Why Not ~ Go Naked!

Tags

Attachment, Attention, Go Naked, happiness, Heart, Identity, Label, Labels, Lack, Mask, Patterns, Purpose, Rachel Naomi Remen, Soul, Us versus Them

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A label is a mask life wears.  We put labels on life all the time. “Right,” “wrong,” “success,” “failure,” “lucky,” “unlucky,” may be as limiting a way of seeing things as “diabetic,” “epileptic,” “manic-depressive,” or even “invalid.”  Labeling sets up an expectation of life that is often so compelling we can no longer see things as they really are.  This expectation often gives us a false sense of familiarity toward something that is really new and unprecedented.  We are in relationship with our expectations and not with life itself.” 

~ Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal

True ignorance is ignoring a person for who they truly are and buying into your perception of them based on labels.  Might you be fooled by this mask?  Maybe you see a reminder of some familiar yet appalling aspect; you label it based upon something from your own past, a costume, their appearance, sound, accent, the way they speak ~ the way they look, smell, the group they associate with, etc…  How did we become such a lazy assuming society consumed with placing everything and everyone in a neatly constructed box to define them?  We live in “Us versus Them” times where nobody really defines who Us is, nor Them!  We’re overrun with acronyms, labels, groups, organizations, political parties, religious organizations, sports teams, sexual preferences, race, color, rules, laws, … everything that divides us from one another keeping us from actually communicating as individuals and connecting as human beings.  It separates us, polarizes us, creates drama and conflict ~ internal and external!

Do you like to be judged?  I know I don’t and I realize I do it ~ we all do it.  How do you define yourself?  Better yet, how would you like to be defined?  

Why would anyone want to subscribe to being labeled?  It usually equates to a false sense of connection to peers.   Though this is the quickest answer, it often does not lead to fulfilled happiness?  It leaves us feeling a sense of loss of who we are because we’ve locked ourselves into a box of predefined qualities or conditions; we are not allowed to shine independently of these Labels!

Let your thoughts, words, actions define you.  Not a label, not a mask…  Want to be recognized for YOU? 

Go Naked! 

Remove the mask and all the attachments to identities you’ve collected along the way trying to fit in.  It doesn’t suit you nor does it serve.

Simply Just BE YOU! 

Wars are started over forcing one’s will on another.  Why give someone the ammo, fuel, or fire to propel or maintain their need to overpower and control another.  It doesn’t matter if you support them or are against them.  Labeling does both when you buy into it!

We should embrace who we are without the need to fit someone else’s comfort level to define how they should treat us.  If we were taught to confidently go out into the world BEing who we are, nothing would be lost. 

I don’t want someone to treat me like a label.  I want to be treated as the unique and loving individual I am, as I will treat everyone the same. 

If someone walks up to me and declares they are “X-Label”, this implies they are looking for conflict, acceptance, or some sort of reaction to this because they themselves aren’t even certain of themselves and question it.  They seek a response to assert them and their actions.

Have you been putting on labels just so others can feel comfortable around you and gain their approval, at your own expense?  What has it cost you?

What kind of attention are you looking for by shouting from rooftops who you are, based upon labels?  Of course, it draws attention to you ~ just not necessarily the kind you would like.  Chances are if you feel so inclined to draw this sort of attention to yourself, you have not connected with the true you.  Are you acting out in ways to find approval from outside of yourself, or  maybe just to seek a reaction creating a conflict?  Either way, attention you seek, attention you shall find!  Choose wisely how you seek attention. 

You’ve been trying too hard to identify with people, places, and things versus seeing you are perfect, just as you are! 

You only suffer when you don’t go within because of all the time you’ve gone without!

Look within and ask your Heart for guidance.

When was the last time you expressed who you are through your actions?  I’m talking about doing what you enjoy versus doing what you feel others will approve of?  Do you know who you are without putting a label on You?  

If you want to be respected by people around you, don’t go around declaring you are something.  Walk your talk with reverence for what you believe in your heart, as you are guided by Soul and Purpose.

Only the EGO wants recognition for belonging to some label or special group; it declares “I am this….give me attention, respect, put me on this pedestal…”

You won’t see truly humanitarians, spiritual, or humble people running around shouting a declaration like this from the rooftops.

Want to change the world?  Do so by setting the example in your actions.  Talk is cheap!  Anyone who identifies with a group has created a division from themselves and the potential to connect or affect anyone else. 

