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Change Your Thoughts

Valerie

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale

Good morning! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful day! I had planned to design a Visual Inspiration for you today, but when I saw this extraordinarily beautiful inspirational poster come through my Facebook feed this morning, I knew that it was destined to be today's Daily Soul Retreat! =) Particularly, since I was, "rather synchronistically," thinking of creating a Visual Inspiration with the exact same quote!

The creator of this gorgeous poster is Lynda Field, who is one of the most established life coaches in the UK. Enjoy and be sure to pay a visit to Lynda Field's website for more inspiration. You can visit her page on Facebook too!

Enjoy ♥

Lynda Field© 2014 Lynda Field. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Soulfully,
Valerie

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The Secret to Making a New and True Beginning

Valerie

"It is only what you do right now that is the seed of change."
– Guy Finley

Good morning and happy Tuesday!  I'm delighted to share an article about "change and new beginnings" with you today by Guy Finley, motivational speaker and best-selling author of over 40 books. Guy's article will have you thinking about change and new beginnings in a new way — with present moment awareness.

Enjoy!  ♥

Guy Finley"The Secret to Making a New and True Beginning"

by Guy Finley

“Just as it is impossible for a ship to drop anchor and then leave port while still being chained to the bottom of the sea, so is it impossible for us to cling to our regrets in life and be able to move on from there at the same time.”

There can be no starting place in our lives any truer than what our own awareness of the present moment permits. This friendly fact tells us that the level of our awareness that attends the full range of each step we take determines our life direction and our actual destiny. The next two examples should prove this.

No one consciously takes a step in haste knowing it will lead to waste. Neither would any man or woman consciously take a step in anger if he or she knew the route just chosen would lead only to regrets.

These truths being self-evident, we have to ask ourselves, "What's the force at the source of these false starting places? How is it our consciousness can be so compromised that we're unable to see that a step taken in worry leads us not to the worry-free life, but only to the base of an active volcano called Mount Anxiety?"

It's crucial for us to understand that our present mind — and the thrust of its habitual thinking — lives with its attention fixed, not on beginnings, but on the end of things. Don't we always wonder what our lives will be like tomorrow? Aren't we forever dreaming about how different things will be once we win this or achieve that? Don't we, in our mind's eye, perpetually walk towards a brighter moment to come, thinking about how good we'll feel once we're able to resolve some nagging situation?

We are betrayed every time we set out on any journey — mentally, emotionally, or bodily — with our eyes fixed on where we think we're going, rather than in the awareness of where we actually are. It's within this full awareness of where we are — which includes the alert observation of all our mental and emotional states — that is the true beginning we've been searching for all of our lives. Do you see why?

We don't ever have to worry about happy endings to any of our life stories if we're awake enough to refuse all unhappy beginnings. If we attend to the true beginning of any action (this present moment,) their endings have to take care of themselves. Thinking, or hoping, that any destination we have in mind is going to be superior to where we're presently standing, is exactly why we're still standing in that same place where we have to hope that another tomorrow will be better.

Before we can change our destination and arrive in that higher world we want, before we can ever start out in that new direction that leads to liberation, we must wake up to the steps we're being given to take by a false nature whose favorite direction is down. Victory over our lower nature is now or never.

The perfectly present moment is both the seed of who you are and of your experience of now. And just as you can't separate who you are from your experience of now, neither can you separate now from the real moment of change. They are the same. You can't end conflict later. You can't stop being sad, or cruel, or angry, or scared, or anxious later. Later does not exist in reality. This self-created, false concept of time allows it to create yet another you in another time when, according to its prophecy; you'll be a wiser, stronger, and generally superior individual. But for you to experience the miracle of real inner transformation, to step up to a superior life level, you must no longer think in terms of how you'll be next time.

And so it's imperative to meet each moment of your life with this realization: it's only what you do right now that is the seed of change. And in the endless beauty and mystery of what is the now, this same seed of change is also the seed of a New Self. Here's why this is true. If you choose to change right now, then you won't have to worry about how to be different next time!

In fact, choose to change now, and that moment will never come for you to worry about how to be better next time. Again, here's why. Your conscious choice for real change in the present moment automatically cancels the need for a better you in a better future. All will be better for you now, which is the only time it really matters!

Copyright Guy Finley. All Rights Reserved.

