10 Steps to take before this Decade Ends
Hello my fellow travellers!
I'm so happy to have you here, and welcome you to The Art Of Onward. I hope and trust you find inspiration and loving motivation here for your journey.
If you're reading the posts on this blog, you likely have experienced disappointment, trauma, loss, and sadness in the recent years. So, as the chapter of this decade closes, I want to send you my love right here and now.
There is a time to grieve, even to wallow a little in that heartbreak, and I hope you are able to find a way to honor that process for yourself. I will take this opportunity to again remind you, you deserve the time you need, and the journey is yours alone. No one else can feel what you feel, and you decide when you are ready for what. Do try to surprise yourself a little every day, though, at how much stronger you truly are becoming. Sometimes we need to stretch outside that alluring comfort zone in order to see what we are capable of now. You really can. So take a deep breath and allow yourself to lean forward.
As I promised in the title of this post, I have ten leaning forward and upward ideas for us all, as we together close out this decade and begin a new chapter in a new decade.
1. You know that disappointment? That grief deep within your soul?
Breathe in the Life and Love around you, allow it reach deeply within your core, hold it there and allow it to release pieces of that pain. Now exhale, and as you do, allow those shards to go. Just go. Don't worry about where it's going, that's no longer your concern. You get to let go as much as was made ready in this moment. Repeat for a minimum of 5 minutes, and feel your soul begin to lighten. One breath, one moment at a time.
2. The Undefined Pieces of Loss
All too common is the story of people receiving struggle and pain in their lives, and choosing to hold and nurture it like a newborn infant. Don't.
This is a dangerous trap, it appears to feel good to feel so awful, but you have so much more to offer your self, your future, yes, your purpose that still is yours. You can let go, and now is a good time to begin that process. How?
Begin with your journal and a pen. (make this a physical exercise, no typing, use the pen)
Write down random words as you sit and meditate on what you have within you to release. They don't need to form a sentence, or make sense. This is for you alone. Write down the moments of pain, the disappointments, the loss, the fear, the ache. Random words across the page. Purposely write across the lines, allow your neural patterns to be bumped and tossed in to digging deeper and deeper.
These random words you've written across your page are now a more defined part of the curriculum of you, your growth, your healing.
3. Eyes Up
You don't need to journey this process on your own. Look Up, ask the Divine to give you Strength, Courage and Healing. Try to remember the unending Love there, even if you sometimes can't feel, see or touch it. You are not alone. You can not breathe yourself, or make your heart beat, there IS a divine strength at your fingertips at all times.
4. Take One Step
Deep breath, yes you can do this. Take one step in the direction of your dream. Remember that? The dream? If the one you had before is too big and feels too far away to grasp right now, don't worry, it will return. For now, let's start with something smaller, something closer.
Do you have it? Good!
Now decide to do ONE THING today that will get you closer to that dream. And tomorrow, take ONE MORE.
*little reminder ... yes, you can. Deep breath, let's do this.
5. Celebrate
So you did it! You took that step! Celebrate!!! This is what success feels like! And when we celebrate our wins, more success arrives on their heals.
6. Go Crazy
This decade is nearly over! Let's go a little crazy. Make a list of 10 things you would LOVE to have enter your life. The bigger the better. The more unrealistic, the better! Write them down, and stare at them! See them fulfilled in your minds eye, feel them, smell them, deeply define them. Want that house on the coast? Good! Write it down! Design it in your mind, what will that feel like when it happens? Want a deeply loving relationship? Even better. Again, write it down, and then allow yourself the joy when you imagine what that will feel like. Keep going! Go Crazy! Dare to Dream a little today!
7. Those Pieces of Loss
Okay, we've asked the Divine for help, we've set ourselves up for a success and we've celebrated that accomplishment. We've dared to dream again, and we have felt how wonderful life will be when those come to pass.
Now let's go back to the pieces of loss.
I'm sure you're with me when I say I don't want to carry those with me into the new year, the new decade. So let's begin to tackle them.
Choose one you've written down and listen to your intuition on how this can be released. Will the breathing exercise do it? Or does this need a more active approach? Is there an opposite you can apply here? Or is there a promise you can make to yourself that will give you courage to step past it.
Only you know, only you can decide.
I expect this will take some time, begin with the easier ones ... lean into the pain attached to the concept for around 10 seconds, and release it. Imagine a hatch in the ground with a river flowing beneath. Open, and drop that anger, fear, hurt, loss, sadness, shame, guilt, down into the water. Let it flow freely away from you. Breathe in Love the Divine is offering right now.
8. Promise Yourself
I recently recorded the Optimist Creed for a
daily interactive affirmation meditation exercise.
I've made it available for $1 here: www.theArtofOnward.com/shop
This recording is helping me to make and keep promises to myself about how I want to live my life and how I want to nurture my healthy thought structures.
I invite you to join me in the 90 day challenge I've given myself. Yes, this will take us through into the next decade!
The format is built so it can be done anywhere, anytime. 4 minutes of phrases from the Optimist Creed, with spaces provided to repeat them, and thereby reinforce the message into my subconscious. Repeating this practice on a daily basis, especially the speaking of them out loud, will allow my subconscious to receive the message as the repetitive nature and the speaking of the promises simultaneously activates more brain activity.
9. Empower Yourself
I recently recorded the Self Love Boosting and Empowerment Phrases for another
daily interactive affirmation meditation exercise.
I've made it available for $1 here: www.theArtofOnward.com/shop
This recording is forcing me to be reminded, and stand in agreement with the statements as I speak them aloud, of who I am, whose I am, and is helping to rebuild confidence and healing with every exercise.
Again, I invite you to join me in the 90 day challenge I've given myself. In fact, I do both interactive affirmation meditations together, and find in just 5 minutes, my outlook and, therewith, my energy levels, are strengthening.
10. CANCEL the TRIGGERS
Oh yes, if you have experienced loss, trauma, disappointment, you will have triggers. We all do. What we want to set in place is a way to handle them when they pop into our consciousness out of nowhere.
Step one is to cancel them, just press pause. Ask yourself, is this emotional response to what is happening now? Or is it based on something from the past? Breathe slowly, and allow your neurological response to normalize. This is the fastest way to get your mind to calm down, remove you from the trauma response of fight, flight, or freeze, and will allow you to think rationally again.
Ready for step two? State out loud five things you are grateful for. STAT.
There, exhale slowly, and repeat as necessary. Feels better right? Lighter? These are my two favourite first trauma trigger responses. They work every time.
As I sign off, I am sending you a big hug, and so much love and trust you can feel the hope I am sharing with you here.
Have faith, one step at a time, you can not only release what is no longer serving you, but you can begin now to build toward the life you are worthy of living ~ and loving!
All the very best to you and yours,
~Jewelle
remember, you are not alone, and yes, you are worthy
