Searching for Something

Searching For Something
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

An old man was walking home late one night when he saw a friend on his knees under a street light, searching for something.
"What are you doing?" he asked his friend.
"I dropped the key to my house."
"I'll help you look."
After a few minutes of frustrated searching, the old man asked,
"Where exactly were you when you dropped this key?"
His friend pointed toward the darkness, "Over there."
"Then why are you looking for it here?"
"Because this is where the light is."

~Sufi parable

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Two Wolves

Two Wolves
An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil - he is angry, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Good Relationships

Good Relationships

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"If you don't have a good relationship with you, your small self and You, your greater self, then you can't have a good relationship with others".

You, your personality self, and, You, your higher Self must blend well. Meaning, you must have a good relationship with you and 'You'. In essence, they are not separate from each other. Many people believe that the inner voice is something far beyond them. In many ways that is true, but It (that inner voice) is still You.

How can we ever establish a good relationship with others if we haven't established a good relationship with our selves? Many of us are not whole and complete in our selves. We look for fillers, sort of speak. Someone to satisfy what we 'think' we are missing to make our selves feel better. Also, if we are critical and judge ourselves regularly, we will be doing the same things to others. There are no exceptions. That is where the problems occur. First, we must be complete, or whole, within our selves. Then when someone does come into our life, we don't have an attachment to them. When we are needy or attached, this is when relationships become dysfunctional and fail. Someone else can only temporarily satisfy our needs.

You cannot separate how you feel about yourself and how you feel about others. There is no separation. Therefore, how you feel about your self is how you feel about others. In order to establish a good relationship with others, you must first establish a good relationship with your self.

Begin by meditating and practicing stillness. In today's world, most of our minds are so busy, we don't hear what is being said to us. The more you practice these disciplines, the more you will "know" what you need at any given moment.

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Christmas

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Christmas

Rejoice in the spirit of Christmas which is Peace,
the miracle of Christmas which is Hope,
and the heart of Christmas which is Love.

Merry Christmas with Warm Wishes
for a Wonderful Holiday Season
and a Happy New Year.

Hiding Behind Spirituality

Are you hiding behind your spirituality pretending that you have completed or dealt with your past? Do you just keep pushing your pain and sorrow deeper into your heels, only for it to fester and create more disease a little longer?

Some people on the spiritual journey are doing this. I can attest to it because I have done it myself. Our past is difficult to face, but if we don't face our in-completions that linger in today's now, which dictates our behavior, the mind chatter continues. The mind chatter consists of the words we use to control our behavior, creating lack of confidence, fear, illnesses, lack of self-worth, and much more.

To really own your power, you must let go of your pain and sorrow. These past hurts (e.g. guilt and shame) are what's controlling your behavior today, more than likely unconsciously.  You are not aware of it. It's the unconscious patterns you keep re-creating, but you don't realize this. You must first see what is causing that behavior. Go back to the past to heal your past so that your patterns of habit don't get recreated or transfer to your present and future situations.  When you know the source, when you finally shed some light to the pain and sorrow of the past, the self-sabotaging behavior melts away.

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Winning

"Win as if you were used to it, 
lose as if you enjoyed it for a change."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Courage to Face Things

Courage to Face Things
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are without any self-deception or illusion that light will develop out of events by which the path to succeed may be recognized.

~I Ching

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Life at Full Throttle

"If you're going to go to hell... I suggest you come back learning something."

~Drew Barrymore

(Excerpted from the Ali Magazine)

(Model in picture is Aimee Mullins)

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Shine As Children Do

Shine As Children Do
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~Marianne Williamson

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Happy Thanksgiving to the World

Happy Thanksgiving to the World

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Whether we gather together or stay in solitude,
give thanks for the experience of being a sentient being.
For all the trials and tribulations we encounter,
everyone else is going through the same.

Both you and I are unfolding a great story,
when we listen and dance with the mysteries of the Divine.
There is something magical when we open our hearts,
we begin to bless the world with a gift unique to us.

Give thanks for your connection with your Divine Self,
that may need some work to be revealed.
But when your inner wisdom explodes like a fireball of light,
Be ready to offer it to others to heal with insight.

Don't let fear or timidity push you around,
keep reminding yourself about your service to the world.
Play your part fully for the great Divine,
remembering your brilliance as a human being.

