The Right Questions

“Each of us has an internal flame that is the keeper of our life force.  Each choice we make either adds to the force, making it stronger, igniting and feeding our flame, or diminishes our force, dampening our internal flame, reducing its power.”  – Debbie Ford (The Right Questions)

A year ago I had the pleasure of working with the late Debbie Ford at the final Shadow Process workshop that she hosted.  Working with the shadow revealed many of the “ugly” feelings that I carried as a result of the traumas I had experienced in my life.  As a person who loves beauty and positivity, working with the shadow was tough.  I fought it.  Often ignoring it or minimizing the process because it was just too painful.

But here is the amazing thing, once the light was shined on my shadow side, transformation started taking place.  Even though I was not consciously aware of it, I started making choices to heal the past in order to step into the future I had put on hold for many years. This meant leaving situations that were out of alignment with my highest good, acknowledging parts of my painful past with the people who were involved and most importantly, forgiving myself for sabotaging myself whenever I got close to living the life I dreamed of.

I am not going to lie, making these empowered choices has not been easy or fun.  And yet, it has created a powerful transformation in my life.  New doors are opening, amazing people are showing up and most importantly I am listening to my wise inner self.

I believe that when we ask ourselves powerful questions and listen, really listen, to the answers we hear, and take action based on the insights, everything we have ever longed before becomes available to us.  My friend Andrea Chilcote’s blog post serves as a beautiful example of this point.

To honor where I have been and to share my journey with you, I will dedicate my next few blog posts to the powerful inquiries from the book The Right Questions.

Choices

“Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.” – Kevin Aucoin 

Unconditional Love

“A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.” – Robert Wagner

Learning

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. – Mahatma Gandhi

Laugh

“Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.” – Alan Alda

Focused Energy

“Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy.” – Denis Waitley 

Radiant

“Beauty is a radiance that originates from within and comes from inner security and strong character.” – Ruth Bernhard 

Recently I captured several pictures of flowers, plants and trees that seem to have a radiant glow.  It made me wonder if the radiance was always there and I just never noticed or did it radiate because I was appreciating it? 

Playful

“Children show me in their playful smiles the divine in everyone. This simple goodness shines straight from their hearts and only asks to be loved.” – MJ

Spending time with my nieces and nephews riding bikes, swinging and  coloring reminds me of the value of play. 

In our busy world it is easy to forget that play is always available to us.  Let play be a natural stress reliever in your life today.  Not only will your heart smile, your relationships will be strengthened.

Calm

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” –  Saint Francis de Sales

Yesterday I experienced the value of staying calm regardless of external circumstances. As my daughter and I traveled down the highway at 65 MPH, a huge piece of debris flew up and smashed the windshield of our rental car.

The external trigger could have easily caused me to react in a way that may have cost us our lives or the lives of others. By staying calm and centered I was able to recognize what was about to happen and respond in a way that served the highest good.

This situation is a great reminder that we can not always control what is thrown our way, we can only choose our response to it.

Weeds

A weed is no more than a flower in disguise, Which is seen through at once, if love give a man eyes.
James Russell Lowell