Stand in your Truth

by Karen Lang, posted in Understanding Fear

“Live from the heart of yourself.  You have to make a living; I understand that.  But you also have to know what sparks the light in you, so that in your own way, you can illuminate the world.” – Oprah Winfrey

What sparks the light in you?  Are you living your full potential?  Are you living your truth?  These are great questions to ask ourselves and even if we don’t know the answers, you will know if you are living your truth by the way you feel, in your work, home and social situations everyday.

Standing up for what we believe in, for what we believe is right for us, is not always easy.  If we worry about what others think or what may happen if we change direction, we may just stay where we are for too long and that could mean a loss of fulfilment and living the dream you thought may never happen.

Where are you silencing yourself? Where do you not take risks when expressing what matters to you? It does not need to be a life and death situation.  It could be as simple as challenging a work colleague or family member about their behaviour or being willing to disagree when everyone else seems to be going in a different direction to you.

Below is a story of a woman who stood by her truth and intuition and believed she should not be swayed by the opinion and influence of those around her.  In doing so, she discovered she could trust her instincts and was given the gift of life for her family.

Christina Lianos Story –

In April 2012, after serious intent to buy a home in a neighbouring town, after bidding on a property, I just flat-out and unilaterally decided against it in the eleventh hour. My family was beyond upset with me. The kids were excited about living in this town, but my gut told me to flat-out refuse. There was nothing to explain this feeling. The town was perfect, and the home was lovely. I just felt that it was the wrong choice. I am typically accommodating and flexible, but in this instance, I was adamantly against the idea.

We settled on a home within our own town. We moved in June, and the kids started school in September. On December 14, 2012, the unthinkable happened at Sandy Hook Elementary school. My youngest (a child I never thought I would be able to have and who came into this existence ever so unusually to begin with), would have been in that school on that day had I stayed the course and this would have changed my life forever.

Of course not every decision we make is the right one but when you practice living a life based on your truth, you can be assured that the universe will respond accordingly and you will begin to feel confident in your choices and trust your instincts, allowing life to meet up with your dreams.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved. – Helen Keller

Enter the Silence

by Karen Lang, posted in Uncategorized

Photo: A special message for all my friends currently in isolation in Moscow. Enjoy this time!

The first yoga class I ever attended was a Bikram Yoga class.  I remember feeling very proud of myself for completing the practice that is a series of 26 yoga postures and breathing exercises in a studio heated up to 40 degress and lasts for 90 mintues.

I was so relieved when it finished that I remember saying I couldn’t possibly repeat this again but the overwhelming peace and lightness that stayed with me, was enough to keep me practising yoga for many years.

Silence can be practised in any environment that you feel comfortable in eg, a meditation,  sitting at the beach,  sitting in the garden, practising yoga, or breathing and mantra exercises.

To experience silence I have found the only way is to practice.  You cannot connect to the silence if you are always in your mind or always running from here to there, it has to be a deliberate effort to stop, become still and listen.

Silence plays such an important role in our lives and yet we take it for granted; that is to say, we seldom anchor ourselves in the present moment long enough to listen and appreciate what silence brings.

In order to create an environment to practice silence, start by removing as many distractions as possible: phones, music, people talking or visual distractions.

Your breath will help you become still and allow your mind to become empty.  Take 5 slow deep breaths to achieve this. Repeat again if you feel you need to.  Practising a mantra such as OM will help too.  A mantra is a syllable or set of syllables ( sound vibrations ) which help clear the mind.

If you can see outside or sit outside, focus on the trees or the sky and feel it’s stillness and slow movement and connect to its natural rhythm. Stay in this stillness for at least 10 minutes a day.

Centering yourself through silence can help you determine the right path for what you are considering and planning for.  It can help you listen not only to yourself and your  needs, but to listen more effectively to others and their needs.

I never hesitate to roll out my yoga mat everyday, because it connects me to my inner self and truth.  It allows my day to flow more easily, and to have vision and clarity for what lies ahead.  When I connect to this stillness regularly, it naturally creates a ripple effect that influences other people’s feelings of peace and harmony, which in turn creates a better world to live in.

“Be still
Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity” – Laozi

Go Beyond

by Karen Lang, posted in Understanding Fear

Staying in the comfort of  our life, work and home is really okay if that is where you are meant to be, but if you feel stagnate or bored or too scared to change your circumstances,  you may be missing out on amazing opportunities and experiences in life.

