Limiting Beliefs

Struggle and the Energy of Change – Part IV

April 25, 2014 By Michelle Leave a Comment

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We’ve been talking about the energy of struggle and its hidden and not-so-hidden impact in our lives. Struggle has been part of our individual and collective experiences since the beginning of life here on this planet.

Yet the energy of struggle is one that keeps us stuck, in pain and fearful about the future. It brings great resistance to the energy, even the thought, of change and our ability to simply let go and move forward.

In a recent session with a client, I was shown just how deep the fear of change is for almost everyone – and what is lurking underneath change and fueling that deep fear and

resistance. I have to admit it shocked me!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard clients say, “I just hate change! I don’t do change well.”

When I’ve asked why, people have responded with, “I feel like if I make a change, it won’t be the right one – and then what will happen?” Or, “If I make the necessary changes, am I really up to the challenge? Am I good enough/smart enough/talented enough to handle it?”

People question whether they will be a success or a failure. (Both of those fears bring their own flavor of anxiety.) They often wonder if the changes will even make a difference. They are concerned that the little they already have might be taken away and then they’ll be left with nothing at all, if they make changes.

hope love dream faith trust We can live with the devil we know, because we’ve been doing it. But we’re not so sure that the devil we don’t know is any better.

What was revealed to me during that client’s session, is the deep distrust that things will actually change. The resistance to change is about mistrusting that God or the Universe – or even you! – has your best interests at heart.

We feel that we’ve been lied to. That the more we’ve changed, the more things stay the same. We’ve put our trust in ourselves, in various gurus, or the church, or the system, or ourselves, and when we don’t see measurable results, we feel betrayed! We’ve put our faith in something bigger than ourselves and we feel we’ve been let down and betrayed because the results have not met our expectations.

That betrayal seems to be the key to the resistance in feeling comfortable to make any changes. And yet, we know we cannot stay where we’re at, because it’s not working and it’s just too painful. And therein lies the biggest conundrum of all!

Pain, or even more pain because of betrayal. Whew! What a choice!

But what if circumstances and the energy of this new paradigm will now support your changes?

What if you can excavate the energy and the pain of past failures, betrayals and shattered dreams, to find the hidden treasure chest of what can be cleared and released, so that the new, higher energies available to us can actually support our dreams and desires?

time for change

How cool would THAT be??

One of the biggest keys to change is taking the time and effort to look within yourself, to dig deep, and discover what disappointments, fears, betrayals and damage happened as other choices you made resulted in less-than-stellar results.

Then you have the opportunity to release that old energy so that you have a clean slate from which to create. Use the Quantum Soul Clearing Process™ to clear anything that you find. Make sure you clear the energy of struggle and how it pertains to change. Use your own wording, or use that phrase, which ever feels more relevant.

Once the clearing work is completed around your particular area of change and struggle, then you can re-examine the changes that you feel you need to make. Does it feel like you have more options for change? Can you see a clearer path to reach your objectives? Can you accomplish your goals with just a small tweak – or do you need to make even greater changes? Can you feel how much easier it feels to make those changes? Everything looks different after you do your clearing work.

You can do this. I believe in you. And if you need extra help, I’m here to help.

In fact, between now and May 5th, I’m offering a spring special on private session work. All private session packages are 25% off! Send us an email to Support@QuantumSoulClearing.com to start the process, and book your complimentary discovery session.

Here’s to releasing struggle and being able to make changes much more easily!

Filed Under: articles, Blog Posts, Empowerment, Fear, Limiting Beliefs, Money, Self Esteem, Self Worth

Are You Programmed to HAVE to Struggle – Part III

April 13, 2014 By Michelle Leave a Comment

March’s theme was all about the hidden – and not so hidden – program of “I have to struggle.” I even did a training on struggle and how it shows up in our lives – and particularly in our finances.

This month I am going to take this conversation even deeper. I believe that from the beginning of life on this planet we’ve been programmed to struggle for food, for survival, for shelter – for just about everything. This program has been passed down from generation to generation from the beginning of time! It’s like an insidious virus that undermines every facet of our lives.

