Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Curiosity about our "Reasons"

So, how did you do comparing your values vs. how you spend your time (from previous post)?

If you are doing your values--as I said, GREAT! If not, I often ask my clients/students, why not? That is not an easy question to answer...because we can look for the easy response and say "I did not have enough time"...or "Someone asked me to do _______ and that took me away from ______"

However, let's look deeper...let's be curious about ourselves....let's not assume that it was the reason that showed up for us. What lies beneath that reason?

I think getting curious about ourselves is a valuable and important activity. What drives us? If I say I am going to meditate 15 minutes each am becasue I know that my spiritual health is important to me, but then I don't do it 5 of 7 days...what does that mean? Not from the blaming perspective, but from a compassionate curiosity perspective. Am I not worth it? Am I giving in to someone else's needs or priorities? Am I in fear about the lack of time I have so I skip it?

Those are better issues to work with vs. the initial take on the reason I gave myself. Those kind of things represent some work to be done...some of the causes of our stress...then we are are on the road to healing that issue by exposing it. Rev. Mel

Monday, February 22, 2010

Your Five Values

"There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue."-- Hagakure

Ok...so you have your five values that really represent who you are or (or maybe what you would like to be). Start here....track yourself for a week and see how you spend your time. Does it "look" like your five values? Why or why not?

If so--congrats! You are doing a good job of living your "word". If not, what got in the way? Because how we spend our time is a great indicator of our values...perhaps there was a new value you discovered or perhaps you were living someone else's values?

We have a choice in every moment to live our values...when we do, we feel good and are probably not stressed. When we don't, we are stressed and guilty. We need to live what we know to be true for us, not for others. This is a huge aha for some of us...so track yourself this week and see how you do...Rev. Mel

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I have heard it said that living out of our vision is more powerful than living out of our circumstance. Holding on to a vision invokes the circumstances by which the vision is achieved. Vision is content; material circumstances mere form. ~Marianne Williamson

It is difficult and stressful, I think, to try to get ourselves out of a bad state of consciousness from the ground floor where we lives are real, day to day lives. On the ground floor, we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel...no way...it is just plain dark!

Trying to "create" in the dark is hard...we need the light, and the light comes from our having a bright vision for where we are headed, a light created by our vision. Do you have a vision like that? One that illumens your day, that inspires you when you might feel low... if so-GREAT! Go there often and spend time in that light.

If not, begina visioning process for yourself...think of how you want to feel - create a list of 5 words that describe how you want to feel...and focus on those five words every day...and i will write more about that soon...this is the beginning of the rest of your life. Rev. Mel

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Trouble as a Stress Reducer (!)

Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes. ~- Henry J Kaiser

There is a wonderful TV commercial that you have probably seen: Trouble

This cute and wonderful dog worries so much about his bone..."where to keep it?" I see myself in this dog. But I can also laugh at this "outpicturing of me" because I do know that trouble also represents opportunity for growth...that reduces my anxiety.

I do have to "flip" my mind a bit to get there...but I can...what do I need to know here?

There is always something...and I also know for sure...that learning is one of my favorite things to do...I am now working on getting to that point, quicker!