5 Signs that Dance is Your Soul's Language

Dance has always been a part of my life. I was the little girl dancing in the mirror in my bedroom, creating choreographies for me and my friends. At sockhops and high school parties, I was always the one that couldn’t stop moving, reciting the songs and moving to the beats in one big ball of expression. Maybe you were something like this too?
 

I didn’t realize until much later that dance was an integral part of my essence - one of the major languages of my soul in fact. It took honest and reflective conversations with friends and deep introspective time with myself to come to the realization that dance was not just something that I enjoyed, but was a transformative method of healing for myself and through me, for others.

I know that I am not the only one that has been given this gift either. I know that there are many other souls who speak through the language of dance. Whether they dance professionally, around the house, on the weekends or just in their own bedrooms, dance moves them and speaks for them in a way that is truly unique and special.

My guess is that if you’ve been drawn to read this article, you might be one of us.

But how do you know for sure? Well these 5 signs below are clear clues that dance could be a primary language of your soul. Welcome home if so <3! I’m creating a community just for us - to nurture and nourish the dancer’s soul - mind, body and spirit!

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1. You can’t help but dance - even when you’re sitting down.

Whether it’s bopping around in your car or sitting down for dinner, you can’t help but move. Friends and family often point out to you that you are dancing around to music that only you can here. You probably don’t even notice - it’s just an involuntary response, the same way someone twiddles their thumbs or taps their foot. Your body just needs to move and express itself, even if just slightly.

2. When you are happy, you dance.

This is another one that you probably haven’t noticed until someone pointed it out. When you are happy, you start dancing. Eating food you really enjoy? You start bobbing your head or shimmying your shoulders. Just got some good news? You break out into a little dance jig of celebration. Dancing is definitely one of your soul’s way of expressing happiness and it’s your default all the time.

3. You could watch dance videos - instructional or performances - all day long.

You watch dance videos the same way people watch music videos or gaming videos - video after video, hour after hour. Each one excites you even more, eliciting deep emotions within you - from tears to high-fives. What’s more, you imagine what it would feel like to be doing those actual moves. You envision how awesome it would be to learn the routines and you might even find yourself walking through some of it - rewinding that video just a few more times until you get at least one part of it down.

4. When you hear music, you automatically see choreography. In your mind’s eye, you are constantly seeing different ways to express the emotions you feel in songs.

You can envision huge ensembles and solo acts to your favorite music. You can sometimes even feel the ache in your bones to give a song a visual interpretation. You probably have a secret list of songs you would love to create your own choreographies to. I know that I do :-).

5. You were the closet/mirror dancer as a child.

You were the child upstairs in his or her room, pretending to be Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Ciara, Beyonce or any of the world’s other pop dance icons. You imagined yourself in your own music video - not singing, but *dancing*. You memorized all of the moves from their latest videos and performed them over and over again for yourself and whoever was willing to watch. You probably did a few family reunion and neighborhood talent shows too. You could spend all day happily dancing.

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If you identify with even a few of these, dance is much more than just movement for you. It’s a need to move that feeds your soul. It gives you life just as much as you feel that you express your life through it. It is the ultimate form of nourishment and nurturing for your soul.

Oh if it were just that though. But dance also has its shadow side. In the pursuit of dance, we also run right up against our insecurities, fears, doubts and secret worries. In the expression of dance, we lay ourselves out in the most prostate and vulnerable of ways, exposing ourselves to the opinions and approval of others and challenging ourselves to be unaffected and undeterred by them. Dance lovingly gives us the opportunity to love, sometimes with toughness, on ourselves and face all of the things that make us want to shrink head on.

Its gift is multifold and dynamic in its highs and lows.

This is why I’m creating the Dancer’s Bliss Community - an Academy to Nourish the Dancer’s Soul - Mind, Body and Spirit.

With dance as our vehicle and connection, DBC will help you to navigate the terrain of growth that dance inevitably will introduce you to. No matter if you are an amateur dancer in love with social dancing as many nights as you can, a dance major auditioning for your first paying gig or a weekend professional dancing on stages to the wee hours of the night on Saturdays and punching a clock at your 9 to 5 on Mondays, this academy is where you can grow within a community that understands you, your passion and your desire to evolve and expand.

