In this episode, Lisa Love reflects on her journey of restarting her podcast after a four-year hiatus. She shares her fears and the importance of self-compassion in overcoming them. Lisa emphasizes the significance of starting again, exploring the energy associated with unfinished projects, and encourages listeners to embrace imperfection and take small steps towards their goals.
Takeaways
Feel your fear and do it anyway.
When we start something and we don't bring it to an organic conclusion, it's an open loop energetically.
Your life is no small matter.
Just start and start again.
You don't have to be perfect.
Where does my energy want to go today?
You don't have to do it the hard way.
This week, Lisa takes a bolder tact and opens up more personally and emotionally, exploring the themes of freedom, oppression, grief and personal and institutional racism. Set to a backdrop with sounds of firecrackers and fireworks, aptly punctuating this week's themes as locals celebrate the Fourth of July, Lisa reflects on why she cannot celebrate.
Be prepared to take an emotional journey of listening and self-reflection - not a light topic, nor sugar-coated, nor waxing patriotic. Instead, this is a raw sharing - in service to truth and authenticity.
Feel free to share your thoughts, feedback and questions - you can message Lisa directly on the Anchor app, or you can send her an email at mindfulguidance@protonmail.com.
May Peace Prevail.
After a 2-month hiatus from podcasting, Lisa returns with some reflections on discerning what is actually necessary for internal peace and happiness - with a nod toward minimalist ideals and self-awareness. Questioning the ego's involvement in our choices allows us to wriggle free from its incessant demands - where we feel we are "never enough," or never quite HAVE enough. This episode includes some invitations to journal and reflect, so take some space for yourself and tune in - to this episode, but more importantly, to your inner wisdom and sense of self.
We can often get so caught up in "things to do," that we forget we can slow down, be more self-caring in the choices we make and actually lead our lives from the place of nourishment. If we fail to tend to this, we can endlessly seek fulfillment from the outside, constantly looking for the next moment to fill us up. Nourishment is a result of taking time to savor an experience, digest it, as well as choose what we do with an eye towards enjoyment. Even the most mundane activities can become nourishing, when we take into account how we move, engage and enjoy the moment.
It's not like we need to take time away from doing, but rather bring our quality of being into the activity. With awareness and cultivation, we can create a consistently fulfilling experience that keeps us connected to joy
This week is moving week for me. While it was tempting to just take the week off, I decided to test myself and see how I could stay on track with my aspiration to show up weekly rather than make an excuse - (not that anyone is holding me accountable.) So I borrowed content from my online class I've been teaching and pieced together content to give you a flavor of how you can respond to the challenge of recognizing resistance, better understand its role, and hold yourself with loving-kindness when it shows up (and gets the better of you.)
This episode is divided into two parts - informational and experiential - so you can come back to try out the suggestions when you have the time freedom to experiment with this practice.
Here is the link to my blog article on working with resistance: https://www.mindfulguidance4me.com/blog/
Have a good week and thanks for tuning in, sharing and commenting!
Shari demonstrates her dedication to spotting the shadow aspects of self in action. These stories illustrate how we can bring loving kindness and compassionate self-awareness to the previously unconscious ways of projecting disowned aspects of ourselves onto others and the world. Once realized, these moments can become portals to personal transformation, integration, and offer the opportunity to reclaim the light of our whole self.
We all have seeds of beauty and seeds of darkness, despair, fear and loathing within us. But it's up to us which qualities we feed and nurture, while recognizing our common humanity with evil-doers such as "shadow giant" Adolf Hitler. What sets us apart is our ability to see and own our shadow aspects and love them back into right relationship with the whole of who we are.
Resources: The Ford Institute: http://thefordinstitute.com/shadow-work, The Gold is in the Dark by Debby Ford, Love Beyond Belief audio package - http://thefordinstitute.com/love-beyond-belief
Richard C Schwartz's You Tube on Internal Family Systems: https://youtu.be/DdZZ7sTX840 And other videos on the IFS website: https://ifs-institute.com/resources/videos
Trailer to The Shadow Effect movie/book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8V2g1_4D2k
Shari's website: https://www.sharirosecoach.com/
Lisa's website: https://www.mindfulguidance4me.com/
Tune in for a short but concentrated conversation on recognizing the shadow and how to begin to work with it more consciously. Given its unconscious nature, we may miss its appearance or let it run amok in our relationships. To gently become aware of what it is, how it operates and how it came into existence can give us a leg up on integrating it and loving ourselves more fully.
Join us in this exploration - part one
You can learn more about Shari Rose at https://www.sharirosecoach.com/ and you can download a free workbook on how to generate greater self-confidence (Five Essential Steps to Achieve Your Dreams) here: https://www.sharirosecoach.com/about.
You can also look up your host, Lisa Love here: https://www.mindfulguidance4me.com/ and get her free offer (The Five Keys to Cultivate Self-Compassion) here: https://www.mindfulguidance4me.com/offerings/, in exchange for your email.
The number 5, by the way, is the number of change. Change for good!
Thank you for listening. Tune in next week for the final segment - when Shari shares some personal stories of transformation with her shadow. You, too, can, with practice, reclaim your light.
What is Love? How does it relate to belonging? Lisa takes a deeper dive into the realm of relationship - to the truth of our being. Essentially we ARE love - so why do we go looking for it outside of ourselves? In this episode, we explore the many ways our sense of being lovable and connected gets disrupted. And Lisa offers some practical, actionable ways to re-establish that sense of "I'm OK, just as I am," inside. For when we create that secure base, all our relationships flourish.
