“The most powerful thing you can do to change the world is to change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people, reality, to something more positive… and begin to act accordingly.”
— Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization

You’ve heard it before, and you will hear it again, and again — you have the power to change the world starting with you. As Wayne Dyer points out, “There is no stress in the world, only people thinking stressful thoughts and then acting on them.” This is a powerful concept, but even more powerful is the reality that you don’t need to live in that stressful world.

Start changing your own beliefs and thoughts to something more positive and act on those thoughts. Right there, at that very moment, the world just changed.

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.”
— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

As difficult as it may be to listen only to your inner self, allowing yourself to be guided by others opinions of you, either good or bad, will leave you feeling like you are the rope in a game of tug-o-war.

Follow your heart and you will never go astray for it will always be true to you.

“Live simply so that others may simply live.”
— Gandhi

When he said to “live simply” did he mean live a life of poverty, give up your worldly goods, etc.? I don’t believe so. But these days it seems to become harder and harder to get our minds around how to live simply. What I think it means is to live a life that doesn’t overwhelm you. If you find that your life is so complicated and busy that you don’t even know who you truly are anymore, it might be an indication that your life needs simplification.

Simplification might also mean learning to say “no” to some of the requests that are placed on you. We are taught to give and and help others, and that is all very good and true. But if you have nothing left of yourself or no time left to give to yourself, how can you keep giving to others?

Slow down, step back, examine your days and your routines. How much of it do you really feel is necessary to keep on the schedule? When you give yourself the gift of simplifying your life, you will actually be giving others the gift of a more complete (and mentally sane) you.

“You can address your angelic request directly to God or to your angels. Either way, heaven instantly responds to your message and sends angels to guide, love, and heal you.”
— Doreen Virtue, Divine Guidance

I have often been pleasantly surprised with the different methods of receiving advice for some issue plaguing me. I could be in line at the store and someone will say something interesting that just happens to apply to my situation. Or I will be chatting with some acquaintances and they will voice their opinion on a topic without being asked specifically. My angels, I am discovering, are all around me whenever I need them. They seem to whisper just the right things to people to guide me on my way.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for that next stranger that happens to give you some worthy advice. You never know, they may just be your angel in disguise.

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
— Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

When you say what you fear out loud, you will often find how ridiculous, or inaccurate, or inappropriate it is for your life. I had a talk a while back with my husband about one of the fears holding me back from making some simple phone calls. I had to call some people that I didn’t know in order to set up an interview time with them. In my mind I knew that this was no big deal for me to do. I have definitely done more challenging tasks or assignments. So what was holding me back? Why was I so afraid to just make these calls? I had been procrastinating for over two weeks now, coming up with excuse after excuse as to why I should put it off until the next day.

Well, with a little self-probing I realized that it wasn’t making the phone calls that was posing the problem, but making the phone calls with my husband within earshot. I was fearing his judgment or criticism of me and my ability to call up strangers to book an interview. No wait, take it a step further, I was afraid he would think that I am not as competent as I always lead him to believe. I wanted to make the calls when he wasn’t around, so that if I said something “stupid”, he wouldn’t know about it and couldn’t criticize me. So really, I was fearing being criticized by someone who I really respect and value their opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

“There’s an infinite amount of work. The big question is what do I have to do today, this week, this month, this quarter?” — Christine Comaford-Lynch

We have all most likely done it more than once in our life. We decide to sacrifice lunch with a friend or figure it’s not that important to get that sleep you so desperately needed. Or what about the classic, “Sure I can do that” when you already have a full agenda… and that new task isn’t even in line with your personal goals.

What would you gain with those choices? There will always be more work tomorrow. This doesn’t mean you should slack off. It is all about real life balance though. And what “real life” balance means, is that things don’t have to be perfect. There may have to be a slight lean on your table when one leg tends to take more attention than the other three at times. It means that you shift and adjust.

But you need to remember that it is supposed to be about joy. It’s supposed to lead you to your happiness. And if somewhere along the road that you find yourself now traveling you realize that you are no longer heading in the right direction, you need to make some real life changes.

And remember, it’s ok to say “no thanks”. It’s ok to say “Hey, this isn’t what I want to be doing now”. “This is not taking me to my joy, my goal, my passion.” Breathe, and get back on track — YOUR track.

“Intuition is the supra-logic that cuts out all the routine processes of thought and leaps straight from the problem to the answer.”
— Robert Graves

Be in your body because it is where intuition lives. In our busy lives, many of us typically function only with our heads. This is actually very counterintuitive and tends to cut off our vital energy flow and may not lead us in the right direction.

Take a moment to reconnect with yourself, with your body. Your body has wisdom and sends you messages regularly. Your mind is important, but sometimes it is so busy it forgets to check in and see how the body is responding.

When making a decision, notice your body’s signals. Do you feel energized? Comfortable? Is your breathing effortless? Your gut calm? Are your shoulders loose? Or do you have a sick feeling in your stomach? A lump in your throat? In all your choices, tuning in to what your body says is a naturally given gift for keeping on track with your higher self.

“It takes 30 days for a change in behavior to become a habit, and six months for a habit to become the automatic way a person does things, … If they haven’t changed in 30 days, it’s not happening.”
— Mark Goulston

Habits are funny things. At first they seem not so easy to make. And then there are others that seem impossible to break. You know what I mean. Making new good habits like working out, eating healthy, going to bed at a more reasonable hour. Sounds so simple, yet after a week or so, I find the tendency to let them slip. And then changing the old (shall we say bad) habits, how come they seem so challenging to break?

So what can you do? Well, some studies show that it can take anywhere from 30 days to 6 months to change your behaviours (habits) either adding new good ones or eliminating the bad ones. So that means keeping at it until you make it over that hurdle. Often, when you do something especially when your mind and
body is fighting against your better direction, it solidifies the change process.

So, choose an action today that challenges you and moves you forward. Take that action today, in spite of any negative feelings or what your mind might tell you. Write it down first thing in the morning and at the end of the day, write down the feelings that came with accomplishing the action and how it has helped you grow.

“You must BE the change you want to see in the world.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

What could you work on now that would make a difference to your life. Simply pick one thing that you could change or improve that would give you a new start, a new perspective, a new direction.

You may want to look at the things that concern you in the world. Or you could start with your day-to-day routines. Making a difference to your life could be as simple as picking up the clutter in your house. Gives you immediate results (a cleaner house). May help to reduce your levels of stress (mess is stress). And gives you a goal to maintain your new sense of well-being (keeping the clutter from accumulating, therefore less work for the future).

So that was my one thing to make a change quickly and effectively. Now your turn. What’s one thing can you do today to put on your list of successes and make you feel better? Remember, it’s a start. And sometimes that’s all you need to get the journey of change rolling the way you really want it to. Before you know it, there will be a long list of accomplishments to your name.

“Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do.”
— Unknown

Do you feel happiest when you are busy, productive, or working on a project? What happens when you have quiet time? Some people use work to avoid dealing with unhappiness or challenges in their personal lives, such as an unhappy marriage.

In order for happiness to be authentic and last, it must come from more than work. Balance in joy comes when we are with our families, learning new things, helping others, and yes, even when we are in quiet solitude.

See if you are experiencing the busy-bee syndrome, avoiding all that life has to offer and resolve to bring balance in your life through joy in everything and everyone.