Simply put, I get it and together we get it.

The doors to the academy will open very soon and I would love for you to know as soon as they do. If you’d like to be notified, just click here and leave me your email address.

I promise, you will be first to know :-).   

As a special thank you, I'll also send you my Woowoo Resources for Dancers Guide with two powerful resources to help you embrace the magick of dance even more!

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6 Traits of a Woman Ready to Stand in Her Own Power

How do you know when you are ready - ready to stand up for yourself and actually claim that you are powerful and worthy?

I think that if you find yourself even contemplating this question, it’s time to do something about it.

But just in case you aren’t really sure, here are 6 traits that I know for sure signify that it’s time to re-evaluate how you are moving in the world.

1.  You find yourself feeling fed up and on edge.

Are you just tired? Do you feel like you can’t take one more thing. Is everything annoying and close to pissing you off? The eggshells thing - has anyone mentioned that they are walking on them around you? This is a clear indication that you need some change.

2.  You begin to feel like not rocking the boat at the expense of hurting yourself just isn’t acceptable anymore.

Some things need to be said. Some things need to change and some things need to end. Compromising to the point of pain is no longer an option.

3. You can suddenly see through all of the bs.

You are just over it. Done. The veiled lies and the rose colored glasses aren’t for you anymore. You aren’t interested in perpetuating the bs any longer.

4. You begin to notice how unhappy people are and wonder how they are really doing and how much they are faking it.

Because you can see the bs so well now, you can also see the pain all around you. You can see people caging themselves into their shoulds, faking happiness and interest. It’s almost sickening as it becomes more and more evident and unignorable. It makes you wonder how you look to the world too. Do you look that sad, stressed and fake?

5. You refuse to fake it anymore.

Whatever it is, that’s what it is. You refuse to act like something is that isn’t. You refuse to pretend that you’re feeling a way that you're not and  you refuse to make nice about things. You want real healing, true change and an actual different way of living. Not just band-aids and fake smiles.

6. You have this sense that there is more to you and more to life than what you can currently see.

That’s your true self calling to you. That feeling right there is probably the most important key. You know that this fakery, run run run, over-extending and over-bending yourself for whoever shows up needing it is not your sole purpose in life. In fact, you are clear on the fact that, at the least, that way has to change. You just can’t keep it up. And you are so very ready for the more. For the thing that makes this life thing a joy instead of a chore.

If these resonate with you, then it’s time. You are ready for the levelup. You are ready to feel so much better and from the core to the outside. The desperation and/or frustration you may be feeling is only temporary. It’s just showing you where things need to change. The most important thing to know is that you are ready to step into and stand firmly in your own power. That is cause for celebration <3.

I invite you to grab my overview of Why Being a Go-Getter is Getting You Nowhere and what to do instead. Just click here to download it. In it, you’ll see even more clearly why it’s time for a new way and get some concrete steps forward to start paving it.

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What Failing at Whole Foods Felt Like

This post is completely in honor of the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse and the fact that I am a different person now, transformed by the fires of my experiences, really and truly dancing on the ashes. It may sound a bit poetic, but it is the absolute truth. 

I'm soaking in the effects of yet another major change and it prompted me to look back at other tower moments in my life. Failing at Whole Foods was one of them. The beauty of being transformed though is that I no longer have to carry shame about that story and I no longer have to identify with that story. I'll admit, that last part has been and still is a work in progress. But progressed it has - so much. 

So, in honor of being free of this story and able to release it to the world to help someone else, here is the post I wrote on my personal blog 2 years after Etniq Minerals was pulled from Whole Foods here in Little Rock. 
 

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What Failing at Whole Foods Feels Like

Posted on April 6, 2015

This is something that I haven’t talked about really with anyone. I’ve just kind of swept it under the rug. I went on with a hopeful face and acted like everyone wanted me to act – still hopeful, still determined, still engaged, still resilient and full of belief in myself. You get knocked down you GET BACK UP. I acted like I got back up. And I sort of did.

