becoming your essential self | Live What You Know

October 26, 2015

Wholeheartedly Living Your Dreams — While Fearlessly Co-Creating Even More

I adore the view from my morning reading chair!

I am so grateful for the ritual that begins the gift called today each weekday in our house. On this day, I felt the warm embrace of a loving universe as I read with my two little ones reading nearby. So good for the soul…my babies happily enjoying literature as a daily habit, my puppy content in my lap, a sweet phone call from my dear husband wishing me a happy day right in the middle of the experience and so many great lessons in literature for me to devour and contemplate. There I sit with a heart full of gratitude as I thoroughly enjoy every minute of it.

The words, images and messages on my chosen cups this day provide a wonderful balanced blessing. I love dreaming big. I have many more things I can easily see myself doing and truly feel called to accomplish in the years to come. Sometimes I get impatient with myself and dream of doing more now or feeling as though I must push harder to make things happen sooner. But, the truth about dreams is that I am already living many big ones now. I must feel what is around me now as deeply as I feel the urge to lay the foundation to create future dreams to come.

A morning reading ritual doesn’t just happen, it is the fruit of many of my dreams that have already come true. Some dreams I had since I was a little girl and some I didn’t even know I wanted until I was in the middle of creating them in unknown territories completely out of my comfort zone. Co-creating these so-called circumstances I find myself in now was no coincidence; they didn’t just happen to me. We can always look around us and be sure that whatever Life we see and feel we are living—we made it so. We create our reality. From the largest to the tiniest detail, we co-created it all and we decide how long we keep the dream alive and/or when we create new ones…big and small. We truly live all that we know and can only dream up that which we truly believe and are ready to receive.

So, the other day I was making the kids’ sandwiches while they finished their morning studies. I had just completed another module in the course I’m taking about creating a conscious business or igniting my visionary ignition switch. All the wonderful information I had just been given about publishing, self-publishing, building a platform and much more was swirling around in my head. I am really enjoying the course and feeling very inspired by it. I also feel a bit pressured by it at times or in need of reminding myself that there is plenty of time and not to worry about it or let it stress me out (the course teachers do a great job of reminding us about this too). It is all wonderful information that will be there for me when I’m ready to use it. A good friend once shared a daily mantra she uses to calm herself. She simply says, “I have plenty of time. I have all the time I need.” I like this mantra. I’ve been pulling it out and using it again lately. Thank you Jennifer.

Anyway, I had a distinct moment while spreading Vegenaise on the kids’ sandwiches. I sort of snapped out of the swirling head stuff. It was interesting because I was truly inspired and feeling quite grateful for the discussion about my passions I had just enjoyed listening to. I know I am meant to hear this great information and I know it will bless me in many ways over the years to come as I navigate my journey through all the things I feel called to do. But, as I looked down at the kids’ four pieces of bread, it hit me how truly great it is to make their sandwiches. I was overtaken with gratitude that they were there in the next room and would enjoy lunchtime with me very soon. I loved thinking of our morning studies and the writing workshop we would do together in the afternoon.

It occurred to me that I could put lots of pressure on myself to get a platform built, get a brand going, figure out how I want to publish, find ways to reach more people, etc. and be sorry if I don’t balance it just right. I could spend the next few years really focusing on that and making it happen. It may keep me so busy that I forget to enjoy making the sandwiches. Then, in a few years when the kids may not be around as much, I could have all those things necessary to pursue my dreams, but I would really really miss making their sandwiches. I may long for the days when I used to do that if I’m not truly present and really indulge in it now. Being here now and somewhere else later is always the way. I just need to balance living the dream and creating the new ones. I have to believe it can be done. I can do it well in peace with Divine guidance and timing if I listen well from my heart. Not from my head.

I remembered with love the days when the kids were learning to write the alphabet. They would sit at the kitchen counter waiting for their sandwiches and I would write letters in mustard on their bread for them to guess. Oh, how that seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time. When was the last day we did that? How did it stop? Oh, how fun that was! They even asked for that recently and I think I was “too busy” to do it just then. Argh!

Anyway, there is no answer to the exact formula for following dreams. Our soul knows why we’re here and if we let our soul drive our life more than our head, it will work out just fine. All things can and do happen at the perfect time. Of course, balance, trust and listening to the Divine is the answer to everything. So, I finished up making lunch and allowed a space in my experience there in the kitchen where I felt thrilled by the memories of mustard letters, gratitude for the experience of making sandwiches the kids still love to eat with me on this day and comforted by the dreams that live and grow in my heart and the code of my soul each day to keep me inspired through many more versions of me and my day-to-day life to come.

