In order to truly blossom we must be willing to open...to life.

Yesterday I was telling someone a story from my past that had to do with a humbling, and at the time a slightly humiliating experience. We began talking about the word humiliation and then humility…surely there is a relationship between the two.

For the sake of clarity I am not talking about humiliation in the broader sense of the word such as when a group or individual is subject to humiliating treatment that sets them apart with the intention to belittle them or possibly worse…this is not the experience that I refer to. But rather humiliation in the narrower sense of the word, maybe we could call it extreme embarrassment that causes us to feel humiliated. Often when we can go through that experience, survive it, and have our friends or family still love us, we realize that we can gain something from it.

Isn’t it interesting how we are averse to feeling humiliated but somehow humility is good? Maybe there isn’t that much of a difference…don’t we gain humility allowing ourselves to feel a bit humiliated on occasion. They can be two sides of one coin.

Could this be something that we are missing in our world today? a bit more humility. Many of us are too afraid to risk feeling humiliated so then we play it safe…Perhaps a little bit too safe to really experience life in its fullest and juiciest.

How powerful is that fear if it can hold us back from trying to live our dreams. Why do we not pursue that which puts a smile on our face and in our hearts. How many unfulfilled, and untried dreams are out there?

My experience is that at some point the fear of not living my life as I dreamt it could be was far more scary than going for it.

At this point I must confess that this is not where I planned to go with this writing but I like this exploration so my original idea will just have to wait.

I see that humility is a process that de-emphasizes the ego, that chips  away at it, which allows us to discover that we are something far beyond the ego. Usually in this process we gain something…some insight, some awareness to fill that space previously occupied by the ego in our inner world.

When we gain the knowledge, and acceptance of who we truly are, we recognize our value…We are empowered yet at the same time humbled. If we can give ourselves permission to experience that self humiliation and still remain aware of our being-ness and our worth we can also experience that sense of humility, which I know as very peaceful and centering. I am amazed again and again what power emanates from that place of being-ness.

Once we connect to ourselves this way we gain such a sense of freedom that we are willing to dare being humbled, even if that means risking the potential for a taste of humiliation. We realize that in effect everything in life is an opportunity for us to grow and live more aware and awakened lives…usually our greatest fears never come close to manifesting.

I don’t know about you but I am willing to take that risk, to make that leap to live a truly authentic life. The ego may get a bit nervous, but in effect as more fun, joy and contentment comes into my life there is an aspect of my ego that likes it too and then surrender just comes.

So maybe you are willing to step out a little from your comfort zone to experience more of who you really are. In the big picture of life when we are willing to dare, it is evidence that we are trusting something bigger than our fear and that is always empowering. Who would have thought that we can go from humiliation to humility and then to empowerment…

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

It's time for us all to blossom.

When the time comes for a break, I can enjoy it completely.

Lately I am realizing that I am often feeling as if I always seem to have something, and usually many things, to do….sound familiar? I go about my daily life in a pretty relaxed manner but recognize that I often seem to be spending more time taking care of those “to do” things than the things that I really want to be doing or love to be doing.

I am growing more and more uncomfortable with this situation and that is a great catalyst for changing something, but at the same time I am experiencing a powerful lesson in self acceptance and patience allowing this to be just the way things are for right now.

I also acknowledge that I do have a lot on my plate, as many of us do today…

I recently began taking new clients for coaching (one of those things from my “I love to do” list) and have even taken an office here in Santa Fe.

I also have a non-profit project on sustainable living that has taken a good amount of my time over the last year or so.

And I recently, recently as in since 2011 began… have started my very first art project, probably since I was in elementary school. I don’t remember if I had art in junior high school (and that was decades before all of the recent budget cuts) but it was never something that I felt confident doing.

On top of this over the last two and half years I have pretty much created an entirely new life returning to the U.S. after living in Europe for a number of years where I had a holistic center. When I came back to the states I chose to return to a new city (I had lived here only briefly in the past, but always loved it and felt drawn to be here) and I have been so fortunate to create an amazing community of friends and new family here in my adopted city, in spite of the fact that I have been traveling as much as I have been at home.

In effect on the outside an entirely new life exists, but I must say that the greatest journey has been the inner transformation that has been taking place for some years now…and this comes with me wherever I may travel or live.

I am sure that this is why I can see through the busy-ness that is a part of my life today. Often we have times when this is more pronounced, but when we bring our consciousness to it we can transmute each thing that we do, regardless of how mundane, to something that provides an opportunity for inner growth or awareness, or whatever you choose to call it.

I do not mean to imply that we need something, or we need to change something but in the sense of expansion or greatness, being able to recognize the beauty that surrounds us…even in the face of the horrendous.

