Awaken the Genie Within

Breathing Your Own Fumes

Lately I've been talking to a few friends and family members who have been going through some difficult times. While I was listening to what they were sharing with me a common theme kept showing up that had me say this on several occasions, "You need to stop breathing your own fumes for a while."

What was so interesting was how everyone took in that statement at a very deep level. The minute they heard this they understood exactly what I was saying and knew that's what they were doing, causing them to feel stuck and frustrated.

When we get to a place where we can't see beyond our own noses and everything feels like a struggle, it's time to step outside of our environment and ourselves so we can breathe in a new perspective. The tricky part, however, is the longer we've been breathing our own fumes, the easier it is to become asphyxiated making it harder to come up for fresh air to create a new reality.

It requires a conscious effort to be aware when you're getting sucked in by your own fumes so you can do something about it before you're feeling like there's no answers available to you. I have a little sign that says, "How's my fume level?" that sits in my office. When I'm really stuck and I see those words it's a great reminder to reach out for help or leave the environment to clear my head for a while.

I invite you to make a reminder for yourself. Maybe a sign that says the same thing I wrote or something like - "Am I breathing my own fumes?", "How long have I been breathing my own fumes?", "Is it time to come up for fresh air?" Write whatever is going to have the biggest impact on you so you take the action that's going to have you breathing air that adds life to you.

Living It Over and Over Again

Lately I've been hearing a similar theme with my clients. They experience something in their life one, two or maybe three times, and even though the situation is over they are still living it over and over again - often hundreds of times - and sometimes for years.

How do they do that? By visiting it again and again in their minds. By speaking about it as though it were still happening. If you went through an experience with someone or several people and it hurt you physically or emotionally, the more you relive it in your mind, the more you get to re-experience it as though it were still happening.

Maybe you were just the observer of a situation and it made you uncomfortable or angry. Once you've removed yourself from being there, it's over for you. Unless, of course, you're allowing yourself to live it over and over again in your mind.

Every time you relive upsetting past experiences, you keep yourself from moving forward and allowing for the possibility that something different can show up for you or for all the people involved. You set up an energy within that doesn't allow for any change to take place. You have created your own prison and until you choose a new thinking that serves your higher good, it's as though you've thrown away the key that unlocks the prison door.

Take an honest look at how many times you may be reliving those upsetting experiences in your life. Perhaps it never occurred to you that every time you go back to one of them in your mind, that you're the only one in the moment whose causing you pain, not the other person or people involved in the experience. The pain you're feeling is truly self-inflicted.

Personally, I believe you deserve to treat yourself better than that!

 

The Angels Around Us - Part 2

If you are reading this before you've seen my post from March 22nd you may want to read that first. Just scroll down and you'll see Part 1 of The Angels Around Us.

The second Angel experience I shared with my client was a life saving one although I didn't interact with it as I did in the parking garage.

I was driving along the 10 freeway in Los Angeles when I looked down for a second. When I looked back up I saw a Mack truck moving over into my lane and I was about to hit it driving along at 65 miles an hour. I slammed on my brakes only to send the car into a spin moving across 2 lanes of the freeway. During the spin my hands were pulled off the steering wheel and my entire body was shoved against the seat with my hands up in the air. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as I saw cars swerving to avoid me.

The next thing I know my car is stopped, on the shoulder of the freeway, facing the wrong way. Within seconds a man is knocking on my window and I roll it down. He asks if I am okay and as miracles will have it, I was - other than the fact that I was shaking like a leaf. He told me that my car did a 360 and then a 180 before it stopped in the spot I was and it was as if the other cars were being parted to allow my car to get to the side of the freeway. He then said, "And look what you ended up in front of." I was right next to the freeway call box to get some help for my flat tire which was the only damage to the car.

This gentleman was kind enough to stay with me until Triple A arrived. As we spoke we shared our knowing that my Angel/s had taking very good care of me once again.

If you have any Angel experiences you'd like to share, I'd love to read them. Just click on the comment link at the bottom of this post.

 

The Angels Around Us - Part 1

A client who is going through a difficult time in her life asked me this question; "Do you believe there are Angels amongst us? Is it possible to be helped by them?" My answer came swiftly and with great confidence. "Yes, absolutely!"

This surprised me a bit because when I'm asked questions about my beliefs from clients I always encourage them to not make decisions based on what I may or may not believe. Their beliefs are all that matters. Yet with this client, I suppose I gave such a definitive answer because of two experiences I had and because of the pain she was in - hoping, when I shared my stories, it would help ease some of her pain - and it did. I'd like to share one the stories with you in the hopes it supports you through any difficult times you may be facing now or in the future.