The image above of Snoopy and Woodstock (or Wubberbock as my son called him for years and we still fondly say today) dreaming together is such a thing of beauty. Two unlikely friends, dreamed up and shared from one man’s imagination with so many…what a gift! I see love and acceptance shining all around them, blue skies and possibility everywhere, what a wonderful world this can be and so much more. I love how Snoopy and Wubberbock just go about their business doing what feels good to them at that moment in time. Perhaps that is where the balance finds us.

The beautiful words that held my coffee this day remind me of how our soul might advise us if it could gently remind us where we come from, who we are and why we are really here. May we feel the blessing of truly being here and feeling the miracle that it really is.

May we dream big…while we dwell in a state of awakened
realization of the dreams we’ve already created.
We can balance both.
Love will show us how!

Sending you love and joy on this day and all the days to come!

October 10, 2015

Try New Things!

Try old things in new ways!
Let Life guide you!
Courageously go with It!

Familiar sayings and quotes we all know. May we experience them with open hearts and allow them to bless us in new ways today!

Over the years I’ve jumped head first into new things with no experience, ample reasons not to try, plenty of fear of whatever it was and a more than sufficient list of excuses if I had wanted to use them instead. At the same time (and not without years of seeking with heartfelt intention) I had a strong connection with my inner voice, a willingness to follow my heart wherever it may lead, an unending belief in miracles and a willingness to be open to whatever Life was showing me without labels, attachments or judgements. Of course, my awesome team at home (designed and born from blessings received with heartfelt intention) who believe in me fiercely and look at me with perspective that blesses me helps a great deal; they always provide unending amounts of acceptance, encouragement and support as they stretch out their open hands to walk with me through anything and in any direction. Their love and the way we approach Life together makes everything possible. I am so grateful!

Life is now pushing me towards going for bigger dreams. It is exciting and peaceful at the same time. It could easily be scary if I decided to look in the direction of fear. I’ve learned how to Listen to Life a bit more consistently and it feels good. These days, the thought-identified me or the one who believes the silly things our minds try to tell us sometimes, is in the driver’s seat much less often and for much shorter distances than it sometimes has been before. That doesn’t mean I always remember how to Listen the way my soul has been teaching me…just more often than yesterday…each yesterday, as they come. In my experience, it feels a bit different than I may have thought to Listen with a capital L as a regular practice. Maybe it’s personal for each of us, or maybe quite similar. I’ve had various ways of doing it over the years. Right now, it feels more impulsive than it used to. The deep knowing and just feeling something is right or meant for me is still there, it’s just that the decisions or right action come much faster. Maybe it’s just that the voices can’t get in there with scary stall tactics so much anymore. Who knows? This Listening to Life I’m talking about has much the same feel it had when I was first out on my own as a young adult and “knew” a lot less. Only now, it is coupled with an added depth and flavor of what it is like to get back to that and know how lucky you are and how right it feels to look at Life that way. It’s a lovely way to Live, to just Know that All will be well and feel that anything is possible, not because I’m fresh and fearless, but because I curiously crave the unfamiliar and have walked with fear in so many ways that the ridiculousness of it always brings me back to what I really Am…Love’s vessel.

Change is the only sure thing in Life. It can happen to us, or we can get in there and co-create the Change we are meant to. We can open to the world Life is trying to put before us. It is a delicate balance to let things be and to co-create what is meant or possible. Something may be whispering to you today. Some dot may connect for you that shows you how the Universe has been trying to point you towards something. You Know what you need to Know today. You only need Listen and courageously balance being guided and taking right action. You know what to Live more of today.

I’m trying lots of new things lately. I’ve shared about some of them here and will share even more soon. It is fun to see the countless connections, seen and unseen, that have occurred to create the change we are seeking, accepting or creating. We do not walk alone. We are so deeply connected to one another it is amazing. Those of us trying to Listen and Be guided are working together in wonderful ways. I love finding ways to support those who are facing fears and really pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and even those that are just excitedly and curiously following a feeling. When we do that for another, we do it for ourselves. The momentum of connected moments, experiences and possibilities open up in our Lives and we find ourselves vibrating at a higher frequency, having better conversations, sharing more than separating, Loving more than judging and much more…we find ourselves truly Living. Over time, we become more…bit by bit…dot by dot. Cheers to connecting the dots together!