Even our sacred scriptures reference this subject. Adam and Eve’s “fall from grace” resulted in their bodies changing from Light-Beings to being removed from the Garden of Eden and required to toil and work hard. Even their children suffered from this curse and fall and were no longer allowed to live in the garden with God.

Science also nurtures this theme through “survival of the fittest.” That the weak are eaten by the strong. Observers of nature watch and interpret the seeds of plants as they struggle through the layers of soil to reach the sunlight, where they then have to struggle to get enough water, nutrients and sunlight to survive.

Butterflies appear to struggle to emerge from the cocoon and hatchling chicks struggle to peck through their shells. That is what we’ve been taught – that there is struggle for survival everywhere!

But what if we’ve gotten it all wrong?

What if the butterfly and the chick aren’t really struggling? What if from their perspective they are simply awakening and stretching? What if it is a game and is fun? What if that process is strengthening their bodies and their connection to Source? What if that process isn’t really struggle at all – but merely a joyous breakthrough!? A stepping into their greatness and infinite potential?

What if the seeds and sprouts can’t WAIT to stretch and grow and become part of the greater eco-system, to add their light and their color and breath into the world? What if each first spear of growth that emerges from the dirt is filled with the joy, the exuberance, and the knowledge of what they are here to do and are so busy getting to it, that they experience only deep pleasure, and deep connection to both the earth and they heavens? They don’t have time to struggle – they are too busy enjoying life!

What if everything we’ve perceived as struggle in our own lives is simply an old program that no longer serves us? We are burgeoning, joyous, Light-filled Beings housed by these physical bodies and our Divine state knows no struggle – only BEING! Is it possible that we’ve gotten struggle all wrong? That’s it’s not something to be avoided at all costs? That we don’t have to have all the stress and fuss and chaos and pain in order transform and grow? What if we can easily release the old paradigm of struggle altogether?

Imagine what your life would look like if you could view struggle from a completely different perspective. Instead of dreading what appears to be hard and insurmountable, that circumstance or event is, instead, an opportunity to become stronger and healthier. More deeply connected to your innate, Divine co-creative skills. That it is an opportunity to learn more about your incredible strength, your strength of character, and your resourcefulness.

What if you could just perceive struggle as an exhilarating game of skill and mastery?

What if you could simply learn to LOVE struggle, so that is was no longer struggle but something else entirely?

Take a few minutes and write down all the beliefs you have about struggle. Life is hard. Life is unfair. Life sucks. People suck. It’s so hard to make ends meet. The world is an unfriendly place. It’s hard to move my body because I’m in so much pain…. The list is probably quite long. But sit down for a bit and pull up all your limiting beliefs about the world that involve struggle.

I’m giving you permission to dive deeply into the pool of negativity. You can always get back out, clean yourself off and feel better. It’s important to acknowledge all that “shtuff” so that you know where you’re at. REMEMBER NO JUDGMENT! Simply acknowledge that this “shtuff” is in there. And most of it probably isn’t even yours!

We’ve been told not to go into the negativity. To stay only in the positive, because we are constantly creating what we are thinking and feeling. (Heck, I’ve even told you that in the past!)

But what I’ve found is that you can’t get to where you want to be until you know where you’re at! It’s the first rule in using maps. And what you’re creating is a map of hidden beliefs that has led you down one side-road after another, rather than where you’ve wanted to go.

So what if where you are at is with a list of 10,000 negative beliefs! That just means you don’t have 10,001 negative beliefs. That’s something to be grateful for. It’s a great starting point! But seriously, you have the Quantum Soul Clearing Process that you can use to chop up this list and make mince-meat out of it. You have all kinds of transformational tools in your tool kit to get your from where you are (again NO judgment!) to where you want to be.

Consider it a game or fun challenge to see how many you can work through each day. Think about it as the most delicious journey of the soul and when you get through that list, you will have become an ascended master of your existence! Better yet, think of it as a joyous stretching of your emotional, mental and spiritual muscles that will make you strong and healthy and whole. Isn’t that worth it?

