Your Heroic Journey

Each of us is on a journey.

A path especially created by our experiences and our choices.

Writing in your journal daily is a great way to have

regular time to reflect on your path,

to remember where you've been and and where you are going.

It gives you time to think about the blessings in your day,

the things you have learned,

and even the challenges that you faced.

Think about it for a moment...

We often read stories of great men and women.

We are reminded during these times that

they did not become great overnight.

All that greatness didn't come the moment they were born.

It came through experiences in their lives

and the way they chose to react to those experiences.

Their stories assist us all in realizing our dreams,

the greatness that we too possess.

They help us to have the courage to change and

to shine bright in our SOULFUL BRILLIANCE!

One thing I've learned in my life is the great importance of

recording your journey as the authentic you.

I used to be in a space where I would wear masks,

and be whatever people needed me to be at the time.

I wasn't being my true self.

I didn't write in my journal as my authentic self,

afraid that someone would read my journal

and see all the negative things in my life.

Once I shed my need to be perfect,

I wrote freely about my thoughts and trials and joys,

and something amazing happened!

I started seeing how amazing my life truly is,

how blessed I am to be on the path I am on

and how my experiences led me to it!

 

When I'm struggling now, I go back and read about how

I triumphed over my challenges, how I achieved in the face of adversity,

and how I am a strong, courageous person.

It was so empowering to remember that I have overcome before,

and that I have the power to do it again!

 

Remember,

your life experiences prepare you for the work

you were created to do!

If you do not write them down and record them,

you may forget about them and the true lessons they taught.

They can be a comfort in challenging times,

and a reminder that you have been prepared for the challenges you now face.

 

Spencer W. Kimball once said, "Record the story of your life,

 your triumph over adversity, your recover after a fall,

your progress when all seemed to be black,

Your rejoicing when you finally achieved."

(Click here for full article.)

I know that in doing this, you will not only empower yourself,

but someday your words may empower others

 in pushing through challenges

and coming out conqueror!

 

 

 My challenge for you:

First find your journal, or go purchase a new one.

It doesn't need to be fancy or colorful (unless you want it to be).

  For me it is almost a spiritual experience

to look for and find the book that

I will record the next part of my heroic journey in.

I love the search!

 

Next START WRITING!  It doesn't really matter what your writing about,

just get started!  Sometimes that is the hardest part.

 

Some suggestions for writing in your journal:

*Write about what you are grateful for and why you are grateful for it.

*Write down your goals for the day, week, or month, and each night before going to bed record how you are doing with them.

*Write about your challenges.

*Record your feelings about things that happen to you throughout the day.  What did you learn?

 

There's so much more you could write about! 

As we continue on this journey together be sure to have your journal handy

to record your thoughts, feelings, and breakthroughs.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts about journaling!  Please comment below or e-mail me at meg@soulfulbrilliance.com.

Luvz,

Meg :0)

What is Soulful Brilliance?

Soulful brilliance.

What is it?

Well, if you've been following this blog for the past few months

you may have a small idea about what it means.

I love to learn about words and the meaning they had when they first were used.

I love to learn the true meaning of words.

So let's take a moment to look at what the words soulful and brilliance really mean.

soulful = soul + ful

A soul is a "spiritual and emotional part of a person".

It is the place inside of each of us that is connected

to our Heavenly Father and our emotions and feelings.

"-ful" is a suffix meaning "full of".

So soulful is to be full of soul and feelings.

Passion.  Fire.  Meaning.

Brilliance comes from the word brilliant, which means "shining, sparkling."

It is a synomym of shine, which means to "shed light or be radiant."

It also means "excellence or distinction"

These things said, what is Soulful Brilliance really?

It is the greatness inside you.

It's the gifts, talents, and abilities that exist in the core of who you are.

Your divine potential.

It is the place in you of love, truth, light, peace and wisdom.

It is the whisper calling to you in all the noisiness of life,

asking you to give it meaning.

It is the light that stands at the foundation of

who you are in this life.

It's acting on the feelings inside yourself--your intuition--

and following the path to your greatness, your passion.

As you discover the light inside yourself and embrace it,

you will find that you will rise to levels of accomplishment

that you had never thought possible.

You start to radiate a light, a brilliant light,

leading others to you,

so you may light the path for them.

We all desire to have purpose in life.

Purpose is our driving energy in life.

When we discover our soul purpose,

our SOULFUL BRILLIANCE,

we find we have an infinite supply of energy and enthusiasm.

Our capacity expands and becomes almost effortless.

Some of you may be saying,

"Well, duh Meg!  But how do I find my purpose."

The truth is that it's going to take some effort

to explore and discover your SOULFUL BRILLIANCE,

so stick with it and don't give up or tell yourself you don't have any gifts or talents.

No one, NOT ONE SOUL, on the face of the earth

is excluded from recieving gifts, talents, and abilities

that are unique to him or her.

Our Father in Heaven sent us here with a purpose

and the power and tools we need to accomplish that purpose.

We are blessed with the beautiful opportunity to have a life.

