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Your Unique Brilliance

Valerie Rickel

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy that is translated through you;
and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.”

—Martha Graham

An Unexpected Gift from the Sea

I’m living a few blocks from the ocean in the Northeast this summer, and this past week, I was gifted with an unexpected surprise from the sea – a starfish! It had apparently gotten swept up into my garden, during a severe wind and rain storm. (Or, so I thought at the time… I would later learn that a young girl had lovingly placed it there.)

When I found this precious creature, it was dried up and deceased, but nonetheless, a lovely gift for me.

Those who know me well, know that I enjoy living life with a child’s wonder and find immense joy in discovering symbolism and deep meaning in everyday life. I seek out such symbolism. I believe deeply that we are all connected in our vast and miraculous Universe. I absolutely live for synchronicity and signs of the miraculousness of it all.

Starfish quote

I researched the symbolism and significance of starfish and was delighted to discover that they represent spiritual truths, guidance, vigilance, inspiration, intuition, and brilliance. I couldn’t have received a more meaningful and treasured gift, if I’d wished upon a star!

I like to think of my website, SoulfulLiving.com, as my inspiration, my light, my unique brilliance. So, this gift was very special to me. I felt like I had received a gold star from the Universe.

We all have a “Unique Brilliance” — special gifts unique to us alone. Are you living yours? Are you shining your light? Offering your Unique Brilliance to the world? What can you begin today — to begin living and sharing your brilliance, your spiritual truths, your inspiration, your light, your unique gifts, and miraculous expression with the world? Whatever it is, begin it today!

Tell us about it, below. Leave a comment and share your thoughts with our community ♥

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 filled with brilliance and light!!

Soulfully,
Valerie Rickel, Founder
SoulfulLiving.com

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.
 

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Guest Article: Witnessing the Truth About Your Life by Laura Grace

Valerie Rickel

As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
Marianne Williamson

Today, I’m pleased to share one of my favorite articles by SoulfulLiving.com Columnist, Laura V. Grace: “Witnessing the Truth About Your Life.” This article fills me with hope, love, and gratitude every time I read it, and I hope it inspires the same in you.

Laura encourages us to look at the “light” while searching for our Truth — our Highest Good, as it is here where we will find our True Gifts.

Laura Grace is a spiritual counselor and author of “Gifts of the Soul” and “The Intimate Soul.”

I hope you enjoy Laura’s article as much as I have. I’ve created a Visual Inspiration for you, today, too! Enjoy ♥

Laura Grace“Witnessing the Truth About Your Life”
by Laura Grace

When you look at your life, what do you focus on? The eyes of our ego would have us focus upon the problems and challenges we’ve experienced as well as the countless mistakes we’ve made. It takes pleasure from dwelling on suffering, pain and blame. It is attached to the belief that something “out there” can make us happy and lives in the land of regret and loss. The ego’s vision is limited and sees only darkness, separateness and fear.

Yet the truth of who you are and the value of your life cannot be discovered while looking at the darkness. Your reality will only be seen when you choose to look at the light. “Seeing the light” means “understanding;” your highest understanding stems from attesting to the spiritual growth and miracles that have occurred throughout your life.

Take a moment to reflect on your life. How many times have you received gifts of love? How often have you been bestowed with blessings of support, appreciation and opportunities? If you are gazing on the seeming disasters of your life, you are ignoring the gifts that have been given you. If you are willing to look at the gifts, you will see that they are much more than isolated “coincidences.” They are witnesses that speak of genuine love about who you truly are.

Marianne Williamson Quote

A Course in Miracles teaches, “This year, determine not to deny what has been given you by God. Awake and share it for that is the only reason He has called to you. His voice has spoken clearly, and yet you have so little faith in what you heard, because you have preferred to place still greater faith in the disaster you have made. Today, let us resolve together to accept the joyful tidings that disaster is not real and that reality is not disaster.”

In my own life, I can attest to innumerable times where loving support from the invisible spiritual realm has touched my life. Time and time again, I have experienced the power of a higher presence. From outward appearances, it can easily be observed by the transformations in my relationships, work, health, and abundance. But more importantly, it is the amount of peace of mind and unconditional love I experience that makes its presence known from within.

Take a moment to reflect on the “gifts” that you received last year. Include inner gifts such as higher awareness, shifts in perception, letting go of attachment and moments of inner peace. Can you see how these gifts are witnesses that you are not alone, that there is a Presence within you at all times? Can you see how these gifts are testimony that this Presence is willing to guide you each and every step of the way?

