Trust, even if your future seems uncertain.

Trust, even if you have no idea how your situation could ever improve.

Trust, even if you feel alone and abandoned.

Trust, even if your heart is shattered.

Trust, because your strength comes from trusting that everything always gets better with time, that miracles do occur and that prayers are answered in illogical ways.

Trust, because God loves you for who you are right now and has a wonderful plan in the works for you that you cannot yet see or feel…but you soon will.

Don’t quit 5 minutes before the miracle happens!

Trust…

Revealing the Truth Prayer

Lord, I ask that you give me very clear guidance so that I can easily notice and understand in order to reveal the truth about this situation to my conscious awareness.  And so it is…Amen.

Live an inspired life!

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+.

In the movie, Chalk Talk, there is a priest who counsels alcoholics and tells stories to inspire those who are in recovery.  He told one particular story about a woman who came to him after her drunken husband called her a whore.

“Would you be upset if he called you a chair?” he asked her.
“Of course not,” she said.
“Why not?” he asked.
“I know I am not a chair,” she said.
“Don’t you know that you are not a whore?” he asked.

Ultimately, he tells her it doesn’t matter what people call you, you decide what you answer to.

During my years as a public speaker and writer, I have been called many things (some not so nice).  Even in personal relationships, especially when they start to go sour, we all have experienced being called a name at some point in time.  We all remember the times on the playground in elementary school where we inevitably were called something that brought tears to our eyes.  We would run home to our Mom and she would recite the ever popular, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!”  Really?  Is there anyone out there who has never been hurt by words or names before?  I am not sure who made that one up, but it’s the most untrue statement I have ever heard!

Words hurt.  It is easy to get tossed around in your own mind by other people’s opinions of you.  When I find myself struggling with whose opinion to listen to, mine or someone else’s, I always come back to one place.  My heart.  I filter everything I hear and experience through my heart.  This is where the voice of truth echoes.  Does it feel right what that other person said?  If not, then what is the truth?  Who am I?

Our world is based on perception and the only perception that is valid is your own.  How do you see yourself?  If it falls somewhere below the line of “ok,” you may need a little work on your own self image.  We do not take care of what we do not value.  Begin to value yourself by taking some time for yourself.  What do you like to do?  What or who makes you feel better?  Make a list and do one thing every day for yourself.  Define who you are.  If you don’t, someone else will for sure do it for you.  Make some space in your life for you!

So, what do you answer to?

Truly my own woman,

“Princess” 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+.

“Truth starts within the self.  If you are right within, you will be right in the world.”  ~Justin Asar

How you are with people in your outside world is usually a reflection of how you are with yourself in your inside world.  As of late, there has been a lot going on in the global world and in people’s personal worlds.  Many things are “breaking down” in order to make room for new things to enter.  Why?  We are in a time on Earth where selfishness, lying, manipulation and “out for self” ways of doing things, both with global systems and personal patterns, will not work anymore.  We are moving into a time of community and oneness.  This time calls for truth, freedom, and correct use of personal power.  We are seeing many individuals “acting out” lately due to the fact that they are “not at peace within,” therefore they are not at peace “without.”

Truth refers to your mind and your heart being in sync.  When what you think and believe are in alignment with how you act, you are living in truth.  Why people struggle with the concept of truth is due to the fact that many get caught up in old conditioned thoughts that keep them living other people’s truths rather than their own.  Society has a funny way of making sure we are all “in line” with what I like to call “the tribe.”  We all must think and do alike or something is wrong!!!  My philosophy is the more I am NOT like the tribe, the more in truth I am probably living!

