04/2022

DAILY QUOTE

30.04.2022

Watch carefully

the magic that occurs

when you give a person

enough comfort

to just be themselves.

(Atticus)

29.04.2022

If you are worried about whether or not you will be misunderstood, judged, or criticized when you put yourself, your work, your art, your heart out there… the truth is that you will be.

There is no avoiding it.

The question is, how can you do it anyway?

How can you keep going?

As an artist, a creator, a parent, a teacher, a guide, a mentor, a leader, a (fill in the blank)... you will be misunderstood.

You will be judged. You will be criticized. We cannot avoid what is guaranteed.

And… showing up anyway to do what you are here to do (or what you choose, want, need, or desire to to… however you may describe it) is possible.

We can let this be a simple result of being human instead of a personal failing or something to fix/hack/figure out.

We can let it be a natural side-effect of showing up instead of a sign to hide.

Not being for everyone isn't a flaw - it's human nature.

Instead of avoiding judgment, we can learn to partner with ourselves through it.

Instead of avoiding criticism, we can create a well of compassion to return to within.

Instead of avoiding being misunderstood, we can root into our values, our why, what matters to us.

Instead of constantly looking to those who don't resonate with us, we can keep our eyes open to all who do.

We can trust others to find what they need instead of trying to be what everyone needs.

And we can practice trusting that our work, whatever it may be, will find those who are meant to find it.

May it be so.

(Lisa Olivera)

28.04.2022

Communicate with me,

no matter how dark,

no matter how strange

or deep it may be.

I love when people can be raw

and direct. Share with me,

the corners of your heart that

others have been too afraid

to stand on. Be you, all the time,

& let me in so I can understand you.

(Sylvester McNutt)

27.04.2022

Boundaries emerge from deep within.

They are connected to letting go of

guilt and shame, and to changing

our beliefs about what we deserve.

As our thinking about this becomes

clearer, so will our boundaries.

Boundaries are also connected

to a Higher Timing than our own.

We’ll set a limit when we’re ready,

and not a moment before.

So will others. There’s something

magical about reaching that point

of becoming ready to set a limit.

We know we mean what we say;

others take us seriously too.

Things change, not because we’re

controlling others, but because

we’ve changed.

(Melody Beattie)

26.04.2022

In the beginning, spirituality is a seeking practice.

We seek peace, we seek joy, we seek wisdom, we seek awakening, we seek self betterment.

Farther down the road, the realization comes that we already are the peace and joy and wisdom and awakening and self betterment that we seek.

At that point, spirituality becomes what it is… Not a practice of seeking anything.

But a practice of uncovering what was there inside you all along.

You already are the light at the end of the tunnel.

You already are the wisdom, you already are the peace, you already are the joy.

You already are awakened, you already are perfect.

All that’s left is for you to discover that you are.

(Teal Swan)

25.04.2022

Maybe I haven't met my Prince

Charming yet, but I have met

dozens of toads who taught

me how to rescue myself,

dozens of fairy godmothers

who taught me how to believe

in myself, & dozens of magical

moments that taught me never

to give up on myself.

(Mandy Hale)

24.04.2022

We are not supposed to all

be the same, feel the same,

think the same, and

believe the same.

The key to continued expansion

of our Universe lies in diversity,

not in conformity and coercion.

Conventionality is the death

of creation.

(Anthon St. Maarten)

23.04.2022

I don't trust anyone

who doesn't laugh.

(Maya Angelou)

22.04.2022

Trauma says:

You're not allowed to say no.

What if it makes the other

person upset? It doesn't matter

how uncomfortable or exhausted

you are, just say yes.

Healing says:

When I give myself permission

to say no, that doesn't mean

I don't care about other

people or their happiness.

I'm allowed to have boundaries

and do what's right for me,

even if other people

don't understand.

(Emmy Marie)

21.04.2022

INSTEAD OF SAYING "I'M OK“

WHEN YOU'RE REALLY NOT, TRY:

• I'm sad, and I need some support.

• I feel terrible. Can I have a hug?

• I'm feeling lonely.

Can we go for a walk together?

• I'm scared and frustrated.

Can you come over and sit with me?

• Are you open to a phone call?

I’d like to share how I'm feeling

with you.

• I'm not OK today, but I do not

need you "fix things."

• My heart is heavy.

Can you send me some loving energy?

• I'm feeling uncertain.

Do you have any words of

encouragement for me?

• I'm upset and overwhelmed.

Can we make time to talk later?

• I love you - but I'm not happy

with you right now.

I need some space.

We live in a world that celebrates

„being okay" and "sucking it up“

even when we are hurting,

overwhelmed, and sad.

I'm here to remind you that:

It's OK not to be OK.

You are allowed to ask for help.

You are allowed to fall apart.

You are allowed to speak up

and advocate for yourself.

You don't have to be okay.

You don't have to hide

behind "no worries."

You don't have to be

the strong one.

Give yourself permission

to not suffer in silence.

(Alexandra Elle)

20.04.2022

We attract the people, places,

and things that are a vibrational

match to ourselves.

So if a lesson is presenting itself

to you again and again,

you must allow yourself to

confront it head on and to truly

experience it. Be still, be present,

and breathe. Look for what it is

trying to teach you. Push through

the fear, push through the emotions,

and invite change within.

By fully experiencing the lesson,

you will move through it, beyond it,

and you will no longer attract it

into your life. Through the experience,

you will identify and confront the

barriers that keep you from peace,

happiness, abundance, intimacy,

and love. This is growth.

This is the evolution of consciousness.

This is the art of becoming.

This is self love.

(Creig Crippen)

19.04.2022

There are two basic motivating

forces: fear and love.

When we are afraid,

we pull back from life.

When we are in love,

we open to all that life

has to offer with passion,

excitement, and acceptance.

We need to learn to love

ourselves first, in all our glory

and our imperfections.

If we cannot love ourselves,

we cannot fully open to our

ability to love others or

our potential to create.

Evolution and all hopes for

a better world rest in the

fearlessness and open-hearted

vision of people who embrace life.

(John Lennon)

18.04.2022

There's no one right way

to be. Life is joyous and sad.

Devastating and miraculous.

Full of loss and full of grace.

It's messy and weird.

We find the sweet spot and

then lose the groove.

The rules feel rigid but

the heart is bendy.

Being alive is a ride, you know?

Crazy beautiful ride.

(McCall Erickson)

17.04.2022

When you are constantly feeling

driven to help & fix others,

in reality what you are doing

is attempting to manipulate

the dynamic between you,

by making sure they somehow

need you. So, you are in essence

trying to control their feelings

towards you & therefore secure

your place in their lives.

And this way, your fear of

abandonment gets soothed,

resting in what you deep down

believe about how relationships

with humans really work:

"as long as they need you,

they won't leave you".

(Evita Pk)

16.04.2022

If you ever want your soul

to dance in the clouds,

you will at some point

have to juggle lightning

and taste the thunder.

(Christopher Poindexter)

15.04.2022

A tulip doesn’t strive to impress anyone.

It doesn’t struggle to be different

than a rose. It doesn’t have to.

It is different.

And there’s room in the garden

for every flower.

You didn’t have to struggle to

make your face different than

anyone else’s on earth.

It just is.

You are unique because you

were created that way.

Look at little children

in kindergarten.

They’re all different without

trying to be.

As long as they’re unselfconsciously

being themselves, they can’t help

but shine. It’s only later,

when children are taught to compete,

to strive to be better than others,

that their natural light

becomes distorted.

(Marianne Williamson)

14.04.2022

You never know how strong

you are until being strong

is your only choice.

(Bob Marley)

13.04.2022

We are uncomfortable because

everything in our life keeps changing -

our inner moods, our bodies, our work,

the people we love, the world

we live in. We can't hold on to anything -

a beautiful sunset, a sweet taste,

an intimate moment with a lover,

our very existence as the body/mind we

call self - because all things come and go.

Lacking any permanent satisfaction,

we continuously need another injection of

fuel, stimulation, reassurance from loved ones,

medicine, exercise, and meditation.

We are continually driven to become something

more, to experience something else.

(Tara Brach)

12.04.2022

You must understand the whole of life,

not just one little part of it.

That is why you must read,

that is why you must look at the skies,

that is why you must sing, and dance,

and write poems, and suffer,

and understand, for all that is life.

(Jiddu Krishnamurti)

11.04.2022

YOUR EYES

On a dark, cold evening in the middle of december, many years ago, I saw it the first time.

In your eyes. In your shining eyes, reflecting the flames of the open fire.

But it wasn't the fire, it was this bright inner light in your eyes which put a spell on me.

It attracted me so deeply, that I couldn't resist looking directly into it, every second.

Missing just one second of this light would have caused a strong painful regret in my entire being.

"Who are you?" I thought. Again and again this question in my mind.

I could sense that the answer was hidden in that light.

So I took a deep breath and decided to get involved and to REALLY look into your eyes.

Not like in everyday life, superficial without profound contact, but from soul to soul, to enter into your world.

The first seconds felt like a rollercoaster.

Adrenaline pulsated through my body.

My heart trembled, not knowing what would happen next.

Then I noticed these movements in your face, like energy waves, creating hundreds of different appearances, shy children, wrinkled old women, archaic warriors, wild animals, fiery grimaces, beautiful high priestesses.

There was no face you didn't show me.

You showed me everything.

All these faces melted together, fading away, coming back, creating an unimaginably mighty hologram beyond time and space.

I had to fasten my seatbelt. Seeing all your different faces confronted me with my own faces and the longing in the depth of my soul to create my own all-embracing hologram. It felt like dying and being born in the same moment.

