Transformational Coaching
“As a being of power, intelligence, and love, you hold the key to every situation, and contain within yourself that transforming and regenerative agency by which you may make yourself what you will.”
~James Allen
In wellness,
Susan
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May we trust our heart more than our head.
May we smile more than we frown.
May we see the good more than the bad.
May we detach from outcomes and trust in the unfolding.
May we lean in to discomfort, only to find our own true capacity to love.
May we love…more.
In wellness,
Susan
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
Love.
I was having a heartfelt conversation yesterday and we were saying how the pain and joy in life all stems from one thing – people and our capacity to love.
Some of the hardest parts of our lives stems from our interactions with one another, strangers even! And yet, some of the greatest joys in our lives come from the very same source. Ironic isn’t it?
When we feel pain, oftentimes at the root of our suffering is the perception of non-acceptance, feeling unloved or even judged.
I say perception because the deep truth of it is that we all stem from the same Source, the Universe, whatever you like to call it. We are ONE, and yet we see each other as separate.
You see, all we want is to be loved at our core.
And here’s the bottom line – no matter what seems to be happening on the outside, recognize you are already love. Instead of looking out and the effects, look inside and recognize the truth of who you already are.
No one can take that away from you.
No one can say or do anything to make you less than what you already are.
All that needs to happen is to lift the veil so that you may recognize your own truth. Your own self.
When things do get tough I like to share a thought process Matt Khan speaks of called, “Thank you for teaching me”.
You see, when we turn the focus around from analyzing a false thought pattern of “what’s wrong with me” to “thank you for teaching me”, it allows us to realize there is nothing wrong with you, but it is an error in our way of perception of the person or situation. Thus, “thank you for teaching me” allows us to truly give gratitude to the person or situation and allow us to learn and build our very own capacity to give love.
Beautiful isn’t it?
So here’s to truly understanding our very own essence and capacity to love.
In wellness,
Susan
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This past weekend I, along with 31 beautiful souls, completed our 200 yoga teacher training. 10 weekends, 108 asanas, mudras, mantras, and an expansion of soul, body, and mind.
To think that we all met in this time and space “randomly” would be far from the truth.
I am in gratitude and humbled by everyone’s strength, courage, vulnerability, heart, and of course wise teachings from our Rasa tribe leader Greta Hill and a multitude of other teachers who graced us with their wisdom.
Yoga has been a practice and place where I have been able to return to for strength and vitality, and I am honored to have learned the art and soul of this practice at a more in-depth level.
And how beautiful it is to wrap up Winter and step into Spring?
We all planted a seed, a rooted intention to begin this 200 hour journey, and to watch this seed continue to blossom is this sweet, magical unfolding will be truly a mystical experience.
Mark Nepo said it best in this poem below:
All the buried seeds crack open in the dark, the instant they surrender to a process they can’t see.
What a powerful lesson is the beginning of spring.
All around us, everything small and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can see.
And this innate surrender allows everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life we call spring.
In nature, we are quietly given countless models of how to give ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which is ultimately an awakening beyond all imagining.
As a seed buried in the earth cannot imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt imagine itself loved or at peace.
The courage of the seed is that once cracking, it cracks all the way.
~Mark Nepo
Whatever journey you yourself have been on this past Winter – trust the process, have faith in the unfolding, watch the magic.
Here’s to planted seeds and watching them bloom.
In wellness,
Susan
Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash
Did you know that inspiration comes to us all the time in a multitude of ways? Unfortunately, we’re too busy thinking to recognize the subtle hits of inspiration!
For example, how many times have you thought of an tantalizing idea while taking a shower, only to forget it once you’ve put on your clothes? Or, how about when you’re driving to your destination but just as soon as you turn off the ignition you’ve already forgotten what it was?
You see, we’re too busy thinking all the time. We allow ourselves to get caught up in the current of the few rotating movies we have in our minds eye; and when we’re too busy being involved with the movie, it’s no surprise we forget or even notice when creative solutions to our problems or future arise.
The key here is to notice.
Notice the subtleties. The small quiet voice. The thought before the thought. The flash of a picture or symbol in your mind’s eye before you move on to the same ol’ thought or problem.
The second key here is to write them down.
The more you write down the subtleties the more you understand how and when inspiration hits you. In addition, you’ll begin to differentiate between normal thinking and unconscious, creative thinking.
This is a routine practice for me and I’ve come to appreciate and find joy each and every time I notice these hits of inspiration. Oftentimes they provide insight or a pathway to a part of my life whether it’s a relationship, creative endeavor, travel, career, you name it!
