Review the "Four Agreements"

Review the Four Agreements

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

By Don Miguel Ruiz, MD

The thousands of agreements we have made with ourselves – and others – have shaped our lives and our personalities. Some of these agreements have caused suffering; others have resulted in fulfillment and joy. The ones that are fear-based require energy,  keep us trapped, and powerless. Those agreements that help us express our personal power, those that come from a place of love, help us conserve and generate energy. 

Four simple yet powerful agreements that will help us transform our lives as well as the dream we have created include:

Be Impeccable with Your Word

Don’t Take Anything Personally

Don’t Make Assumptions

Always Do Your Best

What agreement will you focus on to help with this situation?

How Shadow Voices Heal Us

How Shadow Voices Heal Us

See Embracing Ourselves: The Voice Dialogue Manual

by Hal Stone and Sidra Stone

Underneath any physical or psychological condition, a part of you is ardently trying to make its voice heard. Our shadow voices hold energies, memories and information for us. Often we suppress, ignore or push away these voices because they don't express themselves in ways that are easy to hear. 

Create a map of the messages that your inner selves say. Follow your emotions as well as your energy as you:

· Recognize strong “shadow” voices—parts of the unconscious mind that consist of repressed powers, needs, and instincts. For example, if you're angry or frustrated, this voice is a call to change what you're thinking or doing in response to what is happening.

· Identify the “gatekeepers”—those cultural and personal selves that protect us so well that they can also block our inner work. Notice any resistance you may be experiencing. "I don't want to..." is a clue!

· Discover the inner child who lies beneath many physical problems and who needs to be heard, understood or acknowledged. 

· Name or label, then release unexpressed emotions. These sometimes represent our ugly underbelly that we don't want to expose because they make us feel so vulnerable or afraid that we'll be judged and rejected.

Once you have acknowledged some of the voices that need to be heard, you have a better chance of making a good decision.

What steps occur to you to take once you’ve truly listened to your shadow voices?   

Become Present

Become Present

(Inspired by Jack Kornfield)

Before you DO anything else, sit quietly for just a few minutes. Tune inward -- this may take some practice! And begin to notice your body and emotions. 

What are you feeling right now?

What are your body sensations? Where in your body do you experience the feelings?

Just notice without needing to do anything with or about it. 

Allow the feelings to be there. You're experiencing them for a reason and they can guide your next step if you understand their message. 

Your body has some information for you too. Tune into it. Maybe you know what it's saying or what it means; maybe tuning in deeper could help. 

Give yourself the gift of presence and of the space to pause, notice and integrate. 

From this calm, present place, allow yourself to create your next step. 

Read! (or listen)

Read! (or listen)

Read an inspirational book, article or quote – or listen to an audio program or podcast – that can help you shift your perspective on what is going on.

What new insights does this bring to what is happening?

Music Soothes the Soul

Music Soothes the Soul

(See Jeffery Thompson, Jonathan Goldman, Steven Halpern, Tom Kenyon, & others)

Take time out to listen to music designed to help you 
heal and transform from the inside out.

Plug in and let the music do the work.

Notice what happens to your attitude and your choices now.

What Are You Choosing?

What Are You Choosing?

(See Science of Mind by Earnest Holmes)

 We always have the opportunity to come from choice.

With so much going on around the planet at this moment in time we must ask ourselves: 

"Am I being swept up in the outer vibrational frequency and the collective unconsciousness 
or standing firm in the Law of Individual Selection, knowing God is my Source?”

Know that we all have the power to choose.  
We can choose the way we think, the way we act and the way we react or respond. 
This is the "Law of Individual Selection" at work in your world.

What are you choosing now?

Journaling for Transformation

Journaling for Transformation

HERE's a short video of this strategy.

Becoming more authentic and aware of what we are thinking and feeling requires change. 

Change takes work and it is through self-examination and reflection that we can make sense of the situations we face and information we access. 

Journaling just 20 minutes daily has many positive benefits; if you want to use it to tackle a difficult situation you’re now facing, try the following approach:

Use the “What? So What? Now What?” Model (Driscoll, 1994) 
of exploring the events of your life to access the wisdom of the connection between your head and your heart:

What? = What happened? What was the event that you experienced? What did someone say or do?

So What? = How did the situation/event affect you? What thoughts/feelings/reactions are you left with? What else does this remind you of?

Now What? = Focusing on your actions/beliefs/feelings, if you could replay the event/situation, what would you change? What did you learn? What was the good that came from this?