Awaken the Genie Within

The Gift of Ironing

Standing in my closet looking at the shirts that needed ironing I could feel my stomach knot up. I've been putting off the inevitable for way too long - the shirts must be ironed today. There's no way around it. Oh how I loathe ironing.

With the ironing board and iron ready to go, a feeling ran through me that actually took me by surprise as I began ironing the first shirt  - gratitude. Gratitude that I had shirts to keep my family clothed knowing that there are millions of people in the world who don't. Gratitude that I had the electricity to heat up the iron knowing that there are millions of people in the world who don't. Gratitude that I had a home to allow this ironing to take place knowing there are millions of people in the world who don't.

In the moment I started ironing, my Genie woke me up and gently reminded me that my ironing was not a chore, it was actually a gift and something I get to do. And, of course, this got me thinking about anything we do in life that are our least favorite things to do. All of us, at one time or another, find ourselves doing certain chores that we don't look forward to but in reality, it's truly a gift that it's even there for us to be involved with.

No matter what the chore may be, there's a place for gratitude toward it. House cleaning, washing the car, gardening, washing clothes, folding clothes, cooking, or chauffeuring your kids around. Every chore can be transformed into a pleasant experience when we open our hearts and allow the Genie within to remind us to see the gift in front of us.

Visit www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook and maintain an attitude of gratitude through my new book; Stories To Awaken The Genie Within.

 

The Perfectionist's Prayer

The following was emailed to me by a friend. Unfortunately we don't know the original author but it's quite wonderful and I think you'll enjoy it. Especially if you're a perfectionist!

Dear God,
Help me not be a perfectionist. (Did I spell that correctly?)
Help me to relax about insignificant details, beginning tomorrow at 7:41:23 a.m. EST.
Help me to not try to run everything - but, if You need some help, please feel free to ask me.
Help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them are hypersensitive.
Help me to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions, even though they're usually not my fault.
Help me to be more laid back, and help me to do it exactly right.
Help me to take things more seriously - especially laughter, parties, and dancing.
Give me patience, and I mean right now!
Help me finish everything I sta
Help me to keep my mind on one thing - oh, look, a bird - at a time.
Help me to do only what I can, and trust for the rest. And could I get that in writing?
Keep me open to others' ideas, misguided though they may be.
Help me follow established procedures. Hey, wait - this is wrong.
Help me slow down andnotrushthroughwhatido.
Thank you. Amen

Stories To Awaken The Genie Within can assist you in loving yourself exactly as you are and let go of the need for perfection and control. Check it out here: www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook

Let Your Decisions Be Yours

I was reading a Ben Affleck interview in the LA Times and something he said struck a truth cord for me. Talking about his career the writer says - "His mistakes, as he sees it, were basing decisions on what 'I imagined others might think versus my own personal sense of direction, the simple gut level, 'Do I think this is a good idea?' "

We will never be fully satisfied with our lives if we continue to make our decisions by second-guessing or attempting to please others. We may be temporarily satisfied for the simple reason that a false sense of approval has taken place, but in time, that will only come to feel like a burden as you struggle between your heart and mind.

You are not here to satisfy other people's needs. You are not here to tally other people's votes about your options. You are here to be in vibrational alignment with your heart and soul and make your decisions from that place.

Learn to more easily live by your truth every day in my new book, Stories To Awaken The Genie Within. www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook

"What a beautifully written 'Wisdom Journal,' lovingly guiding the reader through a journey to their own self-honesty, greater awakening and authenticity. Linda's real-life short stories are relevant, which bring clarity in the learning. She offers refreshing viewpoints into our daily life lessons and the deeper significance of our lives." 
Sheryl Roush, Speaker, author of "Heart of a Woman"  www.HeartBookSeries.com

Managing Her Emotions Like a Champion

While doing my errands I ran into the woman I occasionally get my massages from. We chatted a bit and then I asked how things were between her and her husband. I knew they were going through a difficult time. What she told me was wonderful because she became another living example of how well emotional energy management works for people.

She said, "I finally decided that I wasn't going to get caught up in his negative, complaining attitude. Whenever he would get upset over little things or complain about stuff that I couldn't do anything about, I just told him I wasn't willing to listen to it anymore. Then I left the room and would go play with the kids or do something that kept me feeling happy. I refused to take on his energy."

I asked her how he dealt with that.

"At first he would get more angry and pout like a child. When I wouldn't let that affect me and just made the decision to stay in a good mood, he would back down a little. As the weeks went by, I saw that he was complaining less and being more cheerful with the kids and me. I felt really empowered by not letting his emotions become my emotions. I made new choices and was in complete control of my own emotions and that turned the whole relationship around!"

Okay, those last two statements are very powerful and worth repeating; "I felt really empowered by not letting his emotions become my emotions. I made new choices and being in complete control of my own emotions seemed to turn the whole relationship around!"

In the beginning she had suggested couple's counseling and he wouldn't go. She got to a point where she told him, "If you're that unhappy the door is open. You can leave anytime you want to. I won't make it difficult for you and I don't need anything from you. I just want to be happy in my life and to have a happy family. I won't allow anyone to keep that from me."

Please take this story to heart when struggling with a relationship - any kind of relationship. It's always about you and the choices you make with your emotions. You don't have to be miserable just because someone else is or someone's giving you a hard time. You do whatever you can to reach for even the slightest bit of relief and build on that. Go for the relief over and over and over again. When you do this you're training yourself to manage your emotions for your highest good.

Abundance Abounds

Lately I've been hearing a lot of discussion around lack and frustration of not enough. A few of my clients are also expressing feelings of lack to me. I understand how one's thinking can get caught up in this way when the focus becomes so personal.

And, as you know, the more you look at what you don't have the more you increase that reality for yourself. One way to shift this is to take the attention off yourself for a while and pay attention to the abundance that abounds all around.

