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Heal Others By Asking For Forgiveness
Just on the flip side of forgiving others is asking for forgiveness.
And this is how you heal our world - ask for forgiveness. Admit that your words and actions may have caused others pain. And then ask them to forgive you. This applies to both your conscious and unconscious actions or words. Even actions or words not spoken can cause hurt. And you can heal that. You do that by saying, “I am sorry for my words and actions that hurt you. I am really sorry that I hurt you. Please forgive me.”
This is the trigger for peace in the other. They may or may not understand it. They may or may not be prepared to forgive. But now, they have been offered a chance to heal something they might not be able to do easily without your help. So, make that effort. Take that step. Help heal the hurt you may have caused someone consciously or unconsciously. Ask for forgiveness.
Thank you.
Forgiveness Creates Peace In Our World
Forgiveness. Forgiveness is a powerful way to peace. You may have heard it said that forgiveness is something we ‘do’ for ourselves and it has nothing to do with others. It is partly true. Yes, when we forgive someone, we feel the burden lift from us. The pain, hurt and anguish release their grip on us and we feel as if we are set free. We feel light. A sense of peace descends upon us. Or put another way, we ascend into a state of peace.
There is another element to forgiveness. The one who you forgive, feels it too. Yes, they feel the peace. Think of someone you asked for forgiveness and they truly forgave you. And you knew they had forgiven you because you felt it energetically. You felt light, loved and accepted by them. Can you recall such a moment? A moment when you felt a sense of peace when the other forgave you.
So, by practicing forgiveness, we are actually creating peace in the lives of others and in our world. This is one powerful way of creating peace. And it also applies to forgiving those who have already passed away. The past, present and future exist simultaneously and so when you forgive those who have crossed the rainbow bridge to the spirit world, they too shall find peace.
Forgiveness is a spiritual muscle which you can build with practice and in this way, contribute to peace and love in your life and on our planet as a result.
Thank you.
Stillness Brings You Infinite Love
Be Still. To negotiate the turbulent waters, be still. Let it all flow over you. Let it all tumble through you. Become the witness. See it happen and then see it dissolve. Tides upon tides flow and embrace you. Slowly grace surrounds you, envelopes you with infinite love. Love that is so glorious, you merge with it, losing sense of self, of time, of space. All becomes one. All is one and you glimpse that in a deep way. The Universe is a friendly place. It all happens for good.
Thank you.
LIVE EVENT: An Evening for Spiritual Renewal
Dear Friends,
I am just writing to remind you of the Live meditation show I am hosting from my home this Sunday, in case you haven't already checked it out.
What I do is not something I learned in school or at university. What I do comes naturally, intuitively; and I am grateful that it does. I believe that if you are needing a new way to be, if you are wanting to create magical breakthroughs, if you are just wanting to find a way to have a sense of ease and relief from pain- physical or emotional, you will be able to do that during Sunday's live event.
Meditation and mindfulness practices are known for training the mind - to bring focus. And guided visualization or guided imagery is a bridge to that stillness. During this event, you will hear me guide you through a visual journey. In a visual journey you visualize with all your senses not just visually. You use your sense of smell, you may feel texture such as sand under your feet, or simply feel a pleasant presence of a kind spirit.
And it is a journey beyond time and space. We may begin on the banks of the Amazon river, or dive deep into the Pacific Ocean or fly into space in order to get to our unique sacred/secret garden. This is a place in the invisible realms that some traditions refer to as the place where we go after physical death. It is a garden of possibilities from where, I believe, our spirit guides and our own inner self derives life force and wisdom from. It is here that we can get help to design and to summon a life we want. This is core of it where the visualization becomes a practical tool to help us in our waking life.
For many of us entrenched in the left-brain world, all of what I am saying may sound too far-fetched. I myself was stunned when I felt the presence of a giant cobra in one of my guided visualizations. Was it real? Was I dreaming? Thankfully, in the Indian culture which surrounded me as I was growing up, the cobra is known as a protective symbol and so instead of being freaked-out by a humongous serpent, I felt greatly relieved. None of what happens in a visualization is something I can prove to you; some faith on your part or at least curiosity is necessary. A beginner's mind is all you need to open up especially, if you find the prospect of visualization perplexing. Take a bold step and step into this world that is waiting for you to discover. It is uniquely yours and yours only. Each one of us has his/her own magic kingdoms to commune with.
This is what's in store for you, if you allow yourself to give it a try. So I invite you to join me this Sunday May 25th 8pm EDT for An Evening for Spiritual Renewal.
