FEAR & PLAYING SMALL

FEAR is presenting everywhere. It's in our world, in our communities, in our relationships, in our lives. Feels a bit like being in a 'free fall'. No control. No GPS. No light at the end of the tunnel.

Fear freezes me in my tracks. Fear dims my light. Fear makes me play small.

And that fear is mirrored back to me everywhere.

Today I choose differently. I SURRENDER. I choose to use my fear as a reminder to breathe and to shift into my heart space, and to shine my bright light. I choose to play BIG. It's who I am. It's who God intended me to be. Brilliant. Gorgeous. Talented. Fabulous.

It's who God intended YOU to be TOO!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Nelson Mandela (Marianne Anderson)

Be well, Shine brightly!

What 'INSPIRES' you?

This looks like a simple enough question but I have had many clients simply say, "Huh? What do you mean by 'inspire' ?"

The word 'inspire' has its root in the word 'spirit'.

Many of the great philosophers speak to this concept in stating that one must be 'in spirit' to be 'inspired'. Genius, creativity, innovation...all connect with inspiration first.

What does 'spirit' mean and how do we get 'in spirit'?

'Spirit' is the essence of you. It's what makes you, Y O U, unique and different from everyone else. What inspires you and connects you to the essence of you---your soul or your spirit---is unique to you.

Think about what makes you feel happy? Joy-filled? Elated? Giddy? What activity have you been involved with and have completely lost track of time?

It may be an activity, or a person, or being immersed in nature or whatever you feel feeds your soul. THAT's being 'in spirit' and THAT leads to inspiration, innovation and genius!

Connect with spirit everyday for total wellness in body, mind & spirit.

Be well.

Dive Deeper

What exactly does the 'Dark Night of the Soul' mean? I had heard this phrase from other who were experiencing a particularly difficult or challenging time in their lives with things not lining up the way that they had planned; a challenging job market; financial woes; relationship troubles; health issues. Fear. Doubt. Anger. Frustration. Not a comfortable place to be and certainly not a comfortable place to stay!

Feeling many of these same feelings myself in this time of 'active waiting', I wondered, "Am I experiencing this 'Dark Night of the Soul'?" and if I am, what does that mean? I started to dig deeper and found some comforting information from one of my favorite authors, Sue Monk Kidd:

"Before new life can grow and emerge, darkness is a crucial step to the process---a caterpillar in the chrysalis; a seed in the ground; a child in the womb; True Self in the soul.

To hurry this process along or to 'pop out' of it too quickly or to eliminate this crucial step of darkness in any of these scenarios results in a form of 'caterpillar soup', and not the intended butterfly at all. The darkness, or the incubation, creates the conditions necessary for development and growth.

Entering this darkness is not easy. It's scary and it feels lonely. And having the courage to stay with this darkness and to allow the incubation and to not 'pop out' early to be more comfortable is even more challenging.

But rather to know that I am 'incubating'---and to know that this is a critical part of my process of becoming my True Self ---is allowing me to let go and surrender to the butterfly that is 'in progress'.

Be well.

Floating

I have had the great good fortune of being truly blessed with many soul sisters on this journey. They fill me up, inspire me and remind me of my truth. I was talking with one of my dear soul sisters from Santa Fe, New Mexico earlier today. We were commenting on this period of time in our journey which we call the 'waiting'...and that we feel ready for 'what ever is next'. In talking with her about her 'work' to actively wait, I am reminded again of my own work. We are not in 'control' of our destiny at all. This is an illusion. We think and we DO rather then simply 'Be'. This thinking and doing is the control or the resistance we create which stops our ability to receive the abundance that is waiting for each of us. The ego, not the Higher Self---thinks we are 'driving'; thinks that we are 'in control'; thinks we know best. Its not in the swimming but in the floating! We think when we stop swimming, that we will sink. But actually we will float. And this excludes the brilliance and power of Universal flow. This eliminates unconditional love for ourselves.

We agreed to try an experiment, a different way of BEING for both of us this week, starting with compassion and unconditional love towards oneself first. We agreed to be 'Compassion Partners' for the next 5 days. We will practice sliding into 'heart' energy several times daily voluntarily and certainly during times of stress, fear or doubt.

How? As we know any skill takes practice, :

• Take a deep belly breath (pranayamic breath) in through the nose and let it out through the nose.
• As you breath in, softly close your eyes and 'look' down (inside) towards your heart space(this may feel warm or like butterflies. Love.)
• Open your eyes when you're ready.

That is sliding into the 'gap'; connecting with Source, Universal energy, Higher Self, the infinite power of you, Oneness, God.

Letting go of the 'doing' and spending time in the 'BEING' might make all of the difference in the world for you and will be reciprocated to you as love, compassion and peace. Let go and float!

Be well.