Brenda Blackburn eNewsletter

Greetings,

February 2008

A PERSONAL STORY TO SHARE

Snowman The other day I had to take this picture of the adorable little snow lady in front of our neighbor's house. Since we only had a little snow on the ground at that point, my husband chuckled as he commented that making the snowman must have been quite a feat. And then the next morning, I awoke to a deep blanket of snow outside! I smiled, thinking perhaps now our little artist next door would add more snow people to her project! Sure enough, in short order a new little snow person appeared down the path!

As I mused on how wonderful it is to see the passion of children expressed so eagerly, (in this case with a little parental assistance, I suspect!), I also wondered, "What is the message we can take from something as simple as building snowmen? How can we relate this to living our passions?"

Here are some words and thoughts that came to mind:

Enthusiasm: To get caught up in our own excitement, and in the pure potentiality of our interests--our passions.
Childlike: To honor our child within. To allow ourselves to be silly or nonsensical. To allow ourselves to drop the serious undertone and conditioning of adulthood and return to innocence.
Eagerness: There's no time like now to begin! If we wait, the opportunity may be lost.
Spontaneous: To honor our intuition. To be free and uninhibited from fears or doubts, and move forward with gusto and without self-limiting restraint.
Joy: The pure happiness of following our own creative drive. To enjoy the process rather than worry about the outcome.
Creative: Ignited and fueled by creative impetus, we use our imagination and the resources at hand to make our vision a reality.
Commitment: To fulfill our vision--to persevere--despite any obstacles or discomforts that test us along the way.
Sharing: To share our process with others and the results for others.

Are you living your passions? If not, what's keeping you back? And if you are living them, is there any area in which you're holding back from fully enjoying the process?

Personally, I think there is always something I can learn from the childlike pursuit of living with unabashed enthusiasm. On that note, I'm off to continue building my metaphorical snowman!

"Love life, engage in it, give it all you've got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it." - Maya Angelou

FEATURE ARTICLE

The Power of Love Starts Within

With all this talk about passion, we have to talk about love because they go hand in hand. We can't have one without the other.

In order for us to feel love for ourselves, or to give genuine love to others, there has to be an absence of mental negativity. It would of course be difficult to feel love, if feelings such as fear or frustration are lurking in the background! However, if we reframe our negative perceptions, shifting them to a more positive outlook, we end up shifting our emotions and attitudes at the same time….one moment at a time.

For example, to feel self-love, we need the absence of negatives and self-criticisms. We have to infuse our internal mental ramblings (self-talk) consistently to a more affirming language. For instance, our fictional character, Jane, has a passion--a dream she wants to pursue. But her self-talk says, "Who are you kidding? You'll never be able to do that! You'll only fail again! Be realistic!" This defeatist attitude is generally caused by a lack of love, truth, and faith within not only herself, but subsequently with regards to her outer life and the bigger, spiritual picture. And because of that, it will have a negative impact on all those areas as well. The negativity of each person collectively effects all--the influence is undeniable.

With Jane perceiving that she's defeated before she's even begun, she's more than likely having feelings of low self-esteem and a lack of confidence. With that, it's going to be pretty hard for her to genuinely feel good--feel loving--to others, particularly if they are upbeat and express themselves positively and confidently.

In addition, her belief of not being able to succeed (and settling for less) will create effects in her external world; a cyclical chain of events to back up any beliefs that Jane had. Whatever she believes as truth about herself, whether fact or fiction, she will unconsciously or consciously create proof for in her world. This becomes a form of self-sabotage which further substantiates her self-judgments.

To make a shift, Jane needs to give her power back to herself (empowerment) and gain awareness of her own process. She also needs to be centered in the present moment, rather than stuck in a past reality. Rather than finding false excuses, she needs to remember the power of faith, truth, and love that starts firstly for herself. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning said, "Who so loves, believes the impossible." She must have faith in herself and believe in her ability to overcome the past and any limitations she formerly put on herself. Instead of projections of self-judgment, she needs to state truth. (For example: I am worthy of success. In fact, I am a success simply because I am.) And she must love herself for who she is. This internal reframing will lead to a reprogramming of her inaccurate sub-conscious beliefs. Remember, true or false, our subconscious believes whatever we've programmed it to!

Jane's example, (just one of many where our fear overrides our love), is meant to illustrate how our own doubts (lack of self-love) can effect the fulfillment of our passions, as well as effect the greater power of love; to ability to receive it, and to give it, with authenticity. If we want to receive love, we must give love, we must feel love. The power starts within.

CARD OF THE MONTH

This month's card is from the Ask Your Guides card deck.

Card Name: "Purpose"

Meaning (an excerpt):
The more aligned you become with your life's proper path, the more your days will flow with ease. You'll lose track of all barriers as you go with the flow and throw your heart and soul into your efforts. Your dedication will pay off in the long run, but even this isn't important; your efforts are their own reward.

ipod PODCAST

This month's audio message:

In Pursuit of Your Passions —a guided personal assessment.

Exclusive access to subscribers only - please subscribe here!

RESOURCES TO RECOMMEND

You Are Love – Video
Thanks to Rev. Angelica for sharing this one in her newsletter!
www.youarelovemovie.com/

The Life You Were Born to Live: A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose – A book by Dan Millman. An oldie but a goodie! One of my favorites that I refer to again and again. If you get a chance, check this out at your local library or in your nearest bookstore! If you do, let me know how spot on you think it is. Take a peek inside at:
www.amazon.com/Life-You-Were-Born-Live/dp/091581160X

May You Be Blessed - Video
www.blessyoumovie.com/

Assessments - career and personal, such as personality, values, interests, etc. No cost!
http://www.workshoppersonline.com/assess.htm

BRENDA'S UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Please visit my website to see my current schedule. Please note that my workshops have been temporarily reduced as I finish my book.

ASK BRENDA

Ask Brenda If you have a question that relates to personal or professional development (internal, external, or spiritual), life coaching, employment counseling, my book (see About the Book web page), the website, or topics you'd like to see covered in upcoming editions, please send me an email.
Some submissions may be chosen to appear in this newsletter!

NEWSLETTER CONTEST WINNER

The new newsletter subscriber and contest winner from January was: Teresa Gomes from Lisboa, Portugal! Congratulations and thank you Teresa! An email has gone out to you, and you will be receiving a personalized, signed edition of my new book as soon as it's released! Thank you so much for signing up and welcome!

Each month, all new subscribers that month will automatically be entered to WIN a personalized, signed copy of Brenda's new book when it's released. Winners will be announced in the following month's newsletter.

READER COMMENTS

Timothy Kendrick, Tampa, Florida, author of PTSD: Pathways Through the Secret Door

Thank you. Loved the newsletter and enjoyed hearing about your trip. Fascinating. What a powerful spiritual experience.
_____

Audrey McCulloch, Remarkable Films, Osoyoos, BC

Hey...just a quick note to say your newsletter looks great and we loved your podcast. I especially liked the part about taking one minute every morning and thinking of one thing you're willing to do that day toward your intention. Good idea! Having just one intention and then just one thing to do a day sure does take the pressure off and makes it less overwhelming to achieve than some intentions might be. I'm going to try that myself!

THANK YOU!

Thank you for reading and listening everyone! Feel free to drop me a line at: brenda@brendablackburn.com. I look forward to your comments! You're my inspiration! 'Till next month...

In This Issue

• A Personal Story To Share

• Feature Article

• Card of the Month

• Podcast

• Resources to Recommend

• Brenda's Upcoming Schedule

• Ask Brenda

• Newsletter Contest Winner

• Reader Comments

Brenda's Blog