Here is one new thing I tried this year:

His name is Gus. The decision to get him came quick, seemed impulsive and felt absolutely right. Silly thoughts tried to make me take my time, do more research, wait until the “right time”…but, I didn’t listen. Thank goodness. He is ours. He was meant for us and we were meant for him. This is what he was doing right next to me while I wrote this; he’s a wonderful writing buddy. This little “new thing” of mine has blessed me and loved me in so many amazing ways this year. Thanks for being our perfect new thing Gus! We love you and we are so grateful for how you love us and the frequency of love and joy you always hold no matter where we are or what we are doing. Dogs are so much better at getting and giving the thing we all want and need the most…Love.

Sending you love and joy today and always!

This is dedicated to two special people in my life that are consciously creating change in their own lives and in turn, mine as well.

To Coach Steve:
Thank you for practicing what you preach and pushing yourself to become comfortable with being uncomfortable while you transition to a whole new way of doing the thing you have done so well for so many years. Thank you for blessing our lives and staying true to your pure intention of helping develop good people who play great tennis AND have a whole lot of fun doing it. Many blessings are coming your way.

To Siri:
Thank you for sharing your heart so openly with me over the years; I love knowing your new passions and watching as you let yourself be guided to new things. I am so grateful for how our timing has always lined up perfectly with each other over the last few decades. I love the way we support each other with our tiniest wishes, biggest dreams, terrific tangents and even our silly thoughts while loving all things in each other…the beautiful and the messy. You are going to heal so many and bless the world in so many ways. Grateful to be your soul-sister! XO

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September 19, 2015

What’cha Doin? or What are YOU DOING?

Life is guiding you, nudging you and loving you in the direction of your highest calling, most joyful Being and most authentic self that will serve to create absolute miracles, abundant blessings and wildly inexplicable Love at all times. It may not always appear that way, but it IS always so.

“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” —John Wooden

Whatever happened or seemed to have happened in your experiences today, yesterday, the day before that or any other day you can recall, happened or at least appeared that way to you for a reason. Life is showing you something. Always. Believe it or not, the stuff that brings you the most joy or feels the best is where Life is speaking the loudest to you. We are meant for joy. We Are Love. We can do our most good and become our truest most authentic selves by following those natural states. May we listen well and by doing so, Love completely!

Beyond the messages we receive is a deep connectedness that allows them to happen at just the right moment in just the right way and sets them up days, months, years, even eons prior to allow the one you were blessed with today. The way the dots connect in our lives and the complex web of blessings that are continuously lining up for us is truly miraculous and beyond my reach in words to explain. I don’t “feel” this to be true. I am sure of it. You are too, or at the very least, you can be quite soon, if you take the time and effort to listen, watch, be amazed and therefore blessed at any and all times throughout your days.

Letting go of the labels and convenient category assignments (good, bad, awful, amazing) we so badly want to apply to every occurrence will guide us to much more of Life. Let us let go, listen and Live.

Sometimes trying something scary, facing a fear or quieting the cynic telling you it’s not possible is necessary to allow you to even more of everything you are meant for. You may have been listening well and following along in the way that makes you the most comfortable. You may even feel you have stepped out and tried harder, newer, scarier things…there is always more to push for, more to push through, more you can do, more you can be, more waiting for you. You already are Everything. The Universe is trying to help you see it, feel it and Be it.

Tomorrow, I’m starting a new course of sorts that plopped into my lap to help me “ignite the vision” in my life. There are so many ways the voice in my head said it’s silly or not the right time or that I don’t have enough time. Oh well, too bad, I’m going for it anyway. I have been listening and following along in my own comfortable and even sometimes uncomfortable ways for quite some time. I try to challenge myself in new ways as I go. I do that well enough. I know I can do it better. Go for more. Believe in more. Push myself. My Life can only become that which I can envision and create. I truly feel that I have a message to share and I want to inspire many and myself in countless ways as I go. I am up to new and exciting ways of doing things. I can couple a new learning or course opportunity with the deep internal listening I always believe to be of the utmost importance in our lives.

The opportunity I have committed to could only have come to me through the dots connecting in seven thousand or so ways that I can see and even more that are invisible. 🙂 I know if I don’t listen to this whisper from the Universe (seven thousand connections preceding it type of whisper), then soon it will become a scream, then a pounding over the head before I know it. Wish me luck as I push myself for more and learn the best way for me to be able to share with others in a larger way while staying true to Me. In many ways I definitely don’t “need” to follow this path. My life is great and would be seemingly “fine” without it. However, the way I am made, the way I hear my soul speak and the way I yearn to become All I am meant to be means I do need to do it…but in the best, most authentic, most trustworthy and powerful way. It is a true need, born not of desperation, but of purpose, meaning and a true desire to be the best Me I can Be. The same can be said for us All; we only need to listen well to hear it, listen closer to Know it and be guided from the depths of our soul within and around us to Live it.

