What do you say to yourself, and how do you say it?

Do you speak to yourself as if you trust and value you? Do you listen to your inner voice? Are you kind to yourself? Can you sing out loud, tell yourself jokes, and reassure the timid, scared parts of you that you’re okay? Or do you judge yourself for being less than you think you should be?

Are you even on speaking terms with yourself? Or do you go for long stretches without remembering that you have an inner voice? Do you tell yourself that you love you? Do you compliment yourself for doing something well, and thank yourself for being brave?

Each of us has a relationship to pain, conscious or not.

Whether you see it as your friend or foe, pain has helped you grow, and taught you important lessons. Pain is a familiar experience in life. It's never fun when you're going through the thick of it, but pain can be a valuable ally when you create a more conscious relationship to it.

Being in a body can sometimes be a painful experience. Emotions, including pain, are the language of the body. You can learn compassion from feeling your own wounds, and also from witnessing and validating the feelings of others around you.

You chose to have a body this lifetime in order to experience, grow, and change.

There is no mistake as to why you showed up now. You arrived on earth at a time of deep lasting spiritual evolution so that you'd have lots of room to grow. Even if you have no idea how you'll do this, don't worry! You already are.

We all change, whether we like it or not. Our bodies constantly change, and we all accept this as being normal. The attitude we have with the inevitable and natural changes within and around us, determines how we experience the growth we are having.

What happens when you dive into the depths of yourself and find your authenticity?

When you get very honest about who you are right now, what changes for you? When you question what’s real and authentic for yourself, you choose to look deeper than the surface of things. You grow when you choose to follow your spirit’s truth. When you answer your own deepest questions truthfully, you’re willing to see clearly now, to drop your old illusions.

It’s your spirit that makes it possible for you to stand out, and be uniquely you.

If you thought it was the attention from others that made you stand out and be seen – as in how many fans you have, and how popular you are, you may want to check again. Your popularity in the outside world can be very separate from the truth of who you are, deep within.

There’s no other like you, you are one of a kind – and when you find the courage to be the unique you that you are, you can create your true life.

Surrender Dorothy!

The Wicked Witch of the West blazed these words across the sky in angry black smoke. Oh no, surely surrender meant the end for poor Dorothy! Could she escape this one? Could she still win? Would anyone come to rescue her? Or would she come to a tragic end at the hands of the wickedest woman alive?

In our Western culture, Surrender has often been synonymous with Losing.

One of the most important aspects of you as a being, is how you see yourself.

Your self image becomes your way of being in the world. How you see yourself matters to your life, and to your enjoyment of being you. Nobody else can convince you that you are worthy, or that it’s okay for you to have your life for yourself, if you don’t believe it too.

If you see yourself as capable, you’re more likely to reach out for something you want, and you’re more willing to take risks. When you have a present time positive self image, it’s easier to step out and be seen, and to shine.

Did you know that beauty is your birthright?

You live on a gorgeous planet, after all. You are fully equipped to experience the earth's beauty through all of your senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. The earth is only too happy to indulge you; this earth is a cornucopia of delights, a paradise.

If you’re in the midst of a busy day, hitting stress and challenges along the way, getting your daily dose of beauty can make all the difference in how you feel. You can take a few minutes to slow down and look, listen, taste, touch, and smell. An added bonus is that your senses will remind you that you are a human being, with a body.

Finding stillness in your inside world leads you to new awareness, inside and out.

When you handle a constant demand to do, something, anything - it’s difficult to have an awareness of what exists all around you.

Non-stop doing creates an escape from being, seeing, feeling, and experiencing, which is the point, as if one were running away from something. Doing can be an addiction, one that is easily fed in today’s world of non-stop activity. Plus there’s the added bonus of appearing to be virtuous because you’re working so hard. One can become a martyr to doing too much.

Learning about yourself is a life long study.

There’s no limit to how far you can go, once you decide to get going on the road to self knowledge.

Like the colorful ragtag protagonists in ‘The Wizard of Oz’, you can get on your road and follow it to your own Emerald City, looking for treasure. Along the way you might run into a witch or two, as well as some other shady characters. “Oh no!” you might say, “I’m running into obstacles! Will I ever reach my treasure?”. Then one day you ‘arrive’ to find that the treasure you were looking for was always within you.

It’s important to understand that if you want to be seen in the spotlight, it isn’t the spotlight itself that makes you look good.

It’s not because of the spotlight that you shine. Your light comes from within you. Making your dreams real begins within you. The more comfortable you are with who you are, the easier it will be for you to stand out, and to step into the light.

The better you know and love yourself, the more you allow yourself the permission and space to simply be who you are, the simpler it will be for you to fearlessly step forward and be seen.

A student of mine asked me some specific questions about change and how to handle it, and inspired me to write this.

Here’s my take on change and growth, and how to navigate what sometimes feels like a bumpy ride.

It all begins with you: You want to change, and you decide to make positive changes in your life. Perhaps you’ve done this before, maybe many times. Some of the changes you’ve gone through in your life came about as a result of you choosing to change, and some of them might have seemed as if they just ‘happened’ to you. Either way, change is upon you.