Self Exploration: September 2009 Archives

Self-Love Adventure:

learn more about you by traveling back through your life and remembering what FUN was for you at different times and ages.

One thing that I have learned about fun is that it changes as we age and it also stays the same. Both are true. There are things that were fun for you when you were 7 that would still be fun if you gave yourself the permission to just let go and be your little girl again. And there are things that you thought were fun as a teenager and in your early twenties that would so not be fun today. And that information - about what fun used to be and about how your definition of fun has changed as you have are great ways to get to know the woman you are today even better.

So many of us 'adults' have come to think of play as something we have to buy or save for when in fact if we just take a look back through time, we can find all kinds of ways to have fun that don't require a credit card or a down payment. And so many of us think back to the times when we were more 'free' and think they were full of such fun, but what we realize when we go back in time is that those things weren't really as fun as we thought. And that realization brings even more freedom!

So today I invite you to take a self-love adventure to learn more about your personal definition of fun by taking a trip back in time ... it's called Fun-Time Travel and this is how you do it:

Step One:  Create some space in your life to take a couple of hours for this journey. Pack the materials you'll need: a journal or some paper, writing or drawing utensils, and your memory. If it helps, bring some pictures of you from different ages.

Step Two: Take your materials to a place where you can just be with you. It can be a public place like a coffee shop, out in nature or a personal space in your home. Just make it somewhere you can really sink into this adventure.

Step Three: Once you are all settled in, first on the top of one page write, "When I was 5 and 7, fun was..."  Turn to the next page and write "When I was 13 and 15 fun was... " Turn to the next page and write "When I was 17 and 19 fun was", then "21 fun was..." and so on using whatever ages make sense for you, up to and including the age you are today.

Step Four:  Starting with your youngest age, answer the question, "When I was 5 and 7, fun was...." Imagine yourself at that age. See yourself as you were then. Remember what it was that you did that made you laugh, smile or just have a good time. Write in really great detail what fun was for you. Describe what you did. Write down how you felt. Notice what you think about that today.
Repeat the same for each year that you wrote down.

Step Five: Go back and look at all your wrote. What do you notice? Use these questions as a way to find the nuggets of wisdom that you can apply to your life today:
•    What surprises you?
•    What makes you happy? What makes you sad?
•    How has your idea of fun changed over the years?
•    What are common themes throughout the years?
•    What can you take from the past to bring more fun into your life today?
•    What do you need to let go over to bring more fun into your life today?

Step Six: Pick three actions based on what you learned from your time travel that you can take immediately to start bringing more fun into your life. Write down what you will do and by when. And then tell someone what you've decided to do. Ask them to be your Play Partner and help you stay accountable to having fun and doing your three fun actions!


To get more self-love adventures, download a free copy of the Madly in Love with ME Kit at http://www.madlyinlovewithme.com

When you say the word busy and busy over again, you can actually feel the vibration of the word, it's is like a bee buzzing all over the place. Remember bees are always busy buzzing. No time for play. They just work and work and work until the queen bee kills them. Not a good deal!

Love Fact:
Words matter. Words are sound and sound is vibration and vibration is energy. It's like sonar that you send out into the universe from your voice box. The words we speak send out a vibration that tells the universe who we are and what we want. If you use the word 'busy' you in effect, telling the universe you have too much to deal with and you don't want any more. So if you don't like what you are doing and what is filling your time, use the word busy. It has a negative vibration that will tell the universe, "I am doing lots of things that are keeping me from what I really want to be doing."  And the universe will help you take those things away. But, if you like what you are doing yet sometimes feel like it's a lot, say something more like, "My life is really full right now, and I love everything that I am doing... and I could use some playtime!" Then the universe will gift you with that playtime instead of taking away what you love. It's more words to say, but it's worth every syllable.

What you need:
1. clarity on how you really love to spend your time
2. a willingness to be your own word police... listening for when you use the word 'busy'
3. a willingness to try different words and notice their impact on how you feel and what you create

Actions

1. Make the commitment. Say out loud, "I give up the word busy."
2. Go on word police alert. Notice when you use the word 'busy' to describe your current life state.
3. When you say 'busy' notice how you feel and the energy it creates ... does it make you feel good or does it close you down?
4. Experiment with other words. When someone asks you, "How's life?" Instead of saying "Busy." Say, "It's really full right now. I am loving what I am doing and I could use some playtime."  Notice the difference in how that feels.
5. Keep experimenting.
6. After a week of experimenting, notice what you've learned. And take the vow again, "I give up the word busy." This time stick to it.

To get more self-love tips, download a free copy of the Madly in Love with ME Kit at http://www.madlyinlovewithme.com