Clear Mind

July 14, 2017

In God We Trust

in-godLately I’ve been seeing and reading so many articles, memes, blogs about What Successful People Do. Its usually a list of:

  1. Work hard
  2. Get up early
  3. Work Hard

And I definitely believe yes working hard is a HUGE factor to success (however, you define it).

The thing I don’t see often is the idea that “successful” people have faith. They believe in themselves yes, and they believe in the universe. They have faith. They believe that what they put in (hard work) will be matched by a certain output (faith tells them).

It’s like my friend used to say to me when I would contemplate a big choice, like switching jobs or making a big move. She’d say, “oh girl, do you really think the universe would have you do all this work and transformation, just to leave you homeless and alone?”

Hahaha! I guess if you think about it…NO of course not! The point of doing the work, putting in the time, blood, sweat and tears, would not lead to being alone and broke, because faith.

Faith says, just believe, just know (without really knowing), just blindly leap and trust that you are supported, loved, protected by something bigger, to me that’s God, to you it may be the universe or higher self.

Successful people, some, may not even know they have this faith. They are just in it, going about their moments doing what they are born to do with passion, wholeness of heart, and to exhaustion. When you work this hard you may not even have time to think about it, you just know (without really knowing) that faith is there.

The idea of In God we trust is on our currency, its what I can only assume is the base for which this country was built, the American Dream. That a dream stays a dream until you add Faith, defined as trust in God, to me anyway. Faith doesn’t take away anything, like fear, doubt or negative self talk, it only tells you to leap anyway. Faith gives you the courage.

Its hard to think you can have an extraordinary life, without faith in extraordinary results, which need extraordinary choices. Choices outside the “norm.” Choices that will piss some people off and confuse the hell out of others! None of that matters because you have faith. You have a Trust in God.

September 23, 2016

Its Ok Not to Forgive. We Need to Forgive. What’s True?

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Society communities, support groups, yoga philosophy is built on forgiveness. This idea you will feel more complete more whole, less pain, less stress.

What if I don’t? What if forgiving someone who purposely hurt me makes me feel like I did something to deserve it.

I bring this up because everything I read tells me forgive and forget. But what if someone hurts you on purpose. How do you say it’s ok and then move forward?

That feels more like an enabler then being the bigger person.

It feels like what they did was ok.

When you think about people that hurt children? Do you want to forgive them?

I don’t. Because these children blame themselves and shame themselves, and they grow up to be adults who are told you’ll feel better when you forgive. No! I won’t.

It’s ok not to forgive. It’s ok to know what they did was wrong and not want to forgive.. Not now not ever.

Forgiving in this situation means that it was ok, what you did was ok– and it wasn’t!

Listen I’ve been there, wearing shoes of the forgiver and the apologizer. Yes, forgiveness feels good. All around it feels good. But if you don’t want to and your insides are saying no, we aren’t going there yet… then don’t!

Take this a bit further to any relationship. Let’s say there’s an issue and you resolve it. Then 2 days later the person does/says the same things. You feel disrespected and now, unheard. You feel humiliated because it stings even more. It always stings more when a forgiven wound reopens.
Do you forgive?

I’m sure eventually you will. It’s ok in a moment not to forgive. It’s ok to wait and deal with your annoyance and anger. It’s ok to say “I’m not ready to forgive you.”

Actually it’s freeing. It allows you to set boundaries for what you will and won’t allow. It allows you to decide how people will treat you.

“The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others.” ~Sonya Friedman

Forgiveness is not just a flyer you pass out hoping for peace. It’s a sacred right of passage into your life.

“Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.” ~Webster’s Dictionary

Why would you want to wish your offender well? Someone who purposely hurt you? Victimized you? Abused you? Disrespected you?

Maybe one day. Maybe never. Either way it’s ok. It’s ok to stand by something and say it’s not ok, it’s unforgivable.

I believe in forgiveness don’t get me wrong. I think it’s very important. I just don’t think it’s always necessary in a moment.

It’s not a prayer. A sermon followed by an Amen. It’s not like a thank you which is usually followed up with an you’re welcome. We give out I’m sorry’s like candy. Let’s gain a little self respect and patience before we succumb to some martyrdom.

And screw anyone that tells you different. Because unless they are wearing your shoes– they don’t get to decide.

Once you forgive you let your heart open and let them into a space of gratitude.

It’s your journey. Don’t let anyone rush your forgiveness… It’s sacred.