It’s a matter of focus. The time has come for us to stop focusing on the illusion that we are somehow lacking in any way. A Course in Miracles reminds us, “Only what we are not giving can be lacking in any situation.” Ask yourself, “What am I withholding from this situation—understanding, forgiveness, love?” It’s never the situation that is the problem; it’s our unwillingness to extend what resides within us that is the issue.

Let us point our gaze inward and upward toward the truth. Each of us has a treasure chest overflowing with gifts of love. Every time you choose to reflect on the blessings you’ve received, you add yet another gift labeled “conviction” and “faith” to your collection. This year, make the commitment to reflect on the light that has illuminated your life. In so doing, you shine the light so others may also see.

Copyright Laura V. Grace. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments about Laura’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 light-filled, purposeful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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The Self Must Know Stillness

Valerie-Collage-Lake

The self must know stillness before it can discover its true song.
—Ralph Brum

I fell in love with this quote when I discovered it and knew immediately that it was perfect for today’s Daily Soul Retreat as we begin to wrap up the final week of our “Life Purpose” theme.

I’m a strong believer in the importance of getting quiet, still, silent, in order to hear the whispers in our heart — our truth — our soul’s calling.

As a society, we’re enveloping ourselves in so much noise, technology, distraction, and chaos that we don’t even realize how overstimulated we’ve become. There is so much external stimulation in our daily worlds, it is nearly impossible for us to connect with our inner selves — our true selves, until we unplug, get quiet, meditate, or go to a place of peacefulness and silence.

For me, I hear my heart stirrings when I am in nature. The photo I used for today’s Inspiration was taken at dusk at a favorite spot of mine — a silent, peaceful lake in the Adirondacks.

I hope today’s Visual Inspiration awakens a stirring inside of you to seek out silence, get still and listen… and discover your true song!

 ADK-Lake-Stillness

Here are a few articles at SoulfulLiving.com on the topics of inner peace and stillness:

“Silence” by Barbara Biziou

“Stillness Speaks” by Eckhart Tolle

“Inner Peace: The Path with Heart” by Diane Dreher

“The Healing Power of Silence” by Robert Rabbin

“Meditation as a Path to Inner Peace” by Jim Dreaver

“A Sanctuary of Stillness” by Genece Hamby

Enjoy!

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 peaceful and purposeful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie Rickel, Founder
SoulfulLiving.com

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.
 

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Guest Article: Are You Living Your Life Purpose?

Valerie Rickel

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
—Carl Jung

I’m very pleased to feature a guest article today by Bruce D. Schneider, Master Certified Coach, licensed psychotherapist, and author of “Relax, You’re Already Perfect: 10 Spiritual Lessons… to Remember.” He is also the founder and director of the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching.

His article, “Are Your Living Your Life Purpose?” offers us thought-provoking questions and engaging exercises to help us determine if we are living our true soul’s calling and life purpose.

And, as a little something extra, I have created a “Purpose-full” Visual Inspiration with today’s Carl Jung quote to help get your weekend started off right! Enjoy!

Carl Jung

Soulful Living

Bruce D. Schneider, Ph. D.Are You Living Your Life Purpose?
By Bruce D. Schneider, PhD

Though we are all one energy force, one mind, and One Spirit, each soul incarnated into a specific form on earth for a unique purpose. We are here to experience different situations and similar situations differently, and to share these experiences with the Universe, our total consciousness. There are many different journeys to share. This is why there is more than one soul experiencing this world.

Your journey is now and exists at this moment, whether you realize it or not. It will be more enjoyable if you consciously pursue your spiritual purpose to bring the world to Love. You do this by expressing Love in whatever you do, and most easily express it when doing what you do best. Consciously following your spiritual purpose brings you ultimate joy, balance, peace, freedom, and happiness.

You have seen them. He is the conductor exuding power and poise as his orchestra performs a beautiful medley. She is the lawyer who fights for her client’s life as if it were her own child on trial. She is the waitress who serves customers with as much enthusiasm and caring as her personal friends. And he is the gas station attendant who still cleans your windshield even when his co-workers won’t. Who are these people? They are spiritual beings who breathe life into their work. They are people who express themselves in what they do, and not simply for financial reward. They do it because they couldn’t do their job any other way. They are living their soul’s purpose and consciously doing what they do with Love, and they are happier than most.

Have you ever felt something missing in your life? If so, this could be the reason: The soul has a twofold purpose in each lifetime: (1) the universal purpose to rediscover itself as Love, and (2) an individual purpose to experience a specific role it can do better or differently than any other soul in a given lifetime. The latter enables the soul to help itself and other souls more easily rediscover Love. In other words, your individual purpose is the best way to promote the universal purpose.

