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May 17, 2013

YOU’RE ENOUGH: Here’s How Vulnerability Helps Us Find the TRUTH

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Freedom and flexibility are not a result of our external limitations falling away, but rather the result of how we respond to the internal obstacles that we discover along the way. - E.L.M.

As a coach, a client, a teacher, and a student, I have the opportunity to experience both sides of this dynamic partnership. I get to see patterns and themes, and witness before my very eyes just how things seem to show up for every single one of us, in similar ways, at similar times.

Why do you think this happens?

Every time I speak from my heart, someone shares with me that they too, are going through something that feels the same. Well, I am definitely not psychic, so there must be another explanation. Perhaps this is just another way that we are all being shown just how connected we really are to one another, just how alike we are, and just how much we truly relate when the truth comes out.

Hmmmm, THE TRUTH…

This is the theme that I feel so inspired to share about today. Truth is something that is only accessible when there is vulnerability. Oh…Vulnerability? Nevermind.

Yeah, that’s what I use to say too. But hear me out. I know the word VULNERABILITY tends to be something we avoid, mostly because we don’t have a positive experience of it as far as we can recollect to date. I however, come in support of this word today, with the intention of creating the possibility that you might open yourself up to it again, like I have recently. I have just returned, alive and in one piece, from the dark waters of this discomfort.

That said, I must admit, when I stopped squealing, squirming, and assuming the worst, I realised it was only dark because my eyes were closed, and when I dug my heals into the ground and actually stood up, the water was only up to the middle of my thighs. Wow…who knew.

I have been stretching myself, reaching out to my ex-partner, who I have always known I loved, at least somewhere inside of me, but was just not capable of expressing or sharing that with him for the 9 months we spent together. We broke up for good about 6 weeks ago, and it was a very painful 6 week roller coaster that followed.

At the same time it BROKE ME OPEN in ways that I will be eternally grateful for and humbled by.

This has been one of the greatest opportunities I have ever been given, to really access all of me, so that I can share that with the world. This post is what I’ve learned about how we do that.

We all go through times in our lives where we experience an upheaval or uprooting of our core beliefs and patterns. This can be triggered by a break-up, relationship problems, heart-break, financial challenges, conflict around our careers, or due to health and/or emotional dramas such as illness or a sudden string of anxiety attacks.  Whatever the trigger is, it can literally shakes us to our core and begin to strip away everything we thought we knew, leaving us with only TWO OPTIONS. We can drop into love, or we can drop into fear.

If we fear being alone or separate from others, than the solution would be to find a way to connect. If we desire abundance that we no longer have to be afraid of loosing, then the solution would be to feel abundant without any attachment to outcomes. If we fear death or sickness, then the solution would be feeling alive and in a place of strength. Well, in my experience the solution to all of these things lies in the place of vulnerability.

Vulnerability is not just a word. It’s a PLACE we go inside of ourselves, where we can exist whilst we speak and share what’s in our hearts. In this PLACE, we hold only loving thoughts about ourselves and there is no such thing as attachments to results or outcomes. When we enter vulnerability, we enter an unlimited realm of possibilities, where we can be ourselves freely and to do so is the ONLY goal we have. We go there so we can show up in our truth regardless of the outcome. When we do this, SELF-ACCEPTANCE happens. As a result, the interactions and experiences we have, feel complete. They feel whole, because we brought our WHOLE selves to them.

One of my mentors said to me the other day:

“Erin, you cannot think your way into right action. You must ACT YOUR WAY INTO RIGHT THINKING.”

Click, Click, BOOM. The AH-HA moment happened. My entire life up until that moment, was controlled so immensely by the belief I had that went a little something like this:

If can figure out how to feel a certain way about myself first, or get the re-assurance from him or her or this or that first, THEN I can finally be myself and feel ok about who I am showing up as in the world. 

UMMMMMM….Love you, but no.

That’s not how it works. Well, at least not for me.

In my experience, if I want to feel love and feel connection, and feel desired and appreciated, then I must enter that place within ME. This is the place I have named Vulnerability. It’s that gentle, soft, patient, loving, kind way about sharing and being generous with what’s in my heart, even if you, or he, or she, or they, don’t like it, spit it out, stomp on it, and throw it back. Sound scary? Yes, I thought so too, but it sounds MUCH scarier than it actually is.

The thing is, how other people respond to you, ISN’T ABOUT YOU.

I have learned that what IS about me, is how I show up. HOW I SHOW UP will be the experience I get to have of the world. What happens after that, is not up to me, not my fault, not my business, and not ultimately my experience of the world. Does that make sense?

Entering the place of Vulnerability, gives us access to our TRUTH, because when we let go of outcomes and results, there is no longer anything we have to hide. We stop trying to control and manipulate what others see and feel, and we stop judging who we are and just share what we have to offer, trusting that it’s enough. The craziest thing is, even if it’s not enough for he, she, it, or them, if you have really shared all of you, it WILL be enough for YOU :)

When we become willing to enter Vulnerability within us, yes, the fears will show themselves. This is GOOD. Just SEE them. That’s it. Be present with them, and share what’s in your heart anyway. Are there any attachments to the outcome? Can you let them go? Just SEE your attachments to the outcomes. As you begin to SEE the truth inside you, your experience and how you show up in the world will already be well on its way to shifting from Fear to Love.

Here’s to our vulnerability, which gives us access to our BEAUTIFUL TRUTH!

Love and Light,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach. If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can live a life you love in a body you love. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Healing, Love, Personal Growth, Spirituality · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 23, 2013

Inner Integrity: Getting Honest Will Set You Free!

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Inner Integrity seems to be a common theme, threading through the fabric of my life lately. This subject was the content of our day 11 teachings in India, and ever since that day, I have been sorting through my insides, on a journey of uncovering my truth, and discarding anything keeping me from that truth and therefore the ability to communicate it effectively.

You see, if we do not communicate our feelings authentically, then we can’t possibly call forth an accurate response from God, The universe, or another person. Until we are crystal clear within ourselves, we are doomed to suffer the consequences of being lost in translation.

Having Inner Integrity means getting honest with yourself, moving beneath the images you have created for the world to see, and being able to take a deeper look at your feelings and then how you are showing up in the world, and seeing if they are a match.

Are they? No but Really?

This has been coming up for me AND for my clients. Telling the truth sounds like an easy thing to do right? Doesn’t a good person tell the truth?

Not necessarily.

Not unless they know what that is first, and then aren’t too afraid to speak it without all the fearful editing that happens to most of us. That’s right, our heads are like editing studios, on a mission to hold our pride and ego in tact.

In India, they spoke about how most of us are lying all the time, which includes telling a partial truth. We tell a partial truth, to hide the parts that are too inconvenient to explain at the time, the parts that may make us too vulnerable, or the parts that do not support the “image” we want others to have of us. In other words, mostly we lie to protect ourselves from discomfort and getting hurt.

Here is a quote from the notes I took on Inner Integrity from the Dasa’s teachings in India:

“There is a truth behind these images we create. We must SEE this truth in order to become FREE. When we become conscious and accepting of the truth, we become free. This is because once we have lovingly accepted the truth within us, we no longer have reasons to cover it up with defensiveness and lies.”

I want to confront this head on because I have personally experienced what it’s like to suffer the consequences of being too afraid to even be honest with myself about how I am really feeling inside about someone I love. When we are so afraid of getting rejected,  being hurt, of going through the pain of another heart-break, of looking silly or crazy, or of being mis-understood, all those fears edit and produce what ends up coming out of us through our words, choices, actions, and responses. Therefore, we aren’t ever saying what we really mean, and in fact we often times PUSH AWAY the very thing, or someone, we are hoping to move closer to.

In order to communicate to the world and express our innermost truth, creativity, vulnerability, and strength, we must first KNOW this truth for ourselves. This has been the hardest part of getting honest for me. I have never had trouble going to someone with my feelings, but I DO struggle with going to them from a place of Inner Integrity, or so I have learned.

If I  don’t go to the man I love, from a place of inner integrity, then I am not CLEAR about my inner truth. This means I cannot stay grounded in that truth and I will begin to get carried away with my fears of rejection and pain. As a result, I just end up communicating mixed signals and messages, in an attempt to open up AND protect myself at the same time (which is typically also laced with a little bit of blaming them for hurting me already) and instead of finding resolution, I perpetuate the confusion and conflict. Or I at least perpetuate it for myself.

We CANNOT be vulnerable AND stay in protection mode at the same time. These cancel each other out!

Being vulnerable doesn’t mean being weak. In fact it’s the only way we can stand in our power. Staying vulnerable makes a statement. It says, I love you, and I am strong enough to stand in MY experience AND hold the space for you to have YOUR experience. Vulnerablity is a result of standing up for the truth within you, regardless of the outcome. When we focus on an outcome, it’s harder to be vulnerable and honest because the mind begins to edit and create a variation of the truth that it hopes will minimise the pain because it’s already assuming the worst. Only it NEVER minimises the pain to come from fear. It actually creates more pain because the lack of honesty prevents you from the closure and resolution you can only get if you stand in your vulnerable truth.

I haven’t quite been able to stand in my vulnerable truth just yet with everything. I am still digging through my fears, and looking for the vulnerability. I know I am getting closer to it, but it is a profound process of getting more and more honest with myself every step of the way. This could mean even being willing to admit that maybe you DON’T want  something you thought you wanted, and then looking at why you are holding onto it, and being willing to let it go. OR it could mean being willing to get down to the raw and beautiful truth, and committing yourself fully to that so you become willing to lay your heart on the line completely, even if it  means you have to hear the word NO one more time.

When we have been FULLY honest, within and without, and still do not end up with our ideal response from the other end, at least we can finally walk away, we can finally let go, knowing we did everything in our power, knowing we got the learning from it, and knowing that next time we fall in love, we won’t for one second hide it or pretend we feel any differently then we really do. In the end it’s not about the outcome, it’s about the experience you have along the way as your connection to your inner truth deepens.

This is freedom.

I’d love to hear what you are going through and what you are thinking and feeling right now. Please leave all questions and comments here on the blog or email them to me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

Thank you! I love you!

Erin :-)

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally manifest your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. 


 

 

Filed Under: Love, motivational, Relationships, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Jan 21, 2013

Should-a, Could-a, Would-a…But You DIDN’T!

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How many times have you looked back on something or replayed certain moves on your part at some time in your life, thinking to yourself, “If only I’d done things differently, if only we had been more honest, if only I wasn’t so scared, if only I had really been myself, if only, if only, if only…THEN things would have turned out the way I wanted them to?”

Yeah, I think it’s pretty safe to say we have ALL done this and probably still do from time to time. This little glitch in our minds has me fascinated. In fact, there have been many times that it has been able to tease me into contemplation mode and all too often I have given into the foreplay with it, excited to explore what it appeared to be offering me.

Turns out, this is a kinky little concept, that gets us into bed with it, and makes it really hard to get out. It will suck your energy dry with all the romanticising about what you should-a, could-a, and would-a done.

BUT YOU DIDN’T!

Therefore stop falling for this concept, because it NEVER ends well. In fact, it hurts you by creating an illusion that is not based in REALITY. It tells you that if you just improve this or that, if you just hadn’t done that thing or said that other thing, or if you can just be a certain way for X-amount of time, that there will actually be a reward waiting for you. It dangles the carrot in front of your face, only you will NEVER reach the carrot, because the carrot is just a figment of your wishful thinking! It’s not real, and therefore time and time again, you just get left feeling defeated, powerless, frustrated, and dissatisfied.

Sound familiar?

The should-a, could-a, would-a’s usually make a strong case in defense of the outcome you THINK you wanted. But do you really believe that you have that much control over the outcome in the first place? I am FINALLY seeing that we just don’t, and the biggest problem that this belief creates, is our lack of acknowledgment and awareness of, and APPRECIATION for, the things that WE DID, and the things that ARE.

Due to experience from doing things the hard way for so long, I now believe that sometimes, certain things just AREN’T meant to be, and NO MATTER WHAT we did differently would NOT have changed the outcome in the end.

Instead of looking back or looking forward, let’s look AROUND us. Who’s there now? What is on your path today? What if you knew THESE were the answers to your prayers, your intentions, your visualizations, and your wishes and affirmations? How might you feel about them then?

What is showing up TODAY, is like the Divine’s way of directing us. Our wishes, prayers, and intentions are like plugging in directions into a GPS in our cars. When you do this in your car, do you then ignore the directions that your GPS begins to reveal to you? No, because you TRUST that it is taking you where you want to go. You just follow the next guided action, and the next, and the next. If you make a wrong turn, your GPS will re-adjust to keep you on the right path.

We so often think that somehow we’ve messed up our ideal outcome, that somehow we let something slip away because of our weaknesses, or somehow we just haven’t had what it takes to maintain a certain relationship or career path. But all along, we have been being guided, and everything that has happened up to now was bringing us to this very moment, like it or not.

I write to you about this today because I have recently had to revisit some past relationship stuff in India that has continued to affect me since I have been home. In India, we were made to dig deep and look at certain things about ourselves, our beliefs, our past lovers and partners, and our families. For me, some painful old memories and feelings got dragged back to the surface. I began to fall under the spell again, that there was actually a way for me to experience a different outcome than I had in the past, when it came to something in particular. You see, I had finally moved on from this concept, or so I thought, FINALLY accepting that things would NEVER be different, only to go through a number of things in India that made me feel, that perhaps I had been wrong about that. At first I kept my defenses up, but after a few weeks, I began to weaken and romanticise the should-a, could-a, would-a’s.

BIG LEARNING LESSON for me. One I’d hoped I’d never to have to learn again, but apparently I needed one last kick up the bum from the should-a, could-a, would-a’s.

This really messed me up in a lot of ways once I got home, because I was no longer able to see what was HERE NOW. I was no longer able to appreciate what WAS, what I DID, and what I AM. I was so blinded by this INSANITY, that I felt no gratitude at all for the many gifts that had already been placed on my path for me to experience, some of which had literally been Divine Deliveries to my front doorstep. I was so happy and thankful for all these things before India. However, when I returned home, it was like arriving back to a closet full of crap and I wasn’t sure about what needed to stay and what needed to go.

So I began to sort through it all.

For the last 4 weeks, I have been doing a real inventory of my past, my thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and my relationships. It has been an extremely internal and personal process for me, and one that I am still in. However, each day I get profound glimpses of the truth, and I experience a little bit more clarity and acceptance.

What I have come to understand is ACCEPTANCE. It doesn’t matter “why” things went the way they did or didn’t go the way the didn’t in the past. They went the way they went. PERIOD. I MUST focus on where I am now, you must focus on where you are now, and let’s stay focused on what is showing up today, not yesterday. Trying to figure things out, to analyse why, only distracts us from what is present. Should-a, Could-a, Would-a will never take you anywhere good. It will lead you straight into your own insanity, carrying you further and further away from your chance to BE HAPPY.

What should-a happened, DID happen. What could-a happened, DID happen. What would-a happened, DID happen. You just don’t know it yet.

I will continue to walk along my path, leaning into my faith that I am being guided and supported, and I hope you will walk along with me leaning into your faith as well.

I’d love to hear what you are thinking and feeling. As always, you can leave your questions and comments here for me on the blog or email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

Love and Gratitude,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally manifest your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. 


 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Personal Growth, Relationships, Spirituality, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Jan 15, 2013

When Resistance Becomes Acceptance: Another India Experience

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It was so great to hear from so many of you after posting my last article on Monday. I promise that my interactions with YOU, are what keep me strong and willing to face anything in my life. Thank you for participating, for sharing your stories with me, and for turning my passions into a reality. It is my intention to help you do the same.

Yesterday, as I was in the middle of my workout, walking lunges to be exact, something hit me. I had a series of things happen in the morning that sent me contemplating and exploring my Inner-Universe once again, and then I heard a voice inside of me.

It said:

“There is no good or bad experience, or better or worse, or successful or non-successful path. There is simply this experience and that experience. There is no right or wrong and there is no such thing as mistakes. What most of you suffer from is the belief that somehow you could’ve done something differently to somehow have ended up somewhere better than you are. The only reason you aren’t able to fully appreciate where you are, and the unique and individual experience YOU are having, is because your mind has created stories and judgments about it that tell you, somehow you have not done everything right, that somehow you have failed, and as a result you have lost the opportunity to experience everything you desire. Then you become filled with fear about repeating the same mistakes moving forward, and you live your lives filled with self-doubt, regret, and dissatisfaction, otherwise known as the shoulda-coulda-wouldas.”

WOW.

I felt chills run through me and then I began to laugh out loud.

Of course.

So many of us, at least at some time in our lives, if not multiple times, have missed out on the beauty and the sacredness of the moment or the circumstance or the experience happening FOR us, because we are so distracted by the fear that if we don’t do everything just “right,” if we don’t make the “perfect” move, we are going to totally screw up our lives and forever look back in regret of the choice or choices we made. So instead, we try to make choices in the present, based on an outcome we are desperately wanting to avoid in the future. Mind you, how can we really know the outcome we are trying to avoid is even “bad?” Have we ever experienced it before? Most likely we only know or have heard of someone who went through it, who shared their feelings about it, which are also usually just a result of their perception, which is more than likely based on what they thought “should’ve happened” vs. what did. They too, didn’t really EXPERIENCE the situation. They were most likely too busy living in the fear of not “getting it right,” or in the RESISTANCE of what was happening, and therefore that became their experience rather than what was actually happening. OR, we think we have gone through it in the past and now project that same experience into the future, which then sets us up to repeat the fear of the experience or the resistance of it, once again, rather than having the actual experience for the first time.

Whaaaaaaaat???

If you were just able to follow all of that, it sounds pretty silly doesn’t it? Sorry…CORRECTION. That sounds Koooo Koooo CRRRAZY!

THIS is precisely what FEAR does to us. We are run by it, controlled by it, and destroyed by it. THIS SUCKS. I don’t know about you, but I believe there is a better way.

In India, they helped us see this so clearly each day. One night in the temple, as I was surrounded by hundreds of people dancing and singing, I literally began to shut down because I couldn’t see a way out of myself. I had become so aware of the fear and the suffering, but there was nothing I alone could do about it. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I was so sick to my stomach I felt like I was going to die. REALLY, I believed I had something terribly wrong with me. There was nothing to reach for, no door inside of me that I could see to escape through.

So I began to pray my freak’n butt off.

Then I was guided to actually feel my feelings, and I became clear that I had been resisting them, which was what was making me so sick. As I began to feel the energy in my body, I began to sob, and the tears poured down my entire face, neck, and chest, and I began to see things. I saw the suffering humanity has because of this resistance to our inner truth. Then I began to feel it. It was the deepest pain in my stomach, only it didn’t hurt when I stopped judging it and allowed myself to just be present with it. I opened myself up to this experience fully and the energies and emotions began to wash through every cell in my body. I felt like I was releasing lifetimes worth of memories, resistance, and fear. A lot of it was purged out of me through one of the most intense crying sessions I have ever had. I wasn’t sad, I was just feeling things. That’s it. It’s that simple.

Knowledge can only take us so far. The “Facts” can only take us so far. Ultimately what we need is an internal shift, something that literally clicks into place and makes it possible for us to operate from love and faith instead of fear. Otherwise, we will constantly be trying to manipulate our external circumstances to produce an internal experience we so desperately want to feel such as peace, security, joy, safety, hope, connection, serenity, freedom, bliss, compassion, love, silence, and stillness. These may come temporarily from external things, but they will elude us once again unless they are a product of a new consciousness, a new awareness, and new way of existing.

I went to India to participate as a student at the Oneness University. This is a spiritual school, not a religious school. It is completely non-denominational and encourages its students and seekers, to connect to, and deepen their bond with a God of their own understanding. The word God can be an uncomfortable word for many, so we use other terms such as Universal Intelligence, Supreme Light, the Divine, The Presence, Higher Power, or you could even call it Angels, Creator, Omnipresent Love, whatever you feel comfortable with.

I was there for what most of you probably heard something about, which was the BIG SHIFT on December 21st. Without going too much into this aspect of it, as I encourage each of you to do your own exploring, research, and experience your own findings about this auspicious time on the planet, I would like to state the obvious, which is, once again, the world did not end as many anticipated.

In fact, very much the opposite happened. We went from what was known as “The Dark Ages” into what is now known as “The Golden Age,” or from Kaliyuga to Satyayuga. Kaliyuga means a time when the mind is very dominant and our thoughts were more negative, and Satyayuga means the mind begins to cease and the consciousness therefore shifts and raises high enough to influence the collective experience on the planet. Now, the dominant thoughts are positive, which means we will only see things improve from here.

That does not mean it’s all gonna be easy, no, as we each become more and more aware of our own suffering and the suffering on the planet, things will intensify much more, before they get better. However, if we are conscious of this, and we work together and come from the “WE” mentality, rather than the “I” mentality, it will make things much easier for us all and we will be able to move through these challenges and towards Oneness with a lot more ease and Grace. Some of you may have heard the word AWAKENING. Some of you have not. Either way, it doesn’t matter. This is however what is happening. There is an awakening happening in the collective consciousness and we as a WHOLE,  are on our way to finding freedom from all the suffering we are currently experiencing as individuals and as a planet.

In the meantime, have your experience because it’s yours! Feel your feelings and explore what it’s like when you shift from RESISTING what is, to accepting it and therefore actually having the experience for the first time like I did in the temple. This can bring about an extremely profound shift in your consciousness, and everything may begin to look and feel different as a result.

Instead of questioning yourself, or doubting your success, or regretting the choices you have made, just stop. Place your left hand on your heart, and your right hand on your belly, and give thanks for this moment. Open up to what is already here, and let THAT be your experience. Once the resistance melts away, you won’t feel so sick anymore, and you will finally have conscious contact with the Presence within you and all around you .

Let it guide you.

So, where can you let go of resistance in your life? What circumstances or experiences are you trying to avoid as a result of your perceptions of them, instead of just surrendering to them and experiencing the reality of them? What might you be cutting yourself off from as a result?

I LOVE hearing from you, so please leave all your questions and comments here for me on the blog, or email them to me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

Love and Gratitude,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally manifest your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Inspiration, Spirituality, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 14, 2013

INDIA Inspired: How 4 Weeks Changed My Life Forever

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“Suffering is not in the fact, but rather in our perception of the fact.” -Sri Bhagavan

Yes, I am finally sitting down to write to all of you about my experiences in India November 20-December 25, 2012. Many of you have emailed me about when I would be writing again, and especially when I would share with you all that happened in India over the 35 days that I was there. It certainly has been a while since I have sat down to this precious blog of mine, and not because it isn’t one of my greatest passions, but mostly it’s because I am the kind of writer that only writes once I feel I have experienced life for a while. I like to LIVE my message before I share it, so please know and understand, that EVERYTHING I write about comes from my heart as a result of my personal experiences.

First of all, there is NO WAY I can tell you everything in one article, so I am going to bring the pieces to you that have made the greatest impact on me personally in this article. Also, just so we are clear, the journey has not ended. In fact, like most big spiritual journeys, the real twists and turns begin once we get back to our lives at home. SO, that is a BIG part of what you will read about here.

When I left for India, on my way to the Oneness University, I felt it in my guts. There was something waiting for me. When I arrived on the University Campus, I could feel emotions and energy stirring immediately. My mind began to freak out a little bit and was saying things like “Oh my God what have you gotten yourself into, don’t you know how LONG 31 days are?” “You are never going to survive this.” “What is going to happen to me?” The mind was fighting hard, the ego so afraid of dying.

Each morning we woke up early and met for our first class. Every day the enlightened and awakened Dasa’s (or monks) would show us miracles through pictures, videos that had been sent in, and by telling us stories. They would then move into the teachings for the day and slowly they began to show us the difference between what it means to really LIVE and EXPERIENCE life, vs what most of us are doing, which is not really living or experiencing anything at all. Then, at night, we would head to the Oneness Temple and do ancient rituals and processes designed to bring about a shift in consciousness, freedom from past hurts and anger, and liberate us from fear and suffering.

For me, I had to face many unresolved feelings towards my parents, past relationships, and ultimately I had to look at my relationship with my Higher Power, or the God of my own understanding. This was an incredible process that continues even as I sit here writing to you now.

What we don’t realise most of the time, is that mostly everything we do is driven by a thousand forms of fear.

We are constantly running away from our feelings, and none of us really feel at peace or connected to anything or anyone deep down. Separation plays a role in all of our lives and it is the invisible barrier that keeps me from you, you from me, and all of us from Love and Joy. Separation is the foundation for all the choices that we make, and everything we do is an attempt to fill that void that each of us feel whether we are conscious of it, or willing to admit it or not.

UGGGH. Harsh reality right? I thought so. As much as I thought I already knew all of this, the Dasa’a had a profound way of tapping me into the reality I had suppressed.

First of all, I had never fully experienced my parent’s divorce when I was 5. This is something I always said “didn’t really affect me that much,” but in India I saw the truth. It not only DID affect me, but it felt as though I lost everything that really mattered to me. My entire family fell apart, and I internalized the belief that I was not enough of a reason for my parents to find their way through their challenges. I went from feeling like my father’s one and only, and having my mom and dad in the same home, to a scared and lost child, in the middle of my mother’s and father’s guilt, fear, anger, and pain. I have been carrying around that anger, guilt, fear, and pain all these years, and had no idea. THESE are the kinds of things that effect EVERYTHING in our lives, our relationships with others, our self-esteem, our security, our perception of family, the world, and of ourselves.

Did I hear you say YIKES!!! I know, I said the same thing.

This may have been YIKES at first, but after I was able to fully experience these feelings, I felt lighter, brighter, and more peaceful inside.

Finally I was free from the weight of these hidden emotions, and I have been gaining more and more clarity and perspective about myself, my life , my career, my patterns, and my relationships ever since.

When I arrived in India, I was a VERY happy partner to an amazing man. I was certain he was one of the most special and rare people I could possibly have ended up with and my gratitude for him was growing every day. He was showing me what it was really like to feel loved, adored, respected, honoured, cherished, and to be in a partnership with someone who makes me laugh until I cry, and who is ready and willing to grow through ANYTHING with me. These are the qualities that I now find “manly, sexy, and brave.” It doesn’t take courage to be a player, or to run away from your fears and feelings. It takes courage to be a loyal, open, honest, and loving boyfriend.

After about 3 weeks in India though, I began to question EVERYTHING. This has been one of the most painful parts of the entire trip, and it’s still continuing. A lot of past relationship memories and experiences emerged for me in India, some of which I have struggled to resolve for several years. This is only natural when you are focusing on relationships EVERY DAY for a month. I began to feel old feelings and to fall into old patterns and beliefs, and all of a sudden things became extremely foggy and confusing.

UH-OH. Crap…now what.

Now it was time to walk through the hurt and anger that I had not been able to access before I left for India. The truth is, when I got into my relationship with Andrew, I had a hunch this stuff was still there, and a mentor of mine warned me that it was probably going to become a block for he and I at some point, but naturally, I ignored her ;-)  The fact is, in order for me to have a happy and healthy, long-term partnership with ANYONE, this stuff within me needs to be resolved. Funnily enough however, some of it can be resolved by myself and the rest, well, I HAVE to be in a relationship to work through it.

When it was time to leave India, I was sad and yet excited about returning home to see what life was like after doing ancient rituals and processes every day for 31 days in a magical temple, and spending all that time self-reflecting, contemplating the teachings, and having conversations with the people who were there and going through all the same things. I have never cried so much, laughed so much, and felt so many different emotions in one day as I did each day there. I knew there was no way life would ever be the same as it was before I left. What I was confused about, and found this out when I got home, was that life was exactly the same as it was before I left, but I was different.

I got home on Christmas Day and my cousin picked me up as planned from the airport, only she had a surprise with her as well. Andrew hopped out of the car with a huge smile on his face and all I could feel was MASSIVE CONFLICT!

This is SOOOOOO not how I had pictured this moment, I thought to myself.

I tried really hard to fit back into my life, to be the cousin and girlfriend I was before I left, but every day I was deep in process, and the Dasa’s teachings ran through me, the energy from India vibrated in my cells, and I felt like everything was beginning to fall apart and there was nothing I could do about it.

Somewhere deep inside I knew and trusted that everything was going to have to fall apart in order for things to rebuild in a way that was even more honest, authentic, and driven by love and faith rather than fear.

You see, before I left for India, most of my choices, and this came as a shock to me whilst I was there, were motivated by fear, not love and faith. India made it very clear that those choices never make us happy in the end, and that we should only be so lucky as to have them fall apart, blessing us with an opportunity to become helpless and therefore willing to do things differently than we had in the past.

So, I did what I had to do. I did my very best to explain to Andrew what I was feeling and going through, even though I didn’t even fully understand it yet. I struggled to string sentences together that shined even a little light on things for him, but really all he could hear was “I want to break up.” Who can blame him though right? I know that’s probably all I would have been able to hear as well. All I knew was I had tried for 2 weeks to sort through my feelings in the relationship and it wasn’t working, so I didn’t know what else to do but to give myself some space from it to get to the root of what was shifting and coming up for me. I don’t want to be a girlfriend who’s only half in something with my man. He deserves to have ALL of me, to be appreciated, honoured, respected, and he deserves to have me be his biggest fan. So I knew until I could give him that, everyone was better off, as hard as it was, to be apart.

I also have had to give my career some space. I have reduced the amount of classes I am teaching and programs I am running just for a short time. This kicks up so much fear for me, and in the past I would crumble in the face of such fear and just keep doing what I always do. However, since I want to bring the best, most passionate work to my clients and students, I am choosing to take this time to process and heal, and resolve things within me, allowing the right content and material and programs to emerge from a much deeper place before I go out and share them. This way I will have LIVED what I teach, before I teach it. I am also feeling guided to explore some different things, and I need this time to do so.

Andrew and I ended up spending a week apart so far, and I have been able to see so much that I couldn’t see before. I can see the fears that have stopped me from forming any solid partnership in the past, the hurts that effect my choices, and the wrong thinking that clouds my perception of others. I went on a serious roller coaster ride of emotions and I am still on it, but I am feeling it begin to slow down, and there is a lot more clarity, peace, and serenity now.

Andrew and I met up yesterday and opened up about what we had been going through. Some of the greatest gifts I think two people can give each other is their willingness to be vulnerable, to have genuine respect and appreciation for the opportunity each person brings to the other’s life to grow into more of who they really are and to therefore experience true intimacy. I believe in Karma, and that when you cross paths with someone, and there is a real connection between you, that we shouldn’t let that go, we should embrace honesty and open up to what’s there. We should make sure we give that connection the space and time it needs to be explored because it has come into our lives for a reason. It is special and rare, and when we don’t fully experience it, then we don’t get the healing it was meant to bring us, we don’t receive the miracle, and we therefore continue to repeat the same old patterns.

Now this isn’t just about Andrew and I. This is about facing our fears and being HONEST and open with the people we love. This is about seeing vulnerability as strength instead of weakness and experiencing true connection and intimacy as a result. This is about learning from the pain that happened in the past, and using that to make a different choice in the present. This is about Love and Faith vs. Fear.

I cannot write to you today to tell you the outcomes of any of this just yet. I am still living it, but I will continue to share with you each day here on the blog, how this life changing trip to India is unfolding and revealing it’s gifts to me every day. Until then, I’ll leave you with this:

Everything that has happened in your life thus far, was always bringing you to this very moment. Therefore, open up to and receive the blessings this moment is offering you.

Suffering is a result of resisting what is instead of experiencing what is.

Take a deeper look at what you find “attractive” in others and be willing to re-evaluate what qualities make you happy in the heart vs. proud in the ego. Remember, you, with your Creator, have access to infinite possibilities, so why not ask to have fulfilled, the Desires of your heart? Why not ask for more clarity? Why not ask for a miracle?

Thanks so much for being here on this path with me. I love and appreciate you all. Please leave me your questions and comments here on the blog or email them to me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com!

Namaste,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally manifest your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. 


Filed Under: Awakening, Love, Relationships, Spirituality · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Oct 7, 2012

Here’s How To Discover YOURSELF In Relationships!

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Last night my partner and I had a really amazing talk about things he is processing and I was able to listen and hold the space for him. I really do cherish the way he and I are able to communicate. Relationships kick up so many of our fears, our insecurities, and our lack of faith and trust in the greater plan unfolding. We go from being single, to suddenly being confronted with thoughts and beliefs we didn’t even know we had! THIS is why I feel so blessed to have a partner who is willing to talk to me, listen to me, and work through his own “stuff” so I can work through my own “stuff.”

I was on the verge of running away from him for the first month or so, but as he continued to hear me, and be open and honest with me, and to hold the space for me to be vulnerable and afraid, I began to open up more. I began to see with my heart, and not my mind, and we began to connect on a deeper level every time I turned to him with my worries, questions, and doubts.

I was use to connection feeling like something instantaneous.

I thought I had to feel an instant spark or “I just wasn’t that into him.” A dear friend and mentor of mine used to tell me, “Erin, REAL connection and attraction is something that happens over time, when you see how someone shows up for you over and over again,” Well, now I totally understand what she was talking about!

Instant connection and attraction definitely DOES happen, and I’ve personally fallen down that rabbit hole a few times, BUT, the kind of connection two people need in order to share a sacred partnership, is something that takes time to develop and to find out if it’s even a possibility. Andrew and I DID have a connection and a mutual attraction straight away, but it was different from the type I was used to. It was more calm and interesting, and enough to make us want to find out more…and more…and more about each other. As we continued to follow it through, the connection became something REAL, something deeper, and a place where he and I can reveal the truth about who we REALLY are ;-)

In relationships many people tend to get lost. They play the future game, or the blame game and both sides actually believe the other one is responsible for their happiness and well-being. More often than not, they are already living 2, 5, or even 10 years ahead of the day they are in, and instead of being present with the feelings they have in the moment, they are trying to deal with feelings that are coming from that which hasn’t happened yet, and may never happen. (And just FYI, I too have done ALL of these things in the past.)

I absolutely believe that a beautiful partnership is meant to serve each person as a Divine support system, and a safe space where each person can face into their limiting beliefs, fears of intimacy and commitment, worries and doubts about life’s many twists and turns, and together come through it even stronger. I do not however, believe it is meant for the happiness of each person in it to depend upon.

There is no human on the planet that has the power to “make” us happy.

THAT is an inside job. There may be special moments within the context of the relationship, that trigger deep happiness, but if two people are unhappy or even one person is unhappy, there is nothing the other person can do to change that.

I have been lucky enough to find someone who also understands this, so we have entered what I call, a “Conscious Relationship.” In a conscious relationship, both people are aware that the quality of their connection and happiness together relies upon their ability and willingness to maintain a sense of connectedness within themselves. They know that as individuals, they must continue to check in with themselves, and to work through the stuff that is being triggered in them in order to find their happy place that is not dependent on anything outside of themselves.

Yes, this is always a work in progress, but as both people do their own work, they are able to show up in the relationship with more clarity around what they need to work through as an individual and what needs to be worked through as a couple. Instead of one person blaming the other for making them feel jealous and insecure, the person feeling that way can begin to process those feelings of jealousy and insecurity coming up for them and really take a look at what they are being shown about their own beliefs and inability to let go of the past experiences that are shaping their current perception.

THIS ISN’T THAT.

I love this saying and repeat it often because I almost ended things with Andrew about 10 different times in the beginning because my old ideas, experiences, and patterns were clouding my ability to see what was standing right in front of me. In the past I just thought certain feelings meant I wasn’t happy and therefore needed to end things. HOWEVER, I was able to look back and see a pattern in my life regarding relationships and this time I was open to looking at things differently. I was willing to explore myself more deeply because I had a hunch that my impulses to “run” were coming from some deeper feelings I had never really confronted or resolved. As I did this, my whole world expanded and my heart began to open in the places it had been shut down for so long.

My life coach use to say to me: “The heart wants what the heart wants, but if we are disconnected from the heart, we cannot see what it wants, even when it’s standing right in front of us. So instead, we get caught up in what the mind wants and only see that, which will never work or be able to nurture us in the same way. See with your heart Erin, and you may finally  be open to someone who you were unable to see before.”

After my life coach said this to me a couple of years ago, I began to make a conscious effort to ask my heart what it wanted. I began to ask for guidance and assistance, so that I could begin to see people from my heart space rather than from my mind. It has helped me so much and has definitely been a profound journey ever since I began to do this. I highly recommend! ;)

I really do believe that relationships have the potential to facilitate deep healing. When two people come together with consciousness, the relationship can offer them the opportunity to awaken into more of who they really are, to shed the superficial layers of ego, fear, and insecurity, and to experience connection and oneness in a much deeper way.

Whether you stay with someone for a short time or for this entire lifetime, it can be equally transformational. Every relationship I have had, whether short lived or several years long, have made me into the woman I am today and I wouldn’t change any of it. Each one of those guys hold a special place in my heart because of what I learned as a result of our time together, even if it ended painfully. Some of the most powerful healing experiences I have had came as a result of some of the shortest amounts of time with someone.

Andrew and I don’t go looking too far ahead, and if we begin to, we take some space, we continue to breathe,  and we pull ourselves back into the moment and into the day we are in. We can’t possibly know where our relationship is heading, and to be honest I don’t need to know or want to know right now. I trust that whatever form it takes is exactly what we both need. If things ended next month, we married for 50 years, or we do something in between, doesn’t matter. All that matters is how willing we are to explore the opportunities our current partnership brings to our healing and development as beings today.

More will always be revealed  ;-)

So, what’s going on with you? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Please email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your story, or leave your comments here on the blog!

Here’s to living your truth, seeing with your heart, and loving who you are! Thank you for being YOU!

Namaste,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally manifest your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Love, Personal Growth, Relationships · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Sep 13, 2012

Here’s 5 Reason’s Why You Should NEVER Compare Your Life To Others

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Let me guess…

At some point or another, you have taken a look at someone else’s life and said to yourself (or out loud), “Why is their life better than mine. It’s not fair.”

Am I right? Perhaps when you are on your Facebook News Feed, and you begin to see pictures of extremely happy and successful people, you all of a sudden become aware that you feel sick in the stomach? Well, you are not alone! Unfortunately most people walk around feeling either better than or less than others. It is rare to find many people who walk around feeling completely equal to everyone else.

First of all, let’s get something straight. When you feel “sick” as a result of comparing yourself to someone else, that is just your body telling you there is a conflict of interest going on inside. When you see something you desire to have as your personal life experience, it’s a great feeling. BUT, it’s not such a great feeling when your thoughts immediately follow it up with, “that person must be better than me, and I can’t ever have something equal or better.”

It’s important to understand, that when you see something that you are absolutely capable of achieving and even MEANT to achieve, you will feel an intense feeling. You will feel strangely pulled, attracted, and fascinated with it. This is because you are being SHOWN something that you already have inside of you. It is ONLY when you get confused and think you cannot have it that you begin to shut down and feel intimidated rather than inspired.

Don’t be intimidated, BE INSPIRED. 

Ultimately, what we are all really seeking, is to FEEL a certain way about ourselves, about our lives, and to feel fully expressed, seen, heard, and appreciated for all that we bring to the world. We long for connection, creative expression, and the ability to feel comfortable in our own skin in every situation. We each crave playing a role in the greater plan unfolding, and we DO.

When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, it starts off by them feeling extremely shut down, defeated, and less than. As we process these feelings we see that they come from the client’s assumptions. In other words, what they are doing is taking a look at what their life looks like and then coming up with what that means to them. Then they look at someone else’s life and decide what that means to them. Then they compare the two.

Do you see how this just cannot possibly give you any accurate information?

When you compare your insides to someone else’s outsides, it just sets you up to feel like you are better than OR less than. NEITHER of these sum totals serve your highest good.

Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Should NEVER Compare Your Life To Others:

1) You cannot possibly KNOW how someone feels inside.

Even if someone has all the “Things” that you could ever want, a multi-million dollar a year career, a gorgeous partner, beautiful clothes, houses, jewellery, and cars, etc, but they are not actually fulfilled inside, would you still want your life to be like theirs? You ASSUME all these things will lead to feeling a certain way, and so you continue to chase these things. This is NOT how it works. We must feel good and satisfied and fulfilled inside about how we show up in the world, or no amount of  things, status, good looks, money, etc, will ever be enough. If we are genuinely fulfilled inside first, then all the “things” we manifest as a result are simply fun, but not necessary, and we have nothing that our safety, security, and deep joy depends on, because it is something we have regardless of our external circumstances.

2) We each have a certain path to walk and therefore our life experiences must support that path.