I sort of dealt with it. I definitely felt like I gave the impression to everyone that I was understanding of the need for change. I gave the impression that I was willing to keep trying no matter what. I admitted that I did my best and I decided to keep it moving.

I was broken though. I don’t know if anyone cared that I was broken. Or maybe noone knew how to deal with the brokenness. All they could muster to say was, that’s ok leah, things happen for a reason..this is probably better anyway. You’ll turn things around. You’ll be able to get your sales up and get right back into Whole Foods.

Two years later, no not yet.

In truth, I tried not to tell anyone. I didn’t tell my family until they just finally kind of realized it. I didn’t tell my friends until they too just noticed that the products weren’t there anymore. I didn’t tell anyone really. I just felt like such a failure. Such such such a failure.

On top of my depression, on top of just the horridness of what it feels like to fail, this was a major major failure.

Whole Foods was my holy grail. I went to Whole Foods years and years and years before it was cool. I loved Whole Foods. Back home in Chicago, I was the weird girl in the early 2000s that only shopped at Whole Foods. The BROKE weird girl. *I* was the one that knew about organic food and holistic living and herbs and natural medicine. *I* was the one that loved everything Whole Foods stood for and tried to introduce my family and my friends to it. *I* was the one that figured out how to shop cheaply there with coupons and following the sales. *I* was the one that would get an Odwalla or Naked smoothie, a 365 milk chocolate bar with hazelnuts, and a slice of cornbread on period days. And pizza. *I* was the one that told Little Rockers what they were missing and came here and felt so sad that there was no Whole Foods (and then there was one and I felt Happy that at least there was one, even a small one, here).

I did workshops at the Whole Foods in Oaklawn back home as an esthetician about natural beauty. I would drive way out of my way to go to the Whole Foods in Durham. MY lotion was 365 brand and MY herbs came from the bulk bins. I, ME, I was the naturalista, the granola girl, the weird black girl that liked all this natural stuff.

So to FINALLY have products there OMG. Can you IMAGINE what a major boost to my fragile ego this was??? Can you IMAGINE??

People who knew nothing about Whole Foods were like oh hey there’s this natural store around here..some new kind of stuff..it might be cool to have your products there. The person who initially introduced me to the idea that my products could ever be there had no idea how big Whole Foods was. She had just casually emailed them about hers and got a response. WTH.

I would have NEVEr imagined that I could have been a vendor at Whole Foods. NEVER. and then BOOM it happened. ANd then BOOM I let it fail.

And now I know a little bit more keenly that a lot of the things I beat myself up for about with the Whole Foods venture (and with all my ventures) had to do with my depression. Depression is horrible. Depression made every single thing so hard. Depression and low self esteem made demoing horrid. Depression kept me from trying full out the new ideas I had for growth. Depression kept me from feeling good about what *was* happening. I fought the depression but the fight was so hard. So very hard.

So today was a bit of a triumph – actually setting foot in the same Whole Foods – seeing the old managers – having the awkward moments – feeling like shit. I haven’t been to that Whole Foods in the two and a half years since they dropped my products.

ok maybe once.

I had a good convo with my boyfriend today though and i think it’s a reasonable goal to want to get back in that Whole Foods. All they want to see is sales. That’s it. If I have considerable sales in the Little Rock area, they will be willing to take a chance on me again. This new whole foods is bigger. it’s attracting more people. It’s more possible now. people may be more into makeup now. I have better resources now. and a better support system.

I have to remember that what’s in my head is not always reality. this is another one of those – you can be defeated leah or you can be triumphant.

it’s hard choosing. I’m trying to choose though.

I kinda need some support with keeping my head up about this…I’m glad that I finally wrote it all out though :). I’m sure there are more feelings to digest but at least this is a start. Thanks so much for reading :).