Let’s not be hypocrites by claiming one group is better than the other because this is why the world is in such a divided state ~ It’s called separation, duality, polarity, Us Against Them ~ None of these look for solutions but instead feed the machine that serves none of us. Remember,

Together We Stand, Divided We Fall!
~ Aesop

Forgiveness starts with self, as do all virtues like patience, compassion, love, honesty, humility, etc…

Erase any lines that divide you and me.  Find creative ways to connect with one another by expressing yourself doing what you love.  Live your life with passion, never sacrificing your heart and soul.  Look for people who uplift you, love and support you for who you are, label-free.  Nurture your own True Nature and watch how those around you gradually do the same for themselves.  Be a pioneer in Life!

Why not?  What have you got to loose? 

~*♥*~   Go Naked & Expose the Real YOU!  You may find you’ll be appreciated more for courageously demonstrating your inner Self versus a mask you may have donned hiding your Self all this time.  BE a Brave New YOU!    ~*♥*~

~ ♥ Lana A. LaBonte ♥ ~

Do You Lack?

Tags

Attachment, Create, Cycles, happiness, Heart, Heart & Soul, Jane Powell, Know, Lack, Patterns, Scarcity, Soul, Struggle, thoughts, Trust, Work

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Do you pay attention to your thoughts, to what you perceive as true, and what you believe to be your reality?  How have they shaped your life?  Do you see yourself living the life you’d always wanted?  Or, are you living the life you were told was more realistic? 

I see most people realizing they are unhappy later on in their life after they’ve met the expectations placed upon them in earlier years.  They’ve checked off the boxes on the script of society’s version of how life should run versus following their Heart.  The importance to follow our Heart is highly misunderstood and ignored in our society meanwhile, it is the Heart which will never lead you astray!

To truly appreciate this, you have to consider that just because a job or career path makes sense versus supporting your passion ~ allowing your Spirit to Soar and your Heart to Sing, doesn’t mean it will yield the same results to acquire that which you desire.  In fact, if you are just working a non-fulfilling job to sustain you, you will always find yourself in LACK, also known as scarcity!  Lack in whatever you do to fulfill your Heart & Soul is LACK overall!  Lack cannot attain, sustain, or maintain.

What might have made sense simply because “it’s just what you DO!  Because that’s what my father did, & his father’s father, & his father’s father… has always done… Nothing comes without Struggle & Hard Work!” will only result in a life of misery. 

Does this ring a bell with anyone?  I know for myself, I had many interests and passions growing up but I followed what was promoted to me as being the secure and safe path.  I was conditioned to believe it a much wiser way to pursue the American Dream yet, all the while, I found myself living a life lacking something and I was unsure at the time.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.  Not until many years later did it occur to me.  My Heart spoke and all the things I did as a child have come back to remind me.  In fact, had I listened to my heart instead of my head, I probably would have stayed with a special someone I had felt deep love for and equally felt loved by.

The other day, I came across this post from Jane Powell’s Meditations for Women:

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“The best career is one with meaning” 

To be truly happy in your career you need to find the right kind of work for you. Not something you think you should do or something somebody else wants you to do.

Some women like to lead, others prefer to follow, some are independent and others prefer to be part of a team. There is no right or wrong. Ask yourself, “What feels right for me?” “How can I use my unique and natural talents?” “How can I bring out the best in myself and provide it to others as a service?”

Dare to take the steps toward finding your own true path by answering the questions above. You’ll discover what comes naturally and what activities make you the happiest.

Best of all, you’ll feel genuine satisfaction and pride when you spend your days doing something you value.
©Jane Powell – Meditations for Women 

Today’s Affirmation: I spend my days doing what I value.  

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Do you want to get back on track with what fuels your deepest desires ~ the ones your Heart knows and not your head?  It’s never too late!  So, what can you do to turn your life around?  At any given moment, you can choose to change the course of your life.  You can start at anytime and in small steps.

Gandhi once said,

The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is fear.

Do only what you love!
For what you desire to appreciate in love must satisfy your Heart & Soul! 
Doing something that brings you joy appreciates in all you do!
Follow your dreams!
The child within you knows the answer!

Remember that doing something just to fulfill what you want without pleasure will never satisfy you because it lacks passion to bring unity ~ this results in there being no flow within the Infinity!

Taking yourself from a place of Lack and Scarcity to Unlimited Abundance and Resources requires a reprogramming of your Thoughts, Beliefs, and Behaviors!  Everyone is worthy of Love ~ Especially YOU!
Be Patient, Be Kind, & BE Love To YOU!

