I LIKE TO YELL!

Actually, I don't, but some people do. At least, that's what it sounds like when they write in ALL CAPS. It's a pet peeve of mine. My younger sister (bless her heart) likes to do it. Today I was thinking it would be cool to get her a cap that says "ALL CAPS" on it. I did a google search and while I didn't find that cap, I did find a few other fun pictures, here here here and here.

My favorite?

i'm a mormon

In a week, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will start here in the Seattle area a huge media campaign, known as "I'm a Mormon". This has already been done in other places, like NYC. There is a good article from the Huffington Post which was put out earlier this month about this campaign. There is also an article available at the LDS Newsroom. As a Mormon in the Seattle area, I've been asked to participate in this campaign by creating a profile on Mormon.org so that I can share with people what I believe and how I live my life. I am in the process of creating a profile and when I have a link to share I will post it here.

Why is the Church doing this media campaign? Good question.

1) to dispel myths and let people know what kind of people we really are

2) to share our love of Jesus Christ and help people better come to know Him

3) to direct people to mormon.org where they can learn more about us and Christ

What do I think about it?

I think it's awesome and I can't wait to get started! (Oh wait, I have started.)

Here's a teaser from my mormon.org profile:

Hi, I'm Cassànndrè.

student. photographer. educator. learner. biology major. dancer. reader. migraineur. flutist. volunteer. Mormon.

about me

I believe in miracles. I believe that we all have a happily-ever-after waiting for us, we just have to get there. I believe that I have the choice to be happy. When I choose to be happy, I see beauty everywhere. I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but it will involve having a family and helping people. I cry really easily. I don't like seafood. Or spinach. I'm shy, but I hear that I hide it well. I love to dance and I'm a different person when I play my flute. My little photography business is slowly expanding. I am an undergraduate biology major- at least for now. I believe that we need to have goals and make plans but ultimately trust God to guide our lives because nothing ever goes according to our plans. I'm grateful that He is in control. I'm Cassànndrè, and I'm a Mormon :)

how i live my faith

For a couple of years I wasn't able to work or go to school because of severe migraines. I read the story of a woman whom doctors couldn't heal and with faith sought just to touch the hem of Christ's garment (Luke 8:43-48). That story touched me and I wondered how I could do that. One day I was sitting in a religion class and the teacher said something (I don't even remember what!) and I decided that the closest I could get to touching the hem of Christ's garment was to touch the temple, because that is the Lord's house. I began to visit the temple every week....

for more, visit my profile at mormon.org.

some thoughts on stress, anxiety, depression, emotional health, and the Atonement

So I sent this email to some of my close family & friends. Then I read through it and I thought "I should post this on a blog so other people can learn what I'm learning." And then I remembered that I already have a blog! I just haven't posted anything in 2+ years. So here we go. Maybe I'll even start sharing more stuff :)

So here's a link: Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety http://www.stresscenter.com/mwc/

This is a stress & anxiety program which includes cd's that I am borrowing from my visiting teacher. I'm only on the second cd, but I can already tell there is a lot truth in what they teach and that truth resonates within me and clicks with gospel principles I have learned. I think this could benefit you guys. If you go the website there is a way to try their whole program (cd's + other stuff) for free- so long as you send back most of the materials within some window of time. I don't trust myself to send stuff back so I'm not choosing to do that. If I listen to all of the cd's and feel like I should then I probably will :)

Anyways, I hope you guys make use of this, or at the very least check out the website and the various free information they have. What I'm hearing in the cd's is a lot about how to be emotionally healthy-- even when you have an emotional illness such as anxiety, depression, or OCD. They liken dealing with these things to dealing with addictions-- you have to retrain your brain, work hard, accept what it is you struggle with, and work to get to recovery.

I think that emotional health is something that isn't taught much these days. The chief place for it to be learned is in the home, and even if we grow up in a home with parents who are loving and nurturing, anxiety & depression are things that require an extra study in how to be emotionally healthy. I'm grateful for what my mom has taught me, and I'm grateful for the resources the Lord provides me which help me to continue recovering from my anxiety and depression. (Some of these resources include my church, the scriptures, LDS social services, and Heart t' Heart resources.)