Well! This week's episode is a mish-mash of goodness. Lisa shares what's cookin in the kitchen to inspire slow-food and savoring. Then she follows that with a Mother Mary Oracle card reading for this time - all about accessing the healed divine masculine in relation to the divine feminine. And she shares a personal experience with the power of prayer spoken aloud, as a command and as if it has already transpired. Tune in for a fun ride to lift your energies. Included is a short, practical healing visualization and affirmation you can do daily.
Listen in to find out the crucial elements of creating what you want in your life. Lisa has studied this process for over 35 years and synthesized the essential steps necessary to co-create a new reality. It's not always easy, not without doubt and fear, but it's important to practice again and again. We are always creating - sometimes we are so focused on what we want to avoid, that we end up with more of what we don't want than what we do.
But effective creating always starts out with a challenging question - one which serves you to sit with and ponder, day-dream even. And it always involves the (dreaded for some, enticing for others) Unknown. We must lean into the void of not-knowing - the how or when - in order to fully participate without over-controlling and stifling the process.
Find out what you're already doing well and where you go off the rails a bit in the creative process. And keep practicing.
If you struggle with self-doubt, here's an exploration of what might be behind this, along with ways to outsmart the tricky egoic habits of mind that often makes you feel stuck. Lisa offers some suggestions for how to disentangle from the constriction of past wounds that drives the endless search for approval or getting your needs met - sometimes at the expense of your relationship with yourself and others.
Lisa compares and contrasts two basic human orientations - being vs doing and service to self vs service to others. And she offers some potential remedies for the disruption this can cause to your sense of freedom to be your authentic self.
As always, if you'd like to share your thoughts, ask a question or propose a topic, you can send Lisa a voice message on the Anchor app by downloading and registering for free, follow this podcast and then leave a message. If you'd like to learn more about working with Lisa, you can check out her website here: https://www.mindfulguidance4me.com
What does it actually take to claim happiness - the state of experiencing that can be so elusive and compelling that we go to extremes to obtain it? What if it's a by-product rather than a goal? How can you nurture it? Why does striving for it actually push it further away? Come on this simple exploration and commentary on the elements of nurturing happiness. You are invited to break out your journal and/or use present-moment awareness to explore and discover what brings you into a state of enduring appreciation rather than momentary joy.
You can gain a unique perspective by watching/listening to Clair as she shares about her life with Cystic Fibrosis, a fatal genetic anomaly that causes a seriously reduced life span for those affected. Clair has been able to master the art of finding joy, creating joy and spreading incredible wisdom in her very young life.
It's often by making peace with the awareness of our mortality that brings the choices we make into sharper focus, which can enhance our experience of happiness ultimately, or deteriorate into a long downward depression. Ultimately, you have the power to choose your focus, not your circumstances.
Watch about Claire here: https://youtu.be/kD_Fr3VAsYM
What's involved in bringing forth your best in self? So many strive to do more/better and end up chasing an unending list of self-improvement projects, which ends up causing depletion energetically and financially, as well as reinforcing the idea that you're not quite there, wherever "there" is.
Lisa shares concepts and qualities that she maintains are already embedded within each of us and can be tapped and amplified simply by paying attention to them in everyday life. And by focusing your attention on any of these qualities, you automatically raise your vibrational frequency and confirm your wholeness.
Feel free to leave a comment or voicemail!
What can you do in the face of negative news and events that are traumatic? Lisa shares a simple practice borrowed from the Hawaiian shamans of long ago and present day. The simplicity makes this practice very accessible, yet it remains powerful in resetting our energy and the charge of the situation to "zero point," or the place of non-duality and forgiveness.
This bonus episode is in response to the events of Jan. 6th, 2021 in Washington DC, but can be used for any personal, regional, national or world event that causes a disruption to your sense of wellbeing or safety, or traumatizes any portion of the world's population, wildlife or ecosystem - such as fires, droughts, famines, wars, terrorism, pollution, oil spills, etc.
May any troubling events that unfold highlight the opportunity and need for a healing, intelligent, community response. Know you can be a part of the solution - no matter how near or far from the situation you are.
In this episode, Lisa explores the topics of empathy, compassion, nurturance and the interconnected cycle of giving and receiving. And she offers ways to put these ideas into practice to build your capacity for loving kindness toward yourself and others. When we can access self-compassion during challenging times, we lessen the burden we place upon ourselves and others, by being open to the pain with an attitude of kindness and a willingness to self-soothe.
Resources mentioned:
Danielle Gorman, Yoga Therapist, Portland, Maine - offers online experiences, classes and series :https://www.daniellegormanyogatherapy.com/
Havening Technique for calming an over-active amygdala: Dr. Robin Youngson's YouTube 10 min video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQXbZmuSbFs
To all that is chaotic
in you,
let there come silence.
Let there be
a calming
of the clamoring,
a stilling
of the voices that
have laid their claim
on you,
that have made their
home in you,
that go with you
even to the
holy places
but will not
let you rest,
will not let you
hear your life
with wholeness
or feel the grace
that fashioned you.
Let what distracts you
cease.
Let what divides you
cease.
Let there come an end
to what diminishes
and demeans,
and let depart
all that keeps you
in its cage.
Let there be
an opening
into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos,
where you find
the peace
you did not think
possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.
Often the holidays bring up sadness, especially this year, with the added challenge of travel constraints, public health concerns, interrupted plans, loss and longing. In this episode, Lisa shares some self-care practices you can embrace to help you find greater ease while honoring difficult emotions without collapsing into them. Self-compassion, heart-centered breathing, softening into the breath and awareness of body sensations are useful ways to shift into allowing and wriggle free from our conditioning that tells us not to feel. Set aside half an hour to tune in more deeply to your experience and see how much better you can feel - just by paying attention, with kindness.