Be rest assured, there is nothing religious about this whole thing. I stay away from any institutionalized form of religions; instead I mine the deep treasures that come to us from all of our world heritage of wisdom teachings; seemingly, all sharing the common message of peace and love in their own ways.
Get Your Tix Here. It is a pay-what-want model so you decide what this experience is worth to you. It is about time.
Gather your friends spontaneously or give your loved one a surprise. This is a very cool surprise to give someone or to oneself, by the way, if I may say so myself.
I shall be there online for an amazing evening Live from my living room. Will you be there?
May you be surrounded by and infused with the light of love,
Sophia
Live Meditation Show From North Carolina Mountains
When I began visualizations four years ago, I was living in the German city of Cologne and asked myself where I want to move. In my visualization, I saw mountains covered with lush greenery. Fast forward a few years, my husband and I are now living in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Western North Carolina covered with green, flowing trees.
This is just one example of how visualizations have helped me in designing my life. Now I am inviting you to join in.
New week, I will be doing a live meditation show on Concert Window.com on May 25th at 8pm EDT. You can join in from anywhere in the world. It will be about an hour long during which I will guide you through a visualization journey. Then I will answer questions and you get to share your experience. You can purchase tickets now online and you will receive a reminder before the event.
This will be something new and fun and I hope you will join in. I will be streaming live from my living-room with candles and some incense and will happily guide you into a magical world where you can meet your spirit guides and start of your week with a calm and happy heart.
Thank you for believing in me and helping me follow my heart - one of the best way I have found to serve the world.
Peace and blessings,
Sophia
Be The Love You Wave On
Let us talk about relationships. Relationships with people are really just reflections of yourself. How you treat yourself, is how you treat others. And any deep friendship is build on an acceptance and on freedom. Freedom of being, freedom of doing. Judgment, expectations and resentment foil and destroy any deep friendship that emerges.
How you feel about others is how you feel about some aspect of yourself. Unearth that. Find it. Let go of it. And then bring in love. You can create love. It is within you. You can tap into it and let it flow out into your life.
Just let all that you do not need fall away. Let love be the wave you ride on. Be the wave of love. Be the love you wave on.
Thank you.
You Can Make Heart-Centered Choices
There is much I have to say. The things that matter most are not things. It’s vibration. Staying in a light-hearted disposition, in a cheerful mode, does more than create pleasant company. It creates a sphere of creativity, self-expression and joy. It is an enabling mode; it is a receptive mode. For love and harmony to flow and to create waves of joyful peace, restrictions need to be loosened. An attitude of ‘yes’ is beneficial and helpful.
The sphere has many dimensions and many offshoots. It teems with life and vitality. The journey is really a sequence of now-ness - a consequential pattern emerging in the moment. So really, when they say that you have choice in every moment, it is absolutely the truth. That’s also because you are not connected with past and future the way you are connected with the present. The beauty of choice is that it follows conscious awareness. Before you are aware, your actions are unconscious actions not choice in the true sense of the word. When you make a choice, it means you already have an awareness. You have realized some truth about yourself. From the awareness and realizations, you gain a level of understanding that is both mental and emotional. This makes an action stem from that inner-alignment. The alignment of the heart, mind and spirit. And now, when you are aligned, you can take actions that reflect choice in the true sense of the word.
This is the process - the process of making heart-centered choices.
Thank you.
You Can Be Detached
Just know that the web of life is intricate but simple. To understand it all, you just need to quiet yourself, sit in stillness. All shall be revealed to you. You are as much a part of mystery as the rest of it. Seeds of love and compassion are already within you and you know how to grow them. You know how to water them. Forgiveness. Letting go. Being detached from what happens, lightens your heart. Being unaffected by what is frees your spirit. Letting others off the hook allows you to keep your energy, your focus on yourself, on your part of the equation. It frees up energy for your creative expression; for your experience of joy. And the more you do it, the easier it gets. It becomes a way of being - a way of life. It becomes a way of receiving that which you experience and it becomes a way of how you act in the situation that you are in.
Compassion, forgiveness, detachment, are key to your functioning in a healthy manner. Let us say, you are new at being detached. No worries. When you find yourself engaged in a situation where you are taking things personally, just make note of it. Identify it as what it is: “I am taking it personally. Ah, I want to practice detachment but here I find myself taking it personally. I am aware. I can see that I am not out of its power on me. And I can see that any emotional distress I am experiencing is because of my own thoughts and because of my own process of moving from taking things personally to being detached.”
