OUR POWER IS LIMITLESS

After completing Enhancing Personal Power, I was struck by how simple the equation is for achieving so much more.  I knew that nothing could be empowered without our emotions engaged.  That in itself is an entire lifetime of learning for me.  What was eye opening is that having a sense for our potential and a belief (not proof) that we can do powerful things unlocks our power.  Then, to be in our full power we only need our focus, determination and a handful of personally meaningful wisdoms to harness our power.

“There is no greater testament to a person’s character, than the proper use of their power.”  This struck a chord when I read it in the Guide.  I don’t feel helpless.  I am powerful!  I will make mistakes and I will always learn from them.  That is such an important wisdom in keeping my power.

We tend to make things over complex in our world today.  I love the phrase “putting it through the complexor” to describe how the simplest things can be made difficult.  The core of putting our power to work has to be in keeping our intentions simple and clear.  I believe that allows others, it allows the unseen intangible spirit of change, and allows us to be limitless.

What a treasure to know that everyone one of us is limitless in our power.

Confronting Fears Through Courage

Throughout my life I have always put myself down and doubted my ability to succeed and to strive in certain situations. Always as a child I feared failing in school or not making the lacrosse team. Not only until recently in my adult years have I found that having courage through my mind and faith am I able to conquer my fears of not succeeding. I am the most successful now than I have ever imagined. I feel brave and strong and most of this has come from finding the courage deep inside of me.

I live by this quote every day of my life because one cannot live their life if they live it in fear. You cannot overcome obstacles or feelings of fear if you do not stand in the face of it….

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

I Whistle a Happy Tune

COURAGE
It’s natural to think of courage as something that is called for in times of danger, pain or confrontation. We often wonder what we would do faced with circumstances that create heroes of ordinary men (and women).
Hollywood gives us the Lion who lacked courage in the Wizard of Oz; Broadway explores it through a song from The King and I called “I Whistle a Happy Tune” (lyrics below*).
Courage lives in our heart and can spontaneously show up at any time. Everyday courage is just as powerful as those moments in time that create heroes. Sometimes it takes courage just to get up in the morning. It takes courage to be honest and vulnerable. When dreams are challenged, we need courage of our convictions to carry us through. It takes courage not to succumb to emotional blackmail.
One thing is for sure. Life will continuously challenge us to be courageous. As we rise to each occasion we become more self-empowered and our soul becomes joyfully energized. Enjoy the song:

I Whistle a Happy Tune*
Whenever I feel afraid
I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune
So no one will suspect
I’m afraid.

While shivering in my shoes
I strike a careless pose
And whistle a happy tune
And no one ever knows I’m afraid.

The result of this deception
Is very strange to tell
For when I fool the people
I fear I fool myself as well!

I whistle a happy tune
And ev’ry single time
The happiness in the tune
Convinces me that I’m not afraid.

“Happy” Friday, February 8, 2013

The goal is to post a “happy” quote, statistic, article, news item, or event on Fridays.  I love the idea as it creates joyful ripples in our thoughts, hearts and actions. I invite you to share with me anything that you stumble upon as it might be featured in our “happy” Friday posts.

This week I discovered that there is more positive news out in the world than I thought.  It made me happy.  One excellent resource is  Unified Caring Association’s Positive News Network.  Another inspirational site is the Huffington Post’s Happiness section.  It’s full of information about happiness and even lists the top 10 happiest places on the internet.  Now who doesn’t need that?

If you’re looking for a step-by-step program that will allow you the opportunity to reflect and deepen your understanding of happiness then check out the Living Good Program and the Happiness Program.   In a few short hours, your perspective and understanding will shift.

Happy Friday!!!

 

Cookie-Snatchers and Carpet-Stainers

Doing what’s right often takes courage. Rarely is the high road the easy road, but it’s always the path to purity of soul, which leads directly to love.

As a rather elementary example, my 3 school-age children are naturally testing the limits of trust and truth-telling. When I notice a cookie has inevitably been snatched or when a stain mysteriously appears on the carpet, I naturally confront my kids. At that moment, they are faced with a dilemma: do the right thing and tell the truth or, avoid a short term consequence and tell a lie.

Regardless of the choice the culprit makes, I embrace the teachable moment, perched on the edge of my seat waiting to launch into a brief, but important, lecture. It might sound something like this: “tell a lie and a small black spot appears on your soul. No one else can see it, but you know it’s there. The trouble with the spot is that with each one, you might like yourself just a little less. So instead of feeling confident in yourself, you have self-doubt. The good news is, no one is perfect and no spot is permanent. Apologize, make amends, change the behavior, all is forgiven, the spot disappears and you can feel 100% confident in your goodness. “

Truth telling, compassion for children and animals, behaving responsibly, geneorus giving, etc. – whenever the opportunity to do the right thing arises, the rules are always the same: make the hard choice, and you can feel good about yourself; think only of what might feel comfortable in the present moment, and there are long-term consequences – self-doubt among them.

Feeling confident in who we are, in our goodness, allows love and compassion to flow freely from our hearts. Making moral choices that reinforce love of Self, is the same as making choices that reinforce love of others.

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”    Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love,
Millie