Are You Giving Yourself Permission to Dream Big?

I'd like to start off this post with a dare. Are you willing to dream big? Are you willing to let your guard down, stare down fear, let go of limits and picture what excites you? Sounds easy, right?

Well this is the thing. Sometimes when we are hurt, when we've experienced failure or rejection, we stay small to avoid feeling that pain again. We take the circumstance personally, even though shitty things happen to all of us. Job losses, breakups, divorce, you name it. We stay small and safe because dreaming is scary, it sets us outside of our routines and the walls we built around our mind and hearts to stay comfortable.

The trouble is that we think we're protecting ourselves from pain, but really we are causing ourselves more pain by not allowing ourselves to grow.

But despite how obvious this may seem, we are all humans and need time to heal, even if the shitty things that happened had nothing to do with us. They still hurt and this is legitimate.

Sometimes we just need to trust that we will come back to our heart and the freedom that we are born to live in.

When I lost my job half a year ago- a company that was just starting out and clearly unstable- the rejection really hurt. I questioned if I had done something wrong or there was something wrong with me, even though this was far from the case. The company had an unhealthy rate of turnover and lacked feedback and communication between managers and employees.

So yes, the change was shocking both emotionally and financially, but looking back I see that it's made me stronger. The process of healing, adapting, re-claiming my self-worth and letting myself dream again is how we learn and grow.

The challenge is to, no matter what happens externally, hold the most expansive perspective and belief that we can within us.

Dreaming big means allowing ourselves to let go of fear, rules and conditions. It means visualizing what you really want to do if money were not a factor. Because when we uncover what we really desire, that's where the motivation lies and finding the resources and means to make it happen becomes a whole lot easier. Instead of starting from our limits, let's start from our dreams, shall we?

How to Awaken Your Ecstacy

During winter months, we need nourishment more than ever and to find our flow and light from within. There are so many awesome ways to awaken our inner energies of love, power and light, but the one that really sticks out these days is movement. The power of movement can be found in running, sex, yoga and dance to name a few. These practices open us up to greater love within ourselves and in sharing our love with others. On my own journey of finding more flow with movement, dance has recently really stuck out.

Dance brings together so many beautiful elements. We are given space to express, have fun and connect with our own body and intitution while also connecting with others.

How magical.

It is in the body that we come alive.

I attended an ecstatic dance event recently where a community of like-minded people connect over the power of expression through dance. Ecstatic dance is an intuitive-based practice where we dance barefoot to the music in whatever way feels right. There is no right or wrong, just what we feel and our truth.

Dance, in this form, is like life when we let go of the "shoulds" and rules and allow ourselves to live our  truth, vision and values. We walk the path that feels most right to us, act according to our heart and express our truth every step of the way. In doing this we free ourselves and open up to greater love.

We give ourselves the permission to be free, because it is in freedom that love grows. And the more love we have within us, the more love we have to share.

I attended a dance event and realized that movement moves us into greater ecstasy, but I also realized that we have the ability to take freedom and love further than the dance floor. It is not just on a dimly lit dance floor that we express our truth. We find the courage to shine our light in all other areas. This is really Wholehearted living (Brene Brown) because we realize that in any situation, we can lean into our intuition, free ourselves and find love.

We can find our presence and love in even the most chaotic situations and challenges we are faced with. And even in the midst of winter, we find within us lies an invincible summer.