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An Empty Plate

Lou Ann Bennett — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 08:09:08 GMT

You would think that after being raw for two years someone wouldn’t go backwards to less alive and nutritious food, but I did. A story, an experiment about nourishment!

I started eating cooked foods a while back to prepare for a trip to Europe in order to have more options. I’m so glad I did as I had immune reactions each time I ate something cooked. Eventually my body stopped reacting so strongly. Going back to cooked foods even though it was limited brought up a lot of my addictive behavior with food. I love sugar and especially chocolate. However, I was craving all kinds of food I had not eaten in 5 years or more. It’s like cleaning a swimming pool as long as you keep the gunk on the bottom the water appears clean. Start stirring things up and all of a sudden things are murky and you realize it was there all along. As long as I was eating or rather medicating myself with sugar and chocolate I couldn’t seem to get satisfied with any kind of food. If I had a smoothie or salad it didn’t taste good, if I had cooked food it didn’t feel good. I didn’t know what to eat. Horrible for a foodie! Hell for someone who has spent her life learning how to be nourished.

Interestingly my latest vision board has a white plate, empty with a knife and fork on it. It took me a year for this life lesson to be realized in this vision board. It dawned on me one day when I was sharing my board with a friend and explaining the process of how it works. My plate is empty! No wonder I am not satisfied. I started to think what should I add to my “plate”? This had been the question I had already been asking. I stalled again.

A week or two passes while I ungracefully sit in limbo struggling with my food yet again in my life. I decided to take a two day silent or quiet retreat. It wasn’t until I got quiet and not until another friend shared how she feels the best when she doesn’t eat anything. That totally resonated! Me too! In correlation, I also felt the most connected in meditation in between inhalation and exhalation in that space between. It’s the same as my food. I feel the best in between meals. Perhaps my plate being empty is the ultimate place of freedom that allows all possibilities. As long as I am spiritually nourished and not addicted I will make the best decisions for all food that will nourish my body. Ever since this realization I have been more and more at peace with my food choices and the results in my body have felt whole.

Effectively Evolve

Lou Ann Bennett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:31:23 GMT

Life is full of opportunities to evolve. Every time we learn, grow and develop we make changes and progress along our Heart Path. Our capacity to embrace change is proportional to our potential to evolve. No matter what we choose change is inevitable.

Three Choices

Ignore Change ~ Resist Change ~ Embrace Change

Picture life as a fast moving river. No question if you are in the river you are going downstream. Nevertheless, you have choices how you experience your journey down the river, you can: be unconscious, fight it or ride it.

When we ignore change we are either unconscious, unaware or in denial. How can we raise our awareness and move from ignoring or ignorance to embracing change? The answer is one word, willingness. Being willing is an attitude; it’s not tangible but definitely observable. Merely deciding to be willing automatically creates a shift toward being more open and receptive. How do we know if we are willing? The following behaviors are the most obvious forms of willingness: being present, open, available, receptive, curious, noticing, perceiving, listening and learning. How can you be more willing in your business, relationships or life?

Resisting change creates opposition. It’s an attitude of hostility and strife. With lightening fast speed of thought we have a reaction that sparks the fight. Feeling out of control we protect the barricade of our identity. A temporary sense of power is gained due to the aggressive exchange of energy. However, the longer we hold tight to our position the more we feel our vitality drain. Our resistance has enslaved us to defend our dogma and we aren’t sure how we got here. Shortness of breath, discomfort, tightness, rigidity, irritation, impatience, fatigue, weakness, illness, depression, apathy, anger and fear are indicators of resistance. How do we climb out of the rancor of resistance? The first step is always awareness. Once you notice one or more of the signs of resistance, ask yourself, what was I just thinking? Is it true? Can I know absolutely for sure it’s true? How do I behave when I believe it’s true? Who would I be without this thought? The truth shall set you free!

Embrace Change and Evolve

Awareness ~ Willingness ~ Mindfulness ~ Empowerment

We see the world through the filters our brain has laid down over the course of our life experiences. In addition, our experiences are made from our reservoir of perceptions which are in turn based upon all the previous experiences and interpretations. Over and over we lay down filters that form then validate our beliefs. Our neural net interconnects to inform a faster, more efficient processing every time we encounter something remotely similar. This filtering system is both our nemesis to neurosis and our impetus to evolve.

