Conscious Creating......thank you, thank you, thank you!

Yogis,
I continue to do.  Some small step every day, without attachment to results.  My job is to look toward where I am heading and do, with complete and utter faith that it will manifest.  In fact I am so sure of its arrival that all of my doing is ‘as if’ it is already here. 

This is a subtle point but one that is important. We aren’t sitting down and writing out a rigid plan to get from point A to point B. That would be the hard way and the path that many of us have been taught. This is more like a meandering path through a garden where I know I will reach the other end so why hurry. I stop to smell the lavender, follow a butterfly to the echinacea and choose to rest on a tree stump. In fact at one point I head back to touch the lamb’s ears one more time. The straight line may have taken me to the same point but oh, to have missed the pure pleasure of those moments. Let the Universe do the heavy lifting. It wants to help.

Simply lean in……..

And be grateful. Thank you Universe!! 

Gratitude. Grateful first and foremost for all that you already have. And then grateful for what it is that you are now manifesting. Since you know it is coming…..be grateful in advance!

Gratitude is an energy of the heart and one that we must practice using to get that gratitude engine revved up and keep it humming.  First we have to make sure we give the heart a lot of space and the easiest way to do that is to reach up and spread your arms as wide as they will go, pointing your heart upward – like the picture. Breathe into that whole area around the heart.  Aaahhhhhhh…….

Imagine you are turning on a giant spotlight in the heart and shining it out on everything around you.  As you walk through your day imagine that light burning strong and direct it toward everyone you pass. Everyone. 

And finally give gratitude for those dozens of little daily moments that bring you joy (out loud whenever possible). Thank you owl. Thank you ripe crisp apple. Thank you moon and stars and clouds. Thank you bubble bath. Thank you warm fuzzy slippers. Thank you rain, sunset and the dark of night.  Thank you favorite jeans. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

The more gratitude you send out, the more things to be grateful for come your way. Gratitude is life’s largest magnet for all that you want. Be grateful…..in advance.

Thank you all for reading my notes,
SARAH

Conscious Creating.....me to we

Yogis,

What have you been ‘doing?’  This week I had someone help me set up my PC to support my new ventures, planted roots of some medicinal herbs I want to work with, got a quote on renovating a bathroom so I can host  weekend retreats (who wants to come?) and created a flyer for a workshop I plan to hold.  All small steps toward…..

The energy of leaning in, doing, forward movement are all the energy of fire. The Sun. Heat. Change. Transformation. It is this heat that sparks the creation.

What matters here is consistency. Discipline. Over and over and over and over.  Referred to as tapas, it is our outward wink to the Universe that we are going. Again, these aren’t difficult actions, but as human ‘doers’ we have a deeply ingrained belief that we must go full blast and we burn ourselves out. It’s too hard. Instead approach this as doing, pausing, noticing and then doing again. 

This would be like the weeding and watering of a garden. We notice that we love peas and that we want to grow them ourselves. We visualize serving a beautiful salad with fresh peas to our friends. We plant the seeds but then must care for them. If we plant and leave town our vision is unlikely to manifest. If we only water every ten days because we don’t feel like going outside on hot days our peas don’t have much of a chance. Without the light of our focus nothing will grow. Not peas and not our soul’s dreams. 

For me one of my daily tapas is my meditation.  Every day at 6:30 am.  Every day.  Are there days I don’t feel like it?  Yes (like this morning after our annual Lobsterfest that had me up until midnight.)  Does my mind tell me it is ok to skip every now and then? Of course (and it can be so convincing.)  Do I do it anyway? ABSOLUTELY. 

I do…….but at the same time……

I trust. Recognizing that there is a force great than us. Whatever that may be for you…..nature, a god, the universe, the divine, the great mystery. The magic. You aren’t alone on this path. Moving from me to we……

A force that can paint the sky with rainbows and produce fields of flowers so beautiful that they bring us to tears.  Shooting stars, seahorses and the colors on a butterfly wing. The pounding of the waves, the taste of a perfectly ripe strawberry and the smell of grass after the rain. The sacredness of this life that we alone cannot take credit for no matter how hard we try. From me to we…..

We keep the doing but surround it with an unwavering faith that we are hand in hand with a partner and that our vision will indeed manifest.  In due time. No doubts and no worries.  Simply putting one foot in front of the other and loosening the white knuckled grip we have on life’ s reins.

Not always easy.

Leaning in,
Sarah

Conscious Creating......do something

Yogis,

If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand………

A wise person once whispered this to me but it took several years before I understood.

What do you see?

We have now taken what it is that we want and placed it in a vision that we see each and every day. If you want more joy….see yourself bursting with happiness.  If you want financial security…..see yourself surrounded by abundance. Your house to sell…..visualize an excited family arriving at the closing.  See where you are going but leave the map to the Universe.

Now it is time to do. Time to step toward. I refer to this as the energy of leaning in. You’ve packed your bags and the car is loaded. It’s time to go!

Feel that energy of leaning in. Begin to take baby steps. It almost feels as if there is a magnet on your vision that is drawing you towards it. Make that phone call. Take the class. Invite the woman down the street who does what you want to do over for tea. Buy the camera. Read a book on building a web site.  Walk the space where you want to start a garden. Put those first words on paper.  Do something. 

No major leaps are required, but welcomed if they feel right.  All that is asked of you here is to DO SOMETHING. Anything. Walk through a new door every day. 

We are now showing the Universe that we are serious. We have seen what we want and we are on our way. 

What this isn’t – Grit. Struggle. Pushing ahead. Muscling through. Hard labor. All work no play. You can live that way if you choose, but know that there is a much gentler option which is even more effective… and a whole lot more fun.

What this is –Placing one foot in front of the other. Confident. Centered. Focused. Relaxed effort. Feeling your way. Stepping out of the comfort zone. Doing something.

The fuel for this part of the journey is passion.  If it is a true want, your passion for manifesting it causes the journey to feel effortless.  Obstacles become teachers, and the uncomfortable begins to become a friend. It is at this point that our wants are clearly separated from our mere wishes. For a want, we are willing to change.

It is in this space that we grow. And as soon as you begin to take the steps, the Universe will rush in to assist. 

So start the ignition! We have places to go!

Don’t forget to dance,
SARAH

Conscious Creating…….where you look is where you go

Yogis,

Where you look is where you go…… I use this phrase in class often.  It holds subtle truths within its layers. 

First the physical. Take for example going into a crow pose in yoga. In Bakasana you plant your hands and bend the elbows, placing the knees on the back of the upper arms and lifting the feet off the ground so you are balancing your body on your hands.  The instinct is often to look down and back at your knees and feet to see where they are and in doing so – boom.  An ungraceful fall onto the crown of the head. Where you look is where you go…..

If instead the gaze is forward, the motion and energy will follow along, creating that perfect balance between the weight of the head and hips. Light and lifted. Flying.

When standing if you raise your arms up over the head but look down there is a heaviness. Swing your gaze skyward and watch the heart follow. Reaching. Things are looking up.

Then there is the mind. In a moment of stillness if the eyes are darting about, the mind will follow suit. To settle the mind, settle the eyes. Find a steady gazing point and feel the breath and the inner calm gladly join along. Seeing what is right here……

Or when the outer world becomes a bit too much to handle, allow the eyes to close and take a glimpse of the inner world. A gaze here will show you what is indeed true. 

And there are also the energetic Laws of the Universe.  In our first 4 weeks of ‘Conscious Creating’ we slowed down and noticed how things are and then dove deep to uncover what it is that we want.  This week we begin to form a vision. Seeing what we want. Since where we look is where we go……

Take whatever it is that you are creating and form an image around it. This vision should be of what it will look like once it has manifested. See how you will look, your surroundings, what you are wearing and how you are moving. The colors and textures.  All of the details.  See it vividly.

Be sure you are seeing it already created! We aren’t visualizing the steps or process of getting there.  Leave that to the Universe! See yourself already having it, being it, doing it, feeling it. 

If you want to travel – visualize yourself lying on that deserted beach. If you want to heal an illness, see yourself walking through a meadow with complete health. A painter, create a vision of your first art show. More joy, see you, surrounded by all of those you love. You need a parking space, see the image of a car pulling out from right in front of the store as you are arriving. 

Keep this vision close. See it often. Daily. Whenever it occurs to you. Paint it on the blank canvas in front of you in Technicolor and then let it go. Look and let it go. See and let it go.

And there are those pesky other visions that creep in uninvited…….those ones that play back for you your fears, worries and all the possible bad outcomes. Take life’s big eraser and wipe them off the board each time they appear.  Because where you look is where you go…….and that is definitely not where you are headed.

Choose where to go! See. And begin to lean in…….

Seeing what I want,
SARAH

Conscious Creating......I am juicy

Yogis,

Friday as I made the drive to the beach I found myself watching my 34 year career with Xerox in the rear view mirror.  Sixty miles an hour, each mile traveled putting just that much more distance between me and what I have always done.  Watching all of my ‘lasts’ release out through the back of  the body.  My last pricing model…..last conference call……last team meeting…..and last bid submission. Last day. Like the signposts that I pass. All behind me now.

I start to notice the wide open fields ahead of me, becoming tinged yellow and orange as the seasons begin their shift.  Fields spreading in front of me as far as the eye can see.  Limitless.  All that lies ahead. My future. My canvas. 

I then feel me sitting in the car sandwiched  between the two views. The shape of my body.  My breath. Present. Aware. Here. The creator of my life……..

This is week 4 of Conscious Creating – a guide to manifesting your life.  In these past three weeks we have become still and quiet enough to notice.  Our habits, relationships, schedules, health. Seeing things as they are and then feeling what is and is not serving us. Uncovering what it is that I want. 

This is a step that we often rush through.  I ‘want’ and I go buy.  I ‘want’ and I book the trip.  I ‘want’ and I eat. Though these are all fine, and this process will work for all of them, the want I speak of here is more primal. Deeper. Truer. The want of connection, meaning, fulfillment, purpose, self-love, deep joy. 

So how do we reach inside to touch these?  We must get the creative juices turned on. 

The energy to create your life is the same energy used to create a baby. It’s the energy found in a tiny acorn from which an entire oak tree emerges. Found down in the pelvis and hips, it is our center of feeling. Our emotions and sensuality.  It is what causes words to tumble out when we write, colors to fill the canvas as we paint and the songs to pour out of our hearts that bring others to tears.  And it is easy to become disconnected from this part of ourselves as we grow into mature logical responsible adults. 

So it’s time to kick off the shoes!  Turn up the music until you can feel it………soak in the tub……..be naked…..….lie in the grass under the moon……..stand outside in the pouring rain…….dance………lean into the wind……..get dirty (very dirty)……give yourself a massage………let out a gigantic no holds barred scream.  Do those things that make you feel alive. Step out of the lines to be wild. Juicy and free! 

Creating is not a rigid linear process.  It requires letting go of the reins to dance with the rhythm of the Universe.  Tapping your foot to the beat of your heart. Dropping from the thinking mind into the feeling mind is the difference between drawing with a pencil to being handed a  full palette of vibrant paints   The more you feel the more you tap into the incredible creative force that lies within each and every one of us. 

So once again…..what do I want? What will I paint on my life canvas? Stand back while I take my time to feel.

Feeling juicy,
SARAH