Tag: self improvement

Sep25

Courage to do Hard Things!

by Cheryl Brewster

Ahoy, courageous voyager!

Welcome back to another inspiring edition of weekly inspiration. I love the archetypal energy of the Inner Pirate as metaphor for triumph. It’s easy to stay inspired when things are going well, but when hard things come along, massive courage is required. It’s worth looking to some of history’s greatest leaders who embodied the pirate archetype to inspire change, reshape the world, and make a positive impact.

1. Nelson Mandela – The Compassionate Buccaneer: Mandela’s unwavering commitment to ending apartheid in South Africa is testament to his courage. He faced imprisonment for 27 years but emerged stronger, not bitter. He used diplomacy and forgiveness as his weapons, proving that courage can change an entire nation.

2. Eleanor Roosevelt – The Fearless Captain: As the First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt was a trailblazer for human rights. She fearlessly championed causes like civil rights, gender equality, and children’s welfare. Her tenacity reminds us that true leaders never shy away from difficult battles.

3. Mahatma Gandhi – The Peaceful Privateer: Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance against British rule in India transformed the world. His courage to stand up for justice through peaceful means inspires us to navigate turbulent seas with grace and determination.

4. YOU – The Brave One: “When I am weak, then I am strong” means believing that the divine power within you is greater than any challenge you face, and choosing to live that strength in the moment. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Leaders remind us that courage isn’t about wielding swords or hoisting flags; it’s about fearlessly embodying the courage of spiritual transformation to bring positive change in the face of adversity, into our inner and outer worlds.

🚢 “Courage to me is doing something daring, no matter how afraid, insecure, intimidated, alone, unworthy, incapable, ridiculed or whatever other paralyzing emotion you might feel. Courage is taking action….no matter what. So you’re afraid? Be afraid. Be scared silly to the point you’re trembling and nauseous, but do it anyway!”
― Richelle E. Goodrich

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Sep03

Synchronicity: the hidden language of FLOW

by Cheryl Brewster

We are surrounded by a sea of abundance that flows to us!

  • How many times do you think of someone and they call?
  • Do you see recurring sequences of numbers every time you see a digital time display, like 111, 333,  555, etc?
  • Have you pondered an important question to have a billboard or licence plate in front of you declare the answer?
  • When you’re looking for something have you had someone hand it to you without them knowing you needed it?
  • Have you waited in traffic or been detoured only to find the billboard message on a passing vehicle displays what you just finished telling someone at that exact moment?

The odds of having such coincidences occur is mind boggling.  Given the obvious intricate intelligence behind such occurrences, we must ask ourselves, if these things are happening without our conscious involvement, what could happen if we brought more awareness to them? Can you imagine the possibilities, solutions and innovations that could be accessed?! How could this impact our self development and personal effectiveness?

In her book Synchronicity and the Soul, Nancy Seifer explains that it was the power of synchronicity to overwhelm the rational mind that held significance for Carl Jung (1875-1961), the Swiss psychiatrist who coined the term and brought the phenomenon to light.  Jung recognized that synchronicity, which he defined as meaningful coincidence, had the effect of breaking through the “rationalistic shell” of the modern scientific mind.

“(Synchronicity) is a form of coincidence powerful enough to shatter the notion that material science has discovered all there is to know about the universe.  To the person having an experience of synchronicity, the realization dawns that a mysterious force is at play in the world—a kind of “cosmic clock” whose gears operate on a more subtle plane.”

This echoes Deepak Chopra’s poetic words that “Synchronicity is choreographed by a great, pervasive intelligence that lies at the heart of nature, and is manifest in each of us through intuitive knowledge.”

And this pervasive intelligence is ours even without asking! All we have to do is pay attention to the Signs, Symbols and Synchronicity at play in our lives.
We are surrounded by a sea of abundance… but are we actually in flow with it or fighting it?

