Stepping Out and Stepping Up - Values: Bravery - Courage - Confidence

Joseph Campbell wrote: "We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." It's safe to say that over the last year we've all gained a bit of experience in letting go of the things we had planned. We've learned new ways of "doing" and new ways of "being". As we begin the process of moving about in the world again, we are invited to do so by stepping out of what has been to stepping up with confidence, courage and a bit of bravery. 

In reality, we've been brave since the time we took our first breath. From learning to cry and speak up for what we needed, to learning how to crawl, walk and run! We have been trailblazing this thing called life with the courage to try new things, getting them wrong and trying again until we succeed. Think back to something you didn't know how to do a year or two ago that today is easy for you to accomplish. Did it seem like an impossible task in the beginning? Did you feel like you'd never quite get the hang of it...until you did? Sometimes it helps to remember our "I did it" moments, especially when we are faced with something new that seems out of our reach. 

“We all need more backbone and less wishbone. There is something which waits only for our recognition to spring into being, bringing with it all the Power in the Universe.” Ernest Holmes

Our Spiritual teaching reminds us that there is a Power in the Universe and we can use it. In reality we use it all the time, yet it may take us a little while to recognize how we are using it. Life doesn't come with a "how to" manual. Much of what we learn and experience is done through trial and error, or repetition. The statement in the photo above is a great reminder that we can celebrate the small things in life that require us to be brave and courageous. In fact it helps to celebrate our accomplishments, to notice and be grateful for the things we've overcome and learned from. It's another part of the process of building self confidence. 

Sometimes we are so busy going forward to the next thing, that we forget to look back to all the ways is which we have grown and all the things we have learned along the way. We may limit ourselves from trying something new out of fear, yet if we look back we'll likely see that we have overcome and conquered fears plenty of times. 

What if you turned your fears into a motivator? You could step into, though and beyond them with faith and confidence. 

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Nelson Mandela

Take some time this next week to reflect on all the ways in which you have grown over the last year or last several years. Make a list of 10 things you've learned in you life so far. Start small - keep it personal to you and then add to it as more things come to mind. 

You could also start a new list of things you haven't yet tried or always wanted to do but hesitated trying out of fear. Come up with 3 or 4 action steps you can take to overcome your fear and move in the direction of your dreams. 

Life is an adventure awaiting you to jump in and enjoy it. Love all the the moments. The ones that challenge us often bring the greatest lessons. The ones that bring accomplishment encourage us to be even more bold and brave. The ones that bring peace and joy remind us that we are blessed beyond measure. YaY Life! 

Affirmations:

I am confident in my beliefs, courageous in my actions, and brave in my heart.

I am a unique and creative expression of Source energy itself. 

I am a miracle capable of miracles!

I am courageous. I am confident. I am Brave!

Meditations/Mindfulness:

Mindfulness practices are short meditations that help our minds center so we can focus more clearly.

Stop practice - moments of mindfulness to regain focus. From GoZen meditations for kids.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7mH1lPnak4

Mindful minute - Raindrops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z9Vmp9Jqm0

Music:

Courage - (for younger children) From Hero25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdmXkPgWysU

Bruno Mars with Sesame Street - Don't Give up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWp6kkz-pnQ

Show Yourself - Idina Menzel and Evan Rachel Wood from Frozen 2
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZxwPwmgrw

Books:

The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJXz0UiczJo

After the Fall - How Humpty Dumpty got back up again. By Dan Santat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUKt1a6I3yw

Henry's Box of Freedom - A true story from the underground railroad by Ellen Levine Art by Kadir Nelson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6rf9bxDK1o

Creativity:

This week try a new form of art that you've never tried before. It could be working with modeling clay, or painting with melted crayons, or making your own salt dough. Do a little research and find something that looks fun, may challenge you a bit, but give it a try anyway. 

Have a wonderful week stepping into your Brave, Courageous, Confident Self! 

(Special thanks to Randalyn Hill, Brett Jordan and Oliver Cole on Unsplash.com)

Bless-itation - Values: Personal Power - Courage - Curiosity

Every new journey we choose to embark on is filled with excitement and anticipation. And, there may also be feelings of hesitation. This paradoxical state could be called a “bless-itation” a combination of blessings and hesitations. As we travel along on the road of life, we discover the blessings and hesitations along our path. Growth comes when we move through our hesitations and try the things that may seem impossible at first. With a little faith, before we know it, we wonder what it was that that held us back in the first place? 

Every one of us has a personal power. It is fueled by the superpower of the Divine. The Universal energy that runs through all life, all form and all the space in-between. When we step into our personal power, with curiosity and a bit of courage, it helps us move past fear. When challenges feel both scary and a bit exciting, it's likely a sign we will grow from the experience of moving through them. As we learn to overcome our fears we receive unlimited life gifts such as gaining a new skills, building confidence, having fun, faith in our ability and in ourselves and the clarity of a blessing at hand.

“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.” Roy T. Bennett 

• Courage helps us boldly be our unique selves and helps us discover our own personal and unique superpowers. Our unique superpowers are the things we love to do that makes us feel really happy and often, they also make others happy too. Your superpower could be kindness, creativity, problem solving skills or making people laugh! What do you think your super power is? Do you have more than one? 

• Curiosity makes us inquisitive. It encourages us to ask questions and raises a desire to learn and discover more about something. Sometimes we are both afraid and excited to do something. We may feel this way when we want to go on a carnival ride or jump into a swimming pool. We know it looks fun, but we may still feel a bit scared. Yet curiosity often pulls us forward allowing us to take the leap of faith putting that first fear far behind us.

• “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
  E.E. Cummings 

This next week your invitation is to pay attention to the things that bring you joy and the things you hesitate doing out of fear. Notice how the two things feel different. What small step of courage can you take to overcome that fear? What degree of curiosity can you add that pulls from the feeling of joy so that you can take the leap of faith and try something new? 

"Be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart, and strong enough to live the life of your dreams." Unknown

Affirmations:

I am courageous, confident and brave!

Courage fills my body and radiates from my heart.

I face every challenge with ease and my courage rises up with ease.

I boldly move in the direction of my hearts desire. 

Mindfulness and Meditations

Bunny Tail Breathing Game: Have a cotton ball for each person. Have them place it in the palm of one of their two flat hands. Invite them to blow the cotton ball gently into their other hand, being careful not to let the ball fall to the floor. Repeat. Adapted from Mindful Arts in the Classroom 

Thought Bubbles! Mindfulness for children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70j3xyu7OGw

From GoZen: Loving Kindness Meditation/song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93mj4PaiOUo

Music:

Brave - by Sara Bareilles (Its a repeat but it's that good!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4

Curious kids - with the Curious song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K14dF91Jv2I

Katy Perry - Roar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

Books:

Oh the Places You'll go - Dr. Seuss - from Storytime w/miss Jeannie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmOCyP4VyP4

Stone Soup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_TXIoiuBd4

Sergio makes a splash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNn_fHYGuHY

Have an amazing week exploring all the ways you can use your Personal Power - Courage and - Curiosity.

Special thanks to Sharon McCutch, Markus Spiske and Jo Leonhardt from Unsplash for the pictures and the CSL youth content creators for lesson tips.

The Winds of Change - Value: Choice

The Winds of Change - Spiritual Value: Choice/Choosing

The Winds of Change show up in life in a variety of ways. They encouraging us to step beyond the known. Sometimes they come on strong, sometimes they are gentle. For this week you are invited to see them as an opportunity to make a commitment to yourself in the following areas: To embrace change, transformation, and newness. To look at life through a fresh perspective of possibility. To drop away old ideas that no longer serve and to go with the flow of the Infinite calling you forward.

“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” Nathaniel Branden 

When we are young, somewhere in the ages of 3-6 we learn to embrace change and exercise our choices in simple ways. Often it starts by choosing what to wear, what toys to play with, what foods we like, or don't like. We learn about textures and how they feel, we may form a preference. Certain colors may be more appealing to us and we begin to form a mental list of the things we enjoy and the things that take us out of joy!