Tonight I'm listening to cd #2, which talks about self-talk. I'd like to share some thoughts I had while listening tonight. They were talking about how those of us with anxiety often work ourselves into a panic attack with negative self talk, and how when we learn to talk to ourselves positively we can actuallyhead off panic attacks. This reminded me of something cool I've experienced in the last couple of years.

So a couple years ago I discovered that I have this one PMS day a month where I'll get a bit of an emotional break-down. {{Yes, I really am talking about PMS on my blog. Because conversations like these don't phase me. If it makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. It doesn't get any worse in this story, though, so don't worry. If you are like me and it doesn't phase you, then you should consider reading some posts by The Weed.}} I don't really remember how I realized this, I just remember being astounded when I thought back a few months and could see this pattern every single month. Since realizing this I've come a long way. I remember this monumental day about a year ago (give or take a month) when I was at BYU-I. I was sitting in the Ricks building (aka the building of awesomeness aka the building with a Cassanndre-friendly study place) and started to feel anxious. It was like I could feel a panic attack coming on. I don't even remember what it was about, but it was something small. I remember checking my calendar and saying to myself "Yep, my period is a week and half away. That's probably what this is about." And then something awesome happened: I realized that it wasn't a big deal, it was just my monthly mini-panic-attack, and I knew I'd be okay. I went back to studying. Any you know what? I didn't get a panic attack! Yep, that's right. As I was listening to the MWC cd tonight I remembered that event and i realized that I had essentially talked myself out of getting a panic attack. Yes, indeedy. And then I thought about how it's been in the past year. There have been months when I've gotten weepy or anxious or something silly only to realize afterwards what it was due to, but there have also been months when I've noticed it coming on, realized what it was, and headed off a panic attack- successfully riding out my anxiety and keeping it from disrupting whatever I'm doing. This is awesome and I'm happy about it.

So my question for myself is this-- if I can do this with my PMS-anxiety, is there any (good) reason I can't do that with my general anxiety? Me-thinketh-not. My question for each of you is this-- if I can do it, can you? I think so (in my head that sentence sounds kind of cocky... except instead of being cocky about myself I'm being cocky about you guys haha.)

Once upon a time I had an awesome middle school counselor named Betty McCadden. I remember one conversation I had with her when I was super super depressed and had a lot of questions about what I was going through. I remember her telling me that she thought I had all the answers already inside me (except it sounded less cheesy the way she said it). That has stuck with me over the past 8 years.There's a quote I heard tonight which echos closely what Mrs. McCadden told me:

"You are searching for the magic key that will unlock the door to the source of power; and yet you have the key in your own hands, and you may use it the moment you learn to control your thoughts." -Napolean Hill

Sometimes, though, I don't actually have the answers I'm looking for and no amount of mental self-control will produce them. But I know where to turn to get answers. I know how to pray. I know my Heavenly Father hears me, loves me, and cares about me. I know that if I am willing to listen, He will give me answers I'm looking for through the Holy Ghost.

I also know that it is by the power of the Atonement that we each may find healing and recovery from the things we struggle with. I know that Christ loves all of us and I know that He leads us to the people and tools we need to partake of His healing.

another set of... quotes!

The nearer we get to God, the more easily our spirits are touched by refined and beautiful things. - Douglas L. Callister

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
- Samuel Johnson

The word 'meaningful' when used today is nearly always meaningless.
- Paul Johnson

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
- Robert X. Cringely

"We need to stop dropping bombs and start dropping bacon!" -some comedian Rob was watching on the TV

"If I'm going to talk like you, you need to talk how I want to talk." -Eddy

"Antidisestablishmentarianism is like Paris Hilton. It’s famous for being famous even if it doesn’t have a real role in the world." -Charles Hodgson

“You know that you are in love when the hardest thing to do is say good-bye!!”

“Distance never seperates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad 'cause I miss you, I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss.”

