Posts Tagged ‘Self-Mastery’
Monday, January 4th, 2010
 Empowerment is about being able to go from where you are to where you want to be and to live from a place of abundance. Abundance for me refers to health, wealth and relationships.
We are living through turbulent and changing times, so coming from a place of empowerment is to be able to navigate change with awareness and conscious choice, instead of feeling like a victim. I went to see two movies last week that had a lot of current science, aspects of the mystical or spiritual and cultural/economic messages.
Avatar I thought was so good, I’m planning on seeing it again on IMAX with 3-D. What was so great about blue people and an outer space fiction movie? How does this relate to everyday life? I can’t cover everything, but here are the highlights.
Quantum physics has shown that everything is energy. Yes everything. Now there is debate over how our consciousness interacts with this energy, or for that matter, what consciousness is in the first place.
I don’t want to get too specific with the details of the movie, as I don’t want to spoil it for people. In the movie, there is reference to the connection of all of life, how we are one with nature and all of life, yet we are able to function as individuals. It also referred to how science, when it only comes from a place of intellect and holds a mechanistic viewpoint of life, just how fear-based and cruel it can be.
Then there were also spiritual references to the energy field, which some quantum physicists call the “Divine Matrix”. This is the energy that permeates all of life. Then there was Sherlock Holmes and his ability to visualize and “see” future events. There is science that documents all types of “paranormal” phenomenon.
Folks, this is not sci-fi or spooky.
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Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery, Spirituality
Posted in Empowerment | 31 Comments »
Monday, December 28th, 2009
 Self-Esteem and its role in shaping your destiny should not be underestimated. The way you view yourself, from body image to sense of self-worth can determine whether or not you suffer through life or if you feel empowered enough to pursue your hearts desire or suffocate your creativity.
I read an article online where in New York, protesters marched outside of Ralph Lauren’s headquarters to bring attention to the continued media onslaught of distorted female body image using Photoshop and other digital photo-altering software. The president of NOW-NYC is quoted as saying,
“Starting at younger and younger ages eating disorders, low self-esteem, and a preoccupation with appearance plague women and girls. Ralph Lauren and the advertising industry are complicit in making real women feel less sexy and less beautiful than they really are.”
I have to agree. This is why I’m so adamant that confidence has to come from the inside out.
As long as your attention is snared by outside influences that attempt to keep you feeling inadequate about your own sense of value and self-worth, you will be a sitting duck for spending your money on every gadget and new “beauty product” or fashion statement that goes across the airways in advertising. I realized years ago that body image marketing disproportionately targeted women.
Also, being female and around women quite a bit over the years, I realized a long time ago that we generally have greater self-image problems and a lower sense of self-esteem than men. No doubt, the social images influence this outlook. While men tend to hide their low self-esteem with achievement or sports, historically (though this has shifted in recent years), women tended to seek approval from others, including men, to feel valuable.
I remember even being told growing up that if I was too smart, that I would have a difficult time finding a suitable husband! Thank goodness I did not buy in to that idiotic belief. My feelings were, somewhere on the planet, out of billions of people, there will be someone that I am compatible with should I so choose to marry. I was right.
The point is, we need to empower ourselves with the understanding that perception affects reality. Reality is relative based on what you believe to be true. Learning how to separate your sense of self-esteem from your thoughts about your self is powerful and is a function of learning to live more present and becoming aware of your thoughts and choices.
The more I consciously take my power back, the healthier my self-esteem becomes. Self-esteem that is authentic and stable truly comes from the inside out. Do you think that healthy self-esteem matters? Here is the Ralph Lauren article (click here).
Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Self-Esteem, Self-Image, Self-Mastery
Posted in Confidence and Self-Esteem | 5 Comments »
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
 Ego is a word that is being discussed more often these days. Ego can mean different things to different people. From a neuroscience standpoint, I define it as formed by the area of our brains that form “autobiographical memory”. It is the story of “who we think we are”. Our sense of identity I call the “Mental Me”.
