Cara Lumen | Sing a Deeper Song

Sing a Deeper Song

Self Mastery

What is Self-transformation?

By

 

butterfly

I know the importance of self-awareness — the need to know our passion, recognize our gifts, understand our needs and define our core values. The better we know ourselves, the more aligned are our choices. But when I came across the concept of self-transformation, it called deeply to me. It’s so powerful and empowering. What is the difference between self-awareness and self-transformation?

To transform is to reshape

Transforming ourselves takes us beyond self-awareness.
It’s like being a potter, holding a ball of clay in your hand. You have shaped it to the best of your ability through your self-awareness; now you must take the additional steps to turn it into a cup or bowl or vase. There are the transforming steps. For instance, pottery requires steps like glazing and firing.

If I want to transform my life, where do I begin?

The first step is to know that you can. You can change anything — how you act, what you say, what you think. All of which shape your life experience.

Begin there. In particular, get rid of the beliefs of self-doubt and know that you can change, you can transform.

Let it unfold

Self-transformation. What does that look like? Feel like? Just be still and listen to the voice within and shape whatever shows up.

Begin with the work within

What calls to you? What do you want to learn, to explore, to try?

As I deepened my connection with the voice within, I could hear it and interpret it more clearly. It required stillness and receptivity on my part for several weeks before any direction began to emerge. Now the signs and ideas and opportunities are emerging clearly and rapidly.

What shows up, what evolves, what changes, cannot be planned for. It can only appear as it will. Work with what you are given.

Be willing to change

Your actions and choices will automatically transform your life. That means you make a choice, watch what shows up because of it, and choose and re-choose until you feel you’re closer to the right place, the center of your being, the core of who you are.

You’ll have to let go of some things, adjust others, and push through perceived barriers in order to achieve new understanding, move in new directions, rise to new heights.

What is your next step?

You embrace the concept of being willing to transform — to be responsible for your choices, to actively take part in deepening your inner life and broadening your reach. Be present. Be aware.

That’s the beginning of self-transformation.

To Sing a Deeper Song Consider:

Where Do YouPlant our Stake
How to Manage Your Subtle Energy
How to Hold the Space for the New Vision to Emerge
The Power of Positive Purpose
The Move From Inner to Outer Work

Where Do You Plant Your Stake?

By

plant flag on mooon

When you plant your stake in the ground, the universe responds. Where are you planting your stake?

A new stake is a signal that attracts

I took two courses that inspired me to create a new stake to plant. One took me into deeper inner work; the other showed me how to take this inner work out into the world to make a difference. I planted my stake. I want to make a conscious effort to heal and balance the earth.

The stake I planted was like an antenna

As ideas began to come to me, some vibrated more than others. Some I adapted. Some I acted upon. Others I ignored. I absorbed and adjusted and made my choices.

The realignment began to bubble outward. Since I’m a writer, I began to write. I wrote articles on activating a Tree Messenger and becoming an Armchair Activist.

When I was searching for how to help heal the world, I listened to a webinar from which I understood that we can heal our rifts when we look for what we have in common. I began to write about that.

Expand your territory

Now my mission is larger. It moved beyond me and my work. I am a messenger of sorts, an interpreter of ideas. An “idea magnet” who thinks up ways to apply what I learn. Although my path is not formed or firm, I stay open and circumstances show up to be explored. One seed grows many varieties and can adapt to many fields. I write. I share what I write. And as , the seed grows and grows.

Where have you planted your stake?

What are you invested in? What calls to you? What gifts are needed? Where do you want to do your work?

For several years my work has been about spiritual exploration on the inner plane. My inner plane, in particular. Suddenly my work has turned global. In simply responding to my own inner work, I’m using my gifts to inspire and motivate and suggest options to others.

My stake is still planted in spiritual expansion, but the garden has gotten bigger.

Look at what you’re invested in. Getting a promotion? Finishing school? Finding a soulmate?

Think bigger. Mark off a larger territory. You are needed!

I’m becoming more invested in harvesting my wisdom and understanding into signposts and maps for others who might choose to follow this way. And right now, my stake is in exploring ways to heal our planet and sharing what I find.

