Posted on in Personal Thoughts

My Journey Is My Own

The next question that came was, “Do you enjoy helping others?” My first thought was a curiosity of other perspectives. Do people think my work is all about helping others? Do people think my goal is to help people? What an interesting idea.

I don’t try to help others. It’s not my goal, or my intention, or my reason for doing what I do. Admittedly, my process often does help in terms of providing insight or resources. I believe if I approached my work with the goal of helping others, I would fail often. That’s a lot of pressure with little direction.

I believe there is a process of becoming, an unfolding of authentic identity that must occur for purpose and passion to meet. I did not embark on my journey to help others. I did it to help me. I did not sign up for college classes or earn degrees with the thought of how someone else could be more successful. I did it to acquire new knowledge that was aligned with my deepest values and to navigate my own beliefs, fears, and possibilities. I never embraced a role, a job, or a duty to be nice or helpful. I did it because I knew without a doubt I was where I belong, and it would create momentum for the next leap.

Who I am and what I do are aligned, intertwined, and inseparable. Along the way to get where I am now, there were many levels, many upgrades, plenty of challenges, and so much to learn! Here’s the thing; I’m not done growing and I’m going to keep going! I love where I am but I know there is more for me. I don’t always know what my presence will mean to someone else, but I know that if I show up where I am meant to be as myself, it will be powerful, meaningful, and moving. I wish for everyone to reach this understanding and move into authentic being. Imagine what the world could be like!

Posted on in personal development

Breathe Passion

Recently I was asked, “Do you love what you do?” Questions like this come up from time to time, especially when encountering someone new or new to what I do. It makes me laugh because the honest answer seems obvious to me. Of course, I love what I do! Why else would I do it?

In reality, a lot of people do things they don’t love. Sometimes there is good reason to do the necessary work of life. Sometimes the thing you are doing isn’t what fulfills you, but it is a pathway towards your true fulfillment. In a perfect world, anyone who answers “no” to the question of loving what you do would follow with a “but” that describes why they do it and how they are truly happy. Income isn’t always tied to passion.

I feel very blessed to say my work is my passion. I’ve been doing it so long now; I sometimes forget how long the road really was for me. I didn’t always love the work I had to do. I didn’t always love school and the things I was required to learn to move up and acquire more. In fact, it took me no less than a decade to reach the point where I had organized things just well enough to move into the career field I was pursuing. In that time, I spent thousands of hours in classrooms and hundreds more in jobs that were necessary, maybe fun, sometimes unpleasant, but in any case, it was all part of the journey.

Every part of my journey has been a learning experience. I don’t expect that to stop now. So, embrace where you are along your path, even if you don’t know the destination or even the next turn. We face detours, reroutes, construction, vast miles of emptiness, traffic jams, stops, and every other challenge a road offers in life. Yet, there is much beauty to behold and there can always be a next destination rather than a final one.

Posted on in embodiment, mindset, Success

The Work of Life

In the work that I do, I am privileged to a multitude of insights and perspectives. From one-on-one coaching sessions to support groups, working with individuals, couples, and family dynamics, and being presented with personal experiences from any category of life you can think of. It’s a blessing for an inquiring mind. I’ve always been fascinated by the human mind with a disposition towards wanting to understand how things (and people) work. Even with all of this data surrounding my everyday conversations, my best teacher has been my own experience.

Often, I am perplexed by the passiveness by which people choose to live their lives. There’s an old saying about humans being creatures of habit and surely that is what I see more often than not. Over many years, life is made up of simple routines and repeat activities for so many people. Here’s the catch; if your routines and activities are that which you want your life to be made of, you’re living the dream! However, for many people there is a heavy cloak of unhappiness, regret, and discontentment that veils the life they don’t really want to be living.

Life is work, plain and simple. Either you will work hard at carrying a heavy burden and presenting a facade to the people you care about, or you will work hard to build that which makes you truly happy. There is no lazy life because inactivity sacrifices experience. In certain moments we may float through life without much active ambition, but if those moments persist, we will miss out on the actual living.

Time and time again, I hear people complain about effort. Things are labeled as “too hard” and so passions are given up. Inconveniences become overwhelming and so things with meaning are neglected and never taken up again. The irony is that these same people appear to be blind to how much effort they expend making excuses and rerouting their lives into things that suck all of their energy with negativity. It’s exhausting to observe and so frustrating to know that a matter of choice could literally change the world for a person.

Think about it. Then decide what you want and live your life to the fullest, accomplishing your purpose, your dreams, and the great adventures of life. It might be difficult and even full of obstacles, but you were made to do it.