Around the ages of 6-9 things shift a bit. When change happens suddenly we may have strong reactions to it. Those reactions may be things such as, resistance, fear, uncertainty, our doubt. They could also trigger curiosity, intrigue, excitement and wonder. Even when it seems like we don't have a choice, we always have the choice to choose how we feel. And, within us is the power to change the way we feel if needed. Take the example of visiting a Halloween house, it may seem scary at first, yet it could also be exciting and fun!

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis

 When we are in or between the ages of 9-12 we've likely formed several ideas and opinions about life. We may have adopted certain viewpoints that come from our parents, grandparents, teachers or the world around us. This is a great age to learn the art of going with the flow and not taking things so seriously. 

My mentor, Rev. Jeff Anderson taught me a practice that at first sounded silly yet has served me very well through the years. It is this - "Be more like Teflon and less like Velcro". Velcro is that sticky stuff that is sometimes on our shoes. When two pieces come together they stick tight! Negative thoughts and feelings can be like this, as well as our resistance to change. They keep us stuck and limit our ability to be flexible. Teflon is a coating that is often found on cookware. It allows food to slip and slide with NO resistance. When we are more like teflon, we let our negative, resistant ideas and feelings slide off, leaving a clean surface in our minds so that we can form our own choice about what is going on and how we wish to move through it. 

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.” Wayne Dyer

Your invitation this week is to explore the areas of your life that you get to choose as well as the things you resist. How does it feel when you get to choose? How does it feel when the choice is made for you? What are some of the things you resist? Why do you resist them? What is the feeling behind your resistance? Is that feeling limiting you and holding you back in some way? If yes, what small steps can you take to be more like teflon so those feelings can slide off? Share a favorite choice you made with another person. What was the feeling you had when you made that choice? What are some ways you can feel that in other areas of your life? 

AFFIRMATIONS:

I AM open to seeing the good Life offers me today. 

I have the power to create change. 

I AM the creator of my own life. 

I have the power to choose.

MEDITATIONS:

Conscious Breathing:   from Thich Nhat Hanh's book,   "Peace Is Every Step."
This meditation can be used at any time, anywhere you are because our breathing is the connection between our body and our mind. 

1. As you breathe in, you say to yourself, "Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in." 

2. As you breathe out, say to yourself, "Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out." 

You recognize your in-breath as an in-breath and your out-breath as an out-breath. You don't even need to recite the whole sentence; you can use just two words: "In" and "Out". This technique can help you keep your mind on your breath. As you practice, your breath will become peaceful and gentle, and your mind and body will also become peaceful and gentle.

Square breath Meditation for Kids: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFdZXwE6fRE

MUSIC:

Jimmy Cliff: I can see Clearly Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSuB4t3q_dA. (may need to skip adds!)

Courage to Change: by Sia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxTRysMDtj4

BOOKS:

The North Star - by Peter H. Reynolds
From Storytime with Suzanne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcFQONj1u3M

Where every you go - by Pat Zietlow Miller

From Reece Reads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2YAR2-TmPI

CREATIVITY:

Tie Die Crafts! Nothing says change and choice like a fun tie die craft. There are a variety of ways you can do them. Get your GOOGLE on and search Tie Die crafts for fun ideas. Make a new shirt - or a colorful pair of socks. Or a special pillow case. The possibilities are limitless - kind of like Spirit! 

Follow me on Pinterest and check out my Tie Die Folder! @Suzlight2 - aka Susan Robinson! 

Have fun this week and make great choices! 

(Photo credit to Agnieszka-Ziome and Ben Wilkins on Unsplash)

Happy Spring - Values: Newness/Optimism/Positive Thoughts

Happy Easter/Spring - Values: Newness - Optimism - Positive Thoughts

Today is Easter Sunday. For many, this day has special meaning. Celebrations, prayers and honoring the newness of re-birth. Some people celebrate with family traditions such as egg hunts, special treats, favorite foods, coloring eggs or just taking time to enjoy the beauty that is literally springing forth out of the ground. 