There is no better than or less than path. It’s like being in school. We each are heading towards something different so we must study different subjects. We must take different tests, and we must each be a student and become a master in our own right. If you really had it all to do over again, do you think you wouldREALLY want to do it differently? If you answered yes, then start by doing things differently RIGHT NOW.

3) Beauty, Success, Happiness, Abundance, and Peace can be expressed in a million different ways.

There is not just one type of beauty, one type of wealthy, one type of happy, or one type of peaceful. There are many different variations of these feelings and ultimately you want your life to be about YOUR unique expression of these things, not someone else’s unique expression of these things. You will never be able to express beauty, happiness, abundance, and success the way they do, and they will never be able to express those things the way YOU do. This is why we just cannot compare. It’s apples and oranges!

4) The more energy you waste comparing your life to someone else’s and trying to be like them, the less energy you have to be who YOU are, to share YOUR gifts, and to access and experience the profound level of health, wealth, and beauty that come along as a result of YOU BEING YOU.

Spend your time and energy seeking yourself and your unique expression of life, and sharing THAT with the world, rather than trying to be a clone of someone else. It’s FAR more rewarding to be YOU, I promise.

5) When you compare yourself to others, it devalues you, underestimates you, and limits you in every way.

To compare yourself to others, is the same as saying “I need to use other people to determine my own level of success and how good or bad I can feel about myself today.” WHY? Do you not already know? It’s like weighing yourself on a scale. What’s the point? If you are gaining weight, you know it. If you are loosing weight, you know it. If you love your body and genuinely feel healthy, radiant, and great in your own skin, why do you need a scale to give you a number that evaluates this for you? If you are gaining weight and feeling bad, then just focus your time and energy on doing something about it, rather than focusing on the number.  Stop giving your power away to things outside of you. YOU get to decide how you feel about yourself in each and every moment.

Ok, so that’s a wrap for today. I invite you to please share who YOU really are with us. YOU are the one that will have everything necessary to feel and experience the life you have always wanted deep in your heart. If you don’t believe me, try, and see for yourself. ;-)

You all know just how much I LOVE hearing from you. Please leave your questions and/or comments either here on the blog for me, or email them to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com!

Here’s to YOUR unique expression of love, life, beauty, and success!

Namaste,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, fun, and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only. **Take advantage of special rates until September 25, 2012!! 


Filed Under: Inspiration, motivational, Personal Growth, Success · Tagged: , , , , ,
Aug 26, 2012

Be Who YOU Are And The Rest Will Fall Into Place

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Good Day friends! I hope as you read my words to you, that you feel worthy, loved, and supported, because YOU ARE!

Lately I have been hyper-aware of the importance of really speaking our truth, being who we really are, and as a result, allowing our relationships, experiences, and circumstances to begin to mirror that authenticity. Most of the time, the majority of us are walking around trying to be and say and do what we think others expect from us or require of us. We do this because of a deep core belief that tells us we are not good enough the way we are and therefore we better figure out how to pretend like we are good enough so no one finds out that we are not. Well this is a load of CRAP.

Each and EVERY single one of us are gurus.

We ALL carry an important message to share with the world. There is not any one of us that isn’t special, unique, and absolutely necessary on this planet! BUT, somehow we have gotten confused. At  some point, we got the wrong interpretation of things, and we came to believe the opposite was true. We came to believe that someone else knew us better than we did, that someone else was smarter than we are, and that someone else must deserve our personal power more than we do.

You see, we cannot possibly deliver our gifts to this world if we are too busy trying to be something that we are not. We are so caught up in TRYING to be good enough, that we completely disregard the gifts that we are capable of offering WITHOUT TRYING!

When you and I stand in our power, when we speak our truth, and when we feel comfortable with who we really are and therefore bring our real selves into every situation, we deliver a level of value that just comes naturally.

It is so easy we don’t even know we are doing it. This can throw us off. When something is so easy, we tend to think it’s not special, because we don’t have to work hard to do it. However, YOU may not have to work had at delivering that gift in particular but that is because it’s YOUR gift to share. Someone else has a different gift, and thus yours does not come easily to them, THEIRS does. This is why it is SO important to speak our truth and be who we really are, because NO ONE else can do, be, and share what we can.

Even if two people have the same passion, work in the same industry, and deliver the exact same services, they will STILL be different. Why, because what we do is an extension of US, and every single one of us puts a different spin on things when we are being natural and organic. In other words, it is ONLY when we are comfortable in our own skin, and therefore no longer hiding behind someone else’s fear, doubts, beliefs, ideas, and thoughts, but are standing in our own truth, beliefs, ideas, creativity, and power that we actually shine our light and share our gifts FULLY.

Relationships depend so much upon the part of us that we actually share, the way in which we show up, and whether or not we can be who we REALLY are or not. In fact, everything depends on this. Our ability or inability to be who we really are, can and will determine the amount of emotional freedom, deep peace, and inner happiness we get to experience on a daily basis.

There is NO SUCH THING as freedom without emotional freedom.

A client and I were processing this very thing yesterday. She kept believing that by achieving more clients, more money, and expanding her business, that she was moving forward and would therefore gain more freedom. But this is not how it works. What’s happened instead is she made some big movements in her business life, but inside she has never felt more limited, restricted, and trapped.

Emotional freedom is an INSIDE JOB.

This cannot be attained or achieved through external movements. We must make some internal shifts to have real freedom. This is the same with rest. We can lie on the couch for days, sleep for hours and hours, but rest is ultimately an INSIDE JOB as well. Quality rest, which is the only kind that can rejuvenate and restores us, comes from finding that internal place inside where we can rest, be still, breath, find the quiet and the calm, and reset.

I am sure many of you have experienced this after going on a holiday or a vacation. You go to “rest” and to have some “freedom,” but what happens is the schedule takes over and you are busy the whole time, and even if you “relax” and “do nothing” each day, there is still a part of you that comes home feeling a bit tired, as though you didn’t really get the “rest” you were hoping for, and less than ready to go back to your daily routines. This is because when we come at things from the outside, we will only ever have partial and temporary results. Not ideal right? Me thinks not :) :)

So, how can you begin to speak more of your truth today? Do you know who you REALLY are beneath all the layers of pretending and hiding?  Can you begin to trust, that the very parts of yourself you have felt the need to suppress are actually the parts of you that when you show and share them, will help you to finally feel deep peace, love, and happiness?

Let me hear from you and what you are going through! I always LOVE to be a part of your journey. Either leave your comments here on the blog, or email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

Sending you wildly accepting love and support!

Namaste,

Erin

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, and you are serious about investing in yourself, then perhaps you are ready to work with a coach!:-)! If this is YOU, please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, fun, and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

Filed Under: Healing, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Aug 20, 2012

3 Ways To Let Go And Finally BE YOU!

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You know, it is always such a gift to sit down at this computer and begin to write my letters to you (I call my articles letters because that’s how they feel). It’s a gift for me because I am finally doing what I love and showing you who I really am, to the best of my ability every single day. When I sit down to write, it’s not about only showing you the parts of me that I think you will like, it is about challenging myself to show you all of me, because I like myself enough to not want to hide anymore. If I hide, you can’t ever really SEE me. If I hide behind the partial truth, that means I’ve already decided for you, that there is something wrong with me. If you can’t SEE me, than how will we ever feel connected? Isn’t that what we all really want? To feel seen and connected and acknowledge for EXACTLY who we really are inside?

If you are nodding your head yes, then welcome. Welcome to E.L.M. and this space I have created for us to share connection with one another. Here we acknowledge, accept, and appreciate one another for exactly who we really are. If you are shaking your head NO…welcome to you too. I accept you just the way you are, and I am not here to change you or to tell you to feel any differently than you do. Whoever you are and however you feel…you are welcome here. I will not take my love away from you, no matter what, I promise ;)

As an Intuitive Personal Growth Coach, A Yoga Teacher, a Personal Trainer, and a Writer, I get the opportunity to interact with lots of different people all the time, in a variety of settings. I have worked with men of all ages, women of all ages, and I have helped my clients work through anything from feeling more purpose and passion in their lives, to creating their ideal partnership, to healing their relationships with their bodies, to feeling more peace and joy inside, to bringing their career life into alignment with their soul’s path, and the list goes on. As you can imagine, this work is near and dear to my heart, or I wouldn’t be doing it. One of the gifts I receive from my job, and there are many, is the gift of getting to know people. I hear what goes on in their lives, and over a period of time I see and hear patterns. Whether it’s a single wealthy man in his 50′s or a young married woman in her twenties, we all seem to struggle with similar things.

We all seem to need support when it comes to learning how to let go of who we think we are supposed to be, and embracing who we REALLY are.

Whether you are looking to get off the “dieting” roller coaster, or are wanting to find more meaning and purpose in life, or perhaps seeking to experience a healing within so you can finally attract a healthy relationship with a partner, it all comes down to this. What are you willing to do to connect to who you really are, so you can begin to share that with us?

We grow up in a world that tells us to think and feel a certain way. We are taught that this means that, success looks like big houses and expensive cars, that happiness is a product of how perfect we can look on the outside, and that we will be loved and respected and therefore accepted by others if we can fit into these boxes. We adopt the belief that if we can squeeze ourselves into these limiting shapes I just mentioned, that we will finally feel relief from separation and thus connection, inner peace, and joy will be our experience.

Well, who am I to say it doesn’t work this way? All I can share with you is what I have personally experienced as a result of my own life, and what I have seen and learned from working with others. In my experience, IT DOESN’T WORK THIS WAY, but please find your own conclusion. Choose your own beliefs about what works and what doesn’t, and live in a way that honours YOU rather than honouring the perceptions of someone else. After all, this letter to you is about finding out who YOU really are, not telling you who I think you should be.

What do you believe your purpose is in this life? What is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning? Do you value who you are and what you bring to the world? Are you carrying around someone else’s belief system, or do you have your own? There are no right or wrong answers, just FYI.

Imagine what it would feel like to have your happiness, sense of connection, confidence and self-esteem not be attached to ANYTHING outside of you.

What would it feel like if you could eat healthy and exercise, but know if you didn’t, it doesn’t mean you are not worthy of love? Or what if you could have beautiful homes and cars, but know those things are not what make you special or define who you really are and that even if they were to be taken away from you instantly, you would still know and feel that you are a successful and happy person. What if you could stop counting calories, stop obsessing about food, money, your tan, your hair, your relationship or lack thereof, and you could let all of that go and tap into the peace that exists when you are connected and embracing who you REALLY are?

If you could do that…WOULD YOU?

Those of you who visit me here often know my story. Therefore you know I use to struggle with my self-worth. It was dependent upon what you thought of me, what I looked like, how many fitness competitions I’d won, how much body fat I had or didn’t have, what I ate that day, what guys liked me or broke my heart, and whether or not you said I was good enough. That’s right. I lived for many years giving my power away like this. I became a master at making things look pretty on the outside, until I got sick, tired, and over it! Ultimately I reached a point of realising, that no matter what things looked like on the outside, until my insides and outsides were a match, I was going to be unhappy, feel less than, long for something more, bigger, and better, and I would most likely die trying to find something that could never be found. That’s right, we can die trying to find what we are looking for outside of ourselves.

That’s because IT’S AN INSIDE JOB!

Although it takes MASSIVE courage and willingness to step up to the challenge of this inside job, we are ALL capable of making this kind of move. In fact, it’s what we do most naturally, once we let go of all the conditions and beliefs we have picked up along the way.

So, how do we let go? What can we do to begin letting go of who and what we think we are supposed to be, and embracing who and what we really are?

Here are 3 Ways To Begin Letting Go So You Can Finally Be Who You Really Are:

1) There is freedom in being able to look silly in front of a room full of people. Start practicing being more silly! Get out of your comfort zone. Approve of yourself and you will find that there is no one else’s approval that really matters. The only person whose judgment of us matters, is OUR OWN. The more I do this, the more FUN I have and the more FUN people around me have too! Try it…I invite you to get silly with me :)

2) Before you ask anyone else what they think or how they feel about something, ASK YOURSELF.  Check in with what feels good to YOUR heart, and make a commitment RIGHT NOW, to make your heart’s requests a priority above all else. Everyone involved will be better off for this. There is no such thing as being selfish for caring for ourselves. It is selfish not to. We are all connected, so no one benefits when you play small.

3) Start with the feeling. It is important to remember that we must find the place within us FIRST, before we can truly experience it in our external world. This is a hard one for many people to understand. Whatever “thing” you think may bring you the happiness you seek, you are wrong. No “thing” and no “one” can give you what you want. What you want already exists deep within you, but you must be willing to uncover it. It takes courage to walk the hearts path. Be courageous.

Ok, I am going to leave you with those for now. No matter where you are in your life’s process or what is going on for you good or bad,  I invite you to contemplate on the above for a while. These simple things have helped me and others tremendously!

I’d love to hear from you on this! Please post your comments here on the BLOG or email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your feedback.

Love, Light, and Freedom,

Erin xoxo

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, you are serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, then please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, fun, and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Love, motivational, Personal Growth · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 28, 2012

Following Your Heart’s Path: The Answers Will Always Come In The Darkest Hour

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Have you ever wondered if you were on the right path in life? Do you sometimes look up at the stars at night and wish upon them, to guide you towards the desires of your heart that seem to be out of your reach? Are you currently experiencing circumstances that challenge your ability to trust that everything is going to work out exactly the way they must, in order to support your highest good?

We all have these questions. Some of us from time to time, others of us every single day. There are even those of us who may not be conscious of these questions, but somewhere deep inside, they wonder…”Will I, Can I, Do I really have what it takes to?”

Recently I traveled back home to the U.S. to visit with friends and family in Florida and California. It had been 10 months since I’d left America for Australia, so as you can imagine, I felt many emotions about going home for the first time. Seeing family ALWAYS seems to kick stuff up for me, and I don’t think I am alone in this one ;) I think it is safe to say that MOST of us, no matter how much we love and enjoy our families, get confronted by their behaviours, questions, and we fear their judgments and disapproval.

If we feel any doubt, questions, or fear AT ALL about the road we are traveling, then seeing family can truly send us into a downward spiral. However, if we come to know that it is normal to have questions, doubts, and fears sometimes as we walk the path laid out by our heart’s desires, then we can face our families, our friends, and the rest of the world with compassion for ourselves, trust in our process, and confident that we are only doing what has to be done.

Once we have heard our hearts speak loud and clear, we begin to understand that there is no other quality option, BUT to listen to it.

We face two choices: 1) To pray for the courage we will need to walk the soul’s path, or 2) To cower and perish as a result of suppressing the soul’s requests. Although the answer might seem VERY clear as to which choice to make, to stand at the crossroads between these two choices is never easy for anyone. If we did the math I bet we would be extremely surprised at how many actually choose what they assume will be easier, which is to NOT listen to the voice within their heart, but rather to let the voice within their heads do the decision-making.

Well, I am one of the one’s who have chosen to follow my heart. It feels scary some days, I feel alone sometimes, and I definitely questions myself more than I like to admit. However, even more than I have fear, questions, and doubt, I have faith.

I know that as long as I continue to listen to my heart and put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time, that I am going to be taken care of, and life is going to unfold in ways beyond my wildest dreams.

I know this because I have already seen it happen, experienced it first hand, and have witnessed this miracle in the lives of my clients as well.

No, I don’t always know how things are going to turn out, or where life is taking me, or whether or not I will get married and have children, or have my first book get published and be a big hit, or what life will even look like in 5 years from now. BUT… I do always know that what is best for me can only happen if I allow it to. I cannot attract the soul mate relationship my heart desires if I am not being honest about who I am. I will not be the kind of parent I want to be if I have not worked through my own insecurities, doubts, fears, and chosen to follow my heart and therefore seen firsthand that it produces miracles. I will not feel good about any book I write, if the words are not an extension of the love I have found within me. So…there is a path I MUST walk if I am to ever really have what I want.

When I went home, it was mainly for my little sister’s wedding. She was hands down, the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. I know she’s my sister, but I am serious. Their was an essence of joy that lingered from her heart to his, and his to hers, and this essence of joy and love coloured and perfumed the entire experience for all of us. I knew every time I saw them together throughout this wedding excursion, that I was seeing what it looks like to have what I want with a partner.

In the past, this wedding and time with my family probably would have spun me out. I would have been a wreck! I would have felt less than, and been ridden with jealousy and fear, falling victim to a belief that told me I would never get to have what I wanted so badly. Thank God this is not who I am today or how I see the world. Today I believe that we attract to us, the people, places, things, and experiences that are a vibrational match to us. That means if something wonderful and beautiful is happening for someone else in your presence, that it is also happening for you! You can feel grateful, blessed, and deeply happy for them and for the simple understanding that you too are getting everything you have ever wanted :-)

I actually had a couple of family members say things to me like: “Erin, you will never  find someone to settle down with. You are way too independent and driven to need a partner. But you should feel good about this, because after 20 years of marriage you will just get divorced anyway.”

Now, in the first few moments after hearing this said to me, my heart sunk a little into my stomach and I felt my power slipping away. But then I realised, “Erin, if this affects you, it’s because you are already holding on to this belief somewhere inside of you.” In that moment I acknowledged the old belief, and then I knew it was time to let that go. I then reaffirmed to myself, “No, that is not true. I deserve to be with someone who is just as loving and bright as me, and I GET to have that experience. This is not anyone else’s choice to make. No one gets to tell me what is possible for me or not. I DECIDE that. And so I did.

I DECIDED that “I DESERVE to be with someone who moves me at my core, someone who lights up a room, and someone who feels honoured and grateful to get to share his life with me.”

After that conversation, I was able feel gratitude towards my family member who said that to me, because it revealed an old belief I was carrying around that no longer served me or aligned with my heart’s desires. I was able to make a different choice, a conscious choice, and to let the old belief go so I could adopt a new one. My new belief now serves my highest good and is also in alignment with my heart’s desires.

I was also able to feel compassion for my family, because I know that the beliefs they unconsciously put onto me is their stuff…not mine.

It is empowering to remember this. When others pass their judgments or concerns on to you, it is just a form of their own limiting beliefs about themselves. You can lovingly say to them or just quietly within yourself, “Thank you for your input, but what you believe to be the truth is different from what I believe. Therefore, I will not carry your beliefs around with me because I have my own. I send you love.”

This is an example of the two different directions we can go in when we come face to face with other people’s perceptions of life. We can let others tell us what’s possible or we take our power back and begin to make those choices for ourselves.

When we honour who we really are, and begin to walk in that direction, the things that use to trip us up, do not have that kind of power over us anymore.

Even on the days or nights when we find ourselves sitting around in our pj’s wondering, questioning everything, and sitting in some fear, we STILL will feel more supported when we are honouring ourselves than when we are not. When we are on the path laid out by our heart’s desires, the answers and direction will always come in the darkest hour to re-confirm that YES…we ARE on the right path.

How might you be able to honour yourself a little bit more today, listen to your heart, and to let go of some of the beliefs you may have been carrying around that no longer serve your highest good? What beliefs might you have about yourself that aren’t even yours, but are someone else’s projections about what they think is possible for you that you adopted and never even questioned? Can you perhaps begin to start questioning those beliefs now? Do they serve you, where did they come from, and can you release them and make room for new ones?

Ok, please let me know what’s going on for you by either leaving your comments here on the blog, leaving them in the comment thread on Facebook, or email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com! I always LOVE hearing from you :-) :-) :-)

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to experience more inner peace in your soul, purpose in your life, joy in your heart, overall better health and well-being in your body, you are serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, then please send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an exciting, mind and heart opening, fun, and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional weight so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

Sending you all so much LOVE and LIGHT!

xoxo Erin

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Love, Personal Growth, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 19, 2012

Announcing The Launch of Erin Lanahan Method 2012!!

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Who’s Ready For Mind, Body, Spirit Fitness?? Welcome to Erin Lanahan Method 2012! I am so excited about this event you guys and have been working hard and digging deep to come up with a way to deliver something quality, effective, nurturing, fun, and inspiring. Well here it is!!! If you are on the Gold Coast in Australia…this is your chance! Gold Coast Aussies just happen to be the first group I have had the gift to share this with! :-) Learn more here:
http://elm2012.eventbrite.com/

Filed Under: Awakening, Fitness, Healing, Inspiration, Love, Mind Body Spirit Thursday · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jun 12, 2012

Rock What YOU Rock Best…YOURSELF!

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Hey there! I am writing this letter  to you from LAX, the Los Angeles airport! I flew in from Sydney early this morning and now I am waiting for my connecting flight to FL where I will hang with my family and friends for a couple of weeks. My little sister is getting married too…so lots of exciting events happening!!

Speaking of exciting, I have something very cool to share with you. My friends over at Everyday Health have published an article that I thought really aligned with E.L.M., and shares a great message for you. This article in particular will help you determine the specific body type YOU have and then understand how to make the most of it :)

As I have mentioned in the past, there is no point trying to fit ourselves into a shape we are never going to be. Instead, the optimal health and well-being journey is about loving the way YOU are, the body YOU were given, and being the very best version of that.

I highly recommend you take a read below:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight-pictures/the-best-workouts-for-your-body-type.aspx

This article by Everyday Health is educational, motivational, loaded with helpful tips, and may help you understand, and feel better about, the best way to achieve optimal health, fitness, and well-being for YOUR body type.

Please let me know what you think. Your comments are also VERY exciting for me and for E.L.M. readers! :)

Remember, the body YOU have is beautiful. Our journey is not about changing who and what we are, rather it’s about embracing our unique expression of beauty, health, well-being, and love.

Here’s to YOU! Get out there and ROCK WHAT YOU GOT!

Love and Laughter,

Erin

Filed Under: Fitness Tips, Food, motivational, Personal Growth · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
May 21, 2012

Happy People Are Healthier: Get OFF The Diet And Exercise Roller Coaster Here!

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“Happy girls are prettier.” – Audrey Hepburn

In my career as a Holistic Health Coach, I wear many hats. I wear the Life and Personal Development Coach hat, the educational and inspirational writer hat, the and motivational speaker hat, the holistic nutritionist hat, the personal trainer hat, the yoga instructor hat, and a meditation coach hat. These are ALL things that contribute to creating a quality life of wellness.

BUT…

Would you believe me if I told you that no matter which “hat” I am wearing, the job is the same? That’s right…my job is the SAME, regardless of what medium I work with people through, and therefore my passion is equal for all of my hats.

Why?

Because my PASSION is about helping YOU create healthy relationships. My PASSION is about helping other people realise and wake-up to their inner guidance system, their ultimate authentic power, and their capability of making conscious choices that align with their hearts desires. My PASSION is for creating a happier, and therefore healthier world. What does that all mean? That means, I live to help others create a quality life of wellness through shifting their relationships with food, exercise, themselves, and transforming their relationship to life itself.

How do you shift your relationship to life itself?

We start by taking  a look at how we approach our relationship to food and exercise. This tells us how we approach all things. It gives me a very good reference point for how my clients feel about themselves deep down, and therefore how they choose to show up in the world.

You see, for many years I struggled with my relationships with food, exercise, myself and with life itself UNTIL things began to finally click for me.

I had been a competitive gymnast, a fitness champion, a figure champion, photographed for magazines, and sponsored by fitness industry leaders. BUT…at the end of the day, I struggled. I struggled internally first and foremost, and I struggled to keep up with the harsh, rigid regime that was required of me to maintain my six pack. I just wanted a nice, lean, toned, healthy, strong, and fit body, without killing myself or feeling deprived. I wanted to be able to LOVE myself no matter what, instead of depending on winning or “being someone” to prove to the world I was loveable.

So I set out to find a way to do exactly that.

I wanted to go on vacations and not gain weight, or obsess about exercising or the amount of carbs and calories I’d consumed. I wanted to let go of feeling guilty for not exercising, or for eating healthy foods such as fruit and good carbs. I wanted to eat foods that I LOVE, find relief from bingeing and emotional eating, and I wanted to eat and exercise in a way that HONOR my body, create optimal health and well-being from the INSIDE-OUT, and therefore contribute to a healthy, hot, and sexy me. I wanted to FEEL amazing in my skin, and I wanted my fit body, mind, and spirit to be an organic result of me making choices to LOVE myself, rather than being a result of me being harsh, rigid in my thinking and actions, and almost abusive towards myself.

Well guess what…

When we are rigid, harsh, and semi-abusive in our thinking and actions around food and exercise, that is a pretty good reference point for how we respond to life itself and how we feel about ourselves deep down. If we have to cling to a regimen that is really not natural for us, then it says we do not TRUST that there is a way to do things with ease, grace, love, and therefore in alignment with us. We do not trust that there is a better way, a way where we can live without deprivation, feel amazing, AND look the very best we can possibly look.

The key here is, to LET GO of the results, the outcomes, and the expectations, and instead turn your attention inward. Begin to focus on how you want to FEEL in your life. How do you want to feel when you look in the mirror, slip on your jeans, head out for a run, walk through the grocery store, or when you lie in bed with your partner?

AND…

If you currently think that the way you FEEL is dependent upon this or that, you are right and wrong. How we FEEL is a choice we make, and you can feel however you want to feel RIGHT NOW. So, instead of waiting to lose 10 kilos, or 20 pounds before you FEEL confident, sexy, and worthy, begin to connect to the feeling of those things within you RIGHT NOW.

We are taught that the feelings follow the results. Well, duh. Obviously if we go from overweight to a healthy weight, we are going to feel better about ourselves and about life…at least temporarily. BUT, if we just change our outer world, we will still be left with our inner world, and THAT is why so any people Yo-Yo. They “fix” the outside, but the inside doesn’t shift in a way that they can really feel deep down that they are happy, loved, worthy, etc. So…the weight eventually makes its way back to their hips, stomachs, and thighs. The weight they carry inside, eventually manifests. This is because when we JUST fix the outside, it is not sustainable. We MUST go to the root, and make the changes from there.

When I work with my coaching clients, speak at an event, or write an article, my intention is to always challenge people to look at the way they approach their fitness, food, and life.

Are you coming from the outside in, or the inside out?

When we focus on feeling happy, worthy, loved, and capable, right now, and we begin to connect to that feeling more and more, then NATURALLY our choices and actions begin to fall into alignment with that. We begin to come from love rather than from fear, and those are two VERY different energies and feel very different in the body. For example, if you choose to go for a long run, to do a yoga class, or to attend a session with your trainer, and you do this coming from LOVE, then you will feel filled up by your choice because it is motivated by your intention to love and nurture yourself. This action will therefore feel loving, the way you move through it will be respectful and loving towards your body, mind, and spirit, and as a result, it will FILL YOU UP. However, if you make the exact same choice, coming from fear, then it will deplete you. If you decide to go for a run, workout, or to a yoga class because you will feel guilty if you don’t, or because you are afraid you will fall off track, or fear not looking a certain way because ultimately if your body isn’t perfect you can’t feel happy, then everything you do from this energy will work against you and ultimately burn you out. When we come from fear, it is not sustainable. You will never be able to maintain a healthy state of body, mind, and spirit when you come from fear.

Has this ever happened to you?

If you want to “lose weight” or “reduce your body fat” and these are the things that you are using to try to motivate yourself…IF it even motivates you at all…it WON’T last for long for most of you.

WHY?

This is because you aren’t connected to something bigger, something deeper, and more meaningful. What you REALLY want is to feel light, energised, and full of vitality. You want to walk into a room and know who you are and feel good about who you are. You want to be able to look other people in the eyes and not feel insecure, ashamed, or afraid. You want to feel like life has meaning, you have meaning, and that there is a reason for your existence. You want to feel like a contributor to life. You long to feel seen, heard, and appreciated. What you want is to feel smart inside, beautiful inside, and strong inside.

Am I right about this? Me too! There is nothing wrong with us for wanting these things. We want them because it is our most natural and authentic state to feel peaceful, happy, joyous, and free.

So…THESE are the priorities!

I had been personal training for 10 years when I decided to become a personal development coach, and to really expand my writing and speaking career. I did this because it was so painful, frustrating, and unfulfilling for me to watch day in and day out, people who come to me to transform their bodies, but who never get off the “roller-coaster” as a result of not transforming their minds, their perceptions, and therefore their relationships to food and exercise. I saw the same pattern over and over:

Client comes in super motivated, client works VERY hard, client gets results, client enjoys life extremely for 3-6 months, then client slowly begins to slip back into old habits and ways, and their motivation dissipates. Then, client tries and tries to do it the way they did it in the beginning, hoping to get the same results and to feel the same feeling again, only to feel disappointed, and defeated. Client continues to work had for years without ever getting optimal results.

It’s like a drug. The first HIGH is always the best one. Then, it just becomes about chasing the high that you’ll never get back again, because it wasn’t something real to begin with. We do drugs because we want to FEEL a certain way and most people do not TRUST that this can be found in a way that honors the body rather than harms it. Everyone wants the quick fix, but why? The quick fix is just a long and drawn-out process that keeps us from ever fully experiencing true freedom, bliss, abundance, and optimal health.

Do you want true freedom, abundance, bliss, and optimal health?

I hope and trust your answer is YES!

You CAN have your cake and eat it too! It may be an ORGANIC, RAW, VEGAN cake, but who cares if it is delicious, makes you FEEL amazing, AND moves you closer to your health and wellness goals? :-) There are ways to experience what you want that you have probably never considered or been open to,  and I am here to help you if you are ready to make some empowering changes. My best medium for this is my 12 week mentoring program! I LOVE doing it, and my clients love it too :)

Do want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

Sending you all so much LOVE and LIGHT! Please email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com with questions and comments! I always LOVE to hear from you and what you are going through :) :) :) :)

xoxo Erin

 

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Healing, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , ,
May 17, 2012

FACE YOUR FEAR: Here’s 5 Tips To Help You Face It And Be Transformed By It

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Fear…

Why is this something we ALL face?

Fear is something we all face because it is the very thing that challenges our ability to grow, to expand, and to fully LIVE. Without fear, we wouldn’t know about the places within ourselves that we are still unwilling to take a look at.

Do you understand what I am saying here?

When we are afraid of something, usually, at the core or the ROOT of the fear, is the belief that something outside of us has more power than we do. At the deepest seat in the fear, sits the part of us who is afraid that something dark can take us down, can take away our joy, and can ultimately end our life.

What is your current response to fear? Do you face into it, or do you skate around it? Do you suit up and show up with the willingness to take it on, or do you run from it? Are you the type of person who knows they cannot escape their fears, or do you actually believe you can ignore it until it goes away? Do you believe you are strong enough to handle anything, or do you reach for a false sense of security and numb out your fears with food, alcohol, shopping, smoking, sex, drugs, or too much exercise so you can pretend for short periods of time that you are actually doing something about improving your current circumstances?

These questions may feel confronting, and if so, I do not apologise. These are the same questions I have to ask myself sometimes as well. I do it because I love you and I love me.

It seems easier a lot of the time, to ignore, avoid, pretend, deny, run, move, etc, but let’s face it. The truth is, when we do these things instead of facing into our fears, the problems only get worse.

Recently I was going through something that felt so scary to me, that the mere thought of it made me feel sick, as though I was coming down with some awful virus. What was happening to me was my fear of this thing in particular was making me unwell. My thoughts were making me sick! What this turned out to be for me was a profound opportunity to take a look at some things inside of myself, inside of my thoughts, beliefs, and patterns, that I had decided long ago were “off-limits.” My head had created all these stories about certain feelings I had buried inside of me, and as a result, there was a pattern, a program that was running in my consciousness that had me living smaller than I am capable of living. This program was holding me hostage to the belief that I was not strong enough to face the “darkness” inside of me, and if I tried I would surely DIE.

I was being held hostage to the belief that “darkness” is an evil power that exists, and that the darkness was stronger and more powerful than the light.

Do you know what is the scariest thing about all of this?

When we actually buy into the voice that tells us we will die unless we keep ourselves from re-visiting those “off-limits” places, then we fall victim to the VERY thing we are afraid of. This is because the fear itself never gets dealt with, and therefore, it lives in our bodies. When fear lives inside of us, it affects us on an energetic level. Literally, we begin to vibrate with it. Since the Universe responds to our vibration, or our frequency, which is created by our thoughts and feelings, then the Universe will begin to deliver to us everything that matches our thoughts and feelings. So everything that matches your fear, is exactly what you will get.

This is WAAAAAAAAY worse than facing into the fear itself. That’s the craziest part! We don’t deal with stuff because we are afraid, and as a result we create and manifest a life of stuff that we are most afraid of instead of enjoying a life filled with peace, joy, abundance, and optimal health.

Does this make sense?

I am serious. Facing your fear is NOT as scary as you think! Not facing them will ALWAYS be much scarier in the end.

Here are 5 tips to help you face your fears and take your personal power back:

1) Acknowledge your fear FULLY.

Ex) I am afraid I am dying. Then silently repeat 4 times “I call all my energy back into my body now.” Feel your energy come back into your body.

2) Declare your willingness to face your fears.

You ARE strong enough to handle anything and everything happening right now. KNOW THIS. Then, connect with the light in your heart and speak to your fear by saying “I am willing to take a look at this you fully. I am willing to take you on. I know that I am strong enough to handle anything, so bring it on”

3) See yourself healthy, happy, joyful, powerful, and FEEL your connection to the energy source of the Universe.

FEEL your own strength, your own power, your own infinite source within that cannot and will not EVER die, no matter what things may look like.

4) Connect with nature.

Go somewhere beautiful such as to the ocean’s edge, a flower garden, or something equal. Observe nature. Feel the ocean’s playfulness as the water rushes in to touch your feet, excited to see you, and then rushes back out encouraging you to chase it. Watch the birds flip and fly, enjoying every moment without a doubt that they can do everything a bird is meant to do. Observe the flowers and contemplate their natural and organic way of growing without questioning themselves.

All the answers we need can be found somewhere in nature.

5) Think back about a time when you thought you would die if you faced something or tried something, but actually made it through.

Perhaps you even thrived afterwards. Remember how afraid you were, but how liberating it was to release the fear by facing it. Once you faced it you could finally stop LIVING IT.

Now do it again. Face your fear. Go for it. You ARE capable. You CAN do it. You WILL understand more later…count on that.

So let’s dedicate today to facing our fears shall we?

I invite you to take one fear that you have been avoiding, and write it down right now. Then go through steps 1-5 as best you can. Remember, the fear is not what we should be afraid of, rather it’s the unwillingness to allow the fears to transform us that we should be scared of. Fear coupled with our willingness to face it and our belief that we are strong enough to handle anything, no longer feels like fear. It becomes an opportunity we feel privileged to have. Fear left unattended to, becomes our living experience.

What’s it gonna be for you? Are you going to be a warrior, or a runner?

Please email us at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com with any questions or comments and let us know what you are going through!

In the meantime, face your fears, be the amazing warrior you really are, and know that you are loved and protected.

Sending you all so much love, light, and many big hugs!

xoxo Erin

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

 

Filed Under: Healing, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
May 1, 2012

Are You Burning Out? Trust IS THE WAY!

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Today I am here to talk to you guys about TRUST. What exactly is it and how do we do it?

Well, in my experience trust is something we must access within ourselves. It’s an inner awareness. Trust is something that happens more and more as we ALLOW it to. Trust is what happens as we let go of “our” plans and schedules and begin to surrender to a greater plan unfolding.

For example, there are many ways we experience new levels of trust. When my clients are working out, there are certain moves and exercises that I’ll ask them to do that they are afraid of at first. Their belief is that the cannot do it. They are afraid of falling, getting, hurt, and/or looking silly. They are very defined by and attached to the image and limitations they have set for themselves, or that they have accepted as their truth from the limitations others put on them.

This is precisely when I remind them that they must be willing to get uncomfortable, to feel uncertain, and to look silly and mess up if they want to move forward, expand, grow, and reach new levels of health, success, happiness, and wellness.

This opportunity is their time to explore what exists beyond their so-called limitations, in a safe place with me, so they can see that they actually have a choice and can choose to play a bigger game.

Most of the time, my clients’ desires to reach optimal health, happiness, fitness, and well-being outweigh their attachment to playing small in their workouts, and ultimately in their lives. As a result, they bust loose from their old beliefs and programs and embody something more powerful.

When I am coaching, often I have clients who are very afraid to detach from a strict schedule and the time pressures they put on themselves. These are typically my entrepreneurs and business owners. They get a certain amount of success by pushing hard and working almost 20 hours a day, but then as they begin to burnout, they suffer with finding a solution.

This is precisely when I remind them that they must be willing to let go of outcomes and results in order to experience the fruits of all their labor. There is a time to push and a time to receive. We will all be pulled to push, but when we are no longer pulled to push so hard, we must TRUST this gut feeling and shift our energy and speed into rest, receiving, and nurturing mode. We must always be willing to allow our intuition to guide us at all times. As we surrender, we give the Universe an opening to deliver and provide.

Does any of this sound familiar?

I can only say these things to my clients because I am not afraid to admit that I do it too. I also sometimes forget the power and importance of letting go and TRUSTING. It is perfectly OK to forget, just as long as you remember.

Life is a process of remembering that trust IS the process. Trust IS the WAY!

We are always in a process of peeling back layers, facing more fear, attaching to outcomes, results, and routines, and then having to let go and allow ourselves to experience trust on a deeper level each time around in the name of less suffering and more peace and joy.

I have been working in my industry of health, wellness, and personal growth for over 12 years. Some may consider me an expert, but I know that I am only a student. We are all always students, but in our learning, we teach. As we apply the information that is revealed to us along our own process of trusting, it becomes the way in which we see the world and the way we show up in the world. THIS teaches others that they too can do the same.

As many of you already know, I have been nurturing my relationship with the practice of Yoga. This has been an extremely humbling experience, but one I admire, respect, and feel deep gratitude for. Yoga is making me face so many of my own so-called “limitations” and it gives me no choice but to begin questioning and venturing passed them. Meanwhile, all my beliefs about fitness, exercise, the way the body works, diet, etc, are being challenged. These are quickly becoming old beliefs, as I embody new ones, and this process requires massive letting go and allowing the experience of trust to soothe my fears.

For example, I use to think you had to train 5-6 days a weeks with hard cardio and weights. I use to think you had to eat 6 times a day, every 2-3 hours, high protein and low carbs.  I use to think if I beat myself up for “cheating” on my diet, that it would actually be effective.  I use to believe food and my body were my enemy, and if  I could just become disciplined enough to control them better, I would finally be happy and feel good. I use to believe these were the things that made up the formula for a happy and peaceful life, and a fit and healthy body. Well, this may have been the case for a period in my life, but it stopped working. It was NOT sustainable. It was time for me to let go.

Now I know that way of life was just a phase in my evolution of health, fitness, happiness, and wealth.

Ultimately, or hopefully anyway, we move past each phase, and embrace a deeper, more authentic understanding of what it means to live a life of health, wellness, success, peace, joy, beauty, abundance, and love. This is a never-ending process. It will always continue to deepen, to offer us new insight and wisdom, to heal and transform us, and to humble and strengthen us.

If we can ALLOW this process of  TRUST to continue to unfold, life gets easier, work flows better, instead of chasing down opportunities, we begin attracting them TO us, and rather than having a separation between us and our bodies, we find a loving bond and connection with our physical bodies that begins to drive all our choices and actions, and therefore health, well-being, success, abundance, peace, and joy become our way of life.

So, what are you clinging onto so tightly that may be preventing you from experiencing more trust? Can you begin to surrender your plans and desired outcomes, in order to receive what the Universe has in store for you? Perhaps you can let go just a little bit, allowing the trust within you to emerge and gain a little more power, so you will grow to be able to let go completely and therefore fully experience freedom, peace, health, wellness, abundance, and success in all phases of your evolution.

What’s going on for you? I’d love to know. Send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your story, questions, or comments.

Sending You All SO Much Love and Many Hugs,

Erin :-) xo

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

Filed Under: Fitness Tips, Food, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 17, 2012

Check Your Ego! You ARE Worth It!

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Over the last few months of my life I have had to revisit some places within myself and some experiences from the past, that I liked to believe were in the past and would stay in the past. Well I guess it doesn’t always work that way.

Each of us are on our own unique, individual path and that means we each will have our own unique lessons to learn along the way. You may be able to relate to this. Have you ever felt like you were repeating an experience of something you’ve been through before, that you thought was over and gone, only to find yourself facing it yet again? It may look a little different, have different people taking part in it, but it’s the same old pattern? Do you find yourself saying “What the hell…I thought I had gotten past this?”

