Tag Archives: #empowerment

The Artscape of Emotion

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Whether flashes of joy, celebration, fear, overwhelming passions, or the arduous journey of self-exploration, feelings create an artscape through which we must travel. Emotions add flavor and nuance to the journey of awakening.

When seemingly untenable feelings arise, it’s empowering to turn toward them. The light of your consciousness is transformative and facing your shadows begins the process of deeper self understanding. You are right where you need to be. Whatever is unfolding in your experience contains gifts that will allow you to shine. By honoring your pilgrimage as sacred, you can drop the ego-driven belief that something is wrong.

It’s healthy to observe and feel deeply; however, it’s equally healthy to cultivate the ability to recognize when the voice of ego is in play. It will always jump to ones deepest subconscious fear and amplify it; therefore, feel with understanding. Feel with purpose. Feel to cultivate compassion for all sentient beings who seek fulfillment, peace and balance in their experience.

Earth can be a challenging playground. The paradoxes of humanness are storied, and yet absolutely required for the artscape of your unique adventure. All of life participates in your awakening. Realize how far you have come. You are amazing.

The Gift of Adversity

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When your focus is on higher consciousness, problems seem to solve themselves… or your shift in perception may show you that they weren’t problems in the first place.
In the midst of challenges, the human mind wants to respond with blame and self-justification. Once we’re caught in the drama of desires, opinion and judgments, we are relating to one another from the limited viewpoint of the human condition and only limitation and distress can follow.
When we work to create greater awareness within ourselves, we relate to one another from the realm of spaciousness and love – holding the knowledge that we can traverse the levels of consciousness and ultimately move from conflict to communion. Empowerment comes by quieting the mind and going within.

Nothing in your life should have been any different than it was. There are no mistakes, only opportunities to discover your strengths and abilities. When we choose acceptance rather than resistance, life becomes a series of possibilities.

Everyone participates in this sacred process of discovery. Treat each person you meet as a disciple of love and wisdom. Bring patience to the process of growth – it often takes lifetimes to completely break free of limiting patterns.

In the end, we discover the truth of Oneness and celebrate the infinite potential of all beings.

Facing Challenges

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“The spiritual practice of relationships is about working on ourselves only, freeing ourselves from the constricting grip of our own unhappiness. It is not the other person’s job to take our unhappiness away; our discomfort is our own responsibility. Attending to our own spiritual tasks – seeing our judgments, opinions, beliefs, demands, and staying present with the fears out of which they all arise – frees others to move toward us. Then, when they no longer feel the need to defend, they become more willing to take care of their job. Thus joy in relationships becomes possible.”   
~Ezra Bayda~   

When challenges arise, turn inward and pay attention. Whether found in health, relationships, finances or within your spiritual practice, you are ready for something transformative to enter your life. Facing challenges consciously accelerates your awakening. Your willingness to be an active participant in your growth guarantees expansive movement in your experience.

Be kind to yourself. You will have moments of brilliance as well as moments when you miss the mark. Empowerment calls upon each of us to take personal responsibility for our current state of consciousness so that we can engage life with an open heart.

Trust the processes of awakening and know that you have the fortitude to conquer fear… not only rising above it, but shattering the old beliefs and patterns that created it in the first place.

Creating Joy

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“I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments, gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith.”
~Brené Brown~

Your thoughts create your reality. Plant seeds of kindness and gratitude and nurture them in ways that support your own peace, power, growth,  and transformation. Consider any limiting thoughts to be weeds which must be removed quickly before they multiply and take over the garden of your creation.

You can manifest joy in your experience Now. This moment is the gateway to transformation. No matter what your circumstance, remember that happiness comes from within. Choose to find it in the little things and observe how it expands outward.

Whatever is unfolding in the field of your life’s expression is exactly what your soul requires for awakening. Intensity, peacefulness, solitude or throngs of activity, frustration or flow – all are a manifestation of the Divine. Bring the best version of yourself to the present moment and the future will take care of itself.

Sometimes, deep in the uncertain cacophony of life, a skyward glance to appreciate the clouds or stars will remind you of the continuity that exists. You are one with this permanence. You are infinite. You are love.

Change Comes From Within

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“Strong emotional reactions always signal the need to look more deeply at your beliefs.”
~Ezra Bayda~
No matter what challenges you may face, you hold the key to transformation. As you embrace new ways of being and thinking, your experiences change. The higher your consciousness, the greater your perspective.
Remember this: when your ego tries to tell you that you’ve tried everything and nothing works, you haven’t. There is always something new to learn and freedom awaits. Persistence on the spiritual path will eventually lead you to discover the ease and grace that comes from living consciously.
So, if you’d like to transform your work (or relationship or living condition), begin by changing the thoughts that create anxiety or displeasure. Choose to create joy in your experience and love where you are. The result? You’ll experience peace and clarity, perhaps realizing the situation is more pleasant than previously thought, or your positive attitude and energy will be powerfully focused on creating a new situation.
The greatest human error is to complain without positive action, thus creating a prison. When you recognize prisons you have created, it’s empowering to discover that you hold the key… and the door was never locked.

