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When I am feeling stretched too thin, stressed out or burnt out there are a few words of comfort I repeat like a mantra while meditating.
The first words of comfort were memorized years ago from my Grandmother’s King James Bible. I am a deeply spiritual person, but not a religious one. But, these words still bring me comfort. They are from Psalm 25 (this is how I memorized them, right or wrong…):
Oh my God, I lift up my soul to thee, I trust in thee, let me not be afraid, let not my enemies triumph over me.
Trusting in a higher power, trusting that things are just as they should be gives me comfort.
By asking to ‘not be afraid’ I am calling forth my own inner strength and courage.
And, ‘my enemies’ are not only people and forces outside of me, but also my own negative thoughts and self-doubt. The request to not let these enemies ‘triumph over’me is a gentle reminder to not allow these things to adversely effect me or stop me from going forward.
Another mediation I practice is a ‘meta’ meditation, or a ‘loving-kindness’ meditation. This one is adapted from Carol Spears. She has a wonderful CD of meditations and guided visualizations you can purchase at CDBaby, A Lotus For You
May I be free from inner and outer harm,
May I be happy, peaceful. healthy and strong,
May I take care of myself with joy,
May I hold myself in arms of love,
May I embrace my heart.
I also try to surround myself with beauty and I keep fresh flowers on my desk in my home office.
These things give me comfort when my creativity temporarily leaves me and I don’t have the energy to write, to draw, to paint, to dream or to create. They remind me that sometimes we just have to slow down and give our body and our mind the rest they crave, for tomorrow is a fresh, new day.
To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love: The Spiritual Dimension of Entrepreneuring
by Marsha Sinetar
When I first read this book over ten years ago Marsha Sinetar’s description of a self-actualized individual generated a wide range of emotions from anger, to sadness and, most importantly, to hope.
Part of me knew that I had a lot of self-discovery and ‘work’ to do before I could manifest my dreams and experience the level of personal success I desired. A lesser self-developed part of me balked at her ideas. I wanted things to happen right now. (…obviously not a very mature attitude hence the need for personal discovery and growth)
Over a decade later the wisdom of her ideas rings truer than ever. I have grown and learned a lot in the years since I first read this book. I have greater personal awareness, including who I am, what I want, and where I fit in the world.
The characteristics Marsha Sinetar notes of people who were able to rise up, overcome obstacles and build a life they loved are:
- They built their lives on genuine interests, meanings and values.
- They demonstrated virtues of thrift, hardwork, pride of workmanship, and love of service and community.
- They committed themselves to, and invested in, their talents.
- They worked for something larger than themselves which fueled their drive and raised their self-esteem.
Over ten years ago I only saw glimpse of myself in this description. Today I see myself reflected back in her words.
Although this book was written in the mid-1990’s the following passages prove that its message is timeless:
“Given the reality of corporate, government, financial and technological upheaval in the twenty-first century, our new job security requires healthy entrepreneurial prowess. Be assured that you’ll gain lasting ‘job security’ only as you become self-reliant, creatively resourceful and fully engaged with your process of enterprise-whatever you elect to do-and all the more so if you’ll tune into your life’s genuine purpose.”
“Why do they [entrepreneurs] sense opportunity in the very chaos others fear? …they’ve learned to exploit their circumstances, whatever these are, as leverage for what they want. Whether they work alone or with others or use temporary, shared ot part-time jobs to gain occupational advantage, they behave as if they believe that they can structure a lifetimes’ worth of meaningful goals, tasks and relationships.”
This book is filled with not only information and ideas to build a life of your dreams there are numerous personal stories of people following their own path. This book will support you on your creative journey to self-discovery and inspire you every step of the way.
Amazon shows only used copies available, but this book is worth finding and reading.
You can read more about Marsha Sinetar and purchase her books at: www.marshasinetar.com
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Five things-words of advice I wish someone had told me when I was growing up…
1. Doing things you love and enjoy will always be easier to do than things you hate or dislike, but there will still be times when you don’t FEEL like doing them, but you do them anyway.
2. The best way to discover the things you love to do and the things you have a natural aptitude for is to try lots of new things and challenge yourself.
3. Trying new things means you will fail sometimes, maybe even fail most of the time the first time. Failing is OKAY and NORMAL. Failure is how you learn and how you figure out what works and what doesn’t.
4. You have the potential to be anything you want to be. Your job is to discover what that potential is and work hard to manifest it in the world.
5. When you discover the things you love and the potential that is within you, it will support and benefit you, your family, your friends, your community and the world.
enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer
by Jessica Berger Gross
I ‘live in my head’ and usually give little or no thought to my physical self. I have been a vegetarian for ten years, but I am still overweight. I am healthy, but sometimes worry about how much longer it will be before my weight and lack of exercise catches up to me.
Over the last seven months as I have committed to going after my dreams, building the life I want and living creatively there has been an increasing discontent when it comes to my body. Reading this book over the last three week has inspired me to face myself in the mirror, literally.