Imagine yourself facing what might appear to be adversity with a grin on your face and joy in your heart, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves and PLAY! Isn’t that better, knowing that you get to choose whether it’s really hard or not, instead of that horrible feeling of dread when you think about struggle now? How different would your life experiences be from that place of powerful choice?

There’s nothing more exhilarating than solving a puzzle or winning! Eliminating struggle is how can you make your life a complete “Win” each and every day.

So what will you choose?

Filed Under: Empowerment, Fear, Limiting Beliefs, Money, Self Esteem, Self Worth

Are You Programmed to HAVE to Struggle?

March 13, 2014 By Michelle 6 Comments

I’ve had a lot of time to contemplate life – my life and life in general – since my surgery on January 14th. And one of the things that I started really thinking about is how life can be a struggle.

If you’ve followed me for very long, you know I believe that we can heal from just about anything. And I have. But my dogged determination that I could heal this thing by myself actually got me in to quite a fix! Ultimately that stubborn focus created even greater struggle in my life.

By the time I’d finally contacted my surgeon and got in to see him, I was barely able to walk from one end of my home to the other – and I required a walker to do it. In fact, the damage was so extensive, my right leg was more than two inches shorter than my left! Yikes!

In retrospect that was more than determination, it was really about stubborn disregard for the facts, and turning a blind eye to my own care and well-being. Exactly the opposite of what I teach! (Yes, I see the incongruence there, believe me!)

Thanks to my monthly membership group, I realized it was also a subconscious program of HAVING to struggle. The brilliant members of my group and I started to dig into the universal belief that at our core, we are programmed to HAVE to struggle – even if there might be an easier way.

The fact was that I needed help. Outside medical, western medicine help. (There, I admitted it!) And thank GOD that it was available! 100 years ago, I would have had to just live in excruciating pain and suffering – and utter disability. Struggling every day. Not a pretty picture, to say the least!

In the dictionary, struggle is defined as:

to contend with an adversary or opposing force.
to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive: to struggle for existence.
to advance with violent effort: to struggle through the snow.
to make one’s way with violent effort.

Obviously, struggle is the opposite of ease, flow and grace. When we are struggling, we are disconnected from the flow of the divine. We are forcing a certain agenda in our lives for a specific outcome and not allowing new opportunities for healing and transformation into our lives. Additionally there is a component of violence that is just opposite our desires for happiness and well-being.

So what does struggle look like in your life? Are you even aware that you are struggling? I wasn’t! To me it looked like focused determination to overcome physical pain. (OK – so that is struggling!)

Do you have to struggle to make ends meet every month? Do you struggle with your weight? Do you struggle to make a relationship work? Do you struggle with guilt, shame, overwhelm, addiction, self-loathing, jealousy, etc? What is your unique flavor of having to struggle?

What do you get from having to struggle? Are you like me, feeling triumphant when you hurtled huge obstacles? Is there an addiction to being triumphant?

Since our last group coaching session, I’ve become much more cognizant of what struggle really looks like. How hidden programs of struggle – HAVING to struggle, to be exact – have been sabotaging my personal happiness, health and wellbeing. Even my finances! It’s almost like an addiction to overcoming obstacles!

In my mind’s eye, I allowed myself to go back through my own life, recalling family stories of struggle and having to overcome big hurdles. I’ve been looking at the news and societal issues. And I’ve been astonished at just HOW MUCH we all believe we need to struggle, rather than allow good into our lives.

In a meditation, I got to see how, from the beginning of life on this planet, we have been programmed to struggle. For food, for existence, for shelter, for our country, for our RIGHTS (that’s a big one!), for our ability to be ourselves.

Over the next weeks, I will be exploring and writing more about this all-consuming subject. I want to challenge you to begin examining your own life and observing how struggle might be impacting you. Start to journal about it. And start doing the Quantum Soul Clearing Process when you find struggle programs that are sabotaging your best efforts for success.

