Untangling old beliefs

"May the Divine bless you and keep you.  May Divine Light shine on all that you do.

  May health and happiness come your way and love fill your heart throughout each day."

How have these first few weeks of the new year been for you?  It’s been a bit of mixed bag for me and for most of the women I’ve spoken with!  The new year usually brings a lot of enthusiasm – like there’s a reset or fresh start, which is great.  Love that - woohoo, clean slate!
But, this year, in particular, I’ve noticed that underlying the resolve or intention to do things differently is the idea that we’ve been doing “it” wrong.  (Whatever "it" is - health, relationships, career, or just life in general.)  Underlying the desire for 'different' is the desire for 'better' - because what we've done is just not quite good enough and we should have been or done more or better.  Ouch!  (Darn those dreaded shoulds! Arrghh!!!)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We all know that "should" is a 'bad' word, often trapping us in unhealthy ways of thinking and behaving.  You can probably FEEL a constriction when you use the word.  Yet, for women, especially, how we're supposed to be (should be, shouldn't be, should do, shouldn't do) have been woven and deeply ingrained in us. 
We've managed to make our way even with the constraints, yet now, we've entered even more interesting times.  Times in which we are being called to stand up and show up in different ways, be leaders in our own unique ways.  To do that, we'll need to learn to untangle ourselves from those dreaded shoulds and tell ourselves the truth - our truth, rather than what's been acceptable in our families, our cultures, even our own minds.

Untangling

We often don't realize that our worries, fears, concerns (all the things that make up our shoulds) are like spiderwebs - not only do we get caught in the tangle, but the web is sticky - and seems to attract even more negativity!    I've found a simple way to start unwinding the strands:

Begin by taking some gentle, deep breaths, and relaxing as much as possible by imagining you're entering a luxury spa where all your the senses are soothed and every need is being taken care of.  Then imagine yourself stepping into one of those beautiful, sunken tubs, filled with water that's the absolute perfect temperature for you to simply let go.  Ahhh.

As you relax and soak, luxuriating in this soothing environment, imagine all the knots begin to loosen up, and that there's a gentle working of the strands, which just naturally creates more room between each of the them.  When there's more space, you can have more clarity about how each of these strands actually fit in your life - or don't, and can be let go of!

For those who enjoy guided meditations, here's a link to a Soul Spa meditation I did a few months back (about 23 minutes):  
https://kamalam.audioacrobat.com/download/kamalam-20190123181705-8111.mp3

You may not realize it, but some of those strands are out-and-out lies that are really ridiculous, some are merely habitual thinking, but the bottom line is that we've just taken them on, assumed them as truths and simply not investigated them.  Now we've got more awareness and can make new choices that will help us answer what's calling us.

Just today I had the chance to see this in action, when I heard about a new opportunity that would introduce me to a new group of people.  But I'd have to be bold and stand in my gifts.   I immediately thought, "Oh, I couldn't do THAT!"  I might be stepping on someone's toes.  I caught myself almost immediately and heard another little voice said "Well, sure you can!"   It gave me an opportunity to examine my thinking, rather than automatically dismissing an opportunity because it was out of my normal way of behaving.   The truth is, the new behavior might annoy a few people, but thre's absolutely nothing wrong with it - it's a smart move and of service to others.   

The times are changing and, if you're reading this, you probably recognize it and also you're being called on to say yes to an inner urging.  And you may need to get some things untangled in order to move forward.  Recently, one of my colleagues sent a note about the changes she feels need to be made, and this line struck me, since I was noticing my own entanglements:

This is a time of a new empowerment, which requires of you alignment with your Most High expression. 

This alignment will be easier, more straightforward, if we get untangled and free ourselves from the thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that have imprisoned us for all too long.  

I hope you'll listen to th Soul Spa recording and get a sense of untangling happening.   Here's the link again:
https://kamalam.audioacrobat.com/download/kamalam-20190123181705-8111.mp3

blessings,

Kamala Murphey