Jessica’s writing is open, raw, funny and honest. She shares her story, both the good and the bad, in a manner that is inspiring and supportive of your own quest for health and fitness. After finishing the book you feel like you have found a friend for life.
Even though Jessica’s life and my life are very different while reading this book I found myself thinking, “That’s me!“, and then, “She’s right!” and finally, “I can do this, too!”
“That’s me!” Pg. 25
“I trudged from our Brooklyn apartment to the subway, picking up a bagel and coffee on the way. I wasn’t pounding back nags of potato chips, or ice cream sundaes–I tried eating at least semi-healthy foods. A bagel seemed harmless enough; I figured bread and cheese were wholesome ingredients. At night, I’d order up an entree of tofu and broccoli from the vegetarian Chinese restaurant, not seeing anything wrong with eating the entire oil dish in one sitting.”
How often have I done the same thing? A bagel and cream cheese and coffee; vegetarian entrees, wholesome foods, but no portion control. I saw myself reflected back from Jessica’s story and felt a small tremor of hope. She’d had changed her relationship with food and her body, maybe I could, too.
She’s right! Pg. 99-100
“When it comes to eating and exercise, there’s no getting around what we all know: To lose weight, you’re going to have to eat much less and exercise much more. Once you’re maintaining a healthy weight, eating wholesome, energy-giving foods in moderation and integrating physical activity into your daily routine, it will all become much easier. But in the beginning, it’s going to be a battle. You will be hungry, you will feel like you’re spending all of your free time exercising.”
How many times have I given up because I was hungry, or had a ‘craving’ or felt like my whole life revolved around food and exercise? I thought people who lost weight had some secret. I didn’t realize what I was experiencing and feeling was normal. And, like everything else on this journey I am discovering there are no secrets, we all walk a similar path.
I can do this, too!
There is no single line or passage I can quote from the book to demonstrate this feeling. It was gradual and grew every time I picked the book up to read another chapter.
If you are looking for inspiration to start or keep going, this is a great book to have handy. And for more information – Jessica’s website: jessicabergergross.com
Buy it today…
1. Tomorrow never comes
2. You can be one day older and one day further away, or one day older and one day closer to you dreams
3. You can’t move forward without taking your first step
4. You will never learn to run, if you don’t learn to walk first
5. Starting today will fuel all your days to come
What do you dream of? What can you do right now, today, to move closer to that dream?
My Story:
One of my personal dreams is to be as lean, healthy and fit as I possibly can; to feel comfortable in my physical body, move with ease and grace; feel mentally alert and emotionally calm.
I have successes in all of these areas, just not all the time, and not all at the same time.
To accomplish all if this, I need to lose weight, exercise regularly, and eat a diet that aligns with my personal values and beliefs and nourishes me as a whole.
That is a BIG agenda. It is, quite frankly, overwhelming.
But, today I finally stopped putting it off until tomorrow.
My first, baby step, is to stop eating flour products-bread, pasta, bagels, pastries, muffins (oh, I could go on, but you get the picture). I LOVE these foods, but they always make me feel sluggish, bloated and uncomfortable. Plus, because I love them, I always overeat.
This is my first step. I will repeat it until I succeed for seven consecutive days. Then, I’ll pick another baby step and go from there.
Half way through my first day I am feeling pretty good.
Want to share your story? Reply below.
I really didn’t expect the amount of feedback I received from this weeks newsletter.
It was meant to be a simple, open, honest letter to my readers.
It turned into a serious topic of debate.
All I was really trying to say was, don’t put me or anyone else on a pedestal.
Guides and mentors are essential on the creative journey to self-discovery. I understand and accept the fact that I have chosen to take a leadership role in this position. That is why I started The Dreaming Cafe.
But, I am not a guru, or all-knowing sage.
I have a body of knowledge and I expertise intend to share with you. This does not mean I know everything about everything and that was one of the main points I was trying to make when I wrote “I am no one special”.
And, the second point I was trying to share was my realization that just as I share my knowledge and expertise in my current field of logistics and get paid for it, I can share my knowledge and expertise in others areas as a self-employed person and get paid for it.
I believe we all have our own, unique contribution to make in the world.
It is not about being special, or different, or better than someone else.
It is about finding, recognizing and following our own true path, our calling.
That is what I am doing.
The Dreaming Cafe, is a business and a calling. It is still a work in progress, just like life . It is my way of sharing and teaching all that I have learned and my way of making a difference in the world.
I don’t want you to look at me and The Dreaming Cafe and say to yourself, “she is special, she has something I do not, she’s different than me, better than me.”
I want you to say to yourself, “If she can do it, so can I.”
And, I truly believe that you can.
It takes courage, heart and hard work, but committing to the creative journey to self-discovery is the greatest gift you can give to yourself and to the world.
And, while you travel your path, The Dreaming Cafe will be here to help you. That is my gift to you and to the world.
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