I’ve been a fan of this amazing principle of intuition for as long as I can remember and find it incredibly helpful in important decision making  and in situations requiring more clarity and validation. I often tell the story in my seminars of how I used a “Bookmark” to determine when I should follow the call from my intuition to leave the corporate world to begin my own business as a professional intuitive.  Although I knew in my heart that this was the right thing to do, it didn’t match the rational thought of my upbringing… My mind screamed no and my heart say yes, even though I’d be leaving a great company, significant income with benefits, and most of all, the security of a guaranteed paycheck for  nothing but a gut feeling and a dream.

Setting a bookmark is a specific technique that finds its beginnings in ancient times and remains just as powerful today.  In my experience, I used a symbol that was fairly uncommon – a boomerang – the “bookmark agreement”with the Universe was that when a real boomerang came into my life, I would know that yes, now is the time to leave the job.  (But I must admit, because this was such a big decision, I thought I’d help the universe out by adding a proviso that either one real boomerang came into my life or three smaller ones which could be in the form of a TV commercial, ad on a billboard, etc).

You can imagine my shock and delight when after a couple of weeks, feeling rather disheartened that the symbol hadn’t arrived yet, I’d picked up a book that I’d recently purchased. The book itself wasn’t something I was particularly interested in, however my gut “told” me that I “had to buy it.” As I flipped through it, I came across an interesting paragraph and there, deep into the story did I not only find the word boomerang “three times,” but I also found the meaning of the word… the boomerang is a sacred symbol cautioning us not to hold onto things too tightly,  for it’s only in surrendering and giving them to the universe, that they can be returned to us in bigger ways.

WOW!

I was shaking. This was something that you see in the movies or read about in books… this happened to other people, not to me! And here I was, not only with three small boomerangs, but with the meaning of the word as a sacred symbol!  I gave my notice the next day and have been privileged to live an extraordinary life beyond anything I could have imagined because “I was willing to let go and not hang on too tight.”

Powerful, beyond all odds and four months later, when I taught my first intuitive workshop in Whistler, what did the store carry? Two decorative boomerangs which I promptly bought. The third I added to my collection when again, trusting my gut to go to a certain store, only to find a boomerang with the engraving “authentic souvenir of Australia.”

Having worked with synchronicity my entire life, to go through an experience as specific and mind blowing as this made a huge impact.  I’ve come to appreciate that when we ACTIVELY participate with the “great, pervasive intelligence that lies at the heart of nature,” not only do synchronicities happen with more frequency, so too do miracles. Can you imagine the impact to families, business and organizations to harness the power of synchronicity both as an art and tool of science for brainstorming and team building? Can you imagine the solution and innovation?  The possibilities are staggering, and like all great things, it begins with us as individuals to apply and hone the hidden language that Signs, Symbols and Synchronicity in our own lives, to test and prove them. To create more FLOW in your home and professional life, consider what would happen if you:

  • asked clear specific questions of the vast intelligence awaiting you?
  • paid attention to what you were thinking before a sign, symbol or synchronicity crossed your path?
  • asked for clear, specific signs to underline or highlight a feasible action or direction to take
  • did a life review of where synchronicity has been the most prevalent in your affairs
  • discovered when there was no synchronicity in your life to find the patterns that prevent rather than propel FLOW in your life
  • willing to participate more fully with this great pervasive intelligence?

Basic tools to grow your awareness and appreciation of Synchronicity and self improvement:

  • notice the thought you were thinking just before a synchronicity happened
  • be clear on your desires, write them down and expect their fulfillment, by feeling them here now
  • keep a journal to acknowledge synchronicity
  • use ritual to honor it in your life
  • be firm and clear in your commitments
  • be diligent in replacing negative thinking with positive thought
  • ask specific questions (better yet, write them down and journal the answers when they come)
  • expect an answer without  attachment to how or when it is delivered, or if it looks different than you originally intended
  • learn more and resist less by spending more time in mindful contemplation and deep silence

We are surrounded by a sea of abundance that flows to us! By paying attention to signs, symbols and synchronicity, we harness the hidden power of flow in life and business. By applying it, we create the change we’ve been wanting and more. If you enjoyed this blog and would like to learn more – see our calendar for upcoming live events or tele-seminars on Signs, Symbols and Synchronicity..

