Introduction
By Rev. Loretta Pickford, CPCC - Magnificent Journey Coaching and Consulting Services
Martin Luther King, Jr. said "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." I am pleased to bring this series of articles to introduce you to a process for actively moving from a life of chaos to a life filled with peacefulness and joy. As the quote highlights, you must choose peace as a way of being in order to experience peace in your life. That is the power of choice. And, as each individual chooses peace in their life, we take one step closer to world peace.
Chaos
Chaos shows up in our physical, mental and emotion worlds. It shows up when we try over and over again to achieve a result and we continue to fail. The over stimulation and high demands of society today creates chaotic energy that depletes our resources. Roadblocks appear, things don’t happen as planned, and our dreams go unanswered.
Our inner peace evaporates into the air of stress, tension and mental chatter.
The Five Steps to Inner Peace are:
- · Observe
- · Shift
- · Clarity
- · Self-Care
- · Celebrate
The Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction works when you have clarity and when you take action. The Five Steps to Inner Peace moves you to clarity, through action and into celebration. Simply thinking positive and asking for what you want is not enough. Our subconscious minds are in control and affirmations, positive thought, and other techniques at the conscious level often do not permeate the unconscious to make the shifts necessary for significant change. To truly create the life you desire, you must examine the core of your thoughts and feelings – Observe. Then you must change those thoughts, beliefs, and choices that are not serving you – Shift. Now you are ready to get clear on your goals and execute an action plan – Clarity. Along the way it is critical to practice Self-Care and Celebrate the journey.
Next month you will learn how to become your own inner observer and begin your journey to inner peace. The first step is to answer the following questions. Take some time and write out the answers.
- What is my chaos? Where do I experience the feeling of chaos in my life?
- What is my vision for Inner Peace?
See you next month!
Stop The Chaos: Five Step to Inner Peace
Part 2 - November 2007
Observe
Last month I provided an overview of how chaos shows up in your life and how the law of attraction works when you have clarity and you take action toward that which you desire. This month we will focus on the first of the five steps to inner peace: Observe. To truly create the life you desire, you must examine the core of your thoughts and feelings. Becoming your own observer is the fundamental key to making changes in your life. Until you observe your behaviors, thoughts, and patterns, you are unconscious to what is driving your life.
Being the Observer is like standing outside you and noticing what is happening. It is watching your life like a movie. What are you doing? How do you feel about it? What emotions show up? Why do you make certain choices? What are the recurring thoughts that play in your head like a song? When do you hear yourself say “should” and “have to”?
Steps to Become the Observer
We all have thoughts and emotions of fear, resistance, joy, happiness, hate, love, criticism, blame, anger, punishment, anticipation, excitement and hundreds more. As you observe, you’ll see how these emotions are impacting your life. Then you will be able to determine which thoughts and emotions that are not serving you and make clear, conscious choices on what you want to think and how you want to feel.
Step 1: Just observe - Become conscious of your thoughts, decisions, and reactions. Take note and just observe. Do not judge or react. Pay special attention to the recurring thought patterns.
Step 2: Journal the predominant or significant thoughts and patterns you observe. Write as much as you can about the thought, the feelings, and any emotion around it.
Step 3: Identify the characteristics of the different “voices”. They may be loud, strong, angry, soft, or loving. Some may come with a distinct physical reaction or emotion.
Step 4: Simply the act of observing begins the change process. Notice if some of the initial thoughts begin to fade away or have less impact as you observe.
Step 5: Be gentle with self – tenderness and patience are key.
Keeping a journal during this stage is critical. By journaling what you observe, you will begin to see patterns and this provides critical information to prepare you for the Shift step. For a detailed description of the steps to become the observer, go to www.magnificentjourney.net to download the special report “Becoming The Observer”.
Stop The Chaos: Five Step to Inner Peace
Part 3 - December 2007
Shift
Last month we talked about becoming your own observer. How did you do? Pretty amazing what you see when you decide to look. Be gentle and accepting of yourself and anything that comes up as you continue to observe. It is a life-long tool.