Posted on in mindset, Spirituality

Magic Numbers and Intuition

If you would only keep your eyes open long enough, surely you would see the signs and mentions of things beyond the normal. Some call it supernatural, or paranormal, or spiritual, among other things. Maybe it’s magic, or maybe we just miss the absolute wonder of life that is always there. Open the eyes of understanding and after awhile the lines a separation begin to fade and everything appears to be connected in ways that are undeniably perfection in their creation. There is no lack of beauty, awe, or wonder all around us if only we would find it. Give it some time, and that which first seems beyond the normal will become quite normal after all.

Once in the realm of superstition, now there is a wide acceptance of simple things having profound meaning. Have you ever seen an angel number? Have you ever noticed a pattern of something popping up in your life as if to present an important message? Have you ever noticed your intuition guiding you toward or away from something without questioning the logic behind it?

We can accept that patterns exist in almost everything. Cycles are the way of the world; the clock repeats every 12 hours, every day has a sunrise and sunset, each month holds a new moon and it’s circle of fullness, the year has it’s seasons, and so on. It’s our awareness of anything outside of self that causes us to notice these nuances and become an active part of the great system. All possibility already exists and anything that will be is already in motion. Most people coast through life unaware of so much that exists all around them. Yet, when the internal world of our awareness and intuition allows us to focus on the synchronicity of everything we are a part of, there is power in our action. That power is intention.

When anything shows up in our awareness, the power is not in that thing, but in our awareness of the potential so that we can set an intention to influence anything. Actions influence outcomes. Words set intentions. Thoughts facilitate energy. Emotions align our intentions and values. Everything is connected. Potential is unlimited. Life is full of magic when you’re living it.

Posted on in embodiment, Personal Thoughts

Being Present

Days are longer. Air is warmer. People are happier. This is Spring. New life is thriving and from the earth, things are growing. As I ponder what wisdom is worth depositing into the collective today, two things are at the forefront of my mind. They are colored by an awareness that these blessed days which I have so longed for over the winter will soon pass by and yield to the cycle of seasons.

First, I recognize that the more I learn, the more aware I become of just how little I know. As my awareness grows about myself and the world around me, I find that there is so much interconnectedness that it’s difficult to break off subjects and make abbreviated mentions. One simple conversation can unfold through so many ideas and potentially be endless. I am blessed with a few close friends who embody this and our ability to roll through continual, deep conversation is one of the great joys of my life. Life is meant to be fluid, changing, and unfolding.

Second, in the vastness of all that life has to offer, this moment matters most. There is so much behind me, left in my memory. Yet, there is so much before me, left wide open to possibilities. Both are a blessing to behold, but only in this moment can I live.

In this moment, I am walking barefoot in the grass, pleased by every color tucked between the leaves; yellow, purple, blue, brown, white.

In this moment, I am witnessing the beauty of growth with every down turned to feather, every burst of playful scampering, every first tweet, cluck, or meow on the farm.

In this moment, I choose the flowing dress on a windy day so that I can relish the pleasure of a warm breeze after a cool night.

In this moment, I am looking for the very ordinary space between the milestones as the accomplishments of my parenting produce great fruit and I am blessed to behold the developing of women from girls.

In this moment, I am dancing in the kitchen, nourishing my body through movement as I prepare to nourish my body with a colorful array of produce, because health is sacred.

In this moment, I am absorbing the joy of every interaction, meeting people where they are, accepting what the wisdom of experience is they have to offer, and knowing that there is purpose in every touch of a soul.

What are the moments of your present life full of? Take notice before what comes may go.

Posted on in embodiment, Emotions, mindset

Healing the Body Through Stress-Response

When you are stressed-out, what does it feel like? Is your mind cluttered, bogged down, or racing? Is your body tense or exhausted? The particular combination of symptoms that we might experience with stress is different for each person and often different with each situation. Yet, we all experience stress at times with different levels of severity. So what is stress?

Physical stress is a form of strain or exerted pressure. As a building is constructed, there is stress on the structure as it bears the load of each layer. In physical mechanics it is necessary for stress to be balanced and dispersed so that there is no point over stressed and weakening the overall structure. This applies to the human body as well.

Only in the body, it’s not stress on steel beams or wooden floors from weight and tension. It’s a balance of chemicals and emotions that apply pressure to the physical structure of the body. Just as a broken screw can compromise a building over time, a broken neuroreceptor can compromise the physical health of the body over time. In both cases, the issue may not be apparent until something big enough strikes, like a hurricane- either of water or emotion, that overwhelms the system and causes it to fail.

Emotions are powerful. They have a great physical impact on the body. The ripple effect can alter hormones, neurotransmitters, and consciousness. If you want to take a deep dive, study the emotion to body connection and impact of serotonin, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric, glutamate, and norepinephrine, just to get you started. Emotions can stem from the release of these kinds of chemicals, but they can also create the release when the body follows the action to thought pathway. There is a lot of research that reveals just how we can control the body through mindset and thoughts.

