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As an artist, I get restless. I must keep my creative juices flowing by working on new projects and trying new things. That's why I've moved around so much—I never want to be in one place for too long. But recently, I realized that it's hard to move, and there are things about this home that mean a lot to me. For one thing, it's where I started my artistic journey on a serious level. I lived in this duplex for five years, where I made some of my best work. It has the perfect lighting from the dining table, and I love exploring different techniques using the ideal natural light. It's also a lovely place to live—I love watching the lake outside my window daily! So when I start feeling restless again (which happens more than I like), I'll just redecorate this place instead of looking for somewhere else to go and try something new. Time to do some interior design research again!
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I was feeling stuck yesterday and today. I felt like my life did not move fast enough, but then I remembered when life seemed to be holding me back; it meant I was getting ready to launch into something better. It is easy to get caught up in things moving at different speeds than you want them to. You see others around you achieving their goals and dreams, or at least making progress towards them, while you are still sitting on the sidelines. I know how it feels. It can be frustrating when we feel like we're standing still while others seem to be getting ahead. But if we take a step back and look closer at what's happening, we'll find that this isn't true! These feelings of being "stuck" are signs of something much bigger: change is coming! This new season will bring about great opportunities for growth and expansion—but it won't happen until we let go of what no longer serves us and embrace what does! PS. I did a quick sound bath today to realign and centre myself. Works every time :)  We're all living in uncertain times. There's so much uncertainty that we may feel overwhelmed by it all. It's easy to get caught up in the fear and the sense that you can't control anything. But there are things you can do to help yourself stay grounded and calm amid the chaos. One such thing is focusing on your breath throughout the day (a constant reminder to do this is needed). If you're feeling stressed or anxious, take a few deep breaths and focus on your body as it inhales and exhales air. This will help stabilize your nervous system and bring clarity to whatever you're facing. It's time to take a risk! You've been taking risks all along, but you're ready to take one that will make a difference. Why? Because taking a considerable risk could change lives. You believe in the power of your work and want to do more than make a living. You want to make an impact, and you know that sometimes the only way to do that is by taking a risk. Taking risks is scary; it's like jumping off a cliff without knowing whether there's water below. But how will you ever know what's beyond the edge if you don't leap? You're getting closer to your dreams and goals when you're taking risks. And being vulnerable is part of risk-taking—when we let ourselves be open and honest with others, we can accomplish so much more than if we stick to our comfort zone. Taking risks means letting yourself be seen in your truest form—and that's not easy! But it's also worth it because when you take risks, you create opportunities for growth and improvement in every aspect of your life. So go ahead… leap!  The world is in your hands, and it's time to make it a better place. You can do anything you set your mind to, but sometimes we get stuck in our heads and think we're incapable of greatness. We must figure out how to get started or what we're capable of. Your calling is the one thing that will always move you forward—even when you're afraid. It will push you beyond your comfort zone and into the greatness that is yours for the taking. We all have a purpose in this world, and our calling helps us find it. It's the thing that gets us out of bed in the morning, even when we'd rather stay in bed all day. It keeps us going when things are hard, or we feel like quitting. And it's what makes all of those little disappointments along the way worth it because we would never grow into our best selves without them! So don't be afraid to follow your heart—it knows exactly where to take you! What would happen if you sat down, did nothing and listened to your soul? I experienced many painful feelings sitting in silence and knew sitting in my pain was a shortcut to freeing up my thoughts and feelings for something new. And I heard my soul saying something important. I'm not here to tell you what you already know. I'm here to remind you of what you already know but have forgotten. It's not easy to take care of ourselves, but it's necessary if we want to make space for the things that matter most.  I wish we had been taught cold calling and sales techniques in high school and college. If we had, we would have been more bulletproof of taking rejections in life, and therefore more of us would be living our dream as adults. Cold calling is a great way to practice your communication skills and hone your ability to sell yourself. It's a skill that can help you build confidence, create connections, and even make money. You don't have to be an outgoing person to be good at cold calling. If you're someone who's shy or nervous about meeting people, try starting with a phone call. The phone can be a great way to get comfortable talking with people without having to deal with their facial expressions or body language—you just have to watch what they say! Once you've gotten more comfortable with the phone, move on to in-person meetings. This will help you feel more confident when speaking with new people, because you'll be able to see how their expressions change as they talk about their interests and passions. Once you've built up some confidence in your communication skills, consider using them for something bigger than just making money or connecting with friends: volunteering! Volunteering can provide an opportunity for you to meet new people and practice your communication skills while helping out those who need it most. Enlightenment is a transformation that takes place within you. It's a shift in consciousness and one of the two symptoms of enlightenment is that you stop worrying. Things don't bother you anymore. You become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous. The miracle occurs when you can change your reality just by thinking about it differently. It's not magic or anything like that—it's simply an energetic shift in your perception of reality, which then allows you to manifest whatever it is you want into existence. A lot of people think this sounds too good to be true, but it's really not like that at all. What I'm talking about here is something very simple—the notion that everything happens for a reason and there are no accidents in life (meaning: everything happens according to some kind of universal plan). You walk towards your goal and the universe will meet you half way kinda thing.  