Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!

Dear Soul Sisters-

The Universe gave me a great new job & a book launch all in the same week! While I'm so excited for both, I'm also REALLY scared & feeling overwhelmed by it all. How can I best move forward into my glorious future & not freak out?

Thanks,

Onward & Upward

“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” - Susan Jeffers

Dear Onward and Upward-

Congratulations on being a Master Manifestor, on your new job and birthing a book into our world! Take a moment right now to give thanks to the Universe for these wondrous blessings and to celebrate with a big old "WOO HOO!" As you reap what you have sown, we want to acknowledge your hard work along the way. Both of these blessings are a result of the time, energy and efforts you've made and we cheer your success! Now comes the fun part of accepting the added responsibility of a new role and the spotlight of a published author. We're happy to help!

As we dream and work towards what we want, we humans we have all kinds of unconscious programming running in the background that can sometimes give us pause when things actually happen. Take a moment to stand still and just receive these blessings. Open to all the goodness the Universe is raining down upon you. See if you can receive it without putting up blocks and barriers. If not, feel into those areas that want to reject this bounty. See if you can get them to open and expand to all of the goodness that is coming your way. If it doesn't happen all at once, that's okay, work on this over the next few weeks as your new life fully unfolds.

We'd also invite you to make a date with your fear. Just you and the big F, one-on-one, with plenty of time and space to get cozy. Take a few moments in quiet meditation to center yourself. Breathe deeply and feel yourself anchored to the chair, floor or cushion. Then ask fear why it's here. What's its message for you? What does it want you to know?

Often fear comes from memories of childhood/past challenges mixed with the mind's projection into the future about what might go wrong this time. See what show up for you and then journal about it. Get it ALL down, out and on paper. Really let it flow without judgement or countering with arguments and answers. Let fear have its WHOLE say!

Then re-read what you have written. Outloud. Read it and release it. Thank Fear for sharing with you. Really. You appreciate the concern, you understand why it's feeling that way and you can move on! If it's safe for you to do so, we'd then suggest burning the paper (or tearing it up and shredding it) ceremoniously. Feel the freedom of letting it go!

We'd then invite you to turn it over to the Universe, Source, or your Higher Power in prayer. Ask that your fear be replaced with full FAITH and assurance that you are in the right place and moving in the direction of your deepest dreams. Ask for support as you begin your job and step out into the world with your book. Whenever you are scared or unsure, ask to feel that full faith and to see signs of your Divine support system. The more you ask, the more you will be answered and the more you pay attention, the more signs you shall see! We love how Marianne Williamson says it in A Return to Love, "My fear finally became so great, that I wasn’t too hip to say 'God, please help me.'" We suggest doing this regularly to prevent the fear from building up and overflowing!

The Job

As you start your new job, be gentle with yourself and be your own cheerleader. Remind yourself that you were hired, chosen, picked, selected and voted most likely to succeed by the powers that be! They saw the qualities in you that matched what they were looking for and it's safe to shine like the star you are! That said, don't feel like you've got to DO everything on day #1 either. Know that with every job there's a learning curve, an adjustment period and some settle-in stuff expected! Keep reminding yourself of that and do your very best without going crazy or burning your work candle at both

ends.

Make sure to keep some work-life balance in your new schedule! Get plenty of rest, eat well, and exercise your body to relax your mind over the next few weeks. Make time each day to meditate and ground in whatever way works best for you (if you need a grounding meditation, sign up to receive our free Violet Flame Meditation download, which contains a great grounding exercise-see sidebar) and take time before or after work to attend a class, commune with your soul sisters or nurture your nature with whatever makes your heart sing! It won't happen if you don't schedule it so set your intention and stick to it!

The Book Launch

Now that your book is out, you're stepping from behind the page into the spotlight! As you do so, first of all BREATHE!!! Like a brand new baby, a book needs tenderness and gentleness. So too does its mother for she's gone through a long gestation period and poured her soul into the nurturing and birthing process. Take some time to really feel into that. To acknowledge what you have accomplished and cradle your book in your arms. Know that whatever may come next, it's PERFECT!

