Being Present

Greetings to You ~

Just love the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.  It can serve as a permanent reference.

While reading it the first time I understood it on an intellectual basis.  He was saying a lot of the same thing that other teachers had written about.

Something shifted near the end of the book, it took on a deeper meaning.

Since then I read it numerous times, taking notes and feeling connected.  Always getting something new with each read.

You know what's really funny?  I had felt some angst and lower energy with a resentment.  Justifying why I should feel the way I was feeling.  Not even noticing that my ego mind had a firm hold on me.

Thank goodness I picked up the book again.  I'm re-reading the chapter on the core of the ego.   Eckhart Tolle writes,

"Whatever behaviour the ego manifests, the hidden motivating force is always the same:  The need to stand out, be special, be in control; the need for power, for attention, for more."

"Can you feel there is something in you that would rather be right than at peace?"

Dr. Wayne Dyer has a great quote, "When you have the choice to be right or to be kind, always choose kind."  It's the ego that wants to be right, wants to feel superior.

What a beautiful reminder that presence can free us of the ego.  With awareness comes the opportunity to dissolve unconsciousness with our presence.

No need to "do" anything.  Just be in the moment and breathe.

Peace and Joy ~
Sheila
xo

Illusion of Fear

Greetings to You ~

It's easy to giggle and have fun on Halloween.  Why not be the same way when the illusion of fear tries to scare us?

What's the trick with handling fear?  Being playful with it.  Reminding ourselves it's not real.

The neighbourhood is decked out with witches, spider webs, ghosts and pumpkins.  Couldn't help to laugh out loud with seeing a stuffed witch who flew into a tree with a sign saying "don't drink and fly."

Our six week old baby cousin dressed in a pumpkin outfit arrived at the doorstep with his Dad.  Too cute!  Enjoy the little kids arriving at your doorstep dressed up and looking adorable.

Enjoy the silliness of the day.  Treat yourself and have some fun.

Celebrate your own inner child today and everyday.

Peace and Joy ~
Sheila
xo

Being In Stillness

Greetings to You ~

A short meditation break is so restorative.  Especially before taking action.

At yoga class last evening there was a reminder at the beginning not to force your breath.  Just begin to take notice of it.

That was so helpful.  Often when I try to take a deep breath right away it feels like I'm forcing it.  As we move from our busy outer world to become still, take the time that's needed.  Don't rush.  Start with awareness.

This morning I felt the need to connect outside rather than being still. Knowing my racing mind couldn't stop on a dime.  Rather than walking quickly it was time to slow down.

Last year I had an opportunity to learn a new meditation practice in a group setting.  Up until that time I used the Japa meditation practice following a CD.

The new practice seemed to go deeper and actually brought up uncomfortable feelings.  When you become still it can allow those feelings to surface.  A signal that you're ready to release them.

Our meditation teacher suggested to silently repeat some words gently as if we were speaking to a butterfly on the tip of our fingers.  It felt so much better.

When I was at the river today I was noticing the flow.  Some spots were flowing easily and other spots were bubbling up.

Meditation can feel calm and relaxing and other times "our inner stuff" bubbles up and begins to surface.  That's normal.  Just like the river, there may be rocks just under the surface that cause our flow to block and create a disturbance.

Noticing a few roses around the neighbourhood and a blossom on a rhododendron bush.  It made me think that it's never too late to bloom.  It's never too late to transform.

No need to force things, thoughts or feelings to be different.  Come to awareness and use our breath to shift our energy.

Thank yourself for taking even a short moment of silence.

Peace and Joy ~
Sheila
xo

Keeping Our Focus

Greetings to You ~

Feeling appreciation for experiencing clarity and focus today.  Yesterday I felt overwhelmed with a lack of focus.

Ironically I attended the Clear Focus Camera Club in the evening.  The guest speaker was sharing feedback with ways to enhance photographs.

It’s a great analogy for keeping focused with what’s important in our lives.  When there’s a lot going on in the frame, or our life, it’s hard to focus on any one thing.  It just looks busy and the impact is not effective.

These photography tips also apply to living our lives:

• Remove any distractions to keep a person’s eye on the subject.
• Identify your focal point and bring clarity and detail on the subject.
• Keep the subject in focus with no attention to what’s around it.
• A focal point is important to give your eye a resting place. 
• Once we have a focal point find a way to enhance it. 

The more interesting the focal point the better.  The more interesting our tasks and experiences are the better.

Just like the guest speaker who brought awareness of ways to make a better picture.  Raising our own awareness with what to focus on helps to reduce distraction in our life.

With focused attention came inspired action.  Working easily and joyfully through inspiration vs. perspiration.

Keep your energy on main focal points.  Secondary points of interest that are too strong can clutter and confuse the picture, our life.