What we think matters! Breaking down our thoughts and stories allows us to see what is influencing our current perceptions, beliefs and experiences.

Our thoughts either enable us to be:

Trapped in unconsciousness ~ Ignorant to evolve.

Entangled in resistance ~ Unwilling to evolve.

Empowered by possibilities ~ Receptive to evolve.

On average most people think between 2500 - 3500 thoughts per day. However, the majority of these thoughts are the same thought repeated over and over. Elite athletes tend to have 1500 thoughts per day not because they’re less intelligent but their mental toughness has been developed to focus intently in the moment on what’s important. It takes mental prowess to have a new thought, less thought and/or no thought. It’s the athletes discipline to be mindful that gives them their edge to success. It’s time to train our brains like elite athletes and gain mental mastery in our business, relationships and life.

Envision Success

Emerge ~ Affirm ~ Assert

Shifting perspective gives permission for acceptance which is the consent of empowerment. Empowered people have increased clarity, presence, patience, connection, love, inspiration, wisdom, gratitude, motivation, top performance, and success. When we focus on possibilities, master our mind and create vision we emerge, affirm and assert our life. Empowerment perpetuates motivation, passion and purpose to evolve. What is your vision of success? What is the story you tell yourself and others? How does it align with your values, passion and purpose? How will you effectively evolve your life?

Intentionally Integrate

Lou Ann Bennett — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:51:23 GMT

Integration is the ability to incorporate learning in a complete and holistic manner. It’s the ability to transfer information, techniques and strategies into knowledge, skills and principles.

Applying intention and focus we can accelerate the process of integration of our experiences and interactions into our lives, relationships and businesses. How we connect and weave together these strands of life lessons to deliberately apply them to other areas of our life speeds the process of integration and allows a greater realization of success in all aspects.

The principles for success are split up into two parts. The first is an internal infrastructure of mental consciousness, courage and grit. The second group of principles are more dynamic consisting of action and mental acuity to learn, improve and persist.

Infrastructure Principles of Success
Awareness ~ Mindfulness ~ Integrity ~ Courage

Dynamic Principles of Success

Do It ~ Learn From It ~ Improve It ~ Keep Doing It Better

Every person has been or is in the process of learning something in their life or business. The first and most crucial step in everything is always awareness. Stop and ask yourself what am I experiencing right now? How is my experience linked to a particular life lesson I’m learning?

Being aware of the lessons we are learning we can choose to intentionally integrate and speed the process to success.

Integrity is the ability to be congruent with what we want, say and do. These three components have to be aligned in order to consistently move forward and be successful. Ask yourself, what do I want? What am I thinking and saying and how does it impact my outcome? What am I doing and how does it effect my results? What do I need to change in order to be more congruent and have integrity? Click here for a values exercise.

The key to success is not a mystery. Successful athletes, business executives, entrepreneurs, leaders, artists, physicians, musicians, writers or researchers all have a greater ability to integrate quicker, deeper and more effectively than others in their field.

It’s a fine line between risking enough to bring us to our edge of growth or challenge and being scattered, reckless or paralyzed in fear. On the other hand staying safely within our comfort level we seldom experience reaching our true potential. The ability to admit and acknowledge perceived limitations requires courage to face our fears. Successful people know themselves, their edge and consistently choose to challenge, grow and develop past fear. When was the last time you bumped up against your edge? What was your most recent experience in facing your fear? If you are having a difficult time remembering chances are you may have become complacent in the comfort zone. If you feel excited and afraid at the same time you are probably living close to your edge. The ability to choose experiences and situations allows us to face our fears and is a crucial component in building the infrastructure of success.

Common Fears to Face:  How do these bring you closer to your edge?
Pain, Safety, Security, Rejection, Loss, Success, Failure, Commitment, Uncertainty

Success requires action. This is a simple yet powerful principle. All planning and no doing perpetuates stagnation. When in doubt of what to do, choose a direction to move forward. The “right” way becomes obvious when we get into motion. Doing the footwork is the fastest way to find the next step. What fear do you need to face in order to move forward? Getting into action facilitates working past fear. What excites and scares you at the same time? What do you need to do it!

