A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on its own wings. Always believe in yourself.“
When you were born, you believed in yourself. You knew your purpose. You trusted the Divine.
Then it happened…you began to believe in the illusion around you. What other people thought and believed became your truth because you wanted to belong and be a part of something. The fear of being alone drives more self-limiting behaviors than any other fear. You began to move from your heart guiding you to your mind guiding you. The mind is a beautiful tool, if used correctly. We began to individualize our minds and then believed we were separate from everything and everyone around us. We felt alone…the one feeling we were trying to avoid.
Whatever your beliefs might be, know this…the human mind is simply the place where we individualize God. What if your life was about letting go of your self-created limiting beliefs and instead letting God be God as YOU?
Our world is transforming. What is “breaking down” is not the world, but the consciousness that created it. We did that…now it is our turn to balance what has been done. The confidence you have in yourself does not come from anything external; it comes from that silent place within that is YOU. You can do and be anything you wish…your only job is to define those wishes, find that peaceful place within and allow the brilliant tapestry to unfold. On the surface it may look broken, not how you imagined, and maybe even frightening. The path you ended up on may not be the one you imagined. Know that everything in the Universe happens for the highest good. Souls do sacrifice their time here so others can learn what they need to learn and fulfill their purpose. When a tragedy occurs, instead of focusing on the horrible aspects of it, step back and look deeper. See people coming together, helping each other and letting compassion win. We must believe we scripted what we did in our lives for a reason, knowing we could handle all that has occurred and will occur.
Life is not so much about living…it is about allowing life to come through as YOU.
Stop focusing on what may or may not happen to the foundation on which you find yourself standing. Look forward, take a breath and believe in yourself. You are so special God chose you to be here at this time. He is living through you to experience life AS you. The answers are there…you just have to silence your mind enough to hear them.
We love you just as you are. No strings attached…promise.
When you come to the edge of the light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” ~Patrick Overton
Believing in you,
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
A Precious Human Life“Every day, think as you wake up,
Today I am fortunate to have woken up,
I am alive, I have a precious human life,
I am not going to waste it,
I am going to use
All my energies to develop myself
To expand my heart out to others,
To achieve enlightenment for
The benefit of all beings,
I am going to have kind thoughts towards others,
I am not going to get angry,
Or think badly about others
I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
~His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama
“Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press.
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
The Jonah Complex“More than any other kind of knowledge we fear knowledge of ourselves, knowledge that might transform our self-esteem and our self-image…While human beings love knowledge and seek it – they also fear it.”
~Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow was a brilliant psychologist who is most famous for the human hierarchy of needs he created, referred to as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, or Maslow’s Pyramid. The foundation for this theory lies in the premise that humans are ultimately seeking self-actualization, or in other words, reaching our full potential. We must have our basic needs met, such as food, shelter, safety, being loved and having self-esteem before this can be accomplished.
For those who are unaware of the story of Jonah in the Bible, Jonah was asked by God to go to the city of Nineveh to warn the people there that if they did not change their ways, destruction would follow. Jonah, fearful of his destiny, chose to go to a city named Tarshish instead. On his way to Tarshish, God sent a storm after him which alerted the others on the ship that Jonah was a danger so they threw him overboard. Jonah was then swallowed by a whale and spent three days in the belly of that whale. Upon being spit out by the whale, Jonah went on to fulfill his destiny.
The Jonah Complex refers to the fear of our own greatness…the fear of success. We all have a destiny – a unique reason we were brought here to earth at this time that only we can fulfill. Reaching our potential is up to us. We must learn to look at life and ask questions such as, “What am I supposed to learn from this situation/person?” The storms in our life are not punishments by God. They are not karmic situations happening to balance the scale. They are signs from above telling us we are no longer on our path. How else can God get the attention of humans who have a hard time believing what they cannot see? My own illness 10 years ago was just that…a sign that I was not on my path. God does not wish harm upon us, we allow things in our lives to happen (some of which are pre-scripted) to give us yet another opportunity to learn something about ourselves.
You are the only one who can choose what path you walk. Watch your environment, look into your life and see if there is a pattern in the things that have happened to you and instead of asking, “Why did this happen to me?” ask “What is it that I am not seeing?” ”What do I need to learn to get back on my path…to get back to a state of joy?” Please show me the way.
Marianne Williamson states the Jonah Complex the best:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us…and as we decide to let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Forging ahead on my path,
Chris
“Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press.
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Just Think…You are not here by chance,
but by God’s choosing.
His hand formed you and made you
the person that you are.
He compares you to no one else –
You are one of a kind.
