zena musings

An Invocation for Beginnings, or "Let's start this shit up."

I'm scared. I'm scared that my abilities are gone. I'm scared that I'm going to fuck this up. And I'm scared of you.

I don't want to start. But I will. This is an invocation for anyone who hasn't begun, who's stuck in a terrible place between zero and one.

Thanks to my friend Olivia for sharing this truly fabulous invocation. I'm posting it so I can watch and believe and internalize it again and again, as I start some of my own shit up! And so you can too. I think you'll love this...

Go Now and Live by Jeanette LeBlanc

 

The Real Woman Creed by Jan Phillips

I believe that within me lies an extraordinary radiance, and I commit to letting my light loose in the world.

I believe that the source of my power and wisdom is in the center of my being, and I commit to acting from this place of strength.

I believe that I possess an abundance of passion and creative potential and I commit to the expression of these gifts.

I believe that the time has come to let go of old notions and unhealthy attitudes, and I commit to re-examine what I have been told about beauty and dismiss what insults my soul.

I believe that negative thoughts and words compromise my well-being, and I commit to thinking and speaking positively about myself and others.

I believe that young women are in need of positive role models, and I commit to being an example of authenticity and self-love.

I believe in the relationship between my well-being and the well-being of the planet, and I commit to a life of mindfulness that regards all living things as holy and worthy of my love.

I believe it is my spiritual responsibility to care for my body with respect, kindness and compassion, I commit to balancing my life in such a way that my physical being is fully expressed and nurtured.

I believe that joy is an essential part of wellness, and I commit to removing obstacles to joy and creating a life that is full of exuberance.

I believe that a woman who loves herself is a powerful, passionate, attractive force, and I commit, from this day forward, to loving myself deeply and extravagantly.

(Words by Jan Phillips. Self-portrait by my beautiful friend Julie. Special thanks to my friend Mary.)

How to Be Alone by Tanya Davis

I. LOVE. THIS. I love this so much I want to marry it. I love this so much I'm posting it everywhere I can. Poetry made visible and oh so soothing, inspiring and lovely.

"If you're happy in your head then solitude is blessed and alone is OK."

Please give yourself the 4-minute gift of watching this.

I want this tattooed on my forearms

 
Courtesy of MAEVE magazine.

My current mantra: Just DO IT

Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
Robert Schuller

As quoted on our just do it candle, which I have been burning night and day while working on what's next...

Messages from Spirit

Martha Beck forwarded this article on Facebook. Exactly the message of encouragement I need(ed), so much so that I want to share with folks beyond Facebook as well.

At this crossroads, we encourage you to choose the direction that feels most like “going for it.”

Choose the way that may seem like a long shot, and may not even be logical, but is inspiring and causes you to feel excited, even thrilled.

This is not the way that feels like playing it safe, playing small or minimizing risks. Our guidance is to choose the MOST expansive, generous, confident movement that calls to you, although multiple voices inside you would shoot this down with voices of fear disguised as logic.

Give these possibilities room to breathe, be heard, to speak.

The time for contraction is over.

Contraction in the sense of holding back out of fear, shutting down, ignoring the call, however small or grand it may seem.

Read the full article here.

"You, less than, is a lie."

Just read a beautiful piece called You, Less Than by Pamela Slim. I'm going to look for my own Champion of the World photo, and when I find it, put it in a frame! I'll share it here, too. Thank you, Pam, from someone who easily loses her footing and slides into less than.

A Little More About Choosing Ease

Saturday I received a massage/energy work from my friend Mary Willard, LMP, at 2nd Avenue Healing Arts. Working on my left leg, she asked what I need to let go of. I immediately answered, "My extra weight." It is time, and I am both ready and willing. She then said something profoundly helpful:

"Ask your angels for help. Also, it doesn't have to be hard. It can be easy."

You know how when you hear the truth, your whole being sort of relaxes and opens and goes ahhhh?

Then came Monday's Note from the Universe:

Carla, whatever you focus on, you will experience.

When you talk about "what is" or "what was," even if you're just explaining to a friendly ear, you project more of the same into the future. If you ask more than you give thanks, you'll believe less in your own power. And if you insist that it's hard and that you're lonely, you'll find that it is, and you are.

Yet, always you can choose to focus on what's good.

So that's what I'm doing. Not just with my eating, but with my work as well. Praying for help and ease, pivoting (and acting) to the positive, saying affirmations. And you know what? It's working. When my attitude changes, everything changes. Once again, prayer followed by action really works. And so does one day at a time. :)

Caretake This Moment

  

Caretake this moment.
Immerse yourself in its particulars.
Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed.

Quit the evasions.
Stop giving yourself needless trouble.
It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.
You are not some disinterested bystander.
Exert yourself.

Respect your partnership with providence.
Ask yourself often, How may I perform this particular deed
such that it would be consistent with and acceptable to the divine will?
Heed the answer and get to work.

When your doors are shut and your room is dark you are not alone.
The will of nature is within you as your natural genius is within.
Listen to its importunings.
Follow its directives.

As concerns the art of living, the material is your own life.
No great thing is created suddenly.
There must be time.

Give your best and always be kind.

Epictetus

(Photo seedling pot by Maria Apostolou.)