As we move into Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve been reflecting deeply on something my mother did so consistently, it’s only now that I’m beginning to understand its full significance. She was always reading—not just for knowledge, but for nourishment. Her shelves weren’t just filled with books, they were filled with peaceful tools for inner strength.

One of those tools was a little booklet called Thought Conditioners by Norman Vincent Peale. It was well-worn and tucked inside her Bible, its pages marked by time and use. This morning, as I held that same booklet in my hand, I turned to the title page and read the introduction she must have read dozens of times. I was struck by these words:

“Change your thoughts and you can change anything…
Thought Conditioners will give clarity and power to your thoughts, peace to your mind, health to your body, and vitality to your life.”

That is exactly how she lived.

I believe my mother was conditioning her thoughts well before she ever faced the final challenges of her life. She filled her mind with truth and calm so that when the storm came, she could withstand it—not because it wasn’t hard, but because she had already done the inner work.

She was mentally strong. So strong, in fact, that even in her final illness, we believed—truly believed—she would recover. But God had other plans.

This month, I want to honor her legacy by returning to these same Thought Conditioners she loved so much. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share pieces of this book, reflections on mental clarity and spiritual calm, and how her practice of nurturing her inner peace became a model for how I now tend to my own mental health.

Because the truth is, we don’t know the day or the hour.
But we can be prepared—not by fear, but by feeding our minds with truth, stillness, and strength.

Let this be the month we give our minds the care they need.
Start today.
Change your thoughts… and watch what changes in you.

In love and charity,

Giselle (aka) Blooming-Lillie