As you observed I’m sure you noticed your inner critic, resistance, and fears, along with happy times and joy. The next step is to make a conscious decision to shift those things you observed that you determined are not serving you. Shifting is about turning off the autopilot, creating a heightened awareness of how you are operating and beginning to do things differently. The five key areas for shifting are: self-talk, beliefs, choices, self-doubt and people.
Reframing
The main tool for shifting is reframing. Reframing is about seeing a present or past situation differently. It is about turning a negative thought into a positive thought. And, it’s about making a different choice when presented with a familiar situation. Reframing is about making choices that empower you, rather than being a victim at the effect of a person or situation. Most of the beliefs that are running your life today were created when you were a child. This means, you are living at the affect of your past environments and the interpretations of a child. As you begin to look at the patterns in your life and the beliefs that drive your actions and choices, you will clearly see the opportunities to shift.
Although our past does not predict our future, it often is the driving force behind it. Experiences are viewed through the “frames” of past experiences and the decisions you made about them. Reframing, then, is expanding your perceptions by providing a new frame through which to view a life situation. It is changing the way you perceive an experience thereby changing the meaning of the situation. When you change the meaning of the experience, your response to it and your behavior also changes. Every moment of every day, there is opportunity to see things in another way.
Step 3 is Clarity and it is about moving into action to build a life driven by inner peace instead of chaos. Shifting is necessary to create a new foundation on which to build. Without the shifts, you will simply create what appears to be a new house on the old foundation. In time, you will see that the “new” house looks just like the old one. Continuing to observe and making new decisions in your life will build that new foundation and create the peacefulness you desire.
Stop The Chaos: Five Steps to Inner Peace
Part 4 – January 2008
Clarity
Last month we talked about shifting and when you shift from victim to intentional creation, your energy rises to a new level and the world around you looks different. People respond to you differently and you begin to manifest what you desire.
Now it is time to get clear on what you truly want and begin to take action to create it. Remember, the Law of Attraction works when you have clarity and when you take action in alignment with that clarity.
First, you must get clear on where you are now. If you were charting a course to Seattle, you would need to know your starting point. The same is true for personal development. You must be honest about the aspects of your life today and how you feel about them. Then, you can create realistic goals and intentions and create a roadmap for the journey to the destination called joy and inner peace.
Two key concepts to look at in your life are balance and fulfillment. Balance is a state of equilibrium or equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. When we talk about life balance we look at an equal distribution of time, energy and resources to the different areas of life. The most important thing to remember about life balance is that it is always in motion. Life is dynamic, therefore life balance is dynamic. It only exists in the midst of action. You are either moving toward balance, away from balance or through it. Balance requires consistent, conscious and controlled motion.
Fulfillment is the state or quality of being fulfilled through completion or realization. To fulfill is carry out, to perform, or to satisfy. Again, when we apply this idea to life, it becomes more of a process than a destination. In life, it is about being fulfilled and not attaining fulfillment. Our materialistic society has programmed us to think that we need things in order to be fulfilled: cars, houses, iPods, high profile jobs, the perfect partner….. These things are part of life today. We do desire them. And, the material possessions and accomplishments are not what creates fulfillment.
Having things is momentary and the satisfaction is fleeting. Fulfillment is about being fully alive, living in the moment and being the full expression of who you are. The key is to know what you desire and moving toward it. When that happens, you are fulfilled because you are honoring yourself and creating what you want.
To assist you in getting clarity, I’ve added a free 2008 Goal Planning Guide to my website. Simply go to www.magnificentjourney.net to download the guide. It will walk you through a review your 2007 successes, assessment of where you are today and goal setting for 2008 and beyond. Take advantage of this great tool to create your vision for 2008! Happy New Year!