That awareness, right there, will rescue you. The next time you are in it, you will bring more and more awareness and zoom, you find that things don’t bother you that much; you have greater understanding of yourself, of others and of the situation; and you are able to respond and act with more compassion and greater effectiveness.
Thank you.
You Can Receive Direct Guidance
Write. Write. Write it down. Whatever you feel, write it down. This is your channel of release. You cleanse and let go when you write. It is such a secret but it’s got to be shared. You do not need perfect language skills. Just write down all, whatever seems to be bothering you. In this way, you energetically let it out of your system.
Daily Writing. Writing for guidance has a simple formula. You start writing, “I love you, ...” and then your name. For example, “I love you, Sophia.” Keep repeating this line, line after line, page after page, until you hear a subtle voice. A small transparent voice - a thought. It is an energy field that you tap into. And then jot down whatever you are dictated to write down. You can ask this voice to slow down or pause or to speed up. The voice will respond. You can also ask questions. And the voice will sound like your own voice. This is simply to make things easy for you. It will answer all your questions.
It is magical. It is indeed a way to access truth, knowledge and inner wisdom from the Source. And it gets easier and easier as you do it. It becomes so easy that you can eventually drop the formula I mentioned earlier. And just start writing or just start speaking. It is that powerful and that accessible.
So use this exercise daily - to build your muscle. For 20 minutes.
And remember to thank this voice. At the end of the session say - Thank you.
Thank you.
You Are Being Helped
You are loved. All is well. Be at peace about all that is happening. It is to free you of many things and you will see many new and amazing ways of being. You are to be successful in many ways. Just listen to your instincts. Just listen to your voice within. You are doing great. Be assured that the best, most fulfilling life experiences are coming your way. You are constantly being watched and listened to. You are being helped. You are being assisted.
Just know, trust and have tremendous faith, unrelenting faith and expect only the very best. Expect only the very very best. You are to keep the faith. Do your best. Be unaffected by seeming challenges or things that are not going the way you planned. There is divine blessing in every moment, in every situation and in every experience, in every person you meet and encounter. You are to be sure that the best outcome is being delivered. You are being guided. Listen and act in inspired ways.
Thank you.
You Are Blessed
Do you know how blessed you are? Right now, blessings are pouring onto you. You are a divine child and you are on the right path. Sink into a permanent state of faith. Trust that all is well. Keep asking for that which you want. Know that we only want and work for your success. It benefits the whole when you are at peace.
Good that you are following our message as they come to you as hunches. Keep doing it. Continue to take steps of active faith. We will direct you and guide you. Yes, trust and know that it is all happening. We shall guide your actions and look out for those messages that come to you in your ears - like whispers. Follow them. It will be easy.
Today, go to a pond with your notebook and pen. Sit by the water. All is well. Blessings upon you. You are blessed.
Thank you.
How In Losing I Found - What Truly Matters
I would like to share with you a recent aha-moment I had that has completely transformed how I view the things of my life. In the past few weeks, I have shared with you my reflections on letting go things, especially when they are gifts from your loved ones. Today, I will share with you about letting go things that were gifts that you happen to loose.
As you read about my story, think of some item that you lost, misplaced or somehow got destroyed or is no longer in your possession. Some item that you cherished so much, still due to various circumstances you do not have it anymore.
For me this item is a single earring. I received a beautiful pair of earrings from my husband on our wedding anniversary. It is lovely earring made out of silver into the shape of a gingko leaf. All elements of this gift are endearing to me, the choice of metal- silver, the occasion- wedding anniversary, the fact that it was locally hand-made in Asheville by Stuat Nye, the motif- gingko leaf which brings us fond memory of our late granny (my husband's fathers' mom) who loved gingko trees.
One fine late fall day, my husband and I went for a walk by the French Broad River. It was quite cold that day so I was warmly dressed and I had a warm wool scarf on and I had my lovely earrings on. It was not long before I realized that one of my earrings had fallen off, perhaps entangled in my wool scarf, which has a track record of entangling with my jewelry! Both of us retraced our steps through the gravel, the bank of the river, and the spot near a tree where we sat and watched the flowing river. We looked everywhere possible. No earring!
At the time, I was feeling quite fine about the situation. Things get lost. It is just an item. All is well, I thought and we moved on with our day.
I got home and put the remaining earring from the pair next to our Buddha statue in the bedroom. In the next few weeks, I moved the remaining earring to various parts of the house, not knowing what to do with it. It is a lovely silver piece by itself, beautifully hand-crafted and it was a gift. How could I just get rid of it, I thought. But now after some time, every time I saw the earring, I was reminded about the one that was lost. It was as if I did not even see the earring that was in my hand. All I could think of was the lost earring and the fact that my wedding anniversary gift was now unusable. A certain low energy would come over me, as I went about my day, instead of the joyful feeling I had every time I wore my treasured gift. And I did not like the feeling I felt each time I saw the remaining earring.
