As you go through your day, are you aware of what really makes your heart sing? Do you know what pulls you down? We were given this life to live it boldly. You were created to do great things. You have gifts that are needed to be shared. How do you know what’s working in your life? Pay attention to how you are feeling. If you are feeling good or great, you are moving in the direction of your true self. If it doesn’t feel good, somehow you are not heading into the direction of your desires. Take the time to discover what is true for you. See how your flame is burning each day. Is it burning brightly or is it a diminished flame? Each day for 30 days, take the time at the end of the day to reflect on your day. Write down the things you were pleased with, the things that made you feel good and smile. Then do the same thing with the things that pulled you down. Rate each one on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest. Write out why each made you feel that way. For example, today I walked Hefner Lake with one of my friends. The lake route is 9.5 miles. It would be a 10 for me. My flame is still shining brightly from it. The reason why it is a 10 for me is because it is a way I push myself to stay healthy, and I get to share it with someone special to me. Then the key is discover the patterns you see as you do this for a month. Keep doing more of that which fills you up and eliminate the things that you do not like. You are in charge of your life. You can make other choices and create the life you want. Discover how easy it is to turn your life in a new direction when you become aware of how the choices you make impact how brightly your flame burns.
Author: Dottie Hager
The purpose of life is to grow into your perfection. The joy in life comes as you tap into your own gifts. That means you are to become yourself, not anyone else. You don’t need what other people have. You need only what lies within you. Everything is within you. You have heard about how Michelangelo carved the statue of David by chiseling away all that wasn’t him. That is the same thing for you. To discover your perfection, you begin the process of shedding the layers that are not the Divine you. Where do you begin?
The Course of Miracles says your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that have been built against it. Are you loving yourself? Who are you? The task then is to remove blocks, whether they are obstacles in the forms of hurts, un-forgiveness, outdated beliefs or resentments. Our growth occurs as the result of removing these obstacles and not actually from the need to acquire anything new. Yet, many of us think we have to have another degree, a certain job, hang out with a certain group of people, our bank account to be a certain amount of money before we are worthy or good enough. For me, I thought it was the other way around. I thought if I had it all together, then I would be worthy enough to have what I desired. The truth is that my Ph.D. and promotions filled some desires that I had but not the aching of my heart. The desire for those achievements was more to prove myself rather than seeing them as a tool to help me fulfill my heart’s passion. Where can you shift your thinking to align with discovering your perfection, to follow your heart?
You are shaped by the hopes and aspirations of your parents and the world around you. As you enter adulthood and begin living your own life, are you living your dreams or someone else’s dreams? Do you know you have a choice to live the life you want and deserve? Discover if you are living the life you wish to live. Each phase of your life is meant to be fulfilling not just going through the motion of moving into the next day doing the same things. Begin to discover the life you desire rather than one you feel others expect of you. Are you a pleaser? Are you competing to show someone that you are better than a sibling you were compared to growing up? Are you proving yourself worthy? What grudges are you holding that you can remove? Where do you need to forgive yourself as well as where do you need to forgive others? Begin to see where you need to remove obstacles or shed layers of your past life that are no longer serving you to grow into your perfection. Discover what it is that you need at this time in your life to feel your heart’s desires. Have the courage to take steps towards reaching it. This is your life. You were given the present of your life at this time and place to fulfill a need. You will discover more and more about yourself as you pay attention to what feels right for you. Just like a garden, you need to cultivate the soil to allow plants to grow. Let go of all that is no longer serving you, claim that which is right for you today. You were meant for great things. Keep the flame burning and keep your thoughts focused on what you desire.
How are you finding meaning in your life? What are you saying to yourself about your life? What are your thoughts about life?
If you aren’t living your life on purpose, you come to a point in time in your life where life feels shallow or empty. You are being more negative than positive. You could be numbing yourself in ways to shut out the internal dialogue or push to reach for a higher purpose. You could be all worn out from all the responsibility of life. Peace comes when you are no longer only looking for satisfaction in the outer world, but when you are also listening to your soul. It’s when you know that you have a bigger purpose. It’s when you are living on fire, in passion. It’s when you have put together the puzzle pieces of your life and realize your purpose.
For me living on purpose is when I am inspiring others to live their best life. Just like with writing these blogs and weekly messages, I hope something in the messages could help enrich someone’s life. I want to awaken others to all of life’s possibilities. I want to share the wisdom I have learned to help others grow and be all they are destined to be. Are you willing to look at your life and see where you are living on purpose? Are you willing to challenge yourself to make another choice in the areas where you are not living your life on purpose? Have the courage to take at least two actions this week to move you closer to your Divine purpose. Acknowledge yourself for the great work.
