Dare to Let Your Light Shine

Dare to Let Your Light Shine

You’re an original.  You’re brilliant.  So how come you still have those financial, relational, or health challenges?

Great question!   Here’s a simple way to begin moving beyond those challenges. I call it Shining your Light into the Darkness.

If you’ve been in the dark about an issue a long time, a spotlight would blind you.  So does a great big audacious demand that you change. That sets you up for failure.  Just think of the last time you made a New Year’s Resolution.  Big change means big resistance.  Here’s what I’ve learned about facing my challenges head on:

  • Trying harder doesn’t do it.
  • Blaming others doesn’t do it.
  • Ignoring it doesn’t do it.
  • Guilt tripping doesn’t do it.
  • Doing does it.

With that being said, What one small action can you take today to let your Light (love) shine onto your challenge?

There’s a reason it’s a cinch by the inch and hard by the yard.  There’s truth to the saying that what we resist persists. Our beloved brain is wired to be suspicious of change as a signal for impending danger.  Baby steps toward your goal are under your brain’s radar. Baby steps, strung together, open the door for you build new habits without catching your ego’s or brain’s attention. Success sneaks up on you!

So next time you’re down on yourself, shine your Light onto the situation!  Get strategic, and take that single next step that puts you closer to your goal. String those small steps together, and you’ll find yourself well on your way to the other side of your challenge.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”  Chinese proverb

 

 

 

 

 

How to Release Your Worry

How to Release Your Worry

Cheer Up

Earthquakes, hurricanes, the economy. Some days, all it takes is a negative thought or two to trigger a downward spiral of stress!  Here’s an experiment you can do that will help you take your life back when the worry bug strikes.

Notice your mind. You are NOT your thoughts. Just observe, acknowledge and accept them for what they are – transitory clouds that are passing through.

Breathe into your worry. Love it as though it were a child who just had a nightmare.  It’s not real, it just seems that way.

Now think of something that makes you smile. Put the smile over the worry.  What would you prefer – a smile or worry?

Repeat as necessary. In time you will find an upward spiral into unreasonable peace. Don’t take my word for it, just get busy and find out for yourself.

If the worry feels bigger than you, acknowledge that too. Just acknowledging what is present inside can create forward momentum. In tai chi, we call it “yielding to win” or going with the flow.  In the end, it’s so much easier than demanding things be different than they are.

If you’d like to participate in a 30 Day Mastering your Mindset Foundational Program, click here for details about how you can begin practicing the art of building inner peace.

 

 

 

How to Turn Stuck Moments into Successful Momentum

Magic moment are the flip side of feeling stuck. Everything lines up, you’re in the flow and there’s no doubt that you’ll succeed.  The more attention you pay to your body, mind, emotions and spirit, the easier it will be to handle stress when it comes knocking at your door.

Some days the stuck gremlin wins.  Spend some time getting familiar what triggers your stuck monster.  Experience is the best teacher. Let your gremlin show you how to disarm it.  Turn stuckness into successful momentum with the following tips:

Don’t judge the situation! Get curious. Examine your body, emotions, thoughts and your interpretation of what is happening to you. Look at your body/mind/emotions/spirit as your inner team.  Spend time in honest communication with yourself.  This is the essence of the “inner game” that aligns and powers up your confidence.

Physically:  Identify one thing that you’ve been putting off. Begin taking action. Get busy and clear away the old.  Clean out your closet, apply for a job, just get physical.  The more you release physical energy, the more likely it is for something new to arrive. Every small completion opens the door for more energy and clarity to fill the empty space.

Emotionally: Identify the fears, fantasies and feelings that stop you before you get started.  Breathe.  The three “F’s” have one job:  To protect you.  That’s wonderful.  However, often they are protecting you from something deeply buried.  Many of my clients often  hold an unconscious interpretation of life taken from past experience. Once identified, it loses it power to keep you stuck.

Are you resisting?  Feel paralyzed, unable to take action?  Chances are your protective mechanism is in full swing! Take small actions and continue moving forward.  How?  Recognize that feelings are not facts.  They are thoughts felt physiologically in the body.  Focus on loving yourself with every step you take.  Allow yourself to just sit with your feelings.  This isn’t always easy!  That’s why when we are upset, we distract ourselves with relationships, spending, eating or drinking too much.

