" Courage ... "

Watch the band through a bunch of dancers.

Quickly, follow the unknown

With something more familiar.

Quickly, something familiar.

Courage, my word. It didn't come. It doesn't matter ... 

Simple explanation

For anything important any of us do.

And, yeah, the human tragedy

Consists in the necessity

Of living with the consequences.

Under pressure. Under pressure.

Courage, my word. It didn't come. It doesn't matter.

~ Tragically Hip ~ Courage ~

***

Feeling like it was time to re-fuel my soul, I've been watching Tony Robbins on Oprah’s Life class.  And it has helped me gain a new perspective around “living with courage”.  Living a fearless life really equates living with courage.  From the first moment when Tony walked on stage, he exposed the myth of living a fearless life. 

Tony said, "There's no such thing. Fear is a natural instinct that we are born with. Living fearlessly isn't necessarily accurate. You can't live a totally fearless life, because if you're never afraid, you can't be courageous. To have real courage, you have to be afraid of something."

Makes sense right?  And we may not realize that we are always stepping outside our comfort zones ... as we experience life changing events.  Change is inevitable.  So accepting fear instead of ignoring it is the first step as a reminder to embrace and accept that we are human. 

Now ever think of courage as a muscle?  Not me.  Yet  master life coach Tony Robbins says that “courage is a muscle that has to be strengthened”.  We can work this muscle as we set ourselves up for success by working at living a courageous life ... a constant work in progress ... a lifestyle that takes practice.

I realized that it is important for me to understand where the fear is coming from first instead of convincing myself that I am not afraid.  I need to face my fear head on.  That in itself is a scary thought ... afraid to face your fear.  But when you do, you can begin to understand where your story originates from.   Then you have have the ability to change it, if you have a strategy ... an individual approach to deal with your fear.

Thanks to Oprah & Tony, I have been re-affirmed to strengthen my courage muscle by continuing to work on my state of mind in my current journey with cancer ... not to just survive but to thrive by continue to take all that powerful fear energy and transform it, redirect it and focus on healing, nurturing, loving and living.

My Daily Mantra: Everything I want is on the other side of fear

" Protect Yourself ... "

I protect my imagination while I'm looking at my self

I don't follow the signs to the outskirts of my life

I protect my imagination behind those giant doors of steel

I'll drive to my visions on a Mainstreet of this life

Don't dream your life, live your own dream

'Cause that what you want, is what you feel

Do what you want, live up your life

it takes little time but you'll be surprised

Just take a chance, see what you get

feelings they don't know, which you ever had

~ Warchild ~ Protect Yourself ~

***

When we open our minds, we can be curious instead of judgemental.  When we open our hearts, we can be compassionate instead of cynical.  When we open our will, we can relax into the unknown instead of being fearful.  Yet, when we try to live our lives in this manner, we may not be prepared when others use our ability to feel and emotionally manipulate us.  I know this sounds a bit off but the reality is this happens, to all of us, and it is important to recognize it and learn to protect yourself.

The wonderful thing is that as human beings we are wired to feel empathy ... when someone displays an emotional reaction, our instincts are to incorporate the emotional reaction in forming opinions and decisions.  This seems natural.  Yet, we have all come into contact with someone who pays attention to our emotional reactions and uses it for manipulation.  

Emotional manipulation ... it is when someone uses their emotional react to control or dominate.  

This doesn’t mean you need to view everyone as emotional manipulators.  Just learn to recognize that some people have such an inflated concept of their own importance that they have no issues to do what it takes.   

It is important to recognize these emotional manipulators ... if someone is turning everything around on you, pretending to help, blatantly lying to you, taking you on a guilt trip, telling you that you’ll be worse off without them, always blaming others and draining all your positive energy.  Chalk it up to emotional immaturity ... either way, you do need to protect yourself.