Doing creates the experience to learn, analyze and improve the information, technique or strategy. First do then improve the process to create effective steps to repeat. Awareness of these small successful steps transforms learnings into knowledge, skills and principles quicker, deeper and more effectively.

The last step is to apply persistence to keep the momentum going, keep improving the system, keep creating effective processes and eventually success accumulates and integration is complete. The knowledge, skill and principle become the success that is woven into the core of your being.

Once we have success we can transfer this knowledge, skill or principle to other areas. Here is an example of a coaching process that demonstrates the power of intentional integration of a lesson, goal or skill:

A financial advising client is working on developing the ability to “strategize” client communication instead of “reacting” immediately to requests. This mindful approach supports a creative, thoughtful process to delegate to an assistant for more effective communication. Success in delegating to the assistant creates growth and trust for the assistant and the advisor. The process starts with emails and soon grows to include voicemail and paperwork as well. Upon further investigation through coaching, the advisor says, “I’ve noticed I no longer “react” but respond to my colleagues, manager, friends and family.” It’s exciting to noticing the transfer process occurring! Coach asks further questions:

  “What else have you noticed through this learning and integration process?”
The advisor answers, “I’ve become a person who is strategic and mindful.”

The advisors actual story of how they perceive themselves has changed. When our story of who or what we believe about ourselves changes everything changes!

“What does this mean for you?” The advisor answers, “because I’m a strategic and mindful person my approach for everything is more calm, confident and competent.”

So the integration grew from having a strategic communication skill to being a strategic and mindful person to increased calmness, confidence and competence.

“What other areas could you integrate?”
The advisor said, “I’d like to apply these principles when doing financial plans for my clients.”

We now have the next desire or goal to improve and integrate! How can you apply these questions and use this approach to intentionally integrate and be more successful? How strong is your scaffolding of success?

Consciously Create Your Heart Path

Lou Ann Bennett — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:51:12 GMT

We are creating all the time. Creating initiates or establishes a particular thing. We create all the areas of life, business, sports, relationships, art, music, dreams and every day tasks. The most successful people take ownership to create what they want.

Our patterns of thought start the wheels in motion that roll reality into form which we call our life. We inform our world with every thought, decision and action. The key is to notice what we are thinking, deciding and doing in order to consciously create. What are you conscious of creating?

Increase your awareness and you will increase your success!

Awareness is the most important ingredient for everything. When we know who we are, what is important to us and what we want; we tap into our potential for success. Doing the work to get clear on our values, passion,purpose and dreams we build the scaffolding that supports our success. Click the links above for useful exercises to get started.

When we choose what we think and do as opposed to react to old stories, experiences and behaviors we become empowered to create on purpose. Empowerment is the freedom to authorize. For example, when we catch ourselves in old patterns of reacting we can stop, rethink how we want to respond and therefore create new possibilities. As we connect to our highest ideals and live with awareness and mindfulness, we show up fully present to create our reality, journey or “Heart Path”.

Awareness is knowing and mindfulness is the discipline to stay on target, be true to ourselves and keep our commitments. It’s the ability to choose correct thought, belief and behavior to impact the present moment and all those involved. Mindfulness requires mental toughness to maintain clarity and focus to seize not just the day but each moment to harness motivation and energy to achieve the desired outcome. Mindfulness is our “Heart Path”! How are you being mindful? How could you increase your mental toughness?

How to specifically create: First, decide what you want to change or create. Second, determine the essence. Third, set your intention and focus.

For a powerful complimentary coaching article click the following:
3 Steps to Create the Essence of Anything

Once you are focused on the essence of what you want, relax into a quiet space and concentrate. You can create or bring something into being by bringing it into “your” being or your awareness.

For example, several clients wanting to create more confidence may have different approaches. One person focused on people they admired that are confident. They wrote down all the attitudes and behaviors these people emanate. They applied the "fake it till you make it" principle and focused on imitating these attributes all throughout the day. At the end of the day they wrote down what worked to increase their confidence.

Another client decided to get control of their thinking. They applied mental toughness and examined every thought throughout the day to ensure it aligned with confidence. They repeated an affirmation or mantra over and over until an energetic shift changed them and their environment to a state of confidence. For example, “The confidence I already have in my life is expanding and growing in ________ (fill in the blank).”