Full Moon Eclipse Fall Out

So this full moon held the promise of major change. Doors closing and doors opening. Well, I can attest to it. I've had the endings and now I'm looking forward to the beginnings :-). I'm no master astrologer, but what I do know is that there is opportunity in everything and I talked about that today on Instagram. I gave a reading for what this Full Moon is giving us the opportunity to release. (You can view in my stories for the next 20 hours or so www.instagram.com/goddesslifestlyecoaching)

Even now, I'm having ahas about it. The basic premise is that there is something (or multiple somethings like it is for me) that we've been working so hard on, doing what was necessary at the time to bring about the manifestation. And now we are getting tired. Well we were getting tired. It was beginning to wear us down, to not feel worth it. And we felt so guilty for feeling like that. We felt like maybe we should be more patient, more understanding, more diligent, more persevering. But in truth the time has passed for that. The time has come instead to move into a higher level of understanding and to release it back to the Universe. And to get back to flying light ourselves :-). And the way the Universe works, you can happily give it up or the Universe can rip it from your hands while you grasp at it like an upset toddler. 

It was fairly profound :-). There are some things that I'm sure I'll find the way to share with you soon about changes in my life. What's most important now though is that you know that you can fight it or you can roll with it, excitedly waiting for the next chapter.

I'm with the excitement all the way :-). 

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On the sometimes messy road to healing...

It’s been a little bit of a messy week emotionally. I’ve had some love and I’ve lost some love and the grieving process shook me up (as grieving processes should). I’ve come out of it on the other side though much more intact and a lot more aware and hopefully a little bit more healed. Fingers crossed.

What I realized in my self-exploration is that I was still reeling from old hurts I experienced in GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Grammar school dear. Like age 6 to 10. I grew up in a neighborhood where the popular people were mixed, light-skinned and had curly-hair. That still rolls off my tongue with such ease because it was something that I was painfully aware that I was not. My hair was wooly, I was not mixed and even though I was light-skinned, I still somehow got the ugly streak.

Now this is my kid-self talking. My adult self of course knows that I was NOT ugly, I was JUST shy and had my step-father been a little better at making me feel adequate, I wouldn’t have quite needed the validation of all of those mean little kids who were acting out their dysfunctions too.

So in my current relationship situation, I think I’ve realized what is there to heal at least right now - what the mirror is showing me today. My little girl self is still comparing herself to the light-skinned, mixed, curly-haired girls she went to grammar school with. Maybe not even comparing. Maybe still feeling the most gut-wrenching, despair-filled sense of helplessness and hopelessness because she was not born that way. In her logic, maybe if she’d been born that way, all this other stuff would be different too because surely the light-skinned, mixed, curly-haired girls had it better. On the playground they certainly did.

Plus the old stories of withholding affection being a tool of manipulation that causes me to scramble to get and maintain that attention and affection made an appearance as well. Adult Leah is well aware that she doesn’t *need* anyone else’s attention or affection, yet somehow my current situation triggered all of that subconscious reacting as I strove to be patient, understanding and unattached.

The one thing I can gladly say is that the Universe never fails me, even when I’m screaming at it. I was guided every step of the way to these revelations. By following my urges, I got the answers I was seeking and I do believe that some profound healing is in the process of unfolding.

I know by now that I don’t always have to decipher the whys and that I don’t actually have to do any of the heavy lifting. I just have to ask the questions and be open to hearing and exploring the answers *and then* I have to remember to ask for help.   

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Why Being a Go-Getter Will Get you NOWHERE

If you want something you have to make it happen right? You see what you want and you go after it. That’s how it’s done. Hustle, strive, grind hard. Right? WRONG.

Hi, My name is Leah and I am a recovering Make it Happen girl :-).

That in fact used to be my motto. If I wanted something, I would go after it. I wholeheartedly believed that this was the only way you got what you wanted.

And I’d love to be able to say that this way got me everything I wanted. And I can say that it got me some things for sure. But what I can also say is that this way is definitely the hard way. And so I want to pose a question to you. Why are you making yourself do it the hard way?

This is what I need you to understand. The Go-Getter, hustler chick within you - she is driving you like cattle. She is whipping your tired little back and scolding you for tripping in the dust and taking too long. She is not your friend. She is not going to celebrate when you get to where you thought you were supposed to be going. She’s going to just be driving you even harder to the next promised land.