You might also consider joining my monthly membership program to help you explore and release these powerful, hidden determinants to your happiness, wholeness and success. You can learn more about the group membership program here: https://quantumsoulclearing.com/qsc-membership.

I would love to hear from you! Let me know what types of struggles you are observing in your life and how much time, energy and life-force you are spending just dealing with the struggle. What and how are you not allowing more ease into your life? Let’s release this energy and co-create something much more life-enhancing!

Here’s to a life of greater freedom, ease, flow and grace!

Filed Under: articles, Empowerment, Fear, Limiting Beliefs

Learning to Feel Safe – The High Cost of Low Self-Worth and Self Esteem Part 3

August 10, 2013 By Michelle 2 Comments

Last month we began a deep discussion of the power of our hidden low self-worth and self-esteem programs and how they are affecting our lives. Today I want to talk about one of the hidden self-worth programs of not feeling safe, and some ways that might be impacting your life.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do you feel safe?
Do you feel safe and secure in your home?
Do you feel safe as you drive your car or take the bus or the subway?
Do you feel safe in an airplane?
Do you feel safe and secure financially?
Do you feel safe and secure in your job or career?
Do you feel safe to be the REAL you?
Is it safe to try something new and different?
Is it safe to spend money or is it safer to save for “a rainy day?”
Do you feel like you’ve been abandoned?
Do you feel judged?
Have you been bullied or ridiculed?

If you have answered “no” to any of these questions, or “yes” to the last three on the list – or if other ways you don’t feel safe got triggered while answering these questions! – we may have identified one of the ways that hidden low self-worth or self-esteem programs might be tripping you up.

“There are a lot of really scary people out there,” was something that I heard often as a kid. Followed closely by, “You just can’t trust anyone!” Perhaps you’ve heard those same sentiments, as well.

Those two statements begin programming that can have deep implications throughout your life. They keep you from trusting yourself and others. They create an energetic space of fear and distrust that is held in the unconscious mind that the world, in general is a very scary place. It implies that you should be fearful of all the terrible things that could possibly happen – and your brain is then trained to look for fearful, scary people and events. It creates an energy of anxious expectation that something bad will happen.

I’m not saying that there aren’t some people who act in terrible ways.

But let’s put some things into perspective. The population of the US is about 325,000,000 people – give or take a few hundred thousand. The number of violent crimes in 2011 (the last data available) was 1,200,000 and down by 9.7% from 2010. That means that less than .0037 percent of the population committed violent crimes (providing that each of these crimes had different perpetrators). Yes, this an profound over-simplification, and it doesn’t include property crimes, etc.

Property crimes in 2011 were 9.06 million (also down from 9.1 million in 2010) which means that less than .0279 percent of the population committed property (non-violent) crimes. Again, a massive over-simplification (and also assuming that each property crime was committed by different perpetrators). But perhaps you can begin to see where I’m heading with this line of thought.

These are just the statistics for the United States. Other countries have significantly lower rates of crime.

Yes, things happen. But the VAST majority of people (in the US alone) are not criminals! In fact, they are “normal” people just like you and me. Honest, compassionate, loving, hard-working, having hopes and dreams, doing charitable work, raising families, and doing the right thing day after day. And the other countries in the world who have even lower crime rates are filled with people who are just as kind and caring as can be.

Again, this is a MAJOR over-simplification. I think all of us know someone who is not a criminal but who might be cranky or unpleasant to be around. But that doesn’t necessarily make them a bad person. We all have our unique quirkiness and pain signatures!

But my point is that we’ve bought into the belief that the world is a big scary place where people are out to get us. Or hurt us. Or abandon us. Or judge us. Where did that come from?

Perhaps it came from our families – where home might not have been a very emotionally or physically safe place in which to grow up. Perhaps it came from an experience of a violent crime that you experienced or observed. Perhaps that feeling of not being safe is being perpetrated by the media to sell more chaos and confusion, and raise ratings and is being used by unseen groups or individuals, to take our power and control us by keeping us in fear.