Another client recalls a specific confident experience such as a past success and activates that memory until they feel confident. They use a transfer method to visualize the new experience they want increased confidence and over-lay the confident emotion to the new experience. They repeated this process until the new visualized experience holds the confident emotion.

Meditation, NLP, prayer, thought monitoring and visualization are powerful techniques to apply mental toughness that will shift our vibration and energy in order to create any essence or experience.

I encourage you to go through any of these examples, choose something to increase in your life. Pick out all the ways you currently resonate with this aspect and focus on these things. Be grateful for all the ways you have this in your life right now, take a deep breathe and connect your mind, body and heart. Spend the day doing one of the above exercises. Throughout the day take notice. What senses are activated? For example some clients feel one or all of the following: thoughts slow, increase concentration, sense of calm, wellbeing, heart opens, breathing deepens, connection, appreciation and empowerment.

At the end of your experiment ask yourself these questions: What am I experiencing right now in the moment? How alive do I feel? What has changed?

By raising your awareness and being mentally tough you will be able to consciously create the essence you want. It takes practice, patience and perseverance to choose the thoughts, decisions and actions that are congruent with what you want and who you are. Empowerment is the reward for those who take the responsibility to consciously create their “Heart Path”.

Exercises To Increase Appreciation

Lou Ann Bennett — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:39:42 GMT

Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. ~ Voltaire

Gratitude grows when we appreciate others. It’s has a rebounding mechanism that gets triggered and reverberates within our hearts and the hearts of others with whom we share gratitude and appreciation.

People are mirrors to us and what we see in others we have within ourselves. Whatever shows up is a definite example for our inward disposition. Often it lies just beneath the surface one step outside our awareness. It could be something we used to do that we still hold against ourselves and haven’t forgiven. At times we don’t acknowledge we have the trait or skill. It’s easier and safer to admire it in others than to use it in our own lives. What are you noticing in others lately?

At any given time we have the ability to shift our perspective and consciousness by intentionally noticing the outstanding qualities in others. It’s a simple shift that creates huge dividends.

Try this experiment and notice what happens: Think of a loved one, it can be anyone, it doesn’t matter. The results are faster if you focus on someone you will be coming in contact with soon. However, this approach also works on those long distance as well. Only think wonderful thoughts as you hold space for this person. What are the qualities you enjoy most in this person? Really focus all your heart and soul on the gratitude and appreciation you feel for this person and the traits they elicit to you and the world. See in your minds-eye these qualities growing and impacting not just you but everyone this person comes in contact with. Think back on the “Faberge” commercial with the tag line “and they told two friends, and they told two friends and so on, and so on.” This is an example of how the reverberation and impact we and others have upon the world occurs.

What we focus on grows and what you think, feel and visualize about your loved one expands and increases not just within you because you are the thinker and feeler but also for them as well.

The last step of the experiment is to take notice of what happens the next time you see or talk with this person. How are they or you different?

This exercise can also be modified and used with strangers. Try this the next time you are in a public place. Airports, bus stations, parks, grocery stores etc are great places to experiment with this exercise. Close your eyes and visualize yourself knocking upon your heart. Your heart opens and inside is a wealth of love, smiles and sunshine. It feels good to see all this amazing, positive potential to share with others. Open your eyes as well and target a certain individual within your sites and beam this love to this person as if they were your own family member such as a grandparent, parent, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, son or daughter. Send them loving thoughts and hold them in highest regard. Notice what happens in the short time that you interact with them even but a brief passing, glance or exchange. What happens?

Please consider sharing your experience here on this blog below in the comments section for others to appreciate and be grateful. Let the impact and reverberating appreciation begin!

Nourishment Principles for Optimum Body, Mind and Spirit

Lou Ann Bennett — Tue, 24 May 2011 17:07:21 GMT

Love, Love, Love! Love is the answer! Whether we are loving ourselves or others love always opens the door to wholeness, completeness and feeling fully nourished. Finding ways to love and accept ourselves lends us the ability to experience optimum nourishment in body, mind and soul. As we love and accept ourselves we are also able to love and accept others and vice versa.

