The Magic That Chose Me

As I feel this spine,
As I feel this heart,
As I feel this mind,
As I feel this Spirit,
I know the magic that chose me.

As I experience this present moment,
As I experience this breath,
I know the magic that chose me.

The Magic That Chose You

As I experience the strength of this spine,
As I experience the love of this heart,
As I experience the clarity of this mind,
As I experience the freedom of this Spirit,
I know the magic that chose me.

As I attend to this magic,
As I allow this magic,
As I accept this magic,
As I give affection to this magic,
As I appreciate this magic,
I embrace the glory known as me.

As I express and express and express this magic,
I give the world this glory known as me.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for transforming stress and overwhelm into clarity and purpose”)

No Permission Needed

Confident Vulnerability changed my life. I learned this empowering way of being in my advanced StrengthsFinder® training a couple of years ago. Thank you DeAnna Murphy of Strengths Strategy!

Confident Vulnerability looks like this.

I know what I am. I know what I’m not. I’m comfortable, confident and non-judgmental with and embrace both. I am confident in my strengths and vulnerable about the needs of my strengths and my weaknesses. This also allows me to embrace what you are and what you are not without judgment.

Full disclosure: I am still working on doing all of this more consistently.

And, as I embraced confident vulnerability as a way of life, I quit trying to hide or apologize for my weaknesses. That then freed a bunch of energy to be more fully who I am without messing around in the areas of who I’m not.

And one day recently, it occurred to me that I do not need permission to be who I am, to do what I do, to live how I live, to explore what I feel drawn to explore.

And, neither do you.

How would the world shift if we all lived in confident vulnerability, full out, unapologetically?

What if we weren’t afraid of what people will think?

I do love doing my part.

Last week I was in San Diego attending the Ascend conference. Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m not exactly the athletic type. Well, after hanging with my 12-year-old nephew Justin and 15-year-old niece Hailey, in the few minutes each evening in San Diego before it got dark, I engaged in my new sport.

Yes, I have a new sport.

Ann Strong Blog Post No Permission Needed

Four Square. Yes, the one little kids play. It’s never too late to start. I love this game. Who wants to come to the Land of Enchantment and join me?

No permission needed. Permission slips unnecessary as well!

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

Heart Wide Open

Happy Gratitude! On the eve of our US holiday of appreciation, I give you this poem from my forthcoming book …

Heart Wide Open

Heart Wide Open

Warm sun.
Deep breath.
Kitty purr.
Coffee gurgle.

Soft eyes.
Beating heart.
Soft heart.
Armor melted.

Open arms.
Embracing all.
Boundaries melting.

Open mind.
Open heart.
Quiet mind.
Quiet heart.

Recognition.
Realizing.
Beyond the beyond.

Heart wide open.
Mind in awe.
Surrendered.
In awe.

No rush to cover.
Or control.
Or contract.
Heart wide open.

Heart wide open.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

The Source of Our Experience

Recently I had to sort out something between my doctor, insurance company and pharmacy. Not fun. I realized that the root of my frustration and anxiety was about feeling powerless.

While waiting for replies from them, this piece, Returning to Center, came to me. It reminds me that regardless of how it looks, I am Source. When I remember I am Source, my energy shifts and the external world shifts, too.

Instead of continuing to try to strong-arm things into place (yes, I am good at that :), I decided to leave it alone until the next morning. By 9:30 am, they had worked it out themselves.

To returning to Center, again and again . . .

Returning to Center

Returning to Center

Off balance.
Out of sorts.
Beside myself.
Ah, to be human.

Remembering.
Center.
Returning to Center.
Ah, to be Divine.

Disconnected.
Defending.
Feeling separate.
Out of control.

Connected.
Clear.
Open.
Returning to Center.

Messy misery.
Miraculous Center.
Ah, to be Divinely human.

Returning to Center.
Again and again.
Again and again.

No judgment.
Returning to Center.