This is not something to feel ashamed of, guilty over, or to judge yourself for. NO. It is an opportunity to explore the same thing with more consciousness than you had before.

See the truth is, you HAVE gotten past it in a way. It’s just that sometimes there are onion experiences and they come with many different layers for us to process and peel back. Every time we “re-visit” these circumstances, experiences, and relationships, we are actually visiting a new piece of ourselves and bringing new information, or light, to it. Each layer has its own way of bringing tears and cleansing us.

When we explore things with more consciousness, it means we bring everything we NOW know, to an experience we had in the past when we didn’t have the same tools or level of consciousness.

In other words, we go back to something we didn’t have the tools to fully resolve in the past, with the tools we need to fully resolve it now. Sometimes this take MULTIPLE re-visits!

Does that make sense?

The challenge is NOT to feel bad about yourself in the process. There is a tendency to judge yourself when this happens, and that is exactly what will make it impossible to heal and resolve the past with your new tools and awareness in the present.  If you are revisiting something, it’s because there was probably judgment in the past that made it impossible for you to fully release yourself from the negative pattern, and therefore you have come back to visit it so you can do it differently this time. Therefore, MAKE SURE YOU DO IT DIFFERENTLY.

If you are judging yourself, comparing yourself and your life to others, or falling into victim or self-pity mode, then your EGO is the one running the show.

Check your ego right now because you are worth it!

Your path is just your path and suffering does not come from what is actually happening. No, suffering is a result of your judgments and perceptions about what is happening.

For me, I watch my thoughts, behaviors, actions, words, and although I am not always perfect and still do and say things that are out of alignment with who I really am sometimes, more and more I learn to love myself through it all.

Remind yourself that it is unnecessary and counterproductive to feel judgment, shame, or regret when you are just doing the best you can in the moment. Those feelings just make things harder and they feed the negative pattern.

As long as you are willing to do things differently each time around, and feel differently about what is currently showing up, then your life will begin to take on a new, positive pattern, and a beautiful shape that represents who you really are.

Bow down to the teacher in all things, and allow life to humble you, so that your higher self can begin to run the show. Live your legend, because it’s yours, and no one else can live the same one as you.

Humility is where our agendas get tossed out in order to receive the teachings life brings to us through our circumstances and experiences. Humility is the key to growth, intimacy, true connection, giving love and letting love in, and humility will bring peace into the mind and the body.

When we have humility, we no longer perceive ourselves and our lives through eyes that judge, but instead we appreciate every single moment for exactly what it is and the wisdom in it’s offering.

So how can you release yourself from your ego driven fears and worries today? What might you be revisiting that feels old, that you can bring your new wisdom and consciousness too in order to heal and resolve things within you and all around you even more? Please share your story, questions, and comments with me here, or email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

If you’d like to experience more Peace, Love, and YOUR Perfect Body, please register for my FREE call, “Peace, Love, and YOUR Perfect Body,” coming up this Friday April 20 @7pm U.S. EST/ Saturday April 21 @9am Brisbane, QLD time! Find out more and Register HERE.

Also, a little treat for Gold Coast and Brisbane locals! I am doing a 4 week Yoga + Meditation course called “Return To YOU,” starting Sunday May 6 – Sunday May 27 right here in Palm Beach, QLD. It is going to be amazing and I am so excited to share this with as many of you as possible! Find out more and Register HERE.

Love and Light!

Namaste,

Erin

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Healing, Inspiration, Love, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 10, 2012

Peace, Love, and YOUR Perfect Body

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As I sit here today and ponder this topic,  I ask for the guidance I need to deliver this message to you in the way it has been delivered to me. This is a message I am always excited to share, and  I have been asked by thousands of people over the years, how I have achieved the level of peace, love, vitality, and fitness I experience every single day.

Peace, Love, and YOUR Perfect Body.

First of all, let me begin by making sure we are clear about a few things. When I say “YOUR Perfect Body” this means that I am about to help you begin to really find true appreciation for YOUR body, the way it is RIGHT NOW.

We all are born with different body types, and we are MEANT to look and be different in our own unique ways. I like to think of this like trees. Trees are all different heights, widths, colors, and shapes, and their differences are what make up amazing, interesting, and beautiful landscapes. We would get bored if they all looked the same yes?

It’s the same with us, only we forget to look at ourselves through a bigger picture pair of eyes. Each one of us plays an important role, an important part in the overall landscape of life, and therefore the ways in which we may be shorter, taller, thicker, or thinner, is a result of who we are and what we’ve come here to do. These are the characteristics that we should love and adore, not hate.

This is not an excuse to be unhealthy however. No way. This is simply to understand the importance of accepting the body type, height, and shape you were born with. Accept what it is, and then make a conscious choice to be the healthiest, happiest, hottest version of yourself from the inside out!

For example, I am 5’3, and bit of the thicker, more muscular build. I have big brown eyes, blonde hair that never grows longer than my shoulder blades, and my calves have been big since I was a toddler!

I will NEVER be 5’10 with long , thick dark hair, have blue eyes, long thin legs, or calves that can fit in the really sexy knee-high boots that don’t have a zipper. That’s just the way it is for me. It’s not good, it’s not bad. It just is. Now I could kick a fit and feel as though I got short-handed and resent the fact that I am too short, muscular, and not exotic enough to look like the fashion models, or the new girl an ex is dating. But at the end of the day, will that really enhance my life experience? Will it change things? Or will it just create less peace, less love, and an experience of living in a body I will always see as IMPERFECT?

Do you see where I am going with this?

Love, Peace, and feeling grateful and happy about your body does not come as a result of achieving the perfect body first.

NO. You must first achieve Peace and Love within you, and therefore be experiencing it all around you, if you expect to truly experience what it feels like to live inside YOUR perfect body.

Are you with me?

Let me tell you about a little spell that most of us have fallen asleep under. It’s the spell that curses you to believe that happiness, love, peace, and a fit and sexy body come from something outside of yourself. For anyone who has ever achieved a “perfect body” as a result of reaching outside themselves, will tell you this:

Either the physical results don’t last, or the happiness from the results don’t last, or BOTH.

Trust me. I have been a 4-time all around Figure Champion and a 6-time all around Fitness Champion, and was well on my way to becoming a successfully and professionally sponsored fitness model. However, I chose to take a different road and thank God I did. I was lucky, and realized pretty early on in my budding career as a fitness star, that the life and the body I was living in, was NOT going to provide me with sustainable health, happiness, or hotness.

In fact, that way of living, thinking, and being was going to age me, depress me, AND lead me away from who I was born to be.

I didn’t realize ALL of that then, but I had enough trust in my intuition to follow something in my gut that just didn’t feel right about the path I was on. Today I fully understand what my body was telling me back then. It was telling me I was UNHAPPY.

Throughout my entire life up until that point, I had used every bit of my energy to please others, to get the attention I believed I needed to feel good enough, and to come in first prize so the world had no reason to ignore or disrespect me. However, the problem wasn’t the world.

IT WAS ME.

I didn’t love myself. I didn’t pay attention to, or respect me, and this projected from inside of me onto my outside world experience, and thus it was exactly what I began to look for from things outside myself.

Now I am not saying there is anything wrong with getting acknowledged, loved, and appreciated by others. These are good things to experience, they feel amazing, and they can definitely be a form of support throughout our lives. However, no one else’s love, attention, and respect will ever have the power to take away our happiness or grant us happiness. Only the way in which we treat ourselves has the power to do that.

Man. These are lessons I sure have learned the hard way, but I  tell you what, I wouldn’t take back any of it because I am so grateful to know what I know now!

I love the way I feel in my body, in my relationships, in my career, and in my life, and YOU CAN TOO!

Until I saw that having a perfect body didn’t actually give me long-term fulfilment, and therefore Love and Peace were not going to come as a result either, I didn’t know that I had it all backwards.

YEP…I HAD IT BACKWARDS!

It’s NOT:

YOUR Perfect Body, Love, and Peace.

NO…

It IS:

Peace, Love, and YOUR Perfect Body.

The order of the words in the title of this message are that way FOR A REASON. Their order IS THE MESSAGE I am delivering to you today.

We must find peace, access love, and when we do these things, we get to live in our Perfect Body.

Are you feeling how I felt when this message first penetrated my consciousness? I hope so because I have some very exciting news!

I am going to be doing a FREE call for one hour just on this topic.

This is what you’ll get if you join us on the call:

1) I am going to be sharing  3 of the my most favorite tools to help you:

- shift from anxiety, dissapointment, and irritability, to a peaceful place within

- to feel more love and respect for yourself and therefore others

- to connect to the vision you have for YOUR perfect body

2) I am going to be answering as many as 3 questions at the end for some one-on-one coaching that everyone on the call will get to benefit from.

3)  3 days after the LIVE call with me, you will be receiving a recording of the call that will be sent to your email. This way you can listen to it as much as you want, and if you happen to miss the actual call, you can listen to it later!

So, are you going to meet me on the call?

When:

Friday April 20, 201 at 7pm EST (United States) which is the same as Saturday April 21, 2012 at 9am (Brisbane, Australia time). I am in Australia, but this call is open to almost anyone in the world.

Please click on the link below for all the information you need about the call and so you can register. You will find all the Dial-In details you need for your country by clicking on this link below.

http://peaceloveyourperfectbody.eventbrite.com/

Hurry hurry! spaces are limited and it will fill up fast :)

Sending you all SO much LOVE and LIGHT!

xoxoxoxo,

Erin

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, motivational, Success, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 2, 2012

Life Is About Being Born And Giving Birth EVERY Day: Here’s What I Mean!

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As I was running this morning, with the ocean beside me and my feet hitting the sand one step at  time, I began to write this post in my head. Inspiration always happens to me when I run!

Lately I have been contemplating birth, babies, what that means to me, and how I feel about all of it. I am 32 years old, so from what I hear, it’s only natural that I would be thinking about this stuff. Apparently it’s my “Biological Clock ticking.”

Maybe it is, or maybe it’s just me, doing what I always do, which is taking what Mother Nature gives us, and breaking it down into daily life lessons, and then finding the tools that are available to apply such lessons into my own life and eventually sharing them with my clients so they too can apply them to their lives.

Who knows. I guess it depends on who you ask :)

I do want to talk to you today however, about this concept of birth. It does fascinate me. I will admit, I often find questions bubbling up inside me that ask me things like “Erin, if you were to be growing a life within you, what would you do differently.” Or, “If you knew you were going to start trying to get pregnant, what might that require of your thoughts, your actions, and your daily habits, and how might you be able to nurture that possibility into reality?”

I have also noticed myself thinking of my body in a different way when I think about it as something capable of growing and expressing the miracle of life. Instead of being judgemental or harsh towards myself and expecting my body to be perfect all the time, I have begun to see my body as a vessel, or a channel that life wants to grow inside of and ultimately to be expressed through.

I can’t help but wonder, and MEN this applies to you too, if we all walked around treating our dreams, our intuition, our desires, and our ideas, as though they were our unborn children, would we finally begin to understand the importance of creating an internal environment that is capable of growing life inside of us, that when nurtured by us, has the power to go from a tiny seed within, to a beautiful new life we birth into the external world?

Do you understand what I am saying? It is a known fact that what a mother-to-be thinks about, the actions she takes or doesn’t take, the amount and type of exercise she does, the relationships she chooses to have and engage in, the foods and drinks she consumes, and the environments she surrounds herself in, plays a vital role in whether or not she can get pregnant from the start and then once she does, it plays a vital role in the overall optimal health and well-being of the baby growing inside of her. It CAN determine the quality of the life she is growing and giving birth to.

Why would this be any different for birthing an idea, a vision, and a dream into reality?  IT’S NOT! It’s exactly the same and if we explore this idea, then it may increase our chances of actually giving birth to the gifts that want to come through us.

Whether or not you want children, have children, don’t want children, don’t have children, is irrelevant to the point I am making. My point is this:
Every single one of us, male, female, gay, straight, black, yellow, green, white, have the opportunity to be born and to give birth on a daily basis. Every time we wake up in the morning we are starting over and therefore being born. Every time we go through a huge transitional and transformational time in our lives we are being born. Every time we get our hearts broken and we come through the other side of it and heal, we experience a sense of being birthed into a deeper awareness and understanding of who we really are and what we are really capable of.

Every single one of us has ideas, we have dreams, we feel a longing to love and be loved, we want to experience intimacy and deep connection, and we all hope that we die with no regrets. We all hope that we are one of those people who feel as though we really LIVED every opportunity that presented itself to us.

Every time we feel inspired by something, that IS an opportunity presenting itself to us.

Here’s the mistake most people make. They cling on to a result and they end up cutting themselves OFF from growing life within them, and therefore birthing it into the world. You even hear about this with women who really want to have a baby. They try so hard and become almost obsessed with it, that it doesn’t end up happening for them. Then, when they finally let go, they get pregnant! It’s truly amazing how much wisdom this mother birthing baby analogy is offering us.

Whatever it is you are wanting in your life requires the same thing. If you want to feel comfortable in your own skin, if you want to grow a business, if you want to find true love, if you want to write a book, if you want to travel the world, it requires you to treat yourself as the vessel that is being chosen by the things you feel drawn to. We are not all drawn or attracted to the same things. When you feel that pull, you know that a mutual choice has been made. That thing has chosen you, and you have chosen it. However, I want to invite you to think of it like this. Rather than attaching yourself to the thing itself or to a specific outcome with it, instead explore what it needs you to become in order for you to create an environment within yourself, conducive enough to growing life within you and to giving birth to life.

For example, I was really drawn to a guy that I met a few years back and it was definitely mutual. I thought that meant it was because we were destined to be together. We were in a way, just not how I thought. This guy and I ended up going through a lot of life changing events together, and I had to take some serious inventory of myself, my thoughts, my beliefs, and my actions as a result of this relationships. As a result of his presence in my life, I became aware of how much I wanted to experience true soulmate-love. I was not ready for that then because the insides of me were not conducive to growing life or giving birth to any great quality of life.

However, it was the very event in my life that woke me up in many ways and showed me what I needed to do for myself in order to be born into a grater sense of joy and connection as well as to birth into the world all the inner gifts I had previously been aware of, but unable to access and express.

EVERY single moment is an opportunity for every single one of us to be born and to give birth. We can start over with every thought we have, we have the power to change the way we see things and go from an abusive, harsh mindset, to one that is non-judging and unconditionally loving. We are the ones that must decide to build our lives on a foundation that is motivated by the intention to be nurturing and nourishing so the soul can continue to grow within us, and that new life can flow through us at all times. We are all, men too, pregnant with possibilities. The ways in which we treat ourselves on a daily basis will determine whether or not we cut ourselves off from experiencing the life force within us and the potential we have to express such possibilities into the world through our very own bodies.

So remember this analogy. Being born is not easy, nor is giving birth. Both experiences can be painful, scary, and full of the unknown. However, when it’s mother birthing baby, we are all amazed by that miracle and we embrace the pain, the discomfort, and the unknown. Therefore, I invite you today to do the same for all the life that wants to grow within you and to be expressed by you. Whether it’s a child, an idea, or a dream, you are the vessels it needs to grow from the unseen world into the seen one :)

What are your ideas, your dreams, and what is the vision you have for your life? If you are going to birth these unborn gifts into the world, how might you need to rearrange things inside of you and all around you, in order to breathe life into them? Choose your thoughts, your food, your drinks, your friends, your actions, and your environments wisely, for they WLL determine the quality of life within you and the quality of life you are able to share with the world.

Sending you all so much LOVE,
Erin xoxo

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

Filed Under: Healing, Inspiration, Love, Spirituality, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Mar 16, 2012

YES…There IS A Better Way!

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How do we know that we can fully believe things are working out for us? How is it possible to trust that if we follow our hearts, we will be guided towards living the life of our dreams? What if we are wrong? What if we believe and think positive and we still never get what we want?

Are these questions you ask yourself or others at times? If you answered yes, I hope you will keep reading.

First of all, how can you know fully if  things AREN’T working out for you? Is it possible to not trust your heart or follow its guidance, and to still create the life of your dreams? What if you are RIGHT about that idea or new way of doing things? If you don’t believe and think positively, what are the chances of getting what you want?

Yes, I did just ask you all the same questions in reverse. I did this to help lead you to your own answers, your own intuition about what actually feels right inside of YOU regarding how you choose to think, feel, and what beliefs you choose to keep or toss.

This is because YOU are the one who decides what the answers are to these questions.

How does that make you feel, to know you have this kind of power?

I talk to you guys a lot about letting go of outcomes, about practicing the art of detachment, and having the courage to set your intentions and declare your desires whilst surrendering the results to the Universe. This is the way of Happiness. This is the way of Inner Peace. This requires discipline.

We all have an inner guide, a voice that summons us to listen, to take its directions, and to answer it’s calling for us.

Some of us rise to the challenge, and others of us do not. It is not my place to say that one is wrong or one is right. At the end of the day, whatever you choose, is just what you choose. What you do with it will make the difference between feeling good or feeling bad.

Most of us walk around judging ourselves and others, doubting the unlimited possibilities we all have, and feeling uncertain about what we really want and how we will ever truly feel at peace, happy, and fulfilled inside.

We set goals. We achieve them. But still, eventually we return to that empty place inside that either says “I must have more of that thing that temporarily makes me feel good.” OR “There has got to be a better way.”

YES, there IS a better way…a new kind of discipline!

Being in the fitness industry for so long, and beginning my journey as a dedicated gymnast, DISCIPLINE is a word that entered my vocabulary at a very young age. That said, it has become a topic I have spent nearly a lifetime contemplating.

One definition of DISCIPLINE I found is this:

Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.

Discipline is derived from the word DISCIPLE.

DISCIPLE means:

 Learner, follower, or Truth Seeker.

I have found over the years, that my once understanding of discipline has evolved into something very different these days.

If discipline is something that is supposed to help us gain mental and moral improvement, and as a disciple we are seeking to know the truth, then Discipline is the commitment to apply whatever tools, take whatever actions, and do whatever it takes to grow and evolve mentally and morally so that we come to know our truth.

Let’s look at exercise for example. I use to think discipline meant I had to show up 6 days a week and stick exactly to the routine I had set out for my gym workouts. I had become extremely attached to results. However, the results I wanted were to feel good about who I was, feel comfortable and confident in my own skin and body, and experience a deeper sense of love, connection, expression, and inspiration. I believed that by having a six-pack, I would achieve all of these things. Having a six-pack and becoming a 7-time Champion Fitness and Figure Competitor, DID help me feel all those things.

But not forever.

My misunderstanding of what discipline meant, and my attachment to  how I perceived happiness, eventually landed me in a not so happy, not very connected or inspired, and an extremely inauthentic, non-expressive place within myself. Now I am not saying it isn’t fun to have a six-pack. I am just saying that the happiness it brings us is extremely external and short-lived.

Long term happiness and inner peace is an INSDE JOB.

Discipline is actually meant to create flexibility in our lives. It’s like martial arts, the purpose behind learning to fight, is so to NEVER HAVE TO FIGHT. As it’s students show up for their practice each day, they work through the mental and emotional triggers that attract violence and unrest into their lives to begin with. Their practice extends beyond the physical practice itself. It begins to become a working part of their minds, their Spirits, and their lives.

Many people may think the point of martial arts is to become an awesome fighter so they can kick lots of butt…BUT the whole point is to find more peace, and to live a life of non-violence.

We all need structure as we begin to learn about discipline, but I want to plant a seed for you.

Being disciplined means you are committed to your internal growth number one, and whatever physical activities you do, are meant for both physical AND mental awareness, strength, and growth.

All of those questions I asked you above, require DISCPLINE.

If we choose to follow our hearts, because we choose to believe in ourselves and in the power of listening to the voice within rather than to to others, we will HAVE to be disciplined. Every time a seductive thought emerges tempting us to abandon the truth we seek, we must use our discipline to make a conscious decision to stay on our path and recommit to our deepest calling and what we feel is right. To follow our hearts is the way of a warrior. It takes courage and it requires strength.

When you begin to doubt yourself or your intuition, and you find yourself asking once again, “What if I am wrong?” What if I never get there?” What if everyone else knows something I don’t know” THIS is where you MUST stay disciplined. You must be a disciple seeking YOUR truth and no one else’s.

Here Are 3 Ways To Apply A New Discipline:

1) Check in with yourself, LISTEN, and TRUST.

Is your body and Spirit asking for a run, a meditation, a yoga session, a hardcore weight training session, a sleep in, a journaling session, a brainstorming session, etc? You must have the willingness to go within and the discipline is you being brutally honest with yourself about what will serve your highest good-by listening to your inner guide that is telling you what is best. Then, the discipline is applied by taking and choosing to trust the direction you receive and doing what your inner guide says to do, no matter what your monkey mind is saying!

2)  Every time you become aware of feeling bad, apply your discipline by tuning into your thoughts in that moment, and shifting yourself. 

What are you thinking? What stories are you telling yourself? Are you beating yourself up and choosing thoughts that are free-loading on your peace and joy? Apply your discipline by observing these thoughts, by contemplating them. As you become aware of them, you bring them into the light. Begin to shift them by connecting to what you REALLY want. Do you want to feel a deep sense of love and connection? Do you want to feel fully expressed in the world by living on purpose and sharing your passion? Do you want to just enjoy the conversation or meal you are having in that moment? Remember what you want, notice that your thoughts aren’t supporting what you want. Now have the discipline to change them! If you are unsure of how to change them, just repeat this internally several times:

“I am willing to see this differently. I am willing to feel differently right now. I am willing to shift and change my thinking.  I am open and ready to receive guidance in this moment.”

3) When you find yourself judging yourself or someone else, gently bring yourself back to the person you want to be.

This requires DISCPLINE in the beginning because it will feel constant at first. Be willing to show up for your yoga, your workouts, your friends and family, not perfect. Simply commit to the practice of exploring your mind, your body, and your life. Commit to trial and error. Commit to loving yourself through all of it. And commit to creating the highest expression of who you are in every moment. Apply your discipline every time you are not doing this. Just become aware and consciously observe and make a different choice.

Ok I hope you will come to know and appreciate a new kind of discipline. As we become disciplined in this way, we are able to experience greater health, greater consistency in all things, more balance, inspired creativity, a deeper sense of connection, compassion, and love for ourselves and others, and as a result, our awesome lives and selves begin to blossom and unfold before our very eyes!

Here’s to a new kind of discipline! Sending you all so much Energy, Love, and Magnificence!!

 Hugs!

 Erin :-)

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach, send me an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

Filed Under: Fitness Tips, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, Success · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Mar 13, 2012

Stay With It: This Is Why Life Gets Hard Sometimes!

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WHOA! It has been a little while since I have written to you all. My apologies for my absence. However, it is just something I have to do sometimes. Do you know what I mean?

Sometimes we go through things in life, and it is very important to turn within and to allow ourselves the time, space, and the silence we need to nurture ourselves through the growth and the transformations we go through.

I want to be completely honest with all of you because I totally believe in the POWER of opening up and sharing with others what we go through on a daily basis. This last transition from Melbourne to the Gold Coast of Australia has been extremely challenging for me. I arrived here in January just after having met an amazing guy who I was super excited about having in my life. Due to him living in Singapore, we broke things off after a couple of months. I was gutted. My heart ached and my body felt like I was moving through mud! Have you ever felt this way?

When this relationship didn’t work out, I found myself confronted by many things on many levels.

 All my insecurities, self-doubt, fears, and limiting beliefs and thought patterns, began to emerge from the depths of my consciousness.

I had NO IDEA that I was still holding onto so much baggage that was not ultimately supporting or serving my highest good and purpose.

You see, when this happens to us, and we get slammed with our fears, insecurities, doubts, and our deep limiting core beliefs, this is a good thing! I know you may think I am crazy for saying that, but I am SERIOUS.

The only way we can continue to expand and really begin to claim our unlimited POWER back and become the creators of our own lives, is to become AWARE of everything that is currently holding us back from it.

I want you to take a moment and think about a relationship that didn’t work out, or a job you didn’t get, or something that you hoped would go a certain way, that failed your hopes, dreams, and expectations. Do you remember how you felt? Did you find that all of a sudden you were in a place of questioning and doubting everything that you felt so sure about the just day before?

This is what we do.

When one thing or two or three things seem to fail us, we begin to internalize failure and slowly but surely become more and more defeated.

However, what happened after a certain period of time for you? Did you heal? Did you grow? Did you learn?

It can be hard to always hear that “everything happens for a reason” and “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” When we are going through some of the hardest times in our lives, there are just days that we want to tell those positive people to go jump off a building, am I right?

But…

The truth is, we have two choices.

 We can keep on keep’n on, and take that positive crap and apply it, OR we can drowned in our own sorrows, and suffocate in our own quicksand.

Most of us, most of the time, choose to LIVE, to keep on keep’n on, and to do our best until something shifts!

That’s what I am talking about. For me, I have been going through major transformations around my career. I have been in yoga teacher’s training, and about to begin Pilates teacher’s training. I am in a new country, and without knowing a sole here to begin with, I set out to continue creating and manifesting my dreams.

 I have been in this process for several years, but coming to Australia has been a process of uncovering and discovering more of my authentic passion, my unique gifts, and finding effective, creative, and inspiring ways to share my gifts with the world.

NOT AN EASY TASK, but one well worth the struggle. This desire to do this has called upon the Universe, to conspire and to co-create with me, so I can have everything I’ve asked for.

When we ask for what we want and we set our intentions, then our order is as good as placed. If we are unclear in the least bit, the Universe will have to continue getting more information from us in order to deliver exactly what we’ve asked for.

If there is anything in the Universe’s way of being clear about what we want, it’s because WE are unclear about parts of what we want.

 These are otherwise knows as BLOCKS. Therefore, the Universe will bring us opportunities to clear these blocks by creating circumstances, situations, and experiences that make us confront the areas of the orders we have placed, that we are currently unclear about.

For example, if you order a burger at a restaurant, and the waitress just writes ”Burger” down and hands it to the chef, the chef will send her back to you to find out, do you want cheese, how do you want it cooked, bun or no bun, what sides did you want with that, etc? Every time she asks you a question, and let’s say you don’t actually know what you want, you are going to experience extreme levels of discomfort, frustration, and you may even find yourself wanting to get the hell out of there.

It is never comfortable when we are being asked something we don’t have the answer to.

Every time something happens in our lives that is uncomfortable, it’s an opportunity to gt more clear and straight up with the Universe, about the order we have placed.

The Universe is helping us get more clear, to unblock us, so we can manifest our dreams with ease and grace. Does that make sense?

Lately, I have gone through phases of writing a lot, and phases of complete withdrawal from being visible. I have felt super friendly and social, and given my best efforts towards building new relationships, and then I’ve felt like isolating and in total fear of doing anything outside my comfort zone. Every single day has been a wild ride and I have literally had to learn to get present with myself, stay in the moment, allow myself to be imperfect, and trust my process.

EVERYTHING I have been through over the last 8 years, such as: healing from binge eating, overcoming drug and alcohol addiction, building my own personal training business, pursuing a writing, coaching, and speaking career, going through school to become a certified personal growth coach, moving countries, having to start all over again in many ways in Oz, finding a guy I really connected with and fell for, and then loosing him, living in 3 different states and 4 different cities within 6 months of being in Australia, and finally, going through intense training to become a certified international yoga teacher, has all been CRAZY CHALLENGING AND CONFRONTING. That said,  all of the ups and downs, ins and outs, trials and tribulations, joys and pains, were EXACTLY what I needed in order gain the level of clarity, humility, inspiration, motivation, direction, passion, connection, and drive I have today.

Everything you are going through is one of your greatest teachers. Some days you will not trust this, and you will even want to cuss at the idea. That’s ok.

 The only thing to remember is to STAY WITH IT MY FRIEND.  

Those who do not give up, who stay with their journey even in the darkest of nights, will rise up, and grow into strong, free, abundant, peaceful, happy, and healthy BEings. They will live their truth. We are all called to our highest path, but not all of us will answer the calling. When the phone rings…are you going to pick it up?

So, remember, life is not about having it all figured out, or never feeling scared or emotional, or in doubt.

No. Life is about feeling all of these feelings, and in the face of them, choosing to continue to follow your dreams anyway.

I am sending you all so much love.

xoxoxo Erin

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change, serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach send me an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Personal Growth Mentoring Program is an intense and highly effective way to release your mental, physical, and emotional blocks so you can finally live your dreams. It’s an investment in your health and happiness. Serious inquiries only.

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, Spirituality, Success · Tagged: , , , , ,
Feb 24, 2012

This Is Why You Should Begin BEFORE You Know How It Ends

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Wow…what a concept right?

That’s right, begin BEFORE you know how it ends, IS what I am saying. Why?

Well as all of you know, I have done my very best to be open with you, to share my ups and downs with you, and to keep my heart as open and vulnerable to you as I know how on any given day. This has not always been easy.

We all go through certain changes and transitional phases that make it difficult to find the words to express what we are thinking and feeling.

I have been going through one of those phases these last few weeks. One of my goals with Erin Lanahan Method is to deliver daily love, wisdom, and empowering messages to as many people across the world as possible. When I go through healing periods that require me to turn inward, this tends to pull me away from writing and being visible. One of my struggles when I’m going through stuff like this, is that I don’t feel like I have much to offer anyone, or anything helpful to share. (not ideal thinking by the way!) This would appear NOT to be very supportive of delivering daily love, wisdom, and empowering messages to you through my daily practice of writing. Hmmmmm…therefore, we have a conflict don’t we?

I still don’t think I have the answer to that question to be honest. On one hand, I get pulled away from things to use my energy to heal, and therefore do not fulfill my writing goals. On the other hand, I gather new information, insight, internal guidance and inspiration EVERY time this happens. Therefore, every time I learn even more to trust myself and my process every step of the way.

This can feel SO hard when you’re in the middle of transformation. Just like the caterpillar, the little thing has no idea its turning into something with more color and with wings so it can fly! Imagine how it must feel as it’s half way in between being a caterpillar and a butterfly. Whether or not it doubts it’s process, we will never know. All we know is that is ALWAYS becomes a butterfly!!

In its process of just being itself, it teaches so many of us about how to fully and honorably embrace our transitions and transformations.

Unfortunately, so many of us feel guilty about not being able to perform at the level we consider to be acceptable, 100% of the time. We also don’t believe we have the right to share our success story until we have proven to ourselves and the world that we have succeeded. The problem here is, we have the potential to make PROGRESS every day, and that IS success!

Want to hear something ironic?

If we wait to tell our story, to share our love, to help someone else, to get into a relationship, to start eating healthy, to begin working out, until we have achieved a certain level of success first, then we cut ourselves off from the opportunity to create the happy ending we are waiting for. Therefore, we never end up sharing our story, giving and receiving more love, being of service to others, eating healthier, and achieving our perfect body weight. Do you see how crazy this is??

I am choosing to make progress every day, and to aim for my goals. I choose to redefine Success, by saying it means this:

Success- The willingness to follow the deepest calling in our hearts, and to work towards bringing our dreams into our life experience on a daily basis,  no matter how big or small the daily progress is.

I will commit to reminding myself that the progress I make one day will differ from another day. Whether it’s one phone call a day, meditating for 20 minutes, writing a blog, showing up to help someone else, spending 30 minutes brain storming, or doing all of those things in the same day, it is ALL equally successful.

So, how are you holding back in this moment, this day, this week, and in your life? What are you waiting for BEFORE you put yourself out there, take that next action step, make that phone call, have that conversation, ask that special someone out, tell someone you love them, or start making healthy life choices? Are you waiting to get to your happy ending BEFORE you give yourself the opportunity to share your vulnerable beginning, and authentic now? Believe me, we all LOVE every part of a story. Why should any of us not really do what we love and share it with thew world right now, regardless of where we are in our process? I want to hear from you. Send me an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share what you are going through.

If you or anyone you know, feels inspired to help Erin Lanahan Method deliver daily love, tools for living, and empowering messages to the world, please send me an email. I am currently looking to expand my team with excited and loving people who have a passion for sharing their life experiences and inspiring messages. You don’t have to be a professional writer! None of us can reach our greatest potential alone! Let’s do it together :-) Thank you!

Here’s to your transformation through Energy.Love.Magnificence!

With all my love, respect, and support,

xoxo Erin

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change. serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach send us an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Life Coaching Program is intense and an investment. Serious inquiries only.

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, motivational, Success, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Feb 10, 2012

Here’s 7 Reasons Why You HAVE To Keep Going

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I want to talk a little bit about WHY it is so important to keep going, ESPECIALLY when it may feel the most challenging.

In my experience, when things get the hardest, it means we are the CLOSEST.

Hang in there just a little bit longer and you’ll see what I mean.

It’s funny, sometimes we will actually come through something pretty heavy, and then once we begin to feel light and free of it, it pops up AGAIN. It may pop up on your Skype Chat, your phone, your FB wall, when you’re out with friends, at work, at home, or somewhere else that you just so happened to be strolling along until…POW!

That’s how this awesome Universe works.

As we set our intentions for our lives and begin to get more and more clear about what we want, the Universe has no other choice but to answer our orders.

If we want more money, it will bring all of our money fears and insecurities to our attention. If we want to heal from a broken heart and find great love once and for all, it may throw our ex-lovers and relationship issues across our paths. If we want to loose weight, it may place us at lots of parties and events that serve lots of junk food.

What I am saying is this…

When you want something, you better be prepared to confront everything in your way of having that thing BEFORE it actually shows up for you.

This gets EXTREMELY challenging some days because it can feel like just too much to deal with at once. Yes?

BUT…

You HAVE to keep going!

Here’s 7 Reason’s WHY you have to keep going:

1) You’ve done so much of the work already.

Don’t quit before the miracle happens. So  many of us do. When things feel the most intense, it’s because you are busting loose. You are knocking down the walls of your own limitations and you are saying YES to a better life. Stay with it, for you are about to reap the benefits of all your patience and hard work.

2) Everything You Want Awaits You.

Have you ever noticed how people who get lots of money, popularity, success, good looks, etc, who haven’t matured to a point of being able to walk gracefully and humbly with their gifts, end up going crazy, becoming drug addicts or alcoholics, going in and out of abusive and unhealthy relationships, or lose everything in the end anyway?

Don’t be envious of others. Trust that you are going through a different process. What you WANT is to experience what those “things” symbolize. However, you must reach a certain point in your own emotional development to hang on to them anyway. It’s better to have to go through more and wait longer, if it means you get to create a life beyond your wildest dreams, that you will be comfortable living in and never have to lose due to your own lack of responsibility and ego mania.

Everything You Want Awaits You.

It’s just on the other side of the darkness. Go the distance, and the pot of gold will be revealed. You WILL go from the caterpillar, to the butterfly.

3) Your playing small is selfish.

Yep, damn straight. If you’re playing small, then I just called you out.

Stop being selfish.

Look, we are all guilty of this from time to time, so I am taking it upon myself to give you the kick in the pants that I sometimes need as well. Whether you believe me or not, we all need you to share your gifts, shine your light, and do what ONLY YOU can do. That’s why you are here! When one of us plays small, it’s like having only half of a puzzle piece. This means the whole puzzle has a hole in it, a place where it is lacking the full picture.

No one can do what you came to do. I could do the same thing you do, but your people aren’t going to hear it from me, because they can only receive it FROM YOU.

I had to learn this too. I used to think “Who am I to think I can be a writer?”  “What do I have to say that no one else is saying?” “How am I special?” Well…I AM, and SO ARE YOU.

Someone else can write on the exact same topic as me, but my people aren’t going to receive it from them, because they can only hear it, see it, and feel it when it comes from me.

Do you get what I am saying?

Each one of us has a responsibility to show up as the best version of ourselves, to serve the whole picture, and to therefore live an incredible life as a result, WITH everyone else!

4) You have no other option anyway.

This is the funniest part. The joke is on us.

If you don’t keep going, what will you do? If you think you can just end things, I am not sure it’s that black and white. Now this is just my belief, and we are all entitled to our own, but as far as I know, you will just come back here to work through the same stuff you are working through now. So you why not just buckle down and commit to your process this time around.

If you give up on your process you will become numb, shut down, and that means hanging the Out Of Order sign on your heart, your life, and on your WILL to be great. Isn’t that scarier than what you are feeling now?

To me, the thought of rotting away in my own fear is my worst nightmare. It seems very simple when you think about it. Just like a flower, or any living thing for that matter. We are made to grow, not shrink. We are meant to head towards the light, not question our ability to blossom and bloom. It’s our most natural flow to experience life to the fullest, so anything other than that goes against who and what we really are.

5) If you give up now, you’ll miss the creative ending.

It’s like going to a movie and walking out when the mystery, suspense, and anticipation reaches it’s peak.

When we feel these feelings in a movie, we don’t think to ourselves “Oh my God I cannot do this. I cannot handle this level of feeling.” NO. We refer to them as THRILLING. We love it when we get taken on a wild ride because we TRUST it isn’t the end of the world, and that we are going to be home, safe in our beds at the end of the day. So we stay with it…until that movie ends. Then we go home and make plans to see the next one, all in the name of fun and entertainment!

This is the same as life. See your suspense, anticipation, and mystery as a movie coming to a peak. Then stick around for the awesome ending you are creating, knowing that you will soon be preparing for the next great adventure to follow.

6) You will break your own heart if you give up on yourself.

We all know how badly it hurts to have a broken heart. You know that deep ache and pain you feel in the chest, the heaviness, the lack of will to go on? Why would you put yourself through that?

Seriously, if you give up now…YOU WILL BREAK YOUR HEART.

He, she, him, her, they, and them can abandon us, but we will always find our way UNLESS we abandon ourselves. YOU have the ability to be your greatest support or worst enemy. You can save your life or end it, all by how you choose to show up for, or reject,  yourself.

Why break your heart when you have the power to make it dance instead?

7) You have a story to tell.

Do you ever stop and listen to someone else? Did you ever consider that each and everyone of us has an amazing story to tell? The longer we stick around, the juicier it gets.

What story?

The story of our lives. The story of our loves, our losses, our wins, our pains, our fears, and our courage to overcome those fears.

Yes, YOU have a story.

You HAVE to keep going because someone, somewhere, some day, needs to hear your story from YOU.

I really hope you allow yourself to read over the 7 reasons WHY you have to keep going. Let them sink into your awareness, your consciousness, your thoughts and actions. Do not forget them my friends.

What are you questioning today? What is making you so sure you cannot go the distance? Can you just be a little softer, more gentle, and a bit more loving with yourself? Just for today?

I want to know what you are going through. Send an email to Erin Lanahan Method at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your story with us.

I am sending you all so much love.

Remember, today is not the end of your life…it’s just the beginning.

Love Always,

Erin xoxo

Want to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready for change. serious about investing in yourself, and ready to work with a coach send us an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. Life Coaching Program is intense and an investment. Serious inquiries only.

 

 

Filed Under: Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, Success, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 9, 2012

Here’s 3 Reason’s Why Honesty Is All We Really HAVE

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Honesty…

Honestly, how honest are you with yourself and with others on a daily basis? My guess is that most people are only ever half-honest with themselves at best.

Our lack of honesty with others is not intentional most of the time, it’s just a repercussion of our inability to be honest with ourselves. The problem with this is,  we hurt a lot of people by default.

A lack of honesty exists only in the parts of ourselves that have not woken up from our slumber just yet. It is where we are still hiding in fear.

Why is honesty so important?

First of all, let’s be clear. When I talk about honesty, what I mean is the ability to have conscious thoughts, actions, and relationships. What I mean is to allow the real and raw expression of your deepest, most inner truth to do the talking AND the walking.

Do you know what that is? Do you know who you are, what you want, what you like, what your boundaries are, and what you’re worth? Do you have an understanding of how willing you are, or not, to be available for great love, great connection, great opportunities, and therefore an AWESOME life? Do you have unwavering respect for yourself, and are you willing to stand up for what you deserve?

I have been in a couple dating type relationships with people over the last few years who were stumped by me when I asked them certain questions. Apparently my inquiries called upon them to take a deeper look inside than they were ready for, and boy did they get triggered! I found myself having these experiences with them as a result of me needing to get more clear about their feelings for me. I wasn’t happy, but couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just let things be the way they were.

Based on how things were going on the outside, it all seemed like things should be working. However my intuition, my gut, and my highest awareness knew something wasn’t right and must be addressed.

Yep…there were DEFINITELY mixed signals I was denying.

THAT was my real and raw innermost truth, speaking to me, urging and encouraging me to be brave and follow what I knew and felt. This is always challenging because we doubt ourselves and we fear coming across as needy, demanding, or over analytical.  Am I right?

