Archive for the Category ◊ Food for Thought ◊

Author:
• Sunday, February 05th, 2012

 

Say that a ‘puzzle’ – the kind that you assemble, is a metaphor for an issue you are dealing with. Then say that any ‘misplaced’ pieces of the puzzle are unanswered questions and ‘missing’ pieces are questions never asked.

Assuming that you are human therefore predictably engaged in completing these ‘puzzles’ on an ongoing basis, how many puzzles do you work on in an hour, a day or a year?

How complex are your puzzles? How big are they?
How many more puzzles do you breeze through than get stuck on and never finish?
When you get stuck on a puzzle, how dedicated are you to finding the missing pieces?
What for you makes a puzzle worth finishing?
What makes you personally give up on a puzzle?
Does one of your puzzles at this time have missing pieces scattered here and there or is there one with a gaping hole?
If there is a gaping hole in your puzzle and you are stuck with not knowing where to start, how willing are you to ask for help in finding the misplaced or missing pieces?

How many puzzles do have on the go right now?
Which puzzle, only one, is important enough to you to complete at this time?
How do you want to feel when this puzzle is finished?
How proud will you be in yourself for relentlessly seeing it through to completion?
How happy will you be when this finished puzzle brings relief and a sense of accomplishment?

Realistically, how many times have you waited for something to happen or someone to acknowledge or respond to a need and when it wasn’t forthcoming, you felt yourself falling deeper and deeper into a state of anxiety or fear, contempt or resentment?
Unanswered questions, questions not asked and periods of non- or miscommunication are sources for misplaced and missing pieces of those puzzles that you most want to finish.

The more challenging puzzles may require help to trace and find pieces to, but they will authentically change your life and likely be the ones that you proudly hang on your personal wall of achievements and mastery!

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Saturday, May 28th, 2011

How much effort do you spend getting to the HEART of a matter that burdens and confines you at your core?  Given: ‘a matter = truth’

Evolution of YOUR truth:

What you perceive the truth to be at first glance
What you believe the truth to be without question
Your feelings as a result of your perception and belief
What you do in response to (what you perceive and believe) = your truth
The experience you live with as a result of actions you take based on ‘your truth’

Evolution of THE truth:

Consider the different ways you can perceive the truth
Gather the facts from all reasonable sources in pursuit of the truth
Acknowledge how you feel based on your findings of the truth
Make a choice based on the facts you’ve gathered and how you feel
Do what honours how you wish to live and feel.

What is the old adage? “THE truth will set you free”.

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Thursday, May 19th, 2011

“Okay, what does that mean”, you may be thinking?
Well, what does ‘seeing is believing’ mean to YOU, today?

YOU may be thinking that it’s just a line someone uses when they are doubtful yet hopeful that a particular outcome will actually happen.

Or YOU may be someone who’s been building a career step by step over recent months and years, reaching one goal after the next. Then “seeing is believing” to you would describe that vision that has kept you on the move – the vision of where you wanted to go, what it would look like and how you would feel when you got there.

What do you think a professional athlete sees and believes?
What do you think a person seeking spiritual guidance wants to see and believe?
How important is it to see and believe what you want instead of what you don’t want?

What are you “seeing” and “believing” at this time in your life?
How is it working for you?

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Saturday, November 06th, 2010

·    Define who you are – what you like, how you want to feel, what you want to do, how you want to be at your finest.

·    Empower yourself with accomplishments, from the tiniest to the greatest, by listing and owning them. Most people have more than they realize.

·    Satisfy your values – they are what makes you, you. Do you know what your values are? What do you think happens within you when intrinsic values are not honored?

·    Tap into your strengths – do you know what they are? Can you name them?

·    Invite possibility – throw out “I can’t” and invite “I will”.

·    Never give up  – on achieving the goal you truly want, from the most trivial to “the sky’s the limit”. If you really really want it, you will have it. How soon depends on your resources and motivation, but you will have it!

·    Yield your greatest potential – when you think you’ve learned it all, think again and learn more. It’s never too late and it doesn’t have to cost a cent to learn.

Yes, I know, I did it on purpose. It spells out DESTINY :)

Don’t forget to throw LOVE, LAUGHTER and RESPECT into the mix and enjoy your true destiny filled with many successes and happiness.

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Thursday, July 01st, 2010

LIVE – by your values, within your means and like there is no tomorrow

LAUGH – until your belly hurts

LOVE – to no end!

