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The Power Of Awe

4/30/2019

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The feeling of awe, have you felt it lately? It's that wonderful, heart-opening feeling of amazement, wonder, reverence and inspiration. We usually experience it when we feel we are in the presence of some greater force.

Lately, as I've been going for a walk or driving around I've been feeling awe at the beauty of nature, the vibrant green grass, the blooming spring flowers, the budding trees. It's pretty easy out in nature to feel awe if you are aware and noticing it, or actively practicing awe.

You might be thinking, "What do you mean actively practicing awe? Is this a thing?" The answer is yes, it is a thing! A lot of new research is coming out on the power of awe and the intentional practice of cultivating the feeling. 

The feeling of awe is good for your health and helps us to revise our mental models of what's possible in the world. 
A new UC Berkeley study reveals that awe can even improve physical and mental health, possibly even lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, clinical depression, heart disease, and arthritis ... benefits similar to those enjoyed by eating right and exercising. As Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner puts it, “Don’t underestimate the power of goosebumps.”
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This most recent research out of UC Berkeley links positive emotions...especially the awe we feel when touched by the beauty of nature, art, and spirituality...with lower levels of pro-inflammatory proteins that signal the immune system to work harder.

And the good news is that you can promote your health with an awe experience as simple as watching a sunset, or even looking at a picture of an awe-inspiring sunset. As Dr. Dacher Keltner put it, "That awe, wonder, and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions...a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art...has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy."

Awe can be found in almost any environment, turning a mundane or ordinary experience into one of inspiration, wonder and awe. We're more likely to feel awe in a new place, where the sights and sounds are unfamiliar to us. 

The key to feeling awe is to be in the right frame of mind, then you can turn an ordinary walk into a series of awe-inspiring moments, filled with awesome surprises. The practice of awe is easy and can be done anywhere, anytime.

​During your next walk, try to approach what you see with a fresh set of eyes, even if you are walking in the city versus out in a natural landscape. Look for the beauty, look for the awe-inspiring sights. You might find it in a skyscraper, some amazing architectural work, a beautiful art piece, a beam of sunlight dancing through a window, a gesture of another person, the giggle of a young child. The possibilities are endless!

I invite and encourage you to practice awe by building into your day mini awe interventions!
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Today I'll Choose Courage Over Comfort

4/23/2019

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Last week's post focused on overcoming the fear of failure, in order to dance with joy and lead our best life. This week, I'd like to explore choosing courage over comfort. 

​One of my favorite teachers and authors is 
Brene Brown. Brene is a researcher, professor, and author who has spent a large part of her career researching vulnerability and shame. Brene says that you can't be courageous without also being vulnerable. Vulnerability and shame often weave together to form a tapestry of smallness and regret. It takes courage and the willingness to be vulnerable to lead the life of our dreams and to face the fear of failure.

Brene states that everyday when she wakes up, before her feet hit the floor, she sets her intention by saying, "Today I'll choose courage over comfort." I've added this to my morning intention setting as well. One of the keys to courage is to recognize that vulnerability isn't a weakness, but instead the proper measure of courage. Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging and joy.

​It's easy to play it safe, to operate within the comfort zone, to coast through life one day turning into the next, but is that what we're here on this earth to do? Are we supposed to "play it safe", to hide our truth, our voice, our passion? On one hand it's easier, but on the other it eats away at us when we make this choice and typically we end up with regret.

Brene states, "
I think the people who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth about their stories are the real badasses in this world. This is especially true of people who rumble with failure. These are people who choose courage over comfort, accountability over blame, and are able to embed key learnings from failures into their lives."

Brene urges people not to open their hearts to just anyone. “Don’t grab that hurtful stuff from the cheap seats and pull it close, don’t pull it anywhere near your heart. Just let it fall to the ground. You don’t have to stomp it or kick it, you’ve just got to step over it and keep going. You can’t take criticism and feedback from people who are not being brave with their lives. The deal is that you have to be very specific about people whose opinions of you matter. It’s not that you don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, just don’t give a shit about what some people think. And then really solicit feedback from the people that do give you good feedback. And you know who makes that list? I’ll tell you who should make the list: People who like you, not despite your imperfection and vulnerability, but because of your imperfection and vulnerability.”

