This is a beautiful article from a wonderful friend about the importance of nurturing yourself…

It’s in the quiet that we hear the answers. It’s in the moment of silence that we feel the knowing.

Are you able to sit down, quiet your mind and listen to your truth?

Today I turned off the stereo, ignored the phone. I sat down to find the stillness. A project needing to be finished, grabbed my attention. Another excuse not to silence my mind. Yet, the lack of outside noise did allow me to focus, to concentrate, to make serious progress toward the completion of a task at hand.

But, the truth is, I need to find time to listen to the quiet. I know I do. What about you?

Apparently, the Universe will find a way to get you to listen, even when you say you will, but don’t. In my life it always shows up the same way. I usually have to end up in the hospital, attached to tubes, plugs, machines…none of which are connected to my computer or my iPhone. I have no choice but to stay still. I even have to ask for a nurse or someone to help me go to the bathroom. Wow! Can you believe I’d manifest all of this to make room for quiet in my life?

This past week, I found a lump under my arm. It was 3:50 in the morning on February 3rd. I looked at the clock, and said out loud, “Are you kidding me?” My life shifted in an instant. In the stillness of the early morning, I stood, alone, in my kitchen and knew why this was happening. It was time for me to slow down and reflect.
What is most important to me? What is my soul’s purpose? What really matters? What am I doing with my life?

I’ve been hearing whispers for months, but keep choosing to ignore them. I tell myself, “I’ll start painting and writing as soon as I finish this next project, the next event, the next, the next, the next.” But, I haven’t.

My heart has been telling me to focus on my writing, my art, enjoy my time with my husband and kids, but I refuse to listen. I’m afraid to give up everything I’ve been creating and the business I’ve been building. I don’t want to look like I’m quitting. I find work harder, push more, in hopes that the more time I put in, the faster I’ll reach the finish line. And, then, I will have time for my writing, my art, my family.

I’m not trusting myself and my inner knowing of what is right for me. I’m letting other people’s whispers influence me, when I know, with all my heart and soul, their way is right for them, but not my authentic way. I honor their space, but must trust my intuition and my journey.

I love talking makeup, hair, and style. It’s what I’ve done for 25 years. But I know, none of it matters in the long run. It’s not just about the makeup, it never has been. It’s always been about so much more. Of course, there is a time and place for lip gloss, hairspray and shoes. But, they are not what make a beautiful life.

I’ve been gone too long….headed in the wrong direction. Or, maybe, the right direction, wrong road. It’s time for me to get back to what’s real. It’s time for me to get back to the core, to my authenticity. The woman who cries when she’s scared, the woman who knows she’s meant to paint and write, the woman who adores her children and is watching them grow up too quickly. The woman, who dearly loves and appreciates having a wonderful friend for more than 24 years and has been blessed to be able to call him “my husband” for 20 of those years.

I realized that I needed to listen to what I know I am meant to do. I see the potential in others, with or without makeup. I inspire others to follow their dreams, in high heels or sneakers. There is so much talk today about authenticity, personal branding, and personal style. I’ve created an entire business which helps women see their real beauty, so that they can reach their dreams. But, in the midst of creating what I knew I could, a business about image and style, I set my dreams on the bookcase next to my desk.

Dozens of books on writing, art, creativity, inspiration, beauty and style stacked just inches away from me everyday. Thirty plus, years of journals, filled with writings, musings, sketches, quotes, images I want to paint. It seems like it would be easier to do what you’re comfortable doing. Just stick to what you know and all will be okay. Not so! In fact, it’s harder, and more difficult not follow your heart.

The Universe wants to get my attention. Tomorrow, I will head to the hospital at 5:30 in the morning. I know that no matter what happens, I will do what I must. I will do only what matters. I will listen to my heart. I am done pushing. I AM WRITING. And, I’m letting go of the outcome. I’m letting go of whether it will be good, or whether it will matter, or whether it will make me money.

Clarity. Reality. Authenticity.

This is my new direction. We can create whatever we want or need in this lifetime. It’s up to us to make up our mind to listen and follow the whispers of intuition guiding us forth.

Living a beautiful life means taking care of yourself. Being true to what you believe. Living a beautiful life means trusting yourself and listening to your body. Living a beautiful life means following your heart.

Have you been setting a part of you on a shelf? What are you rescheduling, setting aside, deferring, or putting on the back burner?

I will do whatever I need to do to bring congruency into my life. I know I will march forth into the fear of the unknown, the uncertain, and embrace every moment, every smile, every whisper, every tear, every hug. And every little bit of laughter.

I hope you’ll do the same.

