inner voice

Getting Back to What Matters

Getting Back to What Matters
Swallowtail butterfly outside my kitchen window
 
You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes you. This is the place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen. ~Joseph Campbell
 
So many distractions this morning that could have easily derailed me from my commitment to working on my new book. Waking up late because I didn’t feel well overnight, to John being crabby, of which he eventually shared with me it was regarding a work challenge, to the insurance company calling to help me file my claim for the damage to my car from a hit and run.
 
When I first became a writer, I admit I was entranced by the fantasy of solitude and spilling out the contents of my heart effortlessly on a daily basis. I’ve learned a lot in eleven years and the reality that is. While there are many days it is divine and flows with ease, most days just don’t shake out this way. Writing is work. But it’s work I don’t intend on giving up anytime too soon.
 
Though I almost threw in the towel today and said the heck with it. I’m tired after a restless night, the energy was heavy in the house with John’s concerns over work, and then dealing with three different people regarding the claim on my car….well, a nap sure seemed like the better thing to do.  🙂
 
But I thought about the manifesto I’d written for my book yesterday and my About Page I recently updated on my website. While this book is another memoir, it’s more than that. It’s about helping empower women to open to their inner voice, express their fears and desires, expand their perspective, emerge into new possibilities, and continue to evolve as their True Self.
 
Sitting down to do my daily oracle card reading for myself and then journal as my daily ritual, it was confirmed what I needed to tap into to get my butt in my writing chair despite all the distractions from the morning.
 
As I shuffled, I heard to count down to the fourth card from the top. 
 
From the Wisdom of the Oracle: Higher Power #4
 
I then pulled a card from an inspirational deck I recently provided feedback for (of which I can’t share yet as it is still in the works, but will share when I can!).
 
The card was SHARE.
 
Okay, universe. I hear you. A reminder that I’m not writing this book alone. To get out of my small self that was feeling tired and irritated by how the morning had played out so far. I’m not creating this book alone and it’s my connection to something bigger than me that I felt re-energized and ready to get to the task at hand. Pulling the Share card a reminder that in sharing my story, I will make a difference in the lives of women my book is meant to touch.
 
And it triggered remembering a quote I recently read by Joseph Campbell which I shared above. It’s true the importance of taking time each day to “simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”
 
This place, of which I have as a physical space in my writing cottage, I also feel it’s important to say that it’s also that inner space that we must take time to be with each day. Though, of course, this is what Joseph Campbell speaks to also. While the physical place is often more easily achieved, it’s the inner space we don’t always value enough in a fast-driven society. But it’s the space in which the answers lie.
 
From sitting with what felt like an empty well after the interruptions of the morning, to finding my center once again, moving to my writing desk became a choice that truly matters to me and the impact I want to leave on the world. And while my writing session wasn’t without effort today, I’m in a place of contentment for having stayed committed to what is important to me.
 
Just as I finished writing this post, I remembered the photo I captured of a swallowtail butterfly outside my kitchen window early last evening. Looking up it’s meaning made me smile as another beautiful reminder of how the universe is always supporting us with signs to guide us along our path:
 
Inspiration, intuition, higher consciousness, transformation, resurrection, flashes of insight, power of beauty, strength in vulnerability.
 
XO,
Barbara
P.S. My reward for doing what matters today besides feeling good I did the work? This afternoon I’m going with my dear friend to see the movie, Christopher Robin with Winnie-the-Pooh and the Gang! I’m sure glad author A.A. Milne did what mattered to him.

My Chatter Box Curses the Cold

My Chatter Box Curses the Cold

We’ve been having frigid temperatures for about two weeks now. The kind of cold that bites your face and gets deep into your bones. I work hard to stay positive as I believe in the power of thought and how it affects us.

But I found myself in a funk this morning, angry at the cold weather, wishing I could be somewhere warmer, and mad that others I know are heading south. I was having a down right pity party with myself.

And yup, I have my moments too even though I’m passionate about being a positive and inspiring voice in the world.

The blessing though is that because of my dedication to working on my personal Self with a capital S, which means my inner voice, my higher self, I’m able to catch it sooner rather than later, and that it was my small self, with a small s, which is my ego, was the one chattering away in my brain.