How?  Protect yourself by confronting the other person who has ignored your initial feelings.  Protect yourself by not giving into unfair criticisms.  Protect yourself by journalling or blogging to validate yourself.  Protect yourself by not allowing someone to make you feel sorry for something which you should not feel sorry about.  

Massive life lesson here for me ... my feelings matter and it is not up to someone to validate them, it is up to me.

I continue to live my live with an open heart ... something I had to learn to do by trusting myself ... knowing what is right for me, standing by my truth, with no intention to hurt myself or others around me.  But I will admit there is one condition ... I have learned to protect myself without losing faith in humanity, by practicing kindness and compassion in hopes it will be reciprocated.

" What Happens Tomorrow ... "

You've got to believe 

it'll be alright in the end 

Fighting, because we're so close 

There are times we punish those who we need the most 

No, we can't wait for a saviour 

Only got ourselves to blame for this behaviour

And nobody knows what's gonna happen tomorrow 

~ Duran Duran ~ What Happens Tomorrow ~

***

How do you define motivation?  Is it what makes things happen?  Without it, is there any desire or drive to accomplish or create?  Once I understood what was moving me in one direction or holding me back in another, I started to understand my motivation triggers.  And started to make things happen.  For me, motivation affects everything I do and every choice I make. 

We usually can slot into one of the below motivation types ...

Achievement ... pursuing & attaining goals ... this kind can be combined with the drive to be good at something.  Achievement motivated people like work, responsibility and take pride in solving problems.  

Affiliation ... strong desire for love and acceptance ... there is a drive to relate to people on a social basis.  Having a support system is crucial.  Compliments, good attitude and cooperation are valued.

Security ... essentially a deep concern for the future.  The feeling that accumulating money and material possessions eases and shelters the pathway to the future.  Change and risk-taking is stressful.  Having steady work and dependable income is comfort.

Nuture ... need to give support, help, service and gifts to others with no strings attached.  Important factor is knowing you are lending comfort or a listening ear.  This is associated with the ability to empathize and respond to the needs of others.

Fear ... often imposed from an external source.  Creates worry and stress.  Internally, the feeling of need for change, due to pain and fear of remaining in a situation is often a catalyst for this type.

Power and Influence ... intensely driven to put in an extra effort to accomplish goals for this promise.  Competition with others is evident.  Influence, leadership, desire to control and responsibility for others are by-products of a power position.  Positively, results are achieved, negatively, power used for personal aggrandizement.

So what motivates you? Unlocking your motivation type(s) can help you understand your personal values ... what truly energies and excites you.  Once you know what these values are, then you can plan your goals around them.  If you are still unsure, study the some of the most successful people.  They understand what their values are and live their lives in accordance with them.  

You’d be surprised how many of us though, live our lives according to other people’s values. We end up devoting a large amount of time to things that genuinely don’t matter to us which results in those feelings of de-motivation & sluggishness. 

Some of my personal values are health, innovation, learning and insight, fun and adventure.  I make a concerted effort to ensure I am factoring in these values every day in some way.  I am careful not to confuse my values with ‘pleasurable activities’ ... values are not always about instant gratification – but they assist you to grow as a person in the long run.

“Never let the things that matter to you most be at the mercy of those that do not”

" Just A Test ... "

As time goes by in this give and take

As long as I learn I will make mistakes

Now, what do I want? What do I need? 

Why do I want it? What's in it for me? 

It's the imagery of technology

Is what you get is what you see

Don't worry your mind 

When you give it your best

One two one two this is just a test

One two one two, this is just a test

~ The Beastie Boys ~ Just A Test ~

***

Just when I think I got it handled, it sneaks up on me ... fear.  What was my trigger this time?  I had to book diagnostic and lab work tests for the end of the month.  Since I have done this many times before, it seems odd that I would still have anxiety surrounding a follow-up test.  But it is present and very real.

