Quiet Mind

This picture from my 2010 anniversary trip to Cambodia, came up on my computer today and I immediately connected with it.

For me, it symbolizes leading from the heart (and body) versus the head.  It also represents what an ideal meditation session would look like – a cleared mind.

As much as this statue could be viewed as flawed and perhaps grotesque, I think it is beautiful and represents a goal I have when it comes to being more present, calm and centered.  The thinking/head can complicate this state of being…this picture says it all.  Nice!

Elevate the Ordinary

Recently I’ve seen the phrase ‘Elevate the Ordinary’ and something in me said “yes”.

If I were to have a defining statement, I could see that being mine.  It reflects how I show up, write, photograph and how I connect with others.

Finding the phrase made picking my word for the year easy and interesting: ELEVATE!

The definition:  raise to a more important or impressive level gives me a tickle of excitement in my tummy.  Now my job is to be mindful and present enough to notice how ELEVATE shows up in my life.  Fun times are certainly ahead!

If you were to have one word as an intention for the year, what would it be?

Release

My word for today is:  RELEASE.

Besides undressing the tree and finding homes for our new gifts, I’ve done other ‘releasing’ type activities like unscubscribed to a few websites and emptied most emails from my inbox.

I was also compelled to do a metaphorical release of my limiting beliefs that have been circling my head probably for my adult life but on loudspeaker this past fall.  I did this by putting them into the “Old Story Pot” on the website Good Vibe University (where I’m a member).  This is a brilliant forum (within the website) to articulate your limiting beliefs and release them.  Then other members support that release by either offering positive reinforcement, a new perspective, or a virtual ‘high five’.  This is what I threw in the pot today:

I release my disempowered thoughts and feelings around my worth, deserving and access to money and fabulous things in my life. More specifically…

• I release the thoughts…’my life has always been blessed, who am I to want more’.
• I release the feelings and compulsion to ‘ask permission’ for things I desire in my life.
• I release the feeling that I need to ‘earn’ my wellbeing and abundance.
• I release the suffering and ‘playing small’ that has been a result of the above thoughts.

 In turn I invite the thoughts/statements:

• I am worthy beyond measure.
• I get to decide what I want and how much.
• I allow more expansion into my life and I deserve even more than I can articulate or know in this minute.
• I am here on earth to share my gifts and talents with others and I allow more and more people to experience them than I can even think possible.
• I deserve what I have and I deserve even more and better.
• Life is good.
• I trust myself.
• The Universe/God supports me.
• I get to decide.
• I choose THIS AND BETTER! 

What would you throw into the pot?  Release it here and we can start with a clean slate in 2013.  Namaste

 

Write Already

My extended mental back and forth on whether I should write or not, and how often, and for what purpose and for whom and back around again has gotten veeeeery tedious to me.   I feel like throwing up my hands and saying ENOUGH ALREADY!  But that doesn’t really solve the problem.  If I say WRITE ALREADY…well that makes some sense.

My job now is to allow…the words, the time, the flow and to be ok with the not knowing of the for whom, and for what reason and the for how long….that will come in due time (or not).

Curiosity, connection, creativity, learning, authenticity and fun are my biggest values at this point in my life.  My writing and photography are natural vehicles to explore and share these values in a highly meaningful way…to me!  If I believe that doing what I love is the conduit to having the life that I love….why the heck have I created a spin cycle around my writing.

My note to self today is…write already and the rest will take care of itself!

Leap

Almost a full month has gone.

How strange that I pick the one extra day of this month to re-engage here.

Leap Day = lots of frog references online today!

In the animal totem world, frog = transformation; it symbolizes coming into your personal power.

I’m thinking that the theme for March will be re-acquainting with my personal power.  Given that March is my birthday month, activating my personal power seems pretty groovy.  Wanna’ join me?

Personal Power activate!  In the form of a FROG! Boing!

Your Body Knows

I’m really trying to trust my intuition more.  I have a an amazing intuition-navigation-device…and so do you.

In the Martha Beck coaching lingo, we call it the Body Compass.  It is a simple and powerful tool for navigating the big and small decisions in our lives. 

Speaking for myself, the more I’ve acquainted myself with my personal body compass the more I can tune into my body’s signals for the ‘hot and cold’ game of deciding what is a right next step for me.  At the moment my physical cues are full body chills (you know the kind that you get when you hear a really beautiful story).  I get those at very odd times and it usually when someone is telling me something that is their truth, or when I’ve accessed mine.  Additionally, if I’m considering something and my throat closes up, I know that is an invitation to look deeper at the situation to see why it isn’t right for me (and consider ditching it all together).

I often ask myself…what would it mean for me to ONLY operate from my intuition.  I’ve tried it a lot and then I forget and go back to my old ways of forcing things, looking outside myself for answers and just bumbling around not paying attention to the messages my body gives me. 

