A Course in Miracles Archives - Page 3 of 5

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

Our Wholeness

“When you realize the depth of your soul, you know, the wholeness of who you really are, suddenly life gets a whole lot simpler.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Gianandrea Villa on Unsplash

Building The Personal Power Mindset

In an earlier post I wrote about personal power and how easy it is to give it away to other people, objects, or simply daily events that happen in our lives.

Today, I wanted to focus specifically on one major way we give away our power so easily, and that is: caring about what other people think.

If you’ve done the 24 hour self realization test you may have noticed this particular theme come up over and over again. Why is it that we care so damn much about what others think? To the point that it actually changes our very own behavior and possibly the trajectory of our path?

Let’s be honest, we’ve all done this at one point or another in the past. Heck, maybe even within the last day!

Your baby is uncomfortable and crying on his/her first flight and you’re flushed and embarrassed at the thought of other people being annoyed at you and your baby.
You wear something amazing to school or work only to notice someone else is getting much more attention. You decide to keep your jacket on and wear your outfit on another day.
You pack your lunch because there’s an important lunch meeting and you notice no one else is eating. You decide to eat later and hope to God your stomach doesn’t growl during the hour.
You have an accent and you’re afraid other’s might think less of you so you avoid any job that requires speaking over the phone or public speaking.

The list can go on…

What I’ve noticed a million times over is that people who have this tendency are doing one thing 90% of the time – they aren’t caring enough about themselves.

What’s happening in our brains is that we are already looking outward and caught up in a fear based state of other people’s projection. Now, remember what I’ve said over and over again – with every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This is power.

If you have a tendency to immediately jump to what other people think, you also have an equal tendency (or the opportunity) to immediately jump to what YOU care about in yourself.

Instead of caring about what other people think about you, why not care about what you want to do?

Why not care about your world for once?
Why not care about your voice?
Why not care about how your potential failure can lead to future success?
Why not care about yourself?

You may begin to feel something shift within you. You may begin to imagine all the times that if you shifted your mindset to caring about yourself first, how empowering this actually feels.

Remember, no one is actually thinking about you as much as they are thinking about themselves.

Take baby steps to build your personal power. Use the right tools whether they be books, meditation, a spiritual practice, or a coach/therapist to get you along the right path.

Owning your personal power is a birth right and we need as many people (with the truest of intentions) to step into their God given power – your true Light!

In wellness,

Susan

Friday Focus – 10/27/17 {Shedding Trauma}

I don’t know where you guys are in the world but Seattle is having an absolutely gorgeous day. I mean, look at the sky and these beautiful amber turned leaves!

As I walked the pup this morning hearing the crunch of fallen leaves… I couldn’t help but think about old stories. Experiences. Hurts. Past Traumas.

If you’ve been reading along you know I emphasize how powerful our brains are. It’s interesting and noteworthy, again, to recognize our brains are powerful. So powerful that they hold on to these old stories, experiences, hurts, and past traumas in order to help us. But without special attention what can happen is that they begin to inhibit us.

It keeps us small. afraid. quiet. simple. frustrated. angry. bewildered. anxious.

And in staying small (and afriad, quiet, simple, frustrated, angry, bewildered, anxious, etc.) we begin to generalize these core feelings until it becomes a THING. Suddenly it’s not in the past anymore it’s something you believe you have now.

So what’s REALLY the thing, the thing in the past or the thing now?

Does it even matter?

No matter what conclusion you came to, what matters is re-training your brain to stop from firing the old story over and over again in the present moment. The larger YOU knows you are safe. You have options. You aren’t IN the past you’re IN the NOW. And largely, we have God.

When we come to understand this truth, we begin to break the barrier.

We begin to notice the firing.

That’s not to say there isn’t more work to be done such as Release Work and Re-Training The Neural Network. While it sounds deep and heavy, trust me… with a good practitioner you can be healed and released from old hurts and begin taking steps toward the life you know you deserve. Yes, it’s possible.