I wrote this about two weeks ago.

There’s so much passion, so much strength, so much belief in it. I realize now I was mostly speaking from the victim perspective. Off my high horse.

I recently had an interaction where someone told me something I said was unforgivable.

Tan-ta-nuh-na (hear the sound of law and order gavel bang) sound of truth, sound of a lesson.

Truthfully, I wasn’t sorry I said it. It was my honest opinion about a situation and how I felt. But it hurt them. For which I am deeply saddened,heartbroken and sorry. It wasn’t meant to hurt it was how I felt in a moment.

In that moment I knew what it was truly like to be unforgiven. You can’t survive a relationship, you can’t have a connection if there is no forgiveness.

I know this and yet I myself forgot, and needed reminding. Thank you universe.

You as the person withholding the forgiveness. You will not be able to move forward. You will keep thinking about the words, the act, and you get to stay on your high horse because you get to be right. I know because I have been there. Many times.

Look around from up there, off your horse. Is there anyone else with you?

Usually it’s just you and your imaginary horse. No one to talk to, no one that understands, no one to love, and no fun. Just you and your memory of how you were wronged.

You have to be able to forgive if you ever want to put the shit behind you and be happy. Even the example of the acts done to children, at some point when you become an adult you realize that what happened made me stronger and smarter.

In my opinion I’m grateful for the lessons. As horrible and shitty as they were in the moment, but that moment has passed. I am no longer that person and I am no longer defenseless. It’s time to let the light in and stop guarding your heart from the joy and love it deserves. The only way to do that is through forgiveness.

Is there something you don’t want to forgive? Do you see it holding you back? Do you feel you replay the hurt over and over?

When will you shed that? Give yourself a time frame… 2 days, 2 months, 2 years because if you don’t have a time frame you will replay the hurt scene for a lifetime.

Don’t waste your lifetime. Forgive now so you can let go of old hurtful memories and open your heart to real enchantment.

Its liberating to be this way (see below)forgive

Image Credits:
wikihow.com
notsalmon.com

 

 

April 14, 2015

If You Could See Yourself Through My Eyes

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What if you could see yourself from the eyes of your best friend?

You would probably see yourself as the bomb, the shiz-nizzel, or just simply beautiful. One of my dear friends reached out last week and said, ‘can you believe my aunt put an old pic of me on facebook! Its not even #ThrowBackThursday or #FlashBackFriday.’

I saw the picture and all I could focus on was her beautiful eyes, her innocent expression and her cuteness! She of course didn’t see the picture the same way, I can only hope in telling her what I saw that maybe even for a moment she could see it through my eyes and see her beauty.

It reminds me how very hard we are on ourselves.

We are our own bestest friends, being there to wipe our own tears, inspiring our own spirits to thrive and being the support we need to laugh at ourselves. And yet we are our own worst enemy. I don’t have any enemies in this moment because there is nothing they could think or say about me that would be worse than what I’ve already told myself at some point.

I said to my husband the other night, “I wish we could all see ourselves through the eyes of those who love us.” He responded, “I wish you could see yourself through my eyes and you’d see how wonderful you are.”

I, of course, said, “no offense Love, but if you don’t mind I’d like to see myself through our older daughter Neeva’s eyes.” (half joking, 100% truth). My daughter adores me! She absolutely wants to spend every waking moment with me and even on my ….lets call them “my not-so-nice days” she is there wanting to hug me and tell me how much she loves me.

I believe that mother-hood refers to the permanent space in your brain that is dedicated to your child from the second your baby is born. Even when your child isn’t around you think about her; you worry about her safety, and her pain or her joy takes precedence over anything you have going on in your world.

It’s the one thing I am in constant battle with myself over:
Am I a good mother?
Am I screwing them up?
Will they be traumatized from this?

And then I remember my daughter’s words one night as she cuddled over to me as we were watching tv, “Mommy, no matter what I do, I will always love you. You are the best mommy for me.”

I have to take a moment of silence to wipe the tears from my eyes as I write this. It really doesn’t get better than that.

She doesn’t care how I look, if I’m in my pjs or dressed up.
She doesn’t care if I clean the house or not.
She doesn’t care if I make dinner or order in.
She doesn’t care about any of the stupid things my mind tells me determines my worth as a mother. She just loves me for me. Silly, crazy, loud me. And she’s proud to be my daughter.

So what the hell is stopping me from being proud to be me?