This life is a time to learn and grow.  To progress.

We get find out who we really are.

Along your journey you may try something new

and decide that it is not for you; it's not who you are.

That is the best way to find out who you are:

find out who you are not!

When you start discovering who you truly are,

you start living life on purpose.

You start living in your SOULFUL BRILLIANCE!

Here's my challenge for you today: 

Take out a sheet of paper and fold it in half long ways (hot dog for those of you who learned that in school), so you have two columns.  On the top of the left column write "Who I am not" and underline it.  On the top of the right column write "Who I am" and underline it.  Don't think to hard about this, just write down the first things you think of in each column.  Who are you?  Who are you not?  What have you discovered?  Keep this paper so you may add to it throughout our journey together.

I would love for you to share with us any insight or discoveries you have made!  Please comment below or send me an email to meg@soulfulbrilliance.com.

Luvz!

Meg :0)

Sources: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php

http://dictionary.reference.com/

Are you ready?

 

Hello Soulful Brilliance friends!  I hope you are all enjoying your summer!  As the summer is coming to an end and we are getting closer to fall, I've been doing some soul searching and working on shifting some limiting beliefs I have.  For a little while I got stuck in a spot and wasn't really progressing in my path.  I have heard from many of my friends and family that they are feeling stuck as well.  I've had many people asking me how they know what their purpose is and what path they should follow in their life.

The truth is that only you can find your path.  

The first step on the path is to decide not to stay where you are!  

Make a choice to take a step towards creating your path and 

finding and living in your SOULFUL BRILLIANCE!

Join me over the next few months as I share some different tools you can use in your search.  

I will also be adding new features to our blog and resources that may assist you.  Check back often or like our page on Facebook where I will be posting updates. Please share this site and our Facebook Page with others so we can assist as many people as we can in finding and living in their Soulful Brilliance!

Things to look forward to this week:

• A resources page full of books, websites, and much more!
• Introductions to our SB team!
• More on what Soulful Brilliance means!
• Why journaling is so important!
•  The Power of Words!
• Why Meg likes exclamation marks so much!

Luvz,
Meg :0)

Hello SB friends!  I had a huge ah-ha last night that I would like to share with you! It was one of those moments when you know something, have forgotten it, and then have the pleasure of learning the lesson again.  This happens to me a lot. 

Last week I had several interesting conversations with different friends.  There seemed to be a challenge that a lot of us are trying to work through right now. 

Loneliness. 

Think about that for a moment.  What is loneliness?  What are we really feeling and what are we saying to ourselves when we are lonely?

Sometimes we think that we are alone. 

There is no one there for us. 

We are waiting to feel validated and loved by other people.

I used to feel this way a lot, but when I really opened up my eyes and looked outside of myself

I learned that I was surrounded by love and acceptance, but because I did not love and accept myself, I did not see what was right in front of me. 

How did I shift that belief that I was lonely do you ask?  Well it started with one thing. 

Being alone.

I took the opportunity to be still. To be all by myself. To contemplate my life. To listen for revelation from my Father in Heaven. To untangle the thoughts and limiting beliefs that were blocking my greatness from being seen. 

As I have done these things, I was able to come to a place where I loved and accepted myself.  And when I finally came to that place, I didn't feel lonely anymore.  I had myself.

I was better able to love and accept others.  To serve them.

Sadly, I had some learning opportunities come my way and instead of remembering these things, I went back to my old patterns and started to feel lonely again. 

I am so grateful for this opportunity though! 

It has helped me to remember how precious and amazing my life really is! 

If it wasn't for times like these, I wouldn't really, truly appreciate the goodness in my life!

Yesterday I was reading a blog called "Dripping with Passion".  She was talking about this very thing and she shared an amazing quote from her high school english teacher, Susan Lake.

"Never mistake aloneness for loneliness.  In order to grow, you need time away. Away from the noises of the world, friends, comfort, and all distractions to find what is important and fulfilling.  These alone moments build character and show the level of patience you are willing to endure to find the Spirit and wrestle with thoughts that tell you you aren't worth anything or you can't do it right.

"When you are lonely, you are saying, 'I don't have meaning in my life. Someone come and make me happy.  I am unwilling to give because I am feeling sorry for myself.  You, world and all the people I know, are responsible for entertaining me and proving to me that I am worthwhile.'

"Change these moments of loneliness into ones of aloneness.  Alone, and all by yourself, do as the Savior taught you to do: serve.  This takes courage and sacrifice of your self-centeredness.  Endure being alone to find that you are loved and have love to give.  That decision made in your heart will bring a glow to you that will attract others to you.  You won't be lonely because you will have yourself, those you give to, and the Savior guiding you through."

I love that, "Never mistake aloneness for loneliness."  We need that time to grow and build our character. 

I love the reminder of this as I sometimes give in to the heartrending feeling of loneliness. 

I am now committed to not letting my aloneness surface as loneliness.  I am looking for ways to serve and love others.  I am following the Spirit and using my greatness as my Father in Heaven would have me do.