So back to Fall… as I listened to the crunch of fallen leaves this morning I couldn’t help but think what a great time it is to release and re-train. Nature reveals everything. After the harvest comes death and rebirth. Yet, it’s ironic how this is barely practiced in our own lives. Where are the rituals to process our latest stories and hurts? Do we take the time for the yearly tune up we all could use?

So this Fall I am thankful. I am thankful for the reminder of death and rebirth. With every action there is a reaction. With every force there is an opposite force. With every old story there is a new story. Nature proves this so and how powerful is that?

In wellness,

Susan

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Have you ever experienced a miracle? Something that completely changed your life in an instant?

What I’ve seen over and over again (and I love witnessing this in my own life as well) is that once you believe in miracles you naturally begin to live in the present moment. The surrendering has already begun. The magic is already happening.

There comes a moment when you can’t seem to handle the fear, worry, stress, dilemma (whatever is causing suffering for you) and you almost, in defeat, let it go.

That’s the beautiful part.

Suddenly you sense a lightness. And you realize it was never in your control anyway. It was never yours to begin with. How funny is that?

Our minds are powerful. And unfortunately (or fortunately) you can’t believe in two things. You can’t believe in fear AND believe that miracles can occur. You must choose one or the other, and for as long as you are trapped in your own fear, there can’t possibly be a way to witness a miracle.

That’s when you allow the down to be down. Don’t resist, just let it be. Because the sooner you relinquish control, the sooner you come to realize control isn’t the answer.

Life can be funny, but what I’ve come to realize as truth, is that it’s all perspective and beliefs at the end of the day.

What lens are you wearing today?

What driving belief is charting the course of your past, today, and subsequent future?

Choose wisely my friends. Be conscious and spend some time with your inner most wisest self.

In wellness,

Susan

Summer & Questions To Guide Inner Reflection

There’s something about going back home… While I grew up as an army brat with many “homes”, I consider Seoul and Tokyo my old stomping grounds. It’s where I spent more of my formative years.

As I head back to Seoul for a much needed break I can’t help but be thankful for Seattle. Since my re-entry this wonderful city has been a place where I met the most unexpected people; a place where I grew in ways I never thought I would. Guess it goes back to, “You never know what the Universe will provide if you surrender and let go of expectations.”

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset — Seattle Summer Nights

I’m looking forward to this break so that I can spend time with family and old friends. It will also be a time for inner reflection, and I won’t lie… there will be a few meetings sprinkled in here and there but when you put your highest intention in them it doesn’t feel like just a “meeting” if you know what I mean 😉

As we close out this Summer I urge you to take time for inner reflection. While everyone’s questions and time for reflection will be different, here are a few you can use to guide yourself:

What have been the consistent themes/thoughts these past 3-4 months?
What have I done to take action toward these themes/thoughts?
Am I in a place where I am ready to take action?
Who or What can help me take action? (i.e., books, meetups, teachers, coaches, etc.)
As I prepare for Fall, what do I need to close out to complete Summer?

May these next few weeks be filled with last minute bbqs, more laughter, and time spent with our loved ones.

Namaste,

Susan

Seeking Confirmation

Why do we do that? Whether it’s out of curiosity or we want to hear something other than what we know deep down inside, it’s as if us humans have an insatiable need to constantly seek confirmation outside ourselves.

On one hand if you have a healthy mindset about it, scratching a particular itch doesn’t hurt. I often find that when you’re honed in on your own intuition and your deepest desires you always know the answer and aren’t as stressed because you already have faith in the unfoldment of what is to be. Instead, what we mistaken as confirmation are really therapeutic experiences; after all as humans we love to be in community and what better way than to share and find a tribe of people who understand what you’re going through?

Where I think it can do more harm than good is when you constantly seek confirmation without giving anyone’s opinion or advice deep thought. When you feel the need to jump from one thing to another, stop and ask yourself, “what am I seeking?” “what do I want to hear?” “what am I afraid of?” “what is the underlying emotion that is driving my actions?”

