Friday, November 27, 2009

Your Story

Life is like a novel.  Some chapters still unfinished of course. 

And believe it or not we can impact the content of the rest of those chapters with the choices we make and how we perceive the world around us.

Some points of our novels may look similar to eachother, but they are indeed different.  What makes them different is how the story affected us emotionally, physically and spiritually. 

We all handle situations in our very unique ways.  The death of a loved one may devastate one person, but lift another person to a higher level of their understanding of death itself.  Similar type of story, different perspective, different outcome.

Take two sisters born into the same family for instance.  If you were to ask each one to describe their childhood in detail you would get two totally different perspectives.

Our stories reflect how unique each of us is in the way that we perceive our lives.

What I have noticed about my novel is that with each chapter that was written about tragedy, loss and frustration, there was an equal chapter written that displayed courage, love, strength and joy.  There is a constant balance to my novel.  Life is like that.  You are never given circumstances in your life that won't bring about some positive attribute in the end.

The other thing I like about this novel called Life is that we are rarely the same person in the last chapter that we were in the first chapter.  Usually, as the story progresses we become different people, we think differently, act differently and engage in life differently.  Whether or not your transformation is a positive one is totally up to you.

If you were writing the chapter of your current circumstances, what would it look like?

If you were someone reading this chapter, how would it make you feel?  Would you have words of wisdom for the character or would you whole heartedly agree with their position.

Taking a step back and looking at your life like you are reading a book gives you an opportunity to make adjustments so that the chapter evolves into a life lesson and in turn changes the outcome of the entire book.

Maybe your not ready for adjustments, maybe you are just ready to notice, like I did that with each chapter of hurt there is a chapter that follows that is filled with hope.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Cure your common life

I've been reading a book by Max Lucado called "Cure for the Common Life".  I picked it up randomly at a second hand store.

It's an interesting book full of parables and scripture.  I'm not big on religious banter, however I am really enjoying this book.

In Cure for the Common Life the author talks about how God has for each of us filled a tool bag full of skills.  And for those who are miserable in their life, job, relationships he explains that most likely we are not using the proper tools in life and that we need to explore the tool pouch that God filled for us and make adjustments accordingly.  Maybe we're working in a profession because someone told us that would be a good fit without checking in with ourselves first?  We are trying to use someone else's tools!

I found this to be a great way to explain the imbalance that goes on with many.  Many are working in jobs because the pay is good, or it is close to home.  They are not working in their jobs because they absolutely love what they do and are really good at it, they are doing it out of necessity.

Someone with a talent and love for baking is going to be miserable sitting behind a desk in a cubicle filing papers and answering phones all day.  And vice versa.

One thing the author mentioned really hit me.  That was the extreme importance of motherhood and being a full time mother.  The words he spoke with regards to this subject resonated deep in my heart (and I know would resonate deeply with every full time mother).  I have been a full time mom for 12 years, and for most of those 12 years I yearned for something "more".  Mothering couldn't possibly be a "job" after all, let alone an important one, could it?  I rarely enjoyed my time at home with my kids (I'm a little ashamed of this fact), because I was worried about money all the time, worried that I wasn't contributing to the highest good of the household (money), worried that my husband wasn't satisfied with my efforts (money), worried that my time at home would be wasted (money).  Ah the joys of living in a society run by money!

Of course now after 12 years and seeing my children mature and grow, interact with others and listen to their thoughts and ideas I realize my time at home was for the greatest and highest good of my family.  Without me being home how would my children know what they know about the importance of family and choosing the highest priority (well being of children) over a lesser one (money)?  I see now that my tool pouch was filled with love for children, my children, everyone's children.  I recognize that I have been using the skills in my tool pouch my entire life.  I had unfortunately just not recognized it.  But I recognize it now and that's important.

EVERY job is of top importance in the eyes of our creator (whatever you want to call he/she/it).  Every job is important because God created us to do just that job!  God didn't say "oh well, I suppose if you really want to do that boring, useless job go for it, but don't blame me if you hate it".  No, he gave us specific tools to use in life and those tools directly relate to our jobs, our relationships and our entire life purpose!  But we do need to recognize what our skills are and move ahead from there.

But what if you don't know what your skills are?

Remember back to when you were a child and you used to play make believe.  What was your role when you were playing school, hospital, house?  Were you the teacher or the student?  Were you the doctor, nurse, custodian?  Were you the mom with a career outside the home or were you the mom that stayed home and baked cookies and kept the house tidy?  What you wanted to be when you were 5 years old tells you alot about what skills are filling up your tool pouch.


