Harness Your Power: Be Thankful

So many people are in the midst of challenging times. The key to finding peace is to stay centered in the present moment and take stock of the multitude of blessings in our lives. There is always something good to find. There is always something to smile about.

I've been focusing my attention on the blessings. Whenever my mind goes towards worries, I stop. I decide that I will stay positive and I will avoid suffering by letting go of worry-based thoughts that arise in my mind. Even when things are tough I see now that I don't need to suffer even more by going over the issues in my mind over and over and over. I used to do this all the time and find myself sick to my stomach, exhausted and wanting to hide from life.

I have realized that I always have what the Universe desires for me in each moment. Everything (whether abundance or lack) is a blessing. It is an opportunity for me to stretch my mind and expand my heart. It is a privilege to walk through challenge because it gives me more opportunities to implement what I say I believe.

So, this week, take time every day to list on paper all that you can be thankful for. If you find your mind spinning and upset about the challenges in your life, stop and breathe. Release your burdens to the Universe. So much of what we worry about is not in our control. Let's not focus our energy on the things we can't control. Instead, let's control our attitude.

If you are looking for a great book, I'm reading one right now called Happiness Is A Choice. It's EXCELLENT to read right now!

A big hug to all,
I'm here to support you any time you need me!

Patricia Omoqui
http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Move to Deep Inner Peace and Calm

This has been an interesting week for me. I feel as if my internal energy has been shifting and growing more calm. My grandfather's death triggered some deep intensities -- though I miss him, I knew that what I was experiencing was different than grief. This event stirred up some of my deepest fears and pain. For a few days I sat with this old energy and just watched it. After I moved through it, I experienced a state of calm and peace deeper than I've know my whole life.

Even though there are many seeming challenges in my life I feel relaxed and peaceful. I am experiencing evidence of these internal changes in my outer world. As my energy is shifting inside, I see "stuck" points and areas of clutter in my house disappearing. Though I've envisioned these changes for a long time, they are suddenly getting resolved. I am able to simply and easily move into the space and take care of it. I wasn't able to do that before.

I also find that the Universe truly does make my schedule. When I stop worrying about how things will work out, they just do work out easily and effortlessly. My daughter Skye got a stomach bug on Wednesday night. I had several life coaching clients scheduled for Thursday. Skye needed my attention on Thursday when she stayed home from school. I was shocked when 2 of my 3 clients called and cancelled their appointments. This rarely happens! Then, when my remaining client called, Skye was asleep and I was able to give my full attention to coaching. There is truly nothing to worry about. Everything works out perfectly.

I am also getting to a deeper knowing of a verse in the Bible that says something like, "No matter what state I find myself in, I can be content." I feel truly satisfied right now with what I have. I even feel that if for some reason I lost everything, that the peace that passes understanding would still be there. And, if for some reason the Universe poured millions of dollars into my life, I'd still be in peace. My joy, peace and hope don't come from the material world, it comes from my connection to my Source.

I don't know if I'm expressing in words the profound sense of calm that I have within. My energy used to be so frantic, fearful and worried. I've focused for the last few years on shifting my thinking, on healing the deep hurt and pain in my being...and at last, I've come to a level of peace I thought to be possible....but now know to be possible.

I look forward to journeying deeper into this peace. I apologize if these ramblings aren't fully clarified. I am trying to express this new experience in words and sometimes words aren't adequate to express what we feel.

I wish you deep peace and inner calm this week.

There is nothing like it. It changes everything.

A big hug to all,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Love and Give

This has been a shocking week for me. On Thursday I received a call from my mom. She told me that my grandfather had passed away. I could hardly believe the news. Even though he was 87, he was strong, positive and a constant in my life. Saturday we had a simple but touching memorial service to celebrate his life. As people shared stories about my grandfather and talked about how he had impacted their lives, the theme became clear: he loved and accepted every person he encountered and he had a giving heart. (This picture shows my grandfather and my niece, Trinity on Christmas Eve this past year).

