It's All About Joy!

No Boredom Here! (Guest Post at Erasing the Bored!)

SuZen over at Erasing the Bored very kindly invited me to guest post on her site, so that's where the party's at this week!

Let me warn you, though, that while SuZen is known for writing some pretty funny posts, she let me do my Megan thing and write whatever came naturally. So this post is about the unhealthy relationships we sometimes find ourselves in, and doing better for ourselves. It's about reclaiming great relationships once and for all. 

Now get going over to Erasing the Bored!

Click here for Erasing the Bored

Click here for Erasing the Bored

(PS - I'm closing comments on this post, so instead, please feel free to spread love on hers!)

A Study in Sibling Reverie

I spent last weekend with my oldest brother and his family, as my brother completed an ultra-marathon. This particular ultra-marathon was 50 miles of nonstop running, and it would be my brother’s first time running more than 31 miles in one stretch.

He decided this past spring that he would do it, and began training, losing weight (not that he needed to, but MY GOD he’s in phenomenal shape now), and preparing in every way imaginable. Last month when he ran a marathon in the city I live in, we talked about what the 50-miler might feel like. He was nervous about how his feet would hold up, what his body would do, etc. I told him that he didn’t have to be a hero, and if he decided he wanted to stop running at any point along the course, he should do so with a clear conscience. He wouldn’t hear it, though; he had to finish.

And finish he did! He ran for nine hours last Saturday, and completed all 50 miles with his feet intact, a smile on his face and only the slightest utterance of “I think I might throw up” when he initially crossed the finish line.

WOW! Watching him set that goal and accomplish it got me thinking about all the cool things I’ve learned from my brother in the past few years. Tenacity and endurance are just two of those things. A few others that stand out are:

1.    Aging: It’s not just wine that gets better with age. My oldest brother looks the best he’s ever looked, and he just turned 40. Truth be told, he looks more like he’s in his 20’s to me. How does he do that?

2.    Airborne: The best soapbox my oldest brother ever got on was professing the genius of Airborne to prevent colds. That was about five years ago, and I swear by the stuff now. I travel with it, keep a spare roll at home, and any time I feel even the slightest bit “off,” I pop a tablet or two during the day and end up feeling fine, even when the rest of the world is dropping around me like flies.

3.    Surprise Gifts are AWESOME!: My brother is the type of guy who surprised his wife with a first-time European trip for their ten-year anniversary. She had no idea what was happening until he started driving her to the airport. I’ve always loved my brother’s sense of romance and adventure. Well, it’s not just his wife who gets to enjoy his generosity and surprises. My brother is constantly giving me really cool gifts he thinks I’ll like, whether they’re things I’ve mentioned wanting, asked to borrow (including an iPod for a cross-country flight --- instead of lending me his, he surprised me with my own!), or that he thinks I “must have” (a subscription to Entertainment Weekly was just added to that list, along with the first two seasons of 30 Rock on DVD). I’ve loved surprises since I was a little girl, so as an adult I really appreciate that I get to partake in my brother’s knack for knocking people’s socks off in the gift department.

4.    Some Relationships Take Time: Funny enough, my brother and I weren’t always close. Growing up, I idolized him, but in our 20’s we didn’t see eye to eye on much of anything. There was even a time when I thought we’d missed our chance at having a close relationship as adults. But a couple years ago, we started talking more, and really got to know each other. I felt more comfortable sharing my authentic self with him, and think he did, as well. Today we’re closer than I ever dreamed possible, and I love spending time with him, which just goes to show that some relationships simply need more time in order to blossom.

If you had asked me ten years ago if I’d ever write with such reverie about my oldest brother, I probably would have said no. Yet here I am, singing his praises and feeling grateful that he’s part of my family. I have another totally awesome brother I don’t see as often as I’d like (but there’s still time to change that), and a phenomenal cousin in Seattle who also deserves praise, but I’ll save that for another day.

What about you? What joyful types of things have you learned from your siblings, or if you’re an only child, from a friend who’s like a sibling?

Giving Our All

There are many times in my life, embarrassingly enough, when I struggle to put my beliefs into practice. Kneejerk reactions sometimes take over and I have to stop myself from getting caught up in the trappings of the egoic mind.