When I went to them, from as much love, openness, and honesty as I could, they jumped to the defense pretty fast. It’s as if all of a sudden I was the enemy trying to take away their freedom. But the TRUTH is, I was only asking them how they felt, so I could make the best choice for ME. I never asked them to change, or give me something they could not.

I didn’t want to be the center of their Universe, NO WAY and NO THANK YOU! I just wanted to know if they wanted to explore existing in the Universe WITH me, as partners.

They ummed and awed, and their discomfort was VERY clear. They didn’t know how they felt and they weren’t in any kind of place to know any time soon. So they got mad at me, sometimes nasty with me, and a little bit of sweet and vulnerable in between. But even still, they were unable to give me any clear answer about how they felt about me or if they wanted to create something with me.

Where did that leave me?

That left me to decided what was best for me, which in both cases was to walk away, as hard as that was for me at the time.

However, we cannot be with someone who is lacking in their own ability to be honest and clear with themselves, because there is no way they can be clear and honest with someone else, and the likelihood of them sending mixed signals and leading you on is VERY good.

However, that said, we must take full responsibility for our part in all things. If we are truly being honest with OURSELVES the whole time, we will know enough to not allow things to carry on as they are, falling down the rabbit hole of our own denial. Deep inside we always know the truth of the situation we are in. It’s just a matter of being strong enough to admit it to ourselves and then taking appropriate action.

Don’t wait for someone else to tell you what you already know. Why? It could take way longer than it should for you to get your SH*T together if you do this.

When we begin to live our lives from the truth we feel inside, we become more and more able to trust ourselves.

It is difficult to trust ourselves before we have taken the leap of faith, followed our intuition, and found out we were right! The more we do this, the more we grow to trust our truth to take care of us, and therefore the more honest with ourselves and others we become. Then, the flow of beautiful, authentic relationships and opportunities begin to blossom in our lives. We let go of what’s not good for us, and make room for all that is.

If you are in a confused place as well, being with another confused person may be cool for you right now. It might feel good, and you may prefer the lack of direction, clarity, and real connection. Hey, whatever floats your boat! Ultimately if it works for you, that is great!

For me, I am in a place in my life where I  am realizing that honesty is all there really is, and all I really HAVE, so it just doesn’t work for me to put myself in those kinds of scenarios. Although I must admit, they have certainly been AMAZING strengthening exercises for my honesty muscles!! ;-)

No matter what you are going through in your life, EVERYONE benefits by your ability to be brutally honest with yourself and therefore others. Why stay in unhealthy, unhappy, and less than ideal situations when your greatest, most awesome life and relationships await you??

Here are 3 reasons WHY honesty is all we really have anyway:

1) If the house isn’t built on steady ground, then the structure and future of its well-being will always be shaky.

In life, we WILL be confronted. Our relationships will kick up ALL our muck, our deepest fears, and our darkest insecurities, no matter how amazing the relationship is. This is the whole point of relationships. They are here to heal us and guide us towards our highest expression.

If we don’t have honesty, with ourselves and each other, we don’t have much to stand on. In order to get through the intense, yet transformational ride of relationships, we have GOT to connect to, and then from, our truest, most authentic selves first.

This is the same in jobs. If you lie to yourself and pretend you are happy doing something you know limits your bliss, then EVERYONE will feel that on some level. Most businesses don’t run as effectively and efficiently as they could BECAUSE the majority of the people working for it are denying themselves the gift of trusting their truth. So many of them are living in denial of who and what they really are, and sadly they are usually not even aware they are doing it. Not unless someone begins to call them out, and ask them questions. Instead of standing up in their lives and declaring what they deserve, they just take a seat and settle, until they get a glimpse of how the truth can really feel.

 2) The only thing that REALLY ignites our bones is the TRUTH.

There is nothing more terrifying, and at the same time nothing more EXHILARATING. Think about it, when do you feel the most alive? I bet it’s when your FEELING the most.  It’s when we hear or see something that wakes us up, that offers us a glimmer of hope for a better way, and that resonates with every cell in our bodies regardless of how resistant our minds are to it.

It’s like sky diving. Terrifying, exhilarating, the mind says HELL NO, but the heart and body say HELL YES. Which one do you listen to most of the time?

I am not saying we all need to go sky diving. I am personally still working through my own fears around trying this (although I’d like to). All I am saying is to take another look at your truth and then ask yourself who’s making the decisions in your life. Is it your fears or your truth?

3) We can “fall in love,” make a billion dollars, travel the world, build businesses, have lots of children, and achieve the perfect body, but if we do it from a place within ourselves that is not operating from pure honesty with ourselves and others, then the chances are, we will still not be happy with the results.

It may take longer to build your life and reach your dreams when you focus on your truth first. Since we live in a society where more is better as fast as you can, this can feel like an unrealistic attempt to make.

Hey, it’s your choice.

In my experience, real and raw joy is an expression of real and raw honesty. If you think you’ve experienced joy without honesty, believe me…you have NO IDEA what you’re missing out on. NOTHING can compare to the real deal.

So, can you begin to ask yourself some questions? Are you willing to explore your own heart, your mind, and reveal your truth to yourself and then shine it in the world? I am eager to hear the truth you speak. Please share it with us at Erin Lanahan Method by sending an email to: transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

Remember, your truth is exactly what I need to you to give, and my truth is precisely what you came to receive.

The Truth Will Set You Free.

Sending you all so much love, an open heart, and an honest word.

xoxo,

Erin

Are you ready to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to transform your body, your relationships, and your life, you are serious about investing in yourself, and you are ready to work with a mentor, send us an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. The E.L.M. coaching program is intense and an investment. Serious inquiries only.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, motivational, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 8, 2012

3 Ways To Identify That Your Most Awesome Life IS Unfolding

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Your Most Awesome Life?

What is that? Do you actually KNOW or do you just think you know?

It is a very common mistake we all make, to assume we know the plan, and then to get upset, angry, sad, and frustrated when it doesn’t work out. When this happens, we begin to feel defeated, broken, and we begin to lose faith and trust in the Universe. Afterall, if things don’t go our way…we must just be terribly cursed and unlucky right?

WRONG.

Our quality of life DEPENDS on our ability to detach from outcomes, as well as our ability to trust, that no matter what appears to not be working out, that our most awesome life IS unfolding for us right now.

As you know from yesterday’s post, I recently had to come to terms with the fact that someone I really cared about, was unable to meet me in the middle. There are two ways I can look at this…

#1) Oh poor me, I must not be good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, young enough, ect. I could even convince myself to believe that I am just not worthy of attracting the kind of relationship into my life that I desire because I am not, nor will I ever be, good enough for great love. If I really wanted to play the victim, I could tell myself that all men suck and they are just not capable of seeing a good thing when it’s standing right in front of them. Then, I could throw in the towel on love.

Sound familiar?

OR

#2) I can choose to see this as a blessing in disguise, and accept that I am not the right girl for him and he is not the right guy for me. I can TRUST that the reason things could only grow as far as they did with this person is because it was the very thing I needed to move me closer and become more available to a partner to share my life with who is beyond my wildest dreams amazing.  I could convince myself to believe that although I may not be able to see where all of this is taking me, that the Universe IS carrying me and I AM going to have everything and more than I could have ever possibly planned for myself. I can agree to step out of the Divine plan’s way, so that instead of clinging to what didn’t work, I can open up to the gifts that are heading in my direction.

We always get this choice.

One of the fastest and simplest ways to make ourselves available for something far greater than our human minds can comprehend, is to let go of the outcome.

Know what you want, be clear, set your intentions, take conscious action, and then…Let It GO.

When we hang on to outcomes, it can actually PREVENT us from experiencing the full potential of any given circumstances. For example, I could’ve chosen not to keep talking to this special person, who I met over New Years Holiday, once I found out he lived in another country. I could’ve just said NO and never even gone on the first date. But I don’t choose to live my life this way, and I hope you don’t either.

I choose to believe in the best case scenario, not the worst case scenario. In this case, he ultimately didn’t have faith in the best case scenario, and that could be for a number of reasons that I’ll never know, except we just aren’t meant to be. However, I am happy I at least gave it my best shot. I didn’t close myself off  to an opportunity  just because the logistics may have made the chances of us working out look silly and impossible.

When we choose to believe that there is a great plan unfolding for us, then we let go of the reins.

We do our part by saying YES, by showing up, by following the guidance we are receiving, and then trusting that the outcome is being taken care of by something much bigger than we are. Afterall, we can’t know the future, but we CAN know how we feel about right now.

This is the only way to allow ourselves to be pulled through life rather than beating and pushing our way through it.

When we trust that our most awesome life is unfolding, it makes it easier to let go of our little plans and desired outcomes, BECAUSE WE TRUST.

There may be a minority of us who are just born with the ability to trust fully, however, the majority of us have to re-learn and regain our trust in our most awesome plan unfolding.

Here are  3 ways to identify that YOUR most awesome life IS unfolding right now:

1) Find confirmation from your  past.

Do you remember how it felt when you were so convinced that your life was over, your heart would never beat again, and that you were surely going to go to bed and never wake up? Well…what happened? Did your life continue? Is your heart still beating? Did you wake up the next morning and the morning after that?

I’m assuming that’s a yes, yes, and yes, or you wouldn’t be reading this right now. So let’s go deeper. Can you see now, how every bit of pain you suffered transformed you? Can you truly appreciate that?

The past is good for one thing, and one thing only…

…to remind us of how far we’ve come and to reassure our faith in our own capabilities to heal, grow, and discover more of ourselves and our dreams along the way.

If that had worked out then, you would have limited yourself from growing to where you are now.

2) Acknowledge the signs that are everywhere for you.

I remember when I was almost about to leave the States to move to Australia (a.k.a. OZ), and I began to panic a little bit. So I did what I always do and I began to pray and ask the Universe to show me signs that could help me feel confident again with my decision. I demanded that the signs be clear, in my face, and available NOW.

The first time I did this, about 8 weeks before I left, I was on a long distance run. A few minutes after I asked for a sign, I ran by a HUGE YELLOW moving truck that said “OZ MOVERS.”

Ummmmm…could you get any more clear and in my face? I had never even heard of that moving company before, nor seen their big yellow trucks.

The second time I asked for a sign, about 2 weeks before I left, I was in the car heading to run the bridge in my hometown. I asked for a sign, then let go of the outcome. I got to the top of the bridge on my run and a girl wearing an AUSTRALIAN FLAG tank top ran right past me!!!

WILD.

This is what happens when we look for confirmation that we are on the path to awesomeness. We can’t see or know the future, but we can ask for some signs and support  along the way to help us stay in faith and trust :)

3) Listen to your gut, and I mean REALLY listen to it.

I think you’ll begin to find that there is a voice, a knowing, that goes deeper than all the chatter of the mind and all the stories we’ve made up and outcomes we think we want so badly. Underneath it all, there is something deeper saying, “You don’t feel sad about this because this is less than you are capable of having. You can actually let all of this go and just be in joy right now. Why are you so attached to this when I have such great plans for you?”

If I am REALLY honest with myself about all the “broken hearts” I’ve had, I am totally aware that each person wasn’t exactly what I wanted, even though I had totally convinced myself they were at the time. They all had things that deep down I was pretty certain would not be good for me or be the best I could experience. The problem is, we lie to ourselves about this, when we could actually just admit the truth, thank the Universe for ending something we were not willing to end because we were too attached to an outcome,  and move on.

So…what are you holding on to? Can you listen a little more deeply to yourself today? Can you let go of what your mind says you want, even though your gut says there’s something better? Can you ask for some signs and some reassurance to help refuel your trust and faith in YOUR most awesome plan? Will you stay open to the guidance that comes as a result?

Please share your story with us at Erin Lanahan Method by sending an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. We always appreciate your feedback and courage to reach out.

Remember, love yourself first, crank up your light, and dance with your unlimited possibilities!

Loving you always,

Erin xoxo

Are ready to live your life to the fullest? If you’re ready to take action towards transforming your body, realtionships, and life, and are serious about investing in yourself by working with a Coach, send us an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. Serious inquiries only please. Thank you in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, motivational, Spirituality · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Feb 7, 2012

5 Ways To Heal From A Broken Heart Once And For All

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A Broken Heart…

It’s something most of us have probably had once, twice, or many times. As you all know, I speak from my heart as best I can. I share my truth, my triumphs, my pain, my experiences, and my joy with you, for both you and for me. I believe this kind of openness helps us heal and evolve our ablity to connect with others.

Recently I met someone who I felt was pretty special. Our circumstances weren’t ideal because, although we met in the same country, we do not live in the same country. Bummer #1. However, my passion for possibilities and my faith in true connection took over, and my head had to take a back seat. I was ready to give things with him a full on GO, as crazy as that might have been.

We communicated back and forth pretty consistently for a month, but my intuition kept nudging me, “Erin, this doesn’t feel right. You are doing it again.”

I was doing it again. I was basing my feelings on the level of my own hope and faith, without really checking in with his level of feelings, his hope, and his ability to have faith in the possibility of our outcome. So, I gathered all my courage, I had a talk with my heart and promised it I was only doing what was best for it, and I had a conversation with him.

Let’s just say this. He and I were not on the same page. Bummer #2. There was such a HUGE part of me that wanted to give myself less, so that I could receive the minimal amount he was able to give. I almost allowed myself to shrink my possibilities because the person on the other end was unable to see and feel what I saw and felt.

Well, I didn’t do that this time. Luckily, the last time I did that was painful enough for me to learn that if I just keep sticking up for my values, my worth, and my ability to believe that anything possible, that I WILL find great love.

Afterall, if it’s not great, I’d rather be single.

Even though I am going through my own process about having to let this person go, and it isn’t always easy, at the same time I am choosing to OPEN my heart, not close it.

If we want to keep moving closer to what we desire most, we must do more of what takes us there. When we shut down, we become stagnant, numb, and unconscious. When we open, we may feel raw, uncertain, vulnerable, and scared, but at least we are feeling something. At least we remain conscious and available for the next amazing opportunity to enter our hearts.

Most of us repeat a pattern. Our heart gets broken, and we carry that damaged baggage with us into the present and the future. We shut down to new people, assuming they are going to be the same as the last, and we slowly begin to grow more and more numb inside as we use whatever we can to avoid feeling the pain. But WE become the only thing in our way of having everything we’ve always wanted. WE cut ourselves off from love, no one else.  

This took me many broken hearts, and the last 32 years to figure out.

Based on my own life experiences, and what I have seen and helped my clients go through, I have put together my own set of tools. I have come to know the difference between what my head thinks and what my heart feels.

Here are 5 ways to heal your broken heart once and for all:

1) Embrace the uncertainty, pain, and discomfort. Go deep inside. Stop being afraid of it. Stop trying to make it go away with food, drugs, alcohol, staying too busy all the time. It will NOT go away unless you shut up, sit down, close your eyes and FEEL IT. It may feel like you are going to die, but I promise you, you will be at breakfast the next morning and the morning after that. You aren’t going to die by feeling it. In fact, you are going to wake up from your slumber and you will finally begin to LIVE!

2) Get out of victim mode and recognize the Universal intervention instead. We all want to complain, to get down and out, and to wonder “Why me?” “Why does this always happen to me?” “What’s wrong with me?” “How can I possibly go on?”

STOP IT! We continue to go through things until we go through them with 100% consciousness. If we are only half awake in relationships, then we are only making half authentic decisions and choices. Of course things will NOT work when we do this.

A girlfriend of mine recently kept running into her ex-husband everywhere. It KILLED here every time too. However, she has set a very clear and powerful intention, to find real, great love. She asked the Universe to help her heal, so she could finally be open to all that her heart desires.

Well, as the saying goes:

When we ask God for patience, God gives us long lines.

If you want to heal and find great love, expect to be confronted by all the things that are keeping you from it first. Be grateful, not a victim, for you are getting what you asked for.

3) Every time you feel your heart shriveling up, shutting down, and closing off, make another choice. Breathe deeply into the tension in your chest, and affirm this:

“In this moment I choose love. I will only OPEN my heart from this day forward. I am love. I am open. I AM READY TO RECEIVE. Thank you, thank you, thank you Universe for the gifts you have delivered to me. I am blessed.”

Literally feel into your heart. Feel it opening, feel it’s resistance to opening and promise it you will take care of it. It is not afraid to love again. NO. It is afraid of what you’ll do to it if love with someone doesn’t work out.

Remember, only YOU can close yourself off from love…no one else.

4) Be willing to let all the men, women, and past stuff go, so you can be free to experience who and what is NOW. We must remind ourselves that no two people are the same. Just because you get into the same circumstances with someone new, that didn’t work in the past with someone else, doesn’t mean you are in the same situation again. No, because the person is different this time. TRUST that there is a reason you are repeating the same thing with someone new. This may actually be your chance to regain your faith in unlimited possibilities.

Every relationship is an opportunity to heal, to grow more conscious, more alive, more open. We don’t have to wait to be perfect before we fall in love. It’s the opposite. Love is there to heal us. In a conscious relationship, two people have the power of helping one another reach their full potential, by learning to trust and believe in things they lost faith in prior to meeting one another.

There are just some things that cannot be healed or worked through until we are actually IN a relationship with someone else. So what are you waiting for?

5) Trust your inner guidance and walk away from something that cannot give you what your intuition says is available for you. Every broken heart we’ve had, and every relationship that didn’t make it, was NOT for no reason. All of those experiences were our opportunities to become stronger, more clear about our boundaries, more confident in who we are, to learn how to really love ourselves, to reclaim our power, and to trust that when we declare and demand what we know we deserve, no matter what happens, we will be better off in the long run.

Use all of that awesome experience and divine knowledge you now have, not to close yourself off from love, but rather to become more open to it.

Trust that you KNOW how to navigate your way through much better this time. Also trust your intuition and walk away if the other person isn’t showing up as an equal match to you. Always come from love and give them the opportunity to show up before you walk away, but if they cannot match you, do what feels right for YOU.

So many of us hold on to something that isn’t really working for us because we are afraid we won’t find something better. This especially happens the closer we get to finding great love because each person we meet gets so close to being and having everything we’ve always wanted. BUT, hold out for the one who has EVERYTHING. Hold out for the one who sees you, who gets you, and wants you just as much as you want them. Hold out for the one who doesn’t have to be convinced of what is standing right before them.

A broken heart is not a curse. It’s not something to feel ashamed of or angry about. I know it can be hard not to feel those things, but you you have a choice. I have a choice too. Today, I choose to open, to love more deeply than ever before, and to trust and believe in what’s possible for me and my life.

What do you choose?

Please share your story with us at Erin Lanahan Method by sending an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. You are supported absolutely!

Sending you all many hugs, lots of love, and an open heart,

Erin xoxo

If you are truly ready to transform your body, your relationships, and your life, act now. Email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com and ask about my Transformational Life Coaching Programs. Coaching is a serious investment in yourself, so serious inquiries only please. Thank you in advance!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Love, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 4, 2012

What’s Your PRIMARY Food?

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Well, today marks the first day of my yoga training. I am officially becoming a yoga teacher! I am truly overwhelmed with joy about this.

This is something called Primary Food. I’ve talked about this with all of you before. Primary Food is made up of all the things that feed our hearts, our minds, our Spirits, and our bodies on an energetic level.

Primary Food consists of things like intimacy, connection, rest, fun, career, relationships, love, creativity, spirituality, living on purpose, exercise, etc. These are the things we NEED to survive.

If we don’t have them, our heart may be beating, but we will feel as though we are lacking, empty, unfulfilled, and even dying inside.

Several years ago, I struggled with some pretty messy habits. I had an abusive relationship with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, men, and with myself. I was trying so hard to fill that void inside and to avoid what was ultimately the inevitable. I got to a point where no food, drug, guy, or drink could stop the pain or make me feel satisfied for very long. It was time to heal. It was time to live an authentic life.

Not everyone chooses to heal. Some choose to continue numbing out and checking out.

I am humbly grateful for the courage I received to choose my health, well-being, and optimal life instead.

You see Secondary Food is the actual food we eat. We need sufficient nutrients in this food group as well, such as whole, organic foods, nutrient dense, proper amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, fats,vitamins, and minerals for our bio-individuality. The only problem is…

When we are lacking something in our Primary Food, it throws everything else off.

Therefore, if we try to “fix” things by changing just our food, it is very difficult to maintain. This is why you see so many people go on the dieting rollercoaster. It is because they focus on their Secondary Food, rather than their Primary Food, thus never healing the root of the issue.

When I work with my clients, the first thing we look at is their Primary Food. I do this because I have been on their side of things and I KNOW what it takes to achieve optimal health, hotness, well-being, joy, bliss, inner peace, and happiness. This is what we all REALLY want anyway.

Once we have this, the physical body follows.

So…what is your Primary Food? What are the ingredients your heart and soul NEED to exist in a happy place. What Primary Food groups might you be out of balance in, thus creating a need for you to drink too much, smoke too much, eat too much, starve yourself, make poor choices around relationships, keep yourself stuck living a life that feels less alive than you know is possible?

Please…share your story with us at Erin Lanahan Method by sending an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. I personally want to know what you are going through!

Remember, transformation is a process. It is something we must CHOOSE every single day. Fitness is an inside job, a mind-set, and it must become the way in which we approach our lives with strength, willingness, humility, and vulnerability. Only then, will we begin to experience what it’s like to TRULY transform our bodies, our relationships, and our lives.

Sending you all soooooooo much LOVE!!

Cheering you on,

Erin

If you are truly ready to transform your body and your life, please ask me about my Transformational Life Coaching Programs by sending an email to transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. Serious inquiries only please. Thank you in advance!!

Filed Under: Fitness Tips, Food, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, motivational, Spirituality, Success, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 2, 2012

Do You Stop To FEEL The Gratitiude?

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Seriously though…do you ever stop yourself in your tracks to make yourself FEEL the gratitude for everything that you already have?

How do we expect to get more of what we want if we are unable to appreciate that which we’ve already manifested? Do you actually think the Universe, or any greater power for that matter, wants to give something new to an ungrateful person? Would you want to give another gift to someone who snubbed the last one you gave them? No…probably not.

I bring this up because I am aware of how easy it becomes for all of us to move so quickly into a place of complaining and comparing. We just seem to be unable to stay in gratitude for more than a VERY short period of time? We only just get the new job, the new relationship, the new car, the new house, the vacation, and we feel super excited and grateful for a day, maybe three, and then we are off to whinging once again about what the new thing is missing or how it is not everything that we want. REALLY???

WHY do we do this?

This is a result of a lack of consciousness around our thinking and speaking. We must actively STOP ourselves when we begin to see that we are looking for what’s wrong with everything, and instead look for what’s possible.

If we can truly appreciate everything that we have already created and manifested, ONLY THEN, can we continue to get more of what we want at lightning speed. Otherwise, the lack of gratitude and the narrow-mindedness slows down the process. When we get so focused on the negative, that’s what we send out to the Universe, and therefore, that’s what we get back.

Are we afraid to focus on the positive? Perhaps, we have somehow convinced ourselves, that if we feel grateful for what we have now, that we will get stuck with it and never get something better?

What we appreciate, appreciates.

In the context of sufficiency, appreciation becomes a powerful practice of creating new value in our deliberate attention to the value of what we already have. – Excerpt from “The Soul of Money”

When we appreciate everything available and present for us NOW, it empowers us. When we only look for what’s missing or focus on lack of some kind, we become disempowered, tired, and uninspired.

Just because you allow yourself to feel grateful, thankful, and appreciative for the job you have now (even though it may not be what you love exactly), doesn’t mean you will get stuck in that particular job. No! What will happen is, you will begin to focus on the possibilities, you will become inspired, you will focus on what IS available, what IS possible, and therefore, the Universe will conspire to deliver to you all that which is a vibrational match to your abundant and creative thinking.

When you can focus on the best case scenario, why focus on the worst case scenario?

If you can stop and FEEL the gratitude, why wouldn’t you?

What you focus on expands. Gratitude is one of the most powerful feelings I know. It can change your life in an instant. If you’ve ever felt deep gratitude, you know what I am talking about. It moves you from the core. It can bring you to tears and laughter all at the same time. It’s a beautiful experience, yet we keep ourselves from it day after day. Why?

What are you grateful for right now. What are 5 things that you alway wanted and now have? Look for reasons to be happy. Seek out proof of your possibilities and wildest dreams unfolding. Demand and declare your optimal outcome!

Maintain your creativity in the process. As you feel yourself slip into negative thinking and speaking of lack, stop it. Instead, shift your thoughts to the things about your new situation or circumstances that can work in your favor, or that may be a stepping stone for you to reach a whole new level of personal freedom and happiness. When you notice yourself feeling bad, notice it’s because you’re focused on worst case scenario. Again, STOP IT. Instead, begin to make up a new story. See what you want in your mind’s eye and play like a child with all the many ways you can bring  that vision to life. Appreciate your current life experiences and circumstances for being the vessel to help you get even more clear about what you want to create in your life.

Be grateful now. Be happy now. See only the best case scenario unfolding right before your very eyes.

What are you going through? I want to know. Please email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your story with me.

Thanks for stopping into E.L.M. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow!!

Sending you so much love and hugs!

xoxo,

Erin

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Fitness, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, motivational, Spirituality, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 1, 2012

Wherever You Are Is OK!

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That’s right…that’s what I said. Wherever you are is OK!

I bring this up tonight because as a coach and a human being, I am always hearing my clients struggle with shifts in their energy, productivity, motivation, creativity, clarity, etc. I too have had to learn not to judge myself when shifting is a happening!

Do you find it hard to be tired? Do you judge yourself for having a day when you are just off your game? Perhaps you go through phases of feeling super motivated, inspired, and creative, and then days and weeks go by where you just can’t be bothered?

Well I’m here to relieve you from yourself!

YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO EBB!

I am currently going through some massive shifts in my own life physically, emotionally, spiritually, and most days I feel really amazing. However, today I just felt a bit off. I am more tired than usual, as a result of my first week of teaching 6 am bootcamps all week. Also my body is very sore from the combination of the new yoga I’ve been doing mixed with training my method, Erin Lanahan Method, and therefore, I am just not as capable of thinking as clearly or feeling as rested as I like.

When we experience change, there is always an adjustment period.

Just like I will grow accustomed to my new schedule and workouts, so too will you get comfortable and on track with whatever is changing and shifting for you. Whenever we grow past our comfort zone, it requires massive stretching and bending and moving into places that can feel uncomfortable at first. It’s NORMAL to experience a dip in energy as a result. However, I invite you to try your best to stay connected to the excitement, rather than the hard parts about the new changes.

That said, notice when you are growing tired and unwell, and make your body’s health and your well-being a priority. No matter what’s going on for you, take some time out to nurture yourself. Schedule it in if you have to.

Whatever you are feeling or not feeling, experiencing or not experiencing just yet, is perfect. You are exactly where you need to be in this moment. Can you trust that?

I know I am going to use all the feelings and thoughts that are coming up for me as a result of so much change so fast, for me to grow even more. I want my fears and insecurities to reveal themselves to me so I can transform them, rather than holding on to them unconsciously. Won’t you please do the same with yours? :-)

So, what are you going through? I want to know. Email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your story with me.

Are you judging yourself in some way? Are you beating yourself up for being less than good enough in your own eyes? Lighten up! Wherever you are is OK. 

Sending you all so much Energy, Love, and Magnificence!!!

xoxo

Erin

If you are ready to transform your body and your life, please send an email to ask about my coaching programs at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. Serious inquiries only please :-) Thank you in advance!

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, motivational, Success, Yoga · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 31, 2012

I’m Here For You

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Hey guys…WOW!!! Tonight I am exhausted! I had an amazing day but I am fried. I am going to keep it short tonight because I need to go to bed!

I have been training hard in yoga as a student and also studying to get my teachers training certification. I am also teaching boot camps 7 times a week, writing about 10 articles a week, doing my transformational life coaching with 3-5 clients 5 days out of 7, and having fun in between all that :-) So…life is good, but I am going to honor my energy tonight and wrap this up quick.

I just wanted to show up for you here, to remind you that I am holding the space for your transformation and cheering you on. A lot of times we think that in order to change or achieve something, we have to be perfect. As long as you show up to your life and do the best you can each day, you ARE succeeding.

You will feel strong some days, and not so strong others. You will get a good nights sleep tonight and maybe not tomorrow night. Some days you will have lots of energy and other days you will feel a dip in your energy. IT’S ALL GOOD! Just do the best you can with what you’ve got ;-)

That’s what I am doing right now. I’m showing up for myself, and for the commitment I made to post an article here on the blog every single day for 30 days. This is day 8!

What are you going through? I want to know. Send me an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

xoxoxo,

Erin

If you are really ready to transform your body and your life, then please email me about my mentoring programs at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. Serious inquiries only please.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Success, What I'm up to, Yoga · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Jan 30, 2012

Date Me!

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Ha ha…so I know what you may have thought this article was going to be about. However, I am not talking about dating me, I am talking about one of my favorite recipes!

A dear friend and client of mine came to visit me over the summer, just before I left for Australia, and I shared with her this simple, healthy, and yummy recipe. She thought we should call it “Date Me.” I thought that was brilliant, so we did!

I think dating and relationships in general, no matter what phase of one you are in with someone, are good motivators for making choices that support a FIT life. Afterall, we must BE what we want to attract. We must feel sexy and feel our best to attract, and then have the confidence to keep, someone of equal calibre.

I have been living in the “health” world for many years now, and therefore I have become VERY creative at making foods that keep my clients and me looking good, tasting good!

I recently made this recipe for a bunch of family members and guess what…it was a hit! It’s so important to have simple, yummy snacks and meals we can turn to throughout the day. We want to satisfy our salt tooth, our sweet tooth, and make sure we get plenty of variety.

Here’s a yummy treat that can be eaten as a snack in between meals or as a healthy dessert!

So please… DATE ME!

;-)

Serves 4

**You’ll need: 12 Organic Medjool Dates and 1/4 jar of organic, all natural peanut butter. (You can also use almond butter, or any  nut butter, or unhulled tahini is good too)

-Slice each date down the middle and remove the pits

-Take 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter and stuff the dates with it

-Stick the dates in the freezer

-That’s it!!

It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s filling, it’s satisfying and guess what…it’s HEALTHY!

You don’t have to put them in the freezer, but so far, myself and all who have tried this prefer the dates and peanut butter frozen. It makes it creamier and just plain better! Keep them in the freezer for about 4-6 hours before eating.

If you want to add a little someth’n someth’n for a chocolatey taste, you can mix some organic dark chocolate chips in with the peanut butter before stuffing the dates with it. You can also just stick about three dark chocolate chips into the top of the date, into the gooey peanut butter to get the chocolate fix for less!

This is a perfect snack because it has a little bit of protein in every bite, which will help keep your blood sugar balanced, and therefore reduce cravings and sugar crashes.

Yuuuuummmmmmmm!!! Eat up!

Tell me what you think! Email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com

Love and Hugs!!!

Erin

If you are serious about transforming your body and your life, please send an email to me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com and ask about my coaching programs. Serious inquiries only please.

 

Filed Under: Entertainment, Fitness, Fitness Tips, Food, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 29, 2012

3 Tools To Help You Live With Uncertainty And Discomfort

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Are you one of those people who cannot stand it when you don’t know how things are going to turn out? Do you find yourself going insane when there is discomfort of any kind? Or perhaps when the outcome is unclear,  you always assume the worst case scenario?

Heck, I will admit it right now that I have been that person many times. I still have days where I become aware that I am letting uncertainty and discomfort  get the best of me, but I now have some extremely powerful tools that I can apply when I notice myself slipping into that insanity!

Here are 3 Tools To Help You Live With Uncertainty and Discomfort:

1) Ask yourself questions.

Ask yourself WHY you are thinking of the worst case scenario? Do you have proof that the worst case scenario is the most likely outcome? Are you basing your present on the hurts of the past, assuming that what happened then must be what’s happening now? Are your fears coming from what’s actually happening now, or from the rejection you’ve internalized from the past?

You must learn to separate your unresolved feelings that are left over from the past, from the reality of your current situation. If you haven’t completely healed from something in the past, then yes, present relationships and circumstances will act as the Divine Forces to bring up those unresolved feelings so they can be healed.

Ask yourself,  ”How can I allow myself to see this differently? How can I let go of the past just for today, and instead focus on the best case scenario in this moment? What might I be carrying with me into the future, that has nothing to do with my future? Can I choose to trust that all is well right now?”

2) Make friends with your uncertainty and discomfort.

Remember, uncertainty and discomfort are not bad. They are part of all of life. When we learn to live with the unknown and discomfort, comfortably, we will finally know peace.

Making friends with these feelings requires a new kind of discipline. EVERY time you notice yourself begin to drift off into the insanity they can kick up in you, notice it. Observe the beliefs, the patterns, and the thoughts that come up for you every time you feel these feelings.

Know that there was a time when you told yourself that these were bad feelings, a time when you decided they meant you were going to get hurt, and a time when they appeared to be the cause of pain and suffering.

Are you willing to change your mind about them? I hope so.

Here’s something Tony Robbins says that I LOVE:

“Your quality of life is directly related to the amount of uncertainty you can live with comfortably.”

We must be willing to change the way we feel about uncertainty and discomfort. In order to do that, we have to look for reasons to believe that they can be good feelings, and mean good things for us.

Start here:

TRUST that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, and that in order to learn to trust these feelings, we must first choose to see them as our friends and allow ourselves to have a new experience with them so we can begin to feel differently about them. When you feel the uncertainty and discomfort come up, do something different than you normally do. Begin to break the pattern and the cycle of fear. Instead of jumping into old habits and negative thinking, let go of the past, and watch for good things happening now. Resist doing what you’ve always done just a little bit longer than your urges say to. Something deeper will begin to emerge.

3) Stop worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, and probably NEVER WILL.

Take some notes, jot stuff down, and do some journaling. Put it on paper so you can see it. How many times have the things you worry about actually happened? How many times, when you were afraid you weren’t going to be ok, were you actually not ok? And in the situations that really did happen, or the times you really weren’t ok, did the pain and suffering last or did you get through it and become a better, happier person as a result? Is what you are feeling uncertain and uncomfortable about now really showing up the same way as what hurt you in the past? Is the guy you’re dating now showing you the same signs as the one who broke your heart a year ago? Or is he showing up for you over and over again, yet somehow you are still in fear he’s going to let you down like the other one did?

More often than not, in the moment, we are FINE. There is nothing to worry about at all. The relationship is good, the job is good, and life is pretty good too, yet we are just uncomfortable with being ok and we fear that it’s going to fall apart at some point. We believe “It’s only a matter of time before I wake up from this dream” or “This is too good to be true” or “I can’t possibly survive this.” We can’t stand living in the unknown and having so many ideas and dreams that we can’t possibly know the outcome of until we continue to live our lives one day at a time.

So, when uncertainty and discomfort starts to drive you mad, remember that something hasn’t happened until it’s happened. Stop living in the future and live today as though the worst case scenario hasn’t happened… because it HASN’T!! Has it?

Think about best case scenarios only :-)

Having these three tools have helped me SO much in my own life, and I believe they can help you too if you really apply them.

What are you going through? I want to know! Email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to share your story with me.

Sending out a HUGE hug to YOU!

Love Always,

Erin xoxoxoxo

If you are ready to transform your body, your relationships, and your life, please send me an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com and ask me about my coaching programs. I will personally design something to meet all your needs. Serious inquiries only please.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Healing, Inspiration, Life Empowerment Coaching, Spirituality, Success · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 28, 2012

If You Want The Truth, HERE It Is!

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I am feeling compelled this evening to speak to you guys about something near and dear to my heart. The Truth.

I have been looking, seeking, digging, searching, and working my whole life at finding what the truth is for me. I have also worked with thousands of people, and as a result, this is what I’ve found.

The truth about fitness is this. You MUST change on the INSIDE if you want long-term results on the outside. Sorry…but that is the truth. True transformation is an INSIDE JOB. I am not going to lie about it or sugar coat it any longer. I am here to help you transform your body, but only as a result of transforming your life, and that is the truth.

Exercise and working out is an amazing thing to do for your mind, your body, and your spirit, and it can affect your life in hugely positive ways. However, it is NOT the be all end all to living a FIT Life. No, living a FIT Life comes from within, and it requires a deeper awareness and sense of discipline than most people understand. To truly change in the way that I KNOW deep down you want to change…you must be WILLING to go the distance. You must be willing to take a look inside if you want to create healthier habits and release harmful patterns.

I can help you if you are serious about this. Contact me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to have a chat with me about a coaching program that may suit all your needs.

The truth about following your dreams is this. Sometimes we are meant to walk a path that no one before us has walked. This means THERE IS NO PATH paved for us already. At least not the obvious kind. To be a visionary, someone who lives on the cutting edge, who sees things before they happen, who knows where we are heading as a collective consciousness before the majority of people know, it requires walking a different kind of path. We must be able to turn within and find the guidance, the road map, and all the signals we need to keep moving towards our passion and purpose. This isn’t always easy, and there are days when it may feel like you aren’t getting anywhere, but you are. Just stay with it. Continue to find the path that is paved inside of you.

If you can see it in your vision, feel it with your heart, and know it in your gutt…then it IS POSSIBLE. Allow your inner wisdom to guide you. That my friends is the TRUTH.

The truth about love is this. Love is Love. I know we want to believe that we need it from this person or that person before we can fully experience it, but that is a lie. You must be able to give yourself affection first. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you love you. Does that feel weird? Why? If you can’t do it, how is someone else going to? Until you love yourself, you will probably find it very difficult, whether you’re conscious of it or not,  to let anyone in who can love you more than you can love yourself because it will feel just as awkward to you as it does when you say it to yourself, (and prossibly even more so).

Plus, if you can say it to yourself and fully mean it and feel that love for yourself from yourself, then when other people aren’t showing up for you, or giving you the quality attention you deserve…it will be much easier to say, “You know what…this just isn’t working for me.” Then you’ll move on and find the kind of relationship that you really want to be in, which will ultimately be one that matches your unconditional love for yourself!! TRUTH…I promise.

I’m not saying it doesn’t feel amazing to have that special someone in our lives and standing by our side. I am the biggest fan of partnership and sharing my life with someone. However, if it’s not a reflection of unconditional self -love, then it’s most likely NOT the highest form of  a relationship, and therefore most likely not the right person for you in the end. That said, everyone who crosses our path plays a role in our healing and growth. We learn from every kind of relationship.

The truth about food is this. Eat based on how you want your life to FEEL. Choose foods, not because they make you skinny or comfort you, NO. Choose foods that support the goals and passions you have for your life! Food is not something there to abuse. It is a POWERFUL weapon, sort of like a gun. It can be used irresponsibly and disrespectfully, causing pain, suffering, and death. OR it can be used honorably, respectfully, and responsibly to not only save YOUR life, but to protect you from anything harmful so you can live the very best life possible!

When you eat consciously, you consume the foods that energize you, regenerate your cells, cleanse your blood and skin, offer you clear thoughts, generate creativity and confidence, support anti-aging, and that motivate you to show up for your life every single day as the best God damn version of yourself! THIS IS THE TRUTH. Now isn’t THAT what you want?

The truth about the truth is this. Everyone must find THEIR personal truth. There is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL. You will know the truth when you hear it, because you will feel it in every cell of your being. You may not agree in your mind, but in your body you will know it’s the truth. 

THAT is the truth. Now find it for yourself.

What are you going through? I want to know. Email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to drop me a message. I am sending you sooooooooo much LOVE!!

xoxo,

Erin

If you are truly ready to transform your body, your relationships, heal your struggles, and live the very best life possible, please ask me about my coaching programs at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. Serious inquiries only please.

Filed Under: Awakening, Fitness, Food, Spirituality, Thoughts of the day · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 27, 2012

Now Here’s Fitness: 5 Tools To Help You Love Your Body AND Your Life

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Hey there everyone! Wow…I am so excited! I am writing for 30 days consecutively, here on the blog, in celebration of my new website, the year of the Dragon, and 2012. What a transformational year this is going to be for us all!!

This is day 4 of 30 posts, so make sure you type in your email at the very top of this page, where it says “Subscribe to Erin Lanahan Method by Email.” This way you can follow along for the ride and each time I post a new article, it will get emailed directly to your inbox! How cool is that?? So coooool  :)

I am actually looking for new writers to come be a part of E.L.M., and help me on the blog. I want to make sure Erin Lanahan Method is bringing you daily love, inspiration, and wisdom. However, I am only one person and cannot do this all by myself. I am busy coaching, creating products, and collaborating with other amazing companies so that I can ultimately provide you with even more opportunities to get the information and guidance you are seeking.