Follow your heart - being authentic provides the environment to be your true self inside and out. Staying connected and congruent to your values, passion and purpose will allow you to make the decisions necessary to support your best self.

Listen to your body - talk to your body and it will talk to you. Connect to the quiet place in your heart and body and ask your body a direct question and then wait and listen for the answer.

Exercise: Walk/bike/jog at least 5 miles a day. Movement is dynamic nourishment! http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html

Sweat everyday - allows our bodies to raise our core temperature, detox through sweat glands, increases the immune, brings vital nutrients to skin and tissues.

Choose alive foods: bring as much life to your body as possible. Believe in the nourishing ability of your food. Foods that have the most vivid color, smell and taste are full of life giving solar energy and provide the most light, energy and nutrients to our cells.

Bless your food - Provides the conduit to step into the state necessary to become one with food, connects your heart to gratitude, raises the vitality and nourishment of food, prepares cells to utilize food appropriately and creates community and sacred space.

Breathe - Breathing starts the flow of digestion, stokes the fire of metabolism, increases oxygen to tissues, initiates inspiration and connection to source. Breathe at least 10 deep breaths after every meal. If possible take a walk after eating.

Water - a source of life. Drink plenty of water for your weight and activity level. Take this short and easy quiz to find out how much water on average is best for you to drink: http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

Meditate at least once a day - connect to source and true self to revitalize an regenerate body, mind and spirit. Getting quiet and connecting to your true self is rejuvenating and empowering. Sitting in silence is the space where possibilities are abundant. The nourishment of silence is profound!

Seek wisdom - nourish your curiosity. Learn something new everyday. It only takes a shift in perspective to stoke the fire of creativity and curiosity. These areas bring us joy and allow a humbling approach to life. Watch what comes into your life to be your natural teacher today. We can learn from any and all things. What are you noticing? How is what you are seeing in your life a metaphor for something deeper, more reflective? What can you glean from this perspective?

Connect to others - share your true self with others in an empowering and inspiring way everyday. Be open to be yourself and you will see how opportunities gravitate to you to connect to the world around you. Do you ride the bus, work in an office space with others, grocery shop, coffee shop, walk the sidewalks and parks? These and many more are perfect places to beam a twinkle of your eye, a smile, love and light to others. There will be a response, guaranteed!

Visualize and actualize your dreams everyday - send love and light to the desires of your heart. Take at least one step everyday toward your dreams. Take the dream challenge and write 100 dreams you have and watch the magic unfold in your life. Create a “dreamline” and pick the dreams that inspire you to start moving forward step by step. You will see how living your dreams supports your authentic self to thrive. Connect and hold the meditative and creative force for your desires and intentions and then release and let them go knowing you already have the essence of that which you desire. Focus on how this essence is in your life currently and how you can enrich this component to increase and grow.

Bathe Yourself in Light - Every night as you fall asleep flood your body with light and see your true self in all it's glory. What are you grateful for in regard to your body, mind and soul? What you notice and focus grows. Give yourself a blessing because you are!

Climbing Mountains Of Opportunity

Lou Ann Bennett — Thu, 05 May 2011 10:53:00 GMT

Like all good metaphors the mountain represents that which we dream to achieve.

In effort to keep our brains plastic, ever changing to adapt and evolve we take inventory of the things we would like to do that are new.

Last summer was a time of renewed commitment to hiking. Of course trekking around Portland is synonymous with mountains, forests, rivers and coast trails. Mt Hood is a worthy mountain and challenge to explore.

Everything in life can be used as a metaphor when we look deeper to see how it reflects the inward journey. It becomes a tool to allow us to gaze, raise awareness and shift our perspective to abstrusely reveal truth and/or an aha moment.

“Hindsight is twenty twenty” and metaphors are a way to bring hindsight into full vision faster.

Even still, time is the ultimate teacher and often it takes placing the last few pieces of the puzzle in order to see the whole picture.

The mountain has been the metaphor working it’s magic on an ethereal and superconsciousness level, outside my normal day to day awareness. The summer has long gone and winter, the time of reflection has brought the invaluable connection to the foreground. Overwhelming gratitude for making the commitment to do something new and hike each week. Reflecting on past trails connects the correlation of persevering and climbing my own mountains of opportunity.

