The art of hearing

Posted on by under Uncategorized

You’re going where? For how long?
These were the questions that I was asked after I said I was going on a silent retreat for five days.

I heard these two questions so many times I questioned what came out of my mouth. It felt like I said something that did not make sense. Whenever I announced I was going on a silent retreat, I was met with a blank look or a look of disbelief.  Most people could not compute, they could not understand what possessed me to go on a silent retreat.

I am going on a silent retreat for five days. Then came, what do you mean? Do you mean, it’s going to be completely silent? You mean you won’t be able to talk? Yes, that’s correct…and then the inevitable:” I don’t think I could do that, no talking for 5 days. I know I could not do that.” That made me smile and I believe that most people could not do that.

Why did I want to go on a silent retreat? A friend of mine went to a silent retreat at Loyola House at the Jesuit Center a couple of years ago and she liked it. Since then, I wanted to go and I believed it was the right time. Also, I was reading a book called The Art of hearing heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker, and I wanted to experience that art, I wanted to start practicing it. I thought a silent retreat was a great place to start.

Here I was on a Sunday afternoon, all packed and ready to go.  I left at 4:30pm in order to get there at 6:00pm. I don’t like to drive long distance during winter and I don’t like to drive when it’s dark. I was excited to embark on this journey, a special time with God. This was my thought:” My heart leaps at the thought of spending time with you. I am overjoyed and greatly humbled.”

On my way to the Jesuit Center in Guelph, I have images of monks wearing their long robes and since I have two African moumous, I packed them in my suitcase because they resembled the kind of robes that monks would be wearing.

It took longer than I thought but it was a beautiful drive. I arrived there at 6:30pm, right on schedule as arrival time was scheduled between 6:30 and 7:45. My first encounter was with 3 Asian people who smiled at me. I smiled back while thinking: Great!!! Monks, as I envisioned it.

At 8:00pm, we had a welcome meeting where all retreatants gathered in the chapel. One by one, we introduced ourself. I was surprised to hear that some people were at their 10th, 12th even, 15th visit. Fortunately, there were some first time retreatants like myself.

The Atmosphere

The atmosphere invited us to be silent. We were told not to use our alarm, to trust the Holy Spirit would wake us up. I almost rolled my eyes but I obeyed this directive because it felt like we were on holy ground and in a sense, we were.  Believe it or not, not one time did I use my alarm.  I woke up every morning at 7:00am without fail.

We, then, met with our spiritual director whom I would meet every day at 8:30am right after breakfast. Then they gave us a tour of the venue.

Jesuit Center is a land of approximately 600 acres. We were invited to take advantage of the different trails available to us. And I did . I went for a thirty minute walk every day. I was thankful for the clean air, for the open space, for the beautiful scenery. Silence is indeed golden! Some people even brought their skis and they were encouraged to take advantage of that as well.

My bedroom was located on the first floor closed to the washroom which, for me was a special blessing specially because I don’t usually use the stairs due to bad knees.

The Food

The Food was fresh, amazing, all organic, full of goodness, and obviously prepared with love.

Eating in silence, although surrounded by other people, is a different experience because although we did not talk to anyone, we connected because we came as one, in unity, for the same purpose.

When I finished eating, I felt full, not stuffed. During my stay there, I had no stomach problem, no Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

The questions

Many people wanted to know what I did while I was there.  I guess saying that I was in contemplation was not enough.  the question “what did you do?” keeps coming up.  What did I do?  It’s not so much the doing but the being. But how do you ask “What did you be?”.  In silence, I became more thankful, more appreciative of everything and for everything that I was experiencing. I was thankful for the silence not only in noise but also in stuff.  Then, I realize that we really do not need too much to live a full life.  I had everything I needed and I felt full spiritually and physically.

I did not feel out of place, not for one second.  Although, we did not speak to each other with sounds but we spoke with each other with attention.  A smile meant you are welcome, a sign asked for your attention and a nod meant that you were seen.  I received a compliment on my “moumou”, the lady did not have to say anything but the way her face lit up when she saw me, meant a lot, and she signed.  I don’t use sign language but I understood what she meant.

In the doing category, there was no set schedule except for mass which was scheduled at 11:00 am every day. We were invited to go but not forced to go. Meal times were set at 8:00 am – breakfast, 12:30pm – lunch and 6:00pm – supper.  I met with my spiritual director every day at 8:30am for 45 minutes, and sometimes more.  We had wonderful conversations.  He gave me some direction in regards to prayer, to meditation, to seating in silence.  I wrote a lot.  I wrote about what I heard in Spirit, I wrote about what I was reading in the bible and also, my impressions of what I read in the Art of hearing heartbeats.  As I mentioned before, I ate, I walked, I practiced my speech when I went for a walk.

Hearing is an art which means that it takes practice.  It is an exercise that needs to be practiced at every moment.  Hearing deeply means that we have to slow down, it takes time.  For me, the silence made me aware of everything I would otherwise not pay too much attention to:
– The sound of foot steps (male, female, different ethnicity);
– The sound of running water;
– The sound of people chewing their food;
– The sound of the wind;
– The sound of the heater;

– The way people related with one another.  Some people passed you by without a look, some smiled as they passed you, and some nodded.  Same situation, different reactions.

All sounds were amplified. Everything came to life.

Remember, I told you I was reading a book called: The art of hearing heartbeats? In the book, the young man was blind and he could hear butterfly wings, birds in their nest, heartbeats.

One night before I went to bed, I thought: “wouldn’t it be amazing God if I could hear these things as well?  What an experience, that would be!”. Well, be careful what you wish for.  That night, I was awoken by two different distinct sounds which I had never heard before. I got scared and I said: “No God, it’s a little bit too much, I don’t think I am ready for that yet. Make it stop!” And it stopped. I went back to sleep. That was that.

I am thankful to have lived such an experience at the retreat. I did not see any monks, and although, I did not hear other people’s heartbeats, I was able to hear my own. I know it takes practice in order to hear more. The challenge has been and still is to find time in my usual surroundings, to be still and be silent.

This has been an amazing experience.  For this reason, I know I will make the silent retreat a yearly pilgrimage.

What about you? Would you be able to go on a silent retreat? Would you be able to practice the art of hearing?

That miraculous moment

Posted on by under inspiration, lessons, life, realization

How do you treat You?

Where have you learned about self-love?

Do you still practice self-love to this day?

This past weekend, I volunteered in the spelling bee competition.  It was the practice round for the volunteers and the participants.

In the section I volunteered, the participants were grade 1 and grade 2 children, courageous children.

One by one, they went on stage when they were called and, spelled the word that was given to them.  Some of them tried to but were unsuccessful.

As I watched one little boy, in particular, who did not succeed in spelling the given word, my heart broke.  It was hard to see that little boy running to his mom and crying.  It was hard for me to experience this moment.  And as I was trying to keep the tears from running down my cheeks, one of the mothers said to me: “It is heart-wrenching!”  I nodded and ran out.

Yes, it is heart-wrenching!

My friend who was also volunteering, when she saw me, asked me what happened.

What happened is that I always break down when I see little children putting themselves out there whether it’s singing, dancing, acting, and apparently spelling…whatever the activity, they touch me so deeply.

As I watched that little boy running in his mom’s arms, I wondered what she would tell him. I wondered how she will uplift this little soul.  Would she say: “Great job, little one, I am very proud of you. You are a very courageous boy for participating in that competition. You are great!”?

Would she build him up?  Would she nurture his soul?  Would she impart blessings in his life in that very moment?

I also wondered if she would allow him to understand the bigness of that first step or, would she be only caught in the spirit of the competition and allow comparison to take over?

Would this little boy be given permission to be  who he is and to know that whatever the outcome, he has already succeeded just because he tried.

That moment, if understood properly, would be a teaching moment for everyone involved: for the mom, for the boy, for everyone who was blessed enough to experience it. That moment came bearing gifts. That moment was a lesson in love, a lesson in teaching, a lesson in demonstrating. This was a big moment because this moment will determine how with the example of his mother, this little boy will understand how to treat himself in the future.

That moment was a momentous moment because the ordinary made place to the extra-ordinary. If we are open to see it, the miraculous replaces the mundane…if only, we. are. open. to. see. it.

That moment was beautiful and pure to me. That’s why it touched me and that’s what happened when we see with our spiritual eye because in that moment, a veil was lifted and the mundane is no more.

I was thankful to have been part of that moment.

As usual, in every competition, there was a winner. My hope is that all participants learned something from that practice round whether, it is to be proud of their accomplishments or, to win with humility or, to lose with grace or, that it takes courage to do what most people will not do or, to be better prepared.

Whatever the lesson, I hope in that moment, they learned to be who they are meant to be.

On Edge

Posted on by under beliefs, culture, fear, lessons, life

I went to see SELMA with a friend.

For those of you who don’t know, this movie is about Dr. Martin Luther King.

From the beginning of the movie, there was a feeling of uneasiness, like something hung in the air.  I felt on edge.

This movie touched the deepest part of me.  I felt different kinds of emotions, and they were exploding inside of me while I was watching this movie.  Sometimes, I felt like I was the one receiving the blow of a punch, right in my stomach.  It felt so real that it left me breathless.

This movie, which depicted certain moments in Dr. King’s life, during a time before I was born, brought a parallel to what is happening in the present time.  The more things change, the more they say the same…sadly.  We are brought more than 50 years back and yet, the same thing is happening now…black lives viewed as …not important.  Same fears, different times.

SELMA thought me different lessons about human beings:

–  Our capacity to cruelty when we live in fear

–  Our ability to forgive and move forward

–  Our ability to rally when we speak and understand the universal language of love

–  Our willingness to call on the Lord in our moments of fear, and draw from his strength

–  We have our own purpose, a specific reason for which we are uniquely created.

Dr. Martin Luther King had a purpose.  He was a powerful speaker and he had the ability to rally others to his cause.

I have to admit that during the movie, after Dr. King delivered one of his speech, I almost jumped from my seat and pumped my fist in the air.  Dr. King would have probably rallied me to his cause because it was more than a personal cause, it was a human cause.

After watching the movie, I was left with the following questions:

–  What makes someone continue to fight even after he or she feels defeated?

–  What makes one so dedicated to a cause that they won’t stop until they attain their goal?

–  What are the qualities that are part of the make up of these types of people?

I don’t usually talk about race, color: white, black, yellow, red, green. I never cared too much about how people looked on the outside, this is of little importance to me.  But when I watched movies like SELMA, it is impossible not to talk about race.

It saddens and angers me at the same time to see how black people were treated back then and in some places, we are still being treated the same way today.  It is mind boggling to me that some people can treat others differently because of the color of their skin, specially when none of us has any control over the color of the skin we were born with.

I mentioned before that I felt on edge while I was watching the movie.  What happened in those times is not part of my reality and yet, I was on edge.  Then, I started to imagine what it must have been like for someone who was or is living this reality.  I started to think how it must have affected him or her in their daily life on a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual level…and I realized that they too, must have been continually , on edge.

Imagine living constantly in fear because someone has decided that you are not enough, that you are less than, that you don’t matter because of the color of your skin.  Imagine how deep this kind of behavior would have affected you.  Imagine…

Imagine how long it would take to remove these kinds of beliefs from your psyche. Imagine …

Imagine how much love it would take to replace those deep-seeded negative beliefs. Imagine…

Yes, slavery has ended a long time ago but the beliefs, unfortunately, still linger… and for the most part, those beliefs are unconscious.

I dare say that violence has a history.  I dare say that rebellion has a history and, there comes a time when anyone who has been oppressed for too long will say enough!!!

We’ve seen the news recently.  History has a way of repeating itself.

What will it take to stop the fear? Completely!

PEACE

Posted on by under Uncategorized

I love the following acronym for PEACE.  I think it is from Iyanla Vanzant.

P. – Please

E.- Excuse

A. All

C. Crazy

E. Experiences

When I read this, I thought it made perfect sense.  It made perfect sense because I understand that peace comes from within.  Have you ever seen somebody going through a lot of things in their life and wondered how they could go on, how they could be so calm?  It is because they possess that peace that passes all understanding.

I will know peace when …I stop finding excuses for what I am not doing or, for what I am doing and know that I should not be doing.

Not too long ago, I spoke with an eighty-something year old woman who was not at peace.  Why?  Well, because she knew that she did not do what she was supposed to do.  She was supposed to return a document by a certain date but, she did not do.

So, she left a message asking me for another copy of the document.  She was crying, could not speak properly, was beside herself.

Before I called her, I was praying to find a way not to get caught up in her story.  You see, since I sent the documents to her the last time, we spoke three times: sames questions, same answers, same explanations, same excuses.

The thing is when we don’t do something we know we ought to do, we feel guilt, we feel shame and we are not at peace.  Although we might try to find excuses why it has not been done, why it did not get done, we know deep down, that we did not do our best, we know we can be a better person: man or woman.

The previous times when I spoke with this person, I got caught up in her history, and her story. Every time I spoke with her, I felt like crying because her story is very touching.

This time, when I talked to her, it hit me.  Good habits bring peace! We really don’t change too much from adolescence to adulthood.  We don’t change because we become an adult.  We only change when we are being present in our life, when we are aware of what is happening to us and the effect of these experiences in our life, when we start paying attention.  We change when we no longer want to be in the same position, and we want to have different experiences.

I tell my niece and nephew that if they don’t start practicing good habits in their adolescent years, they will have to start eventually. We don’t just become cooks because we have reached 18 years old.  No, that’s just not the way this works, unfortunately.

Proper preparation prevents poor performance.  That creates peace.

Back to the woman.  After talking to her once again, I wondered the following:

–  What habits did she develop when she was growing up?

– How have the habits that she developed in her life served her?

– Are these habits still serving her now?

– What is she getting from the habit of crying when she did not do what she was supposed to do?  Did she get pity from other parties?  Did her crying allow her to receive some grace?

In order to not get caught in her story this time, I went straight to the point.  I stayed pleasant while showing some humanity, wished her a wonderful day & said “good bye!”

I am not really expecting an outcome different than the previous ones.  I believe the outcome will be different when this person becomes conscious of her actions and how they are affecting her.  However, I am not holding my breath but I am at peace because I know I did what I was supposed to do.

Pillar of salt

Posted on by under lessons, life, realization, still

Gen. 19:26 – But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

I am fascinated by this story in the bible.  Lot and his family have been warned by the angels that if they look behind, they would be transformed into a pillar of salt.  Lot’s wife looked back and she instantly became a pillar of salt.

What happened there?  Maybe, she looked behind because she wanted to stay there and, regretted leaving.  Maybe, she did not have enough faith in the future that was laid before her.  Maybe, she lacked hope.  Maybe she did not trust.

I wonder many times if it is not the same with us, even to this day.  And perhaps, the sames questions apply today.

Like Lot’s family, we know exactly what fear does to us.  We know what constantly looking back does to us.  We also know that fear can be paralyzing. We also heard the warning, yet…we still look back.

Take for example, when we get stuck in the past.  We replay in our mind the same story over and again.  We replay in our mind the different outcomes of the same story.  We replay what we could have done, what we should have done, what we would have done if that were to happen again.  We get stuck, and fear can make us stay there.

Not too long ago, I got stuck.  I got stuck in fear.  I got stuck in the “what ifs”.  The fear I felt stopped me from writing.

Every time I started writing, my thoughts prevented me from going further.  I wrote articles but when it came time to publish them, I froze and save them instead.  My ego got the best of me and I started to think “who are you kidding?”  “What difference will that make?”

See, I believe I am a somewhat confident person who appears much more confident.  Most of the time, I don’t doubt myself.  I have faith.  I do what I have to do but from time to time, my ego gets the best of me.  And if I don’t take the time to be still, if I don’t take the time to pray and meditate, I can stay stuck, frozen even,  for a long time.

How do I get back to my spiritual practice when I feel so tired?  How do I get back to doing the things that I know I must do?

I had to look at my choices: I could continue to be in fear or be in love.  This is quite simple.

When I am in fear, I am driven by ego.  When I am in love, I am driven by Spirit.  It’s that simple.

–  I decided to be still – I started to pay intention to what brought me joy, what made me smile.  I love worship music.  I started to listen to it more and more, and it felt good.  When I listen to worship music, I could stay there for a long time.  I also pray and meditate.  Then I am reminded of who I am.

The key word here is “reminded”…which means that I knew and forgot.  That’s another trick of the ego. To make me believe that my doings are more important than my being.

–  I also decided to revisit my “whys”.  I took a long hard look within, and decided to continue to work on what brought me joy.  I also looked at my schedule to figure out what was going to stay, and what needed to go.

–  I also revisited my vision to see if it was on course, and if I was as passionate about it as I used to be.

To contemplate, I had to pause.  When I paused, I had a clearer view of who I am (Be), what I need to accomplish (Do), and what I want to achieve (Have).

While working on who I am, I still get to do what I like, and practice what I want to get better at.  Today, I am back.  Today, I decided to write.

 

The art of being focus – Daily Practice and exercise

Posted on by under inspiration, transformation

I have a plant.

I should say I have a plant I inherited from work.  I have a plant that I care for in my day job.  This plant is now full of leaves, beautiful, green vibrant leaves.

Last year, when I inherited that plant, it was not so full.  It was on my desk when I first started to work there.  I did not care so much for it.  I seriously thought that someone was taking care of it.  After all, I was paid for the work I do, not to care for a plant.  It was not part of my job.  That’s what I thought…seriously.

So when I came back to work after a weekend, and I saw the leaves spread on my desk, I thought the plant had died.  I said “they ” did not water the plant. I was told that it was my responsibility to care for it.

I was not thrilled.  I am not a “plant person”, they usually die in my presence.  I was not happy. I had two choices: I could be miserable or, I could learn a lesson in the opportunity I was given. So, I thought that I needed to learn to care for that plant.

How did I do that?

1.  I became intentional – I made a decision that I was going to care for the plant that I was entrusted with.  I looked around me and noticed the best looking plant in the office.  I decided that my plant was going to look like that one.  I paid attention to the owner of the beautiful plant, and noticed and studied how he cared for his plant.  I copied what he did for his plant, and I did the same for mine.

2.  I took action – I started to talk to my plant.  I gave it some tea from time to time.  I water it two times a week.  I touch the soil in order to make sure that it is well hydrated.  I clipped the branches that turned yellow.  Occasionally, I clean the leaves.

3. I became committed – I paid attention to the leaves: the color, the fullness or the lack of.  I paid attention to the texture of the leaves, to the soil and the pot.  I was committed to have a plant that was full of life.

What does this story have to do with you, my loved ones?  Well, everything.  The steps taken to care for my plant are the same needed to care for yourself.

1.  Make a decision that you are going to take care of yourself.  Everything starts with a decision.

2.  Commit to work on yourself.  If you need to lose weight, you need to commit to doing the work.  If you need to change, you need to commit to transform yourself.  If you want to have more money, you need to commit to making better choices in regards to your financial situation.  It’s that simple.  It is not easy but it is simple.

3.  Be intentional about caring for yourself, about nurturing yourself.

4.  Become conscious of your choices.

5.  Allow yourself to BE.  Give yourself some love, give yourself permission to make mistakes, forgive yourself and others often.  No judgment allowed.

6.  Develop a daily practice.  For example, the morning could be for stretching, moving, exercising.   At lunch time, You could pray, meditate, write in a gratitude journal after you finish eating.  In the evening, prepare to let go, make peace with yourself, forgive yourself and be thankful.

I invite you to pay attention to what is happening inside of you.  Hear what’s going on.  Feel what’s going on.  Feel your feelings but don’t act on them.

Call to action:  Start this exercise & practice daily for 21 days.  Notice how you are being changed.

Parting quote:  “Be thankful for everything.

Lessons and Confessions

Posted on by under inspiration, lessons, life, realization, transformation

Hello loved ones,

I feel the need to let you into my world.

Believe it or not, people approach me all the time: in the shopping malls, in the stores, at church, in the train station, in restaurants, etc.  They tell me their story… and I am thankful for that.  They come with a story, they usually leave with a question.  I usually tell them they don’t need to answer the question. I advise them to let the question unfolds, and the answers will reveal themselves in time.

I question what they see in me, that they feel compelled to talk, to reveal their most intimate stories? I am truly humbled by that.

I see myself as a fun loving kind of woman, intelligent, deeply spiritual, sensitive more than I like to admit.  I like to learn.  I have an inquiring mind.  I practice the art of being present.  What does that mean, you may ask?  Well, it means I practice observing what is going on inside of me, outside of me, and around me so that I can quickly adjust what is happening in the present.  I call it an art because it takes practice, and I am not there yet.

MY GREATEST FEAR

My greatest fear is that when I stand before my maker, I will regret not having lived the life that He has purposed for me because I was too scared.

I sincerely believe that God has planted a seed in my heart.  That seed sprouted when I was about 7 or 8 years old.  I believe that every time I felt that seed grow inside of me, I managed to push it back down because of fear: “Fear of not being good enough, fear of what will people think, fear of what if I fail, fear of what if I succeed”, insecurities, doubts, “Who do you think you are?”  ENOUGH!!! It’s enough to drive someone mad.

LAST YEAR

Last year, I almost bled to death.  I was loosing my energy little by little.  It felt like parts of me were shutting down one after the other. My hemoglobin count was going down (53), and down (36).  It was a year of total transformation.  As I was losing blood, I was gaining insight of who I am in Christ.  I journaled a lot. I learned all the “I AMs” that are part of my incarnation.  I am now free!!!

WHY AM I BLOGGING?

I don’t know about you, but when I was younger, my friends had the tendency to write “I was here” everywhere: on trees, on bathroom stalls, on doors, in the sand, any place they could find.  Well, blogging provides me with my “I was here” moment.

I also blog:

  • To inspire you
  • To uplift you
  • To enlighten
  • To empower you to take action
  • To propel you forward

I am feeling better now.  I had to learn to take care of myself, to love and accept myself UNCONDITIONALLY, to set up boundaries so I can protect myself.  I learned to live fully present in the present moment.

I am thankful for everything that God has allowed me to go through.  I am grateful for the lessons.

On my blog, I will provide tools to enlighten and empower you, my loved ones, to move forward.  I will teach you what I have learned: to love and accept yourself unconditionally.  I will bring back the focus on you because if you don’t learn to take care of yourself first, you will not be able to take care of anyone else.  It starts with YOU.

 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” Matthew 22:39

I AM NOW FULLY AWAKE

Last year was a wake-up call.  That was not the only one that I experienced in my life.  What made this one different? I guess it is the realization that I live on borrowed times; that in a single moment, everything can change.  I can no longer afford to keep pressing on the snooze button.  CAN YOU?

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Glorious Life Unfolding! Say it again: Glorious Life Unfolding! Say it with a smile this time: Glorious Life Unfolding!!! Yes, it is indeed – a glorious life unfolding.

This name was carefully chosen after my reflections on everything that happened last year: 2013.  As I felt depleted on a physical and emotional level: energy loss, hemoglobin at 53 then, 36, I also realized that I was being filled on a psychological and spiritual level: I was going through a spiritual awakening.  I understood that my life was unfolding and is unfolding gloriously…SO IS YOURS.

Enough about myself.  I would like to hear about you.

I welcome you to join me in these wonderful, thought-provoking conversations.

I invite you to sign up to receive updates.  Please let me know how I can better serve you.

Call to action:  Sit 10 minutes in silence – every day.

Parting quote:  “Everything starts in the mind.  Pay attention to your mind.”

PAUSE – BE STILL – KNOW: Five practices that will transform your every day life

Posted on by under transformation

Did you know that you produce between 50,000 and 75,000 thoughts a day?  Did you also know that 80% of these thoughts are negative?

Yep! – between 50,000 and 75,000 thoughts – A day.

A day??? Oui, oui, a day! Chaque jour! Every day!

Are you thinking that I have lost my marbles?  Well, these numbers were proven by psychologists.  I did not believe them either the first time I read them.  I thought “Surely, they made an error.  That can’t be true!”  But, let me ask you these questions:

– Has it ever happened that you were lost in your thoughts, and someone had to bring you back to reality?

– Do you sometimes forget what you were thinking?

– Have you ever had a reaction that was not appropriate to the present situation?

If you answer Yes to one of these questions, keep on reading as I have five practices that will help you BE still, be centered, be more in the present.

1. Sit every day in silence for 10 minutes

You must be wondering why 10 minutes?  I would say start with 15 minutes but I know for most people, 10 minutes is too long.  I gave this assignment at one of my coaching seminars.  I asked the participants to follow up with me after 7 days.  Most participants were not able to do this assignment: “They were too busy”.  Some of them did not think it was necessary.  The ones that were able to do this assignment found that they were more centered, they felt more rested, they had more peace.

After reading the number of thoughts that you produce each day; do you think this is necessary?

If you think 10 minutes is hard to do, start with 5 minutes.

2. Learn to breeeaaaaathe!!!

Breathe in through the nose at the count of 7.  Breathe out through the mouth at the count of 7.  Repeat 3 times.  It’s that simple.  This exercise can be repeated at any time during your day to bring you back to the NOW.

3.  Start by saying “Thank you” 

Living in thankfulness helps you BE in the present moment.  You are renewed in the NOW.  The more thankful you are, the less your thoughts will wander from past to future.

4.  Give yourself permission to BE…and let go

Forgive yourself and others.  By forgiving yourself and others, you will be less prone to relive what was done to you therefore, less time living in the past.

5.  Pray

And last but not least, pray!  This is an important practice.  In order to orient yourself to God, you need to prepare yourself completely.  The previous exercises will help you prepare yourself to BE in Spirit.  When you pray, you surrender to the  Higher Power.  You learn to let go of your ego, and allow God to do what only God can do.

When you pray, you also learn to submit to God.  You also learn to love more.  You have less fear.  You learn to detach from what you want, and you also learn to let go of the “should have been, would have been, could have been” – all thoughts that will keep you stuck in the past, which means out of the NOW.

I invite you to make these practices part of your every day life.  I would be interested to know how they have transformed your life.  Be part of the conversation!  Be blessed!

My little story

Posted on by under inspiration, realization, transformation

Glorious Life Unfolding is the name of my life coaching business. It came from years of searching to know who I am to a path of spiritual awakening.  It  also stems from the song Glorious Unfolding from Curtis Chapman.

What brought me on this path?

My marriage ended, I separated from my then-husband, moved out, worked on myself, lost the weight that I was carrying for a long time, felt lighter, was attracted to many people who sucked the life out of me, got depressed, was compromised.  All this time saying: “why is this happening to me again?

Please understand that this was not the beginning of my search.  It usually starts with a whisper.  Perhaps you have heard or even felt in your heart that the path you were on was not serving you, nor your circle of influence (family, friends, significant other) but you dismissed it and continued on.  Pretty soon, the whisper turned into a word, then a sentence, then a cry, then a scream…  SLOW DOWN, BE STILL, GET CENTERED!!!

What happened?

I worked on myself while getting a life coach certification.  What a GLORIOUS discovery that was!!! I learned who I was.  I learned about the beliefs that were holding me back, I learned about the underlying beliefs, the unconscious beliefs, the ones that were continually driving me to do the same things over, and over, and over again without having a clue that I was doing that.

I was continually putting the blame on other people without taking any ownership in how I was creating the same patterns therefore, having the same experiences, the same endings, the same of everything… I needed to PAUSE and BREATHE.

Voila, I have said it:  I needed to pause, and pausing for me meant getting to know who I am.  What I learned has brought me to a glorious spiritual awakening.  First and foremost, I KNOW that God is always with me, which means that I can call on His name at any moment of the day and night.  I also know that whatever I did, I am already forgiven.  Furthermore, I know that I am in constant transformation because He is modeling me into the woman that He has created.

Why am I blogging? I can no longer stay silent.  Who am I blogging for? For me. For you who have asked the same questions, who have gone through similar challenges even though, the forms may be different.

I have a message: LIFE IS GLORIOUS!!! And your life is unfolding gloriously.

If my story resonated with you, drop me a line.

Guerdah – with love and gratitude.