This week one of my life coaching clients said to me "I am a new person now!" We've been working together for several months and she has transformed in amazingly beautiful ways.
As I thought about her words I realized that though she feels new, the person she has become has been in her heart all along. Her Authentic Self was hidden under guilt, shame, fear, worry, self-criticism, and self-doubt. Before our work together she was not aware of how much her thoughts controlled the outcomes in her life.
Over the months that we have worked together Jenn (she gave me permission to use her name) has found that her self-limiting thoughts and beliefs have caused her to settle for jobs that she didn't really enjoy. She also saw that she moved at a frantic pace in her life because she was trying to prove her value to herself and others.
As she has become aware of the thoughts that were controlling her and as she has done daily, moment-by-moment work to begin to replace those thoughts with new ones, she has now created a very different experience in her life! She actually feels good about herself and her life.
Personal transformation takes a high level of awareness. A key step to Harnessing Your Personal Power is to become fully aware of what is happening in your mind. This is very easy to do. All you need to do is to turn on your "Observer."
Your Observer is that part of you that can look into your mind and see what thoughts you are thinking. Ask your Observer to closely watch all the thoughts you are thinking throughout the day. As the Observer watches, it should take note of the self-talk you use (both positive and negative), the recurring fears or negative thinking you have, and whether your mind is focused on the past, the future or the present moment. What you find may be surprising to you.
I suggest to all my life coaching clients to use a journal so they can write down clues that the Observer is giving them. By growing in your awareness of your thoughts, you begin to see the moment-by-moment choices you have been making. You begin to see how the thoughts you have focused on have created the life you are living. The exciting news is that through your new found awareness of your thoughts you can decide if you want to keep choosing these thoughts or if you'd like to begin replacing the old thinking with some new thinking.
If you decide to give this a try this week I'd suggest you do it in a spirit of fun and interest. Just watch what your mind is doing. See how fascinating it is when your thoughts control you. Each of us can become the Master of Our Thoughts if we desire to.
Awareness brings personal power to change. Awareness allows you to connect to your passions again and begin living an authentic, joy-filled life. I can tell you from my own personal experience that these steps I'm sharing with you through this blog are POWERFUL. They work if you really put them into action. I uncovered my authentic self about two years ago and I feel such joy, hope and peace now in my life. My life coaching clients change dramatically as they put these ideas into practice.
I'd love to hear from you if you give this idea a try! Let me know what you find as you look closely at what is happening in your mind. Drop me an email at patricia@patriciaomoqui.com .
With love, light and great awareness,
Trish
Friday, October 26, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Taking Time to Jump For Joy
I trust you have had a wonderful week. My daughter, Maggie, reminded me of something wonderful this week -- the importance of jumping for joy.
How long has it been since you were so excited about something that you physically began to jump up and down? For me, it has been years. I guess jumping for joy is not a normal behavior for adults. I may begin to break this unspoken rule. . .
On Wednesday afternoon I announced to my daughter that the following day she would be taking a field trip with her school to MerryMead Farms. MerryMead is a local farm that has hayrides, a corn maze, pumpkin patches and of course, ice cream. The moment after I made the announcement, my daughter began jumping up and down for joy. She could not contain her delight! Her smile was as wide as her face and she even began to squeal with delight!
I enjoyed seeing her so happy. Maggie truly loves life and celebrates everything about it. In the morning if I give Maggie oatmeal for breakfast, she makes an audible "mmmm" sound as she eats each bite. Sometimes she even tries to lick the bowl clean because she savors every last drop!
One important aspect of Harnessing Your Personal Power is to begin to live in a state of gratitude. As my inner despair got to its worst a few years ago, one of the only ways I knew how to shift my emotions was to begin taking stock of anything and everything I could feel grateful for. I saw that if I focused my thoughts on things I felt grateful for, my emotions shifted from feeling negative or down to feeling positive or up.
The more that I focused on gratitude and walked one thought at a time down "The Trail of Gratitude," the better I began to feel. The more I took stock of things I was thankful for, the more blessings in my life I became aware of.
Gratitude is now a daily practice for me. Anytime I feel myself starting to get sad, worried, fearful or depressed, I can regain my power by focusing my thoughts to gratitude.
As you approach this week, I encourage you to start expressing gratitude for anything and everything you enjoy in your life. Make a list -- from little things like a nice, hot cup of coffee to big things like having a joyful child -- get it all out on paper. Then, begin letting the people around you know when you feel gratitude for them. Imagine what the World would be like if we expressed to those around us how much we appreciate them. . . I envision a World where people smile more and where more adults begin to jump for joy.