I used to be a people pleaser. I would do anything to make others happy, even at my own expense. I didn't care about myself—I only cared about what other people thought of me. But then, one day (25 years ago), I realized enough was enough. It was time for me to start taking care of myself instead of trying to please everyone else all the time. So I started reading everything I could about confidence and self-esteem, and I retyped the book The six pillars of self-esteem into my own words to fully understand how they applied to my situation. Then I did everything I could to learn how to become more assertive and build boundaries with others. If you have something you don't like about yourself, take some time this week and go to a bookstore or library where they have lots of different books on self-esteem—it'll allow you to learn more about yourself and maybe even change some things for the better! Self-awareness is key when it comes to happiness. Have you ever felt like you don't fit in with your job, relationship, home, or city? You're not alone! It's totally normal to feel that way. The reason is that your energy vibration has changed and it's time to move on. You need a change. This can be scary, but it doesn't have to be—if you walk in faith and make that decision, it will happen for you. You may have increased your frequency and outgrown your current environment. Or perhaps new challenges await you—challenges that will help you grow even more. Whatever the reason, know this: if you choose to walk away from what's no longer serving you and make a change, it will happen.  We're all a little bit broken, but that doesn't mean we can't be whole. It's easy to get caught up in the idea of perfection—to see it as something attainable, something that might even be desirable—but being authentic means coming from a genuine place within. It is when our actions and words are congruent with our beliefs and values. It is being ourselves, not imitating what we think we should be or have been told we should be. And there are plenty of reasons to do this! When we can embrace our flaws and show up for other people without trying to hide behind masks or excuses, one thing happens: we build relationships—no more excuses for being you.  Have you ever been in a situation where you had conflicting information? Maybe you heard that one person was doing something but then saw them do something else. Perhaps you kept hearing from one person that he doesn't like a specific brand of coffee, but when he buys it, he loves it. It can be hard to reconcile those two things—the one thing we've heard and the thing we've seen—but cognitive dissonance theory says we can make sense of those things if we give them time and attention. For example, if someone tells us that they don't like a certain brand of coffee and then we see them drink it, cognitive dissonance theory says that we might have a hard time accepting this new information because it runs counter to what we were told by that person before. This is why some people might accuse us of trying to trick or manipulate them into changing their opinions about something! But cognitive dissonance theory also says that if we give ourselves enough time and attention (so more than just an initial glance), then our minds will start working together so that they can reconcile these conflicting thoughts so that our minds can operate coherently once again—and then we'll feel better about the new information. Cognitive dissonance theory says that it's important to take some time to think about new information before you act on it because it's hard for our brains to process conflicting thoughts at first glance. But if we give ourselves enough time, our minds will work together to resolve the conflict, making us feel better about the new information.  Change is inevitable and an opportunity to learn something new or try something that might be scary at first. Change is an opportunity to see what happens when we take a risk and put ourselves out there. Flexibility is about responding to change without inappropriate attachments to your past. You lack self-trust if you are clinging to the past—clinging to what was and unable to accept what is. You become rigid/stiff instead of asking, "what can I learn from this unfamiliar situation?". A mind that trusts itself is light on its feet, able to respond quickly to novelty because it is open to see. It sees things as they are rather than as they have been conditioned to be. The mind that trusts itself is fluid and flexible. It doesn't need to hold onto old beliefs or ideas because it trusts itself to adapt quickly to new situations. A mind which lacks trust in itself will be cautious and overly cautious, unable to move past old patterns of behaviour, unable to take risks or try new things because it fears what might happen if it doesn't know exactly how things will turn out. A mind which lacks trust in itself will also tend towards rigidity and inflexibility: people who lack self-trust tend towards complacency and stagnation, which can lead them into a state of depression or even apathy if they don't consciously work against it by finding ways to trust themselves again.  Sound baths are a great way to relax and unwind, with the bonus of having physiological benefits. It has been demonstrated that sound may heal the body and mind. A Sound bath can help you feel less stressed, depressed, and anxious while reducing your pain. The brain wave state essentially shifts during a Sound bath from the typical waking state (beta) to a relaxed state (alpha), dreaming state (theta), and even a restorative condition (delta). Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing depth all decrease as the body and mind unwind. Deep healing is possible when one is in this state. Thus, a Sound bath offers physiological advantages and lowers tension and anxiety by promoting relaxation. These include decreased discomfort, improved sleep, the clearance of toxins, and a boosted immune system. The best way to raise your vibration is to be aware of it! Your vibration is a measure of how you feel and how you see your vibration. The more you practice being present with yourself, the more you'll notice when you're feeling good and the more you'll notice when something isn't right. You can use this awareness to make positive changes—like eliminating toxic foods from your diet or adding more sunshine into your life—that will increase your vibration even more. The good news is that each time you raise your vibration, it's easier to do so again. Each time you practice being present with yourself, it gets a little easier to stay in that space, and each time it gets easier to recognize when something isn't right in your world, it becomes easier to make positive changes that help increase your vibe even more.
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Annica JohanssonMy name is Annica Johansson and I am an Artist, Art Life Coach and a Sound Healer. I am writing about personal development, daily musings, spirituality and depicting mother nature's amazing beauty. Welcome! Categories
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