Whether you’re in one boat or the other, consider relabeling what you are seeking. Rather than seeking “confirmation”, position your thoughts to identify with this activity as a “therapeutic experience” or a “discovery session”. Whether you do this with friends, a tarot/astrology reading, therapist, or life coach, when you identify this as a self discovery process suddenly the desperation falls away. Did you feel the shift?

When we come from a place of seeking confirmation it implies a yearning for a particular goal, outcome, or indicates an illusory fear.

So the next time you feel the need to seek confirmation, take a moment to re-identify the action from seeking to discovery. It may make a world of difference and save you the stress.

And remember, you already have the answers within ?

In wellness,

Susan

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

Gives you the shivers doesn’t it?

So I ask again, who are you not to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? What are the limiting beliefs (and therefore illusory truths) that are holding you back?

Take a moment and take inventory of each decision during the course of a day. Imagine these decisions as branches of a tree; where are these branches stemming from? What is the basis (beliefs) of these decisions and how deep do those roots go?

Remember, change can happen but it takes work. Knowing how to catch the beliefs is half the battle and everyone, yes everyone, is capable of creating this change.

In the meantime I implore you to ask yourself two questions today:

How are you playing big today?
What is one small step you can take toward your true self?

In wellness,

Susan

Seattle and Bellevue Senior Portrait Photographer

Littleness: What Value Do You Put Upon Yourself?

“The lesson may seem hard at first, but you will learn to love it when you realize that it is true and is but a tribute to your power. You who have sought and found littleness, remember this: Every decision you make stems from what you think you are, and represents the value that you put upon yourself.”

~A Course In Miracles

Often times action becomes patterned. What you chose to eat for breakfast, how you react to a certain friend or boss, how you treat yourself and your relationship to money, and really, how you treat yourself and all of your relationships.

At first, it stems from an initial set of decision points until it becomes a behavior. Can you take a moment and look at where in your life this may be true? Remember, no judgement, just awareness.

The most important question to ask yourself is – “Why?”.

When you look at your Why’s behind all of these actions and behaviors, you will see the truth of whether or not you play in the field of Littleness or Greatness.

I am here to remind you today how GREAT you truly are. How playing small doesn’t serve anyone and certainly not you. How playing GREAT is your natural tendency and birthright. How playing GREAT helps elevate the world and everyone who is here.

So pause for a moment today and watch your Why’s and notice where each decision stems from. Remember to play in Greatness.

Namaste.

A Course in Miracles – Lack

“While lack does not exist in the creation of God, it is very apparent in what you have made. It is, in fact, the essential difference between them. Lack implies that you would be better off in a state somehow different from the one you are in. […] Needs arise only when you deprive yourself. You act according to the particular order of needs you establish. This, in turn, depends on your perception of what you are.

A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need to correct. This sense of separation would never have arisen if you had not distorted your perception of truth, and had thus perceived yourself as lacking.”

Whether you are new to A Course In Miracles (ACIM) or not, I love this excerpt specifically talking about “lack”.

We are told left and right that we are not enough until one day we believe it to the point that it seems so real. Actually we end up believing there is no other reality.

Take some time to assess your thoughts, decisions, and actions… do you notice how in some way “lack” might be an influence however small or large? Can you notice how in some way things might be “better” by doing things one way or how you might “fix” something by doing things this way?

How much of a relief would it be to not be driven by lack? How much freer and spacious would YOU be?

When I first came across this text I was floored, and I mean FLOORED. It was as if a light bulb went on in my head and immediately after I felt a huge sense of relief. This was around the time I was in deep recovery from adrenal fatigue and not only was this sense of lack one of the major players of getting to the point of adrenal fatigue, it was playing a small part in my desire to be in a different state other than adrenal fatigue as well. Ironic isn’t it?

The sense of relief was immediate and lasting…. What a relief it was to know there was no need to strive so hard! What a relief it was to just BE!

So take a moment… if your mind is driving you crazy with thoughts that are fueled by tension, striving, or desire, take a moment to inquire and allow for a bit of space. Allow for the possibility that you are MORE than enough in this moment, and even the next.

Namaste.