But that means I need some help.

So, if you have a passion for writing, and want to share your story, experience, strength, and hope, please shoot me an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com.

Ok, let’s get down to fitness shall we??

Here are 5 Tools To Help You Love Your Body AND Your Life:

1) Get VERY connected to the way it feels when you visualize your goals as if they have already happened for you.

Write down 5 reasons WHY you want to transform your body. Get very specific. Do you want to feel sexy when you’re lying next to your boyfriend? What does it feel like when he puts his arms around you when you feel amazing? Do you want to feel excited in the changing room at the bathing suit store because you love the way you feel and look in a bikini? Perhaps you want to feel confident and comfortable every time you walk into a room. Get really connected to that feeling. Feel what that feels like inside of you when you visualize your goals as if they’ve already manifested. Then allow the way THAT feels to be the very feeling that pulls you to the gym, drives your healthy choices, and keeps you motivated

2) Eat WHOLE, organic, chemical free foods.

The foods you eat will determine your mood, your energy, the willingness you have to make transformational decisions, your courage, and the quality of your relationships. By eating higher quality foods, you CAN and WILL transform your body and your life. Start by adding in 1 large salad a day. Make sure it has lots of dark leafy greens in it such as kale, spinach, swiss chard, collards, and rocket. Make sure it is organic. Although organic foods may cost a little bit more upfront, they will save you a lot of time, money, and poor health in the future. It is best to stay away from pre-packaged foods. Stick to the foods that grow directly out of the earth and have not been processed.

3) Put your right hand on your heart, your left hand on your belly, and send love to yourself.

It may sound silly or pointless, but showing up for YOURSELF is one of the most powerful healing and transformational tools I know. I personally have healed many addictions, eating disorders, body image issues, depression, and anxiety from using this tool alone. You can too.

Begin to practice self-love with this tool. Do this daily.

4) Use a combination of different types of exercise.

The key to living a life you love in a body you love, is to love your life and your body!!! Exercise is more than just something that gets you leaner or skinnier, or hotter. Exercise has the ability to bring  joy, peace, balance, and love into your life. Stop thinking of exercise as a one size fits all remedy. You must find the recipe that works for YOU. Try some yoga, pilates, boxing, tai chi, resistance training, running, etc. Each form of exercise promotes different types of energy and emotions in the mind, body, and heart. Choose exercises that bring joy to your day and love into your life. When you are happy…your life AND your body will be easier to love!

5) Meditation

Did you know that you can basically meditate your way to your best body? Nope…I am not joking you around. I am alive and dead serious! Meditation increases the flow of oxygen to the body, and well…it takes oxygen to burn fat! Also, the power of silence relieves the body of stress and quiets the mind, thus calming the nervous system and supporting the body to function optimally. When there is so much noise going on inside of us, we use anything to try to numb it out. We use people, food, drugs, alcohol…whatever it takes. But guess what…none of those things work for long, and at the end of the day we are still unhappy.

Do yourself a favor and start with 5 minutes a day 5 days out of the week. As you get comfortable with 5 minuets, begin to increase your time.
Ok everyone, that’s a wrap! Let me know what you are going through!

Love,

Erin

If you are ready to transform your body and your life, email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to inquire about my coaching programs. Serious inquiries only please. Thank you!

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Fitness Tips, Food, Healing, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 26, 2012

You Have GOT To Let It Go

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Hey guys! Letting go is something we all hear about, talk about, and even probably try to apply in our lives when we are in pain, fear, or discomfort of some kind.

However…

Do you really ever let it go?

How in the heck do we let go anyway?

We must TRUST. But before we can trust…we must practice trusting.

As we let go a little bit each time, and see that we are ok…we learn not to fear the unknown or the uncertainty or the discomfort. We learn that just because we don’t “know,” doesn’t mean we are going to die. It doesn’t mean we aren’t getting what we want.

Whether it’s a job interview, a relationship, a piece of clothing, or an idea you have…when the current gets strong…surrender to it and trust where it is taking you.

In Australia, there are lots of pretty serious rip currents. They say, if you happen to get caught in one, you must let the ocean take you out to sea, because eventually, it will bring you back to shore.

Most people die before they get to shore however, due to panick. We get so afraid to let go, to trust that we will actually make it to where we want to go, that we end up clinging too tightly to outcomes and drown ourselves in the very process that is bringing us home.

Sounds crazy doesn’t it?

But we do it.

So, whatever it is you are holding onto today, I want you to practice trusting. Let it go just a little bit, and wait for the Universe to provide you with proof that you are going to be ok.

If you never give yourself the opportunity to trust someone or something, by letting go of them or it, how will you ever get to see that when you do, you always survive? When you survive…you gain more trust, and as a result you feel more empowered around letting go even more. Then you get to experience true freedom and transformation.

What are you holding onto today? What are you so afraid of loosing? Tell me what you are going through. I am sending you all so much love!!

Hugs,

Erin

If you are serious about transforming your life, email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com to inquire about my special coaching programs. Looking forward to working with you!

Filed Under: Awakening, Healing, Spirituality, Thoughts of the day · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 25, 2012

3 Ways To Get What You Want

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Let me begin by saying this…

Getting what you want can be an extremely easy and fun thing to do. In fact, when you use the three ways I am going to share with you in this article, not only do you get what you want, but so does everyone else!!

How is this possible you say??

In general, most people have been taught that in order to get what they want, they must use the “me against the world” mentality. They actually believe they  must fight, kill, take, steal, lie, and cheat to get what they want.

Ummmm…

That is SOOOOO yesterday!

We know far too much by now to actually keep buying into this B.S. :) What we did in the past, is not working. It is hurting us all.

Getting what we want is what is supposed to happen naturally, keeping in mind that what you want may show up looking differently than what you expected. Beware, as it is easy to assume that you are not getting what you want when you actually are.

Nature sets things up for us to get what we want, by giving us all exactly what we need to bring to the table in partnerships. However, until we understand that we can only have what we want if everyone else has what they want too, we will continue acting like miserable animals, hurting one another, and never feeling happy or satisfied with life. If we live this way…there will never feel like there is enough…of ANYTHING.

Do you want to get what you want?

BE CREATIVE.

Getting what you want takes creativity, and we are all extremely creative whether you know it or not. You ARE a powerful creator, and you CAN be the best version of yourself, get everything you want AND live in a world where other people are having that exact same beautiful experience as you are.

We need each other to do this.

We must look for the resources that are already available to us. We must acknowledge the gifts that are already PRESENT in our lives. It requires a new outlook on our relationships, one that appreciates and understands the level of possibility each person in our lives bring to us. And it goes both ways. You bring just as much value to others as they bring to you.

It’s time to share our wealth!

Here are 3 ways to get what you want:

1) Reciprocity

If we both need help, then I am certain there is a way I can help you, and in exchange there is a way you can help me.

For example, on this Australian journey of mine, I have had moments of needing help. I’ve needed places to stay until I learned how to get around new cities, using public transport. Certain family and friends came forth and offered me the help I needed to get established here in Australia. In return, they got to see the way I approach life, the way I relate to exercise and food, and they got  first row tickets to what it’s like to live a FIT life. From me, they learned about healing, food, healthy habits, they felt and found inspiration, and then began to transform their lives. From them, I received support, appreciation, patience, and as a result I began to transform in ways beyond my imagination.

Actually, I’ll take that back. I began to transform in the exact ways I’d always imagined and dreamed of. This of course is an ongoing process for them and for me. Together, our lives are better off, as a result of sharing our wealth and reciprocating what each side is abundant in.

They could have allowed themselves to feel put out by me, or burdened, or fearful that me being in their homes may leave less of everything for them. I could have allowed myself to get annoyed or resentful that they wanted to ask me questions and constantly learn what I know. We could have completely cut ourselves off from the possibilities present for us.

But we didn’t. We accessed them instead.

When we create partnerships like this…everybody wins.

2) Collaboration-

Collaboration creates prosperity.

There are no haves or have-nots. We are all haves and our assets are diverse. In the alchemy of collaboration, we become equal partners; we create wholeness and sufficiency for everyone.   -Excerpt from “The Soul of Money”

Getting what we want takes courage and faith in your own ability to deliver value. Do you believe you have the power to deliver value to the lives of others?

Well…you do.

When I got here to Australia, I was totally committed to growing my company, Erin Lanahan Method. I was clear that my focus was to build the coaching piece of my business. I wanted to coach more individuals, corporate executives, the employees of corporations, small and large groups, and therefore I chose to look for any opportunities that may be available for me to do that. This takes belief in one’s self.

We must believe in ourselves, trust our intuition, and follow the guidance we receive from within. When you feel a nudge to call someone and discuss an idea, pitch a new concept to a company you feel in alignment with, or maybe to have an uncomfortable conversation with someone you love…follow the nudge. Listen. Do it.

I have been doing that since I got here, and there are multiple companies helping me grow my brand, share my concepts and strategies to help inspire many people, and who have given me the platform I need to become known as the kind of coach, writer, and wellness expert that I am. I offer their clients a new outlook on life, food, fitness, and I bring a shift in perception and inspiration, love, and acceptance to the lives of those clients.  

In return, I help those companies grow their client base, keep their clients happy, and I help them offer a level of transformation they always wanted to offer, but just didn’t have the time or tools to do so.

They pay me, and I make them money. I grow and expand my business and reputation, and they grow and expand theirs too.

Win…Win I tell ya.

3) Cooperation

How can you expect to get what you want when you aren’t willing to give others what they need?

Come on people…let’s cooperate.

Here’s some text from a book I highly recommend, “The Soul of Money.”

Nineteenth century scientific and economic theorists painted a harsh reality of how the natural world actually works. They basically described competition for food and resources as being the inevitable and defining force by which Mother nature balanced the population and resources, and selected in favor some species over others.

Charles Darwin went on to describe “survival of the fittest” in large part as the competition for scarce resources, as the basis for the evolution of species.

Contrary to those models of Nature as innately, intensely, and almost exclusively competitive, more recent scientific study has illuminated the powerful role of mutuality, synergy, coexistence, and cooperation in the natural world and the more accurate picture of life that presents.

Even a cursory look at the world food supply and world population tells us that there is enough food to feed everyone, but that other factors keep some populations oversupplied and even overfed while others are malnourished and dying from hunger. Chronic hunger isn’t “Nature’s way” of limiting population or improving the species. In fact, it is less about Nature and more about flawed government, politics, and economic systems of our own construction.

The idea that scarcity is “just the way it is” is no longer even viable science.

Scarcity is a lie. “Not enough” is crap. It is not the truth. What you need and what you want is ALWAYS available. It is a result of our own inability to operate from reciprocity, collaboration, and cooperation that we experience lack instead of the unlimited resources available to and for us.

So…

What do you want? What is holding you back from believing it is available to you right now? Do you feel threatened when you see other people get what they want because you think that means you can’t have what you want??

Tell me what you’re going through.

Email me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com

If you really WANT to change your life, transform your body and mind, and want to take the necessary steps , please ask me about my coaching programs. Serious inquiries only please.

Sending you all so much love and hugs,

Erin

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Favorite Quotes, Fitness Tips, Healing · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 24, 2012

THIS Is What I Know: 5 Tips To Live A Better Life

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I may not know much, but how to live a better life… I KNOW. I have struggled with so many things, such as alcohol, drugs, food addiction, body image disorders, poor choices, bad relationships, insecurities, low self-worth, lack and limited thinking, fear, anxiety attacks, depression, you name it. And guess what…I SURVIVED.

I not only survived, I have embarked on an amazing journey internally AND externally. I have healed so much, and now …I THRIVE.

I began working in the fitness industry over 12 years ago, and my job in most people’s minds was to help them  get “FIT.” However, let’s face it, what people REALLY want is to get HAPPY.

Changing your body by exercising and eating healthier foods is one way to support getting happy, but here’s the brutal truth…it’s gonna take more than just that.

I have worked with hundreds of clients via personal training, life coaching, nutrition coaching, and have interacted with thousands through my articles, blog, website, workshops, public speaking, and social media. As a result, I have a really good feel and understanding of people. I have worked with celebrities, high-profile executives, royalty, house moms, middle class citizens, struggling actors, writers, the Hollywood Entertainmnet business, and the list goes on. These all may seem like very different kinds of people, and in some ways you are right about that. But at the end of the day they all want the SAME thing.

Everyone wants to feel good in their own bodies.

Everyone wants to walk into a room and know they are showing up as the best possible version of themselves in that moment. Everyone wants to feel acceptance, love, forgiveness, and freedom. Everyone wants to create work/life balance, have better energy, more clarity, and a lifestyle that supports their optimal well-being that they can also maintain. Am I right??

Well…how do you do this??

First of all, there is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you thought I was going to offer you the next fix or fad diet you are on the wrong blog. I am here to help you live a better life. I want to teach you how to live a FIT life. Are you in??

Here are 5 tips that will help you live a better life:

1) Stop comparing yourself to other people and just focus on your own vision and life’s purpose. Why are you here? What does the fire inside of you burn for? If you could do or be anything and NOTHING was going to stop you or get in your  way, what would that be? It doesn’t matter how silly or impossible it sounds to you. What is it? YOU are the creator of your life. Nothing about anyone else’s journey or path, has anything to do with whether or not you can succeed. Get clear about your vision and purpose for your life. Trust that you are the ONLY person on the planet that can do what you do, the way you do it.

2) Cleanse and clear your body, your environment, and your life of toxic energy. This means toxic chemicals, toxic choices, toxic foods and drinks, toxic people,  and toxic thinking. Do you find yourself consuming conversations, interactions, food and drink, and media that do not serve your highest good or your ultimate plan? Check in with yourself and begin to bring your attention into your body daily. How does that person make you feel? How does the language you are using or inviting into your life affect the level respect you have for yourself, and thus the level of respect you get from others? Do you feel that the foods and drinks you choose support you? Are you dying, surviving, or thriving? Which do you want for yourself?

3) Become more deeply educated about what it truly means to be fit, to experience happiness, and to have everything you’ve ever wanted. I hear people all the time who tell me, “I know how to be healthy, but I just don’t do it.” REALLY?? I find that hard to believe, because when we REALLY understand (and I mean get it at the deepest core of who we are) what we are doing, and the impact it has on our overall well-being and ability to fully enjoy life, I personally believe we would all make different choices. At least I know that level of new awareness changed my life HUGE ways! For example, if you know it in your innermost self, that something has the power to change you in a negative way, thus creating more of all that which depresses you and makes you feel stuck in your life, is it something you will continue to choose?? Why would you? People do it every day. Are you going to be one of them?

4) If you want a better life, you must have better thoughts. This is not new information, but it’s information worth repeating over and over again, until we ALL get it.  Your thoughts become things. What you focus on expands. Here’s a video I put together on this topic for you. Make sure you come back to read the rest of this post, and get your tip #5!

What We Focus On Expands: Are Your Thoughts Making You Fat? 

 5) You must have the willingness to transform before you can expect to get the kind of results you are really after. News Flash…Health, HOTNESS, and transformation is an INSIDE job people, and that’s right, it requires WILLINGNESS. I cannot tell you how exhausting it is as a coach and trainer, to get approached all the time by people who say they want change, but who are not willing to do their part. Come On…Seriously?? These days, I turn everyone away who does not come to me with a sincere readiness to take on the necessary steps to transform their lives. Is that you? What are you willing to do to have everything you’ve ever wanted? Maybe you aren’t sick enough of where you are, or maybe you are already perfectly happy with where you are. I applaud you wherever you are and send you love and support. If you need help, and we ALL need help, seek it out! Be willing to ask for it. The resources you need are always at your finger tips, but first, you must really want something before you get creative enough to access the resources that are available to you. Are you ready to get creative?

What’s going on for you? I want to know. Here’s to a beautiful moment, day, year, and life.

Love and Hugs,

Erin

P.S. If you are ready to transform your life, your body, and manifest your dreams, write to me at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com. Serious inquiries only. Sending you so much love.

Filed Under: Awakening, Fitness, Healing, Spirituality · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 7, 2012

Happy New Year and New “Moments” Resolutions

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Yes, I know…I’m a little behind on my Happy New Year post, but I have been traveling and just kicking back and taking it all in these past few weeks. I spent the month of December visiting my family in Moruya, Australia, and then headed off to Sydney to spend New Year’s Eve with friends and family, as well as my first week of 2012 on Bondi Beach!

So far, 2012 has rocked my world in every way! :-) How have you kicked things off?

With all the New Year’s Resolutions hype it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of thinking in extremes. For example, we put so much pressure on ourselves to hit the ground running hard and fast, and then most people are burned out and over it by February or March.

Listen, living a life you love is a daily practice and it is created choice by choice, action by action, thought by thought, day by day.

Remember this: Setting larger, long-term goals is great, however, also keep in mind that long-term is a result of how each short-term moment adds up over time. Therefore, commit to how you want this moment to be, this conversation to be, this kiss to be, this event to be, this day to be, etc. Are you picking up what I’m putt’n down?? I trust you are ;)

For me, I had a pretty incredible experience in Sydney for the first week of this year. It seemed as though the stars were aligning just especially for me, answering all my prayers and showing me that life really is becoming my dream, and my dreams really ARE my reality. However, that said, I am reminding myself as I remind you, of the importance of letting it go.

We can set our intentions, say our prayers, do our best, but then we must detach from the outcomes, for we are only in control of what we put out there and how we respond to what turns up. What actually happens has only the power we give it. Thus, if we cling to how we want things to be or how we think they “should” look like now, we can begin to spin out and spiral down FAST.

What’s required of us in order to maintain a state of joy and gratitude, is the ability to TRUST what is currently showing up, believing that the best case scenario IS unfolding REGARDLESS of what we tend to assume things mean for us long-term in the moment.

So I’ll say it again…

Set your intentions, say your prayers, make your vision boards, become super clear about what you want life to look and more importantly FEEL like…and then LET IT GO.

That’s right…as hard as it may feel, you have to let it go, trust, be patient, and live each moment as presently as possible, believing that the best case scenario IS unfolding for you right now!

I left Sydney yesterday and arrived in Brisbane, Australia, where I am writing to you from now. I’ll be spending a bit of time here and traveling around the area meeting and visiting with more family. Then, in a couple of weeks I’ll settle myself in on the Gold Coast, to prepare for yoga training that starts Feb 4th. Lots of exciting stuff in the works for this year, but today is today, so I’m just going to be here now and make the most of each moment. I am going to trust you are doing the same :-)

I hope you are all being loving and gentle with yourselves, having respect and gratitude for your process, and surrounding yourselves with only the most supportive people and environments. May 2012, be a year filled with awakening, healing, unconditional love, and the beginning of a new-found sense of joy and a beautiful new life. Here’s to your highest self!!

Love, Light, and Hugs!

Namaste,

Erin

 

 

 

Filed Under: Awakening, Fitness, Healing, Travel, Uncategorized, Yoga · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 11, 2011

Patience Please – Everything Is A Little Upside-down

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Hey guys! As you can see…things are a bit upside-down right now :-)  I would love and appreciate your patience as I get this new site up and running. I am still in the middle of transferring everything over from my old site to this new one. I am also facing one glitch after the next, but all in all it’s a pretty amazing ride and I’m laughing at myself the whole way!

It is such an exciting time for Erin Lanahan Method, and I am working around the clock behind the scenes to bring you the best quality possible. It is my intention to create a space here for all of us to feel like we can stretch, expand, and go deeper, bolder, and shine brighter than ever before.

E.L.M. is here to inspire you, educate you, motivate you, and give you a place to turn to when you need guidance towards healing and finding reassurance and support along your path.

Are you ready to change your life?

Some of what I’ll be offering is a shop, videos, e-books, fitness tips, articles, and opportunities to coach with me one-on-one at special rates! Stay tuned for E.L.M.’s detailed page explaining exactly WHAT coaching is, and what benefits it offers to the lives of so many. If you want to get started now, shoot me an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com and we can set up a complimentary call to help you gain clarity and insight into how I may best serve you. Otherwise stop by again soon!

Please bear with me. Expansion is a process, and every day I am making progress here at E.L.M. Please don’t hesitate to read what’s here so far, browse, comment, share articles with friends, and by all means shoot me an email at transform@erinlanahanmethod.com with any suggestions or requests you may have! Your input is deeply appreciated!

Thank you!

Love and Hugs,

Erin

Filed Under: Awakening, Fitness, Healing · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Dec 6, 2011

Life Is Like A Bowl Of Trail Mix…

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…you never know what you’re going to get in each handful!

I know, I know…you think I made a mistake right? It’s suppose to be a box of chocolates, not a bowl of trail mix! What ever am I thinking??

Well let me tell you. First of all, I removed the box because I really prefer not to purchase any of my food in boxes. Typically boxed or packaged food means low quality and highly processed. These days, I get a kick out of making my own trail mix by wisely choosing the yummy ingredients one by one and placing each one into their separate little recycled baggies until I can get them home to mix them.

You see, the thing about trail mix is, I can take the bits and pieces of wisdom I have collected over the years, from schools I’ve graduated from, certifications I have completed, experiences I have had, teachers I have met, and personal trial and error, to successfully combine a mix that is yummy in every bite, balances out my blood sugar, and keeps me excited about the next handful. Now THAT is talent :-)

In life, it is important to remember that we don’t have to take things as they come. We can choose not to take the pre-packaged experiences, and instead, create our own! We can take pieces of this philosophy, that belief system, and few dashes of our own intuition, and create something balanced, colorful, full of all the nutrients we need, and most importantly, something that is FUN and feeds us in every way!

I love creating my own recipes because it reminds me that life is my greatest recipe, and it teaches me that I can mix whatever ingredients I feel would make a yummy experience. I can make the same trail mix every time OR I can try different ingredients just because I CAN!

So, are you buying pre-packaged experiences or are you creating your own?

Don’t worry, there are no wrong choices. Some will appear to taste better short-term and create discomfort long-term. Others will taste healthy now, and perhaps feel a bit uncomfortable in the short-term, yet they will create energy, vitality, and soul-full expansion in the long-term. Some will just taste like ecstasy now and bring nothing but joy to your day, every day, while others just won’t do anything for you, never have, and never will. It’s all a matter of preference and YOU are the Head Chef.

You get to choose the ingredients of your life. You get to have fun doing it and enjoy every bite of it. Therefore make the most of your power to create your wildest recipes!

Happy Eating!!

Love,

Erin

P.S. Here’s one of my most favorable trail mix recipes…although I invite you to create your own ;-)

-*goji berries

-*almonds

-*walnuts

-*sultanas

-*dried cranberries

-*incan berries

-*dried blueberries

-*pumpkin seeds

-*sunflower seeds

*organic, raw, sulphur free, gluten-free, vegan

I prefer to mix it up so the fruit laces every bite, but is a lesser proportion than the nuts and seeds, to create a higher protein, lower sugar combination. Again, I am always trying something new depending on the day!

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Fitness, Food, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 5, 2011

Wishing To Explore New Opportunities?

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Are you wishing to explore new opportunities?

If so, good! That is quite natural for the Spirit to crave. We are ever evolving beings and expansion is our most natural way of expression.

I find myself re-inventing, tweaking, and changing my path all the time. It’s fun, but it can also feel scary. Do you ever sit around, thinking about everything you want your life to become and wonder how you will ever get there? Then, 6 months later, do you find yourself having even more clarity about what it is you want your life to feel like, and therefore see how and why what you wanted 6 months ago didn’t unfold the way you thought it should at the time?

Be gentle and patient with yourself.

You are exactly where you need to be, and if you can trust that, it will create an opening for you to fully embrace and enjoy the process you are in right now. Whatever it is you are currently experiencing IS, whether you see it or not, playing a huge part in the intentions you have set for your life experiences. 

When you notice yourself getting caught up in self-doubt or lack of faith, remember these three things:

1) Anytime you need assistance you can ask for it. Call upon a God of your understanding, the trees, the Universe, mermaids, the Archangels, Buddha, Jesus, ferries, whatever works for you! What you seek does not matter, as long as your request is pure and asking for guidance. Then, open yourself up to any signs, visions, or messages that may come to you through conversations, thoughts, dreams, books, articles, someone’s t-shirt, a TV show, etc. Signs and Divine guidance can come in mysterious way :-)

2) Your intuition is never wrong. It’s only our fear of being wrong or of failing that stops us from going the distance. If you feel strongly about something, it IS a sign that you are being summoned to follow it. What you find may be completely different from what you set out to find or create, but if you stay open, you will always be pleasantly surprised. It will most likely require some patience, willingness, and committment on your part, but it’s worth the effort!

3) When you are in a situation that really challenges your ability to stay connected to your dreams and passions, find one thing that really matters to you and do it every day, or as many times a week as possible. This will act as an anchor for you and keep you in the higher creative energies that bring new ideas to life.

Ok, I hope you all are enjoying the Holiday Season so far. It’s a bit strange for me being on the opposite side of the world this Holiday Season, but I am making the most of my new experiences no matter what!  

Sending you all lots of LOVE and Holiday Hugs!!

xo Erin

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Travel · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 2, 2011

NOW Is The New When

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The main event has never been the manifestation; the main event has always been the way you feel moment by moment, because that’s what life is.
— Abraham

I love this quote from Abraham, and it just so happen to hit my inbox on a day when I was really basking in this knowing.

Do you ever just laugh at yourself, when you realize that all you really have to do to enjoy life is to enjoy the moment you are actually in right now? It is so simple, yet so many of us LOVE to complicate things.

Each day I put this knowing into practice and I invite you to do the same.

Life isn’t about tomorrow or the excitement, joy, or potential pain you will feel from some event that hasn’t happened yet.

No. Life is about how you are able to interpret, accept, and appreciate the NOW.

As we let go of “getting there”, fixing things, and changing things,  and instead remind ourselves that we are already here, right now, then life becomes about how much joy we can uncover and discover in every moment.

Do you trust?

Do you trust that even when one moment may feel awkward or uncomfortable, that you are in fact exactly where you are supposed to be?

I find that the discomfort comes from a lack of trust about this.

At the end of the day, all we really have is the way we perceive the moments we live, from one moment to the next. What we experience is really up to us. Even if you have something extremely challenging and scary you are facing, what else is the solution?

You have two choices…to be miserable and paralyzed with fear and resentment OR to find the doorway within the obstacles that gives you access to opportunities and a greater love for yourself and for life.

As I put this knowing into practice I find a greater sense of ease and direction in my life. I still have days where I resist this, but thankfully, they are less and less.

Can you apply this knowing in your life? Do you trust yourself enough to let go and surrender to the NOW? I want to know. Please leave me some love here :-)

The Divine Light within me, acknowledges and appreciates the Divine Light within you.

Love Always,

Erin

 

Filed Under: Entertainment, Favorite Quotes, Mind Body Spirit Thursday, Thoughts of the day · Tagged: , , , ,
Dec 1, 2011

Girls (and guys) Just Wanna Have Fun!

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Aint that the truth!!! We all just wanna have fun! Am I right?

What if having fun WAS the goal for every day?

What if I told you that nothing else matters but how much fun you are actually having playing this game we call LIFE? I mean they even made a game about it just as a subliminal reminder not to take ourselves or this experience too seriously!

But seriously, I am not saying to be “irresponsible,” however I AM saying to treat all of it like a game. In the Board Game Of Life, you pick an SUV, hop in, and enjoy the ride. You can choose marriage, babies, college, a great career, a big house full of kids, a gigantic salary, and you can potentially get rich or end up bankrupt. You can choose revenge, chance, you can retire in style, and make millions if you want to. There are NO LIMITATIONS. So why wouldn’t you live life to the fullest right? Regardless of the outcomes along the way, do you find yourself actually believing at any point that the game is real?? I think not.

If you could go to work each day, engage with your friends and family, and make choices in each moment, based on the fact that you are just playing a game and it is meant to bring you great fun and joy…how might that affect the way you see and do things?

Having fun yet??

Perhaps you think I’m crazy? If so, that’s ok because I sure am having fun with this :-)

Really though, what if you could make each move in life, with the same ease and non-attachment that you use while playing the board game? It’s fun to strategize right? It’ exciting to take risks. It’s an adrenaline rush to win a lot of money, loose it, and then win it again. Why?? Because you KNOW that none of it can hurt you. You KNOW that the pink, green, blue, and yellow money is fake, and not really your SOURCE of abundance right? It’s just there to PLAY with. Nothing that happens can actually have a real negative effect on who and what you truly are.

This is the SAME in real life.

We have all just forgotten that we are playing a game.

Not just any game though…an AMAZING game filled with so many options and opportunities to experience ups and downs, and to hop on extreme rides every single day! Have fun with it!

When you aren’t having fun, you are probably feeling discomfort of some sort, just like we do in  a game when we are being a poor sport.

You know those people who take game playing, winning, and loosing so seriously they miss the entire point of the game (which is to have fun by the way)? Don’t be like them!

Just like you would laugh at them and tell them to “chill out, it’s just a game,” do that to yourself every time you catch yourself feeling less than your infinite, unlimited, and abundant self!! Remember, if you are feeling discomfort, it’s only because you are forgetting that you are playing a game that is meant to be FUN. Snap out of it! Wake up!

If  you’d like to know more about how to have more fun playing the game of Life, then I trust you and I can have some real fun together. I am offering a special coaching program for the first 5 people who contact me about this. 6 weeks of one-on-one phone coaching, 3 videos offering  different FUN workouts, and 30 of my top tips for living a life filled with MORE FUN! All for $500.00!

If you feel pulled to connect more deeply with me about coaching together, please send me an email at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com  introducing yourself. Tell me one thing you would do if you could do anything you wanted, and I will email you the details about how to proceed.

Are you ready to play the game??

Let’s Go!

Enjoying Life,

Erin

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Fitness, Thoughts of the day, Travel, Uncategorized, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 30, 2011

Matters Of The Heart

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No matter where I go, what I do, or who I am with, it always comes down to one thing. Is my heart happy??

I have been a seeker on a journey, an explorer sailing the wild seas within myself, and a warrior of the daily battles that tend to happen inside my head. I may not KNOW much, but I do know that at the end of the day, nothing matters but love. Nothing matters but acceptance. Nothing matters but the Spirit. There is no greater Source than the one within us.

So why can it feel so hard? To be happy that is. Why do so many of us struggle to “find” it? Can it really be found? Perhaps not. Perhaps happiness is like all matters of the heart. It simply exists all the time, and it is always available to those who choose it.

How do we choose it you say?

We choose it over and over again, every time anything but love or but happiness is lurking in the background, and we choose it and we choose it, no matter what, until it becomes our default mode.

Tonight I am thinking of old friends, old lovers, old memories, old ways of life, and really feeling so much I haven’t felt in a long time, but I am ok. I miss pieces of them, but I am still ok. I am always ok if I choose to be. 

As I look ahead I stop myself, and I come back to this moment. I do what matters to my heart. I engage in matters of the heart, and I speak up about how I feel and share it with you. This is how I choose my happiness. This is how I choose love.  Thank you for being here with me.

I love you,

Erin

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Favorite Quotes, Thoughts of the day, Travel, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 29, 2011

If Every Day Were A Vacation Day I Would…

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If every day were a vacation day, how would that change the way you feel about waking up? What would you do? Where would you go?

Maybe you would choose to spend your days, dancing from one curiosity to the next. Or perhaps you would never get out of your pj’s and instead snuggle up with your journal and write fantasy stories. Maybe you’d go to the beach to watch the waves crash upon the shore, allowing them to cleanse your busy mind until you found your natural state of peace again.

Whatever it is for you, I invite you in this moment to connect to how that feels inside of you, to get to wake up every day and only do what you feel pulled to do and to do everything you feel pulled to do.

What a concept right?

I am sure you are having thoughts such as “That sounds great but who in their right mind actually believes that is possible?” or “If I did that each day, who would pay the bills?” It is only natural to have these questions come up. However, I am not asking you those questions…I am asking you how it would feel to follow your inner guidance on  a daily basis? If we play with this idea for purposes of this article only, perhaps you can allow yourself to take this ride with me right now.

What kinds of things would you do each day if you could do whatever you felt pulled to do and money just took care of itself? What would life be like it that WERE possible? How do you know it isn’t?

I have been traveling Australia since the end of June. I packed up my life in Los Angeles, CA and carried it with me in my heart to my first Aussie destination, which was Sydney. After a couple of months in Sydney, I was offered a rich opportunity to move to a beautiful place called The Mornington Peninsula, just outside of Melbourne, Australia. I was hired on as the Health and Communication Consultant, to help get an Eco Health and Sustainability Retreat up and running effectively.

Los Angeles, Sydney, and working for the retreat on The beautiful Mornington Peninsula offered me uniquely different experiences and opportunities for transformation. All three journeys brought me great pleasure and joy, but when I was ready to move on I did, regardless of the “what if’s” or the paychecks I was leaving behind.

When I decided to move to Australia, there was no finite plan. Finite, is not a word that I enjoy as part of my vocabulary. It seems to go against everything I believe we are. If I believe who and what I really am is infinite, unlimited, and unconditional love, abundance, and joy, then to refer to anything as finite, confuses me. I have discovered, that to think of my resources as coming from anything finite,  is actually the very thing that cuts myself off from the source of all resources.

I felt pulled to go on this journey, and along with that I felt fully committed and willing to process through any and all fears and limiting beliefs that may try to convince me I am anything other than what I belive myself to be.

You are also infinite, unlimited, and unconditional love, abundance, and joy.

Do you believe me? You don’t have to, but the only person who suffers if you don’t, is you. What if you are? How does that change the way you see your life?  What if every day were a vacation day and you got to play whatever games you wanted?

As I move from idea to idea, curiosity to curiosity, experiment to experiment, exploration to exploration, city to city, I access even more of my true essence and the knowing that comes along with that. I get to create my day every day. If every day is a vacation day, then I know I have no limits, no time schedule other than one I may choose to create, nowhere I have to go other than the places I choose to have fun with, and nothing I have to be other than exactly what I am in the moment. This gives me a sense of freedom. As I am liberated by these feelings, I become open to everything that is possible in each moment. There’s nothing I “have” to do. There is only “What do I feel pulled to do right now.”

Sometimes you may feel unclear about what you are pulled to do. This is ok.

Simply take some time out each day, or multiple times a day, to turn within and to ask yourself, “What am I feeling pulled to do today, what is it I want in this moment. Expanded Self, please show me the way.”

I have this dialogue with myself every day, sometimes 50 plus times a day. As I continue to allow myself to follow what I feel pulled to do, I continue to discover new things, to develop a deeper level of awareness, to connect more deeply with myself, with others, and with the outside world, and I keep getting new opportunities to express even more of who and what I really am, and to create an even more playful and enjoyable dream vacation on a daily basis.

If you’d like more help creating this dialogue with yourself, and to therefore live a life filled with more joy, doing only what you feel pulled to do, keep reading! I have a special offer for you at the end. Please don’t skip to the end…the rest of the article IS worth reading :-)

So…If every day were a vacation day, what would that change inside of you? I invite you to connect to this feeling inside of you. As we connect more deeply to how we want our lives to feel, it creates an inner shift. 

When we can grant ourselves the permission we seek, to awaken to who and what we really are, and to really do what we feel pulled to do, and only what we feel pulled to do, then what once seemed impossible becomes our greatest terrain for adventure and transformation.

I have recently left The Mornington Peninsula and I am creating the next game I want to play, and having fun laughing at all the rules I made up in the past to make myself believe it wasn’t possible to do what I am actually doing every day!! This makes me excited about all the other once “impossibilities” I am now going to begin living as though they are natural for me and easy to create!

Although I am always a work in progress, I have experienced deep transformation over the last few years. Here are 3 things I have learned that I want to pass along to you:

1) Every time you feel discomfort, it is an opportunity to reclaim your power back from something that once caused you a loss of power. Claim your power back at every chance. Discomfort is there to help you see that you are giving your power away, and actually believing that something outside of you can take away your happy place. It’s not true, that is a lie you told yourself at some point. As you begin to recognize discomfort in the moment, acknowledge the loss of power you feel from it. Then make a different choice. You are infinite, unlimited, and unconditional abundance, love, and joy, and anything that makes you feel otherwise is simply an illusion and not true. Play the game, but this time…claim your power back!

2) Once you take the leap to trust your inner guidance, be prepared to come face to face with all your fears and limiting beliefs, but KNOW, they have no power, other than the power you give them. If you remain committed and willing to move THROUGH them, you will always reach a new way of living on the other side.

3) Question your beliefs and your limitations. Sometimes you will find yourself telling old stories and repeating things unconsciously, not having reconsidered them since the first time you heard them or made them up. Make sure you are living with a belief system, and using an inner dialogue that fully supports your highest good. Who says what you are capable of or not? Who gets to decide what is possible or not? Why wouldn’t it be possible to enjoy every day of your life AND have all the bills taken care of without a struggle on your part?

You choose. What do you want? A life filled with limiting beliefs and fear that stops you? Or a life filled with new opportunities and possibilities that emerge from within the fears that you choose to walk though and thus are liberated from? I want to hear you say it. Let me know.

If you feel pulled to explore this topic in more depth, and to really find out how you can apply this in your life, to liberate you from the daily “have to’s,” then I trust you will enjoy the 6 week coaching program I have developed for clients just like you!

I am offering 6 weeks of coaching for $600! All you have to do is share this article on your Facebook and/or Twitter and then reply to this post with a comment including your email. If you prefer a bit more privacy, you can just share this on Facebook and/or Twitter, and then send me a private email at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com introducing yourself. Whether you submit your info in reply to this post, or send me a private email, I will be in touch to connect more deeply with you, and then we can can proceed accordingly. I am looking forward to working with you!

Sending you so much support, appreciation, and hugs.

Love,

Erin

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Nov 12, 2011

What Is Abundance?

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I am writing to you from this window, and feeling abundantly abundant :)

We hear of this word ABUNDANCE all the time. It is something we say we want, and something many of us chase and chase, but somehow always feel as though it eludes us.

I am finding that abundance is not something we can capture or achieve, but rather something we receive when we are open, willing, and present in the moment.

Abundance is a feeling within, an inside job, and not a result of any external triumph. Even when we have opened up to receive the always present and available abundance within, external triumphs become less important and we remain aware that they are only the physical manifestation of our inner state of consciousness.

I don’t know about you, but I have won things, been the best, been placed front and center, gotten what I wanted on the outside, and had my life “appear” to be perfect in other people’s eyes.

What those people didn’t know, was how much lack and limitation I was feeling on the inside.

Those short-term achievements made me feel good for a little while, but they always wore off. Do you know what I mean?

If we depend on money, cars, houses, status, property, our looks, etc, to feel ok, then we are in for a pretty hard fall or sharp wake up call. It’s the same as a drug addict depending on cocaine to function and feel ok in the world. What begins to happen is the effects he or she once got from the drugs, diminish, and then they must begin to consume more. The drug addict will consume and consume, only to begin to feel emptier and emptier, and less and less. What once made he or she feel good, will stop working. This is my point about depending on “stuff” for our energy, life force, and abundance. This is what I mean about abundance being an inside job.

Abundance for me, and I will speak for myself, come from things like walking through an organic garden and witnessing the very food I eat growing all around me from the earth. I see that the plants just grow and grow, and there will always be enough.

Abundance comes from the days I sit at the beach and 3 dolphins swim right up to where we are swimming at the seashore to remind me that life is everywhere and that nature supports me. I feel abundant when a koala climbs up and down trees right before my very eyes, thus bringing me pure and utter joy, and therefore completely shifting my day.

Abundance for me, is a result of gratitude for every single day I get another chance at loving myself and others and the opportunities it brings to share even more of my gifts. 

Abundance is how I feel in this moment, as I write this to you, staring out the window at the ocean. This place I am in, at this table, on this chair, in front of this window,  is a vision I had just a couple of months ago. Abundance is the feeling I get on days like today when I find myself living my visions, and becoming aware of myself here, at my computer, doing what I love with a beautiful and inspiring view, just like the vision I had, without ever knowing until this very moment that I was on my way here the whole time. I am reminded once again, of the power we each have when we set our intentions and then let them free to unfold naturally.

Abundance is the feeling I get when I look around at the relationships in my life and feel in awe of the level of respect and support that flows freely between my loved ones and myself.