Guy Finley is the director of the non-profit Life of Learning Foundation in Merlin, Oregon. He is the best-selling author of more than 40 books and audio albums on self-transformation and higher success. For information about Guy Finley and his work, visit www.guyfinley.org

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Guy's article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Change How You Relate to Fear

Valerie

"The key to change….is to let go of fear."
– Rosanne Cash

Good morning! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend!!  My work on renovating SoulfulLiving.com has taken some exciting twists and turns over the past week and the new website is growing larger and in more fabulous ways that I originally envisioned. I'm very excited!! I hope to unveil the newly remodeled SoulfulLiving.com to you next Monday. And, I’m going to have a special surprise for you this coming Friday! Hee! I just love surprises!!

In keeping with our theme of the month, I'm pleased to share an article about "fear and change" with you today by writer and coach Tara Sophia Mohr. Change is often accompanied by fear, and Tara's terrific article explores two different types of fear and how we relate to fear when we are following our heart's calling and making life changes.

I hope you enjoy her article!  ♥

Tara-Mohr"Change How You Relate to Fear"

by Tara Sophia Mohr

I was on the phone with Mary – a favorite coaching client – talking about what she truly wanted to do next in her life and career. “I want to move to the developing world,” she said, “to Southeast Asia, and I want to work on girls’ education there.”

As she said it, the tears started flowing. She had finally admitted what she really wanted to do. We could both feel – this was it.

For a few moments, Mary basked in the excitement. How good it felt to finally have accessed and articulated what she wanted. How remarkable it would be to make this her next chapter. As we talked, the sense of possibility and power in her voice grew.

Then, about three minutes later, the fear arrived. It came in just like clouds moving in on a clear, bright sky. Mary started to worry: “But I could probably never do that – I’m really not an expert in that area, and I don’t have much relevant experience. And I’m afraid – would I really be able to make it in an environment so different from the one I’m in now?”

As a coach, I’d been trained to expect this. Like most of us, I was quite familiar with the idea, popular in personal growth and spirituality circles these days, that, it’s scary to be your real self and to go for your real dreams, to take the leap and follow a calling.”

So in moments like the one Mary was experiencing, I used to say something like, “Yes, it’s perfectly normal to feel fear when you tap into your authentic self. Living an authentic life and going for your dreams requires leaving your comfort zone, risking failure, and being vulnerable. The risk-averse, primitive lizard brain activates, and fear comes up.”

But then I started to see “fear” differently, as a result of a little known, powerful teaching by the late spiritual Rabbi Alan Lew. It upended the way I understood what Mary – and all of us – experience when we attempt to go for our real dreams.

Rabbi Lew explains that in Biblical Hebrew, there are several different words for fear – not just one, like we have in contemporary English.

In Biblical Hebrew, pachad refers to “projected or imagined fear,” the “fear whose objects are imagined.” That, in contemporary terms, is what we might think of as over-reactive, irrational, lizard brain fear. This is obsessive, unfounded fear of possible worse-case scenarios, of making a fool of ourselves, of horrible rejection. This is the panicked feeling we feel when we step out of our comfort zones.

This is what most of us know as fear.

But there is a second Hebrew word for fear, yirah. Rabbi Lew describes yirah as “the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to, inhabiting a larger space than we are used to inhabiting. He explains it is also the feeling we feel when we are on sacred ground. This is the feeling Moses experienced when he encountered the burning bush.

Just think about that: the feeling that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to, when we are inhabiting a larger space than we are used to inhabiting, or when we are on sacred ground.

This is the feeling we all experience when we encounter the presence of the divine, whether in the form of a burning bush or in the form of the still, small voice within ourselves. This is what Mary was feeling – as she touched the sacred within herself in that moment of honoring her soul’s desire. This was what Mary was feeling as she became infused with the energy that came from contacting her soul’s desire.

If you’ve felt a calling in your heart, uncovered an authentic dream for your life, or felt a mysterious sense of inner inspiration around a project or idea, you recognize this description of yirah. It feels a lot like fear, but it has a kind of tingling exhilaration to it that regular ol’ pachad fear does not.

We often conflate or confuse the two types of fear, and simply call what we are experiencing “fear.” But we can discern them more closely, and in doing so, more effectively manage fear so it doesn’t get in our way.