There are no “ideal” jobs. Not every person should be a healer or a teacher. We need conductors, lawyers, waitresses, and gas station attendants. Each person lives his or her purpose by performing his or her job in a spiritually loving way, which reaps the many rewards of a purposeful and relatively stress-free life.

We are special

Each of us can do something totally unique. The challenge is to discover your spiritual “niche” on earth, so you can realize your potential for happiness. If you live untrue to this niche, your energy will be unaligned with the Universal Energy, and you are likely to feel something missing in your life. You’ll experience a feeling of dissonance, which can lead to disease.

Let us suppose, for example, that in this life you can best serve the journey of Love by expressing yourself as a salesperson. But because of your free will, you did not choose that line of work. This can cause “dis-ease” in the form of unhappiness or even physical illness. Disease is a sign you aren’t following a connected life, body, mind, and spirit. Clients who discovered this and how it was best for them to work, achieved more gratification in their lives. Some actually healed their physical conditions just by making certain changes in how they perceived their work. By understanding and living their individual purpose, they filled the void created by a disconnection to the Divine and removed the feeling that something was “missing.”

Application: Hit the lottery and know your purpose

One of the surest ways to know if you are living your purpose is to imagine winning the lottery and having all the money you’ll ever need. If you’d choose to continue doing what you do, it is surely your purpose. The rewards of living your soul’s purpose go far beyond money. If you think you’d retire, you may just be burned out. If you do hit the lottery, take a vacation and then do what you do with Love, instead of just going through the motions. You never need to retire from Love. You can always serve your purpose and enjoy what you are doing and how you are doing it for a lifetime.

When you are connected to your spiritual purpose, your life becomes easier and more satisfying and rewarding. Why? Because you are no longer operating as an isolated individual out of tune with the Universe. Instead, you are working with the Universe, consciously connected to the Universal Mind and utilizing the vast potential of the energy around you. When you find your true purpose, the Universe has no choice but to help you by providing information and energy.

Copyright Bruce D. Schneider, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on today’s Daily Soul Retreat! 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 wonderfully purposeful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Visual Inspiration: You Will Recognize Your Path

Valerie Rickel

“You will recognize your own path when you come upon it,
because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.”

—Jerry Gillies

I enjoyed creating this Visual Inspiration for you, in keeping with our theme of the month, “Life Purpose.”

I took this photo at sunset in Upstate New York on an early spring day. It is of an old farm road, which is flanked on both sides by farm fields dotted with lovingly preserved historic oak trees. It is truly a breathtaking place to visit and sure to make any passerby take pause to drink in its beauty.

I love this quote, because I have found it to be so true in my life. I always know when I am on my purposeful path, because I will suddenly find myself gifted with an unstoppable flow of energy and imagination. Do you find that to be true, too?

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with our community ♥

Path

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 filled with lots of energy and imagination!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.
 

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Guest Blog: The Power of Passionate Work by Gregg Levoy

Valerie Rickel

It’s my pleasure to share a guest blog with you today by best-selling author of the book, Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, Gregg Levoy.

This article, “The Power of Passionate Work, is one of my favorites that I have published at SoulfulLiving.com. He also authored the article, “The Power of Pilgrimage,” that you might also enjoy reading.

I hope you enjoy Gregg’s article as much as I have!

Gregg Levoy“The Power of Passionate Work”
by Gregg Levoy

I used to be a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer, back in my 20’s, and after working there for a the better part of a decade, I reached a threshold — the word in this case having a double meaning as both a point of transition and a measurement of my tolerance for pain.

At this threshold I began hearing a calling to quit my job and become a freelance writer, a decision that’s not exactly designed to reassure your parents, and one that I couldn’t bring myself to make for years anyway, though the gods were drumming their fingers, and though I was slowly overripening and rotting on the vine.

Like most people, however, I will not follow a calling until the fear of doing so is finally exceeded by the pain of not doing so, though I am routinely appalled at how high a threshold I have for this quality of pain. But eventually the prospect of emotional and even financial turmoil, the disapproval of others, and the various conniptions of change seemed preferable to the psychological death I was experiencing by staying put — at which point I followed a bit of cowboy wisdom: when your horse dies, get off!

Callings by Gregg LevoyStill, like anyone who chooses passion over security, I was plagued by the fear that scares away sleep. And it wasn’t that I finally overcame the fear. It was that something else became more important than the fear. I still sweated through leaving behind a regular paycheck, medical benefits, a pension coming in two years, the prestige of being a big fish in a good-sized pond, and that wonderful organizational budget that can take up the slack created by almost any amount of individual goofing off: clock-watching, coming in to work late and leaving early, extra-long lunches, indiscriminate wastes of supplies, and those sick days I came back from with a tan. These are standard behaviors exhibited by people who feel about their jobs the way they felt about their senior year in high school: psychologically out-the-door, but punching in Monday through Friday just to collect the diploma.

