Pause, Rest, Worship



“When we have done all we can do,
 remarkable things happen when we surrender” Debbie Ford

                                                 

I love this sign, pictured above. It greets the driver as she comes into Yuma from the North. Follow the dirt road next to it and you quickly come to a tiny doll-house looking, one-man chapel. It encourages the sojouner to take a
break from the long journey; and do as the sign says; pause, rest and worship.......

Several weeks ago I introduced you to the idea of an internal guidance system that allows us to monitor how we are doing in making progress towards our passion.  We learned that when we feel energetic, excited, and motivated;  we are expanding…. physically feeling expansion.  But when we are feeling exhausted, cranky, unhappy…even miserable; then we are physically feeling contraction. And although we have learned that it takes action in order for our dream to become reality, there are times when our internal monitor is telling us to step back, take a break and re-evaluate. 

 

So what about those times when we step back...take a break…come back….and still no progress?  What happens when we have paused, and we have rested.... and still nothing?   When we have done everything we know how to do, worked as hard as we can work, given all we can give...and still...nothing?  Is our dream not meant to come true? Is our ideal life truly just a fantasy?  Are lives on fire and filled with passions only to be lived by others?

The authors of The Passion Test explain it this way: “When you feel contracted and you keep going anyway, when you’re feeling exhausted or constricted or uptight and you keep going anyway, you are insisting on your will and not listening to God’s will.”  

I rather like how Debbie Ford, best selling author and speaker, expresses this idea, “I always try and teach people that there is only so much effort you can put into the world…sometimes we just need to surrender. …Our natural instinct is to make things happen and to believe we can do everything, that we are the driver.  When you give up being the driver, there is a bigger driver that is going to do a much better job than you.  Remember to ask yourself,  What can I do today to resign as general manager of the universe so I can allow what I am supposed to be doing…. When we have done all we can do, remarkable things happen when we surrender.”
 

Here’s an example of those words in action, as Oprah shares an illustration of one of her greatest passions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrWxNJV6jJc

I think Oprah's last words in the video are worth repeating....
"God can dream a bigger dream for me, for you, than you can ever dream for yourself.  When you've worked as hard and done as much and strived and tried and given and plead and bargained and hoped...surrender.  When you have done all that you can do, and there's nothing left for you to do, give it up- give it up to that which is greater than yourself."

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 Email me at: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com

 

 

You Have My Word

                      "If you like the insurance you have, you can keep it”.
                          President Barak Obama 



 

I don’t know about you but I’m tired of hearing this hollow quote being repeated over and over again. Its sound echoes like the promise of hope and change, and reverberates across the news channels. No matter what your political persuasion, it's a sad reminder of how we have grown accustomed to worthless words and broken promises.

In July 2, 2012 I mentioned in a blog that I believed the value of our words has diminished. I wrote, “....we don't treat our words as if we believe they hold much power.….it's almost like we think they are unimportant, meaningless and insignificant."  If we should carelessly spew out unkind words or promises, we sometimes behave as if we can just call those words back inside like a mother hen gathering up her brood. We hear people saying things like this to erase the sting of their words, or excuse their unbroken promise,  “I was just kidding. I didn’t mean it. You took it the wrong way. I didn’t say I promised. I didn't know all the facts, You didn’t think I was serious when I said that, did you?”

Last week while on a trip to visit one of my daughters and her family, I was flipping through one an airline’s magazine and came across a story about Alex Sheen, a young man who had lost his father to cancer.  While dealing with the grief of his dad's early death, Alex found himself flooded with memories of what he came to learn was  his father's greatest asset....and ultimately his legacy.  His dad always kept his word and fulfilled his promises.  Alex reflected on how he hadn’t seen it so clearly while his father was living, but as he recounted the many promises his father had made to him….he realized each one had been fulfilled. 

The more he thought about this quality, the more Alex embraced it.  He wanted to enlarge this idea so he began by creating and handing out small business cards with only this phrase typed at the bottom: 'because I said I would'.  People would take his card and write down what they promised to do for someone, and then would pass the card on to that person.  They got back the card when they fulfilled their promise; paid their debt. Alex was soon taking requests by the hundreds and mailing his 'promise cards' out by the bundle...all free of charge. What started as a way to remember his beloved father, became a passion and a purpose. Alex was inspired to make his father’s legacy, that which he had lived by; honoring your word. 

Alex realized his passion was leaving little room for his high paying job, so he resigned in order to officially launch his non-profit business called ‘Because I said I would’. With the donations he receives he finds and supports causes around the world.  This inspiring story reminds me of how one may find his passion in the midst of pain.

When I arrived home from our long weekend getaway, I wanted to read more about Alex, so I goggled him.   I discovered him speaking on Ted Talks.  If you haven't already heard of Alex Sheen, here he is: http://becauseisaidiwould.com/ted/

 You can also read more about Alex on his website:  http://becauseisaidiwould.com/

Such a wonderful message, don’t you think?   The idea of keeping your promises, and giving value to the words we speak. 
Email me at smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com
 

 

Let it go

"Don’t keep anything in your life that doesn’t inspire you”, if it doesn’t do anybody any good, then let it go.” AutumnMoonStar

I’ve been eying some places in my home where I detect negative and stale energy.  I have one room that feels like walking through the set of a scary movie. It’s  my office, guest room, storage room, photograph room, library, wrapping paper, overflow room.  Books are crammed  every which way, squeezed into small space up on a few shelves.  Every time I reach up for a book, a photo perched in front of it falls off its stand and comes crashing down, like an old ghost jolted awake from the past….Sounds kind of like an area in need of Feng Shui, don't you think? 