Study, learn a new hobby, move house, travel to an exotic location, volunteer overseas or just do something completely opposite to what you normally do. Why? because it pushes us out of our comfort zone and gives us opportunities to expand and discover the amazing potential we are holding back.

“Open yourself to ideas, events, relationships that make you uncomfortable. Travel places where you know no one. Learn another language. Create art, even though you’re not an artist. Argue with people. Fall down. Get up. Read books, all sorts of books”. – Juan Williams

First acknowledge your fears about change.  Write down why you feel you cannot do or start something new and then explore reasons why and  “why not?”

Challenge yourself to learn something different every year and see it through.  It’s wonderful to feel the sense of achievement and completion and to expand your mind to new ways of thinking.

Write a bucket list.  Time is short and precious, so start imagining what it is you want to achieve or have never done and set some goals for when and how.

Keep challenging yourself to get out of your comfort zone. The task remains for you to continually grow and create another set of opportunities to pursue productive discomfort.

The more we step out into the unknown, the more we face our fears and grow.  Comfort is just an illusion and excuse that prevents us from changing our circumstances.

There is so much learn, so much to experience, so don’t waste another minute!! Today is a brand new opportunity to begin.

Acceptance

by Karen Lang, posted in Letting Go of Anxiety, Letting go of stress, Making a difference, Understanding and Listening to ourselves

“I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.” ~Sheng Yen

I try to follow the dictates above as I find this process helps me work through the many challenges in my life.  The one I struggle with the most is “Acceptance.”

When I cannot accept myself or the problem that is challenging me, then the next steps of dealing with it and letting it go can not happen.

Accepting and not interfering with the natural essence of nature, you will find it heals itself.  It’s the same with us. When we allow ourself to be, to accept this moment or challenge no matter how hard it seems, we can begin to heal.

We all seem to be happy to identify our thoughts and what the problem is, but rarely do we want to identify or accept what the event reveals about us.  Whenever I was confronted with a challenge in my life, I began to notice that feelings of frustration and anger came to the surface and I wanted to give up immediately.

These are the feelings that we need to face and acknowledge in ourselves because these are what are limiting us from moving forward and discovering our true potential.

When I started to see a pattern, I began to question why I wanted to give up when I felt challenged.  I realised it was fear.  Fear of being vulnerable and exposed and fear of not being good enough.  It takes time to understand ourselves and sometimes we need guidance from others too, so be patient.

Once I accepted this and started to work at changing the limiting beliefs I had about myself, I was able to move forward and change.

Resisting the pain and not facing who we are in the pain, only prolongs our healing.

Become aware of the feelings that surface when life challenges you, because when you identify these patterns and face them, you can begin to practice letting them go.

We all have parts of ourself that we don’t like or don’t want to see and yet, facing those parts of self through meditation, counselling and stillness, you will begin to understand how to work with them rather than against them.

“The greatest challenge in your life is discovering who you are, the second greatest is accepting what you find.” – author unknown

Our relationship with Death

by Karen Lang, posted in Death

“Death’s true purpose is to teach us how to live.” – Molly Friedenfeld

I have been asked to be apart of a Donate Life Forum.  It is a forum that allows the public to ask any questions they have about Organ Donation to Organ Donors, Recipients and Medical Staff.  As our son was an organ donor, I will share my experiences.

This forum is just one way that allows us to explore our questions about death and why we find it so difficult to confront this topic in Western Society.  Death is something that we don’t really want to think about or make decisions about if we don’t have to.  Our fear surrounding death is simply because it’s outside our experience, even though we will all go there.

“Live life fully, as if everyday may be your last.”

Death creates fear because it represents uncertainty and mystery for us, but ignoring it will not help us when Death faces us or a loved one. By not thinking about dying, we assume it won’t happen to us, which seems to bring an innate sense that we will always have more time.  Years pass us by in our busyness and there is so much we put off.  Thinking like this, we run the risk that when we or a loved one is dying, we will regret wasted opportunities.

Death has taught me to live in the present, it has helped me see how precious life is and to appreciate those in my life.  Death allowed me to focus on making responsible decisions and to see the joy in life and not all the seriousness.  It showed me the past and the future are simply reflections of an everlasting now.

We are here to help each other discover our individual uniqueness. So learn to acknowledge, honour and accept death as a natural part of our journey.  In doing that we discover that nothing is permanent and so we begin to understand the circle of life.

“Start living now. Stop saving the good china for that special occasion. Stop withholding your love until that special person materializes.  Every minute, every breath, is a gift from God.”  ~Mary Manin Morrissey