Going after things in life from an external, cattle-prodding place isn’t sustainable. It doesn’t create happiness. It rarely even creates real success (and if on the off-chance it does, you can rarely access the joy of it anyway). What it does create is a subconscious loop of stress, strain and the need to do more and more and more. It keeps you constantly feeling like you aren’t doing it well enough (and might never be), which actually blocks you from getting what you really are after.

Now yes, people may praise you for your drive and tenacity and go-getter gungho-ness. I let this blind me too. Unfortunately, this is just fuel for the erroneous thought pattern. It encourages you to keep driving yourself, even though you’re actually really getting tired and approaching burnout and disappointment (again) fast..

And though you are afraid to admit this might be true, I’m going to go ahead and say it outloud - this way is just not going to get you there. Where you are really trying to go.

To get to where you really are trying to go, you have to get to the point where you actually don’t care. What I mean is that you have to get to where you know that there’s not one more thing you need to do to get there. *THAT* is the key to getting there. It’s really like those floodgates they talk about. It will pour in AND you won’t be doubting if you are worthy.

Basically, it has to come from the inside out.

When I indulge in things that have no external purpose or in them NOT for their external purpose, that is when I change. That is how I create evidence.
 

Recognize this now. The way you have been taught is not working. It is instead the very thing that is keeping you married to anxiety, sadness and disappointment.

It’s not that you can’t achieve the things you are after. It’s not that the superwoman you see yourself as is impossible. It’s that you can not approach becoming her from a deficit. When you are in the place of thinking you need to “do more” to become her, instead of just allowing her to rise from within you, you keep her outside of you, a little past arms-length, almost reachable but just out of touch.

Instead of more tensing, it requires more relaxing. It requires more settling in than striving out.

So here is a little thought experiment for you to begin exploring this idea for yourself.

I want you to get in touch with what a reframe of not having to do anything external to be worthy does for you. I want you to explore how that shifts you slightly and initiates a lightness and perhaps even an exhale.

What would it be like to not seek nor need anyone’s approval?

What would it be like to have the audacity to do something just because you wanted to, not because it would get you anywhere?

Do either of these feel odd to you? Uncomfortable? Purposeless? Stupid? How does it sit with you to know you are doing something for purely selfish reasons?

Does selfishness feel wrong? Does being self-involved and self-indulgent feel like a negative thing?

Now, consider for a moment that YOU are in fact the MVP of your life and so it’s actually expected that you get special treatment from yourself. You get to have all of the attention and energy focused on what you want. See what happens when you embody the role of the deserving celebrity. How would you treat the one that you admire and would actually bend over backwards for to make comfortable and happy?

Think you deserve that? I do :-).

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So as you might have guessed, this is just the tip of the iceberg, the beginning of the self-discovery and potential changes for the better in your life. It’s all possible and with the right perspective shifts, you can get to where you want to be as the authentic superwoman that you actually are. I have many ways to support you and I’d be delighted to step in and walk with you on this path.  

Here are a few ways I can below:

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To keep this line of inquiry and inspiration top of mind, enroll in my free daily mentoring text club by texting Audaciouslife to 87365.

To engage in a community where we discuss these ideas and I am there to guide thought experiments and personal inquiries into how we are choosing to go after things in life, join my online community at Dancing on the Ashes. <--click on the words to join.  

And if you are ready to have some 1-on-1 time with me where we break through some of your own personal barriers and talk about your unique path to actually getting what you want, book a complimentary Discovery Call with me by clicking here.

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Who/What are you giving your power to?

I’ve had a few pretty full experiences this week that have given me a chance to explore this theme. Even when it’s tough, I am completely grateful to life for the opportunity to see more of myself and to choose more on purpose (as opposed to default).

Like with my experience this Wednesday when the celebrity makeup artist Robert Jones came to visit Paul Mitchell to teach: this was a perfect opportunity to work through some issues of power, perception and choice.

