Contrary to all the hype about surrender and letting go and just relaxing into "it", actually surrendering is hard as hell. Yeah there are moments when I can totally surrender, like dipping into a hot bath and letting the water soothe you.
But there's more to it than that isn't there? I've been on a quest to really ‘get’ it, to live into it. And I've been searching for proof that it wasn’t just some fantastical idea of spiritual living but that it had practical applications in my everyday life. In other words, I've had to live more fully in a surrender state than I had ever allowed myself to do. I followed the ‘feel good’. I recognized that I am always in flow, even when the flow is painfully slow. I started relinquishing more and more control over how I allowed myself to be in the world. What I noticed however, was that SURRENDER WAS A RESULT, NOT A BEHAVIOR. I couldn’t work towards surrendering more because it felt like something unattainable, a foreign concept, something my mind just couldn’t ever wrap itself around. The behavior I found I most needed most to cultivate to be able to produce that state of surrender, was TRUST. BIG ASS SHIT TONS OF THAT FIVE LETTER WORD... TRUST That opened a whole can of worms in my life. At the core of every fear and dream, every failure and success, every relationship, every word written, every moment stolen, was trust. Without trust, nothing happens. Without trust, surrender is impossible. I spent time consciously focusing on where I could trust myself more. Those trust muscles got a serious work out. Moments when I was in the doldrums, when I starting hearing my mind doubting that I would ever get out of it, doubting myself and my process and moments of great rapid growth and action when I trusted myself to step out of the fast pace before I burned out and crashed instead of worrying that I’d never be in fast flow again, moments when I said yes and moments when I said no and trusting that it was the right answer for me at that time. It has been a lot of work. I've done a lot of deep breathing. I've taken a lot of blind steps. I've hired spiritual coaches and energy healers to help me clear out the blocks between me and my place of surrender. I've read and taken classes, all the while focusing on trusting more. Ultimately, I've landed in spaces of calm. Trusting myself more and more, and trusting the Universe more and more became easier for my mind to reconcile once I began seeing the proof that surrendering actually gave better results than I ever had believed possible. That’s the good stuff - where the more you trust and surrender, the more magic comes into being. And the more magic comes into being in your life, the easier it is to trust and surrender. I was feeling it everywhere in my life. I started to see the areas where trust impacted me the most, the patterns emerging of where I needed to trust more and where my clients needed to exercise their trust muscles. I started mapping it out, the areas where surrendering had the highest and best impact: Can you trust yourself to desire? to create? to be powerful? to love and receive? to be vulnerable? to be you? and ultimately, can you trust yourself to surrender to a higher purpose? Want to surrender fully to the magic we are meant to create in this lifetime? IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO TRUST I can feel the fear. I can feel the vulnerability. I can feel the trepidation. I can feel the doubt. And if I don't trust myself, those feelings take over & I stay put. I can feel the nudges. I can feel the desire. I can feel the power. I can feel the elation. And if I don't trust myself to follow those feelings, the feelings fade away & again, I stay put. But if I trust I can surrender, and if I surrender, I can choose how to respond to anything. I can choose to have fear, vulnerability, trepidation, doubt and trust myself to move forward anyhow. I can choose to feel the nudges, desire, power, elation and trust myself to ride the wave to whatever they are leading me to. There are days where I don't trust myself and I struggle. And there are days where all I do is trust, and magic happens. I don't always know where I'm going, but I trust that I'll make it. It's an active practice, and the more I choose to trust, the easier and easier it is to surrender because evidence follows. What will you choose to believe? What will you truly trust?
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You're going along and everything is flowing and then suddenly you stop. There's no more enthusiasm or drive, the project no longer excited you. All you want is a nap and a cupcake (that last one might just be me...).
