“I had no idea what lay ahead…” Designer Ann Willoughby explores the amazing power of collaboration. Her rules of the creative road? Make a place where ideas flourish. And trust the process.
enjoy the journey
Reply
feel the fear and do it anyway
Many things we avoid because of fear of the outcome, the experience, the sorrow and pain. The list goes on and on and on. I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “feel the fear and do it anyway!” Well, that’s right. There are times, and you know when they are, that it’s easier to avoid the pain of conflict or sorrow and swallow our feelings to go about as status quo, not spoiling the apple cart. Well all this does is perpetuate the problems we’ve been avoiding. It allows them to fester, and that can be awful, as festering gets uglier the more you let it happen. A clearing, a breakthrough, a weight lifting off your shoulders doesn’t happen by letting things go by the wayside. It takes some heavy lifting to move the unpleasant obstacles from our lives. But once we address them, look them straight in the eye and confront them once and for all, they will almost undoubtedly run away so fast that they won’t know what hit them. And that’s the way it’s supposed to be! Because if they were really so big and hairy, they’d stand up to your command and come right back and bite you in the arse!
The tears that accompany this let you know this is something that really bothers you, it hurts. The the fact that the inner turmoil exists is why we cry. Life s meant to be wonderful and when we cry, it’s telling us something feels bad. And almost as soon as we have the cry, the tears flow, and what seemed almost insurmountable can pretty much disappear. Once you faced the demons, they’re not so scary any more. Out them, shame them, erase them. You’ll feel 100% better. And if they creep back up, keep steadfast to your feelings. Don’t let them get the best of you. You’re stronger than you think. It’s been said that “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle” and we’re all FAR MORE CAPABLE of taking on way more then we ever thought we could, believe you me! Even if it takes some persistence on your part, the more you look the devil in the face, the easier he’ll slink away!
At the beginning of this brand new year, we’ve all committed to resolutions, plans to make us fell better about ourselves and others. And there is no better time than RIGHT NOW to put your assertions out there, fearful or not, and stand up strong in your conviction! Feel the fear and do it anyway! Be the best you can be, in all things you choose as no one can get in the way of your dreams. And if the demons decide to visit again, have another go at them. They WILL go away, with their tails between there legs, and you can relish in the comfort of knowing that you’re stronger than them, better than them, and way more capable than you think! And take that!
365 Tao, messages to live by
As the holidays pass and the year comes to a close, we all look for new resolutions to ring in the new year, those addressing our hopes and dreams for a fresh, new start. There is no better time to begin the cultivation of your inner self and look within for your answers. This year, start the year on a brand new journey and give yourself the gift of YOU.
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao, which is the mechanism of everything that exists. The word “Tao” is usually translated as “way”, “path” or “principle”, although the word also means “nature” as in the nature of all things as well as the natural world.
In 1992, Deng Ming-Dao created a book that was very different than those that came before it. 365 Tao was a guide into the tenants of Taoist philosophy through guided meditation. It’s intent was not to be read in one sitting. Instead the reader was encouraged to read one page a day for a year and use the readings as a basis for their daily meditation. My husband, Jay and I have found great comfort in 365 Tao ever since our first life-altering tragedy back in the early 90′s, and it was then that we developed a stronger interest in self-cultivation. Since then, we’ve tapped into it throughout our lives, as it’s a wonderful little nugget with passages of guidance for every day of the year. The principle of 365 Tao is to encourage you to explore the fundamentals on your own, as that’s where the true experience lies. Paraphrased from the introduction, there are thousands of people exploring Taoism for answers they can’t find in their own culture. In this worthy search, 365 Tao can be such a companion, especially when life appears discouraging.
A gift to you for 2012. It’ll be one of the the best 10 bucks you’ve ever spent!
to journal or not to journal, that is the question
This weekend I was cleaning up some spiral bound journals I worked with over the past few years, and wouldn’t you know, I came across several pages from courses I completed back then that required soul searching questions/answers defining what I wanted from my life, my disappointments, dreams, new directions I wanted to follow and outcomes I wanted to attain. Wouldn’t you know that everything I asked for I’ve gotten. Literally, PAGES of hard-core-looking-at-myself-realization came to life! I’m actually living my dreams and didn’t even realize it. When it comes to transformation, by all means, people, WRITE STUFF DOWN! Seize the opportunity to take on a new direction for yourselves in the new year. Committing your dreams to paper is fundamental when charting your new course. When you put your hopes and desires out there, getting them out of your head releases them, like rockets of desire, to let the universe know what you want for yourself. Once you offered them up, you allow them to spring forth, therefore becoming more in alignment with what you want. As stated in the Law of Attraction, when you align your vibrations (energy) with your desires (purpose), you get what you want or more!!! THIS IS A PROMISE!
power vs. force
In David Hawkins book, “Power Vs. Force: The Hidden Determinations of Human Behavior,” he states that mind can absolutely take precedence over matter. Citing a demonstration where human muscles weaken when exposed to harmful stimuli, a test was performed. Placing an artificial sweetener either on the tongue, kept in its package adjacent to the solar plexus, or hidden in a plain envelope, results found it made every subject test weak, and the contents of which to both tester and subject were unknown. The body responded accurately even when the mind was unaware.