"Goodbye is not forever, goodbye is not the end. It just means that we'll miss you until we meet again."

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross

“He who is seeking for happiness alone seldom finds it, but he who lives for the welfare of others, who loses himself to give happiness to others, finds that a double portion has come to himself."
~David O. McKay

"Be who you are and say what you feel, for those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"
~Dr. Seuss

"right. he was so in love with me that he couldn't keep it all and you got some of it too" -marianne

"Life is one fool thing after another whereas love is two fool things after each other." -Oscar Wilde

"...like a jingle cat of doom!" -michael

"May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house." -George Carlin

We can endure almost anything if we have someone at our side who truly loves us, who is easing the burden and lightening the load

"The more refined and subtle our minds, the more vulnerable they are." -Paul Tournier

"...one day you'll wake up, and at least the memory won't hurt anymore." -from a cheezy Mormon movie

"Never let the facts get in the way of the truth." -"Lie to Me"

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." -Thomas S. Monson

“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -i stole this from Loriel

contempt is what we feel for the being whose enthusiasm to benefit mankind is such that he is a burden to those nearest him; who wishes to do great things for humanity in the abstract, but who cannot keep his wife in comfort or educate his children.~theodore roosevelt

"The question's very much too wide, and much too deep, and much too hollow, and learned men on either side use arguments I cannot follow." -Hillaire Belloc

"Life is Fragile, Love is Not." -The Schecks ~

“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

more qoutes!

The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left.
- Oscar Levant

In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
- Johann von Neumann

With consistent practice, faith will become a vibrant, powerful, uplifting, inspiring force in your life.
- Elder Richard G. Scott

The true genius shudders at incompleteness- and usually prefers silence to saying something which is not everything it should be."
- Edgar Allen Poe

If you ponder the scriptures and begin to do what you covenanted with God to do, I can promise you that you will feel more love for God and more of His love for you.
- Elder Henry B. Eyring

Even if you cannot always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you seek.
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.
- Dick Cavett

It is a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money.
- Albert Camus

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.
- Charles Bukowski

The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all responsibility.
- Brooks Atkinson

Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.
- President Gordon B. Hinckley

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age.
- Victor Hugo

It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.
- John Steinbeck

Devotees of grammatical studies have not been distinguished for any very remarkable felicities of expression.
- Amos Bronson Alcott

Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.
- Isaac Asimov

Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.
- R. Buckminster Fuller

Calls will stretch you, often at the start and always over their course, but He will give you the Holy Ghost to be your companion.
- Elder Henry B. Eyring

My interest is in the future... because I'm going to spend the rest of my life there.
- Charles Kettering

Each holy temple stands as a symbol of our membership in the Church, as a sign of our faith in life after death, and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families.
- Elder Russell M. Nelson

There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman.
- Emile Zola

An ideal marriage is a true partnership between two imperfect people, each striving to complement the other, to keep the commandments, and to do the will of the Lord.
- Elder Russell M. Nelson

The most beautiful thigns are those that madness prompts and reason writes.
- Andre Gide

If you don't know how to die, don't worry; Nature will tell you what to do on the spot, fully and adequately.
- Michel de Montaigne

I do not believe that God plays dice with the world.
- Albert Einstein

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
- ?

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.
- Henry Miller

There are plenty of fish in the sea, but half don't like your bait and the other half taste bad.
- Sarah Jakubowski

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
- Anai"s Nin

Calls will stretch you, often at the start and always over their course, but He will give you the Holy Ghost to be your companion.
- Elder Henry B. Eyring

Home should be the center of one's earthly experience, where love and mutual respect are appropriately blended.
- Elder L. Tom Perry

In utter loneliness a write tries to explain the inexplicable.
- John Steinbeck

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
- Albert Einstein

After this life, you will be restored to that which you have here allowed yourself to become.
- Elder Richard G. Scott

In an increasingly unjust world, to survive and even to find happiness and joy, no matter what comes, we must make our stand unequivocally with the Lord.
- President James E. Faust

