21 Feb 2019

5 Tips to Lead an Authentic Life

by | posted in: Love Yourself Now | 70

I have a theme word for this year, it’s integration. My big, juicy intention for this year is to integrate all the various parts of myself into one authentic whole.

What I’ve realized is that I’ve been living in separation. My sustainable farm life -separate from my coaching work – separate from my creative artist self – separate from my visionary entrepreneur. All of these parts, compartmentalized. And the result… I was living in ways that weren’t congruent with the whole person I truly am.

According to psychologists Brian Goldman and Michael Kernis, authenticity is “the unimpeded operation of one’s true or core self in one’s daily enterprise.”

At its core, authenticity requires self-knowledge and self-awareness. Authentic people accept their strengths and weaknesses. They are connected to their values and desires and act deliberately in ways that are consistent with those qualities.

What I’ve come to know is that self-awareness is the foundation of authenticity. It starts with the desire to be genuine. It requires a willingness to act in accordance with my genuine nature even when it feels vulnerable.

Integrating all of me into one authentic whole feels better than trying to be several separate personalities. It guides me to be purposeful in my choices and I’m more in touch with my big intentions because they’re based on my core values and most important desires.

Here are my 5 Tips to Live an Authentic Life. 

  1. Get Real. Know what you value and desire for yourself and for your best life. Get clear on what you care about and align your actions around these things.
  2. Be Open. Experience the world as a whole, from every angle and perspective. Challenge yourself to see all sides of the situation.
  3. Trust your Intuition. Notice when things just don’t feel right. Pay attention to your gut, your physical sensations, and impressions. These are your instincts guiding you. Honor them by taking the time to listen.
  4. Have a Daily Practice. Making sacred time just for you gives you a moment of pause, of percolation, of reflection. This is a time when inspired wisdom comes to you, or you may feel and sense the next best steps to move you forward with ease.
  5. Get in the Flow. Flow happens when you’re in alignment with your core values and take action to create that which inspires you most. Flow happens when you get out of your own way and embrace faith in yourself and your abilities.

Thanks for reading my weekly musings. I hope you enjoyed this mindful moment. I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them.

Infinite ∞ Love, Lyn
28 Jan 2019

3 Reasons Why Asking For Help IS Courageous

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 10

In my family of origin, self-sufficiency was something that was praised and admired, even more so when times got tough. I grew up in this bootstrapping environment, for better or worse. While I experienced my fair share of struggles in this family structure, I also witnessed how it made me a stronger entrepreneur and a capable adult.

Through much of my adult life, I would never think about asking for help. It just wasn’t in my make-up. It wasn’t until I finished university with a fresh degree in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Management and moved my life from New England to Silicon Valley that I began to understand the value in collaboration and teamwork. Even there, I found myself reluctant to show the vulnerability necessary to ask for help too often.

Fast forward half a lifetime, and now I’m stewarding 16 acres of lush tropical farmland in Panama. As I’ve grown into my own ability to express vulnerability in being my authentic self, I’ve grown in my cultivation of courage to ask for help. It feels absolutely JOYFUL to allow myself to receive the help of others.

I write today’s Mindful Moment after having my community over for a barn raising of sorts. As I spoke to friends about the eco bamboo cob cabin I’m building, one friend, in particular, kept reminding me that he wanted to help. He mentioned this again on my birthday, and in the celebration of the moment, I set a date and committed to a plan to host a group of friends for a workday on the farm. We made a day of it, and with 8 hands on deck and lots of laughter, we made a giant push forward on the building. Accepting the love and help from my community allowed me to stretch into the JOY of feeling supported.

So next time you could use some extra help but are reluctant to ask for it, remember these 3 Reasons Why Asking For Help IS Courageous.

1. Helping benefits the helper.

One of the reasons to ask for help doesn’t only benefit you. It benefits the person helping you. When we allow the helpers to offer their help and have it received with appreciation and joy, we give them the gift of sharing their wisdom and experience with us. When we do it all ourselves, we withhold these gifts from the people who care about us and want to help. Why wouldn’t you give them the opportunity to feel their value?

2. Sometimes, we don’t have a choice.

Even if you’ve bootstrapped your way to success, if you’re a solopreneur, or just enjoy the challenge, the day will come that you will need to ask for help. Without practice, this can be quite awkward. So why not overcome your vulnerability and start practicing with small requests now.

3. Asking for help connects us to our community

When we ask for help, we build stronger connections with our friends, family, and business associates. The friendships that we build through sharing help and being of service often last much longer than the favor for help does.

So next time you want to ask for help, are offered help, or help another, know that it’s ultimately the connection to our community and each other as humans that really matters. Our connection with each other is worth so much more than the awkwardness in showing our vulnerability.

I’m feeling the gratitude for my friends and community for their smiles and strength in helping me last week on the eco bamboo cob cabin. I couldn’t do it without all of the hands that have helped me get this far. Thank you!

“When we support other people to be more successful, we discover opportunities for collaboration that ultimately enable us to be more successful ourselves.” — Janine Garner

I hope you enjoyed this mindful moment. I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them.

Infinite ∞ Love,

Lyn
23 Jan 2019

Tuning into the Radio Station of the Soul

by | posted in: Love Yourself Now | 6

Another year has come around again for me. I turned 55 on Saturday, under the energetic influence of the Super Blood Full Moon Eclipse.

In today’s Mindful Moment, I wanted to share how listening to my own station within has amplified my intentions and given me some potent guidance as I step into my personal new year.

Here’s the thing, sometimes we just have to stop what we’re doing and listen to the inner landscape of our soul. Here are three potent examples from my own personal experiences that happened this month.

