The Work In Making A Decision

I was once told there are no bad decisions, just poor actions. Staying in a place of contemplation for too long keeps me in a place of stuck. I know enough to take a peek around the corner and see what fears are lurking that I am not facing. I know enough that my story can get wrapped up in this process if I do not stay true and open, authentic and alert to what my soul is telling me and how it is guiding me.

Life is filled with decisions for us all. Sometimes we feel we have no choice, but we always do. Sometimes we feel stuck, but we are keeping us in that place, not the situation. Sometimes we need to walk away, get a fresh perspective, spend some of our pent up energies and allow the flow to find its way out and around.

Bottom line is I know the pattern at hand when I am feeling like this. Most decisions I face are made without struggle and with confidence. But this one area that I am facing is the one that causes this pattern to resurface. So the work continues. I look inward. I do my soul-work and give myself the space and time needed to lean into that, be fully present in it and listen closely to the truth that surfaces.  What still needs to be faced? What needs to be released? How can I gain a fresh perspective? What can I accept healing grace in?

That is really the decision to be made. That is really the dilemma. And so I continue in my growth and evolution. It is part of life. It is what makes it so beautiful and alive. It is not always easy. It is not always clear and obvious. But once you know...you cannot unknow. I want to be full. I want to be aware. I want to be present. The only way I know to do this, is to keep moving on, to keep self-loving, and to be honest and accepting.

The decisions I am facing will get made. And they will be the right decisions. Why? Because I know I am not willing to sit in a place of making poor actions. I am willing to challenge the old beliefs. I am willing to take chances. I am willing to change the way I do things and think about things. This is how I have been able to rise above so many other obstacles in the past. Onward!

Blessings, Lisa

Living With Heart and Soul

I have come to believe that the heart and soul are the wisest parts of my being. In my youth and then later into my adulthood my learning skills, my academic achievements and my knowledge base were aspects that gained me applause and I shined brightly. But over time I have learned that what I rely on more fully than any book knowledge, what I turn to consistently for guidance and resource, and the place that I find the richest source of my wisdom is my heart and soul. Never do they fail me.

They are alive. They are filled with light. Just as the Universe is. The Universe is not about intellect, it is about energy and experience and flow. While knowledge is a valuable thing, it can and will fail us. But the energies of our heart and soul don't. We just have to gain practice in turning to them, being present with them, practicing life with their energies and bringing them into our presence.

When I am living with heart I am living within the love aspect of my soul. It is a very different and essential level of my being. My intuition awakens, my focus is direct. Living with soul love is not based on an emotional love. This soul level is a much higher vibration. It is a finely tuned energy that allows me to grasp the essence of someone. And it is done without my projecting any of my feelings or beliefs onto the situation. It is clean, pure, vibrant and alive. And it is impersonal. Don't confuse that with cold or uncaring. But instead it is so deep and present that my "story" remains outside of the equation and the focus is only on the other person or the situation at hand.

How have I learned to live with heart and soul? Mainly through appreciation. This act is a big turn on for the heart and soul. Why? Because it is based on a choice, a conscious choice to live with your soul present as opposed to living with emotional responses to life. We call it forth. We put intention into it. We choose to be appreciative of life, wonders, relationships, miracles, beauty, lessons, pain, and more. Our appreciation muscle needs a daily workout to get stronger and stronger. Eventually, living a life full of appreciation becomes easier and grace filled. When we live this way our heart and soul flow with love and wisdom. We learn to listen differently, to check in more often and to see with expansion. Living with heart and soul opens us up to the energies of the Universe, to the vibrations of love and beauty and everything shifts from there.

Blessings, Lisa

Go For It

Breaking news: Seeking happiness does not mean you are being selfish! You have a right to be happy. You deserve to be happy. The Universe responds to this happiness.

When we are happy there is a tremendous shift in our energies. We are vibrant. We are more alive and alert. We take on challenges with optimism. We are more flexible. We seek possibilities. When we are happy we relate to others differently. Happiness creates happiness. It is as though it is contagious.

Makes sense, doesn't it? If we are in a state of happiness we then bring our vitality into the world. Our service to others is affected. We are more loving and generous. We bring our best self to the moment. Life is very different when we are happy than when we are not.

So knowing this, it obviously is important to then know what makes us happy. Joseph Campbell is quoted as saying, "Follow your bliss." What is your bliss? Do you even know? I have found that for some this is a difficult question to answer. They are quick to answer what makes them unhappy. But what brings you joy; what activities, what people, or what beliefs? How can you live your joy?

When we follow our bliss we bring into our lives things that make us naturally grow and evolve. We seek things that inspire us. Happiness impacts our spiritual growth as our soul shines brightly and we learn to trust our intuition and seek our truth. Happiness encourages us to care for our body and its needs so that we are healthy and empowered. Joy has the strength to bring positive thinking into our minds and quells the negative stories and self-talk.

Take on the challenge today and find something that brings you happiness. Explore it, be with it and celebrate it. Pay attention to the impact it has on you; body, mind and soul. Your day will be brighter for it.

Blessings, Lisa

Sabotage

Sabotage exists. There are those who are the victims and those who are the saboteurs. But what if we are both. We can be our very own saboteur. We may be practicing certain behaviors that are setting ourselves up for failure or keeping us small, locked in and shut down.

We all have great potential in life. Most of this potential involves change. But for many change is the very thing that makes them cringe, though they may be quite unhappy and dissatisfied with the life they are living and the relationships within in it. But the minute they explore the possibilities that are within change, they begin to find the need to run, to justify or blame.

It is natural for us to want to escape pain or fear. To experience a new way of being, to take a risk, to step into the unknown is very unsettling. For some, so much so, that they unconsciously will shield themselves from it. They will create scenarios that will prevent them from having to be in the change.

Part of our defense mechanisms that often trigger our saboteur to step into action are fear, anxiety, frustration, lack of motivation, anger or dismissive behavior. These feelings can often be the perfect trigger to pull us away from potential change, to keep us from exploring possibilities or to prevent us from facing what is the next step in our evolution. Part of us longs to remain in the safe zone, the familiar places and the expected outcomes. Even when we know that they will not satisfy us or bring us happiness.

Playing it safe can prevent us from moving onward into the life that is designed for us. It can keep us small. It can keep us silent. It can prevent us from taking a part in the wonders and miracles that await us. The unfamiliar is often filled with many gifts and lessons and we prevent ourselves from experiencing them and embracing them because it will mean taking an unfamiliar step, doing something new or acting differently than we usually do. We allow the fear and anxiety to block us in. We create our own prison.

Change is part of life, we can only escape it for so long. Nothing is permanent, so everything, including your fear or failure will be only temporary. The same with your success. That is why we are created to be continuously evolving, learning and growing.

The more and more we worry about tomorrow or create a story about what could happen, the more we sabotage our self. We need to instead build upon all possibilities, not just the ones we fear the most. And in doing so we begin to see the places in which we can take action and move forward.

We cannot force things to happen or not happen, there is a much bigger energy beyond us that plays into the outcome of our lives. But we can be present and open. We can stop expending our energies into making something not happen and instead put it into making things shift and become alive. It takes practice, it takes courage, and it takes patience and flexibility. But in the end you become your biggest contributor and supporter of the life intended for you instead of your saboteur.

Blessings, Lisa