Awareness isn't Enough?

Bali Stairs Photo Courtesy of Sean Newhouse

Being the W Chaser finds me asking a lot of questions. Hopefully the conduit opens the channels of communication.

Why is it so easy to obtain a habit but so hard to break it? What is at the crux of our own truth? Where do we go to cross the threshold? Who is holding our karmic puppet strings? When does having awareness become enough information to change?

Habits are hard to break. But what if we know that the best way to get over a habit is to replace it with another habit? We seek out the positive counterpart and de-brain wash ourselves. If we spend at least 21 days reprogramming ourselves our new habit will be born and hopefully the old one will retreat into the abyss.

The truth is hard to face. But what if we get into our place of courage and know that the truth will set us free?  Then we should become advocates for the verity of our own circumstances. Hopefully the candor will bring us closer to our true selves.

The threshold is hard to find. But what if we know that our authentic selves are waiting for us on the threshold? Then it should make it worth rummaging around for right. It doesn't matter how many steps we have to climb when hopefully each step makes us stronger in our intention.

The karmic puppet strings are loose. But what if we know that we can compel our own change with our fervent determination? We will control our own destiny. It is up to us to stimulate our own growth, summon our own answers, and consider that we are the ones hopefully influencing the outcomes of our own existence.

The Awareness is only half of it. But what if we know that we can appeal to our better nature? We will be able to use the information to actually change our own essence. It is a conscious choice to let go of the negativities instilled in us as children. It takes lots of practice and it is important to nurture ourselves during what can be an arduous process. Surrounding ourselves with compassionate people and being sympathetic to any of our own shortcomings is crucial. It is imperative to know that sometimes we react in fear. Fear of loss, fear of letting go, fear of failure. Even fear of success.

We need to create habits in ourselves that entice us to be better. It is through these new habits that we can get to the crux of our own truths and releasing the patterns of other peoples fears. When we find our truth and humility the threshold will become visible. We hold the answers within us, we create our own destiny and we possess the ability to shift our own karmic strings in any direction. At the heart of our change is our awareness and willingness to change. We can't be afraid to put ourselves out there and we need to stop pushing people away.

Even though we may encounter stumbling stones along the way, once you are aware of them you can just use them to play hopscotch.

Where is your awareness taking you today?




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Course of Action

Photo Courtesy of Chris Fox

You can change your course of action in any given day by simply taking a moment to slow down the mind, take a deep breath and get into your place of new intention.

Ever notice that when you are running late that everything that could go wrong does? You get wrapped up in the stresses of over sleeping, losing track of time or being distracted by the task at hand. Once you jump into this place of frantic reaction it can take hold of you and wreak havoc on your entire day.

It can literally set off a domino effect of disaster if you're not careful. While running out the door you might stub your toe or break a heel or lock your keys in the house. If you're rushing you might get into a car accident or miss your exit or get a flat tire.

Life has a funny way of giving us what we put out. It is that simple. The worlds irony can be adjusted by your conscious intention to alter your state of reality. With a deliberate simple twist of fate you can and will call the shots of how your day will unfold.

You have power and you truly need to believe you have the power to change your circumstances by trusting that your thoughts really do become things. Your life was not meant to be a little boat on choppy waters. You were meant for smooth sailing. You were made for greatness. You need to just remember how simple it all is.

You can realign your sense of self and purpose and change your course of action. If you wake up in the morning having overslept thanks to your silent alarm, you should not jump out of bed in distressed trepidation. You should put your head back on the pillow, take a deep breath and say to yourself, "Okay I overslept but this will not set the precedence for my day. Today will run smoothly and effortlessly as I have the power to change my course of action starting now". Then you get up and start your day. Yes you should probably move a little faster than you normally do but not in an agitated state of mind. You must come from a place of peace for this realignment to work. And it can work if you believe in yourself and your power.

What actions are you taking today?





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Lucky Is What Lucky Does

                                              Photo courtesy of Sean Newhouse

If you believe you are lucky than luck will find you. If you practice then practice makes perfect. When you're perfect the stars will align and will shower you with wishes. When you wish upon a star then lucky you are.

If you believe in fate than your destiny will retrieve you. Your karma will catch up with you and serendipity will obtain you. Be open to the possibilities and you will persevere. When you wish upon a star then lucky you are.

If you believe in your course of action than chance will catch you. Your energy will guide you and your potential will be unleashed. Let your sensibilities heighten your awareness. When you wish upon a star then lucky you are.

