Southern California is a wonderful place to live, but it is usually quite dry and desert like. In Los Angeles, the sky usually has an polluted orange or yellow tint. The hills of Griffith park are usually dry and brown, dabbled with dull green and scruffy brush. We have the iconic LA palm trees, but their fronds are slender, especially during times of drought.
However, recently it has been raining in Los Angeles and the transformation is incredible. After a rain everything seems to burst to life. The hills are brilliant green. There are pink, orange, red, purple and white flowers blooming and filling the air with sweetness. The palms trees and other bushes are plump and glowing. The skies are clear from pollution and magnificent clouds of all shapes and sizes drift and dance all day. The mountains look majestic and I can see all the way to the ocean. As I hike I find myself gasping in awe and delight.
All of the potential for this brilliance, explosion of growth, and clarity was always here. The seeds of every blade of grass and flower were here. We just needed rain so these seeds could germinate and grow. We needed rain to clear out the pollution so the clouds could dance against a clear sky.
The same is true for you. Your mind may feel polluted, unfocused and unclear. Creative projects, brilliant work endeavors, fulfilling relationships, and vitality may feel distant. It may feel like everything takes lot of effort and you see little reward. You have been experiencing a drought.
What’s so exciting is-- you have seeds of brilliance, growth and inspiration inside you. Your mind can be free of the pollution and gain clarity, creativity and insite.
Unlike the palm trees and the flowers, you don’t have to rely on the weather patterns in order to spring to life. If you are in a drought of the mind, body or spirit (and if it’s one it’s affecting all three) you have the ability to find rain.
Actually I will rephrase that, you have the RESPONSIBILITY to find rain. You are Response-Able.
You are responsible to tend to the garden of your heart and mind, clear out the pollution and weeds, and water the brilliant, powerful, and joyful seeds of your being.
No one on planet earth has ever been the unique blend of what you are.
If you don’t show up in this life then you rob the rest of us of all your brilliance.
Please don’t stay stuck in the weeds of inaction. It is your time to dive inside and take a look at what is there to be germinated, nurtured and grown. Then, it’s time you start the work of taking action to water and tend what is there.
How the heck are you going to do that? Here are some steps to get you started on the incredible journey of . . . You showing up in the world and gifting all you can to this planet while you are here.
Here are the “‘Three R’s” -- RADICAL steps to get you started:
1. REDIRECT your focus from Outside to Inside through MEDITATION
There is seemingly inescapable draw to check our phones first thing in the morning. Perhaps you hop on the 7 am E-mail train which takes you to Twitter central station, grab the Facebook line, which takes you to Instagram fast tram, which swiftly carries you to Snapchat trolley. All along you bounce back and forth engaging in text threads and perhaps some Angry Birds.
Why do we let this technological hijack take place?
Because we are terrified to quiet down, look inside, feel and get real.
It takes courage but I KNOW you can do it. Here are 7 steps to get you going:
Find a comfortable and quiet place, turn your phone to Do-Not-Disturb-I-am-Meditating mode, and sit up nice and tall with your spine in easy alignment.
Place your hands on your knees or in your lap.
Set a timer for 5-20 minutes (longer if you want) with a soothing tone to go off when you come back to the room.
Make sure your journal is close by so you can write any insights that arise.
Close your eyes.
Feel your breath rise and fall. As you watch your breath, your mind will wander.
As thoughts and feelings arise let it RAIN:
R. Recognize the thought or feeling. “Oh, hello I see you anxiety/ frustration/ grocery list/ daydream of sexy co-worker.” When you get still and go inside you will think and feel all sorts of stuff. You may feel restless, anxious, or angry. You may feel blissful, excited, or joyful. Simply recognize.
A. Allow the feelings and thoughts to exists. Like clouds floating in the sky. Let them be. Don’t push them away, don’t attach to them. Allow them to be there and to drift away.
I . Investigate with kindness. What is going on here? Your thoughts and feelings can guide you to greater understanding of yourself, your potential, your dreams, your obstacles, and your purpose. Ask, “What do you want to teach me?”
If discomfort arises, investigate with kindness. Perhaps this discomfort is coming up because you know you need to have a difficult conversation with a loved one, or need to eat healthier, or you need to take action on a creative project or work endevor you’ve been putting off.