Who we think we are is a story based on perception and our interpretation of experience that we have as we evolve from childhood throughout our lives. I say perception and interpretation, as it is not what happens to you, as much as it is HOW you interpret the meaning of the events.
Based on the meaning you assign, particularly in early childhood before the age of seven, you start to behave, or shape your personality to help you to feel safe. For example, when I was a young child, due to my position in my family, I often felt unnoticed and “not good enough”.
So I went out of my way to be a “pleaser” personality. Notice within the word personality is “persona” which means, “mask”. When I became a teen-ager, due to my environmental circumstances, I changed my personality to more of an aggressive “warrior” to adapt and feel safe. As adults, we wear many masks based on our environment.
We have a persona for work, for play, for parenting and often for when we are with close friends. This is all fine, however, if you think you ARE these roles and versions of yourself that you present to others, you can start to box yourself into thinking that you are “just the way you are”. Actually, we can consciously choose to adjust these self-defining roles if they limit us by realizing that some parts of our personality were formed by the logic of a three-year-old!
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Tags: Confidence, Ego, Empowerment, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery
Posted in Ego | 3 Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
 It’s empowering to know that I can change my reality based on my perception. Perception is subjective of course, so therefore reality is also subjective. I have truly found that my reality may often not be my friend’s reality. Interesting.
“To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds” ~William James
This is a beautiful verse that is full of wisdom for everyday living. I used to also believe that the way I saw life was the “way it was”. Well, it is the way it is – for me. I have learned to change my perception, but I must say that your conscious awareness, your ability to stay present in this moment makes all the difference between being empowered to change versus feeling like a hapless victim of circumstance.
Here are some pointers:
1. Open your mind to a new way of seeing the world – Beliefs are fluid. We now can say, even from science, that belief is wired into your biology; your body is very subject to change. Just look at how much you’ve change on all levels since you were a baby!
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Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
 Neuroscience has fantastic practical life application for personal growth. The metaphor of the butterfly is a personal, and loved demonstration of change for me.
Neuroscience is connected to the metamorphosis metaphor from my viewpoint. Neuroscience is the area of science that deals with the brain and nervous system in some way. It could be related to mind and psychology, the visual system itself, or biology and physics.
Because of my educational background in this area, I find it fascinating and I am grateful for the science now to backup what was called ‘soft skills’ in the past. Neuroscience is giving objective findings to support how our brains and minds work, how beliefs and behavior is formed and how it can be changed.
This is very exciting in that the quality of your life is certainly proportional to the quality of your beliefs. I think we are in the era of personal responsibility. It is time to stop barely making it through the week, the old ‘thank God it’s Friday’ mindset, and move into the lifestyle of gratitude and fulfillment.
As the author and poet Maya Angelou said, “Surviving is important, thriving is elegant”.
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Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Law of Attraction, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
 I find it challenging at times to go to the grocery store and hear nothing but disease messages like “did you get your flu shot”? It’s “cold and flu season again” (no such thing, literally). Or how about “you have a ____% chance of dying of breast cancer (yet statistically you have a much greater likelihood of never getting the disease in the first place, what about this?)
Do you notice that fear, fear, fear, is blasting all too often over the airways? Not to put my head in the sand, but walking about worrying about dying is no way to live.
Looking for your personal power?… here’s a hint – it’s an inside job!
“We all sit around in a circle and suppose while the secret sits in the the center and knows” ~ Robert Frost
Since I stopped believing in a “cold and flu” season I rarely “catch” one. If I’m stressed or tired and then feel symptoms coming on, virtually always, if I get a good nights sleep, meditate and relax, by the next day they are gone. Do not underestimate the power of belief. Fear is simply faith in what you do not want, generally speaking. I’m focusing my attention on peace as what you focus on expands. There are several paths that lead to peace, but ultimately, you can only truly find it from the inside out. Since the world can’t give it, the world can’t take it away.