After having lunch with a girlfriend I walked to the parking garage where I parked my car. There were 4 levels and when I walked to the area where I thought I parked my car I was surprised to not see it there. I searched a bit more only to become completely baffled when it was nowhere to be found. Now some people might have thought the car was stolen but my mind just didn't go there.

After about 10 minutes I felt a little panicked knowing I had to pick up my son from school. As the panic grew, I stood amongst the cars with my eyes closed asking for help. Within a matter of seconds I heard a noise behind me. It was a man in one of those little cars they drive around in while monitoring the parking garage. He asked if I needed help and when I explained my situation he told me to hop in and we'd drive the garage looking for my car. Within a matter of minutes we found my car. I thanked him profusely and as I stepped out of the car my back was to him. I turned around to wave good-bye and thank him again. To my surprise he was gone.

Looking behind me, in front of me, all around, he was nowhere in sight - vanishing silently into the ethers. There was only one explanation in my mind - My Angel had come to my rescue.

I will post my second experience in my next blog.

Perfect Emotional Energy Management

While in the bank there was an older gentleman next to me who was rather upset. In a fairly loud voice he was expressing his frustration to the bank manager about his situation. As his frustration continued to escalate I watched the bank manager for his reaction. There wasn't one moment when he lost his cool. Even his face continued to have a look of compassion and patience for this gentleman.

What was interesting, is the older gentleman seemed to be getting more frustrated the calmer the bank manager remained as he listened patiently without apparent judgment.

Finally he said to the gentleman, "If I'm hearing you correctly, you would like me to make the call to the bank headquarters because you believe this is a situation to be handled by a bank employee and not you. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want!" responded the gentleman, gruffly.
The manager then said, "That won't be a problem. Just give me the paperwork and I'll take care of it now."

I watched the gentleman's reaction and he truly seemed perplexed. He appeared to be ready for more of a fight, as if he were expecting resistance from the manager. When that didn't happen, he literally stumbled over his words, maintaining some of his gruffness, but now doing whatever he could to back off with some of his dignity in tact.

Within a matter of minutes, the manager returned and the problem was resolved. The manager stuck his hand out and the two men shook hands. "It's been a pleasure being able to help you, please come back again soon." said the manager.

The gentleman mumbled a thank you and off he went - probably trying to understand why it all went so smoothly. My guess is he's used to coming up against people who get sucked right into his energy and then they're off to the races - attracting resistance wherever he goes.

I complemented the manager on the way he handled this gentleman and what he said to me was just perfect! "Before he came in here I was having a wonderful day. I saw no reason to let someone else ruin that for me no matter what the situation."

Now that's what we all need to remember when we're faced with a situation that can suck us in and ruin our wonderful day.

Take Back Your Power

When my girlfriend told me that she finally took back her power I wanted to shout it out to the world. I was so thrilled that she decided to step up to the plate in two areas of her life - work and her kids.  Hesitating for way too many months to speak her truth, she literally woke up one morning fed up with walking on eggshells and worrying about everyone else's reactions if she said what she needed to say. So she wrote her three kids and boss separate emails, addressing the issues relating to each person.

For the first time she told the truth about things that she had been holding back because she feared she would hurt her children's feelings and that she might lose her job. When she told me the things she wrote, I even found myself wondering if this would blow up in her face. However, my Genie within knew, with the conviction and confidence she was feeling, no matter what the result, she would be fine. Why? Because it was her truth and it needed to be expressed so she could free herself from her self-imposed prison. This was the only way she would be able to move to the next level in her life.

Her choice paid off big time. Her boss took her words to heart and gave her a promotion along with a raise. Her kids thanked her for giving them the wake up call they needed inspiring them to take the action that was necessary for improvements. All this, just because she chose to take back her power.

Who have you given your power away to? How would your life improve if you took back your power? When you've come up with those answers, decide what you can do to take back your power and go for it with a vengeance.

Sacrifice Being a Victim

Every now and then I give my clients a little kick in the butt when I feel they need a loving, but firm awakening. And this is exactly what I found myself doing with a client I've been working with for the past 2 months.

She's been through a lot in her life and to her credit she's done a great deal of work on herself over the years making many sacrifices to achieve her desired changes. Not an easy thing to do. However, during one of our sessions, it occurred to me there was something else she wasn't sacrificing which kept her from really taking off - being a victim.

When I shared this with her, the silence that lingered over the phone line let me know I hit a cord. After about one minute she spoke up in a voice that had me straining to hear her.

She said, "You're right. I get a lot of pleasure from being the victim because people respond to me in a way that feels good."

