Humanity's Prayer List...

From Marianne Williamson's Everyday Grace...

"Think of the news as humanity's prayer list. How different the world would be if every day's newspaper reports were met with prayers for healing from its readers! And that will happen, when the modern mind realizes the power of spirit. Prayer itself will emerge from the constricting limitations of religious doctrine, to become a spontaneous call of the soul to the higher power from whence we came."

Now that's some good stuff!

Plain truth

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." -- Bill Cosby

Fear

Thinking about the role fear plays in our lives. Truth is... fear is good, healthy, useful, normal, energizing. And we all are afraid of something – fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being judged, fear of loss, fear of pain or hurt in the face of real or more often imagined danger.

What we are afraid of is determined by our upbringing, our temperament, our circumstances, our history. But how we respond to our unique blend of fears determines the quality of our lives, not whether we are fearful or not.

For example…we can wait until we are less fearful before we make new friends or reconnect to old ones OR we can take bold steps without our “mask” to make genuine connection. You feel more powerful in your own life when you work WITH your fear instead of fighting it. Think about where your life feels less than ideal…it can point to an area of our life where fear is not serving you and it may be useful to reframe the role fear plays in your life. Ken Wilber talks about the idea of “transcending and including”…which I interpret as embracing and using ALL of your life, especially your fears, to serve your highest good and your purpose on this planet.

I mentioned this to a friend who said something like “I’m not really afraid of anything – I just live my life”. Cool. I asked where does your life not feel ideal? She said, well I just don’t have enough downtime for myself. Ok. After some chit chat, she considered that she may be over-committing to things because she wants to feel valued/respected/loved by others and not disappoint people – fear of rejection or failure or judgment. And she said when those fearful feelings came up she always pushed them away (dismissing them since they made her feel weak), so she just kept on moving.

As a result, she feels like she is kinda visiting her own life – not fully there, engaged, enjoying it, present to it. I suggested she instead welcome her fears with honesty, understanding and compassion, stay with the feelings as they moved through her, and from that space of openness, authenticity and gentleness work to heal what needed healing. Fear is purely information. I wondered if her fear of rejection is an accurate reflection of her life today? Or is she playing with crusty, old, out-dated tapes in her head about who she is and what life is really all about?

Bringing a different energy to your fears empowers you to move in spite of them. That’s when life gets juicy.

What are you attracting into your life?

I'm here in Ft. Lauderdale on a mostly unplugged vacation :-) taking a break by the ocean - my favorite place to be. Reading and reflecting...

Question...is there an area in your life that is not unfolding as you would like? Or a goal you'd like to achieve? Health? Finances? Relationships? Job? Instead of giving your attention to thoughts of lack, regret, fear or insufficiency, try visualization.

Shakti Gawain's Creative Visualization lays out 3 main steps:

1) Set a goal. Is your goal to be debt free, find a healthy relationship, work you love, write a book? Make sure it's clearly articulated.

2) Create a clear idea or picture; a mental image. Imagine how you will FEEL when you reach that goal. How free will you feel to be debt-free? How loved will you feel in a healthy relationship? How will it feel when you sell 50K books? Really feel into it like it has already happened. Imagine...

3) Focus on it often. Take a few minutes each day to revisit your goal and how you'll feel when you achieve it. Even just 5 minutes a couple times a day.

4) Give it positive energy. Have fun with it. Repeat the process every day

The goal here is to dissolve any internal barriers or dis-empowering ideas about your life and the power we inherently have. And when thoughts that are contradictory come up, don't fight them...it gives them more power...just let them flow past like clouds passing, and return to your positive images.

For example, one of my goals is to buy a condo on the ocean by the time I am 50. We went to visit a furnished model in the exact condo I had visualized. Now I have an even clearer mental image to visualize. I imagine myself sitting on the balcony, reading, entertaining friends, feeling so incredibly grateful as the ocean breezes blow by. And as I continue to visualize living there - while simultaneously enjoying, being present to and greteful for my current home - I am drawing my vision to me. May not be that condo - but I know that vision will manifest in some way, shape or form - according to the highest good for all concerned.

Creative visualization has worked in my life in so many ways - try it for yourself. Maybe you call it something different, but the key here is to - while staying in gratitude for the present - consistently revisit and FEEL into your goals for a life fulfilled.

Be well and blessed.

sharon

Life Sentence

I read yesterday that when you die, your life can be summed up in one sentence. I thought about that...what a great way to focus your activities for the day and get real about how you are living your life so that you live how you want that sentence to read...

Tending your Garden...

If you think of your mind as a garden, why not nurture seeds (thoughts) that support your best life?

This doesn't mean that you walk around with positive thoughts all day skipping around in the midst of crisis or challenge. But by practicing awareness or mindfulness, you simply & gently recognize negative seeds and redirect your attention as soon as you are able AND just as importantly you trigger and nourish positive seeds to grow to crowd the others out. By paying attention to your life in this way, you begin to feel more in control, live more intentionally, less frantically and reactionary, more conscious.

Grab your journal, find a quiet spot and write down which seeds are you nourishing? Where is your attention? Focus on an area of your life that is not working as well as you'd like - what are your thoughts around it? Your beliefs? Has your garden been overrun with weeds?

Bone Marrow Donation...

I became a bone marrow donor in 1999. The recipient's name was Brett and he and his family had been fighting leukemia for years. Tests determined my marrow was the best match, and the process of donation was one of the most enriching experiences of my life.

Every year, thousands of people of all ages are diagnosed with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases. Many of them will die unless they get a bone marrow or cord blood transplant from a matching donor.

Seventy percent of people do not have a donor in their family and depend on The National Marrow Donor Program to find a match to save their life.

Click here for more information and join the registry today!

Working with the Gap...

In working with clients, there is a common theme that emerges, regardless of why we initially began working together. They longed to give their lives some deeper meaning. As long as they had not discovered this deeper meaning (or at least begin asking the deeper questions), they were more often than not feeling frustrated, fatigued, unclear, and on the wrong track. Sometimes it was obvious, but often it was subtle and insidious and playing out in one or more areas of their lives. We all want to feel in our own flow more often than not -- developing some inner peace in order to share that with others.

For me, at times when I'm less centered, impatient or irritated, it's typically the result of not feeling steady, clear. At those times, there's a physical and/or emotional low level ache or full blown tension resulting from the gap between how I am showing up in any particular moment and how I think I should be showing up OR how things presently are and how I think they should be.

The result? Lots of energy spent trying to close the gap -- spinning in resistance to the present moment which interferes with my being present, energized and available to respond in the most effective, life supporting way. Often just out of habit I'll go through a cycle of judgment, anxiety, fear, whatever; but now more often than not I'm able to pause, become aware of what's happening, recognize that I have a choice in how to respond, and take actions that move my life forward instead of playing old, outdated tapes in my head.

What I realized is that the gap is an invitation to move our lives forward and the anxiety is valuable information, a wake up call. That recognition gives new meaning and purpose to life's challenges which can then help keep us focused on the vision for our lives instead of getting stuck in the normal ups and downs of just being human.

Are you in the gap?

Be well.