Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. Listen to Your IVIN

Listen to Your IVIN

In my first book, SIX DEGREES TO YOUR DREAMS, (available at www.iUniverse.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com) Concept Two is entitled Listening to Your Inner Voice/Intuitive Nature (IVIN).

This concept is critical to understanding your authentic nature.

Before I quote from this concept, however, I want you to know that Amazon has a couple used copies available for 75 cents. J It will cost you $10.95 to buy it from me, plus shipping! I would also like to proudly share I was granted iUniverse’s prestigious Editor’s Choice award for this book, and that Marcia Wieder, America’s Dream Coach and author of MAKING YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE, wrote this endorsement, featured on the back cover: “With Laura’s insight and wisdom, you will learn that your heartfelt wishes are easily within your reach.”

I also – not sure if proudly is the right word – will share that I received a royalty check from iUniverse in 2012, which I needed to report to my CPA for taxes. I asked Ron if that $2.19 would put me in a different tax bracket. J I love that I can laugh at myself! Hey, I wanted to write a book, and I did. Those 61 pages took a year and a half of my life! SIX DEGREES holds a lot of useful information, even though it’s not the book I would write now. I pull it out myself from time to time, like this evening. I am very fond of this book.

Everyone has what I call an Inner Voice/Intuitive Nature or IVIN. Some might call the IVIN that little voice in the back of my head, some a gut feeling, some women’s intuition, some God. Whatever you want to call it, it’s there. I’ve found the IVIN to be my best friend in finding the six degrees to my dreams. Have you ever been driving somewhere with the directions written down or printed from the internet, and a feeling told you to turn left instead of right at a particular intersection in spite of the directions? Or that if you went around the block, you’d find a parking space? That’s your IVIN at work.

Understand this book was published in 2005, before I had a GPS navigational device, and at the time I was writing about taking dreams and wishes and creating them into physical reality, rather than authenticity.

But it’s really all the same thing. Whatever your heart-felt dreams are is where your authenticity lies. You know when something feels good to you, and when it doesn’t. Listen to your IVIN this week. It won’t lead you astray.

Don’t underestimate your inner voice. It rarely speaks to you as the cartoons portray it—a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. That would be easy. In reality, our inner voice is usually very quiet. It gets drowned out by the noise of life or ignored in the rush. But it will take care of you, guide, help you. Listen. –Moments for Myself, a calendar by Blessings Unlimited.

Authentically Yours, Laura

Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. What Do Other People Say About You?

What Do Other People Say About You?

I don’t know about you, but I have traditionally had a harder time accepting compliments than I have giving them. I seem to be the queen of compliments, always telling other people what a great job they are doing.

This post is coming on the heels of my beloved having drank alcohol after nine years of sobriety. I won’t get into the background here, because that is his story to tell, not mine.

What I can tell you is that I like my wine and cigarettes well enough I can understand compulsive/obsessive behavioral tendencies. And that when I realized my man had been drinking after promising we both wouldn’t, within 10 minutes of him picking me up for lunch, something came over me.

I would call it a combination of God, and the knowledge it takes 21 days to change a habit. In large part from reading Will Bowen’s A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD. I took the 21 day challenge several years ago, and my complaint level has been reduced drastically since then.

Will Bowen, author of A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD.

But, I digress. So this is what happened. I knew my man had been drinking within 10 minutes of him picking me up. I asked, he confirmed. I said I had lost my appetite and to take me home. My feet were out of the car almost before it was parked, I asked for my keys back, and basically shut and locked the door in his face while saying I would not speak to or see him until he had been completely clean and sober for three weeks, 21 days.

He has been completely clean and sober since and has immersed himself in recovery, having a ton of support, while providing me daily sobriety updates via e-mail. He’s doing the work, and his body has such a bad reaction to alcohol, I really don’t anticipate this happening again.

So, that’s as much of the relapse story as I feel comfortable sharing, as the rest of it is not my story.

