goals – Learning to LOVE

May Cause Miracles Update #2

Learning to FORGIVE…..if you are new to my blog check out the May Cause Miracles project here.

I have been having some energy treatments and Reiki done recently and both my throat chakra and my heart centre chakra have been cold. I am told that this means the energy is not flowing through these chakras easily and there may be some blocks to break through in order to get the energy moving. It has sparked some pretty in depth conversations about the healing powers of energy work and how it could benefit my physical health by dealing with issues of forgiveness. This tied right into what I was currently working on in “May Cause Miracles“.

I have read a lot about radical remissions, where the survivor attributes their healing to different energy work and I am currently reading about the John of God who has healed many people through different spiritual practices. This is a part of this journey that intrigues me and there is a lot to learn. The importance of the mind-body connection becomes more and more apparent daily and the miracles that are occurring because I am paying attention to myself make it an exciting learning experience.

Miracles are natural. When they do not occur, something has gone wrong.
Gabrielle Bernstein talking about "A Course in Miracles" in her "May Cause Miracles" book.

Over the past few months I have been really focusing on positive self talk and immediate forgiveness of myself for small setbacks or actions that are not in line with my current mindset. I was given an exercise by my councillor to actively pay attention to my thoughts and if I was thinking something about myself that I would not say out loud to my best friend, then I needed to stop. The mind is so powerful that your thoughts can be detrimental to your health. Some recent examples of this would be: In the past I would have gotten really stressed out and maybe even quit this project because I am not on track with Gabrielle Bernstein in her book May Cause Miracles. Heck, I should be almost done! Instead, I am telling myself that it is okay to be doing it at my own pace because it is getting done and I am taking the necessary time needed for me and each lesson. Not every day goes as planned, especially with a toddler lol. Another example would be going out for ice cream with friends the other night and enjoying every last bite without feeling guilty even though I definitly should not be eating ice cream.

Since practicing immediate self forgiveness I have noticed less stress, less worrying about what others may think and overall more of a calm feeling. I am more at peace with my decisions and I am enjoying the little things a bit more. It is these little miracles that keep me motivated to continue on this journey.

What I have been struggling with while working through the last couple of weeks is forgiveness of events or actions of the past. Both forgiving myself and forgiving others for these things is proving to be difficult. TOO MUCH LIVING IN THE PAST! I got stuck on Day 5 of “May Cause Miracles” for a long time as I didn’t know what to write in the letter to myself. I didn’t know how to put into words what I wanted to forgive myself for. It’s hard to put your raw, unfiltered feelings out there as it is not something we do everyday, or ever for some people. Even though I knew no one would read it, I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed for things that happened 5, 10, even 20 years ago!! Once I finally sat down to write the letter, I had more to write than expected and it was a very freeing experience. I would highly recommend trying it if you need a fresh start.

From this exercise I learnt or at least confirmed the following about myself:

I am WAY too hard on myself for decisions I have made in the past. I now am working on forgiving myself and being thankful for these lessons as I would not be where I am today without having made these decisions.
I am creating unnecessary stress in my current life by worrying about what others think or about how others feel about me.
I am truly lucky to be where I am today because I have a great life 🙂
It is way too easy to get stuck in the past or worry about the future. My biggest lesson so far from May Cause Miracles is to live for today.

Who have you forgiven lately? Or do you have any tools that you find help you let go of the past?

Lots of LOVE,

Lyndsey
xoxo

May Cause Miracles: Week #1

I’m the one who said there were no rules right?

Well my friends, I spent 7 days on Day #1!!! Apparently witnessing my fears was harder than expected.

First off let’s focus on what I LOVED about my first week.

The process of trying to figure out my fears and witness my thoughts, feelings and reactions made me really have to dig deep. I had to think about WHY I was feeling or thinking a certain way and I had to look at what my reactions were to different situations. It was an eye opener for me to realize how out of touch I can be with myself on any given day.

The affirmation:

I am willing to witness my fear.

I found this super powerful. Every time I read it or said it to myself, I felt like I was recommitting to ME. I am still using this affirmation on a daily basis as I find it super empowering. Putting alarms in your phone is a GREAT idea! And it works!

Now let’s talk about what I STRUGGLED with during my first week.

Paying close attention to my thoughts and reactions throughout the day and taking note of them. I found it difficult to focus on this task for the whole day. I kept struggling to remember certain things about my day or how I was feeling. One of my normal struggles is finishing what I start. I am great at starting a project, but not so great at finishing it. Actually the more I think about it, maybe there is an underlying fear here that I am ignoring 🙂

Being honest with myself about where certain feelings were coming from. Digging deeper can bring things up that have been buried for a really long time and been buried for a reason.

Prioritizing time for ME. I think this is a major problem for a lot of people. I know for myself, I want to make sure everything and everyone is taken care of before me. Sometimes when that is over, I want to sit and stare at nothing for a few minutes. Although this sitting and staring at nothing time could be used for meditation, journaling etc. It would be better to do these activities without being mentally and physically exhausted.

So in response to my lack of focus this week I have given myself ONE rule:

For the next few weeks I MUST schedule TWO sessions of ME TIME into my week. This will allow me to stay on a lesson for more than one day if needed and it will give me an achievable goal to work towards. I am hoping that I end up doing much more than twice a week as I get more focused and less frazzled but this is an attainable goal to start with.

There will always be a million things on the go and even more so right now. Between spending time with my family and friends, doctors appointments, juicing, researching different treatment options and taking a closer look at myself spiritually and emotionally, I tend to over commit myself. So now I am planning a super fun road trip to Salt Spring Island with my son, my best friend and her daughter. We leave Sunday!! I am going to relax, take life in and enjoy every moment of it while continuing my May Cause Miracles journey!

Stay tuned for a look into our Road Trip when we return!!

Here is a quick look at the upcoming blog posts you can expect:

Sawyer & Moms Garden Project.
Sneak Peek of our 2015 Road Trip.
May Cause Miracles: Week #2 Update.
Fundraising Information and where the funds are going.
My Treatment Plan.

If you are starting your Course of Miracles journey with me I would love to hear from you about your first week! How did it go? Any successes, struggles, things you loved?

xoxo
Lyndsey

My Goal for this project “Learning to LOVE”

A conversation about life, love and learning to live…..

Just as the title says! I want to learn to love all things in life. Everything and everyone in it.
To help promote self healing by finding my voice and using it.
Possibly help someone else by sharing my story and my journey.
Stay on track and focused on my path (whatever it may look like).
Meet new people and have GREAT conversations!