Category: Truths

Friday Focus – 12/1/17 {Living With Complacency Or Finally Making CHANGE!}

I am beyond excited about a couple of things. For one, it’s DECEMBER. To be honest, I didn’t really feel like it was the holidays just yet. But something hit me yesterday… maybe it was all the neighborhood decorations, the overall mood of this city, or sitting at Starbucks reading Peter Levine’s Trauma and Memory while Christmas music was playing in the background. Either way, I am FEELING IT and excited to give this last month of 2017 100%.

Second of all, it’s Friday Focus and today – I wanted to talk about something that I have been feeling passionate about ALL WEEK. Clearly I have a lot of passion in general these days given the number of CAPS I’ve been using so far in this post 😉

Ok, so for this week’s Friday Focus I wanted to talk about PATTERNS.

Yes, I write about patterns – a lot. But what I want to drive home today, especially since a lot of people will be reflecting on this past year and working on New Year resolutions, is the idea around pattern recognition and why change ensues (or doesn’t).

Can we for one moment have a come to Jesus moment about our patterns? It’s one thing to say, “Oh yea, I kind of do that don’t I?” and grin at your friend, it’s a complete other thing when you actually recognize the pattern and the EFFECT it has on your life and most importantly the outcome.

Which outcome, or area in your life are you unsatisfied with? You see it every single year and yet, no change. Why? No really, WHY?

Scrutinize your patterns. There is an underlying emotion that is prohibiting you from stepping forward and making progress. Did you know that?

Often times, we say we want to make change in our lives and yet, we know deep, deep down we won’t do anything about it. And to be honest, that’s ok.

You see, we have to be completely READY for change to actually happen. No matter how hard you consciously try, if your subconscious doesn’t believe you, then unfortunately change won’t happen.

I actually LOVE telling people this because it’s the wakeup call that everyone needs to hear to A) either come to peace with the complacency and stop the mental shaming or B) grit their teeth and believe it to their bones that they are actually ready for CHANGE.

Isn’t that empowering? I mean, either way…. Now the power is truly in your hands!

Ok, this was sort of a love rant because I truly do care. I mean hey, we’ve all been there where we wanted to see change in one area of our life but couldn’t figure out why. This is one big hint as to why that might be the case!

When you have a moment to reflect, jot down the patterns. See where you are held up, where things aren’t flowing, and try to understand yourself a little more. It’s the one small step toward change you can make today before understanding the type of change agent you need to seek 💗

In deep wellness,

Susan

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

 

Who Are Your Teachers?

I’ve always strived when surrounded by some of the best. Learning by example, enthusiasm, failed experiments and cautionary tales has been some of the best ways I’ve gleaned insight into other people’s lives, and therefore helped provide flavor and color to my own life experience.

These days, while I still follow distant teachers, some of whom I know and many of those whom I don’t, I have been in immense gratitude to be surrounded by teachers in the world of yoga. From mudras, mantras, asana breakdowns, and yogic philosophy, it’s been such a gratifying experience to 1) see how complementary and interwoven yogic philosophy, other spiritual teachings I’ve studied, and even science based NLP work all actually are! and 2) to be surrounded by like minded people who are in a space of “student always” and in support of one other’s journey.

So this leads me to ask another round of Powerful Questions:

  • Who are some of your current teachers?
  • In what ways do these teachers stimulate and motivate you?
    • Physically
    • Emotionally
    • Spiritually
  • What teaching styles do they all have in common? Do you recognize a pattern that best works for you?
  • If you currently don’t have a specific teacher or teaching of study, what is one small step you can take to find one?
  • What types of classes or workshops are coming to your city in the next 3-6 months?
  • What other ways can you learn aside from student/teacher relationship?
    • Oftentimes we can learn a lot about ourselves as well as strengthen our own learned teachings by volunteering, coaching, or stepping into the teacher role itself (but that is for another post!)
  • What other resources can act as growth for you? Whether it’s seeking out community, a coach, or accountability program with your close friends?

Clearly there is a lot to digest here but the point of this exercise is to get you reflecting on what it means to be surrounded by thoughtful teachers who care for your own best interest, as well as think outside the box when it comes to growth and expansion.

After all, we can’t always do it on our own and hearing someone else’s perspective, unique insights, and experiences can be the one thing that produces a light bulb moment for you. Whether it’s the tone, the wording, the way in which the story was told… these are all ways in which another layer of your own understanding of life can unfold and provide a richer context for your to immerse yourself in.

If you live in the Seattle area and are curious about who my yoga teacher is you can visit Greta Hill at Bala Yoga. I highly recommend taking one of her classes. Her warmth, grace, and humble attitude is what drew me into her teaching style. In addition, her very own teacher Sianna Sherman, will be spending a weekend with us (and it’s open to the public! 12/16/17 – 12/17/17).

Here’s to the never ending journey of growth and expansion, and finding teachers that uplift and support you on your journey.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Matthew Kane on Unsplash

There Is No Order Of Difficulty In Miracles

“There is no order of difficulty in miracles.”

~A Course In Miracles

This post will be short but hopefully it’s importance and truth will impact you nonetheless.

Have you ever felt a miracle? Felt or seen a complete 180 and wondered how did that happen? Perhaps you were witness to a miracles by a family member, friend or co-worker. Or perhaps you know deep down that you’ve experienced a miracle before in your life but have lost faith in miracles appearing in other areas of your life.

A Course In  Miracles says there is no order of difficulties in miracles. So how can we believe in miracles but not have faith in one specific area(s) of our lives? Remember, the mind cannot believe in both, it only believes in one.

Which belief is running dominance in your life today? The one of miracles or the one of fear?