To me this is truly a gift to live life in this way

Sometimes we also just need to give ourselves a break. That break can be from giving ourselves a hard time for what we have not done or not completed and sometimes we just have to stop. And I mean really STOP.

Right now, just stop for a moment. Sit back and take a deep breath and become aware of what is around you.

What do you smell?

What do you hear?

What kind of taste is in your mouth?

Try to linger in this place for a few minutes and experience returning to who you really are…in addition to all of the you’s that you live each day.

When we can bring our full awareness to whatever we are doing (even if the doing is stopping what he had been doing) it becomes so much richer. Even the laundry and washing dishes give us something in return….ourselves, when we do them being really present.

So as I venture more deeply into this new year I am filled with excitement and more of a sense of myself than ever before. I may have a lot to do but it all is so wonderful and rich when I remain grounded in myself doing them.

I may have preferences of what I would like to do. Would I rather go for a walk along the stream, under the beautiful blue sky and see the snow on the ground or go do some errands?

I would love that walk, but at the same time I know that doing the errands will take care of so many things so that when I do take that walk I will be more free than if I took it right now. I might take a walk around the block while doing my errands just to experience the day in a fuller way than just in and out of my car at each stop that I have to make. There is no reason for deprivation at the price of getting things accomplished.

This is one area that I have so enjoyed learning and experiencing… and that is the power of allowing myself to take a break, whether it is five minutes to sit back and experience my senses and myself, to take a short walk or a special, very conscious and present cup of tea or coffee. These small actions bring me back to myself and to the moment and then I really can experience the fullness of life whether it is while I run errands, return phone calls, take a bath or do my work.

Most of the time the gift of life is all around us, if we are willing and able to receive it.

Lately I am realizing that I am often feeling as if I always seem to have something, and usually many things, to do….sound familiar? I go about my daily life in a pretty relaxed manner but recognize that I often seem to be spending more time taking care of those “to do” things than the things that I really want to be doing or love to be doing.

I am growing more and more uncomfortable with this situation and that is a great catalyst for changing something, but at the same time I am experiencing a powerful lesson in self acceptance and patience allowing this to be just the way things are for right now.

I also acknowledge that I do have a lot on my plate, as many of us do today…

I recently began taking new clients for coaching (one of those things from my “I love to do” list) and have even taken an office here in Santa Fe.

I also have a non-profit project on sustainable living (SmartLifeways.com) that has taken a good amount of my time over the last year or so.

And I recently, recently as in since 2011 began… have started my very first art project, probably since I was in elementary school. I don’t remember if I had art in junior high school (and that was decades before all of the recent budget cuts).

On top of this over the last two and half years I have pretty much created an entirely new life returning to the U.S. after living in Europe for a number of years where I had a holistic center (atmando.com). When I came back to the states I chose to return to a new city for me (I had lived here briefly in the past) and have been so fortunate to create an amazing community of friends and new family here in my adopted city in spite of the fact that I have been traveling as much as I have been at home.

In effect on the outside an entirely new life exists, but I must say that the greatest journey has been the inner transformation that has been taking place for some years now…and this comes with me wherever I may travel or live.

I am sure that this is why I can see through the busy-ness that is a part of my life today. Often we have times when this is more pronounced, but when we bring our consciousness to it we can transmute each thing that we do, regardless of how mundane, to something that provides an opportunity for inner growth or awareness, or whatever you choose to call it.

I do not mean this in the sense that we need something, or we need to change something but in the sense of expansion or greatness, being able to recognize the beauty that surrounds us…even in the face of the horrendous.

To me this is truly a gift to live life in this way

Sometimes we also just need to give ourselves a break. That break can be from giving ourselves a hard time for what we have not done or not completed and sometimes we just have to stop. And I mean really STOP.

Right now, just stop for a moment. Sit back and take a deep breath and become aware of what is around you. What do you smell?

What do you hear?

What kind of taste is in your mouth?

Try to linger in this place for a few minutes and experience returning to who you really are…in addition to all of the you’s that you live each day.

When we can bring our full awareness to whatever we are doing (even if the doing is stopping what he had been doing) it becomes so much richer. Even the laundry and washing dishes give us something in return….ourselves, when we do them being really present.

So as I venture more deeply into this new year I am filled with excitement and more of a sense of myself than ever before. I may have a lot to do but it all is so wonderful and rich when I remain grounded in myself doing them.

I may have preferences of what I would like to do. Would I rather go for a walk along the stream, under the beautiful blue sky and see the snow on the ground or go do some errands?

