Day Sixteen

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                          “Normalize with your fears. All day.”

 

Ok. So this is challenging. But when you consider the alternative, which is to be run by your fears and anxieties, then the choice is easy. Over time it is possible that these fears get lodged in our system and take root. Soon we can become strangely comfortable with the fear/anxiety habit, and it is difficult to let go of the “comfort” of these energies. Eventually, we hide behind our anxious ways and our real selves get a raw deal.

True self inquiry is the first step in facing and normalizing with your fears. Your anxieties. Your stress. Your emotional blocks. And learning to relax is the gateway to self inquiry.

By examining your thought or the source behind the fear/anxiety complex, you can free yourself from it. Once you discover the thought, you have to really be honest and see it or hear it in its exactness. Then you can decide if it still has any reality or value for you. You might find that the thought represents a long held pattern or belief that is no longer remotely relevant for you anymore!

So, first, normalize with the thought. Feel equal to it. Then breathe it out every time that thought comes up in your mind and let it go. Or you can flip the thought to a positive energy or its polar opposite and stoke that new thought over and over. Or you can just strongly rebuke it and send it on its merry way. These three approaches are very simple! But truly, it really is that simple. The secret comes in the repetition of these techniques, over time.

Free your Self up. The good news is that you are the one who gave these fear thoughts all the power. Now you can take that power back.

Normalize with your fears. All day.

Day Fifteen

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“Discover a whole new world of compassion and understanding.                                                       All day.”

 

If you really adhere to this premise as you encounter other humans, then your experience today will be full of micro miracle moments.

I think the ultimate skill on this is not judging anything whatsoever about them or the encounter. This is certainly easier said than done, But when you do that, you open up to a whole new dimension of perception, and the other person opens up,too, and the magic of the moment is indescribable.

We exist mostly in the physical realm … but of course. And it is important that we are grounded in that. But there is a lot more going on at other levels of molecular reality. Accessing those realities is only possible by connecting within ourselves and staying on presence and openness … while we simultaneously mull around in the real world of solid objects and people.

Just believe in this for today. It shouldn’t be too much of a stretch (oh and don’t forget to stretch today!) … You don’t really have to be a wizard in quantum physics to grasp the benefit of just loving someone with all your heart in every encounter today, no matter who, no matter where! It is a fun challenge to see if you can pull it off. The benefits are many. You get to …

Day Fourteen

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                “Follow your exhale. Follow your bliss. All day.”

 

I cannot say enough about the power of the exhale!

“Take a deep breath” is a command in our lexicon that is misleading, in my humble opinion. Because people on the whole do not know how to breathe deeply, they often strain taking in the inhale. This defeats the purpose of relaxing and receiving the nourishment of conscious breathing.

By really being with the exhale, and with all your focus being empty minded … just on the exhale… you can create a space to really feel, to really go deep. If you can master the art of extending your exhale all the way to the very end, as you let the air out very slowly, then you will naturally take a wonderful deep breath on your inhale. With a relaxed inbreath, you begin to associate bliss! with breathing. This is the goal.

As you return again and again to a long, extended exhale, you come back to feeling that sense of calm and clarity, which builds your ability to sustain relaxation in body and mind. And here’s a little trick: You can also focus on healing disturbing thoughts or challenging situations on your long exhale. You can. With all that focus and the breath in the mix, you might be surprised at what you can do.

So the new command is “Take a long exhale”! When you arrive at the end of the outbreath, you will be so grateful to take that inbreath, and natural deep breathing will come very easily to you in short order.

Follow your exhale. Follow your bliss. All day.

Day Thirteen

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                               “Practice being happy. All day.”

 

And you know what really helps in a pinch? Smiling!

Research has shown that smiling produces endorphins/relaxation hormones in the body. Have you ever tried to stay depressed or agitated when you are physically stretching a smile across your face? It is impossible! This is a really fun, no lose strategy. Maybe more effective than any medication or supplement, or as the Dalia Lama recently said, equal to meditation! A simple smile.

Somehow, too, we naturally take a breath when we smile. Proactively smiling as much as possible all day long, I also notice that it makes other people smile. By the way, I am not talking about pasting a fake grin on your face. Genuinely feel it sink in all the way to your heart, your cells, your very being, while you breathe it in and absorb.

Looks like “Smile and the world smiles with you”  is a good model to test out today.

“Nuff” said, except …

Practice being happy. All day.

Day Twelve

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                      “Express what you really want. All day.”

 

Inherent in today’s message is the imperative to know yourself enough to know what you want. You. Uh huh. You.

Some of us are subconsciously attached to what others want for us, from the grand to the infinitesimal: our path in life, what we say, our career choice, how we dress, what we envision for our future. Some of us decoy ourselves from ourselves by not acting on our own goals and visions, because we have not really figured out what they are! Or we might be following someone else’s trajectory; then we don’t have to delve and discover what our true path is. Even for those of us who have figured all this out, there are countless moments when decisions need to be made and it can be dicey. When it is a personal decision, we eventually whittle it down to “What do I want?”

The question is a whackamole phenomenon throughout life. There it is again… “What do I want?”  “What do I really want?” It is surprising to realize that sometimes we really do not know. And that is ok. It is ok to know that you do not know! Then you can get about the business of knowing. All you have to do is ask yourself and listen for the answer. It may not come right away but if you relax with all of it… the answer may come in surprising ways. This is the fun part.

Get clear. Ask for it. Then listen.

Saying what we want outloud can help us get clear. It puts the vibration of sound out into the atmosphere and into the mix, so you can hear if it is authentic. The bodymind gets to hear it, too.

The art of being true to self is really quite a skill. Speak up and ask for what you want. Then surrender all of it and wait and watch.