So, I decided to share with a close friend about my ongoing challenge to deal with the lost-earring-syndrome. She listened and shared her ideas to help me resolve it. I also shared my feelings with my husband in another walk by the French Broad River. In the course of these two conversations with wise souls, I realized what truly mattered to me in this situation:
1. The remaining earring is a teacher; reminding me to notice what I still have, instead of what is lost. It helps me to be grateful for all that I have and all that I experience.
2. The earring pair represent the love my husband feels for me and is a symbolic gesture of that love, but it is not the love itself. In losing the earring, I have recognized the deeper dimensions of love I experience daily.
3. The lost earring is teaching me the precious lesson of letting go; of being at peace with how things are and being at peace with the changing flow of life, instead of holding tight to how things are, and instead of wanting things to stay the same.
4. The earring reminds me to let items and things be who and what they are, as themselves, to stand for their own inherent beauty and craftsmanship. The pair of earrings reminds me to free things of the burden of being a placeholder for sentiments such as love and to fully open up to love that I express and the love that I receive.
5. The lost earring is a wise teacher who in its disappearance leaves behind all these precious lessons that help me experience life in deeper, richer, more meaningful ways than before.
6. And most importantly, the entire episode has helped me be happy and peaceful, regardless of the changing status of things and objects around me; a very useful thing indeed!
This earring episode was on the surface a minor experience. It was 'just' a small earring I had lost, no big deal, I consoled myself. But the losing of it pricked at something within me. When I looked carefully, I found precious gems that were hidden just below the surface. I am grateful for wise friends and teachers helped me along and who continuously are sharing freely their wisdom, understanding and compassion in my life. And I am grateful for the lovely earrings and the artist who made them with such love and care.
Now it is your turn! I invite you to look at your own experience of losing something, even your own so-called 'minor' incidents. Look a bit more closely, and see the glittering gifts they carry for you, just beyond the surface. It may be a turning point for your life in a way never imagined, bringing in greater peace and understanding towards yourself and greater compassion for others.
With love and blessings,
Sophia
Introspection
Take a moment to notice all that you have.
The things, experiences, love, blessings, beauty, community, nature, abundance, creativity, adventures, family, friends, wisdom that are endowed with right now.
With Patience Wisdom Emerges
Above you see a photo of me taken in one of my preferred places to write. I sit in the hammock on the front porch with a notebook and a pen and allow inspiration to guide me. From such a writing session, I would like to share with you a piece from a series, I call, Messages from Spirit. This one is titled, With Patience Wisdom Emerges:
With Patience Wisdom Emerges
The way things unfold in life have divine logic. The rolling of the seasons, changing path of the clouds, the way the sun shines is divinely orchestrated. The beauty of it all is in the knowing that you, too, are part of this universal plan. You, too, are intricately intertwined with the web of life, the magic of it all. So if at times you feel that you do not understand your part, you don’t ‘get it’, know that that is also part of the divine structure. Your not knowing, not getting it is only a part of your journey in which you are revealed what your part is.
So, practice patience with yourself and your stage in life. The knowledge that you want, the inner-wisdom that you are seeking is all within you. And as you accept yourself, it becomes clearer. And as you let go of facades that cover you, it becomes clearer.
Eventually, it reaches a point when you, your inner-self and wisdom are inseparable. You are unified, you are ‘at one’ with yourself and the world. These are the potentialities that exist for you. Knowing this, you can help yourself be more patient with yourself and the stage you are in.
All becomes clear to you. All that you need on your journey is provided for you. Become still and practice patience. This patience oozes from the understanding of the big picture and from the faith that all is exactly how it is meant to be and that all is well.
Thank You.
Spring Flowers and Smiles for You,
Sophia
Does it matter to help just one fish?
So the story takes place at a pond. There is a big man-made pond in the front yard of the house next to hers. This house is empty, on the market and owned by the bank. She often sits by this pond, observing the birds that come to visit it.
A big blue heron visits the pond daily, connecting to Kimberly in its own unique way. I myself got to catch a glimpse of the blue heron when I was visiting Kim one day. Kimberly, her dog and myself went for a walk near the pond when her dog got very interested in the fish. When we got closer, we saw that a large catfish was floating upside down on the surface at the edge.