Stop The Chaos: Five Steps to Inner Peace
Part 5 – February 2008
Self-Care
Self-Care is about being “centered on self” as a means to ensuring that you always have the capacity to be of service to the other people in your life and your chosen activities. If you constantly give – give – give and never stop to recharge, you create intense burn-out. Self-Care is about giving you the love and care that you need to always have a fully charged battery. It is looking within for nourishment, love, validation and fulfillment. It is learning to receive. It is asking for help when going it alone does not make sense and a helping hand would be joyful. Center on self also means taking responsibility for all your choices and actions – checking out of victimland. Bottom line, self-care begins and ends with you. It is your responsibility to ensure you get the nurturing you need.
The first step in self-care is to carve out “Me Time”. Me Time is about dedicating time in your schedule to completely focus on you, your personal/spiritual development and things that bring you joy. One “Me Time” activity that I consider essential is daily meditation. Many people begin a meditation practice, get frustrated and quit because they cannot still the mind. Since going from monkey mind to a completely still mind is a large leap, it is important to start with techniques that will bring you success. There are many options you can explore.
The other aspect of “Me Time” is allocating time for activities that bring you pleasure. What do you truly love to do that you have not done in a long time? What are the things that bring you joy? Schedule a “Me Time” date with yourself at least once a week. You may need to take something off your schedule to reallocate the time to you. And you are worth it. You deserve it. You have to have it.
The other major area of self-care is the “No” School. Think of a time when you said “yes” to something when you really wanted to say “No”. How often does this occur for you? The message here is short – start saying no when you want to say no. Honor yourself, negotiate as needed and stand your ground. Do things for others because you want to. That is different. You want to do it for them, so you are consciously saying “yes”. The time to shift is when you are doing something simply because you do not have the courage to say no.
In summary, self-care is about saying “Yes” to the things that bring you joy and fulfillment. Things that fill you up. And, it is about saying “No” to things that drain you. It is fundamentally about balance.
Stop The Chaos: Five Steps to Inner Peace
Part 6 – March 2008
Celebrate
The last step in the Five Steps to Inner Peace is Celebrate. I believe we do not celebrate enough! Part of my mission is to help people see success in all things and to celebrate those successes – great and small. And, I intend to change your thoughts on failure. Yes, I want you to celebrate failures. I was told many years ago that if you are not failing regularly, you are not taking enough risks and are limiting your potential to succeed. Interesting thought!
So, let’s celebrate more. Celebrate each day for the blessing that it is. Albert Einstein said “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.” I suggest living as if everything is a miracle and celebrate every miracle.
Gratitude is a form of celebration and a powerful force in your life. When you are grateful for what you have, you are in positive energetic alignment for attracting more goodness into your life. Gratitude is the simple act of being aware of what you are experiencing, being in non-resistance and expressing your appreciation. A magnificent tool for increasing your joy and fulfillment is to write down five things for which you are grateful every day. Put different things on the list each day. Try it and see how your life expands.
Celebrate Success: This one is easy. The key is to feel the success at your core and to take the time to internalize the value the success has for you. Look back upon the journey that created the success. Remember what it took to get there and celebrate each step.
Celebrate Failure: Choose to shift your definition of failure to one that motivates and inspires you. Celebrate mistakes. Learn from them. Be grateful for the experience and move forward with the “What do I create from here?” attitude. Also, adopt the perspective that all things are in perfect order. This means that there is no good or bad, success or failure. It’s all in divine order and on purpose for your forward momentum and growth.
Celebrate Change: The old adage “The only thing consistent in life is change” holds true. How you deal with change can predict your level of stress. If you resist change, you will have a very stressful life. You are paddling upstream. If you embrace and celebrate change, you flow with life and will have a much more peaceful, joyful and creative experience.
Celebrate You: Go forth and live your life in celebration of the magnificence of you and who you are becoming with each moment that passes.
This completes the series Stop The Chaos: Five Steps to Inner Peace. Stay tuned for more inspiration as a new series begins next month.