If you believe in yourself than good fortune will rain upon you. Your good nature will develop your senses and your intuition will guide you. Welcome the adventure and give in to the joy. When you wish upon a star then lucky you are.

Don't you deserve a little luck?



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Is Your Door Open?

Bali doorway, Photo courtesy of Sean Newhouse

The truth is, trust takes a minute. It can be hard to come by and it is easily taken away. Only you can make the choice to trust again by trusting in yourself.

The truth is, trust comes from knowing you have integrity and taking responsibility for your actions. When you have confidence in your innate power trust becomes imaginable.

The truth is, trust is hard to come by and it is imperative that you surround yourself by people who can be trusted. If you want to set a new precedence for yourself you must start with trusting your surroundings.

The truth is, you must trust your intuition and have the confidence that your innate abilities will keep you on your right path. You can't let life get in your way when your trustworthy instinct is trying to confide in you.

The truth is, if you leap the net will appear. If you take risks you are promised progress. If you strive to better yourself you will leave a great impression. If you believe in your decisions you will learn to triumph.

The truth is, when you trust yourself it is inevitable that when one door closes another one will open. Only you can open the door to your soul. Only you can trust that when you step through the threshold, life will give you what you ask of it. What lay behind your open door is everything you can imagine, conceive, envision, and apprehend.

Haven't you been behind closed doors long enough?

Is Your Light On?

                                        Picture from above Bali, courtesy of Sean Newhouse

Love yourself and you will know hope. Hope for the best and you will know faith. Have faith and you will know your truth. Your truth will release the sun from behind the darkest clouds.

Love is the light that will lead the way. Consider love your conduit to long lasting relationships. It illuminates your innate desires and feeds your passions. Loves benevolence will open windows, doors and hearts everywhere.

Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. Consider hope your inner flashlight. You control the switch and your batteries are solar powered. It helps you keep striving, pursuing, and seeing the bigger picture.

Faith is where the light is. Consider faith your adhesive to keep you in your strength. Hold on tight and let it hold onto you. The optimism will stir your senses and motivate your aspirations.

Truth is to walk in the light. Consider it your path to freedom from the darkness. The assimilation of truth will enlighten your spirit and purify your humanity. Embracing it shall truly set you free.

Love yourself and you will know hope. Hope for the best and you will know faith. Have faith and you will know your truth. Your truth will release the sun from behind the darkest clouds.


Haven't you been in the dark long enough?




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How Do You Do?

  

It's that time again. Time to look in the mirror. Look into the mirror and remember. Look into our own eyes and recall the beauty. Gaze, admire, look deep, see pure, and when you get enough courage together, smile. 

Smile big. Smile genuinely at the smile smiling back at you. A smile on your face, A chuckle in your throat, a giggle on your lips and the laughter that follows; this is the true you. The real you. 

You should be the person who loves you the most and believes in you undeniably and thinks you are stunning.

You are looking at the person who gets you out of bed in the morning. The person who no matter how many times they fall still gets up and try’s again.  

        The smiling person looking back at you is who you really are.  So take this smile into the world with you today.  Share it with everyone you come in contact with.  This is your free gift to the beauty of the planet and your simple yet tremendous contribution to society.

This smiling face is representative of you and the world looks forward to embracing your smile. Your very smile can save someone’s life. Your sad neighbor uses it to brighten up their day. A lonely stranger holds on to that smile triggering happy memories of their long forgotten life. The teenager who just broke up with his girlfriend embraces your smile as hope that his heart will heal.         
Your smile is the undeniable beauty of your true self and the world needs your smile.  

It starts with you. A smile will brighten up the darkest of days. If you smile it is impossible to be sad. If you start laughing then a true real laugh will take its place and you can release the sadness. The power in a smile is huge. A random act of kindness that doesn’t cost anyone anything and yet it will shower you and those around you with the riches of happiness. 

The best part of a smile is when it turns into a giggle. It’s subtle and you try to control it but why control it? Let it go! When you let go of it, it becomes contagious and when you look around everyone has the same expression as you. All you have to do is smile at someone and the faces before you become brighter and the energy that is transferred lifts you both up to a higher place of elation.  

It’s in this higher place of excitement that laughter follows.  After all laughter is a smile that bursts.

Have you smiled today?

Did You Know?

You were born to be a miracle so observe who you are.  Make your own decisions by listening to your life.  The hope will help you believe in you.