Climbing mountains whether they be real or metaphor require commitment, perseverance and consistency.

Commitment is dedication to a decision. It takes clarity to grasp the full vision and be responsible to the resolution. Without clarity of purpose faith will fail and perseverance will not prevail.

Perseverance is the courage and endurance to stay committed. It is not only about accomplishing the difficult. Perseverance requires the ability to think new thoughts, do new things, bump up against obstacles and break through barriers. It’s easy to see that your dream is challenging enough when the chief barrier to overcome is your own character.

Consistency requires one step at a time. Nike says, “Just do it”, while consistency cheers “Keep doing it”. In order to be consistent it’s important to be congruent with the mission and purpose. Reminding ourselves of why we are doing what we are doing keeps us connected to our motivators. This clarity leads us back to renewed commitment and the cycle begins again, over and over until the dream is accomplished and complete.

What mountains are you facing at this time in your life? Where could you apply a renewed sense of commitment, perseverance and consistency in your life? Are there obstacles that you could see as opportunities? How could it change the picture to shift your perspective?

If you would like support answering any or all of these questions please contact me for coaching. It would be an honor to traverse the mountains of your life with you and explore the unique opportunities you are facing.

Click here to learn more about life coaching and the Heart Path method.

Five Ways to Find Your Purpose

Lou Ann Bennett — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:41:00 GMT

Purpose is the reason something exists or why it was created. It’s a persons’ sense of resolve or dedication in life.

Living in a competitive and capitalist society impacts our beliefs and values regarding a valuable purpose in life. Even if we know our purpose we might not have the confidence to boldly share it or live it. Our world and families shape our beliefs about making money and living our life on purpose. No wonder it’s a charged question and can catch people off guard to ask “what is your purpose in life?” Everyone is at a different place to reconcile the collective thoughts and/or beliefs and find their own wisdom, life’s work and to live life on purpose.

Most people do not know their purpose let alone are able to live it. Therefore, many people could be living life to a higher level of empowerment, joy and fulfillment.

For many people it becomes their life long quest to determine why they are here and the value they have to offer the world. It’s a worthy quest. At times we all need support to move forward.

Often times, there is a fear factor in the form of an excuse for people. It can manifest as a person pretending they have not found their purpose and keep looking in order to put off living their life’s purpose. Another fear factor is continuing to search for the “perfect purpose” that is special and unique enough to fill the void and insecurity of feeling inadequate. It’s not the purpose statement that is special and unique it’s the interpretation and living our purpose that becomes special and unique. It’s not stating our purpose that makes it powerful it’s living our purpose that makes a difference in our lives and the lives of others.

It doesn’t have to be such a hard and complicated process. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be written in stone or etched as your epitaph. A person’s purpose can even change, grow and evolve as the person adapts and transitions through life.

What a relief, we don’t have to be perfect and we can even have more than one purpose in life. There are no hard fast rules. However, one piece of truth you can count on is the closer you are to a purpose that inspires you to be your true self the more motivated, committed and passionate you will be in life. As most feedback loops go the more motivated, committed and passionate you are about life the more you will be living your life on purpose.

What are your aspirations? What is your aim or goal in life? What do you want to dedicate yourself to accomplish? What are the gifts you have to share with the world? If you could design and intend your life to do anything in the world what would it be? From now till the end of your life if you could only do one thing that would satisfy you, what would it be? Again, these are big questions. If you don’t know the answers to these questions you are not alone.

The easiest way to determine your purpose is to find out what you have been really excited about in your past? What have you already accomplished that made an impact on your life? What are you really proud that you have done? What have others in your life really appreciated about you? What do other people ask you to do for them? What has made a difference in your life? What is your message you have to share with the world? What is something that comes easy to you and brings you joy? What is something you have done that uniquely defines you and your gifts?

Five Ways to Find Your Purpose

1.) Write down three to five stories of things you have done at some time in your life that answers the questions above.

2.) Summarize what it was about each one that really thrilled and delighted you.

3.) Think for a moment: what is the common theme that correlates throughout all of the stories?

4.) Write down this commonality. Look at it and re-read it. Find different ways of stating this. Work with it, change and add different words until it appeals to you and rings true. The statement will be your purpose statement when it elicits the same excitement, delight and joy that caused you to write the story in the first place.