I am living my SOULFUL BRILLIANCE!

I would love to hear from you!  Tell me your thoughts on this subject.  What are you committed to doing this week to make sure your aloneness doesn't surface as loneliness?

Be nice!

Hello friends!  It feels like forever since I last posted!  I have been busy with some new creations for Soulful Brilliance and can't wait to share them with you!  Watch for more on this at a later time!

Today I would like to talk to you about loving yourself.  This was a big shift for me in the beginning of my journey.  I was a perfectionist and believed everything I did had to be perfect and that I "should" be doing a lot more than I was or I "should" be doing better at what I was doing.  Because of this mindset, I was not very nice to myself.  I don't think I consciously thought of it as being mean to myself, but it was.  I finally realized what I was doing and had to work hard on shifting it. 

As I've been thinking of my experience, been to different seminars and retreats, and heard different people telling their stories, I discovered some general reasons why many people are not nice to themselves.  First, we believe we are not good enough.  Second, we don't think we're worthy.  Third, we aren't attractive.  For myself, it was all of these things.  In order to shift these beliefs I had the opportunity to start having a serious talk with myself every night.  I would stand in front of my mirror, look myself in the eyes, and tell myself that I was beautiful!  That I was deserving!  That I was enough!  That I was an amazing person!  I would also tell myself all the amazing things I had done during the day.  And of course, that I loved myself!  I will admit that at first it was a completely emotional experience.  I hadn't thought those things about myself for so long.  Saying them and really trying to believe them was at first really hard, but as I repeatedly told myself these things, I started to believe them.  It was empowering!  The more I believed them, the nicer I was to myself without thinking about it.  My days became better!  I was happier!  I had more energy to assist other people around me!  It didn't just serve myself to do these things, it helped the people around me as well!

Loving yourself will change your life!

It is my hope that you love yourself, so you can be happy and create the kind of life you truly wish to live!  My challenge to you this week is to try the Mirror Exercise that I described above.  Stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself that you are amazing, worthy, enough or whatever you feel you need to hear from yourself.  Tell yourself what a great job you did during the day even if it was that you got up and breathed in and out.  And most of all don't forget to tell yourself that you love you!  Don't forget how amazing you truly are!  Please let me know how your doing with the challenge by commenting below or send an e-mail to me at meg@soulfulbrilliance.com!  I would really love to hear your stories! 

Luvz,

Meg

Shout Out to Women!

When I think of all the amazing women in my life, I can make a huge list of special mothers and church leaders that have made a huge difference in my life. Especially my own dear, sweet mother.

My mother is the epitome of living a Christ centered life. From a young age I learned from her example great lessons of love, service, and faith. She has always been there when I've needed a listening ear, an encouraging word or a shoulder to cry on. She has helped me have faith in myself to accomplish my dreams and do things I never would have thought possible. She's the best!

Mother's Day is a great opportunity for us to take the time to celebrate our mothers and thank them for their amazing service to us.  Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers!  And to all of you who may not yet be mothers, but dedicate yourself to assisting the children around you, thank you for your service and dedication!  You have a significant impact on so many.  The world just wouldn't be the same without amazing women!

Women are so incredible! We spend our time helping, serving and giving to others, often taking little time for ourselves. Sadly we often feel guilty that we're not doing more. We rarely give ourselves credit for the powerful creators we are!  We assist so many others in finding and living in their soulful brilliance, but often times don't take time during the day to recharge our batteries.  So I hope that you can make a goal to spend some time each day, even if it is just 5 minutes, to taking a little time to fill yourself up and remind yourself of the powerful creator you are!  Give yourself the credit for all the wonderful things that you are accomplishing each and every day!  You are powerful and inspiring! 

-Meg

Wow!  What a week last week!  Hopefully you were able to find some courage and take a small step in doing something you've been putting off out of fear.  I know I did!  I made a phone call I have been avoiding and I had the opportunity to have an authentic conversation with a friend.  I feel so much better! 

So on another note, I had a rough week.  Sometimes I get in grouchy moods and forget to use the tools that I have learned.  After a few days of feeling this way, I had a realization and I had to have a little talk with myself. I said to myself, "Meg, why would you stop travelling on the path, the VERY path that got you to where you are now?  You can open up your journal and use the tools you've learned.  You can use the tools you share with others!  This is a work you can do.  Can you really dig deep and ask yourself the hard questions...instead of going through the motions??? Why wouldn't you? This is the path and a blessing from Heavenly Father that has assisted you in accomplishing SO much in the last year!  It's time to make more happen Meg! NOW!

I am so thankful for these emotions that show up in my life as they remind me of how far I have come and remind me that I'm perfect in my imperfections.  I also am thankful that they remind me that I am still learning!  Even though I have been living in my soulful brilliance, I still have so much to learn!

Remember that in your life!  You are the perfect you!  Imperfections and all!  Be thankful for your emotions and what they can teach you if you ask yourself the right questions! Be thankful for the bad days because without them you wouldn't know a good day if it hit you over the head!

 ~Meg