Brene has a new offering on Netflix titled, Brene Brown the Call to Courage. Check it out for some great information, stories and a lot of laughter. As Brene says, "Failure can become our most powerful path to learning if we’re willing to choose courage over comfort."
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Flirt With Failure

4/11/2019

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I saw this saying a while ago that I absolutely love, I'm not sure who said it, but I wanted to share it with you. It goes like this, "Be willing to flirt with failure in order to dance with joy. I would rather flirt with failure than never dance with joy." I just love that, it really speaks to me and creates such a great visual. It's something I remind myself of frequently, since my natural tendency is to play it safe, to let fear of failure take over and stop me from trying. 

​Does fear of failure hold you back too? A lot of us cringe at the thought of failure and avoid it at almost any cost. Causing us to run the risk of having regrets and not following our dreams. Fear of failure is one of the things that keeps us stuck, that keeps us small, that keeps us from enjoying the dance of joy. In the process of avoiding the unpleasant feelings that typically surround failure, we rob ourselves of the pleasant feeling of joy. The sweet taste of success, of accomplishment, of courage, of celebration. 

Here's the problem, we think that it's bad if we fail, that it's embarrassing. Failure makes us feel vulnerable like somehow we weren't good enough, smart enough, wise enough, that we wasted time and/or money, that we took an unnecessary or even stupid risk. We often don't look at it as a learning or growing opportunity and we may not view it as courageous. 

I work hard to keep in mind my belief that I am here in this lifetime to grow and learn. How can I grow and learn if I don't stretch myself, try new things, explore and take some risks? I also keep in mind my belief in curiosity, viewing things as an experiment, staying light-hearted and playful. We tend to get so serious about things, I don't believe that we are meant to be so serious and to play things so safe, or to judge our so called "failures" as bad. Instead, I work hard to pay attention and listen to my intuition and to let that guide me in my choices. 


We often hear that failure builds character. Failure helps us to build character traits of compassion, empathy, forgiveness, gratitude, courage, wisdom, vulnerability, patience and determination. All of these traits are hard to embody until we have experienced them first hand. 

As a parent, it can be hard to not try and keep our kids from failing at things in life. It's a natural instinct almost to shelter them and protect them and steer them away from failure.

​I was recently watching an interview done by Marie Forleo of Abby Wambach,
an American retired soccer player, coach, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women's World Cup champion and a recent author. During the interview, Abby said, "As a parent, what do we want our kids to be? Wise, brave and kind. Failure makes you wise, brave and kind. We need to recognize that failure is not going to kill us, it will send us on a different path, a different trajectory. Failures are an opportunity to reflect, to reassess, and to begin again and again and again."

Spiritual teacher Wayne Dyer said, "Everything is either an an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose." Fear of failure robs us from experiencing our best life. Every moment of every day we get to choose, we get to make a choice as to whether we're going to grow or remain the same. I invite you to set aside your fear of failure, and instead flirt with failure in order to dance with joy.
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All Of The Children Of God Are Special, And None Of The Children Of God Are Special

4/9/2019

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Author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson routinely refers to this quote from A Course in Miracles, "All of the children of God are special, and none of the children of God are special." I love the duality, the paradox, of this statement. 

The statement speaks to our perfect equality, that everyone and everything is perfectly equal. We are all special, and yet no one is more special than anyone else. We are all children of God. All of us are unique, but none more deserving than another. We are all special, yet we are all the same. We are One. We are all special, but not special from each other. We are all equal in the eyes of God and we are all reflections of Divine oneness.

Our ego wants us to believe that some people are more special than others. It likes to determine who is special and who isn't. It works hard to convince us, and others, that we are special. Yet, at the same time, we feel inferior constantly judging and comparing ourselves to others, as well as comparing others to others. 

Spiritually, ego means considering oneself to be distinct, or separate from others and from God. It's the opposite of identifying with the Soul, or the God within us, and living our daily life with this consciousness. Our egos are powerful, they can make us believe that everything is about us. Ego is that fear-based voice that shows up and keeps us small and keeps us stuck. Fear is synonymous with ego. 

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The ego fools us into becoming overly identified with our bodies, our thoughts and emotions. I've often heard the acronym for ego to be Edge God Out. I really like this description of ego.

God's love shines equally onto those who commit the unthinkable just as much as it does onto those who are loving and kind. God's love makes no exceptions or precludes anyone. No one is any more loved than the next, regardless of actions. It's only the ego that would seek and cause us to believe otherwise. As A Course in Miracles states, “God is not partial. All His children have His total Love, and all His gifts are freely given to everyone alike.” 

God's love, Devine love, is unconditional love. Some would say that our purpose on earth is to love the way God loves. To recognize our oneness, to love our neighbor as we love ourself. Recognizing that all of us are special and none of us are special. ​
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