World peace day: make peace with OURSELVES

Yesterday was World Peace Day and it got me thinking about how we could apply this also to our health and well-being. The question from the official video (link at bottom of blog), “who will you make peace with?” triggered the immediate intuitive response inside of me saying, “ourselves.” How much of our day to day conflict is self-imposed? What can we do right in the here-and-now to create more peace in the world by making our OWN energy more peaceful? Here were some thoughts that came to mind:

The scale. That number has the power to elicit an emotional response in us. Why not try this week to make peace with whatever number shows up, reminding yourself that that number also contains the weight of your heart pumping your blood; the lungs breathing the oxygen you are currently inhaling; the weight of your eyes that allow you to see your child or a flower or a beautiful sunset; the weight of your arms that can embrace someone you love; the weight of your hands able to grasp another in a sign of respect, high-five a friend, or create beautiful works of art.

Food. So often we associate food with guilt or deprivation but it is something to be cherished for the nutrients it provides our body! This week, practice mindfulness with your food. There is a type of zen that comes with eating leafy greens or a juicy piece of fresh fruit :)

Workouts. This is not punishment. This is training your body to be more efficient and getting you to a healthier state! This is a chance to appreciate moving your body and all that it can do! Your body is in it’s highest glory when it is moving joyfully!!

Our bodies. How much are you appreciating your body and truly loving yourself? I wrote a blog on this recently to explain how much of a critical role this plays in our journey and progress:

http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2015/09/love-yourself-to-where-you-want-to-be.html

Work. Make peace with looking at how we get to SERVE. If you’re someone who desires to help people, you can do this no matter what your job is. Here are some ways I have trained myself to APPRECIATE what I GET to do rather than viewing it as a “should do” or a “have to do” dreaded obligation (this applies to workouts too):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJb-OAJSjE8&list=PLXiky4MOw2FjF0FZLuTXQeT__IwOADo3n&index=15

Other people. Sometimes this may be an apology or a conversation to work things out. Sometimes this may be setting boundaries or expectations. Sometimes it may be letting go of relationships that no longer serve us or being more intentional with who we spend our time around. It can also be making peace with other people in our own soul. If the other person is not ready or willing, a conversation or resolution may not be possible. But hanging on to resentment, uneasiness, unforgiveness, guilt, hard feelings, or general bad vibes does not serve us. It causes stress and reinforcement of the negative patterns and contributes to the overall negativity in the world. Working on forgiving the other person and ourselves for any wrongdoing, having compassion for how the other person might be feeling, recognizing that we don’t know their full story or what pain and fear might have been driving them to act the way they did, recognizing that any wrongdoing to us has nothing to do with us and everything to do with their pain, accepting and forgiving ourselves for any hurt we may have caused and learning from it moving forward, mentally releasing toxic energy, and sending love and blessings to that person can literally CHANGE YOUR LIFE!! We cannot control other people, but we do have power over our own thoughts, emotions, actions and reactions as well as the energy that surrounds the situation. Instead of feeding the situation onward with negative energy, let it resolve with your own peace and love about it. Say a prayer of gratitude for any tough situations like this, recognizing that even seemingly unwanted situations like this are all for our greater good, growth, and expansion.

Gratitude for the tough stuff: http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2015/09/gratitude-for-tough-stuff.html

Our time. Let’s make peace with time knowing we only have so much time in a day and be gentle with ourselves, doing what we can, surrendering to the universe what we can’t. Let’s ease our minds with the mantra: time expands, life is long.

Our life. This has a LOT to do with what I described in the video above: accepting what is and recognizing that the “wanted” stuff and the “unwanted” is all working for our greater good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsur7nrcsxc

Not to mention, we have a TON of things in our lives to be grateful for! No matter how bad things might be right now, I know you have at least SOME things to be grateful for! For example, right now, I know you have fresh air to breath, you woke up this morning, you have electricity and internet access, and you have at least one person who cares about you and your happiness and is rooting for you (me!). Start with those little things if that’s all you can muster! And build up to the AMAZING things that completely surround us with beauty and wonder in this world!!

How to create a gratitude practice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa0oqC1aCzw

Ourselves. What are you not forgiving yourself for? What resistance could you let go of? In what ways could you be a little more gentle with yourself? In what ways could you be a little more accepting of yourself, flaws and all? In what ways could you take a little more of a chance on yourself? We can at times be our own worst enemy and critic. Make the world a little more peaceful by starting with yourself!! In doing this, you also give others permission to the same!! How can you be a little more authentically YOU today??

