Harness Your Power: Silence, Silence, Silence

Silence is rich.  I have been spending time in quiet, deep breathing almost every day for the past seven years.  There is nothing like a few minutes of breathing to calm my spirit.

I've realized that no mater how long I spend breathing deeply, there is always benefit.  In the middle of the day if I take a few breaths and stop my thinking for just a moment, I feel renewed.  If I sit for ten minutes after the kids have gone to bed, there is great reward in this too.  Longer periods of twenty to thirty minutes take me into a deep state of inner peace and joy.

When I need answers to my most pressing concerns, a few minutes in silence connects me to a Divine Wisdom.  I find that the answers I need more easily emerge when I am quiet inside my mind.

If you have a mind that races with fear, worry, guilt, shame and stories from your past, perhaps it might be worth your time to sit quietly and breathe deeply.  It may feel difficult at first because your mind will want to keep it's pace.  If you persist, you will find that your mind will grow calmer and your body will feel renewed.

When I attended a seminar last year we actually ate our meals in silence.  It made the experience of eating toally different.  Rather than exchanging stories with other participants, we were solely focused on enjoying our food.  They also encouraged us to spend one day of the seminar in total silence -- no speaking or communicating with anyone.  It was joyful to do this, in some ways'a relief to be with the group but have no pressure of interaction and no need to say anything.

This week I encourage you to spend at least a few minutes a day sitting quietly and breathing.  Just incorporate it wherever it fits into your day.  Let your cares go for that time.  Just focus on your breath and allow your body, mind and spirit to completely relax.  You may find that you hunger longer and more frequent periods of silence.

I am doing this with you.

Much love,
Patricia Omoqui, The Thought Dr.
http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Live & Love for Today

In light of the recent occurences in Haiti, I have reminded that TODAY truly is the only day we have.  We never know how our lives might change in an instant.  In fact, a family friend died suddenly this week.  She had no idea her time to move on would arrive so quickly.  It did.

I was reminded of a video I created called Life Is a Dash .  It goes by so quickly.  Please watch this and make sure you live with purpose and passion. 

Live for today.  Love with all your heart.  Move beyond judgment and drama and enjoy the people in your life.  Find what you have in common rather than fighting over differences of opinion.  Follow your heart and your dreams.  Don't let fear or self-doubt keep you from doing what you love.  Take steps every day to create a joyful, happy, peaceful life experience.

Observe your thinking.  Choose to focus your thinking time on what you WANT to experience.  Let go of past guilt and shame.  Move into living today.  Let go of future worry.  Move into life today.

I am here to help and support you in living your best life.
I choose to live on purpose.
I choose to find the beauty in each moment.

Will you join me?

With my deepest love,
Patricia Omoqui, The Thought Dr.
http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Let Your Light Shine This Week!

I was reminded of a wonderful analogy this week -- one that I knew from my days growing up and going to Sunday School. Do you remember the song, "I'm Going to Let it Shine?" The part that really got me thinking this week is where it says: "Hide it under a bushel, No! I'm going to let it shine." I never understood what the "bushel" represented before. But, as I was coaching my clients this week, it became so obvious to me.

I believe that our inner lights are hidden under fear, stress, worry, self-doubt, shame and guilt. These are all part of the "bushel" that we put over our inner light. Our inner light is still shining inside of us. . it is just waiting for us to remove the layers of fear that have built up over the years. As we peel back these layers one by one, we begin to get a peek of our inner light. The more fear we remove, the more our inner light shines. When that light shines, it illuminates our World!

One of my clients this week was focused on some challenging life circumstances -- and he was feeling overwhelmed by what was happening. As we talked, it became evident that he was making a lot of assumptions -- assuming that the worst case scenario might happen in each situation. As we talked and looked at the assumptions and the fear behind the assumptions, he began to see that it was possible to shift his thinking and focus on the BEST CASE scenarios instead.

We can begin to shift our thinking and make new assumptions. The key is that in every situation where we feel the panic, the fear, and the worry set in, we have to step back to understand "WHY?" we are feeling the way we do. If we observe our mind and watch our thoughts we can clearly understand the feelings we are having. Then, we can learn to shift our thinking.

As my client finished up the week, he started to see that much of his worry was needless -- the situations were turning out in a very positive way for him. The energy he was spending on being worried and upset was keeping him from focusing on clarifying and moving towards his dreams.

The question for each of us to answer this week is, "Can I assume the best will happen rather than the worst?" As you do assume the best of people, of situations and of yourself, you will allow your light to shine in the World.

The World needs more of us to unleash our Inner Lights. Let's shine this week. Why feel the worry and stress of the holiday? Could we instead feel the joy, the excitement, the beauty of sharing our love? How we feel and how bright our light can shine is merely dependent on how we focus our mind.

It's exciting to know this. It's even more satisfying to live this truth.

Ok, so, no more hiding your Inner Light. It's time to shine again! "Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!"

A big hug to you all.
May this week ahead of you be full of positive thoughts and wonderful excitement.

I trust you can see and feel my light shining. I send you beautiful energy this week and hold this truth for all of us.

Trish

p.s. I still have a space or two left in my Circle of Power Life Coaching Group. Check out http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/circleofpower.html for more details. If you sign up by Dec. 17th you will receive a discount.

p.p.s. If you really want to start off the New Year moving at the speed of light towards your dreams, then sign-up for one-on-one life coaching. You will be launched into 2008 in a way you could never have imagined! Check out what other clients have said: http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/lifecoach.html (see the bottom of the page).

Will You Choose Joy this Holiday Season?