This coming week is a week of personal power and truth.  There is much movement energetically for wishes to come true and resolutions to arguments.  In order to step into this energy and experience the bliss it brings, you must be in alignment with your truth.  You must LIVE your truth and direct your personal power towards those things that are important to you.  Identify your top 3-5 priorities IN ORDER and live into them.  Balance is directing your energy toward those things you identify as important right now in your life (your priorities).  When you put your energy in places that are not important to you, you feel off and frustrated.  Balance is directing your personal power to places where you want to create!  Living your truth also means trusting yourself and those inner nudges you feel about doing certain things, whether they make logical sense or not.  Learn to use your mind as a “tool” not as the end all be all to making decisions.  Become heart-centered and use the power of your feelings to guide your decisions.  Ask yourself constantly, “How does this feel?”  Learn the language of your soul.

For those of you who use crystals to help you align your vibrations and energies to create, the energy of sapphire is prominent this week.  The energy of crystals vibrate to certain frequencies and all crystals have “themes” in which they do their work.  The theme of sapphire is truth and freedom.  Wear sapphire jewelry this week, put a sapphire in your pocket with you as you go about your week or sleep with one under your pillow or by your bedside.  Sapphires energy will make the work of aligning your truth much easier.

God has many gifts to offer you and EVERY prayer is always answered.  What gets in our way is US.  Be open to receiving the gifts He has to give and know you are worthy of them.  Spread your wings and fly…the sky is waiting for you and the winds are perfect.

“When you have 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

Flying high and trusting the process,

Chris

For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.

“Remember, we all get from the world what we bring to IT through the choices we make about who we are willing to be.  Our lives cannot move to higher ground until we do, and we elevate ourselves strategically by being responsible and using our own consciousness as a tool-of-cause and effect.  Has it ever occurred to you that when you engage in blaming someone or something that you are missing the opportunity to engage with your own creative powers differently?  Differently could mean, for example, an approach that allows you to equate your responsibility, not with blame, but with opportunity.  This week when you find yourself moving into blame, through the global headlines, or because of your own internal dialogue see if you can move into a premeditated approach and recognize that everyone has a story worth hearing.  And instead of climbing on the blame train, take on the big “R” (responsibility) and begin to create a new story instead of blaming the old one. ”
~Rev. Angela Peregoff’s Blog, May 17, 2012

Several years ago I took part in a 4 day workshop called “The Advanced Course” through Landmark Education.  One of the activities we had to do was to think of something that happened to us in our life that affected us in a negative way, write what happened (the story) and then share it with a partner.  The rub was that when we shared it with our partner, we had to read our story over and over again for 30 minutes!  After telling, and hearing, your story that many times in a row it began to sound ridiculous.  What this exercise did for us is it made the story null and void.  It made us realize it is just that…a story.

We all have stories.  Some are tragic; some are happy.  The experiences we have in our life shape our lives.  How they shape our lives is up to us.  We have an experience, our brain processes it, and then we add meaning to it.  It is that meaning we add to it that juices it up.  No matter what happens to us, it is always up to us how we interpret the event.  The main reason we have such a hard time forgiving is due to the meaning we have added behind the event.  “He did that because he mustn’t love me;” “I didn’t get that job because I am a loser;” “No one asks me out on a date because I am fat.”  I can go on and on.  You know what goes through your mind…I don’t have to tell you.

Don Miguel Ruiz, author of “The Four Agreements” (anyone who has coached with me has read this book!) made it simple:
1.    Don’t make assumptions.
2.    Do your best at all times.
3.    Be impeccable with your word.
4.    Don’t take things personal.

What these four agreements do is take the meaning out of your experiences.  They get you out of your head and into your heart.  Stop thinking so much!  You cannot believe everything you think because 80% of it is a lie…fabricated by your imagination and others who over your lifetime have planted ideas in your head based on their own “lies.”

Just for today, listen to the stories you tell yourself.  Write them down if you have to.  Identify what meaning you are adding to them and then ask yourself these two questions (if you know the work of Byron Katie these will sound familiar!),

Is this true?

Can I be absolutely certain that this is true?
Our reality is based on our perception.  Change your perception and your reality changes.  It is really that simple.  If you want to live “happily ever after” just make is so… ?

Your Cinderella in the Making,
Chris

Visit www.ChrisSopa.com with any questions about Chris Sopa International, Inc.