At your launch, keep this idea in your consciousness. You've worked hard. You've given birth. Then celebrate and enjoy the moment! See if you can stay present to the now and the beauty of the beginning. It's easy sometimes to put a lot of pressure on a book (or a baby!) to be, do and accomplish certain things in the world. Try to let go of any expectations about sales, opportunities and reviews that might come and just enjoy the process!

Try putting the focus on others to take a bit of the pressure off of yourself. At your book party look around at all of the people who helped you get where you are today - your editor, your agent, your publisher and, of course, your friends and family - and give thanks for them. Make sure they share in the spotlight by introducing them to each other and offering gratitude at every opportunity. You'll be so busy counting all of your (human) blessings that we bet you'll cease to be nervous.

Throughout the next few weeks - as you rush from new job to book party - pause from time to time to take a few deep breaths and come back into your body. Make a conscious effort to stay in each moment and to be where you are and not six steps ahead. Every moment is a tiny blessing, make sure you don't miss any of them by being in anticipation of the moments yet to come.

Peace, oneness, love and light to you as you move into your new job and enjoy your book launch! Congrats again and here's to your glorious future and your amazing NOW!!! We'll leave you with some wise words from George Sheehan, “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” We think you're well on your way!

Lara & Jennifer

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Overcoming Everyday Addictions

Dear Soul Sisters,

I am writing to get some ideas on dealing with my addictions. I am not talking about serious addictions such as alcohol and drug abuse, but more like everyday addictions - eating too much, watching too much TV, wasting too much time, spending time daydreaming about men who are not good for me. Sometimes it feels like these compulsions are running my life more than I am. How do I get these things under control so I can live the life I want to live?

Thanks,
Can't Seem to Stop

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing." - Abraham Lincoln

Dear Can't Seem to Stop-

Congratulations! It takes courage to face those unhealed parts of ourselves head-on and it sounds like you are ready to do just that. Since you're a behavioral junkie and not chemically addicted, the shift should be easier to make! Away we go!

As human beings, we all have unconscious behavior patterns. Yours are currently becoming conscious, which means that on some level, they are ready to be worked with and released. We would highly recommend Pema Chodron's Book on CD "True Happiness" in which she talks about what she refers to as "our habitual cravings" and how to work with them. This is a great way to get started as she applies a very gentle touch to our very human addictions and patterns of behavior.

Like many of us it sounds like you have a few things you'd like to work on. We would recommend you focus on one addiction at a time, knowing that as you root out one you are also loosening the hold of the others. Isn't that Divine?

To get there, here are some steps to take:

1) Begin first by being gentle with yourself and acknowledge that each moment is a new beginning. In the here and now, you are setting your intention to make a different choice. Really feel into that. Bring your mind back from the past where you chose to over-indulge or engage in a behavior that didn't serve your highest good. Let go of any guilt or shame you might have about last week, yesterday, this morning or 5 minutes ago. Inhale, breathe and be here NOW!

2) Then give it up to God (or Source, The Universe, however you refer to your Higher Power), whatever "it" is. Spend time in prayer, talking about this issue with your Higher Power and turn the issue over. With acknowledgment of where you have been, affirm that love, support, guidance and the power to make a new choice in each moment is yours. Ask for your inner knowing and voice to become more clear in each moment, with each choice so that you may more loudly hear the voice of Divine guidance. The more you do this, the harder it'll be to "override" your internal GPS that knows your greatest good. Source is always with us awaiting our "ask." Our job is to remember and surrender!

3) Spend time meditating on the root cause or root emotion that seems to be at play. When you are feeling safe, centered and open, ask yourself what you need to know about your addiction. What memories surface for you around this? What need is being met by choosing to overeat, over-indulge in TV or daydreaming about men? Often this dialog shines a light on an issue from childhood and a time when we escaped to feel better or overate to numb uncomfortable feelings. See what comes up for you. Where does that emotion come from? A past life? A specific current-life situation? Or is it a more general pattern of behavior or personality? It may take some time and many sessions to get to the root of the issue, but keep trying and know that you will get there.

