Harness Your Power: Enjoy Every Moment

(This picture is of my children-- Maggie on the left, Skye on the right-- posing by their first pet, a little blue fish. They were so full of joy when they got it several weeks ago.)

This week I had three extra kids at home. My nephews and nieces from London came for a visit. They are 17, 11 and 9 in age.

When visitors arrive our schedules change and our spaces are full. In the past I would have felt a sense of resistance and pressure with this change but instead, I made a conscious effort to truly go with the flow. In doing so, I had a wonderful time. In fact, I found many opportunities to bring out my inner child and experience things I haven’t done in years.

In one week I’ve gone swimming several times, played miniature golf, colored pictures, played hide-n-seek and duck duck goose, drove a go-kart at top speed, ate water ice, ate Popsicles, cooked all sorts of meals and tickled a lot of kids. It’s been a freeing opportunity for me to simply have fun.

I’ve also found enjoyment in watching my children interact with their older cousins. There is a genuine care between all of them. While the big ones like to tease the little ones at times, overall, they all have gotten along well and laughed a lot together. My youngest one, Skye, particularly loves her 11 year old cousin Daniel. Each morning when she wakes up she hops in bed to snuggle with her cousin. It is very sweet to see the bonds develop within the group.

An insight I gained into myself this week is that I hold beliefs that certain activities are more “valuable” and “worthwhile” than others. For example, it seems that deep inside I believe that working is more important than having fun. I recognize this because of the resistance and self-judgment I experience as I have fun. My thoughts often move toward, “Your time would be better used if you were writing or coaching.” I know this pattern I have. As I see my mind go that direction I know that I can stop and shift my thinking to, “it is such a pleasure to have fun and engage in any activity when I give it my attention.”

I’ve been learning to allow myself to be in each moment more fully. As I release these judgments I have and fully engage myself in whatever it is I’m doing and with whoever it is I’m interacting with, I find that my life experience becomes truly joyful.

I encourage you this week to watch the judgments you place on spending time and on the different roles you play. Do you think work is more important than play? Do you find yourself feeling more important when you are at work than when you are playing a parental role? Just watch your judgments. Learn from them. Understand the beliefs you hold.

What if there were no hierarchy of ways to spend time and instead, the attention you gave the moment was the only standard you really needed. Am I fully present right now? Am I giving my full attention and energy to what I’m doing? Am I allowing myself to experience the intensity, joy and wonder of any activity I’m doing?

Lots to think about!
Enjoy the contemplation. Have fun.
I certainly am.

Hugs to all,
Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Release Impatience

I had an amazing experience this week. I was out to lunch for some Mexican food when my intuition whispered to me, "Go to Marshalls." At first I thought, that's silly-- I don't need to buy anything. But again, the whispers came, "Go to Marshalls." I felt the direction so strongly that I knew I needed to follow this guidance even though it made no sense to me at all.

I wandered around the store. I ended up in the home goods section where I found a nice 2009 calendar with inspirational quotes. It was the style I liked and I knew it would be helpful to have my '09 calendar on hand so I headed to the checkout. I wasn't convinced that this calendar was such a big deal.

When I got to the checkout line I noticed a shelf full of books on sale. There were two books that caught my eye. The first was called Peace Angels. It was a coffee table type of book with lots of pictures and very few words. Because of a writing project I'm working on, I knew the book was right for me. Next, I found a book called Mindfulness. One of the daily practices I teach all of my clients is mindfulness. So, I picked the book up and began to look through it. Perfect. It was an amazing find for my own personal learning. It covered the topic of mindfulness in more depth than I knew it could possibly be covered.

I checked out and sat in the car for a few moments in awe of the guidance that led me to these two books. It was as if my guardian angels were directing my every step.

Later that evening I sat down and looked more closely at the book on mindfulness. I opened the book to a chapter on impatience. Again, I got what I needed. Have you ever felt such a strong desire for a dream to become reality that you feel impatient for it to happen? I've experience that feeling on a regular basis lately. "Come on, Universe, I'm ready for this dream to come true now. Can't you see it? Please, bring it on," were the thoughts that often went through my mind.

As I read each word of the chapter I was reminded that each step of my journey is absolutely essential. What I experience today is preparation for my next step... and ultimately, necessary for the dreams I have in my heart to manifest.

So, what is it that keeps me from simply enjoying right where I am in this moment? Why do I want to rush? It's been a week of understanding the importance of keeping my focus fully in the NOW so that I don't miss a gem of wisdom or an ounce of joy.