Nothing. She reminds me of what I already know…that I’m amazing and beautiful. However, life doesn’t allow you to maintain this feeling all the time. So for the moments I can’t see or feel my own truth, I thank God I have people in my life who love me so much and are willing to show me, through their eyes, just how beautiful I am.

So I invite you to look through the eyes of someone who loves you the next time you don’t feel so good about yourself and think of the One Direction song that got it right…
“If only you saw what I can see.
You’d understand why I want you so desperately.
Right now I’m looking at you and I can’t believe
You don’t know oh-oh.
You don’t know you’re beautiful.”

Share with someone who needs to see their beauty through your loving eyes!

Love & Healing♥
Reshma

March 12, 2015

I’m Needy

need3I feel like I should be at a Needers Anonymous meeting and admitting this and then saying “AND ITS OK!”

I am the person who prided myself on coming up with, “I don’t need you in my life, I choose you.” And although that’s a lovely quote, the truth is as humans, we have needs. The biggest need being, to have a connection.

A need for other humans, to connect with them emotionally and physically. That’s why we spend so much of our childhoods attached to our parents/guardians; hanging onto their every word and affection.

We are born with unconditional, expansive love, its why children are so forgiving and accepting and loving, even of themselves. They are full of unlimited love and a need to connect with others. It shows us that this need for connection is innate and natural. It is through true connection with another that we get to feel the mirror of our own love.

A while ago, I had a pretty tough day and immediately started thinking about how badly I NEEDED a hug from my husband. Before I knew it I was in my car, heading straight for his office. (In the past I wouldn’t have allowed this thought into my consciousness let alone act on it…I must really be growing!)

Although I was texting to find out which office he was in that day and how much longer he’d be there, I didn’t tell him why. I was trying to ignore the words in my head telling me that I was being needy. At the same time I was too busy dreaming about his comforting arms around me providing me with safety and security, and the grounding I so badly needed in that moment.

I got to the parking lot and texted him to meet me by the back door (now looking back I guess I was acting more like his mistress than his wife!). I called him after waiting 10 minutes and getting no response to my texts. I waited a total of 30 minutes in the car before driving away, thinking a lot of nasty thoughts about him, but mostly feeling angry and hurt.

When he finally called me back, he explained was doing a procedure on a patient and was very apologetic. More importantly, he was so touched. He was honored that I came to the office for a surprise hug. He was happy that I thought of him as comfort to my hard day. I could feel the anger torch I had pointed in his direction fizzle. However, I couldn’t quite let go of the anger and hurt I was feeling towards myself.

I was so upset with myself for not being able to tell him that I needed him. Upset at myself for not being able to walk through the front door of his office. I heard the voice in my gut say to me “hey just go through the front door!” It even justified, his assistant and staff know you, just go in.

I didn’t have the courage to walk into the front door because of the idea that his staff would think I was needy.

Why was I so afraid to admit that I needed my husband?

If I had gotten into an accident and then walked into his office asking for medical attention or even just to see him, I would have felt like that was “acceptable neediness.” Really I have to be on death row to ask for an acceptable hug from my husband?!?!

Is it not enough that we are in a mutual relationship?
Is it not enough that I am human? That I have needs?

I don’t understand why my need…needs to be justified?

It doesn’t! I am the only one justifying my neediness. I am the only one worrying about what everyone else would say. If my husband is ok with me needing him and I am comfortable in expressing it, than what does it matter what anyone else’s acceptable-behavior restrictions are?

At the same time, if I don’t say what I need than people wouldn’t know. My husband didn’t know that I needed a hug. Just like he doesn’t know that I need him to simply say, “I love you” when we have a disagreement. He didn’t know until I told him.

By expressing my need, I freed myself. I connected to another person (my husband at that) and most important I found my courage and what a privilege it can be to need another…

“Don’t feel bad if people remember you when they need something…feel privileged that you are like a candle that comes to their mind when there is darkness.” ~Unknown

 

Photo Credit: goodreads.com

February 4, 2015

What’s Scarier Than Fear?

 

 

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Have you ever been so scared that you can feel your stomach in your throat, an empty feeling in your heart and your body freezes like a deer in the headlights, you can’t move, speak or think anything but “shit I’m going to jail?”

Fear is just a thought. Its a very important thought because it manifests into our bodies, minds and being and makes us feel incapacitated.

Have you gotten an email or phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS or some government agency wanting money and threatening that the police will show up at your door in a matter of minutes if you don’t pay some fine??