It was somewhat settling to know that a lot of people tend to develop some kind of phobia to test for cancer or even mention the word simply because of the ‘fear’ of being diagnosed with the disease.  Been there, done that ... now, I am trying to manage my fear during my treatment.  Not an easy task.  I realize that feeling anxious is common before routine check-ups.  Sleeping problems, poor appetite, mood swings and feeling more aches and pains are common in the lead-up to the appointment.  Personally, the initial experience with the radiologist brings back bad memories.  It makes me feel vulnerable.  It makes me feel out of control.  It makes me sad.

But so much as happened since that time.  I have been on the Gerson Therapy for 57 weeks now.  And when you know better, you do better .... I haven’t been sitting around hoping it would just go away.  I haven’t been in denial.  I have been managing my illness.  So now I have to manage my wild thoughts ... realize that not every little change is linked to the dis-ease ... continue to believe that I am healing my body.  It is a process I have to give myself the allowance to go through it.  Yet honestly, sometimes I wish I could just twitch my nose and perform a spell like Samantha on Bewitched ... *sigh ... this too shall pass ...

* Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health * Loving myself heals my life * I nourish my mind, body and soul * My body heals quickly and easily

" Naturally ... "

How you choose to express yourself

Its all your own and I can tell

It comes naturally, 

it comes naturally

You follow what you feel inside,

It's intuitive, you don't have to try,

It comes naturally,

It comes naturally

~ Selena Gomez ~ Naturally ~ 

***

13 months of natural living ... I have had no salt, no spices, no meat, no fish, no dairy.  I have used no hair colour, no makeup, no perfume, no nail polish, no metal jewellery.  I have had Hippocrates soup twice a day, baked potatoes twice a day, vegan meals, oodles of daily natural supplements, coffee enemas (3 to 5 times a day).  13 months of a very clean, natural, holistic lifestyle to rid the cancer and heal my body.  And, this may seem extreme and intense, and it is ... but it has to be as cancer is a serious dis-ease requiring serious treatment.  

To think everyone is going to be inspired to do the same is naive ... and the thought may be, “why should I?  I don’t have cancer?” ... But what if you lived your life in a manner that ensures you don’t have to take extreme measures one day?  What if you tried to live a clean lifestyle now?  It is possible because we don’t like dirt in our lives on all levels ... physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  

Since I have been asked several times about how to, I thought I would blog about shifting into a cleaner, natural lifestyle ....

Begin with cleaning up your addictions.  Addictions to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or gambling are the obvious ones when taken to an extreme and abused.  But what about the Internet, food, TV, work, shopping ... you will be able to identify what is your vice as addictions tend to suck up your time and resources.  They deplete of energy and make you feel unsatisfied.  Be honest with yourself and and make an effort to get rid of them.

Next try cleaning up your priorities.  These can be great but you can have too many ... we are not superheros so to feel balanced you need to make choices.  Some things have to be at the top of your list while others can be left behind for a while.  When you choose the right priorities, everything will fall in place and you will feel satisfied with the choices you make in life.

Now try cleaning up your diet.  I find a clean diet so beneficial as it brings my mind in balance with my body and soul.  Eliminate fast foods, highly processed foods, go organic!, add fresh produce (as much as possible), make your own food so you know what’s truly in it, eliminate added sugar and salt from your meals.  From experience, what I eat affects how I feel, how much energy I have and the obvious, how healthy I am. 

Next step is cleaning up your goals.  These are similar to priorities.  Manage goals in different areas of your life without sacrificing your sanity.  When your lifestyle turns into a lengthy to-do list, you will feel out of control and balance.  Right here right now ... focus on what matters most.  Set up a goal and break it down into bite-size pieces to tackle.  Re-evaluate them and make sure they are aligned with your priorities.

Remember the basic premise of a natural lifestyle is one that makes you feel like a whole person.  This includes any way of living of being that allows you to feel as if you are being nurtured and are given the freedom to grow.  Start paying attention as you know what makes you happy and feel complete within your physical body, emotional mind and sacred spirit.  The key to personal well-being lies within each of us individually ... the question is not whether we can, but how committed we are.