Many of us live our lives in fear of really being seen and heard for who we are. We are afraid of being vulnerable.
We don’t feel good enough or bright enough, or thin enough, or educated enough or whatever enough.
We will do anything to fit in. This can be at work, with friends and even with our family of origin. However, to “fit” in requires us to change or to hide a part of ourselves, meanwhile, sabotaging our authenticity.
In the most recent series of Bridgerton actor Luke Newton and fellow Galway girl Nicola Coughlan go full circle through a journey of vulnerability and show us how rewarding it can be to stay true to yourself and come out victorious in the end.
Actor Luke Newton, in an interview openly speaks about his personal vulnerability journey. He says, “At the start of the whole process there felt like a bit of an expectation to step into the positions that had been created by our previous leads”.
“There’s no such thing as true love without first embracing your true self,” words of advice from Genevieve Delacroix, the most sought after modiste of the Ton to Penelope on the eve of her wedding.
Even a Wallflower Can Bloom
This line from the popular Netflix series Bridgerton, encapsulates the show's theme of transformation and self-discovery, emphasising that even those who are initially overlooked or underestimated have the potential to grow and flourish. The series, based on Julia Quinn's novels, highlights the journeys of characters who defy societal expectations and find their own paths to happiness and fulfilment.
This 4-week journey Way of the Rose course is designed to help you uncover the beliefs and patterns that keep you stuck and empower you to unleash your full potential. Here's why you should consider embarking on this life-changing adventure:
Confidence plays a vital role in your personal and professional life. It empowers you to take risks, pursue your goals, and overcome challenges. However, building and maintaining confidence can be a complex process influenced by various factors, including your past experiences and beliefs. To truly rock your confidence, it's important to delve deeper and explore the underlying aspects that shape it. Here are five key ways to boost your confidence and tap into your personal power:
Here are 3 main ways you stop yourself putting your business out there, I have been there too!
1. Fear of rejection
Rejection is the ultimate insult to a sense of belonging.
What if I put myself out there and no one comes to me? How will that make me feel?
Will it trigger the old wounds of unworthiness and shame? Will the usual rhetoric start, “I knew no one would want to come to me!”. “No one ever listens to me anyway, told you so”.
Vulnerability gets a bad rap because many of us live our lives in fear of being seen for who we really are.
We have been conditioned to feel not good enough or worthy enough or … whatever enough.
And so, we spend a lot of time trying to fit in. Whether it’s in a work situation, with our friends and even our family.
"Fitting in" lends to an image of manipulating ourselves
Was this the case for Will Smith? An old story around how he saw his father hit his mother got triggered and he reacted from the wound he internalised because of it?
We are all works in progress and life is a journey of self-discovery. The more we get to know our internal wounds and work through them the more peace we will have in our life.
EFT can be used to release the emotional charge from the stories we hold. Example - traumas associated with our fears and phobias, limiting beliefs, support with emotional eating.
It supports us to take back charge of our life withing being held back.
We form beliefs around our perceptions of life and whether or not we feel these needs have been met. Our beliefs then fuel our actions.
For example, if we hold a belief that no one wants to hear what we have to say then our confidence level may be at rock bottom.
Limiting beliefs are one of the obstructions that cause you to stay stuck where you are and unable to move forward into the next step of reaching your full potential.
One definition of the saying “you can’t fit a square peg into a round hole” says that it describes the unusual individualist who could not fit into a niche of their society.
Now here my friends in my opinion is where the problem lies.
It is the use of the word “unusual” which when we are talking about a person could be better described as “unique” individual. At the end of the day we are all unique and we are all individual.
So here’s my journey through this exact problem.
A journey to living a fulfilled life happens when you honour your own values and you live by them. When you are incongruent with your values you may be living someone else’s life and you may form bad habits or become lost in trying to find yourself.
Understanding what you value is less about looking outside and wondering what you should value, or what society says you should value, looking at what everyone else is doing and thinking this is what therefore you should do.
Understanding your value system is an inside, personal job that is best done on your own or with the help of a professional who has no agenda, instead someone who holds space for you to help you tease out the information for yourself.
To begin to understand the concept of distant healing we have to view the body as more than a machine that is controlled by the brain – because even if we do view it that way – what do we know about who or what controls the brain? It stills needs a programmer to tell the nervous system what to do when it needs to.
Quantum psychics has proved that everything is made from energy, even us as human beings.