All.
One.
Center.

Returning to Center.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

What do you notice for you?

The Happy Privilege of Being You

Never before.
Never again.

Brilliant.
Brilliant shining now.

Illuminating
sacred opportunity.
Expressing the beloved
known as me.

Entrusted
to nurture the beloved
into the fullness of Divine Glory.

Bringing forth
the Brilliance of this beloved.

How could the Universe be any less uplifted by your presence than  by these beloved expressions of the One?
How could the Universe be any less uplifted by your presence than by these beloved expressions of the One?

The entire Universe
uplifted by this beloved’s presence.

Brilliant.
Brilliant shining now.

Never before.
Never again.

Brilliant.
Brilliant shining now.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you”)

Coming Back to Center

Earlier this week, I attended an Evening of Exploration at the Academy for the Love of Learning. We explored Coming Back to Center – Embodied Leadership.

One of the most profound things I learned involved not always being able to tell if I was present within myself while being present with another person. What an amazing awareness . . .

How do I know when I am present with myself? What does it feel like? If I’m not in my own center, what does it take for me to become present in my own center?

I’m excited to share this piece with you – exploring this . . .

Experiencing being present with myself . . .

Experiencing being present with myself . . .


Home

Hello, is anybody home?

As I take a deep breath,
I check inside.

Can I feel myself here?
At home in my body?

I feel the energy of me
In my heart center.

I feel the edges
of my physical home
In the tips of my fingers
and the tips of my toes.

I feel my energetic presence
beyond my physical home.

As I feel out farther and farther,
I experience my Oneness
with my Big Home.

All that Is.

Ah, to be home
And to be Home.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within.”)

I would love your thoughts and responses. Post comments and insights below . . .

Full Dedication

We had the honor of six Tibetan Buddhist monks chanting for us at church last Sunday. Only one of them spoke English, and he spoke for less than two minutes. I was listening to him and now I don’t remember what he was saying. Then, all of the sudden, it seemed as though he woke me up.

He said that our dedication would make the difference. We could pray for one – ourselves or another, or we could pray for all.

If I am praying for patience or peace or prosperity for myself, why would I not pray for patience or peace or prosperity for everyone?

If I am praying for healing or happiness or humor for another, why would I not pray for healing or happiness or humor for all?

I’m not sure why this concept felt so new to me. I have written many affirmative prayers and have often included a Buddhist phrase, “may all beings . . .”

For some reason, the way he said it called me to be present with holding a desire for all, instead of holding a desire for just me or just my friend. The beauty of this: it requires no more of me to dedicate my prayers for all.

So, I wrote a new prayer. For All of us.

AStrong061715-300x300
Why pray for only me, when I can pray for All of us? When my heart
goes out to a friend in pain, why not send my heart out to All who are
in pain?

For the Love of All

May All of us hold our humanity lightly
and embody our Divinity powerfully.

May All of us express our own unique gifts,
in ways that only we can.

May All of us lose track of time,
Living the present moment, fully and completely.

May All of us know ourselves as Love.
May All of us know ourselves as Love.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within.”)

I would love your thoughts and responses. Post comments and insights below . . .

Mindfulness: From the Still Point

“Anything you do has a still point. When you are in that still point, you can perform maximally.”
– Joseph Campbell

Last week, as I was driving through a notoriously challenging traffic crunch area on the highway, I accessed the still point of that particular spot. I actually slowed down to the construction speed limit even though I was in the fast lane.

I wasn’t on the phone, listening to music or eating a snack. I didn’t even take a sip of water. I became one with the highway, the cars around me, my own car. It was as if everything became a synchronized dance. The cars around me flowed with me. No one drove dangerously slow or dangerously fast. No one made any scary, careless lane changes. For 10 or 15 seconds, we all drove in the quiet of the eye of the storm.

Ah, the still point . . .

