11 Days of Self-Discovery

DAY 1: SELF-AWARENESS

DAILY AFFIRMATION: As my Self-awareness Expands, my perspective broadens.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE :

“To know thy self is the beginning of wisdom" – Socrates

"Analyses of others are actually expressions of our own needs and values." - Marshall Rosenberg

ASPECT ESSENCE:

Self-Awareness is the conscious awareness of our personal needs, capabilities, character, feelings, thoughts, motives, desires.. etc. Our Awareness of ourselves dictates our perspective on life. In order to expand our self awareness we must experience ourselves in new environments, in new ways of being, push ourselves to new limits and expand our minds to new levels of knowledge and understanding. We need to try new things with a sense of consciousness and reflection. When we approach new and difficult situations with an expanded sense of self awareness, we can act out of place of confidence and belief in oneself rather than act out of fear and self-doubt. Expanding self awareness is a continual life long process, it can be fun and enjoyable or it can be difficult and painful. It is in our power to expand our self awareness with grace and enjoyment if we keep an open mind and ask ourselves the hard but good questions. We stunt our own progress in expanding self awareness when we stop questioning and reflecting on where we want to go, who we want to be and what is possible for our lives. For example, one way that I continually create self-Awareness and self-expansiveness is when confronted with a difficult situation I like to ask myself, "why is this happening for me?" rather than "why is this happening to me?". This reminds me to take responsibility for my reactions and turn every adversity into an opportunity to elevate my aliveness and expand my self awareness.

Grandmother wisdom: Self-awareness is a lifelong process, our lives change from moment to moment and day to day, so we have to be very alert to how were feeling and what’s going on around us to be self aware. In each part of your life the wisdom that you need changes, what you need to know at 20 is not what you need to know at 40. Stay alert and open to listening to being able to read what’s happening inside of you and outside of you at the same time. Be aware of what you can change in your reaction and be aware that you cannot change others reactions. Self love and self care are the major keys to self awareness. It is of great importance to feel grounded in honoring who you are and the path that you pick is specifically for you.

Granddaughter wisdom: I believe in order to truly love ourselves, we must develop self awareness. We must understand what are our strengths, weaknesses, needed boundaries, pleasures, necessities. For example, I have learned that in order to thrive, an environment with nature and creative people and collaboration and healthy practices are crucial for me. Once we become truly self aware we must then learn to communicate our needs and boundaries and desires to those around us, and this is a powerful form of self love! I often develop self awareness by reflecting on how certain situations made me feel and why they made me feel that way, and then moving forward I know the boundaries I must put in place to feel better.

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY:

Meditation Assignment: As a self awareness exercise, Put a timer on for 5 minutes, sit in a comfortable but upright position, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing while paying close attention to what thoughts come into your head. Practice being an observer, becoming aware of your thoughts as an observer, and then letting them go as an observer. This is an excellent activity to develop self awareness of our thoughts.

Day #2: FORGIVENESS

DAILY AFFIRMATION: Forgiveness is one of my greatest strengths. I strengthen my forgiveness muscle every day.

INSPIRATION: ”I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note—torn in two, burned up so that it never be shown against one.” – Henry Ward Beecher

ASPECT ESSENCE: Forgiveness is the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. Forgiveness is one of our greatest strengths. We tend to think that forgiveness is mainly for others; however, it is really for ourselves. It is amazing how drama in our lives quickly dissipates when forgiveness is in our hearts. Letting go of past hurts and resentments enables us to be present, positioning us to maximize our human potential.

Learning forgiveness is among the more difficult challenges we face on our quest for ascension. Nonetheless, once we reach a certain altitude– Leaving drama at base camp – forgiveness simply becomes a new way of life. We learn to release the negative energies holding us captive: anger, resentment, and perhaps even hatred.

Grandmother Wisdom: Forgiveness stems from understanding. Where did I have a lack of understanding? Where can I take radical responsibility to forgive myself and to forgive others. Recognize the patterns that you and others repeat, and come from a place of trying to understand. When I know better I do better.

