You are so worth it!!

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Maybe what we really need is a new way to measure our worth...
And it seems to me that if the ‘guilt-cycle’ is to be excluded from that process, a different, perhaps greater standard is needed. A standard that doesn’t necessarily involves ourselves and people around us, but is about ourselves and the earth, ourselves and the universe, the cosmos, or even the Creative Force itself.

When we shift our perspectives in that manner, what would be the things by which we measure ourselves?

Would it be how successful we are in business? How powerful we are? How many people are working for us? How big a difference we have made on a global scale?
Or would it be much more personal (And yes, much more under our control), like being respectful, honest, honorable, peaceful, content...

Another way of looking at it is from the perspective that in our use of language ‘worth’ and ‘value’ are related. So, in that greater perspective, what value do you have to yourself, the earth, the universe, or the Creative Force?

Before you say, how can I be of any value to systems and processes that are so much bigger than me ~ just take a moment to look at it this way: why else would we have our ‘God-given’ qualities, our unique abilities and potentials?

To me it seems these things are a much better way to measure ourselves for a number of reasons.
First, it implies that the better we get at being ourselves, exploring our individual, unique talents and potentials has value on a grand scale!
Second, each and every one of these things are under our own control. We decide how far we take it. And we decide how we are measuring up ~ according to our own standards...
Third, and maybe most importantly ~ it starts from the premise that each of us in our own right is a valuable, deserving, worthy individual.

So, what can we do to become even more deserving? What steps can we take to explore our talents? To become an even more valuable part of the ‘Big Picture’?

Some things that come to mind are to communicate with those around you with honesty and respect; to extend that respect to nature, and even to property (whether it is your own, or that of another person); to take care of yourself ~ after all, you are valuable and should be well taken care of!

Looking at yourself in that manner, finding ways to enforce those things in yourself and in your life, will make you feel better about yourself! You are measuring up quite nicely!

And you are so worth it!!
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You’re worth it!

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Over the last year or so, a number of add-campaigns on television have incorporated that little sentence in their promotional efforts. You’re worth it! And while there is little doubt in my mind that we are worth it ~ that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with whether we have any desire for that specific product.
So what makes that sentence so powerful? Or, maybe more to the point, why do we feel we need to be reminded that we are worth it ~ what makes us so hungry for that positive feedback on who we are?

The most obvious reason would be that, left to our own devices, we don’t feel we are good enough or indeed, worthy enough. Somehow we feel that we are not deserving of the good things in life.

The reasons for not feeling good enough are varied. From the sense that we really need to work hard to pull our own weight, to an all-pervasive idea that we need to please those that are close to us ~ to the somewhat innocuous sounding need to be nice. And these are only a few examples...

Not succeeding in any of those areas is almost guaranteed to make us feel guilty.
And nothing tells us more effectively that we are not good enough than a feeling of guilt...

So in a sense we find ourselves in a vicious cycle where not feeling good enough makes us feel guilty, which in turn gives us a sense of not being good enough...
Sad thing is, it is not getting us anywhere ~ and, more often than not, isn’t even true!

And from that perspective, any feedback on who we are that tells us that we are worth it is a powerful message ~ one that we would so like to believe.

What would it take to step out of that cycle and to start believing on ourselves? To not only hope that we are good enough, but to know it in our hearts?

Being told on TV apparently is a step in the right direction or else add agencies would have dropped the sentence... On the other hand, they too play on our sense of guilt: in order to be worth it, we’d better buy their product and make ourselves look as beautiful as the person who is telling us that we are worth it.
And if we don’t ~ are we still worth it?

Pondering that question leads me to yet another question: What is it in me that makes me deserving, that makes me ‘good enough’, in short, that makes me worth it?
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Autumn

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With every change in the seasons I am in awe at how the weather turns on a dime ~ moving from one season to the next. Last week, suddenly, Fall weather set in, and with it the light changed, different  scents fill the air, the leaves on the trees take on their colors, slightly foggy mornings, and a realization that the days are already a lot shorter than they were only four short weeks ago...
And with the change in the weather, it seems to be colder ~ something that is not necessarily the case; Autumn can bring the most wonderful, warm weather ~ and yet, the Fall energy makes us want to dress warmer, and turn the heater on just a little earlier in the evenings...

Summer is over, and the time of the harvest is upon us.

Not too long ago, Autumn was not only the time of harvest, but also the time when there was a feast of fresh fruits, new potatoes ~ a time when vegetables were canned or frozen so that we could enjoy the luxury of ‘out of season’ tastes throughout Winter.
Nowadays, at any point in the year there seems to be some place on the earth where a crop of fresh veggies or fruits is harvested. Nothing seems to be ‘out of season’ any longer ~ as long as you are willing to pay the price for transportation. The world is ‘getting smaller’.

This leaves me wondering about the time of harvest... No doubt that ripened fruits are harvested now, but there is not the anticipation of being able to buying the new, freshly picked crops anymore.
It seems that the significance of the time of harvest has been lost; if not changed.