If you happen to have any stories to share about things in your life that make you jump for joy, please pass them along to me. I enjoy sharing in joy with as many people as I can!
May you create an experience in your life that gives you the opportunity to jump for joy this week!
A big hug to all,
Trish
How long has it been since you were so excited about something that you physically began to jump up and down? For me, it has been years. I guess jumping for joy is not a normal behavior for adults. I may begin to break this unspoken rule. . .On Wednesday afternoon I announced to my daughter that the following day she would be taking a field trip with her school to MerryMead Farms. MerryMead is a local farm that has hayrides, a corn maze, pumpkin patches and of course, ice cream. The moment after I made the announcement, my daughter began jumping up and down for joy. She could not contain her delight! Her smile was as wide as her face and she even began to squeal with delight!
I enjoyed seeing her so happy. Maggie truly loves life and celebrates everything about it. In the morning if I give Maggie oatmeal for breakfast, she makes an audible "mmmm" sound as she eats each bite. Sometimes she even tries to lick the bowl clean because she savors every last drop!
One important aspect of Harnessing Your Personal Power is to begin to live in a state of gratitude. As my inner despair got to its worst a few years ago, one of the only ways I knew how to shift my emotions was to begin taking stock of anything and everything I could feel grateful for. I saw that if I focused my thoughts on things I felt grateful for, my emotions shifted from feeling negative or down to feeling positive or up.
The more that I focused on gratitude and walked one thought at a time down "The Trail of Gratitude," the better I began to feel. The more I took stock of things I was thankful for, the more blessings in my life I became aware of.
Gratitude is now a daily practice for me. Anytime I feel myself starting to get sad, worried, fearful or depressed, I can regain my power by focusing my thoughts to gratitude.
As you approach this week, I encourage you to start expressing gratitude for anything and everything you enjoy in your life. Make a list -- from little things like a nice, hot cup of coffee to big things like having a joyful child -- get it all out on paper. Then, begin letting the people around you know when you feel gratitude for them. Imagine what the World would be like if we expressed to those around us how much we appreciate them. . . I envision a World where people smile more and where more adults begin to jump for joy.
If you happen to have any stories to share about things in your life that make you jump for joy, please pass them along to me. I enjoy sharing in joy with as many people as I can!
May you create an experience in your life that gives you the opportunity to jump for joy this week!
A big hug to all,
Trish
Saturday, October 13, 2007
First Step To Harness Your Power
This week I wanted to take a few minutes to explain why I chose "Harness Your Power" as the name for this blog. I've experienced major transformations in my life the last few years -- in fact, people around me often remark how different I am. The changes are visible in my physical appearance, my emotional state and in how I carry myself through life each day. The changes I've experienced have allowed me to harness my personal power so that I truly enjoy each moment of life and so that I create what I truly desire to experience in my life.
My desire with this blog is to share with you ideas that will enable you to begin harnessing your personal power so that you too can enjoy life to the fullest.
Several years ago I felt stuck in my life. While I was succeeding in my career, I felt empty when I went to work. I would wake up each morning with a pit in my stomach. Even after 8 or 9 hours of sleep I still felt drained. I was extremely worried about the future of my oldest daughter who has special needs -- would she be able to lead a normal life? I worried all the time. Each month when I sat down to pay the bills I felt my chest tighten and my blood pressure rise -- how were we ever going to "get ahead?"
I stayed in constant motion during the day. I wanted to keep busy because I believed relaxation had no value. The fast pace of my life, on top of the tremendous fear and worry I had inside, brought me to a point of complete physical and emotional exhaustion. I honestly felt that I was going to breakdown if I didn't start to change my life.
What a gift that "tipping point" was for me. It was the worst feeling I'd had in my life but it was the catalyst for me to take steps towards making personal changes that would transform my whole life.
This week I share with you one of the most important steps I took in my journey of transformation: I slowed the pace of my life and I began to create spaces of silence throughout my day.
I had packed my days full of activity -- rush to get out the door, rush to work, non-stop motion at work, rush to daycare to get the kids, rush to get dinner on the table, rush to get the kids in bed, rush to the gym to get in a quick workout then CRASH at home for a few moments before bed. Rush, rush, rush, rush. . .stress, stress, stress, stress. I knew something had to give if I was going to find time to focus on healing and personal change.
