The Power of Yes!

Just to clarify, this isn't the yes we declare when we really want to say no. Saying yes to something out of integrity with the core of who we are and what we truly want for ourselves actually drains our life energy. Rather than feeling connected to ourselves, saying yes when we really want to say no removes us from our center.

This is about saying yes to what is happening in this moment as well as to what's really going on inside of us right now. When we say yes to what we are noticing, we are in this open, expanded heart place. We feel whatever is there for us to feel: "Yes, I'm disappointed," "Yes, I'm feeling sad," "Yes, I can feel the tension in my body" or "Yes, I'm feeling joy." In allowing what is true within us, we are present to ourselves and others and, thereby, fully alive.

Saying yes to this state of nonjudgmental curiosity helps us take life lightly. When we are feeling upset, we can get curious about what we feel in our bodies. We can witness when we are focusing on the facts or when our minds are making up stories to embellish those facts and create drama. We can simply notice when we want to blame or judge or defend or be right. Instead of fighting with our minds by trying to convince ourselves or someone else to think or act in a different way, we notice our thoughts from a place of being curious. We can then make a different choice.

I notice that making a practice of saying yes to what is present in my own life has made me accept myself and my life at deeper and deeper levels. For instance, I have become aware of an old habit of impulsively jumping in with what's on my mind in a social situation. At times, it can be funny and add to the conversation. At other times, the impulse can interrupt someone else's train of thought. I've decided I want to break this pattern and realize that I first need to accept it - an old habit learned as the youngest kid in an Italian family who made the decision to jump in to get heard. In other words, by my saying yes to what is, I notice the behaviour from a compassionate place without making myself wrong. I then set a new intention for how I want to be in the next moment. There's no defensiveness in this way of being in the world, nor is there a lack of responsibility for my own behaviour.

With yes, we are able to remove ourselves more readily from any issues or triggers as we embrace everything. We welcome our fears and our hopes, our happiness and our sorrows. We know all of our feelings are part of life. We know our love and compassion at our very core is so much deeper than whatever feelings or thoughts are moving through us in one moment.

What's happening for you right now that would be different if you said "yes"? What would you stop resisting? It might be someone's help...a new idea...the pain of an old memory...the gift of someone who loves you in the best way that they know how.

Through your breath, go to a quiet place inside of you. Take a moment to think of something that you don't like that's happening in your life right now - it may be a health issue, a conflict with someone close to you, a financial problem, a feeling of being less than or ungrounded, some part of yourself that you try to hide from others. Notice your first reaction to your awareness in this moment. Place your focus on your body and notice where you feel this inside of you. Notice the feeling that arises to the surface. Allow yourself to say yes to what is happening inside of you. Be aware of your breath. Let the word yes be part of each inhale and exhale like a mantra. Notice what happens. Allow yourself to hold whatever is happening with love and compassion like a parent would hold a small child. Feel it in your belly. Breathe...whisper yes....without judgment....being with what is true in this moment.

We are aligned with the Divine within us when we are not wishing that this moment is different than what it actually is. In saying yes, we are loving life.

By Jeannie Campanelli
Source : The Power of Yes! Read More...

The Biggest Step to Your Success is Motivation

We often hear that Motivation is the foundation of success. Should we believe it? Well we know that peoples dreams and ambitions are far more less likely to be squashed even before they have a chance to get off the ground if we are strongly motivated. Many times a person will have a great idea and get the project started only to find, a few days later when "reality sets in", and the thoughts of failure come creeping into the mind, that they should have been far more strongly motivated before they began. When this stage is hit and self doubt comes creeping in, failure is almost inevitable. This is the natural cycle that keeps us down, and limits us from becoming all we can be. All we should be.

Motivation is the answer. Go read all the self help books that you can find in the library , and you will ultimately come to the one conclusion, the key to success is Not To Give Up! Keep hacking away and believe in yourself. Be properly motivated. We need proper motivation before we start anything new if we want to succeed.

I know you hear it all the time, get motivated, but 99% of the time it just doesn't sink in. At least not deeply enough. Truth be told, you can create your own reality or destiny or whatever you want to call it! Everyone is responsible for their own destiny, and we can all be very successful. We have heard and maybe even used many of the excuses about how life is "Unfair" and are so "unfortunate" not lucky like a brother, father, a neighbour, etc. The people that think this way have to understand that if you think like that, you will end up like that! You reap what you sow.

When you are strongly motivated you will be able to weed out all the negative thoughts and capitalize on only the positive ones. You will be in perfect control. You will be able to put all the effort you want into your goals. and succeed.

But just let the least bit of negativity into your thoughts, just lose your motivation with a negative thought, and all can be lost. Negativity can and often does bring it all down. Don't focus on your competitors, but focus on yourself and your own progress. Become more motivated for personal success.

By Carmn Paynter
Source : The Biggest Step to Your Success is Motivation Read More...

Be Authentic, Be Yourself

Whenever we pretend to be someone that we are not, people can either see through the act or they sense that we are not being authentic. I grew up in an extremely affluent area but my father had a low paying government job. I began to form an opinion about where I fit in this distorted world. It's the only world I knew. I didn't know first hand about the world outside of mine. Then I left home at a young age, and experienced poverty because I had no idea how to make it on my own. I found myself homeless at the age of 19. That experience then shaped a new reality for me. After becoming a social worker, I was exposed to a whole group of people that I had never met personally before. People who grew up on welfare and had parents on disability. When the children hit 18 they applied for disability (SSI). It's just how things were in that community and the people I worked with and came to know, love and respect, didn't know any other way of doing their lives. I began to see their issues in a very different light. I now saw them as strong human beings tackling impossible odds, instead of needy, dependent people. The experiences they were exposed to in terms of abuse, trauma, and deprivation opened my eyes to a whole new reality that so many people grow up in. If a plant is never nurtured and isn't given soil to grow in, it will shrink and die or live marginally. There is always that rare plant that grows under any conditions. For some people, life can be a horror from a very young age.

The point is, we often feel shame as a result of our childhood experiences and that makes us want to pretend that we are someone other than who we are. Once we can see our past for what it was and what it wasn't we can gain more respect for ourselves for having survived what we endured. We can also have more compassion for others who have gone through something different or something that seems worse.

Lack, deprivation, starvation, and poverty are ideas that are instilled in us from birth. We have to heal the wounds and recover in order to move to a higher level of existence. Money, health, quality food and love are all forms of energy that we receive. Those who never learned to receive because of they only knew lack and deprivation in the past have a difficult time in their adult lives unless they seek professional help and take measures toward healing on every level.

We are all enough at birth. We are all enough throughout our live in spite of our experiences. We are perfect as we are and the experiences we are having today are exactly the ones that we are supposed to be having.

Letting go of the hurt and pain of the past is a long process. It takes courage and fortitude to stay on a path of healing. There needs to be a spiritual connection to something that you believe is greater and wiser. Few people are able to face their demons head on and experience the pain necessary to heal.

By Debbie Simon
Source : Be Authentic, Be Yourself Read More...