February 5th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
”Cut not the wings of your dreams,
for they are the heartbeat and the freedom of your soul.”
~ Flavia ~
Recently I have been taking action on a dream that I first had about 2 years ago. The dream was to develop an association for Holistic Psychotherapists. I had the vision of doing this 2 years ago and when I had it I was so inspired by the idea that I talked about it all the time for about 2 months straight! The vision was so real and exciting for me—and then I stopped. Looking back on it I’m not sure what specifically got triggered that made me stop–but I stopped.
I put the dream on the back burner and I said to myself–someday I will do that–when I have more time—or the when the time is right–or when I figure out how to do it–I will do it etc. You know—that chatter in your mind that sounds so practical and sensible—but I will tell you right now—it is really b.s.
That chatter is b.s. because it is really all justifications to stay put and not take the risks that are part of going for what we really want. There is no way around it–when we go for a big dream–it is going to be scary, uncomfortable –we aren’t going to know the exact steps to take etc. It is just part of the process. When left to our own devices we will let the fear take over and just stop—letting our dream get put on the back burner–again.
What changed for me this year was I made a decision that the time was now–that I was tired of talking about the idea–and continuing to not take action on it—that I couldn’t postpone it any longer. What I discovered is that it is more of a struggle to stay small and in our comfort zone than it is to step up and play big (how our Spirit really wants us to play:)
And because of this decision I decided to invest a lot of money in a mentor to hold me accountable to this dream-–so there was no way that I could stop. It is the same thing that I do for my clients and I know how beautifully it works—so I wanted to make sure I gave that gift to myself. The gift of loving support as I step into the bigger vision that I have for my life.
The interesting thing about it–as I move forward with my dream and feel how amazing it feels I say to myself “Why didn’t I do this sooner–this feels so great”. This is the very same thing I hear from clients as they step into their dreams–it feels so amazing and goes so well–they say “Why did I wait SO long to take action!!” So here I am saying the very same things myself.
So hopefully this helps you step out of just dreaming–and to do what it takes to put your beautiful dreams into action and manifestation. The key thing that I recommend you do—is get support from someone that will hold you lovingly yet firmly accountable to your dream—and will not let you give up.
P.S. For those of you who have been asking if I will continue Radiant Life Counseling as I develop the Association for Holistic Psychotherapists–the answer is yes!! I so love what I do that I will continue what I am doing—some of my programs will change but I will continue:) An example of that is I will no longer do the 3 day Inner Bonding, Breathwork and Joy Workshop–so this year is my last one.
February 1st, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
January 30th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
January 18th, 2010, by Shelley Riutta
It is day three of the Workshop—I’m looking around and everybody looks so different from when they first arrived. Faces are more relaxed and open—there are more smiles and a sense of lightness and peace. The protectiveness of the Conditioned Self is dropping away and people are getting that wonderful experience of being in their Authentic Self.
What is key here is being in their Authentic Self within a group of people, a place where they can be seen for who they really are. So often in groups people are in their Conditioned Selves using various methods to control how others feel about them—trying to be perfect, saying the right thing, being nice, talking a lot, talking very little etc.
To be in an environment that shows you and supports you to be who you truly are is one of the many gifts of attending a Transformational Workshop. How many places can you go and have an environment that supports you to be incredibly loving with yourself and supports you to open up more fully to the love of your spiritual guidance? I recommend to all of my clients that they do whatever they can to attend a Transformational Workshop. This immersion in the powerful transformational processes in a supportive, loving environment is the best way to get the deepest experience of the gifts this profound healing.
Having the Workshop experience of deep connection with your Inner Self and your Spiritual Guidance for multiple days is something that gets absorbed at a cellular level, which you can carry with you into your life. The experience can serve as a touchstone for you to remember what it feels like to be in your Authentic Self and also as a touchstone for deep support for Loving yourself. After leaving the Workshop, you are much more likely to stop yourself from going into Conditioned patterns that are unloving because you have had a deep experience of being Loving with yourself.
