Minute by Minute

How is your relationship with time and life? Odd question? Hard to answer? Not sure? I can relate. There was a time when I had a difficult time answering it. I was not really sure how my relationship with time and life truly was. I needed to figure it out. Here is what I discovered. First I had to find out what was needed in my relationship with time and with my life. I found I needed intention, desire, belief and willingness, a good amount of perseverance, some acceptance and willingness. Once I discovered the need for these things and how to relate to them, embrace them and BE them...my relationship with time and with my life changed, dramatically. In the most wonderful ways.

I learned I was losing parts of my life minute by minute, day in and day out, in a thousand small and tiny uncaring ways. I needed to step up and become conscious of my life, my beliefs and my choices. I took my intentions to work on first. I became very clear with what I wanted in my life. I looked at relationships, activities, locations, skills, achievements...you get the picture. I really spent time with a sharpie and made a list of intentions, specific intentions, that would bring about the changes in my life to be what I dreamed it could be.

Then I looked at my desire level. I know the more motivated I am about something the more energy I bring to the game. So I asked myself in total truth seeking, just how much I wanted this life for myself. Things that I felt challenged me in the motivation realm, I sat with and looked for the answer of why I was not motivated. More work to do, but I knew it would be so worth it! My life, the one I was dreaming of was worth it!

Then I ran into the wall of belief. Did I dare to believe I could trust I could actually have this life? I mean really? Old wounds and voices immediately surfaced. Holding patterns had to be broken, thoughts were challenged. My mindset had to be rebooted. I knew the power of my thoughts. If I did not truly believe I could have this life...how would I find a way to embrace it, to live it fully and to find the time for it? I also stopped worrying about what others believed I should be doing, wanting, creating or more. This was my life. Let them live theirs!

Of course from here I had to face my perseverance. It was going to take a while to change some of these bad habits, these old patterns because some of these had been with me my entire life, or as far back as I could remember; old stories to challenge.

I learned during this time of perseverance that I had to also work on my acceptance. I had to accept who I was in the moment, if I was mad...be mad, if I was frustrated be with it, or if I was nervous, accept it. By being present with myself and accepting I was experiencing these reactions to the hard work of creating a new relationship with life, I found that these reactions were not road blocks. I would become aware, recognize what was being brought up or triggered, accept it was part of me and my process and relatively quickly the reaction eased up. Wow!

This new relationship with time and life and my reactions to the process created a beautiful willingness within me to try to do things differently. I had an awareness that obviously if I kept doing the same thing the same way...what would change? But oh, how challenging, unnerving and odd it felt to not fall back on the usual ways; even when I new they would ultimately fail me or disappoint me. I had a period of time when I often had a good laugh at myself during this phase.

I learned the difference between existing and living. I don't know what the next moment holds for me, but I am not willing to waste anymore time worrying over it, trying to control it or building up regrets. Minute by minute my relationship with life is a beautiful unfolding of possibilities, gifts and lessons. I am in the life I want.

Blessings ~ Lisa ©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Making Time for Play, Adventure and Delight

Giggles erupt from mouth, tears are rolling down my cheeks and my sides ache from the continuing belly laughter. I am with my family, laughing away at some silliness, some funny personal story, some delightful joke shared among us. These moments are often in my home. The laughter becomes contagious, the mood lighter, the memories deeper and we fall in love with one another again and again. Our souls are at play together, sharing and delighting in the energies. Our souls are alive and vibrantly dancing in the flow of the creative energies of the moment. These energies are what help our souls thrive. These energies of fun, freedom, playfulness and wonder are what keep our creativity alive. Creativity grows in the fertile ground of play and wonder. It finds an ease in being. Our soul finds newness and vibrancy in the folds of it and expand its many colors, it flavors, it sounds and it textures. It awakens ideas, encourages actions, empowers dreams and expands visions.

Stress and and overwhelm stifle our creativity. When we fail to make time for play, when we stop seeking adventure and we hold off on delight, we limit the space our soul can breathe in. The flow for these energies can become blocked off. We need to feed our soul healthy doses of this generative time so that there is an abundance of energies flowing for the gradual pooling of our creative juices.

Marion Woodman shares, "If we fail to nourish our souls, they wither, and without soul, life ceases to have meaning.... The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worth living." We can always find another thing on our list of what needs to be tended to, someone is always around to ask a favor of us, and we often find ourselves stuck in the rut of doing and find it challenging to break the cycle and step outside of it to find adventurous play time. But like most activities that are really good for us, as difficult as it can be to get started, once we do them and begin to enjoy them...we don't want to stop!

Our soul let's us know we are on the right track. There is a beautiful flow to our day. Obstacles do not stop us in our tracks, instead we find creative ways to incorporate them, to move through them and to appreciate them. Our soul encourages us to keep our commitment to the time for play, laughter and delight. It knows how much it will fuel us. It knows how strong our energies become and how inspired we become from these energies. Our days become filled with focus, with dreams, with vision, and with love. Soul is always creative, fresh and new. It is part of its very essence.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Finding the Union With My Soul

Have you noticed that life is filled with comparisons? From the time we are born it begins. And it continues to go on to varying degrees throughout our lifetime. More often than not, comparison is our ego trying to get us to focus on how we are different from others. In a society that does not support healthy self esteem and loves to invest in the energy around the haves and have nots....this is a dangerous path to walk to. It shuts us down. It divides. It disengages us from our soul. To find the union with my soul I prefer to focus energies on recognizing and celebrating the ways we are the same. Finding commonality between peers creates a bridge that communication can cross over. It is what often draws the heart to follow the love thread when we meet our partner. How much we share in common offers a sense of recognition and delights the soul.

When we separate ourselves from others through our beliefs we think we are in control. We get big in ego, we are not being authentic and do not invite positive energies into the relationship. When shift our perspective to be open and receptive, welcoming and inviting, non-judgmental and hold the vision of love, we have moved into our soul presence. Positivity begins to flow and we find ourselves invested in the relationship.

When we hold the vision of our connection with everything, life expands. As Wayne Dyer states, "As a holistic being you shatter the illusion of your separateness and reveal your connection to everything. This empowers you in a way that the ego-driven self could never contemplate." We learn that egoic beliefs separate while soul love unites.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

My Hot List

Ok, I will admit it. I am a list maker. It is part of my organizational skills. I rarely look at them once I write them. It is the act of writing them that keeps me focused and organized in my intentions and flow throughout the day. All I know is it works for me. Over time my lists have evolved. I decided I could use the power of the list making process to my benefit in more ways than simply remembering things to do or get. I began to develop what I now call my HOT list. This list is basically a "to do" list but with bigger intentions. This list contains things that REALLY matter to me and the life I am choosing to live, things that genuinely impact the quality of my life in the best ways possible, a list that is in alignment with my very soul.

Every day this list reminds me to be sure to dedicate time to focus on these things, some days it is only 15 - 30 minutes and other days it is a full day. Some days I write about these things, some days I put energies into their creation. Some days I plan what I need to do to manifest these things into my life, or what I need to release to make room for them.

I once read a quote by S. Covey, "You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage -- pleasantly, smilingly, unapologetically -- to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside." I changed the word "priorities" to possibilities. That felt even truer to me. It is a quote I live by.

I have learned the value of my numerous lists in life. Whether they bring organization or possibilities, it is a win/win for me. I have also learned that my HOT list, really is just that. It is filled with my fiery passions, it holds burning embers and keeps sparks alive. This list has taught me that to get the life I want to live, to have the experiences, the relationships, the challenges, the possibilities...I have to first decide what I truly want and then I have to invest myself into them.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade