Too Full For More

So we plead our case. We ask, God, Spirit, The Universe for something we dream for or want. But are we truly ready to be recipients? Have we done the work to prepare for what it is we are asking for? We need to pay particular attention to our emotional state of being. If we are not ready to receive, we won’t be taken seriously. If we are still muddy inside are we really ready? If we are still harboring hurt feelings, unresolved anger, gaping open wounds of pain or anything that keeps us being clean with ourselves and others, then our request will often and most likely should, go without response.

How can we ask for more in our lives when we are not dealing with what we already have on our plate authentically? In the shamanic world our stories often keep us from moving on. We hold onto an interpretation of our life and let it guide us. We give it power that it may not call for. We allow it to dictate what we do, how we feel, what we say and more. But it is only a story. It is only one possible version of our reality.

Let me put it to you this way. Have you ever had something happen to you that in the moment you saw it one way. It felt real. It looked that way when you thought about it. It unfolded the same way each time you told others about it. But then time goes on. More time passes. And then one day you recall it, and you cannot remember all the facts. The heat and passion of the moment may be gone. You actually may even remember it differently and if you were asked to share the story, it would possibly unfold quite differently than from when it first occurred. Now it is still the same event and it happened to the same person, you, but somehow it has changed a little. You are less muddy about it. You are not so invested in it any more. You may not be as impassioned either. Not everyone gets to this place in the story. For some, the story and all the facts and emotions are held onto tightly. They get stuck in their story.

If that is the case, then we are bogged down with energy and emotions that need to move on. We need to be able to look at the events in our life as a casual observer, and not carry around the pain for the rest of time. It can keep us in a place of being stuck. It can keep us from moving forward and growing. And it can keep us from getting what we want from Source.

We need to clear our page. Be aware of our story, but not controlled by it. We need to be open to receive what is next for us. If we are bogged down holding onto our stories, how can we embrace what awaits?

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

It Is A Good Morning

It is 4 am and I am wide awake. My day is about to begin and I am thinking of what the new beginnings will look like for me today. It is a Friday, what some hold as the end of their week, the beginning of their weekend. For me it is a day perfect for a fresh start. I can leave behind any baggage from yesterday, any unresolved expectations. I can bring fresh new energy into the day and take on any unfinished business with a clean slate, a beautiful new beginning and breathe new life into it. Being conscious means we are in a constant flow of change. Every moment affords us that choice. We can choose how we relate to a person in our life, a situation at our workplace or even our feelings over a task at hand. When I live like this it gives me the chance to let go, to release and to replace and renew. This is important to me. It means I don’t let drama fill my moments. It means I don’t have to be stuck. It means I have choices in life even in things beyond my control.

If I believe that I am a constantly evolving person, which I do, then it is important that I live this way. How can I evolve if I keep holding on to feelings, beliefs or reactions to yesterday’s news? I have to start fresh and leave room for the change of who I am and who I am becoming. My soul needs the room to grow. I need the space within my heart to expand and contract as needed.

I began today with a ritual I often do. I stood before my altar, a sacred place I have created for my personal connection to Spirit, and I visualize myself putting any unresolved or unnecessary parts of the past that I may be holding onto into a bowl of water I have on the altar. Whatever is not going to serve me here in this moment goes in the bowl. I trust that Spirit will point out to me things I need to keep close, that are still works in progress, things I need to address to move forward, but the rest go in the bowl. In the water they are cleansed, they are safe for the time being, for when I am instructed to go back and take another look, but I don’t have the burden of carrying them around with me. I can use my energies elsewhere!

This morning in a journey one of my spirit guides showed me a tiny seed from a flower, it had a bit of fluff attached that helped it to be carried in the breeze. The flower had released it, let it go, without worry. This seed may land somewhere and take root, it may be eaten up by a bird, or it may be lost in the wind and never reach the rich soil it needs. The flower does not hold onto this worry. It does not spend any energy towards that part of the process. It has sat in the sun and bloomed, soaked up the rain and grew, and when the time was right, released the seed…which no longer served it and trusted that part of the process. Life will take it from there.