He determined that “the mind knows far more than it knows it knows.“
Hawkins said, “For purposes, it’s really only necessary to recognize the power is what makes you go strong, while force makes you go weak. Love, compassion and forgiveness, which may be mistakingly thought of as submissive by some, are in fact, profoundly empowering. Revenge, judgement, mentalism, and condemnation, on the other hand, inevitably make you go weak. Therefore, regardless of moral righteousness, it’s a simple clinical fact that in the long run, the weak cannot prevail against the strong. That which is weak falls of its own accord.”
Hence the title of the book, Power vs. Force! And so it goes in life. POWER [the empowering traits of truth, love, sincerity] always triumphs over FORCE [the ego's cry for domination, judgement militia, domination, condemnation]. Even looks better, right!
Remember this simple clarity and you’ll always never lose sight of your high road.
thanks, Beth, for our first Mental Messages salon!
Thursday Dec. 1, Beth Hoffman graciously hosted the first of my Mental Messages Salons. The theme for the evening was “Row, Row, Row Your Own Damn Boat”! and the purpose of the evening was to celebrate the inner you while going gently down the stream.
Through a series of highlights of my professional life, I’ve come to realize is what’s most secret is most common. We all have life issues we deal with and sometimes we fell alone in our search for understanding or empathy. Through this evening of sharing, we find that there are more people out there with similar if not same issues, that you’re not alone, and that the wisdoms and insights available along your journey can be found with Mental Messages. If you’re interested about hosting a salon, reach out to us at kim@mentalmessages.com. 
confusion says: contrast
Light, dark, mine, theirs, this, that… if only I could decide. Sometimes we find ourselves unable to make the smallest of decisions and when that happens, don’t sweat it. When the stakes are higher, it can take a little more time to figure out your direction. Confusion helps illustrate contrast.
Remember, go gently down the stream. Row in the direction of your dreams. Don’t neglect what you need to do for the overall betterment, but know that things may not always seem as they appear. All things happen for a reason. And when those unlikely things pop up in the midst of a decision making process, let go for a while, row the boat, try it on, see how it feels and how you feel during it. Respect yourself. We’re never presented with things we cannot handle. We come from good stock! Sometimes it seems like a direction might be wrong for you. Feel the contrast of the new scenario. Become aware of what it feels like. And then if you can, sleep on it. Sometimes the best answers come at the onset of a new dawn. Wake up. Listen to your heart. Is it really as horrible as you thought? Put it into the perspective of the fresh day and then decide. And if at first you don’t succeed, give it another day of contrast, then decide again.
truth … it’ll set you free
Truthfulness should be the main foundation from which we all operate. As kids, our parents told us not to tell lies. Honesty is the best policy. “How can we let you go out with friends if you lie to us about where you’re going?” “How can we trust you if we can’t rely on your word?” Sound familiar?
I don’t want to confuse the issue here. The truthfulness I’m talking about here is about being truthful with yourself, not kidding yourself. It isn’t about you keeping something from your bestie to spare their feelings or not sharing with your husband that your new pants cost more than the car payment. We all think we know ourselves, and at the ripe ol’ age of 54, you think I’d know myself by now, too. But life is a work in process, and the more we live, the more we learn. And the more we learn, the more we grow, by peeling back the layers of the onion and getting to the true essence of what we’re all about.
But in order to grow as people, we have to be willing to see ourselves AS WE ARE, not how we THINK we are, or as we THINK we WANNA BE, no matter how difficult this can be. Life is a journey. The dictionary’s definition of journey is: the act of traveling from one place to another. So how can we travel successfully if we kid ourselves? We can’t get from NY to LA if we head to England, can we? And we certainly can’t squeeze into the 12 jeans if our hips measure out to a 22.
I know that positive thinking helps get us where we wanna be. I’m a huge believer in that. And leading by thought is the main principal of positive thinking. As they say, “you’ll SEE it when you BELIEVE it”. This is true. But you’re not gonna see anything if you kid yourself. Recognize the issues. Acknowledge that they’re there. Just be cause they exist doesn’t mean that’s who you are. They don’t define you, unless you let them. Out the crap, see the issues for what they are and understand that once you say hi to them, that you know that they’re there, it’s that much easier to talk back and let them know that you know they’re there but you’re no longer gonna accept them. Make the decision to let go of them, cast them out of your life, let them go. They serve no purpose with you any longer. And once you confront it, they will fade away into the sunset, maybe slowly, but defnitely surely.
like us
Mental Messages is my labor of love. And even though Paul McCartney says love is all you need (and yes, he’s right about that), here in digi-land, likes are helpful, too. If you’ve come to this site and found it helpful or even just appreciated what you’ve seen, give us a click on facebook. Thanks
your mind is a magnet
“The world is your mirror and your mind is a magnet. What you perceive in this world is largely a reflection of your own attitudes and beliefs. Life will give you what you attract with your thoughts. Think, act and talk negatively and your world will be negative. Think and act and talk with enthusiasm and you will attract positive results.”
~ Michael Lebeuf