It seems all too easy, for instance, when involved in a relationship with another person – be they a friend, lover, coworker, what-have-you – to meet whatever energy they’re giving off with a similar energy. Let’s say, for example, that the person we love sort of shuts down and closes themselves off for a day. We have a choice as to how we respond:

• Meet their energy with a similarly closed-off energy, or

• Continue giving them our all.

Admittedly, my kneejerk reaction in times like those is to meet the energy I sense with equal energy. “He’s going to close himself off today? Well, I’ll close myself off, too!” But my gosh, what a silly little game that is.

So I sometimes need to remind myself that I’m not a game player, nor do I want to become one (again). Therefore the only other choice I have is to keep giving my all to the best of my ability, despite what’s going on around me.

I’m not always good at doing it, but I certainly try, and I think I’m getting better!

Besides, I’m a big believer in the energy connections we all share, and particularly with those we deeply love. My hope is that when I’m living all out, as fearlessly as possible, the energy rubs off and influences those I’m with, encouraging them to do the same. I also believe that we get what we give, if not from the people we’re currently engaged with, then from another source. So essentially by giving my all, it comes back to me, one way or another.

And that’s the kind of life I’m now interested in living. I’ve spent the greater part of 33 years (or 27, if you ask my very gullible and adorable niece!) living in fear… Caught up in my head to such an extent that many days I couldn’t get out of my own way, even if I had an army of people helping me.

Today, I’d rather live all out, with fearless faith and always coming from a place of love.

What do you think?

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Recommendations? I know someone who is extremely nervous about her health, which stems from a fear of dying. She’s young and healthy, but frequently visits her doctor fearing the worst. She dislikes how anxious she is about her health, yet struggles to overcome the anxiety. One suggestion I made was for her to face her fear of death in a more direct way by reading books that discuss death, which might help her understand it from a new perspective. I think she takes a more traditional view on dying, seeing it as an absolute end instead of a blissful release.

If you know of any good books she could read, would you please leave a comment along those lines? Thank you so much!

Resentment Is Ridiculous

I used to look at people who were more successful than me and envy them. Sometimes I was even resentful. This was especially true if whatever they had accomplished was something I wanted to accomplish for myself, but hadn’t gotten to yet. What I’ve learned recently, though, is how backwards my thinking was, and what’s more, as Wayne Dyer has said, I now know that there are no justified resentments.

Whenever I resented someone else’s success, I realize now it’s because I was looking through the eyes of lack. I felt I was missing something in my life, so when I looked at them in their joyfully abundant state, it reminded me that I didn’t have something I really wanted. That made me angry, and deep down probably fearful that I might never get what I really wanted.

But how silly it seems, since someone else’s success is actually a great reminder of just how much exists in this Universe for all of us. We live in an infinite Universe with more than enough wealth, success, love and joy for everyone. What’s more, each of us is here with a unique mission to fulfill that no one else can carry out exactly the way that we can. If they could, God wouldn’t have needed us, and I’m going to venture a bold guess by saying that as a result, God wouldn’t have put us here.

So rather than seeing someone else’s good fortune as my missed fortune, I now look at them with grateful, praising eyes and think, “There is more than enough for everyone.” I follow it up with, “What God has done for others, God now does for me and more.” When I affirm the success of others, I am essentially affirming it in me.

I wish the same for you: here’s to your incredible success and good fortune, and even more so, to your ever-expanding joy.

What about you? How do you feel about envy and resentment, and what role do they play in your life?

 

Must Reads: Bloggers I Love

(Part I in what will likely be a long series!)

The best parts of my mornings are sending and receiving email and reading my favorite blogs. The list keeps growing since there is so much good content out there. Every so often I am compelled to just shout from the rooftops how wonderful I think all these people are who write about joy, love, and spirituality.

So consider this post a rooftop, and here’s me shouting some of my favorites:

Peggy at Serendipity Smiles wrote about overcoming her perfectionist tendencies and had this little gem of encouragement in there: “I don’t have to strive for  perfection today, tomorrow or next week. I’m perfect just as I am…I can be a four today, a five tomorrow, a two on Friday.  It’s all good.”
Click to read Dreaming Perfection

Jodi at Joy Discovered wrote about truth – what it is and what it isn’t (and how we frequently mistake non-truths for truth). If you want an eye-opening read, you absolutely have to check out this post. Here’s a great snippet from it, “…how many times have you recounted an incident, and as much as you try to tell only the truth you realize it is quite impossible; you realize that without the other person about whom you are reporting sitting there with you, recounting her side exactly as she experienced it, you don’t actually know the truth. In those situations you realize there is a difference between facts and perceptions.”
Click to read The Truth Will Set You Free