By Desiree Leigh

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

A Powerful Teaching Tool

A Powerful Teaching Tool
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Healing your past from a place of wisdom will change your story. How could the story not change when you are bringing light into it. It's inevitable. The more you use your inner wisdom, the more the story will continue to change. Until one day you can use your story as a powerful teaching tool it is meant to be. And not until then, otherwise you will still come from a place of blame and resentment.

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Diverting Your Plans With Distraction

Diverting Your Plans With Distraction
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Are you diverting your plans, avoiding your calling, perhaps unconsciously, because you're afraid to show up? Are you afraid of stepping forward into your own life? Have you moved along, showing up with integrity and authenticity, only to find yourself on another path wondering why you're there? Are you avoiding greater growth because it feels scary, moving once again into your comfort zone?

For instance, it's like building a business only to realize you must now speak publicly to get your message to a greater amount of people, and now you feel your knees trembling, sick to your stomach, and decide this is just not for you anymore? Somehow you begin to sabotage your vision. Somehow you find yourself on another course of action but not in alignment with your passion. Is this you?

This happens to many of us. I can't imagine everyone on a smooth path to spreading their message. I, myself admit to these diversions. Sometimes they can be costly and sometimes they can take away more of our precious time from achieving our dreams. However, these diversions are distractions that can clarify your vision and your conviction towards them. Sometimes, if we just don't get it, meaning, we just don't see our vision clearly enough, we seem to attract something that gives us more insight and clarity. Something that will cause us to wake up a little more.

There is one great realization from experiencing these diversions, though. You begin to learn more about yourself and your habits. When you learn more deeply about your patterns, you raise awareness to them, therefore able to change them. Well, I guess that would be your choice too.

How to:

1. Before making big or costly decisions, show up to your life first. Meaning, 'Be Present'.
2. 'Be Aware' of your patterns of habit. For instance. If you have always had a pattern of lying to yourself about who you really are to accommodate others & just got into the habit of doing it for everything else, question what's up. It's easy to lie to ourselves to get away with showing up to life. It's that darn 'story' again.
3. Question if what you are about to decide, moving you towards your vision or away from it.
4. Allow the answers to come.
5. Most importantly, remember to be 'open to receive' the messages. Your messages are always around you. You have to pay attention, though!

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

You Have My Loyalty

You Have My Loyalty

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

You and I...
we meet as stranger,
each carrying a mystery within us.

I cannot say who you are,
I may never know you completely.

But I trust that you are a person
in your own right,
possessed of a beauty and value
that are the Earth's richest treasures.

So I make this promise to you:
I will impose no identities upon you,
but will invite you to become yourself
without shame or fear.

I will hold open a space for you in the world,
and defend your right to fill it
with an authentic vocation.

For as long as your search takes,
you have my loyalty.

(Author Unknown)

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Hope for the Elusive Actress

Hope for the Elusive Actress
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Have you lied and lied and lied to yourself so much that you don't know who you are or what your truth is? Have you been the most elusive actress to yourself and others that your truth is no where to be found or no where in sight? Have you been that pretender that okay, aha, yes ma'am, yes sir, so loving and pleasing person yet minimizing or demeaning your own beauty and talents?

If you have, how many more days or years are you going to lie to yourself? What is it going to take to change your life and 'give' others your message? What if you only had one year left to live? Really! What if? Can you imagine that? Truly imagine that? Do you want to continue to live in pain, hurt and grief your whole life? Do you want to create your own illnesses? Do you really want to escape forever?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I ask you another question. Why are you here? What do you feel your purpose is? Do you really believe, deep in your heart, that you don't have a purpose? Can you really say from the tip of your toes to the top of your head, from one end of the world to the other end of the world, and to all the stars in all of the galaxies in the universe that you have no purpose? No reason for being?

Well, I have been in this position. I was the elusive actress, as I call her.  I know what it's like to feel like there is nothing left. To pretend who you are. To want to escape the world. Thinking there is no purpose or reason for being. But the first thing you must do with the feelings of despair, is find hope. When there is hope there is light, and without it it's hard to move forward and lift the darkness.

Do you believe things can change? I do. I especially do now. What will it take for you to believe in your life, in you? Your purpose? Your message for others? And our lives together on this earth? Because without you, we lose a piece of us. We are part of each other. We are all part of the whole.

Do you really know and understand how significant, unique and important you are? Because you really are. You're special like everyone else and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Wake Up to Live is about awareness in every aspect.  Waking up to live life is about questioning the social norms and the things that feel uncomfortable to talk about.  Wake Up to Live is about becoming awake to our biases, prejudices, and injustices. Waking up to live life is about waking up from unconsciousness to see what is really true.  Although waking up to live life with awareness and clarity may be difficult to do because now we must begin to make the hard choices, we must strive to Wake Up to Live and be responsible for our actions and the actions of others.  We are in this life together!  

Are Your Desires Greater Than Your Obstacles?

Are your desires, your biggest dream or vision, 

greater than any of the obstacles you encounter?

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Watering Your Dreams

Watering Your Dreams
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"Be careful what you water your dreams with...
Water them with optimism and solutions
and you will cultivate success...
Always be on the look out for ways to nurture your dreams.

~Lao Tzu

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Hoarding Anyone?

Hoarding 
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Oh my gawd. I just came to the realization that I am a hoarder of books. I was here in my office doing some pacing, which I seem to do when I want to memorize things, and at the same time I was observing my bookshelves. I starting looking at some of the books that I haven't read. Yikes! There seemed to be so many of them. Too many of them.

You may know what I mean. You buy a great book knowing that you want to read it. Over time you buy more great books. "Well", you say, "It's a new release. It's hot off the shelf. I love the author. I just have to have it!" Before you know it, you now have 10 maybe 20 or more of them that are still crying out for your attention; collecting dust from getting neglected in the corner. But the thing is, you seem to never get to it because you still have about five plus more books in front of that book that you're already committed to. So when are you ever going to get to the new one (or should I say the old one ;) They just seem to keep piling up.

Wow. I mean I knew I did this but I never really acknowledged it. I kept thinking, "I'll just keep some for a rainy day." Or, "I'll always have variety. A bit of spice once in a while is nice." But is it? I mean, when you really think about it, especially when you seem to be running out of shelving space, you start placing books on the floor. Then there's the living room. And how about the bedroom. I guess eventually they can go in the basement or the shed, but I haven't got to that point and hopes that I never will. I keep saying, "One day I'll read them. Just after I finish this one." But then there's another new one to buy. When does this craziness of hoarding stop? And even all the while I read avidly, I just can't keep up to the amount I'm buying. Kind of makes you feel full!

I am so glad I finally acknowledged this behaviour. But I didn't stop there. I asked some pretty deep questions about what reasons were behind my actions. And where else do I act out this kind of behaviour. When you have a particular behaviour in one area of your life, you may find out that it bleeds into another area of your life. Perhaps in my shopping? How about eating? Any money issues? Wow, this is so cool! The possibilities are endless. This is something real good. I love addressing new hidden beliefs lurking beneath the surface of my reality. Because NOW I can change it. This is awakening in the works!

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Every Great Dream

Every Great Dream
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

~Harriet Tubman

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Demand Self-Care

Demand Self-Care
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Demanding too much of ourselves in time and effort will cause imbalances in our energies creating misalignment. But it also depends on what we are demanding from ourselves. In a world filled with information bombarding us from all angles, the responsibilities of so many things such as aging parents, a change in career, updating our skills, gaining more knowledge, and changing our limiting belief systems daily, we can begin to burn the candle at both ends, becoming physically tired and creating discord. It is much too challenging to have a cheerful outlook and remain positive, upbeat and uplifting towards others when we're exhausted.

I tend to do this a lot, sometimes catching myself in the nick of time and sometimes a little too late. It is really easy falling into old patterns of habit, and when most of the people around you are doing the same thing, I question whether or not I should be taking that day to completely pamper myself. Actually, forget about a full day, how about a couple of hours. This is something that is challenging to change.

This belief was instilled a long time ago. My parents were brought up with parents that had seen the devastation, desolation and starvation of both World Wars and The Great Depression as well as the waste of human lives. I could only imagine what it was like during those times. Money, food, and time was scarce. All of the days thoughts were focused on how to put food on the table for the family. And, the rest of the days were working for bare minimum or finding something to trade for rations. These were my grandparents. Always working hard, no time for themselves, hoarding materials needed for later and stocking shelves and cellars with food, just in case!

My parents took on these habits, in a very natural way, and gave them to myself as well as my siblings. And I am very sure I gave some of them to my children too. Amazing how patterns of habits created from beliefs we acquired are passed on from generation to generation.

