Hello my dearest Dear Ones out there! I just wanted to send out a quick update since it has been a while since I've done that. So, I just first want to say that physically I am finally over the worst of the monsterous breakouts! Thank God for that! What's more, the deep scars I had, especially on my jawline are really, really healing. I still have pimples and strangers who look at me and have no idea what it used to look like probably still think, "Oh poor love, if only her skin were smooth and clear, she'd be so pretty." Hah! :) But I know what's happening. Pretty miraculous what my dear precious sweet intelligent little cells are capable of. On the physical routine, I realize I haven't updated in a while. So, ages ago I recommended that silver soap. That did help the huge infection I had going on on my face, but after a while it was overdrying and also I believe may have caused some hyper-pigmentation. So I stopped using that and just went back to pure Desert Essence soap once a day in the evenings. I also switched to Burt's Bees Daily Moisturizing Cream, and in the morning (now this may be crazy for others, but it's worked for me), I put on Avalon Organics sunscreen ON TOP of the Burt's Bees. For me I think it's been essential to have good moisture on my face to help the scars heal. I still use Aloe Juice as a toner. Okay, the biggest thing I think that is helping soooo much, (well on a physical level) is that I exfoliate every 12 DAYS with Baking Soda. It peels off a very thin layer of skin without harsh chemicals and then I notice in 2 or 3 days this fresh new little baby skin (kind of looks like dry skin until I mosturize.) And by day 12, my scars are dramatically lessened. I just keep saying over and over, "Today is better than yesterday, and yesterday was better than the day before." One huge thing I've done during this process is take pictures once a month. When I think I'm not making progress, those photos tell me a completely different story. The difference from month to month is so dramatic! And I feel it would be completely unfair of me not to mention what I believe is healing me more than anything I am doing on a physical level. On a spiritual level, my whole life is changing in so many ways! I am fully on the path towards discovering my truest nature and I am grateful every day for that. Many, many miracles have taken place since I set out in this direction, too many to even list here, but more than anything, I just FEEL lighter and happier and more loving than I have in years. I feel when I look at the people I see on the street that they are my brothers and sisters and that if they would let me I would love to hold them in my arms and tell them how beautiful they are. I feel more loving towards my family members, my neighbors, my grocers, my fellow devotees at church, the dogs and cats that cross my path, the birds in the trees tweeting their songs at me, and my gorgeous flowering orchid that continues to bloom on my countertop. The world inside of me is expanding daily and I feel that I am finding more and more of that expansion to share outside of me. I've mentioned Yogananda and the book Autobiography of a Yogi in previous blogs. Since I have really committed myself to this spiritual path, all doors are opening for me and all healing is the work of God and Guru. I feel each morning that I am being loved and guided by the purest most unconditional love there is and that I am God's child. That I am loved as I can never possibly comprehend in human terms. And that the more I turn to that love, the more love I have to give to others. I also feel a responsibility to uphold my end of that relationship... that partnership with God and Guru. That it is my responsiblity to wake up and meditate and to meditate before bed... that if I have nothing else to offer, at least I can offer that to the feet of the Divine. I think in regards to skin picking, this is HUGE, because my skin picking comes from such a selfish place. As in, I get so self-focused that I can not see the world around me. That the whole world revolves around me and the condition of my skin. That I am the only one that is affected by my picking or that I am the only one in the world who is suffering. So wanting to be there on my meditation blanket each night and each morning to sit and chill with God for an hour or two in my day, that is huge. And life is just changing sooooo much from a year ago. It's unfathomable. I am back to being social and loving in the world, I am back to working (I had 6 voiceover auditions a couple weeks ago and also got a job reading a lead character for preliminary work on a major animated film), I'm in the process of buying and renovating a condo, I've been hanging out with my 86 year old neighbor and helping her get out into the world, I've met a wonderful group of new friends at the Self Realization Temple, etc... A year ago I just could not see how my life would change in such wonderful ways. I just knew I had to stop doing something that was harming me. That's all I knew. So to anyone out there who is reading this and struggling in that dark dark place, I offer my story to tell you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is a long, scary tunnel with a lot of scary undealt with things lurking in it, but the power of the light at the end of it can guide you through all of them safely. All you have to do is take the first step. I love you all. I think of you often. I know where you are and what you are dealing with and my heart just reaches out to you and wraps you up in its love. Know that I love you and that you can do no wrong that will ever make me stop loving you. You are precious, you are special, you are beautiful and unique. You are a spark of the infinite and we are one. Sending you love and peace and joy, joy, joy!