Next time you are in a moment that brings fear:

1.Ask yourself: what part of this fear is pachad? Write down the imagined outcomes you fear, the lizard brain fears. Remind yourself that they are just imagined, and that pachad-type fears are irrational. We are best served by becoming aware of – but not taking direction from – the voice of pachad within us.

2. Savor yirah. You can also ask yourself: what part of this fear is yirah? You’ll know yirah because it has that tinge of exhilaration and awe -while pachad has a sense of threat and panic. You’ll know yirah because it will show up when you are touching the sacred – in life, in a relationship, in your work, or within yourself. You’ll know yirah by that sense of inhabiting a larger space – literal or metaphorical – than you are used to. You’ll know yirah by that sense of coming into possession of more energy than you are used to. We are best served by becoming aware of, leaning into – and even looking for – the callings and leaps that bring yirah. We are best served by simply saying “thank you” when we feel the yirah, taking it as a sign that we are on holy ground.

As you move through this spring season of new beginnings and renewal, change your relationship with fear – opting out of listening to the voice of pachad, and welcoming and leaning into yirah.

 

Copyright Tara Sophia Mohr. All Rights Reserved.

Tara Sophia Mohr is the founder of the Playing Big leadership program for women and the author of The Real Life: Poems for Wise Living. With a deep commitment to amplifying women's voices, Tara's work empowers women to play bigger in their work and in their lives. Visit www.taramohr.com to learn more. 

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Tara's article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Springtime Soul Cleansing

Valerie

"An optimist is the human personification of spring."
– Susan J. Bissonette

Good morning and happy Wednesday! Tomorrow is the first day of spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, and I am SUPER EXCITED!! How about you?

I have a terrific article for you today that touches on the themes of both "change" and "spring cleaning," called "Rituals for Springtime Soul Cleansing," by author Barbara Biziou. Barbara is a longtime contributor of articles to SoulfulLiving.com, and her books include: "The Joys of Everyday Rituals" and "The Joy of Family Rituals."

I hope you enjoy her article!  Wishing you a beautiful last day of winter! ♥

Barbara Biziou"Rituals for Springtime Soul Cleansing"

by Barbara Biziou

Spring is the time for each of us to usher in new growth and possibilities. It is a time to be more open to love and joy. In ancient times, the New Year started at the Spring Equinox. In fact, astrologically it still does.

Now is the time that we are able to renew our hopes, aspirations and dreams. Yet, we cannot do this if we are weighed down by old beliefs that create barriers for opportunities and fulfillment. Loving yourself and appreciating others is a key to achieving your goals in life. The Spring Equinox ushers in a time of new balance. The season invites you to become aware of whatever is out of balance in your life and to put in the corrections.

Take some time to contemplate the following:

  • Could you change your diet so your body can safely eliminate toxins and regain its natural rhythms?
  • How much of your time is spent working?
  • How much of your time is spent worrying?
  • How much of your time is spent with friends? Family?
  • How much of your time is spent enjoying yourself?
  • Are you getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night?
  • When is the last time you took time for yourself?
  • How can you grow in a healthy way and become more open, compassionate and accepting?
  • Can you simplify your life?

When we expend too much energy analyzing, planning and attempting to control the course of our lives, then we need to readdress the balance by becoming more spontaneous. It is important to spend time just having fun. This will energize us and bring more creativity and joy into our lives.

If you are finding that you are exhausted and apathetic that usually means that energy is trapped in your heart. Look to where you are still holding on to old resentments and disappointments. Even if you have spent years working on these issues, deeper layers of the same issue can pop up over time. This does not mean that you haven’t done your work; it simply means that you are ready to release at a deeper level.

I am always surprised to find that people spend endless hours cleaning the physical (home, body, clothes) but rarely spend the time to purify themselves spiritually.

Would you think of showing up at a special event in dirty clothes without taking a shower and washing your hair? Are you comfortable inviting people to a fancy dinner party at your house when your house is a mess? Probably not.

Safe and gentle purification will bring you countless benefits. I like to purify myself by taking baths in sea salt. Depending on my mood I will add the essential oils of rose (love), jasmine (sensuality) or lavender (relaxation. And occasionally I will add fresh flowers. Don’t forget to use your morning shower as a time to release all unwanted thoughts and feelings. As the water runs over you say, I now release all thoughts and feelings of limitation, anger and upset. Be as specific as you like. I release my anger against Susan, I release all fear about making this presentation today, I release all financial worries. When you have finished, imagine the negative energy going down the drain. Notice how much lighter you feel…

Continue Reading "Rituals for Springtime Soul Cleansing"

Copyright Barbara Biziou. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Barbara's article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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You’re Not a Tree.

