Day Three..Letting go of the Luggage

I have emotional luggage I have dragged with me never comprehending the burden of it’s weight.

For YEARS I carried with me a nagging feeling of uncomfortable desperation. I always felt bad and I hated it. My so called “solution” was to do everything and anything to completely avoid my “feelings.”

To numb them.
To drown them.
To absolutly obliterated them.
To destroy them.

The result was the hopelessness I aimlessly floundered in. Lost within the dark empty void of my life. I did not understand that in not experiencing the natural flow of my emotions I essentially became an unwilling participate within my own life. I never took responsibility for the way I felt and blamed everything outside of myself.

When I finally broke free from the needle of addiction implanted in my arm; I was an emotional mess. I never acknowledged the power my emotions had. I never knew how they in manifested as the life I lived.

In the first sevearal months of being clean I couldn’t discern what emotions were what. All I knew wasI feel good and I feel bad and I definitely did not prefer the bad. I remember I was given a photocopy of a pictures of all the different range of emotions and I had no idea what 90% of them were.

It took some time but slowly I began to see the internal map of my emotions and how they led me to certain people, places, things, ideas and circumstances again and again despite the pain they seemed to produce.

I began to hear the once silent directions they whispered to me to. I began to understand I had a map created with my emotions and the directions were the distorted perception of past experiences which always left me lost.

Everything has emotion and the charge of each is revealed through the perceptions of them.
I’ll break it down with explaining where I am at in the present moment.

I’ve been cleaning out all my stuff, getting ready for the move I will be making in the next month. I I found boxes filled with “stuff”. Words scribbled on peices of faded paper, rocks, old diaries, concert tickets; Junk. All little fragments and bits of mypast that at some point in time meant something to me.

Some of this “junk” held good positive memories. But most of it were things which I had no recollection of. I didn’t know what they are, where they came from and why I even had them them. ……And they made me feel bad.

I couldn’t understand what was compelling me to hold on to all this “stuff”? On a conscious level they seemed to mean nothing to me? But on a subconscious level there was an attachment…

There was emotion.

What I believe, how I believe and what I experience are all directly tied into my emotions And each of these little fragments of my past emotions produced such an emptiness that reached into the pit of my stomach.

I asked my self why I would voluntary kept things that made me feel bad. I don’t know why? But I do know that all the negative wrapped neatly around these pieces of my past was baggage I have unconsciously dragged with me for years. A subtle way my beliefs have held their perceptions of my past experiences; Good, bad and indifferent,. A way for my past to continually reveal itself in my present.

Then there was all the new baggage I’ve added in the past two years; The T.V, the furniture all the things in my apartment that I worked like a slave to acquire. All of it carrying with it the emotions of the struggle it took to acquire it all.

Now why would I want to continue to drag this with me into each and every day?

I didn’t need to figure that out I just needed to let it go and I tossed it all. It’s all just stuff,

I have five coffee tables……Why?

“Just in case I would tell myself”

In case of what, I have a party that needs five coffee tables?

This process of letting go of is a times an emotional detox. It ‘feels” uncomfortable and my natural instinct is to do or find something to substitute the feeling. But I traveled to those destinations already and I haven’t been so impressed with the scenery.

I need to go throught the process of weeding out these emotions. Plucking the ripened fruits of beliefs that have grown in the fertile soil of my being. Extracting the suffocating roots of my life experiences they have implanted themselves in.

Ijn some moments I am painfully aware of how my past wants to sneak itself into my present. I feel the emotional turmoil of the past struggling to force itself upon the present attempting to paint it’s deceptive illusions on the canvas of my life.

It’s time to let it all go..time to finally leave the past where it belongs……
in yesterday.

Until tomorrow…

Be blessed Mighty Morgan

Anyone who would like to be a part of this any and all feedback it welcome.
You can also go to winksandgiggles.com/Lil_Angels winksandgiggles.com/Lil_Angels a page in my website. There is an Lil’ Angel on the page I’m using for this experiment called the “Angel of Miracles”.
So if you would like it check it out.

