Friday, April 12, 2013

Self-Care














"When I say NO to you, I'm saying YES to me."  That is a quote from Wisdom in the Rooms and when I first read it, it struck me! It struck me in many ways actually.  I have been having issues with saying yes when I really mean NO.  Or at least I felt like saying "no, I don't want to, that's not my problem or job or responsibility".  You know the drill.

You know what?  It feels really, really good to be completely honest with myself and today I was able to do it, sort of.  Let's just say the message will be heard when I don't show up to that place that I don't want to be.  I am beginning to realize that speaking my truth is about self-care.  It doesn't mean I don't care about another person or their situation or predicament. It just means I care more about "me".

So, today I can take care of MY responsibilities and MY life and MY self.  I can love myself enough to speak my truth and follow through with it!  Very liberating ~ very empowering ~ very honest.  It felt good to value myself and my life more today!

I encourage all of you out there who are trying to "be all" to someone other than yourself to try it .... you'll like it!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Surprise



Wow moment ...  I must admit it was to me - enjoy the read ..........
The Element of Surprise  |  by Ian Lawton
Aristotle said, “The secret to humor is surprise.” I would go even further than Aristotle. The secret to living fully and freely is surprise. Not knowing is the most exhilarating, sometimes frightening but always liberating, open ended mindset of all. Vera Nazarian describes it like this,
“Would you like to know your future? If your answer is yes, think again. Not knowing is the greatest life motivator. So enjoy, endure, survive each moment as it comes to you in its proper sequence — a surprise.”
Surprise is more important than belief. Belief is a period at the end of an experience, surprise is a question mark, an exclamation mark or maybe a comma, giving you time to pause and ponder the possibilities.
Surprise is the spontaneous friend, always suggesting adventure out of the blue. Belief is the sensible, predictable friend. We need both but unfortunately in our tightly controlled lives, sensible usually trumps spontaneity.
A belief is like a carefully labeled filling system. Something happens, and you immediately file it under “I’ve seen this before, I know what this is, this means...” Something else happens and you reach for the file called, “I told me so.”
I’d like to see more surprise, and less set in stone beliefs. Unless, of course, you create a belief that every moment is a surprise. That’s a belief with potential.
It’s no accident that most spiritual traditions have some form of parable, or surprising stories and various tricksters to jolt us out of a habitual mindset and it all rests on the element of surprise. Surprise is THE most spiritual quality that leads to all sorts of awakening.

See more from Ian Lawton + Surprise + Humor + Mystery + Fulfillment
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Ian Lawton is a spiritual teacher of inner wisdom, divine love, deeper consciousness, oneness, peace, and abundance.Learn more about Ian Lawton »