It's time to stop repeating the same old pattern. I can see parts of the world creating the same pattern of war and devastation, and then I can see parts of the world at a higher state of consciousness creating peace. So to anyone that is really listening, let's take care of ourselves first. Take time with nature, write in your journal, explore who you really are, question everything, and above all have faith and the power of your thoughts to create the beautiful change. Self-care is something we should be demanding from ourselves first!

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Decision Making

Decision Making
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Why are small wins so important when you are making choices in persevering a goal to achieve your vision?

When you persevere a goal you are bombarded with a lot of decision making. Think about how many decisions you have to make in a week, a day or even an hour regarding an ill parent, a child's future, your business, your education, your marriage, or your career. Just thinking about making these choices can prove to cause overwhelm with information overload.

In many complex decision-making situations you would experience cognitive obstacles creating ambiguity which becomes overwhelming. With socio-emotional obstacles, you may experience stress, frustration, and personal friction (resistance) because of the many choices.

Both cognitive and socio-emotional obstacles occur and must be overcome while you are in the process of achieving closure from one decision to the next. If the choices are not made because of these sometimes hindering obstacles, you may feel as though you are stuck. If you make a decision too hastily, you may feel the choice is a mismatch causing anxiety, slowing the process once again.

Another common scenario to decision making can be a continued constant debate regarding the choices. Laying down many choices and weighing them out for much too long can create more of the same feelings of overload.

This analysis is from my studies, as well as my research and experience. What I believe to be the greatest benefit in making a decision is understanding this process as well as trusting my internal wisdom. We can gain a lot of knowledge from the materials we read, which is essential, but our choices should be guided by within as well.

Some may argue that the process of decision making could take too long if we had to stop every time and listen to the voice from within (or meditate upon it). But I think if we don't, it can prove to be an even longer process because our choice may be poor and not in alignment with our heart.

Life is Not a Journey to the Grave

Life Is Not A Journey to the Grave
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"Life is not a journey to the grave,
With the intention of arriving safely
In a pretty and well-preserved body,
But rather to skid in broadside,
Thoroughly used up,
Totally worn out,
And loudly proclaiming -
"WOW, what a ride!!!"

~Unknown

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Love the Fool in Me

Love the Fool in Me
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"I must learn to love the fool in me -- the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbour, and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool."

~Theodore I. Rubin, MD

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Growing A New Life

Growing A New Life

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Accept the messiness and the mistakes.
Let go of the perfection.
Embrace who you are today.
To change limiting and self-destructive habits,
it takes perseverance.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
Are you ready for the work
to reap the rewards?
Are you ready to grow a new life?

"As you sow, So shall you reap."

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Grasp Hold

Grasp Hold
by Dustin Leigh Bryant
(My Son)

See the fire in the sky,
As it drowns behind the cloud.
The world becomes dark,
And death leads the way.
You follow everything you've ever known,
Read the books and you're still a slave,
Stick your hand through the glass of life,
Grasp hold,
Make a sacrifice.

Don't let the world make you.
Let go and be free.
Don't follow the stages footsteps
Media, America, Hollywood.
Make your own life,
And love what you have.
Change is the world day by day,
Take a guess you're here to stay.

~Dustin Leigh Bryant

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Blame

Blame
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Blame is a convenient excuse to why the world is not exactly the way we want it to be, and a way to divert the responsibility away from the one blaming.

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Happy Harvest

Happy Harvest

May you be blessed with all good things.
May all your joys be too numerous to count.
May your victories flow freely.
May your struggles and shortcomings
serve to make you stronger and wiser.
May beauty and abundance be your constant companions.
May every direction you choose lead you to grace.
May every doubt and fear be replaced with
an enduring trust.
May you be aware that unconditional love
is who you are,
so not to be tempted to judge, condemn, or feel alone.
And when there is only darkness,
may the light within illuminate the world.
Live, love, laugh and play during the sunshine and the storms,
because behind each experience is a rainbow to be discovered.
Happy Harvest to the plentiful within.

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

The Process of Decision Making Through Conflict

The Process of Decision Making Through Conflict
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Do you realize that everything is a process? That everything has order to it? Just as life, success, and the gestation period of a child and a seed has a process, so does the art of decision making. Recently I purchased some wonderful dvd's on The Art of Decision Making. Since I'm an avid learner, I love to read and watch many lectures on the fundamentals of many disciplines, as well as business & economics.