Because you're self-aware and stuff like that you may immediately think "I'm blocking myself, this is resistance" or you may immediately believe that it's just not meant to be and the Universe wants you to pause while all the millions of tiny little converge. One or both may be totally true. But how do you know the difference? Honestly, the only way to truly know is to be consistent with your inner connection - can you commit to connect with the project to see if it's in alignment each day...not to work on it harder but to see where it lands for you? External actions are merely reinforcements for your own inner work so if it's too much efforting, then something's out of alignment internally. If you're avoiding it, it's an alignment issue and yes, you're in resistance. Commit to the alignment and the blocks disappear. If everything feels aligned and good, then it's a sacred pause and you can stop over analyzing what's wrong with you and enjoy the breather. YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BY HOW THEY FEEL. Take out the mental chatter and meditate on the core of what you're feeling. You're not broken because you need to check your alignment - that's just basic scheduled maintenance. I've had months of sacred pause where everything was in alignment but nothing was moving so deeper states of surrender have been required of me. And I've had months of avoidance, resistance, putting my fingers in my ears while squeezing my eyes shut singing as loudly as I can. And in those times, I can be in choice to clear the pathway and do the inner work required of me. So, before you blame yourself OR the Universe, connect with your highest self and ask, 'Is this resistance or is this a sacred pause'. You're going along and everything is flowing and then suddenly you stop. There's no more enthusiasm or drive, the project no longer excited you. All you want is a nap and a cupcake (that last one might just be me...).
Because you're self-aware and stuff like that you may immediately think "I'm blocking myself, this is resistance" or you may immediately believe that it's just not meant to be and the Universe wants you to pause while all the millions of tiny little converge. One or both may be totally true. But how do you know the difference? Honestly, the only way to truly know is to be consistent with your inner connection - can you commit to connect with the project to see if it's in alignment each day...not to work on it harder but to see where it lands for you? External actions are merely reinforcements for your own inner work so if it's too much efforting, then something's out of alignment internally. If you're avoiding it, it's an alignment issue and yes, you're in resistance. Commit to the alignment and the blocks disappear. If everything feels aligned and good, then it's a sacred pause and you can stop over analyzing what's wrong with you and enjoy the breather. YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BY HOW THEY FEEL. Take out the mental chatter and meditate on the core of what you're feeling. You're not broken because you need to check your alignment - that's just basic scheduled maintenance. I've had months of sacred pause where everything was in alignment but nothing was moving so deeper states of surrender have been required of me. And I've had months of avoidance, resistance, putting my fingers in my ears while squeezing my eyes shut singing as loudly as I can. And in those times, I can be in choice to clear the pathway and do the inner work required of me. So, before you blame yourself OR the Universe, connect with your highest self and ask, 'Is this resistance or is this a sacred pause'. The myth of progress and stepping outside of our comfort zone... It mystifies me that the self-development world is so enamored with feeling discomfort. We've all heard it - the idea that in order to do something great we have to stretch beyond our comfort zone. For many years, I thought that was true, constantly seeking that next thrill of doing something scary. Everything was just outside of where I currently was so I'd have to keep challenging myself all the time - and that's exhausting. And then I realized that it didn't have to be true, that it could be a part of an old paradigm that I didn't have to strive for. I object to the idea that something has to scare you to help you expand. That if you don't feel the fear then you're doing something wrong. Because when we're using our intuition, the boldest things we can do are the things we are SURE about. We KNOW that it's our next step. Fear is not, nor should it really ever be the measurement of how we live our highest and deepest calling. Why would we actively seek that which is low vibration in order to grow? I get that most people don't mean it that way, that they are referring to that feeling of excitement or anticipation. But that's NOT fear. And perhaps the thrill of something new can be intimidating and scary but that's still no reason to live your life always seeking things that scare you. Listen - get quiet. Really really quiet. Sometimes you get ideas that are really really big and they cause your heart to beat a little faster. When we stop there then yeah, we're pausing in the emotion of what is big and seemingly impossible. Get quieter. Because behind that is an energy that is nothing like fear. It's a knowing. It's a calling. It's this feeling like, yep, that's what's next. There's nothing other than you and that feeling that this is why you're here on this planet in this moment. That this is what you're meant to do next. That this is, for now, your thing. And when you simply show up and surrender to that feeling of knowingness, you will be literally guided step by freaking step along the way. The only thing scary about that is being programmed that to be of value it has to feel scary. There is nothing of value in the fear. There is everything to be gained in the surety of taking your next step. I remember what it was like to pretend. I used to pretend a lot. I used to pretend I wasn't some weird New Age psychic Empath. I used to pretend that I wasn't hearing voices in my head telling me which way to go. I used to pretend I was lost. And I used to pretend all of that simply because I was being who I was expected to be. I don't really know who expected it but there it was, expectation. And the desire to fit in. And the desire to succeed. And the desire to appear normal. So I'd make up things that I didn't know just to have the opportunity to appear normal. I'd snatch up classes and books and all assortments of shelf help and smart business tools. What I've discovered after being an Entrepreneur for about 16 years now is this... I KNEW EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW BEFORE I LOOKED OUTSIDE FOR ANSWERS. "Your intuition will tell you where you need to go; it will connect you with people you should meet; it will guide you toward work that is meaningful for you - work that brings you joy, work that feels right for you." - Shakti Gawain Yeah, about that. Work comes with some extra expectations on top of our personal ones doesn't it? Like somehow we HAVE to know more and be smarter. I knew everything I needed to know before I looked outside for answers. Because if I got quiet, my intuition knew exactly what to do next. If I had followed the small tiny little not-so-glamorous not-so-result-oriented actions that my inner voice was telling me to take? I don't know what my trajectory would have been... but I know what it has been since I really truly started listening and taking the steps that don't make sense. And they have been my most successful profitable and easy years. So consider this during the week... Are you really listening? What Lights You Up?