~ Lana A. LaBonte

Sometimes it takes time to re~identify the path we once knew as children but that’s the first step that must be made to get out of an unhappy situation!  Be patient, sit in silence, write in a journal, trace back events, ASK your Heart to guide you, and over time, it will become crystal clear.

~*♥*~   May you find Clarity, Peace, & Abundance from that place deep within your Heart & Soul!    ~*♥*~

~ ♥ Lana A. LaBonte ♥ ~

Death Makes Life Worth Living

Tags

Blessed, Bliss, Breathe, Change, Choice, comfort, Cry, Death, disease, Gratitude, happiness, Heart, Hug, Joy, Laugh, Life, Manifest, Smile, Suffering, victim

The other day I read something so simple, yet profound,
“Death makes Life worth living!” 

So, the question becomes:
“Why don’t we actually see our Life as precious as it IS?”

I look around and see people in states of unconscious living ~ captivated by their technological device to the point they can’t even hold a conversation with another person without its distraction.  Never really taking the time to engage in a conversation with another to fully listen but ready to respond before the other person is finished speaking.  Lives revolve around creating distractions and buying into anything that will distract them from the present moment.  Boasting their own self-importance by making claims there is always something or someone dependent upon them so as to excuse them from anything which may allow them to be responsible for their own free will or choice in a matter because now they have to consult another.  If they’re not in a hurry to be somewhere they don’t know how to calm and relax where they are; the pun ~> they can’t sit still in silence to save their life.  In a hurry to get to a destination where there is no appointment yet looking around to point things causing their delay instead of seeing how they’re actually creating their reality.  This one did this to me or claiming people are against them; yet, never seeing how their reaction and how they handle the situation is what allows it to impact them or penetrate their being into these states of stress, drama, and chaos.  The irony, most fight or flight reactions have nothing to do with fighting or flighting because these are identified as stress by the monkey mind that created them! 

Nobody ever does anything to us even if intentional unless we allow but it’s the fact that we highlight and give it attention which brings it into focus as if it were done to us.  Most everything in life is created through the conscious and unconscious choices we make to react, act, respond, create, distribute, disperse the energies of any situation that comes at us.  We are creators in this life!  We are alive.  We are constantly living while constantly dying but which do we choose to cultivate?  How often do we fall victim to our circumstances while putting us into a depression, feeling as if we’re choosing death? 

Our personal state dictates our living or dying and there is always opportunity to shift and change it.  Why not BE PRESENT in the NOW and Be Grateful for the Breath of Life you Breathe! 

So, why do some choose suffering over living?  Even the most unhappy people can fall prey to staying unhappy because it’s all they’ve ever known or it’s easy to just stay stuck.  It’s all Fear-based ~ the idea of change is much scarier to them than actually being happy.  Change is like death but why not try it out for a change since there’s really nothing to loose!?  Eventually, after making those scary steps a few times it will become second nature and won’t be so scary anymore.  In fact, you may even find it exciting!

How do we get so caught playing the victim of our lives when we have the power to change?  Many of us were not brought up with a strong self-esteem, felt discouraged by the circumstances we feel life forced upon us, we feel we’re helpless or unable to stand up for ourselves, ah but then there’s the comfort in being validated by someone who condones our victim behavior perpetuates it to continue (why change if it’s supported), or just simply Fear, again.  Just owning the fact that we choose if we’re the victim or the victor in any given situation is pivotal to making changes.

Why wait until death is pounding on your door [in the form of disease or near-death] to decide you want to live?  This is the one that makes the least sense.  Our health is a result of our thoughts, our words, our actions, and choices ~ this can be in the form of loving or hurtful energies.  If you harbor resentment, it will curdle in your veins and create dis~ease in the mind which will manifest in the body.  If you have certain addictive and unhealthy eating habits that comfort you in times of stress (which is when cortisol is present – the stress and anxiety hormone), you are feeding another dis~ease to fester into something bigger.  Just as denying yourself one food to choose another less healthy option in the name of diet can have a psychological effect, as well as, set you up for failure because any restriction to the Ego will undeniably come back in retaliation of falling of the wagon.  If you choose to watch sad depressing television instead of exercise (which is a natural antidepressant), your body deteriorates and “if you don’t move it, you loose it.”  Anytime you experience a elevated state of stress, your hormones are thrown out of whack and adrenals go into overdrive.  This is not a time you want to eat but instead, choose a form of movement which will provide an outlet.  Something as simple as walking can elevate your mood, improve muscle tone, flexibility, blood circulation, and burn calories.  Even petting an animal can do this, as it’s been proven to release the feel good hormones – serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin, which is sometimes dubbed “the cuddle hormone,” and it also helps reduce blood pressure and decreases levels of cortisol in the body! 