Here are a few tips that can be useful:
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Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Law of Attraction, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery
Posted in Empowerment | Comments Off
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
 Confidence as a survival skill is being called upon in our changing world in more ways than one. With all of the change in the work place, it is estimated that the largest area of job growth will be in the arena of small business and entrepreneurship.
I have always been an entrepreneur for my entire adult career and I can tell you that it will either build your confidence, or you will ultimately sink. It does not matter what your IQ is.
In fact, I’ve seen people with highly respected PhDs and MDs freeze like a doe in the headlight when it comes to getting out into the “real world” on their own and leaving behind the predictable world of academia or corporate America.
I recently heard that the dental department at the University of Chicago shut down and released all of their staff to the wind. They will have to either find new jobs, or start a new business or change professions. Either way, it will be a scary proposition if change is not easily dealt with.
Change can certainly be scary, but the key is not to run from the fear. Feel the fear and “do it anyway”. Granted this pep talk can be easier said than done. However, by learning new information on how your mind and brain really works, getting coaching and using tools that help you to release the negative conditioning that keeps you boxed in and playing small, you can rise to the occasion of our changing times.
Tags: Confidence, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery, Stress
Posted in Confidence and Self-Esteem | Comments Off
Friday, October 16th, 2009
 Quantum Physics can substantiate that everything is energy – yes EVERYTHING. This includes you! Now about ten years ago, when I was in a different place, if someone started talking about energy, the judgment would be that it was “woo-woo” or “new age” (this is such a subjective term).
It was said in a spooky negative way in the circle of people that I knew then. Even now, there are still those who think that energy is something spooky or “other worldly”.
The fact is, you don’t know what you don’t know. This is why we as humans only use about 90% of our brains capacity; we are afraid of looking at or learning about anything new that does not neatly fit into our existing paradigm!
I was talking to someone recently who made this comment about us not using our brain, and when I shared with him some of the most recent findings in neuroscience, you can probably guess what his rather typical response was – “I don’t know if I can believe that”. This is so common.
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Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Mindset, Quantum Physics, Self-Mastery
Posted in Law of Attraction | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
 Self-mastery and empowerment is more than a “nice idea”. It can become as real as you are willing to make it happen for yourself. It is not about being lucky, and the journey to empowerment is a conscious choice, it will not just happen.
We all start our early life feeling like a victim or possessing “victim consciousness”. It seems that it is just a part of the human experience, and while it is possible that there are one or two exceptions out there, the rule is out the gate we have to develop our sense of personal power.
For the most part, most people have accepted the notion that their life is out of their control. I believe that this attitude is starting to shift. Perhaps it is out of necessity or for some out of desperation, but since we are living in a time of great turmoil and change, it has become evident that that job you are depending on, or that support you thought would always be there, can simply vanish overnight.
The truth is, this has always been the case. It is an illusion to think that we can control things outside of ourselves. The closest that we will ever come to controlling anything will be the ability to control our own mind, our choice of thoughts and what we will believe. The missing ingredient though is awareness.
Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Personal Transformation, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery
Posted in Empowerment | 4 Comments »
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
 Personal empowerment cannot occur if you keep doing the same thing and using the same information that got you where you are today. How are you ever going to expand into a bigger role in life if you keep closing your mind to new information?
Einstein is credited with saying that it is insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. How true!
If you want to stop struggling and feeling like life is one big survival of the fittest contest, you have to be willing to release your old beliefs and paradigms that no longer work for you. Why is this so hard?
There can be many reasons, but one is that from a science standpoint, once you wire into your nervous system what you believe to be true, you will only tend to notice what aligns with your “reality”. Reality is relative; my reality is not your reality.
Once you start to unconsciously believe what you do, your conscious choice shuts down and you “fall asleep”. If you are not aware or paying attention you will live your life on autopilot. If your life is working very well for you, this is fine, but if it is not, your suffering will tend to only increase with time, like a growing cancer.
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Tags: Confidence, Empowerment, Happiness, Self-Esteem, Self-Mastery
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