Abundance is what I experience when I let go and let God, and trust that all my needs will be met, only to go to sleep that night having had all my needs met and more!

Abundance for me, is the feeling I have when I KNOW I can walk away from the things and people who I love but do not serve my highest good, and trust that both of us will be guided to the best life for each of us as a result of my courage to stand up for myself and what matters most in my heart.

Abundance is a feeling, not trophy or a million dollars, unless these things are an extension and an expanded expression of what’s going on inside of you.

What IS going on inside of you? If it is abundance you seek, find it within yourself first. As you make the choice to open up to feeling abundant, only then will you begin to find it everywhere.  

Please share with me what’s coming up for you right now. I am feeling so grateful today and had to share this gratitude and inspiration with anyone and everyone. This is not to brag or make anyone who is currently struggling feel bad, rather it is to help you tap into your own unlimited abundance and expanded self. Please let me know if you’d like any further support.

Lots of love and so many blessings to you all!

Namaste,

Erin

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Nov 1, 2011

On The Road Again

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Ok, so I have some wonderful news!!! I am off  to study yoga on The Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia! I am embarking on another journey! I have some serious traveling to do in between now and when I begin my training February 4th and I am pumped about it. I will be spending time and visiting with family all around Australia, whom I either haven’t seen in a long time or have never even met. I have just begun those plans so I will keep you posted.

I am also getting down to some serious business and putting all my time and energy into growing and expanding Erin Lanahan Method. I look forward to sharing more of that with moving forward and I appreciate all your support and suggestions.

I can proudly say, by February 1st, I will have been in Australia for 6 months, and within those 6 months I will have lived in 3 different states, and 4 different cities! This is awesome!

I know it may seem as though a lot of change has happened fast, and in a way it has. However, when we work on ourselves and our lives from the inside out, it can often appear and feel as though there is no movement, when quite the opposite is happening.

To move on the inside is the hardest and most important part of the transformation process.

What we ultimately do externally is hopefully just an extension of where we are internally.

Once we shift inside, massive shifts happens FAST on the outside, and what a joy ride it can be!

I have been working on myself from within for a long time. When I moved from Sydney to the Mornington Peninsula just recently, to help open this Health and Wellness Retreat I am working at, I knew it wasn’t going to be long-term. I felt it in my gut. But I also knew I had to come because a part of what I needed to move forward was going to emerge from my time here, and it definitely has to say the least. I have had somewhat of a breakthrough and all of a sudden I am experiencing the power of clarity, inspiration,  and divine direction like never before.

How are you feeling lately? I know for me I noticed a huge shift after October 28th passed. I believe those of us who did the 3 daily practices I suggested doing on October 8th, probably have felt a deeper shift than those who weren’t preparing consciously for such an energetic shift.

It’s ok if you weren’t preparing, but it’s important to remain patient and gentle with yourself now, to allow your body the space it needs to catch up with and integrate what just happened.

I have been feeling more and more pulled to the Gold Coast over the last few weeks. It was challenging for me to trust this intuition at first, but after many hours of processing feelings and confronting my fears, I am absolutely certain this is what I am being guided to do. I have always wanted to study Yoga, to add it to my knowledge base of fitness, so that is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to become a certified Yoga instructor by Essence of Living in Mermaid Beach, Australia.

I also have a few other amazing plans up my sleeve, but I’ll reveal more to you as time moves on and I get solid around the details. If you follow along, you can come with me for the ride!

I am going to sign off now. Time for reflection, contemplation, and meditation before bed time. Lots of love to you. Let me know how you are doing. Thank you for being here with me.

Namaste,

Erin

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Oct 30, 2011

A New Day

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Hey there. Man, it feels weird not having posted anything since October 27th. I actually was planning on my last blog of 21 consecutive days of blogging, to be on the 28th. However, that day was a wild one for me, and I never did get to my computer. I never did I get to my computer yesterday either.

Today however is a new day. When I woke up yesterday, October 29th, I was exhausted. I hadn’t gotten to sleep until 5am that morning due to a favor I did for a friend at 2am, and needless to say, I woke up feeling as though change was looming once again. I felt called to really turn within and to get brutally honest with myself about what my gut and my heart were saying. It was time to make a decision.

This journey for me here on The Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia, has been one of the most profound, transformational experiences I have ever been through. I have gone deeper in my own personal development than ever before, and I have come through some pretty intense emotions and decision-making processes. As a result, I have more clarity about the direction I want to move in from this point forward. I have more clarity about how to live in integrity, while still being loving, and maintaining healthy boundaries in relationships.

I am still working a few things through, but when I know more, I will share with you in detail about where this journey is taking me.

Mostly, tonight I want to talk about A New Day. We have moved into a time on the planet where we create our own destinies. Everything is available in The NOW, and we are being encouraged to learn to live in the moment, to be completely present at all times, and to surrender to what is actually showing up right NOW.

When we make decisions based on what may or may not happen in the future, it creates all kinds of drama around a decision that is really pretty simple to make. Just like relationships. If a guy has all kinds of potential that is definitely a good thing. However, if that is not what is currently showing up in your time together, then you may better off deciding what is best for you based on the present information. Do get what I am saying?

There must be space for you. There must be an opening for your gifts, and for what you are bringing to a situation or a relationship. If there is no space or opening, you can be the greatest gift in the world, but it will not matter. No one will hear you, there will never be time for what you need to express, and ultimately, what you have to offer will not have the opportunity to be given or received. That’s when I walk away. It’s not because anyone else is doing anything wrong, it’s just a decision based on the facts about where people currently are. I used to try to change things, but recently I have learned the blessing available when I can acknowledge the truth, accept what is showing up right NOW, and then make a choice based on what’s best for me according to the information available to me.

There is beauty, peace, joy, and liberation in accepting what is. To accept that you will never change is a freeing thing, not a scary thing. When we realize that we are the way we are, and people are they way they are, because we all play a role and a part in the greater plan unfolding, then it makes it easier to accept the things you wish were different. It also brings you into the moment. When we are in the moment, we can finally see that there is actually nothing wrong at all.

I am feeling deeply inspired by my journey, by my purpose, and by my mission. I am grateful for my life, for my friends, for my parents, for my blog, for my work, for my clients, for my challenges, for my teachers, and I am grateful for the guidance that continues to hold a space for me and to be a presence in my life and in my heart.

I thank you all for coming here to join me, to read the words I write, and to share your journeys with me. I trust you are finding your way, and doing the best you can to make every day a new day.

Lots of Love,

Erin

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Oct 26, 2011

Just A Few Words…

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Today was an interesting day. I am facing so much intense emotion every minute of every day lately, and today was at an all time high with regards to the peaks and valleys of my emotions.

All I can say for now, because it’s midnight here and time to go to bed, is that something magical happens when we stop resisting what is and simply just show up for what’s summoning us in the moment. This has been so hard for me and I literally have been acting like a 2-year-old throwing temper tantrums. Thank goodness I am mostly having them internally, because otherwise my friends and co-workers would probably ask me to go home and never come back, ha ha!

Seriously though, I had something pretty amazing happen to me at the end of my day today, that confirms the power of surrender. However, as a result of this experience, I ended up working late and I’m super exhausted, so I’ll save that story for another post. I just wanted to touch base tonight and at least check-in. Sending you all so much love! Let me know what’s going on for you…Nighty night!

Huge Hugs,

Erin

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Oct 23, 2011

What If?

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What If I stay where I am? What if I go somewhere different? What if I find what I’m looking for? What if I don’t?

What if?

What if humanity continues to feel separate? What if we wake up into Oneness? What if we never forgive each other? What if we all loved one another like family?

What if?

What if there is a God? What if there isn’t? What if I don’t have a soul mate? What if I have many?

What If?

What if I’m doing everything wrong? What if I’m doing everything right? What if I believe in something that doesn’t exist? What if everything I believe is real?

What if?

What if I never fit in? What if fitting in means playing small? What if I’m misunderstood? What if they hear what they need to hear and not what they don’t?

What if I get sick and die? What if I live forever? What if I lose someone I love? What if there is no such thing as loosing someone?

What if?

What if I never meet a man who really gets me? What if I do? What if I never have children? What if I have 1 boy and 1 girl?

What if?

What if nowhere ever feels like home? What if home is found inside of me? What if I never feel at peace? What if peace happens through me?

What if?

What if I never know what’s best for me? What if I make the best of everything? What if I don’t do what I love? What if I love everything I do?

What if?

We can ask ourselves What if ? as many times as we want in a day, in an hour, or in a minute. The truth is, we can’t possibly know the answers. All we can do is sit in the unknown, in the NOW, and decide which answer feels better to play with in the moment.

What if I clung tightly to outcomes? What if I completely let go? What if I can’t stand uncomfortable? What if uncomfortable is ecstasy in the making?

What if?

Here’s to ecstasy in the making.

Love,

Erin

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Oct 22, 2011

Revelations – Awakening As One – October 28, 2011 – YouTube

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Hello friends. I wanted to share this video with you as well, as I find it pretty insightful and creatively delivered. I’m interested to hear your thoughts and feelings that it inspires or triggers.

Love you,

Erin

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Oct 22, 2011

Something To Explore: October 28 Shift In Collective Consciousness

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Hey everyone! For today’s blog, which is day #15 of my 21 days of consecutive blogging to transformation, I wanted to share with you this bit of information I received about the upcoming October 28th shift I have been mentioning throughout my last 15 blogs. Please read below if you feel pulled, and explore all the possibilities. Blessings and so much Love and Light to you all!

xo Erin

Information on 28th October 2011

Compiled by Grant Woolven

The final cycle of the Mayan Calendar is the Universal Level. It began on February 11 this year and ends on October 28. October 9 to 28 is the ‘Seventh Day’ with a theme of attuning to Divine Grace and ascension into Divine Consciousness. October 28 is the completion of the Nine Cosmic Levels of the Maya and the 108 Movements of Shiva in the Vedic tradition, and is an important day for prayer, meditation, spiritual healing, group activity and Oneness Blessings.

During the next nine months humanity has an opportunity to perceive everything in life as sacred. Carl Calleman writes: The entire cosmos will be recognised as an expression of divinity. This final transformation of the ancient (separative) mind into a mind of light will be heralded by the Venus transit on June 6, 2012; Venus will literally passage across the surface of the Sun, which will act as a cosmic mirror for humanity and catalyse a celebration of global unity.

Over 10 years ago Sri Bhagavan, founder of Oneness University, described spiritual awakening as a neurobiological process. Recently numerous teachers and scientists have also arrived at the same conclusion – as the brain is transformed the heart flowers, and the nervous system is ‘rewired’ for bliss. This process transcends euphoric states and catalyses an ongoing experience of biological oneness with the universe. Separation dissolves and the individual feels at one with their environment while still being unique.

We are the Revolution of Conscious Evolution. The Mayan Calendar and Our Era Carl Calleman writes about the Venus transit on June 6, 2012. This Venus transit is an occasion for the collective consciousness of humanity to integrate our fundamental spiritual oneness and the insight that we are now on a path toward enlightenment; where the cosmic plan is designed to lead us.

The Universal Level will be very different from the previous eight levels. To the Maya these last 260 days of the 16.4 billion year cycle are the manifestation of what all of creation has been working towards and planning for:-

It is when all things are brought together and all the conflicting ways of being, acting and thinking will be resolved and unified in a light that makes it possible for everyone to understand　 everyone else and everything at once.

The underlying theme of this Level is Divine Grace; it is only through this vehicle that humanity will become enlightened. All limitations will dissolve. When this happens every human being will intuitively know and understand why the cosmic plan was designed in this way. The involuntary response will be an overflowing of gratitude to the creator and all the great masters and avatars that helped bring it to fruition. This will happen concurrently with the recognition of our own inherent divinity as the separation between man and divine will permanently dissolve. Verse 21:4 in the Book of Revelation describes this:

　”And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”

As balance in the two hemispheres of the brain occurs we will experience a state of pure being that is timeless. For this to occur the dualist mind with its survival oriented ego, will need to surrender itself to the ‘new mind of light’, which will function intuitively. Practices and processes that help purify the subconscious of limiting programs and unresolved emotions, and will help catalyse release from the separate sense of self.

During this level major changes in consciousness will occur every 18 to 20 days. Individuals that are unaware or unprepared may experience fear as the illusion of separate self is dissolved. The experience of an expanded state of being free from psychological dominance may be overwhelming for some and result in temporary personal collapse. The recognition of the necessity of divine grace and the cultivation of humility, gratitude and integrity, will be important during this time. The assistance of avatars, masters and teachers will also be essential for many people. Others will intuitively recognise what is happening and simply surrender to the process. Carl Calleman also predicts the end of all hierarchies and governments. If everyone lives in unity and harmony with the Divine, why elect someone to rule them?

It is important to consciously prepare for global enlightenment. It would thus seem wise for all of us to prepare ourselves, beginning today, by immersing ourselves in the cosmic flow of time and in all possible ways seeking to transcend the influence of duality in our thinking, acting and being.

Until Then the time between October 28, 2011 and the Venus transit on June 6, 2012 will be a time of adjustment for humanity, especially for those individuals who were unprepared for the shift in consciousness. This will mark the end of all limitations and cycles. The Mayan calendar will have served its purpose, as will have all other calendars, and beyond this point human beings will be completely free to chart their destiny. Humanity will live in true freedom, joy and peace.

The remaining sacred day during the eight years between the Venus transit in 2004 and 2012 is:

Date: October 28, 2011

Phase: End of Seventh Day

Ruling Aspect and Intention: 13 Sun – Ascension into Divinity

**Organising and participating in group meditations and spiritual awakening processes on this date will contribute to the emergence of a field of intuition and telepathy among human being. This will support recognising the flow of the cosmic time plan with the common focus on enlightenment.

Hey guys, here is a video I am sharing with you of a question and answer session wit one of my greates teachers Sri Bhagavan:) This may also help you understand more about what is happening and how to surrender to it. Enjoy!

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Oct 21, 2011

It’s Time To Listen Now

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Are you listening?

Can you hear your inner wisdom guiding you? Do you feel the guidance from your higher self summoning you to live in accordance with the Divine Plan?

I do.

It’s time to listen. Listen to your innermost self, and listen to whomever is speaking.

They are telling you something. Whether you care about their actual words or not, listen to the way they effect you. Listen to yourself and what comes up for you in these moments. Feel what happens in your body. Are you moved, annoyed, inspired, thinking you know better? Are you connecting with them or are you thinking about yourself? What are they showing you about yourself?

Your responses to others will reveal to you how much compassion you really have, how deeply you can really love, and how willing you are to trust that we are all a reflection of one another.

 How committed are you, to loving and accepting every part of yourself and ever part of others?

As we become more aware of the gifts relationships offer us, we can begin to receive their gifts. It is a blessing to become aware of our lack of compassion, inability to love unconditionally, and to come face to face with our darkest thoughts and deepest fears as they are reflected back to us through an interaction we have with someone else. It is not an opportunity to judge ourselves when these places within us are revealed. No. It’s an opportunity to LOVE ourselves, and to go deeper, to bring light to those places, and to awaken those parts of us that have been sleeping all our lives.

Tonight I feel inspired to invite you to speak to me. What can you teach me about myself? Tell me your story, and how you are coping during this transformational time on the planet. I want to hear you. I am willing to allow your presence and your words to transform me. Thank you in advance.

Sending you so much love and blessings,

Erin

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Oct 20, 2011

Sometimes It’s Better To Love Em From A Distance

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How do you love someone so much and at the same time know it is best to love them from a distance?

This has been one of the most challenging lessons for me. There is a person in my life who I love very much, on many levels, but I know from experience I am better off being honest about my feelings with this person. When I am honest about my feelings, it is always made clear to me that he and I are in two completely different places when it comes to romantic love.

What has been so difficult, is loving this person in more ways than one. I have struggled with my boundaries in our relationship because I want to love unconditionally. However, sometimes we just have to love someone unconditionally without actually engaging with them.

I have struggled so much in the past, but the fog has begun to clear. In the past, I would always end up compromising my own well-being because I thought I “should” be able to love him unconditionally and therefore accept him exactly the way he is. However, I am just now beginning to see and understand that I can absolutely love him and accept him unconditionally without actually having to see him, email with him, or talk to him.

Tonight I am free. I have managed to stay in alignment with my values, to live in integrity, and to continue loving and accepting this person unconditionally. Up to now, I was unable to do what I felt was loving him AND stay in integrity all at the same time. This time was different because I told him I could not see him anymore if nothing had changed, whereas in the past I would’ve tried to make myself be different. I decided to love and accept myself unconditionally as well as him, and instead of trying to be different, I did something different.

I don’t feel the need to explain to him that I will always love him and accept him exactly the way he is. Only I need to know that it’s nothing personal towards him, but that it just doesn’t work for me, and I’m better off to love him from a distance. So that is exactly what I will do.

Please let me know what you are going through. It is an intense time on the planet right now and we are ALL being super confronted in our relationships, at work, with health stuff, etc. You may be experiencing really intense feelings you can’t quite understand and it’s possible you are questioning everything you once believed. It’s ok! You are safe, and just experiencing the same transition we are all experiencing. As we move closer to October 28th, expect even more of this stuff to surface. Be gentle, loving, and kind to yourself and others. Show compassion towards all living things, and stay open to the magical opportunities and possibilities that will be revealing themselves to you each day.

I love you all. Let me know what’s coming up for you!

xoxo E

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Oct 19, 2011

Here’s To Oneness

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Hey guys, man what a commitment this has been…to sit down night after night and find the gold in each day and to express it in words. I do think about this stuff all the time. It’s like every moment I am looking deeper, and finding such abundance in every challenge and triumph.

I am really going through some pretty heavy stuff the last couple days. Although all of it is good, and will ultimately serve my highest good, it feels really confronting and can be exhausting by the end of the day. As much as I have wanted to just climb into bed some nights and skip blogging, I don’t. Even if I write something short and simple, I still do it because I committed to myself, to you, and to blogging consecutively for  21 days. I can happily say that I stick by my commitments these days, rain or shine, and although it’s not always easy, it feels right.

Committment has taught me so much. The fear of it, and ultimately the doing of it. I have discovered that sometimes, the only thing to teach us about committment, is to make commitments and then show up for them no matter what. As we show up over and over, we begin to feel empowered and happy about being the kind of person that follows through on their word. To me this means a lot, because I used to be someone who did not follow through very often with my word. However, sticking by my commitments has taught me that my mind makes things sound a lot worse than they really are. When I take contrary action I actually find so much joy in things I thought were going to be painful. Showing up for yourself and for others creates an esteemable life.

It’s also important not to show up for others expecting certain responses or acknowledgment, because you will never be able to depend on how you affect others or whether or not you are received by them. All we can do is show up for the up in the world as the best version of ourselves we can bring to the table on any given day, and whoever needs us will be there to appreciate us.

I am here each night, as a gentle reminder to be loving and kind to yourself. We are all experiencing intense emotions and are being very confronted by our fears, our relationships, and our beliefs about everything as we move closer to this big shift in consciousness I have been writing about. This is OK. There is nothing to fear. Everything is healing and we are moving into a unity consciousness, where we will bask in more joy, abundance, peace, and love.

Here’s to Oneness.

Namaste,

Erin

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Oct 18, 2011

Summing It Up

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Hey guys. Man, the energies are getting more intense every day. I just finished a long talk and process with a friend and I am exhausted now. It’s also way past my bed time! I just want you to know I am here. It’s October 18th here in Australia, so just  ten more days until the big shift in consciousness. I hope you are preparing for the awesomeness :-)

Ok see you here tomorrow! xo

E

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Oct 17, 2011

What IS Freedom?

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What is freedom?

This question has had me on a pretty wild ride for some time now. I use to think freedom meant having lots of money and cool planes, trains, and automobiles. That would make sense right? I mean those things definitely allow you the freedom to go wherever you want. However, I have discovered that freedom is not something we get from anything external, at least not long-term freedom anyway.

I have avoided many things because of my fear of loosing my freedom as well. It seems as though most of my life has been designed by my strong intention to BE FREE, and therefore ANYTHING that threatened that was nowhere I would be found. Things like intimate relationships, working for someone else, and anything that gave me any kind of rules or expected any level of commitment, all fell into the “RED ALERT AVOID” category.

But ask yourself…What does being free mean to you?  We seem to associate lots of money with lots of freedom, but some of the wealthiest people I know are imprisoned by either a fear of loosing their money, their need to have more than everyone they know, the way they have defined themselves by the amount of money they have, a fear that no one really loves them for them, the huge burden and responsibility and guilt they carry to provide and take care of everyone, or an insecurity and semi-paranoia that everyone wants something from them.

What’s interesting is, we all seem to carry around fears, and we are attached to certain things consciously or unconsciously that on some level we are terrified to not have available because we associate it with a loss of freedom.

I believe that freedom is the result of feeling free all the time.

If feeling free is not unconditional, such as a place we can access within ourselves regardless of our environment, who we are with or not with, and regardless of our circumstances, then that means  our freedom is conditional. If freedom is conditional, well that isn’t really freedom is it? How can you be free if your freedom is dependent on this, that, or the other?

For me, I have always been so afraid to live in a place with no access to a gym, let alone without having a car. These two things are huge safety nets for me. Funnily enough, on my quest for freedom, I have manifested a temporary situation where I am nowhere near a gym, and have no car.

When I decided to move to Australia, I knew I was on a mission to find my freedom. I also knew that my decission meant I was in for a wild ride. At this point in my journey I have just come to accept that what we want will come as a result of working through everything that holds us back from having what we want. I’m at a point now where I just have fun with it.

When I decided to move from Sydney to The Mornington Peninsula, where I am currently living and working in one of the most beautiful, nurturing, and magical places I’ve ever seen, I knew I would be walking into a situation where I’d be living and working at a retreat center, surround by nature, with no gym and no car. These were the two main thing that almost had me turn down an opportunity of a lifetime.

There comes a point in time when we get a chance to say yes or no to an opportunity that feels so in alignement with us, yet is laced with all our deepest fears. This is when I repeat the mantra “What’s in the way IS the way.”

If we can identify these opportunities, and say yes, we will get everything we want and more than we could’ve ever asked for. If we don’t see the opportunity, it will pass us by, and hopefully we will get another chance down the road when we are more ready.

I was ready to say YES to this opportunity, and to deal on my fears one day at a time as I moved through the transition. Right before I made the final flight from Sydney to Melbourne, I went to visit my grandmother. I went for a run one morning, and I stumbled across a park. I wasnt really feeling like running but I was feeling like working out. I knew I wouldn’t have a gym where I was going so figured I’d better start finding an alternative soon, so I looked around at the park with curious eyes, and my creative juices just began flowing rapidly through my body. Within minutes I was using rocks, hills, benches, poles, railings, and having one of the best workouts of my life! At the same time I was having SO MUCH FUN. I felt like a kid again, running up hills, jumping off rocks, pulling myself up on railings, climbing trees, and more.

A small boy about 4 years old saw me and came over. He seemed to love what I was doing so he started copying me and then began to show me his ideas. At first, I’ll admit, he annoyed me, ha ha…but within a few seconds I was able to see he was a blessing and showed up for a reason. So I began to watch him and listen to him.

I began getting all these ideas, about how important it is for adults to play like children, to let out their free-spirit, and to just have fun with movement again…just like kids do.

I had been wanting to create my first workshop to teach at the retreat, and that day the creation of my newest workout method and upcoming retreat was born. It’s called Transformative Playground – where adults can be kids again AND transform their bodies and lives a s result.

So, how does all of this tie into freedom? Stay with me…I’m taking you there now…

When I got to the retreat I was newly inspired by my innovative outside workout, and immediately began assessing the property. A couple of days after my arrival, I was having one of those amazing workouts once again and feeling so refreshed that I was no longer dependent on a gym, a certain park, a country or city, or certain equipment to get my weekly workouts.

Today, once again, I took off for a morning run in a direction I’d never gone. What do ya know…I ran by a children’s’ playground. Literally, it had slides, monkey bars, bridges, the works! So I cut my run short and went to PLAY! I did lunges in the field, swung across the monkey bars, did push-ups on the wobbly bridges, pulled myself up on the railings, and even slid down the slide :-) It was a blast! I was making up new intuitive movements on the fly…just like kids do. I also had forgotten my water bottle, and of course…there was a faucet at the playground!

You see, being dependent on a gym means I am bound to places and circumstances that have the availability of a gym. I want to feel free ANYWHERE I am. Therefore, I am realizing, if we just let go of the things that imprison us, we open ourselves up to the abundance of resources available in every circumstance.

I was told by my life coach once, “Erin, if what you think you need isn’t available, then you must not need it. Look around for what is there with the intention of finding what you need.” 

If we want real freedom, real abundance, real connection, real joy, real peace, real intimacy, we must be willing to use what resources we have available. As we stop focusing on achieving these things by way of collecting attachments with the belief that we will not have what we want without this, that, or the other, then we will find those things within ourselves.

Freedom is an inside job. Traveling the world to a bunch of different places does not represent freedom if you do not feel free. Afterall everywhere you go, there you are. Freedom comes to those who are aware of its depth. Freedom is a result of learning to be flexible and to feel ok in any situation.

When we are truly free, then nothing or no one can take that away from us.

Look, I am a work in progress, but this new understanding of freedom has opened up my world to so much. I hope you will explore what freedom means to you as well.

Hugs and Love,

Erin

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Oct 16, 2011

Checking In

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That's Me, connecting to the free-spirited, wildlife inside:)

Hi guys. Tonight I am just checking in. I’m only checking in with you briefly, because as I check in with myself, I feel tonight I need to rest. I am going to take a nice hot shower, meditate, read, and doze off into a deep slumber.

I just got back from a long day at work, building the internal and external systems and environment here at The Hummingbird Eco Retreat, my new home and workplace for the time being. Then we all took off to the beach, to run around and connect to our wild, free-spirited energy, and just played and laughed like a bunch of kids. I have had a good day, and now it’s time to call it one.

I just wanted to show up here, as I have promised you, and myself, 21 days of consecutive blogging as we prepare for this amazing shift in consciousness that awaits us on October 28th, yay! (See my previous 8 blogs)

I would love to know how things are going for you. Please reply to this post or shoot me an email at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com.

Love and Light to you all!

Namaste,

E

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Oct 15, 2011

What’s Your G-O-D?

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I have been extremely aware lately, of this need for us to connect to something bigger than ourselves and what meets the eye. Whether you call it God, Divine Energy, Expanded Self, Higher Self, Higher Power, The Universe, The Cosmos, it doesn’t really matter. The truth is, we all reach a point where we think…I just can’t do this alone, I need help. What we tend to do is scramble around looking for people and using substances that do not have the power to help us, and eventually we grow tired, bitter, afraid, and defeated by our “lack of success.”  As a result we begin to feel unsafe, uninspired, and disconnected from everyone and everything. Some may even feel a deep sense of loneliness and abandonment.  However, no one has abandoned us but ourselves. We are only alone, because we refuse to seek real connection.

Why do we make it so hard on ourselves when the help we long for is only a prayer, a letter, or a conversation away?

There comes a point in my work with my coaching clients, when I know I have to begin talking about this subject. This can be such a tricky topic because up till now, there have been so many different beliefs, and people have literally killed and died to defend their beliefs.

However, true healing cannot happen until we accept Divine Guidance into our hearts and into our lives. Lately, my clients are arriving at the next phase of their healing and it is beautiful to watch them explore this idea of creating a God of their own understanding and deepening that relationship.

Whatever your beliefs are, I am not trying to disagree or change them. I think anyone who has a strong connection to a God of their own understanding, has an unlimited resource that those who do not have this connection are cut off from. Unfortunately, until we develop this deep, internal relationship, with a power greater than ourselves, we will remain disconnected from its support, love, and guidance. That said, it’s important to note, the Divine will never cut us off, but we cut ourselves off by refusing to surrender and to seek its help.

For me, I was always wanting so badly to believe there was some cosmic power that heard my prayers, who was watching out for me, and who I could rely on to save me. As much as I longed to believe this, I always had many doubts about whether or not it was really something worth having faith in. What if I believed and it let me down? What if I found out I was wrong and God either didn’t exist or somehow forgot about me?

What has helped me, and what I invite my clients to do as well, is to write out a description of what their perfect God would be like. I tell them to get as descriptive and detailed as they want.

My God loves me no matter what, listens to me whenever I seek its listening, lets me sware and get angry at it if I need to, sings me lullabies and keeps me company when I can’t fall asleep at night, speaks to me in words and ways that I can understand, grants me the courage I need to carry out my highest passions and purpose, and reminds me that I must always do my part. My God is gentle, kind, but has taught me that it only helps those who help themselves.

If I do my part, which is staying open, willing, and humble, and I ask for help, then I am granted the strength, power, energy, and resources I need to accomplish my soul’s mission in this life.

My God teaches me about love, intimacy, freedom, compassion, and grants me more and more awareness around who and what I really am.

What I am to my God is just as important as what it is to me. For my God I am a humble servant. I always show committment and willingness to heal, open my heart even more, and to do what I can to make a positive impact on the lives of others. For my God I am a friend, a lover, a child, and a messenger. This brings great pleasure and honor to my life.

What does your God do for you? What do you need from it? Perhaps you are angry or disappointed. Can you allow yourself to voice that to it, and ask for help?

What are you doing for your God? Are you expecting answers and results but unwilling to show your devotion, love, humility, surrender, and gratitude? Are you criticizing it for the very things you are not doing? Are you willing to let go of your little plans to receive the gifts it has for you? Can you be its vessel? Do you want to be?

I sometimes write a letter, hit my knees and say a prayer, or have an actual conversation. Many times I have said or written things like, “God, I am really upset. I feel so angry and frustrated. I want so badly to believe you are there, listening, responding, and taking care of me. I want so badly to know at my innermost awareness, that you exist and that I exist far beyond what I can see, but I am growing weary. I am forgetting the truth I think, and I am doubting whether or not you really are the truth. I am having a crisis of faith. Today it just feels like everything sucks and I am resentful at you for not giving me better circumstances. I am willing to see this differently, so if you are there, please grant me a new perception. Please help me. I will listen and I will follow, but you must show up and guide me. I cannot do this by myself, and I am nothing without you. Therefore, please show me that I am not nothing and give me a sign so clear that I cannot deny it. Please deliver it in a way that I am able to understand and accept into my experience. Thank you, I love you, Amen.”

Most of the time, by the end of that letter or conversation/prayer, I am already in a different state, and all of a sudden I begin to feel a presence inside of me and all around me. If I weren’t willing, I may miss this presence, but I stay open and willing to feel everything after I ask for help. Why ask for help if you aren’t going to accept help when it arrives? I stay open and willing to see everything after I ask to be shown a sign. Therefore, I begin to get bits of information, signs, insights, synchronicities, and an overall greater sense of calm, peace, safety, love, and inspiration.

This is a powerful process, to create a God of your own understanding and then to remember to turn to it every time you need help. It’s so simple, yet so many of us don’t think to do it. I am curious about how it may affect us as a collective consciousness, and as a world if we all did this on a daily basis. Why don’t we start by applying in our own lives first.

The time is NOW. We are being called to rise to our highest form of human existence. This BIG Shift I have been writing about lately, is reminding us that we are Spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. We have an invitation to awaken into a new way of thinking, being, and living. Are you coming or not?

Let me know what’s going on for you. You can leave me comments here, or email me at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com

I love you,

Erin

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Oct 14, 2011

Where There Is Discomfort, There Is Power

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I have decided to talk more about this whole idea of reclaiming our power. It seems to be coming up everywhere. On my coaching calls with clients, in my own life, and I have this sense, that it is definitely a collective experience and a sign of the times.

Once upon a time, it was explained to me, that I was experiencing discomfort, because hiding behind the discomfort was my personal power, or my spiritual power. I didn’t totally get it,  but I knew it resonated with my body. It FELT like the truth. I don’t know about you, but truth is not something I can tell by the way it sounds, truth is something I know by how it feels.

When we feel the uncomfortable feelings such as fear around money, frustration about our circumstances, being annoyed by a friend who is always late, fear about running out of time or energy, lack of acceptance around our pyshical body, feeling as though we don’t have enough or aren’t enough, or can’t create what we really want, what is really happening is we are being shown where we have hidden our power. If we are conscious of this, we can do something about it. If we aren’t, we become it’s prisoner.

Where there is discomfort, there is power.

 For example, today I was annoyed at a friend who was late. I almost went here about it: “How selfish is she, and how dare her, and does she not respect my time, and what a %#@!” But I didn’t. Instead, I caught myself, and observed and felt the discomfort. Then, with consciousness I asked myself where I had hidden my power in this. A few moments later, I realized her being late was triggering my fears around running out of time,  feeling like I am not able to have what I want, feeling as though I have no power or control, and feeling like I was not being respected.

Once I realized that my power was hiding behind those fears, I was able to go to those fears and say “You are not running out of time, because there is an infinite amount. You are saying you can’t have what you want, but is there anything else you’d rather be doing right now? (The answer was no). You are saying you have no power, but you can decide right now that your power is not really gone, you have just hidden it. Is she really disrespecting you, or is she just overloaded? Ok, I recognize I have enough. I am abundant, I am blessed. All my needs are met, I am deeply loved an cared for, and there is no where else I’d rather be right now.”  Then, I felt a sense of ease come over me.

We cannot always change our circumstances right away, but we CAN change the way we feel about them. As we change our feelings about them, then our circumstances change. This is the difference between not having power, and having power. I have been healing from a huge belief, passed down for generations, that there is not enough. So I now welcome any opportunity to help me practice shifting that belief and seeing that there is absolutely always MORE than enough of everything for everyone.

Another example, is an email I got from a friend. He and I have a bit of history and I almost always feel a loss of power when he shows up in my experience. His email was about coming to visit. I was not sure how I felt about it or about him, so I sat with it for a while. I began to observe that my power was not in the not responding to his email, it was going to come from responding to it, and being ok regardless of his reaction to it. As I speak my truth with everyone, I gain power by learning through repetition, that only the people I want in my life stick around when I live my truth. The rest fall away, and that is ok by me:)

Are you experiencing a loss of power? What is coming up for you lately. It’s an intense time, but there has never been the kind of energetic support for transformation as there is right now. The time is NOW.

Let me know what’s going on for you. You can reply to this post or email me at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com.

Love and Light,

Erin

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Oct 13, 2011

This Isn’t About Him, Her, or Them…It’s About YOU

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One night, in a deep meditative state, I heard a voice from deep within in me, yet at the same time all around me say, “This isn’t about him, it’s about you.”

I was in the throes of healing from heartbreak. The guy I’m speaking of is one of those soul connections, you know the kind where you get knocked off your feet the first time you see the person? Yep, I was a goner from minute one.

This person has influenced my life in profound ways. He himself hasn’t done this consciously to my knowledge, however my response to him was what ultimately delivered so much healing to my heart, to my body, and to my life. He did not want the same things I wanted from our relationship, but sitting here now, I understand that it was best for things to happen the way they did.

Here are three of the many things I have learned from this:

1) It’s never what you think it’s about. When someone crosses your path, what you feel and experience has nothing to do with them. It’s all about you. Everything they call up in you is their gift to you, but how you handle it from there is your gift to yourself, to them, and ultimately to the world. Remember, this isn’t about him (or her), it’s about you. Take care of YOU, and that is always what’s best for everyone in the bigger scheme. If someone is meant to be there, they will remain standing in the end.

2)  As we become willing to always turn within and look at ourselves when we feel hurt, jealous, insecure, lonely, resentful, etc, we get to find freedom from these feelings. If you are blaming someone or something else for your suffering, you better get use to suffering. Suffering transforms when we choose to respond to our feelings from a place of curiosity and eagerness to learn and awaken. Then, everyone and everything becomes our teacher and instead of being trapped in victim mode, we become grateful for the experiences, and we become courageous warriors who use everything to teach us more about ourselves. As a result, we bring light to the places within us where we lack self acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and love, and we begin to accept, feel compassion for ourselves and others, experience a release from resentment as we see our part in things (even if our part is just that we are refusing to let go of old stories), and finally we begin to get a real sense of what it feels like to have self-love and a kind of real trust that knows we are being taken care of, even if we can’t see it, understand it, or explain it.

3) When we speak to others, respond to others, or share our time and energy with others, it’s important to observe ourselves and be aware if we are speaking and doing things with an intention of eliciting a specific response or outcome, rather than just wanting to be real and present with them. As we begin to observe our needs for controlling and manipulating circumstances and situations, to get certain results, we can then feel the feelings of fear that drive us to do that to begin with. For me, when I do that, it’s because I am afraid if I just be myself, vulnerable, honest, and just plain me, that I will find out the person on the receiving end thinks I’m boring, average, not cool, nothing special, and not someone they feel the need to go out of their way to spend time with and to love. The real fear is of myself, and not wanting to look at my needs for others approval as a result of not having my own approval. If I am conscious of this, I can just go right to the root of my fear, and begin to work through it by sending love and acceptance and approval to myself. If I am unable to do this, I can at least ask for help. When I have those things, I no longer need it from anyone else, and therefore I am free to respond from a neutral place, unattached to any result.

As you observe your fears, it is helpful to know there is power there for you if  can bring enough consciousness to it to shift. All suffering is just an opportunity to reclaim our power. As you begin to notice and bring awareness to your fears and suffering, you can consciously choose NOT to respond from them, and therefore as you respond from a neutral space, unattached to the outcome, you start to transform yourself, your relationships, and your life.

I don’t now about you guys, but I am flying pretty high the last couple days. As I keep sharing with you, there is a BIG shift in the collective consciousness on the 28th of October so the  days leading up to it are pretty juicy. I have given you a daily process you can be doing, to help support your transition into this next phase of the human experience. We are in for some yummy goodness! Life is gonna get really cool! However, you may be feeling a lot of intense emotions right now, and that is completely normal. Big Shifts bring up BIG Sh*t!

Ok, that’s all for today. How are you going? Please fill me in here, or shoot me an email at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com if you’d like to share anything with me :-)

Love you all!

xo E

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Oct 12, 2011

Ah…Relationships: When Is It Time To Call It Quits For Good?

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Hey mates! Ha ha…I had to give you a little Aussie-ism as I am hearing them all long day these days:) Today is day 5 of the 21  days of blogging to transformation I have been talking about. Boy are things speeding up and life gets more interesting every day. How are things going for you? Are you doing the process I suggested?

I have recently had someone re-emerge in my life. He kind of does this. He appears, disappears, appears, and disappears. For a long time this relationship was a GOLD MINE for me because it really brought up all my stuff around fear of intimacy, lack of power, lack of self-worth and self-respect, lack of boundaries, and lack of values that align with integrity. The last time I saw this person was almost a year ago and now he’s emailing me about visiting. What do I say???

I have been meditating on this one for a couple of days now, and the message I keep getting is to let him go. I keep hearing this higher-than-self voice gently saying, “Erin, tell him where you’re at, and accept that it is time to let him go. You have learned all you can learn, and healed all you can heal from this relationship.”

The truth is, I really am a different person than I was when this guy came into my life. I believe we both played a very special, very important role in each other’s lives, but I think there really does come a point in time when we have to choose something different for ourselves. The temptation is to say, “Yeah, come visit and let’s have some serious fun!” However, from past experiences, I know where that will and WON’T get me. It’s not a matter of just not taking things so seriously and just having some fun, because believe me I have tried that with this person.

Sometimes, it’s just time to team up with integrity, to put all our money on something better, and to place the bet. Either way it’s a risk, but at least when we try something different, we have a chance of getting a better result. Otherwise , we will just keep getting the same results over and over. I don’t know what I want from this relationship. I used to think I wanted committment, or to at least explore what it would be like to be together, in monogamy. Now, I can’t say I feel that way about him anymore, so I have to wonder…what kind of room does that give us? Friends? What kinds of ”friends” would we really be? I’m not certain he meets my friendship standards to be honest.

Number one priority in, or out of relationships, is to love yourself. Know your boundaries, your values, and what you are worth and NEVER compromise that. TRUST that when you align with your highest feelings and values, things will turn out for the best. My mother always said, “You can’t do the wrong thing with the right guy.” (Or girl,  guys:) I believe the same goes for friends. If we are authentic, honest, and vulnerable, the right people will remain standing in our lives, and the rest will fall away.

We must live in integrity, and let the right person drop into that space. If he or she isn’t dropping into your space and rising to the event to be with you…it’s time to graciously say “Thank you, I love you, I wish you all the best, but I must clear my space for someone better for me.”