No fear. Just this one moment. NOW.

Suddenly the waves became slower and foggier.

This bright light in your eyes started a journey, conquering your forehead, your hair, your nose, your lips, your cheeks, your throat. The whole head surrounded by this glorious light.

The rollercoaster transformed into a cloud, a soft, soothing, cozy and warm cloud. There I sat, bathing in the divine light, all polarity vanished.

Tears in my eyes. They had nearly forgotten this brightness from the eternal space.

The tears were a physical reaction, but more than this, they were the expression of a deep remembering in me.

My whole body resonated in the melody of that light, in the delight of its unbounded peace.

Viewing each other with two knowing and recognizing smiles on our faces.

(RWYA)

10.04.2022

If you want to strengthen your faith,

you will need to soften inside.

For your faith to be rock solid,

your heart needs to be as soft

as a feather. Through an illness,

accident, loss or fright,

one way or another, we are all faced

with incidents that teach us

how to become less selfish and

judgmental and more compassionate

and generous. Yet some of us learn the

lesson and manage to become milder,

while some others end up becoming

even harsher than before…

(Shams Tabrizi)

09.04.2022

It is a process of transformation,

a learning to live from a certain

truth of soul rather than the

more common truth of culture.

Because most people live from

the truth of culture, they can't,

by orientation, understand

what you are doing or why.

(Stephen Harrod Buhner)

08.04.2022

The discomfort you are having

right now, needs attention.

Feel everything your body

is trying to tell you.

(Mila Zambrano)

07.04.2022

There's no disaster that

can’t become a blessing,

and no blessing that

can’t become a disaster.

(Richard Bach)

06.04.2022

I know a lot of people make fun of

the idea of having an 'inner child' but

I think that's just because they don't

understand the science behind it.

Whatever neural firing pattern got

established when you were a child,

when it opens again, it's like your brain

is firing in a similar way as it did when

you were young because that pattern

got templated. It's like in that moment,

we become the child again.

When we can approach our parts with

compassion, it changes everything.

Why? Because when understanding and

compassion are given to our parts, it

allows for some really deep healing

work... where our parts can finally feel

safe enough to relax.

It's almost like through our love toward

them, that they can realize they aren't in

the trauma scene anymore. The sciency

way of saying this is that we are working

to change implicit memory.

There is something important about not

only thinking about or approaching our

parts as 'neural firing patterns' or

'conditioning' or 'schemas' but rather

visualizing them as like human because

there is a way we are dealing with human

consciousness. It's a human story.

It's not a what, it's a who.

When I have a client who is depressed,

I'm not thinking: What is this depression?

Is it a chemical balance? Is it a coping

strategy? How do I get rid of it? I'm

thinking: Who in there is depressed?

Who in there gave up hope and why?

Who in there got so punished for the

anger that they learned to shut down

instead?

That part needs someone to find it and

build a relationship to it. To listen to it.

Because just like with humans, a part

will only be able to change, be able to

learn and shift, once it feels heard first.

(Dr. Tori Olds)

05.04.2022

Life can only be understood backwards;

but it must be lived forwards.

(Søren Kierkegaard)

04.04.2022

SALT AND SUGAR

The thing is, I still believe in it.

The sky during its thunder.

The sea during its storm.

The earth during its darkest hours.

You. Yes you, reading this.

I am tired of us abandoning the

parts of ourselves we do not like

and calling ourselves lost things.

The sun does not abandon us

when a storm visits.

The sea does not abandon the

cliffs because they are hardened

to her touch.

I am asking you not to abandon

the parts of yourself that

are in need of more love.

I am asking you to hold

the parts of you that shatter,

that scare you, close.

I am asking you to become better

at loving those portions of yourself

you wish to abandon - to learn

from them as much as you learn

from everything about you

that is beloved.

The salt as well as the sugar.

The gentle breeze as well

as the coarse sand.

(Nikita Gill)

03.04.2022

HEALING: TRUST THE PROCESS

Sometimes you have to commit to feeling worse in order to feel better.

Sometimes you have to lose the hope of ever getting better, before you feel better.

Sometimes healing involves staying very present as powerful waves of sensation move in the body. Sometimes the body shakes, convulses, aches, sweats, burns, as it rids itself of toxins, releases bound-up energy.

The mind says, "I'm getting worse".

The heart knows you're so okay.

True healing is not the removal of symptoms, then, but courage, and trust, and connection with the breath, and knowing that symptoms may intensify before they disappear. And they may never disappear. Yet you may fall in love with yourself as you are, despite the future, and you may drop to your knees in gratitude, for you have been given another day on this precious earth.

Maybe getting worse was the best thing that ever happened to you. Because you've never sensed the presence of love so clearly, and your path has never been more obvious, and you've never felt so alive.

(Jeff Foster)