I was always the teacher when we played school and the full time mom when we played house.  Hmmmm.  I have always loved working with children, I stayed home with my own, volunteered my time at the school, scouts and coach soccer.  I now teach children energy healing techniques and mentor them in self empowerment and self awareness.

So dig out your tool pouch and take a look inside.  Find your skills and find your sweet spot....

Friday, November 20, 2009

Expansion

Have you ever felt like you no longer belong where you are?

Ever felt like you no longer belonged in your family, your circle of friends, your hometown, your job, your intimate relationship?

This is me right now.  This is where I am at in my life experience.  I no longer "fit" in.  It really is hard to put into words the feeling of no longer belonging in a place where you always believed you would spend forever.

Over the past year connections have been lost with loved ones, friends, acquaintances.  The time we were sharing together was done and it was time to move on.  I continue to love all of these people on the truest of levels, we just don't belong together anymore.




I feel as though I have outgrown my home and my community.  To be honest I feel like I've outgrown my own skin some days.  Like I have grown into something more, something bigger.  Like my big dreams no longer fit in the little body of the person I was and so I have expanded.

Expansion can be difficult though.  It can bring about what may feel like mind, body, spirit imbalance.  Loss of focus, lack of energy, sadness, intolerance, headaches, backaches, loss of clarity, fear, sense of loss of purpose.  But it's not imbalance at all, it is merely your spiritual and physical self re-aligning to the new space you will soon occupy.

I kind of see it as trying to put on jeans that you just took out of the dryer.  It's a process; first you lie down, then you shimmy and slide yourself this way and that trying to wriggle those too tight jeans up past your thighs, every once in a while stopping to take in some air, the triumph comes though when you finally get them up to your waist, find yourself a pair of pliers and do those suckers up!  Ahhhh, the relief.  Uh-oh but now comes the chore of actually standing up and walking in those pants!

As much as this process is frustrating and exhausting, you still very much want to wear those pants!

The same is true for spiritual expansion or the outgrowing of your current surroundings.  Sometimes the desperation for new space is so great you would do anything to make it happen.


Staying in a place where you no longer belong can do great harm.  You may know someone who has denied themselves the privilege of moving on in their life experience and so they endure struggle after struggle, illness, dis-ease and sometimes death.

Denying yourself the change that is necessary to grow and evolve is a mistake that many of us make, because we don't want to disappoint someone by moving, leaving the relationship or changing jobs.  We don't want to let anyone down, and so we have no problem letting ourselves down.

If your need for change is so great that it fills your entire being with joy and excitement, then you really have no other choice!  You must do it!  You must step up, take the reigns of your own life and ride off into the sunset without regret and without looking back.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Comes the Dawn

Comes the Dawn

After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats with you head up and your eyes open
With the grace of maturity, not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong
And that you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn and learn...
With every goodbye you learn.

Author: Veronica A. Shoftstall

Friday, November 13, 2009

The Great Mastermind

The Master Mind is defined as "coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose".

In his book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says this "No individual may have great power without availing him or herself of the Master Mind."

I agree with this statement whole heartedly.

We've all been a part of a master mind at one time or another, yet it most likely wasn't called a master mind and maybe we weren't even aware that, that is what was happening at the time, but I'm sure we've all experienced the synergy, the connectedness of two or more people throwing about ideas and creating something bigger than they could have created on their own.

You've most likely felt energized and confident after a session with a couple of respected friends.  Imagine if you could access this group on a regular basis.  It has the potential to keeping you motivated and on track, it is a great way to progress in your life, in your business and with any ideas you may have with regards to creating change in your community.

None of us really has all the answers to life's questions, and bringing a group of people together from various degrees of knowledge and professional/personal backgrounds allows us to become whole in the experience of creating.  When we are acting on our own it is often difficult to see a project to fruition because there are so many stumbling blocks, so many areas of business and life that we simply don't have the solutions for.  That is where the master mind group comes in handy.

It is encouraged in Think and Grow Rich that everyone be a part of a master mind.  For personal and professional success (whatever that looks like to you). 

Being able to work through our concerns with a group of people who are committed to the master mind helps bring us to the other side of the issue much more quickly than if we were dealing with it on our own and we are quickly able to move forward and create something worthwhile.