Positively Present always has a fresh energy in what she writes, and this post, in particular, took me all the way back to childhood. See for yourself how growing up is optional.
Click to read Growing Up Is Optional

Nadia at Happy Lotus writes so compellingly and with such peace and love... From day 1, I've been a fan. She wrote a post about the myth of perfectionism, which I loved since I’m a recovering perfectionist. If you find yourself falling into this category, her post is a must-read.
Click to read My Perfection Myth
 
Liara at Dream Builders Australia had the most fantastic post about dis-ease in our bodies, and how to not only view it differently, but in some cases, undo it. If you’ve suffered anything from a cold to emergency surgery, this post has something in it for you.
Click to read 7 Ways to Re-frame Apparent Dis-ease

Mark at The Naked Soul (love that title, by the way!) dissected the topic of self-worth in this post called “What Is Our Value?” Do we use money, love, or other external circumstances to determine how valuable we are? Or can we go inside and recognize that simply by being alive, we’re more worthwhile than we ever dreamed?
Click to read What Is Our Value?

Tess at The Bold Life had a guest blogger (Jan Lundy) who wrote a fabulous post describing how the first 30 minutes of our day sets the tone for how the rest will go. Did you know that? It made me grateful for my morning routine, which is infused with peacefulness and love. Read this to learn how to make more of your days enjoyable, right from the start. (And PS - Tess is also a brilliant writer... so I'll include one of the posts she wrote on Jan's blog here, as well!)
Click to read Mind Fitness: How About a Workout For a Healthy Mind
Click to read 75 Ways to Make The World a Better Place to Be

Oh my God, I laughed so hard when I first read about Millie on Suzen’s blog Erasing the Bored that I nearly fell off my chair. Millie is old, tells it like it is, and isn’t afraid to fart (that’s right… fart!). Please, please, please read this if you want some amazing “living right” advice and also want to laugh.
Click to read Millie Wisdom: Lessons in Living

Lance at The Jungle of Life writes inspiringly and gently, and quite often so succinctly that I’m awed. I absolutely loved this quote he shared from Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, and was greatly encouraged by it. If you’re looking to do what you love or find more meaning in life, read this!
Click to read Sunday Thought for the Day, June 21

Katie at You Can’t Say That on the Internet! is constantly writing from such a space of love – for both her life and her incredible partner, Patty – that I’m moved to tears. The love Katie and Patty share, and how they keep their love growing, is inspirational. The post Joyful Creators is a great testament to how they live their spirituality and love for one another right out loud, and in doing so, positively affect all of us who share this planet with them. Take a look.
Click to read Joyful Creators

And if you like food – to make or to eat – I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Patty’s site, affectionately called The Joyful Chef. I frequently read her step-by-step posts that are full of the most delicious pictures and think, “now I’m hungry.” Best of all, I’ve met Katie and Patty, who live on the opposite coast as me, and they’re even better and more delicious in-person than they are on their blogs! See what Patty’s been up to by reading her latest.
Click to read The Joyful Chef

There are more – my gosh there are more. So please know that this is just a start. I’ll be doing another “Man I love these bloggers” entry in the future and including even more of the fabulous writers who fuel my days and weeks with their brilliance, insights, and love.

What’s In An Opinion?

I spent some time in Seattle recently to attend my cousin’s wedding. While there, I made some incredible new friends, and connected in-person for the first time with a couple I met through the blogosphere (shout-out to Katie & Patty!). Each day when I woke up, I would walk to the nearest Starbucks and everyone I encountered felt like a friend. From the guy on the street who smiled and exchanged pleasantries with me to the baristas serving my lattes – Seattle was, by my yardstick, the best place to be.

In contrast, another person on our trip had a different experience. His encounters led him to think that many people in Seattle were standoffish or indifferent.

“That’s so strange! Everyone I meet seems so joyful,” I told him.

I found his response intriguing. He said it seems likely that we project our expectations onto others, and as a result see only what we’ve projected.

To me that sounded like another way of saying that who we are is what we attract. I went to Seattle with a song in my heart and a smile on my face, and therefore everyone I saw mirrored those things back to me. Maybe it wasn’t quite the case for him, so what he saw was more closely aligned with whatever he brought to his encounters each day.