Wishing you the courage to go for what the Universe is nudging and loving you towards these days. Hoping we all embrace the truth that joy really is our natural state. Knowing all these things to be true and more. Grateful to share with you here. Sending love and joy to as many of you as I can imagine.

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September 11, 2015

Nice to Meet You and Me

-Hafiz

Whenever I go out and feel alive as I share my true energy and spirit openly, I love, like and enjoy whatever and whomever I come into contact with!

I give and receive back exactly what I put out. I meet ME in the world. We meet ourselves again and again in everything we encounter.

If it ever seems as though I meet someone or something that is anything less than pleasant, I must shine brighter to receive any light back. There is abundant light within. I can shine light on everything I see and it will shine back on me.

It’s nice to meet you and me.

Sending love and joy…hopefully everywhere I go and in every thought I create! If I don’t send enough, what reflects back to me will show me the opportunity to send more.

Always give what you think you lack.

Smile!

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September 3, 2015

Your Truth

YOU Decide!

Truth has no path, and that is the beauty of truth, it is living.

Krishnamurti

I’ve been hanging out with ‘me’ for quite some time now — in fact, as long as I can remember :-). However, what that feels like and what it means to me has changed, and continues to change, in a myriad of ways across the time I might call my own here. As I look back, I can remember countless small moments I decided to change this or that and plenty of huge “aha” moments that guided me towards something much larger than myself. Of course, there were also those times I wished I could do or be something and didn’t quite know how. Until we know how to follow the signs and accept the blessings that await our reception, we aren’t truly Living.

Never under any circumstances ask “how.”

When you use the word “how” you really want someone to
tell you what to do,

some guide, some system, someone to lead you by the hand so that you
lose your freedom,

your capacity to observe, your own activities, your own thoughts,
your own way of life.

Krishnamurti

We Know much more than we think about anything worth Knowing. There is never anything we cannot answer from within. In this busy day and age it is easy to let others tell us how, browse the internet for the “answer” or just bump along from one distraction to the next. There is much more to Life than that. There are no instructions, only a constant and ever-present energy that wants to come forth and Live through us. It is patient at times and urgent at times; but, it is always there.

We must learn to trust that energy and listen to what it Knows and is constantly trying to show us. Once we can see, we then figure out how to go on listening and eventually how to experience it All. We are never stuck anywhere, only right where we belong to receive the messages meant for us. Each day we decide what we will do and who we will be. There are so many options. There is something deep within that pushes, pulls, nudges, guides and above all, Loves us enough to try to get our attention each and every day. If we can’t see, hear and feel it today, it will still be there tomorrow, every tomorrow until our last and still forevermore after that. We decide when we are ready to listen and “how” that will look, feel and be for us.

There are many ways to spend our time doing today; never one way, just our way. There is a lot of doing across a lifetime.

“ING”

Listening to the voice in the head.
Allowing the voice to push us around.
Suffering from the constant chatter.
Realizing that voice isn’t really us.

Shifting perspective to the one who hears the voice.
Quieting the voice to hear more from the listener.
Opening to the world around us.
Stumbling from time to time.

Accepting miracles beyond anything imaginable.
Sharing Love and joy.
Creating Blessings.
Being.

I would never want to suggest one way or another to go about your doing today. I would only hope and pray that we all, including myself, honor the Being that is within us all as we go about choosing, forgive ourselves when we fall short and love all that we see around us as we respect one another’s truth.

It is worth noting here that just because you are led to something doesn’t mean you will easily understand it at first. All Knowing unfolds at its own pace. All that is required of us is that we never cease trying to understand more than we do in our current now; simple healthy curiousity and trust in one’s self will do. I recently picked up a book that was a real “aha” for me many years ago. I thought it was the most difficult read ever back then. Much of it I couldn’t really understand, but I stuck with the instinct that it was True and in my hands at the perfect time for me. I stumbled through that first read, doing my best to take it all in and experience it from a deeper place. Sometimes I read a sentence ten times just to try to grasp it, all the while relishing in the unfamiliar waves of wisdom opening my mind in new ways. After that I read that book every couple of years. Each time it was fresh and familiar in different ways. As I skimmed through it just the other day, it read like the most simple thing in the world. It was comforting in so many ways; yet it struck me that the excitement it once held over the ways it challenged me to grasp my unknown was no longer on those pages. The unknown cannot stay so forever. While I miss how thrilling it once felt to read those words, I love how it feels to Know those words and find myself ready and willing to Live them more fully and find, read, hear or uncover new ones that make no sense at all to me…yet. 🙂

Everything I wrote here may seem strange, unfamiliar or nonsensical to some and easily understood and simply a collection of reminders to others. Both are true. But, if you read any or all of these words, then you know they are meant for you. Whether to remind you or provoke you to journey towards understanding more, they are in your life today or any day you find them at just the right time and for just the right reason…your reason…your truth.