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A beautiful video created by five interfaith/interspiritual ministers from two seminaries:

Please share!

Patricia

When Patricia told me the topic of her article this week (click here to read), I couldn’t believe the synchronicity! I had just received an email from our reunion coordinator of my graduating class from the Leonia, NJ High School. What is relevant about that is that she included a link to www.PalisadesPark.com which was the amusement park, at least in the eastern U.S, for many years, shutting its doors in 1979. It was located on the “palisades”, the cliffs of NJ overlooking the Hudson River to New York City.

I immediately went to the link, and memories of wonderful times spent with family and friends when I was growing up, came flooding in. So what does this all have to do with “letting go”, Patricia’s topic for this week?

Perhaps you can join me in recalling those ‘rides’ that seemed like an enormous challenge when you were a kid. I had two of those in Palisades Amusement Park that scared the devil out of me, and yet I was somehow attracted to them. The first was a very tall (it seemed like it then) circular swing whose chairs almost went horizontal when it reached its top speed. This ride was located right at the edge of the cliff, so that when it was at its full arc, it felt as if I were out over the cliff!!

The second ride was the roller coaster, of course constructed of wood and painted white with its peaks and valleys and undulations; the largest in the world at the time.

I approached each ride in a state of fear; thinking it would be easier to stay on the safe terra firma. We all have been there… we want to rise to the challenge, yet the taught throat and the weak knees seem to get the best of us. Then somehow, we get the courage to get on the ride.

With white knuckles, clenched teeth, cramped muscles from holding on tight, the ride slowly starts. Then, at some point, something within me “lets go”. The motion of the swing circling around, even if it felt like it was out over the cliff, is calming to my fear.

The “click, click” of the gears as the cars of the roller coaster make their ascent to the first and highest hill accentuate my state of being frozen with fear. As we approach the apex and slip over the top, I “let go”, screaming with delight as we speed toward the next dip.

We all have had many experiences of letting go. The terra firma always feels safer, but if we remain there, we don’t experience the joy that comes with “letting go”…

Love and Blessings!

Ruth

When contemplating the topic for my article this week, I had difficulty tapping into the source of my creativity.  Then I heard the words of one of my business mentors, echoing in my ears… “I want you to rest and take a bubble bath as your assignment this week.”  “Yea, right”, I responded in my thoughts… “Not with what I have to do!”

How often, as women and spiritual leaders do we run out of gas?  A common reaction when we feel overwhelmed with responsibilities is to “gear up”; to do whatever it takes to complete what we have to accomplish.

As we have experienced, what usually happens is the “springs pop out”, the project is done to less than our standards, and we often wind up pulling our hair out!!  We all know there is a better way.  Perhaps simple, yet not easy to follow, if we are entrenched in the automatic, often unconscious patterns that we employ to deal with demands.

Every spiritual tradition of which I am aware is replete with stories around rest and retreat.  The Jews honor the Sabbath, the peoples of the indigenous religions engage in vision quests and other rituals which facilitate their “coming apart” from their day-to-day responsibilities.  Muslims and the sages of the ‘Eastern’ spiritual traditions, too, had their times of retreat.

“Come unto me all you who are weary and of heavy burden, and I will give you rest”…

What an irresistible invitation!!!  Come, weary ones, heavy with the responsibilities of serving a congregation, of ministering to the people who come to you for guidance and healing, of juggling the demands of running a home and nurturing a family, and I will give you rest…

How can we respond to the invitation to rest?

1.    Practicing awareness of our energy levels.  What are your individual warning signals that you may be getting low on ‘fuel’?

2.    Practicing saying ‘no’ more than you say ‘yes’.  So often our ‘yes’ responses to a request are automatic.  Once we regularly employ examining what we have been asked to do in light of what we’ve already committed to, it will become clear that a ‘no’ isn’t a bad word.

3.    Observing our thoughts.  Are they accelerating?  Are they into the future with ‘all that you have to do’?  If so, it’s a good sign that you are already approaching ‘circuit overload’.

4.    Take 10 minutes to sit with a notebook and identify a number of places (a quiet place in your home or yard), people (a trusted friend, your toddler), things (music, art, a pet, inspirational writings) that give you a sense of rest; of being ‘apart’, and commit to engaging with those when you feel yourself getting to that state of ‘overwhelment’.

5.    Identify a support system, flesh it out, and commit to calling on it when you experience your stress levels rising.

6.    Practice being in the present moment… moment to moment.

7.    How about your bed for a good night’s sleep?

This article was written by Ruth Reiner, Interfaith Minister, Spiritual Counselor, Coach and Co-founder of www.IAWSL.com

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