The thing I like about that story is that it unearths a fundamental truth about hearing other people’s opinions. Have you ever listened to the good opinion of someone else, only to experience that same thing for yourself with the opposite results?

When it comes to people, in particular, I try not to form an opinion about someone until I’ve met them for myself. After all, our interactions with others are projections of what we hold inside us at any given time.

I remember four years ago when I met a new friend at Starbucks. He started chatting me up one day, and the next thing you know, he was treating me to a free spa day where he worked. I had a fantastic time, and felt great hanging out with him in that capacity.

When I told the guy I was seeing about it, he proceeded to tell me how a female friend of his knew the same guy and thought he was sleazy because he used free spa days to try and pick up women. Interestingly, in the four years I’ve known my friend, he’s never once put the moves on me or made me feel uncomfortable in any way, and there have been plenty of times when we’ve both been simultaneously single. Instead, this guy has been a tremendous confidant and a huge spiritual teacher for me. It makes me wonder what that one woman was projecting onto my friend!

My experiences have taught me to listen to others’ opinions and take them for what they’re worth. That is to say, someone else’s opinion and not necessarily my own. Who knows what energy people are putting out or drawing back to them when they form their opinions? All I know for certain is that it’s always best to investigate things for myself.

Just something to keep in mind the next time anyone shares an opinion… And yes, that also includes everything I’ve said in this post. <wink!>

Be well and joyful today!

How God Talks To Us

Last week, I wrote a post called “Those Who Remind Us,” which discussed how the people we encounter are actually mirrors of ourselves. When they talk to us, the things they say are actually us talking to us. Good, bad, brilliant or bland, we’re always attracting to us reflections of ourselves. People reveal ourselves to us and help us to access things previously kept just out of reach by our conscious minds.

Taken another way, since each of us is a spark of the Divine, it could also be said that when we interact with others, we’re actually interacting with God. In that case, our conversations with other people are like having conversations with God.

That connection hit me powerfully a few days ago in response to the book I’ve been writing. I had been asking God (praying, if you will) to illuminate my way as I continue. I have big plans for the book, and yet I’m struggling with certain aspects of it. Within a day of saying that prayer, I heard from a literary expert who shared some positive and negative criticisms of my work to-date. She wasn’t sure that the approach I wanted to take was right, or would attract the kind of attention I sought. Her feedback was wonderful but also a little disheartening. It meant I’d have to reformulate my approach and potentially abandon some of what I’d written so far. I wasn’t sure exactly how to go about doing that, though.

The next day, I talked to my brother about the book and found myself struggling to articulate what it’s about in any sort of compelling manner. At the end of my rather lackluster description, I summed up my premise in an entirely different way. After I spat out my two quick sentences, he grew excited and said, “That’s it! That should be your opening. That’s the kind of stuff Oprah eats up!” I laughed and said, “Huh… I never thought about that before!”

Later on, I tossed the idea around in my head and grappled with the notion of having to retool a lot of the book and come up with a brand new outline. Something dawned on me, though: it wasn’t just my brother talking to me earlier that day. It was God answering my prayer. I told God I didn’t know how to accomplish my vision for the book, so in response, he orchestrated that conversation with my brother to help illuminate my path. The same goes with the literary expert. She was God answering my prayer, and talking directly to me.

It’s like that for all of us, and yet I think our human nature is to view ourselves and situations as completely separate. We see ourselves as separate not only from each other, but (definitely) from God. At most, we might be willing to admit to coincidences in our lives. But divinely intended events? Never! (I sarcastically and dramatically roll my eyes at the thought)

However, nothing in this world is separate or happens by chance. Everything – and every person – is connected to the Whole, which means that wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, the Divine is revealing itself in and through you.

With that in mind, look around you and see which of your prayers have been answered recently. Who’s been talking to you about the things you needed answers to? How, when and where has God been showing up? Let yourself be amazed. I know I frequently am…

Those Who Remind Us

“God needed to place some mirrors around so we could see ourselves. An actual mirror reflects our physical appearance, so what would reflect our being, our true self? What would reflect energy? Enter the laws of the universe: the law of cause and effect, the law of attraction, and Karma itself. God wanted it to be as simple as possible, and he wanted to make sure we didn't miss our reflection. So he made everything a mirror. We attract things into and create our lives through cause and effect. Every thought and action we put out comes back at us. Welcome to the looking glass of life. Take a look around and see your reflection.” From the site Finding Ourselves, by Gregory Campisi  (http://www.finding-ourselves.com/index.html)

A friend of mine is going through a difficult transformation right now, and as a result she occasionally asks me for advice or spiritual wisdom to get her through the day. A couple weeks ago we were talking, and after I shared what I thought she needed to hear, she said, “Thank you. When you say it, it just sounds so right. I really can’t thank you enough.”