I’ve been wanting to get outside and walk through a small woods near my house because nature grounds me, helps me feel alive, and makes my soul feel home. 

I’m currently enrolled in The Invision Process, which is about learning to be the observer of your thoughts. It’s part of Oracle School that I began in October 2017. While this personal mastery work can feel quite challenging at times, and yes, I’ve cursed that too, along with the weather…I keep going back to it. 

Why? Because the rewards are so great as I learn to see my thoughts through a new lens and learn to work with them, and to detach from the ones that are just that…chatter.

So I journaled this morning from prompts and an exercise from The Invision Process, moving through the feelings and how I feel when I let the chatter box of thoughts run wild. Then I visualized putting them in a box and just observed them. What a difference in my state of mind and the feeling in my body it made. I realized the negative thoughts were just that…thoughts, and I could let them go.

And the thing is, this is what gets in the way of what really matters. The truth is, that our inner voice knows the answer. It wants to get outside into nature. And so my determined, knowing self rose to the surface and I’ve made the committment to get out for a walk today. 

I turned my thoughts to gratitude: the sun is out, not a cloud in the sky, I have warm clothes to wear, new hiking boots, a cozy home, a husband who loves me, Gidget who snuggles with me, good health, work I love…and on and on the list I made mentally.

The cold is only temporary just like my thoughts. They come, they go. But it’s this moment, in the here and now is what matters, and truly, all that I have. 

Chatter box cursing the cold be gone!  🙂

Learning to move through transition, whether the seasons of nature, or whether small or big changes, it’s embracing that inner voice and learning to follow its lead is what I’ll be sharing in a free webinar offering on Tuesday, January 9th at 6:00pm cst. If this calls to you, I’d love to have you join me! And feel free to share with others who you feel may benefit also.

Just click here to register or on the graphic below. There will be a recording available if you aren’t able to attend, so be sure to register if you are interested. Hope to see you there!

Finding that Meaningful Life

Finding that Meaningful Life

I think it takes courage to live a life that feels meaningful. To not live the status quo, but to live from that inner space within that yearns to trust that inner voice, while at the same time not knowing what that may really look like as we try to move toward it and what we believe it is that will bring us joy.

I feel like I’ve been down this road hundreds of times – and no doubt it will surface time and again as I grow and evolve. Though I am much stronger in my convictions which feels liberating. But isn’t this what being human is all about?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my almost 54 years is that happiness isn’t outside of us, though it can feel like an uphill battle because it is what is in front of us constantly in TV, ads, etc. if we allow it to be.

So when I hear of a breakthrough from someone who I’ve shared the SoulCollage® process with that I facilitate in my studio and online, my heart overflows with ecstatic happiness. To know another person on this planet is learning to accept who they are – well – it is very rewarding. 

Kathryn, who is part of my online SoulCollage® True Essence class is a beautiful example of taking the steps necessary to move toward living a meaningful life. I was so touched by a recent posting she did on our private Facebook group that I asked her if I could share it with you. She graciously agreed. Thank you, Kathryn.

This is a recent SoulCollage® card she created for her altar: 

Kathryn wrote, “It (the card) was created intentionally, the image of the woman had a quote by it and the woman said that she loves who she is just the way she is. The locusts represent my fear of bees and wasps. This is the first summer in many years where I no longer feel afraid of getting stung. The card is about being proud of who I am today, stepping into my power and releasing fears that no longer serve me.”

Kathryn’s insight for herself not only no doubt freed her in many ways and brought deep meaning to her life, but in sharing with the group, she made my life (and likely others in the group) feel even more meaningful. 

Finding a meaningful life takes work and is truly an inside job. And why I continue to do my own inner work too so that I can support others on their path to a meaningful life. This summer I’ve devoting myself to a 22-week online course to help me grow in who I am and expand my workshops online which began this past Monday.

Because truly, it’s moments like this that Kathryn shared with me that are food for my soul – me as facilitator guiding others toward deeper meaning for their lives, in-turn makes for a meaningful life for me. Win-win not only for me and participant, but a big win for the planet!

If you’d like to learn more about the SoulCollage® True Essence online course details are here.

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