There's a town about 3 hours from my house called Quartzite, Arizona. It's a dry dusty one street little place that isn't open in the summer, except the gas stations and fast food for those of us who travel the highway from California into Arizona. My favorite store in the world, called Gem World, is in this middle of nowhere town. It's nothing more than a huge warehouse filled with dust from the road and a whole ton of randomness... and the most spectacular rocks and crystals and beads at seriously ridiculously low prices. It's like heaven on earth for me. I leave dirty, with a bag filled with $200 worth of beads and rocks and stones every time I go. And the twinkle in my eye is undeniable. I can't wait to go play with my treasures. In fact, the only reason I started making Malas (aside from the fact that I actually use them of course) was because I had so many stone beads I just couldn't justify another trip to Gem World without having done SOMETHING with them. Every time I touch those beads I twinkle. Every time I see the incredible crystals I've brought home, I twinkle. Every time I turn on the salt lamps and selenite lamps I've gotten there, I twinkle. So yes, my rocks and my connection to how they came into my life... and Gem World - inspire me. From a place of inspiration and twinkly eyes, we can create anything. From a full soul filled with joy, magic can happen. What lights you up? And can you connect with that spark just a little each day so that the glitter seeps into what you're creating in the world? I sent an email out today to hundreds of people who had signed up for my book writing list...apologizing.
Mostly because I didn't "get it". See when I wrote Writing The Damn Book it wasn't because I really wanted to get into the helping people write business. It was because (warning-naked honest truth there) I was tired of everyone asking me for advice on how to write and finish their books and I figured I could hand them a book and move on. Yes, I've done book retreats and support clients through the process, but it felt more like a side thing. A really juicy amazingly fulfilling side thing, one that I have found to be completely in my zone of genius, but not something I did as my main business. I really just wanted to give people a resource that was more spiritually aligned with completing a book so that I could get back with my 'real' business. I didn't see how this fit into my true purpose. There was no strategy. No really smart path. It just...was. Meanwhile I have people signing up every single day for that list, for resources and guidance and I didn't know what to do with them. With you. I felt the pressure to perform somehow but I didn't feel the desire... And then it hit me... That I talk about writing a book as the biggest piece of self development I've ever done. And the coaching and mentoring I do with my book clients is so deep and transformational that it's really NOT about the book... It's about the MESSAGES. Becoming clear with who the authors are being and living into the messages they are infusing into what they are writing. It's about their actual transformation that is required to write a book of TRUE substance and change. And hundreds of messages dying to be out in the world were sitting there dying on my email list. Those messages, YOUR messages, and YOUR transformation completely and totally are a part of my mission and purpose. It is not separate, something I do on the side. So I get it now. And I'm IN. And I'm creating content and resources to send out weekly to my authors. Because this shit's important, because writing and publishing the damn books are important... to fundamentally change how intuition, empathy, spirituality and energy work in the world we need to actively be bringing these messages out - and we need to be transforming from within to help facilitate the changes in the world we are meant to create. Let's write people. Let's write.... This past month brought a lot of change in my business and somehow in the mix I found myself in the middle of a super fast paced flow. Every day had things to do - I recorded what felt like 1,386 videos, wrote 8,532 emails and posts, created an entire 13 month calendar for MasterSoul University, another for Writing the Damn Book AND another for my entire Empire (aka my businesses). Okay the numbers are a complete and total exaggeration... and it felt a lot like that. I went from a rankin' full stop to a g-force rocket ship ride in a matter of moments. Honestly, I had moments where I didn't think I'd get it all done, where I felt the overwhelm and confusion of actually having to work. But it was different too. Because those moments didn't last. I kept slowing myself down and taking time away even when I felt I didn't have any time. I reminded myself daily that the magic happens not when we're pushing but when we're allowing. And here's what I really learned... **Surrender doesn't only happen when things are painfully slow. Surrender is also necessary when your life feels fast.