Is life showing up for you the way you want it to? Are you happy, joyous and free or merely scraping by? If life is not showing up for you the way you want, there's something you can do about it! You may not be able to change your actual circumstances, however you can change your thinking about the circumstances. After all, it's not the actual circumstances that cause us to be happy, joyous and free--it's our thinking. And the exciting part is that we always have control over our reactions. Think about this for a moment--really think about it.

If you're not master of your thoughts, who is?

The miracle of this is that when we become aware that we're always at choice about how we respond to any situation, we can begin to choose thoughts that support us, rather than those which keep us locked in a state of unhappiness.

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, had a saying: "Change your thinking, change your life." This simple statement holds the key to manifesting a happy, joyous and free life, regardless of our circumstances. All happiness, all joy and all freedom begins within each of us. It begins as thought.

Such a simple statement, and yet our minds like to get in the way and tell us surely it must be more complicated-surely there is more to it. In our technological, scientific age we trick ourselves into believing something must be really difficult if it is to bring rewards. Often it's the simplest things that take the most discipline and practice. When we let go of negativity, by changing our thinking, miracles abound. When we surrender to the good that God has for us, miracles abound. And it all begins with our thinking-choosing to see the good, choosing to embrace the good and choosing to let this be our guiding light in all our actions and reactions.

The really exciting thing about this is that PEACE, what so many of us long for, not only in ourselves, but also in the world, begins as thought. As we choose to change our thinking about any situation from negativity toward neutrality we contribute to peace. Where does peace begin? It begins as thought. It begins within each of us. It begins with us aligning ourselves to be happy, joyous and free, it begins with us actively choosing to release thoughts that do not serve us to be in alignment with peace. It begins with us choosing to consciously know that we have a choice over every single reaction we have. It begins with us when we take the focus off of what others are doing or not doing and turn the focus to ourselves to ask what thoughts am I holding on to, what thoughts am I choosing to believe that do no longer serve me? What thoughts am I aligning with which limit my peace?

We can't change what other people are focusing on, but we can certainly choose where we put our attention.

There is a power for good in the universe and you can learn to use it!