Inner Adventurer

Do You Underestimate Your Impact?

Our upbringing teaches us to be humble creatures, to underplay our gifts, talents and strengths, not overpromise, boast, show off or to be too full of ourselves. These lessons can stifle some of the best parts of people.  

Inner Adventurers very often have a more difficult time with these things than other people. We find it hard to talk about ourselves or put our innermost thoughts and feelings into words and then share them with the world. It all seems to public and false. A related effect is that Inner Adventurers don’t realize their own worth.  

Yesterday, I had an amazing experience that reminded me of how simple it is to have an impact and realize that we all matter to someone. I had an errand to do at a place I’ve been many times and have developed a close rapport with the store manager. She’s an amazing woman and we had many a talk about our lives while I shop. One visit could turn into an hour or more of great stories and camaraderie.  

Suddenly this spring, she disappeared and all new people were in the store. My curiosity was strong, but I didn’t ask about her, feeling that I might bring up something hard to deal with for those who were there. Well, when I walked in yesterday, there she was like a breath of fresh air. We hugged – for the first time ever – as we hadn’t seen each other in what seemed like ages. 

I asked where she’d been only to find out that she died, was kept alive by a caring friend, then revived by talented EMTs and put back together by wonderful doctors over a 3 – 4 month period. The story was astonishing and as I listened to her, I felt tears in my eyes for all she’d been through.  

Then, she shared that she passed her months in bed recuperating by thinking about her customers. She said, “You don’t know how many times I thought of your face and felt inspired.” I heard and felt her words deeply. She was witnessing my power and reflecting it back to me.  

Despite the urge from upbringing to belittle her comment about my effect, I stood there quietly feeling proud for having had such an influence on her in a time of need. And it was all for just being who I am at my core. I felt my value so clearly and knew that this life doesn’t take all the work we put in to “being someone.” All it takes is being ourselves. 

I urge you today – that’s today, not tomorrow – to tell someone close to you what they mean to you. It may feel odd, but do it anyway. Then make it something you do on a regular basis to all those people who support you, who share with you, who love you and who you support, share with and love in return.  

As you do, feel your full impact on this world and your personal worth. This world needs you simply to be you. It’s the hardest thing in life to master, and it is possible! 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage

Feeling the Undertow, Avoiding the Overwhelm

Remember being at the beach, enjoying the sun and surf on the edge of the cooling water? The waves gently lick your toes. This nice spot soothes your mind so it can wander as you gently gaze at the horizon. You can let all your pressures dissolve and just be.

And then…you feel the sand moving under your feet. You quickly snap back into reality, feeling like you are going to fall backwards. Your escape into oblivion has ended so suddenly. 

I’ve just felt the undertow at work. August was supposed to be a month of rest for me. It hasn’t been at all. Yet, when you love what you do and who you serve, it is hard to stay away for too long. 

I’ve spent August designing a new series of tele-sessions which I’ll present this fall. And with other changes I’ve decided to make, which mean new content, new marketing and web site upgrades, all of a sudden it feels like too much. The undertow just hit and I felt like I was falling backward. 

That overwhelm feeling can be so disconcerting. I get physically jittery and can appear flustered. I’m mentally overloaded with too much to think about or keep track of. Then, if it stays long enough, my emotions go haywire. Luckily, I’m getting better at spotting it early that I haven’t been to that extent too often recently. 

Today, I caught it within a few hours of it starting. Whew! To lighten its heavy cloak, I turned to structures. Structures are my old ally, ready to lift me from any gloomy place. Knowing I had so much to handle, I sat down, free of distractions or interruptions, and wrote it all out on paper. I made a timeline of my important dates and next to each wrote the steps I still had to do to complete it all.  

Now I can see all I have to do. I’m not carrying it around with me in a jumble in my head. I can focus on each step, one at a time. It still feels like a lot to do, but I’ll take it one day at a time. 

Inner Adventurers know they don’t have to go it alone. They rely on structures to support them in difficult times. Sometimes, it is as simple as getting it all out of themselves on paper, perhaps in a journal. Other times, it is getting it all out of themselves to a trusted pal, maybe another Inner Adventurer who understands how they work. They understand that bottling it up harms them, and so the world.  

Inner Adventurers know how to ease the flow. How about you? 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage

Simpler Pleasures

I’m often confounded by how intrusive entertainment can be for most folks. Consider the average situations: television, internet web surfing, parties, bars, video games and others. Loud sounds, constant visual activity and continual motion are characteristic. Not my cup of tea, at all! 

