What did I learn today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self Love

We can’t always change the circumstances that surround us, but we can choose the conversation we generate about them Lynne Twist This morning as I was meditating, the phrase "make it sacred" popped into my head and I must say it resonated for so many different reasons. I had to ask myself: 1. What is my definition of sacred? 2. Is there any thing that I consider sacred? 3. How can I make my life here on Earth sacred? There are very little guarantees in life, this I have learnt, and so, the decision to make the time here sacred is a choice I am making to ensure that my time here is well served to both myself and my community. Sacred is showing up for every thing in my life with and in love and service. Sacred is knowing that there is always divine guidance in the moment so that there is no need to be in fear. Sacred is recognizing the beauty, simplicity and grace in each and every moment, even when it is tough. I choose to make this journey of mine sacred. Your body- make it ...

  it gets much easier when you stop telling yourself how hard it is - Tehuti 6 One of my favorite teachers, Ms. Iyanla Vanzant says "it does not have to be hard" Her view is, we make some of our  lessons harder for ourselves . We do this by making up stories which torture us, including  worse case scenarios mostly  based on fear.  My uncle required blood for an  emergency operation, it turned out that  I would be the only one in the family who is able to provide the blood. The mere thought of giving blood - in a pandemic- sent me to story land. I made up stories  about could go wrong, why I am not able to do it and all sorts of elaborate fear based tales. In the end, I decided to just wake up early and drive myself to the hospital minus any stories. The nurses were fabulous, they were kind, efficient, caring and answered all my questions. Within 45 minutes I was out of there and my uncle was able to get the blood that he urgently needed to do the...

You can't grow with people who don't love how growth looks on you. Valencia Growing involves change, change involves some discomfort. Discomfort is not the best feeling in the world is it? Well let me speak for myself, I prefer comfort, all day long! Discomfort is however, par for the course when there is change and growth. Some of the most uncomfortable aspects of growth is the loss of relationships, be it platonic or romantic. I have learnt that when a season has come to an end there is usually no way to bring it back to the beginning. The lesson has been learnt, the assignment is over. The trouble starts when we hold on. Forcing, Pretending, Resenting. I think of growth as fitting into shoes. I cannot fit into the same I wore shoe size I wore as a teenager. When I squeeze by big grown foot into these teen shoes there is pain, discomfort and other more painful consequences. So it is with life, when the shoe does not fit, so be it! There will be pain and consequences. Over...

  It's never your job to water yourself down and make people understand you. It's always your job to reflect and understand yourself. Inner Practitioner Yesterday, someone asked me "What is important to you, especially now as the world is in a Global Pandemic?" I thought that it was quite an interesting question. The global situation has brought to the fore so many lessons and blessings for each and every one of us. The major question for me is do I "show up" in love or do I "show up" in fear. Show up meaning - Do I make decisions and live from a place of love or from a place of fear? Fear shows up in so many different ways People pleasing is showing up in fear. Having no boundaries is showing up in fear. Resisting is showing up in fear. Making up stories is showing up in fear. Lack of communication is showing up in fear. You get the picture... So, what is important to me? The "Rona" as I call it, is a very strange time, calling us to pa...

  When you train the mind to observe things as they are, to take in reality without projecting your emotions onto it or without trying to control it, happiness will become more available to you Yung Pueblo I have probably said this here before - I want what I want - (can you identify?) I want what I want when I want it, how I want it. And when I cannot get what I want when I want how I want it the consequences can range from anger, frustration, withdrawal and the list goes on. General discomfort and  discontent. Mind you, feelings are useful guides to take us to a space of self awareness, knowing and peace when we pay attention and feel them all. When we ignore our feelings they remain, return and show up in our bodies and relationships. Sometimes, those feelings are to guide us to acceptance. What I have learnt is that there are some things that I want which are simply not part of the Journey. Life has a way of giving me the heads up - "Sis, this ain't for you" I have al...

