challenges
The Simple Secret To Building Real Confidence
Building your confidence can feel vague or out of reach, like something you’re supposed to just know how to do, but often we don’t.
The typical advice is to do affirmations, spoken aloud or posted around your home, along with journaling and gratitude practices.
While these practices can help us cultivate things like intuitive awareness, inner peace or emotional balance, they aren’t always the most effective confidence builders.
There is one essential step we must take if we want to build genuine, lasting confidence. That step is action.
It’s easy to wait for confidence to arrive like a bolt of lightning, expecting it to empower us and prepare us to finally walk the empowered path of our dreams.
But the reality is that confidence doesn’t simply appear before the journey begins. It actually grows as we move forward.
Taking action can feel intimidating. You may not feel ready. You might believe you need more time, more clarity, or more skills. But readiness doesn’t magically arrive.
Change begins when we choose to take action, even if it’s imperfect. Manifestation requires more than thought and feeling. It calls for aligned, inspired action.
Be The Light That Darkness Cannot Touch
The nightmare continues every day. The very thing we fear the most has come to look us right in the face, staring in our eyes. This little imp taps us on the shoulder, reminding us of all the stupid things we did, all the hurtful things, how we messed up, time after time.
We messed up time again, no one agrees with us, we are reminded that “they” are so much smarter, did things exactly right every time.
We are at a turning point. We can give up, turn, run for the hills to hide, but still there is the demon of fear lingering around the deep recesses of our mind.
Surely this little devil of fear tells us we can see how we don’t deserve to reach our dreams, or accomplish our goals.
Stand back! Truly look at everything from all sides. Become like an eagle, or an owl, or a hawk, with eyes that see far beyond the surface where the heart lies.
Try to be kind and loving. Put your mind in the thoughts of being kind, being positive, no matter how much doing so lays open our heart for others to stomp on, even though many others will think you have lost your mind.
When we try with all our hearts to do something toward our dream, with love, with pure knowledge, we are listening to spirit. Then we gain strength, we gain courage, we pass over the top of the highest mountain to reach the other side. Let this outlook enlighten your heart, mind and soul toward a new attitude, for a new beginning.
A Conversation With Your Spirit Guides
When I first began to converse with spirit, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was receiving these messages and listening to them, but I never really put much thought into it.
It wasn’t until I consciously acknowledged the conversation was happening, that the momentum really started to build. It was then that I realized my guides had been with me all along!
In my experience, the most important step you can take in opening a conversation with spirit is to acknowledge that it is your intent. Your angels and spirit guides are always with you, but they need your permission for them to help you.
Remember to ask them often to be near you and to help you and guide you. When you need direction, ask them for a sign. Then be patient and watchful.
Spirit communicates in many ways, such as using repeating number sequences that constantly show up, for example, or a song you hear again and again wherever you go.
Spirit will try to get your attention any way it can and will typically use signs, symbols and synchronicities that will be meaningful to you personally.
It’s important to be open to receiving these signs and messages, and not to dismiss any ‘coincidences’ you may encounter. Coincidence is an expression of synchronicity in the Universe. Once you start flowing with it and moving with the guidance of spirit, you will likely start to experience many of these synchronicities.
Your guides want you to be in the flow, because it is in this state that you are walking the path toward fulfilling your ultimate potential.
Trusting Spirit’s Guidance During Life Transitions
When life knocks you down, when things don’t go your way, when your dreams begin to feel like nightmares, don’t fall into the trap of believing it will never get better. Your life is not over.
Challenges like these are often small nudges from the universe, guiding you to face a new direction, to try something different, and to move forward. It’s a chance to release your past and forgive those who played a part in your pain.
Our angels, guides and ancestors are with us always. They feel our sorrow, and they celebrate our joy. They gently guide us toward the right path, but we don’t always hear that quiet inner whisper.
Our spirit allies will always try to intervene when something threatens us that isn’t meant to be part of our journey. Still, the choice to listen is always ours. When we ignore their guidance, we often find ourselves veering off course.
