Turn Fear & Worry Upside Down

Leslie Green

Leslie is a writer and public speaker who shares true stories and insights about what it means to Trust, where Trust comes from, and how we can be anchored in Trust in our every day lives. As is the case with all of us, Life has given Leslie many opportunities to either choose or reject Trust, fear, or worry. She is most excited when sharing *how* to choose Trust over fear and worry with others. Teaching others to have more Peace in their lives is Leslie's ultimate goal. And she does this through Trust.

Know Thyself, Live With Your Rhythm

May 052013
 

know thyselfKnow Thyself.

Be Authentically You.

We strive to know ourselves, right?  To be authentic.  I strive for that.  In the Scorpion and Frog fable I wrote about once upon a time, the scorpion ended up stinging the frog, despite his promises not to.  He was being his authentic self.  When the frog asked the scorpion why he did it, he simply responded, “I’m a scorpion;  it’s in my nature.”

Hmm…maybe for a scorpion, yes, but for humans?  Surely not.  That would mean whatever I say is my “nature,” I am pre-programmed to repeat, no matter how ardently I try to change.  If that were true, why bother?  I mean really, what a great excuse for never changing, for giving up, for not being accountable for anything.  And what a sham!  (Not to mention depressing.)

Let’s briefly look at the human brain, basic anatomy and physiology stuff:  neurons that fire together, wire together.  For those who are rusty on their A&P, what that means is the more we train our brains to learn a specific task (think: ride a bike, learn a new language, etc.), the more those neurons will fire.  And the more they fire, the more they wire together, hence, a task becomes easier the more we do it.  (Donna, are you horrified by my explanation?  Yours was MUCH better and more thorough in class!)

Luckily, You Are More Than Your Brain

Human brain aside, now enter Spirit.  Enter will.  Enter pride.  Enter determination — perhaps the determination to NOT be just like your dad, or to BE just like your older brother, or the class clown, or fill in the blank.  Enter one of thousands of factors.  After considering the infinite possibilities of why we are the way we are, ‘Know thyself’ sounds both complex and nebulous, all at the same time.  When I think about it like that, I get lost.

But I don’t like being lost.  What I like are words.  And I like listening to others’ words, especially when they come bearing beautiful phrases, like my friend Bay often does.  So when she said to me, “Leslie, live with your rhythm,” my heart immediately smiled.  And in the inner warmth I felt, I knew that a meaningful exchange had just taken place;  I had just received a gift.

After my friend and I hung up the phone, I allowed her words to roll around in my head for a few minutes while they made their way to my heart.  Live with my rhythm.  Live with my rhythm.  It felt similar to a heartbeat.  Or an inhale, exhale.  Strong, steady, and effortless.  Like a life force.

Living With My Rhythm has become a personal mantra.  It is synonymous with being my authentic self, with knowing myself, and ultimately, loving myself.  If my rhythm is sad, so it is.  If my rhythm is excited, so it is.  If my rhythm is tired, contemplative, hyper, so it is.  By living with my rhythm, I take my brain (left brain at least), out of the equation and allow myself to Be.  And in being, I feel an intimate connection with self.  I feel Trust on a God level that feels like pure love.

What is your rhythm?  Close your eyes, breathe in deeply.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Again.  Now, slowly, what do you feel?  Honor your feelings and breathe through each one as you live your rhythm.

know thyself

“Intimacy is being seen and known as the person you truly are.” ~ Amy Bloom

(especially, when being seen by yourself)

Love, Leslie

 May 5, 2013  Posted by at 12:34 AM 2 Responses »

What An Odd Place to Hide Your Feelings

Apr 232013
 

Inspired from The Tiger Rising, by Kate DiCamillo

Hide Feelings, A Tiger Rising

Hidden Feelings

One of my all-time favorite pastimes is reading out loud to my boys; it’s an activity I truly cherish.  I’m a book junkie and hopefully, by my constant barrage of various literature, my boys will grow up to not only have an appreciation for books, but also have a genuine love for them.

There is one children’s author in particular we’ve sought out and have thoroughly enjoyed all (but one) of her books.  That author is Kate DiCamillo.  As a matter of fact, my number one most beloved children’s book EVER is written by her:  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  You probably know DiCamillo’s work from her books Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux, both of which were made into movies.

Today, however, I’m here to explore the concept of hidden feelings, which she portrays so well in her somewhat dark, but thought provoking children’s novel, The Tiger Rising.  As you read the brief excerpt and words that follow, allow yourself to consider how you deal with your feelings.  Do you have anything in common with Rob?