Flattered, I had to immediately remind myself that God just works through me. It’s never me doing the talking, despite how much my ego would love to believe that.

So I replied, “You don’t need to thank me. In actuality, it was just you talking to you. You already had the answer within you, but needed someone to remind you, so you manifested me!”

She laughed and said, “Well, you just make it seem so easy and can I just say that I’m thrilled I managed to manifest you as my friend?!”

I laughed a little, too, expressed equal sentiments toward her, and said goodbye.

Afterwards I sort of mused to myself about this glorious life we’re all living, which is nothing more than a reflection of what we believe. As the opening paragraph says, God needed a way for us to see our beings, so he made everyone and everything we come across reflections of who we are.

This theory tends to thrill people when they think about all the good things happening in their life. On the other hand, it tends to horrify them when they realize that with the good comes the bad. Therefore all the unpleasant people and experiences they’ve chanced upon are simply reflections of them, too.

But therein lies the grace and perfection of the Universe. We are able to look around at any point during the day and see exactly where we are in our spiritual progression. The things people say to us, the way we’re treated, the situations we stumble upon or the experiences we have – they are nothing more than a reflection of us. When viewed from this perspective, our true power and interconnectedness with the whole (GOD) comes to life in a magnificent and magical way.

And if you’re reading these words and they’re resonating with you, please stop and take a moment to thank yourself. For truly, all of this has just been you talking to you.

Be well & joyful!

Living the Golden Rule of Love When Others Let Us Down

(Note: This post was initially written last year, but its relevance feels timeless to me.)

Last week, I decided to show up for someone with love. Not just anyone, either. He's a friend of mine, and we had a disagreement a month ago that neither of us have talked about since. As soon as it happened, I tried calling him to talk it through. He wouldn't answer his phone. I left message after message, with no response. Christmas came and went, and still I heard nothing from him. In the meantime, I was upset about our disagreement because from where I was sitting, he couldn't have been more wrong! Part of me wanted to find a way to gently tell him that. After all, there were others involved in the disagreement and they all thought he was wrong, too. Moreover, they were starting to view him differently; he'd done this before, and it was starting to affect his reputation. Usually having a support group helps, but in this case it didn't. I didn't feel right talking to other people about it when all I really wanted to do was talk to the one person directly involved. So, I let it take up space in my head. I gave it a lot of energy and tossed it around every which way. I prepared one speech after another, figuring I'd eventually get the chance to say what was on my mind when we worked things through.

Then one day last week, I was able to step back from it and view things more objectively. I pushed my monkey mind aside, and was able to empathize with what I presumed was my friend's position. I suddenly saw him stuck in a life-long pattern of unconscious suffering that caused him to react to me the way he did. It struck me that our disagreement was not personal. At least, it wasn't personal between us. Instead it was an ongoing battle he's been waging against himself his whole life, and I just happened to show up on the field wearing what he perceived to be enemy's armor.

When I realized this, something even more profound struck me: LOVE HIM. I was so caught up in wanting him to call me - feeling justified that he "should" call me - that I dismissed the golden rule.

Here I was wanting him to love me and talk to me, but I wasn't doing that back. Instead I was busying myself by categorizing all the seemingly righteous indignations I had toward him. I distracted myself by working through imaginary scenarios of how our resolution might some day play out - what I'd tell him and how right I'd feel. Not once, though, did I stop to consider if I could approach him with that same love and understanding I was seeking.

Ah! And there it was. I absolutely wanted love and understanding from him, but I wasn't willing to give it back - or rather, to give it first.

I now know that in order to truly love him, to offer up that glorious unconditional form of the word, I need to accept him in his current state. I need to look at his actions - his anger, defensiveness, freezing me out - and say, "This is part of who he is, and I love him in his entirety." I need to remove my fear and neediness and strip away all of my conditions to loving him and say, "No matter how he acts toward me, I will always love him."