Valerie

"If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree."
– Jim Rohn

Good morning and happy Tuesday! I have a Visual Inspiration for you today featuring one of my favorite quotes by Jim Rohn. This quote always makes me giggle a little… because it is SO true!

If you don't like how things are going in your life, uproot and make some changes. You are free! You are not a tree!

Enjoy ♥

Change Tree Quote

© 2014 Valerie Rickel

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Guest Article: Creating Life Change

Valerie

"How do you know it's time to change?… Change when you've outgrown something. Change when there's no hope. Change because you choose to. Change because it's fun. Change because you want to gain awareness of who you truly are. Change because you have to. Change because everything changes, for better or for worse. Why change? Why not? You've been doing it all your life."
– Robin L. Silverman

Good morning and Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend!

I have a terrific article on "Creating Life Change" to share with you today by author Robin Silverman. Robin's books include: "The Ten Gifts: Find the Personal Peace You've Always Wanted Through the Ten Gifts You've Always Had" and "Something Wonderful Is about to Happen: True Stories of People Who Found Happiness in Unexpected Places."

Enjoy! ♥

Robin Silverman"Creating Life Change"

by Robin Silverman

I once attended a workshop led by a psychologist who wanted to teach us why people have trouble making changes.  He asked each of us to choose a partner and look at what our partner was wearing.  Once we had memorized this, we were to turn around and make five changes to our own appearance.  The audience immediately started removing external things like blazers, sweaters, shoes, socks, belts, watches, earrings, glasses and hats.

Next, the facilitator asked us to make 10 more changes to our appearance.  At this point, many of the men in the room sat down, and so did some of the women.  Finally, in what seemed like a ridiculous request, he asked us to make 15 more changes to our appearance.  In less than one minute, no one was left standing.“I didn’t tell you to take off your clothes,” he said.  “I said to make changes to your appearance.”  He walked over to one of the men and held out his own watch.  “Want to swap for a few minutes?”  Then he went to the podium and picked up a piece of paper.  “Voila!  Another change to my appearance,” he announced.

“There are over 200 people in this room,” he said.  “We could have kept this game going all day.  All you had to do was keep swapping things, picking up or putting things down.  There were actually an infinite number of changes you could have made to your appearance.”

He continued.  “But you just experienced why people don’t make changes.  To most people, change equals some kind of loss, not gain.  That’s why they resist it.”

I always tell this story when I facilitate leadership programs having to do with change, particularly those that precede or follow some kind of profound change over which the participants may or may not have control.  Once I have presented it, I ask my groups to give me at least 20 reasons why people don’t change, and I write them on a flip chart.  You probably know them:

1)    It’s easier to keep things as they are.

2)    If it isn’t broken, why fix it?

3)    Change is expensive.

4)    Change takes time.

5)    Change takes you out of your comfort zone.

6)    Change can be embarrassing.

7)    Change involves risk.

8)    There’s no guarantee that things will be better if you do it.

9)    Change is difficult.

10)  Change requires effort.

11)  Change redefines who you are.

12)  Change involves giving up something.

13)  Change usually involves the unknown.

14)  Once you do it, it’s hard to go back to the way things were.

15)  Once you start changing, it’s hard to know when to stop.

16)  People may not like you if you change.

17)  You might not like yourself if you change.

18)  Rapid change is too startling; slow change is too painful.

19)  Change affects more than just you.

20)  Sustaining change is difficult…

Click Here to Continue Reading "Creating Life Change"

Copyright Robin Silverman. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Robin's article! Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Soulfully,
Valerie




Soulful Match - Online Spiritual Dating Site

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Video: 101 Ways to Transform Your Life

Valerie

"Transformation literally means going beyond your form."
Wayne Dyer

Good morning and happy Friday! I'm excited to to share today's Daily Soul Retreat with you. It's a full-length video presentation that I found at YouTube of Wayne Dyer's audiobook, "101 Ways to Transform Your Life." This is one of my favorite audios by Wayne. It is truly life changing!!