Granddaughter wisdom: Forgiveness of others or ourselves is often the greatest gift we can give to ourselves, because it allows us to let go of whatever heavy emotions we were carrying around with us wherever we go. A quote I will never forget is, hate or jealousy is like drinking poison hoping the other person falls ill. Forgiveness allows us to vibrate at a higher frequency in the present moment, causing us to be more attractive of a better life. I think it is important not to confuse forgiveness with forgetfulness because I think it is very important to learn and remember the lessons that a painful situation can teach us, while letting go of the painful grudges or chips on our shoulders. Forgiveness is an art and a muscle that we can strengthen.

ASPECT #3: PERSEVERANCE

DAILY AFFIRMATION: I have the ability to persevere through any difficulty.

INSPIRATION: “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” ~ Japanese Proverb

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” —James N. Watkins

ASPECT ESSENCE: Perseverance is doings something despite difficulty and/or delay in achieving success. Perseverance is the strength we have to help carry us through difficult times. Perseverance is an intangible muscle, as the more we use it, the stronger it gets.

The illusion that money solves life’s problems is just that, an illusion, meaning that wealthy people encounter challenges too. The point is, every single human needs perseverance to thrive in life.

GRANDMOTHER WISDOM: I am highly dyslexic and could never go a traditional school route. Even despite my disability, I have created and written a 950 page book on 17 different spiritual paths called The Harmony Project. This was a highly collaborative project which allowed me to further persevere because they shared talents with me that I didn’t have. I learned that I didn’t have to do everything on my own, and that perseverance is often tied in with asking for help. I was not raised to believe that I should ask for help so I had to change my mindset. Preserving is about finding solutions to problems. This book took a great deal of persistence and perseverance, however, interfaith and spiritual teaching is my passion so it was not hard but rather enjoyable. When you work in collaboration with other people, with persistence and passion, deep friendships evolve and continue. The Harmony Project was completed 10 years ago and It is now a free course on Udemy with over 2,500 students, open to you all. I was told by an academic scholar that with my book I would have earned a masters degree if I had been in a traditional school setting. I have learned to follow my passion to ignite my persistence.

Granddaughter wisdom: I think perseverance is the muscle we develop in order to keep learning, growing, and evolving even through adversity. Perseverance is the muscle you flex when you are tired of the challenges life throws your way. Perseverance, I believe, is necessary in order to manifest dreams, accomplish goals, and to feel a sense of satisfaction and success. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times or more before he was able to create the lightbulb! That is perseverance.

DAILY ACTIVITY: PERSISTENCE CHALLENGE : Set a simple task for you to do every day for 30 days, no matter what, and build your perseverance by making a commitment to yourself and keeping it. Start small and then go bigger. This will completely change your life by building your belief in yourself and self esteem. The task could be as simple as reaching for your toes for 30 seconds every day, but whatever it is get inspired about doing it with persistence and consistence every day.

Aspect #4: GRATITUDE

ESSENCE: I am grateful for my life and for who I am.

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ~ Epicteus

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Gratitude includes celebrating life and acknowledging the beauty and potential of one’s Self. Gratitude provides the basis for true abundance. Many of us take our health for granted until we get sick.

Many of us take family and friend for granted until someone close to us dies. Many of us dread going to school until after we graduate. Gratitude is generally realized after the fact, reflecting on a past time. Our world is plagued with a lack of gratitude in the present time.

GRANDMOTHER WISDOM: Gratitude is a skill that we need to develop, it is often not taught by our culture or families. An attitude of gratitude is a gift that keeps on giving. In my 20’s I was abandoned with three small children and it was very easy for me to get overwhelmed by how difficult my life was, but I learned to stop and reflect and focus on all the things that were coming in to help me and my children and I were able to survive because of other people’s love and support. I chose to focus on the gratitude for this love and support rather than focus on the feelings of abandonment and betrayal. Gratitude and appreciation for the good things around us allowed us to survive and it also kept me from harming my children. And now my five children are thriving and abundant and choose gratitude.