The ancient Romans used to say that the Fates lead those who will, and those who won’t they drag. My own experience has also taught me that those who get dragged tend to put a drag on others, and if those others are the people they work with and for, you’ve got your basic lose-lose situation.

Passion and productivity

Creating passionate, productive and callings-inspired work and workplaces begins with the individual, with the corpus (body) that defines the corporation. It involves the sometimes pick-and-shovel work of aligning or re-aligning with your passion and sense of purpose, with your deepest values rather than just the advertised values, and with a fit between who you are and what you do, which I consider the best kind of success. The more passionate you are, the more productive — the more you desire to produce — and the less hot condensed breath managers will need to leave on the back of your neck.

In fact, any leap you want to make in your professional or personal life that will bring you this sense of alignment and aliveness is, by definition, a calling. That calling could be to leave your job altogether or come to it in a new way, to take on a new role or let go of an old one, to make a creative leap or launch a new venture or style of leadership, or to simply make the kind of course-correction in your life or work that will make your life literally “come true.”

And what goes for the individual goes for the company you keep. If it is challenging to walk your talk, to honor your mission and your values, to reconcile your visions with your resources, to juggle the higher calling and the bottom line, it is exponentially more so for the corporate body-politic of which each employee is a single cell.

But the more we as individuals address these issues and conundrums in our lives, the more we encourage our corporations to do the same. There is a reason why some of the world’s great myths, like Sleeping Beauty and the Grail King, speak to the idea that when we sleep, those around us also sleep and the kingdom goes dormant, but when we awaken, those around us also awaken and the kingdom flowers.

Work is merely one of the arenas in which we play The Game — the one that the gods are watching from their press-box atop Mount Olympus, sipping mint juleps. It is only one of the arenas (along with relationship, community, sports and spirituality, among others) in which we express our humanity, search for meaning, play out our destinies and our dreams, contribute our energies and gifts to the world, and spend our precious nick of time. But it is also an arena in which we spend two-thirds of our waking lives, most of us, and it is legitimate to love our work! Life is a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves, Nietzsche said…

Continue Reading “The Power of Passionate Work”

Copyright Gregg Levoy. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Gregg’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 passionately purposeful day!!

Soulfully,

Valerie Rickel, Founder
SoulfulLiving.com




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Visual Inspiration for the Full Moon

Valerie-Collage-Moon

Today, I offer you a little something special in honor of our gorgeous July Full Moon… It’s a “Visual Inspiration” to help inspire your day… and night!

I had fun creating this Visual Inspiration. This photo was taken last summer at a lake in the Adirondacks of New York. A friend and I were driving home after dinner one evening, and, when I caught a glimpse of the reflection of the full moon on the water between the trees that lined the road, the photographer in me shouted out to my friend, “Stop the truck!!” We walked quite a distance to find just the right vantage point for these photos. A city girl by nature, I was in awe of the moon’s beauty reflected in the peaceful, still lake that night. Blissful!

Happy Full Moon! Enjoy ♥

Rumi Quote

Here are some fantastic books on the subject of the moon:

“Moon Watchers Companion” by Donna Henes

“The Moon Book: Fascinating Facts about the Magnificent Mysterious Moon” by Kim Long

“The Moon: Myth and Image” by Jules Cashford

“The Moon” by Michael Carlowicz

Soulful-Musings-Icon

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 blissful and purposeful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.
 

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Guest Article: Living On Purpose by Dan Millman

Valerie Rickel

There is no path to Happiness. Happiness is the path.
There is no path to Love. Love is the path.
There is no path to Peace. Peace is the path.
-Dan Millman

It’s my pleasure to share a guest article with you today by best-selling author Dan Millman. Dan is well known for his “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” work and his book by the same name, as well as his other best-sellers, “The Life You Were Born to Live,” “Living on Purpose,” and his newest book, “The Four Purposes of Life: Finding Meaning and Direction in a Changing World.”

Today, I offer you a double dose of inspiration. I’ve created a Visual Inspiration for you, too, with one of my favorite quotes by Dan Millman. Enjoy! ♥

Dan Millman - Way of the Peaceful Warrior “Living On Purpose”
by Dan Millman

Years ago, I met a peaceful warrior in an all-night gas station. His name was Socrates, and he once told me, “I’ve noticed three kinds of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who wonder what happened.” Back then I was a skilled athlete, making things happen. But outside the gym — when I faced real-world dilemmas and decisions — I mostly watched and wondered. And I was not alone.