What is my story is what people told me afterwards, when I described what had happened. It became very clear to me that most of the people I know and love, have known and loved an addict, in some way, shape or form. Some people I expected to be judgmental, weren’t judgmental at all. It was more like, “Well, the people I know in recovery have experienced this…”

What became very clear to me, shortly after this “event”, is how people find me strong and courageous, including my man’s friends in recovery, as he shared his story with them. Rather than just sloughing off the comments with a roll of my eyes…this time I decided to absorb the compliments and embrace them. People find me strong, because I am!!

I would not have had the ability to embrace this part of me 10 years ago, maybe even five.

And I know my man is strong and courageous – it takes a great deal of work on yourself to become sober having a history of personal and family addiction.

And now, just today, (Friday 2/15 as I am writing this -- if I were a marketer, I would separate these two posts so you can see how wonderful I am, LOL)...

I walked today with a friend and work colleague who hadn’t been able to walk for a while because she’s been sick and has allergies and asthma, so takes longer to recover from the flu that wiped most of us out in the office. It took me three weeks to recover.

After we walked, she somehow put this note on my desk without my seeing her – I was buried in the computer and phone.

“Laura, Thank you for inspiring me. Even on a day so full of positive things, you inspire me!” She signed it with her name, the date, and a hand-drawn heart.

And then after work I had a planned phone talk with a family member whom I consider a dear friend, like the sister I never had. She said, “I want you to know that I read your blog posts on Facebook every week, and I always find them inspiring. I wanted you to know that.” It wasn’t the easiest conversation in the world as she is going through some things in her life, and I was sharing my beloved’s recovery with her. (And then, of course, I wanted to say – if you like my blog posts so much, why aren’t you subscribing? I have like 8 subscribers!)

This is the deal, readers. I have been called, in the last three weeks, strong, courageous, and inspirational, more times than I ever remember being called those words before. And that is because it is true.

I encourage you to take off your humility hat and embrace every good thing anybody has to say about you. Recognize the wonderful qualities about you, even if you haven’t been able to see them yourself just yet. Once you get into the practice, you will.

You have a right to get what you deserve. –Will Bowen

Out of every crisis comes the choice to be reborn, to reconceive ourselves as individuals, to choose the kind of change that will help us to grow and fulfill ourselves more completely. –Nena O’Neill

The Twelve Steps of Recovery: Rather than repeat the 12 steps here, I will provide you this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program

Only one of the 12 steps correlates to substance abuse. I believe the other 11 would be helpful for anyone, anywhere, who wants to live a fuller and more authentic life. I hope you find this helpful.

Authentically Yours, Laura

Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. The meat pan story

The Meat Pan Story

The mind is slow in unlearning

what it has been long in learning. –Seneca

I don’t recall when or from whom I first heard this story, but it sounded like something that could easily have happened in my family. Probably yours, too.

A woman was making the family dinner and cut off the end of the seasoned roast before putting it in the baking pan. Her daughter was in the kitchen with her chopping vegetables and asked, “Mom, why do you always cut the end of the meat off like that?”

“Well,” the woman replied, “that’s what my mother always did.”

“Why do you suppose she did that?” asked the daughter.

“I honestly don’t know.” The woman’s mother had been dead for years.

Curiosity had the better of them both, so the woman picked up the phone and called her aunt, her mother’s sister. The aunt didn’t know either, but now her curiosity was piqued as well.

Two hours later the aunt called back after checking with old family members and friends. “I’ve solved the mystery,” she said. “Mom’s mother’s, Great grandma, always cut off the end of the meat because her roasting pan was too small.”

Hmmm…three generations later…

The moral of the story? What activities do you engage in strictly out of rote habit, or because it’s what you learned from someone else? Perhaps your authentic self knows a new way, a better way!  

