get present, get happy: twelve ways to get present quickly

April 13, 2013 1:55 am , Leave a Comment ,

welcome to another day of endless possibilities

 

Saturday has become our designated self-love day and i love that, but this week I made the commitment to add a little self-love to every day. I found silence in the mornings, journaled in the evenings and took a little time to center in and just be with myself in whatever I was engaged in each day. Because of this, I had a seriously incredible week.

It’s amazing that when we take the time to love ourselves that we open up and find the space to share more with others and give more away. Self-love isn’t always about pampering. Pampering can be good (I definitely got a mani-pedi this week) but it is about so much more than that. It is about enjoying every moment for what it is. it’s about shifting focus away from future worries or past problems and delighting in whatever you are doing (or not doing) right then.

When you love yourself enough to know that you deserve happiness, and know that happiness is available to you all the time when present, than becoming present is non-negotiable. it is essential on the path to happiness.

{by paigesauer.com}

 

Twelve Quick Practices To Centering In & Getting Present:

1. Go outside and take a moment to think of nothing but how the sun feels on your skin. Notice the internal delight in the silent, still moment.

2. Read a book and get caught up in the pages.

3. Listen to music. Feel the music.

4. Workout without thinking much about how many minutes until you can stop. Feel each bead of sweat pour down your face. Be thankful for your legs.

5. Grab a blank piece of paper and write down everything on your mind. No filter. Give yourself permission to tell the truth about how you feel. Allow yourself to feel what it is you truly feel.

6. Be gentle with yourself when some of these things aren’t easy.

7. Forgive yourself quickly for not being so gentle.

8. Have a conversation with someone and really listen to the emotion and meaning behind what they are saying.

9. Give something away.

10. De-clutter a closet. Remind yourself that you are not the things you own.

11. At bedtime, feel the sheets on your skin. Notice the roof over your head. Fill your lungs with air. Acknowledge your breath and your life.

12. In your mind, come up with as many things as you can to be thankful for. Tell whatever you believe in, “Thank You.” Know you’ve done enough. Rest.

 

Enjoy your Saturday! Upload any self-love moments to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #selflovesat and join our Self Love Facebook Group: here.

 

 

Love to you all, always.

 

Xo, 

 

Amanda Frances

 

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from craziness to clarity

April 9, 2013 12:08 pm , Leave a Comment ,

The Situation

So we all have stuff we are going through – basically at all times. I know for me, I can get caught up in questions like, “Why am I going through this?” “Why is this still a problem?” “Shouldn’t I have this figured out by now?” And basically thoughts that indicate that I believe that something is innately wrong with me or this world and just get me tripped up in a crazy fear cycle of negative thoughts. Thoughts like that going through our mind do not serve us in any way and do not cause our situation to get any better. The most helpful thing I’ve learned to do when my brain is overloaded with nonsense is to shift my perception and to change each though to something that serves me.

So I had all this craziness in mind all day yesterday and decided in needed a shift in perspective. So this morning I did an exercise adapted from Day 4 of Gabby Bernstein’s book, May Cause Miracles. I made three columns on a page in my journal. I headed the first column, “The Situation I’m In” and wrote down what the perceived problem is.

{You can actually skip this step if you have already done some work around the issue and know what your underlying fear is in each situation}

 

The Fear.

So behind each thought is some sort of limiting belief or fear. Something about not having enough, being enough, getting enough, doing enough, etc.

So the second column is “Fear this Brings Up.” So that could be like, “Afraid of being alone,” “Afraid of not being loved,” “Afraid of not having enough” or whatever it is that is actually being triggered right now. Looking at this stuff can be kind of scary, but nothing bad comes from getting honest about what is really going on in you. Shinning a light on it and getting honest about it is always the first step to moving past it.

If you are new to doing this type of introspective work, you might need to take a minute to journal out more about the situation to get down to what the fear is. It can also be really cathartic to think back into our life and early years and see where this stuff comes from. We pick up a lot of things throughout our life and then based our beliefs about ourselves around it. Usually when we go back and look at the things that happened to us, they taught us ideas about ourselves that weren’t even true. Your older brother tells you your stupid when you’re a kid and years later you are still perceiving yourself as not the smartest at work. It can definitely be a lot more complex than that, but you know what I am talking about.

 

The Gratitude.

So normally when I’d do an exercise like this, my next step would be to shift my fear to something positive. A story that serves me and helps me to see the hope of the outcome that I trusts awaits me, but today, guided by May Cause Miracles, I decided to become thankful for each fear. So above my third column I wrote “Thankful” and wrote why each situation and the fear under it was actually something I could be grateful for. So this ended up being things like, “Shows me that I’m not over this situation and lets me know where I have work to do,” “Makes me remind myself that I innately loved and good enough and worthy of everything I want,” and “Makes me exam what I want and need in the area of friendships.”

 

The Point.

The point of all of this is that your difficult situations aren’t random. They are placed in your life right now, on purpose, because there are things you must learn before you can be ready for the good things life wants to bring you. Each thing you are going through is an assignment and it’s necessary to go through it, learn it and learn it well so that you can do and have all you want. So look into your drama, look at the fear it brings up, and get grateful for what it’s teaching you. The emotions and negativity around it will dissipate when you shift you focus and find the gratitude and positivity in each situation. You will even become present and happier with where you are at on your journey.

 

gratitude1

 

To moving through the crazy crap quickly and creating a life we love!

 

Xo,

Amanda Frances

 

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{you can do it}

March 25, 2013 5:21 pm , Leave a Comment ,

inspiration moments: school teacher turned multimillionaire author

There’s a secret in life most people don’t realize: people who change the world make it big because they refuse to give up on their dreams. They choose to believe that they can give up the good and go for the even better. Many household names, people who went on to do big huge things, are ordinary men and women who did not give up.

One of them, who you may know, started out as a high school English teacher in a small town in Maine.

This teacher had what most people would call a good, standard life. A wife, kids and a good job. As he taught his class each day, however, he could only think about one thing: He had a call of his heart which was not being fulfilled.

So after grading papers each night he’d sit at a typewriter and work on his novel. He finished the book and sent it out to publishers. I wish I could say that was the part where all his dreams came true.

Unfortunately, editors hated it – like, for real. He got no positive feedback at all.

But he was so sure of his dream and call of his heart that he kept going and after over 30 rejections letters, he was published.

He is now one of the most one of the most famous writers in the world. Not only has he published 63 bestsellers, over 50 movies have been created based on his books.

63 books. 50 movies. He is paid to do what he loves and is a multimillionaire.

So have you guessed who it is? . . . . . . . Stephen King.

And the book was “Carrie” – which has sold millions of copies in dozens of languages.

 

dreams

When I was reading about Stephen King earlier today, what stood out to me more than the reality that dreams do come true, was the power of perseverance and determination. Yes, I believe in taking the time to get clear about what you want and flowing through life, but as you start to know what you truly desire and as the vision becomes clearer, we must go for it. And not just go for it once a month or once a week, but day by day and moment by moment.

We must live our dreams in our mind, visualizing the outcome we desire and deserve as we go. We must act as though those vision are possible and are on their way.

We all want significance and to contribute to this world in a meaningful way, but some choose the idea that our dreams are too big and are unreachable.

This is a BIG, fat, stupid lie.

And it doesn’t have to be true if you don’t want it to be.

You do not have to believe the lie and go through life playing small.

Get clear about what you want, believe it can happen and take steps to make it so.

I love you, 

 

Amanda Frances

 

 

{This story was adapted from www.silvalifesystem.com - the photo is by designeditor}

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