Ultimately, to be able to operate from intuition I can see that developing a consistent practice of connecting with the stillness within me through meditation and connection with nature will be useful.  I am learning more about these practices through Martha Beck’s new book Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, especially in the sections called Wordlessness and Oneness. 

I may be romanticizing what my life would be like with a purely intuitive approach, but I believe that IS how we connect with our authentic path; by connecting with that inner knowing.  As much as it sounds super-airy-fairy-loosy-goosy, for me it also paradoxically feels very practical and from the ‘here-and-now’.  Who knows best about what is right for your life than YOU. 

If you’re curious about the Body Compass tool, contact me and I can run a Tool Time Tuesday session on it!  Bring your friends along too! 

I also invite you to share your ideas about intuition here…I am deeply intrigued by this topic and would love to learn more!

Reflection

It is that time of year, where I’m drawn to reflect on how my year went and what I intend to bring into my life for the coming year.

As I grow more and more deliberate about creating a life that I love, this process organically comes to me and the process takes on a life of its own.  With the intention of reflection and exploration, I’m often effortlessly brought to the exact resources to support me in articulating my learnings and my desires. 

What if all it takes for us to gain the necessary insights for our growth at the end of a year and expansion for the new year, is to believe that the right information, and the right processes, and the right people will show up to support us? 

Right now I am in the thick of my process, that has come to me by way of a list of questions, not unlike the ones found here on a new site I found just a moment ago that I can tell is going to inspire my photography….but for now it gives me more questions to reflect on for the remainder of 2011.  Just finding this site and these questions already provides the evidence to my ‘what if statement’ above.  I learned the power of “What If” a year ago…What If It All Goes Right? .  What if…what if I shoot for the stars this year?  I like the feel of that question.

My Life Book

Yesterday morning I woke up with this question in my head:  “What if I show up as myself sharing my quirky observations, inspiring people with my photography, and sharing my insights and learnings with others?”  During this same morning musing I thought, “Maybe if I do all that, people will say “I’ll have what she’s having”…and that is all the marketing I need to do.  If I show up as me, and I share my “me” with others, then I will be successful.” Then I found this quote in my inbox and it feels like a “yes” to my insights (I love when messages synch with my personal insights)

The qualities that capture positive attention these days aren’t slickness, blandness, and mass consensus (boring), but authenticity, inventiveness, humor, beauty, uniqueness, playfulness, empathy, and meaning (interesting).
—Martha Beck, Finding Your Way In A Wild New World

I know that this isn’t some amazing ‘a-ha’ but it feels like I’m leaning more and more into believing the above than listening to the “7 Steps to Creating a Successful Business” which I sometimes run to in times of uncertainty.  If I had to write my own personal “7 Steps” they would be:

1)      Believe you are worthy (if you don’t believe that find a compassionate person/coach to help change that….or try therapy if that feels right)

2)      Find out what brings you the most joy and contentment/peace (be a treasure hunter of your desires)

3)      Do #2 whenever possible

4)      Notice when you aren’t doing #2 and clean up your thinking/work with a coach/share with a compassionate friend

5)      Magnetize yourself to people who ‘get it” or “get you”

6)      Show up as authentically as you can every day….and notice when you’re not and go back to #4

7)      Always, always, always go with the person/place/thing/idea that feels most like FUN!

Then VOILA things will happen that will serve your life’s purpose and/or at least you’ll be having FUN with people you enjoy!   Both are what life SHOULD BE about ….in my Life Book!

Coeur de rire

Translation:  Laughing Heart

My Facebook post from 9/11/11 read – “…the world needs more laughing hearts”.  When I wrote that I had a sense of knowing that this has something to do with ME and my purpose in life.  I’m curious to explore where this has already manifested for me and where it will take me.  For the time being, I have tucked the idea and the rich palpable feeling in a metaphorical bubble near my heart.  I have the intention that MY laughing heart will attract the people and experiences to help me inspire others to live from a ‘laughing heart’ perspective. 

In retrospect, I realize that I have recently been photographing hearts in many everyday things like trees, clouds, rocks, and spontaneous lotion hearts squeezed in a hand.  As I was looking for the French translation (coeur de rire), I found this beautiful poem. 

The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

— by Charles Bukowski

WISH

I have been using the phrase “I’m thirsty for knowledge” a lot lately.  On Friday I went to the library and checked out a dozen books.  I’m hoping to get through at least half.  I have to say though that my parents should get a refund on that speed reading class I took in 9th grade.

Another way I’m soaking up information is by participating in this incredibly rich and fabulous program called The W.I.S.H. Summit (it’s free).  Every night for 40 nights (7 have already taken place) Tera Warner shares interviews with great thought leaders of the day.  The very last one is with Maya Angelou…how cool is that?  I’ve made the time every day to listen.  I’ve not been disappointed…and so this will be my daily practice for these 40 days. Wanna join me?