If it’s not a Hell Yes, then it’s a no.

For about the last year this theme has been coming back to me.  Do you guys ever get the same message over and over?  My guess is yes.  And maybe finally I am ready to listen.   I am posting this phrase everywhere.  In my journal, by my desk, on post-it’s around the house.  Why?  Because it’s time to receive this message and start to live it.

I have made the same mistakes over and over this past year.

Not listening to my intuition when it was whispering
“excuse me um, sorry to disturb you but I don’t think this for you”.

We shut that voice down.  It gets smaller and meeker.    We rationalize, we try to be the good person, we look outside ourselves for answers, but we know that the answers are not there.  How do you get to the point to really listen to that inner voice?

You may have pushed that voice away so many times that now you can barely hear it.  Now my voice is starting to scream in my face/head.

“I told you so, just listen to me!!!!” 

We all know deep down inside what is and isn’t for us.
How do you get to the point to really listen to that inner voice?  The one true voice that we all can trust and believe in completely!

It all comes back to practice.  Yes I know I am a broken record here, but it’s true.  The more we practice listening to that voice, the stronger and louder it will become.  There will be lots of mistakes along the way.  We will get distracted and look outside of ourselves.  For some it might take lots and lots of mistakes, maybe even the same ones that happen over and over and over again (you know who you are).  For others, they might get that a-ha a lot sooner.  

But to get to the practicing part, we first have to notice.  It’s hard to get to that point at all, especially with the busyness of the world and our lives.  If we don’t take the time to notice, you’ll never get to the practice.  This is hard stuff.  I struggle with this all the time.   So that stopping, either through yoga, meditation, or other mindfulness practices helps us to make and take the time to listen and feel and be present which in turn fosters awareness.

So here I am telling you I am far from perfect to listening to my inner voice, but I recognize and realize that this is something I want and need to change, so I will practice and post notes all around the house to remind myself of how important I am and that I can trust myself!

How will you practice listening to your voice? Let us know in the comments below, so we can all learn from each other.

Warmly,

Denise

The photo above is of a tree which I stumbled upon while on a walk in San Diego. There was no way of knowing that I would find myself in the presence of such a picturesque landmark. And yet, there was undoubtedly something which led me to her. Something which I believe to be bigger than anything worldly. Call that something what you will - God, Source, Universe … the name with which you align is not what’s important to me. What was important in that moment was noticing the message which I was to receive upon divinely landing in its presence.
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Having left PA on June 15th, my journey thus far has had no shortages of ups and downs. As many of you know, I have been actively calling more travel into my life. I consciously created space from the normalcy of my day-to-day existence in which to manifest a month of learning, exploration, and growth.

The plan was loosely defined. I would spend one week in Sedona, then one week in San Diego, followed by about a week of wiggle room to roam as guided by my heart before ultimately landing in Big Sur prior to my return home mid-July. What I forgot to plan for was the fact that actually surrendering to the concept of flowing with the unfolding of said series of events would prove to stretch me hugely outside of my innately Type A (FYI: west coasters seem to believe this to be a deep seeded neuroses instilled among us east coasters) comfort zone.

Intellectually, I acknowledge and accept the fact that it is only through stretching one’s comfort zone that growth can be experienced. In fact, I believe this to be why I have taken to traveling more of late. And yet, to date, this has not proven to make it any easier. So yes, it’s true, even the yogi/meditation instructor struggles with the concept of fully releasing control and going with the flow.

Use your imagination, if you would, now to consider how it might prove to be interesting for a planner such as myself to share space with an individual whose daily mantra is committed to the word flow. Enter into the equation my dear friend and fellow healer, Heather Fleming of consciousnutrition.com It is thanks to Heather that I have a safe place to call home-base during my stay in San Diego. Heather seemed to catch on pretty quickly to the fact that I was struggling a bit with the concept of truly surrendering to the concept of flowing. One morning as she observed me moving through my Ayurvedic AM practices, Heather casually commented “Wow! You have quite the morning routine. Does that help to (brief pause) ground you?” Whether she realized it or not, Heather was totally calling my bluff. I was simply moving through the motions of my morning practice.

I allowed this to go on for maybe a day or two more before I found myself lacing up my sneaks to set out for some me time. To check out to check in. To move some energy. To simply get lost – which I actually did at first – in nature. To trust physically stepping well outside of my comfort zone. To notice what that brought up. And, to surrender to feeling that experience.

Stumbling upon this tree provided me with a wonderful reality check. What beauty and wisdom she had to offer! Tucked – seemingly –  in the middle of nowhere. But, no more than a few blocks from Heather’s home. As I sat in silence in the presence of this tree, I surrendered to that something which is bigger than anything worldly. I asked for support in navigating through the next few weeks. To trusting the unfolding of my journey. As if my prayer had been instantaneously answered, I was granted the gift of an incredibly supportive phone conversation with a dear friend whom I’d been missing from home. 

After hanging up, I sat for a few moments longer continuing to enjoy this sacred space. I drew in a very deep breath - the deepest breath I believe that I’d taken throughout my entire trip thus far. Breath, or prana, literally translates to life force. In that moment, I visualized myself breathing in life and all that it had to offer. I knew whole-heartedly that I was ready to embark upon the remainder of my journey from a different perspective. With the agenda of dropping the plan. With the agenda of surrendering to flow …

As you now gaze at the image of this beautifully wise tree, I challenge you to ask yourself how/what supports you in surrendering to flowing from one moment to the next amidst the chaos of this life? Maybe it’s a walk outdoors. Maybe it’s time spent on your yoga mat. Maybe it’s prayer/meditation to whatever higher presence aligns with your belief system. Maybe it’s a cup of tea and a heartfelt talk with a loved one. Whatever the approach, my hope is that you may be inspired by my faltering to commit, or perhaps to re-commit, to embrace your practice(s) of choice! I implore you to try stepping outside of your comfort zone - to take the time to slow down, to notice, to feel, and to surrender to the flow of life.
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Humbly,
Josette