I would love that walk, but at the same time I know that doing the errands will take care of so many things so that when I do take that walk I will be more free than if I took it right now. I might take a walk around the block while doing my errands just to experience the day in a fuller way than in and out of my car at each stop that I have to make. There is no reason for deprivation at the price of getting things accomplished.

This is one area that I have so enjoyed learning and experiencing… and that is the power of allowing myself to take a break, whether it is five minutes to sit back and experience my senses and myself, to take a short walk or a special, very conscious and present, cup of tea or coffee. These small actions bring me back to myself and to the moment and then I really can experience the fullness of life whether it is while I run errands, return phone calls, take a bath or do my work.

Most of the time the gift of life is all around us if we receive it.

Marcel Proust

What can you see new today?

We have the opportunity to discover something new about ourselves and the world around us every day, if we can open our eyes and see without the veil of our past and our conditioning.

No easy task, I am the first to admit, but one if cultivated will bring immense rewards.

A good way to begin this is to simply try to step back and become more of an observer, of what you see around you but also of yourself. Try to relinquish your judgments, especially of yourself, and just allow a witness to emerge from within. As you nurture these new eyes from the inside you will gain an insight about the things you do and think and suddenly the world, and perhaps yourself, will become new.

Let me know how this process of discovery works for you……..

Sometimes we need to be willing to sit for a period of time with what may be uncomfortable feelings in order to understand our lessons in life, so that we can then receive the gifts that follow…

When going through a challenging time have you noticed how difficult it often is to just sit with your feelings, to allow them to come to full bloom or maybe even eruption? There is a magic in the exploration of what is really being shown to us, since quite often it is something beyond what seems apparent on the surface. Think about it, when you are challenged in almost any way, in a relationship, at work, or even just driving down the road, and your feelings get charged up, isn’t there often a component that you could adjust? Try to linger there when feeling emotionally challenged, a lesson may await you that brings you deeper insight into unchartered areas within yourself that will allow you to live a more relaxed, joyful, satisfying life.

Take for example, driving down the road in traffic, your reaction might be anger or frustration but what can you do about the traffic anyway? What could this situation be indicating about you? Maybe you need to allow yourself more time so you don’t feel the stress of worrying about being late. Perhaps you need to slow down a bit and accept things as they come, especially those situations that are out of your control. Can you use this time as some sort of opportunity for yourself…listen to music you love and be glad that you have this time to really enjoy it, practice breathing in a conscious way, send out a desire that all those surrounding you in traffic reach their destination safely and peacefully. This is a chance to change your immediate, internal reality without being a victim of your external circumstances.

Perhaps you have a situation at work, or in a relationship, that keeps coming up. What could that be saying about you? Perhaps you need to confront a situation that you have been avoiding. Or maybe you need to dig a bit deeper and look at something totally unrelated to this immediate situation, which is just a trigger to bring your attention to something else. It is always interesting how we quite often are given opportunities that we ignore, but they keep returning.

As Pema ChÖdrÖn writes, “nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.”  Why not be observant, and willing to get the lesson sooner rather than later so that you can move on to the next beautiful opportunity life will present you…but be ready to sit with it for a bit to see what is being shown, about yourself.

This is in no way a judgmental exercise about ourself, how we are “bad” or must change. Try to see this as an opportunity to tend to a garden, pulling out the weeds so that more attention can be given to the beauty of the flowers and plants. We are all beautiful gardens that often just need a bit of care to come to our full glory. Give yourself this time to sit and be with yourself, you may discover a treasure calling you, that is you.

“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are.”

I am not aware of who wrote this originally (if you know please send the author’s name) but it is a beautiful daily thought, or prayer… however you like to define it. When we can remember to remember that each phase of our life can offer us incredible gifts leading us to unthought of possibilities we can allow the unfolding of our lives with a bit more ease.

Not that each day will necessarily be “easy” but neither is a hike up a steep mountain, but the gift we receive when standing at the peak always makes it worth the effort. We get to experience many peaks in our lives when we have the stamina, courage and faith to continue up our personal mountains…..Perhaps one of the most important items to help us keep going is self acceptance.

May you be content with yourself just the way you are, right now in this moment. If you want to change something in your life, that is fine but love yourself and accept yourself right now, and then visualize where you are going with an open heart for you.

I love that this quote is circulating amongst emails, at least to women, how wonderful it is when this amazing vehicle called the internet can be used for inspiration and as a great connection between people who may not have otherwise ever “met”. Try to look at all that is around you in a positive light, see the good and share your beauty. The world will continue to become more beautiful as more of us follow this route.

I am grateful to be sharing this path with you….

Sending love,

Michelle