Is your stake planted in the right place

To Sing a Deeper Song Consider:

The Power of Positive Purpose
Our Work in the World
The Move From Inner to Outer Work
What if You Broke the Mold?
The Many Faces of Your Calling

My Three Words for 2017

By

Planet

At the beginning of each new year, I select three words to guide me on my journey. These are qualities or values or concepts that I want to explore, develop, embrace and emphasize during that year.

I learned this from Chris Brogan several years ago. Choosing three meaningful or motivational words allows me to evaluate what I’ve accomplished, notice where I am, and make choices that’ll guide me in a direction that’s aligned with my core purpose.

For 2016, my words were “determination”, “trust” and “explore”. I determinedly explored my connection with nature through Shamanism and expanded my connection with the world through a course in subtle group energy. I deepened my trust by following my instincts that said I needed to venture further online to connect with the people who would nurture and guide me on this next phase of my journey.

As I continue to let my life unfold, I deepen my trust. I trust myself to recognize the nudges and insights that keep coming my way. I trust the universe to offer signs and signals to guide me.

Would you like to choose three words to help shape your experiences in the coming year?

What is your overall objective?

What qualities or values would you like to develop or explore in the coming year? What is your over-arching objective?

For 2017, my overall goal is to immerse myself more deeply in my spiritual exploration, to find meaningful and effective ways to direct energy to the well-being of our universe and share what I discover in a clear, insightful and inspiring manner.

My three words for 2017 are “broaden”, “deepen” and “change”

Broaden. I expand my spirituality and my personal awareness by broadening my participation in the planet, particularly in the form of focused energy. I broaden my personal awareness by questioning all my beliefs to make certain they represent my current values and that they’re based on my truth rather than on the truth of others.

I broaden my empathy and develop the core value of inclusion as I increase my understanding of others by actively listening to the concerns of persons who have a different frame of reference than I do. I broaden my participation in the world by joining with others in meditations for peace and harmony and balance. I open myself to ways to extend the reach of my words into the lives of people who will benefit from them.

Deepen. Deepen relates to my inner work. I deepen my awareness of nature and allow its organic flow to guide me. I deepen my awareness of the natural cycles and allow myself to flow with them. I deepen my knowledge of subtle realms and dimensions and apply concepts that resonate. I deepen my understanding of the concepts in Shamanism and Taoism that call to me. I take what resonates and learn new ways to apply those concepts more consciously in my daily life.

Unfolding is at the core of my life. Increased mindfulness continues to deepen my connection with my inner world. I mindfully move more consciously through my day, seeking to hear the messages of nature, my body, my soul and the invisible world around me.

Change. I feel myself being drawn on a great adventure. It has to do with the exploration of subtle realms and higher dimensions. I’m willing to change. I’m open to new possibilities. I feel myself being pulled to a level of exploration that’s taking me deeper within than I’ve ever gone before. I’m connecting with the “nowhere that we came from”, the great nothingness, the universes beyond the universes. Although I’m human, I’ll explore beyond the limitation of my body suit and report what I find.

Awareness + choice = change.

Broaden
Deepen
Change

I’m certain these three words will take me on great adventures and lead me to awareness I didn’t expect.

What are your three words for the coming year?

TO SING A DEEPER SONG, CONSIDER:

My three words for 2016
My three words for 2015

Trust the Message of Now

By

Rainbow

There will never be a time when it’ll not be now. Now is now. Not tomorrow. Not yesterday. Now is all we have. We have to trust it.

What is the now telling you?

Since all we have is now, it’s a good idea to learn to interpret it, to get its message, to feel its nudge. We do that by being still within and listening. And feeling. And deciding. Depending on where we are in our life, we’ll hear a different rhythm, a different melody, a different harmony. But it’ll all be part of the same now.

What is the now offering us?

When we remain still enough, we catch the subtle nudges and nuances that line up in a row before us so we may take our pick. What appeals to you right now, in this moment? What feels like it would be a good tool to take with you on your journey? What do you need in your life at this minute? What are good reasons for your choices? What is being offered to you now?

How will “now” affect the “next now”?

It’s not a good idea to think too far ahead, but in this “now” you may have an idea of what you’d like in a now a bit further down the road. You make a choice that will add clarity or direction or a skill that’s needed when that next now shows up.