But what if what we believe isn’t really true? What if it IS safe to be out in the world? What if it’s safe to speak up for what you believe? What if it really is safe to take a calculated risk and be highly successful!? What if…?

If we believe we are not safe, then we are highly reluctant to try new things. We will sabotage ourselves in thousands of different ways to keep ourselves safe from feeling perceived hurt or harm.

If we are afraid of being judged and not quite measuring up in some way, it will keep up from speaking up and speaking our truth. It will prevent us from bringing our brilliance, our gifts and talents into the world.

Can you imagine where we would still be if Thomas Edison hadn’t felt determined and safe enough to bring his invention of the incandescent bulb to the public? Still in the dark! There were plenty of people who pooh-poohed his invention, but he persevered on, because he felt secure enough in himself and his invention to speak his truth. That one invention changed the world. Just look at all of the inventions and what has evolved from that one single event!

If we don’t feel safe, we will sabotage or even push away relationships because deep inside we aren’t willing to risk being hurt deeply again. For example, one client who was adopted by a very loving couple couldn’t get over the abandonment and betrayal of his birth mother giving him up. That feeling of overwhelming abandonment prevented him from risking his heart fully. He dated – but did sporadically. However, subconsciously he wasn’t willing to risk someone finding out the “truth” bout him – that deep sense of complete unworthiness that came from being unwanted at birth.

Yet consciously, he insisted he was ready, willing and able to find his soul mate and live happily ever after. He wanted it almost more than breath itself! We had to uncover the deep-seated programming and release the energy of it so he could finally feel the love and worthiness that ultimately led him to meeting and marrying the woman of his dreams.

There are countless ways that not feeling safe will undermine your best efforts at success, love, health and well-being. Take a few minutes to think about yours. Write them down, and then use the Quantum Soul Clearing Process to help you move past them.

I’m going to challenge you to take a moment and think about how your life would be different if it really was safe to be YOU. To try new things. To feel new things. To really feel your feelings without definition or judgment. To trust yourself. To trust others. What if it was actually safe to fail at something – and then try again and again until you are successful? What if it is safe to truly succeed at something you’ve been yearning to achieve?

You deserve to have everything you desire – everything for which you yearn. What’s really stopping you?

If you missed my call on July 30th about this extremely important topic, I’ll be hosting another one in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you. What are the ways you might be sabotaging your best efforts with the low-self-worth program of “I don’t feel safe?”

Filed Under: Fear, Limiting Beliefs, Self Esteem, Self Worth

The High Cost of Hidden Low Self-Worth and Self-Esteem Programs Part 2

July 26, 2013 By Michelle Leave a Comment

Earlier this month we began the discussion of what hidden low self-worth and low self-esteem programs are and how they might be negatively impacting your health, wealth and relationships. We are going to be talking about this subject for the next couple of months, because I believe that this is the primary stumbling block to every type of success you desire! It is critically important!

I’d like to deepen that conversation today as we talk about the low self-worth program of “I’m Worthless,” and how it relates specifically to your finances, wealth and affluence.

The dictionary defines “worthless” as: Having no use, value or importance; good-for-nothing. Similar meanings are abandoned, baseless, barren, cheap, contemptible, despicable, inconsequential, inferior, pointless, nothing, trivial…. and the list goes on. You get the point.

This one TINY little low self-worth program, if running in the subconscious mind has the power to completely derail your financial well-being, not to mention the other parts of your life! In fact it could be costing you tens of thousands, if not millions of dollars throughout your life-time! What could you do with an extra million dollars or more??

Within our brains, we have synapses that create neural pathways of thought, feeling and action into our brains and our bodies. If we have a thought that get reinforced repeatedly, it creates stronger and stronger neural network connections. Literally, millions of brain cells and neural receptors fuse and wire together to create belief systems.

Just like any pathway that is created by countless feet walking in the same place, day after day on the earth; or little rivulets of water that create erosion patterns in the soil, our brains effectively do the same thing when we experience the same emotions over and over again. And just like in a torrential rain storm that creates deep streams and rivers in the landscape, our brains, when deluged with similar experiences and feelings over and over again also create deep, strong channels of electrical wiring within our neural cortexes.

