Facing yourself with love

After many months of working hard while needing to stay flexible around change – in directions, in temperatures, in physical wellness – it was time to stop and review… From reclusive writing, to managing a team, to publishing, to organising events, to traveling (setting up and packing up many times), to presenting in front of many diverse groups, to our current time in Townsville. Once I took in the beauty of Townsville aka ‘dry tropics’ and gave thanks for all I have in my life, I sat down to recenter, to reflect and to review the past 12 months. Areas that went smooth as silk. Areas that will benefit from some improvements. Areas that taught me the most about myself. Areas that are finished (that don’t need to be revisited) but needed to be let go of. Areas that will continue and now need to be expanded on….. So I surrendered to the process and let go of the things I cannot control and made room for the next chapter of my life.

Contemplating on some future paths and choices to be made, I was not only reminded of all the blessings in my life but also of the urgency of time. The importance for continual inner change so to not get caught in the web of living and as a means to be part of a solution, that belongs to the bigger picture of the world. Did you know that in 1850 the world population stood at approximately 1 billion – doubling over 100 years to approximately 2 billion in the 1950’s? Now only 65 years later in 2015 the world population stands at 7.3 billion (with 300 million born in the last 4 years). And according to Oxfam 1 in 3 people live in poverty (globally). How fortunate we are on this side of the world. But just on a side note – we have traveled this part of our ‘lucky country’ many times, and have never seen it this dry. In fact, 15 years ago when we did our first 5 year traveling stint, it was lush and still seemed ‘balanced’…. 5 years ago when we started this 5 year stint, driving between Rockhampton and Cairns everything was completely under water. Now, it reminded me of when we were driving through the Nullarbor – it is that dry! The extremes in the world makes me want to step up my own self development even more by finding ways to ‘face myself’ and clear any unresolved issues. One way I can contribute to world change is to continually change myself and yes, one person can make a difference 🙂 Remaining open and adventurous in my own mind allows me to remain creative in my life, keeping me free to seek out gentle ways to ‘face myself’. It means to learn how to nourish and care for my self and not expect others to satisfy me, but instead to use my inner resources to satisfy, nurture and nourish my own needs – keeping it simple. Facing myself with love means I ‘cool’ my inner environment as I learn to love myself enough to let go of irrational emotions like anger, shame, anxiety, blame, worry, self pity and stress that continues to add ‘heat’ to our environment. In other words, any behaviour that ‘heats’ me up, weighs me down or makes me feel bad… But how do I do that?

Life is a continual form of lessons and ‘exams’ and like any school, there comes a time in our life when we must apply what we’ve learned – a time when ‘study’ stops and practical application becomes a necessary part of our progress. Of course, this is not to instil fear but to give ourselves a gentle reminder to not squander our fortune of time. The fortune of having the ability AND time to learn and to practice what we are learning about ourselves. So lets not get caught in the ‘I don’t have time for self care’ syndrome, instead lets use this time wisely to really understand (through personal experience) what it is like to practically apply what we now know of our own inner power – our qualities and strengths. And as we come close to that time of year when manic behaviour is often ‘endured’, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the trappings it comes with – depression, anxiety, anger, road rage. NOW is a great time to give ourselves a chance to make life easier through learning to nurture ourselves while sparing a thought for those worse off – rather than live each day ‘treading water’. Therefore, getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is a great way to face myself with love, humility (humble) and compassion. Being willing to look at my own ‘stuff’ as opposed to criticising or judging others, is getting comfortable with what I may not want to look at. When I start cleaning up my own ‘mess’ I get to a point of nothingness – nothing to hide and nothing to prove – liberating myself of all the ‘rubbish’ I may have been carrying. Forgiving myself with love also opens ways to forgive others. It heals the unhealed wounds that often lie just beneath the surface – festering away and eventually bubbling to the surface like rust – unless I come clean with my own ‘stuff’. We think we can control ‘life’ (and deep down we all have a desire for control) but what kind of control? How much are we willing to strive for self control? I can’t control others but I can control how I respond to them. The more self aware I become the less I personalise the behaviour of others and the more control I have over my own attitude. When I control my own inner environment, others stop having power over me and life instantly simplifies.

I keep getting told how ‘lucky’ I am but you know, it’s not about luck. It’s about creating our own fortune. It’s about ‘acting’ courageous when we experience irrational emotions like fear. It’s about stepping up at times when we want to run for the hills. It’s about getting up each time we fall – and to get up again and again and again… It’s about the willingness to simply have a go and to stay true to our own path in a loving but disciplined way. Through cleaning up our own mess we can finally let go of expectations and attachments, leaving us free to genuinely be happy for the success of others while creating our own successes. This is what it means to face ourselves with love. And just like shells on the seashore are all different – shaped by evolution – we too are different and constantly evolve according to our own efforts… So providing you are willing to help yourself, remember that there is always help, I’m just at the other end of this email 🙂

Question: Am I willing to face myself with love to heal myself and to heal the world?

Consideration: If not, why not? What is stopping me from facing myself with love? What am I afraid of?

Action: Sit quietly for a few minutes and gently imagine yourself going inside your physical shell. Now imagine yourself to be a simple onlooker and when ready, just choose (observe) one of your weaknesses. Remember, you are observing only so don’t get emotional or you will get attached. When you’ve accepted this weakness and forgiven yourself for it, imagine you are letting it go – like releasing a balloon into the air. Cut it lose, it no longer belongs to you. Then choose one of your strengths to look at and to replace the weakness with. Absorb it into your heart and take it with you into your day, week, month…. In other words, this strength is what you want to focus on and put all your energy into, so the weakness becomes ‘weak’ and over time will have no hold over you any more 🙂 You can repeat this action many times but best to start with one weakness and one strength only till you get a handle on it, before continuing on.

***** 1. To help you finish 2015 and start 2016 in an empowered way, I am offering a FREE 45min Skype session to anyone on my list (during November/December) – to receive a 12 month ‘Virtue’ Reading. This gives you a 12 month guide to help you work on your inner strengths – month by month. But it’s up to you to connect with me and organise a time.

***** 2. To help you understand and strengthen your inner powers even more and if you are not already in my ‘Powers Study Group’ (which has been going for close to 4 years) be sure to let me know and I will gladly place you on the list. December will be our ‘50th power’ – which is plenty to work with. Starting in January we will revisit and revise all 50 powers. If you wish to stop receiving them, please email me to be taken off the list – thanks.

Lots of love Annemarie
PS We are considering ‘setting a base’ in Bargara / Coral Cove. if any one can share any tips on ‘living’ there, I would love to hear from you. (Things to be aware of – both positive and negative)
PPS New book is getting amazing response – thank you so much to all your support and thank you to those who made the effort to give me a review 🙂