4) Then try and do some releasing work by "fasting" on whatever it is you are struggling with. Start small with one hour, one day or one week and move on to bigger and bigger chunks of time - one month, one season, or even one year. Set yourself a reward (not something to do with the habit though because this will further ingrain it as a "reward") for meeting your goal and celebrate your achievement.

To support your releasing work, we would recommend signing up to receive a copy of our Violet Flame meditation (see sidebar at right). This is a very powerful meditation and one of its specific purposes is to work on releasing negative energy patterns in our physical body. Try it for 30 days on this issue and expect miracles!

5) Repeat as necessary. Life is a process and the spiritual path is called "practice" for reason. If you fall off your own wagon, get back on and start again. Like they say in AA, One Day at a Time!

As you work on this issue, recognize your humanity and forgive your self if you don't succeed on the first try. Keep digging at the root cause in meditation and working on releasing through fasting.

If the habit/addiction persists, you might try hypnosis as this can be a way to get at unconscious patterns by side-stepping the Ego attachment to it. Ask your friends for a recommendation or check your local natural services directory or even Yelp. Look for someone with good reviews who appears professional and reputable.

Don't give up. These patterns of addiction may be long-standing and deeply ingrained (for more information on how this works on a physical level, we highly recommend the movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know?") Be patient with yourself and know that one day you will look back in wonder at the hold this pattern had on your life.

And remember, as human beings we are not perfect, nor is it possible for us to be. Our imperfections are part of who we are and a part of the process of life. Embrace this part of the experience and we think you will find it easier to let go of the general pattern of addiction. As Pema Chodron puts it:

"We think that if we just meditate enough or jog enough or eat the perfect food, everything will be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that's death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air. There's no room for something to come in and interrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling our experience."

And finally, for some humor on the subject, we turn to our old friend Bob Newhart on MadTV,

Sending you peace, oneness, love & light,

Jennifer & Lara

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How to Heal Yourself

Dear Soul Sisters-

I am home-bound and dealing with a chronic heath condition that leaves me in pain and suffering much of the time. I try to stay positive, but sometimes the day to day is more than I can handle. While I am working with traditional medicine and complimentary healers on occasion, I'd love to get your advice on healing myself.

Thanks,

Tired of Living this Way

"Disease (is) not an entity but a fluctuating condition of the patient’s body, a battle between the substance of disease and the natural self-healing tendency of the body." --HIPPOCRATES

Dear One,

Thanks for your question. Our hearts go out to you as you struggle with chronic illness. We are sorry to hear of your pain and suffering and we send you heaps of healing love and light. The great news is, you do not have to bear it alone! God, Source, Spirit, the Universe - whatever you call your Higher Power - is out there just waiting to bear some of your burden. All you have to do is ASK!

We suggest that you make prayer a daily part of your routine. Spend 30-60 minutes each day talking to your Higher Power, asking for help, telling him or her what you need and unburdening yourself on their shoulders. Cry, wail, weep and rage if you need to. Get it all out and don't be afraid to ask for what you need even if it seems impossible. The key is to do this as often as possible in order to develop a habit of communication as well as giving them time to work on your needs and requests. 

If it's been a while since you prayed, start simply by acknowledging that. It's like a muscle, the more you practice the power of prayer the stronger your Divine channel will become. If you need some extra support, we LOVE Silent Unity and find the power of their FREE prayer often moves mountains. You can call as often as you'd like and they will pray with you for 30 days! 

Believe in your heart of hearts that what you want and need is possible and never allow your mind to waiver from this possibility. Be open to miracles!!! As spiritual beings having a human experience, it's easy to forget that miracles can and DO happen every day!!! We'd suggest you to read "Love, Medicine and Miracles" by Dr. Bernie Siegel. Full of inspiring accounts, Dr. Siegel shows it's possible to be the exceptional patient and beat the odds!

Dr. Kelly Turner was recently on Jennifer's radio show, Get GLOWING. She shared healing techniques gathered in her global research on spontaneous cancer research. LISTEN to the replay and learn what experts shared as the top emotional, spiritual and life changes one can make to shift the condition of disease. This is powerful work by a pioneer in the field of healing!

