Forgiveness (an Aspect of Freedom)

LET THE PATTERNS (play) I WONDER about seeing things in a new light this piece is infused with the energy of growth + renewal

Forgiveness is one of our main life lessons.

Many years ago I finally realised the true importance of forgiveness. I had the insight that for as long as I held a grudge I was locking a piece of myself in stagnation. I was not getting even with anyone and I was only making myself more uncomfortable.

I also realised it was easier to forgive some events and people more than others. And sometimes no matter how much I thought about forgiving I still felt resistance. So when this came I chose to pray to forgive. I put it into the hands of a higher source, and as I revisited the incident I gradually felt the release.  I also began to see how each situation has a learning attached to it.

Forgiveness is Freedom: Removing judgement + reclaiming personal power via choice. It is unconditional love + compassion.

At some point I also remember discussing the importance of forgiveness with my mother and she also suggested prayer.

Awareness was key to seeing where forgiveness was still needed. Where I was still tying energy to the past. As I released I felt more freedom. And I was able to realease more quickly when new concerns arose.

I also wrote a list of where I felt forgiveness was needed. I looked at the situations from a new perspective. I looked at why I felt wronged. I had to witness my feelings with clarity and nonattachment to being right. I left the list on my altar and revisited it every now and then. It feels good to let go in this way.

I also began to realise the importance of self-forgiveness.  You know this is needed when blame, guilt or shame (the victim archytype) holds you back from living freely. You become aware of how you are beating yourself up, even in the smallest ways. As I began to practise this, I began to take things less personally.

I choose To be guided by LOVE.

Affirmations: “I am willing to forgive myself and others for any mistakes in thinking, which were made during this day. I choose peace of mind in exchange for releasing these errors in thought. I ask that all effects of these errors be forgotten in all of time by all concerned.” - from Doreen Virtue, Chakra Healing

I forgive myself for everything i have done in my whole life + beyond. It lead me to where i am now. I learn from my mistakes.

Notes on Forgiveness to explore futher:

• Alpha waves for forgiveness and love.

• Honour the Body + Mind through forgiveness

• Cleanses emotional wounds + allows for mental healing.

• Healing = truth + forgiveness + love leads to a new earth.

• Dis ease is in the mind.

• "When you touch a wounds + it does not hurt you know you have healed. Memory/ scar may remain, but will no longer hurt."

• Let go of pride - personal importance.

• Forgiveness calls for practising unconditional love - surrender to love + stop resisting life. Accept all things.

Resources:

A book that helped me to understand forgiveness on an even deeper level was Radical Forgiveness which i found while searching the internet. I had read radical self love and thought about radical forgiveness. I found a link to a free download of the book along with worksheets.  I have not made use of the worksheets, but reading the book was so helpful in embracing the concept that all experiences are for our highest good, no matter how the appear. And sometimes we act things out unconciously to help each other to grow spiritually - we help each other to experience "challenges" so that we might gain INSIGHT that futhers us along our life journey.

Reading the 4 Aggreements has also aided in this and is always uplifting to reread. Reminding me that empowerment lies in the fact that you can change the dream + make new aggreements.

Women Who Run with Wolves. I Call back all the bones of all i thought i lost. 

See skillshare class on forgiveness, i have not taken it, but worth checking out.

on surrender (feeling + letting go of attachment)

NATURAL + TEXTURAL : really feeling the things that mean a lot to me + letting go

Dear Surrendering Self,

I find you in those moments when the next step doesn't matter because there is no seperation between me and the moment.

We have had to let go many times, but surrender is an even deeper cleanse and release.

I know I was introduced to you during childbirth. That was something that had to be given up to another level.

Surrendering self you believe in divine timing. You are so good at FLOW, you don't push or pull, you listen to the subtle guidance and TRUST.

Surrendering Self, you know we do not have to worry. You know we gonna be alright. You glide.

