Heart Vs Ego – And the Winner is…

Heart versus ego. Which to follow? The spiritual path to an enriched life to satisfy your life purpose, or the ‘logical’ path set out by society that brings you all your material needs and maybe partial enrichment of your soul?

Although I consider myself a spiritual being, I have on numerous occasions been seduced by the latter path. There was a time straight after undergrad uni that I commenced my professional career and was on the path of accumulating as many assets and career progressions as possible, and was trail blazing with good success. However, luckily it only took a few years to realise that this did not make me happy, so I chased my hearts desires, seeking adventure by traveling the world and pursued my dream career.

This was a fulfilling move, and at one point, I considered myself the luckiest person alive as I was living my dream career and never felt like I was ‘working’. I was passionate, assisting others to fulfill their goals and dreams, as well as my own. However, as I matured and evolved my values, interests and life theories, I lost passion and desire, and this career no longer enriched my soul. I was in denial about it for a while, as I was very good at what I did and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, but I eventually I took the plunge and went back to study a masters degree, only knowing a vague direction where I wanted to head.

Now that I completed this degree, I find myself in a very interesting position right now. A major transition point. A transformation is about to take place where I am about to experience a very definite closure of one chapter of my life and the opening of a new chapter in a completely new direction. I can definitely feel a strong sense of this, even though I don’t exactly know where.

This is truly a test of patience and faith for me. I am currently in free fall and are counting on blind faith that I will land where I am meant to be. I am a big believer of synchronicity and ‘you end up where you are meant to be’ schools of thought. I ended up in my current career this way through pure chance, meeting the right people at the right time under random circumstances. Having just completed my masters degree, having my rental property sell, and experiencing a quiet time in my current career (normal for this time of the year), all happen within weeks of each other just before Christmas, I find myself temporarily living back at my folks in the country on a ‘life break.’

Although 2011 was an incredibly hectic year, instead of enjoying my ‘break’ and getting excited about what lies ahead, and the impending adventures of new beginnings, I have found myself in a constant state of worry about ‘what am I going to do,’ and ‘where am I going to live’ among other things. I have been following my intuition and gut feel to get to this point, so why have I all of a sudden switched on the panic button? It’s called ego!

Fortunately, I am mentally disciplined enough to catch myself out on such fear based thoughts and to keep in the present moment, and use affirmations and meditation to keep focused, but it hasn’t been easy! The trouble (or rather, blessing) is, my gut feel and hearts desires are now too strong to ignore and having already experienced career ‘bliss’ I can never settle for anything less. When I started to lapse into applying for jobs ‘just for the sake of it’ and look for new living situations ‘just to get settled asap,’ my overwhelming intuition made sure I knew this is not the right path! (i.e. job application emails rejected, that overwhelming horrible tight feeling in your stomach or your heart sinking when you take action on something etc). Interestingly, as a person who is highly analytical and often predicts how things are going to happen, I have become better attuned in ‘what feels good,’ and going with the flow of sometimes very unusual synchronicities, even if it doesn’t fit in with how I expect things to happen.

The point is, if you follow your heart, you always end up where you are meant (and want) to be. The key is to set your hearts intentions, take action when divinely guided (as long as it’s not out of fear), and get out of your own way and let it happen in an effortless manner! If you are putting in too much effort and it’s a struggle, it is a sure sign that your ego has stepped in out of fear. Just step back, clear yourself (through mediation or detach from negative thoughts) and re-affirm your focus. It could also be a lesson for you act in a particular way, in my case, the embodiment patience and trust. In the past I have been is similar positions than I am in now, but I panicked and took action against my hearts desires and eventually ended up back in the same position, which is what I am experiencing now. I am certainly taking this opportunity to fully indulge in this life lesson so this doesn’t repeat again!

In the meantime, I will continue to set strong intentions for my new life and enjoy in my new life lessons in patience and faith!

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

 

Hiding Behind the Veil of Digital Technology

I love how digital technology has made the world a whole lot smaller and we can connect to a worldwide audience instantly, but has it also created the ability to hide from our responsibilities and it is creating a generation of people who are non-confrontational?

While I embrace what digital technology has to offer, I get extremely frustrated at non-confrontational relationships that seem to be forming with friends and colleagues. As Drew Barrymore’s line in ‘He’s just not that into you,’ her comment ‘there’s so many ways I can get rejected,’ rings so true!

Those who know me know I’m a face-to-face type of gal. If I have an issue or concern, it’s dealt with in real person. I frown upon catch up cancellations, dealing with complex issues or initiating romance (or ending!) via text message or email. My old fashion ‘face-to-face’ method seems to be increasingly putting people off side, particularly anyone under 30, but to me its about being responsible for your actions, showing manners, accountability and creating real meaningful relationships!

I appreciate that technology now gives ordinarily shy or introverted people a voice to express themselves in what they may consider a safe environment. This is a good thing, but where I believe the line gets blurred is this becomes the primary platform of expression. This is a friendly reminder that the online environment isn’t real… is it? Certainly not in my life… to me it’s another form of fun and engaging interaction but it has its purpose. Interestingly, my most outspoken friends on Facebook tend to be the shyest people I know, whom I can barely draw a conversation from face to face. On Twitter, I am often surprised when I meet some people I follow to find their ‘real life’ personality is very different from their on-line personality.

I’m affectionately known as ‘Vanessa the Love Doctor’ among my friends (female AND male) where people come to me regarding any issue to do with relationships, from starting out through to break ups. The common theme is that people waste A LOT OF TIME deciphering meaning out of TEXT MESSAGES and other forms of digital communication! Some time there is NO HIDDEN MEANING… what it says is WHAT IT MEANS! Someone ‘Liking’ or commenting on your Facebook status doesn’t necessarily mean anything deeper either! I keep saying, why don’t you CALL or chat about blah blah issue and you will get your answer? Simple heh? But NOOO… people avoid these one on one confrontations, hoping they’ll eventually get the outcome they want but in the meantime putting themselves through unnecessary drama.

