 Buddha described the human mind as being filled with drunken monkeys, jumping around screeching and chattering and carrying on endlessly. We all have monkey minds, Buddha said, with dozens of monkeys all clamoring for attention. From a therapeutic point of view, the typical monkeys that we all carry are: Fear Monkey Greed Monkey Pitiful Monkey Victim Monkey Revenge Monkey And they’re all acting crazed and demanding; like unreasonable childrenhaving temper tantrums. While most (if not all) of these monkeys can be broken down to the base level of fear — there are predictable times and events where these monkeys try to take charge of your mind. Until you recognize the monkeys in your mind, you will always be challenged by their neediness to be in charge. Pay attention to your thoughts — which ones are kind and gentle and positive? Those will not be your monkeys. Which ones are judgmental, fear driven and negative toward you or another? THOSE are your monkeys. One very effective way to calm your monkeys (yes dear, sorry, but they ARE your monkeys), is to have a healthy adult, non judgmental conversation with them.
Revenge Monkey says: “It’s not fair, I’m going to get even with him for doing that”. Here’s one example of how you can talk to this monkey with your healthy adult mind: MM: “What he’s done is wrong, and I’m not going to let him get away with it” HAM: Yep, I agree, it’s wrong, and I can see why you want to get back at him, but let me ask you, is he worth your time and energy? MM: Well no, he’s a piece of shit, but he needs to know that he can’t do that crap. I want to hurt him as much as he’s hurt me. HAM: It seems like he enjoys hurting you. This is probably because he is a hateful person. MM: Yeah, he’s a hateful person, all right. HAM: So every time you get hurt by his behavior, you are actually rewarding him, don’t you think? And, at the same time, allowing yourself to be hurt? MM: Yeah, but if I can hurt him badly enough he will stop doing that. HAM: Based on his behaviors in the past, do you really think he will be hurt? Or even if he is, that he will change his ways? MM: Probably not, but I will feel better knowing that I’ve told him how wrong he is. HAM: And you’ve never done that before?” MM: I tell him all the time what a piece of shit he is. HAM: And that doesn’t change his behavior toward you? And I ask again, do you have the power to hurt him? MM: No, he thinks he is in the right. HAM: Hmmm, Is it possible, since he’s a hateful person, that he enjoys the fact that he can hurt you? MM: Oh, yeah, I let him know every chance I get how awful he is being. HAM: But isn’t that what he wants? For you to acknowledge how effective his behavior toward hurting you is? MM: Yeah, I can see that….. This is just a possible scenario. You can certainly put your own circumstances and words into this conversation model, but you see how you have stayed in your calm Healthy Adult Mind and defused your Monkey Mind? This is a powerful tool to keep your monkeys calm and quiet - a very powerful tool. You haven’t judged them, you haven’t told them what to do - you’ve acknowledge their point of view, but you’ve also helped them see a new perspective. And eventually, when Revenge Monkey starts yelling for your attention, you will be able to say “We’ve already talked about this, you need to just calm down and let me handle it as a healthy adult". Keep a thought journal and each night, pick one Monkey-Minded thought and have a healthy adult conversation with it. A few things will begin to happen as you practice this. You will more readily recognize negative, monkey minded thoughts that don't serve you, and when they arise, you already have a healthy response practiced ahead of time. :-)  Hello August - We have quite a week ahead of us. Feelings; Baby steps; Darkness; and Light are all on the table. Listen to your inner knowing this week and you will breeze through it.
This week begins with too much thinking (and not enough feeling). It will be easy for you to get swept up into thinking things through. Don't be stuck in what is logical this week - the universe has far more to offer than what your logical brain can conger up! Spirit is offering the suggestion to just make a choice based on what you feel right now. "If it feels good, do it". The next card: Every journey begins with a single step is telling you to take that step - if it’s an internal journey, then be assured that you have everything you need within you. Even what feels like teeny tiny baby steps are incredibly more powerful and constructive than you could possible imagine. TRUST your inner guidance.
The second half of the week begins with a feeling of darkness. This could mean a creative block, a sense of being in a void, or a feeling of depression, rage, sadness, fear or anxiety. Although you are powerful, you are also vulnerable at this time. Think of it as a spiritual test and any darkness within or around you could be problematic if left unchecked so do some work around this darkness - don't avoid it. Through all of this week - know that your opportunity for growth lies in letting go of the need to hide from the world - you know what you are doing!!! Find ways to let your light shine.  Challenges: Perfection is a prickly master isn’t it? This card is telling you that it’s time to shake things up - allow discomfort, invite chaos. Do your liberating rain dance! Rage, weep, pray, dance, paint or sing. Express what ever is needed, however it is needed so that you may experience the flower of life unfolding within you and around you.
RECAP: The story that these cards are telling is: Stop thinking so much. Whatever feels right to you, right now? Do That! Embrace those baby steps as they will take you far. Quit looking for the perfect time, or the perfect anything. Allow yourself to experience the darkness and burst open into the light. Now is all you have. This inner journey will bring feelings of vulnerability. Deal with it. Hiding from your vulnerability will not be in your best interest. Embrace it, the only way out is through. Deal with your darkness and step into YOUR LIGHT. The light that shines just for you. BECOME VISIBLE. Journey well, my fellow travelers - have an exciting week!  Don't get too caught up in what step to take for moving forward in your life. Sometimes taking ANY step is like sending the Universe a message that you are ready for something new and the Universe conspires to then send you messages for your RIGHT step.