And so that's what I've done. As soon as I had the realization last week, I felt a warm sensation rise up in my chest. I wanted to let him know that I was there for him regardless (so I did). Best of all, I never stopped to think, "What if he doesn't respond?" In love, it doesn't matter.

Love transcends all else. When we show up for others in love, we rise above their bad behaviors (and sometimes our own) and allow ourselves to accept and feel continued warmth toward them regardless of how they act. It's not always easy, but showing up in love is the only way to let joy in, and for me, that's what it's all about.

What “Lies” Beneath

So many of us are walking around attracting situations that don’t feel good to us – that cause us to stop and say, “Hey, wait a minute? Why do all these sucky moments keep showing up?”

I know in my own life, I’ve certainly experienced that. Being on a spiritual path you’d think I could sidestep some of that garbage, but no... Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m still human, so spirituality means less of an “up and over” and more of a “oh, so that’s why it’s happening to me…” It’s like having a brighter flashlight is all. 

That flashlight is helpful, though, because it lets me shine a spotlight on whatever mistruths I’ve been holding onto that continue to attract whatever I don’t want to my life.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to come to grips with in this life deals with romantic relationships. For a long time I couldn’t understand why they kept failing. What was I doing wrong? I had a knack for inviting only those people into my life who were most certain to be crapweasels. Why? I even had to ask a spiritually enlightened friend once what the heck was going on. You know what he said to me (as I sat there at the ripe old age of 30)? “I think it goes back to your dad.”

My response, “My dad? Come on. I’m 30! I’ve been actively studying spirituality for five years and have let all of that stuff go.”

Apparently not. Letting go from our conscious mind is one part of the equation. Letting go from our deep-seated unconscious mind is quite another. And believe me, if there are things showing up on the outside of your life that you don’t like but can’t consciously understand why they’re there, it’s time to turn to your subconscious. That’s where we store all that “lies” beneath.

The subconscious mind is like a machine. It doesn’t reason or filter – it accepts everything it’s told. True? False? It doesn’t care. It takes all of it. It’s also the part of us that controls our involuntary body functions (heart rate, metabolism, nerve response). So it’s a very necessary – if not indiscriminate – part of our minds.

The blessing and the curse of the subconscious mind is that, indeed, it takes in everything. If someone does something mean to us as a kid, and we never intercept and rewire our thinking to say “That was wrong; we deserve better,” then the subconscious mind will act on the belief that “mean” is okay and start to attract more stuff like it to us in the future. Likewise, if we’re only treated regally in our life, the subconscious stores that away and continues to attract similar treatment to us. (NOTE: There will also be the occasional outlying moments that don’t follow whatever pattern we’ve set up in our lives, and those serve either to steer us onto a better course, or to test our resolve. I like to call those Divinely Intended Moments.)

The good news is that the subconscious, being the machine that it is, can be reconditioned through things like affirmations, hypnosis, or new and repetitive experiences.

An example: When I was growing up I was a cute kid. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I clung tightly to the idea of “cute.” My brothers, when asked, would say, “Yeah, you’re cute. I wouldn’t say that you’re classically beautiful, but you’re very cute.” So in my mind, I just came to accept that I wasn’t beautiful, but I was cute. OK good. Well, in high school I really didn’t date much, and most of the people I attracted to me were not people I was ga-ga over. On top of that, I was never told in high school that I was beautiful – by anyone other than my mother (thank you, mom). Now cut to college. Someone was thrown onto my path (Divinely Intended Moment) who said, “You’re beautiful,” and I trusted him. In that moment, I began the subconscious rewiring process. Every time he said those words to me, I tucked them away and added them to my newfound belief and since then, have only attracted people to me who have used the “b” word. 

So how does your life look to you? What’s in your life that you like, and what’s there that you don’t? What “lies” could be operating beneath the surface that need you to shine a brighter light on? If you can’t understand why the things you dislike keep showing up, it might be time to investigate how your subconscious mind is wired. Think back to your childhood. That’s when most of our minds were initially programmed. Good, bad, right or wrong – kids are at the mercy of their parents, teachers, relatives and friends. We carry the imprint of what we learned, both directly and indirectly, with us throughout life.

If you can debunk some of what your subconscious has held onto and reprogram it (through affirmations, hypnosis, or new & repetitive experiences that you purposely seek out), you can begin to recreate the landscape of your life and make it as joyful as you ultimately want it to be.