Another one of the gifts of a Transformational Workshop is a deep healing of the Conditioned self. The level of safety and support at the Workshop allows for access to memories that may not surface in your daily healing process. I remember at a Transformational Workshop I attended– I was being held as I was watching the session in the center of the circle. I was feeling deeply relaxed and very safe—in that space I had the most vivid memory of my beloved maternal Grandmother. It was a memory of eating ice cream with her at her favorite ice cream place—I was 5 years old—I was there again feeling the love of my Grandmother, the sounds of the people talking around us, the rich color of the wooden booths, the sweet taste of the chocolate covering the ice cream.
That memory was a gateway into a deep healing around food for me—associating sweets with the love from my Grandmother. There are memories/feelings that often will not surface until the child within feels a deep level of safety and support.
When is a good time to attend a Workshop? Anytime you want to move into a deeper level of loving yourself. Oftentimes people attend when they are stuck in their life in general—or stuck in a specific area— relationships, parenting, work, self-worth, inability to manifest ones dreams, confusion about future direction in life. Sometimes people attend when they are making a big transition in their life. Attending helps to take you to a whole different level in your life.
The energy during intensive is extremely high due to the strong intention and love of the group and also the high energy of the physical location where the Workshops are held. Because of this you will have experiences with your Inner Self and Guidance that will open you up to profound insight and wisdom that can move you to new levels of Joy and freedom in your life.
Another gift is there is always a wonderful divine orchestration that unfolds during intensives. The right people come together to help facilitate each other’s healing in ways that are miraculous. Examples of this are: the person working in the center does a piece of work that mirrors your own issues or the work they do touches off a profound insight or memory for you. Or someone in the group reminds you of someone you need to do some healing work around.
An example for me was in the Workshop I mentioned earlier the woman who was my room-mate looked so much like my maternal Grandmother and had a similar energy! Attending a Transformation Workshop is one of the most profound Loving Actions for yourself and your healing. When you take the step forward to move towards healing—Spirit steps forward too in ways that are unimaginable.
I am doing a 3 day Transformational Workshop on March 11, 12 and 13th in Ocala, Florida. For detail about this event—go here.
December 29th, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
“There is no passion to be found playing small -in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela
Do you have a sense of that amazing potential inside of you? Do you feel the frustration of your life not matching what you know it could be for you? Then maybe it is time to begin to play full out. Not wait for next year, not wait for when the kids are older, not wait for when the economy gets better, not wait for when you don’t feel scared. What if you decided that waiting—putting your dreams on the back burner—was not an option for you anymore?
Over the years of helping people manifest their dreams I have noticed the biggest barrier to stepping into ones dreams is a perception that they can’t do it now. They keep placing their dreams into the future as a possibility for the future- but not now. What I have discovered is that these “reasons” people give for “not now”—are just a cover for the fears they would have if they really went for it—-NOW. The following steps are tips to help move beyond this—and to finally step into the magical world of manifesting your dreams.
Step One: Make a decision to get clear about your dreams and commit to them—-this YEAR. Say to yourself “I’m tired of feeling stuck, of feeling depressed—I’m going to do something different this year and take action to follow my deepest dreams—I will do whatever it takes to do this.” Our decisions are very powerful and once we make them we set into motion the support of the Universe and what appeared to be impossible becomes magically possible.
Step Two: Take two hours to write out your dreams in every area of your life: physically, personal growth, relationships, spiritually, career/life purpose, hobbies/creativity/travel, and financially. The key here is to go someplace outside your home to do this. Go to your favorite coffeehouse, café or restaurant –somewhere beautiful and inspiring for you. When we are outside our normal surroundings it can be easier to focus and tap into our dreams. It can also help us move beyond our own limiting thinking and really connect with our most expansive dreams. I have clients do this and they report back to me about what they wrote saying “I had no idea this dream was inside of me—I thought I was confused but when I sat down to write—it was right there”.
Step Three: Once You Write Out Your Dreams. Take 3 x 5 cards and write out Dream Intention Statements. Dream intention statements are short statements that capture your dreams for the different areas of your life. Here are some examples: “I am physically healthy, vibrant and in shape—I just glow with good health” “My relationships with my friends and family are warm, fun and very peaceful” “I easily bring in $50, 000 this year” “I have the job of my dreams doing what I love with people I love” “I joyfully travel to Italy with my partner and we have a blast”. You write these statements in the present tense. Write out about 7-8 of these cards. Read them in the morning and evening.