Today was a very cool day for me. I have been making up super creative workout using trees, logs, hills, steps, and railings, and getting amazing workouts as a result. I am finding such freedom in not NEEDING a gym to get a workout in. I am realizing I do not NEED nearly as much as I once thought. I am discovering that freedom IS when you can feel happy, joyous, and free, wherever you are, under any and all circumstances, no matter who you are or are NOT with. I am finding true freedom, and for that I give thanks.

Please drop me a line or email me at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com to share what you are going through. Let me support you however I can as we all grow through this shift together!

Love Always,

Erin

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Oct 11, 2011

Preparing For A Big Shift Brings Up BIG Sh*t

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Hey guys. It is a bit after midnight here, so I am going to try to write a short blog so I can do my meditation and get into bed:)

As I have been talking about in the last few posts, there is a big shift happening in the collective consciousness on October 28th. This is a beautiful thing to be excited about, not anything to fear at all!

Have you been feeling things at a much more intense level lately and wondering what the heck is going on with you? Are you coming face to face with your fears, your old stories and patterns, and low vibrational habits that no longer serve you? Perhaps you are finding that there are certain relationships in your life that are totally triggering you, and you are having to look at yourself in a way that feels very uncomfortable. 

As we all prepare for a big shift (because whether we are conscious of it or not, our bodies ARE aware of it), then our BIG sh*t starts to get called up and kicked up. This is again, a good sign! Although it can feel really yucky and uncomfortable, we are actually purging things like our old ideas, lack and limitation, fears around intimacy, our beliefs around money, etc. Literally, and many of us ARE aware of this, we are being stretched and pushed to go back to the root of certain feelings and fears, so that we can make a different choice about what it means and therefore no longer have our lives be run by them.

This is the shift in consciousness that is currently happening. Why? Because what we have been doing, the beliefs we’ve had, and the way our structures were built (within us and without), are not working anymore. Therefore, the walls must come down. Life, structure, and beliefs, as we have formerly known them, are changing.

I don’t know about you, but I am getting super confronted DAILY, by my beliefs about love, faith, and what is possible for me. I am being put into situations, for example not having a car right now, that are forcing me to be vulnerable, face my fears about loosing freedom, and to find a deeper sense of self and a stronger ability to trust that I AM being taken care of. I get so afraid that I will not have what I want when I want it.

I am dependent on others for rides temporarily, and so I am at the mercy of their schedules. This throws me into a freak out mode, and I all of a sudden start wanting to go places just because I feel like I can’t. Then I ask myself  ”Erin, if you had a car right now, would you really want to go to the post office?” The answer is usually “No.” So that tells me that it’s not about wanting to go somewhere, it’s about me needing to process through my deep inner fears around loosing my freedom, and I am much better off going to my room to get sttill and give my self time to BE with my feelings, then I am to go to the post office. In fact, many of us run from our feelings, and I literally am seeing myself try, but have manifested a situation where I can not run away any more. I HAVE to BE with my feelings because there is no way for me to go anywere else!

I have always wanted to experience true freedom, true abundance, true joy and peace. Well, this is my opportunity. As we work through our ideas about what freedom, joy, abundance, and love really mean, we discover that they are things only attainable from the inside out.

I am finding my freedom, learning about abundance, and finally surrounded by people and circumstances that call me to rise up and to become an even better human being. Tonight, I am grateful. I am grateful for this long day, for the run and swim at the beach with my friend who dragged me there when I didn’t want to go, and grateful for the Hot Springs where my roommates and I went to unwind, decompress, and talk about our fears and troubles we are having in our relationships with one another. I am learning about true trust, intimacy, unconditional love, and seeing that everything I have ever wanted is unfolding right now. All I have to do is slow down so I can see it and enjoy every minute of it.

What has been coming up for you lately? Please share with me what you are working through. You can leave me a message here or email me at erinlanahanmethod@gmail.com.

Love to you,

Erin

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Oct 10, 2011

Reclaiming Your Power

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Good day, or if you are in Australia…Good Evening. It is 10:30 pm here and I have had a very long day. Being here at this retreat centre, on The Mornington Peninsula, doing the work I am doing, with the people I am working with, is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful thing  for a couple of reasons. First, it is full of meaning, purpose, and it challenges me daily to expand into new areas and ways of thinking and being. Second, it kicks up all my deepest fears, resentments, lack and limiting beliefs, and is really testing me to look beyond what’s in front of me, to feel my feelings deeply, but to remember that this experience is something I created for only ONE reason. That reason is to reclaim my power back.

As spiritual beings, having human experiences, we have hidden our power on purpose. It’s like a game for our soul, or like watching a movie. The only problem is, sometimes we forget we are playing a game or that we are watching a movie. We are such powerful creators, that most of us have actually have fooled ourselves into believing all of this is real. This was thew whole point, however…to forget we are all-powerful, and to go on an easter egg hunt to find the golden egg full of our truest essence.

Some of us hid our power behind having no money. Some of us in addiction. Others of us in bad relationships and a fear of intimacy or committment. Then there are those of us (like me ), who have hidden a little bit of power in all those things. The reason why circumstances such as getting fired, or having no car, or getting dumped, or ending up with super open partners, or finding ourselves in abusive situations pop into our experience, is because our power lies within the feelings they call up in us. Most people never really allow themselves to FEEL their feelings. However, these experiences will keep showing up until we do. Our spiritual selves have set this up to recur until we finally get it, because we all have come here to find the prize, the golden egg, the thing we call POWER.

As we feel through our feelings FULLY such as lack, limitation, fear of loosing our freedom, fears of being alone, fears of dying, etc, we will get closer to our power. If we can allow ourselves to feel these things fully AND at the same time remind ourselves none of it is real, then we are well on our way to reclaiming our power. When we get to the point where we can notice these feelings as they emerge, allow ourselves to feel them fully, remind ourselves that our circumstances aren’t really real, and then appreciate our own ability to create something that feels so real even we fell for it, that’s when we become available to receive the power we have hidden from ourselves.

Awareness is power. As we become aware, we awaken. As we awaken into the knowing that our power has been with us all along, then we can reclaim it. By reclaiming it, we are then able to pop anything we want into our experience. We will remember we can create whatever we want, whenever we want. Now how cool would that be???

This is where I am. As I feel the intense feelings throughout any given day, I know too much to let myself get carried away by them. My immediate thought is “I must go process this, and I must feel these feelings fully so I can find the power I have hidden in this.”

The more I do this work, the richer my life becomes. I think you will find the same thing happen for you.

Let me know what’s happening for you and how you are getting though it.

Lots of support from me to you!

Namaste,

Erin

P.S. just another short video clip I shot, to stay connected with you as we travel this journey we call life! xo

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Oct 8, 2011

Prepare For Transformation- 21 Days Of Blogging

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Hey everyone. I am writing this on my blog, today, because today marks a very special time on the planet. On October 28th, we will experience a big shift in the collective consciousness, and today, October 8th, 2011, is day ONE of the 21 days leading up to this special transformation. I will be writing a little something reflective EVERY day, starting now, for 21 days. I hope you will join me here, and in your own personal journey. You too can commit to reading something inspirational, journaling, and giving thanks on a daily basis, for the next 21 days, to prepare your minds, bodies, and spirits for transformation :-) If you want to go deeper however, I have written out a 21 day program at the end of this post for you!

I am currently living on 72 acres of National Trust Land in Australia. I have just moved from Sydney, to The Mornington Peninsula, to be a part of a project I feel inspired to participate in. It always blows my mind the way we can end up in places, doing things, that nothing BUT a power greater than us could’ve possibly planned for us. I know I most certainly couldn’t have planned my circumstances as they are to date. Just a few short months ago, I had NO IDEA I would be right here, right now.

I just arrived here at the Hummingbrid Eco Retreat Centre, where I will be a workshop facilitator and the Health and Communications Manager. I figure it’s the perfect time to get up on my blog DAILY, to record my experiences as they unfold here, and to do whatever I can to help prepare myself, and you, for this amazing transformation on October 28th.

Lets face it, we have all heard of these so-called BIG days, such as “the millenium”, “twenty-twelve,” etc, and have allowed ourselves to get all hyped up, only to see nothing change. However, more often than not, change is not something we can see, at least not at first.

Change is something that starts within us, and as we change on the inside, the world around us will mirror such shifts.

October 28th will bring about greater awareness, an awakening of sorts, and many of us will begin to experience life in a very different way. As these shifts occur within us, we will begin to notice more peace, more joy, more compassion, and a greater understanding of how we are all connected. As a result, we will acquire an intuitive sense about why we should really do everything we can to create love not war, and therefore use our time and energy to support healing rather than contributing to suffering. As the wars within us come to an end, so too will the wars in the world follow suit.

If you would like to join me on this 21 day challenge, here is a basic program you can follow. Don’t worry if you cannot start today (as I do realize I am in Australia and many other countries are heading to bed right now). Also, don’t worry about being perfect. This is about progress…not perfection. Just start as soon as you can. Remember, this is not something to feel you have to do, but instead something you get to do if you choose to :)

From October 8-28th:

Morning (best to this before breakfast, best around 6am):

GRATITUDE

Express Gratitude to

1) Ancestors

2) Parents

3) Spouse

4) Brothers and Sisters

5) Children

6) Friends

7) God or a Higher Power of your own understanding

Intent: Set an intention for the day. You can now pray or ask the Universe for healing  in the areas of yourself where you feel fear and disconnected from nature and others. Ask for awakening, and to experience true Oneness and a sense of inner peace, love, and joy.

Express thanks and gratitude to God, or the Universe, or the cosmos, or to Mother Nature. In other words, give gratitude to a Higher Power of your own understanding.

Afternoon (Best at noon)

Good Intention Meditation:

1) Close your eyes, and get quiet and still. Think of 10 people to send love and light to. Really feel this love and light in your body, and imagine it filling up your heart. Then send this love and light from your heart to 10 different people, animals, or places. You can choose as many people, places, or things as you want to send this to, as long as you send to at least 10.

2) Put your left hand on your heart, right hand on your belly. Send love and light to yourself, into your very own body. Really feel yourself receiving this self-love from your very own hands.

3) Give thanks to yourself, to your loved ones, and to a higher power of your own understanding. Give yourself a big hug. Seriously.

Evening (Before or After dinner, best at 6pm)

CONTEMPLATION

Contemplate the following:

1) If you do not accept yourself, either your body, physical appearance, or any of the quality in you, become aware of that and accept yourself.

2) The incidents where you got hurt by somebody. Be with that pain and forgive them.

3) Contemplate the incidents where you hurt others. Be with those feelings and responsibility, and seek forgiveness from them through silence. (You can imagine a conversation with them if it helps.)

4) Pray to a higher power of your own understanding to heal all your pains and then put your left hand on your heart and your right hand on top of your left hand, and feel yourself being made whole again. Feel the healing happening. Focus on what love feels like inside of you.

5) Pray for your friends and family members.

6) Express Gratitude to your Higher Power.

General Things To follow on these 21 days as we prepare for transformation:

1) Have Good Thoughts. Think good things about the planet and about others. Pray for their wellness. If you get any negative thoughts, just become aware of it.

2) Speak Good Words. Speak nice auspicious, kind words. Avoid using words or language that is hurtful to others. This will bring about good Karma for you:)

3) Do Good Deeds. Try to help others. Be of service in any way you can. Even the smallest of helpfulness to someone or something else, makes a very LARGE difference. Avoid doing things that will hurt others. 

Ok…see you here tomorrow!

Love and Light,

Erin xoxo

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Sep 14, 2011

INSIGHT Into Fear and Adventure

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Here's My Most Recent Accomplishment! :-)

Hey everyone! How are you?

I have been really consumed with getting settled and adjusted here in Sydney, Australia. Man, I must admit, there have been ups and there have been downs. I knew this would be the case before I ever left the States. I think there is something in me that craves this sort of “being kicked out of the nest” feeling, where all comforts we once had are removed. It has really challenged me to put my beliefs to the test. I have been confronted with all my deepest fears and insecurities, and although some days are almost paralyzing, at the same time, I am working THROUGH these core beliefs and feelings.

When we work through our fears, we gain more strength, courage, and trust in ourselves and in the greater plan unfolding in our lives. This is just the way I choose to live, and there is nothing wrong with choosing not to work through your fears.

Coming to a new country has pretty much removed everything physical from my life, that I never even knew defined me as much as they did…until they were gone. I gave up my car, my house, my furniture, my job, my some of my clients, and the comfort zones I had such as Whole Foods, and my local cafe’s and gyms. I did this for the sake of experiencing a greater sense of myself, and to discover even more of my purpose. By getting lost, once again, in the deep-sea of fears and insecurities that were lying dormant within me, I am embracing the journey towards finding a greater sense of who and what I am, and what my life is really about.

I am learning that humility is one of the greatest things to embrace in life, and that staying humble will empower me to allow and receive new ideas that my pride may have blocked from me.

I am also really having to implement this idea of surrendering “my plan” to a power greater than myself, and trusting that if I let go of what “I” want, I will actually give myself a greater chance and opportunity to discover what I didn’t even know I wanted. This opens the door for possibility beyond my imagination.

Trust has been another great teacher of mine thus far, because I became aware of how much I doubted and lacked faith that if I really let go of my ideas for my life, that it would make way for the real me to emerge. I am still practicing this and learning from this on a daily basis, and it isn’t always easy.

At the end of the day, I am happy. I may be scared, confused, sitting in the vast unknown, and feeling utterly undefined, but I am happy. I know that these are the very feelings and experiences that have the power to transform me, as I commit to the willingness to keep trudging my way through them.

“We must lose ourselves, to find ourselves.” Today I may feel lost, but I also know I have gotten lost on purpose…for the sake of being found.

I want to share with you, a huge accomplishment for me. I was recently published in INSIGHT Magazine, Australia’s #1 Empowering Lifestyle Magazine. It is such an honor to watch all my efforts to follow my heart, although not always easy, manifest into physical proof that following my heart is the right thing to do for me. Funnily enough, that is the name of the article INSIGHT published of mine. 

 I just want to thank all of you, for traveling along with me, and for sharing your ups and downs with me as well. It is an honor and a pleasure to connect with you here. Please leave any questions and comments you have for me, just below this post:) You can also share this via Facebook or Twitter, if you feel it may benefit anyone you know.

You can also see more of INSIGHT Magazine, Septemeber Issue, byt picking it up at your local news stand, or visiting www.Insightmagazine.com.au.

Big hugs, and Be well,

Love,

Erin

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Aug 17, 2011

Turn Your Fears Into The Strength That Paints Your Life

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I have pondered what I was going to write about, as my first post from Sydney, Australia, since the day I arrived. As a writer, I think it’s natural to find a message in just about everything that happens in life, and to then get caught up in delivering it perfectly. It is however, a beautiful thing, and such a gift when we learn to do that for ourselves. That is,  to find a message, a lesson, strength, insight, awareness, and a new tool for living, in all the little challenges we face each day.

So much has been happening on this journey, in such a small amount of time, I kept thinking, “where do I begin” and “how can I possibly express and share my experiences with my readers in the most effective way.” Well, the answer I came up with was….”JUST BEGIN.” Afterall, this is only one article, and one of many opportunities to write and share my thoughts and experiences with you:)

One teaching I have received as I have walked my path in life, is that of living life authentically. This word is one we tend to hear about often, but do you ever stop and really explore it, and what it means for you, for your life, and for your unique expression?

Many years ago, when I began working with my Life Coach, I was struggling with my career path. I have always had a love-hate relationships with Personal Training, because it constantly challenges me to find ways to work in my industry that feel supportive of my deepest intentions and beliefs about what Fitness really means to me and how it can play a role in healing people’s Spirits and lives. Tracy said to me “Erin, if you could do this job in a way that was unique to your expression of life and fitness and what you believe about its healing powers, how would that look for you? How might that change the way you design people’s workouts and how you speak to them about their own wellness and the choices that they make?”

When Tracy asked me these questions, I felt fear, but at the same time, liberation. I had never thought about it this way. I had never considered the option of really creating my own expression of health, wellness, fitness, and life skills. This was how my journey really began to evolve and as a result, I got to discover more and more of my authentic self and how that plays a role in the world.

When I chose to make this move to Sydney, Australia, after building a life in Los Angeles, California for the last 7  years, I knew it would come baring many challenges, and it would require more strength and courage from me than I was currently accessing. This is exactly what attracted me to making this move, for as much as I feared, what I wanted was a much greater pull than my fears. I wanted to experience true transformation, in a way I had not previously been ready for. The last seven years of my life were preparing me for this move, and I know that in my bones. I did not, and still don’t, know exactly how this will all unfold. However, I know that when we remain committed to our process and to the journey, and stay with it no matter what fears try to yank us off the path, that there is pure goodness waiting on the other side for us. Well…I want that pure expression of goodness as me and my life, so here I am.

I believe we all crave expansions, expression, to have a voice, to feel heard, to feel loved and accepted, and to know we are validated. Well, my attempts at achieving all of these things taught me, that I cannot go anywhere else to receive these gifts, but inside of myself. I now understand that challenges, change, confronting fears, and stepping into new places and roles that require new levels of strength and courage, are all avenues for us to access our inner selves, and that ultimately lead us to a place of more self-love and compassion, forgiveness, healing, self-respect, self-esteem, and the kind of  inner joy that is unwavering regardless of external circumstances.  THIS is why I do things like move to Sydney, Australia to embrace a completely different and new experience.

It is different here in ways I did not expect, and not so different in the ways I did expect. None of this is good or bad. It just is what it is. It’s funny how just not even knowing how to cross the street anymore, can really make you feel like a newborn baby, feeling everything for the first time. It can send you into a sense of  HOLY SH** or a sense of AWE, but we always get the choice.

Literally I have to check the parked cars, before crossing streets on my morning runs, so I know which way to look for on-coming traffic. I also keep finding myself on the wrong side of the running path, as everyone here does everything on the opposite side of things as Americans. I know I will get use to it, so for now, I am really embracing the childlike energy this keeps me in, as I look to the people around me, to teach me what to do. It challenges me to look outside for guidance, whilst staying completely connected to my own inner guidance to point me in the direction of the right people to ask and places to try.

I have always owned a car. Public transportation was always fascinating to me, but not something that was readily available anywhere I lived. In L.A. it was more accessible than anywhere, but still, that city really isn’t set up well for it. Here, I have been learning to catch buses, and grocery shop without a car trunk to put it all in, and to be creative with the ways in which I get my groceries home. These things all seem so small, but they inspire such BIG change as a result.

This move has required more trust from me than I had available when I got here. So this is where I am now…learning even more about trust. I am exercising a new muscle, the one that keeps me feeling the fear and doing it anyway, willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of discovering more truth and living my life in the best possible way for me. This is the kind of workout that falls under the umbrella of my unique expression and beliefs about what fitness really means ;-)

Fitness is about living a Fit Life. It’s about stepping into uncomfortable situations that reveal our weaknesses to us, so we can make them stronger. Fitness is about nurturing our bodies, minds, and spirits in all the ways we can, by making conscious choices about what we eat, what we think, the words we use, how we treat others, and the way in which we spend our time. Fitness is a method, a way of life, and a philosophy that has the power to support expansion, connection, and to transform the world.

I will have you know, that although I have days that feel scary, and there are decisions I must make that I feel undecided about, and there is so much left in the unknown that it sometimes hurts and gives me a sick feeling in my stomach, I will not give up on myself, I will not give up on this journey, and I will not give up on you.

I invite you all to turn within, to be gentle with yourselves, to breathe deeply, to give yourselves the love and nourishment you deserve, and to allow yourselves to be vulnerable enough to reach out when you just need someone to give you directions, while at the same time staying connected to your truth.

I will be here, asking for directions and watching others cross the street so I learn how. I will be catching buses that may take me to an unknown destination, and I will be getting lost, only to find my way again. I will remain willing, courageous, and vulnerable. I will reach out for help, yet at the same time, I will be checking in with myself, and following my intuition, staying committed to walking this life as the most authentic expression of myself. I hope you are doing the same:-)

Please share your stories, or any questions and comments you may have for me, right here. I absolutely love hearing from you!

Sending you all so much love and light!

xoxo,

Erin

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Jul 28, 2011

Some Final Words Before The Big Departure To Sydney, Australia!

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The time has finally come to make the big move! I wanted to connect with all of you as I await my departure to Sydney, Australia tonight. Thank you for inspiring me, and for walking this path with me! Here some final words as I shoot my last video in America for a while! I will see you from down under next time!

Love and Light To You My Friends!

xo Erin

 

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Jul 27, 2011

Synchronicity: The Signs Will Appear When You’re Open and Aligned

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"When You Follow What Feels Good, Good Happens"

I wanted to share with you a few very cool synchronicities that have happened to me in the last month or two, since I decided to move to Australia (by the way, I officially leave Los Angeles for Sydney, tomorrow at 10:30 pm! ;) .

In case you don’t know what synchronicity means, here is the Wikipedia definition:

Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events, that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance, that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner.

As soon as I began to contemplate the idea of moving I began seeking out guidance and signs from the Universe. I asked to be shown very clear signs that would guide me to making a choice that was in alignment with my highest good. Little things began to happen, like I’d meet people who just got back from there and raved about it, or friends would meet Australians everywhere they went and would report it to me. These signs began to grow and get bigger and even more clear. Therefore, I decided to go for it.

That first week after I decided to commit to the big move to Sydney, there was a computer ad that kept being shown. On the homepage of the desktop of the computer on the ad, was in big letters “AUSTRALIA”  it was a page about booking a flight to Australia, which had nothing to do with the ad itself.

Then a client of mine had to keep rescheduling her appointments because she was working on a big deal for a new client. When she finally came in to see me she said “You’re never going to guess who my new client is.” I said “Who?” She sad “Tourism Australia!” I was blown away. The signs and confirmations just kept flooding in. I got to a point of feeling very safe and secure with my decision.

After a month or so had passed, I began to move into a little bit of fear. My little ego demons started getting louder, and tempting me to side with the belief that I had made a huge mistake. So, I did what I always do. I sought out guidance and insight from a higher power. I asked for some very clear signs to comfort me and help me to know if this move to Oz was still best for my highest good.

About 20 minutes or so, after I sent that request out into the ethers, I went for a long run. On my run, I saw a huge, yellow moving truck. As I ran past it, I looked at the writing on the side of the long truck and it said OZ MOVERS! I had a tearful giggle and kept on running feeling deep gratitude for the very CLEAR sign I got:)

More recently, about a week ago, when visiting my family in Florida, I had another moment of doubt and fear. So, once again I asked for a sign. It wasn’t but a day or two later than I was running on the bridge and ran past a girl wearing an Australian flag tank top that said Australia on it. Once again, I felt deep, tearful joy and gratitude for the clear and quick responses of a Divine Higher Power.

Today, I had just gotten done sharing a little bit of these synchronicities on Facebook, and then began to work on a couple other things. I turned around to the table behind me in the restaurant and asked a woman if she knew the zip code of the West Hollywood location we were in. She didn’t know it. Do you know why??? She’s from Australia!

Synchronicity is something very cool that begins to happen when we are in alignment with our truth, our highest self and greatest good. Synchronicity is Divine confirmation, comfort, and the clarity we get as a result of staying true to ourselves and walking a warriors path of love, healing, expansion, and adventure.

I would love to hear from you and the synchronous moments occurring in your life as well:-) Here’s to your health wellness, and vitality!

Love you!

Erin

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Jul 14, 2011

Small Town Girl From Vero Beach: Zero Or Hero Beach?

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When you look at the world, what do you see?

I have a been a big city girl, living in Hollywood, California for the last 7 years of my life. However, a big city girl is not how my story began. I grew up in Vero Beach, a small town on the East Coast of Florida.

Like anyone who’s been raised in a small town, the small town girl inside me is a piece of my heart that will live on forever.

There is something to be said about growing up in a place that revolves around family, high school football games, homecoming parades, the annual art show, the fireman’s fair, and St. Helen’s Harvest festival.

That’s right, think Varsity Blues, and you will get an idea of the way in which I grew up. Round here, the talk of the town was who’s running for sheriff, homecoming queen, and how the Vero Beach Fighting Indians did at their Friday night football game.

The small town girl inside me is the part of me that loves family, volunteering to be of service to others, getting involved in projects that make a difference, and team work.

However, once I moved out to Los Angeles, California 7 years ago, I had to shed many of the small town qualities that weren’t as cool as I once thought they were.

Here in Vero Beach, once the home of the Dodgers Spring training, we locals tend to find a sense of separation within ourselves and from each other. We are taught that money makes you more important, that those who win prom court and football games are more special, and that living on the beach side and going to private school, is worlds away from living on the main land and attending public school.

We all grow up judging ourselves, judging each other, and sadly, regardless of where we live or how much money we have, we all pretty much end up wondering if we will ever be good enough.  

The last 7 years of my life in Los Angeles, have been 7 of the most awakening years of my life. I came face to face with my demons, and thankfully have achieved resolution with them. Of course I am always a work in progress.

I learned that we can be a Zero, or a Hero, no matter where we are living in the world.

There are many different theories as to how my hometown got its name. However, the Latin to English translation of the word VERO, means: in truth, indeed, to be sure.

ZERO Beach is a bit of an inside joke between the locals here. It’s a common way in which the younger generation locals have referred to this little town. It comes from our experience of having nothing much else to do except socialize in orange groves! However, it’s a perception issue nonetheless.

I pretty much left this famous Indian River Citrus town, when I was 18 years old. I went off to Florida State University, in Tallahassee, FL, and basically never looked back. After I graduated college, I just kept moving west, on a mission to find this small town girl the key to unlock her big city dreams. I have encountered many ups and many downs along the way.

On my path to discovering and manifesting my dreams, I have realized the importance of  love, acceptance, and compassion for self and for others.

I have transformed from a mind and spirit that felt separate and thought in separation terms, to a mind and spirit that feels we are one and thinks in oneness terms. The comparing myself to others and the fears that I was falling behind and losing the game of life began to dissolve. Instead, I recognized that it’s not a competition. Everyone has their path, and journey, and purpose, and we have no idea what anyone else’s journey is about. The small town part of my consciousness, that felt it was US against THEM, vanished.

Now I know it’s just US, working together as ONE.

Over the years, I came home to visit Vero Beach about once a year. For many years I snubbed this town, resenting it for being so “small and boring, and full of small-minded people.” However, as I have evolved and grown up, and shed the judgments and separation I grew up with, I have been able to find so much beauty here this visit.

I have learned to laugh at the gossip and not get involved. I have learned to bite my tongue and smile at the rich old women who want to label me by where I live and where I come from.

I have learned to send love to the people who have hurt me, and to forgive myself and love myself no matter what.

I don’t think of this place as just VERO Beach anymore. I also am no longer comfortable with, or interested in, referring to it as ZERO Beach. In fact I prefer to find the HERO here instead.

We all can decide to be a Zero, or a Hero, no matter we are or where we go. What we see around us is a choice…a perception.  If we find the Hero in our hearts, we will not only find the Hero in our hometowns, but we will find the Hero in the World.

A Zero will sit upon the beach and complain about how noisy the ocean is. A Zero will find ways to be less than or better than everyone else. A Zero will look for what’s wrong, rather than what’s right about people, places, and things. A Zero will form cliques and make efforts to implement separation.

The Hero is not necessarily rich or famous. A Hero will find the love in his or her heart, and will carry that love everywhere he or she goes.

A Hero will seek out ways to help others, because the Hero’s journey is not about getting ahead, but about how to be of service and to contribute to making the world a better place.

A Hero’s heart does not buy into separation, but rather knows we are all equal, and need love, compassion, and acceptance to thrive. A Hero will risk looking a fool if it means it may save someone else.

You are the creator of your experience.

We all get to decide on a daily basis, regardless of where we’re going, where we live, or where we come from, how we want to show up in the world. We CAN shed our judgments  if we want to.

What are you going to be today? Are you going to be a Zero or a Hero?

I would love to here about your journeys, choices, and thoughts. Please leave your questions and comments for me here!

Here’s to your health, wellness, and vitality!

The Divine light within me, humbly bows to the Divine light within you ;-)

xoxo Erin

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Jul 12, 2011

Old Flings Bring Opportunities For New Patterns!

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It’s been exactly one week and three days since I arrived here in my hometown, Vero  Beach, FL. for my 3 1/2 week visit. I am here until July 26th. Then I head back to L.A., and take off to Sydney, Australia July 28th!

Each day here,  I wake up somewhere between 6 and 7 am, head out to the kitchen, and there I greet my dad and step-mom, and our little pug Winnie. We all pour some hot coffee, eat breakfast, and enjoy about an hour together before we all take off in different directions. It’s amazing.

I have been loving my bowl of raw, organic blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and walnuts as of late. Yum!

After breakfast time I either head out for a 5 mile run, which includes  2 miles over the Barber Bridge and back, or I hit the gym. Some mornings I actually choose to take my hot coffee and sit down at my computer and begin to ponder what message I want to share with you next. I must admit…I LOVE to write ;-)

Yesterday something interesting happened. I was connected with an old fling via text. We have a bit of history, as many of us do with people from our home towns! However, timing was never on our side and ultimately I moved on.

However, yesterday he invited me to workout with him and I said yes. After we made a plan to meet up, I just got to feeling funny in my tummy. Something felt off, out of alignment, not supportive of me and the space I want to keep myself living from. I decided to meditate on it for a while, and after an hour of deep breathing and silence, I came to a conclusion.

You see, even though I knew it was most likely just a friendly workout, I wasn’t certain why I wanted to go. I wasn’t able to trust that my intentions were pure. In fact, I decided that there really was no need to see him. I didn’t want to workout, because I had planned for yesterday to be my day off so my body could rest. Therefore, if I went, it was only because I wanted to see HIM, and that equals not good for ME.

I know a bit about what’s going on in his romantic life, so he’s not exactly available. Therefore, like I said, even though it was most likely just going to be a friendly workout, something inside me just didn’t want to go, and didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do.

I have been really clear about wanting to create healthy relationships and declaring to the Universe my expectations in a man.

I finally truly believe that I deserve only the best. I deserve a man who sees me, who appreciates everything about me, and who steps up to the plate and pursues me in a respectful, romantic way. If a man is showing up in my life in any other way than this, then I am must say no thank you (Unless of course we ARE just friends, which this old fling and I really are not, and never were JUST friends).

This is what I know, based on my life experiences:

When we decide to make a different choice than we have in the past, then at that moment we shift.  

If we are conscious about the choices we have made in the past and how they have affected our lives, and we want to create something that feels better than that, then we must be conscious of the choices we make today, and choose diefferently. We must choose only that which supports our optimal health and well-being and all that we feel we deserve.

I knew that working out with an old fling, was an old pattern. He didn’t come after me, he didn’t make a huge effort, in fact I am the one that made it easy for him to invite me. In the past, I have always made things easy for others, especially men. This is because I was too afraid they wouldn’t know I cared, or that I would lose them. Well, yesterday I reminded myself that whatever is mine cannot be lost. Whatever is meant for us, will come for us. So I made a different choice. I cancelled.

It felt hard to do, but a few hours later, and today, I have actually been energized by the choice I made.

Whenever we resist temptation, and instead, align with our highest good and the good of all, we get stronger and begin to feel empowered, guided, and carried.

I just wanted to remind you of the importance of your choices. Remember that your choices are the conversation you have with the Universe. Your choices WILL manifest. If you want to create something that feels better, something that is more in alignment with you, and a life that is lived authentically and with integrity, then make choices that support that. That’s what I did yesterday, and it sure does feel good.

For the record, I have no hard feelings against this old fling of mine. In fact I send him love and wish him well. I hope all his dreams come true and that he gets everything he has ever wanted. My choice not to see him yesterday had nothing to do with him. Nope, this wasn’t about him…it was about me.

The Divine Universe gave me an opportunity to align with temptation, or to align with my soul, and I got to choose.

I chose myself. I chose to align with my soul. This is a new pattern I am creating, and something I intend to stay committed to. It is an esteemable act and creates an esteemable life, and manifests the quality of life and love I deserve.

We all get opportunities on a daily basis, to align with temptation, or to align with our highest good. Neither choice is wrong, it’s just that one will feel better than the other. One may feel good short-term, and the other may be scary in the moment, but serve your life better long-term. You get to decide which is more important to you in the moment. That’s the beauty of it.

We GET to choose. We GET to create our lives, one choice, one thought, one action, one word, at a time.

I would love to hear what’s going on in those heads, hearts, and souls of yours. Leave me your questions and comments below if you are so inclined!

Here’s to your health, wellness, and vitality!

Love and Light to you my friends,

Erin xoxoxoxo

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Jul 10, 2011

A Sacred Relationship Between Spirit And Body

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I was just watching this video I did on my YouTube Channel, and wanted to invite you to also take a look. I would love to have you explore this idea of being in relationship with your body. For me it has been a profound awakening and as a result I am able to be in partnership with my body. I help my body and my body helps me.

We have all heard the saying, “Your Body Is Your Temple.” Well, that’s what I am talking about here. For some of you, this may feel like a stretch, or difficult to wrap your head around, and if so that’s OK. All I am suggesting here, is to explore this concept and whether or not it has the power to transform the way you make choices in your life.

Please share your comments and questions with me here. I believe feedback and sharing are some of the greatest ways to learn and grow together.

Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

xo Erin

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Jul 8, 2011

Shifting Into Allowing Mode Back Home

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This is The Barber Bridge here in Vero Beach, FL. I run this bridge almost every morning when I'm here :)

Yes, I said SHIFTING into allowing mode! It’s funny, back in L.A. we tend to get moving so fast and go-go-go all the time, that when I come back to my hometown Vero Beach, FL, it’s like I literally have to start the down shift process from ACTION  into ALLOWING.

I arrived here on Sunday, July 3rd, and the down shifting began. Now it’s Friday, and I am finally feeling myself move slower both inside and outside. For me, it helps to actually visualize a light switch. The bottom says Action and the top says Allowing. I flip the switch upward in my mind, and then ALLOW my body and mind to begin to shift gears, down and down and down, until I am kicked back and relaxed:-)

How are you spending your summer thus far? Are you stuck in action mode, or are you ALLOWING all your hard work to work for you?

I have decided that I have worked so hard, right up to the last-minute before I left Los Angeles, that this trip, for me, was going to be about practicing trust, and allowing all the work I have put in thus far, to reveal its results to me. I am only doing that which feels good to me, and trusting that results are already in process.

Australia is getting closer and closer, and even though I am anxiously and eagerly awaiting my move to another country, I have also committed myself to staying present and in this moment right now. When we remain present, we get to enjoy all the gifts that are right in front of us. My grandmother is turning 90 next week, and getting this time with her is priceless. For her birthday, we are having a huge family reunion right here in Vero Beach!

Last night my father played the guitar and my step-mom and I sang to it. These are the gifts that are here for me, as a result of working hard and being of service to others. I am feeling really calm and grateful today. How bout you?

I would love to hear from you! Big hug!

Erin

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Jun 28, 2011

Change Within To Change Without: Awareness Breeds Results

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Jun 20, 2011

Turn Your Dreams Into A Reality

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Hey guys. I am finally back to doing some filming and writing again! I have been so busy with training, coaching, packing, cleaning, and finding good homes for all my things, so it feels super good to be connecting with you right now :)

Man, what a transitional and TRANSFORMATIONAL process. I am so clear that my health and well-being are the reasons behind why I have the courage, energy, vision, and ability to follow my heart, intuition, and dreams, and I hope you know that works the same for you as well. When you live a FIT Life, nothing you really want is out of your reach.

Living with FIT Consciousness means that we remain aware of how our choices affect our bodies, our thoughts, our relationships, our work, our rest, our play, etc. Living a FIT Life means we are committed to becoming awake and fully present to the inner light and gifts we have within us.

As I take on the responsibility to step into my authentic power and to shine my light as bright as it goes, I hope you are doing the same!

Check out the most recent video I shot for my YouTube channel…

Namaste,

Erin

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Jun 20, 2011

Stop Worrying About The “How’s”

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Yep...this is where I'm going!

Hey there! How are you? I hope you are well, or at least finding the willingness to rediscover your own optimal health and well-being. I remember when I wasn’t so healthy or so well, and until I became aware that I wasn’t happy as a result, and became willing to do whatever it took to change that, I remained stuck.

As most of you already know, I am about to move from Los Angeles,  CA to Sydney, Australia. I officially leave the U.S. on July 28th. I am getting very excited, and today I am feeling gratitude, as well as a real pull to share with you a few things I have learned as a result of my journeys.

First of all, whenever we want to make a change or to shift something in our lives, one of the first things that happens, is we start trying to figure out “HOW” things are going to work out the way we want them to. In my experience, this does nothing but get us focused on something we have no control over, and ultimately it makes us feel bad.

Since feeling bad is not in alignment with making positive change in our lives, than focusing on “how” things will shift for us, or on “how” the right outcomes will manifest, is not an option.

Instead, I find it much more useful to focus on the things we CAN do. As we commit to our intentions and goals, and then we show up for ourselves and for others each day, providing our own willingness to do whatever it takes to move closer to what we want, then Divine events begin to unfold for us.

Once the Universe sees our commitment and willingness, it is attracted to bringing us even more of what we want. Let the Universe figure out about the “how.” You just focus on the “what you can do” now’s and stay focused on, and allow yourself to be pulled by, what you want.

Another thing I have become hyper aware of, is the importance of acceptance and flexibility as our process unfolds. Things are going to change. They will hardly EVER look the way we think they should, and there will be many bumps in the road along the way that we didn’t expect. If we can embrace our process for exactly the way it is showing up in each moment, then it helps us move into acceptance of what is. When we can accept whatever is showing up, and can perceive it as all part of the master plan unfolding, then we gain flexibility and therefore we become free to allow the Universe to answer our prayers and intentions in the way it sees most fitting for us.

This requires the last and most important thing I have discovered and uncovered on my journeys, which is how much transitional periods require us to TRUST them, if we want them to transform us. 

For me, turning things over and choosing to TRUST, is a profound tool I use and put into practice on a daily basis, this idea of trusting in a power greater than myself to carry me through, when I don’t think I can go any further.

I think we all too often get discouraged and tend to even move into intense fear, when things don’t appear to be unfolding in a way that will result in the outcome we really want. However, in my experience, if we TRUST that our intentions ARE unfolding in a way that will produce equal or even BETTER results than what you think you want, than that is exactly what happens! It feels like magic…and well…it kinda is :-)

So that is where I am currently at in my process, and these are the insights that have come to me to help me through this transitional period, and thus made this transition absolutely TRANSFORMATIONAL!

I would love to hear from you about what’s going on with you and the Divine events unfolding in your life as well. Here’s to your health, wellness, abundance, peace, prosperity, and vitality!

Lots of Radiant Love,

Erin

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Jun 8, 2011

Finding Your Inner Smile

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That’s Me:) first time dressing up for Halloween!

As I prepare to move to Australia, I am sorting through many boxes, closets, and drawers. There is much to toss out, pack, sell, and give away, and there is also so much to acknowledge and keep with me forever.

Last weekend, my mom was going through old pictures, and she began to share with me, all sorts of pictures of me as a baby and young child. I looked at pictures of me as an infant, and all through the years until about 4 years old or so. This process has been very healing for me.

I encourage you to get your hands on some baby and young child photos of yourself. I believe this is very powerful, to take another look at ourselves from a different perspective.

It has been used by counselors, therapists, life coaches, etc, this idea of speaking to our inner child, and healing our inner child. I must agree that this IS very helpful, or at least it has been for me.

However, what I am also finding is my inner smile.

As I looked back at myself, so young, so innocent, so trusting, curious, and absolutely open to love and the Universe, it reminded me of who and what I really am. Before we get let down or disappointed for the first time, or before we learn fear and scarcity and form limiting beliefs, and before we begin to judge ourselves and hate on ourselves, there is something so beautiful about our existence. I was absolutely adorable, beautiful, glowing, and such a little scrumptious munchkin (sorry to brag:)

Seriously, I think I fell in love with myself, and not in an ego way, but in a real healing to the core kind of way. When I look in the mirror now I see that little girl. I see her big smile from ear to ear, her little freckles, the way she looks at her parents in awe, the way she is amused by a water hose, the way she finds pleasure in playing with a plant, or the way she sits in her little chair with a book almost bigger than her, to read before she knows how.

That is what I see now when I look in the mirror. I can feel her inside of me, and all she wants from me is to be acknowledged. She wants to play, and she wants to know that she is safe. She is my inner smile.