Wishing us all the courage and ability to Know “how” to decide well what we will do and who we will Be today and always.

August 24, 2015

Your Life Is a Canvas

“We all need this quiet unfolding: the passion to paint what we dream, the honesty to only paint what we know, the courage to stop and live into what we don’t know, the humility to return years later, and the courage to use the blood of our life as the colors needed to finish the embrace. This is the unfolding of the human flower. Until the face of our soul and the face we show the world is one, the same.” —Mark Nepo, from
Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, Staying Close to What Is Sacred

Paint Your Life

Use strokes of ambition, truth, peace and love.
Cultivate the courage to create in new and unfamiliar ways.

Realize what you know.
Expand what you know.

Use colors that make your heart sing.
Sing the song of your heart.

Let your masterpiece make eyes sparkle, smiles spread and hearts warm.
Continue the painting, keep learning, add new dimensions.

Look from every perspective and listen with all your senses.
Love with all your heart.

Live open enough to grow.
Strive to live all that you know.

Ask for more.
Give thanks.

See the masterpiece each day.
Be the masterpiece in every way.

Be gentle with yourself along the way.
See the love around you.

Smile!
It’s your creation!

We truly are creating our lives each and every day with each moment and how we choose to live those moments. We can only create that which we can imagine for ourselves. We must stay alert and be open to the wisdom that wants to guide us to all there is to imagine. There is always much more to imagine.

Wherever we place our attention, allow our thoughts to take us or have our minds rest, will surely become our experience. Imagine all that you can in ever-expanding ways and make it so!

As I lean back and look at the larger picture of my life thus far, it is obvious how it works. Much of it happened without me knowing it. Now that I know it, what will I paint? It will be so much fun to Live the question!

Wishing you love, joy and the courage to show the world your soul face.

NOTE: I’m returning after a bit of a break. I am so happy to be back. 🙂 For anyone interested, I’ve updated the “About” and “My Story” pages for more information about that.

5 Comments

February 3, 2015

We Don’t “Know” and IT is Wonderful! Let’s Go With IT!

Trust Life.

IT knows what IT is doing.

We don’t “know” what is best or even how to label anything — ever. IT is wonderful (if we choose to see it that way)! We can let go of trying to know it all, label it all and figure it all out. Instead, we can just BE and experience all of IT without needing to call it one thing or another. IT works perfectly that way. IT is the only true perfection. IT gets to experience ITself that way, and that is what IT is here to do. Meaning, that is the only reason We are here.

Whatever we think it is — whatever seemed to happen or not happen, whatever seemed unfair, terrible, wonderful, amazing, like a blessing, sad, happy, IT didn’t happen the way we may think it did. IT wasn’t bad or good. IT was perfect!

Truth is — we don’t know if IT’s good or bad and we don’t need to. Labeling IT either way only keeps us from experiencing a deeper version of Life. Good and bad only exist in the illusion that most of us have agreed to call “reality” — it isn’t reality once we know who is creating Life and who is choosing what we are looking at and how we see it.

Deeper Truth is — there is no good or bad, there is only the exact thing the Universe/God/Life picked out for us to experience at the precise moment we experience IT. We can lean back and look for the message we are meant to receive. We can trust that IT is the experience we are meant to have because we are having it. This is the way of Life. It is going with the Flow. It is following our Heart. We can call it anything we like as long as we embrace the courage to do our best each and every day to Live IT.

It is easy to get caught up in judging situations. It is easy to waste time resisting what already is. It is easy to dwell in distracted doing. These seeming “easy” choices aren’t actually “easy” at all, they are the hardest ones to live. They only exist in the illusionary world of suffering. Even to call it suffering misses the point. If suffering leads to bliss, was it ever really suffering? Was it more like a trusted friend trying to wake us up? We do have a friend that we can trust no matter what form IT comes in. Our friend is Life.