I go for the less than obvious enjoyments instead. For instance, I’ve been on the patio the last few days watching hummingbirds. We recently added another feeder and changed the sugar water mixture in them. Now, dawn to dusk, over a dozen hummers on average entertain us. 

They hover, dart, dodge and chase one another as their instinctual protection of their food source is expressed. Their tiny bodies in perpetual motion, I’m amazed at their agility and maneuverability. What fun to witness so close up! 

So I became curious about their meaning to see the natural alignment of life at this moment. Native Americans and spiritual people believe their presence has meaning. The Internet told me that hummingbirds mean freedom, energy, tireless joy, and accomplishing things that are said to be impossible. Well, that fits because I’ve just finished designing a new series to be presented this fall. It looked nearly impossible at the outset and took lots of energy. I’m hoping it brings me that tireless joy, too.  

Inner Adventurers enjoy simpler pleasures than most people. We’re easily moved by music, art reading or other quieter pursuits. We visualize pictures with great detail and are readily moved by emotional meaning. We feel our entertainment at a visceral level. 

Simpler also means easy to find. It’s usually right in front of us and by being present, we absorb. We wonder at nature and animals. We melt witnessing a genuine act of kindness from one person to another. We are fascinated by what is and how exquisite it is without any adjustments. 

Which simpler pleasures move you? 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage

Isn’t It Just Easier To Accept?

Have you noticed resistance to accepting what is? It’s not you alone; it comes from everyone and exists everywhere. 

Part of our humanness is the strong desire to be in control. Somehow, that sense of control gives a reassuring feeling of power or security. Knowing those feelings, it becomes increasingly difficult to just let things be as they are, without any interference, even if things could be better that way.

Here are two current examples:

1. The great debate in the US these days is about health care reform. Much of what is being discussed is not real reform, in my opinion. It is simply massaging around what is already there, kind of like the coin under the shells game played at carnivals that intends to confuse you. 
   What if we just left things as they are and really put the focus on prevention of illness? Or made each of us personally responsible for our own health and wellbeing? That would be true reform! 
2. Did you hear about the upcoming swine flu vaccinations? There is talk about it being mandatory or else one would be subject to quarantine? In other words, if you didn’t take the vaccination, you could jeopardize your ability to earn a living!
   Why not accept that people get sick and sometimes die? We could just let the flu virus be and allow time for the natural antibodies to develop within us. Or work to boost our own immune systems. 

Each of these situations gives you a flavor of the leading line of thought: that man can intervene and do better than what simply is. Do I need to remind anyone of all the times humans have intervened and actually made things worse? Just one example is the swine flu vaccine of the 1970’s which gave people Guillain-Barre syndrome.  

Inner Adventurers appreciate that it is often foolhardy to resist what is. It’s not that we collapse in the face of opposition or crumble at the witness of force. It’s simply that we see the gifts to be opened within each event or experience. By resisting any of it, those gifts are kept from us, too. 

Our manner of being is a quietude that allows things to be as they are. We scan for what is present, accepting all there is without questioning or without feeling the urge to make changes. If something needs adjustment in the longer run, we act to enable that to be.  

This willingness to withstand some of the structural tension of life makes us unique. Revel in your uniqueness today. 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage

Where Is Truth?

Everyone faces fear. Life is not about whether you avoid fear or not. Instead, life is about what you do when you face it. 

Any of us can wonder “What do I do now?” when we are in a place that we’ve not experienced before. That’s when fear comes into the picture. 

Fear is a product of your subconscious mind, where the memory of every experience you’ve ever had is stored. This part of your brain is like a giant file cabinet with the speed of the Internet.  

You have an experience in the present moment. It is evaluated by your conscious and subconscious minds. Zoom! The subconscious mind comes back with another experience from your past which is feels in similar. Quite amazing, huh? 

So, fear is only a signal that very often relates to a past experience. Perhaps you’ve heard this often-cited definition for FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real. That’s what the subconscious mind brings you at times.  

The system is far from faulty. Does that similar experience really relate to the one you have now? Perhaps. Without awareness, one can take whatever it comes up with as the truth and choose an erroneous action. 

Inner Adventurers realize these faults and proceed watchfully. Often times, our delay to act can be seen by others as being overly cautious or too prudent. So what if we don’t pounce? Yes, it might cost us in the short run, but it definitely safeguards our integrity. 