GRANDDAUGHTERWISDOM: Gratitude is often said to be the “secret” to living a fulfilling life and to attracting the life that you want. The feeling of gratitude for all of life’s little, challenging, wonderful, and wondrous things is one of the highest vibrating feelings and can transfer us through the most negative or pessimistic emotions. Gratitude is not always easy to feel, but it is always possible to feel and the more we practice gratitude the better we feel in the moment and thus we are able to attract and create better circumstances with what we have and where we are presently at.

Daily Activity:

Write down 15 things that you are grateful for today.

Write thank you on the glass of water you drink.

Aspect #5: VISION

ESSENCE: If I have all the answers, then my vision is too small.

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm Possible.'" ~ Audrey Hepburn

Vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination and wisdom. Visionaries are open to the infinite, having an uncanny ability to see opportunity amid chaos. . When manifesting a vision, intense focus is necessary to create the vision in three-dimensional form.

Focus enables us to continue to take the necessary steps in present time to create what we have in mind. Perseverance and patience, most times, accompany focus in our efforts to create. Remaining focused during challenging and stressful times is an important element for each of us to learn.

Successfully manifesting our mind's vision into three-dimensional form requires leveraging the mind, body, and spirit energies. Every thought of every person reflects the collective consciousness of our society. Every thought of every person reflects the collective consciousness of our society. Every thought, light and dark, is already created as potential outcome in the higher dimensions. Based on our own personal energetic vibration, we are choosing which potential outcomes we are attracting into our lives. To varying degrees, all of us are alchemists, possessing a seemingly magical process of transformation and manifestation.

Grandmother Wisdom: Even though I’ve been through many challenging circumstances, it was easy for me to hold a vision of what I wanted and what I wanted to create and then it was a day by day, step by step work that was the challenge in creating this vision. I have been director of the Sanctuary of Sophia for close to 50 years. I received a very clear vision through prayer that the oppression of women in our culture was so destructive, so I stepped out to help women understand their beauty, power, creativity and love. I have worked with hundreds of women and I have learned from each and every person I’ve worked with and I still have the same vision to honor the power and grace that comes with being feminine. A vision often comes with a cause that you care about and something in the world that you would like to change. Use our reflection questions below to help you better develop and ground your vision. Agency, Collaboration, and partnership are going to be key in creating your vision.

Granddaughter Wisdom: Vision is the “why”, the driving force behind perseverance, focus, determination and problem solving. When we have a clear vision of what we want to create, be, do, or solve than we are able to seek out and attract the right opportunities to move closer to that vision. There is an excellent program called Life Book that helps you write out a clear vision for 12 important areas of life such as career, social life, spiritual life and family. Creating a clear vision for each aspect of your life that you deem important will make it an even stronger driving force and will make you a more powerful manifestor.

Task: Write down a vision for the ideal mental and physical health you would like to have in your lifetime, what does that look like? Let the vision include things that you think would be necessary to have in order to attain optimal mental and physical health.

ASPECT #6: BALANCE

DAILY AFFIRMATION: I can create balance in my life.

INSPIRATION: “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.” ~ Thomas Merton

Balance is an even distribution of weight, enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. Balance is a Universal truth—If two individual forces are of equal magnitude and opposite direction, then the forces are said to be balanced. In life, Balance can be applied to our priorities and needs of different magnitudes. Achieving balance requires us to first set straight our priorities and needs, and then and then proportionally give them based on their directions and magnitudes of importance.

We tend to become unbalanced when we operate from the viewpoint of "I'm not enough" or "I don’t have enough" or when we give a magnitude of importance to things that are steering us in a direction that does not serve us. Get clear on what is important to you and what direction you want to be going in, and know that you are enough. Falsely believing that we are never enough can prompt us to overcompensate where no compensation is needed. For instance, we may work too hard, or possess more than we can properly care for. Nature is inherently balanced, the more fulfilled we become by our inherent nature that is always enough, the more balanced we become.