If any of this is new to you, I encourage you to get well acquainted with your body and the literature that teaches you how to take control and drive these processes. To change the world, I must first change myself. Go and do likewise. I’ve got resources to help you on your journey.

Posted on in embodiment, mindset

It’s Already There

Maybe you’ve been told that everything you need is already inside of you. You are fully equipped with the biological capacity to thrive, heal, grow, and adapt. Your body, mind, and spirit are interconnected, intelligent, and creative. Isn’t it fascinating?

In fact, anything you could ever want or need is already out there on a trajectory of it’s own manifestation. If you can think it, it is possible. Technology proves that humanity can take raw substance and develop complex systems and tools. You simply have align yourself with that trajectory to come across what you need to accomplish what you want. It’s so very simple.

It breaks my heart when people resist the answer to their needs. Sometimes I have an answer, possessing knowledge that can alleviate much suffering, but if the person is unwilling to receive it, that knowledge is powerless to that person in the moment. The only thing that stands between a person and their healing is their mindset. The mind is such a powerful thing that can manifest miracles and also imprison the inhabitant if the wrong programming is installed.

How have you been programmed? What is your mind resisting, allowing, or manifesting?

Posted on in Personal Thoughts

The Art of Letting Go

In just a few hours, the time change begins another shift and a new cycle. Sometimes as we are “springing ahead” or “falling back” I wonder if there will be a day that it no longer happens. Every year there is talk about ending the time change. The history around it is unpleasant. Losing sleep or adjusting either direction is challenging. It’s just another thing we do because we’ve always done it.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that continuing any action solely because it’s already in place is an absolutely ridiculous reason to do anything. I’ve seen many things fall apart due to unwillingness to change course. Life requires change. Nature gives us seasons. Life requires adapting. We are part of something so much bigger than a moment or a singular understanding.

Letting go is hard. Not always, but sometimes it’s an act of compassion to release and allow the cycles of nature to shape what will be. If you’re not letting go now, you will be. That is life. The best thing we can do is embrace change, lean into what is growing or new, and be part of something greater than this moment. Someday it will all be just a memory.

Posted on in Spirituality

Cleansing Energies

Water is cleansing. It’s a quality that is commonly accepted in the physical as well as the spiritual. Recently, I had an experience of vision and understanding that took this to another level for me. While meditating during a shower, I had an amazing visual of golden aura and watched the water flow through me. I recognized that the water moving down my body was also washing through my energy. This isn’t a new idea, but it was the first time I’ve experienced such on a tangible level.  

Understanding auras is largely left to the spiritual community. However, it’s something that every person experiences personally and interpersonally. We put a variety of labels and characteristics to the experience of how our energies interact. For example, the concept of introversion and extroversion is a commonly accepted application of energy exchange. If you are an introverted person, you likely have a larger and more sensitive aura that requires more protection. The need for more personal space physically is a material manifestation of protecting your energy. A highly extroverted person has an energetic aura that is closer to the body, allowing for closer contact. They are also less permeable so require less protection from surrounding energies. We just commonly label this as personality or preference.  

What’s interesting is that water always flows into the earth. Water is charged in such a way that it can capture energy and exfoliate it. It carries low energy into the earth to be grounded and discharged. Isn’t it amazing how we feel different after spending time in or near water? 

I will be going much deeper into these topics in my book. It’s exciting to see concepts come together in a new light. 

Posted on in Emotions, Personal Thoughts

RElationships, Love & Pain

A comforting scripture reference from my earliest childhood memories taught me that God keeps no record of our wrongs. From the silly mistakes to the outright rebellion, all is forgivable in God’s eyes. What a truly incredible concept. People certainly do not have that superpower. People often don’t forgive, and they never forget.

I’m blessed with a curse, some might say, in that I have the ability to see people through the eyes of Love. I know it’s a gift, but it sure has stirred up some people throughout my lifetime. I’m quick to forgive. I believe in reconciliation. I understand that a person is not defined by thoughts or actions alone.

So then, how do we handle the greatest of offenses? How do we live with what we can’t forget? My energy isn’t usually matched in willingness to let go and carry on when I value a relationship. I’ve even found myself caught in a triangle where two opposing parties won’t budge and so I end up hurt because any choice I make will cause friction. Man, it’s a painful place to live.

Lately, I’ve been thinking more about how the past is permanent. The words that have been said can’t be unsaid. Choices and actions, once committed, permanently alter the path forward. Of course, a change in direction is always possible. Yet, what’s done is done. We can hold on tight and allow it to dictate our existence. Or we can let go and make room for what could be.

In relationships, love trumps pain, if we embrace love. Sadly, some people are married to pain. Maybe there’s unhealed trauma blocking the road to forgiveness. Maybe pride won’t open the gate. Any obstacle in your mind is only keeping you from healing yourself and your relationships. Don’t let that be your story. Someday, you’ll be long gone but your story can bring healing in generations to come.