I came into this world with childlike innocence and wonder, trusting everyone and everything. Then at some point my world view began to change, it was no longer safe to simply be me. I started to judge myself based on the expectations and judgement of others. I started to compare myself to others and in this comparison made myself wrong. This inner story snowballed and silently affected my experiences and relationships. Then one day I started to question this story. Does this sound familiar?

I believe that we are here on this earth to experience being human. At the same time as we are being human, we are also uncovering our spirituality. An interesting paradox to live and experience. We look to teachers and positive messages to guide us and return us to wholeness. My observation is that in the process we are striving for perfection in a "spiritual" way which creates a different level of stress and imbalance. We may notice all that we are "not" as we seek spiritual growth and self awareness. 

Over the years it has become easier to openly share my stories and my fears and feel like I have nothing to hide. While this is my truth, it is most certainly not everyone's truth. I had forgotten how difficult it can be to share with others and be vulnerable. Creating a safe space where authentic sharing and reflection can happen is a real passion of mine. Fire represents the intense courage and risk required to be authentic, open and present in our interactions. When the person you are speaking to opens their heart and lets down their shield a different fire begins

What if I told you that the key to being at peace in the world is within your reach? Do you want to unplug from all the drama that you experience or witness in your life? Do you want to understand your reactions to people or situations in your life? I know those questions sound a bit like a commercial is coming your way.... I promise that if you read on this article will contain the answers to set you free.

So first a little bit of teaching. Carl Jung first gave us the term "shadow" to refer to those parts of our personality that have been rejected out of fear, ignorance, shame or lack of love. His basic notion of the shadow was simple: "the shadow is the person you would rather not be" (excerpt from Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford) Here are some

Have you ever worked with someone that has an impact on you the moment they arrive at work? They don't say or do anything and yet immediately the energy of the space shifts. It is a reminder that we can have an energetic impact and we may be misinterpreting what we are feeling. So let me share a personal story with you about energy. 

I worked  in restaurants for years and have always been sensitive to the energy of a room. A number of years ago,

There is a burning desire / need within me that for the most part is going unmet. I apologize in advance, this might be a bit of an honest rant. The deal is, that I am totally human and perfectly imperfect. For example, in regards to this Blog post, my inner critic had a bit of a field day. Write it , don't write it. You are a hypocrite if you write that. You won't be teaching anything, it's just a rant. Back and forth. 

Thank you to my friend for inspiring this post! For me personally, Owning Your Voice has been my journey, and at this point on that journey, I am sharing what I have learned. I tend to do so, from a voice that is intended to inspire others. Yet, there is another side to all of this that is very important to acknowledge. Every point of wisdom, was born from an experience and awareness of the opposite. I had a manager once who said to me, "You are exactly where you need to be on your learning journey". 

We are emotional beings, we are sensitive and we have feelings. We have the ability to "feel" a broad range of emotions, that range from shame, guilt and fear all the way to peace, love and joy. Our bodies are like a radio antenna, picking up a signal and sending it to our brain, which then sends a feeling to our body. What we feel and experience can be overwhelming and scary, depending on the situation. It is a natural response to suppress or push away something that feels uncomfortable, unpleasant or unfamiliar. I believe, that our bodies are 100% accurate in the messages they are trying to send us, in regards to our emotions.

Last week, I went to a talk about "Issues  in Adolescence" and as information was being shared, I had this growing awareness / idea. We are emotional beings, yet I don't recall anyone giving me permission to be emotional until I started training as a life coach at the age of 36. Although as I grew up, I do remember being told things like; "don't cry in public" or "don't be angry" or "don't be so loud" or "don't cry" or "be strong" etc etc. As a species, we have evolved very quickly and we still have primal instincts such as fight or flight, which is a response to fear. A dog's response to fear is to growl, which is a natural / necessary response to danger. It is instinctual, for a dog to growl or bark. I think we as human beings, have become disconnected, from our natural emotions and instead of feeling them we are suppressing them, because we don't know what else to do.