Grandmother wisdom: To be healthy and to be strong one must have balance in their life, taking care of their mind, body, spirit and soul. Balance is something that we need to focus on our entire lives because life is always changing and we must adjust to what is going on around us and within us to rebalance ourselves. Just like how our body must constantly readjust when we are trying to balance on one foot, we must adjust our habits and practices to reenergize our mind body and spirit. I have always prioritized caring for people and I have received a lot of affirmations from people because I was caring, but I was often getting out of balance myself by taking care of people that really should have been taking care of themselves. As a spiritual teacher now, in my 80’s, I do more empowerment work with people so that they can learn the skills they need to create balance in their own lives. The skills you need are different for every person but they are very specific things that we can do to bring our life into balance. I must practice self care to keep myself in balanced, like working and resting properly, watching my diet but not being overly strict, and listening to audiobooks or comedians. I have a commitment to myself to study 3 hours a day and that makes me feel balanced.

Granddaughter wisdom: Balance to me is embracing the meaning of yin and yang in my day to day life. I like to focus on my physical, mental and spiritual health. the light and the good always has a little dark and the dark and the bad always has a little light. I feel most balanced when I am taking care of my mind with reading new books or having engaging and constructive conversations, but also embracing a bit of the brain dead activities like watching a stupid show. I feel most balanced when I am taking care of my body and trying new challenging activities and pushing myself in the gym, but also fully resting and relaxing on the couch or in a hammock or doing a body relaxation centered meditation. And I feel balanced in my spirit when I am being intentive, journaling, manifesting and meditating to listen to my inner self, but then and being aware and prayerful and intentive with the universe around me , working on manifesting and discovering my best life.

Aspect #7: AUTHENTICITY

ESSENCE: Authenticity enables the real me to thrive.

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ~ Judy Garland

"I have already settled it for myself, so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free." --Georgia O'Keeffe

Authenticity is fully embracing our genuine selves, thus remaining true to who we really are. Authentic people are inspired, confident, independent, and calm. They seek inner direction rather than direction from the media-saturated outside world.

Many regrets in life stem from instances when we are not authentic selves, when we are succumbing to peer pressure, placating others, going against our intuition, or following the crowd to be cool and fit in.

Peer pressure and cultural conditioning expect us to act a certain way, And that is exactly what many of us do – we act. We act a certain way when the boss or teacher is around. We act a certain way when attending our houses of worship. We act a certain way when we are with our friends. We act a certain way when we are with our parents and families. These are a lot of acts to keep track of! Perhaps the question one may want to consider is: In which act are you truly your authentic self?

GRANDMOTHER WISDOM: Authenticity is fully embracing our genuine selves. Growing up in the 1930’s women had very specific roles that they needed to fulfill and they were expected by all those around them to fulfill. Then in came the 60’s and the mindset was ripped apart by the feminist movement. At first I was fearful because it was very different, but more advanced women friends of mine helped me open my mind to believe that I had more gifts to offer the community than just keeping the home tidy and the husband happy. An example to show how I changed, was before when the kids would come home and make the floor messy I would say “ Look what you’ve done to my floor! “ but I learned to say, “This is our floor and we need to keep it clean together.” I had to learn how to be authentic because my culture demanded that I be of service to others and not to myself, and I did that very well. When the feminist movement came in is jarred open my mind and body awareness that I could be more than just a house wife. I honor how the culture has changed and how in this younger generation men and women are working in partnership and each has permission to develop their full potential.

GRANDDAUGHTHER WISDOM: Authenticity to me is about getting real about what your values are, how you like to be and want to be, and what you truly like and want to do, and then living that. I think often we do things because we think it will look good or it will gain us approval, which can feel good in the moment but it does not always feel good to our authentic selves. Authenticity also means being raw towards others who care about you and about who you are, what you want, what you’re feeling and what you’re going through. In order to be raw we need to openly express the feelings that are having a great impact on us. Vulnerability and Authenticity go hand in hand, and being vulnerable and authentic with those who love and care about us will set us free. We can also be our authentic selves with everyone we meet, and it is just about speaking and living our truth.

Aspect #8: COMPASSION

ESSENCE: I give to give, not give to get.

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~ Dalai Lama

Compassion is the sympathetic concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. If our hearts are closed, compassion cannot expand. As we love and care for one another, our compassion increases. The more open our hearts become, the more we feel concern and love for others.