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. –Mary Bryant

Authentically Yours, Laura

Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. Barbara Stanny's Weekly Words of Wealth

Barbara Stanny’s Weekly Words of Wealth 1/2/13

It seems to me that integrity and living a life of authenticity are inextricably linked. Which is why I am including Barbara Stanny’s Weekly Words of Wealth from 1/2/2013 in this post. You may recall I attended her Sacred Success workshop retreat early last fall. It was one of the best investments I have ever made in my authentic self.

Barbara Stanny and me, September, 2012, Seatac, Washington

 

Financial Success Demands Personal Integrity

Our financial foundation is only as strong as our individual integrity.

I am seeing evidence of this everywhere. Maybe you are too. Consider the economic meltdown. I believe it was a direct result of a lack of integrity, among consumers and institutions alike.

The word integrity comes from the Latin root, meaning wholeness or entirety. Integrity demands that your words and deeds consistently reflect your deepest truths, highest aspirations, and most cherished values.

I always ask myself: where am I out of integrity? As soon as I see it (and it can be painfully subtle), I make an effort to change.

I believe that's a question we all should be asking. If everyone did this, imagine the impact it would have on your own life, not to mention the world economy.

Warmly,

 

Barbara

 

Visit www.barbarastanny.com for further information.

Authentically Yours, Laura

Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. What If You Were A Hermit In The Woods?

What If You Were A Hermit In The Woods?

So many of us have daily pressures involving time, other people, commitments and obligations that we can barely hear ourselves think, let alone take the time to feel what is going on in our bodies.

Obviously, the reason I am writing this post is I have experienced this! Sometimes around the holiday season when things are hectic, when I have a stressful day at the office, I’m having a difficult conversation with someone I love, the to-do list has gotten too long, and especially when all of those things happen at once! 

So, I decided to create a fun exercise called “What If You Were A Hermit In The Woods?”

Imagine you wake up tomorrow morning somewhere secluded in nature…with no obligations, no people in your life, no job or business, no need for income, and the ability to create exactly what you want, when you want it.

Sounds impossible? Of course, that’s the point!

The deal is, you can simply nod your head, wrinkle your nose, rub a genie lamp if that’s what you want to do…and there before you are the ideas, tasks, things, beings, to lead you to your most authentic self and most fully engaged, enriched and loving life.

I will give you an idea of what my Hermit exercise looks like in the beginning, to get you started. J

My place happens to be a small cabin made of wood with stone in the front, including on the front porch. It is both sunny outside and there is a fireplace inside, wherein I have a Duraflame log burning so I don’t have to deal with flint and kindling. It’s not cold outside, but I like the flames.

Several candles are burning, but only one of them is scented – and that is with lavender.

I make myself a cup of tea. English breakfast. I step out onto the stone porch, wrapped in an afghan I have knitted myself. (Now that is a stretch! The last time I knitted, a scarf turned into a cat blanket, and I got a C on that Home Ec assignment in high school! Andy the cat loved the cat blanket in his basket, though.)

I suddenly know how to play the guitar (along with the instruments I already play) and knowledge of how to play three Eagles songs comes to me. I sing and play, with the furry kids close to me. 

I set down my cup of tea, blow out the candles, and walk along the river with my hand-crafted journal in hand. I find a nice rock to sit on, while I completely absorb the natural beauty around me, in all directions. I close my eyes, and…

And that is where the beginning of my Hermit exercise ends, and yours begins. Have fun with this exercise. Go through an entire day if you can. Once you know more from a feeling place what might be lacking in your life, or where you might like to remove some things, you can start to create some changes, a little at a time... It is very empowering!

Authentically Yours, Laura 

Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. Oprah with Caroline Myss

Oprah’s Interview With Caroline Myss

Just a few weeks after my blog post on archetype collage cards I created using Caroline Myss’ SACRED CONTRACTS, along comes this Oprah Winfrey interview in the January, 2013 issue of O Magazine. Caroline just released a new book: ARCHETYPES: WHO ARE YOU?, which I intend to order for my Nook.