Stress is the spice of life not a disease that everybody must live with. While it is true that chronic and excessive stress can destroy your joy and peace, well managed stress can challenge and toughen you for major accomplishment. Like fire, stress can be very beneficial and a key part of a healthy productive life but it can also devastate us.

In reality, managing stress is not all that complicated but it does need our attention and we need to learn the basics of using it to our benefit and not be destroyed by it. Here are three simple yet powerful skills that I call the ABC’s of stress management: Awareness, Balance and Control.” These simple guidelines are the cornerstone of developing the stress hardiness needed to enjoy life and be productive in our busy world. You can use these anytime and anywhere and maximize the thrill of living. The good news is that most people simply need to take a moment and back off for a few minutes, take a deep breath and become aware of what is stressing them.

Awareness of our primary stressors and how they are affecting us is one of the first and most important factors in managing and enjoying the stresses of your life. Think through what are your primary stressors and find a good stress assessment tool that will objectively tell you how stress is affecting you.

Balance is learning how to keep our busy lives in perspective. Once you figure out what balance is for you and can maintain it, you are well on the road to enjoying the stress of your life. Are you taking time for rest, physical activity and personal and family time? Are you working realistic hours and balancing work and play? Only you can answer these questions for you.

Control is taking charge of all of your stressors. That is those of which you have control. We all have some stressors for which we do not have control, (i.e. a sudden life threatening illness, divorce, a friend or family member seriously injured or killed in an accident) but you will be surprised that you can take control of most of your significant stressors. Yes, you do have more control than you might think. Suppose for instance that this year has been a particularly stressful year for you. Then this may not be the time to volunteer to lead Boy Scouts or Girl Guides or even take on added personal projects. The body does not readily distinguish between positive and negative stressors both can be equally beneficial or harmful. They are beneficial if we have the stress hardiness needed to manage them or harmful, even if it is a positive stressor, if the event or activity puts you over into excessive or unmanageable stress for an extended period.

Yes, even in our fast-paced busy world, you can be on the run and have your stress under control. Managing stress is not that difficult. Is it doable? I know it is. I live a very active, demanding life and enjoy it to the full. You can achieve a stress hardiness that will enable you to see the plus side of stress and grow and prosper from it rather than be trapped by it.

Many people think that to manage their stress more effectively they need to reduce there stress levels, change their job or escape from real life. While it is true that some people need to reduce their stress levels and for some their job is killing them, yet who can or would want to abandon family and friends for the sake of stress management? The good news is that you can thrive even in our fast-paced busy world. Practice these ABC,s and learn the stress skills that help you develop the stress hardiness you need. I have a FREE e-course entitled, 7 Days to Enjoying the Stress of Your Life, for more info click on the link below.

Cameron Johnston is an author, speaker and stress fitness coach. He is a burnout survivor who has inspired tens of thousands of individuals to live it up without being washed-up. Through his articles, books and speaking, employees in hundreds of organizations have mastered the stress hardiness tools needed to thrive and succeed in our fast-paced, 24/7 world. He has a Masters of Science Degree in Public Health and has developed the Cooling DownThe Stress Soup Stress Management System. Cameron is the author of three books on stress management including, Don’t Eat The Soup As Hot As They Cook It! Here he has distilled all the stress management essentials into eight powerful and very doable ways to cool off the stress soup. He is President of WellChoices™ Consulting and Business Development Director for the Silver Hills Lifestyle Makeover Spa. His unique, effective and fun approach to wellness and stress solutions guarantees that his writing and presentations will always be both entertaining and informative.
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If you do any creative work, I’m sure you’ve experienced this dilemma: Should you ever work when you aren’t inspired, or should you wait for inspiration?

I’ve had to face this situation many times, whether it involved designing a new computer game or writing an original blog entry. Sometimes inspiration strikes me at the most inopportune times, like at 3am while lying in bed, but if I’m smart enough to take advantage of it, I can crank out volumes of productive work in a short period of time. Those experiences often feel timeless and transcendent, as if I’ve been tapped on the shoulder by some higher creative power. But other times as I sit at my computer, I feel empty, distracted, or uninspired, and if I tried to push through it, I’m still be able to get some work done, but I won’t produce solutions and ideas that are nearly as elegant or brilliant as the inspired work. Sound familiar?