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to cleaning out my books, I find it so difficult…after all they are books!  Special books.  Had I read them? Yes.  Would I read them again? No.  Do I think a friend or family member would want to read them? Nope.  So why do I hang on to them, refusing to let go?...  I decided to ponder it.

Then, sure enough, that night in bed,  I flipped to the next chapter in my Feng Shui book and what do you think it was talking about?  You got it, getting rid of books!  

Remember our friend Autumn Moon Star, the daughter of the flower children?  Some words that she said on the YouTube video last week have continued to swirl in my mind, like the potential energy in my 'Pre Feng Shui' home.  She said, “Don’t keep anything in your life that doesn’t inspire you, if it doesn’t do anybody any good, then let it go.”

It’s clear many of those overcrowded books are not doing me any good.  Now why would I let my bookshelf get so crowded with words I don’t care to read again, words that don’t inspire me anymore?  And why then don’t I make room for new books, with new thoughts, new ideas, and new possibilities?  Instead, all of my latest inspirational finds are stuffed in a corner, already stacked too high, and covered up with paper work.  Have I already forgotten that I must get rid of the old, to make room for the new?  Why do I have this problem of letting go?  By golly, I’m going to thin out my books! Deep breath.

After I made that decision, the next morning I was on the phone with a weekly call from one of my sisters.  We caught up on our latest news and then she shared with me that she was trying to make a little extra money. I asked her what she was doing.  Can you guess what she was doing?  She said, “I’m selling my books on Amazon. Although I don't have many of them at this point,”  I responded a little loudly, “No way???  You’re not going to believe this, but I was just trying to part with some of my books, and now I have a special person in my life to give them to!”   After I hung up the phone, I easily bagged my books, anxious for them to find a new home. 

Several days later I went to a friend’s house.  She told me that my blog had inspired her and so she decided to clean out one of her rooms.  Can you guess which one? Yes, her library!   I asked her what she did with the books she was getting rid of…she said they were out in her recycle bin in the garage.  Oh course we dug them out and added them to the stash, and now I have even more books for my sister.  Could this be the Goddess of the Universe rewarding me for letting go? When I do, it frees me up to not only have space for new and inspiring things for myself, it also benefits others along the way? 

Want to hear more about getting rid of books?  Listen to health coach Jody Mello:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPmKlcd8Gg

I’m telling you, if you haven’t already joined in on our Fung Shui study, you are missing out! it’s already proven to be full of fun surprises and synchronicity!

Email me with your stories about clearing your clutter: Smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com






 

 

Feng Shui Your Way Through Clutter

"When clients come to me wanting immediate results, I almost always tell them to clear their clutter. Clutter-clearing is modern-day alchemy. It is one of the fastest ways to completely transform your life." Denise Lynn

Who knew there was more to it than just cleaning out the crap in my house?  Now I am told I need to Feng Shui it!   Although I find a messy cluttered home to be an annoyance, I never gave too much serious thought to the idea that changing my physical environment could actually change my circumstances, my health, my happiness and even....completely transform my life?

Are you a fan of Feng Shui? I don’t know much about this 'Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing the human existence with the surrounding environment'; i.e. Wikipedia, but I must admit that after listening to Myda Muckala (gal from last week’s Youtube),  I was persuaded to go out and buy the book, Cleaning the Clutter with Feng Shui.

According to the book's author,  Karen Kingston, we read that Feng Shui can free us from physical, mental, emotional and spiritual clutter forever. If applied properly, it can give you more energy, more success, better relationships, even make you happier.  Can that be, or is this just a Far Eastern sales’ pitch?

Listen to this Youtube video by AutumnStarMoon (I suspect this isn’t her birth name, unless she was conceived during the 60's in a Haight-Asbury love-in) Anyway, Autumn can explain it a little clearer than I can.  Check it out for about 6 minutes and see if you want to invest your time in the other half. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3WYRi7z5zw

Now let me be up front with this self-disclosure on my skepticism of Feng Shui.I can’t say I really buy the 'energy thing' freely swirling around through my house like the ghost from Christmas past…that seems a tad freaky to me.  And as for the idea of seeing the Goddess of the Universe accepting and welcoming my Salvation Army boxes…well that’s a startling image!  

But after having made disrespectful light of this philosophy, I must say there really is something that draws me to the idea of how a physically clean and open space translates to a positive emotional feeling of well- being. I always knew I felt better after I cleaned out my overcrowded spaces, but I never made the leap of thought to how it affected my general well-being, how it affected my disposition, my ability to think, to de-stress, and yes….how it supported, or blocked me finding my passion. 

So, although I shall continue to deliberate on this art of Feng Shui, I’m wondering… what’s the worst thing that could happen if I de-cluttered my entire home?  Yiks!  Did I just say my entire home! As I’m typing this, I’m already thinking of excuses: I’m so busy, we have trips planned, I don’t know where to begin, the holidays are around the corner, maybe I’ll just wait until school is out in the spring…..  Ahh my old enemy, resistance has come back for the holidays….I’ll need to fight him with small steps…one box, one bag,  one drawer, one day, one week at a time.

But I don't want to do this all alone...How about you volunteer to participate with me in a Feng Shui research study and see if this is a truly transforming activity.……

Email me, Karen, if you're on board at: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com