I hope you enjoy it! ♥


Leave a Comment

If you're feeling inspired, I'd love to have you leave a comment below.

And, if you haven’t already done so, be sure to pick up your special package of inspirational goodness exclusively for our Daily Soul Retreat Newsletter Subscribers — a “Soul Retreat Gift Pack” filled with over $300 worth of Ecourses, Ebooks, Audio Workshops and Meditations, donated by our awesome SoulfulLiving.com authors. If you aren’t already subscribed, click here for all the details. If you are already subscribed, watch your Daily Soul Retreats for all the details.

Wishing you a day of wonderful change and transformation!

Soulfully,
Valerie Rickel, Founder
SoulfulLiving.com

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Change the Way You Look at Things

Valerie

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
Wayne Dyer

Good morning and happy Thursday! I have a Visual Inspiration for you today featuring one of my favorite quotes by motivational speaker and best-selling author Wayne Dyer.

Enjoy ♥

Visual Inspiration

© 2014 Valerie Rickel

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Making Change with the Power of Visualizations

Valerie

"Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside."
—Marilyn Ferguson

Good morning! In keeping with our theme of the month, "Change," I am very pleased to offer you a guest article today by author Rita Milios. Her wonderful article, "Harnessing the Power of Visualizations," will teach you how to create life change and achieve all your dreams and goals using the powerful tools of visualization and affirmations!

Enjoy ♥

Rita Milios"Harnessing the Power of Visualizations"
By Rita Milios

Do you feel that you control your own future? Or do you dream of changes you’d like to make in your life, yet you don’t quite know how to make them happen?

Many of us don’t realize that the key to controlling our outer lives begins by controlling our inner lives–our mental state. It is said that "attitude is everything", and this is essentially true because attitude precedes action. Before we do it, we must first think it, desire it, plan it….and believe in it. Whatever our goal, holding the vision of that goal and "energizing" it with a positive attitude that assumes success is the key to eventual success.

Visualizations and affirmations are two "mind tools" that can help you hold a vision and create an attitude that will lead you to your goal. Visualization is the process of creating pictures in your mind. Affirmation is the process of repeating a positive message to yourself. Both are potent, positive mental tools that can be learned and used by anyone.

Visualization works because it creates belief, belief that can alter the circumstances of your life. With visualization, you "speak" directly to your inner, subconscious mind, bypassing the censorship of the logical, conscious mind. Your subconscious mind "thinks" in pictures, and you can reach the programming levels of your subconscious mind quickly and easily with visualization. Visualization is an idea, a thought form, in picture. By starting with a picture, you take a shortcut directly into your subconscious. No words have to be "translated" from conscious ("left-brain") language to subconscious ("right-brain") language. You deliver a simple, clear, direct message right into your subconscious mind.

Visualization is a bit of mental "trickery." You are, in effect, tricking your subconscious into believing that an event has occurred when it has not. Your subconscious mind does not rationalize. It takes whatever you give it as "truth." If you consistently picture yourself as having already achieved your goal, your subconscious mind soon believes that it is so. Then, in order to balance your inner and outer reality, your subconscious sets into motion any events or circumstances necessary to create in the physical realm that which you believe in your mind to be true. The fact that you only "imagined" the outcome of your goal does not matter. In your mind (as in space) there is no past, present, or future. Just because you pictured having achieved your goal before you did it, does not matter to your subconscious. If you can make the scene real, you can believe in it. And once you believe in it, it tends to come true…

Continue Reading "Harness the Power of Visualizations"

Copyright Rita Milios. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Rita’s article. Please scroll down and leave your comments below.

Wishing you a day filled with change!!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Visual Inspiration: Change and the Butterfly

Valerie

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly,
but rarely admit the changes it has
gone through to achieve that beauty.
– Maya Angelou

Good morning and happy Tuesday! I don't know about you, but I am VERY ready for spring to arrive! It has been a long, cold winter here in the Northeast, and I am greatly looking forward to all of the wonderful signs of seasonal change, new beginnings, hope, and renewal that spring brings with her — the young robins emerging from their nests, crocus and daffodils popping up here and there from beneath the melting snow and ice, and the young green buds appearing on the barren tree branches… It is my favorite time of year!