Neurons that fire together wire together. That means that repeated negative feelings of shame, guilt, worthlessness, feeling like you’re contemptible, good-for-nothing, etc., create very strong bundled neural connections of low-self-worth in the brain that then become standard operating code in our lives. It becomes the “normal” frequency that we don’t consciously feel until we bump up against a person or circumstance that triggers that feeling – and then we become reactive.

If your belief system is (or has been) reinforced through early childhood traumas of bullying, punishment, constant criticism, being shamed, not measuring up to a standard, we come to the conclusion that we are worthless, deeply flawed, inferior, and a failure.

Failure is a natural, normal part of life.Â It is how we learn.Â What doesn’t work – and what does. No child learns to walk without ever falling down hundreds of times over and over again.Â Each fall could be classified a “failure to walk.”Â However, we never label the child as a failure as a walker.Â We know that falling down is part of the process of learning to walk.Â Eventually the child not only walks but learns to run, climb, leap and skip!Â That’s a powerful SUCCESS!

The belief that we are a failure as a human being is different. It is a judgment (often picked up or imprinted onto us from others!) that wreaks havoc on our ability to connect with and utilize our talents, our gifts, our abilities. It demolishes our trust and faith in ourselves – and ultimately impacts what we believe we are worth in the marketplace!

People who run this particular low self-worth program often go through life feeling anxious that they will be “found out” as a fraud, even though they are highly successful, talented, accomplished and charming. Inwardly, they feel secretly empty, fearful and hollow. They wonder why their many accomplishments leave them cold and rarely do they believe all the praise for their success, because they “know the truth” about who and what they “really are.”

Most people don’t know why they feel miserable and unhappy, because that underlying program is “normal.” It’s invisible because it’s always been there. But it continues to erode their joy, happiness, contentment, self-confidence and self-love. At the extreme, the belief of worthlessness may lead to self-harm, self-destructive behaviors, addictions, or suicide. But most often it is expressed as nagging feelings of anxiousness, or feeling somehow inadequate – not quite measuring up.

Here are just some of the ways that the “I’m Worthless” Low Self-Worth Program impacts you in the business world and marketplace:

You continually under-value and under-price your services.
You charge a fraction of what your competitors charge, knowing you are more effective than they are, but unable to raise your prices because it doesn’t seem “fair” somehow.
You don’t feel confident enough to ask for that well-deserved raise.
You may take on the work tasks of other team members to make you feel better about yourself. Then feel profoundly overwhelmed and resentful because you can’t get your own job accomplished.
You get volunteered for everything and cannot say “No!” even though your schedule is so jam-packed, sleep is often optional!
You don’t know how to delegate. Everything MUST be handled by you. Otherwise it won’t be “good enough” and you’ll just re-do it anyway.
You are anxious, exhausted, overwhelmed and profoundly unhappy, even though you appear to be highly successful and have it altogether.
You don’t feel like you can take a vacation because….(fill in the blank)
You not only don’t practice good self-care, you’re not really sure what that means.

This profound conversation of hidden low self-worth and low self-esteem is one of the most important topics of our lives. It is my belief that every block to success, money, healthy relationships and love is because of our hidden low self-worth programming.

I want to invite you to join me on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 for a free 90 minute call to explore this topic even further. I’m not selling anything on the call – it’s all pure content. This is about bringing deeper awareness and understanding to this extremely important issue that impacts us all at some level.

Click here to reserve your space.

Be sure to share this with your friends and family so that they can benefit as well. It’s that important!

Before the call, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know how you your life has been or might be impacted by hidden – or not-so hidden! – low self-worth programming. Email me at Michelle@QuantumSoulClearing.com. Share your story and let’s get this conversation going!