At the same time, work on allowing yourself to feel the pain - physical, emotional and mental - of this experience. So often we humans try and keep our pain at bay, but as Mastin Kipp notes in this blog post on The Daily Love, feeling the pain allows for space to be created around the pain and in this space you can find some relief. When you feel the pain come up for you (or at least a few times a day if your pain is constant), spend a few minutes really feeling into the pain and see if you can create that space around it for something else, a space of "not pain."

With mental and emotional pain, allowing the feelings to be felt, to come through you, often enables them to dissipate eventually and leaves a space of hope, peace, even joy in their wake. Take time to really express your emotions. We imagine you are terribly frustrated and must deal with a great deal of distress with facing your health challenges. Rather than suppressing these, we'd encourage you to journal, sing, scream and cry it out as often as possible. Unexpressed emotion's toxicity on a body is often underestimated and we believe every human can benefit from the release!!!

Once you have done your inner work, time to get started on some "outer" work as well. Make positive changes in your life NOW. Take a look at your diet. Switch to whole foods, lean protein and add more and more raw veggies to your daily intake. There's lots of evidence of late on the power of raw foods to eliminate diabetes and shift life-long patterns of obesity and unhealthiness. By buying fresh and organic foods, you can kick-start YOUR healing journey! Watch the trailer of Raw for 30 here for more on this one!

Depending on your energy level, do some sort of movement every day. Find a way that is JOYOUS for you. Swim, dance, sit and sway where you are and feel the flow of chi through your body temple. Do some very gentle yoga or simply stretch in bed. Whatever you can manage is a wonderful way to connect with house of your soul and let it know you see it, you feel it and you honor the job it's doing for you!

We would recommend that you get Louise Hay's book "You Can Heal Your Life." Turn to the page that lists your disease. Read what Louise says about your illness and see if it resonates for you. If so, take the affirmations she gives you and write them on a sticky note. Post them up in multiple places around your home and say them - out loud if possible - whenever you see them. Make them a part of your prayer time as well. As with prayer, commit to using them on a consistent and regular basis and believe that you can heal yourself. When diagnosed with cancer, Louise developed an intensive program of affirmations, visualization, nutritional cleansing, and psychotherapy for herself. Within 6 months, she was completely healed. We believe that this type of healing is available to each and every one of us if we claim it. Claim it for yourself now.

Next we would suggest that you take charge of your health care regimen. Become a co-creator with your doctor, if you aren't already, and let him (or her) know what is working and what is not, what you would like to try next and what you are not comfortable with. So often we put our healing totally in the hands of another person who we see as an expert, yet it is you who is the greatest expert on your body. When talking to your doctor make sure that you are fully IN your body and feel how what he (or she) is suggesting feels to you. Does your body respond positively - with a giddy, tingly feeling of hope - or negatively - with a dark or low feeling of dread? Go where the light is and try that. Become a true partner with your doctor and with your body and participate fully in your healing.

Continuing in that vein, we would recommend that you get on the internet and read everything you can about your disease. Read what other people with the disease have done and what has worked for them. Read about Western medicine options and what is available through Naturopathy, Herbs, Supplements and Energy healing (including massage, accupuncture, reflexology, Reiki, etc). Do everything that resonates with you and that you can afford. There are many energy workers who are willing to work on a sliding scale and will work with you even if you can't afford their full rate. We love the high vibration healing of Emmanuel Dagher and would recommend him highly to you!

Always be tuning into your body, your heart and your mind and looking for new possibilities for healing. You can't possibly do everything at once, however, so do what calls to you most strongly and then move onto the next thing. Know that you are being guided and led to the right and perfect option in this present moment. Trust your inner knowing to lead you exactly where you need to be and to what you need to try next.

While taking charge of taking care of your body, also take care of your mind and spirit. Find a therapist, life coach or mentor (perhaps even someone who has had your disease and come through it) to be your advocate and one man (or woman) cheering section. You need support as you walk this path so make sure you get it. Friends and family provide a lot of support and we hope that you are allowing them to be there for you as well if that is healthy for you, but sometimes friends and family are too emotionally involved to provide the kind of support that you need. They are managing their own feelings and process around your illness and can often - though unknowingly in many cases - add to your burden by making you responsible for their feelings. Don't allow this to happen and make sure you get some outside support as well. 

