It is a wonderful thing to stand where you are - and to know that you are either allowing joy into your life or that you are feeling the desire for something more deeply fulfilling. Either one is a sign that your inner guidance is working to show you the way to go.
The guidance of intuition starts out very subtly - offering us opportunities to make healthy shifts along the way. Sometimes we rationalize with ourselves to go one way or another but when we go the wrong way, negative key indicators become increasingly more apparent.
For example, my eyelid started twitching last month; a physical manifestation that has served as a warning system for me over the years. I have come to understand this as an indication that I have started to get off track and need to realign with my Source.
It is so interesting to know that we can choose where to focus our energy. We can either focus our energy on the absence of what we want, or we can open our energy to the possibility of moving towards what we want. The core issue is the same, but the direction of our energetic focus makes all the difference. When we ignore intuitive messages from within and focus our energy on the absence of what we want, our inner warning system begins to activate and messages from it begin to manifest physically. The symptoms might be minor at first but if you refuse to listen, they will likely become increasingly worse until you have no choice but to listen and effect change in your life.
How do you recognize the warning signs when you are aligning with the absence of what you want?
Our bodies are giving us indications all the time and many times our first opportunity to recognize those indications is through our emotions.
Sometimes we are inspired to do more and more but when we feel a non-relenting pressure to do more we may be pushing ourselves beyond our own boundaries. Doing this creates disruption in our rejuvenating life flow and it creates a depletion that jeopardizes our ability to be wholly present for others or ourselves.
I had a friend that enjoyed all of her various work and volunteer activities so much that she willingly committed to working even beyond the waking hours she had in her day. She was married, her children were grown, and she loved being active and helping others. Saying no did not come easily. The problem, however, was that she was so focused on getting things done that she ceased to listen to her inner guidance. She was oblivious to the initial key indicators that she was heading in the wrong direction.
Visiting with her became nearly impossible because she was simply too busy. Our conversations revolved around her burdens. She always seemed to be putting out fires and dealing with drama related to this board or that. After years of observing this, I recognized it as one manifestation among others of a larger life pattern that she had come to embody.
She was not only carrying burdens and putting out fires in her work life. She had taken the weight of those burdens into her physical body as well and developed chronic back problems. It seemed that at least once a year she would finally stop and rest... only because she had become bedridden with pain. No matter how much she wanted to get up, she just couldn’t. As she pushed on, taking on more and more responsibility, she developed Fibromyalgia, a very painful disorder which created yet another level of forced self-care in her very busy world.
Forced self-care... what an oxymoron! After all, how do we become so disconnected that we have subconsciously created FORCED self-care in our lives through illness or pain? You would be surprised by how many people actually push it that far.
It is my wish to stay tuned in to my intuition and guidance so that I can expand my creativity, inspiration and the joy filled flow in my life so I do not have to contend with “forced self-care”.
I noticed the eye twitching last month and I knew I had to make a shift...
What are your personal key indicators that let you know when your life is out of balance or that you have taken on too much? Are you experiencing any of them now? Search within, listen, and take heart.
We can all get caught up in the need to DO, DO, DO. If you feel you are doing too much, consider developing a healthy and loving relationship with DON’T. Not doing has its own power and grace. Not doing can provide a fertile space for rejuvenation so that which we truly seek... that which we truly desire to manifest on the deepest levels of our being... can enter more fully into our lives.
Barbara Alexander is President and Founder of Epona Ridge - a magical place where women have come for years to gain insight about their inner lives and seek a greater awareness of their hearts' true calling. Barbara serves as their mentor and guide as her retreat participants go through their individual journeys towards true happiness, joy and inner peace.
Barbara has worked with over a thousand people in the Epona Ridge Retreat programs, teaching transformational techniques that shift core energy awareness and life experience.
After many years of a successful career as a business executive, Barbara has dedicated her personal and professional life to mentoring women and men, in building their life as well as their business with a stronger foundation for wellbeing and personal fulfillment.