A more spiritual perspective on the time of harvest is that we, mankind, as part of nature follow the same cycle through the seasons. Autumn then becomes a time in which we harvest ‘crops’ within ourselves, and within our lives.
And while it may not always seem like our harvest is as purposeful as the harvest of fruits or veggies, it may come in the form of finally seeing a solution for a problem, something we hadn’t been able to put our finger on before. Or a sudden realization of where we are heading in our lives. It can also come as the result of a project or process ~ something we have been working toward, but that hasn’t ‘payed off’ yet.

Whichever way it comes, like in the olden days the harvest is followed by a time of gratitude. It is therefore from a spiritual perspective as well as from a mundane, common sense perspective important to take time to see what you have accomplished ~ and to celebrate the achievement!

So, what have been your accomplishments, and how will you celebrate what you have achieved?
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Jet lag

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To me, jet lag manifests as an experience where my body and my mind each think they are in a different time zone. And as that happens, I am hungry at weird times ~ feel awake in the middle of the night, and sleep the day away... Often it takes a couple of days for my body and my mind to get on the same page again; to regain my rhythm.
It is interesting though that I seem to have jet lag less when I travel west, compared to when I travel east. Another thing that doesn’t strike me as logical is that the number of time zones I have crossed seems to have less to do with it than the direction traveled...

There are many ways in which people manage jet lag, I hear. From taking a melatonin food supplement, to adding light to the back of your knees, to setting your watch to the time zone you are traveling to the moment you board the aircraft (something that I actually do), to drinking lots of water (always a healthy choice, independent from the jet lag), to, and this may be the weirdest, wearing insoles in your shoes that you have cut out of brown paper bags.
And where some of these methods have an effect on your body chemistry, others seem to be mostly affecting your mind; the way you think about jet lag...

Having bounced back and forth to six time zones away recently, at the moment I do feel a little out of sorts. Having packed and unpacked a number of times in rapid succession makes me lose track a little bit as to what clothes are where, and yes, there are some things that have ended up in the bag packed for the weekend workshop that even surprise me a tiny bit (apart from having packed about twice as many clothes as I can possibly wear during one weekend.

This weekend workshop, my partner Sam and I are teaching in the Netherlands ~ the same time zone ~ and still it feels like I am in a different world yet again. This time because of a cultural difference between different parts of the same country. And although it doesn’t fit the definition of jet lag, it most certainly feels that way.

Putting all this together, it seems to me that jet lag is more than just the number of time zones one has traveled. It seems to indicate that part of the ‘jet lag experience’ has to do with the stress of not taking time to stand still for a moment. To take a deep breath, to look around, to enjoy the sunlight on your face ~ before you start moving again to the next appointment, the next obligation.

Could it be that easy? Can jet lag be countered by taking the time to smell the roses?
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Having your ducks in a row

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Looking at ducks moving from one place to another, this is typically an expression that has found its origin in nature. And once those ducks have decided where to go to, it actually seems to happen in the orderly fashion the saying suggests...

The thing is, that before that decision is made, there can be ducks everywhere ~ each doing its own thing, hardly bothered by what their fellow ducks are doing or where they want to go.

That is how I have  been feeling lately.
Plenty ducks, but they are all over the place, moving in all directions and not going anywhere fast.
It is probably hard to believe that I consider this situation a step up from where I was before: chaos, and not any scattered ducks in sight... At least now there are ducks...

So how did a nice girl like me get in a situation like this?
Well, the short answer is that I want my cake and eat it too!

Last Spring I decided that I enjoy all the things I do tremendously, and therefore, if I really want to be successful in doing a variety of things to make a living ~ I had better put energy into each and every one of them. And not only that; I also decided that a good use of my time would be to start to process of getting an e-business going ~ realizing this would take some time and energy, but also hoping that would be time and energy well spent in the long run.
So this is what I have set out to do ~ expanding not only the number of things I do, but also the time spend on each of those things.

And pretty soon I had created plenty of ducks that all were moving in their own, uncoordinated directions. The problem seems to come with getting all these ducks in a row...
In other words, creating one flow of energy that encompasses all my separate endeavors.

One way to do this is to find where each activity touches on another. What are the common ingredients?
At first glance, I seem to be the only common ingredient. But when I look at it longer, other things start to pop up: like creative expression, an urge to be self sufficient, and a desire to be able to help others.
And as soon as I took those things as guidelines to make decisions as to where to spend my time and energy first, I found that my ducks started to align themselves...

I am now beginning to believe that yes, I can have my cake and eat it too!
(And by the way, ducks love cake ~ but then especially here in town, they pretty much eat anything they can get their bills on)
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Sharing

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When asked to share something of Julian’s teachings ~ something that has affected me most ~ I found myself facing a dilemma. In the 10 years or so that I have experienced the teachings first hand from June Burke and Julian, there have been so many things that, certainly with the clarity of 20/20 hindsight, have changed my life!

When I look at my life today, there are certain things that have happened that looking back, remain to be markers, or even milestones.
Things like getting my drivers license, and later-on the truck that allowed me independence in traveling with my horse, the motor bike accident, meeting Sam, and through him meeting June and Julian.
As I am writing this down, I find it just as interesting what events seemed just as big and important at the time; may even have been life-changing events, and yet they don’t make the list of milestones...