I never really thought of decision making as a process,though, and neither did I think that conflict and debate were part of that process too. Most people like to avoid conflict, believing that it causes pain and resistance in others besides ourselves. And many times it does, depending how we handle the situation. But in order to make a better more informed decision, listening to both or many sides of the topic in debate is actually the best way of doing it. Chuck Knight, CEO of Emerson Electric and Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric had built their firm's core values on constructive conflict.

The stimulation of debate is essential in good decision making. Someone known as the devil's advocate would argue the ideas or comments in question to determine their validity and benefits.

In the 1950's television show, Your Shows of Shows, staring comedian Sid Caesar, comic writers Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, and Carl Reiner would enter a famous writers' room where they fought and argued loudly. In a safe environment, free to express their thoughts and opinions, ideas flowed freely.

One very important stipulation, though, is that all conflict was to remain productive and free of slander, building mutual respect while understanding each person's cognitive style. As well as being aware of the warning signs of any dysfunctional conflict.

Everything is a process. The birth of an idea, decision making, life, success, the gestation period of a child, healing, learning a new subject, falling in love, and falling out of love, are just a few things of an endless many. So many times we want to get from here to there in a single leap avoiding confrontation, vulnerability, challenges, effort, emotions and, yes, conflict, but is this realistic as humans? By avoiding any of the above, we stop our learning; we close ourselves off to the world that enlightens us, that gives us meaning. Even evolution, awakening, discovery, enlightenment, and expansion are all a process. If we can truly understand this then perhaps we can stop the hurry mode, live in the moment of all polarities, joy and sorrow, ease and struggle, love and hate, and ENJOY!

Reference

Roberto, M. A. (2009). The Are of Critical Decision Making. The Teaching Company. Chantilly, Virginia

Cognitive Biases in Decision Making

Cognitive Biases in Decision Making
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"To cite a specific cause would be to promote an omniscience that only gods, drunks, politicians, and dramatic writers can claim."
~Anatoll Boukreev

A quote that gives impact into understanding that the 'cause' of any one event is not but 'one' cause but a multitude of events creating either a breakdown or failure or, on the other end, success or a win!

Some causes to the effects or results of the May 1996 Mt. Everest deaths.

Systematic and cognitive biases impair the judgments and choices that individuals make. There are many other biases than the ones I mentioned above, though. My intention is for those who are reading this material to gain a self-awareness of the biases that direct our decision making in all areas of our lives.

The sunk-cost effect refers to people investing more commitment to a project, course of action, or a goal when they have invested a lot of time, money and resources into it. In some ways we can consider this gambling. For example, we place our stakes on the table, lose, and now want to 'fix' the error because there's an emotional attachment to the lost investments. I know I have experienced this in my stock option trades; impaired emotions guiding my choices, such as investing more into a losing trade or doing nothing and just hoping the trade will turn around to my benefit; holding on 'rigidly' to a failed plan of action. There is a time to stick with a commitment and there's a time to say 'next'; to be flexible and change your approach when needed.

What happened at Mt. Everest in May of 1996 was indeed worse. Team leaders and members defied the two o'clock rule. This meant that in the event they did not reach the top of the mountain by two o'clock, they were to turn around and head back down. But because they had invested $70,000+ and much of their time training for this project, they defied the rule, and it cost them greatly; their lives.

The overconfident bias can also lead to impaired judgment in decision making. Overconfidence (as well as under confidence) is attached with impaired emotion. What happened with Rob Hall, one of the team leaders, was that in all his 39 climbs to reach the summit, he experienced sunshine and an ease of travel, calling the path to the summit 'a yellow brick road'. This cognitive bias impaired his judgment because he did not positively assess the difficulty in descending in the dark, later defying the two o'clock rule.

The recency effect is defined as over relying on 'recent events' when establishing probabilities; not looking at the full range of past as well as current experiences. Because of the recent "hot streaks" of success, the leaders underestimated the probability of failure. Over the course of Rob Hall's experiences in climbing Mt. Everest, the weather was always with him. He was never able to experience a storm high on the mountain top. This impaired his decision to deny the two o'clock rule.

What biases are you unaware of that are controlling your decision making process? What biases would you rather deny instead of face? Perhaps it may be a business or personal love relationship, an investment in real estate or the stock market? Perhaps it's your socially conformed vision or goals? Maybe it's even your health or physical condition? What thoughts are you holding onto 'rigidly' and what are you overlooking or denying?

