October 29th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Helen Keller
“I have spent my life stringing and unstringing my instrument, and
the Song I came here to Sing remains Unsung.” Rabindranth Tagore
We each have a special life purpose–something that we are
called to do in this lifetime. When you are on track with this you will feel a sense of peace and that you are on track with your life. If you aren’t in alignment with your life purpose, you will feel restless and a sense that something is missing in your life.
If you don’t take steps to gain clarity about your life purpose and pursue this–you will begin to feel an increasing sense of feeling stuck. Sometimes this will even lead to feelings of depression and anxiety. Despite these uncomfortable feelings, many people still
won’t take action. Why would this be?
Many people avoid discovering their life purpose because of the fear of the changes it might call them to make in their life. They fear rocking the boat, upsetting the status quo and stepping out into the unknown. They ask “What will my life look like living my life purpose?” and “Can I trust if I take the leap- I will succeed?” and “Can I make mon-ey at my life purpose?”
I believe the epidemic use of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication is a band-aid for the underlying issue of being
disconnected from one’s true self–and one’s true purpose. Stifling and suppressing who we are and what we came here to do has
consequences of making us feel despair, hopelessness and creating
anxiety. Our true self is filled with passion, creativity and a purpose that desires to be fully expressed.
Are you following the path of your life purpose? Do you feel filled with aliveness, vibrancy and excitement about your life? Are you taking the risks to find out your life purpose and to pursue
it? What are the consequences of NOT doing it?
There is also an incredible loss of you not following your
purpose–there is your own loss of the joy of following your
passion–but also the loss of the people who will miss out on what
you came to share. Everyone loses—you and the world.
October 18th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
Think about your energy throughout the day. Do you tend to get drained during the day or are you filled with energy? Your energy level is giving you feedback about how you are living your life. Your low energy is signaling that changes need to be made. These changes fall under 4 categories: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
1. Physical Changes- This is the most common area people think of when they have low energy. They think–”Oh there must be something wrong physically.” Check the following: Are you getting enough sleep? Are you exercising enough? How is your diet (are you eating too much sugar or having too much caffeine)? Do you have a depression that is affecting you physically–this can lower your energy and make you feel apathetic? Are your adrenals depleted or do you have low thyroid?–check with your naturopathic practitioner about this.
One naturopathic physician I spoke with said that everyone should be on some type of herbal adrenal support because of the high stress levels of our daily lives. If you are taking good care of yourself on the physical level and you still lack energy–look at the following categories for possible causes.
2. Mental Changes- What are you saying to yourself throughout the day? Are you judging yourself–putting pressure on yourself to be perfect? This will drain your energy very quickly. Do you have negative thoughts about your future–stifling any thoughts of pursuing or having your dreams? This will drain you. Do you focus on what isn’t working in your life–or all of the things you are grateful for? How you focus your mental energy will affect your energy. So it is important to check when your energy is low–ask yourself “Are my negative thoughts draining me”. Lighten up on yourself, pursue your dreams and focus on what is going right in your life to help lift your energy.
3. Emotional Changes-How do you respond to your emotions during the day? Do you welcome your emotions as information and feedback–attending to and learning from them? Or do you suppress your emotions? If you have a back log of unexpressed emotions this can drain your energy. Do you let your emotions take over–over-reacting to situations, which ends up draining you? How you respond to your emotions will affect your energy level. If you find you have a lot of suppression of your emotions or over-reactivity going on it may be a signal that some deeper healing is needed for you. Learning to take responsibility for your own feelings–opening up to them and learning from them will help you increase your energy level.
4. Spiritual- Do you feel spiritual support around you or are you trying to do everything on your own? We are spiritual beings living in human bodies. Our essential selves are Spiritual and we are a part of the Spiritual world–we aren’t separate. If you try to do it all on your own it is like being a light bulb trying to light up without a connection to an energy source. You will tend to run out of energy and feel depleted. Plug into the larger Source of your spiritual connection and this will give you an infusion of energy and inspiration. Whatever your spiritual beliefs are—find ways to strengthen this connection and open up to this support.
The following are other things that can drain your energy:
*Having unfinished projects at your office or home
*Lots of clutter
*Trying to do too much
*Rushing and multi-tasking, which increases production of stress hormones
*Negative people in your life
*Unresolved conflict with someone
*Stalling on making an important decision in your life
*Ignoring your intuition
One of the key elements in transforming your life is to eliminate your energy drains and then increase the things in your life that give you energy.
Take action today to eliminate the things that are draining — and open up to more vibrancy and aliveness!
October 11th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”
In my research of people who have had near death experiences–(people who have been clinically dead and then are revived–and then share their experience of dying)–a common experience is that they are asked, “How well did you love?”
That phrase has stuck with me and helps to clarify what I believe our true journey is about while we are here–and that is to expand our capacity to love ourselves and others. It is so easy to get sidetracked in our lives–placing so much importance on things that are really not important at all.
So the question for you today is “How well are you loving? Both yourself and other people?
Here are some Tips to Love Even More
1. Make loving a priority above all else. Is it important to clean your house or to spend some time with your kids or loved ones—and just love them? Make Love the priority during your day and it will make your heart happy–as well as those around you too.
2. Before you make a comment back to someone--ask yourself–is this the most loving thing that I could say right now. So often we may have a habit of saying something critical–or if someone is critical with us–we will want to be critical back. Instead chose love over anything else.
3. While you are with those you love feel the love in your heart for them. Look at them and just allow yourself to feel the love. Then let this love come out in your words “I just love you so much” “I am so grateful for you in my life.” “Thank you so much for doing that for me” “You are so thoughtful–thank you” “You are such a blessing to me” “You are beautiful” “You are amazing”
4. What is your intention when you are with those you love? Is it to control them—to get them to do things your way–to see things your way–live their life the way you think they should live it—-OR is it to just unconditionally love them? People resist anyone trying to control them and open up to those who are truly loving them. Get clear about your intention—and see if you can chose the intention to love rather than control.
5. Are you saying loving things to yourself throughout the day or judging harsh things? It will be easier to be loving with others if you are creating a very loving environment inside of you. Practice loving yourself unconditionally—even if you make mistakes.
6. Take Risks to Love. So many people shut down their hearts to love because of earlier pain they have experienced. Oftentimes they don’t even know it is closed–they just feel lonely in their life. If this is the case for you–you may have people around you but your heart isn’t fully open to them. It can feel scary to open up your heart again. Experiment with opening your heart with people that feel safe for you. Express your appreciation for them, give them an extra hug, feel the love in your heart you have for them–even if this may feel uncomfortable to you at first. The more you practice the more comfortable you will be at expressing your love.
When you set this intention to make love a priority in your life and practice opening your heart to others and yourself even more—by the end of your life if you are asked “How well did you Love?” You can smile and respond “I Loved with my whole Heart!”
Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC is a Holistic Psychotherapist in private practice specializing in Transformational individual counseling, presentations, groups and Workshops. For more information and to get her free workbook “What Do You Really Want: Finding Purpose and Passion in Your Life” visit her web-site www.RadiantLifeCounseling.com or call her at 920-265-2627.