Thinking that the fish was about to move on to heaven, both of us began saying prayers. Just then we saw a little twitch, filled with hope, we looked even more closely and noticed that the fish was in an awkward spot among the rocks. We quickly got a long-stemmed grass, gently nudged her and in a matter of seconds, the fish turned around and swam away, joining the rest of the fish family who by now had gathered around to help us energetically help the 'stuck' fish. They now all seemed euphoric at receiving their family member back and started to swim parallel to us as we walked on joyously further around the pond.
This incident reminded us that helping or being present with just one person or one being makes a difference to the whole universe. It certainly made a difference for this one fish, this one fish family, for Kimberly and myself. Even her dog seemed elated at how things were turning out.
The Challenge You Are Facing IS Useful
It is no fun experiencing a challenging moment. As human beings we find ourselves dealing with the various ways fear manifests in us and in the people we love, know and care for. But what if, your experience of ANY challenging moment is actually a fully-potent, loaded gift of miracles awaiting you to unravel it?
Think about it.
Think about a challenging situation you are going through right now. No one can judge the size or intensity this challenge has for you but you. So, big or small it is relative to your life experience, so let us not judge ourselves on this point. Just know that the challenge you are facing, although doesn't feel good right now, is actually full of wisdom. And you can learn a great deal about yourself, about the people you love, about life and about the divine grace through this very challenging experience. But how?
Well, it begins by seeing that what you are experiencing is a result of seeds you have sown. The source is no one but you. This is not about blaming, please. Nor is it about judging ourselves. It is about recognizing that either our past life actions or thoughts and actions in this very life are the starting point for what is happening now. The practical hows and whys may be different from one situation to another but one thing is clear: The situation is teaching you, reminding you and helping you recognize what seeds you sowed, and how you can choose different seeds to sow. And right here, it gets really interesting. If you want to learn more about mental seeds, read this book and read my review of the book here.
What is Being Triggered?
I had a conversation recently with a friend who shared a challenging situation she experienced. During a chat she was having with someone close, her feelings started to get hurt. She had the understanding of herself and of mental seeds already deeply within her. And she was able to stand back from the challenging situation and ask herself, what is really going on here. What is it within me that is being triggered?
This is a very powerful question to ask ourselves. If you read the post from two weeks ago, where I speak about propensity, you know that any situation we experience really is triggering some tendency within us. So, if you are facing something difficult, that difficult issue is a surface issue, and there is a gold mine underneath it. There is a deeper issue that is presenting itself to be actively resolved by you. And to bring awareness to that very fact, is a way to resolve it. Yeah, you do not even need to know the deeper issue exactly, but just recognizing that there could possibly be a deeper issue, can help to dissolve it. Add to that the recognition that there were "bad" mental seeds that are the cause of you now experiencing the "bad" fruits, and you are on an empowering path to free yourself from it.
What seeds can I sow now?
Knowing that the situation you are facing is a result of bad mental seeds you have sown, is great because you can now begin to sow good seeds. The great thing about "bad" seeds that give have given their fruit is that, once the fruit is experienced, it is over. It is time for you to plant new seeds. I hope the seed metaphor really gets it home for you, because the mental seeds are similar to the physical seeds we plant in the garden or the fields, except only much more potent and powerful.
They say that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. And the second best time is now. Well, I say, the seeds you sow now are much more powerful because in the last 20 years, you have grown wiser and kinder and more compassionate, you know much more about good seeds and so your future is looking very very very bright.
So, please take some time to reflect on what you are experiencing right now, where it comes from and how can you change your future, starting with fresh, juicy seeds right now.
With Loving Regards and Blessings,
Sophia
Sophia Ojha Ensslin is the founder of Reflection Pond, Center for Meditation and Healing dedicated to helping people connect with their inner-self to live a fulfilling, joyful life using introspective media including guided visualization videos and CDs, the written word and in-person workshops.
Letter to Hank and Jill
Dear Hank and Jill,
Thank you for your beautiful newsletter that I read last night. I need to share this with you because reading your newsletter marks the end of any remaining concept within me of random coincidences, filling me up with a deep sense of gratitude and a sense of wonder about the ways of the Spirit. I am now a full, whole-hearted convert who feels in her that everything is divinely orchestrated and this is what I experience in my daily life.
Yesterday evening, I set out to put a creative idea into physical manifestation. I had a beautiful bamboo stick that our neighbor's kids brought us. This is what I would use to create a wall hanging with our (my husband Cristof + myself) mantra for living: to live simply, naturally, spiritually.
