For the past year, my 6 year old will often stop and ask me, “How do we know we are real?”. Although we don’t need to dive too deep into that ocean of thought here, I do think it is important to get clear on what aspects of your life are real and true and what are illusions.

In my courses, I talk about our soul’s journey and how it is not an evolution of growth, but rather a return to home – a remembering. This awakening from the dream happens when we release our attachment to our stories and conditioning.

Imagine that your life is a television show. You are the main character. You have your experiences – some you as the character view as positive, some as negative. Your perspective as the main character is different than that of your audience. Your audience has a more comprehensive picture of your life than you do. When you experience conflict as the character, you are immersed in it – it does not feel good, emotions and limiting beliefs may arise and you just want a way out.

Your audience, however sees your situation with detachment and can see how the conflict helps you to grow. It can help you to take steps that lead to an increased level of wisdom.

Mindfulness is the act of becoming the observer in your life story (becoming the audience) as opposed to the main character.

Rather than being immersed in your character – the stories from the past, the conditioning that colors the way you see your future, you rise-up and witness with a clear mind.

Sometimes when I have a problem I am struggling to resolve, I like to visualize myself floating up and out of my body and I observe myself in the situation.

From that vantage point, I can see with clarity the immediate situation, the stories and programming that may be keeping me stuck and how I can move forward.

One important thing you can remember as you focus on being mindful each day is that you are not your thoughts, you are not your feelings, you are not your body.

• There are thoughts – those are intended to keep you safe from harm and to survive – they are not meant to provide you with wisdom.
• There are feelings – those are meant to help your body process your life and glean wisdom from events.
• There is a body – that is your vehicle that will take you through your life and help you store your wisdom.

You are the stillness within that observes it all. You are the presence that witnesses your thoughts, feelings and body.

To get started, take a little time each day and observe your life. At first you might find yourself labeling and creating stories. That is a desk. Boy, I need to clean my desk…I also have some work to do….and off your brain goes.

Breathe and release the labels and stories. Observe everything around you as a newborn would. You have no words or memories attached to what you see. Just watch and breathe. Note how you feel when you do this.

Emotional Release Exercise

This is an exercise you can perform when you are feeling uncomfortable. You might feel stressed, or angry – any emotion that you are not feeling aligned with.

1. Shut off any distractions (cell phone, outside noises)
2. Take a moment to breathe in and out for three deep breaths
3. Identify what you are feeling. Try not to go into the why of the feeling, just the emotion.
4. Now, go into your body. Where are you feeling that? Is it in your chest, your stomach, your shoulders?
5. Imagine you could touch that energy in your body. What does it feel like? If that energy could make a sound, what would that be? What would that energy taste like? If you could smell that energy, what would it smell like?
6. Now, imagine a beam of light coming down and focusing on that ball of energy/feeling in your body.
7. Watch as the energy shifts with the light. See it disintegrating and sparks of light floating up and away.
8. Now, take a deep breath in and hold it for a few seconds at the top of your inhale. Then release. Do that a few times.
9. Ask yourself again: How am I feeling right now?
10. You can repeat this process as needed, but likely you have felt things shift. Be grateful and return to your day with new wisdom and more love.

If you practice Reiki, you can use the exercise above in your sessions on yourself or others. If you use essential oils, you can combine this with some Cypress to help things flow through and Frankincense to help you align with the truth of things.

I love this quote from A Course in Miracles

Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exists.

Herein lies the Peace of God.

A Course in Miracles

Take peace in knowing that you are loved, you are love, and you are whole.

Big hug,

Lisa