Mentally: Observe what your mind is saying.  The mind says lots of things, many of which have nothing to do with current reality.  In fact, an unexamined mind is a guarantee that life will be a “mind field” of challenge, drama and limitation. Don’t let your mind take charge.  Pay attention to your mind’s games. It’s fascinating and freeing to observe and evaluate your life as it is unfolding.

Spiritually:  Meditate, contemplate and take the time to become still.  One of my teachers, Twylah Nitche, used to say that true mastery of life only comes when we “Enter the Silence” so that the greater truth, peace and love that passes understanding can be ignited.  Only then can you walk in the world without being taken prisoner by life’s challenges.

There you have it. Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.  Four areas of life to choose from.   Love your stuck monster. Play with it for as long as it takes to uncover it’s message.  As the poet Rumi says, “This being human is a guest house.  Every morning a new arrival…. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”

 

 

 

 

Unlikely Angels – “On Toby’s Terms”

A unlikely angel is coming to town, and I’d like you to meet him.

His name is Toby, a rescue dog with an unlikely mission.  He will be joining the elite ranks of movie stars whose life has inspired a film.

How did Toby hit the big time?

He had friends, who stuck with him through their dark night of the Soul.  Ironically, their dark night showed up when Toby moved in.  Angels come in all shapes and sizes, including destructive retrievers with big brown eyes.

This hilarious, heart felt and inspirational book is destined to be a classic.  Not only that, it’s a testament to the power of loving.

There’s a second story behind Toby’s story though. It’s one of relationships, networking, and cooperation among colleagues who united to make “On Toby’s Terms a best seller on Amazon.  If you want see what it takes to take it to #1 on Amazon, check out my friend Dave Albano’s blog post. For every aspiring best selling author with a story to tell, it’s a great uplifting read that takes us from dreaming about #1 status to an inside look at how to actually become a best selling author.

Now back to Toby.

Toby is a Chesapeake Retriever and he makes Marley look like Mother Teresa! The stories are incredible of what he did & what he destroyed. But Toby has a secret, a gift.

I read the previews on Amazon when I ordered the book, and I was hooked by the end of the first page. You see, I had my version of Toby. Her name was LC, which stood for last chance.  LC, like Toby, was a four legged angel whose antics and muddy paws opened my heart.  I’m sure Toby will open your heart to the infinite ways that love moves when God sends his gifts in unlikely packages.

Kudos to Charmaine Hammond for this lovely gem of a book.  Join me in celebrating life On Toby’s Terms.  I’m stocking up to get my holiday shopping done early!

800 Survivors Help End Domestic Violence

800 Survivors Help End Domestic Violence

Domestic violence isn’t pretty. It’s shadow haunts millions of women and children and leaves its mark on future generations.

Survivor's Pearl

A Window Between Worlds (AWBW.org) has been doing something about that for two decades.

It all began twenty years ago, when a shy art teacher, Cathy Salser, decided to travel cross country one summer to share art with women in shelters. That one summer’s project became a life’s work. In 2010, 60,000 women and children in 25 states regained a sense of power and renewal through participating in AWBW’s Windows programs.  Those exposed to domestic violence suffer silently, or become violent and shut down. Art opens the door for survivors to move through their pain to renewal, power and wisdom.

A two-year community project between AWBW and the Korean Cultural Center culminated last month in a showing of 800 survivor’s artwork. The metaphor of grit and irritation provided the backdrop for the pearls of wisdom exhibit. The beauty and visceral messages spoke to the heart of healing. What a sharing it was!

The Pearls of Wisdom: End the Violence Exhibition was created by international artist Kim Abeles and the 800 women and children who courageously participated in this process of healing.  The exhibit culminated with a panel discussion facilitated by Sandra Mueller called “Ending Violence with Art & Activism: A Public Conversation. Suzanne Isken, Suzanne Lacy, Cathy Salser, Natalie Sanchez and Barbara T Smith shared their perspectives as artists with a lively look into their work.

Kudos to those who made this event happen. It’s a life changer, for the brave women and children who created the art, and those who listened to their wisdom

If you’d like to make your own pearl of wisdom, or see the pearls of wisdom community wall , go to: http://createpearls.awbw.org/