This morning I listened to Carolyn Myss on the Oprah Soul Sunday show. She was talking about how each of us has come into this life with a purpose, a sacred contract. Carolyn wrote a book titled Sacred Contracts. She sees life as a classroom. Life is here to help you fulfill your purpose. The choice is yours whether you pay attention or not. Every choice you make either enhances you or drains you from living closer to your purpose. Begin by being true to yourself. That doesn’t mean you are not serving others and not helping others. It means that you are valuable enough to be included. It means you have something to share. You have a purpose. Everyone has some special gift that should be shared with the world.
Notice the ways you are not in alignment with your desires and purpose. You can know the difference by noticing if you are betraying yourself. These can be in small ways or large ways. Are you doing things that don’t feel right for you? You know. You might ignore the signals, but you know. Are you willing to take some small step to get you back on your life’s purpose? Begin in small ways. Have the courage to say what you want rather than worry that someone else is going to be upset about what you have to say or do. Life is meant to be fun.
Another major point Carolyn made was, you are to appreciate all that you have and all that has happened in your life. It’s all part of the puzzle of our life. As she said, “you can take the whoa path or the wisdom path.” You can use those things you wished didn’t happen into avenues of purpose rather than play the victim role. For instance, if you were abused, then you can find a way to heal yourself, and then help others heal. Make it a cause for you. You understand the hurt and harm it does to a life. You can help counsel or teach others ways to break the cycle.
It’s not always easy, but it is possible. You were meant for big things. Are you willing to break free and live your life purpose? What would it take to make that happen? What resources or direction do you need to help you take the next step? Are they enhancing your life?
When I say free yourself, where in your life would it be beneficial to free yourself: emotionally, spiritually or mentally? Is it in your thoughts, behaviors or attitudes? What are you focusing on? Is it the glass is half full or half empty? Are you noticing and acknowledging all the kind things people are doing? Or are you never satisfied with your life or the world around you? Where could you grow and think other thoughts? If negative thoughts keep you frustrated and angry, find some music, poem or story that could lift your spirits. As the Course of Miracles states, a little shift in our perception is a miracle. Your physical, mental and emotional states will change. Little things can make a big difference. We just have to be willing to make a change, to grow a little, and to realize that we have another choice. Are you willing to pay attention to what cha thinking so that you can have more of what you want in your life?
On this journey to awaken to my greatest self, I am always questioning am I better person today than I was yesterday. Since I know our thoughts create our reality, I am wondering what are my thoughts today? Are they the same thoughts I thought yesterday? Or am I willing to grow and think about the life I’d like to live today, and change my thinking to support the new me I aspire to be? It’s a humbling process and a constant focus.
As we were planning for my new website, Katie wanted some pictures to add to it. A strange thing happened when I first saw the website and pictures of me on it. It felt joyful and exciting, yet thought provoking, something was off. I couldn’t understand it at first because I sent her some pictures of the things I love to do and of the places we love to go. We love to travel and be outdoors – biking, hiking, exploring, or anything to enjoy nature. It is what makes my heart sing. It brings me great joy, and awakens my spirit of adventure.
Yet, something inside of me went crazy. My internal critic took over blasting me about my site not being “professional” looking. My critic says there is a certain way you dress and act if you want people valuing what you have to offer. Since I was standing on top of some rocks in the ocean wearing my running shorts, what image am I projecting? How could anyone think I could be taken seriously when my page looks fun and alive? And, then I realized for us to grow to our greatest self, we have to be willing to free ourselves of thoughts, actions and beliefs that no longer serve us. I realized that I don’t have to “look” a certain way to be of value to others. I do want people to know life is meant to be fun and freeing. I want to be able to help people free themselves of shoulds, negative self-talk, limiting beliefs, and things in our lives that no longer serve you. So my hopes are that when you see the pictures, something inside of you wakes up to want to be more of who YOU are.
I know on this journey to “Awaken to a New You,” we have to be willing to grow, to become a more authentic version of ourselves every day. So today, I love these pictures because for me it represents my journey, my loves, and who I am proud to be.
Where in your life do you need to free yourself from something holding you down? What are some old beliefs that no longer serve you? What shoulds could you release from your life? Is fear guiding your life or are you doing what you love? Commit to making a change today with some old pattern or habit that is no longer serving you.