Food is the most abused anxiety drug.  Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressent.

~ King Kirby, KingKirby.net 

What can you do to Live a more fulfilled and joyous life?  You have absolute, full control to make positive choices in your life at all times!  Kick any old habits of self-defeating thoughts or actions.  Smile often, Laugh more, Cry for Joy or even when you feel you need to cleanse, clean, and wipe away the old, and Keep a Daily Gratitude Journal and fill it with all those things that made you Smile, Laugh, or Cry!  How else can you recognize what makes your Heart sing if you don’t praise what it brings you every now and again [the key is to keep it coming]!?  DO WHAT YOU LOVE!  Could it get any simpler than that?  Whatever it is that allows you to express yourself in the most creative and passionate way is why we’re here. 

Make time to focus, breathe, and meditate because this will not only extend your life but literally slow the aging process.  In addition, it will allow you time to go within and witness the thoughts consuming your mind.  Meditation doesn’t need to be a struggle and there is no goal.  Allow it to guide you, journal what comes up, and allow any thoughts to drift away and over time it will be easier to find stillness more calming.  You may also be surprised over time as you make the time to meditate you will also find it feels like you have more time for other things.

Hug another because we all need and crave human touch; it also releases those uplifting endorphins like serotonin, reduces blood pressure and the heart rate, which makes you more relaxed and content.  And you know, we can ALL use a Hug!  It could turn out you also uplift another and you know the joy in being able to provide joy for another also enforces it in ourselves. 

Where attention goes, energy flows so, ensure you keep your mind clear.  No matter what, focus on the positive because there is plenty out there even in the bombardment of negative media and news.  You can better spend your time and energy away from these things you cannot control, don’t contribute to your own personal life, and only bring you down.

~*~ Life is an echo: what you send out comes back. ~*~

~ Chinese Proverb

Next time you find yourself a little down or catch yourself in negative self~speak, make a choice to turn it around.  Remember, we’re Blessed with this physical body for a limited time so use it wisely! 

Embrace it, Honor it, & Nurture it!
Empower YourSelf! 
Choose Happiness, Choose Life, & Choose to Soar Above!

Blessings,

 ~ Lana      

Let Your Love Shine Through

Tags

Complicated, Embrace, Embracing Inspiration, Emotions, Enchanted, Energy, Enlightened, Expression, fear, Feelings, forgiveness, happiness, Inspire, journal, Life, Light, Love, Manifest, Purpose, Self, self-love, Spiritual, TRUTH

Watching “Enchanted” with Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams.
This scene struck me:

     Robert (Dempsey) is explaining to Giselle (Adams) how “Love is complicated…”  He’s been dating his girlfriend for 5 years and Giselle is perplexed that he doesn’t know if he loves because they’re not married already.  She has only known her Prince a couple days and was about to marry him before the witch pushed her into the wishing well.   He asks her how she knows and she says she loves her Prince because she knows his heart.
Giselle:  “How does she know you love her…”
Robert:  “Well, she knows…we just don’t talk about it…”
Giselle:  “What?  You don’t talk about it?  How does she know you love her…” & then she bursts into song.

So, why is it so difficult for us to express our love to others; suppressing what we feel?  Don’t you feel suffocated?  Just thinking about it makes me feel imprisoned!

Why do we resist what we all desire by denying our expression of it?
My personal belief is that the root of any “dis~ease” is literally suppressing our feelings to the point of dis~comfort manifested in the physical body. 

I recall what it felt like, at a young and innocent age, to be in love! How good it felt to express my feelings toward those I cared for but then, the pain of not receiving the same loving sentiments caused scars, memories, and patterns of holding back for fear of the same recurring rejection.  However I was very lovey~dovey, I realize how my expression was too much for those who had rejected me for who I am/was then.  Looking back, I see how this shaped and limited my relationships over the years but now I also see how my I’m returning to my true nature; kind of like a homecoming! 

