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The Reset

Recently, I wrote about the power of dreams, visions or intentions for our life:

The Value of Intention

This message is for those days or weeks, months or years, when we forget or lose sight of our dreams, when we have stopped choosing in service of our vision and find ourselves mired in the muck.

It is never too late for The Reset!

What is it? The reset is simply a pause to come back to ourselves. It can be executed anytime, anywhere, any day in any way. The reset is a fresh start; it is the message to, “Begin again!” The reset includes:

  • Stop (action, thoughts, “spinning”)
  • Release judgment (there is NO place for this now!)
  • Remember (personal truth, wholeness, intention, vision)
  • Imagine possible steps toward your vision
  • Choose a step and take it

That’s it. The reset requires that you step outside the box that has you trapped and get back in touch with who you really are. So often, all it takes is just one step toward personal truth, just one step in service of our vision, to get us back on track.

What needs a reset now?
What are you waiting for?

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The Impact of Sleep …

ZZZs

… or the lack of it! I woke today after a fitful night’s sleep, waking perhaps 20 times in the night. Not fun! Nor does such a night result in a strong desire to face the coming day. For me, sleeplessness can result in fear, frustration, impatience, intolerance and doubt that I can get through what lies ahead.

Here’s the thing. Any one of us may have multiple reasons for sleepless nights – from the physical to the emotional to chemical imbalance – any of which can cause our bodies not to rest well. I encourage you to seek whatever professional support you may need to explore what is contributing to your sleep challenges. And …

And … become willing to look at the negative impact of your sleeplessness on those around you and realize that you have a choice. You can choose to focus on how little sleep you got and how bad you feel and how you won’t be able to fulfill on the day’s activities. And then, by all means, make sure that you complain loudly to everyone who appears to listen about how awful you feel.

Or … you can choose to affirm that all is well and your sleep was sufficient. Consider holding these affirmative messages with you throughout the day:

  • I am grateful for the sleep I experienced last night
  • I have sufficient energy to do what needs to be done today
  • I feel rested and alive

And perhaps these practices, combined with those affirmations, will be helpful. Every hour or every change in activity today:

  • Pause and take three deep breaths, with each one affirm the statements above.
  • Pause and breathe into your heart space, and let the fact that your heart is beating bring a smile to your face.
  • Notice someone around you who seems to be struggling. Affirm for yourself that “all is well” and then ask, “How are YOU today?” and give the gift of listening.

What is the impact of your lack of sleep?
What if you chose mindfully to have positive impact instead?

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What support will you receive today?

Recently I wrote this:

Separate or Among: You get to choose!

Today’s message is very aligned with being “among”. Do you value independence? Do you believe you can do “it” yourself and that you don’t need support? Perhaps you would answer “No” in some areas of your life but in others, your response is a very strong “Yes!” Maybe you collaborate well at work but when it comes it improving your diet your stubborn streak says, “I can do it myself!” Or perhaps it is your emotional well-being for which you take full responsibility and refuse any loving attempts from friends who offer a listening ear.

Here is a truth: We don’t do “it” alone! We need support. And we need to be a support to others. I suspect that the most independent among you could list several others in your life for whom you offer support. True? And for each one of those that you support, realize that they are receiving support and releasing a bit of independence.

Today, consider giving someone the gift of supporting you. Ask yourself:

Where am I struggling to do “it” alone?
What stubborn streak am I willing to set aside so I can receive?
What kind of support would have a powerful impact?
Whose gifts would match my support need?

Then – ask for support – today!

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Separate or Among? You get to choose!

PeopleWorkingTogether

Imagine you in your life – in the activities you do, at work, within your family, in your volunteer commitments – anywhere that you are in the presence of a group of people. Close your eyes and put yourself there now. In your mind’s eye, what do you see?

  • Are you physically present and emotionally absent?
  • Are you physically present but off to one side as the judgmental onlooker?
  • Are you physically present but lonely or depressed and assuming that no one cares?
  • Are you deeply engaged, perhaps to the point of taking over the controls?

Perhaps you’ve been all of these at various times! How do they work for you? Likely, not too well. These ways of being, of seeing ourselves, don’t feel good and certainly don’t result in our personal best having an impact on the world around us.

Consider another way: always among. It is a choice we make each and every time we enter into relationship with the world around us. We can choose:

  • to see ourselves as separate: thinking and feeling our way into isolation or into control over others
  • to see ourselves as one among many: collaborators on this life journey, supporting one another, sharing personal gifts and talents for the good of the whole, sometimes leading, sometimes encouraging, sometimes just doing what needs to be done

Notice where you show up as separate. Experiment with an intention of among. See each person as an individual contributor to an interconnected whole. Each is one among many serving something greater than their personal agendas. Then ask:

What are we creating?
What is their contribution?
What am I to offer now?

What does it feel like to be among?

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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?