What are the healthy thoughts and foods you are feeding yourself? For one day, keep track of the thoughts you are saying to yourself. Mark them as healthy or unhealthy – are they loving or not so loving? Keep track of the foods you feed yourself. Are they healthy or unhealthy? Are they processed or unprocessed foods? How much sugar do you have in your day? Just take the time to notice. Just be the observer rather than the judge or critic. Praise yourself for all the healthy things you are doing. Affirm the actions you are taking that are healthy. Jump for joy. Make a commitment to change a few of the unhealthy behaviors you have going in your life. Honor yourself that you are willing to grow and that you are worth the growth to perfect health.
When you think about Perfect Health, what does that mean for you? For me, that definition has changed as I have aged. When I was young, I certainly took my health for granted. Everyone I knew was physically healthy. I just thought that was how bodies operated. My knowledge and understanding was quite limited. I was so blessed with health and didn’t even know it, or appreciate it. I never realized there was more to it. I didn’t understand the concept of mind, body and spirit. I never thought about the connection.
Over the last few decades, I feel blessed because of all the growth I have made in understanding how our mind, body and spirit work together. How to be in perfect health is to be balanced in all of these areas. I have learned that I have control over my health. I have learned to live a balanced life. I have learned when I am out of balance, how to get myself back centered. I value and appreciate my body, mind and spirit. I try to keep it healthy. I realize when my mind is raging or is stressed, how that impacts my body. I realize how starting my day with even a few minutes of meditation, directs the course of my day to be more peaceful and calm. I have learned about the nutritional values of food and how that impacts my mind and body, not just the way I look. I always thought health was our physical bodies and how it was functioning. My biggest concern was my weight and how I could keep it controlled. That usually took place dieting, not thinking about eating healthy, keeping my mind full of kind and loving thoughts, and connecting to God. Wow, it’s great to see how much I have grown and learned about Perfect Health. It’s always an area I will continue to grow and learn.
What is your definition of Perfect Health? How can you grow in your understanding of it? What is important for you to know today for you to be perfect health? Do you need to pay attention to your thoughts? Do you need to grow mentally? Do you need to learn more about nutrition and healthy eating? Do you need to exercise? o you need to find a spiritual path that feels right for you? Do you need a connection to a Higher Power? Where in your life can you take action to a healthier lifestyle?
I love learning new things. Yet, I often feel very anxious when I’m a novice at something. I worry about how I might look. Will I look stupid? Will I do it “right?” Whenever there is a new task before me, I flounder wondering how I do this or will I ever get it. It can take away the joy of the opportunity before me. I like feeling that I am competent.
We recently went to Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming. They offered fly-fishing so my husband and I went with the guide to learn how to fly-fish in the stream. It was beautiful. It was exciting and invigorating. I was able to do something I wanted to do. I got to have waders on, like the real deal. Years ago, I took fly-fishing lessons so I thought I might catch on quickly. Trey, our guide, showed us step-by-step how to do it before we went into the stream. We practiced each step. I felt like I was getting it. I was excited about my casting. Then when we got into the stream and I didn’t cast exactly right on each try. I realized how my anxiety went up. I wasn’t calm. I wasn’t so excited about learning something new. I was too worried about frustrating Trey with being a novice, not doing it all so correctly. I worried he was staying with me, and my husband didn’t get any attention. My husband was like a pro, wading down the stream. It was so neat to see him feel very comfortable. It was a splendid opportunity. What was I doing to myself rather than taking advantage of experience? I allowed my anxieties to override the excitement of growing and learning something new for awhile. I nearly allowed myself to miss the joy and fun of fly-fishing because of my own negative internal dialogue. I realized how many things I have probably missed out on because I don’t like that feeling of being a “novice.” How about you?
Where in your life are you keeping yourself from growing and enjoying more of life because of some hidden messages you are saying to yourself? Where can you release the grip of fear to move on through it to grow and be all you want to be? To do and be able to experience all that life has to offer?
Where in your life could you grow? As Wayne Dyer said, “My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but be better than I used to be.” What area of your life, would it serve you to be better today than you were yesterday? When you think about doing something new, what are your thoughts? Are they more like -“I can’t…It’s impossible…It’s too tough,” or do you trust yourself and the situation to bring you the strength, the courage and wisdom and power to do what you desire? Choose something new to do. Keep track of your internal dialogue – how are you supporting yourself? Do you need to ask for guidance? Are you willing and open to receive it? Or are you clinched tight and resistance for whatever reason? Just notice.