Trust Life Today

Do You Know Why Managing Addiction Doesn’t Work?

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addictionAs the steam from the shower begins to fade, I look in the mirror and I see her. I see an addict. I get dressed, center myself with a cuppa tea, and go out into the world. I look all around. More addicts. All of us with our unique demons. All of us with our unique gifts. Two of the many examples of how we are more similar than different.

I’ve tried to manage my addiction to DOING  for years.

Let me stop here and note this:

As far as addiction goes, there seems to be a commonly held belief that certain addictions are “worse” than others. “More damaging” than others. Warrant “more attention” than others. But is that true?

Isn’t Addiction ADDICTION?

Whenever an outside substance (or act, such as gambling or overeating or sex, or yes, even doing) has control over you… If you, in any way, feel as if you are powerless over anything, doesn’t that count?Continue Reading

A World Without War?

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world without war

In our last post, “What’s In a Label?” we explored why we assign (and accept) labels that are thrust upon us.  I wrote:

“The real question to ask here is:  Which labels will you choose to own and which ones do not belong to you?”

That’s a good question…a good starting question.  But there’s more.  There are bigger questions/topics to ponder relating to labels—and that’s where we begin today.

Question This:

What if we refused to own (or assign) ANY labels?  What would our world look like with NO labels?  Zero labels.  Is there such a thing as a “good” label?  Does this line of questioning sound boring?  Were you hoping for something a bit more exciting?  Something with explosions? Continue Reading

What Is the Most Valuable Piece of Your Self Puzzle?

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Welcome 2014!

what do you believeFor our Trust Life Today New Year’s post I decided to skip words that reek of resolutions, words that beg to be broken and forgotten by day 5, which would be today, January 5th.  Nor will this post contain words encouraging you to set goals, climb ladders, or create a bucket list.  While all fine endeavors, it’s just not where we are going today.

Today, and for each today going forward, I’d like you to ask yourself this deceptively not-so-simple question:  What do I believe?

 

Geneen Roth, the author of Women Food and God said, “Once you know what you believe, you can begin to question if it is true.”  This well known author of books whose main topic centers around emotional eating asks us to look at our beliefs about food, then begin to question if what we believe is true.  Nice; I like it.

Let’s take that premise and apply a much broader paint brush to your life canvas.  Beyond your beliefs about food, how about asking yourself what you believe about money — saving, spending, giving, loaning, hoarding…or what about parenting, or about managing your workload?  How about asking yourself what you believe the ideal relationship looks like with your spouse, your mother, your father, your best friend, your child’s teacher?

What do you believe?  Free of judgement.  Free of justifications, caveats, if-then statements.  Simply, what do you believe?

Your beliefs are unique to you.  They are there to serve you, and no one else.  On any given day what you believe will contribute to your mood, to your actions, to your outlook on life, and ultimately to your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health.

Choosing to Love yourself and to Trust yourself both begin with what you believe.

And what you believe is all yours.  You own it.

I was reminded of this tonight as I reflected on my absolute favorite quote from Harry Potter.

Toward the end of the final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry is standing in a dream-like state with Professor Dumbledore.  Right before the scene ends and the dream fades away, Harry calls out:

Tell me one last thing. Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Ending Self Doubt

Look inside your head.  What do you believe?  Pick one, any one belief.  Do you see it?  Now look it straight in the eye and decide if it is true for you or not.  Own it or discard it.  Do this, and any self doubt you may have been carrying around will vanish instantly.

Man, look at you!  Look at how powerful you are!  You don’t have to be a wizard like Harry to feel your inner magic.  We all have our unique Pixie Dust inside.

Something tells me this is going to be One. Fabulous. New. Year!

~~~~

I hope you enjoyed today’s post.  If you haven’t signed up for your weekly dose of Love and Trust, please do!  I’ll only send you original posts I hope inspire and ignite your heart.

Love,
Leslie

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Amazon, recently released book:  Love, Trust & Pixie Dust

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Why Trust Is Important

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Sneak Peek into the recently released book:  Love, Trust & Pixie Dust.

Excerpt from Chapter 3: It Is What It Is.

why trust is important

“My life has been filled with many misfortunes, most of which never happened.”  ~ Mark Twain

Why Trust Is Important

Why Should We Trust Life?

Cliches become cliches mostly because they speak the truth.  So whether you loathe or love the cliche It Is What It Is, there’s a whole lot of truth in it.  That said, why should we even bother trusting?

One of my dear friends decided to play Devil’s Advocate one day, and sent me an email asking, “Why should we trust life?”  I say Devil’s Advocate because he wasn’t asking the question expecting a response, but rather for me to consider how I’d respond to someone reading my blog or even to you sitting here now, holding this book and wondering, Yeah, why should I trust life?

There is a simple, one-word response to the question — and that word is:  Peace.  Being at peace in our everyday lives is the ultimate end goal and reason behind why we trust.  Trust unlocks the door to peace.  But there’s more….

The Crux of the Matter:  What IS Versus What IF

Peace is why we trust, yes, but there’s more.  First off, put yourself in the mindset of thinking of trusting life as a series of events.  The series starts with the awareness/acceptance of What IS, which in many cases is the same as letting go.  Essentially, What IS, is looking at a situation and NOT inserting layer upon layer of What IF:  “What IF I lose my job?  What IF he leaves me?   What IF I get sick?”  No, no, no.  What IS means being grounded in seeing the truth, in not inventing the stuff that makes our heads spin out of control.

Think:  whatever you are worrying about or holding on to (the What IF) and imagine yourself letting go of those What IFs and seeing What Truly IS.

Once you are aware and accept What IS, the enormous amount of energy you were giving to the worry — or the What IFs — now ends.  It has no power over you.  This is key, because before you are aware and accept What IS, your mind races with thoughts of worry and fear.  Thoughts of What IF often lead to the invention of entirely fictitious situations (which I, and Mark Twain might add, hardly ever end up happening).  These ungrounded thoughts are what take up so much unnecessary energy.  They often lead to more worry, more fear.  You become restless and irritable, you lose sleep.  The snowball effect is in full force at this point.  The “monkey-mind” is cranked up in high gear, jumping from one thought to another and another, not easily quieted.  I think it’s pretty safe to say we’ve all experienced monkey-mind to one degree or another.

Field of Pure Awareness

It is when we become aware, and accept What IS, that the monkey-mind quiets, and we can Be.  Once we are in a state of Being, we are able to observe moment by moment, from the highest field of all, Pure Awareness.

Now, if it has all made sense up to this point, but I just lost you with the Pure Awareness comment, hang tight.  I want to take it a step further and deeper.  Once you’re observing moment by moment, no longer in the worry-place and completely out of the monkey-mind chatter, whatever action you take will be in harmony with this field of Pure Awareness.  Therefore, whatever action you take will be for the highest good for all.  Remember the Sufi story of the warrior and his bride?  (from Chapter 2)

By trusting life, we accept What IS, quieting the conflict in the monkey-mind and freeing us to observe and then act from Pure Awareness, which will be for the highest good of all.  Operating for the highest good of all also takes us to the next level:  Life is not just about us at an individual level, but as living beings we are all connected in a very intimate way.  For that reason, operating for the highest good of all is something to strive for.

By trusting, we marry our free will with the Divine, knowing that we are taken care of.  We are not alone in our worries or our struggles.  We are never alone.

You are never alone.

why trust is important

I have attempted to explain in words what is a knowing within me.  I encourage you to add to these concepts, question them, mold them and make them yours, changing the verbiage to suit your taste.  In doing so, you will land on your Truth, something that resonates and works for you.

Take a moment to consider how you typically approach life.  Which side of the cattle guard do you tend to hang out on?  The What IF side or the What IS side?  Depending where you are on the spectrum will immediately tell you what your beliefs are about how trust works.  And by the way, this has nothing to do with religion.  You may be the most religious person out there, attending every mass and service offered, yet between each mass, each service — maybe even during each one — you’re worrying about all of the What IFs in your life.  Becoming aware and accepting What IS is a spiritual belief and practice that anyone can adopt, regardless of religious beliefs.

 

why should we trust life

If you enjoyed this excerpt and are interested in learning more about trusting life, please subscribe to receive your weekly dose of love and trust.  I’ll never spam you — only sending you posts I hope will inspire and ignite your heart.  Love, Leslie

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