Nature is full of abundance. The trees, plants, flowers, mountains, the ocean, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and grass. Walk into a grocery store and see the abundance of food at every turn. Abundance even abounds within us but we usually don't think of ourselves as abundance which is why we get caught up in a lack mentality. If we used more of our own abundance that's always there for us, we'd feel a whole lot better. I'm talking about things like love, laughter, hugs and generosity. We've got an abundance of breaths available to us each and every day as well, without worrying about where the next one will come from. This is a great gift!

Abundance is everywhere. The problem we run into, is when we measure our abundance just by our bank accounts. As we stay on this path we miss abundance in all other forms and that is something we truly can't afford to do.

So here's my invitation to you. Before you move blindly through another day, do yourself a favor and put aside any lack mentality you're holding onto and open your eyes and heart as you look for the abundance everywhere you go and in everything you do. Feeeel it deeply. Embrace it and be grateful for it. As you stay conscientious in your search and feeling for abundance, you'll be pleasantly surprised by what starts showing up in your life.

Stories To Awaken The Genie Within can help you shift from lack consciousness to one of abundance. Read more about it here: www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook

 

Embrace the Drip. Don't Resist It

As I settled in for my morning meditation I found myself faced with a challenge. It had rained during the night and where I normally sit in my house to meditate, just happened to be next to a very loud drip coming from outside. Within a matter of seconds I heard myself say, "Just move to another place." And then I said, "Nope. This drip is not going to chase me away."

So I stayed and went about my meditation. Drip. DRip. DRIP. Alright, so things weren't going as I had intended. So much so, that the drip was starting to sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I went deeper within and asked what I needed to do to move past this annoyance without leaving. The answer was simple. "Embrace the drip. Don't resist it. Don't separate yourself from it. Don't make it wrong for existing. Allow it to be a part of your meditation."

And so I decided to stop resisting the sound of the drip and embraced it into my meditation. Within minutes my whole body relaxed and the drip no longer existed. At least that's what I thought, until I finished my meditation and opened my eyes. Drip, drip, drip. It hadn't stopped. I simply transformed my relationship with it when I no longer resisted it.

The drip is a wonderful metaphor for life and certainly supports the saying, 'What you resist, persists'. And nature continues to be the perfect teacher for this lesson as it was in my October 5th post, Our Emotions and Nature. If you're in physical or emotional pain, don't push it away. Allow it to be a part of you and ask what's needed to bring you greater relief. The answer is there. The answer is always there. You just need to listen from a deeper place to transform the experience.

My new book, Stories To Awaken The Genie Within is full of ways to transform whatever you find yourself resisting in life. Take a look! www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook/ 

 

Forget the Burning Bush

There's something I often say to clients when they feel as though a dream they have is completely out of their reach - "Forget the burning bush." Lately, it seems I've been saying this a lot - which prompted me to write a post about it. When I tell people to forget the burning bush I'm simply saying that when you look too far ahead, your dream will absolutely seem unattainable.

The reason for this? The resources and knowledge that you have in the moment aren't always enough to manifest your dream. If they were, your dream would have already been fulfilled with a new one on the horizon. You've got to use your present resources and knowledge and build from there.

There's a saying that 'patience is a virtue', and it is. Because it's patience that allows you to go about achieving your dreams in small enough chunks that help you stay the course and fall down less. When you do fall down, it's usually because you skipped a few steps along the way in hopes of getting to that 'burning bush' sooner. You have two choices when you've fallen - stay down and get stepped on or acknowledge the steps you skipped along the way, pick yourself back up, and continue on.

It's critical to look at what you've achieved vs. what you haven't. When you hold your energy around what is working and how far you've come, you vibrationally create the next step to take. Sometimes you may find a lull and not know what's next. Perfect! This is your cue to rest. Take a break and trust that the next step is unfolding even though you can't see it. Allow it to reveal itself to you at the right time.

Too often we want things to happen on our time frame. And because of that we lose the ability to reach our dreams more easily and effortlessly with the Universe's support as well as our Genie within. So forget the burning bush and just go for the next spark.

And one last thought, it's not unusual during your journey, as you gain more resources and knowledge, to find yourself readjusting your original dream.

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Check out my new book; Stories To Awaken The Genie Within.
www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook/

 

Our Emotions and Nature

There was a much-needed rainstorm a couple of weeks ago in southern California and I took the opportunity to fully enjoy it. I made a cup of tea, wrapped myself up in a blanket and sat on the couch watching the storm unfold outside my living room window - I was in heaven! It was raining so hard at one point that I could barely see beyond the falling water. After a while, as always, the rain lightened up then finally stopped as the sun made its way through the ever-changing clouds.

Looking off into the distance I could now see the abundance of trees that were glistening from the water, looking like diamonds dancing on the branches. With an energy of joy coming off the trees, it was hard to believe that just a half-hour ago I could barely see them, let alone the brilliance that was now so obvious.

Seeing the rain move from downpour, to drizzle, to stopping, and the sun shining brightly, I thought about how much our emotions can be like a rainstorm. When something upsets us, our emotions can be so intense, that we become drenched in the pain of those emotions making it hard to imagine that anything better lies beyond.

In time, however, we experience less of a downpour and more of a drizzle. Eventually, the pain of the emotions stop as we move through the storm, feeling once again, the sun shining upon our soul. To remember, in the midst of the downpour, that it will not and cannot last forever, makes it a bit easier to embrace what is with little or no resistance.

And embracing what is from a place of love, gives us the opportunity to see our own diamonds dancing within, filling us up with great joy and an ever-expanding Self.

Linda's new book, Stories To Awaken The Genie Within is now available! Click here to learn more: www.awakenthegeniewithin.com/wisdombook/