Did you know that people believe this? And most people actually pay?!

Even I have received a call from someone on my voicemail saying they were from the IRS and that I had to call back or I was going to be under criminal investigation.

Of course, my first instinct was fear. Then very quickly I asked myself, “Would the IRS leave a automated voicemail with a callback number? And from an area code that is not even listed? …the answer is No!

HOWEVER…there are a lot of sweet, innocent, lovingly gullible people who do give in. I know this because these cons are making BILLIONS in profit as reported by CNN. Also because people from my own family have given money!! I KNOW!!?? Crazzzyyy!!!

Let me tell you about how my uncle, who is such a smart, savvy, successful businessman, went to Walmart and paid $5000, because he thought his visa bill was overdue and that cops will show up at his house immediately!! I mean I don’t have words for this sad scenario, except I couldn’t even make this stuff up.

I do however, have words about how fear can make a person do, think, say and be the extreme opposite of who they are. I think about how my own fear of failure would turn me into a lying piece of sack, just so I would feel accepted.

I mean haven’t we all done this? Hello! Am I alone? ….crickets…

Well, I am willing to fess up and say, yes my fears of spiders or of being a horrible mother or even the fear of a failed marriage, have turned me into the extreme opposite of who I am. I’ll do things like yell, run away, say things that sound obsessive.

I know….OMG! But its true. We all do things in fear that we may never do if we were in any other state of being. In any other state we may ask questions rather than assume! I mean I was assuming that people wouldn’t like me for me, so I had to be someone else to impress them. I was assuming that the spider was a deadly poisonous one who could kill me from 8 feet away.

And if you think about it, what is fear? Fear is an emotion made up by your own thoughts, sometimes nothing physical has even happened.

I’ve never been bit by a spider, and my uncle has never done anything illegal (I mean that’s hear say…but you get the idea ;), yet he thinks that an unpaid visa bill will land him in jail?!

Think about when you go through a parking garage at night and the fear that you will be attacked comes over you.
Have you ever been attacked?
Is anyone else around?
Most likely the answer is NO. No one is even around, you don’t even see or hear anyone, yet we instinctually have this fear.

Its sad, its annoying, its terrifying! But when you sit down and ask yourself why you keep allowing yourself to be victim to these thoughts of fear, one word comes up…Comfort.

“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering, that is familiar.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Our egos love situations that are controlled, where we know the outcome and can sit comfortably doing nothing but being robots! Well that’s great…if you want to be a lab rat or a robot. But…

If you was meant to be controlled you would’ve come with a remote! ~Unknown 

I, however, want to live life. And life happens when we are uncomfortable. Think about wanting to go away somewhere completely outside your “norm,” like Peru or Thailand, wherever.

The first thing that comes up is this weird tug in your belly, basically you are feeling uncomfortable. However, when/if you do muster courage to travel, you realize how amazing it is, how much growth you gain. But if you let fear drive your vehicle then you never explore.

Think about something as simple as having a conversation. Last month, I wanted to talk to my brother about needing his support because I was going through a hard time in my life and that I was feeling distant from him.

This seems like a simple conversation, talking about my feelings, which cannot be right or wrong, they are my feelings. Then talking about a solution, fixing or improving the situation.

But when it came time to actually make the call, I started to get butterflies or like a pit in my stomach. My palms became sweaty and my scalp started to tingle (I didn’t even know it could do that!).

I could’ve allowed these feelings to stop me. I could’ve stayed comfortable in knowing that “he is who he is and I am who I am and this will pass.” Thankfully, I mustered the courage to do the thing that made me uncomfortable! I talked to him!

What happened was amazing….possibilities opened up…endless possibilities (see what I did there 😉

He and I reconnected! We got our relationship back (he and I are like peas in a pod, maybe even like

dancing

….and I would’ve spend the next few days/weeks/months in misery waiting for this episode to “pass” if I hadn’t called him.

I’m starting to love being uncomfortable (well on paper). But I’m getting used to this space. Its where life happens. Its where we connect, have adventures and LIVE! Its where we actually think rationally! Recognizing that something is fishy about making an official government payment at Walmart?

What’s scarier than fear?

A wasted life. Where we live in comfort, stay small, and suffer. We give up buckets of money without asking questions. We live disconnected and alone thinking we’re being independent. No, you’re living in fear.

“Let your faith be bigger than your fear.” ~Anonymous

Photo Credit:
mysuccessfullife.co.uk
http://www.buzzfeed.com