Many of us live our lives by accident — stumbling into relationships, wandering into careers, searching for meaning, hoping and praying that we’ll get lucky in love, find our fortune, and stay healthy. I spent years like this, living at random, until I learned to live on purpose. My education began the first time I asked Socrates a question. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s the House Rules.” The “House” is Life, the Tao, the Universe, Reality; the “Rules” are universal laws or guiding principles. The House Rules presented in my book, “Living On Purpose,” — distilled lessons from the school of life — provide reliable strategies for living wisely and well.

Purposeful living embraces both reason and faith. Reason provides clear goals, while faith and intuition teach us to trust the process of our lives. The Taoist sages remind us that flexibility overcomes rigidity — and just as a rushing stream flows around obstacles, so must our purposes adapt to the changing tides of life. Therefore, the House Rules are not rote formulas, but flexible reminders. In living on purpose and acting on principle we become like bamboo — strong yet supple — yielding to the forces we encounter, then snapping back on track.

Dan Millman

My responses seem to come not so much from me, but through me. I do not, however, channel any discarnate warrior-sages from the fifth dimension, chat with God, or transcribe the dictations of astral guides. I claim only a gift of expression, an intuitive ability to apply the House Rules, and an open heart. As the proverb goes, “There are no secrets where there’s love.”

Test these House Rules in your own experience; tailor them to fit your particular circumstance. You will find that they point the way to greater productivity, creativity, and fun, and show us how to live a more spiritual life in the material realm… Continue Reading “Living on Purpose”

Copyright Dan Millman. All Rights Reserved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on today’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 and purposeful day!!

Soulfully,

Valerie Rickel, Founder
SoulfulLiving.com




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Visual Inspiration: The Two Most Important Days in Your Life

Valerie Rickel


“The two most important days in your life are the
day you are born and the day you find out why.”
―Mark Twain

Today, I offer you a Visual Inspirational Quote in keeping with our theme of the month, “Life Purpose,” to help inspire your Friday and your weekend!

I had fun creating this Visual Inspiration. I took this photo in the Adirondacks of New York State last summer. It was a warm, balmy summer day, and I was living up the road from this lake in a cabin for the summer. A friend and I were enjoying a lovely, sunny afternoon at this quiet beach cove when suddenly the sky changed, got moody, and then cast the most marvelous rays of pink light on the lake that transformed the water into satin. I can still remember the peaceful, calm, stillness of the moment as if it were yesterday. I felt a shift — a transformation inside of me. It was the perfect day — an important day — an Eternal moment in time.

I love this quote by Mark Twain, so I couldn’t resist putting the two together. I hope you enjoy today’s Visual Inspiration!

I’d love to hear about an important and meaningful day in your life… What made the day special for you? Any insights into “why you are here”? Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts with our community ♥

Mark-Twain

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 perfect and purposeful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.
 

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Guest Article: Honoring Your Inspirations by Gail McMeekin

Valerie Rickel

“To be creative means to be in love with life.
You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to
enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a
little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”

–Osho

It’s my pleasure to share a guest article with you today by best-selling author, creative success expert, and creativity coach, Gail McMeekin, MSW.

Her article, “Honoring Your Inspirations,” is excerpted from her first book, The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor, which has been my personal “portable creative mentor” for years.

overcomingcreativeobstacles I was very honored to have Gail contribute her fabulous MP3 Workshop, “Overcoming Creative Obstacles” to our Soul Retreat Gift Pack. (You can scroll down below to learn how to obtain your gift!)

I hope you enjoy Gail’s article as much as I have!

Gail McMeekin MSW

“Honoring Your Inspirations”
by Gail McMeekin

The journey to life purpose begins with a dance with your creative self. The answers are within you if you engage with your inspirations and dare to follow your fascinations. In order to access your creativity, you must validate and capture your inspirations. These inspirations are precious seedlings awaiting nurturance which will shine the light on the pathway to expressing your true self and partnering with your passions.

It all begins with attraction. Creative inspirations seduce us with the power of a magnet. They lure you, charm you, tempt you, and captivate your attention. Whether it’s an idea, a notion, a hunch, a whim, an impulse, a thought, an intuition, a sensation, or a feeling, an inspiration can be any stimulus that pulls you into your creative self. Like passion, creative attractions can be tantalizing. Uniquely yours, inspirations invite you into the world of creative possibility. How do you respond when an inspiration beckons? Do you accept the invitation or discount it? By honoring a personal impulse and following where it leads, creativity is born.