I’m happy to explain :-). If you are just tuning into my world, recently (a little over a month ago), I took a new position as the makeup artist instructor (learning leader) at our local Paul Mitchell cosmetology school. Within the Paul Mitchell system, there is an online makeup academy that the students can enroll in to learn professional makeup skills. Robert Jones created it.

So to meet him just a few weeks after starting and getting into teaching his methods was just amazing for me. I have really become the fangirl over the past few weeks as I’ve gone through his course. Besides my makeup classes in esthetics school and what I’ve learned as a cosmetic chemist and holistic makeup artist sharing MOVE Makeup, I’ve had no other formal makeup training. Some of my favorite YouTubers (Wayne Goss anyone?) have been incredibly helpful but an organized, step-by-step program, I have not had. So his program has been gratifying on a number of levels. And then to be charged with the responsibility of helping the students acquire these skills and more - well let’s just say I’m in grateful amazement that I get to do this everyday.  

But him coming to the school so soon was also nerve-wracking. What would he think of me? Do I really have the skill level to pass on his trainings to the students? Would he ask to see my portfolio? “Why oh why don’t you have an up-to-date portfolio Leah!!!”

And then of course, I wanted to be sure that I gave him some samples of MOVE Makeup to try. I couldn’t miss out on that opportunity.

I was also worried about my demeanor and how it comes off sometimes. I’m beyond the point in my life where I try to be overly extroverted when I’m not feeling extroverted, because that’s just too stressful to maintain. But on the other side of that, I tend to fear that I will come off disinterested, too quiet, shy, unengaged. All untrue statements.

So I grappled with this up until Wednesday and even on Wednesday. I was in need of some quick mindshifts.

There were a few key things I reminded myself of:

1. Most of this angst is in my mind.

2. Apparently a whole bunch of somebodies believe in me or else I wouldn’t be here.

3. I have tons of proof that my makeup line is awesome and loved by many.

4. I have tons of proof that *I* am awesome and loved by many.

5. Even if the absolute worst thing happens, I’ve survived other absolute worst things and I’ll survive this one.

6. The absolute worst thing usually never happens.

7. I am an adult doggone it. I’ve paid my dues. I’ve graduated to full adulthood. I get to act like one and expect others to treat me like one. (For some reason, I tend to remind myself of this often.)

So how did the day go? I’ll admit, I had some awkward moments. I was left feeling out of place at certain points, unsure of what I *should* be doing. But for the most part, it was an amazing day. I had some teary-eyed moments to myself even, contemplating the pure miraculousness of what I was getting to experience. I couldn’t have created this storyline of being a makeup instructor in a million years. It was nowhere on my radar and I had NO idea how fulfilling it would be.

And that evening, when my ego tried it’s best to scare me into not taking another courageous act ever again in life, I pulled out a favorite ego circumventor, what if.

Yes, Robert Jones could think my makeup is crap, BUT what if he thought is was the absolute bomb-diggy?

Yes, Robert Jones could have thought that I was a dull, nitwit (like the arrogant CEO of Eminence who swore that I was lying about being a chemical engineer - a story for another day), BUT what if he thought I was brilliant, had the perfect amount of poise and energy to motivate and connect with the students, and had every confidence that I am the perfect person to trailblaze new heights with the academy?

Yes, everyone could have thought I made all the wrong decisions and was painfully awkward that day, BUT what if everyone thought I was a rockstar, especially that day?

The What if game is POWERFUL. The little bit of space it creates in your mind for a pause automatically results in a rise, even if you just vibrate a hair higher and feel a tiny bit lighter and less burdened.

I encourage you to try it the next time you have a day of being outside of your own comfort zone :).

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Upcoming Makeup Class!

I'll be teaching a small group makeup class next Monday! We will cover how to do a natural Daytime makeup look without looking overdone and how to take that look to a Nighttime Date night look. This class is great for professional women who want to wear makeup and have that polished, together look but NOT look like a drag queen or Instagram model (not that those aren't beautiful looks!). Perfect if you are new to makeup as well. Everyone will have the option to purchase a MOVE Makeup Sweatproof & Natural Starter Kit as well. Introductory Price: $40 w/MOVE Makeup kit: $65

If you want to register, click here to message me and reserve your spot. Limited spacing - only 5 slots available! 

