Designing a Passionate Life

Book: "The Root of All Healing"

Designing a passionate life includes great health. Without it, following your passions can be difficult and often times impossible. Perhaps one of your passions is your health or you know someone who struggles with health issues. I've run across a woman by the name of Misa Hopkins who is selling a book on healing, called "The Root of All Healing". I like what I hear from her and I've read the first chapter and I'm intrigued so I ordered my own copy of the book today.

Check it out and if it feels right to you or for someone you love give it a try. I do not receive any monetary compensation for suggesting this book to you. If you'd like to see what the possibilities might hold for you or someone you love, you should check it out here:

The Root of All Healing

Let me know how it changes your life, or the life of someone you love.

Live in great health and with passion.

Book Review - The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

Designing a passionate life creates an experience of freedom, joy, and fulfillment. Don Miguel Ruiz, author of "The Four Agreements" offers very simple but powerful methods for transforming your life into one of joy and love.

This book is organized in a manner that is easy to follow. There is an introductory chapter, the four agreements and then a chapter about the future. The four agreements are based on ancient toltec wisdom that is very simple and powerful. Ruiz speaks about each agreement and gives suggestions on how to live each of the agreements. The emphasis is to keep these four agreements with yourself and then with others.

I will give you a brief description of the four agreements with my own interpretation but this is simply the tip of the iceberg. To fully understand each of these agreements you have to read the words of Don Miguel Ruiz. I have summarized the agreements below.

The Four Agreements from the book are:

• Be impeccable with your word - Always speak with integrity, don't gossip, and don't speak negatively about yourself.
• Don't take anything personally - What others do or say has nothing to do with you because it is a projection of their own issues. This is a powerful lesson to learn and one that can potentially set you free. How many times have you been hurt by what you perceived as some sort of insult?
• Don't make assumptions - Ask questions to facilitate clear communications. It is so easy to make up stories when we make assumptions. Maybe you pass Sally in the hall at work and she didn't acknowledge you, so you think that you did something wrong and Sally is mad at you. Another story that could be just as true is that Sally just received some really bad news and couldn't possibly see you because she was in her own world processing the bad news. If you don't know what someone feels, then ask questions to clarify. Don't make up a story.
• Always do your best - No matter what state of mind or body you are in, do your best. What you do when you are sick will not be the same as what you can do when you are healthy and vibrant. If you always do your best, you will avoid self-judgment, regrets, and negative thoughts.

I found a lot of wisdom in each of the agreements and I absorbed the information from the book that I needed to incorporate into my life. I think the book has a lot of ancient wisdom in it and you could gain a gem or two from the book. I highly recommend it.

What would happen if you simply practiced the first agreement in terms of living a passionate life. What would your life look like?

Use the Following link to locate Ruiz's book (search by the title)
"The Four Agreements"

Book Review - The Answer is Simple...Love Yourself, Live Your Spirit

Designing a passionate life requires that you love yourself and live your Spirit. I think the author, Sonia Choquette, is right on with her title. This has been my experience and it is the same with others that I know who live passionate lives.

This book contains ten practical ways to practice living your Spirit. Her writing is easy to follow and the techniques are explained well and easy to implement. Sonia Choquette includes a number of examples throughout her book to demonstrate how her techniques have worked for herself and her clients.

I tried a number of her methods and found them easy to implement and very effective. One of my favorites is to listen to music that speaks to my heart. As Sonia says "To connect with the particular variety (of music) that moves our soul is one of the easiest self-loving choices we can make. Music is the language of Spirit, and it brings release from all that bogs our lives down."

I know this about myself, but I forgot how music can transform my mood in an instant when I play music that connects with my heart. This was a great reminder for me and now I make it a habit to play this kind of music regularly and keep me connected to Spirit.

What do you do to show self-love and to live your Spirit? Following your passions would be a great start. I highly recommend Sonia's book, it is an easy read and very practical.

Use the following link to find Sonia's book:
The Answer is Simple...Love Yourself, Live Your Spirit by Sonia Choquette
(Type 'The Answer is Simple' in the Search field)

Living in The Moment

Designing a passionate life means living in the moment consistently. I have heard this saying over the years, and at an intellectual level I understood it but at a practical level it took me a while to really understand and be able to implement it. I'mgetting better and better at truly living in the moment. It requires constant use of choice about my thoughts and actions.

Where Do You Live?
Are you living in the present moment or in the past or future? For example, are you stressed out because you are so busy getting to the future that the present moment is miserable? Are you always looking forward to the next vacation for fun rather than appreciating what is right now?

If this is your model then you are constantly living in the future and not the present. You are resisting the present and draining your energy. It is a circle and one which you cannot escape until you recognize how you are functioning. This doesn't mean that you don't plan for the future, but you don't sacrifice the present for what 'might' occur in the future.

Living in the past can impact the present moment as well. For example, my father died last year from cancer from asbestos exposure. If I spent every waking moment talking about the injustice and anger towards the manufacturers who use asbestos that caused my father to suffer, and I would be miserable. My life would be stressful, I would have no energy, and I would miss what is happening in this moment. In essence, I would be living in resistance to what is. That is not where I choose to live my life. My father is dead, that is what is and I choose not to resist it.

Living in the moment also applies to unpleasant times in your life. Life isn't always happy but it is full.  During the year before my father died, I experienced a wide range of emotions. I let myself experience them and move through them. I was present in the moment. In some ways, my grief forced me to be totally present in the moment with my emotions. There were times when I wished I could change the outcome so I had forays into the past and future during this time. However, I didn't take up residence in either one.

Ask yourself: Where do I Live? Where do I want to Live?

The benefits of living in the moment include more:

• Energy to focus on what is at hand
• Energy at the end of the day
• Peace and less stress
• Flow and ease in life
• Enjoyment out of what is now rather than looking at some perceived 'joy' in the future

Start Living in the Moment Now
It is a journey and one you can start right now. Decide to consciously choose to live in the moment. Do this by noticing what you are focusing on, is it the present moment, the past, or the future? If you slip, notice it and come back to the present. Don't beat yourself up about it. The biggest thing that you can do is to watch yourself and your thoughts. Hear what you are saying to yourself and to others.

As you begin this journey of noticing you will notice yourself living in the past and future. That is to be expected, notice it and refocus on the present moment. Write a list of the things that you are grateful for in the present moment. Recognize that nothing exists except in the Now. This can be very abstract and hard to get you head around it. I suggest that you open your heart and it will know what to do.

There are two resources that I would like to recommend to you to assist you in this journey. One is a book by Eckhart Tolle called "The Power of Now" and the other is "The Work" by Byron Katie. Tolle's book is a great place to start to help explain how powerful living in the present moment is.

I discovered "The Work" during the year when my father was dying and it was a powerful tool to help me through that process and I continue to use to this day. You can find "The Work" at http://www.ByronKatieTheWorkOnline.com/