Goal Setting And Living In The Now

I have always been a goal setter. I tend to daydream big dreams. Then I think up possible ways to get there. The problem with that approach is that life has a tendency to get in the way. Nothing ever turns out the way I have planned it. Somehow, I do arrive at my destination, just not the way I wanted to. Ironically, I usually get there kicking and screaming and don't even realize it until I have been at the destination for a while!

It has dawned on me lately that I am not often focused on living in the present moment. I am so caught up in my future plans that I don't appreciate what I am doing in the here and now. The worst part is, living in the future also leads to a great deal of unnecessary worry. Worst case scenarios have a tendency to pop up, limiting your enjoyment of what is happening in the present moment and stealing your joy.

As of today, I am going to attempt to not plan. What? Not plan? Not anticipate? How in the world will I get things done? How will my goals be accomplished? The answer is simple: I am going to allow my heart to do the planning. I am going to allow my heart to guide me! (Novel idea, huh, as that is the whole goal of this blog!)

The plan is simple enough. I'm going to make a list of things I would like to accomplish in future. Then I'll to fold it up and put it someplace I will be able to access it periodically (but not necessarily front and center). Once that is accomplished, I am going to do my best to forget about the list and live each moment in the here and now. The goal will be to follow the guidance and wisdom that comes from my heart!

There is a method to my madness. Making the list will set the intention. God/Source and my higher self know the best way to get there. By living in the now and accessing God and my higher self through my heart connection, they will guide me by showing me what will make me happy and bring me joy in the present moment. I do not need to think (key word) about the future. As all time (past, present and future) exists where God and my higher self are, accessing their wisdom should yield results.

I do plan to access my list occasionally--hopefully not more than once a month or so because I don't want to dwell on it too much. The goal here is to observe whether or not I have made any noticeable progress.

I am not going to detail my list here, other than to say that one of my main goals is transitioning to a place where I no longer need to work part-time for someone else as I have all the resources I need working for myself. These lists are meant to be personal. You need not feel pressure to reveal your goals to anyone else unless you want someone else to witness your transformation.

As a planet, we are in a heavy growth phase. Chaos seems to reign supreme as we transfer our awareness to growth and new ways of doing things. The shift we are making involves learning to live in the now and following the wisdom that comes from communion with God and our higher selves through connection with our hearts. This method of goal setting is designed to help people stay focused on heart-based living. Join me? Together we can change the course of the entire planet! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!!!

~CSE

   

Dropping Ego

We are all aware of what the word ego means. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ego as "the self, especially as contrasted with another self or the world." What strikes me about this definition of ego is that it is based in separation. Ego is the individual you when separated from everything else. Why would we need to drop ego at this critical time? We need to drop ego because the problems we have in the world today have been created within a state of separation.

When I look at my own ego, I see problems. It's my ego that gets offended when someone treats me poorly. If I allow myself to stay in ego instead of reverting back to my BEing (that is joined with Oneness), I will act out aggressively instead of understanding their poor treatment is the result of the abuses they themselves have suffered at the hands of others acting through ego. It's my own ego that seeks to build itself up instead of acknowledging the value and worth of others. This, in turn, feeds into all the other separation that is in the world. While ego has been necessary to experience duality in a conscious way, we have come to a point in time where it has created enough separation we will destroy the planet. We need to get ego under control if we are to survive.

Dropping ego requires opening the heart and living from that place. This is because our hearts are what connect us to Oneness. Oneness is the space where the illusion of separation is shattered. It is within Oneness that the solutions we seek for our dying world come to light because everything exists there. All information is accessible. It is from the heart that we understand what is necessary for the health and well-being of the whole.

We cannot solve problems through the same thinking that created them. It is in ego the problems were created in the first place. It is time to drop the separation mindset. It is time to drop the ego and learn to live together as One.

~CSE

Transitioning Away From "News"

Within the conspiracy theory community, I hear a lot of people talk about how they stay away from mainstream news. I definitely believe there is a lot of garbage there that parades around as truth, so it is better to avoid it. However, my thinking is also changing as far as alternative news. I am to the point where I am no longer an avid fan of it either. I don't totally dismiss it any more than I totally dismiss mainstream news. I just no longer rely on it.

News has been something of an addiction for me throughout my lifetime. Some of my earliest childhood memories involve sitting down to the dinner table with the evening news on in the background. I was always curious about what was happening in the world, just as my parents were. When I fell down the rabbit hole into the realm of conspiracy theory, alternative news sources were a natural transition. 

The problem I now have with news is not actually with the news itself. What I see as the problem is how I take it in and how I process it. Typically, whether mainstream or alternative, I take in the information though my senses of sight and sound and process this information with my brain. Herein lies the problem. I am limiting my input to information gathered outside my heart. 