Though this world has a way of diminishing and demeaning men and women, the reality is we are all of royal, divine lineage.
- Elder M. Russell Ballard

There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.
- Gore Vidal

Great thigns are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.
- Jack Kerouac

We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.
- John Steinbeck

Rule No. 1 is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule No. 2 is, it's all small stuff.
- Robert Eliot

In our day, the steadying arm of the Lord reaches us through the ordinances of His holy temples.
- Elder Robert D. Hales

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
- Bertrand Russell

It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.
- Gore Vidal

I'm as pure as the driven slush.
- Tallulah Bankhead

The great work of moving the gospel forward has in the past, does now, and will in the future depend upon ordinary members.
- President Boyd K. Packer

What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.
- Jean Cocteau

If men cease to believe that they will one day become gods then they will surely become worms.
- Henry Miller

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
- Dorothy Parker

A friend is more concerned about helping people than getting credit. A friend cares. A friend loves. A friend listens. And a friend reaches out.
- President Thomas S. Monson

Choosing to do what the Lord has defined as right will, in the long run, always lead to the best outcomes.
- Elder Richard G. Scott

It's not a matter of whether or not someone's watching over you. It's just a question of their intentions.
- Randy K. Milholland

Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty - a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture.
- Bertrand Russell

I've always found paranoia to be a perfectly defensible position.
- Pat Conroy

My manners, abominable at times, can be sweet.
- Jack Kerouac

We are never the same with others as when we are alone. We are different, even when we are in the dark with them.
- Maurice Maeterlinck

The greatest masterpiece in literature is only a dictionary out of order.
- Jean Cocteau

We should seek at all times to purify ourselves and to lead such worthy lives that the Light of Christ emanates from us in all that we say and do.
- Elder M. Russell Ballard

The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it.
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

It's a dangerous business going out your front door.
- JRR Tolkien

The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.
- Fran Lebowitz

I am at your interragatory disposal.
- Tony Snow

Character is woven patiently from threads of principle, doctrine, and obedience.
- Elder Richard G. Scott

What do I know of man's destiny? I could tell you more about radishes.
- Samuel Beckett

Art is a private thing, the artist makes it for himeself; a comprehensible work is the product of a journalist. we need works that are strong, straight, precise, and forever beyond understanding."
- Tristan Tzara

A young person's developing concept of God centers on characteristics observed in that child's earthly parents.
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

The average girl would pick beauty over brains because she knows the average guy can see better than he can think.
- Anonymous

Eagles may soar, but weasles don't get caught in jet engines.
- Brady

I'm trying to die correctly, but it's very difficult, you know.
- Lawrence Durrell

When we choose to deny ourselves of all ungodliness, we lose nothing of value and gain the glory of eternal life.
- Elder Russell M. Nelson

If I break the laws of Physics, do I go to jail?
- Things to Ponder

We are responsible for the home we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage.
- President Thomas S. Monson

Through humble prayer, diligent preparation, and faithful service, we can succeed in our sacred callings.
- President Thomas S. Monson

"...because the family's continuity and development required the sacrifice of the individuals' desires, family life inevitably produced tensions and rebellions." -Dewald (qouted in an article on the experiences of Huguenots)

"Just because it's broken doesn't mean you have to break it more." -Marianne

"We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ. The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his famous teaching about the importance of charity (see 1 Cor. 13). The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness he cited is that charity, "the pure love of Christ" (Moro. 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being. Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion. Charity is something one becomes. Thus, as Moroni declared, "except men shall have charity they cannot inherit" the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father (Ether 12:34; emphasis added)." -Dallin H. Oaks

"Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more.
Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. It makes the thought of being a basher repulsive.
Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other." -Marvin J. Ashton

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“For, you see, each day I love you more, Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow” -Rosemonde Gerard

"2% fat milk withdrawal" -Michel (Gilmore Girls)

"Okay, not yelling... ambitiously, forcefully, clarifying something" -Eddy

"I think the bringing of dry cereal in tupperware should be a gospel ordinance" -Daniel (whom I've never met)