You lack nothing that His grace cannot give you.
He has allowed you to be here
at this time in history to fulfill His
special purpose for this generation.
~Roy Lessin, DaySpring Products
Make it a great week filled with purpose,
Chris
“Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press.
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Are You A Master?Things happen to us in our lives. People hurt us, we are disappointed, things don’t go as we expected. This was not the life we signed up for…or is it?
I believe that we signed up for exactly the life we are living. I know what you are thinking…”Sopa, have you gone mad! Why would I sign up for this?” If you are experiencing suffering, sorrow or pain at the moment, ask yourself this question: Who would I be if this experience never happened to me? Would you have the same people in your life? Would you have taken the steps you did for growth without that experience?
Yes, things happen in our lives that hurt. But nothing that has happened to you has been meant to break you or reduce you to something less than who you are. Whatever has happened to you has happened to make you into who you are!
Do not allow experiences or people to take away your power. You may have physically mastered this life but being able to hold on to your power means that you have mentally, emotionally and spiritually mastered your life. Have you?
Being a Master entails being self-aware at all times. Not being afraid to ask questions such as, What is really going on here? What is the Universe (God) trying to show me? What is the lesson underneath all of this? No matter how painful the experience is at this time. Sometimes what we see is not so pretty. When something has been hiding in the dark for a time, it tends to be pretty rancid and smelly. Maybe it’s time for a shower? A shower not of water but of compassion, understanding and love…love for yourself. Understanding that you did the best you could in each moment of your life based on where and who you were at that time. Have compassion for yourself instead of being so hard on yourself day in and day out. We fear crucifixion by others but the one we should truly fear is ourselves. We are the ones that create our own hell or heaven. We create our reality daily by where we choose to put our attention. Where is your attention today? Is it on what you have lost or is it on what you are grateful for that is still in your life? Are you breathing today? That is one huge reason to be grateful. Put your head and reason aside and learn to use your heart and what I like to call, your “hidden senses.”
“Reason knows when to step aside, the way the sense of smell is uninvolved when reading a book…like a telescope that cannot take us to the stars but that lets us know the stars are there. Reason points us to what lies beyond itself.“ ~L. Pascal
There is something beyond what we see and what we currently think of as “real.” Our five senses do not give us the whole picture…only a portion of it. You cannot see electricity but you know it exists because you use it every day. Just because you can no longer see and physically feel a loved one, why do you assume they are no longer there? Practice using your senses of intuition and feeling. Trust them. Those senses are more “real” than the ones in your physical world. No one can change them, alter them or hurt them. They exist in your heart and you are the one that gets to determine how “real” what you experience really is. No one else.
Be your own Master and create the world you want to experience.
Masterfully yours,
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
“Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press.
You cannot get to where you want to go until you know where you are starting from.
If I got in my car and wanted to drive to “Destination B” I would need to know two things; where do I want to end up and where am I starting from. I cannot get in my car and say, “Hey, let’s drive to Boston” and get there if I do not know where I am starting my journey. How would I know whether I need to drive, fly or take a boat? How would I know if there were going to be any detours along the way? How would I know how long it would take to get there?
Many people can tell you at least vaguely at least one goal they would like to achieve in their lives. Many set these goals and never achieve them. Why? They have failed to do two things: clearly define exactly what it is they want and clearly define where they are starting from. If I have a goal to be a New York Times bestselling author (which I do!), the first thing you might say I need to do to start on that goal would be to write a book (duh!), but you need to start even more basic than that. I would need to look at my writing skills first and where I may need to brush up to make them better. I need to do my research and study other authors who have made it to the New York Times list and see what they have done. And most importantly, I would need to take a look deep within myself and define why do I want this goal? If it is so important to me, why haven’t I achieved it yet? (And you are not allowed to blame others for the answer to that one – leave the victim mentality at the door!) The only reason you have not achieved what you want in life is because of one person…YOU! Yes, there are outside circumstances that need to be in alignment for a dream to manifest, but have you been present to notice the opportunities when they arrive? Have you “given up” in your head by procrastinating and making excuses not to do what you need to do? Is F.E.A.R. stopping you? Is low self-esteem getting in your way – do you feel “unworthy” of that level of success?
Sit down with a pen and paper and answer the following questions twice. In the first round, answer the question after thinking about it for a minute…using your conscious part of your brain. In the second round, answer each question with the very first thing that comes to your mind…use your intuition. (This exercise works best if you answer the first set of questions, take a small break, then come back and answer the second set of questions.)