Spring has arrived! What can we learn from this time of the year? We can learn that we can plant new seeds and grow new things. If you are planning a summer garden, this is the time of year we plant seeds for all the different types of vegetables and flowers that we want to have in our Garden. We can also observe Nature’s re-growth, or evolutionary growth of what is already present in nature. We see flowers growing from bulbs that were planted years before, we can see the trees budding and blossoming, preparing for new leaves, fruits and seeds. We can observe birds and animals building nests and preparing for new babies.

The newness of life is all around us in abundant supply. 

“Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.” Steve Maraboli

                                 

Just like Nature in the Spring, we can plant new thought seeds inside our minds and hearts, and we can also nurture the seeds we have already planted in our lives and watch them grow and evolve. What new thought seeds do you want to plant and watch grow this Spring? This could be learning a new skill, or practicing being more positive. What is something that you already do or know that you would like to nurture and learn more about, or something you would like to become more skilled? Maybe you like to draw, play an instrument or play a sport, what new goals or experiences can you set for yourself?

Our thought seeds need positive feelings to support their growth, and just like a gardener pulls weeds that may be harmful to the growth of the seeds, we also need to be mindful of our negative thoughts and make a practice of removing these thoughts from our minds. 

"Be patient: every seed we plant requires a period of incubation before it manifests. Hold true to your dream, desire it fully with all your heart, and it will, without fail come to you." Maya Mendoza

In the same way that seeds are of a specific kind, ie; apple seeds produce trees that grow apples, pumpkin seeds produce vines and pumpkins, our thought seeds are specific too and it is through our positive thoughts and our positive vision about what our seeds will be like in the future that will help our seeds grow into good things for our life and our world. Having a positive outlook and always expecting the best for your thought seeds create the nutritious soil for your ideas to grow. We call this being optimistic. Optimism is knowing that the outcome will always be the best outcome.

This next week, make time to witness the newness of life around you. The colorful flowers that are blooming. Imagine and build upon the new things in your life that are budding that you wish to nurture and grow. Celebrate what you have and who is in your life. Let joy fill you up and spread it out to the world. Keep your chin up buttercup! 

"We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better." Barack Obama

Affirmations:

"Today is a great day to experience all the good that is around me!"

"I blossom into greater Goodness."

"I am open to new opportunities and positive outcomes."

Go with YoYo Affirmations and Positive thinking for kids High energy video to get kids active in the morning and filling themselves up with positive power words! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK4dKlldufo

Meditations/Mindfulness:

Meditation for Kids/Spring time 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N6si8ERsZ0

Cosmic Kids Yoga - 5 Mindfulness activities you can do at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsy2L9VvX90

Music:

Think Positive by Luke Britnell 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa29H4sGp5w

Believe! by Fearless Soul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OsYCUSIDEE

Try Everything by Shakira (Gazelle) from Zootopia - cute video!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjaPYWMjBVc

Books:

The Magical Yet - Angela Di Terilizzi - art by Lorena Alverez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg-p0uTtULM

Abracadabra it's Spring - by Anne Sibley O'Brei

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48WuUWJkKIU

The Extraordinary Gardener - by Sam Boughton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MLhaSCjFLE

Creativity:

Plant your Blessings:

1. Write affirmations, positive words and goals on the outside of a plain paper cup or container and decorate it however you like.

2. Add soil, make holes with your fingers, plant small seeds.

3. While you sow your seeds, bless each one.

4. Think about what the seeds mean to you.

Tend your seeds and watch them grow!

(For an outdoor garden you can use popsicle sticks, paper and tape to make little flags with you affirmations on them.)

Jar of Positivity

1. Find a clear jar - It could be an old jam jar or a fresh mason jar.

2. Create a label for the outside and decorate it any way you wish.

3. You can google positive statements - or make your own using colorful paper.

4. Fill the jar with your positive messages.

5. Each day reach into the jar and pull out a message to set the tone of your day!

Check out - Doodle Art Alley on line - and print out the FREE Spring coloring pages. Fill them with all the colors of Spring.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

(photo credit to Sebastian Staines and Anna Earl on Unsplash.com - content credit to Shiya Stone - Adrianne Cherry - Janelle Shiers and me, Susan Robinson)