Awaken & revitalize your spirit

Every moment of the day you're discovering new things about yourself. Yet, how well-informed do you feel? Are you likely to remain motionless and disinterested or, will you decide to realize you can awaken and revitalize your spirit?

1) Relax & breathe.  This may sound simple enough, but more and more people forget how to do this consciously and regularly.  Its far more common to sense people rushing through life without thinking.  So, make a more conscious effort.  Remind yourself what its like to close your eyes and count to ten to settle your mind.

2) Realize you're in the presence of friends.  Yes, this is the case.  Friends in sight may be human, but you also have constant, spiritual companions.  They invite you to rediscover your destiny.  To acknowledge spirit guides enables you to better trust your instincts.  True friends love and support you, no matter what.

3) Embrace humility.  Realize you have nothing to prove.  As you gradually awaken to who you really are, you begin to recognize humility is the key to realizing your potential. You will evolve to live on your own terms, based on your true principles.

Review what you think you already know

Some people assume goal-setting is limited to the pursuit of things that are important to them.  You've heard about it, and so, you identify a target and go after it. Yet, isn't there still more?  What if the time arises that you realize you forget who you are, why you're alive, or lose sight of where to go next? This is preciely the time when its desirable to review what you think you already know about goal-setting.

1) You get out of life not what you desire, but who you are. You can set as many goals as you want.  Yet, only the pace of your self-awareness enables you to uncover goals that aren't imposed on you or chosen based on external influence. The goals you truly realize will assist you to clarify what you already intuit inside yourself. You're on the right path when you find reason to feel more grounded, self-confident and reassured. You are the person who will lead you to the most fulfilling life.

2) You decode your emotions not from another's whims, but your thoughts. Your emotions influence the goals that motivate you. In other words, how you interpret emotions determines what you choose to feel. If someone breaks your heart or let's you down, your reaction has the power to make your life better.  Courage isn't the same as a lack of fear, but your choice to confront situations to get your adrenalin flowing.  As you reframe the value in uncertainty, you are also sensing how each event in your life brings you closer to reaching goals you had overlooked or forgot. 

3) You unearth true goals not by believing ego, but by willingly going deeper. The ego craves control of your mind and would like you to believe that the best goals are worldy pursuits like money, status and material things. Your authentic self has other goals that define its identity and self-worth. These sorts of things don't come and go, but rather,just are. Consider ideas like happiness, self-acceptance, spiritual grounding and a pull to trust your deeper instincts.

Rethink your "piece de resistance"

Success is perceived differently by everybody.  Each of us has views on a lifestyle or activities that define our most appealing vision, let's say its like our "piece de resistance."  You may wonder if its okay to change your view on this, and wonder how others will react to any changes in your behavior.  As the result of my recent trip to Istanbul, Turkey, I share  a story that offers a perspective on dream-making.

I met a man who runs his small hotel as a family business.  It appears modest on the outside and has simple ethnic decor inside.  You may ask how the business came to be.  As it happens, the owner used to be a chef in fast-paced London (U.K.) restaurants.  He climbed the ranks, worked busy days, six-days per week in some fascinating venues.  For some chefs, success is apprenticing with masters, working in key restuarants, or becoming head somewhere yourself. This man had done much yet, felt dissatisfied.  He felt afraid he was missing out on his son's childhood.

Lo and behold, this chef startled a few people and made a big change. He decided to move back to his wife's home country and explore a new lifestyle and options.  When he initially moved, his thought was to open a restaurant cooking his favorite cuisine.  Yet, locals weren't enamoured by this kind of cooking.  So, he devised a new dream, went out on a limb and chose to open a small hotel. What an adventure!

Obtaining required permits was time-consuming.  Contractors were hard to find.  Then, not only did they ignore building rules and codes, the agencies meant to enforce them ignored the hotel owner's complaints.  He paid for materials and contractors didn't provide the agreed-on service.  Imagine when lawyers and inspectors advised the building had to be torn down and rebuilt due to questionable infrastructure.  People the hotel owner also thought were friends turned their backs on him during his hardship.  The man was devastated with it all.  Yet, he had the building re-done, incurred a big financial loss, and re-evaluated his meaningful relationships.  Now, business is growing. His experience taught him useful things: 

1) Opportunities to learn are everywhere.  No matter where you are, or what choices you've made, they are the right ones for you at the time.  Its simply a question of evolving to trust your instincts and choosing to learn from whatever is unfolding.  After all, you're here to learn.  How you shape this life is up to you.