Do you see any patterns in the answers? If so, there is your first clue as to where you may need to do some work on yourself. When my coaching clients do this exercise, it always points to those places that are blocking them from living the life they want to live…these things are blocking them from achieving their goals.
Take one of the patterns you see, let’s say it is a fear of failure, and question your thinking? Write down the answers to these questions. What are you afraid of exactly? Can you be absolutely certain that thought is true? How do you feel when you think that thought? Who would you be, how would you feel and what would you do without that thought? Now create a different thought that makes you feel good (a thought in alignment with what you want) and whenever you catch yourself thinking the old thought, clear, cancel, delete and say the new thought to yourself. Re-frame your thinking!
Thoughts are a choice my friends. If a thought isn’t making you feel good, change it. Every thought leads to a feeling and every feeling leads to an action/behavior. If you want to change your behaviors you have to change your thoughts…that simple.
Don’t separate life from living. Your life lies underneath your life situation at the moment. You ARE living it! This IS your life! It is perfect just the way it is. If you don’t have something in your life right now that you want, all that means is you probably don’t really need it right now. If you needed it, it would be here. The Universe is a kind place and there is a Divine order in everything that occurs. Trust it! Make life the best one you can…this is not a dress rehearsal. 😉
“God is the lead dancer and the soul is the partner
completely attuned to the rhythm and patterns set by the partner. She does not lead, but neither does she hang limp like a sack of potatoes.”
~Thomas Merton quoted in Listening to the Music of the Spirit by David Lonsdale
Hang in there,
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
What is the Life Purpose of a Slug?And NO…I am not talking about your ex!
Monday night I came home late from a business dinner, walked up to my front door and as I looked down to step up onto my porch I saw the biggest slug in existence! Then, as I came home Tuesday evening from my daughters chorus concert, I walk in the house, take off my heels and on my shoe is a baby slug! Now some of you are saying, “What’s the big deal…that’s just a coincidence.” But the way MY brain works is, “Hmmmm, what the heck is the significance of a slug?” Then I started to think even deeper…”What does a slug DO all day?” “What is a slug’s PURPOSE?”
Life purpose is a common theme in coaching. Many people are searching and desperately want to know, “Why am I here?” “What is my purpose?” Purpose refers to the special gifts you, and ONLY you, bring to the Universe to give. What is it you are here to affect? (Notice I did not say DO!) Purpose is often confused with a “job” and although you can express your purpose through your job (my purpose is to heal and teach and I express my purpose through writing and speaking) it is not what you DO for a living that is your purpose. IT IS WHO YOU ARE and HOW you express who you are in this moment.
Knowing everything in life has a deeper meaning and purpose, I couldn’t help myself so I looked up the spiritual meaning of a slug. What I found was fascinating!!
Slugs are actually very Divine creatures. As simple as they are, at the same time they are complex. The slimy trail left by slugs as they crawl (which is iridescent meaning they leave no mark that they were there) in ancient times was used as sacred writing to predict a future marriage partner. They cannot see shapes and colors, only light and shadow, explaining their tendency to move silent and slow just like darkness moves toward light. They are healers and teach us about letting go (leaving the “junk” in our life behind such as rumors, bad feelings, limiting beliefs, attachments, and so on) and at the same time teach us about holding on (knowing our priorities and holding on to those things we deem as important). Slugs represent strength and higher vision, being made mostly of pure muscle and representing the strength and willingness to accept change when new opportunities or people are presented to us on our path.
Lastly, our friend the slug is very deceiving…in a good way. He is simple in terms of physical appearance and habits yet able to accomplish amazing feats such as climbing to great heights and hanging upside down for long periods of time.
We all have within us things we cannot even comprehend are there. Gifts that are amazing that will help us reach new heights…gifts that express your purpose.
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With thanks to our friend the slug, ask yourself the following:
“Am I staying cloaked and afraid in any area of my life and unwilling to come out and express my inner strengths and talents?”
“Do I have self-integrity? Do I DO what I SAY and are my actions and behaviors in line with my priorities?”
“Does everything I do bring me a good feeling inside?”
“Am I walking my own path or am I locked into the false belief of I am what other people think and walking the path of others?”
“Do I let my inner light shine daily…however that may be?”
“Do I trust my ability to create and trust that the Divine has my back, no matter what I choose?”
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Walk your path step by step, day by day. You do not have to search for your purpose. Just relax into your life, BE YOU, and your path will effortless find you.
Letting my light shine,
Chris
Slug excerpts from:
velvetdragon.comspiritslug.html
“Animal Wise” by Ted Andrews
For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.