Change What You Can

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

We cannot change circumstances or other people. We tend to think that if only the other would change, I would be fixed. Or, if only my circumstances would be better, then I would be better.

If you don’t like the way your life looks, then change the way you look at life.

As Dr. Dyer says, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Change what you can change ~ your attitude and your perspective about your circumstances. Then soon you will see a difference in your life.

Be the change you wish to see,
Coach Carolyn

Friday's Purposeful Question

"Energy is equal to desire and purpose." ~ Sheryl Adams

What's draining your energy?

What people, events or things drain your energy? What part of you is not going with the flow? What are you resisting?

Plug your energy leaks and experience what it feels like to work on all cylinders.

Brought to you by Higher Awareness: Know yourself and grow yourself.

Here's to plugging those leaks!

Coach Carolyn

Who Are You?

Don Miguel Ruiz says in the Companion Book to the Four Agreements: “The other humans around you have the capacity to project an image onto you, which means they tell you what they believe you are…. What you believe you are is a distorted image of yourself that came from other people.”

So, who are you? Have you really taken time to sit down with that question? Do you really know who you are, or are you the composite of what others believe you to be?

Remember, everyone has their own image of who you are because you play different roles in everyone else’s story. But who are you when no one is watching?

Hint: you are a uniquely and wonderfully made child of the Divine.

Live into your divinity,
Coach Carolyn

Quieting The Mind

Breathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, focuses the mind and is an ideal way to relax, calm and quiet the mind.

My dear blog sister, Kirsten Harrell, Psy.D. wrote this fantastic article on her site Think Positive! I wanted to share it here. If you want an amazing dose of daily positivity, check out Kirsten’s blog and subscribe to receive her daily ipopins. I write them in my daily planner to read several times throughout the day. It keeps my vibration at an all time high! You can also purchase her ipopins as downloadable mp3’s to carry with you.

*****
Take a deep breathe!
Breathe in… and out. One more time. A nice deep breath in… and gently exhale. Doesn’t that feel good?

Breathing is something that we take for granted. It happens all day and all night often without any effort or conscious awareness. A normal respiratory rate for an adult is between 12 – 20 breaths per minute. That is somewhere between 17,000 and 29,000 breaths per day!

Do you know that focused breathing exercises can help you relax your body and mind? Try this simple yet effective exercise. Count your breaths. Start with an exhalation and count 1. Next time you exhale count 2. Repeat this up to 5. Keep your attention on your breath and the counting. Repeat as many times as you are comfortable with. You can take just a few minutes and you will feel more relaxed and centered. You can do this several times a day to help you stay relaxed, calm, and focused.

You might also try some deep diaphragmatic breathing. Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Breathe normally. If the hand on your chest moves more as you breathe, you are breathing shallowly. Try exhaling fully and then taking a nice deep breath in. You should now notice the hand on your belly moving more. This is deep diaphragmatic breathing! Practice this several times a day. The more you practice, the quicker you will retrain your body to do this type of breathing regularly and the more relaxed you will be.

Research has shown that simple breathing exercises like these can reduce stress and anxiety as well as increase relaxation by calming the autonomic nervous system.
*****

Your breath is always with you. Use it!
Coach Carolyn

Transcending Fear

“Normal fear protects us; abnormal fear paralyzes us. Normal fear motivates us to improve our individual and collective welfare; abnormal fear constantly poisons and distorts our inner lives. Our problem is not to be rid of fear but, rather to harness and master it.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sage advice from a man who must have had an intimate yet healthy relationship with fear. Death threats, house bombings, and beatings would have anyone in a state of normal fear. Yet, fear did not stop or paralyze Dr. King. He did it afraid.

When you live in your purpose, being authentic and doing what you are passionate about, fear can come, but will only motivate you to press forward.

Tiger Woods said that if he does not feel fear when he steps onto the green, he will not play. Healthy fear motivates; creating that sense of excitement that will lead you to live out your authentic self and your purposeful life.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!
Coach Carolyn

Prosperity Monday

“Thoughts lead in to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.” ~ Tryon Edwards

So bottom line: Our thoughts lead to our destiny. Our thinking is what creates our reality. Experts say that we think approximately 60,000 thoughts each day and…

~ over 80% of those thoughts are negative

and…

~ we consistently think the same negative thoughts over and over.

Think about this: When was the last time you had a new thought? Or, do you simply re-hash the same old negative thoughts?

We are divine creators. In order to create, we must dream new and magnificent dreams.

