Tag Archives: sacred

Honouring the Sacred

It is 1st September 2010 today. On this day 20 years ago our youngest girl was born. “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale was my bible, and together with my thermos of peppermint tea and relaxing music, I was confident that the process ahead of me would be as relatively uncomplicated as that of her siblings births. Little did I know that this was not to be the case. Her entry into this world was forced, lengthy and painful.  She was born almost 4 weeks early and was not impressed with the world around her and took quite some time to adjust.

As I reflect back on those 20 years, I am amazed at how much our lives have changed… If someone had told me of the experiences that lay ahead, I would not have believed that I would be living the life I am today. With a deeper sense of self love and acceptance now running through my veins I am better equipped to make sense of me, my world and those around me. In the past, I have been known to hold my breath waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and call me a fraud.

I no longer do that, as I realise now that so many of us have been affected by ‘stinkin thinkin’ and ‘borrowed beliefs’. All too often we allow our thinking to remain on ‘auto pilot’ and keep our thoughts in a state of avoidance or denial. Some of us do this until we leave our bodies, some of us have a ‘health crisis’, some of us ‘see the light’ and some of us just have that deep down nagging suspicion of something not quite being ‘right’ or ‘enough’.

I am convinced that the art of deconstructing our ‘stinkin thinking and borrowed beliefs’ paves the way for us to tell our stories and make better sense of them. I also believe that this paving is what strengthens our internal road map and compacts the way forward. You see, once we know new information, we can never unknow that information.

On reflection, I now know that due to the mess in my head back then, I intellectually gained little from “The Power of Positive Thinking” all those years ago. However, what I drew great strength in knowing was that there was another way. As an eternal seeker with Faith in my heart,  and an unquenchable thirst for learning, I realised that I didn’t need to be affiliated with any dogma or religion to find my pack and claim my space. While it has taken me all these years to finally be comfortable in my own head and heart I am grateful to the many who have helped me along the way, and for all that I have done that has bought me to this sacred space. I wonder where my head and heart will be in another 20 years time?

End of First Boot Camp for Beliefs 33 Day Challenge

This Challenge has proven to be an astonishing experience for everyone who involved. 136 people signed up on www.gratitudelog.com to participate in a series of self reflective activities designed to explore beliefs and their validity. Clear expectations from the outset of the Challenge outlined the importance of participants taking 100% responsibility for the way in which they engaged in Boot Camp; the importance of self care, self pace, self love and the honouring of sacred space being held for everyone; no judging, point scoring or assessing other than self reflections were encouraged. True inspiration came through the depth of sharing as participants chose to post their responses over the 33 days. Facilitated questions evoked deeper thinking and further sharing, which in turn prompted even more questions… Attention to self kindness was a mandate and likewise proved to be insightful for so many who had never contemplated self talk in such a way before BC… This inward journey of self reflection in an emotionally safe environment had participants making the following comments:
It is an effortful process, but is increasingly becoming effortless at quite a quick pace, and I am loving the experiencing of this shift, which is so powerful because it is really really freeing me up to just be, live, and let life unfold with a smile!

Thanks for reminding us: ~ it’s not what happens around us that matters, it’s how we manage ourselves that matters the most ~

This has been a safe & sacred space for me & the other Boot Campers. And it wouldn’t have been possible without our wonderful lead warrior setting the example, the pace, the space & the parameters!