5.) Keep the statement with you over the next week. Read it every day. Notice what begins to happen as you allow it to empower and inspire you You have more ideas as the passion begins to grow. What can you do today that will be one step toward living this purpose statement? Try it on, does it resonate with your true self?

Another litmus test is to evaluate how it aligns with your values. Click here for a values exercise If your purpose statement resonates with your values, get started on doing something that allows your statement to become alive.

Usually there are easy steps you can do right away that will allow some movement toward living your purpose. If there is nothing specific you can think to do that will begin the motion of bringing your purpose statement to life do the following exercises.

Five Ways to Move Forward “On Purpose”

1.) Imagine what it looks like to successfully live your purpose. Pretend and visualize in detail living your purpose. (hint: it will be positive and you will feel good)

2.) Tell someone you trust what your purpose statement is. Speaking and sharing your purpose gives it power.

3.) Write yourself or family member a letter sharing your success in living your purpose. You don’t necessarily have to send it.

4.) Re-read your statement and or the letter in #3 frequently to recharge your vision.

5.) Call a coach! Ask for help and support from someone who can help you move forward with your purpose.

Coaching bridges the gap from dreaming to doing. Heart Path’s desire is to ensure everyone has access to their own internal wisdom to be their true self. We believe in the inherent ability of people to listen to their heart and live their life on purpose. Please let us support you as you awaken your purpose in a new way.

Start today with one step and you will see your enthusiasm grow. It will be the spark to ignite your passion for your purpose you have been looking for.

Once you align your life with your purpose you will look back and be surprised how easily you become your true self. By doing what inspires you, you will inspire others. Abundance and prosperity will come to you in surprising and magical ways. Joy will be automatic and you will increase love for yourself and others. You will be empowered and fulfilled. You will live your dreams!

8 Principles to Get What You Want and Want What You Get

Lou Ann Bennett — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:39:00 GMT

There are many books, articles and slogans written on the law of attraction. The law of attraction is the tip of the iceberg. Diving deeper we find the key principles of not just how to attract what we want but to allow ourselves to be congruent with who we are.

The tip of the iceberg or law of attraction is attached to the mighty mountain of belief and experience. This is where all thoughts and perspective originate and perpetually fill the same reservoir thought after thought. When our mountain of belief and experience is aligned with our true self we are compatible with what we attract. However, if our beliefs and experiences are not aligned with our true self then we will be attracting things we do not want. At this point the mountain may seem ominous.

We can start at any time to make a change in the mountain. It’s all about focus. Consciousness requires connecting to who we really are. As we become more aware of what we are focusing upon we gain the power to choose our thoughts, perspectives and stories. This shifts the power of the mountain to flourish from our true self.

Is your mountain of belief and experience congruent with your true self? Do you need help and support to shift your focus and raise your awareness? Consider coaching, it will help you align with your true self and make transitions in your life more effectively with support.

What are you focused on? Another way of determining if we are operating within our true self or not is to ask ourselves are we thinking or behaving from a place of love or fear?

Love is complete acceptance of the divine within. There is no room for being critical or judgmental. Our emotions are the barometer of our ability to be in love and acceptance of our true self and divinity. When we are congruent with our true self we feel complete. On the other hand when we don’t feel good we are not aligned with our true self. When we have negative emotions which all are a result of fear, thinking thoughts and eliciting behaviors that do not match the essence of our souls. We are not our feelings; however, emotions show us what we have been focusing on.

When we notice our negative emotions it’s a good time to take a break from our thinking and old stories; get present, connect with our heart and shift our perspective. Once we are connected to our heart the divine spark begins to glow and we are empowered. The truth allows different stories and perspectives to emerge that match who we really are.

As we focus our attention, what we think expands and grows. This is the seed that initiates the law of attraction.

For example, if I choose to believe my partner is selfish, doesn’t care and is not thinking loving thoughts toward me, then I will see every action from my partner as negative, selfish, uncaring and thoughtless. I will feel restricted and cautious of my partner which will create a chain reaction of negativity. Eventually, we will loose track of the original belief or thought that caused this cascade of bad feelings reverberating between us.

