Posted on

Practice Patience

Last week, I wrote:

What is mine to give?

You read a message about listening to your inner voices, discerning and learning what is your unique essence, your song, the gift that is yours to put forth at this time in this lifetime.

Quiet4By6

Today, I am needing to hear:

Be patient.
Practice patience.
Wait.

When we choose to co-create with Universal Mind, our intuition, Life as she presents herself to us, timing is not in our control! This is so very different from society’s messages that we:

  • get through school in the first 18 or 22 years of life
  • complete the project at work by the deadline
  • plan every detail of that upcoming event so the outcome is *perfect*

No, this is different. It’s inviting inspiration from everywhere. It’s a willingness to hear an idea and release it to the magic that happens when we listen to all that surrounds us. It’s trusting that what we need to know will appear in divine timing, not MY timing. I am reminded of a cute, but meaningful, song by Jana Standfield, I Always Know What I Need to Know. An excerpt from the lyrics:

There’s a power in the Universe greater than just me.
And it works a million miracles when I let it be!

So today, I am practicing patience. I am trusting that clear guidance will appear if I don’t try to force it. Having set in motion an intention for my life at this time, today is for remaining open and aware as I take whatever next step is in front of me. Nothing more is needed or expected.

What intention have you put forth?
In what ways are you trying to force an outcome?
What will you hear if you practice patience?

Posted on

Making Choices

ANewFocus4By6

If you’ve tried to experience the kind of fulfilling life that could be described as living your vision or living with purpose, you know it isn’t always easy. Creating the life of our dreams requires that we make choices in service of our dream. Sometimes, those choices are easy to make and follow through on. Sometimes they are easy to make and hard to follow through on. Sometimes those choices seem impossible to make but once we do, the follow through feels so good!

Today, I offer a few questions that might help you stay focused on that life you dream of. Notice I’m not promising that you’ll find them easy! The next time you wonder, “Should I do *this* or not? Is *this* relationship for me? Does *this* fit into the life of my dreams?” consider:

Is this a heart throb,
or a means to my core heart throbbing life dream?

Is this one of my top 3? 2? 1?

If I had to take something away …
stop something in order to add this …
what would I stop?

Finally, if you decide to add *it* anyway, add *it* even though it is not in service of your dream, add *it* even though it takes you away from your vision, maybe it’s time to ask:

How important is my vision?

Posted on

A Knowing I Deny

How often do you find yourself saying:

I was afraid that would happen!
I had a sense this choice wasn’t the right one.
I knew it!

Every one of us comes into this world complete with a strong intuition, a sense beyond the standard five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. The sixth sense which used to sound so elusive and available only to psychics and other out there folks (who some of us thought were crazy and untrustworthy!), is actually standard on all human vehicles. If you don’t believe me, think again about those phrases above. How did you know it? You didn’t know by way of your intelligence, you knew because you sensed it, your intuition was speaking to you!

The problem?
You, like many of us, ignored the message!

In some cultures, intuition is vital and honored. I think about the Native Americans who walked the earth fully listening to her messages. They knew so many things without the benefit of the TV weatherman or the Internet, without deep, rational thought. They just knew.

In other cultures, intuition is trained out of us. Early on, as we move in the world with our sensitive knowingness on display, we are told to ignore it. “You don’t feel that way!” or “It’s okay. Go to Grandpa.” Later in life, imagine telling your supervisor, “We need to do it this way – I just sense that this is the right direction.” How will your supervisor respond?

Today, I just want to invite you into a relationship with your intuition, to notice when there is a knowing you deny. For starters, just notice. Become familiar with your sixth sense and begin to honor it with, “Oh! I did know that … and I ignored it this time.” Notice how you knew it. Does your gut get tense? Do you get a headache? Does fear show up? However it is that your intuition speaks to you, begin to remain aware of the messenger and, when it shows up, rather than ignoring it, stop. Pause. Say, “I hear you.” and get curious. “What are you trying to tell me?” Listen for the answer. Then make an informed choice about how you will proceed in the situation.

What is the knowing you deny?
What if you honored it instead?

Posted on

Are you ready for rainbow swirl?

Take a moment to think about the world you live, play and work within. Browse your outer world, but survey also your inner world, the beliefs and ideas you allow to impact your choices. If your world was ice cream, would it be plain vanilla? Succulent strawberry? Charming chocolate? Maybe it’s a bit of all three and you’ve got Neapolitan going on!
neapolitan

If you do move around in Neapolitan, are you segregated:

NeapolitanAgain

allowing some ideas and beliefs in one area of your life but not another, showing up some places as plain vanilla and others as succulent strawberry?

Today, imagine expanding your scope, the colors and flavors and style that you play with on your life journey. Imagine you added orange sherbet, pistachio or rainbow swirl:

icecreamswirl

What is possible with a bit more color?
What magic will you create with orange sherbet?
What will your rainbow swirl stir up?

Posted on

How do you show up as a leader?

Each one of us is a leader. For some of us, our leadership is formal and acknowledged by the world around us; we are team leaders or managers or CEOs at our place of employment. Yet all of us, simply by being a member of the human race, by being part of a family or group of friends, are leaders. Someone, somewhere, is watching and learning from us whether we know it or not.

Think about that. Your actions, your words, the very energy you bring to each interaction – YOU are being watched and emulated.

How do you show up as a leader?
Are you willing to find out …
… and take responsibility for your impact?

We’ve all heard those famous words, “Be the change.” But do you know that being the change we want to see in this world begins at home, in you and in me? Being the change requires that we see ourselves as leaders who care enough to learn what our impact is and take responsibility for its ripple effect.

Today, I am challenging you to look deeply at one area in your life where you impact others. Then, learn about your impact by getting courageous and asking those who feel your leadership impact to help you be a better leader. For those who are willing to be honest with you, ask these powerful questions:

How do I show up as a leader (or partner, friend, parent)?
Where do I fail as a leader?
What is my unintended impact?

Our actions always have unintended impact. Growing up, my desire to do well in school, to perform well on stage, to be “good”, had the unintended impact of me being thought of as a snob! I didn’t know that until years later when someone got honest with me. When my leadership colleagues reflected on my playing small and scared as a leader, I heard, “Your unintended impact is …”:

You create disconnection.
Smallness enters the space.
Your magnificent voice is not heard.

That’s pretty powerful impact of the kind I didn’t mean to bring with my leadership!

What is the unintended impact YOU create?