Are we doing right in this now?

This is the easiest question to answer about a current now. When we know our values, when we know ourselves well – what we need and want, what will nurture and support us – we choose that. There’s no consideration of the future, there’s the choice of exactly what we need right now.

Why if we make a mistake in this now?

The word “mistake” means “miss the mark.” Each time you aim, you get better at the whole “hit-the-mark” process. You aim better, you choose a better target, you send your whole-self arrow off with the choice you make.

There is no mistake – ever. There are, however, choices that became lessons – ones we needed and that improved us by getting them.

Now is exquisite

Take time to live in the now. Hear the now. Feel the now. Understand the messages from the now. Be still. Be aware. Feel. Listen. Choose. Each now is exquisite. Cherish it. Relax into it. Be the now.

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
The Power of Exploring the Unknown
Can You Control Your Own Destiny?
Why Unfolding Works
The Power of Your Personal Path
The Freedom of Not knowing
35—How to Hold the Space for Change.
32 – How to See Your Work As Art

Get To Know Your Inner Voice

By

meditation cluds

We’re it. We’re all there is. The entire Universe is within us. All the wisdom, all the knowledge. It’s there, it’s at hand, ready to be heard. Everything we need to know is within us. We learn and we’re guided by the voice within.

How do we learn to hear it?

The Universe is Within

It’s an interesting idea that we contain the Universe within ourselves.

Rumi says:
“Everything in the Universe is within you.
Ask all from yourself”

That means we’re pretty much on our own. And yet we get guidance and signals and insights all the time. When we learn to hear them.

The signs we ignore

Our days are full of signs and signals. When we allow our days to unfold, all manner of exciting and unexpected opportunities show up. Learning to interpret our inner voice will help us make choices that are aligned with what we need and want in the moment.

How your inner voice talks to you

Your inner voice is different from your intuition. Your intuition is a hunch, a feeling. Your inner voice KNOWS. Your inner voice holds the values you have embraced, it holds your connection to All-That-IS, Tao, or whatever you call the unknown part of you. It’s always speaking to you. You just have to learn to listen.

Learn to listen to your inner voice in silence

When you sit in silent expectation, when you are willing to embrace your inner knowing, you will understand. You may hear a word, you may see an image, you may get an idea or clarity or see a connection you had missed. You may simply KNOW. But most of all there is a sense of serenity and peace, a feeling of being safe, cared for and loved. It’s your inner home, your place of safety and refuge. It welcomes you with open arms and holds you close to its heart.

Visit your inner voice often.

Learn to interpret what you hear

You’ll emerge from your time of silent contemplation with a new perspective, with new resolution, new determination and a new sense of peace and willingness. Let this new awareness slowly infiltrate your life. Feel your way into the great wonders that have unfolded within you.

Choose what to apply in your life

Your inner voice will show you many options. It’ll deepen your understanding and expectation of what’s possible. Notice it and let it simmer within you like a vapor rising to surround you with its wisdom.

Trust yourself to understand

You’ll interpret the messages from your inner voice in the way that’s most suited to the moment. It helps if you clear out your preconceived ideas and allow this wisp of knowing to simply surround you and hug you and be absorbed into your being.

Act from a place of knowing

Then do what you need to do in the moment. That’s all. Shape things as they show up. Don’t force them, or push them away. Simply take what feels right in the moment and let the rest move on. Shape what you keep into the size and shape that expands your choices, your next step, and move through the doors that have opened for you.

Don’t play small

Your inner voice is the knowledge of the Universe. It knows no bounds. When you are willing to push beyond your own boundaries, consider concepts you’d never thought about before. You can trust that you’ll never be given an opportunity you cannot do. Simply flow into your next choice, your next action, with the ease of rain falling to earth.

Your inner voice wants you to play big

You’ve been given many gifts. You’ve been given a passion and talents to develop that passion. Your inner voice has a BIG vision for you. Listen. Interpret. Act.

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:

Allow Life to Be a Meditation
Live Like Water
The Many Faces of Your Calling
Mindfulness as a Path to Self-Awareness
How Do You Nurture “Different”
37-Self Mastery As a Choice
35—How to Hold the Space for Change.
45-How to Become a Mindful Presence