Step Four: Take 2 hours to Brainstorm all of the Steps you could take to Manifest these Dreams. If you want to do it all at once you can do Steps Two, Three and Four all at once on the same day. Then you would spend about 3-4 hours all together doing this. Some people like to have a space between doing Step Two and Four—and some people prefer doing it all at once. See what feels best for you. Definitely put it in your schedule to do. Don’t let it get pushed aside—remember your commitment in Step One to live your Dreams this Year? Make sure to keep it and follow through—you will be SO grateful you did. When you brainstorm your ideas do what you can to get yourself into a positive, hopeful state—and have fun with this! The more you are in this positive state—the easier the steps for your dreams will come to you.
Step Five: Begin to take the Actions you have identified to move towards your Dreams. You don’t have to know all of the steps that you need to take to reach your dreams—just the first ones. As you take the first step it will be clearer to you what the next step will need to be. So often people stop themselves and say “I could never do this—I can’t see how it could ever happen—it seems impossible.” So many people close the door on their dreams by using this statement. You will be amazed at what becomes possible for you as you begin to take those first steps. I had one client who wanted to travel out of the country and could not see how this would be possible for her. Her first step was to get a passport. She took positive action having faith that the next step for her dream would reveal itself. Step by step her path unfolded and she went on an amazing trip out of the country—much sooner than she had ever dreamed possible.
Step Six: Keep going and NEVER give up on your Dream. The people that I see manifesting their dreams are the ones that NEVER give up no matter what happens. They stay focused in the face of any challenges and just keep moving forward towards their dream. They look at the positives of the challenge what they need to be learning from it and then just keep going. Don’t interpret a challenge as “Oh—I guess this will never happen—it really was an impossible dream.” Once you set a dream that is near and dear to your heart it means that is a dream that is meant for you and it will be fulfilled—if you keep going and keep the faith. Remember the Universe is on your side and totally supports each and every one of your dreams. Just keep following the steps you feel guided to take towards your dreams until they manifest—which will oftentimes be faster than you could even imagine!
Here is to you and the upcoming year which is—The Year that you Played Full out and Manifested all of your Amazing Dreams!
December 16th, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
Are you going around and around in circles in your life trying to get clear about your Life Path? Do you know your dissatisfied with an area of your life but you don’t know what you would like in your life instead. In this recorded presentation you will learn:
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Understand why you are confused about your dreams and Life Path
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Learn the difference between confusion that is good and confusion that is bad–the kind that will keep you stuck for years
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Why getting clarity about your dreams will help you in every area of your life
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7 Tips to help you get clear about your Dreams and your Life Path
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A powerful guided imagery to release your blocks about getting clear about your dreams
To play now–click on link below or to download the MP3 just right click on the yellow button below-select “Save Target As” or “Save Link As”. Enjoy!
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WkJRCX54
OR to download
September 28th, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
There is a power inside every human–against which no earthly force is of the slightest consequence.” Neville Goddard
Are you hiding your own magnificence under lock and key? Do you feel like you have so much more you want to do and express in your life? You feel the “there is so much more for me than this” feeling?
You know that changes need to be made but at the same time you feel AFRAID–and this stops you in your tracks. You start to:
*Procrastinate
*Doubt yourself
*Overeat
*Waste time
*Get scattered
*Worry about someone else
*Get sidetracked with someone else’s agenda
*Get sick or have an accident
Why are you afraid of your Potential–of being all that you came here to be— expressing your gifts and Life Purpose full out?
Here is what I have discovered are at the core of this Fear for people:
1. I’m afraid of really being SEEN because if I am visible I will be: hurt, judged, told I am a fake, told I don’t know what I am talking about, told I am bad, told I am wrong for what I am doing, lightning may even strike me:)
2. I’m afraid that my life will change and that I won’t like it: I won’t be as close to my family, my partner and I will grow apart, I won’t have enough time with my kids, I won’t have any free time, I will lose what I love in my life
3. I’m afraid things will change and others close to me won’t like it: my partner will leave, my kids will get angry with me, my friends will be resentful, my family will judge me
4. I’m afraid I won’t know what to do–I will be overwhelmed with the new and will feel lost: what if I can’t do it, what if I fall flat on my face, what if I’m just not talented enough, what if I make a fool out of myself?
5. I am afraid I am not ready now I have to: go back to school, take another class, learn this new process, practice some more (maybe a few more years:), I have to wait until I am not afraid, I’m plain just not ready now!
6. I am afraid that the Universe and other people won’t support me: The Universe is against me, other people will not support me, I’m doing this all alone–it feels so big and I feel small, as I move forward I will get resistance rather than support.
Can you see yourself in some of these fears? These are the core fears of you holding yourself back from your Potential and Dreams.
In my next newsletter I will go through each of these fears and give you tools to transcend these fears so you can finally STEP into your Potential with Love and Grace—rather running from it in fear! Not signed up for the newsletter yet? Go here to sign up.
September 22nd, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
“There is no certainty on this earth, only opportunity” Douglas MacArthur
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” Albert Einstein
Do you have things going on in your life that lead you to feel uncertain and afraid? Have you lost a job, is a relationship changing–is there some transition going on in your life? With so much change happening in the world right now–we can take different perspectives on what is happening. We can say to ourselves “Everything is crumbling around me, the world is falling apart” or we can say “What is no longer serving my higher growth is fading from my life–opening up an even better path for me to travel.”
What if the Uncertainty is a gateway to even better things in your Life? What if it moves you into examining yourself on a deeper level—helps you to get clear about your true values and priorities—helps you to ask the ever important question “Why are you here—how do you want to use your very precious time on the planet?”
Here are some other Gifts and Opportunities of Uncertainty:
1. Helps you to deepen your connection with yourself
2. Allows you to pull forth strength and courage from inside of you that you never even knew you had
3. Helps you to loosen your dependence on outer structures and people for your sense of security (question yourself–what outside of me do I rely on for a sense of safety and security?) The shaking of this is to gently remind you that you have incredible resources in your own Spirit that can be called upon and relied upon in any situation–plus your own Spiritual Connection–whatever that is for you.
4. Allows you to develop your faith and trust in the Spiritual realm which is where you come from—being that you are a Spiritual Being having a human experience. When there is nothing to hold onto for certainty in the physical realm–we can have our deepest experiences of connection with the Divine.
5. Opens you up to new paths that you would have never considered if you were back in your old “certain” world.
6. Gives you practice to embrace change with faith and trust—rather than dropping into fear (a priceless ability that you will carry with you forever)
7. Gives you the opportunity to move into a deeper level of Authencity with who you are (drop pretending to be something other than who you are) and to finally line up with your Authentic Dreams and Life Purpose
8. Helps you to WAKE UP rather than live life on auto-pilot.
September 19th, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old: we grow old because we stop playing” George Bernard Shaw 
Have you played lately? Really played? One of the things that I encourage all of my clients to do is to “play more”. One of the symptoms of the disconnection from our Authentic Self is that we don’t play.
Many people stop playing when they are a young child–because they had to “grow up fast” to deal with the challenging issues going on in their home. Or they were shamed for the natural playing that they did do with messages like “Stop making so much noise” “Stop acting so stupid” “Stop living in a fantasy world”.
Or it just was not safe to play because of the harsh, critical energy coming from their parents. So part of the healing process is opening up again to your natural capacity for joyful play.
Here are some tips to begin to open up to playing more today!
1. Create safety inside of yourself to play by releasing any self-judgments of yourself you may have when you play. Part the energy of play is experimenting with new things, being creative and being more in the flow of the present moment. If you begin to judge yourself you will immediately stop this natural flow.
2. Give yourself permission to look silly and to make mistakes. In my Joy Workshops–where we play A LOT–I encourage the participants to actively try to “make a fool of themselves”. When permission is given to flub up and do it wrong- it creates an incredible opening for your natural, joyful player to emerge.
3. Ask your Inner Child what she/he would like to do to play more. Your own inner child is a big time fun machine and has a ton of ideas of things to do that would be fun. So tune and ask this part of you “What would you love to do that would be really fun for you?” If you don’t get any answers right away–keep asking with an intention to really listen and learn from this sweet, fun, playful part of you.
