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

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

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

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!

Living "Limit-less"

"If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you."-- Louise Hay

If I am thinking that I have limits, that is pretty stressful for me...I do not feel free to experiment, express, try something new, or push past my apparent boundaries...or get out of my comfort zone. That just feels icky even writing it...so, let's look at this.

What are other words for "limiting beliefs"? How about these: "I can't; I am not good enough; I couldn't possibility; I don't have that talent....and on and on. Again, it doesn't not feel good to even think that way. But if I did, I could re-think it...and get a new feeling, like "I am free to be me!"

My truth is freedom...and it is not stressful for me, it is liberating...it is stressful to start making a list of what I can't do...true or not true. So, when I hear any voice inside me or my words outside of me saying anything like "I can't"..maybe I don't want to, but I have a choice...that is different energy and diminishes the stress. Choice always feels good...especially when I am clear about what's important top me and what I value.

So, what I know for you is that choice is your Truth...and allows you to live without limits.

The Life Force Within You

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.--Martha Graham

Another way to look at stress is to think of "it" as a "force"...it is your power building up inside of you waiting to be expressed - preferably in a good way and for the highest good of all. That life force within each and every one of us needs expression...needs to fufill itself..and it is unique to you - we all have a special gift to share with the world. So, why do we hold it back?

What is the fear? That we will not be accepted? That we will disappoint someone? That the gift is not good enough? That we are unsure of what things will happen if we give the gift of ourselves?

I am not sure for you, but I still have my "reasons:" at different times for not sharing my gift...and that force "stresses" me because I don't let it out. I am exploring those reasons..how about you?

I don't want to lose any moments in my life - I chose to express more fully, more and more every day. Rev. Mel

Doing it Better in 2010

Many of us know that we can be better than in 2009...we are now a better version of ourselves...but why? What have we learned? I think learning reduces the stress of "not knowing"...

A colleague of mine, Dr. David Ault, and his blog can give us some clues:
http://drdavidault.blogspot.com/

Did I forgive this year - really forgive? The kind of forgiveness that cracks open my heart, peeling away one more layer of righteous indignation, thus allowing my soul to breathe? The kind of forgiveness that loosens my clinched fists held high at a situation so that I don't enter into the next one with guarded mistrust? The kind of forgiveness that comprehends there is a difference between understanding a behavioral choice and condoning it? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my forgiving.

Did I stop this year - really stop? The kind of stopping that can't help but make me vulnerable by becoming more familiar with who I am without distraction, smoke screens, excuses or self-imposed numbing? The kind of stopping that turns me, naked, towards my feelings, giving them permission to express? No right or wrong - a stopping that simply lets me hear what I need to hear so that I can live more effectively? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in allowing myself to stop.

Did I seek adventure this year - real adventure? The kind of adventure that requires me to not only take a leap of faith off my cliff of familiarity but actually sends me back to get a running start? The kind of adventure that shakes the dust off my capable but underused wings and gives them an opportunity to catch the gorgeous wind of change? The kind of adventure that knows there is no outside safety net in this physical world, only an internal one? The kind of adventure that shouts, "I choose to live fully!" If not, then I resolve to be and do better in seeking adventure.

Did I seek wellness this year - real wellness? The kind of wellness that requires me to be fully conscious of what I put in my body - the kind of wellness that requires me to practice what I preach when it comes to self-love while understanding that the power to dissolve poor habits starts by simply choosing to change? Wellness that says, "This is the only body you've got. Treat me with respect, praise me daily and honor me as the holy temple that I am?" If not, then I resolve to be and do better in allowing wellness in my life.

Did I play this year - really play? The kind of play that gives value to the heavenly activity of fun - knowing that fun is sacred, that play is the equivalent of work and that during play - renewal and relaxation usher in the newest ideas and the clearest choices for better manifestations? Did I view play as a necessary life function and not a debatable luxury? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my relationship to playing.

Did I set a goal and see it to completion this year - really complete it? The kind of completion that lets the vibration of satisfaction and confidence in my abilities heal any opposing ideas of not being good enough? Did I honor my life and its sacred purpose by utilizing my time with forward thinking and letting my mistakes be motivators not antagonists? Did I dissolve my insecurities and procrastination by understanding that my untapped genius has but one mode of expression and that is through idea, thought, word and action? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in setting and completing my goals.

Did I open myself up to learn this year - really learn? The kind of learning that entices me to enroll in being a student of life with thirst and enthusiasm? Did I set an intention for uncovering more of my potential, letting divine intellect eat from my plate and stepping deeper into the waters of wisdom? Did I open a book, take a class, study a language, learn an instrument, write a poem, visit another culture? Did I learn to surprise and thrill myself with the infinite capacity I have to master more than I thought I could? If not, then I resolve to be and do better on my personal path of learning.

Did I clean up my relationships this year - really clean them up? The kind of cleaning that requires me to break open the lock, pull back the curtain, throw open the window and start removing the dust of harsh words, grudges, false accusations and misguided choices that have layered my heart? Did I make amends for the fearful ways that disheartened another, for neglecting to honor their point of view? With careful examination, did I communicate my truth, understanding that sometimes all we may be able to do is agree to disagree and to do so without judgement or malice? If not, then I resolve to be and do better on cleaning up my relationships.

Did I share my good this year - really share? The kind of sharing that comes from the pure joy of seeing another succeed, not from what I think they can or will do for me in return? Did I tithe back to where I was spiritually fed, transformed and inspired? Did I practice random acts of kindness and give of my time, talent, and treasure realizing that my good is a part of a never-ending wellspring that cannot run dry -whose source is and always will be the infinite wellspring of the Divine? Did I commit to walking the altruistic path, remembering that every step brings healing and enlightenment to the world? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my sharing.

Did I pray this year - really pray? The kind of prayer that is spoken not to God but AS God - prayers that affirm rather than beseech, are pregnant with knowing rather than bloated with doubt? Did I make my every day activities a prayer - realizing that every thought I think carries with it the responsibility of an effect on the world? Did I remember how truly powerful my own prayer actually is and that by simply devoting myself to the practice of it, I become the change? Did I remember that my prayer takes what I seek and introduces it to me, the seeker? If not, then I resolve to be and do better with praying.

Did I do all these things because deep down inside I fully understand how precious I am and that each of these sacred practices reminds me how I'm held in the light as a perfect idea? Did I remember that I have been perfectly conceived and am always held in the perfect mind of God as perfect being? Did I know that there is nothing that I can ever say, nothing I can ever do that will separate me from the love of God? If for any reason, I forgot my divinity this year, then I resolve to be and do better in my knowing of it, to fully understand and embody the truth that it is done unto me as I believe. And I believe in the power of Good, for me, for you, for all.

©2004 David Ault

I know that for me, knowing that I can improved reduces my stress, it has a way of erasing what has been and leads me to what can be...a great intention for 201! Happy new year! Rev. Mel