I see a lot of ironies in my life regarding passions and interests I had as a child resurfacing.  Innocence is underrated!  When we’re young, we KNOW so much more; we KNOW WHAT PURE LOVE IS!  But we go through so much conditioning we’re not allowed to grow into our own knowledge.  We’re told how love is, how it should be earned, worked for, selectively given to only a few, & not squandered – as if there’s a limited supply of Love available to us.  Now doesn’t that sound absurd!?

~~> BE TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE! 

This is a time to come back to Self, allowing who you are shine to brightly!
Don’t allow anyone to tell you that YOU ARE TOO MUCH of anything, let alone too little.  Chances are, they’re not comfortable enough to be who they are – they feel scared, threatened, & fearful of what others may think of them; ironically, in exactly the same way they react to YOU!   There is a pattern in our behaviors & actions that reveal our inner world.

We’re literally all too concerned and consumed with what others think of us (when it really doesn’t matter and it’s none of our business) to the point we’re not even allowing the Sacred & Divine Flow of WHO WE ARE!  This is the only reason we forget who we are!  We fall into a cycle that’s unnatural because it doesn’t originate from within us, from our Heart.  Instead, we have allowed external sources to dictate the rhythm of our life and dancing to the beat of some unknown drummer.

How do you feel? Are you happy where you are in your life?  What about Love?  How do you communicate and express your Love to the people in your life?  Do you hold back or give it your all?  What have you got to loose with Love?  Do you ever consider the things might regret if you don’t do or say them?

True Compassionate & Unconditional Love is contagious!  Be the example, Shine on, & Pass it on! ♥

The next time you express your true feelings, shine forth your ♥ LOVE ♥ toward those who matter most.  There’s nothing more wonderful than the feeling of making another feel Love!  

♥ ♥ ♥ Embrace Love, Share Love, Be Love ~ Always know You Are Loved! ♥ ♥ ♥

~ Lana

Sweet Surrender

Tags

Embracing Inspiration, Energy, Enlightened, fear, forgiveness, happiness, Inspire, journal, Life, Light, Love, Manifest, Meditation, Purpose, Self, self-love, selfish, Spiritual, surrender, Vibration

This is too often dismissed as Selfish because we’ve been conditioned to believe we must always think of others first.  You have to ♥ Love ♥ yourself first!  How can anyone else love you if you don’t lead by example by showing others how it’s done?  How can you love others if you’re not already versed in Self~Love!? 

True Compassionate & Unconditional Love is contagious!

Just imagine a time when you witnessed a sweet child with their mother and/or father sharing a touching moment that created a warm sensation in your body and bringing a smile to your face.  Why does this radiate with us?  Of course, it brings back those same loving feelings you have had in your past via memories ~ you know how YOU felt and that feeling stayed with you.  Don’t you always want to feel that way?

The other day I read something simply profound, “Death makes Life worth living!”  Although it may be true, I must point to the focus and choice of words.  It almost makes one unconsciously strive toward death or evade it (ironically, this is impossible), instead of simply living and removing this consideration.  The antithesis, “Love makes this Life worth living!” is a much more powerful and positive way to focus our attention, isn’t it!?

So, how can we turn our focus around? 

What are you focusing on?  Is it something that radiates a warm loving feeling?  If it isn’t, try to trace back and center in on what is going through your mind.  Write down your thoughts and how they spiral into different directions.  Trace it back to what feeling you have and why.  You’ll probably find all sorts of emotions bubbling up.  Try not to label them!  Instead, honor them, cry if necessary to cleanse, and allow yourself to feel them before deciding if you’re ready to let go ~ because sometimes we’re not. 

To truly release these feelings, you need to make peace with the situation, people, event, pain, and, most importantly, YourSelf ~ find forgiveness in your heart and send love to all!  You can do this in a meditation or prayer but it may be more effective if you write it as a letter, even if it never reaches anyone, and you may release it symbolically by burning it. 

Keep a small notebook or journal with you at all times and you’ll find tracking and reflecting upon your feelings and thoughts quite effective.  Just start and watch how this simple little exercise can move mountains of fear out of your life! 

Do this for YourSelf!  People will notice the changes and you’ll also see them reacting differently toward you.  Focus on the positive and people will see the positive in You!

Let this day be a day of tuning into Self~LOVE ~ call it Sweet Surrender!

♥ ♥ ♥ Until next time, Find the Gratitude and Always know You Are Loved, ~ BE Blessed! ♥ ♥ ♥

~ Lana