Personalize Affirmation Power

If you were to walk through my home you may or may not notice the personalized affirmations I have positioned quite intentionally about. It all started when I took charge of my health and made a big personal campaign to honor my body temple. It meant changing my perspective on my self image, my self-worth and my relationship with food and exercise. My intentions were great, fabulous and well-rounded, even realistic. But my commitment was notorious for waning and losing steam. I knew I needed motivation. I had family and friends behind me. I had great resources at my fingertips. But what I needed the most was excuse busters for those quiet creeper moments. You know, those late night snack attacks, those skip the exercise today because you have a dentist appointment this afternoon excuses, those why bother, you only lost one pound last week monsters and those just a small bite, no one will know lies. So to fend off these thieves and robbers of my intentions I beat them to their punch. I posted inside cabinets, on the treadmill, on my bathroom mirror, on the scale, in the fridge and on the dashboard of the car…just to name a few spots. I personally created affirmations that spoke directly to me. I scripted in my head the one liners and excuses, the bargains and empty promises I made to myself and then came up with the perfect come back for each of them.

Sometimes I would use famous lines from some of my favorite philosophers or authors. At other times I would quote myself directly, as though I were speaking to a beloved friend. Often I would poke fun at myself, as humor worked wonderfully for me. It worked. It worked really well! On a roll and to continue to outsmart myself and to cause traction on the slippery slope I could sometimes find myself on, I kept at it. I would switch them up, replace them, decorated them to make them more prominent. Whatever it took, I did it. I decided I was worth it. I was so worth it I dropped over 100 pounds and changed how I honor my body for the rest of my life. It took a good amount of hard work, a lot of honesty, and patience with my self, but a bit of tough love too. Nothing will ever be the same! The blessings are present daily.

So, what are your struggles and what are your intentions? When you are ready to take them on…think about ways to support yourself. Other people’s affirmations are great. But if you are like me, having a more personalized version, one that really pokes me, or takes the air out of my arrogant balloon, or stares me in the eye and won’t back off….those work best! It takes hard work, determination and self- compassion. But it also takes no ifs, ands or buts and no excuses, lies or self-deprecating thoughts. Step up and be your own self-empowering guru. You know what to say! The script is already written in your head.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Peppered Throughout the Day

Admittedly, I have very busy days. With five children, even those out on their own need TLC regularly, my darling husband, three separate careers, ongoing course work and all the small stuff… well, you can imagine. We all have full or overflowing plates it seems. Given that, I am quite certain that a small and simple acts that I have placed into the tiny spaces of free time that are left in my day are what save me. These acts keeps me grounded. They preserve my focus on my intentions. They help me stay connected to Spirit. They also support me in letting the petty problems that I stub my ego on throughout the day, roll off my back. They allow my heart to stay open to others.

So what are these small and simple acts that I weave through my day? I pepper my day with moments of prayer, deep breathing, positive affirmations, chants, meditations and more. These small undertakings keep the flow in my day. I rarely get stuck anymore. I am not saying I don’t have a “bad” day from time to time, that is inevitable, but these choices I make to bring the focus back can help save the day from falling completely into that deep black hole!

It is not unusual to find me chanting through a red light. You may see me whispering a mantra to myself as I chop the onions for the veggie chili for dinner. You may find me with my eyes closed after getting off the phone with one of my adult children, sending them prayers of positive energy and light to assist get them over whatever troubling speed bump they are facing.

People often wonder at how they can “become” more spiritual. It is as though they think there is a course they can take or a method that they can be trained in. The reality is that we are spiritual beings and we forget that beautiful truth. Being spiritual means just that…be spiritual. Bring whatever sacred act you feel connected to, whatever resonates with you into your life regularly and meaningfully. You must practice trusting it, honoring it, celebrating with it and relying on it.

Life will give you all the opportunities to put it into practice. And your mind will try to tell you there is not enough time. BUT that is exactly when you need it the most! Making time for your spirituality is as important as making time to exercise, or making time to eat healthy whole foods, or making time to laugh. Without it…what kind of a life are you living? You get to choose each and every glorious day!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Recordings From Your Past

We bring to our day stories and memories from our past. These have been there for as long as we can remember. They are a very big part of who we think we are and how we face our day. How much influence they have depends on the power we allow them to have. If we reflect on our childhood and pick a topic, such as money, marriage, family, friends, sex, or career, we may find that there are recordings that play through your thoughts today. They create images and influence our opinions. Many of our thoughts are the filters through which we process our information and our beliefs. Let’s pick one of the above topics so that I can illustrate. Let’s choose money. Perhaps you grew up hearing, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” You can imagine then how this would influence your relationship with money today. Maybe you have a bit of guilt when you spend money frivolously or perhaps you have used this recording to support your desire to save. This is not to say these recordings are good or bad. Simply, the impact that they can have on our current day actions and choices is constantly there.

Let’s try another topic. Let’s see what the recordings are for body image. “You should watch what you eat, it goes right to your hips.” “You are a beautiful and healthy person.” “You are clumsy.” Are you hearing some recordings coming through?

Being aware of what we bring to our relationship with self and others is important. Especially if we want to have a better understanding of why we do what we do or think what we think. Many of the recordings influence our relationships, act as a filter and can be a mirror that reflects our world back to us. Having insight to these messages from our past helps us balance our perspective on things.

These messages could have the power to limit us or propel us forward. These messages are not necessarily our truth, but we can give them supremacy and they then rule. We can understand them enough to use them as tools, allow them to be part of the equation in a balanced fashion and make them only one ingredient in the recipe we use to create our day.

These recordings from our past are a big part of who we are, but they do not define us. AND they are manageable you are in control of them and their influence. Become the master of your thoughts and take ownership of the messages they relay to you.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Take Good Dose of Laughter and Call Me In the Morning

Children are often our very best teachers. Take for example the joy they find throughout the day. Children look at life through eyes of delight and newness. They see beauty where we see normalcy. They hear music, where we hear noise. And they feel laughter when we are often shut down. Hearing children giggle and then burst forth with a good belly laugh often brings a smile to our face. We recall how good it feels to really let go and have a whopping good, snorting, teary eyed, holding onto our sides, hard to breathe laugh!

We can invite laughter back into our lives through conscious choice. Laughter can happen at will, not only when encouraged by humor. When laughter travels from our core and travels through our bodies, through our cells, radiating outwards…we are body laughing! What a beautiful release of energy. What a tremendous embrace of happiness and joy. What a delight to share with others.

Laughter can create bridges where other communication fails us. There are no language barriers. It can unite strangers and friends alike. It connects. It bonds. It shares. It gives.

Laughter does a body good as well. It exercises our muscles, our mind, our lungs and our blood pumps wildly. It leaves us feeling more relaxed and less stressed. It gives us power to laugh at what frightens us or angers us. It reduces guilt or frustration. Laughter opens our hearts and allows things to flow, to brighten and lighten. It helps us shift our perspective to a more positive place.

The more we laugh and enjoy it, the stronger of a touchstone we create for ourselves. Sure laughter is easy when we are in a good place and a pleasant mood, but laughter can be just the right dose of “medicine” we need when we are a bit blue or in a negative mood. Even if it needs to be forced a little bit, our bodies will recognize the place of joy that laughter brings us and begin to create the responses we get so easily when happy. Laughter can nurture our souls and change our approach for the rest of the day.

The next time you are in a funk, feeling blue or moody or even having a frustrating day, try a bit of laughter. See how your body responds. Watch how the people around you resonate. Let your soul embrace the goodness that comes with a good body laugh.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade