Hitting the Mark (and Realizing Your Dreams)

During my meditation last week, I had a powerful insight regarding the need to cultivate laser-like focus in overcoming an obstacle and manifesting a particular dream.  Along with the "aha" moment, came the mental image of a master, teaching me how to shoot a bow and arrow with exact precision.

The message was clear:  If you want to hit your mark, there must be a deep desire, a non-negotiable passion to get to the center of the target. If you shoot casually, without focus, you're likely to waste your time and end up feeling ineffective or apathetic, as if you couldn't muster enough energy to give it your all.  

When you stop and focus with intention on your purpose or dream, you are are going for the bull's-eye. You're getting your body in position, narrowing your eyes, pulling back the arrow, and in the moment of release your complete and total focus is on hitting the target. Absolutely nothing else matters in that instant. You know with full certainty who you are and what you want to achieve, and you pursue it as if there's nothing more important in the world. There is something incredibly beautiful in that moment of focus. It's a form of bliss.

The opposite of this nirvana is when you lack focus and don't know what to do. Or when you're pulled in so many different directions that you become scattered and fragmented. Or when you focus on burdensome or unnecessary tasks (or goals that you're not likely to achieve). Or when you spend your days running around preventing or putting out fires instead of fulfilling your dream. This is what happens when we lack clarity and purpose, and/or when we've bitten off more than we can chew. Most of us don't need more time or energy. We need more focus and discrimination.

Whether it's your deep desire to run a mountain marathon, open an orphanage in India, or learn to relax and be present in the moment, the need to find focus and believe in yourself is the same.

So, what's your dream, and are you giving it the focus it deserves? If you feel overwhelmed by "real world" demands, or that your dream is impractical, I invite you to take some time this week to reconsider. Maybe evaluate how you're currently spending your time and money, and what adjustments could be made to accommodate your heart's desire.

I remember once hearing a 40-year-old man complain that he had missed his calling. He had always wanted to be a doctor, but he now felt he was too old to start over. He said to his friend, "If I go back to school now, I'll be 46 by the time I'm done," and his friend responded, "How old will you be if you don't?"

I'd love to hear from you. Please comment below, or email me at jvshinn@WakeUpSweetheart.com

:

Finding Focus and Balance in the New Year

Is it just me, or could we all benefit from finding a deeper level of focus and balance in our llives? Most of us complain about not having enough time, energy, and/or money, but are we really using our time, energy, and resources in the most effective ways possible?

Hopefully you had the opportunity to relax a bit over the winter break, and perhaps you noticed that the usual tempo of contemporary life is off the charts. There is a crazy consensus reality that believes it's normal and unavoidable to be overcommitted and overconnected (in a shallow, social networking kind of way), yet undercommitted and underconnected (in a personal, meaningful kind of way).

Many intelligent and well-intending people take priceless time and energy away from being with the people they love (or enjoying peaceful time alone) to make money they will then squander, or to spend hours a day hooked up to multiple devices: texting, playing games, posting and reading random stuff, and compulsively checking their email.

This might be the new "normal," but throughout history it's been normal to do all kinds of outlandish and dysfunctional things. Maybe now, at the beginning of a new year, it would be beneficial to take an honest look at our use of time.

Let's step outside of our habitual, societal thinking, and consider how we might be able to tweak (not tweet) our priorities so that we'll have more of what we need and less of what we really don't need.

We'll be exploring this more in the next few weeks, but for now, please consider taking a few minutes to step back from your life and view the bigger picture. Are you out of balance in any area of your life (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, financial)? Do you feel generally overwhelmed? Do you lack focus, or distract easily? Do you zone out and waste time? Do you behave compulsively? Just notice----this is not about judging yourself. See what comes up for you, and next week we'll continue the conversation.

Have a beautiful week, and please remember to breathe.

Post #100: What Will You Create in 2013?

For many of us, 2012 was a turbulent year of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, successes and failures. As we transition into 2013, it seems particularly important to take a moment to set our intentions for the new year.

When I say intentions, I'm not referring to what we commonly call "new year's resolutions," because, for me, these resolutions have often been nothing more that my mind's wish list of what would make me happier:  lose ten pounds, exercise more, save money, be more positive, meditate everyday. While these are reasonable goals that might possibly make my life better, the fact is that I rarely followed through with them. I was not committed to most of them, so they represented magical thinking, and sometimes just set me up for failure.

This year, I resolve to set my intentions in a different way---a more sincere and committed way. In 2013, I vow to let go of  the micro-managing  mini-goals, and focus my attention on one or two important life areas that I am absolutely committed to working on.

Try that on. Imagine what it would be like if you stopped nagging yourself about the dozens of ways you could be better, more fit, more organized, more anything, and instead focus your creative energy on what matters most to you. It may be overcoming a lifelong obstacle or manifesting your heart's desire. It doesn't matter what it is; all that matters is that you're ready, willing, and able to put your focused intention into it, and do whatever work is necessary to achieve it (without a million other distractions and conflicting goals competing for your attention).

This year, I invite you to simplify and focus. I invite you to dig a little deeper with your heartfelt intentions and think outside the standard, prefab "new year's resolution" box. You don't have to perfect yourself all at once. Achieving one or two important personal goals is better (and more satisfying) than attempting five half-hearted ones.

So, what will you create, resolve, accomplish in 2013?
Please leave a comment below or email me at jvshinn@WakeUpSweetheart.com

Post #99: Another Auld Lang Syne

As I was falling asleep last night, I remembered a favorite song by Dan Fogelberg, Same Auld Lang Syne. This morning, I was still thinking about it, so I googled the term to find out that it translates as times long past. And the traditional Scottish song (dating back to the 1700s), is about remembering old friendships in the new year.

And so it is that we prepare to say goodbye to 2012, and hello to 2013 (a year that many thought would never come). We reflect on the good times and the challenging times. We are grateful for the blessings in our lives, and we acknowledge our losses and unrealized dreams.

It is in this spirit that I express my intense gratitude for the family, friends, acquaintances, and readers who inspire me to learn and grow, and to put my thoughts and insights in writing. I wish you only the best in the new year. Many, many blessings to you.

Click to hear "Same Auld Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg

Post #98: Don't Give in to the Fear

Last week, we discussed the significance of this moment in history, and how important it is to hold the highest thoughts and intentions for yourself, your loved ones, and your world. It's a time of great excitement and change, and a time when fear and desperation are rampant.

With the media and Internet as they are today, it's all too easy to invite stories of devastation into your living room (or wherever you are), and it's harder to sort out what you need to know from that which has the potential to destroy your peace of mind. Whether it's unspeakable current events or potential natural disaster scenarios, we can become overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, and actually contribute to the chaos and suffering. We don't want to do that.

Last Friday, when I heard the news of the Connecticut school, I knew (as a  highly sensitive empath) that the story had the potential to bowl me over if I let it. I felt a moment of panic, and then something rose up inside of me as if to say, "You don't have the luxury of that. It's your job to take in just enough to know where to direct your compassion. It's your job to uphold the light." This message was crystal clear, and as the week went on, I heard several other people tell me that they had received very similar messages.

Whether it is your job to "uphold the light" or to play some other role, now's the time to do it. And you don't have to be altruistic if that's not what you're being called to do. I believe the most important thing right now is to find that light inside yourself and consciously hold the highest thoughts and feelings you're capable of. When difficult thoughts or emotions come in, pause and ask your Higher Self (or God, Jesus, the angels, etc.) to help you clear this out, or to guide you in the most meaningful way possible.

I don't always advocate "the power of positive thinking," but between now and the end of the month, I think it can really make a difference to keep yourself as upbeat as possible.

Have a magical week filled with brilliant insights, laughter, loving friends and family, and happy holiday memories. Blessings to you and yours (and all the other souls out there!)

Post #97: What You Should Know about 12/12

Well here it is, the much anticipated December, 2012. An exciting time, to be sure, but confusing as to its significance. As I talk to people, watch TV, and notice my own inner process, it's clear that there's a palpable change happening. It's been coming on for years, but has heated up dramatically during 2012. And now, in this final month, there's growing anticipation about what this change will usher in.

While some folks prepare for mass destruction and chaos, others light candles and anxiously await the onset of a new Golden Age. Of course, what will actually occur this month remains to be seen.

Because 12/12 prophesies and theories are so diverse, confusing, and sometimes esoteric, I wanted to present to you what I consider to be the most essential and relevant information; so here it is:

December, 2012 Basics 

• 12/12 represents an extraordinary window of opportunity for an evolutionary leap, as well as the closing of one chapter and the opening of another (as in one Mayan cycle ending and another beginning).
• The new energy coming in now is a sort of "light" or increase in vibration that should eventually shift our consciousness out of the darkness (ego, fear, greed, hatred, duality, etc) that we've been living in for a long time.
• At this time, your intentions and state of mind can play a large role in how the shift affects you and your loved ones. Those who welcome new beginnings and go with the flow will have an easier time than those who become agitated and cling to the old paradigm.
• The dates, 12/12/12 and 12/21/12 hold particular meaning and serve as a passage into the new era. Amariah Mara writes, "You are set to see global insights come rushing forth on or around the date 12/12/12. This day will be the gateway to what will be a final walk-through on 12/21/12. One date is preparation for the other." So where you are and what you hold in mind on the 12th may set the stage for what follows.

Please join me in embracing this special window of opportunity by holding the highest intentions possible for yourself, your loved ones, humanity, and our beautiful planet.

You may comment below or contact me at jvshinn@WakeUpSweetheart.com  

Post #96: You've Got It, so Flaunt It!

As I mentioned last week, I love the show, Once Upon a Time, and my favorite character is the bad guy, Rumplestiltskin/Mr.Gold. The actor who plays him, Robert Carlyle, is brilliant, and I realized I'd seen him somewhere before, so I snooped around and discovered he had played the lead role in the 1997 film, The Full Monty.

If you haven't seen it, The Full Monty is about a group of men, woefully unemployed  misfits, who decide they're going to make money by putting on a one-night-only striptease show for the townswomen. They are ridiculed because no one sees the men as particularly sexy or talented (and because they're promising to take it all off). It's a joke to the town; that is until the moment when these courageous men step onto the stage and into their magnificence. It was one of the most surprisingly inspiring transformations I had ever seen on screen, and I loved it.

Watching the old movie trailer recently made me realize that it's not how smart or creative or young or fit or good looking we are that makes us shine. You don't have to have perfect pitch or straight teeth to be a star. And you don't have to be a star to put out a lot of light. It's all in how you show up and the fact that you show up in the first place. It's about saying to yourself, "This is who I am, and I'm pretty hot!"

This week, I'm asking you to take a moment to notice if there's an old, worn-out story you tell yourself (and others) about why you can't get what you want or be who you want to be. Maybe you believe that your weight or your age prevents you from finding a partner, or that you have to earn another degree before you can get a decent job. As long as you believe these stories, you will block your dream. The only real problem or limitation lies in failing to shine your unique light bright enough to match what it is you're looking for.

If you don't believe me, look around. Notice the difference between people who radiate confidence and go for it, and those who do not. This week, please join me in questioning that story, or busting it altogether. It takes courage to accept responsibility for the energy you're putting out there, but it can truly set you free.

I hope you have a bold and exhilerating week. And remember, you can leave your hat on.
Click to see trailer for The Full Monty