In my correspondence with cantadora, Jungian analyst, and author Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, best known for her blockbuster book, Women Who Run with the Wolves, when I asked her to describe her creative awakening, she replied: “I was born awake in this one way. In my opinion, anyone born in a creatively awakened condition deserves both congratulations and condolences.” To the question, “Where do you get your ideas,” she responded: “I do not have ideas. Ideas have me.” Inviting your creative inspirations into your consciousness alters the course of your life. Being willing to be creatively awake is a choice and not always an easy one. If we choose to invest in our creative self, challenges lie in wait. If we follow our inspirations, we align ourselves with our life force and pursue a path that emanates from our very being.

Inspiration is not just the domain of the ingenious. As innovation consultant Pam Moore says, ” We all have the software to be creative; we’ve just forgotten how to use it.” By keeping our intuitive channels and our senses open to discovery, we can capture our unique inspirations. However, that’s easier said than done. In the madness of this frantic workaholic era, it is far too easy to rush by the roses and never see the world around you. Too many women are overwhelmed by the awesome responsibilities of home, work, and relationships, and have lost touch with their creative voice.

In order to relate to your environment and capture your innocent thoughts or visions, you need to listen, observe, and stay centered. This capacity to linger in the unknown and see what happens is the passage to your creative self.

In addition to receptivity and time, we must also grant ourselves the freedom to play creatively. Painter Michelle Cassou, founder of an original approach to creative painting described in her book, Life, Paint, and Passion, and co-founder of The Painting Experience Studio in San Francisco, urges aspiring creatives to “recover the capacity to invent that you had as a child.” In fact, as a young French woman, Michelle searched unsuccessfully for the right art school and was even advised to give up painting. Luckily, at the age of nineteen, she discovered The Free Expression School in Paris for children ages five to fourteen and wept with delight. Forsaking traditional art school, Michelle simply painted with the children for three and a half years, basking in their freedom and lack of judgment. As a result, she unlocked her own creative potential. Today, her collection of paintings is breathtaking and she continues to paint prolifically. When she moved to America, she opened The Painting Experience workshops where she offers the richness of uncensored expression to all participants. Had Michelle not listened to her attraction for painting and surmounted the obstacles in her path, including academics telling her to quit, she would have forsaken her true work and her inner self.  Continue Reading…

Copyright Gail McMeekin. All Rights Reserved.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on Gail’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 purposeful and passionately creative day!!

Soulfully,

Valerie Rickel, Founder
SoulfulLiving.com




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Living on Purpose: Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choirs

Valerie Rickel

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
-Rumi

I’m so excited about today’s Daily Soul Retreat because it brings such an enormous smile to my face, and I know it will bring one to yours, too! Today, I offer you the beautiful Virtual Choirs conducted by Eric Whitacre, music composer and conductor, who has produced musical magic on YouTube.

I think Eric is a beautiful example of a person who is living their life’s purpose, greatest passion, and Highest good. Watch the virtual musical creations he has manifested, and I think you will agree. Inspiring, magical, wondrous… Eric’s Virtual Choirs are awe-inspiring examples of how the internet and the vision of one person can bring the world together in an incredibly harmonious and inspired way. I hope you enjoy today’s videos, as much as I have!


Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir – ‘Lux Aurumque’


Eric Whitacre – Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 2.0, ‘Sleep’


Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 3, ‘Water Night’


Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise

Eric Whitacre Virtual Choirs
Eric Whitacre’s TED Talk, in which he discusses the creation of “Lux Aurumque.”

 

If you’re feeling inspired, I’d love to have you leave a comment below!

purple-daily-soul-retreat-pAlso, be sure to pick up your special gift 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 haven’t yet picked yours up, click here for all the details.

Wishing you a melodic and purposeful day!!

Valerie Rickel
Founder and Soul
SoulfulLiving.com

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Guest Blog: Living Purposefully with the Help of Meditation

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I’m pleased to be able to share a guest blog by one of SoulfulLiving.com’s long-time columnists, Rob Ragozzine, Numerologist, radio host, and author of our column, What’s Your Number?

Today, Rob shares a special article and an audio with us about Tonglen Meditation and how it can help us to live a more purposeful life.

I hope you enjoy Rob’s article and audio as much as I have!


Rob Ragozzine“Living Purposefully with the Help of Meditation”

By Rob Ragozzine

I’m often asked, “How can I find my purpose?” This is a very important question. Many of us have it buried within our hearts. But, we often don’t spend enough time contemplating it. We ask the question, and then let it slip away. We need to hold onto this question, as contemplating it adds vitality, depth and meaning to our lives. Understanding your purpose is a process of finding out who you are and that can be a life-long process.

I believe that we are all seeking to live out our life purpose, even if we do not yet know what it is. We feel a deep yearning to bring change, healing and vitality into the world. We feel called to action. I feel that when we start to act on our yearning, then we are truly fulfilling our purpose. Fulfilling our purpose helps to add color and meaning to our lives.