One of the most helpful questions I have learned to live by is, "What will bring me joy?" I used to live my life out of a sense of obligation and guilt. I would force myself to do things I didn't want to do. I would often go places I wasn't really all that interested in and I would hang out with people who I really didn't resonate with . I did all of these things because I felt I SHOULD do them and that I HAD to do them.

As I hit the tipping point in my life several years ago and felt totally overwhelmed, I began to watch what was motivating me to do all the things that I packed into my daily schedule. I found that often I was acting out of obligation. I would force myself to call someone because I felt obligated to stay in touch. I would force myself to go to the gym every day without fail, because I felt I HAD to do this to stay in shape (even days when I dreaded going or felt exhausted, I pushed myself to go). I would buy Christmas gifts for people because I felt I HAD to or NEEDED to rather than because I wanted to. I also would attend events out of obligation -- I would show up at the event but be somewhere completely different in my mind while I was there, wishing I hadn't gone at all.

As I saw the energy behind the decisions I was making it occurred to me that the reason I was not enjoying my life was because I was acting out of obligation, the desire to please others and putting my joy in consideration last.

I now choose to live my life in joy. If I am going to an event, I go because I want to go. If I decide to call a friend or business acquaintance, I call because I know I will enjoy talking to them and reconnecting. If I decide to buy someone a gift, it is because it feels good to share my love, money and energy with them. By acting out of joy as often as I possibly can, my life has changed dramatically. I feel joy almost all of the time! Life feels good, easy and light when you act out of joy.

My challenge to you this Holiday Season is to watch the motivation you have behind the activities you choose to be involved in, the parties you choose to attend and the gifts you decide to buy. Ask yourself, "Am I doing this because it brings me joy?" If the answer is yes, then you are on the right track and you are bound to have an enjoyable holiday season.

Here are some daily affirmations to use to keep you focused on making good choices during the Holidays:

I choose to live in joy.
I choose to experience inner peace.
I choose to feel hopeful about my life.
I choose to enjoy each moment no matter what the circumstance.
I choose to see my own value and to trust my intuition.
I choose to be powerful and make good decisions rather than feel victimized by life.
I choose to amaze the World as I connect to my talents and begin expressing my authentic self.
I choose to dance, sing, play and lighten up about my life.
I choose to share love with each person I encounter.
I choose to listen and hear what others are saying.
I choose to have a blessed, peaceful and joyful Holiday Season.

(Note: To get the most out of these affirmations I suggest you print them and keep them with you. Read them first thing in the morning and last thing in the day. Say them aloud and say them in front of a mirror. Keep a copy in your purse or your wallet -- as you have spare moments throughout the day, pull them out and read them over and over. Affirmations work if you practice them and allow them to become part of your subconscious mind).

Imagine if you truly began to choose all of the above things! The more you make joyful choices with your thoughts, words and actions, the better your life is going to feel.

Choose Joy this Holiday Season. . .and allow yourself to enter 2008 focused on enjoying every single moment of your life!

With a big hug to all,
I celebrate each and every one of you.

Trish
www.patriciaomoqui.com
Join my free Teleclass this Tuesday at 7 pm EST: http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/harness.html

Facing a Monster: Guilt

This week was a delightful week for me. My birthday falls the day before Halloween and my family and friends made sure I celebrated in style -- I was showered with flowers, cards, good food and some special clown plates and cups for the party that my 2- and 4-year old girls threw for me.

Another exciting part of this week has been the progress I've made towards publishing my first book: Transformation: Journey to Awaken Your Authentic Self. The book cover is being designed by a wonderful woman in Germany named Llana! She has a beautiful website if you are interested in seeing some of her work: http://www.llananeal.com/ . (I'll keep you posted once we determine a publishing date!)

On Halloween my girls transformed into kitty cats and meowed their way to bags full of candy. This was their first "real" trick-or-treat experience. Skye, my 2-year old, would say after each door we went to: "Another one door!" In other words, "let's rush to the next door and get some more candy, Mom!" Watching my kids have fun like this filled me with wonderful energy and brought back some funny childhood memories.

While some monsters only show their face during Halloween, there are some monsters that stick around all year long. One such monster is GUILT. I was reminded of the power of guilt this week as I had sessions with my life-coaching clients. One of my clients was on the verge of making a major decision and the driving force behind the decision was guilt. She felt guilt on many different levels and because this monster was so strong, it was overpowering the voice of self-love that was whispering to her.

The wonderful thing is that she is growing aware of the guilt. Awareness of guilty thoughts is the first step towards becoming free of this monster. By understanding guilt and knowing it is there, we can then determine if we are going to allow this monster to bully us anymore. Guilt drains our joy. Guilt causes us to focus our energy on doing things we often do not want or need to do. Guilt causes us to feel obligation. Guilt blinds us to joy. Guilt brings us suffering.

I challenge you this week to observe your mind and take note of all the times you feel guilt. Write these thoughts down on paper and look at them closely. Keep tally of how often this monster approaches you. You may be surprised to see how often this monster appears in your life.

Question these thoughts of guilt. Ask yourself: What would my life be like if I acted out of self-love and joy rather than out of guilt? Would I continue to do the things I do each day? Or, would I use my energy on other activities? What emotions do I feel when I focus on guilty thoughts? How would I feel inside if I chose not to feel guilty?

These are some powerful, transformational questions to consider. It's better to face a monster head on than to allow it to continue to haunt you!

May you have a blessed, guilt-free week ahead!

A big thanks to all who made my birthday so special,

Trish