Meet Rob Horton

Chapter One starts off very quickly.  We immediately get a sense of our main character, a boy named Rob Horton.  Within the first three pages of the book we know that Rob spotted an angry tiger pacing in a cage in the woods behind the motel that he and his father recently moved into after the death of Rob’s mother.  We soon discover our protagonist is good at fighting back tears, although he has much to cry about.  He misses his mother terribly, he is constantly being bullied at his new school, and he has a horrible, nasty rash on his legs that makes it difficult to get through the day.  But Rob is determined NOT to cry.  Rob is very good at hiding his emotions, even from himself.

DiCamillo writes: Continue reading »

 April 23, 2013  Posted by at 11:20 AM 2 Responses »

What Exactly Are You Waiting For?

Apr 082013
 

There Is No Such Thing As Waiting

I share this previous story to remind each one of us that there is no such thing as waiting.

waiting

I snapped this picture on a bleak, dreary, uninviting January morning in my neighborhood.

As I left the house on this particular morning, surrounded by fog, I thought how much I’d prefer the sun to be shining.  How starting a day in the sun is so much more uplifting.  I even welcome rain over fog.   Rain, at least, feeds Mother Earth.  Not to mention how rain provides a good excuse to stay home and tackle projects around the house or get cozy with someone you love.

But fog?  I find it a bit evasive, as if it has something to hide.  I’d rather the day, or people, just show me who they are so we can get on with it!

No matter how much I’d like it to work that way, there are times when the day, or people, do not show you who they are.  Is it just me, or do you also find yourself feeling confused or empty when you encounter such evasive, fog-like people?  Continue reading »

 April 8, 2013  Posted by at 2:34 PM No Responses »

Has This All Been About Letting Go?

Mar 312013
 

letting go“What is this precious love and laughter
budding in our hearts?
It is the sound of
a soul waking up!
Even after all this time,
the sun never says to the earth,
“You owe me.”
Look what happens
with a love like that,
It lights up the whole sky.”

~Hafiz

My Soul Woke Up

I started a series on addiction five weeks ago, with the post “Do You Know Why Managing Addiction Doesn’t Work?”  Throughout the five weeks, we did some visiting with our Pooh friends (mostly Rabbit and Tigger) and we did a whole lot of LOSING things.  But here’s the thing, I didn’t set out to write a series on anything.  And I sure didn’t set out to inspect my internal landscape in such a way that I would become unrecognizable to myself.

My internal landscape had become overgrown with weeds.  It wasn’t until I suggested to you that together we lose our disciplined approach, our masks, our adult-like tendencies…that I truly started to regain myself.  See, I had planted so many self-imposed expectations, only to reap stagnation.

Then my soul woke up.

I had planned on using the Hafiz poem above in last week’s post, but I pulled it as soon as I heard Wayne Dyer quote it on stage.  I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Dyer speak at a conference last weekend, and my gut told me to pull the poem as soon as I heard him speak it.  There was something I was supposed to sit with in that poem.  Continue reading »

 March 31, 2013  Posted by at 1:48 PM 2 Responses »

Why Would Losing Make You Shout: I Am Free!

Mar 242013
 

How’d You Do?

If you’re just joining us, last week I proposed 7 Things to Lose If You Want to Win.  Win what?  YOU!  The REAL you that will emerge in a way you’ll feel compelled to shout out loud: I Am Free!

Here is a summary of the seven things to lose in order to win yourself:

  1. Lose the disciplined approach – live as you feel
  2. Lose the role you normally play – try something outside of your norm
  3. Lose the mask you don each morning – express your innermost feelings
  4. Lose the notion that you’re in control – offer your will to flow with a current larger than you
  5. Lose your adult-like tendencies – see the world and others with child-like eyes
  6. Lose caring what others think of you – don’t take anything personally
  7. Lose the constant questions – feel what you feel and act upon that

[Click here to see a full description of each.]

Once losing these seven, I suggested we would regain our power.  Soooo, how’d you do??  Did you regain your power?  Did you gain anything at all?  Despite feeling naked in the most vulnerable sense of adult-nakedness (not cute, chubby toddler-nakedness) — I ended up feeling surprised by the Dynamic Duo that showed up: Confidence and Strength.  Continue reading »

 March 24, 2013  Posted by at 12:09 AM 4 Responses »
 Older Entries