However, if my belief is that my partner loves me and has my best intentions at heart, then I will behave and think wonderful thoughts of love toward my partner. I will see all actions as supporting and loving towards me. I will be holding loving thoughts for my partner as well and this will create the return of even more love from my partner. This feedback loop between beliefs, thoughts and behaviors is the powerful law of attraction in action.

When we choose to think thoughts and focus on things that are more positive we feel better. Our vibration rises and we become aligned with our true self. The higher the vibration and the more positive the focus the more congruent we are with our true self.

It’s impossible to stop something by waging war. The mere act and attitude of “fighting” brings more intense focus upon that which we wish to stop and not experience. The environment becomes tense, restrictive and hostile. This fierce negative energy feeds the obstacles and allows the very thing we are fighting to grow and increase.

For example, in sports when the player focuses on what she did wrong she becomes stuck in the past and keeps replaying and repeating the same behavior. However, if she shifts her thinking and visualizes or remembers doing the correct skill she can get to the desired behavior much quicker. Not to mention she is more relaxed and available to the present moment.

It’s much more effective to put energy into a positive solution to move forward. It’s the same quantity of energy but the quality of focus is entirely different than fighting. Several things begin to happen. First, immediately you feel better because the positive shift aligns and mirrors your true self. Second, the universe begins to open up, opportunities increase and connections with likeminded individuals become more frequent. Third, possibilities increase and transformations happen.

Where are you stuck? What are you afraid of? What is the opposite of the obstacle, negativity or fear you face? How can you make a shift from fighting what you don’t want to choosing what you do want? It only takes a moment to transcend your attitude, thoughts and focus upon the strengths and strategize to utilize the positive.

Many times we get stuck saying, “but my story, the negative thought or belief is true”. It’s only true because it’s the story you are attached to thinking, perceiving and behaving as if it were true. As soon as we let our stories go and shift our perspective we are able to tell new stories, see a new ways of thinking and eventually be able to believe differently. Behavior follows belief. Reality is how we currently tell the story. Reality or our experience is the accumulation of all the past thoughts, stories and perceptions we have entertained and held in place.

It’s not surprising that “be” comes before “have” in “behave”. When we are our true self we will have what we want because we will behave in alignment with love and the divine.

Attracting what you want is a by product of being who you really are. Be your true self and you will not have a problem with the law of attraction. Being, believing and thinking supersedes doing. Actions are our beliefs in motion. When we act on our beliefs it creates the situation or time/space continuum for us to receive from the bank of the law of attraction what we have been depositing all along through our thinking, perceiving and professing as truth. If you want a new withdrawal start making new deposits.

Consider using the following principles and exercises to change move your mountain of belief:

1. Fire the committee in your head. These are the critical, judgmental
   thoughts that bombard your brain. When or if they return, politely escort
   them out of the building again. The more you encourage them to leave
   the more you will be able to hear your true self.

2. Pay attention to the thoughts you are thinking. Every time you notice a
   negative thought look through the lens of love and choose a positive
   thought in alignment with the person you really are. “As a man thinks so
   is he.” (Prov 23:7)

3. You may want to write down your thought transformations and read
   them every day to reprogram your brain to the real you. You will notice
   changes immediately start to take place.

4. Ask yourself: What do I want to change in my life? How do I want to see
   myself and/or my loved ones differently?

5. Get a Heart Path Coach: Coaching helps people connect to their true
   self. It empowers people to rewrite and retell the stories that no longer
   work. It supports them to move past obstacles, listen to the truth and
   wisdom within their heart.

6. Focus on integrity - State of being whole, unified and congruent with
   consistent actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations,
   and outcomes. Integrity is the alignment with all your thoughts, words
   and actions with your true self.

7. Focus on authenticity - State of being real, true, genuine, honest
   representation and reflection of true self

8. Focus on Divine Essence - Your sacred soul of who you really are.

Emphasize the positive and change will happen faster and more effectively. Thinking loving thoughts of ourselves, friends and family is the most loving thing we can do and aligns with our true self. As we are aware of our thinking we have the choice to shift our perspective. Changing our perspective shifts reality as we see it. How we see reality creates the stories we tell. Beliefs, thoughts and stories grow the mountain which activates the law of attraction. Being your true self will attract what you want!