I wrote the three words with a pen in purple ink. I liked it. As I saw the white space around the words, I reached out for my color pencils and began drawing a flower and a leaf. Then, I wanted to draw a Sun and it quickly shifted to a heart and then a heart within it with a heart within it. When I was finished, I saw that while drawing the heart, the side of my hand had touched the purple ink of the mantra and created a series of blury dots on the white space of the sheet. As I looked closely, they seemed to outline a bird in flight - very clearly I knew it was a dove. I grabbed a color pencil and began drawing the bird, mostly motivated by the need to make the dots disappear(!). Then, I was directed to draw a flower appearing from her mouth. What emerged for me was a dove with a flower carrying a flower under the heart. I was happy and went about finishing the piece by connecting the paper to the bamboo. Next, I hung it on the wall of our living room. Satisfied and pleased, I went about the rest of my evening. (see photos attached)
Later in the evening, I opened up my email and read your words about the Sun and the bird emerging from it. My eyes became big, my heart smiled and a new sense of revelation came over me. Your story alone is astounding and then to read it just as I had this experience of the dove appearing on my sheet right under a heart which was to be a Sun at first, is .... simply beautiful. My first bold steps into creating word art, with the little "accident" of the ink spoils on the sheet, takes me into a recognition of how life is filled with miracles.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Hank and Jill. Thank you Angels and Spirit.
The Dance With Focus
The Dance With Focus: How To Say Yes To What's Most Important!
You have heard about focus and how that is important for success, right? Focus is something I have been cultivating over the last few years and there seems to be yet another level of focus that can emerge. Bringing focus into how I spend time, how I create and what projects I engage in, has brought me greater sense of freedom, peace and general well-being. I have found myself happier and healthier since 2010 when I began bringing in principles of focus into my life.
Yet, recently, the bold head of fascinating new areas have drawn my attention. I am getting more and more intrigued by the ancient vedic philosophy of yoga and meditation and the idea of an intensive teacher training course in yoga sounded enticing. And today, I found myself getting thrilled by the study of ayurvedic principles of health and healing. For some time, the traditional wisdom teaching of shamanism have galvanized my interest. There have been other ideas that seem glamorously exciting over the years. Even if I decide to embark on a deeper study on these subjects, and wonderful as they all are, these ideas are simply a test for my current focus and commitments. Do you find yourself in such a situation?
Focus, I am finding, is not about saying no to the ideas (requests, projects, trips, invitations) that come to you. It is about saying yes to those ideas (your dream, your rocks, your priorities) you have committed yourself to. A commitment that says, I shall go through with this all the way, letting nothing distract me or dissuade me from completion. It also means determine beforehand what the outcome will be and what you will put into it. So, now that I have made the commitment to my main focus, then how to maintain that focus and how to determine whether I say yes to new ideas? Simple. I have discovered some useful tips that I have implemented to stay focused on my priorities and I know that these are helpful to anyone who wants to do the same. Here are the seven stages of creating and maintaining focus:
First: Know what your values are
discovering what values and principles float your boat,
identifying these values can make decision-making easy as 1-2-3
Second, Know what your rocks are
getting clear about your priorities, your main focus and the area that is most important for you,
creating a life-blueprint and clear vision for your life + project
Third, Determine what the outcome looks like
clarifying what are the key elements that the end result need to have,
knowing what success look like,
clarifying markers so you know that you have achieved your goals,
(no need to know about the hows!)
Fourth, What does my commitment looks like
creating an easy to follow plan that excites you,
clarifying time, effort, external assistance/partners, information you need for taking next action steps
Fifth, Simple practices to achieve your main focus
the Seinfeld inspired Daily Calendar,
the Jack Canfield's power-hour,
Michael Roach inspired Circle Day
Sixth, How to continuously say yes your main focus
using your values to keep you focused,
saying no that shows respect to others,
key questions to ask before taking on new projects
Seven, Doing weekly and monthly introspections to keep you on track
what questions to answer at the end of the week and month,
clarify goals and assess next steps,
how to recommit to your plan + goals,
how to review and celebrate success and accomplishments
Eight: A not-so-secret secret to success: letting your heart lead the way to your treasures
a guided visualization that I have created to help me follow my heart's true calling, and I will teach you how to do your own guided visualization that you can use anytime you need to listen to your heart.
There is a lot to share about each of these steps and if you are really wanting to bring in a new wave of focus, clarity and commitment to your life, I know you will find the ecourse on Focus hugely beneficial.
In all your endeavors, I am wishing you peace, harmony and prosperity.
Heart, Spirit and Angels are with you!