A good question to ask would be "How should I go about making that decision?" when stumped on what to do, whether it be to leave a long-term personal or business relationship, to leave a current high paying position, or to enter an educational course or workshop. Then let the Universe begin bringing you all the resources you need to make a better decision, rather than asking "What decision should I make?"

Plan your course of action; stay committed; and most forgotten about, remain open and flexible.

Reference

Roberto, M. A. (2009). The Are of Critical Decision Making. The Teaching Company. Chantilly, Virginia

The End In Mind

The End In Mind
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

"We may be very busy, we may be very efficient,
but we will also be truly effective
only when we begin with the end in mind."

~Stephen Covey, Author and Speaker

Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Obeying Puppy Dog

Obeying Puppy Dog
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Do you notice that when you make a decision to do things differently, like taking action in following your intuition, there is this negative friction that starts trying to pull you back in to your old patterns of habit? Well it's happening to me right now. I have been waking up at 4:50 every morning, doing my visualizations, rampages of appreciation, meditation and then working out by about 5:30 am. I made a big commitment to myself. To be more self-disciplined with my inner wisdom. To follow through, so I can let go of some of the "what ifs." My day is full with more studies, now, and of course my business too, so this schedule is taking me away from the comforts of my home. And some people don't like it!

Most of the time I was able to do business and studies at home, so I was able to tend to things around the house, like the dogs and the usual maintenance. Now I can't. It's not that things are chaotic, they are just different. Others are noticing the change. I don't mind it at all, but not everyone does.

What do you do when you have a dream and you begin taking action on your desires but you feel the tension from others because they don't like it? Will this tense feeling make you go back to your old ways, pleasing your friends or partner, like a puppy dog, because you don't want to have or feel the conflict? I've pretty well had enough of pleasing others. I'm getting used to feeling uncomfortable and dealing with adversity because I've realized life is too short. And you know what, I really and truly desire to fulfill my dreams. I know they exist. They are all out in the Quantum Soup of unlimited possibilities stirring up and ready for manifestation.

Stay focused, be happy, believe and have that ineffable faith that you have everything you desire. What you desire truly desires you. Others that have lost sight of who they are like to pull you down to where they are so they can feel comfortable, maybe even have that illusion of security. They see you in action, courageous and daring, fulfilling your dreams, becoming stronger and more confident each day. They may be scared that they may lose you, and that can be true too.

But will you hold yourself back to satisfy someone else's need dishonoring yours? For many years I have done that. Have you? My time has come and I hope yours has to, to continue to move forward. I'm no longer looking in that rear-view mirror, the replication of my upbringing.

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The Ripple Effect

The Ripple Effect
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Each choice we make causes
a ripple effect in our lives.
When things happen to us,
it is the reaction we choose
that can create the difference
between the sorrows of our past
and the joy in our future.

~Unknown

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The Unwillingness to Improve Yourself

The Unwillingness to Improve Yourself
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"Many people are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves...they therefore remain bound."
~James Allen, From "As A Man Thinketh"

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Effective Leadership

Effective Leadership
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Character development is essential in the effectiveness of great leadership: trust, the courage to face your own weaknesses, and the desire to better understand those around you.

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Writing Raw

Writing Raw
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"Becoming present with yourself produces the 'raw' material of your thoughts and feelings while simultaneously listening in on yourself empathetically, inquisitively, and imaginatively. When you are present to yourself in this way, your attention is never divided; you experience no conflict or anxiety since you are merely recording [writing] your thoughts as they occur to you moment by moment. Then new information has a chance to enter your thinking. Because your not blocking [or resisting] them out or defending against them, you can let go of old assumptions and ways of seeing that are holding you back. This process is key to your emotional health."

Excerpted from Writing the Mind Aive.

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Unconsciousness Controls Us

Unconsciousness Controls Us
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"A surprising number of us would just as soon avoid starting down the slippery slope that uncomfortable feelings can present if we give them full expression on paper. Better to ignore or suppress them, lest they start to make our lives more complicated than we can handle...

We often make the mistake of thinking there is safety in unconsciousness and danger in awareness. But the reverse is actually true. As writers, awareness of our thoughts gives us control over our material, where as unconsciousness controls us."

Excerpted from Writing the Mind Alive.

