WHO SETS THE STANDARDS YOU LIVE BY?

“If I get to pick what I want to do, then it’s play… if someone else tells me that I have to do it, then it’s work.”
— Patricia Nourot

Are you continually struggling to accomplish what is expected of you? If so, stop to think for a moment: who holds those expectations?

Perhaps you’re trying to meet the expectations of a parent or a teacher or other authority figures who may be long gone from your life. But many of us toil under the critical eyes of a vague ‘somebody’ who always judges that we’ve never done enough or done things well enough. Who is this phantom judge? And do we need to care about what they think any longer?

We find both our own power and happiness when we begin to set our own standards around what has heart and meaning for us.

“Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.”
— Nancy Lopez

Copyright © 1999 – 2017 Higher Awareness Inc.
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5K 0K6

JACOB DREAMS OF ANGELS….
AND WE LEARN A LESSON ABOUT OUR POTENTIAL

A short pre-Rosh HaShanah piece I shared with my congregation

A LIGHT LOOK AT LIFE’S JOURNEY

“Inside every older person is a younger person–wondering what the hell happened.”
— Cora Harvey Armstrong

“The hardest years in life are those between 10 and 70.”
— Helen Hayes (at 73)

“Old age ain’t no place for sissies.”
— Bette Davis

“Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.”
— Caryn Leschen

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
— Frank A. Clark

“I’m looking forward to looking back on all this.”
— Sandra Knell

Copyright © 1999 – 2017 Higher Awareness Inc.
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5K 0K6

PERSONAL POWER

“The deep root of failure in our lives is to think, ‘Oh how useless and powerless I am.’ It is essential to think strongly and forcefully, ‘I can do it,’ without boasting or fretting.”
— Dalai Lama

Angeles Arrien says that whether we are male or female, we need to develop three kinds of power. People who hold these three powers cannot be ignored.

1. Power of presence – Being really present in each moment
2. Power of communication – Speaking my truth
3. Power of position – Being willing to take a stand

“A man’s true state of power and riches is to be in himself.”
— Henry Ward Beecher

“We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces; we become the powerful force ourselves.”
— Leo Buscaglia

Copyright © 1999 – 2017 Higher Awareness Inc.
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5K 0K6

CONFLICTS WITH THE KIDS? RELAX!

“Family life! The United Nations is child’s play compared to the tugs and splits and need to understand and forgive in any family.”
— May Sarton

Faced with a child (or a person of any age, for that matter) who is angry or rebellious? Consider the guidance from Vimala McClure:

“To discover what my child needed, a deep, yielding receptivity was vital. The temptation is to become more and more rigid, but the more you do, the less you understand. When faced with a child who is testing your resolve, relax and yield ….

“As a parent, the frustration of not knowing how to fill a need that cannot be articulated can be overwhelming. Often we direct the rage that stems from that frustration toward the child, which serves to distance us even further, making it impossible for the child to open up to us. To get to this type of receptivity, a practice of conscious relaxation is a must.”

“Those who have children can become masters of patience, endurance, and steadfastness, because children will test you at every turn. …The way to make our children patient and loving is to be that way ourselves.”
— Eknath Easwaran

Copyright © 1999 – 2017 Higher Awareness Inc.
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5K 0K6