If money is an issue, look for a community mental health clinic in your area for a low-cost or no-cost therapist. Don't just work with the first person you find either. It may take two or three test runs to find someone who will really be your advocate and speak to your individual needs. Be choosy and give yourself time to find just the right person. You might also find that after a year or two your needs change and it is time to find someone else to work with. That's okay too. Always listen to yourself and act on your internal knowing.

Finally, we would suggest to make it your daily exercise to focus on what you CAN do and not on what you can't do. Can you walk around the block? GO FOR IT and enjoy it. Don't spend that time lamenting that you can't run a marathon, instead look at the trees and the birds and the sky and feel how grateful you are to be out in it. Find gratitude in your heart for all you CAN do and try to let go of what you can't. That will come, or maybe it won't, but that is not for you to worry about today. Today focus on CAN. Cultivate gratitude by looking for one thing each day for which you are grateful. Maybe it's the sunshine on your window sill. Perhaps it's the warmth of your bed. Start each day by finding ONE thing you love and we're certain more will show up!

Know that we are out here pulling for you and sending you peace, oneness, light and love as you continue on your journey to healing. We see you surrounded with healing love and light at all times. 

Jennifer & Lara

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GET GLOWING for 20-12 & Write YOUR Year!

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and to change the world.” --Harriet Tubman

Happy 2012 to all! There's no question this week since we're doing a workshop today but we wanted to share our wisdom with you! For those of you who can't come, here are some tips and tools to Get Glowing for 20-12 and Write Your Year!

Start with some quiet time on your yoga mat or the floor. For 5 to 10 minutes just sit and breathe. Notice where you are. Notice how you are feeling. Has the New Year left you feeling excited and anticipatory or did the holidays wear you out? Wherever you are NOW embrace yourself and love yourself exactly as you are. Just be still with yourself right here, right now.

Next grab some pens and paper and get ready to write!

First answer the question: “What does 'Get Glowing' mean to you?” Let your mind and your hands run freely across the page. Write, draw, paint, or even dance what comes to you. When it feels complete take a good long look at what you came up with and then set it aside.

Take a few deep breaths to clear your mind and take out a new piece of paper. What are some of the obstacles that keep you from GLOWING? What's getting in the way of your GLOW right now? Write as much as you can, letting out all of the blocks and obstacles that emerge. When you are done, tear this up or grab the shredder and LET IT GO!!! These are so yesterday and things best left behind!!!

Now take a 2 minute dance break. Here's a song by Karen Drucker to get you moving and grooving to your beat for 20-12. Really let yourself go for 2 minutes. Dance your GLOW, dance out your obstacles, dance the New Year and new YOU into your body.

When you are ready, find a comfortable spot again and take out another piece of paper. Using crayons, markers, colored pencils or whatever feels right to you, make an Energy Map for 2012. How do you want to GLOW in 20-12? What do you want to do this year? What are your goals, desires and aspirations? Start with pictures and images that come to mind. What colors are calling to you? What shapes? Then move into words and phrases. What do you want to embody this year? Again, give yourself free reign to write, draw or dance whatever comes into your mind. Anything goes. This is a time for total freedom and full expression of your needs and desires for YOUR life for 2012!

Give yourself plenty of time to complete this Energy Map. When you are done, step back and take a good look at it. Is there anything missing? Add it now. When it feels complete set it in front of you and enter into a meditative space again. See if you can come up with one word that embodies this energy for you What is your word for 20-12? Sit still and let the word come to you, don't chase it. If it doesn't come today, stay open and allow it to come over the next few days. If a word does come to you, write it on a post-it note and put it somewhere prominent where you will see if often. Let it inform your days as you move through 20-12. Give yourself permission to GLOW this year!

Peace, Oneness, Love and Light to you now and always,

Jennifer & Lara

If you would like additional assistance with getting your GLOW on or need help writing your year, contact us as we'd would love to help.

WRITE to us with your question or work with us one-on-one:

For Jennifer Alhasa click HERE!

For Lara Simmons click HERE!