We often focus on what we cannot change and stick to that story. In this blog I look at conflicts that keep you getting lemons instead of making lemonade
Instead of finding a way to quieten or banish the inner critic I want to show you four ways to embrace it. Why? Because your inner critic is a part of you. It’s the part of you that developed beliefs from your perceptions of your life’s challenges.
And although challenges cause tension, without tension there is no growth.
Your inner critic points you to your soul growth, to your inner north star, your full potential.
When you lean into the inner critic you find it’s wisdom and you uncover your power.
We have the power to shift what kind of a day we are going to have on a dime (or a cent!!)! It’s about our attitude and how we decide to approach the day in the midst of whatever curveballs life has thrown at us. And of course no it isn’t always easy .. here are a few quick tips to help!
M … Motivation .. even if you feel like no muscle in your body will work today .. not even the one in your brain – fake it!! You know what they say – fake it ’till you make it!!
Never under-estimate the power of doing things that empower you. Your actions often have a greater effect on others then your words.
Next time you get triggered and before you take an action ask yourself “Is this the reality you want to create”?
You will keep getting the same results until we do something differently.
How to make changes
Take an eagle’s eye view of where you want to go and become clear of what is not working for you in your environment. If you need to put up a boundary be clear about it and communicate it to others. Analyse if it's working for you. You will know this by whether or not you keep getting the same results for yourself.
A Red Tent is a women’s gathering held at Dark Moon or New Moon. It’s the time of the month when the Sun and the Moon are side by side, the masculine of the Sun energy sits beside his female counterpart the Moon.
It is the nature of the feminine to be cyclical, receptive and reflective and as women we are governed by the Moon. In these circles we gather and listen to our inner wisdom. We fill our cup so that we are able to give to others. We can’t give what we don’t have
The essence of every good story, no matter what genre, according to Shawn Coyne is the necessity to have obligatory scenes. In a love story we have two people and we know that they are in love because of the obligatory kiss or scene which describes their love.
I often ponder why self-care is so hard for us? When it comes to looking out for others especially those closest to us, caring comes naturally for most of us.
For the most part vulnerability can get us breaking into a sweat and saying
Me, no I don’t do vulnerability!
Maybe that is because the first definition you get when you look it up says that “it is a fear of being attacked either physically or emotionally”. And of course, none of us want that as it taps into our basic fear around our survival. Feeling safe is a non-negotiable need.
One word … courage.
You can access your inner wisdom to support you get out of your comfort zone when you have the courage to start the journey. It doesn’t matter how small your actions are, small actions built upon, lead to big breakthroughs.
My name is Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Owner of Celtic Soul Essence. I have been practising Reiki for the past 9 years. I am based in Knocknacarra 7 minutes by car from Salthill on the West side of Galway City.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In my opinion saying this to someone who is going through hell and back with a situation is like showing a red rag to a bull, it just doesn’t help. There are times when we need to consider not throwing around such popular sentiments.
What is emotional health/emotional intelligence?
Having good emotional health or intelligence as it is often called, is our ability to deal appropriately with situations in life while allowing ourselves to feel each emotion that comes up in any given situation. No emotion is negative, in fact what emotions are, are pieces of energy which have a message for us. When we realise this, we can use this to our benefit.
The ancient art of yoni or vaginal steaming is a ritual using an herbal remedy that has unfortunately been lost in our modern age.
We have also for the most part, lost touch with the creative potential of our womb space as a place to co-create our reality from our life force within.
What does being authentic feel like to you? And yes, I did say feel like, because being authentic feels different to everyone.
Being authentic means a whole plethora of things to different people.
Are your emotions smothering you? Are they making you feel scattered and all over the place or are you stuck in the mud and can’t see a way out?
It’s only when you learn to turn the lens within and face your emotions that you can begin the wonderful process of transformation.
Elections may present difficult choices, but it also given us an opportunity, a moment to reflect on the values we wish to uphold and the legacy we want to leave. Each of us has a role to play, and it’s not limited to casting a ballot every few years. By staying engaged, questioning our values, and striving to embody the integrity we seek in others, we build a foundation for a society that reflects our highest ideals.
In the end, elections are about more than just a result; they’re about the journey we take together as a society, the growth we undergo as individuals, and the vision we hold for a future that aligns with our truest values.
A question to ask yourself with courage and clarity: What do you truly want for yourself, your community, and our world?