I made a decision, a very difficult one for me, to stop going to the gym in the evenings. This was a hard choice for me -- I had struggled with my body image all my life and I worried that I would gain weight if I stopped going to the gym. But, I knew that my priority needed to be inner change so I decided to leave gym workouts to the weekends.
Instead of going to the gym in the evenings, I decided to sit in silence after I got the kids in bed. I left the TV off and sat on the couch each evening. At first, even a minute of silence felt like an ETERNITY to me. I felt awkward and uncomfortable with quiet. I had become accustomed to constant noise in my life. I saw my inner noise turn on as I sat quietly. My mind raced. My thoughts were unruly. Why couldn't I get my mind to settle down? I had no idea how difficult sitting in silence would be!
I'm the type of person who likes a good challenge -- and I saw immediately that learning to master my mind was going to be my next personal challenge. Each night without fail I would take my position on the couch and close my eyes. I began using my breath as a focal point. If I saw my mind begin to race, I would refocus on my breath. I did this over and over again in the few minutes I sat quietly. After several weeks of doing this, I saw that my mind began to slow down a bit. I also noticed that sitting quietly simply felt good. Breathing deeply relaxed my body. Slowing my thoughts relaxed my mind.
I decided that I would create more "spaces" in my life for silence. Rather than having news-radio or music on in the car on my way to work, I turned it off and enjoyed a few moments of peace before I walked into work each day. I would sit and breathe deeply as I drove. I laughed at myself as my hand would still reach to the power button on the radio in my car each day -- I saw what a creature of habit I was! I knew it was time to create new habits. That is what I did.
During my lunches at work I would take a few minutes of lunchtime to enjoy spaces of silence. If it was nice outside I would take a walk and focus on the beauty of nature as I walked along rather than allowing my mind to go through my mental to-do list. Sometimes I would find a park bench and be totally silent.
By slowing down my life, I opened up the space to change. By slowing down my mind, I opened up the space to heal. And, healing is what happened. I began to see how much healing my thoughts needed. (I will save that topic for another day -- Healing Your Thoughts is another essential aspect of Harnessing Your Power.)
How fast are you going every day? Do you ever feel out of control and overwhelmed by the schedule you are keeping? Is everything you are doing really necessary? Or, are you in constant motion for fear of what you might feel like if you slowed down?
If you are ready to harness your personal power, consider slowing down the pace at which you live. Consider as well giving silence a try. . .these steps I took opened the doors to tremendous joy, inner peace, hope and inspiration to flood into my life.
One last thing I wanted to share with you-- I had the privilege of speaking to an amazing group of 110 kids last week at Hudson Community Enterprises. These 15 - 21 year olds were so full of energy and excitement. Each one of these kids is disabled to some degree and they go to Hudson Community Enterprises to learn life skills and job skills that will prepare them for life after high school.
The highlight of my time with them was the point in my presentation when we practiced our new, positive thoughts. We all were on our feet together shouting at the top of our lungs "I CAN DO IT. I'M GREAT. I'M TALENTED. I HAVE GIFTS TO GIVE THE WORLD!" Imagine the energy that filled the room as we joined together in one voice to express these truths.
If you want to feel really good right now, why not get up on your feet and shout some of these thoughts -- see how good it feels to use these positive thoughts to get your good energy flowing. In fact, why not say these thoughts to yourself at the beginning of every day?
I'd love to hear from you if you ever want to discuss these ideas further. Please drop me an email at patricia@patriciaomoqui.com . Or, feel free to post your comments to this blog here on the website.
May your week be blessed!
My desire with this blog is to share with you ideas that will enable you to begin harnessing your personal power so that you too can enjoy life to the fullest.
Several years ago I felt stuck in my life. While I was succeeding in my career, I felt empty when I went to work. I would wake up each morning with a pit in my stomach. Even after 8 or 9 hours of sleep I still felt drained. I was extremely worried about the future of my oldest daughter who has special needs -- would she be able to lead a normal life? I worried all the time. Each month when I sat down to pay the bills I felt my chest tighten and my blood pressure rise -- how were we ever going to "get ahead?"
I stayed in constant motion during the day. I wanted to keep busy because I believed relaxation had no value. The fast pace of my life, on top of the tremendous fear and worry I had inside, brought me to a point of complete physical and emotional exhaustion. I honestly felt that I was going to breakdown if I didn't start to change my life.
