Two Wolves
An old Cherokee 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 anger, envy, sorrow, insensitivity, spite, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The 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 Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
I've always been fascinated with Wolves. I find them stunning, powerful, and mysterious. Maybe it started because I grew up in Wolf Point, MT... home of the Wolves. :) We had a beautiful stuffed Wolf in a big glass case in our High School Lobby. I loved that and Wolves have always been an important symbol in my life. I'm not sure if that was a factor in why this fable had such a big impact on me the first time I read it (gave me goosebumps) or not. Ether way, it has always stuck with me and each time I come across it, with more life experience under my belt, the more it means to me.
I've struggled with self-doubt, inferiority, and insecurities in my life. The battle of the two Wolves is going on inside of me and as I grow as a person, I'm wanting to learn to feed only the Wolf that is good. Life gives us many opportunities to gain strength through our struggles. I am thankful for the negative people and situations that are thrown in my path. Learning to rise above them without getting sucked into their game and staying positive feeds the Wolf that is good.
Im a strong believer in The Law of Attraction and that law states that whatever energy I am putting out, I am attracting back to myself. If I'm feeling or talking negatively, as minor as it may be, I am attracting more negativity to me. If I am feeling and talking positively, thats what will be attracted into my life, more positive. Surrounding myself with positive people and eliminating or limiting (when eliminating is impossible) my time with negative people is helpful.
The way Im feeling is directly related to the energy I'm sending out and which Wolf I'm feeding. It is a fact that it is impossible to feel mad, sad, depressed, confused etc... AND FEEL GRATEFUL at the same time. For me, choosing to feel grateful in these moments is the answer. If I'm feeling frustrated, insecure, depressed, angry, etc etc, I'm feeding the wrong Wolf and I'm attracting more of the same into my life. Redirecting my thoughts to my many blessings from the green grass, the sky, my kids, my husband and even appreciation for the air I'm breathing...immediately starts to dissolve the negative.
I haven't always had the knowledge to battle back at the Evil Wolf and I still have moments of insecurities. I say things that come out wrong or not how I intended. I then question myself on how my words were interpreted by the receiver and then I react insecurely and the crazy cycle begins. Sometimes feelings of inadequacy cause me to inadvertently try to impress others to help me feel more adequate, but always this will backfire, feeding the Evil Wolf and attracting more and more of these inadequate feelings. This is a red flag for me to step away and get my feelings back in check, back to being grateful.
I'm sure if you've read my past blogposts you already know that when I'm on a lower frequency and not feeding the Wolf that is good, I get effected by others talking negatively about me. When I feed the Wolf that is good, others talking negatively about me doesn't effect me at all. It helps to remember that if someone is talking neg about me, I've got to avoid falling into their trap and responding by doing the same. I must feed the Wolf, the good one, and find and say good about others. I try to remember to play a game with myself. If I catch myself saying something negative about something or someone, my game is to finish off my thought by saying..."but I'm really thankful that"... and add something positive about that person or thing to replace my negative statement.
Staying calm when life is throwing the Evil Wolf in my path is a big challenge but will greatly effect the outcome of my situation. Having control of my feelings is what I'm aiming for. Telling myself "I am calm", has helped me when I get anxious. There was a study done on brain cells and it's amazing how our body and mind are connected and work together. When you say something to yourself and really believe it, your brain cells will respond by reproducing themselves in that area to make your statement true. The minute you have doubt, they stop. That is so interesting to me. Telling myself that I am healthy and really feeling it, will cause my body to respond exactly in that way. My healthy cells will start to reproduce to bring health to my body. So you can see how telling myself that I'm calm, and taking the time to think about what blessings I do have, causes my body to react to calm me. If I tell myself I am sick, tired, stressed, my body will start to reproduce the cells that make this true or continue to happen. Since I've learned about this study just recently, I keep telling myself I have awesome abs, youthful skin and thick hair! Haha...Keep on reproducing cells!! :P
Having this knowledge also gives me compassion for those who are feeding the Evil Wolf. Everyone is at a different stage in their journey and I'm far from where I want to be. I know that when people make mistakes, they are acting out of their own pain and as Lily Fairchilde says, "Deep down even the most hardened criminal is starving for the same thing that motivates the innocent baby: Love and acceptance” -
With my many inner battles going on, I've learned that once I am aware of which Wolf to feed and how to feed it, life can be much easier and more amazing than I had ever imagined. My prayer is that my children and grandchildren (and everyone) learn how to feed the Wolf that is good, my hope is that they suffer less by learning this at a much younger age than I, and my dream is that they remain grateful for all that they have, and are, and understand it's as simple as a decision as to which Wolf to feed.
FEED THE WOLF, THE ONE THAT IS GOOD!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Nudges :)
"For the spiritual being, intuition is far more than a hunch. It is viewed as guidance or as God talking, and this inner insight is never taken lightly or ignored." ~ Wayne Dyer
MY own personal definition of a "nudge" is:
An inner (from the soul) interruption of whatever I am doing that brings consciousness to something going on around me, outside of myself, that requires my unselfish, non-judging, compassionate attention and action.
This is such an exciting and extremely special subject to me! I absolutely LOVE getting nudges because in that moment I feel so close to my God as it is one way he chooses to speak to me, I feel special for being chosen, and I feel worthy for being given a purpose. Thinking back on some of my nudges brings happy tears and swells my heart. I believe the secret to feeling good about oneself is in giving to others and my nudges help me to do this in such a profound way because my nudges always require some form of giving.
When I'm feeling down or insecure about myself or something, I've found my cure is in GIVING. Giving immediately takes away my self-pity and focuses my attention on someone else in a positive way. It gets me back on track and puts my self-esteem where it should be and my attitude in check. It let's me feel GRATEFUL for what I have and puts things in perspective. If I have a hard decision to make, giving of myself puts me in the right frame of mind to make the right decision. Deepok Chopra says "Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging." How cool is that for all involved?!