I challenge us (myself and you) this week to fully enjoy every moment of your life. Why not relax and be patient? If you sense impatience, ask yourself why you feel the need to rush. Then, take a few moments and take stock of the beauty, joy, hope and peace that is already present in your life experience. I bet if you look closely you will see more opportunities for enjoyment and gratitude than you suspected.

Be patient. It's about the journey, not the destination alone.

May your week be full of abundant blessings,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Become Self-Aware

I happened to watch another kiddie flick this past week called Monsters, Inc . It was the first time I'd seen it. For those of you who aren't familiar with the movie, the story centers around monsters who scare children at night in order to capture their screams. They capture the screams to fuel the electric supply in their city. Sullivan, the main monster in the movie, is the best monster in town when it comes to scaring kids.

In one particular scene Sullivan is videotaped as he scares a little girl. As he sees the playback, he is shocked to see how upset and scared the little girl was because of his behavior. He had never realized the impact of his actions on the children he scared each night. In that one moment, as he saw himself in action, he was changed.

This scene really got me thinking. We are often unaware of how we come across to others. It would be fascinating if we were videotaped all the time and could see playbacks of our interactions and the way people responded to us.

I challenge you this week to notice yourself in conversations with people in your life. Pay particular attention when you feel anger or frustration. Hear the tone and volume of your voice. Imagine the facial expressions you have. Feel the energy you are giving out. Watch the other person's response to you -- are they shocked? Scared? Upset? What is the impact you are having on others?

I have become aware of myself particularly in situations when my children are misbehaving. I do my best to keep cool but sometimes my anger builds and I erupt. Watching Sullivan in action last night caused me to look more deeply at my responses and give more thought to how I want to respond in situations where my "buttons get pushed."

Awareness is the key to great change. Become more self-aware this week. As you do, you can learn to consciously choose your reactions, gain greater control over your emotions and spread more peace and love in all your interactions.

With great love and great thanks to Monsters, Inc. for this wonderful insight,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Self-Belief

Since it was rainy here in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July, we took the kids to a movie called Kung Fu Panda. It was a cute, animated flick. There were two ideas in the movie that got me thinking. (They always seem to plant some interesting ideas in kid's movies for the parents.)

The Kung Fu master in the movie was an old turtle. In several situations he said, "There are no accidents in the Universe." The other characters he said this to struggled with this idea -- fighting to show that this could not be possible-- that something was wrong that this big, chubby panda was chosen to receive the Dragon Scrolls.

This got me thinking about myself. While, in my mind, I completely agree with the turtle. I see my heart often struggle with the circumstances in my life. In retrospect, I can always see that the Universe was interweaving and unfolding my path in the most remarkable way. Yet sitting in the challenges and the dark nights in my life, I sit and question -- resisting what is going on, exhausting myself.

Wouldn't we be able to relax more about our lives if we believed that everything was in perfect order in the Universe. I am giving myself the assignment this week to understand this more clearly. How different would I feel if I was able to fully embrace this idea? How much energy might I conserve if I stopped resisting people and situations in my life? Would I go about my life differently?

The other idea that I loved in the movie was centered around the importance of self-belief. The seemingly clumsy Panda expected the Dragon Scroll they awarded him to give him a secret to tap into unlimited potential. When he opened the scroll, it was blank! How could this be? Did the words get erased over the 1,000 years the scroll was waiting to be opened. Or, was there a hidden message?

The Panda felt hopeless, like it was impossible for him to rise up to be the one to save the village. How could he, a lumpy, chunky, clumsy Panda be capable of heroic acts? As he was about to face the evil foe, he looked at the scroll and saw his own reflection. He realized that the key to it all was knowing that he was special, that he must believe in himself. As he did this, magical things happened. He tapped into deep strength, undying courage and rose to the occasion.

Isn't it interesting that so often you can have two people with equal abilities yet one attains greater success and notoriety than the other? What is the difference? What is the "it" factor that they talk about? The key to making magic in life is self-belief.

Many of us think we believe in ourselves. But we find that during life's challenges we start to question our capabilities. We doubt. We begin to limit our possibilities. What if we were able to maintain our self-belief more of the time? If we did, miraculous magic would be unleashed -- sparkling, shining and causing us to question why we didn't just believe in the first place.

I challenge us to take a look at the level of self-belief we are experiencing. Take the time to write down ways in which you continue to question your abilities. Are there negative thoughts and self-talk that you notice this week? If so, commit it to paper. As you see these self-imposed limits, you have the opportunity to transform them one thought at a time.

Inspired by Kung Fu Panda,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/