Before you take a photo or take action in your life ask yourself, “What is my focal point?”

Let’s create a picture perfect day.

Peace and Joy ~

Sheila  

xo

Believe

Greetings to You ~

There’s a time when inspired action takes place with no outward evidence of it leading toward your goal.  This can be a time filled with positive energy of hopefulness and positive expectation.

Even though you haven’t turned the corner there’s a feeling that you’re moving toward the light.  You’re on the right path even though you’re unsure when you’ll arrive at your destination.

It truly feels like you’re enjoying the journey regardless of the destination.  A feeling that something as good or better is going to arrive.

All of a sudden the goal seems less important because the present moment feels so good.

Abraham-Hicks teachings speak about this feeling of positive expectation but until now I never really felt it when there hasn’t been outward evidence to back it up.  It really feels wonderful.

I went to their web site just now http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/index.php and read this quote:

"This incomplete place that you stand is the best place that you could be. You are right on track, right on schedule. Everything is unfolding perfectly. All is really well. Have fun. Have fun. Have fun!"

--- Abraham

Feeling so appreciative for moving ahead.  Feeling appreciation for whatever is around the corner.

Believe that you can easily receive what you need.

Peace and Joy ~

Sheila  

xo

Your Inner Desire

Greetings to You ~

The music that plays in your heart is really your inner desire or your dream.

What holds us back from playing the music?  Old stories related to fear and judgment. 

What if we died, and found out in heaven that we could have been anything we wanted to be. Would we want to come back and live our lives differently.

Sometimes we’ve ignored our inner desire for so long we forget what it is.  We may even think we don’t have a heart’s desire.  We all do.

“I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was” by Barbara Sher is a great place to start.  I  just opened up my copy filled with post it notes and see that I still have the ticket stub for when I attended her Living Your Dreams workshop in 2001. 

Barbara autographed this book, “For Sheila ~ Go for that dream ~ You promised!”

It’s a wonderful book if you don't know where to start.  She writes in the preface, "Not knowing what you want to do with your life is no joke."

It’s never to late to get started.

My brother used the analogy between living our life and dancing when he gave a toast at my wedding.  There are times that life feels like a jive or a polka…but we strive for an effortless waltz.  Let’s raise our glasses for us to play the music and dance.

My wish for every woman on earth is to play the music in your heart and dance like nobody’s watching.

Peace and Joy ~

Sheila 

xo

Abundance Flowing - part 2

Greetings to You ~

Is it possible to do what you love and prosper financially? Determining our purpose, self-actualization and living our best life, requires that we take risks.

What IF you could do what you love AND make a fabulous living?  That would be living the dream.  Step one, the old beliefs need to shift.

Do you have an old money story that no longer serves you?  Mine is about having to “work hard” for money.  Paying off bills “wasn’t easy” so it created a feeling of holding on too tight, even when money flowed in.

The fear of losing what you have needs to shift.  It's not about how much money we have or don't have.  It's whether we have a limiting belief about our money.  There are those who think they don’t deserve to receive money. There are millionaires who are worried about losing what they have.

Once we have the physical and material necessities there’s a need for more meaning and purpose in our lives.  That’s the rub.  The old story doesn’t allow for investing in the dream.  The old story says it’s risky.  Why does it feel uncomfortable to invest in the dream?

I’m ready to shift these limiting beliefs.

·       People need to work hard to earn money.

·       I need to be careful with my money.

·       There's not enough to go around.

Show me the proof my ego mind says.  I began to list examples of regular women who started unconventional businesses.  So there’s evidence that it’s possible to do what you love and make a fabulous living.

What if it feels risky?  Fear of taking a risk is based on not knowing the outcome. We do have inner guidance and logical reasoning to help reduce the risk of making a wrong choice.

I love the five questions Ali Brown uses when making a decision:

1. Is this something I want with my heart?  Does this feel good to me?  Intuition.
2. Is this something I want with my head?  Does this logically make sense to me?
3. Does this align with my long-term goals and short-term goals?  Does this align with my path?
4. Does this excite me even it it's a little scary?  You want more "Woohoo!" than "Oh God."
5. Am I making this decision from faith and not fear?  From inspiration or desperation?

It has to be all yes for Ali to move ahead.

How’s this for synchronicity?  I just went to her web site and found the article, “Imagine Having the Choice…to be, do, or have anything you want.” http://www.alibrown.com/content/imagine-having-choice.  Read her story for more evidence that this can be done.

On a scale of 1 to 10 my own limiting beliefs have shifted in the right direction by one point.  As my EnergyRICH™ coach Heather says, “A shift is a shift, no matter how big.”

Peace and Joy ~

Sheila

xo