There is a lot that writing and putting my writing out to the world has taught me. I'd say the biggest lesson, which I think will never end, is the truth that happiness comes from within. When my self-confidence and good feelings are dependent on other people, situations and circumstances they can and will be taken away. A negative review has toppled me from a high vibration to a low one in a matter of minutes, but climbing back up always feels like it takes anywhere from hours to days. I am always trying new ways to handle these moments of being toppled. One thing I'm practicing now, which is really helping, is pre-empting the down turns with daily reminders that I am good and worthy. I set two reminders on my cellphone, one to go off at 8AM and one for 8PM. All they say is, "I'm a winner!" Each time I see this I smile, and I think in my head "I'm a winner!" I can't help it. I don't have to force it, which is also a powerful reminder of how fast we take in information. To think this without pausing to question feels great, but I think the reason it makes me smile is because it's so cheesy. Each time I see the reminder I think, "Haha, this is really rather silly." Whenever you can make something feel fun or light it's going to feel less resistant and go to your core so much faster. You can never fully prevent people from getting you down from time to time. That's not the point of life. None of us are here to become so hard and tough that we're immune to feeling. We're here to grow and learn, and besides, if you never felt down again you would lose some much needed contrast in your life. So my daily "I'm a winner!" reminders are not keeping me from slipping and feeling down from time to time. But they have helped me immensely in bouncing back quicker, in trusting and believing in myself more, and in feeling my core self-confidence grow. It also helps me to smile at times when I wasn't about to smile. It helps so much I even have reminders set on my computer! I hope you will give this little trick a try and see if you don't notice how you respond to things, and how quickly you let them go, changing for the better. p.s. As we come into the holiday season you can also tweak this, so that your phone reminds you to pause and breathe, or to stop what you're doing, smile, and look up. Whatever feels good to you. No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
- Helen Keller One day I was feeling dispirited about various things I was trying to get going. I was feeling that not only was I failing, but I was doing so for selfish reasons. I was struggling to fulfill my dreams, which were personal to only me, and that made my struggle feel so worthless. I needed a reason to continue to push against my fears and limitations, a really big reason that was about more than me. I needed something outside of me to help me get out of my head and back into my heart. As I meditated, I got an answer that both lifted me up and has continued to motivate me. I heard that when you follow your passions, when you dive in head first and go for what you want in life, you positively impact one million people. At first I couldn't believe it. How could anything I do affect that many people? But then I realized, everything we do reaches far beyond what we see through the ripple affect. I could see how if I was feeling inspired, passionate and a spontaneous sense of joy for life I would be sending out a wave that would create a high vibrating energy farther than I could imagine. It's like when something really good has just happened to you and you're bursting out of your skin with joy and excitement. As you go through your day and you tell people how you feel and why, you effortlessly inspire other people to find their own way to those amazing feelings. Or maybe they just feel a little happier, a little more hopeful than they did before. And they share that glimmer of hope with someone, and that person shares the hope they gained, and so on. Take a moment to think of a time when you really felt inspired and passionate. How did it feel when you talked to other people about it? Did they seem to raise in their energy also? Have you asked yourself how many people they shared that inspiration with? Take a moment to try and imagine just how far your moment of THIS IS AMAZING! really went. You don't have to be exploding with joy and enthusiasm to make a difference though. I've noticed that I sometimes have the most impact when I'm scared and going forward anyway. When I face what I thought I couldn't do, and share that with someone, I can see in their eyes thoughts of what they might try. Every step you take affirms to someone, somewhere, that it's possible they can take a step also. There is no step too small, no action you take too insignificant, to affect a lot of people. Even just showing up somewhere, being yourself and sharing your truth is enough to ripple out and impact this world. So if you are feeling disheartened or afraid, try thinking about breaking through a limitation not for yourself, but for the MILLION people who will be positively affected in some way through the ripple affect. Try meditating on this today and see how you feel. And please, scroll back to the top of the photo of the guy on the wire. That guy is doing nothing more than what he loves. How many people walk down the street, delighted by what he's doing? How many smiles does he create? Smiling reduces stress, improves the immune system, lowers the heart rate, relaxes the body and just makes a person feel more open. Now imagine some people see him, they smile, and they de-stress a little. They slow down and think I like this guy. He's funny. And for that moment, they forget their troubles and feel good. And they share that good feeling without even thinking, perhaps smiling at some people on the street, or leaving a little extra tip at the local coffee shop... and that's how easy it is to do something that spreads to one million people.... or maybe more... who knows how big of a ripple you'll set off today? Here is a short prayer you can use to help open yourself up to a new phase in your life. I find prayer can be most powerful when written out, so try writing this out in a journal or on a scrap piece of paper. Change the wording as it feels right to you and your situation. In the prayer, you ask to pull up your roots. This does not necessarily mean you must move or that you want to, but can imply a metaphorical move, into a more loving space, or a more abundant space. You know what's right for you and what you need a this time. Dear God/angels/guides/etc.,
I release my attachment to this space and the life I am living now. I pull up the roots I have here and prepare to plant them somewhere that is more aligned with where I am meant to go next. I release my need to be comfortable in order to feel safe. I release the energy related to this need, from the first point of inception to now. I move forward with trust, knowing I am fully loved and supported. I am on a beautiful, sacred, and spiritual journey that is personal to me. And at this time, I choose to release what is familiar and embrace the NEW. I step into the new and fully submerge my energy in it. My roots plant there, even though I can't see what they are planting in yet, I trust they will dig in deep and take hold. I welcome all of the gifts, adventures and opportunities that are waiting for me. I express my sincerest gratitude for helping me on all levels to release the old and embrace the new. Thank you. Amen If you desperately try to remain young, it is usually to hide your own beliefs about age, and to negate all those emotions connected with it. Whenever you refuse to accept the reality of your creaturehood, you also reject aspects of your spirit. The body exists in the world of time and space. The experiences you may encounter in your sixties are as necessary as those in your twenties. Your changing image is supposed to tell you something. When you pretend alterations do not occur you block both biological and spiritual messages. - Seth and The Nature of Personal Reality (via Jane Roberts)
Writing a blog about living a passionate life is an interesting thing. When I look back at past entries I can see clearly where I was and what I was feeling. It's like a graph in some ways, plotting my ups and downs. What I really enjoy about it is the more I share the deeper I have to dig into who I am and why I do things. So perhaps there's a lesson here in that for you. Perhaps you might consider starting a blog also as a way to breakthrough something. It might sound just like journaling, but when you write and share things knowing other people will read it you will gain a new perspective. You will discover clearly what you want to hide about yourself, why you want to hide it, and how you can overcome it. Don't worry how many people read your blog. If you do it from your heart you will find it serves the exact purpose its supposed to (and if you really do this, please tell me! I would love to read it!) I've been going on a journey lately of increasing my self-confidence in the specific area of my writing. I used to be painfully insecure and shy in all areas, and I have come light years in that regard. It's part of why I created some of the meditations I did (in particular The Magic Cloud, which is still one of my favorites). However, I have been butting up against an inner wall lately, and its been driving me crazy. I can see I am ready to grow and develop an even deeper level of self-confidence, but it has been a pretty epic struggle. Which is why I find this blog so interesting. I can see my recent posts were skewed more towards embracing the negative. Just saying, "I feel like shit and that's where I'm at." You can't make a wall go away in your physical life by closing your eyes. If you closed your eyes and walked into your bedroom wall you'd get nothing but a smack in the head. Our inner walls need the same acknowledgement, and once we've identified them, we can tear them down. |