Podcast: The Life Planned vs The Life Waiting
Are we mired in unfulfilled plans and dreams and letting our regrets and guilt shut out the life that is here for us and how is the power of choice related to this?
Forgiveness and the Half-Empty Glass
This week’s podcast deals with the power of conscious forgiveness in changing our perspective and our energy, and how quickly this effects us positively.
Podcast: Going with the Flow vs Control Everything
What happens when we fall into the trap of trying to control everything and tips for what will work better in our lives than struggling with this
Podcast: Tilting at Windmills
How consciousness and reprogramming can move us from off the negative belief that the good life we want and our dreams are impossible.
Podcast: Room for Joy
Negative expectations can show up when we least expect them and crowd out our experience of joy. Listen to Kay’s and Marie’s observations about making more room for joy.
Podcast: Surrender to Inner Wisdom
On today’s Podcast: Exploring the challenge of letting go of our mind talk and accessing our inner guidance with a suggestion on connecting to our inner wisdom.
Podcast: Downy Woodpeckers
Today, Kay and Marie explore jumping to negative conclusions vs. staying open to positive possibilities. Please let us know what you think of the podcast!
Podcast: A True Confession
Today’s podcast conversation takes a humorous look at the power of focus and remembering to focus on what you want…not what you don’t want.
Podcast: Time for the Things We Put First
What stops us from putting our time into what’s most important to us and how can we change that? Listen to Kay and Marie discuss it on this week’s podcast.
Podcast: A Lesson in Self-Esteem
This week, take an inside listen to what turned out to be an unexpected lesson regarding self-esteem.
A True Confession
I have to confess that I really hate it when I get caught doing or thinking something that I know isn’t emotionally healthy or helpful. And I especially hate it when I’m the one who catches me!
Let me elaborate. This quote from Heart Thoughts sounds simple enough: “What you focus on, think about, dwell on — increases.” I have found this very helpful in reminding me to guard against negative thoughts and expectations around my goals and dreams–it makes them a lot harder to come by. OK, so far, so good.
What I had forgotten is that the same principle applies to everything currently in my life, too. Here’s the real confession: what I was doing was thinking about a particular person that I have some issues with and, every time, I was imagining the negative issue always being there–like it was set in stone! Duh! When I realized what I had been doing, I stopped (better late than never) and began to think about the relationship being full of harmony and fun, allowing it to change in a positive way.
Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Here’s to catching yourself!
What Can I Learn From This?
Two days ago, a big truck turned into my car and rang up over $2000 worth of damage. I spent at least one whole day venting my anger and worrying about the expense. In the heat of the moment, I completely forgot about my ability to choose my emotions (check out a great book on this topic at http://www.yourdestinyswitch.com), and just jumped right on the “ain’t-it-awful-woe-is-me” bandwagon. (If I’m not mistaken, Fear was driving the bandwagon!)
Now that I have calmed down a little, I’m also remembering one of the quotes from Heart Thoughts: “In response to life’s events, I am finally learning to ask, ‘What can I learn from this?’” Although I’m usually pretty good about being able to do that, this experience reminded me that when something so totally unexpected and unwelcome happens, I can easily forget what I “know” and get thrown off balance.
So, I will continue to practice choosing my emotions and bringing mindfulness to everything that happens in my life–even if, this time, it is a few days late.
Comments(1)Room for Joy?
Today, I selected this quote at random from Heart Thoughts just to think about : “Are you willing to make room for joy in your life?” Well, obviously the answer is yes, right? But then I thought about how severely depression has affected my life and caused me to expect that nothing will ever work out like I want it to. And I realized that, to my dismay, that negative expectation had become a habit–so much so that the idea of having joy in my life felt really strange and even uncomfortable.
Why do we have such resistance to allowing ourselves to feel joyful? Are we not worthy of it? Will we tick off the gods if we are too happy? What would happen if we let one moment of joy in, and then another….and then another–until those moments outweighed the habit of negative expectation?
Even now, the idea makes me a little nervous. Guess I have more work to do.
A Lesson in Self-Esteem
There is absolutely no shortage of lessons in life–we just have to be paying attention to catch them. This weekend, I was mulling over what I think of as my hypersensitivity to criticism–especially the kind that is delivered with that parental, shame-on-you tone. I was distracted from my mulling as I saw a car turning right, into a lane of oncoming traffic, and go up on the curb to avoid being hit. Then I watched as the driver (teenage boy) and the passenger (the father?) of the curbed car got out and exchanged places and drove away.
It got me to wondering how the young man was feeling about his near miss–embarrassed? scared? angry? Out of the blue, I had the thought that if he has a good, solid foundation in self-esteem, he might feel scared and know he had made a mistake, but he probably doesn’t feel like a worthless piece of scum–which is how I sometimes feel deep down when I do something “wrong” or that displeases someone else.
I saw that my sensitivity to real or imagined criticism stems from shaky self-esteem and self-love, from my own fear that I am so basically flawed and unlovable as to not be worth the trouble of having around. The criticism feels like confirmation that I am bad or worthless–and it can only be seen as a prelude to being banished, abandoned and excused from occupying any space on the planet. Wow, no wonder that kind of criticism feels so bad!
So, I see a connection now that I hadn’t seen before–and what appeared to be a Saturday driving lesson turned into another kind of lesson altogether.
Anyone else out there know what I’m talking about?
Heart Thoughts, by Marie Kane and Kay Hunt, is a little treasure book of inspirational and often humorous thoughts, quotes and insights. It was written for people everywhere who are hungry for inspiration, contemplation, amusement and encouragement.
Marie and Kay come from different backgrounds (see “About the Authors” for details) but they whole-heartedly agree that adding something positive to the world is a lot more fun and a lot more powerful than choosing to do nothing. That fits their philosophy to “start where you are with what you have and do what you can.”
More than 100 quotes, collected from the authors’ personal journeys toward spiritual growth, have uplifted and impacted thousands of people who repeatedly report how much the book has meant to them.
Thank you so much for your beautiful…and powerful little book! Every time I open it, I’m uplifted. (Christine R.)
My parents’ home as well as all their belongings was recently destroyed. The first thing my mother mentioned was that this book would not be there when she returned. I would like to order another one immediately to replace it. (Jay J., Atlanta, GA)
…every page held something special, true, beautiful and meaningful. (Jean G., Kendallville, IN)
Heart Thoughts makes a unique heart-felt and appreciated gift for friends, family and co-workers (and don’t forget about yourself!). It’s the perfect gift solution for Valentine’s Day, Birthdays and any special holiday. When purchased in quantities of 100 and more, the book may be customized with a logo and contact information, making it a perfect corporate gift or item to be sold as a fundraiser for your group.