3 WAYS I TUNED INTO THE RADIO STATION OF MY SOUL

1. Let it Go and allow the magic to happen.

I’ve been following an amazing astrologer, Molly McCord, for several months now. Her readings are not only spot on but shared in such a way that, as a novice to the depths of astrology, I actually understand them.

At the beginning of the year, I reached out for a personal birthday reading, but her calendar was full through February. I felt a little disappointed, but let it go.

A few weeks later, as I was out harvesting turmeric on my farm, intuition tapped me on the shoulder… “go check that link to Molly’s schedule right now…” In the past, I would have put the thought in my back pocket and followed up later, but these days, when spirit gives me a message, I take action immediately. I put my garden tools down and went to check Molly’s schedule again. You guessed it, a slot had opened up on my birthday. (and it was an incredible reading!)

2. Honoring the inspiration.

For months now, I’ve been wanting to purge the excess in my life, especially in my closet. I started several months ago when I set the timer for 30 minutes and held the intention of nixing 10 things that I no longer love. After 30 minutes, I had pulled out 20 things I no longer needed in my life.

The feeling has been amplifying for months now, but with the Venus retrograde this fall, Spirit told me to wait. In the days leading up to my birthday and the Full Moon Eclipse, Spirit tapped me on the shoulder… “Lyn, it’s time for Feng Shui.” What?? Where did that come from…?

The first thing I was guided to do was to move the furniture around in my living room. I added some potted plants. Wow, what a sense of fresh energy. Day by day over the weekend, I’d set the timer for 30 minutes to clear out my life… cosmetics, clothes, jewelry — all of it sorted and purged. And do you know what…? I now have space to stretch into a new sense of freedom and clarity about who I am evolving into. And it feels good to clear out the old and welcome in the freshness of this next version of authentically me.

3. Do the work and follow it through.

I’m always stretching into becoming the best version of myself. I know that my best today will be even better tomorrow as I continue on the path of lifelong learning. One of my struggles has been my limiting belief around lack.

Browsing the Masterclasses at Mind Valley last week I came across an Abundance Session with Christie Marie Sheldon. It looked interesting but my schedule was full, and I had things to do. And Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and kindly told me “NOW”.

I cleared my schedule and dove in. After each exercise that Christie presented, I took the time to do my own process using kinesiology and qigong to clear and confirm the release of limiting beliefs and hidden trapped emotions. A 2-hour masterclass stretched into an all-day self-therapy session and by the end, I was exhausted, yet I knew the work had been valuable and effective.

I gave myself a profound gift when I stopped and listened to inspiration at that moment, for results manifested immediately afterward. Not only did I feel clear, but when I spoke with a potential client the next day, I showed up with a new found confidence and clarity about the work I do in helping others show up for themselves. This clear energy about owning my value attracted this client to want to work with me, and now I am sharing this magic with her.

I hope you enjoyed this mindful moment. I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them.

Infinite ∞ Love,

Lyn
16 Jan 2019

4 Things I Learned Hosting IGNITE 2019 Retreat

by | posted in: Love Yourself Now | 6

The idea of hosting a retreat emerged through my daily practice. It was inspired by my love of the monthly intention rituals I host online, and the idea of bringing women together in sisterhood. I saw that there were many wellness retreats out there, but not so many that do the type of work that I do.

We gathered together at Soul House Luxury Inn and Retreat Center in beautiful El Valle de Antón, Panama. The temple style house is designed to facilitate retreats and provided an exquisitely beautiful and serene space to gather together, setting the stage for an inspiring weekend.

The combination of sacred cacao plant medicine, intention setting ritual, and mindful community building, motivated the deep work we were doing individually. We were surrounded by the gentle and loving support of our group of committed women, each of whom was going deep into their own experience to create new opportunities and identifying new possibilities to live their best year yet.

It was beautiful to watch how we approached challenges with curiosity and were motivated to go even deeper by understanding the nuances of each women’s stories and experience. The weekend opened up opportunities to explore what is possible and to trust in our ability to create positive change to move us more fully into our greatest gifts, talents, and desires.

Here are 4 things I learned by hosting IGNITE 2019 Retreat:

  1. IT CAN BE CHALLENGING TO THINK ABOUT THE LIFE YOU WANT
    What struck me was how willing the women were to dive in, dream big, and overcome their fear and limiting beliefs that had been with them for years, if not lifetimes. It takes courage to do this deeper exploration and I have such admiration for the women for their willingness to let go of judgment and embrace their true essence.
  2. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF SISTERHOOD 
    I was in awe at the connections these women were able to make to cultivate sisterhood and engage in meaningful conversation with one another. The deep sharing that took place created a rich and safe container to help us realize we are not alone.
  3. IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT INTENTIONS AND THE CHALLENGES
    Despite all the work we did together on what intentions we want to manifest in 2019, I saw how a retreat is a perfect opportunity to celebrate and feel proud of where we are today. In the course of normal life, we often don’t take the time to acknowledge and celebrate how far we’ve already come. Over the weekend we were able to drop the masks, let go of the comparison, and know that we are already enough just as we are.
  4. IT TAKES A VILLAGE
    I left the retreat with such gratitude for all the love, support and encouragement I had along the way. Over the three months I spent creating this event, I was supported by my accountability partner (shout out to Michelle), my mastermind team (thank you Nicole and Liat), and my retreat partner who volunteered to be my onsite support (Louise, I couldn’t have done this without you.) I see how it takes a community to bring our big visions and dream into reality. Thank you all so much. 

I hope you enjoyed this mindful moment. I always love reading your thoughts and comments, so go ahead and share them.

Infinite ∞ Love,

Lyn
1 … 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 … 16