We can build a relationship with Life based on trust and do our best to give IT our fullest attention. We can stop ignoring IT and/or wishing IT would change. As our relationship with Life deepens, something much better than “easy” will embrace us. That thing that is “better” than “easy” and beyond our habitual illusions is without a label. We could choose to call it peace, joy, love, consciousness, awakening, being, reality, truth and many other words. These are all just labels pointing in the right direction. What IT really is cannot be summed up in words, only felt deeply within. It is in the silence, not in words.

All is well. Thank you All, I’m grateful for every part of you!

4 Comments

January 15, 2015

“A Love For Being Human” – I’m In! And, So are You!

“Fear”

Everyone can see how they have polished the mirror
of the self, which is done with the longings
we’re given.

Not everyone wants to be king!
There are different roles and many choices
within each.

Troubles come. One person packs up
and leaves. Another stays and deepens in a love
for being human.

In battle, one runs fearing
for his life. Another, just as scared, turns
and fights more fiercely.

-Rumi

“A love for being human” — mustn’t we all have it somewhere within. For, we are here aren’t we? We chose it for a reason. We must have love for it somewhere. We didn’t have to. We loved the experience and we wanted to do it well. Within, we All know how to do it well. We know why, when, how, for how long, with what tools, at what moments and with what intentions. We Know when we Love.

I knew fear deeply as a child. It was my constant friend and drew most of my attention. Any strength I have now was worth the fight and did not come easily. Back then, in that other version of myself, butterflies in my backyard troubled me enough to look for hours through the screen door at the yard I longed to play in. That is not to say that I had no “real” thing to fear. I had plenty. Or, so it seemed. I fought long and hard and I conquered. My deepest gratitude lies in my original constitution of utter fear. Without it, I would not Be as I Am.

Dear Fear:

I bow to you and I thank you. Without you, I would Be nothing.

The thing you threatened with most was a life without Love. Through experiencing you deeply, I found that Love is All there is. The rest is not real. Somehow, I feel you loved me enough to keep me company while I figured Love out.

With Sincere Gratitude Always,

Stacy

I used to say to my daughter (when she was feeling scared) and I still can to this day, “Do you know what Mommy is afraid of?” and she would reply, “What?”…I worked hard for the ability to respond with complete authenticity, “NOTHING!”

I no longer fear. I love and I trust.

Anything more I could say about it would mean nothing to you if you still live with fear, for you must fight and believe on your own. You can. You have everything you need within. If you live without fear and dwell in Love (the Divine kind), then you don’t need to hear what I might add. You can simply smile and feel your warm heart.

Being a woman of many many words, I might just add one thing… the “fight” I mentioned above is anything but violent. Well, it is violently torturous to thyself until we learn to fight well. Then it is more of a surrendering over time to the essence of who you really are and a letting go of all the illusions that surround you before you are able to do so.

Now I know what fear is. Now I know Love. I send you every bit I can muster.

Smile! Spread Love! Feel and follow your “longings” within. 🙂

2 Comments

January 1, 2015

Today’s Outlook – Clear and Present, Tomorrow’s Forecast – Clear and Present

Happy New Year All! May you feel the air of unlimited possibility all around you today and each new day of the year!

I could think of no better forecast than the title above. What a peaceful existence it would be to rest in the state of truly living the wonder of each moment as it comes. We could leave behind the baggage we carry from past experiences and drop the unnecessary assumptions and predictions we often place on the future. We could travel lightly with a fresh perspective allowing Life to bless us in every way. Easier said than done, but always the answer.

In a recent discussion with my children, I was delighted to hear myself describe some specific ways we can choose to live our days with clear and present energy. Our discussion was a result of the typical sibling disturbance, filled with a lot of over-familiar responses indicating that past resentments and future assumptions were dominating the interaction between two precious little people who love each other very much but could not feel it in certain moments of their daily life. In speaking to them, I was able to break it down in a simple manner and give specific tips and tools that would surely help harness a more conscious experience for anyone. It was a review of the tools we ask them to use each day with some added ideas about clearing out our energy each night. The discussion was spontaneous and completely unplanned. I loved everything I heard and I knew the Universe was speaking to us all.

The one true answer to everything is to truly be where you are at fully and experience what Life is showing you in the deepest possible way. This intention will guide you effortlessly through the moments and connect the dots in your life in miraculous ways. Figuring out how to do this takes much practice, undoing of programmed mind activity, a deep desire to make the shift to a more conscious lifestyle and much more. But, it takes only one moment to become present. It is always the one that you are in. It takes no time at all. Even though there is much to learn and practice to hold it for longer periods of time, or on a more consistent basis, it actually takes no time at all to do it because this moment (now) is the only time it is ever possible. We can let the other moments take care of themselves as we fully embrace the one we are in now.