Love, Sophia
Propensity And How It Can Free You Right Now
There is a wonderful spiritual practice that has helped save me from a downward spiral of negative feelings. It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but stick with me. It has immense potential to free you of any suffering at any given moment and it is fast. Soon, you will do it naturally and not even know that you are doing it. That is the added advantage of make this practice a habit. It becomes a part of you.
First, let me share with you what propensity is. You may already know the word and that it means, "a natural tendency". For example, sunflowers have a propensity for facing the sun. Or: Some cats (like the one in the photo) have a propensity for climbing on people's backs! So, propensity is simply the natural tendency of things.
Once we understand another facet of propensity, it can help us free up from negative emotions, both the big existential crises and the small everyday irritation and annoyances. When looking at the propensities we carry within us, everything that happens around us become signposts and reminders for what needs to be recognized, resolved, loved, released and embraced within us. Let us take an everyday situation that I had a propensity for getting annoyed with. In the morning, I prepare chai which is Indian tea that is slowing brewed on the stove. While I am waiting for the tea to boil, I get myself busy with doing the dishes, in efforts to make the "best" use of my time. And then, the chai boils and flows over the pot when I am not looking and of course, there is tea all over the place. When this happened in the past, I had the propensity to get really annoyed. And, I would get mad at myself for not paying attention and feel bad about the whole thing.
So, here I was with the propensity for getting annoyed at the situation and for getting angry with myself. The situation itself is neutral. Some very cool cucumber faced with a similar situation would just brush it off, clean up the cooking range and pour his tea and move along. Clearly, the situation itself is not causing the annoyance or the anger. What is? It is the propensity within myself, that is. The overflowing tea is only an external trigger that has brought my own annoyance and anger out of me. By understanding this very fact, we can bring compassion to ourselves and to others.
Let us say, your coworker did something again that is really irritating you. They used the last paper in the printer and did not refill it, for example. You are preparing for a presentation and go to print it. But there is no paper! You spend extra five minutes fetching the new stock of paper from the stationery room, unwrap it, refill the printer, go back to your desk and then print. This just took the precious time you needed for preparing your presentation. And, now you are irritated. Not a good mood to be in just before making your presentation. Your propensity, or the natural tendency within you to get irritated was just triggered. The trigger: no paper. Or, the trigger: the last person who used the printer.
Okay, so now you know that the coworker and the empty paper basket is only a trigger and is not causing your irritation, but it is coming from within you. So how does this make it any better? Well, first of all, you are no longer blaming the externals. You know that the cause of suffering, in this case the irritation you felt, is related to some unresolved, unloved part in you. By taking the focus off the outside world and shining the light of your attention within, you bring back power to yourself. Now, you can really do something to ease your pain. It may be a small irritation but unattended it can escalate, pile up or coalesce into major anger. At this small irritation stage, we need to be proactive in healing it, so it does not get big and dangerous and extremely painful. So, what to do?
First: Gratitude
Thank the situation, the co-worker and your inner propensities for showing you that you have irritation. Know that there is a gift in this situation, even if does not feel good right now. There is a gift. Some of the most amazing breakthroughs have come from someone going through a dark, challenging experience.
Second: Allow Yourself to Feel Exactly What You Are Feeling
We are often so concerned about staying in the positive, cheerful and upbeat, that when we do experiencing anything negative, we run from it. I know I have. Like many of us, I tend not to want to be angry, sad, irritated or impatient. And when I feel a little of it, I go for a walk or try to squish the feelings. The mantra, I now say to myself is: "Sophia, you are allowed to feel like that. It is okay to feel that way." It is amazing how as soon as I give myself the permission to feel whatever I am feeling, the suffocating hold of that emotion loosens up. Yes, you too are allowed to feel what you are feeling and you need to give yourself the permission, too. If you do, either or both of these two steps, you are already dissolving open, unresolved issues within you. And, if you are really wanting to go farther, you can take this third step. It is the taking in of other's suffering.
Third: Take On Other's Suffering
Pema Chodron, the American Buddhist teacher did a powerful talk on this third step, also called Tonglen. At first, it seems counter-intuitive but it feels right. She says that whatever we are feeling, we breathe it in and we also breathe in the feeling of everyone else who is feeling it too. So in our case, we breathe in the irritation that we are feeling and that of everyone else that is feeling that irritation. We take in everyone else's suffering, whether it is people, animals, birds, trees or our Earth. And we allow it to transform within us into love. There is also a very popular meditation in which we transfer all pain energetically into the ground to be transformed into love. This does two things, says Pema. First, it disconnects us from blaming the outside world and second, it opens us to the vastness of our being: "You use yourself and your own experience as the basis for opening your heart as big as the universe and for connecting with the vastness of your being, the vastness of your mind".