You are the road to true freedom. You are not easy to come by especially when faced with years of conditioning to keep it all under control, especially when things appear to be falling apart. Surrendering self you are brave you are strength. You don't care what others may say. You prepare us for what we don't even realise is possible.

Thank you surrendering self for letting go of the limits, the blocks. Thank you for carrying me through emotions to the otherside even when I want to rush ahead. Hurdling all the hard emotions. Surrender you say forget about pulling it together... let's break open and find new space to light up.

Surrendering self lets creativity do its thang. You are so true to the heart of things. A good reminder you are that we don't have to do this all alone.

We just read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (as recommended by Dad) and surrendering self you picked up on this :

 It is about the miracle cancer cells of Henrietta that have lived on long after her soul transitioned. There are questions about medical ethics, how the medical/science field has treated african american patients.  It is about family and completing stories. it is about healing emotional wounds. But these are the pages that spoke to me the most.

Immortality: soul cleansing

'Do something to relax yourself... 'I can't help it... I worry all the time.'...'sometimes we care about stuff too much. We worry when there's nothing to worry about'... 'and we bring our own body down by doing it.'

Thank lord....but please HELP ME, because I know I can't handle this burden myself...Lord, take that BURDEN... I can't carry it no more, Lord. You wanted me to give it to you and I just didn't want to, but you can have it now Lord. You can HAVE IT! Hallelujah, amen"

'Somethings you got to release' ... 'Bible says He can carry all that burden'

I'll leave it there for now

Much Love + be wonderful

LaToya

REthink: What Are You Doing This All For?

Rethink how things could be.

Why do you do the things you do? What are you doing it all for?

What is your why?

In exploring my why I always come back to a few main things:

Connection + Relationships

Experience + Exploration +Growth

Enthusiasm + Happiness

The method of ask yourself "But Why" at least 3x and see where your answers leads you is a powerful tool.

For me all of these stem from and lead back to LOVE.

I do it all for my family.

But why? 

So we can spend everyday together.

But why? 

Because it feels good to belong and be of purpose.

But why? 

Because we give + recieve Love.

I watched a talk a while back that really challenged me to see things a bit differently. I've always thought of myself being open-minded, but sometimes you encounter a concept that makes the opening even bigger.

Ricardo Semler talks about challenging the things we take as a given. He talks specifically about his company and innovative schools, but the concepts can be applied to helping us to THRIVE in all areas of life.

He also touches on the freedom that comes from letting go of the image we hold of ourselves so we can keep living in new more unexpected ways - he calls it his unbucket list. He also uses the 3 why's method.

I was so inspired I searched for his book Maverick! and lo and behold it was at the Cairns Library. Again, it is a book about business, bit filled with so many life lessons. If you get your hand on a copy give it a read.

May we all THRIVE in this life!

Be Wonderful

♡

LaToya

Resource: Check out this inspiring talk by Richard Semler

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How to Declutter Your Space (A Thought Process)

A thought process for figuring out what to keep.  

I used to pride myself on all the things I held on to. I could pull out a birthday card from when I was 5 or a text book form highschool or a paystub over 8 years old.  I had lots of art supplies and papers that I collected forever and had plans for. I was not until I decided to leave home for an extended amount of time.

I could only take what I could physically carry + my relationship with my things began to change.

I began to realize that my things represent what I make them represent. I began to see that when I let go I was opening up space for new possibilities.  

Set Your Intentions

With any goal in life you need to look at what you want to achieve.  What do you want your outcome to be? Do you want more time? Less things to manage? What is really important to you?

A simple way to begin is to choose 3 words that represent how you want you home to feel.

Go ahead choose three now...

Later when you are deciding what stays and goes you can reference these words and ask: Does this item help me to achieve my 3 words of intention? If you share your home ask the other family members what their words would be and see if you can narrow it down to 3 you all agree on.

My words are: FLOW | MAGICAL | INSPIRING

The Little Book of Sanctuary, suggests that you can choose another set of words for each room.

