TheLeaderInside.com

“The deepest need of man is to overcome his separateness, To leave the prison of his aloneness. The absolute failure to achieve this means insanity.”

~~~ Eric Fromm

As they swoop, drift, and glide, inscribing magnificent patterns across the sky, birds are serene displays of grace and beauty. Long a source of inspiration, birds can be messengers from the spirit realm, or a symbol of the human soul, as they cast off their earthly mooring and soar heavenward. An upturned wing, a graceful flutter, all so effortless and free…

More magnificent still is the inspiring sight of birds migrating, progressing steadily across the horizon in a solid V formation that is a singular pattern too unique to be mere chance.

Pushing steadily forward, this aerodynamic V reduces air resistance for the whole flock. With wings moving in harmony, the feathered group continues its course across the sky, covering more ground together in community, than as individuals. When the bird at the front gets tired, she will move to the rear of the formation where the wind drag is lowest, and a more rested bird can take her place.

By learning from the example of our winged guides, all of us can feel empowered to take on daring challenges as we chart adventurous courses. Feel the strength of others moving alongside you, as their presence lends power to your wings during this journey across the sky of life.

When buffeted by unexpected gusts, we can choose to find refuge in the loving shelter of friends and family. We may even marvel as an otherwise difficult day passes by like a swift wind, as a kindred spirit charts a way for us through the clouds and rain ahead.

If your wings begin to ache on your journey, look around for somebody else to fly at the front for a while. All of us move faster when we move together. Let your ego drop earthwards as we all soar ever higher.

~~~ DBL-R

Where Do You Find Your Answers?

“Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel
a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness,”

~~~ Shakti Gawain.

So many of us seek the answers to our life’s questions by looking outside ourselves. Whether it’s our habit — or whether it’s the way we’ve been taught — our tendency is to try to glean advice from the people around us.

There is a fallacy to this — and that is that each of us is unique. We have our own personal histories. We each have our own sense of right and wrong, and our own way of experiencing the world that defines our realities. When you think about this you can understand how looking to others for our answers is only partially helpful.

The best answers will most often be found by looking within.

The step that is so often missed is the step of coming to the realization that you have exclusive access to the part of you that always knows what you need.Once you realize this, and take that step, you can stop searching outside yourself for answers. Once you learn to hear, trust, and embrace the wisdom that lives within you, you will be able to confidently navigate your own life.

Convincing ourselves of this isn’t always easy to do. It may seem awkward at first. This can be especially true if you’ve been taught to look to others for your answers.

But, here’s the secret — we all have exclusive access to our inner knowing — and the way to tap into that inner access is to listen!

Try not to lose patience when you are beginning to learn how to listen, hear, receive and follow your own guidance. If you get the feeling that you can’t trust that inner guidance, try to think back to a time in your past when you did — and it worked! Remember how that felt. Remember how that intuition came to you. Remember what happened when you did as your inner guidance asked.

And then, to give this the acid test — try to remember a time when you didn’t trust yourself and things fell apart as a result.

Learn to trust yourself and you should be able to avoid going against what you know is right for you.

When those questions arise — just do this — LISTEN! The answers are there. These are most often the best answers because they are coming from the guide that knows you best — your inner guide — the guide that knows all the how’s and why’s of your life.

~~~ DBL-R

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”
                                 ~Ancient Zen Saying

Become a student of LIFE! 

When I was in high school I was a good student – academically speaking that is! 
I took my class seriously and earned good grades as a result.
As a student of life however, I was a complete lunkhead!
Whenever ‘bad’ things happened I automatically went into “poor me” mode – “Why does bad stuff always happen to me?”
I never really took the time to learn from the situation.  Instead I opted to feel sorry for myself and wallow in my depression.
Needless to say, I made the same mistakes over and over again, and didn’t grow very much as a person.

At this stage of my life the student was not yet ready, so the teacher did not appear.

As I got older I began to eliminate some of my bad thinking habits due to an increased focus on personal development, however there was still one major area I was ignoring – my shyness.  I was unbelievably shy and it was having a very negative impact on my life – yet I still refused to do anything significant about it. I continued to read my self-help books, hoping I’d come across the magic formula for supreme confidence. Needless to say that did not happen, but at least I did manage to lay the groundwork for a positive outlook on life, and a healthy sense of perspective.

Eventually the teacher became impatient, and appeared in the form of a very stressful social meltdown. Finally, I realized just how much of an effect my social anxiety was having on my life, and truly felt like I had hit rock bottom. It is often only in these extreme situations that we finally gain the perspective necessary for positive change.
The teacher finally had my full attention and I was ready to learn.  I made a pact with myself that day to do whatever it took to overcome my fears and anxiety!  I haven’t looked back since!

Most of us get SO wrapped up in the day to day hustle and bustle of life that we really don’t take the time to notice what’s really going on within, and around us. We get caught up in the emotions and drama, and forget that there is MUCH to be learned, even from the most negative of experiences and emotions.

It was Henry David Thoreau who said “Only that day dawns to which we are awake”… Stay awake…Stay alert. The teacher is everywhere.
Become a student of life and you will reap the benefits that an increased level of awareness can bring.

~BC