The Purpose of Existence

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“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

~Eleanor Roosevelt~

All of existence participates in this sacred dance of life and awakening. Never doubt that you bring something beautiful and unique to our collective experience. Feelings of wholeness, empowerment and mastery can be expressed when you have true knowledge of your own value.

As we learn through contrast, watching the play of dark and light, we come to realize that we can transcend duality and live in a way that is expansive. Dive deeply, delve into the truths of your soul and discover that you are far greater than you the role you play. When you bring conscious awareness to your life experience, it takes on new meaning.

Light seeks to express itself through you… how you love or smile or reach out to another. Once you’ve transformed into a conduit for Divine energy, your life becomes a gift that is shared in powerful ways. This is the purpose of existence. Be courageous enough to step into the realm of pure potential. Here, in the gap between thoughts, between breaths, resides infinite possibility.

Outward Expressions of Peace

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“When you do the right thing, you get the feeling of peace and serenity associated with it. Do it again and again.”
~Roy T. Bennett~

Everyone has a unique way of being in the world. Throughout your search for enlightenment and fulfillment, consider the energy that you bring to your life situation. The awakening soul seeks ways to demonstrate non-reactivity with the understanding that change (both personal and collective) must come from within.

Outward expressions of peace might include holding space for another when they struggle with a challenge, choosing to refrain from gossip, opinion or judgment, or kindnesses when no one is watching. Your life can be a statement of love and compassion.

Seek only to bring the best version of yourself to the present moment. Look for those who see a need and respond consciously – these are your people. Our shared responsibility, our shared vision, can be the turning point that is so desperately needed. Yes, there will always be young souls who thrive on conflict, anger and the need for power. But so too, will there always be enlightened ones who teach by example.

Whatever choice you make, let it come from a deep sense of who you are. Authenticity is the foundation of empowerment.

 

Personal Responsibility

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Blame is often used as a tool of avoidance and solidifies victim consciousness. We project energy at another person, situation or idea to distract ourselves from looking within. Since the world is our reflection, circumstances will often arise to provide an opportunity for us to recognize what we’ve spend a lifetime trying to avoid. It’s important to remember that the core of life’s practice is awakening. We can only reach that state by stepping into personal responsibility.

Empowerment requires that we face our fears. Until we do so, they will block our ability to love. Personal responsibility operates through several different levels of experience. It brings mindfulness to the way you choose to respond to the present moment and a heightened awareness of your self-talk. It allows you to walk through life with the understanding that every situation and person has something to teach – and because you operate from that mindset, you accelerate your own awakening.

Once we take responsibility for our own state of consciousness, we begin to realize that what we have considered to be “reality” is merely a reflection of how we see the world, what we expect, what we believe, or what we fear. When we choose to surrender to a situation, stop trying to force those around us to change and go within for the answers, we begin to heal.

Creating the Momentum of Change

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“When stuck in apathy, procrastination, or the morass of depression, choose one small task and complete it mindfully. Momentum will follow.”
~Ezra Bayda~

Sometimes the changes we seek to create in the world (and within ourselves) seem daunting or overwhelming. Discomfort arises when we begin to realize that something needs to shift and, of course, the ego-mind immediately jumps in with momentum to stop dialogue; however, you have the ability to create powerful changes in your experience.

Bring your focus to the end result and celebrate the fact that if you can visualize it with passion, you can draw in what you wish. Rather than fighting what you perceive as “wrong”, purposefully feed your energy into what inspires you as you create positive changes.

Most people do not realize how powerful they are. Making even one small positive change can shift the momentum of your life. Set an intention and speak it out loud in the present tense as you set the tone for the day. Then support your intention by ensuring that your thoughts, words and actions are all in alignment. And finally, be willing to receive with the knowledge that you are a powerful co-creator of your experience.

The Fog of Illusion

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“When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”

~Eckhart Tolle~

The mind loves to have issues to fix. It keeps life complicated and thus reinforces the fog of illusion in which many reside. There are many paths to wholeness, but the simplest truths are the answer to life’s most challenging questions.

All problems of humankind are created by a lack of consciousness. Resist nothing – what you fight, you strengthen. Rather than criticize, accept. Embrace what is and create inner balance prior to taking action. Begin your day with gratitude and let your actions be led by love.
Humans are paradoxical by nature, a blend of light and dark. Rather than denying one side verses the other, we must integrate all the facets of our humanness and bring them into the light of consciousness. Seeing oneself clearly is an important aspect of enlightenment.
You’ll feel more empowered when you are spiritually healthy and balanced. The world around you will act as a reflection, showing you your grace and progress on the path of transformation.