Alana Sheeren, words + energy

Mantra Monday: I am safe. I am loved.

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You are safe, you are loved.

I realize I am privileged to live where I am not in constant physical or emotional danger. This is not true for many people here at home and around the world, and I do not presume to speak to their experiences today.

For those of us whose fear stems from reliving the past and being afraid it will repeat itself, or projecting our own dire fantasies into the future, I offer these six words as an antidote.

*****

I don’t believe in fearlessness.

I do believe in trust, in courage and in the willingness to move through fear while acknowledging its presence.

Fear and I are well acquainted. When I learned it was part of my elemental nature* to be constantly dealing with fear, I heaved a sigh of relief. I thought there was something wrong with me, that fear was a place I lived so often.

I’ve done a lot to lessen my fear. I don’t watch many movies or read the crime novels I used to love so much. I stopped tuning in to anything that involves violence against women, children or animals (or really, violence of any kind). I don’t spend much time with the news.

I’ve learned that 99% of the time I am safe and so are the people I love.

I am not free of fear but I no longer feel tormented by it, and I’ve learned I can survive some of my worst fears coming true.

This week, when you notice yourself feeling afraid because of the story you’re telling yourself, take three deep breaths and repeat as many times as necessary, “I am safe. I am loved.”

Because it’s true and it’s so important to remember.

P.S. I often repeat this mantra while sitting with my daughter as she falls asleep, filling the space between us with its energy. You are safe. You are loved. You are safe. You are loved. I want her to know this truth both consciously (from the way her father and I live our lives and deal with our own fears) and deep in her bones.

P.P.S. I wrote a very similar post, using the same mantra, last June. If you’d like to read it, you can find it here. I’m chuckling that I didn’t catch it before I hit publish. At least I’m consistent (and the message is still relevant).

*I’m referring to the elemental natures of the 9 Star Ki, an ancient system of Chinese astrology based on the five elements of water, wood, fire, earth and metal.

Mantra Monday: A choose your own adventure

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Speak the words

These last few days of the year are typically loaded for me. I tend to feel haunted by everything left undone while full of hope and dreams for the new year. The feelings are less intense this year which I owe to regular energy clearings, a continuously shifting mindset and an ever deepening trust that I am exactly where I need to be. As I move through these next days, knowing that I can’t wrap up the year in a tidy bow and that 12:01 am January 1st doesn’t really change anything, I am picking and choosing the mantras that feel most helpful. I’m wondering what you most need right now too.

Maybe you need to remind yourself that it’s okay to press pause and ask yourself what you want, letting everyone else take care of themselves for a while.

Maybe you need permission to do what’s most fun, or a reminder to look for the magic or make one more brave move before the year is done.

Or maybe all you need is to slow down, breathe and remember that you are (always) enough.

However you choose to spend this week, I’m sending you love and reminding you that I’m here if you have a story to share, a stuck spot to unstick or need a soft place for your tears or your joy to land.

May the new year bring you what you need most.

Mantra Monday: Notice. Breathe. Pray. (A mantra in 3 parts)

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Notice, Breath, Pray

Wherever you are and whatever you celebrate, we are in the thick of a season that can be both beautiful and brutal.

Expectations. Emotional triggers. Hopes fulfilled or dashed.

This is high season for magic and sadness, for gratitude and anger, for dreams and regret.

Let’s get through it with as much grace as possible, shall we?

Notice.

Notice what’s happening in the moment: your reactions, your feelings, the way you’re shutting the door on too much joy or focusing on someone else’s most annoying habits. Just notice, without judging it as good or bad, healthy or not.

Breathe.

Whether it’s once deeply, or 5 times with your hand on your heart like my friend Liz Lamoreux practices and teaches, or more times than you can count, stop and breathe. Take yourself out of a stressful situation if you need to. The bathroom is always a good excuse, as is needing fresh air. Let your belly fill and your chest rise. Notice that moment at the point of fullness where the breath is suspended, then slowly let it all go. Repeat as necessary, making space for any emotions that surface, doing your best to let any unhelpful repetitive thoughts float away.

Pray.

By which I mean Ask for Help.

Dear Universe, please help me keep my mouth shut and get through this day in one piece.

Okay Spirit, I really need you to help me see the things I love about these people instead of the things that make me want to run screaming from the room.

Dear God, please help me act with compassion and understanding. Help me keep my heart and eyes open to what lies underneath the surface. Help me see the beauty that I know is present in everyone and everything, even when it’s hidden under a steaming pile of dysfunction.

If there’s someone you can ask for support, do that too.

Hey little brother, can you kick me under the table every time I start to open my mouth at dinner?

Husband, would you take a walk with me and hold my hand? I just need some quiet company.

Friend, will you come to this event with me? I have to go but I don’t know if I can do it alone.

Notice. Breathe. Pray.

Then love yourself through all of it. Because you are enough, and worthy of love, just as you are.

And if your holiday season is lovely and bright, and all your dreams come true, you can still use the mantra. Notice the joy. Breathe it in. Let your prayer be one of gratitude. 

*****

P.S. If you’re on my newsletter list, I’ve got a gift coming for you next weekend that will support you in starting 2015 off with more grace, peace and joy. If you’re not on the list and you’d like to sign up to receive it, you can do that in the upper right hand corner.

Mantra Monday: What would love do?

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What woud Love do?

This is the question I ask myself when:

~ my feelings are hurt and I want to turn away.

~ I’m hoping that someone else will make the first move.

~ I’m driving somewhere (in a hurry) and am presented with a choice that would slow me down.

~ all I want is for my child to get ready for school/get ready for bed/do her homework/pick up her room/practice her piano/let me go to the bathroom alone…

~ one of my animals wants attention and I’m busy, busy, busy. (This sentence brought to you courtesy of the purring cat in my lap. Love wanted me to stop typing and pet him. This pleased kitty very much.)

Replace Love with something else if you want to. Trust. Peace. Compassion. Joy. Hope.

It seems a worthy companion in this season of emotional triggers, full parking lots, short tempers and long lines.

What would Love do in this moment? Now what will you do?

P.S. This is not to be used as a battering ram. If you can’t or don’t want to do what Love would do, then don’t. The simple act of asking the question puts space between the situation and your habitual reaction. Space creates awareness. Awareness brings consciousness. Taking conscious action (even if it’s not exactly what Love would do but it’s the best you can do) is a gift to yourself and the world.

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