Compassion creates a safe space for others and ourselves. Compassion requires the skill of listening without judgement and with the intent of understanding. The best compassion can hold someone where they are at without trying to fix or change them, but rather trying to reach a deeper understanding of them.

Compassion is not limited to other people, as it includes ourselves. We can practice self-compassion by becoming more understanding of our emotional, mental and energetic needs, and letting go of harsh self-judgement. The more compassion we have for ourselves the more compassion we can have for others.

GRANDMOTHER WISDOM: The more we can deeply love and understand our own selves, the more compassion we have for other people and situation. If we are carrying any contempt, judgment anxiety or extreme sadness that blocks our ability to have compassion for other. In order to feel real compassion for ourselves and others we must release emotions that are blocking and harming us. Emotions that block compassion stem from feeling not good enough, feeling abandoned and alone. However harshly you judge yourself you have that same amount of judgement on other people. Dogs or children give unconditional love because it comes from non-judgement. True Compassion stems from non-judgement and acceptance.

GRANDDAUGHTER WISDOM: Compassion might not be what makes the world go round always, but it is definitely what makes life feel good, and worth living. When we are operating through the lense of compassion it is much easier to forgive and understand others. I believe humans desire deep connection and to feel understood by others, and by ourselves. Compassion is the lense or emotion or tool that we can use to understand eachother.

Aspect #9: PRESENT TIME

ESSENCE: The only time is present time.

Daily Affirmation: I live fully immersed and engaged in my present experience.

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." ~ Buddha

Present Time is occurring now, Life on Earth only exists in present time. Humans fabricated time. Before we inhabited the Earth, life simply existed in a state of being.

In other words, time doesn’t really exist. It is an illusion, purely a human mechanism for managing our lives. Outside the human framework, all other organisms live in the now, as there is no yesterday or tomorrow in their consciousness. Of course, other organisms learn things and use that knowledge at a later date, but don't confuse this with having a framework of time.

In the 1902 book Sun Dials and Roses of Yesterday by Alice Morse Earle, she noted the wisdom, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." Within the human mechanism known as time, it is important that we place great emphasis on being fully present.

GRANDMOTHER WISDOM: One of the most important skills I’ve learned in my lifetime is to live in present time. In the hardest situations I’ve been in, it is only by staying in present time that I could get through it. If I looked back or forward it would feel impossible, but if I stayed in the present I would move through whatever challenge I was in minute by minute, hour by hour, step by step, day by day. I’ve been divorced twice and I’ve had to start everything over from scratch. If I looked backwards I felt victimized and broken, if I looked forward I couldn’t see a future and I felt a lot of fear, but if I stayed in present time with my own personal vision of what I wanted I could get through it. It was really hour by hour that I needed to get through it and stay in present time and change my present state by my actions. The strength comes from the vision of what I want in the present moment. I can say this because I know it’s true from experience. Speaking mantras is an excellent way to bring yourself into the present moment, a mantra that I speak to myself is “Trust the process, I don’t need to know everything that’s going on but I believe my highest good is on its way to me.” Now my granddaughter will share a buddhist mantra that she uses when she wants to quiet her mind and bring herself to present time.

The Loving Kindness Prayer - Buddhist mantra.

“May all my friends, family, enemies, strangers, loved ones and all beings throughout beginning-less time and space have happiness, contentment, enlightenment and freedom from suffering.”

GRANDDAUGHTER WISDOM: I believe most suffering is caused by thinking about things that happened in the past, or worrying about what the future might bring. Life can become truly blissful when you breathe into the sensations and moments in the present tense. The practice of getting into present time is truly liberating, and profound. I’ve had my most profound moments with God, with others, with myself, and with life when I was truly feeling and experiencing the present moment. Sometimes it is necessary to reflect about the past or plan for the future, but it is deathly important to recognize when we are causing ourselves unnecessary suffering or worry by taking ourselves out of the present moment and into our racing minds. I say deathly important because I believe our thoughts make the difference between living and dying every day.