So what does the Inner Adventurer do? Here’s what I have seen work well:

• Take fear as an advisory message. Be grateful you have the signal, but hold off from believing it as truth just yet.
• Relate its advisory to the present circumstance. What is similar? What is different? Chances are the biggest difference is YOU and your capabilities to handle life.
• Scan the situation for what else could be true. Become aware of what is present now that wasn’t in the previous situation. What difference do those things make?
• Choose for yourself in this moment. At times, that can mean intentionally going against the fear signal you received. Other times, you have validated its warning. 

Another way to deal with fear in order to find truth is working your way through the InnerVantage 4-Step Cycle. Each step helps you peel away false evidence and beliefs that may not relate to what you are living now. Its final step is focused, aligned action. Each previous step gently leads you to integrity and action without fear because you have found what is true for you.  

So where can you find truth? It is within you. 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage

Relating To This Present Moment

Today’s post is in a bit of a different vein. You’ll get my drift as you read on. 

August is intended to me a slower month for me – relaxing in those lazy, hazy days of summer. Well, the first week hasn’t worked out that way. I’ve got some exciting projects I’m working on for the fall and I’ve loved working on them. It gets thrilling to see ideas come into being. We Inner Adventurers surely love our ideas! 

And yesterday was my regular hiking day. It was a great jaunt for everyone there, except it was longer than we had planned. So today, my body is aching around the torso and hips from overdoing it. For those of us who are highly sensitive, it is simply uncomfortable to have discomfort. It robs us of so much more than other types, like our focus. 

I thought you’d like to see the 4-Step Cycle in work around this smaller, immediate issue:

Step 1 – Integrity: To be honest with myself, I’m not up to par today and I can’t ignore it.

Step 2 – Awareness: I know where this came from and I was happy to do the hike, so I’ll have to live with my consequence. But if I ignore this and put in a full day, it will continue to bother me. I don’t want that to happen.

Step 3 – Acceptance: What do I have to accept? For one thing, I’m not getting younger and I have to accept my aging body. I appreciate all it does for me, how it takes me to grand places for fabulous experiences. Another thing to accept is that in this moment, I must rest more instead of work, doing what is best for me physically.

Step 4 – Focused, Aligned Action: Today, I’m trying to keep moving so I don’t stiffen up or aggravate my already sore parts. My awareness is invested in each movement, consciously balancing the effort of right and left sides. I’m using heat to ease the muscles while sending gratitude and kindness to my entire body for all it does for me. And my husband, Jim, has been a big support by taking over more than he usually does. 

Isn’t it amazing how you can adopt this Cycle to nearly anything? You can run down the 4-Steps and create what is best for the present moment. As you practice on the smaller items, it gets easier and easier to use it on your more involved ones. 

Enjoy the 4-Step Cycle for yourself! 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage

Afraid of Acceptance?

How strange, but true! Many of us are simply afraid to accept all of who we are. 

I have talked with some folks who are too fearful to even look inside themselves. What they’ve described to me is that they think they will see something more terrible than what one can see in a horror film. They believe there is nothing but nasty and evil parts within them. 

Now, none of us is perfect. We each have our faults and shortcomings. But we become even more focused on them as we learn to make it in this world. Look at where it a lot of it comes from: our education system and our business culture.  

Education homogenizes each unique child. We’re molded to fit some pre-established norm instead of allowing each child to fill his own form with the gifts and talents he or she possesses. At work, performance reviews point to our weaknesses rather than augmenting our strengths and potential. We are fitted to the job description without allowing all that we are to shine. 

So we are subtlely taught to resist all that we are and to underplay our natural capacities. Living life this way, our greatness stagnates.  

Flip the coin over. What if you dropped the resistance and denial to embrace every part of you? What could that bring you? 

I chuckle as I write this because this is where I get more resistance from my clients. Their resistance has become such a pattern that they don’t know who they would be without it or how to act. And, they continue, it would be fruitless to accept what you don’t want, wouldn’t it? 

Well, that’s partially true. Yes, you do have to be willing to establish new patterns for yourself by experimenting. Letting go of habits is not easy for some, but it still is possible. That’s where my support for my clients can be a critical factor in their success.  

No, it’s not futile to accept something you don’t want. You see, it is in the acceptance that you get the strength to influence what you don’t want. Said another way, what you resist persists because you are not acknowledging it. Only when you accept do you get the magical powers that allow you to work on it. 

Inner Adventurers seem to have more courage than most people I’ve known. They are willing to look at all they are, even the unattractive parts, because they know it gives them more freedom. They are also eager to excavate whatever is holding them back from being the spirit they choose to be.  

What one part of you can you start to accept today? 

For more of what Sarah has to offer about living an inner-inspired life, visit InnerVantage