Assess you space

Next you can ASSESS your existing storage space, think of that as your max - everything you need to store must fit into these spaces.  Think: Can I do with less? Go around your house room by room and check out your storage spaces. You might even want to take a few photos for reference.

Choose your Mindset

Now that we have set our intentions and we know how much space we are actually working with, we can look at our mindset moving forward.  There are a few ways to think about your decluttering journey:

1. Get into the Mindset of HONOURING what you love, and LETTING GO of what holds you back.

It is important to surround yourself by things that uplift you, making your home a place that inspires you.  Connect to what you have and only keep what you love. First we connect with what we have, this is a process of honouring yourself. Focus on decluttering your own things, if you have family members living with you, you will need to let them declutter their own things, declutter is usually catching so when they see what you are doing and here your whys and results they are likely to follow suit. See Declutter Like a Manifesting  Guru for more inspiration.

2. Get into the mindset of a TRAVELLER

Just when I was settling into my one bedroom studio apartment in San Francisco, I decided to take a leave of absence form work, sublet my apartment and travel to Australia and New Zealand for 6 months.  This was my first real look at all the things I was carrying with me.  I had to do it a few times before when I was at University studying design; every year we had to pack up or dorm/ apartment and decide what to keep and what to go, but most things went into storage, until I graduated and had to move back to San Francisco.  I had to decide what was worth shipping back and what was better to let go.

Let's just say I had a bit of a struggle getting my bags from the airport to the train station to the hostel - there may have been tears sheD.

When traveling I realized that I did not need much, but I still held on to quite a lot of things. The real change in what I held on to came when I decided to move to Australia indefinitely and I really could only take what fit in 2 suitcases and a carry-on, even then I had to pay for extra luggage- arrgg.  When I moved in with my now husband, he was a real minimalist and soon I began to let go of even more. I will save more of my transition to simplifying my life in a future post.

So whats next?

TODAY'S ACTIONS (SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT THEM):

1. Choose your 3 words of INTENTION

2. Assess your storage space

3. To get ready for the next post pick the first room you want to declutter, I suggest starting with your bedroom.

I will share more about mindset and give some practical tips on the process to start decluttering in future posts.

Be Wonderful

xx

LaToya

Thank you for joining me in {Finding Space}. To receive INSPIRATION and MUSINGS directly in your inbox signup here.

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Freedom is a Lifestyle : Create a Home + Life you Love

Freedom is being comfortable in our own skin and living intentionally. HONOURING what we love + RELEASING what no longer serves us. There is no better place to cultivate this than in your own home.

How amazing it feels to have a deep knowing that life is always working out for us (even when it feels uncertain) -  Freedom is having FAITH. Home is where we nurture these feelings of serenity and peace.

I express freedom by going at my own pace, sharing my story + expressing my unique style. In your home your style is your authentic voice and it is expressed in what you choose to bring into your space. Your style is your personal expression rather than the influence of a specific design period.

Freedom is facing fears and moving into the LIGHT anyway. Being brave -  it is TRUST IN SELF.  We really feel freedom when we release struggle + finding the silver lining.. it is THRIVING under any circumstance.

Your home should empower you to live your best life. The contents of your space can be reminders (physical affirmations) of your values, your hopes, your dreams.

FREEDOM IS A STATE OF MIND

Freedom is taking life into your own hands - it is seeing your home as SELF CARE + self expression. In life it is about not taking things personally and knowing when to LET GO or to seek SUPPORT.

Freedom is finding your  HOME + happiness within. It is an opportunity for expansion + GROWTH.

In practical terms freedom is about getting your home in order + decorating it to reflect your intentions and desires for life.

FREEDOM IS A LIFESTYLE.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of {FINDING SPACE}. How do you embody freedom in your life and in your home?

Be Wonderful

xx

LaToya

Thank you for joining me in {Finding Space}. To receive INSPIRATION and MUSINGS directly in your inbox signup here.

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