In our family discussion, I reminded the kids about setting our intentions each morning and exactly why we do that. I explained that it isn’t just to write it down in your journal because Mom wants you to, because that won’t work. We had a lovely discussion about the power we put behind our choices with our intentions and how the Universe matches our intentions back to us continuously throughout our days. We can’t say we have a certain intention and then forget it in the first possible moment we have a choice we could apply it to. We cannot go through life reacting to whatever happens I explained, we must decide what our intentions are for the day in the morning and then remember to use that spirit behind each choice we make (or at least as many as we can as we learn and grow). Then our days will be filled with purpose and meaning as our intentions guide us to the life and connections we are meant to live.

Having noticed that the kids still seem easily annoyed with Life, each other and even my voice early in the mornings just after a morning meditation, prayer and intention journal entry, it was obvious that they are living out past experiences over and over again. God gave me the language to speak to them about this clearly. I told them that if by 9:30 am, they have already forgotten their intentions and surrendered to reactionary choices and a mind filled with negative thoughts, then the spiritual practices they are doing aren’t working. In general, if it doesn’t feel good, it’s not working, I explained. I called on them to truly access the spirit inside them that will give more meaning to these practices to help support their intentions to live out their days in a more meaningful way that will bring less stress and allow more joy. I encouraged them to believe in their ability to truly decide their intentions thoughtfully and place their power behind the things they do and say. I asked them to play with it and see what they can do and make happen. We discussed the difference between being vague and getting specific and noticing how the Universe responds and works with us. Great words came about how they have the power to bless others and themselves with the intention and spirited action they choose to bring forth. It sounds over a child’s head, but they are much closer to the spirit world than we realize sometimes. They came from there and they can remember how to access it and use it to bless the world. The conversation was lovely and then we put it all together with some new ideas for even better practices.

We discussed how we can sometimes hold on to the past so much that it doesn’t allow us to be where we are at. We either relive the past or worry that it will happen again in the future. This simple choice, makes it seem real in our heads and then we have lost our way and fallen into unfounded and irrational reaction rather than spirited action. We used specific examples of disputes they have had and hearing and saying things to each other like, “you always” or “she/he always,” etc. We discussed the unfairness of continuously punishing each other for things that aren’t happening any more. We talked about being unable to hear what is actually being said or see what is actually happening if we look at the situation through the veil of past experiences. Love comes through in present moments, not in cluttered up past ones. We came up with the idea of clearing things our each night to allow for a more present and thoughtful morning that will allow us to get the most out of our chosen spiritual practices. We talked about clearing out our energy in the middle of the day if it starts to seem hard to make the kind of choices we meant to when we started the day. It was all very simply put and the plan started to seem comforting and accessible. I encouraged the kids to try clearing out the energy on their own with specific ways to talk to your deepest self, etc. I added that if they had some things getting stuck or some energy that didn’t clear, they should ask for help and we could come up with a better plan or try different ways, etc.

There was much more to it of course, too much to explain here. What started out as a lecture on bad choices turned into an uplifting guide/map for a future filled with present moments of joy. I said a prayer of gratitude afterwards for the energy that had come through me and around me in such a supportive way. It was a lovely moment. Of course, the holidays and all kinds of hectic schedules and situations grabbed hold of us just after this breakthrough. 🙂 But, this moment remains as good as any to recall the tools we have and the ways we can support ourselves to make good choices grounded in love and clear presence. The energy that surrounded us all that night in conversation can be accessed now and the tools are always there as long as they are needed.

May you be blessed with the ability to wish yourself a Happy New Year and start fresh in any moment of any day this year!

Clear and present blue skies are now!

8 Comments

December 31, 2014

Love Doesn’t Come From Our Head and Fear Doesn’t Come From Our Heart

I have been quiet here in this space for a while now. I have been waiting until the distinct and authentic urge to post returned to me. It thrills me to feel that I am now ready once again. I have missed this lovely space; my experience sharing and connecting here has always warmed my heart. Thank you for sharing it with me! A few months ago, I stumbled into the following quote:

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” ― Socrates

It wasn’t the first time I had seen these words from Socrates, but it was the time that I was really meant to feel them. These words struck me and stayed with me for quite some time. They made me quiet here and within myself. After all, this space is called “Live What You Know,” so the desire to truly reflect on how to live the wisdom of knowing you know nothing became the focus of my journey. I certainly don’t have it all figured out. 🙂 But, I am ready to share with an open heart as I continue down the path of Life and all its wonderful lessons.