If we don’t like the life we are living, we have the power to think a new thought ~ a thought that will lead to a new reality.

Think a new thought, dream BIG dreams!
Coach Carolyn

Purposeful Question of the Week

"...Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now." ~ From Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

"What questions would you like answered?"

Your soul will always call the answer to you when you are ready for it!

Have a peaceful and passionate weekend,

Coach Carolyn

Teachings of Don Miguel Ruiz

Last week, I was privileged and blessed to see and hear Don Miguel Ruiz here in NYC. An intimate group of about 80 people sat and listened to Don Miguel and Miguel Jr. share the principles of the Four Agreements.

My take away from that evening was being authentic takes little or no effort or energy; while the ego takes a lot of energy.

This is so true. Just watch small children. They are content to just be. They can pretend to be, do, and have anything without any of the baggage attached, like worry, fear, and doubt. Once upon a time, we were those children. Remember? Somewhere along the way we bought the tapes that said we “should”: We should act responsibly. We should be realistic. We should be practical. We should grow up and act our age. We should stop dreaming.

We bought the tapes and we have gotten our money’s worth because we have played those same old tapes everyday, over and over and over again. Because of those tapes, we have lost our authentic self and live out of a false self, or ego. What we need to do is bring back our authentic self. Dream, play, vision, imagine, laugh out loud!

Just for today, be childlike and dream big!

Coach Carolyn

Manifesting Inner Peace

“Bless those who remind you of your unfinished business.”

When there is conflict and strife in your life, instead of pointing fingers at others, STOP, TAKE A BREATH, and ASK:

“What is my part in this?”
“Why is this conflict showing up for me at this time?”
“What is my next inspired action in this?”

Answer: Bless and thank those who showed you what you need to work on and go work on it!

Do you want peace or do you want to be right?

Choose peace, it’s simpler!
Coach Carolyn

Transcending Fear

“Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.” ~ Marilyn Ferguson

Fear keeps our lives small and limited. On a very basic level, fear protects us and helps keep us safe. It is when that protective fear becomes much bigger, turning into a gripping, paralyzing fear. Then this is when the dreams we have imagined begin to move farther and farther away from us.

In order to move from a place of fear to a place of faith and freedom, we must always run towards the thing that we fear. Doing something new will always bring about a certain amount of fear – this is absolutely normal. Once we have done the thing we feared, the death of fear is certain.

Run towards your fear,
Coach Carolyn

Prosperity Monday

“Your life is what your thoughts make it.”
~ Marcus Aurelius

We many or may not be able to change or control our circumstances. We are able to change and control what we choose to think about them. It is we who assign it the label of positive or negative; good or bad; pleasant or painful.

The meaning we assign a certain circumstance is what gives it life. If we don’t like our circumstances, then we need to assign it a new meaning – change the way we think about it.

We have the power to choose a new thought – a thought that will bring us inner peace and purpose.


Make it a peaceful and prosperous day!
Coach Carolyn

Purposeful Tip of the Day

"Will someone else's life be brighter tomorrow because of what you have done today?" ~ William Arthur Ward

Many people are overweight by a few pounds simply because they don’t move around enough throughout the day.

Try to take the stairs whenever possible. Park in the farthest part of the parking lot and also drink a tall glass of purified water before each meal. Lastly, do not eat within two hours of going to bed each night.

Tip of the Day brought to you by MorningCoach.com

Live brightly,
Coach Carolyn

National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day is May 12th!

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that affects an estimated 6-10 million people in the United States, yet half might not know they have it. In recognition of Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, The American Pain Foundation is launching new information, special chats on that day, and other awareness activities, as well as highlighting existing fibro spotlight activities and materials.

Pain needs to be taken seriously and severe pain is a medical emergency. Although chronic pain isn't considered an emergent situation, there are pain issues that require immediate treatment.

Click here and join others across the country to raise awareness about fibromyalgia or find out if your pain might be caused by this disorder.

National Pain Care Policy Act, S. 660
The American Pain Foundation was recently made aware of a video created by a 19 year old college student in Southern California, Casey Mathews, whose mother has suffered from chronic pain for as long as he can remember. As part of a political science class project, Casey created a video and petition. The petition will be delivered to the U.S. Senate to encourage support and passage of the 2009 National Pain Care Policy Act, S. 660.

Watch the video here and then sign the petition here.

You will be helping millions of Americans, and I am one of them! Thanks so much!

Peace is living pain free!

Coach Carolyn

Happy Mother's Day!

"There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." ~ Chinese Proverb