If you were not meditating, thoughts and feelings wouldn’t be able to offer you guidance because you would be distracting yourself by engaging in the outside world. Now, you can tend to them, question them and gain insight. What a gift!
N. Natural awareness. Return to a place of awareness that is unattached and not identified with the experience. Reconnect with your breath. Then connect with the higher self, or source energy, that is not identified with the thoughts and feelings. The thoughts and feelings are clouds, so rest back into the place of being the sky. The weather patterns of thoughts and emotions will come and go as the clouds, the storms, the rainbows, the floods and the droughts. Witness from a place of Natural awareness.
Repeat the RAIN sequence as many times as you want in the meditation. After the chimes of your timer go off, put pen to paper to capture any insites.
And don’t worry about meditating ‘right.’ In the words of the meditation teacher Osho, “Meditation is something in-built. You just have to create a space for it to function, just give it a chance.”
2. READ and tend to the Garden of Your Mind.
We are bombarded with images and text from the moment we wake until the moment we hit the hay. If you are not careful, you risk giving your precious attention willy-nilly to whatever clickbait is in your feed. This is detrimental on multiple levels.
What you read and look at throughout your day has a profound impact on your life. This is not just because your conscious mind is taking in everything you read and watch, but because your subconscious mind is soaking it all in. Your subconscious is highly susceptible. It is also the one really running the show.
From the books, blogs and feeds you read, to the documentaries, films and random Youtube videos you watch, everything is making an impression on your subconscious. All this information has a profound impact on how you feel, the actions you take, the things you buy, the people you hang out with, the dreams you have, and the trajectory of your life.
To put it simply and directly:
Read (and watch) great material that fosters your growth, leaves you uplifted, and makes the world a better place, and not a bunch of crap that is out of your control, stresses you out, and drains your energy.
3. Reach out for Resources and Guides.
You don’t have to have all the answers to get to where you want to go and become who you know you want to become. There are so many resources at your fingertips. Higher a coach to help you gain clarity on your values, priorities, and the difference you want to make in the world. Get help mapping out a plan and taking action.
Allow a coach to give you guidance to make sure you stay on track, course correct when needed, and become the incredible force you know you are. Fulfill your purpose!
Let’s do this! I want to see you step up and be the best version of YOU in this lifetime. This is NOT a dress rehearsal. As Mary Oliver wrote,
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one Wild and Precious life?"
I want to know! Please, comment below -- what do you plan to do with your wild and precious life?
Email me at balancebysage@gmail.com if you want to work one-on-one. We will transform your life so you are living up to your potential with Ease, Purpose and Joy! (Bonus! You don’t have to live in Los Angeles, or even the United States. All you need is an internet connection, and if you are reading this you have one.)
I know it can be scary to take the step to reach out and ask for guidance and invest in your future.
We all have been on the precipice of greatness and the fears of insecurity, or the fear of true success, rob us from taking powerful meaningful action.
You can do it. You have a vision and a purpose for your life and I can help you clarify that vision. Then, we will co-create a plan to make that vision a reality.
Your brilliant future is counting on your radical action NOW.
To recap, these are the Three Radical ‘R’s to start taking Responsibility and living up to your Life Purpose:
1. Redirect your focus and Meditate with RAIN.
2. Read and feed the Garden of Your Mind
3. Reach out for Resources and Guides
With love and light. Happy Spring 2018!
P.S. Here is a final flowery metaphor to really hit home the message that it is TIME for you to start taking action to fully live your wild and precious life:
When you look at a garden do you think to yourself, “Yeah, that sunflower would be a lot better if it tried to look like a rose.” Of course not. If the sunflower tried to be a rose, it wouldn’t have the big beautiful center full of seeds to feed so many birds! It wouldn’t radiate the joy from it’s bright yellow pedals that contrast the blue sky with such brilliance. Nor would you want the rose to look like a sunflower. Or a tulip. Or a lily. You get my point.
Each of us must listen in to our intuition and sense our center seed. Then you must water, nurture and cultivate the soil of your soul so that you can bloom fully and contribute your unique gifts to the planet. If you are a sunflower, there are birds counting on your seeds and you staying underground or trying to be a rose will leave them hungry!
I want to hear the story of your transformation when you start to tend to the garden of your heart and mind and Spring into Life! Please leave comments below or reach out to me at balancebysage@gmail.com