Creating our new world is about changing our focus from the mind to the heart. It is about becoming so in touch with our hearts we are thinking through and acting from that place--that place of connection to all things. Thinking through the mind often comes from a place of separation.

Whether mainstream or alternative news, when we focus on this information from the mind, the mind will provide all the "solutions". As Albert Einstein once said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

The more I follow the guidance of my heart, the more I see solutions outside mainstream thinking. The more I pick up on information from my heart, the more I find information I was totally unaware of before--information the news cannot and does not see. 

I am not totally dismissing news. There are times when the awareness of my heart picks up on some small detail provided in the news that correlates to the insights I receive from my heart.

As we get closer to opening ourselves to the divine wisdom of the heart, the limited information of the mind loses its appeal. Finding yourself in a place where you no longer find news appealing is an indication you are firmly moving toward creating a more heart-based world.

~CSE

 

The Problem With Agendas

I love Christmas. I have so many fond memories of this time of year from growing up that I have always wanted to instill that joy in others. Christmas baking, music, hidden presents, family time, etc. are just some of the pleasant memories I want to instill in my own family. The problem comes in because I want to incorporate all these characteristics into every Christmas. I become very agenda-driven this time of year and it can be a problem. Why? It is very easy to let the agenda become the focus, very often missing out on what the heart tells you should happen.

This particular year's Christmas agenda involves my now two-year-old granddaughter. She already loves Christmas. Whenever we go to a store with a Christmas display she is extremely content to look at the Christmas trees with lights and the big blow up lawn ornaments that are popular now. I am hoping to get her interested in helping me with holiday baking and perhaps creating some good Christmas memories for her. She has already helped me with a few other baking projects so this seems like a reasonable thing to try. I have my baking supplies ready for her arrival and hope to bake one or two things every day for several days.

The thing is, expectations and reality can be two very different things. I may wish to accomplish several tasks, only to encounter problems along the way. For example, my granddaughter is two. She may not have the attention span or may just not enjoy the task of baking. She may get tired and cranky and want to go play with her toys, leaving both of us hurt and frustrated.

Agendas are problems because they are plans, usually constructed using the brain/mind. They involve rational thinking. I don't wish to bash rational thinking. It is helpful and has its place. The thing is, thinking with the mind is usually based on and limited to the information obtained from experience.

When you live from the heart, there is no conscious agenda. You may have goals. You just trust that the Universe has a plan to get you there. Instead of trying to think up a path to take you there, the heart follows the path of least resistance. In my experience, the path that I consciously choose with my mind and rational thinking (agenda) is almost never the path that gets me there.

I have decided it will be best to just try to go with the flow and try not to expect too much. I will listen to her needs. I will do what I can to to make things fun. I understand I will be doing most of it myself. I may not get it all finished. It's all good. I'm trusting the Universe has a plan to help me create beautiful Christmas memories for her.

Do not be afraid to let go of your agendas. Understand the Universe knows what you wish to create in the world. Allow your heart to show you the way. It probably will not go as expected, but rest assured it will be much better than anything you ever thought possible.

~CSE

Purging And Releasing

I've noticed some extremely interesting shifts going on in my personal life lately. They seem to cover the gamut of my life--friends, religion/belief system, even social media. Pretty much everything is represented in the turmoil. As the emotions come up, I am allowing myself some time to sit with them, and I question why they are appearing. So far, the answers have been surprising.

For example, several friends whom I have been close to in the past seem to be much more distant lately. Granted, we all lead pretty busy lives, but this appears to be more than that. For the most part, I don't perceive that it is personal, but I am feeling as though they are supposed to have diminished roles in my present life. I am allowing that to happen with the understanding that those I need (and who need me) will show up for me at the appropriate times. While I am allowing myself to be open to the return of these friends, whether or not that happens remains to be seen. 

I've been much better at defining and vocalizing my spiritual beliefs lately. As this happens, I notice bits and pieces of my former beliefs purging themselves from my consciousness. They served me well at certain points in my life and I am thankful they were there. However, I am becoming aware of new understandings beginning to take up residence in all those empty spaces. 

The things going on with social media are perhaps the most intriguing. I am becoming more aware of the various energies carried by friends I know in real life and those I only know through the internet. I am sensing both the light and darkness emanating from various ones and using some caution with what I absorb and what I discard. Discernment. I'm in a place where I'm really not discarding anyone or the information they present. I am becoming aware of the need to consult my heart and the Oneness therein for understanding. Increasingly, asking my heart first is becoming habit.

That's really what all the purging and releasing has been all about lately--becoming more aware of the heart connection within and following that instead of the usual mind/experience/programming approach. We are in the middle of figuring out who to follow, with the inevitable understanding that we ourselves are our own best guides. 

We will continue to purge and release until it is natural for us to live from a heart-based consciousness. The shift is not an easy one, but it is necessary if we want to change life on planet Earth for the better.

~CSE