To break this idea down to any specific points would be to miss the meaning of it entirely. It is a tricky thing to explain knowing nothing. You have to sound like you know something to explain it at all, hence, the quiet lately. Although I did a good job of keeping quiet here, I didn’t always do so well in my daily life. It’s always a blessing to live and learn (unless of course, it isn’t.) 🙂 I kept watch over myself as I interacted with others and I was aware of the times I had clung to the idea of “knowing” how things “should” be or how my ideas of things clouded my reactions and allowed the part of me that “knows” everything to push itself forward. It is a delicate balance and an amazing gift to figure out how to allow your truest self, that knows it knows nothing and stays open to life to guide your choices and align your personality with your soul. Seeing and living from a place beyond the little thoughts from the head holds the key that opens the heart and allows our perception and experience of Life to expand and include All.

Simply put, Love doesn’t come from our head and fear doesn’t come from our heart. While the truest part of me knows I know nothing, it does occur to me that I feel deeply from my heart and the things it allows me to feel are vibrating at a higher level than any thoughts ever could. That frequency of Life that the heart allows brings me such peace and allows me more compassion and connectedness to Life in every way. The feeling pervades within me that a life without doing whatever it takes to learn how to live from that place on a regular basis would seem to miss the point of being here entirely. While, I don’t “know” this for sure, I do feel it as sure as I feel my breath.

As I continued to watch and reflect on “knowing” things versus feeling Life, the Universe sent me many helpful lessons and tools to guide me to great teachings that were delivered perfectly at the best moment and in the best possible way. Just one example is The Fifth Agreement, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Even though I loved the book that preceded it, that book had been sitting on my shelf for years without me ever feeling the time was right to read it. Finally, it made it into my daily reading time. It was a wonderful guide in letting go of all the ideas of right and wrong that have been programmed into us since birth. Not to say that I have given up all the ideas that have been injected into my mind just yet. But to know that I should question everything rather than accept even my own ideas as truth is a wonderful place to start. I have heard this lesson in many different ways by many different teachers, but in this case, the tools and teachings life was sending me were perfectly answering the questions I was asking at the perfect time. I share this example of one of the tools that came my way, not to suggest reading this particular book, but to encourage or inspire us all to allow Life to show us what it has picked out for us perfectly at this time. If we are interested in living from a deeper place, Life will surely show us the way in the perfect manner for each of us. We must look with fresh, clear and open eyes to receive the gifts that await us. Important note (not something I “know,” but something I feel): if we are not interested in living from a deeper place, Life will provide experiences to increase our interest; we are Life, so Life wants our attention.

I pray for all of us as we continue down the path of open-hearted living. Sometimes opening your heart all the way can allow things to hurt. The hurt won’t stay because the heart is very resilient, but sometimes it still gets hurt. Recently my heart hurt very bad, I was quite surprised that it could happen. I value allowing things to be as they are and I feel that resisting and insisting things change only brings more suffering (unless my heart is guiding me towards initiating change or otherwise). I thought my intention to go with the flow and my desire to avoid judging whatever I saw would protect me from a deep hurt. Instead, I now feel that hurting is just part of the process. Sometimes people are afraid of an open heart and uncomfortable in its presence. Sometimes heads convince people that they would rather be upset, right, important, insignificant, superior, inferior or a million other things fear disguises itself as; often people choose from any number of distracting activities to quiet the noise the head is continuously making. The distractions keep us from opening our hearts and living within the experience Life is trying to give us in every now. People can treat an open heart in a rough manner at times as they juggle their thoughts and fears. When it hurt, I sat with my weeping heart, shared openly with my sweet little family and allowed it to be as it was. It didn’t close up, it isn’t wounded and it doesn’t love any less, it simply hurt for a bit. I smile now, because it doesn’t feel possible for my heart to hurt. The heart doesn’t waste time keeping track of awful memories and bad feelings. It beats now. The head likes to keep score, be right and convince us we have problems that need solving. The heart doesn’t remember, it lives the blessings of the moment. It is worth it to allow your heart to hurt sometimes because only a truly open heart can provide the place to rest without fear. The heart hurting is nothing to fear. Love comes from the heart and its power to do so is beyond comprehension. Believing in our hearts and allowing them to feel everything can only bring the peace, joy, love and aliveness that has been waiting for us since the beginning of time.

Three wishes for us all:

The courage to feel, connect and be guided from our hearts.
The desire to learn how to truly quiet the mind without leaning on meaningless distractions.
The ability to reside comfortably and excitedly in knowing we know nothing.

Sending you love and joy!

9 Comments

Tag: becoming your essential self

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