Stepping into Your Own…

Walking along the banks of the Burrum River (our backyard) I feel so fortunate, as I reflect on what I continue to learn on my life-journey. Thinking back to my June Newsletter ‘Facing the Right Way’ I realise (once again) that Col and I have covered much ground since then – individually and as a couple. We love being back in our van and living on acreage, as we continue to practice balance in daily living through BEing content. BEing content in a world of discord takes practice. But it’s my personal experience of Spiritual Contentment that drives me forward. It pushes me to keep finding alternative ways to live because it gives me an aim to BE better (Spiritually) – as bit by bit I Step into My Own 🙂

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to Spring, a great time to give ourselves permission to simply have a go at life 🙂 Stepping out of our comfort zone to let creative ideas burst forth into being, is perfect in Spring. But if we procrastinate or dig our heals in (resist) life can quickly become ‘complicated’ and weigh heavily around us. To Step into Your Own means to own who you are and all of your life experiences, so that nothing and no-one can hold you back. That’s not to say to be forceful about your own growth, on the contrary, it enables you to tread much gentler on this earth because you are at peace with yourself and you have nothing to prove 🙂

One thing is for sure – life is as wonderful or as miserable as you want it to be. Pay attention to your own thoughts and you will quickly realise where you contribute to the joy in your life – and the misery! Stepping Into Your Own is about owning your lot as a means to transform any painful situation. It means to cop it on the chin – the good, the bad, the in-between – and say yes, I’m responsible! This is not to be mistaken with being weighed down with ‘worldly responsibility’ but instead, to be able to respond in a positive and uplifting way – to whatever life throws at me. It’s liberating to come clean with our own ‘stuff’… One way I come clean is to study cycles in life (patterns) to identify what holds me back and to find simple strategies to help transform them. Studying repetitive behavioural patterns and paying attention to body language, teaches us a lot about ourselves (and indeed others). Life is much simpler when we own up because we’ve removed our mask, making it easier to flow with (not swim against) the tides of life. What’s more, our Power to Discern becomes much stronger as we detect falsehood from truth (in ourselves and others) more quickly – saving ourselves a lot of time and unnecessary anguish. Change can be challenging enough. Let’s not make our lives (and the lives of those around us) any more difficult by pretending it’s someone else’s fault. By ignoring or denying our own power and therefore, unwilling to accept our own personal lessons. Staying stuck is a choice and life is like a river – flow with it (keep changing) or drown.

To Step into Your Own means to slay your own inner dragons, one by one, with self love and self worth. As we learn to nurture ourselves, we learn to act consistently with higher truth and we no longer need others to validate us, nor do will we continue to buy into someone else’s rubbish. (Remember, buying someone else’s rubbish means we now own it – paid for with our own wellbeing). To practice calming and steadying ourselves, on our way to becoming a Self Master, is therefore essential. To fine-tune (or sharpen) our inner tools, to be at the ready for any situation. With such love for ourselves (and for the world) that not only do we conquer, but those destructive thoughts, beliefs and emotions that kept us hostage in our own life, will in time, bow down before us. No longer reacting to people or situations, we no longer create or contribute to unnecessary ‘scenes’. Yes, when we deny our own Power, we cause conflict in our relationships because there will be an internal tug-of-war. Projection is rife in the world, each blaming another. We project out into the world that which we do not want to look at in ourselves. So we judge. We point the finger elsewhere, anywhere, away from ourselves. But trust me when I say – one way or another it comes back 10-fold. Still, we ignore our power and find distractions instead – ie. we find things to do that suddenly seem ‘urgent’ or we simply waste time. All the while these distractions pull us away and into darkness – away from our Light, our Essence!

So I’d like to leave you with one of my all time favourite quotes from Marianne Williamson. She said “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” She goes on to say, “Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” And, she finishes by saying, “As we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Stepping Into Your Own is not about being better than anyone else but to share ourselves freely with the world. When we are BEing the best, brightest and most authentic version of who we are – Shining Stars – we are abundantly full (content) and others gain benefit from that. This is how we can help heal the world, one beautiful Soul at a time 🙂

Question: What are my Spiritual Gifts (Strengths; Virtues; Power)?

Consideration: Am I using (sharing) these Gifts wisely and freely? If not, why not?

Action: A Virtue is a strength we are each endowed with at birth. We each receive many to help us navigate our way through life. Unfortunately we forget that we have these internal strengths due to constantly looking outside of ourselves for answers. Thus these Virtues lie weak within us, leaving us open to sabotage. Nevertheless, they are still within us! To prove it to yourself – each day for the rest of this month, choose ONE Virtue a day to work on. Practice (exercise, strengthen) it by applying it in different scenarios. Be the Master Gardener – discard the weeds of weakness, nourish the seeds of abundance.

ps. For those wishing to join me for a Spiritual day or weekend in Leura (blue mountains) in October please go to http://www.brahmakumaris.org.au/events/events-in-nsw to book your spot… The day retreat is on Thursday 19th October, titled, The Art of Being Happy.
The weekend retreat starts on Fri 20th, titled, How to Reclaim Your Power (Peacefully)… Please book one or the other (not both) to give others a chance. And please be courteous – if you book and can’t make it, give plenty of notice so another worthy Soul can take benefit – thank you 🙂

pps. For those in Queensland – I will be running a similar weekend retreat in Springbrook (Gold Coast Hinterland) next year. And keep an eye on my blog (events) as I will be running some day retreats in Hervey Bay / Sunshine Coast areas as well 🙂

 

Lots of love Annemarie

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