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Commitment

Commitment
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Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)
there is one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would
otherwise never have occurred.
A whole stream of events issue from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner
of unforeseen accidents and meetings
and material assistance,
which no man would have dreamt
would have come his way.

~Unknown

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Peace In the Midst of Pain

It has been a busy and eventful month preparing all the necessary things for my last son to experience his first year in University and another going back for his second. I am grateful that I am able to provide them with this opportunity. I had a wonderful trip, enjoying many sights of Toronto. Perhaps not as many as I wanted to, but in such a short time there is only so many things you can actually fit in to your schedule without feelings of overwhelm. And I was already on emotional and physical overwhelm, feeling a lack of peace.

I finally completed Marianne's book, The Age of Miracles at the Pearson airport while I was waiting for my flight. A place that appears to be in the midst of chaos. For some reason I scheduled the flight late in the afternoon so I had much time to waste. It's funny how the right book comes in to your hands just when you need it. The day before I went to Toronto, I knew deep in my heart that Marianne's book was the one to read on the trip. So getting comfortable, I indulged in her delicious words of wisdom. It didn't take long to read, and the majority was read sitting at the airport. Remembering, I was teary eyed through out her book. She spoke with such emotion, but also about many events and situations that were 'real' to me.

My trip home was grand. Sitting in the Airbus, I met a wonderful lady who had four boys herself. Her empty nest feelings were quickly remembered from many years past when I spoke of my last son leaving home. As I choked on the lump in my throat talking about the situation and my feelings briefly, she also became melancholy recalling the memories of her boys leaving home, saying that it was almost like yesterday having the exact same feelings when the last one left. Now they're all grown, married and have children. She now travels two to four times a year to Chicago and Montreal to visit them. What mom's will do to see her children.

We didn't really talk much, but we could definitely feel each others presence and we respected that. The presence of each other was enough. I was a bit in my own world having tears flowing every once in a while gazing over the wing of the plane and the blanket of clouds, breathing deeply so that I wouldn't make too much noise or lose control. I did a lot of praying asking for wisdom and strength to get through this experience, what is my next step in life, and who am I destined to be. I also did a lot of meditation to stay connected with my Self so I wouldn't get caught up in the mind. Everything supported me in staying calm and at peace in the moment of pain.

In the moments of crisis and in the moments of pain, we must surround ourselves with light, meditate and pray with conviction. By holding onto the light, we transcend darkness; not just for ourselves but for others. "Love is to fear what light is to darkness; in the presences of one, the other disappears." ~M.W.

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Dreams

DREAMS
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We have a dream inside ourselves,
A gift to us at birth,
To guide and protect us
On our journey on this earth.

We all have something special,
Each one of us unique
You have to find the courage
To find the peace you seek.

So dream your dream and live your dream
Don't be afraid to try.
Just take your soul by the hand
And let your spirit fly.

~Maureen Weiner, Australian poet

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Only...

Only as high as I reach can I grow.
Only as far as I seek can I go.
Only as deep as I look can I see.
Only as much as I dream can I be.

~Karen Ravn

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Wisdom vs Integrity

Wisdom vs Integrity
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WISDOM is knowing the right path to take...
INTEGRITY is taking it.

~Unknown

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Higher Standards

Higher Standards
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"Leadership is not magnetic personality--that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people"--that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations."

~Peter F. Drucker

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Power Of Choice

Power of Choice
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"Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. 

 What you choose to do with them is up to you."  

-Richard Bach

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IN FEAR? Take the Focus Off You

In Fear? Take the Focus off You
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

When we get involved in doing something new, many times we become unsure about our abilities and what we are doing; we doubt, criticize, judge, whatever it may be. We are unsure about whether or not we are performing well. "Are we doing it right?" "What are others going to think?" etc, etc. I know this happens to me, and not just with something new either. It could be something that I have done for a while. But, there are certain days that this fear overwhelms me.

What I found to be most effective is to take the focus off myself, and instead, focus my complete attention on who and what I am serving. Whether it is the words on the paper I am writing on, the kayak and oars I am trying to maneuver in the water, or the people I am speaking to on the podium. In a way, it is the same instructions for acting. Take the focus off yourself and place it on the other person or thing you are wanting to influence.

It is that simple. Do you want to get out of the fear mode? Focus your attention on whatever you are doing, and how you can serve the other person or thing to the best of your ability, rather than 'how you are doing it' and 'if you doing it right'? It is a positive habit we need to learn to instill within us.