I personally would love to see children master mind more often.  Children hold a wealth of knowledge, creativity and confidence.  Imagine if we were to bring them together to work synergistically towards a common goal.  What amazing things could be created within that master mind?

There are master minds that focus on using the law of attraction. This is a fabulous idea, since when we bring two or more people together to work towards manifesting our dreams they manifest that much quicker than if we were to do it on our own.

There are so many different things that you can set up a master mind for.  I encourage you to take a look at your goals and dreams, how many of them can you achieve on your own?  How many of them do you need a support system for?  Start your own master mind!  It's easy to do and doesn't cost any money, the rewards are endless!

Friday, November 6, 2009

No more excuses!

I have been so stuck lately on what to write about.  There are so many issues at play in all of our lives at this time that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what people would be interested in reading.  But there is something tugging at my heart that I thought I'd work on today.

I am seeing so many people giving up on themselves and on life, blaming others for their circumstances and making excuses for the life they are living. 

Is it appropriate to ask the Universe to fulfill our dreams and desires when we ourselves cannot bring our thoughts out of the dark long enough to see that it is our own doing that we do not have what we desire?

Is it appropriate to scream at the world because our business is not thriving when we sit on the couch, gossip on the phone all day and do nothing within our power to change the situation our business is in?

Is it appropriate to complain about our children's behaviour and make no steps to improve our relationship with our children so that we can better understand why they are exhibiting this behaviour?

My answer to these questions is NO!  No, it is not appropriate...  Complaining and blaming outside sources for your uncomfortable living is only a crutch and only serves to give you an escape route if things aren't going the way you want them to go.

You are better than that!  You have more potential that you can ever imagine!

I know so many people who talk about change all day long, they talk about what they want, how they would prefer to live and then when they are asked "what is the first step to making that happen" they come up with a ton of excuses as to why they CAN'T do that?

The Universe does not accept excuses! 

You have many choices in life, one of them being to either live a life of abundance and joy, or live a life of suffering and misery.  If those two choices were handed to you on a platter which one would you choose?  Logically you would pick abundance and joy because it feels better and looks better.  But when the choices are not tangible, when they are not clearly set out in front of you, which do you choose?  In this moment are you living abundantly and full of joy, or are you suffering and fully miserable?

I think most people are comfortable with misery, it doesn't offer up any surprises, every day is the same old thing, right?  Living a joyful life brings with it opportunity and decisions because when you are joyful you attract opportunity, love and success.  And most people are afraid of opportunity and are afraid of making decisions because they may make the wrong one or they be criticized for it.

Take a look around you.  What kinds of people do you hang out with?  Are they kind, giving, generous?  Do they appreciate your presence in their life or do they use you and abuse you every chance they get?

How does your job feel to you?  Does your stomach turn at every thought of work?  Do you live for the weekends, hold off on having fun and being joyful until Friday at 5?

What about your family?  Are you happy with the way your household feels?  Are you happy in your marriage or partnership?  Are your children happy to see you at the end of the day?

Are your finances what you would like them to be or are you living pay cheque to pay cheque?

How's your health?  Are you sick all the time?  Do you allow yourself time to eat right and work out?

The point is that if you are living an undesireable life, you need to sit down with a pen and paper and write out each thing you are not satisfied with.  Then beside or underneath each item write down something that you could do to change that circumstance, then do that thing that can make a difference!  No matter what give yourself the opportunity to move forward.

I also recommend that if you are needing help with this that you find yourself a mentor or a life coach to help you along. 

I'd like to say that changing your life is easy.  It's really not.  It's difficult only because you will have to disappoint some people in your life, make decisions that are temporarily uncomfortable (keyword:  temporarily) in order for you to live in alignment with your hierarchy of values.


I believe it was Charlie "Tremendous" Jones that said "In 5 years you will be the same person you are today except for the people you associate with and the books that you read."  He was absolutely right about that!  And I can tell you that just changing those 2 things will bring you to a place in this world you never thought was possible!

When you begin to live within your hierarchy of values, when you begin to do things in life because it feels good to you to do them, then and only then will you begin to experience life in the way it was meant to be experienced.

I can tell you from personal experience that this year has been my most devastating and yet at the same time my most inspiring!  I'm telling you it is absolutely without a doubt possible for you to climb out of your self made hole, dust yourself off and walk into a better life.

I know that you can!