The Paralysis of Fear

Have you ever been faced with a decision where you truly were struggling with what to do? You get caught up in all the choices. You find fear creeping in and surrounding your thoughts with what if and what can go wrong. This fear can grow and mount and begin to pull the brakes on your personal power. You become entangled in the paralysis of fear.

Dale Carnegie once stated, ""You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind." And it is so true. Your soul is ready for your decision, regardless of what it is. It knows that if it is the "right" choice, it will lead you further down your path, bring into light what you need to know next and challenge you to grow. Your soul also knows that if it is NOT the "right" choice, you will be led further down your path, light will be shed on what you need to know next and you will be challenged to grow! Amazing!

It is your mind that thinks there is a do or die aspect to making the right choice. It creates story after story of all that can go wrong, who will be disappointed, the shame, the blame the consequences etc. Your anxiety level can go off the chart.

But what if there are no wrong decisions? What if you chose exactly what you need next, even if it is not in alignment with what your brain thinks? What if you remain present and open, no matter what you choose? You will be given an experience that will add to your life in some way, it will teach you, encourage you, propel you in some way. Imagine the possibilities in this truth.

We each have incredible resiliency and strength far greater than we give ourselves credit for. How many times have you created a story around choices in your life, that should have resulted in extremes far worse than you can describe and yet, somehow, your survived? You managed to rise above. You managed to learn something about your self. Somehow you handled what you deemed to be the wrong decision. Even if it was in reality the right decision!

Celebrate the choices, live large, practice your intentions, honor your callings, embrace your passions and let all this be the influence of your choices. Step away from the paralysis of fear.

Blessings, Lisa

Not Giving Away Your Power

There are all kinds of pressure; peer pressure, parenting pressure, career pressure, beauty pressure and more. We are continually bombarded by standards that are set for us to adhere to, rise to and accept. But these standards are set by forces outside of us. They are set to keep a division between the haves and have nots, to create a chosen few, the elite, and the beyond special. It creates a series of checks and balances that most accept. But what if you are one who does not accept them as the norm, or a measure of who you are and what you do?

Who are these forces to deem that someone is more worthy than you? For anything? How do they become so powerful in our world? What right has been bestowed upon them? Why do we turn to them for guidance and approval?

We have given our power away in so many circumstances. We believe that others know better who we are and what we need to do. We give them the power to call the shots, set the bar, make our choices and form our opinions.

What if we began to lean into ourselves? What if we gave ourselves permission to trust our own truth, to listen to our own voice, to learn from our own mistakes and successes? You are the very expert you need to consult on decisions about your life. Practicing this act of listening to one's truth and authentic voice takes time, it is often not modeled to us or encouraged. But, that does not mean it is not doable or possible.

No one is more worthy than you of your power. You have the greatest insight on what is right for you. You have the best opinion on what you want. You have the wisest thoughts on what feels true. You have the deepest connection to your truth. No one else does!

Embracing this fact and applying it to your life is a power filled action. It puts you in control of your decision making, your choices, your interests, likes and dislikes without any need to rationalize or hide.

We all need people in our life to share out thoughts with, to have conversations that help us expand in our views and concepts, but in the end it is you who puts the final thought in place within your essence. It is you who creates the pattern for your life tapestry and chooses how to embellish it or trim it back.

Learning to not give our power away is a practice. It is a commitment. It takes time. But in a world where an "expert" is around every corner, to learn to rely upon our own power, strengths and wisdom is a very important skill of survival and leads to days of happiness and grace.

Blessings, Lisa

What Defines Your Reality

What defines my reality? A question that I have worked with over time so that I become more aware of where I am energetically in the moment. This question has given me opportunities to keep my process clear, to find my direction and to heal what comes up.

We see in our lives situations, energetic relationships with people, places, events, things, that we try to understand, embrace or let go. Our reality in the moment ebbs and flows with the work we do around these. Remembering this is critical.

Think back to the last time you were frustrated with a situation. Perhaps it had something to do with work, or a family relationship or even the traffic. Your perception created your reality in the moment. You had the choice to see this from a perspective of complete overwhelm, bringing in all kinds of negative self talk and energies. Or you could stand grounded in the knowledge that the feelings and emotions wrapped around the moment would eventually pass, that you would more than likely resolve the problem, make amends with your family, and, yes, get through the traffic and arrive at your destination.

We need to learn how to train ourselves to view life and its events from a place of gentle understanding that our ego often likes to take charge and be in control. When this happens we often are walking a tightrope of emotions. We see ourselves so differently than who we are truly and authentically. Our reflection of our Self and the events we are in can become skewed and inaccurate

We have all been there, listening to someone go on and on about a situation in their life, how limited their choices are, how much a victim they are of the circumstances, how unfair it all is, how impossible things have become and so on. We have listened to the voice inside that responds with comments like, "Well, that is because you won't let go of the old story, or You are not ready to embrace your truth, or That is only one way to see this." What if we took these kinds of comments and applied them to our own dialogue the next time we are defining our reality.

Imagine what could shift, imagine how quickly you could pull yourself out of the egoic sludge and move on, imagine what you could learn about your inner Truth! It will most likely take you out of your comfort zone the first few times you try this. Even pain can be a comfort zone for us, especially if we feel we know no other way. But, with gentle tenderness and consideration that we are a work in progress, we can find that taking small steps in this understanding of our moment by moment perception can be a path to living in our Truth, in the moment, and not projecting into the future the what ifs or draggin along the past's old story lines.

Blessings, Lisa

To Be Happy

I posted earlier today a Tedx video of a 13 year old boy sharing among many things the answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" He talked about the difference in perspective of a child versus an adult. He talked about living life fully, keeping things in perspective, being present and fully active in his day's energies and ended by saying while he is not quite sure what he wants to DO when he grows up he is certain that he wants to BE happy.

So what keeps us from this state of being happy? What gets in our way, trips us up and boxes us in. Why do we lose the perspective of our inner child instead of bringing it along with us in our life journey the same way we bring along our other characteristics?

To be happy requires less than we think it does. We over complicate it. We place expectations upon what it needs to look like, feel like, and cost us. We dictate when we have time to be happy, who we can be happy with and where we can find happiness.

What if we flung open the door to our happiness. What if we looked for it in the most unexpected places, made room for it in the least obvious relationships and were willing to  take a few risks and chances at creating it? What have we got to lose? We know we have everything to gain.

Our soul seeks happiness, bliss, delight and beauty. It is everywhere around us and if we take down the barriers and open our doors wide to the energies, so that they flow through and around us, the shift happens. Our bad days are not quite as hard, our ill moods not quite as sour, our frustrations not as taxing and we see light where we could only see darkness before. We feel brighter, lighter, stronger, and more alive!

And as an added bonus, this energetic shift spreads quickly. Those around us cannot help but be drawn into the flow of the happiness. Each day holds more smiles, more laughter, more tenderness and care.

Yes, as I grew up I found out what I wanted to Do. But more importantly I found how to Be happy!

Blessings, Lisa