We’ve all done this. I know I have. In 2008, I was receiving clear messages to slow down and walk away from a job that was draining me emotionally and spiritually. But I resisted. I didn’t know how I would pay my bills if I left.
For months, my guides urged me to let go and move on. Eventually, I did. I quit. I had no idea how I was going to survive financially, but I knew I couldn’t stay any longer for the sake of my well-being. It took every ounce of courage I had, but I finally left.
False Education Appearing Real (F.E.A.R)
I love the acronym F.E.A.R. (False Education Appearing Real) since we all have people, circumstances, phobias and so forth, that can put us into that space.
Fear is an instance of emotion that is triggered by the awareness, or anticipation of danger. It can also become a state of being. Excluding clinical fears, needing professional help, there are many fears we simply impose upon ourselves as a result of life experiences.
One of my fears is acrophobia, the fear of heights. When I get within five feet from the edge of a rooftop, I begin to shake.
Climbing 30 foot ladders has me nervous and when I hiked to the pinnacle of the mountain of Macchu Picchu in 2004, I could not take those last six nervous steps onto the plateau pinnacle rock. This was partly being due to a few other tourists already sharing the rock… and I am a little “accident prone.”
Although I was invited by my partner and the guide, I leaned against the rock debating my fear, shaking a little at the prospect and wishing that I could take those final steps, as I might regret it after I hiked down. Part of me did regret not taking those last steps when we got back to the base.
Yet, a bigger part of me knew I had to acknowledge the feelings in the moment, and since I am not a regular exerciser, I already had accomplished something tremendous by taking the hike to the top and back down the back side of the mountain. On the way I enjoyed the magnificent views and spiritual energy for several hours. Continue reading
Walking In Faith Through Life’s Ups And Downs
Most of us go through life like it is a roller coaster ride. We have our ups and downs, our good days and our hard ones. Sometimes we catch ourselves saying things we probably shouldn’t, or reaching for that chocolate chip cookie even though we promised ourselves we wouldn’t.
Temptation is everywhere. That little voice in our head tells us to go for it, even when our gut or intuition says it’s not a good idea. It can leave us feeling torn and unsure of what the right choice really is.
And then, on top of all our personal ups and downs, there’s everything going on in the world around us. Lately, it feels like we’re living through constant upheaval: wars, natural disasters, political division, economic stress, runaway technology, and so much uncertainty about the future. All of it adds to the pressure we already carry.
It’s no wonder we feel overwhelmed or tempted to numb ourselves with distractions. When everything feels unstable, it’s easy to lose our sense of direction or forget the spiritual tools that keep us grounded.
That’s why staying connected to faith, however that looks for you, is more important than ever. It becomes an anchor in the storm, something solid to hold onto when everything else feels like it’s shifting.
Faith helps us pause, speak with care, and make better choices. It gives us insight and direction. When we turn away from it or get stuck in negative thinking, that’s usually when life starts feeling harder and more complicated.
You Create Your Own Happiness
Too often, people find themselves trapped in a shadowed corner of life, believing that happiness lies just beyond the next relationship, paycheck, job, or home. But true joy isn’t found in any of these external pursuits.
As the Dalai Lama so wisely said, “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” Pause for a moment and really reflect on that. It’s a beautifully simple truth, yet so many of us struggle to embrace it.
We’ve been raised in a world that teaches us to chase after happiness as though it’s something ‘out there,’ just one success or possession away. But here’s the sacred truth: happiness begins within.
This is a difficult statement for many to comprehend. “How can I be happy, if I have nothing? you might ask. “I am alone. I have no job, no money, no love.”
And yet, the answer is simple and profound: no one else is responsible for your life. No one else is responsible for your happiness. You are the sole creator of your reality.
Your emotional well-being, fulfillment, and general experience of life aren’t determined by outside forces, other people, circumstances, or luck. Living your best life starts with you.
Happiness isn’t something someone can give you or take away. What you think, believe, and do determines if you feel satisfied or unfulfilled.