I place a premium on the value of inspired work. Although I have degrees in computer science and math and have been trained in many left-brain problem solving techniques, I’m also left-handed and approach technical subjects from a right-brained perspective. I rarely use methodical, left-brained, step-by-step processes to solve problems. In high school I would often try to solve math or physics problems without using any of the formulas that were taught in class that week. I’d dismiss the left-brained solution I was expected to regurgitate and tried to approach problems creatively, especially the most challenging and complex ones. I’d take an advanced calculus problem and attempt to solve it using other tools like algebra or geometry or the laws of physics. And the interesting thing is that my solutions were often shorter and far more elegant than what the textbooks had intended. I believed there would be little value in learning to solve problems the same way everyone else did; such people would be a dime a dozen. But there would always be a treasured place in the world for the person who could solve problems creatively.

On the other hand, I also value hard work and discipline. I certainly have the option of barreling through and working even when I’m not inspired. But I greatly dislike using self-discipline for creative work. Discipline is fine for repetitive or highly uncreative work though, but it rarely creates elegant solutions. My left brain may be satisfied with a disciplined approach, but it’s anathema to my right brain.

I’m also impatient, so I don’t like waiting for inspiration to strike, especially when it seems to be taking an extended vacation.

One day I became curious and questioned why sometimes I felt inspired and other times I didn’t. Why would inspiration seem to abandon me for weeks and then pay me a visit when I was five miles into a 10-mile run? Was there some kind of pattern?

And most of all, could inspiration be created? Did I have to wait for it to arrive, or was there anything I could do to invite it? I studied creative problem solving techniques, but none of them seemed to work consistently, and sometimes they would take a long time to generate results.

Eventually I figured out that inspiration can definitely be created. I’ve been using this technique for many years, and it’s one reason I never run out of ideas to write and speak about. I feel as if I have an infinite supply. It’s very simple too.

Clarifying Intent

Whenever I want to feel inspired to do creative work, I stop and take a moment to clarify my intent. I get really clear about what it is I want to do, and then I verbalize that intent. Then I let go and wait, usually a few minutes at most.

An example intent would be the one I used for this blog entry. At first I sat down to write at 4:30am and felt wholly uninspired. I had a list of ideas to write about, but none of them seemed too inspiring to me. So I formed the (very simple) intent, “I intend to write a creative new blog entry that will benefit many readers.” Then I released the intent and waited. Within about 30 seconds, I had the idea to write on this topic, and the words flowed with effortless ease.

Here’s my current theory on how this works. My intent acts like a thought wave that projects out into the universe, and after a short period of time, that wave reflects back to me in the form of creative ideas. It’s like a dolphin using sonar to echo-locate objects, except that I use it to echo-locate creative ideas. I feel as if I’m putting out a specific form of sonar into some imaginary world of pure thought. When my intent collides with an idea that resonates with it, it creates a reflection wave back to the source, which I perceive as an idea or impulse. The first ideas that pop into my head are the ones I go with.

Intents don’t work the same way as goals. If you constrain your intent too heavily, then you won’t receive any reflection back because nothing will resonate with it perfectly. So try to keep your intentions open-ended and high-level unless the specific details are truly important to you. If you create intents that are too rigid, you may eliminate the possibility of a holistic solution. For example, if you focus on the intent to solve a low-level problem, and your creativity still feels blocked, it could be that you aren’t supposed to solve that problem at all – you need to rework something at a higher level to eliminate the problem entirely.