This is something that also gets deeper the more we do it.
Understanding my own propensity and recognizing that the external world is really a reflection of my inner world, I learn to embrace life with compassion and to be kind to myself and others. I hope this helps you to resolve the little angers and small irritations that you face from time to time, so that we can bring in more peace and joy into our days. Thank you for reading this extended piece today.
With love,
Sophia
Sophia Ojha Ensslin is the founder of Reflection Pond, Center for Meditation and Healing dedicated to helping people connect with their inner-self to live a fulfilling, joyful life using introspective media including music, films and books, e-courses and training workshops.
Receiving Gifts From The Heart
In the last two days, I sat with my sister on the shore looking at the vast ocean and the horizon beyond. I saw a little girl listening to a live music performance and dancing across the room with her arms wide as if flying in the sky. I spoke with a warm, generous and strong woman about a very important question to ask oneself at all times. And all of these were moments were I witnessed and experienced presence, one of the truest gifts from the heart.
Yesterday, at an art museum there was a live music performance where I got to see beauty pour out through self-expression. A little girl of about 6 years also named Sophia, danced like a free bird floating in the sky. With here arms spread across like the wings of a bird, she would swoop around the room in full speed and in beat with the music. In this movement, she was dynamic and she was free. With her enjoying the music and dancing to it from her heart, she showed all of us there how it is to give of what you have, freely and with joy in the heart.
Today, sitting on the beach with my sister was simple and beautiful. She is an amazing young woman of gentle cheerfulness and kindness in her eyes. She makes conversation easy and flowing. She allows me to be who I am. Speaking of how the Universe conspired for her day to become completely free on the last minute, she invited me to spend time together with her. In a similar way, the Universe conspired for me too to have an extra free day as well at the last minute and so going to the beach is what we did. We giggled about sea gulls walking sideways and running quickly from an approaching wave. We pondered what it is like to live right across from the beach. We shared ideas about what makes one a yogi. And we sat observing the ocean in silence. It was just silence. And it was beautiful. We were each having our own communication with the ocean separately, together. And a sea gull joined in this conversation. It first looked at us. It was pretty close to where we were sitting. It stood there; feet firmly planted in the sand. After a few moments of two of us looking at it and it looking at us, it sat down on the sand and now all three of us were looking at the ocean. All three of us; communicating with the ocean. Separately yet together. I found a new meaning and a new depth of communication with no words. The three of us were communicating to the ocean, to each other and to ourselves that all is well in this moment, and we are just being here now. And in this way we shared a gift from the heart - a gift of presence.
What we most need always comes to us exactly when we need it. I had a conversation today with a phenomenal woman who has shared her kindness and generosity with me my entire life. Today, she gave me one of my biggest kernels of truth. She reminded me about giving up anger. She said that getting angry at a situation or a person means hurting ourselves exponentially. She said, if we are angry at someone, we hurt ourselves first and then it hurts the other. Then it reflects off of them and comes back to us. And like this it hurts us twice. I shared with her how I often go for a walk if something is upsetting me or when I am under distress. Immediately she replied that walking away means running away. We need to be present with what happens not run away. We must be with it and ask ourselves, “Do I want to be the king (queen) of my mind or the slave?” We want to be king/queen. So we must be cautious and on alert constantly about what thoughts or seeds we water in our mind. Are these thoughts of love and compassion and patience? Or are these thoughts of anger, irritation, annoyance, frustration or complaints? Her talk reminded me of what I recently read in the book, The Unthethered Soul: “Everything is fine, as soon as I decide it is”. This way of thinking completely shifts the focus from what we think is wrong in the world or our life to focussing on the thought that everything is fine because I choose it to be so. This is shapeshifting of the highest order. We transform the world around us by the predetermined thoughts about the world we carry within us. I am filled with so much joy, possibilities and empowerment everytime I come across this kind of thinking in people I meet or in the books I read. This outstanding woman is my aunty who shared her wisdom with me and in doing so she truly shared from her heart. She gave me today a life-changing gift of her understanding of the principles of life and successful living that is a real turning point in my life.
There are so many ways we are given gifts from the heart. It is a continuous flow of blessings. I am grateful for experiencing them and for being able to receive them fully and for the opportunity to share them with you. Thank you for reading this blog today.
From the heart,
Sophia
Introspection:
What gifts from the heart have you received in the last few days or even years. Take a moment to reflect on that.