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We Must First Set Our Heart Right

We Must First Set Our Heart Right
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"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right."
~Confucius

Gift or Servant?

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

~Albert Einstein

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Build Castles in the Air

Build Castles in the Air
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"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundation under them."

~Henry David Thoreau

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Simplify, Simplify

Simplify, Simplify
Wake Up to Live with Desiree Leigh

Life is actually quite simple. We complicate everything about our existence; our relationships, our responsibilities, our agenda, our time, our work, and our purpose.

Why are we afraid to make space for ourselves? What are we afraid we may find?

Instead, we run on adrenalin congested with the old endless to-do list, steadfastly adding more things day-after-day. Persistently, we believe we are getting to our destination, enjoying our journey (this must be a joke), breathlessly checking things off. We consciously (are we really?) think we are actually accomplishing what we want to be doing, so we can free up some time for our later 'real' wants. But is this realistically going to happen?

What are we really avoiding or denying? What don't we want to find out about? Do we have that much fear that we don't even want to know who we really are? What are our values, needs and desires? What are we tolerating or resisting? Don't we want to know? Or are we just pretending we want to know? Let's be really, really honest here.

Many of us have never been taught to nourish ourselves. We were taught how to deny and avoid our feelings. These feelings that we avoid and deny indicate our needs, values, and our desires. They are there to guide us. Instead, we were told repeatedly NOT TO BE selfish.  We were, basically, told to take care of everyone else.

So over time, we learned to avoid and deny our feelings, suffocate our emotions and choke down our so-called needless desires, withholding them from our senses. We shake it off, join a gym, social club, or chat room, or perhaps buy a new car or a new jacket. Maybe we spend thousands of dollars on workshops hoping to find some joy with what we have learned, never quite achieving that feeling that others so easily and ill-heartedly flaunt. Then we go back to flapping our tongues and think we make ourselves feel better after we've whined and complained a bit. But is this really going to change anything? It just looks like more avoidance.

Life is NOW! Liberate your Self!

• Give yourself permission to let go of these limiting words that haunt you day and night, and for anyone that says them to you as well.
• Open your heart, listen to and embrace what you are feeling.
• Acknowledge your soul. Your spirit is calling out to you.
• Schedule the things you want to do into your life, even with the resistance and complaints from others. Don't deny your breadth that is keeping you alive.

Holding yourself back will restrict you from finding out what you truly want, taking away the love you have for yourself, and bury your joy. It's scary at first to make that move forward, but when you take that very first step, the next one's get a bit easier every time.

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Others Will Shift ONLY When They Want Too!!

Do you ever feel like your knocking your head up against a wall? As you grow and shift your way of seeing things, learning knew tools to improve your way of thinking, as well as improving your attitude, you automatically want others to come along with you. You want the one's closest to you to improve their way of being, so that life can give them what they desire. And besides, this shift in perspective is a sure way to become more joyful and more content.

Following the light gives us such a grand perspective. It broadens our view. We then want to share the beauty that we now see with everyone we love!

I know how much I have helped myself and how my new way of living has improved my way of being, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, but I am not perfect. I am far from that! But some people, no matter how close they are to your heart, have their own life to live. Fear has a great pull on them and they would rather wallow in their pity, thrown from circumstance to circumstance trying to change everything around them, rather than do something about themselves!! It frustrates me as well as saddens me. It is not my way to badger them to live a more peaceful life, but I had enough of listening to their complaints. I don't want to hear their whining anymore! It sure sucks though, when you see them struggle. Sometimes it is extremely challenging to be able to see the Source within others when they continue to beat themselves up, judge and ridicule your way of living, and also repeat the same old negative patterns with an attitude of, "I'm set in my ways!"

Today I choose to move outward into the greater world and find new, wholesome, positive, loving and respectful relationships that are like-minded, that feed my soul. A large nourishing circle of friends that are positive, optimistic, appreciative and see the beauty in all things, is a family that I am building.

I've learned a great deal from the various relationships that I have encountered during my life and I am truly appreciative for them all. For I would not be who I am today without them. Although challenging during the events, they have made me a better person and I only want to continue this route. Life is grand! We see what we want to see. And sometimes in life we have to move on. So rather than focusing and listening to their whining trying to be understanding, and in a negative way lowering my vibration, I choose to shift my focus of attention.

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