, strength, and rights as the two eternal souls who played the role of your parents.

22. Whatever they did to harm you was out of ignorance or fear.

23. Your parents were once children who were programmed by their parents.

Important Note:

Some of us may have stored emotionally charged memories in our subconscious. We need to release these from our energy system in order to create health, happiness, peace, clarity, evolution and harmonious relationships.

Working with them, however, in some cases, may temporarily bring to the surface some unpleasant or disturbing feelings. We are of course experiencing these negative energies subconsciously and psychosomatically anyway.

Some guidelines for proceeding would be:

1. If you are going to work with your childhood experiences or any other intense emotions and especially depression, you should have an experienced guide for this work. Someone whom you trust and have access to if you need help.

2. Do not do such work immediately before sleeping, driving or important meetings.

[free2bunme]

Healing Childhood Experiences

Part 5

Positive Projection

Robert Elias Najemy


We suggest that you also read the parts previous and following to this.

The next step in healing the Inner Child is to strengthen even more our positive beliefs about ourselves others and life.

Some of the positive beliefs we may want to strengthen are:

Stress Eliminating Affirmations

Our thoughts create our reality.
We attract to ourselves that which we believe about our selves, others an life. The more positive our thoughts, the more positive our reality.
Here are some Affirmations which create a more positive, happier more fulfilling reality.

A. About Ability and Security

1. Anxiety solves no problems ? actions do.

2. Some problems are problems only because I believe them to be.

3. I have the inner power and strength to deal with whatever life brings me.

4. I am capable of handling any possible events or situations.

5. I feel safe and secure in every situation.

6. While making my own sincere effort, I entrust my life, my family and the results of all my efforts into God?s (the Universe's) wise and just judgment.

7. Life gives me in each moment exactly what I need in every situation in order to be happy, perform my life and purpose and grow spiritually.

8. I am intelligent and capable enough to succeed in any endeavor which is important to me.

B. About Self-Worth

1. My self-worth is a function of my inner being (of who I am) and not what others think of me or how much I accomplish.

2. The results of my efforts depend on many different factors; one of which is my efforts.

3. My self worth is totally independent of any external factors such as: intelligence, wealth, my home, appearance, talents, professional success, my children?s success, being attractive to the opposite sex, making friends, disciplines, "spiritual" activities.

4. I am worthy of love and respect even when I am not perfect in what I do and even when I make mistakes.

5. My self-worth is totally independent of whether others agree with me or are satisfied with me.

6. My self-worth is totally independent of how people behave towards me.

7. My self-worth is totally independent of how much others work or how they work or what they believe about me.

8. My self-worth is a reflection of my divine nature and not my gender, religion, social class etc.

9. I am a good person, a worthy person.

C. Freedom and Love

1. I respect and love all persons (especially my parents and family) without feeling any need whatsoever to live my life according to their beliefs or values. I live my life in harmony with my inner values and beliefs.

2. I am in no way responsible for other people?s reality but only for my own motives and behavior towards them.

3. No one else is responsible for my reality. I am totally responsible for what I attract, feel and experience in life.

4. I am responsible for the purity of my motives and quality of my efforts and not for the results of my efforts or how they effect others.

5. All beings deserve my love and respect, including myself

6. I understand that others act negatively out of fear.

7. I am free in each moment to be myself.

8. No one can limit my freedom unless I need something from them.

9. Real freedom is freedom from fears, needs and false limiting beliefs.

10. Real freedom is the ability to do what ever is in my best interest as a soul in the process of evolution.

11. Real freedom is the freedom to experience peace, love and happiness regardless of what happens or others? behavior.

Strengthening our Beliefs

You can strengthen these beliefs in some of the following ways:

1. Written Affirmations

One way of working these new concepts more deeply into the mind is to write them many times each day. As you write or repeat them twenty times a day, you will observe various reactions, positive and negative from your conscious and subconscious mind. You would do well to record these reactions. You can understand much about yourself, your blockages and how to transcend them. This technique is given in detail in the book «The Psychology Of Happiness».

2. Affirmations in Deep Relaxation

This is perhaps the most effective way to reprogram our minds with positive affirmations. In deep relaxation the messages can penetrate into our subconscious minds, and thus, changes are made in the roots of our being.

3. Affirmations in our Sleep
We can also program cassettes to be played in the hour before we wake up so that the affirmation will go directly into our subconscious mind and not be filtered and rejected by the conscious mind.

4. Subliminal Messages on Cassettes
One can also purchase or create «subliminal» cassettes in which messages are recorded at a level very low on a cassette with peaceful music. Consciously you hear only the music and not the positive affirmations which are recorded at a subliminal level. According to the advocates of this method, these messages can then bypass the conscious mind and its rational filters which block out whatever we have been programmed not to believe.

5. Letter Writing
Writing a letter in which we state our positive beliefs to a father, mother, uncle, aunt, spouse, child or any other loved one can seriously strengthen that belief within. This is important because our family is often the last place we experience new beliefs.

6. Cards And Signs
Make cards with various positive phrases which you want to remember. Place them around your home, your car and your place of work or whenever your eyes will fall on them frequently. Make large signs which you can decorate nicely and place them in your home and office. Find other creative ways to remind yourselves of these spiritual truths.

7. Write Poems or Make Songs
Write poems, make songs out of them and sign them. Repeat them as you are walking driving, cleaning, cooking or doing anything which doesn?t require you full conscious attention

[Laura12]

Hey :)

Thanks for putting up this questionnaire. I haven't completed all of it yet, but I've found this post really useful. Incidentally I'm currently waiting on my first counselling session, so this has helped me organise my thoughts on my childhood and to see them more clearly.

[Lesley]

I am attending therapy tomorrow and I am doing part one of your questionnaire tonight. I am in the middle of my healing grieving stage, I'm sure this questionnaire will put things into perspective. Ty for posting it up xx

[hummingbird]

TY for bumping this thread back to the top, Lesley...

I started a new job today, so as usual, had to do silent Yogic Meditation counting (a calming, focusing technique,) and say a prayer under my breath to get through all the obstacles on the way to work, LOL.

Some of the obstacles we all face in life may change--but because it *is* a journey with "hills and valleys," to be truly alive must require that we face them as best we can. I realized today that as long as I am an *active participant* in life, these challenges will be an inevitable part of it--so maybe instead of being angry/frustrated/feeling somehow gypped because things often don't go my way, maybe I just need to change my perhaps somewhat idealistic expectations, ha ha. :lol:

That and work my tail off against the forces of entropy which otherwise have a tendency to pull "the best-laid plans of mice and men" apart...And do my best to have faith that if HP wills it, even humble tools like a slingshot and a rock can bring down Goliath. Victory can mean very different things to different people, as we know!

Re free2bunme's ending Signature quotes, I've noticed before that certain quotes from St. Teresa of Avila also parallel some of the Baha'i Scripture. For example, they both have used the metaphor of 7 Valleys or 4 Valleys to represent life experiences. Since M. Scott Peck says that when you recognize more coincidences occurring in your life, it's a sign that you're on the right spiritual path, I will take this as a "sign" :D :29:

My favorite, short Baha'i prayer, which I say to chill myself out, is very similar to St. Teresa's words. (It's an abstract of a longer version, but these parts I find particularly helpful "reminders"):

"Strengthen my hand, O My God
that it may take hold of thy book
with such steadfastness
that the hosts of the world shall have no power over it.
Thou art the mighty and the powerful.

God testifieth that there is none other God but him--
the help in peril, the self-subsisting."