Now that took a lot of courage to admit - not to me, but to herself. We worked on this for a few sessions and in a matter of weeks she sacrificed being a victim. Because of this, she is experiencing monumental growth and joy in her life.

Making sacrifices in your life isn't always about giving things up on a physical level. It's not always about giving something up to create more time for something else. Sometimes you've got to dig deep and see what belief or behavior you haven't been willing to sacrifice that's ultimately holding you back mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Today, I invite you to dig deep and see what you haven't considered sacrificing that could ultimately shift your life experience, if you did. Then the next step, of course, would be to actually make the sacrifice.

Step Back and Assess

Lately I've been receiving tons of emails offering me the next best way market my business and myself. Sometimes I'll spend time reading an email longer than I know I should - it grabbed me, sucked me in and before I know it, I'm contemplating yet another way to grow my business.

In those moments, I literally have to say to myself, "Stay the course, Linda. Don't get off track or you'll never reach your dream." And when I do step back long enough to remind myself what my dream is and that all important why, I realize that 99.9% of the stuff that shows up is meaningless for me.

Oh sure, there are times when I feel like I'm missing an opportunity that could really make the difference and propel me forward, but I learned long ago, that's just not true. It's simply my Gremlin doing her thing and having me operate from a place of fear, not trust. Trust in myself, trust in my journey, trust in my process and trust in my dream.

I can't stress enough the importance of staying true to yourself at all costs. Not just with business decisions, but in all aspects of your life. It's so easy to get caught up in the moment and jump on the bandwagon. Especially when others around you are doing so or telling you why you're about to miss the opportunity of a lifetime - personally or professionally.

One of the hardest things in life is to stand your ground and not follow the crowd or do what someone else thinks you should do. What's right for someone else is not necessarily right for you. And when you go against your gut, the results are usually less than stellar. It requires trust in your higher self, confidence and your willingness to have the patience to wait for a calm feeling and a gentle voice that says, "Yes, this is the time." "Yes, this is the right choice for me."

True Surrendering Leads to Miracles

When we truly surrender from the deepest part of our Being, miracles occur in magnificent ways, as you'll see from this story.

A girlfriend of mine, who is a single mom, had been out of work for a year, and needless to say, she was going through an extremely difficult time financially and emotionally. It was time to pay her mortgage and although she thought she had enough to do so, she was wrong. Lowering her head in utter despair, through her tears she whispered, "That's it, I surrender. I've done everything I know to get work - to keep myself afloat. I'm out of ideas, energy and spirit. I completely let go and turn it all over to you."

Within a matter of seconds a tremendous sense of peace washed over her unlike anything she had felt before. Although she thought she had surrendered many other times throughout the year, speaking similar words, she told me she realized this was the first time she actually meant what she said.

Within fifteen minutes after her powerful surrender the phone rang. The woman on the other end asked my friend to come in for a job interview. Apparently her application "randomly" showed up in the computer database dated from six months prior.

There's more. Within a half-hour the phone rang again and it was from another employer asking her to come in for an interview. This was a job she applied for when she became unemployed, a year ago!

Today, my friend is happily employed, full of gratitude and now truly understands the process of surrendering.

I invite you to remember this story if you ever find yourself fighting an uphill battle. At some point in time you will need to put down your sword and truly surrender - allowing for something greater than you to take over and finish the battle for you. When you are ready, in the deepest part of your Soul for something different to happen, the opening will be felt and the miracles can occur.

There's Always Another Side

A girlfriend was telling me about some things that were going on with her elderly parents and the very emotional stuff she went through with her dad while growing up. After about 10 minutes she said, "But I also have to say, he always bought me that new bicycle I wanted. He took me to the skating rink knowing I loved to skate and he bought me clothes I liked."

As she shared this other side of her childhood, it occurred to me how often we ignore the joyful times that happened because the less than joyful experiences have clouded our memory for so long - especially if those experiences were traumatic. And the more time we spend in the cloud, the more it can feel like there wasn't one moment of joy.

When my friend finished sharing some of the fun times she had with her dad, she expressed how much better it felt talking about those good times than all the other heavy stuff. It allowed her to see her dad in a different light than she usually does and it gave her the ability to have more compassion for him - realizing there was a human being, who at some level, really did care and was doing the best he knew how.

I obviously don't know your personal history, but I'm inviting you to revisit it in a way that allows you to look at it with new eyes. It doesn't have to just be about parents. It can be with any relationship you find yourself telling stories about that come from the heavy bag. Open the lighter bag and search for the moments that brought you some joy - even if they were short-lived. Then maybe, you could share those moments with someone who's only heard about the other moments.