** My team and I had opportunities to work our asses off to make deadlines and DO. And we actively chose not to. We could have pushed and forced our way through lists. We didn't. In everything we did, we reminded ourselves of ease and grace. Because everything we were creating needed to be in alignment energetically first. Lots of deep breathing. Lots of walking away. Lots of getting down to only essentials and leaving the rest for later. Lots of naps followed by... Lots of coffee. Lots of reframing. Lots of second and third takes. Lots of calling in. Lots of imagination. And yes, lots of videos and writing and editing and lots of chatting with people. What looked like lots of progress was actually created by taking lots of highly intentional little steps. "Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation" -Saint Augustine Our greatest success with releasing MasterSoul University is that we did it and it felt really amazing each step of the way. It is in service of my Purpose... to fundamentally change the conversation around energy, intuition, spirituality and energy in the realm of business - to have it be FIRST always.' And it was created from a place of BEING. Walk the talk. Be the message. Thanks for being on the ride with me... It's about right NOW.
I'm a visionary thinker. I can see HUGE things. I get downloads about world change, revolution, and massive impact. I hear the whispers of greatness when my mind quiets down. I bet you do too. Big ideas are my wheel house. Which is exactly where I get stuck - in the BIGNESS of it all. I bet you do too. My friend Rafael and I used to talk about that a lot - how we have access to the voice of these divinely created things, that we're given all this input from Source about unlimited potentials and directions. And they are so beautiful and so awesome that it's hard to put into words. How do you express the infinite in human terms? In our businesses, how do we take these HUGE ideas and translate them into practical steps? And the real question - how do we create practical steps that still feel as aligned as the VISION and PURPOSE we've been shown? Come back to the present tense. Connect internally and ask, what is the NEXT ONE STEP? Hold the vision and be here now. And for my energy workers & intuitives & empaths - we are MOST powerful when we are fully in the moment. That's where our true connection lies. So if we get lost in the future vision, we are taken away from our place of power. Allow the vision. Then allow each individual action to be made in service of that vision, not in the future but in this moment. By slowing down to be present we allow the massiveness of our purpose to be immediately possible. You have questions and concerns about MasterSoul University...
I have the answers. The first question is HOW MasterSoul University is going to work. MasterSoul University was created with the desired end result of YOU creating a profitable business that is Divinely driven and Intuitively run. Towards that end, we have created a very intentional pathway to reinforce your own self trust, teach you some new tools and inspire you to expand energetically. Every conversation and lesson has been placed within 5 main areas of mastery... 1. FUNDAMENTALS: Create a strong spiritual foundation 2. CLARITY: Spiritual intuitive clarity as to what you're creating next in the world 3. CREATION: Aligned business creation that works from your heart, stripping away all of the superfluous information you have floating around in your 'should' files 4. SURRENDER: Because surrendering in your business takes a warrior mindset 5. EXPANSION: Break through glass ceilings and blocks (and what to do when it's working) Now BREATHE. Because we have also addressed your concerns about being overwhelmed with information when you're trying to create more SPACE. I TOTALLY GET THAT. Every single week you will be receiving one lesson that is no longer than 15 minutes long that gets to the singular thing that we can shift that week. This gives you the time and space to implement, play and experiment. AND if you skip a week, or two, or even a month, you will never be left behind. You can go back and watch a whole month in one hour OR skip it entirely and just listen to the lessons that are really calling to your soul at the time. Much of the transformation will also be in the group discussions and the live-stream chats. The whole purpose of MasterSoul University is to help you expand your business using spirituality, energy and intuition FIRST and we're stripping away all of the extras to help you focus on that. The doors are closing in about a week - so, if you have more questions, ask below NOW and I'll see you in the inside <3 Stacy p.s. What would happen if you chose to try it for a couple of months just to see if you like it? http://www.stacynelsonunlimited.com/mastersoul-university.html |