Take careful inventory of where you have doubt, worry, and fear in your life. Write it down, burn it, and declare faith in miracles and surrender all outcome. When has doubt, worry, and fear every worked? If you look back in your life wasn’t in complete surrender and blind faith when new doors opened or things magically worked out?

This post may be slightly different than the NLP based posts but the one thought of having a split mind (believing in both fear and miracles, which doesn’t exist by the way) struck me so hard this morning I needed to share and remind – If you’ve ever believed in miracles then you know it to be true in ALL areas of your life. 

What miracle are you waiting for?

In miracles,

Susan

Burn It All Away

Ok, not really but there is a little burning involved, or if you don’t have access to a safe place to burn a piece of paper, there is a little ripping involved.

But hold your horses, before you get any wild, crazy ideas let me explain.

I’ve always been a proponent of journaling. Writing out your thoughts and/or feelings is one of the best ways to provide your analytical mind an outlet. Instead of “it” swirling around in your head you can write everything down in your journal and (this is the most important part) SEE what you were thinking. You see, there’s something magical about visually seeing your thoughts; because once you actually see it on paper you realize what’s driving you crazy is the actual overwhelm of rumination, not so much the thought itself.

Upon listening to a podcast recently I came across Dr. David Hanscome. He very much seems like a kindred soul.

He goes a bit further than just journaling and encourages people to either burn the pages or rip them up. The point here is to, again, visually see your thoughts disappear and recognize your thoughts are just thoughts! We feel they are real because of the chemical reaction we get once the thought is produced.

I write a lot about habituated patterns and the brain’s ability to groove familiar pathways. The more you think a thought, the more it creates an emotion, and the more you become the thought. It can be a vicious cycle but that’s not to say mindfulness, compassion, and working to activate techniques such as journaling and burning can’t turn things around so that you can gain perspective!

Even in the more spiritual realm there are rituals where around the New Moon or Full Moon people will write out what to let go of, as well as intentions, and burn the paper while offering the ashes up to the moon. Burning is not a totally new concept but that is beside the point – it can have dramatic effects for disengaging rumination and offering perspective.

Try it out! If you’re not already in the habit of journaling before bed or when you rise, try writing out 5 thoughts and burning/ripping the page. As you visually watch the page become ash or tiny pieces quietly repeat to yourself, “there goes the thought(s)”.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Joshua Newton on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 11/17/17 {What Does Faith Look Like?}

While earlier this week the 15 day forecast showed nothing but overcast skies and rain, the weather today unexpectedly turned out to be BEAUTIFUL today! I found myself appreciating the radiant hues of the sky as I watched the earth turn from dark to light this morning… I also love how my plans today have completely changed from working out indoors to making plans to walk Green Lake in order to take advantage of this small blessing. After all, it’s the little things right?

So for this week’s Friday Focus I decided to write about faith. I’ve gotten a few questions this week that relate to assurance about the future, how to deal with stress in the present, or even not knowing what to do and feeling a bit frustrated.

While the specific answer will vary from person to person I thought I’d post a set of powerful questions that come down to faith. (Bonus: related reading to previous posts on control such as this one.)

Taking the time to truly reflect on your responses below will allow you to have a better idea of what faith looks like to you. Especially during the times when we feel the need to control the situation. Ready?

Powerful Questions on Faith

  • What does it mean to have faith?
  • How does faith feel like when you are certain of it in your life?
  • How is it reflected in your voice when you know you have faith?
  • What does your body feel when you are in complete faith?
  • How do your actions change based on faith?
  • When you know you have faith, do you feel a shift in your overall mindset? How does the world look now?

If you’ve ever questioned whether or not you truly have faith in certain situations answering these questions will allow you to have a deeper sense of your truth. You may realize logically in your brain you know you need faith, but also quickly realize your body and actions don’t reflect the full ownership of this faith.

Take the time to truly listen. Once you’ve identified what faith looks like to you (because it looks and feels different for everyone) you can work to embody these details for a more faith-ful life.

Here’s to cultivating faith, especially in times when we need it most.

In wellness,

Susan

A quiet morning spent on journaling, quieting the mind, and reading deep truths.

Start Controlling Your Own Experience

“We never really encounter the world; all we experience is our own nervous system”

~Unknown

I’ve been taking advantage of this drizzly Fall weather by reading – a lot! Lately I have been immersed in various texts, mostly yoga but other books related to trauma, NLP, and following your creative passions – a mix as usual 😉

As I was reading through the Bhagavad Gita I came across the quote above. What I love about this quote is that it’s another reminder of the many blog posts written previously about our minds and our experiences. If you’re new let me re-cap: What you experience is controlled by your own mind. Yes, if you can laugh at the irony.. great! The punchline is that we control it all!

I’ve mentioned before how much power there is in realizing this truth. Sure, there might be years of neural work that have paved a deep groove within our networks but our brains are just as powerful to create new ones. This is empowerment; knowing you can change any time, any where.

So let this one sink in a bit. Imagine, if I’m controlling my own experiences without even realizing it how much more power could I have by really owning it?

Really owning is more than half the battle. For anyone desiring additional assistance I, and many others, can help what is known as the meta model to really reinforce the desired change. In NLP there is a technique described as the meta model. A proven methodology to help you pave a new neural pathway for real change. I’ve seen this do amazing things from greatly reduce anxiety, fear, to increasing confidence, and much more. Again, the great part is, if you’re already nodding along to this blog post you’ll get the swing of things much quicker and on to real change!

But there’s a lot we can do in the meantime! Here’s to realizing 1) we have the ability to control our experiences and 2) that the power of choice is equally available to us and in our control, yup, the choice between the good experience and the bad experience.

Stay warm and most importantly start owning!

In deep wellness,

Susan