This happened to me recently - oh the agony of choices I put myself through. Such agony that I felt paralyzed to make any choice - which, quite frankly (and I know better), is setting the intention that I'm just not ready for any action. Hmmmm - probably some truth there, but as soon as I made a choice and took action, without expectation, wonderful things started showing up. Such wonderful things that I tell my Spirit Guides to keep throwing those bread crumbs on my path and I will keep seeing where they are going. So today, if you feel stuck, overwhelmed or fuzzy minded. Take any ole step with confidence (baby steps or leaps) - keep your heart open to opportunities that show up and watch the magic unfold. It works, it really works. When you choose stuck, it's like saying "NOT YET". I'm ready are you? ....What's your next step?  Sometimes intuition is a funny thing - at one moment it's all lit up and virtually yelling at you and at others it's muddy and confused. How do you know if it's truly your intuition talking to you or just your monkey-mind yammering away? You don't. At least not always. Often I get an intuitive hit on one of my questions, then I proceed to beat it to death trying to figure out if I'm right. Sound familiar? Even when I know what I know, I can still easily drop into my thinking brain, my purely logical brain, and then all hell breaks loose. Or actually all hell is mired in confusion and I end up torturing myself with over thinking it all.
You can ask all the questions of friends and family you want, but reality? They only hold their answers, NOT yours. So where to turn? Sometimes an intuitive can be your best friend. Someone who knows nothing about you or your current circumstances....someone who just channels the messages from Spirit that you need to hear. And here's the crazy part: Those messages may be exactly the same as you've been getting, BUT hearing it from someone else - and hearing exactly what you needed to hear - makes all the difference in the world. It's like a knock on the noggin and you finally 'get' the message. I hear this all the time from clients - they tell me afterwards that they already knew this, but they had either forgotten it or didn't trust it. That's MY job - I trust messages from spirit. I can deliver clarity and direction straight to your inbox. Your question - your timing - your email. I love my job! Want more information? Check this out.  Whoa, this week is packing a wallop for us. I'm ready, are you?
The week begins with exciting clarity and brightness of creativity flowing into your inner most sacred places. Know that this inspiration comes directly from your Higher Self - your Intuition. You will see things in a way that you haven’t before. A new way of being within and without.Your greatest benefit will be when you trust in the flow of the one, great, creative spiral upon which your galaxy spins.
Toward the end of the week you will continue to be drawn to this creative energy, to this new vision, but you will likely be overwhelmed with the bigness of this vision. Remember that even with phenomenal shifts, we can only take one step at a time. There is something arising within you, out of the depths of your being. There is a shift in environment both internal and external.  Challenges: In fact, your biggest challenge will be to trust in the process. The invisible help from the Universe is often more powerful than the physical efforts of a 1000 men.
Keep your eye on the process, one small step at a time and your creativity will flourish. You need complete faith in the process & events that are happening. But know this….you will always be guided and supported in all that you do. With TRUST, you can simply do bigger, better, more exciting things. Are you ready? What is your next step? Listen closely because Spirit is always talking.  I know where I'm going. I am on my highest path and trust that I will always continue to be guided. The timing is not in my control, so I let that need go. I do not mistake rest and recuperation as a set back or a block. I trust I will know when I need to do things differently and will have the courage and clarity to do them. I am grateful for all that my life has been.....all the good, the beautiful, the dark and the pain, the chaos and the flat spots. Life is good, even when it feels bad. Without all of it, I would never stand here whole and alive and filled with such amazing gratitude for all that is. Loving myself and my life Deeply, Madly and Completely.
 I think there is a misconception that positive energy guarantees positive outcome.
But sometimes shit happens. To All of Us. It’s unpleasant, it’s stinky and it’s not fun. But when you fully love yourself (you know the mantra here - Deeply, Madly, Completely) you will process it through your being - it will not makes its home in you. You will see it for what it is - a shitty situation (pun intended) and do whatever it takes to let it go. That us what you wish for your most cherished best friend, isn’t it? And that is who you are - Your Best Friend. Love yourself enough to let go of what doesn’t serve you, of what doesn’t hold you up, of what doesn’t value you. Love yourself Deeply, Madly and Completely.  BRING YOUR SOUL HOME
Once I decided to embrace the glorious mess that I am, I began to see myself in a new way. No longer a mess, but a woman filled with so much love and compassion. So much SOUL. So much to give - my light keeps getting brighter and brighter. I am home, here in my soul. HOME  You know those moments when you are transported to excitement, to joy, to the utmost happiness? You can have that more often than you think you can.
No skills required, no money needed, no extra time necessary. CHOOSE to be excited. No matter where you are, you can always remember a time when the joy was bursting all around you. No matter where you are, breathe that in....remember it in your body, feel it. Let it settle into your heart and and into your soul. Get excited....if for only a moment, it will transport you to living your Truth and what you signed up for on this journey called life. YOU, that YOU will excite your SOUL. Do THAT! |
* Zan Packard *
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