Filed Under: Empowerment, Fear, Limiting Beliefs, Self Esteem, Self Worth

How to Recognize Your Limiting Beliefs – Art of Joyful Living Radio

May 28, 2013 By Michelle Leave a Comment

Join me for a lively and informative discussion this Tuesday, May 28th @ Noon ET on The Art of Joyful Living Show with hosts Cindy Briolotta and Linda Cassell. We will be discussing how to recognize YOUR glass ceiling of subconscious beliefs and shatter it forever – in under 15 minutes!

The Art of Joyful Living Show provides listeners with insights, inspirations, tools and techniques for creating the life and business of their dreams. Previous show guests include Asara Lovejoy, Dr. Bruce Lipton, Gregg Braden, Cynthia Kersey, Dr. Susan Lord, Janet Attwood, Dr. Bernie Siegel, Marc Allen, Sonia Choquette, Jennifer McLean, Dee Wallace, Shakti Gawain, Dr. Carol Look, Sandi Radomski, and many more.

Click here to listen to the live broadcast, or if you miss it, to hear the recording.

Filed Under: articles, Limiting Beliefs, Money

Memorial Day – Remembering the Past

May 27, 2013 By Michelle Leave a Comment

Every year for as long as I can remember, my family had a tradition of honoring those who were no longer with us. In the United States, Memorial Day is a national holiday as a remembrance of our fallen soldiers and those who served in all branches of the military.

I’ve always loved Memorial Day for many reasons. As a child, it was the gateway to a care-free summer and no school! It was a day of family, picnics, good food, and story-telling. It was a very special day where we would put together bouquets of flowers and go to each of the cemeteries where my grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins had been buried. It was always an all-day ritual of driving to Ogden, Hooper, and West Weber cemeteries to place those flowers on each of their graves. Everyone we knew was also out there – extended family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. It was a type of informal reunion where we’d connect and tell stories of our loved ones to keep their memories alive.

I heard the stories of my grandfather and his three brothers who all served in World War I. My grandfather was in the first air corps and was a gunner. His three brothers all served in the trenches. I learned about World War II and my uncles’ and other relatives who fought and their stories. I come from a long line of proud veterans and warriors who faithfully and proudly served our country, so memorial day has always been a very big tradition for us to honor those who served – as well as all who have fallen.

Here in Utah the cemeteries are simply beautiful. On Memorial Day, acres of headstones are turned into acres of flowers, small windmills, patriotic flags, pictures, and all types of decorations. They are a riot of color and lovingly placed mementos that are given in remembrance of loved ones.

But for me, I think the most magical thing was seeing all the spirits of those no longer with us shimmering throughout the cemeteries, mingling with all the gathered people, and communing with the living, as they shared the stories, good times, tears and laughter.

For me, it brought a feeling of continuity and a deep knowing that even though our bodies may die, the Spirit is eternal. I always felt great comfort and joy in the connections with the departed. It never felt scary or eerie – just a bigger family reunion that most people just couldn’t see, but could often feel.

During those visits, I particularly loved to hear about my great grandparents and great-great grandparents who had helped settle the Ogden Valley. Hearing about their trials, their journeys, their lives helped bring them closer to me. It made me feel deeply connected with the past and gave me a sense of continuity and belonging that I didn’t often feel otherwise.

One story was of my great grandparents who emigrated from Norway in the 1870’s. My great grandfather came to America with two other brothers. He was a blacksmith by trade and a big, strong man. He was here, working for over two years before he’d saved enough to send for my great grandmother and their three small children who he’d had to leave behind.

They originally bought a blacksmith shop in the upper Ogden Valley in Liberty, Utah. It reminded them of the old country with the towering mountains, deep snows and hearty pine trees. Life was very difficult and my great grandmother had three babies during the time they lived there that she lost, one after another. Needless to say, she struggled with depression and feeling isolated.

Finally, my grandfather had an opportunity to buy a lucrative blacksmith shop in Riverdale, Utah, a small farming village (at that time) near Ogden, Utah. It was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity for a much better, prosperous life with a larger community of people. The only problem was that he didn’t have the required money to put down on the new shop and there were others who were waiting to step in and buy it. He despaired ever being able to make that dream come true.