Sometimes the lid has been on this part of you for so long that it doesn’t really trust that you really want to know what ideas it has.
4. Find people to play with. Think of everyone you know and identify who you feel the most comfortable “playing” with? Spend time with this person and experiment with playing. You may be the catalyst for play in the relationship–and that is OK.
One of my friends says to me “I love spending time with you because you are the friend I have the most fun with.” It is because I have set an intention to have fun with everyone I spend time with. If you don’t have anyone in your life that feels safe enough to play with–set an intention to meet new people who are fun, safe and loving.
5. Plan at least one fun thing to do a day–ideally two or three things. Make fun and play a priority in your life. So often we let our responsibilities take over and we don’t leave any time for the things that truly nurture our Spirits—like play.
So re-prioritize your day and put fun at the TOP of your list–rather than the bottom. Surprisingly—and this happens over and over for my clients–the more fun they have–the more they end up getting done! How wonderful is that!
So open up again to the natural, joyful and playful energy that is inside of you— letting the child in you finally be FREE!
September 14th, 2009, by Shelley Riutta
“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things” Dennis Diderot
I have gotten the question lately “Can I really make money at my life purpose–my passion?” And my answer is YES! I remember hearing about a study that compared people who followed a career path to strictly make money vs. people who followed their passion. At the end of their careers the people that had followed their passion made more money overall than the folks who had pursued a career just for the money.
I remember when I was contemplating what to study in college—my own fears had initially prevented me from pursuing the counseling field because of fears of not being able to make money. I had watched my Mom struggle financially as a single parent and I did not want to have that same kind of experience.
After getting my degree in business–I decided after a long process of soul searching to follow my passion of being a psychotherapist. Every step of the way since then I have continued to follow my passion–in the face of someone saying I could make more money doing it a different way.
An example of this is when I was contemplating graduate schools I had 3 choices–getting a degree in psychology, counseling or social work. Everyone advised me to get my degree in social work because it would be more “marketable” and insurance companies would be more apt to reimburse someone with this degree. I looked at the content of all of the programs and decided the counseling program was more in alignment with what I was looking for. It was hands on—with lots of practice counseling. The social work program didn’t have as much of this and focused more on social policy.
I decided to do what felt intuitively right to do and I am so glad I did! The counseling program that I went to was a perfect fit for me–I loved the program, my classmates and I met one of my most important mentors, Pat Robertson.
What is ironic now is that the issue of being able to accept insurance is a mute point because I have never directly billed out for insurance. My practice for the last 10 years has been all self-pay. I know now that I am making more money now than I ever would have made following my business path–and even if I would have gotten my degree in social work and billed insurance!
There is something inside of us–in our Authentic Self that is aligned with our true path. When we follow this we will be supported. It means keeping ourselves inwardly focused and making decisions on what feels intuitively right to us. It took me a year of personal growth work after I had gotten my business degree to connect deeply with my Authentic Self. Once I did and got clear about my path I took action and never looked back.
Here are some tips on how to make money at your Life Purpose:
1. Stay with it and persevere. If it is your passion you are more likely to hang in there and do the work you need to do to be successful. And best of all, because it is your passion–it won’t feel like work:)
2. If you have a full-time job and want to pursue your passion start developing it part-time and once you are making enough money with you passion you can quit your job!
3. Be willing to learn from others who are successful doing what your passion is. If you say—there is no way I could make money at my passion—I bet there is someone out there who is—find them and learn from them.
4. Be willing to invest in your personal growth as you pursue your passion. The more you let go of limiting, conditioned beliefs the more your career will flourish.
5. Be willing to release limiting beliefs around money. Read books, take workshops to help yourself be free of beliefs that limit how much money you make. The only limits are what you place on yourself.
6. Be willing to develop skills as a business person if you are pursuing your passion as a business. Treat it like a business and learn all the aspects of what it takes to run a successful business.
7. Be willing to self-promote. Let people know what your passion is and that you are good at it. Believe in yourself and your gifts—-you have them for a reason—and that is to share these gifts with others.
8. As your business expands, hire an assistant. Don’t try to do it all yourself—get support for yourself.
Here is to you following your passion AND being prosperous!
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