It's amazing to see the ripple effect that my grandfather's love had on our family. Because of him, my mom learned to be kind and truly accept people. Thus, she passed that gift on to me and taught me, through her example, that every person I encounter is important, special and worthy of love.

My grandfather was extra-special to me. After my parents divorced when I was 16, my dad was absent from my life. During those years, my grandfather played a vital role. He came to all my volleyball and basketball games. He was one of the loudest voices in the stands, "Go Trish!" I heard that throughout every game and it was so comforting and encouraging to have him cheering me on. He was there when I scored my 1,000 point at Souderton High school. He walked me down the aisle at my wedding. He was at the hospital soon after each of my children were born. No matter where I was traveling or what I was up to in my life, I knew my grandfather was thinking of me, supporting me and praying for me.

An amazing life. I believe life is so very simple. Our true purpose is to be love, to share love and to engage in loving acts to show others they are important to us. That's it. Very easy to do. So, why does it get so complex?

It's ironic to me that today our pastor spoke about being a generous giver. It's like the Universe continued the theme from the memorial service yesterday -- what joy comes when we are willing to give from our heart lovingly. As we do, we receive tremendous gifts in return. There is no need to be stuck in a "MINE" mentality -- guarding our possessions, striving constantly after more stuff, postponing our joy for a day when we have more.

On another note, I had the opportunity to spend some extra time with my daughter Maggie this week when we went to a doctor appointment. On my way home she said to me, "Mom, I love my life. I love our neighborhood. I love my house. I love my friends. I love my school bus. I love my family." Wow. She has never so clearly expressed her gratitude for her life. I smiled wide as I heard her words. I am SO thankful to have a 6 year old daughter who loves life. There is very little more that I can ask for than that my children be happy, grateful and full of love.

I desire to pass on to my children what my grandfather gave to me: I want them to understand that every person is an incredibly unique creation of God. I want them to learn by my example that each person deserves to feel respected, accepted and loved rather than judged.

My joy in life right now is so profound. Though my grandfather's death has brought many tears, it has also shown me how simple, loving acts can make a tremendous difference in the world.

May you be filled with inspiration to LIVE LOVE this week.

All my love for each of you.

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Live What You Know

This week I had my first session with a new client. She is a wonderful woman and I truly enjoyed the time we spent together. At the end of the session she said, "I know all these things you are telling me. In fact, I tell other people to do these things but I have not done this myself."

What I consistently see in my life coaching work is that we often need a bit of support to begin putting into practice the simple concepts that can improve our lives. We all know that if we eat healthy and exercise we will feel better. We also are aware that if we choose good thoughts, we can create better results in our lives.

Several years ago in the midst of my inner transformation, I bought a card that had the following phrase on it, "All know the way, few actually walk it." I framed the card and hung it by my bed so I could see it in the morning when I woke up and at night when I was ready for bed. I needed constant reminders that to become who I wanted to be, I had to put into action what I knew in my head.

Living in a new way takes consistent willingness to practice new ideas. Once you get the hang of practicing fresh ways of approaching your life, you will feel so much better. Once you taste feeling better, you won't want to go back and stick with your old ways. You may repeat old patterns but the suffering will feel so bad to you that you will soon shift your direction.

My challenge to you and to myself this week is to LIVE WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW.

Choose good thoughts this week.

Get up and get active. Move your body.

Get rest, eat healthy foods.

Engage in positive dialogue with others rather than dramatic, negative dialogue.

Listen intently.

Live in the present moment.

Open to miracles in each present moment.

Release the past. Stop worry of the future.

Be alive right now.

Enjoy every moment.

You know these ideas already, right? So, take a couple of them and take baby steps to practice them each day.

One small choice a day can begin to make a big shift in dynamics in your life.

If you need support, find a friend, a mentor or a coach like me to help you get started and move in the direction of what you REALLY want to experience in your life.

