People and Places
Restoring Happiness
"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and a richness to life that nothing else can bring." - Oscar Wilde
Last weekend, talking with the pilot of a private jet, I learned that he flies at 45,000 to 50,000 feet, higher than commercial aircraft which fly at around 38,000 feet. Apparently at the higher altitude there is less air. He can fly faster and more economically on fuel. The closer to ground you get, the more air and the "stickier" it is.
When we get high enough above any situation, with altitude we can shift our attitude and perceive the larger picture, a greater truth, than we can at ground floor level. At altitude, we touch into more of our joy and freedom. From there we can direct our lives into greater fulfillment even, and perhaps especially, during these difficult times.
"The supply of loving goes beyond anything or anyone that uses it, no matter how much is required." -John Morton
The blessing in periods of profound change is that we can re-choose our life purpose and direction, making decisions about what we really want in the future; a purpose that matches our values, and sense of value. It is a good time to dream big. If you have not already been reading Dr Judith Rich's Impossible Dream blogs, I highly recommend them.
In my experience, whenever I have had a big goal or vision, all the reasons why it cannot happen flood into me. Self-doubt city moves in and all the voices of discouragement drown my tender shoots of enthusiasm. Self-doubt is very sticky stuff. So how do I get above the din to fly high with what is important for me?
Here are ways I have found for releasing the drag factors that hold us back.
1. Clear Out Deadwood
Deadwood is all of those things from the past which are incomplete and hold you back there. Clearing deadwood not only will create the space for a better future but can improve your health and well-being at the same time.
Do you have things you have been meaning to do for ages, and have been putting off doing them? Changing a light bulb? Fixing a cupboard door? Taking clothes to the goodwill store? Try listing 10 incomplete activities. Choose 3 of them and complete them in the next 24 hours. See how you feel as a result.
Russell Bishop has written an excellent post on the subject of getting complete.
"It's a matter of loving yourself enough to clarify and clear the channel so that your success can manifest in reality, in this lifetime, for you to have, enjoy, and share." -John-Roger
2. Release Limiting Comfort Zones
If you want more of something, you need to be prepared to let go of what is less for you. Limiting habit patterns for example. Mine has been tv. I could spend hours watching mindless tv which would eventually send me to sleep.
Are there any ways you look for comfort, and deaden yourself in the process? How could you change a habit and be enjoying more of your vitality? Russell says more about Comfort Zones in this post:
"Focus on love, the divine love. It can increase circulation, increase oxygen supply, increase vitality. You can feel great. Dis-ease disappears." -John-Roger
3. Build Self-Image
In my last two posts, I have been talking about the loving it takes to forgive, especially self-forgiving. The self-doubt that shows up with an expanded vision for the future sometimes has a sense of shame woven into it.
Shame is something we bury. It says we must be a bad person. Shame will prevent us from reaching out and asking for what we need, whether those are fundamental needs like food and shelter or the support we need to achieve a lifetime aspiration.
If your sense of value has been dependent upon having a good job and certain material comforts, you may have lost sight of your intrinsic value as a human being.
"Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is." -Benjamin Franklin
You were born with a human spirit that is loving. The loving that you are is way beyond any value that has a number attached to it. The quality of loving I discovered through forgiving is fine, pure, gentle and heals the hardest places within us, including shame. It is that higher love to which we all have access and with which we connect with each other.
Whether you are now undergoing hardship, or working towards a large Dream, build your Self-Image on the strength of the magnificent spirit that you are. Reach up to the higher love within you.
Ask for what you need. Please know that the spirit you truly are is much greater than any challenges, fear or doubt you may be meeting.
"The risk it takes to remain tight inside the bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom." -Anais Nin
Are you aware of any limiting habits that might be holding you back? What have you learnt for getting through these days? How do you see the spirit in you showing up to meet challenges, or realize your Dream?
I would love to hear from you, either as a comment here or contact me at: ClearResults@mac.com
Last weekend, talking with the pilot of a private jet, I learned that he flies at 45,000 to 50,000 feet, higher than commercial aircraft which fly at around 38,000 feet. Apparently at the higher altitude there is less air. He can fly faster and more economically on fuel. The closer to ground you get, the more air and the "stickier" it is.
When we get high enough above any situation, with altitude we can shift our attitude and perceive the larger picture, a greater truth, than we can at ground floor level. At altitude, we touch into more of our joy and freedom. From there we can direct our lives into greater fulfillment even, and perhaps especially, during these difficult times.
"The supply of loving goes beyond anything or anyone that uses it, no matter how much is required." -John Morton
The blessing in periods of profound change is that we can re-choose our life purpose and direction, making decisions about what we really want in the future; a purpose that matches our values, and sense of value. It is a good time to dream big. If you have not already been reading Dr Judith Rich's Impossible Dream blogs, I highly recommend them.
In my experience, whenever I have had a big goal or vision, all the reasons why it cannot happen flood into me. Self-doubt city moves in and all the voices of discouragement drown my tender shoots of enthusiasm. Self-doubt is very sticky stuff. So how do I get above the din to fly high with what is important for me?
Here are ways I have found for releasing the drag factors that hold us back.
1. Clear Out Deadwood
Deadwood is all of those things from the past which are incomplete and hold you back there. Clearing deadwood not only will create the space for a better future but can improve your health and well-being at the same time.
Do you have things you have been meaning to do for ages, and have been putting off doing them? Changing a light bulb? Fixing a cupboard door? Taking clothes to the goodwill store? Try listing 10 incomplete activities. Choose 3 of them and complete them in the next 24 hours. See how you feel as a result.
Russell Bishop has written an excellent post on the subject of getting complete.
"It's a matter of loving yourself enough to clarify and clear the channel so that your success can manifest in reality, in this lifetime, for you to have, enjoy, and share." -John-Roger
2. Release Limiting Comfort Zones
If you want more of something, you need to be prepared to let go of what is less for you. Limiting habit patterns for example. Mine has been tv. I could spend hours watching mindless tv which would eventually send me to sleep.
Are there any ways you look for comfort, and deaden yourself in the process? How could you change a habit and be enjoying more of your vitality? Russell says more about Comfort Zones in this post:
"Focus on love, the divine love. It can increase circulation, increase oxygen supply, increase vitality. You can feel great. Dis-ease disappears." -John-Roger
3. Build Self-Image
In my last two posts, I have been talking about the loving it takes to forgive, especially self-forgiving. The self-doubt that shows up with an expanded vision for the future sometimes has a sense of shame woven into it.
Shame is something we bury. It says we must be a bad person. Shame will prevent us from reaching out and asking for what we need, whether those are fundamental needs like food and shelter or the support we need to achieve a lifetime aspiration.
If your sense of value has been dependent upon having a good job and certain material comforts, you may have lost sight of your intrinsic value as a human being.
"Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is." -Benjamin Franklin
You were born with a human spirit that is loving. The loving that you are is way beyond any value that has a number attached to it. The quality of loving I discovered through forgiving is fine, pure, gentle and heals the hardest places within us, including shame. It is that higher love to which we all have access and with which we connect with each other.
Whether you are now undergoing hardship, or working towards a large Dream, build your Self-Image on the strength of the magnificent spirit that you are. Reach up to the higher love within you.
Ask for what you need. Please know that the spirit you truly are is much greater than any challenges, fear or doubt you may be meeting.
"The risk it takes to remain tight inside the bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom." -Anais Nin
Are you aware of any limiting habits that might be holding you back? What have you learnt for getting through these days? How do you see the spirit in you showing up to meet challenges, or realize your Dream?
I would love to hear from you, either as a comment here or contact me at: ClearResults@mac.com
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Section:
People and Places