#ryanweiss

“A dear friend of mine is going through a scary time. She's facing a major financial set-back in her business, afraid that it will take down her business, and most of all, she feels like she's tried everything and doesn't know what to do. That's enough stress to blow any of us over. What's most important is that she, and all of us facing challenges, see our scary problem as a massive blessing. We won't get there overnight, but years from now, if approached consciously, we will absolutely see how the challenge shaped us, made us better at what we do, offered us a chance to find our power. If we keep telling the story of how awful this is, we will go into judgment, blame, guilt - all things that keep us stuck in the problem. If we open up and ask the question, "What is this teaching me about myself?" we put ourself in a solution oriented thinking pattern. My friend will learn about the holes in her business. How to leverage her business for the future. She'll be able to smell an issue like this rising up with time to snuff it out in the future. This challenge is tough and daunting and totally ignites her fight/flight/freeze response. It will activate her fear and stimulate her doubt. If she can refocus the story to one of opportunity, she will get through this gracefully. Whatever we face, and we all face something, let's be open to how it is offering us growth, a deep inquiry into ourselves, a chance to get really honest and let ourselves fall apart and put ourselves back together again stronger than ever.”

When we set out to accomplish a new goal we should account for unforeseen challenges. A Start Up Business builds unexpected expenses into their budget. They know that as they open their new business they will need cash to stay afloat while working out all the kinks. So they work that money into their fund raising. So too, we should prepare ourselves for the bumps that will absolutely occur when we choose to up level areas of our life. It will always take more patience, more grit, more presence and commitment than we think it will. That's because any change worth making will bring up all our resistance to making that change. It will bring up our limiting beliefs about ourselves. It will bring up the excuses that have help us back. Let's expect that to happen so we can fill up our energetic bank account with plenty of cushioning to be prepared for those unforeseen challenges. If we don't we will be seduced by the problems rather than seeing them as what they are - opportunities to commit to our new path. So, maybe you are embarking on a new goal - load yourself up with love and compassion now. Maybe you are mid goal and finding yourself stuck or frustrated. Pause, take a breath and see the block as an opportunity to learn to climb in a new way.   Take care of yourself so you have the energy to approach life with all the power you are. 

“If we live in a lack mentality around anything, when something we want finally comes, we will latch onto it - and then we'll suffocate it. Let's use dating as an example. If I believe that, "There just aren't that many great guys out there," the minute a good one comes along he will consume my whole world. I'll grab on quick because, "Who knows when I'll meet another one?" I'll then act from that lack within the relationship, constantly concerned that he will leave and I'll be left alone, yet again, in a sea with very few fish. That desperation (because of a belief in lack) is just not sexy. It repels the very thing we want to attract. Eventually I will sabotage the relationship (even if it seems as though I wasn't the one to blame) which will reinforce, yet again, my belief that I'll be alone forever. On the contrary, when I live in abundance, knowing that this world is filled with ample opportunities to fall in love with someone incredible, my field is open. When a man comes, I'll take time to get to know him. I'll allow the relationship to unfold organically. We will build a connection of trust and vulnerability and, most importantly, authenticity because I have the space to be myself. I will feel grateful for the love we share rather than threatened by its potential to end - while also understanding and accepting that this connection may not last forever. I will hold you tight and also let you go. You will have the room to continue growing. When I believe in a world of abundance I can truly love without condition. Let's live from abundance. Let's search our mind this morning for the places lack exists and shift the script. We live in a world of plenty. If we want to see it, we must first believe it.”

What are you waiting for? What do you really want to be doing but just don't feel ready yet? Is it true that you're actually not ready, are you just afraid to take the leap? There is something that's wanting to be birthed through you into the world. You were placed on this earth to offer it. It should feel too big. It should feel bigger than you. You shouldn't feel ready to do it because it's bigger than your mind can imagine. But our fear gets in the way: How will I do it? Will anyone care? Will it make me any money? We hear these fearful thoughts and we delay our action. We say things like, "I will do it when I'm ready." Guess what, you won't ever be ready to do your most important work. A day is not going to come when suddenly you feel totally prepared to take the leap. We must learn to be afraid and act anyways. It's our practical, rational, linear mind that is telling us we aren't ready. That mind will keep us from taking action because it wants us staying inside of our comfort zone. The ego mind is terrified of you doing anything outside of what is comfortable because it won't know how to keep you safe. Either you will let the ego mind being control, or you will venture into your Spirit. Your Spirit is nudging you, reminding you, asking you to please trust that you have everything you need now and everything you will need will show up when it's needed. Take the leap. The net will appear when you need it. You will be caught. I know it's scary because I've done it myself and I continue to. I've been doing it for long enough now that I am thrilled when something scares me. I know that's exactly what I'm supposed to do. Be afraid and act anyways.

“Inside of relationships we are asking to question our beliefs, what we think we need. We are given the chance to shine a light on our judgements and, if we choose, surrender those judgements to see clearly. It’s all about context - how we think of the relationship’s purpose in my life.  If I believe that comfort is the purpose of relationships, then I am going to have a really rough time when things get rough…which they will. If I believe that healing is the purpose of relationships, I stand strong within the struggles. I can be grateful that my stuff is coming up and asking me to work on it. The ultimate healing of any relationship is tied to my ability to release my control over it. To surrender the relationship. To let go of my expectations. To release what I think I need.“

In the age of information, we are culture that has answers to everything. Or so it seems. Have questions about your health? Go see a doctor. Have questions about how to build a deck? Find someone on YouTube. Got questions about spirituality? Find a life coach, a healer, a guru. Want an answer to the deepest question in your heart? Stop seeking. There's nowhere to go but inside yourself. As long as we turn to someone or something to answer all our questions, to that degree we will feel disconnected from our very own problem-solving intuition. Confidence and creativity and the feeling of a life well lived stems from the connection to that place with in us where the deepest and surest answers reside. The questions that emerge from a yearning deep within your soul. Those questions, left unexamined cause a chaos in our world. The only way in is through silence. Taking a break from life. Not like a vacation for a week a few times a year. A break everyday. 20 minutes at a time. Twice a day. These pauses force us to be aware of ourselves. They wake us up to how we are functioning. Are we energized, clear minded and stress free? Or are we heavy, worried, foggy and scared? Let your mind jump off the daily grind to restore, release stress, recalibrate. Meditation is a gift.