Working with a coaching client, she felt frustrated about how to resolve a situation with one of her employees. As she accepted her frustration without trying to change or get rid of it, she quit fighting herself. When she realized she had calmed her own inner turmoil, she sighed deeply. And, with her next breath, she knew what to do with the employee.

Ah, the still point . . .

When I sat down to write this blog post, I felt anxious and distracted. I had several topics I wanted to write about and I didn’t know how to choose. As I started to scan the mental hard drive of my mind, I felt this topic rise above the mental hard drive. As this topic chose itself, the anxiety vanished and my whole focus turned to writing.

Ah, the still point . . .

snow covered tree

A few days ago, it seemed way too cold and stormy to take my daily afternoon walk. So, I bundled up and went out anyway. Not long into the walk, I captured the essence of the still point in this photo. Even though the wind continued to whip cold wet snow into my face, I surrendered to the conditions as I received the privilege of experiencing the still point in the middle of a literal storm.

Ah, the still point . . .

What about you? Where is your awareness in regard to the still point within? How might you access the still point within each activity as you go through your day?

I’d love to hear from you.

Post your comments and insights below.

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Creator/Owner Mindset: I Can’t Believe I Fell into this Hole

There I was walking my talk. Like a great coach. And then I fell in that same hole – again.

Let me back up to the beginning.

I had been in a low mood for a day and a half. For a couple of weeks before that, I had made several invitations to people I would love to coach. All of them had said “no.”

I then attributed my low mood to “nobody wanting coaching.” That’s the moment I fell in the hole. But I didn’t realize it at the time.

low mood; falling into a hole

My mood got lower and lower. I felt disoriented and couldn’t focus. Talking with my own coach barely helped. That’s when I knew something was way off, but I still had no idea what it was.

I looked for reasons that my mood was going lower and lower. I knew better than that. I knew that the best way to deal with a low mood involves being graceful with myself and allowing it to pass. I knew better than to engage with it.

I knew better than second-guessing why I got a bunch of “no’s.” I know that no means “next.” In this particular time, I had a bit of amnesia – forgetting all that I know from selling my entire life.

Bless my coach. She was not going to leave me in this place. She sent me a snippet of a video that reminded me about my own power in my ability to choose and my ability to believe.

I immediately, beam-me-up-Scotty style, ascended from that hole. I had given away my power to choose and my power to believe. I flew out of the hole when I realized I could choose and believe again with that very breath.

Oh my God, how can I more consistently remember that I write the story of my life? I’m not in charge of when others say “yes” or “no.” I am in charge of remembering that my life is created from what I think about my life, not what happens “out there.”

Thank goodness for this profession of coaching. A sane, firm, persistent and loving voice when in a moment, I’d gone a bit off the rails . . .

What about you? How do you bring yourself back to remembering the truth of who you are when you forget a little bit?

I’d love to hear from you.

Post your comments and insights below.

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

The Privilege of Being You

Never before.
Never again.

Brilliant,
Shining now.

Illuminating
sacred opportunity
to express the beloved
known as me.

Entrusted
to nurture the beloved
into fullness of Divine Glory.

Bringing forth
the Brilliance of this beloved.

The entire Universe
uplifted by this beloved’s presence.

Brilliant,
Shining now.

Never before.
Never again.

Brilliant,
Shining now.

Image - Ann Strong

Post your comments and insights below.

==========================

Win a solo retreat in Santa Fe (A $1900 value)!!!!!

We have been hard at work for months and are so happy to share the new beautiful, spacious website!
http://annstrong.com/

I was sad because we were not able to bring the comments on the blog to the new site when we made the move. I have figured out a way to remedy that! Bribery!!!

Between now and Jan 1, 2015, if you will take the time to look at the blog and make a comment on 10 or more of the blog posts, I will enter you into a drawing for a facilitated solo retreat with me in New Mexico.
Read all about the retreats at: http://annstrong.com/retreats/

We will announce the winner of the retreat in the Jan 7th newsletter . . .

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order