What a gift that "tipping point" was for me. It was the worst feeling I'd had in my life but it was the catalyst for me to take steps towards making personal changes that would transform my whole life.
This week I share with you one of the most important steps I took in my journey of transformation: I slowed the pace of my life and I began to create spaces of silence throughout my day.
I had packed my days full of activity -- rush to get out the door, rush to work, non-stop motion at work, rush to daycare to get the kids, rush to get dinner on the table, rush to get the kids in bed, rush to the gym to get in a quick workout then CRASH at home for a few moments before bed. Rush, rush, rush, rush. . .stress, stress, stress, stress. I knew something had to give if I was going to find time to focus on healing and personal change.
I made a decision, a very difficult one for me, to stop going to the gym in the evenings. This was a hard choice for me -- I had struggled with my body image all my life and I worried that I would gain weight if I stopped going to the gym. But, I knew that my priority needed to be inner change so I decided to leave gym workouts to the weekends.
Instead of going to the gym in the evenings, I decided to sit in silence after I got the kids in bed. I left the TV off and sat on the couch each evening. At first, even a minute of silence felt like an ETERNITY to me. I felt awkward and uncomfortable with quiet. I had become accustomed to constant noise in my life. I saw my inner noise turn on as I sat quietly. My mind raced. My thoughts were unruly. Why couldn't I get my mind to settle down? I had no idea how difficult sitting in silence would be!
I'm the type of person who likes a good challenge -- and I saw immediately that learning to master my mind was going to be my next personal challenge. Each night without fail I would take my position on the couch and close my eyes. I began using my breath as a focal point. If I saw my mind begin to race, I would refocus on my breath. I did this over and over again in the few minutes I sat quietly. After several weeks of doing this, I saw that my mind began to slow down a bit. I also noticed that sitting quietly simply felt good. Breathing deeply relaxed my body. Slowing my thoughts relaxed my mind.
I decided that I would create more "spaces" in my life for silence. Rather than having news-radio or music on in the car on my way to work, I turned it off and enjoyed a few moments of peace before I walked into work each day. I would sit and breathe deeply as I drove. I laughed at myself as my hand would still reach to the power button on the radio in my car each day -- I saw what a creature of habit I was! I knew it was time to create new habits. That is what I did.
During my lunches at work I would take a few minutes of lunchtime to enjoy spaces of silence. If it was nice outside I would take a walk and focus on the beauty of nature as I walked along rather than allowing my mind to go through my mental to-do list. Sometimes I would find a park bench and be totally silent.
By slowing down my life, I opened up the space to change. By slowing down my mind, I opened up the space to heal. And, healing is what happened. I began to see how much healing my thoughts needed. (I will save that topic for another day -- Healing Your Thoughts is another essential aspect of Harnessing Your Power.)
How fast are you going every day? Do you ever feel out of control and overwhelmed by the schedule you are keeping? Is everything you are doing really necessary? Or, are you in constant motion for fear of what you might feel like if you slowed down?
If you are ready to harness your personal power, consider slowing down the pace at which you live. Consider as well giving silence a try. . .these steps I took opened the doors to tremendous joy, inner peace, hope and inspiration to flood into my life.
One last thing I wanted to share with you-- I had the privilege of speaking to an amazing group of 110 kids last week at Hudson Community Enterprises. These 15 - 21 year olds were so full of energy and excitement. Each one of these kids is disabled to some degree and they go to Hudson Community Enterprises to learn life skills and job skills that will prepare them for life after high school.
The highlight of my time with them was the point in my presentation when we practiced our new, positive thoughts. We all were on our feet together shouting at the top of our lungs "I CAN DO IT. I'M GREAT. I'M TALENTED. I HAVE GIFTS TO GIVE THE WORLD!" Imagine the energy that filled the room as we joined together in one voice to express these truths.
If you want to feel really good right now, why not get up on your feet and shout some of these thoughts -- see how good it feels to use these positive thoughts to get your good energy flowing. In fact, why not say these thoughts to yourself at the beginning of every day?
I'd love to hear from you if you ever want to discuss these ideas further. Please drop me an email at patricia@patriciaomoqui.com . Or, feel free to post your comments to this blog here on the website.
May your week be blessed!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Are You Ready To Receive?
Many times as I am coaching my life-coaching clients, I become aware of areas of my own life where I may still be limiting myself or not living my life to the fullest. Several weeks ago I was working with a client (we will call her "Beth" for the sake of this article) and I could see so clearly that the Universe was offering her an amazing gift that she was going to pass up.