I find this approach works incredibly well. Whenever it seems like it isn’t working, then I know it’s because my own thoughts are creating an interference pattern and canceling each other out. I’m putting out conflicting intents – understand that every thought is an intent. That’s when I need to back up and form a higher-level, more general intent that can escape the low-level noise. If you toss a pebble into a calm lake, you’ll see waves rippling out from the source. But if you toss a pebble into rough waters, the ripples will be gobbled up with the existing waves. So in that case you need to go to a place where the waters are more calm, rising above your own conflicting thoughts, especially those involving fear, worry, or stress.

For example, if I came up with a blank after putting out an intent for creative writing ideas, I’d step back and form a new intent, like, “I intend to use the next hour in service to the greatest good of all.” That’s a more general intent, and it can help bypass any blocks. Perhaps I’m feeling blocked because I don’t feel I should be writing at all right now. Maybe there’s something more important I need to do. Intents work holistically, so it’s important to allow for plenty of flexibility.

So begin with a specific intent, and if you don’t like the reflections you’re receiving, keep backing up and forming new intents until the reflections suit you.

Once you master this process, you should never have to push through creative work when you aren’t feeling creative. While you can still produce some output during those times, you probably know that the work will seem lifeless and uninspired when you look back on it later. Clarifying and focusing your intent only takes a few seconds most of the time, and you’ll begin to see that your intentions always manifest when you’re completely clear about what you want.

So don’t wait for inspiration. Use this simple technique to actively invite inspiration and unleash the flow of creative ideas.

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
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Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.

“Don’t look at my finger. Look where I’m pointing!” is the ancient cry of the awakened. It is an attempt to remind us that language is incapable of being the actual experiencing toward which it points – the word “water” will never make you wet. Yet, the pointing continues, for one never knows which instance of pointing will allow the seeker to finally “look past his finger” and result in the experiencing of the indescribable.

All teachings that use language are conceptual. Thus, the hidden danger is that the seeker unwittingly measures progress by the accumulation of concepts, rather than by the understanding toward which they point.

Those of you who have read From Here To Here: Turning Toward Enlightenment will recognize the following excerpt:

“Sailors understand that a boat’s velocity alone is not an accurate measure of actual progress. The

wind may allow them to go very fast in a certain direction, but it may not be the direction they

wish to go. Velocity Made Good (VMG) is what matters in sailing. It is the actual progress made

toward a destination.

In a similar way, Understanding Made Good (UMG) is what ultimately matters to the spiritual seeker.

It is the actual progress made in seeing through the illusion of a separate self…Thus, the true

value of any spiritual teaching is measured primarily by the degree to which it liberates us from

the illusion of a separate self…”

The question remains, “What is the clearest way to assess Understanding Made Good (UMG) for each person, at each moment in time, for any spiritual teaching they encounter?” The answer may lie in a delicate dismantling of the fundamental pointing, “I Am,” the one mutually shared experience of all human beings.

We can all confidently claim, “I Am,” but the “I” of everyday language is different from the “I” in the pointing “I Am.” The common use of “I” is entirely conceptual. It is a static, theoretical concept, a noun that will never be the actual experiencing of life toward which it points.

Even when “I Am” is described as an impersonal experiencing of this-here-now, the word “I” subtly taints this pointing with the dead weight of a concept. “I” is the finger and, as such, will never be the nondual experiencing toward which it points, a verb.

Thus, one scale upon which Understanding Made Good (UMG) could be measured is the experiencing of less “I” and more “Am.” Whenever there is less “I” and more “Am” from any teaching, a spark of understanding has occurred. “Am” ignites easily into the active experiencing of this-here-now. It is a signal that the teaching has come alive!

“Am” may be the simplest and most powerful pointing of all. The shining example of this is its famous wordless demonstration. The entirety of the teaching was the holding up of a flower to convey that the experiencing of this-here-now is continually what you are, and forever beyond words.

In the end, Understanding Made Good (UMG) occurs where the scale tips toward “Am,” out past the pointing finger of concepts, where the illusion of separateness disappears. Whatever the concept of a teaching is, it is intended to be forgotten in the experiencing of this-here-now.

For a FREE Chapter of, From Here To Here: Turning Toward Enlightenment, please visit GaryCrowley.com GaryCrowley.com