Needless to say that Julian’s teachings have, and continue to change my life.
But when asked what single thing has affected me most... There have been so many things both in the mystical teachings as well as in private encounters with both June and Julian ~ and each has helped me to direct my life in such a way that I find myself expressing more and more of my unique potential, gaining an ever greater sense of my reality Self.

Having to choose just one or two things, I think the most important thing happened in one of the first of Julian’s workshops I attended. It was break-time, and pretty much everybody was following Julian’s advice to move around and breathe a little bit. And although Julian often answered personal questions during those breaks, this time he did not ~ resting a bit himself. As I got up, to my surprise Julian called me over ~ and he told me: “You are enough! You don’t have to be anything else than who you are, and you are enough.”

It has been an affirmation I have worked with for a long, long time. Telling myself that ‘I am enough’ every time I saw myself in the mirror; in the reflection of a window, or just enjoying a walk ~ ‘I am enough’.
After working with this affirmation for about three weeks, it began to sink in ~ and as it did, my life began to change, empowering me every step of the way.

“I am enough, I don’t have to be anyone else except my Self, and I can do it”

And in a point in time where the energies not only have a high vibration, but seem scattered every once in a while, it is something that is a good thing to remember ~ not just for me, but for everybody...


Information on Julian's Teachings can be found at the Julian Teachings website.
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Sensory Overload

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As more and more people become more and more aware in a world that seems to get smaller by the day and with an energy of this point in time that is getting ever higher in vibration ~ it is really easy to get in a ‘sensory overload situation’...

This can be a situation like walking in a busy shopping mall where people seem to wander aimlessly around while you are in a hurry to get what you need and get on with your day; it can be because there are simply too many things to do that particular day; because of stress... The causes of a sensory overload can be a ‘biggie’ or a series of small things happening to you or around you ~ the result is that all of a sudden the sensory input is too much to handle...

While this works the same for most people (although the levels of input at which an overload occurs differ) ~ what we do about it is both the same as well as very individual: we start shutting out the world around us.

This can be done in many ways ~ we can retract ourselves from the situation, finding a quiet spot where we can regroup; we can take a walk in the park, or watch TV, read a book, play computer games... Yet when I look around the methods of choice involve an MP3 player or a cel phone...

As soon as we put those earbuds in, whether it is to make a telephone call or to listen to the music of our choice, we dismiss the interaction with the world around us ~ at least to a certain extend. We can still get to where we want to go, but we do so in our own little bubble ~ a sub-environment of our choosing. Another purpose wearing those earbuds serves is that people around us are discouraged to talk to us, ask us a question or start any interaction of any kind.
We effectively broadcast the message: ‘Don’t bother me!’.

So, as a method to cope with sensory overload, it makes perfect sense to me.

On the other hand I do wonder why anyone would want to step out into the world ~ only to take overate action to shut that same world out as fast as they can...

And then there is the question as to how this works with our awareness.
When we move out and about in our own little bubble ~ are we still as aware of what is happening around us? Do we still sense the ebb and flow of the energies we may be moving through? And are we alert enough to react if anything happens just outside of our chosen environment?

In the energy of today, it seems to be a fine line between our increasing awareness and sensory overload...
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What’s in a name? ~ again

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Where in business the name and the energy of a business seem to get interwoven on much deeper levels than meet the eye ~ the same is true with our personal names and our energies.

It was a long time ago when I noticed that some people would call be by either one of my given names ~ and that which name they picked to call me by indicated which aspects of me they preferred to interact with. Those that called me ‘Anne’ seemed to not want to stray from practical, logical ‘real world’ interaction. While those that called me ‘Claire’ usually were open to my more ‘airy-fairy’ side and subsequent perspectives.
I have come to understand that my name ~ Anne Claire ~ provides me with a balance on a much deeper level than is obvious, as it allows both sides of me to thrive.

This would mean that a name is really important, as it refers to, and maybe even brings out, certain aspects of Self!

And in turn this makes me wonder about people who feel they need to change their names. On one hand it seems an obvious way to start ringing out a different aspect of who you are ~ and I can totally understand how that can be so appropriate! Especially when one has encountered circumstances that have profoundly changed their perspectives on live. On the other hand, how do you know what name to  choose? Are the effects of the new name more or less clear in advance?
And what happens if you would choose a name that changes the energy in such a manner that you seem to step from the frying pan into the fire? (And is this at all possible?)

The concept of how your name and your energy are interwoven also makes me curious if there might be certain characteristics that go with certain names. Like if there might be similarities in energy or otherwise between say 100 people named ‘Paul’, or ‘Lisa’.
And if there were, would those similarities be across cultures? Across astrological signs? Would they be as strong in people who were given their grandfather’s or grandmother’s given names because tradition required them being named that way?

Following the path my mind is wandering along, I even question how big the influence of the name our parents gave us is from the perspective that they ~ consciously or subconsciously ~ have chosen a name for us that would bring those aspects of us to the surface that would shape us into what they desired us to be... And if this is so, wouldn’t it be a natural thing to do to, at some point in our lives, change our names into a name of our choosing, our desire?

Think about it... Would you change your name?
And what name would you choose?
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