SO whether it be a seed or a burden, I begin each day letting go, making room, with a clean slate and a fresh start. New beginnings flourish here. Newness is added to my world this way. Sometimes it takes courage, sometimes it takes effort to let go, other times it is with great relief. But always, it creates possibilities for the greatest potential. What a magnificent way to start a day!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

You Can Stop Caring

You can stop caring. Really it is o.k. The world will not come to an end. I promise. Stop caring about what, you ask? Well, for starters, let me share with you a few things that I have decided I will no longer care about. Let’s see if you agree. I have stopped caring about what everyone thinks of me. Other’s opinions do not matter so much to me anymore. I enjoy my friendships, my family’s love and relationships I have with others, but if you choose to say something about me and if you share your thoughts about me...it just is not that important to me. What has become important to me is what I think about myself. I have learned my thoughts can create my reality. So I pay close attention to what I am thinking about myself, how I am judging myself and if I am honoring myself.

I have also stopped caring about being perfect. It is an imaginary state anyway. Being perfect is impossible. Perfectionists also have a very difficult time getting anything done. It is hard to start new projects and even more challenging to finish them. Why? Because nothing is ever perfect or good enough. I have also discovered that I have some of my best life lessons when I mess up. Through my mistakes and shortcomings, I find my strengths or vulnerabilities. I learn who I am.

I have also stopped caring about things that are beyond my control. This is a fact of life I have finally come to terms with. It is the best thing I can do to prevent myself from wasting my energies or my talents. I have released the frustration and inertia that comes from being in this state! When I am faced with something that is beyond my control and I feel myself beginning to stress, I put my energies into shifting my perspective. Now, that I can take part of and care about. It leads me to a place of forward movement and helps me to decide what I will do next.

I have learned to live in the moment. To do that, I had to stop doing certain things before I could have new beginnings. These are just a few, but they were biggies for me. How about you? What can you stop caring about? How will your life be different if you do?

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Celebrating YOU

I have so much in my life to celebrate, so much to be grateful for, so much to take delight in. But I have made it a priority to celebrate me first. Yup, I am first in line. Why? Two reasons. One, I have learned that my definition of celebration has a bit more depth than most. And two, once I make celebrating me a priority the power and joy, the light and peace, and the magical abundance flows and flows and flows! Before you know it, there is not a day that goes by without someone or something to celebrate! So how do I define celebrating? It is so much more than parties, cake and balloons or champagne toasts! Celebrating is honoring, and admiring. There is a recognition of the value. An accepting the whole package in its wabi sabi perfectly imperfection. There is respect, esteem, and appreciation in the act of celebrating as well.

When I bring celebration into my day I open the doors of connection. I embrace those who cross my path. I look to the seasons, the time of day, the moment with an eye of appreciation and wonder. I am looking for the spark in the moment. My whole perspective shifts from blindness to awareness.

When I take this celebration to a more personal level I look to myself and honor the spiritual being that I am. I cherish the body I have been gifted with. I value the wisdom I hold within. I am amazing! You are as well. Now, that is worth celebrating! And the beautiful thing that happens next is that our body responds. It resonates to the positive energy in which we are holding it.

I have learned to celebrate the form of my body, its role, it movements, its stamina. I have also learned to accept its softness, its vulnerabilities and its potential. The human body has taken an awful lot of abuse, neglect and hate of late. I decided to change that channel and find my own personal rhythm to move within.

And at this celebration come the relationship I have with my body. I have witnessed over time the better I participate in this relationship, the keener my sense of my value of my body and the better my body seems to respond. We are in constant communication. It is hard to believe that at one time in my life, I was barely listening and often that listening was filled with resentment, negative expectations and denial.

To celebrate oneself we need to be awake to the voice of our body. We need to be aware of the messages that are being sent to us and not make up excuses, rationalizations or refusals to what they are. We need to be responsible for our part of the relationship.

As we learn to listen we find more and more ways to honor our bodies. Whether it be through food, movement, spiritual practices, rest and relaxation, creativity or more. With each act of compassion and understanding, responsibility and support that we offer we take yet one more step closer to the celebration! Our body wants to be jubilant! Our body wants to be revered! Out body wants to serve us well...really, really well! And that is a party in itself! Imagine the gifts of that!

Today listen closely. What message is your body sending you? How will you receive this message? How will you respond? How long before you take the actions necessary for the celebration to begin?

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade