The Brevity of Life

If you’re nearing the half century mark as I am, you’ve surely noticed how long some days plod by, yet how quickly entire years seem to pass. That became ever apparent to me this evening.

A former co-worker and friend of mine passed away today at the young age of 46. 7 years go I decided to make a career change and within days of my leaving, she began a courageous battle with cancer. Once she’d successfully completed her treatments and celebrated her first cancer free anniversary, I allowed myself to let go of my strong attachments to my former job and colleagues. I bet it had been nearly a year and a half since I’d last spoken with my friend, so today’s news came as quite a shock.  Yet, this is not a “woe is me” plea for sympathy. I take great joy in knowing this woman’s life was rooted strongly in her faith in God, and that she’s quite content with where she’s now spending eternity.

This evening I’ve spent time in quiet reflection of my friend’s short life. It truly hit me that not one of us knows when our final day on Earth might be, and yet so many of us put off our hopes and dreams for tomorrow. Not one of us is assured we’ll see another daybreak, but we’re willing to gamble that there will be another day to seize our dream. One might assume this notion is shared only by the very young among us that are impervious to their mortality. And yet, you and I know that isn’t true…

If we’re fortunate enough to wake tomorrow, won’t you join me in a different way of being? Will you let go of the notion that I’ll do __________ just as soon as I’ve raised the children, paid off my home, lost the weight, found my soul mate… The list could go on and on, but our days won’t. My friend lived a full life pursuing her interests and dreams. Isn’t it time we do the same?

The Fuel Of Our Existence

For as long as I can remember, I’ve admired people that literally glow from within because of their incredible zest for life. Those whose enthusiasm infects everyone around them, inspiring others to aspire to a similar way of being. And, as much as I’ve admired folks like this, I’ve also envied them from afar. What is their trick to enjoying life with abandon? Don’t get me wrong, there’s much I love about my life as well, but I don’t radiate with enthusiasm every day nor every hour. Not even every other day or hour.

“Insider secrets” I’ve gleaned from close friends with these qualities enlighten me to the fact that these people are chock full of dreams and faith. They allow themselves to conceive the experiences or things they wish to receive and have complete faith that this, or something even better, is headed their way. They rarely second guess themselves, wonder “how” it might happen, nor worry about whether it’s fair that they should receive the dream or not. They dream it, and believe it, through their faith.

The big take away here is that our dreams are the fuel of our existence. They are our inner fire’s kindling and if we allow them to burn out we lose our joie de vivre. Faith, is the oxygen that fans the flame, keeps it bright and allows us to believe in our dreams. Without both dreams and faith we allow ourselves to live a life of settling, reacting and merely surviving. A place I’ve found myself periodically over the years.

Aside from dreams and faith, what else do all of these people have in common? They get “out of their head”. Rather than think about their dreams logically from a head space, they allow themselves to connect with the feelings of receiving their dreams and then take action toward obtaining them. It sounds simple, and truly it is. Conceive it, believe it, and start seeking it. Let go of everything else.

So, now that you understand where genuine enthusiasm for life and a lit from within glow comes from, will you allow yourself to experience it? And, if so, what dream will you grant yourself faith to believe in? For me, it’s the dream of becoming more consistent in connecting with my faith and dreams. How about you?

 

The Courage of YES

Y-E-S. Three simple letters that, when combined, set off an unstoppable chain reaction. When said with courage, YES holds immense, flowing positive energy. The energy to accept a wedding proposal. The energy to make a career change. The energy to start a family. The energy to receive all the abundance that life offers each one of us. Why then do so many of us handcuff ourselves to lack and a sense of hopelessness? My intent is not to pass judgement, because the Lord knows I’ve spent plenty of time in my own handcuffs. But, what draws us out of the natural gravitational pull of abundance and into the seemingly bottomless pit of “not enough”?

While YES is one of the most powerful short words of the English vocabulary, NO gives it a run for its money. Deeply rooted within the letters N-O is something nearly impenetrable. Once said, NO brings a halt to the natural positive flow that we’re born into. Within moments of its utterance, a blanket of paucity wraps us in its dark embrace terminating our ability to receive. Abundance is the result of receiving, thus the word NO stops our natural flow of abundance and ushers in stagnation and even scarcity.

If stagnation and scarcity are the result of saying NO to our life and dreams, then saying YES surely brings everything we desire into our life. In reality, the ability to truly and fully say YES to our dreams is no easy task. Many try yet stop themselves short because of fear. When we say YES, we initiate flow within our lives. Flow isn’t necessarily a picture perfect screen shot of what we desire. For this reason, some of our fear originates from the unknown. What we receive may be greater or lesser than what we’re hoping for but, regardless, it’s an unknown. If you’ve ever said yes to a dream or desire in your life, you’ve likely received something you hadn’t known was flowing your way. For instance, I recently told several friends that I deeply desire to be a motivational speaker. I made a heartfelt proclamation of my YES. I have no idea how one becomes a motivational speaker, and yet, I said YES to the possibility. Within four months of proclaiming my dream, I received opportunities for two radio program interviews. Did I see that coming or was it something I’d imagined? Absolutely not! Yet, I believe that it flowed into my life because I said YES.

Because we can’t possibly know exactly what opportunities or experiences are flowing to us, fear of the unknown may permeate our thoughts and actions. This fear, many times, paralyzes and distances us from our dreams. The people who time and again receive what they desire in life have learned how to move through the fear. Those that are full-out living their truth and enjoying a life of abundance have discovered that saying YES does not mean letting go of fear. In fact, they recognize that fear is always embedded within their YES, but so is faith. When we start flexing our YES muscle, our faith grows and we begin to find courage we didn’t know we had. Faith, in essence, is the roadway to our dreams.

So, what do we require in order to say YES? First and foremost, courage and a “just do it” attitude.  Exercising courage and using the YES muscle repeatedly will strengthen our resolve to utilize it more often to stay within our flow. Second, it’s crucial that we surrender in faith to the fact that whatever we receive is exactly what we require in that moment.  Faith is the only thing that truly binds us to our dreams, the faith that we may actually experience our dream or something even better. Recognizing the “gift” in the possibility of receiving something you hadn’t even dreamed of is very exciting. Finally, embracing whatever fear arises in connection with saying YES to our dreams is a must. Accepting that fear almost always permeates our desire and the ability to say YES will help us grow used to that uncomfortable feeling and move forward anyway.

Show me a person that’s living life the way they truly desire and I’ll show you a courageous person. Those that say YES to their dreams aren’t fearless, they’ve just conquered the art of being more courageous than fearful. The beauty of this is that once you get the hang of it, you’ll never want to go back to your old ways. Why would you? Living our dreams feels good and is contagious. It leads to even bigger and more fulfilling dreams.

Once you allow yourself to receive one dream you automatically open yourself up to receiving another. I have two women in my life that continually say YES to their dreams and inspire women all over the world to do the same. Leona Wallace of http://www.awakenthebeauty.com/ has said YES to more dreams than I can count. My two favorites are when she walked the fashion runway as a 40+ year old model and then moved to Paris, one of her life long dreams. Tara Marino of http://www.elegantfemme.com/ moved her entire family to France nearly 4 years ago and is presenting her life long dream of a fashion line this summer in Paris. Ooh lah lah!!! If this post has inspired you in any way, I invite you to check out both of these women because their stories will propel you to your next level of YES and receiving within your life.

So, what dream will you be saying YES to? I have several tugging at my heartstrings but saying YES to my joy and health are at the top of my list. Please share with me your dream so I can support you in receiving it!

Dream States

As I allow myself to feel more fully into my dreams, I’ve started utilizing an energy that I’ve affectionately named “dream states”.  Dream states are the moments in our lives when we’re completely open to the expansiveness of our dreams while joyfully acting on and receiving them with ease. For example, I experience confidence and a willingness to explore all avenues of my dream to be a public speaker when I’m in dream state energy, rather than the restrictive thought processes I generally put myself through when I’m not.

All energy ebbs and flows, and the energy present during a dream state is no different. When we’re in its flow, our dreams are tangible and excite each of our senses. As the energy ebbs, our dream may feel less likely to come to fruition and we may be more likely to offer up any number of negative reasons why it can’t materialize. Generally speaking, dream states feel good and produce a heightened amount of exciting and positive energy. That’s not to say that we can’t experience a dream state while in sad, mad or negative moods, but I do find that we’re more likely to enjoy one when we’re feeling good.

With awareness, I realized that I could enhance my ability to uncover and live my dreams through dream states. Thus, I started paying closer attention to what the energy felt like and what was happening in my life while I was experiencing this pleasurable state of being. What I found is that I’m far more likely to cultivate this energy while experiencing my own creativity, enjoying beauty of all forms and relaxing. Notice that the only “doing” energy on my list is in experiencing my own creativity, which for me is writing. Enjoying the beauty of nature, fabrics, colors and music, and relaxing through reading or spending time with loved ones rounds out my list of what helps usher me in a dream state. So, in my case, dream states occur most readily when I’m relaxing and enjoying life; not when I’m caught up in the busyness I sometimes choose to participate in. In order to stay in this energy as often as possible, I now enjoy at least one of the things on my list daily because I know how powerfully my energy shifts in the right direction when I do.

Why not spend a little time this week thinking of the ways you might be able to fuel your own dream states? Pay attention to what activities or ways of being allow you to feel expansive and positive, then make your list.  My one disclaimer is to put your seat belt on, because once you start utilizing your dream state energy you’ll find there are no limits!

Release The Plan And Expand Into Your Vision

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/usc-radio-productions-3/2013/12/17/hugs–trusting-your-inner-desires–even-if-you-havent-before

My early 40’s were spent chasing my dream of running the “perfect half marathon”. I have multiple training journals outlining my stretching and strengthening routines as well as the countless miles I spent on the roads, all with the sole purpose of producing a speedy and respectable race time that I could be proud of. My training plan was my “end all be all”. Nothing kept me from a training run; not inclement weather nor an unhealthy body. I devised a plan, put on blinders and went about my training with absolutely no deviations. As soon as one exhausting race was over, I started doggedly training for the next. This rigidity ended up being my undoing. Eventually, training while injured brought an abrupt end to the running phase of my life. The only way I was willing to release myself from the unrelenting bond I had with my plan was through the pain of a fairly serious injury. I can’t say that I was entirely unhappy to hear the news, either. While I’ve missed my running buddies in the ensuing years, I felt a huge sigh of relief when told it was time to curtail my plan.

In my humble opinion, plans are for the fearful. Plans are what we construct when we don’t have faith that our dreams will come to fruition without rigid confines.  Plans are the ABC’s of making something happen. As I’ve gotten older I have less interest in making things happen, and more interest in visioning my dreams and allowing them to happen. Visions hold layers of dreams, loosely held, that allow for course corrections through their unfolding. Had I held the vision of running a great half marathon, I might still be running today. Visions absolutely include a desired result but don’t put a premium on it occurring in one specific way, as does a plan.

Recently, I had the opportunity to experience my dream of being a great motivator; a dream I’ve envisioned for nearly 2 years. Because I’ve let go of plans and now allow visions to guide my process, this dream presented itself quite unexpectedly. Unlike my running dream where I was completely dogged in my approach with a plan, I allowed myself to be completely open to this experience while feeling into new dreams at the same time. The result was the complete opposite of what happened at the end of each of my races. Rather than feeling emotionally and physically drained, I enjoyed this dream feeling completely exhilarated and ready for more. Because I’m allowing my dream of being a motivator to unfold within a vision, I haven’t felt the need to keep a choke hold on a plan of the exact way it should come into my life. With that said, I had the beautiful opportunity to speak on HUGS Talk radio show with Antiqua Lisha Libbey, and motivate through the air waves. I will leave you with a recording of the show and encourage each of you to think about releasing your plans for the expansion that can be found within a vision.

What Are Dreams?

This was the insight I received when pondering what dreams truly are.

My Whole Life Transformation

I recently asked myself why I’ve allowed so many moons to pass since I’ve last written about my dreams and the most accurate answer is that I’ve been living them.  It’s been a few short years since I actually started to uncover my dreams and think of ways that I could allow them into my life, and what an amazing path it’s led me down! The truth of the matter is that one of my dreams has been to have the opportunity to share my writing and experiences with others; exactly what Open to the Dream has allowed me to do. So, for those of you that have enjoyed reading about my dreams and the ways that I’m receiving them, you’ll be pleased to know that I’m back and ready to share!

The current dream that I feel most fortunate for is my participation in the My Whole Life Transformation. I feel incredibly blessed to have been chosen, along with one other incredible woman, to embark on a six month journey with three amazing coaches to help bring about positive and radical change in our lives.  Health and weight loss coach, Michelle Hastie, relationship coach, Geoff Laughton, and empowerment and business coach, Frantonia M Pollins, have been so giving of their time and expertise that I’m continually inspired. What is important to note is that you’re being gifted the opportunity to learn exactly what I am and make your own personal transformation along with me!

Watch this space over the next several weeks as the first webisode featuring myself, my fellow contestant and our three coaches is released. I promise to happily share it with all of you.  This labor of love, conceived by Michelle Hastie, is her beautiful way of “paying it forward” and is sure to be a hit with all those desiring to make transformational changes in their life.  Won’t you join hands with me as we begin this journey together? It would be one of my greatest pleasures to share this with all of you!