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Ready to be Audacious?

I have a new Facebook group for women that are audaciously falling in love with themselves and their lives and burning away everything that is standing in the way of that. Won't you join us? 

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How to handle being told things you already know...

How do you handle learning things again that aren’t new to you? What’s your process when you could have sworn you’d “done that already”?

I’m reading a new book, You are a BadAss at Making Money by Jen Sincero. I’d shied away from reading it about a year or so ago because I felt like it would be stuff I already know. I mean, I enrolled in a course at the beginning of 2016 whose sole purpose was to help you change your money mindset and stop blocking the moola. I’d enrolled in two other money mindset courses before that. And countless other trainings, books and exercises have helped me to look into my relationship with money and change it for the better. So when this book came around the first time, I was really feeling like “been there, done that - got the t-shirt.”

The booked popped back up again though, right when I felt in need of some new energy around money creation and so I decided to pick it up. I have to admit that I’ve really been enjoying it. Jen’s writing style is a perfect mix of good information and the right type of humor to deliver it with. I feel like it’s written for someone like me, the queen of DIY for instance, predisposed to making thing harder for oneself just because it’s cheaper more so than just enjoying the crafting part of it.  

She introduces concepts that I’m familiar with in fresh ways that actually are giving me nuances of insight. My sticking point is that as I’m reading them, I remember when I first came across them, feeling like I’d found the holy grail. Like “great! This is all that I have to do. I’ll be manifesting the things I want and need in no time. All of the successes that I’m claiming, they are about to show up big time!”

And it wasn’t that at all. Things didn’t show up in my life just because I put them on my vision board. (I’m still waiting on quite a few things on my 3 boards to be honest). It hasn’t been as simple as examining what I want certain amounts of money for and then just watching it roll in. In fact, it’s actually been constant work. I feel like in some crucial ways, I’m still standing in my own way. I feel like there are still some major blocks I’m uncovering about my self-worth and ability to do what feels impossible. (Even though I’ve done “my” impossible many times before.)

And so what it’s leaving me with is thoughts about the layers. I’ve talked about layers before. I’ve mentioned them in regards to my mental health and in regards to my pursuit of my version of success (and even figuring out what that is because it differs very much from what others think my success is supposed to look like.).

What do you do when you realize that there is yet another layer. Is it a “CRAP!” Or is it a gentle “oh what do we have here?”

It may depend on the subject and your mood at the moment like it does for me. I think somehow, we got the wrong message that there is such a thing as fully being done with something. Or fully mastering something. And I think we are really bad in general about noticing, let alone celebrating the baby steps and the little pieces of evidence.

I know for myself, especially with money considerations, I have to continuously remind myself to look for the little bits of evidence and also to be easy and kind to myself. There is no pass/fail. It’s only evaluating and adjusting and then getting back out there in the game.

Maybe you are like me? I’m really good at getting back out there in the game. But what I’ve been traditionally really bad about is giving myself a failing grade. I don’t even think to evaluate, adjust and tweak. I just blanketly look at what I asked for versus what I got and think FAIL if it’s not exactly what I thought I needed it to be.

How often are you doing this? It’s a good question to ask yourself. I think in answering it, you and me, we both will find the shortcut to the easy way.

The annoying truth is that manifesting really is easy. It really is just a law of the Universe that you can’t help but utilize. It really is just about getting better at training your thoughts and emotions on what it is you actually do want. So that evaluating and tweaking part is what gets you past blindly grasping at straws and throwing your hands up in disgust when you feel like you’re floundering. It’s what helps you hone it in and fashion yourself into an expert.

And it brings me back to the book and a new way to see being told about concepts I learned at least 2 years ago if not more. It’s just tweaking. It’s just another layer. It’s just another light bulb. It’s just about sharpening myself into an expert. And so it’s something to be incredibly grateful for instead of slightly annoyed by.

I’m working on it :-). How about you?