A big hug to all.

You are loved more than you understand.

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Enjoy Life's Synchronicities

One day this week the idea came to mind to go to a store in the area and buy myself the largest size sketchbook they have. I enjoy doodling, coloring, and journaling. In fact, last year my mom bought me a set of colored pencils and I began drawing and sketching for the first time in my life. I've never been "artsy" in any way. But, as I've started the process of doing some artwork, I've been surprised at what can emerge when I just relax and let what is in my heart flow out onto the page.

As I was driving to the store to buy the sketchbook, another idea popped into my mind. I stopped at a thrift store on the way and decided just to look around for a few minutes. I'm so glad I followed this guidance. I went in and found a big sketchbook with heavy pages at a wonderful low price. I knew it was for me because on the front cover was my symbol -- a blue butterfly!

When I attended a life coaching training several years ago in California, one of the speakers had us do a simple exercise. He had us close our eyes and do some deep breathing. Then he had us pose a question to ourselves, "What is my soul symbol?" He suggested we listen to the first answer or picture that popped into our head. The answer that came to my mind was a butterfly. Next he asked us what color our symbol was. I immediately sensed it was a blue butterfly.

When I woke up the morning after we had done this exercise, I went to check my email. Would you believe that someone had sent me an e-card and on the front of the birthday card was a blue butterfly! What! How is this possible?

Of course, after that training I began seeing blue butterflies everywhere I went.

So, back to the thrift store. I picked up the sketchbook and went to the counter to pay. The counter near the cash register was a glass case with jewelry and other small items in it. As I was waiting to pay I noticed a beautiful, silver butterfly ring and a pair of butterfly earrings with small blue gems in them. How amazing. And, they were very reasonably priced so I purchased them.

For the price I would have paid at the store I had originally intended to go to buy the big sketchbook, I instead got the sketchbook and the butterfly jewelry.

Amazing how the Universe works and guides me even in the small, fun aspects of living.

What a blessing this sketchbook has been. I am an early riser. The morning is my favorite time of day. Each day I get up around 5:30 a.m. I got downstairs to have my coffee and I sit with my sketchbook. I use whatever words and images that come to my mind to create a page that represents where I am in my life. What I love about this is recording my life lessons is so fun when I'm doing this in an artistic way!

Do you tune into the guidance you receive? When you get an urge or an insight to call someone, stop at a particular place or write to someone, do you follow this guidance? If you don't, what is holding you back? Life is so amazing and rich when we tune into this wisdom.

The more I quiet my mental chatter and release my fears, the more I hear this guidance. The more I follow this direction, the better my life becomes. There are times when I am in such awe of how I am helped with even the smallest details in my life.

Knowing and experiencing this brings deep inner peace. I feel myself relaxing into life more and more. Fighting life, worrying and fretting about things. takes too much energy. It is just not necessary to get worked up. The key to stopping this it to notice the patterns of worry, fear and self-doubt going on in your mind. Just notice them. Watch the impact these thoughts have on your life. Question the thoughts. Ask if you might be able to choose new thoughts, ones that help you to feel better.

Notice this week when you receive inspired ideas. Follow them. See what happens. Share your synchronicities with others...it is so lovely to see how we are all guided in such fantastic ways. I'd love to hear your stories like this. Drop me an email if you want to share.

Enjoying life's synchronicities and opening to experience even more of them!

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Follow Your Guidance Fearlessly

This week was an exciting, intense week for me. I did another taping session for the TV segments that I have on STV in Nigeria and on MindTV in Philadelphia. It was fun getting prepared and seeing everything come together. I have a wonderful group of supportive friends and teammates who helped make it possible (a big thanks to each one of them).

*Here is the link to one of the videos we just produced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y06I8D4LJwo . Please rate it and leave your comments after watching it on youtube!