It is also the time of year when butterflies emerge from their chrysalises. The miraculous metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly is a beautiful symbol for change and transformation. When I came across this quote by Maya Angelou, I knew it was perfect for today's Visual Inspiration! Her words serve as an important reminder that change is not always an easy process. (It can be hard. Really hard, sometimes.) But the beauty of the outcome — like the caterpillar that transforms itself into a butterfly — makes it ALL worthwhile!!

I hope you enjoy today's Visual Inspiration ♥

Change

© 2014 Valerie Rickel

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Creating Life Changes

Valerie

“We change whether we like it or not.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good morning and happy Friday!  I have to admit that I've been struggling a bit this week, feeling slightly overwhelmed with the big changes taking place, as I transform my fourteen-year-old website, SoulfulLiving.com, and redevelop her on a new technological platform. I've also been dealing with a painful sinus infection… so it's been a rough one, to say the least!  I hope that today's Daily Soul Retreat finds you doing well and that if you, too, are struggling, please know that I am here and that I've got your hand. ♥

With spring soon arriving and with the changes taking place at SoulfulLiving.com, it seems fitting for us to look at the theme of "Change" this March. Springtime is a natural time for change, transformation, new beginnings, rebirth, etc.  So, to start off our month of "Change," I have a special article for you today, by one of my favorite authors, Carol Adrienne. Carol is the best-selling author of "The Purpose of Your Life" and "When Life Change Or You Wish It Would," among others. In her article, "Creating Life Change," she reveals how mult-dimensional change is, which may help you to see "change" in a whole new light.

Enjoy!

Carol Adrienne"Creating Life Changes"

by Carol Adrienne

Despite the fact that we cannot help but change, we seem to have a constant yearning for things to be different in our life. My guess is that this focus on changing something in our life is a corollary of other ideas invisibly current in Western culture.  For example, here in the United States, we place a high value on freedom—freedom, I suppose, to make changes when we want to make changes.  We also place a high value on having, and having more, whether it is leisure time, money, quality time with the kids, or a bigger house. The desire for change often accompanies the feelings of wanting more of something or less of something else.

For most, the idea of “creating life changes” seems productive and beneficial—maybe even good for the planet. The list of the changes we desire, of course, is endless.  Unfortunately, as much as we dream of change, we are just as likely to feel inadequate to the task of making any change, be it changing careers, partners, body weight, or income brackets.  This is called resistance, which we’ll talk about in a minute (Am I resisting the topic??)

Change Comes in Different Colors, Forms, Textures and Phases—It’s 3-Dimensional!

What are these changes of which we dream? Why do we think we should make them?  Take a moment and ask yourself, “Is there something I’d like to change in my life?  If so, why?  What do I want that I don’t already have?”

Review the types of change I’ve listed below—transformational, situational, (addition and elimination) and evolutionary.

Next, I suggest that you write down on paper what changes you would like to make in your life, and the results that you are looking for. Be advised. Writing down your goal is a powerful step in bringing this change to you, so be prepared to see something happen in the next few days or weeks!

Transformational Change

Generally, this type happens to you through major life decisions, necessity, or synchronicity.  For example, my own transformations occurred with my first marriage, the birth of my two children, getting breast cancer and recovering, and starting a writing and speaking career.  Each of these incidents forced me out of my comfort zone, and demanded that I pay attention to each moment.  In working with the changes in my fortune, I learned to handle my fears and develop new strengths.  I even came to the valuable realization that, despite my life not looking like I thought it “should,” I was often quite happy during those times. 

Intention, Timing, and Unconscious Resistance Play a Part. Transformational change is perhaps more difficult to create by intention alone (for example, when you haven’t yet found the right person to marry or in the case of wanting children but having trouble getting pregnant.)  You may think your conscious intention is strong, but other factors may be at work—such as the timing is not yet right, or you may have unconscious resistance to this goal.  For example, you may unconsciously fear that you won’t be a good mother, or that you might re-create your own traumatic childhood.  You might not consciously realize that your own freedom is a higher priority than getting involved with the needs of another person.  If resistance is strong, just accept where you are for the moment; however—if you want to—imagine a crack in the door of resistance, just to allow for joyful, new possibilities to wander in!

Be Open To Results Different Than Planned. When attempting to create profound change, be gentle, have patience, and trust your process.  Transformational change can happen in a second.  It can seem miraculous…

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Copyright Carol Adrienne. All Rights Reserved.

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Wishing you a day filled with wonderful change and transformation!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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