One way to better understand your purpose is to work with Numerology. In Numerology your purpose can be seen through your Core Numbers and your Life Path Number. As you may already know, the Life Path is about finding your place within the world. Following its guidance can help you to find your purpose. What do you want to do with your life? What do you feel called to change or create? The Life Path number helps you to begin answering these questions. Honoring your Life Path requires real and honest work on your part. When you’re living up to your fullest potential, and not hiding or dragging your feet, you’re living life through the power of your Life Path.

Part of living purposefully is understanding that you may have challenges, fears and doubts. As you learn more about yourself you can get a better handle on those things or situations that trigger you. But, instead of hiding or retreating, you can find a way to bring more stability and serenity into your life. Learning and working regularly with meditation techniques can help you to achieve this.

One meditation technique that I feel is very helpful is Tonglen. It’s a meditation practice that allows you to transform issues as you breathe in and out. Buddhist nun, author and teacher Pema Chodron talks about this technique extensively. She says, “The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering-ours and that which is all around us-everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart.”

In order to truly have compassion for others, we have to first have developed compassion for ourselves. You’ve probably heard this, or something similar, many times throughout your life. But, working with Tonglen can help you to more fully appreciate it. Tonglen allows you to take a moment to connect with an issue and transform the pain connected to it. You start with doing the process for yourself and gradually work up to including family and friends. But it starts with caring for yourself first. Once you can honestly care for yourself, then you are prepared to support others.

With Tonglen, you have the opportunity to breathe in pain and breathe out freedom and joy. Tonglen isn’t a process you take on lightly. Understand that every breath is an opportunity to transform. Also, it’s important to know that you’re not storing anything within yourself. Instead, you’re visualizing the issue as being changed and transformed within your heart.

Listen to Rob’s “Introduction to Tonglen Meditation” Audio

Before proceeding, you may wish to spend some time in quiet reflection to consider whether it feels okay to do this practice. Also, find a way to respect and honor the values and practices of other people and cultures when you do this practice. They may have values and beliefs that are very different than your own.

Be patient and don’t feel as if you must work with Tonglen. Perhaps, you might first need to learn more about your purpose and develop greater compassion for yourself. When you feel like it is appropriate to work with Tonglen, you can begin. Use your discernment, judgement and wisdom. If healing within yourself needs to take place first, then allow for the healing of whatever needs to be healed.

Proceed at your own pace. But, know that you don’t have to stay with any particular negative feeling. You can transform it for yourself and others who are experiencing the same thing. For instance, instead of being stuck in uncertainty about a choice you’re making, use Tonglen to see any issues around it being transformed.  See any fears or doubts changed into joy and acceptance.

Over time you’ll be able to work with Tonglen to work through your issues, instead of feeling blocked, confused or stuck. Your work can help you to step ever more deeply into your purpose. We all have the ability to achieve our dreams and reach our goals.

Don’t let your doubts or insecurities hold you back. As you mature, develop and step more fully into your purpose, you’ll begin to recognize wonderful qualities, skills, and abilities deep within you that were always there. But, to see them clearly, you needed to first accept your purpose and the call of your heart. You will discover that you can use these abilities to live a purposeful and meaningful life.

Copyright 2013 Rob Ragozzine.

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

Wishing you a meditative and purposeful day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie




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Imagine Your Life as a Painting

Valerie

“Imagine your life as a painting and yourself as the artist.
Every morning when you awaken, pick your color palette
and paint the life of your dreams.”
—Valerie Rickel

I’m excited to offer you a Life Purpose-themed “Visual Inspiration” to help inspire your day!

The quote I’ve chosen for today’s Visual Inspiration is very meaningful to me, as I have recited some iteration of these inspirational words to myself as an affirmation, nearly every morning for the last 13 years, since leaving my full-time career to pursue my greater purpose and passions.

We are each the creator of our life. In every moment, in every second, every single day, we are creating (“painting/writing”) the story of our life.

Every new day offers us a new opportunity to create a life of our dreams. A life of purpose, passion – a life in which we are honoring our Higher Calling and living our Highest Good.

Create the Life of Your Dreams

But, sometimes, it doesn’t seem that way — it can feel as though our life and our destiny are not in our hands, within our control. We may feel powerless — even blocked by obstacles that feel impenetrable. But, there is always an answer, always a solution, always a way — a path or steps we can take to move forward with our lives. Perhaps a dear friend or even a kind stranger will help us.