World peace day official video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3_dl-yl74s

Gratitude for the tough stuff

There is always room for improvement, but I have to say I am proud of the point I’m at in my own growth. Instead of being impulsive and reactionary in tough situations, I can handle them with peace and grace. I mean this relatively because I am far from perfect in this regard, but I can FEEL my own progress. And that feels good :)

One practice that has helped me develop this and keep the big picture in mind when handling, processing, or reacting to any tough/sad/disappointing/frustrating situation is to be grateful for the tough stuff that comes along. It instantly pulls me out of fear and reminds me that these labels (“tough,” “sad,” “disappointing,” “frustrating,” “bad,” etc) are only the meaning I’m giving to it by thinking the situation *should* have unfolded in a different way. When I can pull myself out of the emotion of it and into observer mode through this gratitude practice, I am able to remember that EVERYTHING is happening for my greater good and expansion. If it’s happening, it’s because on a soul level, I needed it to happen.

While it is often initially difficult to utter the words, “Thank you for [insert difficult situation/person/outcome],” the resistance seems to fade almost immediately once the full thought is expressed and given a voice and it is replaced with a peace and awareness and understanding and calmness once the bigger picture is allowed to come into sight. I sometimes can even start to feel the tingly excitement of my energy and vibration raising as I do this. I urge you to give it a try too!!

Here is a video where I explain more. I also included some pictures below of the lake I was at when I recorded this. They instantly make me feel peaceful :)

Having gratitude for the tough stuff

Pictures from the lake- enjoy!

Focus on the things that work out better than anticipated!!

On any given day, there are at least a million things I could worry about. I am by no means perfect at not living in fear, but I have gotten a lot better. I did a pretty good job of not worrying about my career future when I knew my job at my old company was in jeopardy. Instead, I threw myself full-force into coaching on the side and I honestly couldn’t have imagined a better outcome in the end. I was sad to see my engineering job go but I find my coaching job absolutely so fulfilling and rewarding and love that I get to help people every single day. That really was an experience that taught me to trust the process, especially since there was no way I could have planned for or foreseen how beautifully things would have worked out (3 years ago I never even knew about this coaching opportunity)!!

I had a similar experience today with something on so much of a smaller scale that it was laughable but it really is a lesson we can apply to all things. I had to make a phone call about an order I recently placed. I was dreading this call because I thought they mischarged me for something and I was anticipating having to argue and negotiate to get my way. I was frustrated that THEY had made a mistake and *I* would have to waste my precious time correcting it. But I said a little prayer asking the universe for assistance with working this out and made the call determined to be super kind to the person on the other end knowing that we both could work together on this. Well as it turns out, not only was *I* in the wrong about it (they had absolutely charged me correctly), but they ended up waiving a shipping fee just to be extra courteous and I was super grateful! So not only was it faster and easier than I thought, it also had a way better outcome than I could have even anticipated!

I’ve learned over my past 30 years that most of the things we worry about never end up coming to fruition. Often things turn out even better or easier than expected. And occasionally, not-so-good things, some that we never saw coming end up happening, and we deal with those when the time comes. Fear can consume us if we let it. It helps me to remember that the universe has my back and is supporting me step by step. It helps to remember we always have help and support from those who care about us (especially if we’re not afraid to ask)! It helps remembering that some of these perceived “bad things” are some of our greatest learning tools of all. It helps to trust the process and do my best to live fearlessly knowing that things are always working for our greatest good. And of course it helps a TON remembering things like this that worked out better than I could have even foreseen! *FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT WORK OUT BETTER THAN ANTICIPATED!!!* and **JUST TRUST** Easier said than done, I know, but we can all work on it :)

What feels good to your soul?

All the spiritual teachers I follow were talking all week about the new energy being brought in by the new moon in Aries. I knew the official time for this was 2:57pm yesterday (and it was an absolutely GORGEOUS day!) so I decided to head to the park and have my own little celebration of sorts. I went to the park, sat under the trees, journaled intentions I wanted to set for this new phase, put on some music, did yoga, read, and just enjoyed the feel of my bare feet on the fresh, green grass. It honestly felt like food for my soul. I could feel complete conviction in my intentions, power in this new energy, and so full of love and knowingness that all is working out. We are stepping into a new phase and I am ready to step into my higher truth and higher self like never before. Talk about feeling your vibration raise!!!

Whether you believe in these astrological energies or not, I think it always feels good to find a reason (even if it's just a sunny day!) to set some new intentions, feed your soul, and raise your energy. I'd love to hear about what intentions and celebrations you're creating!

Love, joy, and blessings to you!