WHY? – Because it’s healthy for you and among other things, economically stimulating for your country.

Happy Canada Day!

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Saturday, June 05th, 2010

*What do you think could happen if you lose trust in someone who you once trusted without first practicing due diligence?

First of all, when do you deem someone trustworthy?

When they respect your wishes most of the time?
When they are loyal to you?
When you ask for discretion and they honour it?
When they are generally supportive of you?
When you feel you have a bond or partnership with them?
When you feel that your secret would be safe?
When you feel that even if you had differences you could still rely on this person?
When you feel in some way relaxed and at peace after being or speaking with them?
When you feel that they will tell you what they think not what they think you want to hear when you ask for their input?
When you know that you could trust them with your most prized possession without worry?
What else?

*If you are finding it hard to trust someone whom you’ve always considered trustworthy, what do you think is causing your mistrust and what do you want to do about it?

Here are just a few questions to think about:
What specifically has this person done to make you lose your trust in them?
Has this person said something to you that you found offensive? If so, how sure are you that your understanding of what was said is how it was meant and how important is it for you to find out?
Is the mistrust escalating as a result of more time apart and less time communicating?
What thoughts are going through your mind?
Have your thoughts and beliefs been substantiated by facts stemming from direct communication with the source?
If you have a hard time believing what this person is saying to you, what would it take for you to believe them?
How are you feeling overall at this time?
What level of stress are you experiencing in any area of your life?
How satisfied are you with your family, your work, your finances, your health or anything else that may be on your mind?

Consider this:
How much does this person in your life who you once considered trustworthy, mean to you today?
If they were suddenly gone from your life tomorrow, how would you feel about not having trusted them?
How invested are you in finding out the truth of the matter that is causing your lack of trust?
What could rekindled trust potentially do for your quality of life and your relationship?
How much do you want to trust this person again?

Your answers to these questions will likely create new insight, some learning and perhaps more questions.
How easy or hard do you think it will it be for you to trust what your insight uncovers?

When all is said and done, one thing that you can trust for sure is what your heart is saying.

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

How do you set an intention for the day?

Think about something you would like to accomplish or something you wish to bring into your conscious awareness, to shed light. Your intention can be to act a certain way, to observe, to listen, to notice, to finish, to start, to think about, to plan for, to respond to, to acknowledge, to save for, to work toward …
An intention can be about anything that is at the forefront of your mind or perhaps causing you stress and also at times, an intention can be quite challenging. The challenge is to maintain the onus on yourself and ownership of your intention and minimize the natural temptation to use excuses, blame or accusations (example: “ If he/she/ it hadn’t…” or “ I couldn’t because”), which often prevents successful execution.

You can experiment setting a random intention as practice to experience how it can create focus, (example: see how many green cars you can spot today when you’re out and about – who knows, you may be considering buying a green colored vehicle and want to know how popular they are).
You may want to choose an intention that has a more critical meaning to you, (example: if you are having trouble communicating effectively with your spouse or anyone important to you, make it your intention to notice the tone of your voice or your choice of words and the subsequent reactions you are getting).
Other intentions can be task related such as choosing a drawer or a box that needs to be cleaned out and then completing at least one.

Consider the following questions:

What good can come from setting any intention, in other words saying, “Today I am going to do this”?
What is important about setting an intention that is meaningful to you?
In what ways can being intentional improve your quality of life?

There are pros and cons to being spontaneous or even oblivious at times but how can being intentional when dealing with a particular subject matter that is causing you stress, possibly create more desirable results?

How are you different when you set an intention aimed at attaining your most profound want?
How critical is it to know what that want really is?

Recall the last time you intended to do, to get or to feel something that you wanted and reached it. What was it? What did you focus on each day leading up to success?
Example 1: How many of you remember saving up money for an item that you desperately wanted and eventually purchased, what did you do each day?
Example 2: Because of focused intention which created new awareness, you came to realize that you had control over your perceptions of things and let go of a destructive thought process that was eating away at you. As a result you felt peace within.

In both these examples intentions were meaningful and felt good when results were met with success, satisfaction, a feeling of accomplishment or one of many warm and positive emotions.

At this time, consider how you want to feel at day’s end. What intention would you like to set for yourself that will either begin to move you toward or make you feel the way you would like?
How will what you choose today jump-start you on a path that will render you in some regard, a better person and/or a happier one?

Note: This is all about you and your intention, not your intention for someone else.

With all that life throws your way each day, it takes courage to set even a seemingly small intention and bring it to fruition.
For those of you who choose to harness your courage, with a personally meaningful intention, you can bet that each day will feel much more than just another day gone by.

 ~Lesia S.

Author:
• Sunday, April 18th, 2010

What are you not seeing when you see the worst?

What are you missing now when you think mostly about what you’ve missed in the past?

How much of your time is spent thinking about how you can fail at something as opposed to thinking about how it will be and how you will feel when you succeed at it?

How much time do you obsess over what is not working in a relationship for example, instead of finding ways and taking action to make it work?

How can visualizing what you want instead of what you don’t want or can’t have, be a step that saves you from emotional turmoil, wasted time and immobility?

Let’s say that you want financial security, do you think about how hard it is or will be to achieve it or are you envisaging and believing all the ways in which it will provide a sounder quality of life once you have it?
Essentially, are you prepared to have financial security or fearing and preparing that you will not?
If not, what is creating that fear and do you wish to overcome it?

*When you are emotionally and intellectually prepared for success and prosperity, you will enjoy it. When you accept that your life will take you in the direction that you choose for yourself and know what you want, success will be yours.

*How does one prepare emotionally and intellectually to reach their measures of success and prosperity?

It starts with personal permission, openness and desire to go through a process that creates greater insight, generates action and requires commitment on your part. The ‘process’ is what deepens your learning by generating the insight and answers to your quandaries, perhaps similar to the ones above. As soon as you choose to fully engage in the process, the personal successes emerge and they beget further successes. Personal barriers are overcome and momentum is generated.
Not surprisingly, what ends up happening is you begin to see and think predominantly about what you want as you move forward, which is then reinforced by the belief that you will have what you want based on recent learning, growth and experience, until ultimately you learn to expect, accept and enjoy the many successes that follow.

For those of you who are ready today, acknowledge how you are thinking, how you are feeling and what your heart seeks, begin the ‘process’ and be prepared to ‘see success’.


~Lesia S.

Author:
• Monday, April 05th, 2010

Over this Easter weekend, what has been going through your mind?

Have you been reminiscing about past Easter gatherings?
Are they memories to remember or ones you would rather not?

Are you self-reflecting?
If you are, how are you positioning yourself, as the provider, the teacher, the muse, the victim or who?

Are you thinking about what you believe?

Perhaps what this Holiday means to you?

What you were taught in religious studies?

How teachers, spiritual leaders, family or friends have influenced your beliefs?

Maybe you took this occasion to ponder all the people who have contributed to your successes and to your learning and were meant to be on your life’s continuum for a reason?

What ever it was that went through your mind has influenced what path you will take as you move forward.

May the path you have chosen be a means to a fulfilling and joyful end.

~Lesia S.

Author:
• Saturday, March 27th, 2010

What hopefully many of you will be doing today is a perfect example of a process that works if all the steps are executed and the intentions are authentic. What does that mean? Becoming aware of something that you want to change and what it would mean to you is the first step in the process to achieving it. In this case, you may want to think about what turning off the lights for one hour will do for you, your family, your community, your neighborhood, your city, your province or state and so on.

Once you realize that it would feel right to participate in this hour of awareness and action, as well as recognize all the reasons why you feel this way, you will perhaps then be in a position to decide that you will join the masses in Earth Hour. Your decision to act is the next step in the process of achieving what you set out to do. What do you think comes next?  You’ve identified something you want, you’ve decided when and how long you will partake, now what?

What makes you actually do it? What helps you solidify that intention? At this stage, you know what it means to you to turn off the power for one hour (oh, that could be a good slogan!). You know you want to act today but what will make you commit to doing it at 8:30 tonight? Your answer to this question is what will make you accountable to yourself to follow through at that time. Perhaps one reason why you will feel committed to doing what you say you want to do is because everyone in this case will be acting at 8:30 and you want to be part of that. Your commitment to execute your intention is the final step to reaching it. At 9:30 tonight you will have accomplished the final stage of the “process” and you will have conquered your goal.

You may well agree that while the ‘process’ of executing any intention generally seems straight forward, the steps are seldom so.

What do you think make the ‘steps’ in the process on this Earth Hour day, a little less challenging than when you attempt to reach other goals?

~Lesia S.