As we talked, I saw that Beth held a belief about the situation that was keeping her from enjoying this beautiful gift. She felt she didn't deserve the help and that she could only receive so much help from a person. After our discussion, Beth decided to talk with her friend and she is now enjoying the house and the additional time she needs to determine her next steps in a very challenging life situation.
As I listened to Beth that day, I saw that I had many beautiful gifts people were offering me that I was not taking them up on. A friend of mine was offering me a free massage because she enjoyed my daily email list so much. My cousin was offering to teach me a new form of stretching that helps to balance your body's energies. My husband was offering me the opportunity and freedom to take more time for myself. Yet, I was letting these amazing gifts sit on the table because I felt I didn't have the time to enjoy them.
After my conversation with Beth, I decided that I needed to take the Universe up on the gifts I was being offered. I am so glad that I did! Last week was a wonderful week for me -- I had that massage and was able to release some lingering negative energies that were causing pain in my body. The next day I spent lunch stretching with my cousin. My body felt energized and realigned after we stretched. Yesterday I enjoyed a wonderful haircut while my husband watched the kids. By taking the time to receive these gifts I allowed myself to feel refreshed and re-energized.
I have asked the Universe for some BIG gifts recently -- to see my book published quickly and easily, to be guided to additional speaking opportunities so I can reach larger and larger audiences with the message in my heart. . .but, I believe the Universe offers us small gifts sometimes to see if we will be able to receive the large gifts we have asked for.
After experiencing such a rich, beautiful week last week, I've decided that I am going to take the Universe up on ALL the gifts that are flowing into my life. Giving and receiving are part of the same flow of energy. Many of us give and give and give of ourselves. Yet few of us take the time to receive and enjoy what people are offering us. I challenge each of you to look at your lives and see what gifts you have sitting on the table of your life. . .are you ready to receive?
Receive and rejoice -- I promise you that you will be glad you did!
Her friend was offering to allow her to continue to stay in a nice house for a very reasonable price. Beth was at a major crossroads in her life and really wanted and needed some more time to listen to her heart and make a major, life-changing decision. She was forcing herself to make a decision more quickly because she felt she didn't have a place to stay anymore. Beth felt internal pressure to move out of her friend's place because she felt she was "taking advantage" of the situation her friend was offering her. Her friend was being blessed by the situation because she needs someone to live in the empty house and take care of it. Yet, Beth still felt that she shouldn't take her friend up on the offer anymore.
As we talked, I saw that Beth held a belief about the situation that was keeping her from enjoying this beautiful gift. She felt she didn't deserve the help and that she could only receive so much help from a person. After our discussion, Beth decided to talk with her friend and she is now enjoying the house and the additional time she needs to determine her next steps in a very challenging life situation.
As I listened to Beth that day, I saw that I had many beautiful gifts people were offering me that I was not taking them up on. A friend of mine was offering me a free massage because she enjoyed my daily email list so much. My cousin was offering to teach me a new form of stretching that helps to balance your body's energies. My husband was offering me the opportunity and freedom to take more time for myself. Yet, I was letting these amazing gifts sit on the table because I felt I didn't have the time to enjoy them.
After my conversation with Beth, I decided that I needed to take the Universe up on the gifts I was being offered. I am so glad that I did! Last week was a wonderful week for me -- I had that massage and was able to release some lingering negative energies that were causing pain in my body. The next day I spent lunch stretching with my cousin. My body felt energized and realigned after we stretched. Yesterday I enjoyed a wonderful haircut while my husband watched the kids. By taking the time to receive these gifts I allowed myself to feel refreshed and re-energized.
I have asked the Universe for some BIG gifts recently -- to see my book published quickly and easily, to be guided to additional speaking opportunities so I can reach larger and larger audiences with the message in my heart. . .but, I believe the Universe offers us small gifts sometimes to see if we will be able to receive the large gifts we have asked for.
After experiencing such a rich, beautiful week last week, I've decided that I am going to take the Universe up on ALL the gifts that are flowing into my life. Giving and receiving are part of the same flow of energy. Many of us give and give and give of ourselves. Yet few of us take the time to receive and enjoy what people are offering us. I challenge each of you to look at your lives and see what gifts you have sitting on the table of your life. . .are you ready to receive?
Receive and rejoice -- I promise you that you will be glad you did!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)