Cheryl Ann Brewster is highly regarded in her skills as a Business Intuitive, Coach and Speaker. She specializes in supporting  those  keen to expand personal and professional effectiveness through the power of intuition and soul-centred business practices. To join her mailing list and/or daily inspiration  or to learn more, contact her at: TheIntuitiveLife.com.

 

Jan18

What trips up your Vision? 5 tips to avoid potential crashes.

by Cheryl Brewster

There’s an expression that Poet Robbie Burns is famous for: Best-laid plans of mice and men oft(en) go astray, and best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley. In other words, things often go wrong despite your well laid plans. (The gang aft a-gley version is Scots dialect, and comes from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse.”)

So let’s talk about that; the despair, disappointment and dread that can arise with sudden, drastic unexpected change:
You’ve set your Vision and goals of what you want to create, live, and be, however very quickly, things outside of your control have altered the speed or course of that Vision.  Life happens, unexpected events occur and one of two things can result:

1. Feelings of anxiety or trauma can take over leading you to unconsciously focus on what you “don’t want,” which will lead to more of the same… exactly what you don’t want, including the life-sucking pit that sucks you into emotional vortexes of worry and helplessness.

2. Or,  you will focus on what you DO want, including your positive emotional state, which will create just that; the reality of joy that can co-exist with challenge. And that’s freedom! Knowing that no matter what happens you’ll be okay… that you can and will handle it. It’s the expansion of the soul that is occuring – like a container that gets stronger to “hold” all of what you are going through, returning you to a sense of safety.

The beauty of absolutely keeping your focus only on what you do want to feel and create, is the  INSTANT relief it provides:

  • By switching your focus from  stress and negative emotion, you take control of what you want to  experience in the moment; you claim the power of alternate dimensions or realities that support, not tear down
  • You think more creatively and begin to see new  possibilities; you become more effective; remember negative emotion impedes the brain
  • You increase  focus and a positive mental attitude for consistency in effectiveness, solutions and inspired, authentic action
  • Creativity, expansiveness, intuition  and mind power expand (as opposed to the reverse)
  • Course correction, an essential yet easily overlooked tool to personal growth becomes more automatic
  • And most importantly, keeping your focus on what you DO want, helps to foster Mindfulness which is about paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non-Judgmentally (Jon Kabat-Zinn)

So how best to create these benefits and avoid the potential hazards that can trip us up in following our Vision?

1. Think of yourself as an athlete in training.
By visioning you decided to make your life better; that includes releasing the pain of resisting change as it comes up.

2. Know your Stress Patterns
They’re the habits that switch your focus from “do want” to “don’t want” – what triggers them? Brainstorm solutions so you’re prepared for life’s predictable curve balls.

3. Course correct those stress patterns through awareness and focus… acting in unity with your vision in itself creates unification.

4. Keep your focus on what you love to do. All the time!
As Susan Jeffers warned in Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway,  “Your mind only takes off on its own when you’re not telling it what to do”.

5. Keep a Gratitude/Blessings Journal – it increases your vibrational frequency; the energy that aligns you to your higher values, and magnetics of manifesting heart’s desire.

If don’t currently have a “Vision Awareness Practice,” consider incorporating these for the next week and share with me what happens! All the research in self discovery and personal development for success in life and business points to the importance of constant repetition… this isn’t just once in a while thing. For full effectiveness it becomes a daily practice that over time builds and sustains the joy of life, in all circumstances.

Did you enjoy this post? Cheryl Brewster is a Personal/Business Intuitive, Transformational Coach and Professional Speaker. To stay current with ongoing events, sign up for both the newsletter and daily quote on The Intuitive Life homepage. And to contact her directly with your insights and results from the exercises, contact her at (604) 781-4022 or by email: cheryl@theintuitivelife.com

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