2) Obstacles will arise.  Tests are predictable.  This could seem like a test of your physical strength, your emotional staying power, your mental resilience.  On some level, its all the same.  You need to convince yourself you're worthy, that you really want what you think you want.  Its time to determine what you really value.

3) You control more than you realize.  You may not control other people, but you control how you react to them and to your circumstances.  You have repeated invitations to make the most of where you are.  If you haven't been in the habit of recognizing them, its time that you do.  Since your life is the result of your thoughts and actions, you are the captain of your ship.  Your life experience gives you occasions to learn to sail.  When will you put out the jib?

Are you disconnected from your true self?

If you're honest, its likely you would admit you have permitted yourself to be moulded to fit into a crowd or community.  This often promotes discomfort and dishonesty on a subconscious level.  In such cases, misery, frustration and anger arise and you may repress them at the same time as you repress your dreams.

To recognize you feel disconnected from your true self is the first step to transforming your life for the better.  You can benefit from learning more about Robin Sharma's Seven Stages of self-Awakening.  Consider these highlights:

1) Stage 1: people are unconscious to the truths of life and have little idea about how the world actually works.  As you project your fears, misunderstandings and false beliefs into your surroundings, the result is an inaccurate view of reality.

2) Stage 2:  As you discern you are following the status quo and living a life that appears incompatible with who you are, you realize you have choices.  You can buy into illusions, continue living as you always have, or decide to redefine your own path and happiness.

3) Stage 3:  This is the phase where you recognize your perception is evolving.  Your sense of the truth is changing.  You begin to grasp you're meant to experience abundance, to seize opportunities and to make the most of your relationships and experiences.

4) Stage 4:  As you seek wisdom, you seek out mentors and teachers to help you progress.  You admit you are hungry for answers and healing.  This is where you grasp the revelation that a sense of confusion will always lead to new levels of understanding and clarity.  Its a process of revelation...yours.

5) Stage 5: To transform and feel reborn may strike you as a most challenging phase.  And yet, it may also be where you learn the most in ways you'll never forget.  This is where your true self makes itself noticed on a regular basis.  How you perceive yourself, your potential and the world will never be the same.

6) Stage 6: Here is where you acknowledge trials and tribulations.  This is where you need to confirm you've learned the necessary lessons and admit how much you desire to reconnect to your true self.  Many people give up and retreat.  Only people who truly believe in themselves persist.

7) Stage 7: Your awakening or period of enlightenment is where you evolve into the qualities and characteristics which are your true nature.  You become fearless, innocent, infinitely wise.  You harness the power of pure love and unconditional compassion.  To get here, you have to evolve to where you desire to be true to yourself more than anything.  Discover your destiny.

Find courage to see the truth

Analysis of the week on dream submitted by A.K. of Melbourne, Australia

Dream- I was talking with someone about films. My 'dream conversationist' had to name a film starring an actor we'd discussed. I admitted to this person I hadn't heard of the film. When I awoke, I was susprised to realize I had been duped by this person when he made up a film. My subconscious dream friend had substituted a plausible film name into the talk with no qualms rather than admit not knowing the answer.

Predominant Emotions- Fear, Inhibitions, gullability, disbelief, guilt and courage.

Interpretation-People in your dreams represent part of your personality. Its useful to reflect on each person's behaviour and which emotions this would evoke in you in waking life. Two people involved imply a kind of contemplation or indecision.

Films enable you to analyze your behavior from a detached perspective. You may fear putting yourself in a situation where you feel vulnerable. Why do you resist trusting your instincts? Remaining emotionally aloof doesn't permit you to see or experience the truth. If you allow your mind to imagine worst case scenarios like lying and betrayal, you prevent yourself from appreciating benefits of your fear and confusion.  What can you learn from limits you impose on yourself while awake?

This chat is a non-threatening setting where your mind is working out how to remove yourself from or reframe a source of discomfort.  Rest assured. You always have choices. You can learn to shed your inhibitions, to do those things which typically evoke guilt or other kinds of distress. Its possible you aren't being honest with yourself or someone else about your true feelings. Bring more of your authentic self into your relationships and pursuits. Practice listening with an open heart.

You may imagine it requires courage to express how you truly feel, to question some of your choices, to become accountable for past behaviour.  Other notions of courage may emerge in your head.  Nothing compares to finding the courage to get to know someone and to become known in ways that only happens when you're ready.