In the beginning there was... you.

You found your way into this world. You were strong enough to break free.  You were smart enough to know which way to go. You were clever enough to let the world know you were fine with a simple little cry.

And... A beautiful miracle was born.

You were courageous enough to take your first step. You were perceptive enough to form your first word.  You were gregarious enough to smile at strangers and make them laugh and make fools of themselves over you.

And... Then you became observant.

You learned how to speak in full sentences.  You started thinking for yourself and formulating opinions. You established friendships. You acquired knowledge. You started to form your own personality. You configured your own persona based on what you perceived and who you observed.

And... Then you came into your own.

You decided what course to pursue.  You knew what you liked and what you could do without.  You started to figure out who you wanted to be. You figured out what was important to you. You started dreaming.

And... Then you found decision.

You dreamt of being a super hero, a lawyer, a writer, a parent. You knew love. You knew that you were unstoppable. You were cognizant of your possibilities. You were eager to live your life and knew you could make a difference. You were unstoppable.

And... Then you stopped listening.

You experienced pain. You knew loss on a first name basis. You let others hurt you. You allowed people to persuade you or undermine your dreams. You were in denial and lost your sense of self-worth. You didn't know that it was always your choice to make. You forgot.

And... Then you found hope.

You found someone to remind you of your brilliance. You started pushing the envelope of intrigue. You remembered that you had dreams of greatness. You started to believe in your power again. You realized it was up to you.

And... Then you believe.

You listen. You test the theories. You experience the changes. You see the winks. You hear the connections. You grasp your inner beauty. You comprehend the messages your life is giving you. Your relationships blossom. Your career flourishes. Your sense of self-worth is unparalleled. Your dreams are your reality. You smile at the mirror and it smiles back at you. You make the right choices. You have found your strength. You have found yourself.

In the end there will always be... You.



Do you believe?


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Don't Ask

      Being the W Chaser brings lots of questions. They seem to be never-ending.  I am constantly perplexed by people even if not always so surprised. For the most part people will prove us right, they will do exactly what we think they will do even if we hope they will do something different. With this knowledge, then why, if we already know the answer to a question, do we still ask it knowing we won't like the response?

      If we know someone can't give us the emotional support we need than we shouldn't ask them for it.

      How do we truly accept people and ourselves for who we are? How do we let go of the outcome? How do we stop setting ourselves up for the fall?

      Some people just aren't capable of certain things. They limit themselves without realizing they are doing it. And by reaching out to someone to fulfill an emotional need for us puts us at fault.  I've said it before, no one can let us down if we don't allow them to hold us up.

       For my mothers entire life I pursued a relationship with her that she was just not capable of having. Feeling bereft became a familiar sentiment, one that didn't feel good, but going back for more was my only known option. In exchange the need to be accepted, advocated and loved would propagate a very real lack of self-confidence.

       There would be a lot of searching over the years but I was looking in all the wrong places. The acceptance, trust, and approval would have to come from within. When we put our faith in ourselves we give ourselves power. When we find our own self-assurance we can stop looking for reassurance.

       Sometimes people are fundamentally unable to give you a compliment, wish you well, or congratulate you. It is possible they are essentially incapable of being happy for someone who is experiencing great accomplishments. Some people will tell you everything they are doing but not once ask you what you're doing or even how you're doing.

      It's okay. We can't let it affect us. We can't let it get us down. Our feelings may get hurt but we should just forgive. Forgiveness will fundamentally help us grow, improve and will empower us. Embrace the friends that are supportive of you and continue supporting them in their endeavors. Focus on what you do have not what you don't.

      Is there someone in your life you have a hard time being happy for? Why?




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Part IV - Hearing the Silence

After what feels like many life times ago, my thoughts bring me memories of a very significant part of my past. On the one hand the struggle was inherently unavoidable and constantly threatened to ruin me. For as far back as my memories will take me, there has always been an unequivocal need for silence.  My inner conflict was more like turmoil and the disparaging voices had no volume control or on or off button.

          Years ago, living back home in New York City, an Australian sat next to me in a workshop.  He was world traveled, a scholar, and a gentleman.  Over french fries and draft beer one night after class we made a hand shake pact that we would be platonic friends forever.   Forever didn’t last because of me. Age and wisdom had yet to teach me of friendships and honesty and integrity.  I’ll always miss my ten year friend and will always be sorry for the unfortunate turn of events.  Lately, more than anything, gratitude embraces my thoughts of him. With his generous and caring nature he gave me the ultimate gift. 

