The Soul's Exploration

How do you approach your life? Are you in continual questioning mode? Are you always seeking to advance? Looking to change? Wanting more? Yes, this can definitely be a part of our soul expansion. But there is another side to approaching life.

Soul exploration often happens during a time of pause and reflection. What if we took the time exploring our soul's needs, desires and passions? What would we find? Many times people don't spend enough time in the pause. They forget how important it is to check in, to see what has shifted, what has awakened or what is no longer?

When we break from our daily routine and step into this wondrous place of solitude, quiet and consideration we fine that our soul is so ready to engage with us. It wants for us to feed it more, to embrace wider, to release and finally let go and to dig deeper. Doing this helps our soul bring our purpose closer and closer our way.

Life has the option to be fuller, if we are aware and willing to explore. It is a process. It is not an overnight accomplishment. Sometimes it is best for us to spend a few moments each day in this exploration. Sometimes retreating from our daily tasks and setting aside a day, a weekend, or even a week to really mull over, entertain and wonder is the perfect fit for the exploration.

The more willing we are to look at what our soul has to offer us, the more involved we become in our spiritual practice and our dance in life. We find that we feel connected in a positive and passionate way. We notice our perspective shift. Our vision sharpens. Our words may soften or become more powerful. Our dreams become alive and obtainable. Our relationships become dearer and more meaningful.

When we explore with our soul we remember who we really are. We fall in love with our Self. We bring appreciation for the blessings in our life and we see the possibilities in places that beforehand were closed doors and boring avenues. Life is good, and it can be even better. We just need to be mindful that engaging with our soul is often where we find the brightest spark.

Blessings, Lisa

The Talk Of Mothers and Daughters

Gloria Steinem once said, "Every time a woman passes a mirror and criticizes herself, there's a girl watching..." Often as a role model for the young women and girls in our life we feel powerless as we struggle with our own body issues and acceptance. Yet, we are not unaware of the impact we can have on her developing self-image.

The one thing I have learned over the years, whether it be in parenting my own daughters or in working with other women, is that our children see everything. So when we skip a meal, complain about our cellulite, compare and critique other women's bodies or say disrespectful comments about our own body, it is witnessed and taken in. These young girls watch us as we look in the mirror at our reflection, they hear us talking to others about our body dissatisfaction, they listen to how we receive compliments and are aware of how we feel about our bodies.

Knowing this, it is important the we recognize that we need to change the way we are responding to our thoughts and self talk. We need to remember that our daughters see themselves through the mirror of our eyes. What we draw attention to about them and their body sends very strong messages. What we show them we value, whether it be a certain size, an age, or a hair color for example, they begin to use as their value system. If physical appearance is important to us, it will be to them.

It means creating healthy boundaries between our own personal process with our body acceptance and what we say and how we react in these body standards. Positive self talk will be witnessed and embraced. Focus on other attributes that are not beauty related and have nothing to do with appearance, changes where you and she will place value.

It takes time, it takes awareness, but in order to change the pattern of repetitive low self-worth and body shame, we have to start somewhere. There will still be plenty of messages passed on to our daughters about their beauty and their body through media and peers, but if our conversations with them focus on all that makes them so wonderful and unique, things will begin to change. If we can model to them acceptance and grace with our body, celebration of how it serves us and appreciation of all body types, the message will be loud and clear.

So where to begin? For starters stop talking and talking and talking about the latest diet. Try to send good healthy messages about your body through words and activities. Stop the negative talk about your body or anyone else's. Listen to the way she talks about her body and have conversations with her to help her see it from a more positive perspective or to share why she feels that way. With making some of these changes in your relationship with your body and with your daughter, you will begin to see changes both in your body awareness and in her developing self-concept of her beauty and her body image.

To learn more about Body Image Coaching, visit me at www.womenwithinsight.com.

I Have The Perfect Teacher

I am counting my blessings. I am filled with gratitude. I am celebrating the beautiful lessons that I am given each and every day. All this is presented to me by my perfect teacher.

I have had many different mentors in life. I have read an unimaginable amount of books by the wisest of healers and spiritual visionaries. I have had the glorious opportunity to practice many different ways to connect more and more fully to my soul's calling.

Over time I have learned that my perfect teacher insures that the very lesson I need to be learning, the very insight I can find within myself and the very longing my soul is reaching to is the lesson of the day.

What is the best lesson my perfect teacher has taught me? All the situations and circumstances of my life, the big and the small, the powerful and the insignificant, are there to teach me exactly what I need to be learning.

Who is this perfect teacher? How is it that they are so accurate and timely? My perfect teacher is my life. This beautiful, changing, expanding and evolving life! My life makes certain that my path is crossed with people who will bring into my day offerings and needs, challenges and trials, wisdom and grace, all to enrich the experience of what my life lesson is in the moment.

My life is my classroom. The situations, the relationships, the experiences and more all add to the day's lesson. It is within this classroom that I practice patience, love, awareness, presence, gratitude, and compassion. It is within this classroom that I learn my strengths and my weaknesses. My teacher makes sure that lessons are balanced and full.

I make sure to fill my heart with gratitude each day for my teacher. I awake every day with the honoring of all the possibilities that will surely come my way. I remember that this perfect teacher has brought me so far down this amazing path, even when I had my doubts or dared to have fear. My teacher stayed true to me. My trust is steadfast that my life has all the answers that I need to be my fullest, my most brilliant, my best Self.

Blessings, Lisa

Your Comfort Zone

No, I am not going to talk today about stretching yourself, or reaching further, or raising the bar or even embracing the challenge. Today I am going to talk about creating a soft place for you to land. Today I am going to share the powerful gift you can give yourself by creating a very personalized comfort zone.

We all need a place to settle back into. We long for those days where there is little on the "to do" list. Sometimes we need to pause, reflect, rest and refuel. There is no shame in this. It is a need. It is vital to our balance and to our beauty in life.

So if we can accept this without harsh self criticism or judgement, why not really get creative? What does your comfort zone look like? Is it indoors or out? Maybe you have both? Take the time to talk to your body and soul. What is needed? Are there colors that you resonate with? How about certain scents? Maybe you need plant life surrounding you?

Perhaps it needs to be dark and candle lit, or wide open windows that let the breeze and day's light in. Each of us is so exquisitely unique and so too should our comfort places be. Daydream on this for a while. What would the perfect soft landing, body resting, heart satisfying, mind releasing, tension taming, soul celebrating place look like?

Now the fun begins. How can you create this in some way? Pillows? Candles? Veils of sheer scarves? Chimes? Lush green plants? Scents and perfumes? Music? Bouquets of flowers? What delights you? What colors, what shapes, what textures, what elements? Dream big!

Now go about choosing a location for this in your home. A corner of a room or a spot in your yard? It is up to you and your needs and desires. Intentionally creating this sacred place of comfort brings your essence and peaceful energies into it. Your grace flows through it. Your beauty decorates it.

Your body temple needs to be adored and honored. Who better to do this than you? Within this sacred comfort zone you will find rest and peace. You will breathe in inspiration. You will hear the longings of your soul. Here you will nurture yourself and rest. Here you will honor your body's needs. Within your personal retreat space you can find your balance, your center and awaken energies that are ready to be born.

Blessings, Lisa