What I am seeing so clearly in my life right now is that it is essential that we follow our inner guidance fearlessly if we want to create the life we long for. If you are guided to do something, take action even if it feels a bit scary or uncomfortable. That is what I've been practicing the past few years as I launched my career as a speaker, life coach and writer. I had my dream. I was unsure of how it could all come together. But, one day at a time, I took my baby steps. The cool thing is that I didn't need to figure it all out in my mind. I just had to be ready to seize the opportunities that presented themselves to me. I had to be willing to step out on faith and do things I might not have done before. As I did, things came together in miraculous ways.

This continues to happen. I'm not worried about the results anymore because the process of living, expanding and exploring this adventure of life is so enjoyable. The journey of life is not about the final destination or about the achievements. It is about allowing ourselves to live fully every step of the way. As we release our past and let go of worry about our future, we are empowered to really, truly, fully live on purpose RIGHT NOW.

Your time is now. Don't delay acting upon your guidance. Quiet your mind so you can hear the Universe guide you. When you understand your next step, don't question it. Follow through. Even if it seems like a stretch or it feels a bit scary, just do it. Learn from each step. Grow. Be willing to do your part and then see how the miracles come together. The people, resources and opportunities you need do appear at the right time. Trust the timing of the Universe...it is always for your best.

In the next few days my new video segments will be ready for viewing. I'll be releasing one each week via my daily email list.

Following My Guidance Fearlessly,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/

Harness Your Power: Live Life Fully

I saw a wonderful movie on New Year's Eve called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was the story of a baby who is born with the makeup of an old, 80 year old man. As he gets older in age, his body gets younger and younger. It was a heart-warming story and I found myself in tears at several points in the movie.

First, during childbirth Benjamin's mother dies. So the father, in great despair over the baby's monster-like appearance as well as the death of his wife, runs through the town and leaves the baby on the steps of a home. Little did he know that it was a home for the aging. What touched me early in the movie is the way that Queenie, a woman who worked at the home, accepted and loved this baby, adopting him as her own child, even though others found him difficult to look at. Benjamin was given a loving home that supported him during his early years.

The movie showed how quickly the cycle of life moves . People were continually dying in this old folk's home and babies were being born. It caused me to notice how fast my own life is moving -- I am 35 now and my children are growing bigger and smarter by the day. I don't want to miss out on any of the richness of life's experiences. I want to be tuned in and engage all of my senses on this wonderful adventure that I'm living. I want each day to be full of joy and purpose.

Love was another topic the movie addressed. Benjamin and a beautiful young lady found a soul connection. Throughout the movie they reappeared in each other's lives. It was a passionate, intense love that they shared for one another. Because of Benjamin's disease of growing younger, towards the end of the movie he chose to distance himself from his wife and family. What struck my heart deeply was the importance of fully loving and enjoying the people we care for because you never know how life's twists and turns might prevent you from being as close as you once were.

Live fully. Enjoy all aspects of life -- the upturns and downturns, the times that make you cry and the times that cause you to laugh. We are here to experience as much of our journey as we can allow ourselves. There are rich details of life that are very easy to miss if you are distracted or depressed. Slow your mind. Live in the now. Open your eyes further. See the textures, smell the scents, feel the touches of others, hear others in a new way. Don't miss out.

The time of your life is NOW! It's not in the distance. Will you allow yourself to start 2009 with a new awareness of how miraculous your life is? No matter what challenge you are facing or what mountain you have just climbed, enjoy where you are.

All is well, my friends. It is better than what the media tells you. Don't allow the sensationalized, fear-based news to get you worked up. Stop tuning in to these voices. Instead, look at your life right now and see all the blessings available to you. These blessings come in so many forms -- smiles, touches, laughter, sunrises, sunsets, clouds in funny shapes, flowers standing tall for you to see them, trees reminding you of your strength....take note of it all!

I send each of you a warm hug. May the comfort and guidance of the Universe fill your heart this week.

I'm always here if you need me, only ever an email away,

Patricia Omoqui

http://www.patriciaomoqui.com/