I’m curious, how do you find your hits of inspiration? Do you notice a recurring theme or pattern in your day to day life as to where or how this inspiration finds you?
In wellness,
Susan
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Neural pathways. It makes me sigh with how powerful, wonderful, and amazing our brains truly are.
Did you know that most of our actions, emotions, and even reactions are all due to our neural pathways?
It’s why we feel a certain way most of the time. Whether it’s the moment you wake up, the route you take to work every day, how you converse with strangers, how you react in a fight, your natural food choices, etc.
It’s our brain’s way of making things easy for us.
You see, after we’ve settled on a core belief, our neural pathways do the rest of the work! Things become automatic because it’s efficient. It works.
However, what if you wanted a higher outcome? What if suddenly what has worked for you in the past doesn’t serve your higher good anymore?
This is where the power of choice comes in.
Oftentimes we think a certain situation presented itself in such a way the action was inevitable. But no, we have a CHOICE to go the other way; we have a CHOICE to stop and think about what it is we really want. How liberating is that?
It’s the understanding that most of our habitual thoughts and actions comes from a finely grooved neural pathway. It’s in knowing that now there is a choice to begin forming a NEW neural pathway.
The practice now is in the noticing. It’s in the moment right before reacting, the thought, the urge. It’s providing space for that moment to truly feel into what it is you want.
With mindful re-patterning there is a way toward higher choices. Over time you will find it easier to be habituated toward what was once “new” to you.
May we honor this time, the power of our thoughts, and be mindful of our own power to choose the very outcome we wish for.
In wellness,
Susan
Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash
Have you ever felt a calling within? A deep spark of inspirtation that left you feeling as if you were meant for that? A deep feeling of wonder as you contemplate whether or not you should follow that?
Whatever that is for you – follow it! Do your version of it. Maybe it’s wanting to take a few years off to explore teaching English in another country, or maybe it’s completely changing careers to a different industry, or maybe it’s experimenting with building your own business. Whatever it may be for you… follow the fire.
You see, oftentimes we’re afriad of the unknown. And we use this fear to keep us in our comfort.
But what if following the fire allowed you to recognize your own truth more deeply? What if following the fire actually showed you the “real” side of that and dropped the illusion of what you thought it might be? OR, what if following the fire allowed you to recognize a new skill and passion within your heart that leads you to a better, fuller life?
You see, we won’t know any of this until we follow the fire. We won’t know whether or not it was truly meant for us until we try.
Does it mean dropping everything to figure it out? No, it doesn’t have to be.
What it could mean is testing your idea out. It could mean interviewing people already in the industry; it could mean a work trade or unpaid internship to get a taste of that reality; it could mean taking a 3 month sabbatical to actually TEST and see if it’s really what you thought it would be.
Don’t get caught up in the fear and what if’s. Test. Play. Discover. Because until you do, you’ll never know what’s on the other side.
In wellness,
Susan
“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by a discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our butts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”
~M. Scott Peck
In wellness,
Susan
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I wanted to talk today about the power of inquiry.
Have you ever noticed that when you begin with inquiry people pay attention? And when this inquiry is self directed, you begin to pay attention as well?
Typical statements, commentary, and self talk is, well, just that – typical. It’s expected and it’s on auto pilot. So much so that it becomes habituated. Even the responses become habituated!
But when we start by inquiring, “the beginner’s mind”, as it is known in Zen Buddhist traditions, we are met with qualities such as awe, curiosity, and wonder. And this positive resonance has a deep impact in how we approach the very thing we are dealing with, whether in the outside world or our very own inside world.
Inquiry allows for possibility.
To inquire means there is a curiosity in getting to know something or someone. It means you are open to learning. And this is beautiful.
When we approach with inquiry we are more open than ever. We begin to see things we never would have seen. We begin to feel things we never would have felt.
As an experiment, try it today! Whether it is with a difficult emotion you are encountering or headed into work and seeing old & new co-workers, start with inquiry. See what comes up before your brain goes on auto-pilot. Ask yourself:
And watch what happens. Observe the response, and even in the response inquire even more.
You see, when we inquire we not only allow for possibilities and higher resonating qualities within us, we are, as a byproduct, being mindful of what is in front of us as well as what actually arises.
Here’s to a bit more inquiry in our lives and seeing what newness unfolds.
In wellness,
Susan
Photo by Cody Davis on Unsplash