It’s pretty simple, express yourself fully, listen, feel the essence of the conversation, trust your gut feel and make a choice of action from the outcome then move on. You may not always get the outcome you want but you can detach, move on and feel empowered that you took control of your situation rather than let it sort itself out by default.

 

Breaking through the Brainwash

My mind is vulnerable at the moment. Well, it has been for some time actually but I am just observing the impact of this now. You see, I have had a few major life changes over the past few years including retirement from (semi) elite sport, relationship breakup, redirecting my career and going back to uni.

In particular I felt my sport and profession defined me but I lost my passion. Burnt out. I was an okay athlete and competed at an elite level but my emotions got in the way when it counted, which eventually wore me out mentally (which manifests itself as fatigue physically) trying to overcome these. In my profession, I did things a little differently than most and produced outstanding results and developed a good reputation but lost the passion. All this and a serious relationship break up, I had to rediscover the true essence of myself again.

I consider myself strong minded but I had to surrender to my past and let it go, to make way for the new. I was in denial for a while and it took me a while to get into the mind set of developing a new career path and to be honest, I am not quite sure I’m 100 percent there yet. Going back to study, I have had to step into a world of rapid learning and patience. I am stepping into a new industry and meeting a lot of new people and doing my best to embrace my new learnings but it has come at a cost. I have been so focused on learning, fitting in, networking etc so I can move on from my awkward ‘in between’ careers phase that I have been neglecting my intuition, my gut feel and my purpose. Typically, I’m no mainstream thinker and I like to do things differently and typically do not agree with a lot of ‘norms’ of society. Lately however, I have been catching myself in thought patterns not typically mine, like ‘I better do this, this way’ or ‘I better do that, that way’ knowing that I’ll get the best outcome if I just figure out the best way myself. I blame mass marketing, if you hear things repeated enough eventually they feel true! (‘No!’ I say to the TV ads… you cant dramatically lose weight by eating a pill… or expect to be healthy eating diet this and diet that as all magazines will have you to believe!).

The world of Twitter is an interesting one. Online people watching is just as interesting as real life people watching and I’m sure there will be many future PhD’s dedicated researching online personality behaviour. Twitter is potentially mass marketing magnified. I’ve come across so many readings about ‘Twitter Tips,’ the ‘rights and wrong’s’ from so called experts and then observe their tweets and become confused. Why? Because they don’t appear to practice what they preach! Twitter is certainly one world I can clearly observe my brainwashed existence. I still haven’t found my ‘true personality’ mainly because it’s a public forum and have been treading cautiously, but I do feel like I am back at high school and I am participating in a popularity contest instead of real and genuine interaction, it’s intended purpose.

For now, I have to get back to the ‘grassroots’ of my life purpose and passions. I am very proud of my life achievements to date but I am a free spirit and I have to honor that. I have already started training again with a group of friends which had reignited my passion for sport, which has given me so much joy over the years. Choosing work and activities that gives oneself joy is a must, there is a difference between putting in the ‘hard yards’ versus ‘soul damaging’ activities. Most importantly of all, not being attached to others opinions or what they think of you because at the end of they day, you need to be you and know what is best for YOU.

Listen to you gut, it’s always right!

 

Be Careful What You Wish For!

Am I the only one experiencing (or aware of experiencing) instant manifestation a lot lately?

We have all heard about the law of attraction. The old saying ‘be careful what you wish for cos you just might get it’ rings so true, the catch is… this includes both favorable AND not so favorable thoughts!

I’ve been manifesting up a storm over the past month, here’s just a few:

• Thoughts of long lost friends call within 24 hours of thinking of them.
• Was asked out on a date by a virtual unknown (after thinking ‘I wish men had some balls and would just ask me out’ after another guy obviously keen was fluffing about only the day before).
• A work audit (after thinking it’s been a while since I’ve been audited).
• Additional work (after thinking ‘I need more money’).
• Last minute work cancellations that I get paid (after thinking ‘I need some more time’).
• Sprained ankle (after marveling that I haven’t rolled my ankle for a while).
• Being stood up at a meeting (after worrying it would be cancelled).

Bottom line. Keep thoughts positive. If you don’t like what you like in your environment, change your thoughts because you are creating your reality. If you do have less favorable thoughts, honor them by detaching from them and let them go…

 

Feature Writing Openers and Closers

Story 1:

Opener

Fulfilling ones life purpose can be difficult. Not for Jack Lomax, who is a veteran for green and peace movements, having been involved in the successful fight to stop the Franklin Dam and was among a group of “human shield” peace activists in Baghdad during the first Gulf War. Today, among other projects, Mr Lomax runs workshops to educate people in performing peaceful community protest techniques.

Closer

While protesters acknowledge that they are fighting for a good cause, it is important that they know their boundaries, as there are risks associated with obstruction and trespass. There need to be a mutual respect between protesters, site-workers, police and the property.

Story 2:

Opener

With the release of the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean this week, saw life imitate art as Somali pirates attacked an Italian cruise liner Melody, late on Saturday. Luckily for over 1500 people who were on board at the time, quick actions from security guards held off the pirates who abandoned their attack.

Closer

Security on cruise ships are taken very seriously, ensuring every effort is taken to protect it staff and passengers. Attacks off Somalia are becoming far too common and its time for this to stop. Melody was protected by Israeli security guards, regarded as the very best in the business.