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Natasha Munson has been promoted and featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today Weekend, Publishers Weekly, Ebony, Heart & Soul and Black Issues Book Review magazine. A motivational speaker with a focus on empowering the community one life at a time, Natasha also assists authors with writing and promotion and owns an online
travel service, www.StarDiscountTravel.com. |
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CHRISTIAN LIVING
Live a Life You Love
By Natasha Munson
CBN.com – Life is too short to not speak the truth. This belief is what keeps Natasha Munson going as she endeavors to empower the community one life at a time with the lessons she’s learned through personal tragedy and triumph. In Spiritual Lessons for My Sisters: How to Get Over the Drama and Live Your Best Life! (Hyperion, May 2006), Natasha offers strategies to help women remove themselves from the drama, issues, obstacles, negative people, bad environments and fears that are holding them back from creating the life they have always wanted.
The author recently answered a few questions about her new book.
You never set out to write a series of books. So, what got you started on this path to empowering women with your writing?
My younger cousin, who was about 16 at the time, inspired me to write my first book, Life Lessons for My Sisters. I began by writing her a letter filled with the lessons I had learned up to that point in my life (age 26) and the advice I wished someone had shared with me. I had so many lessons that it began to look more like a book than a letter.
Your book is packed with spiritual lessons that women today need to hear. What is the one lesson you’ve learned that has made the greatest impact in your life?
This is your life and you determine the outcome. I finally understood that every choice I make leads to my joy or my pain. I understood that God talks to us all through our intuition and guides us to make the best choices for our lives. And if we would simply listen to that wisdom and take heed to it our lives would be forever changed for the better.
In Spiritual Lessons for My Sisters, you encourage readers to commit to living their best lives this year. How exactly can they do that?
Begin by believing you can create your best life and by eliminating every excuse you typically give yourself that blocks your blessings. Then make a commitment to yourself to be open to the opportunities in life. Allow yourself to have the courage to make the best decisions for yourself. Stop blocking your life by viewing everything through a prism of fear. You must know that God wants the best for you and He gave you the ability to create that in your life and then you must do something every day that improves you as a person and therefore improves your life.
What is a practical way women can remain grateful, no matter their circumstances or feelings?
I started a gratitude ring with some friends. Every day we had to email one another three things we were grateful for on that day. We were also allowed one vent so we could release any frustration we may have had. When you begin to view your life through gratitude, it changes the way you look at life situations. Now when something happens I instantly thank God and then I literally say, “What is the lesson?” There is always a lesson that can be obtained, whether it’s to be more observant, more patient, more kind, etc.
Many women make the mistake of choosing unhealthy friendships and relationships that are detrimental—even toxic—to their spiritual lives. What do you suggest women should do who find themselves in this situation?
Understand that you are not obligated to remain friends or in a relationship that is damaging to you in any way. When a relationship is not fulfilling you, then it is damaging. Once you understand there is no obligation and that relationships of all kinds are founded on balance then you will begin to view your friendships differently. You must ask yourself whether the friendship is equally yoked. Can the two of you agree to make the changes that will bring the relationship into balance? If you cannot then you must remove yourselves from one another’s life. You owe it to one another to either give the best or to give the person the space so they can have the best relationships.
What questions should women ask before they set themselves on a path of love? Why is it so important that women think rationally about the choices they make in their love lives?
The first question should be, “Do I love myself?” “Am I happy with who I am as a person?” “Do I love the relationship I have with God?” Before any woman or man sets out on the path of love they must love themselves authentically—meaning they must love everything about themselves as much as they can, as often as they can. People always have some issue they are dealing with, but a healthy relationship contains two individuals who have chosen to see the lessons in their lives rather than hold on to the negative moments to justify their behaviors or outlooks on life. Basically, you want to be a positive person and you want the same in return.
What five things do you say a woman should do before she attempts to make any change in her life?
LISTEN -
Before you attempt to make any change in your life, listen to your spirit. Our best advice comes from our most powerful connection to God, our intuition.
PREPARE -
Be prepared for change. Know how you will handle obstacles. Know what you want out of a situation. Know what you are prepared to give your time, energy, and love to. Be focused on your goal and stick to the advice God has given you.
PLAN -
If we want to make any changes in life we cannot sit and wait for the good to come to us. You have to make your future, create your destiny. Never give up on your dreams or goals. Simply plan a way to get there and give yourself a timeline and deadline.
BE READY -
Being prepared for a situation and being emotionally and mentally ready are entirely different things. You have to be prepared for everything that is going to come into your life. You must know that without a plan your life can go on any course. Therefore you must have your spirit and mind prepared for the changes God will bring.
FOCUS - No matter what occurs in your life, never lose sight of your goal. If you want to achieve, you must believe you can, ask and thank God for it, then you must continue to work towards that goal on a daily basis.
Many times God teaches us through suffering and painful circumstances. Why do you believe He does this and how has it benefited your life?
Many times it’s the only way God can get our full attention. I do not believe our lessons have to come through suffering and painful circumstances. I think God initially attempts to get our attention in a small way, like a whisper. You hear God talking to your spirit and you hear what He wants you do to, but you ignore that information. Eventually you ignore the information so many times that God has to stop you in your tracks, which usually comes in your painful moments. Then most of us have an "Aha! moment" and suddenly realize what God was telling us the whole time. I have learned to listen the first time and that has made a profound difference in my life.
A theme throughout Spiritual Lessons for My Sisters is that God cannot be taken away from us. How have you personally experienced this lesson?
I have endured some life-changing moments, from molestation to business loss. And in those moments the only clarity I had was God talking to me and telling me why a situation had occurred or what I could do in the moment to be released and healed from the experience. In my most painful moments I could have chosen to blame others and ask God, “Why, why, why?” But I chose to rely on my relationship with God to get me through everything and now I know for certain that I can make it through anything as long as I have that relationship to rely on and to guide me.
You believe in the importance of setting goals that make living your life worthwhile. What goals do you have for yourself? Any more books on the horizon?
I want to be like Oprah (smile). I want to use my life as a tool to help women create better lives for themselves and their children. I plan on creating a series of empowering books for women and also using my energy in other ways to help the world in my own way whether through a radio or talk show, greeting cards, magazine, whatever gets the message across.
Courtesy of The B&B Media Group. Used by permission.
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