zena musings

21 things that spontaneously flew out of my heart + fingers this morning

1. It’s easier than you think.
2. Whoever you are, whatever your desire, wherever your path — OWN it. Unapologetically.
3. Be real. Be YOU. Playing it cool is dull. (Thank you, Danielle LaPorte, for nailing it.) Enthusiasm is hot. Awkward spontaneity smashes the flimsy weak veneer of hip every fucking time.
4. If right now you’re mimicking someone you admire, keep going. Stay curious. Keep writing, keep moving, keep taking pictures, keep reading, keep exploring and for God’s sake keep obsessively listening to your deepest innermost guts. You will stumble upon your unique way of stringing together words, composing images or moving through life.
5. Within you are undiscovered talents, strengths and treasures you don’t even know exist. They may be different from what you expected. Don’t shrink away. Claim them. Trust them. Follow their breadcrumbs.
6. Keep moving forward. But please please please know it’s OK to rest whenever you need to for as long as you need to. Rest is necessary. Just pay attention to your intuition because timeouts can masquerade as secret ways to coddle your fears.
7. Share your journeys and discoveries with us, honestly and openly. We want to hear your stories. We need the wisdom of your learnings. We long to witness and support the unvarnished truth of you.
8. At times you may feel different than. That’s OK. Different doesn’t mean separate from. You belong and you always will.
9. Change is not an option. Change is the essence of Life. You can’t hide from change so don’t even try. Embrace your lifelong evolution and the personal evolution of every single person you know. 
10. Make letting go a daily spiritual practice. 
11. Those stories you tell yourself in your head? You’re making them up. Stop falling for fiction. Don’t make assumptions. Be willing to change your perception.
12. Practice, practice, practice. There is no mastery. Do your best and eventually your best will get better. Screw perfection. Adopt the attitude that sucking actually ROCKS! Toddlers don’t berate themselves when their legs buckle and they fall on their rumps. They get up and try again.
13. Life is short and unpredictable. ENJOY. Choose wisely. Be good to yourself.
14. Love with unfettered abandon whoever and whatever lights you up! No need to justify, rationalize or explain.
15. That said, being on the other end of someone's obsession feels creepy and gross. If someone you’re attracted to doesn’t share the attraction, let them go. Stat.
16.  Prayer works. Prayer works best when we let go of what we think the outcome should be.
17. Your comfort zone can turn into a Venus Flytrap. Being uncomfortable is often an incredibly good sign. 
18. Remember you’re not in charge. You’re not the Head Coach. You’re simply one important yet temporary player on a really, really big team. Everyone contributes in her or his own specialized way. No one is expected to play the game alone and you won’t carry the ball 100% of the time. Sometimes we’re on the court, sometimes we’re on the bench. We all contribute no matter what. We’re always part of the team. 
19. God has bigger plans for you than you could ever possibly dream of. Get out of your own way. Leave the Big Game Plan to God (S/He holds it anyway). Leave room in your hours and days and weeks and months and years for Life to guide you, dazzle you and use you in magical + unexpected ways.
20. You know less than you think you do. You love less than you’re capable of. Isn’t this marvelous? Keep your beautiful heart + mind open!
21. Love always wins.

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. :)