My great grandmother was only about 4’10” tall, but was a very strong, determined, intelligent, hard-working woman. She asked him how important this dream of his was and they talked about it at length. She finally took him into the bedroom where the cedar chest he’d made for her stood. There, in the bottom, carefully saved and squirreled away, was layer upon layer of pennies, nickels and dimes. Money she’d saved for years for an emergency or an opportunity. There was just enough money for the down payment on the shop and the house that went with the deal.

Knowing the very humble beginnings of my family, this story always brought tears to my eyes. It always seemed like a bit of a miracle. But more than that, it spoke of my great grandmother’s love for her husband and her willingness to follow him to a new, foreign land, filled with hardship and loss, and still make all their dreams come true.

Some old stories, like this, connect us with the truth of our ancestors and help give us a deep sense of belonging. They help us see the value of sacrifice or the bonds of deep, abiding love.

Other old stories, may not be so positive.

Often, when working with others privately or in group, we find that the old story of lack, limitation, grief, sadness, depression, poverty, or any other type of low-energy frequency, is the one thing that just keeps us stuck. The old stories can be creating a resonant field that attracts more of exactly what we DON’T want to be experiencing! It can be our biggest blind spot and it can be tripping us up over and over again, as we struggle to achieve our goals, dreams, and desires.

What is so interesting, is how these old stories are often a part of our every day conversations! How often do you hear yourself argue for your limitations? “I can’t afford that because (fill in the blank)!” “My life just sucks because (fill in the blank)!” “I can’t get a date to save my soul!” “I’ve filled out thousands of resumes and no one wants me!” “No matter what I do, I just can’t drop this extra weight!” (Yes, I know that one intimately! lol)

Our thoughts, our beliefs, the old stories we tell ourselves over and over and over again are sabotaging our best efforts to change our lives. They keep the pain of the past alive and well, and rob us of our peace of mind and prosperity in the here and now, as well as the future!

These week, I want to challenge you to pay greater attention to your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs – especially to your words! Begin to notice when you are saying something that keeps an old unwanted, disempowering belief – and old story of disempowerment – in charge of your life.

Memories can be great – or they can be your biggest stumbling block. How are you using the memories of your past? Are there old stories you need to simply eliminate all-together? What if you could tell those stories in a different way that will allow you to tell the new story of prosperity, self-love, joy, empowerment and alignment with who YOU REALLY are!?

Let’s work together to change the story. To align with the magnificence of who you truly are. Allow yourself to tell the story of the beautiful, engaging, powerful, brilliant, gifted you. Dare to remember the past in a way that allows you to learn from it and move forward in freedom and joy, eager to embrace your creations and co-creations with others – to create this new paradigm world the way you want to experience it!

Filed Under: Empowerment, Fear, Limiting Beliefs

Sheila Gale and I talk about fear and limiting beliefs Today!

May 21, 2013 By Michelle Leave a Comment

Does fear and anxiety – conscious or unconscious – prevent you from moving forward toward your goals, dreams and desires?

Please join me today on The Sheila Gale Show and learn how your subconscious fears may be sabotaging all areas of your life and limiting your life potential. On this interview, Sheila and I will go through a healing activation and alignment process to shatter the glass ceilings of fear and anxiety.

Tune in LIVE and discover a tool that you can use throughout your life to eliminate all types of fear and anxiety and feel empowered to live the life you truly desire.

Here are the details….

Tuesday, May 21st @3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern

Click here to listen in

On this call…

Learn how to recognize YOUR glass ceiling of subconscious beliefs and shatter it forever – in under 15 minutes!
Discover how your limiting beliefs and subconscious programming are sabotaging you in the work place and limiting your earning potential – often by millions of dollars!
Experience a very simple alignment and reconnecting technique that will immediately increase your energy, your mental clarity and connection with your intuition.
Understand how your underlying fears of being seen and heard keep you playing small and cost you thousands of dollars every year.
Understand how to connect with your Infinite Wisdom and harness the power of the Universe to easily magnetize your goals.

I hope you will join me!