During our friendship he arranged for me to do a weeklong retreat (The Hoffman Process) that helps increase emotional intelligence.  This would be the week that would change my life forever. 

What if we haven’t been able to resolve our inner conflict because we are fighting with ourselves instead of nurturing ourselves?   What if by only looking at two sides we are leaving out two other sides that exist?  What if we are comprised of four parts instead of the two we only ever address?

Well if this possibility holds any truth, no wonder we’re in conflict.  This could mean that at any given moment we are ignoring, denying or abusing one or two parts of us.  

This is what we learned during the process. We are actually made up of four fundamental parts:  the body, the spiritual self, the emotional child and the intellect.    Now think about this for a moment.  Sometimes we are really good about going to the gym (taking care of the body) but then we constantly listen to loud music or we don’t get enough rest (ignoring the spiritual self).  We can be workaholics (feeding the intellect) but never take time to play or smell the roses (nurturing the inner child). 

If we don’t find a way to coexist within ourselves the conflict will never be resolved. We need to take the time to know the importance of balance. We need to pay attention to what our needs are.  It could be quite simple actually. 

What if we were to take out a piece of paper and fold it into four columns.  At the top of each column put the four parts of our essence (the body, the spiritual self, the intellect, the emotional child).  Under each heading write down what you do for each part of you in any given week.  Is there one column that dominates the attention richter scale? Which column is lacking?

It’s not easy.  Life can get in the way, but we do need to be reminded.  My friend sharing her story with me jarred my memory and led to this four part series.

The instability of life still threatens me sometimes. My work hours can sometimes leave much to be desired and my inner child stomps her feet for attention.  For years the gym escaped me but my meditations embraced me almost everyday. The instability was getting the best of me but the denial covered me like a blanket.

In the weeks leading up to this final part in the series finds me finally heeding my own advice. It’s working. The nurturing of each part of my essence has given me stability, balance and forgiveness.  Befriending myself has left me feeling full, nurtured, and whole.

The epiphanies and synchronicity of it all are living proof that the path of least resistance is within all of our reaches.

Being able to find the balance in my life has helped me to tap into the silence. The quiet has been the greatest gift ever bestowed upon me. So much can come from silence when all of you are listening at the same time.  

Are you ready to level out the scale and find your inner peace?


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Part III - Is That An Angel On Your Shoulder?

Since the beginning of time there has been a struggle between good and evil. It is prevalent in comic books, movies and literature. It is evident in our lives with others when we have arguments, misunderstandings or altercations. It is apparent in our lives when we experience inner contention, hostility and conflict.

Most of us want to do the right thing. Our intention in the moment is to take care of ourselves and others but once in a while (and sometimes more often for some of us) the lure of our dark side prevails.

Have you ever heard the saying "he wears his heart (or emotions) on his sleeve"? Well we all do in some way, shape or form. We can carry the weight of the world (burden) on our shoulders if we're not careful. We can carry our stress, tension and anxiety on our shoulders and as we have heard in cartoons, songs and poems, we can have an angel on one side and the devil on the other.

Representing our inner conflict in such a way tends to make sense. The little devil on the left side shoulder wants to be naughty, get into mischief and inflict havoc on our lives and those around us. The angel on the other side of us wants us to fight the desire to give in to the devil and focus on being pure, healthy and loving in every way.  

For centuries we have all had to confront the sides of us that keep us in conflict. The pure vs. corrupt. The virtuous vs. unethical. The good vs. evil.  How do we find the strength to hear the angel on our shoulder?  Is it really within us to overcome our inner contention?

Who do you want to be?  The protagonist in your story or the antagonist?

Here is something interesting.  Why does there have to be two sides to everything?  This isn't Willy Wonka's office where everything is cut in half.  There are actually three sides to every story right?  Yours, mine and what really happens? So maybe it isn't so black and white as all this.  Maybe there really is a grey area and it's within this grey area that all our sides are visible.

What if when it comes to our human psyche it's not just two halves make a whole?  What if our peace depends on something more profound than left brain/right brain or subconscious/conscious or even good vs. evil?

Maybe it's time to open up the circle and view it from another perspective all together.  Maybe it's time to look at ourselves as we were meant to be seen.   Maybe it's time to listen to ourselves and hear what each part of us has to say.

Maybe it's here that we can know silence.

Are you ready to really get to know you?