  Today I am   Conscious   of my  breathing  thoughts  moods  words  eating  movements  actions - Seven Stones Leadership Do you know what brings you joy? Do you know what makes your heart sing? Do you know what brings a smile to your face? The little things that you feel when just being! Today, pay attention to them and give thanks Peace

 What you appreciate, appreciates - Lynn Twist The past few weeks I have been reacquainting  myself with enoughness, sufficiency and abundance. Ever so often a reminder is necessary in my life as I get caught up in the world. We live in a world where it is the norm that more is better, there is hardly ever enough and there is nothing much we can do to change it. During this time, it is very easy to forget that life is dynamic and ever changing, and that when we live with the consciousness that we are all linked, all in this together, we can easily start believing that there is not enough, that we are not enough. How have I been reminding myself? 1. Being grateful - living from a space of gratitude. Giving thanks for the small things. 2. Showing appreciation - showing appreciation to the people around me in a very intentional manner. I have been choosing 3 people to tell how much I appreciate them per day. 3. Affirmations - affirming to myself that I am enough, that all needs ...

  When you know your worth, no one can make you feel worthless. Positive Call I was having a conversation with my therapist this week - yes I do support having a safe space to unwind and unfurl which the therapist so wonderfully provides! We were talking about "enoughness" and looking at the progress that I have made over the past year or so, which has been a blessing. I celebrate the small wins. Fear and doubt has a way of creeping in. When the fear and doubts creep in I sometimes have the tendency to give in to them, making decisions from that place. Fear of not being and doing enough pushes me to either withdraw or to want to prove to others that I am enough thereby overcompensating when there is simply no need to. Not enoughness for me comes from a place of fear - not having enough and not being enough. That feeling of never having enough - time, money, resources and on and on. What then tends to happen with that feeling, it transfers into me feeling as if I am not enough...

  What is enough? Each of us determines that for ourselves, but very rarely do we let ourselves have that experience. What is that point at which we’re fulfilled, where we have everything we want and need, and nothing in excess? Very few of us can recall moments in life when we have felt that. Lynn Twist Many of us, the moment we achieve a goal, we start thinking about what's next, what is the bigger goal. What more can I do to top this moment? Many of us, the moment we have completed a difficult task or project, we start thinking about what else can stretch us. What more can I do? Many of us, as soon as we receive something we have prayed for, asked for, we start thinking about something else to ask for, pray for. When is it enough? Will it ever be enough? The world has taught us that more is better, keep striving, never be satisfied. More is better. not striving for more is a sign of laziness and having little ambition. I have learnt that there is enough and I get to decide when ...

  Simply put, if you have no trust that life is on some level working for you, then you will be perpetually anxious. The way to counter it is to surrender any false sense of control over to the understanding that it’s out of our hands anyway. And perhaps, it’s always been out of our hands Light Watkins I have now learnt that Life is working with us. If we are alive and breathing, this is just how it is! Many times in our lives we have an idea of what we want our lives to look like, how we want to feel, what goals we believe we must achieve to be happy, fulfilled and successful. When life throws at us something that looks different, many times we panic, we think that something is wrong, that we must fix "it", we must work harder, something may be "wrong" with us. What if life is working with us to teach us something, to give us a sign, to show us our purpose? I have learnt that life continues to give us the signs and the guidance until we pay attention - until we sur...

  Service that looks like self-sacrifice is not sustainable - Maryhaam Hasnaa Living a life of service is not for the faint hearted. Living a life of service pushes us to have solid boundaries, to self- reflect, to release judgement and to pay attention to the signs. Many of these are areas in which we choose to ignore and neglect. Service is ,as Martin Luther King said, the rent you pay to the world for occupying part of its space. Service is the purpose behind  what you do for a cause that is bigger than you. When being in service turns into a burden, resentment  and burnout kicks in. When this happens, it then becomes an opportunity to self-reflect, to ask yourself am I clear as to the "why" behind what you are doing? Am I taking care of myself and my needs or am I neglecting them both to get this done? There are times when deadlines must be met and projects to be completed which calls for all hands on deck. When our well being. our health our lives becomes consumed an...

  It takes great courage to get to know your soul. This is because, once you do come to know it-and engage its power and live according to its authority-the divine itself will come to call. Once you are conscious of your soul, you are likely to be ‘called.’ Facing that call also requires courage because it can take you to both intensely light and intensely dark places.”   ~ Caroline Myss June is the Journey to Courage! Courage, I have learnt, is having loyalty  ourselves, loyalty to our intuition, loyalty to the Divine Timing that shows up in our lives. Loyalty turns into honoring ourselves, our hearts, our love. Courage does not mean the elimination or absence of fear. There may be many times when we must do the thing we are being called to do feeling the fear. Courage, I have learnt, requires some inner work. The work involves learning and practicing the principles of discipline, commitment and self- responsibility. Discipline - doing with faith...