Here is a segment of the interview, which I find pertinent to the subject of authenticity.

O: So going back, how do you know for sure that you are on the right path, what dream belongs to you, or what husband or job belongs to you?

C: Here’s your clue. You’re not put in a position where you feel like you have to compromise who you are.

O: I got that. It’s like if you’re at a job, and you know you’re really gifted and talented, but you come in to work every day feeling ‘I’m really not valued OR I’m not being respected for what I do.’

C: That’s right.

O: So when you have more respect for yourself and put yourself in a position where you feel your sense of value or worth, that’s how you know you’re on the right path.

C: You know an action is the correct one for you because you don’t think, ‘This is costing me my power.’ I can be tired after a day’s work at the right job, but I’m not psychically drained to where I feel like I’m losing life.

O: Or losing myself. Speaking of…I have a lot of married friends, and over the years I’ve interviewed a lot of people who are married. Everybody talks about how relationships are so much work. What is the difference between betraying yourself and compromising because that’s what you have to do to get along?

C: A compromise is done willingly and out of love. You don’t go away thinking, ‘I betrayed myself.’

O: It goes back to what you said earlier: Every choice is either going to enhance or drain your spirit…I think there’s nothing worse than betraying yourself.

I am so happy to say that my current job, while stressful at times, does make me feel valued and respected. As does my relationship!

Just something to think about, for all of us…

Authentically Yours, Laura

Simply Authentic...your soul voice is calling. How We See The World: Authenticity and Selfishness

How We See The World: Authenticity and Selfishness

We begin life with the world presenting itself to us as it is. Someone – our parents, teachers, analysts – hypnotizes us to “see” the world and construe it in the “right” way. These others label the world, attach names and give voices to the beings and events in it, so that thereafter, we cannot read the world in any other language or hear it saying other things to us. The task is to break the hypnotic spell, so that we become undeaf, unblind, and multilingual, thereby letting the world speak to us in new voices and write all its possible meanings in the new book of our existence. –Sidney Jourard

How do YOU uniquely see the world – beyond what “they” told you? Can you begin to look at your world differently? – Patricia J. Hutchings

If we are looking at the world through the lens of what we have been taught, handed to us by others, who had it handed to them, how do we know how we authentically view our world, and therefore experience our daily lives?

The older I get (I am 48 years young writing this post), the more I realize it’s really all about me. I mean this in the way of taking personal responsibility for my choices, my behavior, the way I treat other people – and, perhaps most importantly of all – the way I choose to view the world, which is now based on my internal compass – not what someone else told or taught me. God-willing, I make this choice every day.

I thought I could change the world. It took me a hundred years to figure out I can’t change the world. I can only change Bessie. –Bessie Delany (written at age 104!)

I have been called many things in the past. (I’m referring here to the adjectives which may not be necessarily positive – beautiful, a brilliant smile which reaches your eyes, awesome butt, great legs, warm, honest, generous, etc. I am not referring to in this post.)

Transparent is one, even naïve, and I take that as a compliment.

Selfish is another. I did not take that so much as a compliment!

Yet, suddenly, I am learning that being “selfish” may be one of the best things any of us can do in regards to how we view the world, and therefore how we treat other people. Resentment never helps anyone. Ever.

Here is a simple text I recently sent to someone I deeply love and am in a close personal relationship with (while in the midst of recovering from an over two week head and chest flu:) “I simply want to eat when I am hungry. To sleep when I am tired. And to not have to explain being tired, or hungry, or sick…to another person. If this is selfish, I will take selfish.”

The cats I belong to, Lady Jane and Katie Mae.

Did you catch my post about animals and authenticity? The furry and feathered beings among us never need to have these conversations, which is why they are some of my greatest teachers!

I deeply encourage you to be extraordinarily “selfish” this week.

It…is…all…about…you.

Authentically Yours, Laura