I know that we all get nudges whether we are aware or not, or wether we chose to ignore them or not. I know that I have had nudges all my life starting as a little girl. I remember feeling them very clearly back then and I'm always working on getting back to that level of awareness. Life and it's hustle-bustle, stress, difficulty, and negativity tend to take that awareness away from us if we let it. I know that I feel my nudges more often now when I have an open, loving heart and mind. Living in the now and being in that space that is the present, also helps me to 'hear' these nudges. I believe we all are getting them throughout our busy days. I KNOW that these are Gods way of asking us to pass along a gift that has once been passed to us.
I haven't always acted on my nudges because of some excuse or another. Every day I'm getting better at recognizing them and I'm more and more thankful for the joy I feel from responding. I'm learning that when I do, it is such a huge blessing and I'm also reminded that giving back to someone is much more rewarding than keeping it to myself. Nudges can ask us to sacrifice of ourselves in big ways or small and some require more time and energy than others. They can also be as simple as an encouraging word, a story of hope, a hug, a meal, an acknowledgement, seeing someone in need and anonymously giving to them, (I love finding creative ways to be anonymous) a smile to a stranger (who knows, they may be feeling alone or unloved), forgiveness to someone we feel is undeserving remembering that our God forgives us when we are so undeserving, feeling compassion to those that are difficult to feel compassionate for, Etc etc. When I am in the mental state that I need to be in, I don't need to look for ways to give, my nudges just make me aware.
Sometimes I feel a nudge and I second guess it. I have to remember that acting on my nudge without judgement is my part, the rest is up to God. Helping a stranger or giving cash to a homeless person because of a nudge, is what I'm called to do without trying to judge if that person will use the money appropriately. God is the one who will judge, and who knows....maybe if they use the money inappropriately, it will eventually lead them to something amazing and I contributed to that path. Maybe that's part of the plan. Who's to say?! I believe that once I've done my part with an open heart, I am to move on without questioning my actions.
My hope for my children is that they listen to their nudges and respond with kindness and compassion. I want them to know that the more we give, the more we receive and by receiving I don't necessarily mean monetarily. We can be rich in so many ways. I want them to know that being grateful is the answer to a JOY-FILLED life and being grateful is directly proportionate to giving and THAT... I know for sure. :)
MY own personal definition of a "nudge" is:
An inner (from the soul) interruption of whatever I am doing that brings consciousness to something going on around me, outside of myself, that requires my unselfish, non-judging, compassionate attention and action.
This is such an exciting and extremely special subject to me! I absolutely LOVE getting nudges because in that moment I feel so close to my God as it is one way he chooses to speak to me, I feel special for being chosen, and I feel worthy for being given a purpose. Thinking back on some of my nudges brings happy tears and swells my heart. I believe the secret to feeling good about oneself is in giving to others and my nudges help me to do this in such a profound way because my nudges always require some form of giving.
When I'm feeling down or insecure about myself or something, I've found my cure is in GIVING. Giving immediately takes away my self-pity and focuses my attention on someone else in a positive way. It gets me back on track and puts my self-esteem where it should be and my attitude in check. It let's me feel GRATEFUL for what I have and puts things in perspective. If I have a hard decision to make, giving of myself puts me in the right frame of mind to make the right decision. Deepok Chopra says "Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging." How cool is that for all involved?!
I know that we all get nudges whether we are aware or not, or wether we chose to ignore them or not. I know that I have had nudges all my life starting as a little girl. I remember feeling them very clearly back then and I'm always working on getting back to that level of awareness. Life and it's hustle-bustle, stress, difficulty, and negativity tend to take that awareness away from us if we let it. I know that I feel my nudges more often now when I have an open, loving heart and mind. Living in the now and being in that space that is the present, also helps me to 'hear' these nudges. I believe we all are getting them throughout our busy days. I KNOW that these are Gods way of asking us to pass along a gift that has once been passed to us.
I haven't always acted on my nudges because of some excuse or another. Every day I'm getting better at recognizing them and I'm more and more thankful for the joy I feel from responding. I'm learning that when I do, it is such a huge blessing and I'm also reminded that giving back to someone is much more rewarding than keeping it to myself. Nudges can ask us to sacrifice of ourselves in big ways or small and some require more time and energy than others. They can also be as simple as an encouraging word, a story of hope, a hug, a meal, an acknowledgement, seeing someone in need and anonymously giving to them, (I love finding creative ways to be anonymous) a smile to a stranger (who knows, they may be feeling alone or unloved), forgiveness to someone we feel is undeserving remembering that our God forgives us when we are so undeserving, feeling compassion to those that are difficult to feel compassionate for, Etc etc. When I am in the mental state that I need to be in, I don't need to look for ways to give, my nudges just make me aware.
Sometimes I feel a nudge and I second guess it. I have to remember that acting on my nudge without judgement is my part, the rest is up to God. Helping a stranger or giving cash to a homeless person because of a nudge, is what I'm called to do without trying to judge if that person will use the money appropriately. God is the one who will judge, and who knows....maybe if they use the money inappropriately, it will eventually lead them to something amazing and I contributed to that path. Maybe that's part of the plan. Who's to say?! I believe that once I've done my part with an open heart, I am to move on without questioning my actions.
My hope for my children is that they listen to their nudges and respond with kindness and compassion. I want them to know that the more we give, the more we receive and by receiving I don't necessarily mean monetarily. We can be rich in so many ways. I want them to know that being grateful is the answer to a JOY-FILLED life and being grateful is directly proportionate to giving and THAT... I know for sure. :)
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