Creating a purposeful life requires work and may not always be easy. While other times, we may find that things flow and unfold effortlessly. We just need to trust and know that if we are moving toward our Highest Good, doors will open, the right people will show up, and we will find the strength and courage to do the work and make the necessary changes in our life to create our purposeful life.

The photo (top right, in the collage) that I “Photoshopped” to create (“paint”) today’s Visual Inspiration is very special to me. This beautiful white-washed barn stands with several other gorgeous old structures on a lovely and very isolated rural road in the middle of rural New York. It is a place I like to frequent often. There is a sacredness to this spot that I felt the very first time I discovered it. I knew immediately that I needed to tread lightly, honor and give thanks to the land, as I traveled down this special road. This feeling rushes over me every time I visit, during every season, to photograph the beauty there. And, I am often moved to tears.

When I visit this sacred spot and photograph the beauty there, I am living my bliss. I feel it in my body. I feel it in my heart. I feel it in my soul. I just know. This is my passion, my calling, my purpose — to be living in this beautiful region — photographing the amazing beauty that I find here — the beauty that makes my heart sing!

It took courage — a LOT of it — to make the move from Los Angeles, where I lived my whole life, to rural Upstate New York three years ago. It was a move I had wanted to make for nearly a decade. I had a lot of “walls” (obstacles) to break through/go around and a LOT of work to do. And, I may not have ever been able to make the move, had it not been for a wonderful friend, who was a great inspiration, and who made the move possible for me.

I had a dream — a vision for my life — and, while it took quite a number of years to make it come true, I did, indeed, create the life of my dreams.

And, I believe you can, too.

What makes your heart sing? What brings you bliss? What moves you so deeply that it brings you to tears? What does the “life of your dreams” look like?

What can you do today? What colors and brushes can you pick up today, as the artist of your life — to begin painting this picture for your life — to create a life so magical that you will pinch yourself every morning when you arise? A life that brings tears of happiness to your eyes and makes your heart and soul sing with joy. Whatever the answer may be, just do it — DO IT TODAY!

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.

———

I’d love to hear what will you do today — what colors and brushes you will choose – to begin painting the life of your dreams. 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 blissfully creative and purposeful day!!

Valerie Rickel
Founder and Soul
SoulfulLiving.com

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P.S. If you missed the Introduction to Our “All New” Daily Soul Retreat, you can read it here.




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The Purpose of Your Life is To Be Present

Valerie Rickel

“You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are.”
Eckhart Tolle

I’m very excited to share today’s Daily Soul Retreat with you. It is a wonderful lecture by Eckhart Tolle, the best-selling author of The Power of Now, explaining what living your life purpose is at its very core — to be present — to be aligned with the now.

I hope you enjoy Eckhart Tolle’s deep, philosophical wisdom and genius as much as I do.

If we are present in every moment, we are living our truest purpose, according to Tolle. He makes it sound so simple! I challenge you, today, to find your life purpose… in the present moment!

(Hint, this entire full-length video is magnificent, however, if you would like to fast forward to the topic of “Life Purpose,” you’ll find it at 25:16)

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If you enjoyed the video, you might also enjoy two articles by Eckhart Tolle we have published at SoulfulLiving.com:  You Are Not Your Mind and Stillness Speaks.

And, if you’re feeling inspired, I’d love to have you leave a comment below!

Also, be sure to pick up your special gift 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 haven’t yet picked yours up, click here for all the details.

Wishing you a purposeful and present day!!

Soulfully,

Valerie Rickel
Founder and Soul
SoulfulLiving.com

 

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Life Purpose: Visual Inspiration

Valerie-Collage-2-Sunset

Today, I offer you something a little different for our Daily Soul Retreat. In keeping with our theme of the month, Life Purpose… It’s a “Visual Inspiration” to help inspire your day!

I had a lot of fun creating this Visual Inspiration. Deeply inspired by the message of this quote by author Justine Willis Toms, I set about finding just the right photograph and type font to bring this quote to life and convey its beautiful meaning.

Justine Toms with her Husband, Michael Toms, are authors of the classic book, True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do. Michael passed away earlier this year. He and Justine are co-founders of the highly acclaimed radio program, New Dimensions, which still broadcasts today and is the longest-running independently produced interview program in the history of public radio, featuring leading-edge thinkers, scientists, artists, healers, ecologists, spiritual leaders, and social architects in award winning, deep dialogues.

I hope you enjoy today’s Visual Inspiration… Feel free to share with your friends ♥

Life Purpose

And, if you’re feeling inspired, I’d love to have you leave a comment!

Be sure to pick up your special gift 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 haven’t yet picked yours up, click here for all the details.

Wishing you a joyously exuberant day!!

Soulfully,
Valerie

© 2013 Valerie Rickel. All Rights Reserved.
 

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