I think so many of us begin to abandon ourselves not long after the age of 5 years old. The world has its way with us, and we become conditioned to believe we are being punished because there is something wrong with us. We get judged, compared to others, and then we begin to take on these qualities and become our own worst critique. We walk around wishing others could see us, longing for them to love us and appreciate us, and dying inside from loneliness, feeling separate, different, and less than.

What I have become aware of, is that it is not other people who can make us feel better. No. When we feel less than, or afraid, or jealous, or frustrated because we don’t think we are good enough, this is actually the little child, asking us to come inside and play. What is happening, is our inner smile wants to be found, so our inner child wants to be seen by us. It is not others who need to “see” us, but rather we need to see ourselves for who and what we really are, not what we have been conditioned to believe about ourselves.

I recognize that all I have to do, is to promise that cute little 2-year-old girl, that I will never abandon her again. For her sake, I take responsibility for the way I feel and instead of judging myself harshly or comparing myself to others, which is a form of self abandonment, I go to my little girl instead and together we find my inner smile.

I ask her what she wants, what she needs, and I assure her that she is safe, loved, and enough. When I do this, I begin to feel her settle down, and all those feelings I was having seem to wash away.

Just like the boxes, drawers, and closets I am sorting through. I sort through my beliefs, memories, and the stories I have been telling myself my entire life. In an effort to move to my inner smile, I toss out and give away what is holding me where I currently am, and I pack and keep with me, that which is worth taking with me on my journey.

I am tossing out shame, guilt, comparing, and self-loathing. I am selling self-will and limited thinking to anyone who thinks its worth anything, and I am keeping self-love, trust, and acknowledgment of who and what I really am.

Yep, me again, and Dad’s pointing the way to my inner smile:)

As for my inner smile…now that I’ve found mine, I am now able to show up and be of service to others. When we heal and find the grace within, then we are finally ready to give from a place of overflow. There is always more than enough inner smile to go around for everyone!

Smiling from within…

Erin :)

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May 28, 2011

A Simple Truth About Why I Do What I Do

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Today I had coffee with a new friend, that found me through my blog.  He is doing research for a book he is writing on the mind/body connection and how it can have a profound effect on diseases in the body and our ability or inability to heal from them.

He contacted me because he came across an article I wrote about Primary and Secondary Food, and he wants to use me in his book as a result.

I have actually written many articles on this topic, several right here on this blog of course, and then also for other sites and publications.

Here are a few resources to them below, so if you haven’t been following along, you understand what I mean by Primary and Secondary Food:

Feeding Your Whole Being: Reach Optimal Health And Well-Being With Primary and Secondary Food

What’s Feeding You?

How To end The Cycle Of  Dieting

This friend and I, talked a lot about how the mind can affect the body. This really brought me the inspiration for this article I am writing now.

I want to be very clear about something. I am a Health and Lifestyle Empowerment Coach, as well as a Personal Trainer. I do not do these things to focus on getting people, or myself to “look” better as the primary purpose for changing old habits and replacing them with new ones. My primary purpose for doing what I do and living the way I live is to facilitate HEALING. I mean healing on every level: mind, body, and spirit.

Looking better is a by-product of healing. There are plenty of trainers and nutritionists out there who are perfectly happy with just focusing on the aesthetic part of you, and there are plenty of you who only care about the aesthetic part anyway. I however, am not interested in the aesthetic part of the human body, as a primary focus for eating right and exercising. I am more concerned with helping my clients heal, on every level, so that they can enjoy a fruitful life and optimal health and well-being.

Yes, the mind, body, and spirit, are all interconnected and they each effect each other. True transformation occurs, when we take a look at the WHOLE being, meaning all three of these areas. We must take a look at the WHOLE life and the WHOLE being, and from there I am able to help my clients identify the areas that are in need of their attention.

I have done the fitness competitions and the figure contests, and I have pretty much won them all.

I have been voted Best Looking, Prom Princess, Front and Center Cheerleader, Homecoming Court, Student Council, Class Vice President, Modeled in Fitness, been on TV, trained celebrities, blah, blah, etc.

I am here to tell you, that none of those things ever healed me or made me feel ok long-term. They were very temporary experiences of outside validation, and yes they were great…in the moment. Then the moment passed…as it always does and will. What I had to become aware of , was the deep longing beneath it all, that I had, to feel like I was loved and accepted and a part of something important in the world.

No award will ever bring us inner acceptance, inner peace and joy, self-love, and self-respect. No school can ever vote us “Worthy” in our own minds. These prizes such as feeling worthy, loving ourselves truly, and having compassion for ourselves and others, are an inside job, and come from taking a look at the WHOLE being and the WHOLE life, and working both from the outside in AND the inside out to heal on every level.

What I wish for you, and my clients, is to find what I have found. I now have a level of inner peace I never had before. No matter what is happening in my circumstances, I am always happy about who and what I am. I may be 5 pounds up or feeling low in energy one week, but I never forget to love myself before I do anything else. Today I do not abandon myself, and as a result, I get to live a life I love, in a body I love too. ( But of course, I am always a work in progress:)

I am looking forward to working more closely with my new friend, and contributing what I can to his masterpiece. It is a gift to cross paths with others out there, making a difference in the lives of others, just by sharing their experience, strength, and hope. For this I am grateful, and because of what I have been given…I go out into the world each day to pay it forward.

I hope you are loving yourselves, being gentle with yourselves, and opting to turn within for guidance, answers, and healing.

Thanks for being here with me today. Sending you so much love and light.

xoxo

Erin

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May 22, 2011

Living The FIT Life

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Fitness is not something we seek, but it's a path we choose to live.



Happy Wednesday!

We have all heard the saying “living the good life” right? Well, I don’t know exactly what that means, but I do know what “Living the FIT life” means.

To live a life with optimal health and well-being, it requires a fit mind, body, and spirit right? Therefore, living the FIT life means we are living a life that feels fit in every single way, physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. In my experience, a really great place to start is with our bodies and health. It is much easier to stay mentally, emotionally, spiritually and financially FIT, when we are feeling physically healthy and fit. In fact it’s pretty much impossible to get more physically fit, without also feeling more joyful, peaceful, abundant, connected, and inspired.

I am aware of how much extra energy and fitness is required of me lately. Whenever we are expanding, reaching outside our comfort zone, and stepping into new power, it requires us to have a greater and deeper amount of strength to endure the new level of intense change. If we are not strong enough for the change we seek, we will most likely not be able to go the distance.

My clients often share with me, how much stronger they feel in their bodies, and how much stronger that makes them feel when they are out in the world, in business meetings, at home with their lover or partner, and in decision making moments.

Living a FIT life means we get to have the strength we need to follow our dreams, walk through our fears, and to exercise our potential. We get to live authentically and do the things that are in alignment with who we really are. To do these things takes courage; strength; mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical fitness; and the willingness to do whatever it take to walk the path of the FIT One.

Choosing to move to Australia is turning out to be a very profitable choice, offering me many gifts. I have been faced with opportunities, possibilities, my fears, and the obstacle of having a million more things to accomplish before I leave, in a very short amount of time.

I am totally aware and in complete gratitude for my level of fitness. You see, if I didn’t live the FIT life, there is no way I could have accomplished half the things I have in my life, and I most certainly would not have the strength to move countries. Today, I get to live a life that I wouldn’t trade for anything. When I experience fear, I have the strength to move through it, and when I see and feel my dreams and possibilities, I have the courage to move toward them.

This is because I love my body. I feed it foods that nurture it rather than abuse it. I think thoughts that serve me rather than hurt me. I shift those negative conversations in my head to more positive ones. I remain willing to always see things differently, and to always feel better about my current situation. I exercise regularly, I listen to my body, and I never stray too far from the FIT path, no matter what.

When you are on the path of living a FIT life, you do not feel deprived, you feel alive. You do not feel lack, you feel abundant. You will never feel like failure is an option, because when you are fit, you know you can do anything, and you will have the strength to get through whatever you have to get through, in order to feel more joy, more peace, and more deep connection and fulfillment in your life.

So, if you aren’t already walking this path, I hope you’ll join me now :)

Love,

Erin

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May 18, 2011

Letting Go Of Attachment: The Key To Optimal Health, Well-Being, and Freedom

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So obviously when one decides to move countries, there is a letting go process that begins to happen. There is also a point at which I have become super aware to all the attachments I have to things, people, places, ideas, patterns, habits, etc, that I wasn’t even aware of!

As someone who is on a path, seeking freedom, abundance, optimal health and well-being, connection, love, and oneness, I am waking up to certain things along the way as a result. As I begin to allow my mind to expand, and I play with new ideas and step outside my comfort zone more and more, I get to find out that I am not so dependent on those “attachments” as I once thought I was. Instead, I am finding that it is really freeing to be able to let go of our attachments and find true freedom within instead.

True freedom comes when we can love who we are, feel connected, have a sense of inner peace and joy, know that we are provided for, that we are safe and secure, abundant, sexy, and living on purpose, no matter where we are, who we are with, and no matter what is going on around us.

When we hang on too tightly to old ideas, things, and limited beliefs, these attachments can ultimately hold us back from living our best life as our best self.

Here’s a video I did for you on this exact topic. I hope you dig it! :)

Sending you light, love, and blessings!

Namaste,

Erin

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May 18, 2011

Transformation: How To Keep Going When The Going Gets Tough

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Hello my dear friends. I know I haven’t been posting as much as I usually do, and it breaks my heart. There is just SO much required of me right now, as my big move to Australia gets closer.

Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you, and I think about you every day! I will be posting as much as this one woman show possibly can until I leave, and then once I get there…look out! I have all sorts of amazing pieces I want to put together to share with you from over there:)

This video below, is about my experience and perception on how to keep moving through our transformation, even on those days that just feel like we can’t keep going. You know those days?

It’s going to be super important that we all find the inner strength to keep going no matter what, because we have some pretty intense years ahead of us energy wise. It is all good though. The planet, and the collective consciousness is finding a more healthy, more authentic, and more humble, more sustainable place to be, and therefore most of us will find ourselves being confronted with our deepest secrets, wounds, dreams, visions, truths, and we will also have an awareness of the urgency around clearing old energy and patterns and limited thinking, so we can live at a higher consciousness. Ultimately, we are heading toward more freedom, happiness, joy, peace, connection, love, abundance, health and well-being, and Oneness:)

The Universe is really not tolerating anyone who wants to stay and play small anymore. Now is the time to step into our authentic power, and to claim our truth and dreams, because the Universe is in full support mode and it’s going to favor anyone who aligns themselves with their innermost truth. Now is not the time to procrastinate.

These are super exciting times!

Ok, remember, we all have those days, when we wonder if we can ally complete the mission…but WE CAN. Never forget that. This is for you…

I love you,

Erin ;-)

xoxoxox

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May 7, 2011

Moving Through Fear, Moving Toward Life

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Hey there. WOW! I must say, getting ready to movie countries has certainly come baring many gifts. I am receiving this awareness about how to walk through fears, feel more of my deeply hidden feelings, and how to find true freedom within, by letting go of so many attachments. I am also so clear about the importance of living a FIT Life.

To be healthy, strong, and nourished, makes BIG decisions and change so much easier and more possible for us to follow through on. I am so grateful for my life, my fitness, and for the opportunities and possibilities that are awaiting us all. Being mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically fit, is a result of having a daily practice that confirms we choose this path.

Whether it’s a workout, a healthy meal filled with live nutrients, a meditation, a prayer, a blog post, a run, a night out on the town with friends, etc, we are choosing to live a life that is healthy and balanced and fulfilled in every way. Here’s to living a FIT Life, and walking through the fears that try to stop us. I hope you’ll enjoy this video I did on Moving Through Fear, So We Can Move Toward A Fuller Life :) xoxo- Erin

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May 3, 2011

Be Committed, Prepared, Successful, and Happy :)

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Hey there! How are you? Things over here have been super busy! I am so grateful though, for you, the gifts in my life, and that we GET to choose the kind of person we want to be and life we want to live. If we fully commit to what we want, things will begin to fall into place for us. Here’s a quick video I did on commitment, discipline, and preparation :-) Enjoy!

xoxo, Erin

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Apr 22, 2011

What IF!!! Fear Is Not An Option

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“We Are Only As Free As The Fears We Release”
-Erin Lanahan
Over the last couple days, I have been confronted with a pretty big decision for my life. For those of you who do not know this already, my mother is Australian, which makes me half Australian, and thus I am a dual citizen, one of the United States of American and one of Australia.

My mother’s family remained in Australia after she married my American father and left to come raise her children here in the U.S. All I ever knew of my Australian heritage growing up, was that I had far off relatives, that I may or may not ever come to know.

I cannot begin to explain to you how this feels, to know you are a part of something that you do not feel a part of.

I am realizing, that I have been longing to know this part of myself more than I was ever conscious of until now.

Over the last 7 years, my cousin Donna, has come to visit us here in Los Angeles several times. It’s always a very healing experience for us all, and by healing I do not necessarily mean easy. Her second visit, which was in May of 2009, felt like a disaster to us at first. All of a sudden we found ourselves confronted, looking into the big fat mirrors we were for one another, that painfully revealed to us, where we each stood in our own lives. It was not a pretty sight.  We all were a mess, and we feared for ourselves and each other.  Each of us were being run by our own addictions and emotional baggage, that had yet been resolved within us.

Family plays a major role in the way we see ourselves. Intimate relationships in our lives act like big mirrors, and those relationships reflect back to us, our inner demons and fears, inner beauty, inner wounds and traumas, and our inner strengths and hopes.

These are the people that we have the potential to become our best selves with, if we are willing to do the work, and if we are willing to decide that fear is NOT an option.

I have always wondered about Australia. I have always wanted to feel a connection to it, but there was so much inside of me that I had to work through, before I could release the past enough to make room for a new perspective.

After my cousin’s trip in 2009, we ALL began to “do the work.” We all began to heal.

We confronted our demons, addictions, emotional baggage, fears, wounds, and embraced our hopes, dreams, strengths, passions, and commitment to staying connected and becoming our best selves.

Donna returned to Los Angeles in March of 2011, and she left yesterday, April 21, 2011. I am dedicating this article to her, because she has helped me reconnect to my roots. Our relationship has shown me even more about who I am and what I am capable of. She has inspired me to recommit to the choice that fear is NOT an option. Our trip together, as a family, this time was incredible in ways that words will never be able to justify.

Thank you Donna…I love you.

So I am left here in Los Angeles, confronted with that big decision I told you about as I began this article. Is it time for me to depart the U.S. for a while and come to know Australia? Is it time for me to wake up from fear, completely, so that I may know life in a different way? Is it time to let go of what I fear I’ll leave behind, and instead focus on what I will always carry with me no matter where I am? Is it finally my time, to become a citizen of the world?

Many fears come up when faced with a decision like this. What if I leave and everything here that I’ve worked so hard to build is lost forever? What if my soul mate is here and I miss out on the opportunity to be with him? What if I miss out on having a family of my own? What if I won’t be as successful there as I could be here? What if I am making a mistake?

As these questions make themselves known, I consciously recognize that they are not me. Fear is not my truth, and it is but a program that was downloaded long ago.

I am waking up from fear. It is NOT an option, and I am stepping into the reality that we are all children of the Universe.

The world is our home, our family,  and I am ready to take the next step in my life towards expanding upon that which I already know, to embrace the unknown. This awareness is transforming What If?  into WHAT IF!!!

WHAT IF!!! there is man in Australia, that I connect with beyond my wildest dreams. WHAT IF!!! I feel more at home there than I do here in the U.S.? WHAT IF!!! this opens my valve in a way that helps me receive the level of freedom I long for to be a citizen of the world? WHAT IF!!! I find a piece of myself in my history there, that I may have never come to know if I stayed here? WHAT IF!!!

Are you confronting any big decisions, or even small decisions, that are bringing up questions, doubts, and fear in you? We all experience this, but the important part is that we recognize it, bring consciousness and light to it, and then align with the truth. What is your truth?

WHAT IF!!! fear is not an option? :-)

My truth, is that I will never miss out on anything if I align with my Soul instead of fear. My truth is that I am FREE to make decisions because they feel good, and I don’t need to worry about the rest…because fear is NOT an option. My truth reminds me, that I am always being taken care of, that all my dreams can come true no matter where I am, and that all I have to do is follow my heart and remain authentic in my life. That’s my truth.

Please share your truth, your questions, comments, and experiences with me here. I love hearing from you and connecting with you as we travel this road together.

Thank you.

Love,

Erin

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Apr 14, 2011

Get HOT For Summer! $225 OFF.

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Get HOT For Summer! $225 OFF. Offer ends 30 April 2011

Hey guys…Hot Summer offer for all Tiny Buddha members, followers, and fans! If you aren’t one now, you can become one here.

NEW L.A. CLIENTS ONLY: Get $225 OFF your first month of Personal Training!

NEW U.S. CLIENTS: Get $100 off your first month of Health and Nutrition Coaching! Reach Optimal Health, Energy, and Overall Well-Being.

Get Happy, Healthy, and Hot now!

Be quick, limited offer ends April 30th. Contact me today!

Erin Lanahan
ErinLanahanMethod@gmail.com
850-528-5187

Thank You!

Yes…this is me, and this offer is for YOU:)

 

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Apr 7, 2011

Healthy, Happy, HOT: In That Order

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Here’s just a little something I shot for you after having a killer workout at UCLA stadiums and track. Have you ever noticed that some people just glow, almost as if they are so beautiful on the inside, that it makes them look better on the outside? You know that person who is so healthy and so happy, full of so much joy and light, they just light up every room they enter? This is because true HOTness, is an inside job. Just because someone is HOT, doesn’t mean they are Healthy and Happy, and most likely they do not glow like someone who is healthy and happy. Healthy, happy energy is just infectious and contagious!

When we are healthy, we feel more happy, and when we are healthy and happy…we just look and feel HOT!

Your thoughts?

Take a look…

Here’s To Your 3 H’s…in that order:)

xo Erin

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Apr 7, 2011

Part 4- Tools For The UNmotivated: Follow It Through

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Alright you guys. Here is Part 4! This is the final tool out of the 4-part video I promised you I would deliver. Once again, I cannot say this enough, that these are truly some of the best tools one can possibly have when staying on a path that leads to Optimal health, happiness, and hotness. I’m just say’n. The rest is in your hands!

OR…

If you are local, and want to get that rock’n body you dream about, contact me at ErinLanahanMethod@gmail.com to find out all the training and coaching opportunities with me that are currently available for you. We can create a program especially for your needs, that is based on achieving more energy, vitality, strength, satisfaction and joy in your life, and overall hotness ;-)

Also, if you are NOT local, I am also available for telephone coaching where we focus for 1 hour a week on shifting your bad habits, patterns, and empowering you to make the choices and changes necessary to give you more energy, health, happiness, and hotness!

Ok, here’s Part 4. Take a look…

Cheering For You,

Erin

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Apr 7, 2011

Where There Is Temptation, There Is Opportunity To Conquer

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We all come face to face with Temptation at least once a day. However, I’m gonna guess that most of us come face to face with it multiple times a day and sometimes multiple times in an hour, depending on what we are currently going through in our lives.

As a Health Coach, and Trainer, and someone who not only practices living a life with optimal health and well-being, but who teaches her clients to do the same…I KNOW temptation well! Temptation is actually not the monster you may have thought it was up to this point.

In fact, where there is temptation, there is opportunity. Opportunity to align with your highest good, opportunity to conquer what’s in the way of creating the life your heart desires, opportunity to say no to what you don’t want in order to create space for what you DO want, and opportunity to choose what kind of person you want to be and what kind of body and life you want to create! YES…Temptation brings Opportunity.

Every time we face temptation, and we make a conscious choice to align with the Soul, which is the decision that serves our highest good and therefore everyone else’s, WE GAIN MORE AUTHENTIC POWER. We will feel energized, full of light, super happy and joyful, blissful, creative, in love with everything, and absolutely fulfilled. On the flip side, when we do not align with soul, and choose something else…we will lose authentic power and begin to feel weaker, more tired, and less capable.

What do you do in the face of temptation? When you are tempted to choose fear and doubt, to call a certain someone you know isn’t good for you, to eat a poor quality meal, or engage in an activity that will ultimately leave you worse off than you are to begin with, you are actually RECEIVING the opportunity to declare something different for yourself and your life. You are at a crossroads, and you GET to choose. The choices we make are the way in which we converse with the Universe. What we choose to align with tells the Universe our level of willingness to do our part. Therefore, we either give it permission to help us, or we block it from helping us, and create more mess for ourselves in the future.

Having this knowledge helps me many times throughout each day. Instead of reaching out to ”that guy” …I don’t. Instead of eating a pizza, I choose something more healthy. When I run into temptation, which is my opportunity to speak to the Universe through my choices, I now KNOW how important it is that I be very clear that I WANT a life full of beautiful relationships with people who love me, support me, respect me, and want to be involved with me. Through my choices, I tell the Universe that I want a lean, sexy, beautiful, healthy, vibrant body, smile, and energy. I tell the Universe that I AM willing to do whatever it takes to be the best version of myself, and to therefore contribute to a happier and healthier world just by shining my own light.

How clear are you being with the Universe? Are your choices in alignment with what you are wanting it to help you with? You have got to do your part. Are you willing???

I would love to hear from you!

Peace,

Erin

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Apr 4, 2011

Part 3- Tools For The UNmotivated: Just Begin

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Are you enjoying this 4 part video so far? These are some of the most effective tools for getting yourself to maintain a consistent healthy lifestyle. We all go through periods of feeling UNmotivated. Here is how I navigate myself, and my clients, through those inevitable phases in life.

Love, Your Favorite Trainer,

Erin ;-)

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Mar 31, 2011

Part 2- Tools For The UNmotivated: One Thing At A Time

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Ok…like I said, I’m delivering a 4 part video to you, sharing with you my 4 most effective and powerful tools for busting through feeling unmotivated. These are the tools I use for my own life and with all my clients, so you are gett’n the goods;) Here’s Part 2. Check it out. Please leave all your comments here for me because I LOVE hearing from you! YOU inspire me!!!

xo,

Erin

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Mar 29, 2011

Part 1- Tools For The UNmotivated: Be Where YOU Are

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I understand that we ALL have trouble getting motivated sometimes. That’s why I felt inspired to share with you, FOUR of my favorite tools for helping me get motivated, stay motivated, or to just plain be OK with being UNmotivated:) Here’s Part 1 of a four-part video. Check back later this week for part 2:)

Love You,

Erin ;-)

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Mar 28, 2011

Everything Ebbs and Flows: Let Go and Embrace your Process

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I hope you had a fantastic weekend! I totally did:) I met up with friends, danced, laughed, and just had a seriously FUN time. This is such an important part of life. Don’t you agree? I believe living a FIT Life means living a life that is well-rounded, balanced, and fulfilled in every way. Here’s just a little video I got inspired to do before I went out Friday night. Enjoy!

 

Please leave your questions and comments for my here. I LOVE hearing from you!

xoxo,

Erin

 

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Mar 24, 2011

Surfing or Sinking: You Choose

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I’ve been doing a lot of contemplating, retreating, receiving, recharging, and letting go lately. This seems to be a natural progression, and what inevitably follows every peak of inspiration, every week of endless energy, and every seed of boundless creativity. Yes…after a phase of really putting myself out there, I always find myself back to the drawing board, surrendering everything I once thought I knew, and instead, accepting that I know nothing at all.

I am learning how important it is, that we really ALLOW every energy phase of life’s natural cycle, to play itself out. What we tend to do is judge ourselves or our lives, when things are not moving at the pace we think they should, or when we are not being as productive or social as we are “supposed to be.”

The truth is, every phase of every cycle we go through is essential to our optimal development. When we judge any part of it, we prevent ourselves from truly experiencing the entire ride.

It’s just like waves in the ocean. They go up and they come down. They flow in and they flow out. No part of their cycle is wrong, in fact ever part of it is natural, beautiful, and perfect.

I urge you to think of yourself in the same way, and to think of your life in this way. Honor yourself wherever you currently are in your energy cycle, and let that be enough. Trusting your process is not always easy, but when you are able to, you will be in ALLOWING mode, and therefore you will surf the waves of life rather than sink under the pressure of the fear that is a result of your judgments of the “down phases.”

You choose. The way you perceive things will ultimately affect your entire life. We get to choose the way we interpret our current levels of energy, circumstances, experiences, etc. Do you want to surf or sink? It’s up to you.

In order to live a FIT Life, we must approach our lives with a FIT Consciousness. Having a FIT Consciousness means we are aware and able to perceive life as happening FOR us rather than against us. This awareness comes baring many gifts, opportunities, blessings, and joy.

How do you live a FIT Life? I’d love to hear from you ;)

Love,

Erin

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Mar 17, 2011

Create A Quality Life, One Bite At A Time: Organic vs. Non-Organic

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Living an Organic Life, means living a FIT Life, that’s honest, authentic, and in alignment with who YOU really are, not who you think other’s want you to be. I use to try to be what I thought other’s wanted me to be, and I ended up unhappy, unhealthy, and my relationship with food and exercise was more abusive to me than it was helpful.

I have since discovered my longing and passion to live an Organic, FIT Life. In the process of creating a FIT Life, I have learned that my thoughts, my relationships, the food and drinks I put into my body, the choices I make, the words I speak, and the actions I take, ALL affect the quality of my life.

Therefore, I now CHOOSE to create a life I LOVE and a body I LOVE, one meal, one thought, one word, one relationship, one choice, one action, one moment, one day, at a time:)

I have mentioned to you all how important it is to eat organic foods. Some exclaim, that this is too expensive. I believe, that ultimately, we find the money for the things we really want. However, I also understand that things can get tight, and it’s good to be able to cut corners where we can :) That’s why I have posted this video for you, listing the 12 most contaminated foods and the 12 least contaminated foods. This will provide the information you need to know about which foods to definitely switch over to organic, and which ones aren’t as important to switch over.

I hope you enjoy, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Here’s to living Organically!

Love YOU,

E

 

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Mar 16, 2011

The Best Workout For YOUR Body: Demystifying Myths of “Right” vs. “Wrong”

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What’s up peeps! I wanted to post this video, after speaking with one of  my lifelong best friends, Jenny Farless.  She contact me about a week ago, feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused as a result of someone telling her the way she was working out was “wrong.” Once I hung up the phone, I got to thinking…”this is most likely a collective confusion,” I said to myself. “I should do a video blog about it, and try to help clear things up for people!”

So…here it is. Enjoy!

 

Love, Erin ;)

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Mar 15, 2011

What We Focus On Expands: Are Your Thoughts Making You Fat?

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Regardless of the noisy L.A. traffic, I decided to capture some inspiration I was feeling and wanting to pass along to you, before the message got forgotten. So I pulled over and set up the camera! I hope you enjoy:)

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Mar 14, 2011

Thank U! There IS Power In Asking For What You Want :)

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Hey guys. I wanted to post a personal thank you, because you all were so incredible last week, the way you pulled together, and gave me so much love and support as you voted for me, and re-posted and tweeted about my running for the New Face of Fitness Magazine! Please KNOW that you are amazing, and I receive you and I hear you. I love you!

To: YOU

From: Me ;)

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Mar 8, 2011

Seeking Your Help Please ;-)

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Hi friends! Guess what? I have been entered into a competition for Fitness Magazine, to become the new face of Fitness Magazine. Yay…cool right!

But…I CANNOT do this alone, so I’m reaching out…seeking your support please.

We have exactly one week, until 3/13/11, to put our combined votes together…to WIN!

You can vote here:

http://photos.fitnessmagazine.com/category/vote/photo/728510/33

 

MWWWAH! XOXO!

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Mar 6, 2011

Our Teachers Are Everywhere: This Is What A Fence Taught Me

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Yesterday morning, which was a Friday morning, I woke up and began my usual routine. However, as I sat down to post my morning Facebook post, in an effort to connect with all of you, I realized that I just really had nothing to say. That moved me into contemplation mode, from which my status for the day emerged. “Sometimes, the best thing to say…is nothing at all.”

Then, I proceeded to twitter and shared my mantra for the day, which was “Today, I will listen.”

As the day unfolded, conversation after conversation, song after song, interaction after interaction, thought after thought…I remained committed to allowing the listening to happen. This was not always easy, as there were many moments I experienced that I wanted to blurt something out, or respond to you on Facebook, etc. But when I noticed those urges, I repeated my mantra…”Today, I will listen.”

I began to really hear you, to hear my heart beat, and to hear lyrics of songs I never knew existed, because I had decided so long ago I didn’t like that song.

The outcome?

Every conversation, every drum roll in my heart, and every lyric in songs I supposedly didn’t like, had a message for me. I learned, when I am silent, there is beauty everywhere, and from the beautiful silence do our greatest teachers emerge.

I went on a long run yesterday morning and, as per usual, was contemplating my daily thoughts, ideas, and feelings. I felt so connected to nature and so deeply inspired by the feelings I was experiencing as I contemplated listening, that I could not have felt any more free, happy, and more alive.

Right at that very moment…I ran smack into a fence.

This is what a fence taught me:

At first, I was a bit shaken up, and startled. My I-pod earphones had gotten caught on the fence, and as I continued to be in motion after I hit the fence, they got ripped out of my ears! I came to a stop, looked back, and my headphones were dangling on the fence, and my left pinky finger was bleeding.

“What the Heck??” I said to the Universe. “Thanks a lot! Here I am, trying to be all connected to you, and you let me run into a fence? You’ve got to be kidding me. Screw You!”

As you can see, I clearly, initially took this “run in” very personally. I felt angry, bitter, and under attack, until…I remembered my mantra. “Today, I will listen.”

Instead of feeling bad…I chose to open my mind, open my heart, and to open my body and ears to let listening happen.

This is what I heard…

“Are you still willing to put yourself out there, and follow your dreams, even if it means you may get roughed up a little along the way? Are you willing to stay committed to your mission and your mantra, even if things don’t look the way you think they should? Are you willing to keep an open heart, mind, and spirit, even if love shuts the door on you? Are you willing to turn to me and listen for the next indicated action, every single moment of the day? Can you accept that everything that happens in your life, is part of a greater plan that you will never be able to figure out? Can you let go of needing to understand everything, and just consider, that maybe what is currently appearing as though it’s “in” the way, IS the WAY?”

After I heard all of those questions within myself, I began to realize how many times in my life I’d had a “run in” with someone or something, and let it deter me. I began to understand that I was being shown the willingness I must be prepared to have, to stay on my path, and follow my heart, no matter what.

I heard that the only way one can change anything, is to first accept the way things are right now. These lessons had me at “Are You Willing?”

My answer?…

“YES YES YES YES YES…and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!

So there you have it. I am inspired, yet again, by the profound teachers and lessons, that emerge from the willingness to let listening happen.

Has this reminded you of anything in your life? Have you ever tried to just listen for one whole day, fighting any urges that come up for you around the need to speak, when it really isn’t necessary? Do you speak just to speak, or do you wait until you have something to say before you interrupt the listening? What people, songs, animals, trees, are you missing out on? What are your teachers trying to teach you or show you that maybe you aren’t giving yourself the chance to learn and see?

I encourage you to listen. Listen for your heart beat, listen for the message someone is really carrying, beneath the actual words they are speaking.

Listen to the trees, and never take for granted, the wisdom of a fence.

Here is how I applied my lesson on acceptance, that was the direct result of my encounter with the fence. I traveled to UCLA today, to film the best butt and leg workout EVER…but something else happened instead! Take a look:

Please leave your questions and comments here for me! I love hearing from you:-)

Love, Love, Love,

Erin

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Mar 3, 2011

Living A Sacred Life: Here’s Some Inspiration For You!

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Greetings,

I just signed up for the Sacred Awakening Series – 21 spiritual leaders sharing their secrets to living a sacred life over the next seven weeks. It sounds just incredible, and I’m so excited to share this opportunity with you:-)

http://sacredawakeningseries.com

It’s totally free and features people like Alice Walker, Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, and Grandmother Mona Polacca. Calls are recorded so you can catch up with ones you miss, as well as gain access to the archives of last year’s series with people such as Marianne Williamson, Robert Thurman, and Sadhguru.

Should be fantastic, so I hope you can join in!

Best,
Erin

Filed Under: Entertainment, Fitness, Mind Body Spirit Thursday, Thoughts of the day, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Mar 3, 2011

Life Lessons: The Best Self-Reflections From 108 Bloggers

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Hey there! I am excited to announce that an amazing book I was a contributor in, called “Life Lessons: The Best Self-Reflections From 108 Bloggers,” was finally published and released this week! Even better news…you can get yourself a FREE copy of this E-Book right here, at the bottom of this page :-)

This book is filled with inspirational messages from 108 bloggers who wrote from their hearts about what they’ve learned in their lives, and what they wish they would have known earlier in life. The words you will find on the pages of this simple, yet profound book, will move you, shift you, inspire you, and help you feel a sense of connection and forgiveness towards yourself.

I am honored to have been chosen as one of the 108 bloggers who got to share the love in my heart, and the life lessons I have learned on my path thus far.

On behalf of myself, and all the other bloggers, we hope you enjoy this as much as we have. Thank you!

Download Your Free Copy Here

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Favorite Quotes, Fitness, Mind Body Spirit Thursday · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Mar 2, 2011

A Little Action For You;)

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Hey guys, this is a video I did a while back for an interview I had with a Royal Family. A lot of you have been asking for a little action ;) so here’s a sneak peek. I am working on home workouts, long workouts, outside workouts, inside workouts, short workouts, and exercise tips, etc, that I will release when I launch my YouTube Channel in a couple of weeks. Until then…enjoy! Feel free to drop me a line on anything you’d like help with and I’ll film something for you!

Here’s To your FIT Life!

Thank you.

XO, Erin

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Feb 28, 2011

5 Tips To Help You Start Looking And Feeling Better This Week

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Here is my most recent YouTube video post. I hope you enjoy it! If you implement my suggestions, you WILL begin to experience a better quality of life right away. I look forward to hearing how it goes for you ;)

Here’s To Your Health, Hotness, Vitality, and Well-Being.

XO, Erin

P.S. You can find more videos of mine, on my YouTube Channel. Thank you!

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Feb 28, 2011

Patience and Letting Go: Practice Makes Peaceful

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I woke up this past Friday morning, with a feeling that still hasn’t passed. My intuition was pulling me to write about what I was feeling the very moment I woke up Friday, but for some reason I did not. Something tells me, the reason I am still feeling these feelings, is because I have yet to write about them.

(Just as a side note to this blog post, I want to thank you all for sharing this blog with me. It heals me in many ways, and I hope by me sharing my experience, strength, and hope with you here, that you find your own healing as well.)

Lately I have been overwhelmed with feelings of impatience. It unconsciously eats at me until I become aware of the frustration I am dealing with in each moment. As a result, I have been contemplating two art forms: The Art of Letting Go, and The Art of Practicing Patience.  I am learning two things from my current life experiences.

Number 1: If we want to participate in the act of loving deeply, we must be prepared to master the art of letting go.

AND

Number 2: Life IS patience.

You see, as I feel into my feelings of impatience, it is revealed to me that I am suffering from my own resistance to letting people, places, and things go, and therefore not accepting my life exactly the way it is right now. It is a result of my inability to trust my own process to unfold in a way that feels joyful, secure, and fulfilling to me.

When I become anxious and antsy with intense feelings about wishing things were different, or frustrated that things aren’t happening faster than they are, I lose power and begin to spin out of control.

However, I am reminding myself that I MUST be willing to master the art of letting go if I want to participate in loving deeply in this life, and also, that life IS patience. This helps me shift my perception.

If I really LOVE something or someone truly and deeply, then letting him, or it go, does not mean I will lose anything. It only means I am willing to make room for things to unfold naturally and organically, trusting that there is a Divine order happening in my life. It is a win-win, because letting go of someone or something that is not truly best for you, only means that once you let it go, you will create the space for something or someone better to come into your experience, which CANNOT happen until you let go of what you think you want.

Patience is something that is REQUIRED if we want to experience peace. Life does not happen on MY terms…it happens on Life’s terms, and therefore I must adapt to life, rather than trying to make life adapt to me. Therefore, living life IS a constant practice of patience.

Today, I was getting super annoyed and irritable. I just wanted to cry and scream and blame the heavens for not giving me everything I think I should have by now (yes, i can be  drama queen :) ). But… after I spewed out this yucky energy for a while, and realized how unpleasant it feels to me and anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross my path, I decided it was a self-defeating behavior, and one that I do not wish to repeat from this day forward.

The truth is, I have so much great stuff happening all the time. It may not always look the way I want it to, or think it should, but in the end, I am always pleased with the way things turn out.

I am actually appearing on TV tonight at 9pm EST, 6pm PST, on Discovery Channel’s HD Theatre. I was hired to train the one and only Ryan Freidlinghaus from West Coast Customs on an episode of “Inside West Coast Customs,” his new show. As a result of this job, I ended up training he and his wife for about 6 months even after we wrapped the show.

So you see, as much as I like to believe differently on days like today, things are good for me, and they may be moving slower than I want them too, but they are moving in a good direction, and at the end of the day…that’s the most important thing of all.

So, the moral of the story is, in the name of LOVE, learn to let go of everything you think you want…

at least just for today.

Remind yourself that letting go is the only way you can ever hold on to anything, because real love cannot be held on to. It must be admired, nurtured, and given space to become what it was always meant to become.

Also, patience isn’t just something we need as children when waiting for our parents to give us the toy or dessert we want. It is an art form, that is the very key to the doorway of inner peace.

Love IS letting go, and Life IS patience. Without these two things, we will find it difficult to feel the serenity in our hearts that we are seeking.

So, when you notice that you are giving yourself a hard time, or obsessing over something you cannot control, I hope you STOP. Breathe. Remind yourself, that just for today you can let it all go. Just for this moment, you can allow life to be exactly as it is.

Here’s to your beautiful journey, your health, wellness, and vitality.

Please leave me your questions and comments here, as it is always a gift to hear from you.

Thank you,

Erin

Filed Under: Fitness, Thoughts of the day, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Feb 24, 2011

Meditate With Me: 5 Minutes To Just BE

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I am uploading this video, per my video blog yesterday. I told you I’d come back today and meditate with you, so that is of course what I am going to do :)

Prepare yourself for a few moments of deep relaxation and breathing. Get comfortable and in a space where you can close your eyes and do this effectively.

Go ahead and press play when you are ready.

Namaste,

Erin

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Feb 23, 2011

The Power Of Meditation: How It Can Help You Lose Weight And Reach Optimal Health And Well-Being

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Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening! As you can see, I am loving this whole video thing :) I hope you are too? Here is a video I did on the POWER of meditation, and I’m sharing it with you because I truly believe this is such an effective tool to truly living a life you love in every way, in a body you love as well.

Please leave your questions and comments right here for me, as I LOVE hearing from you!

Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

K…check it Out!

Filed Under: Fitness, Food · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Feb 22, 2011

Feeding Your Whole Being: Reach Optimal Health and Well-Being With Primary and Secondary Food

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Hey guys. I wanted to share this video I did with you on the difference between Primary and Secondary Foods. It is important to know the difference, because in order to truly reach optimal health and well-being, it requires feeding the Whole Life. This is what I am always referring to as “Life Fitness.”

I will let the video speak for itself. Please leave me any questions or comments you have. I am happy to answer them :-) Have an awesome day…I’m off to pick up my Aussie Cuz from LAX. I did yoga, ate a good breakfast, now some fun and family. Now that’s what I call Primary food!

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Feb 20, 2011

Life Fitness: Creating Habits That Manifest Lifelong Happy, Healthy, Beautiful People

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I am asked all the time, by strangers, friends, family, and new clients, how to reach a specific goal.

Every one has their own unique goals, but typically they involve getting “optimal abs,” “losing weight as fast a possible,” or transforming their body in some way.

I use to be the kind of trainer who would give you answers that were exactly what you wanted to hear, because I was too afraid to tell you the truth. However, I have become the type of trainer and Health Coach that is going to give it to you straight up. I am more concerned with helping your body heal, and helping you achieve results that last forever, than I am with setting you up for failure just to accommodate your short-term obsessions.

I am totally supportive and a big fan of having goals. However, I have just learned that when we are motivated by the wrong reasons, our motivation for doing things never lasts but more than a few months. Do you relate? You know it’s either been you, or someone you know, who eats really super healthy and hits the gym like a champ for about 3 months or so, and then poof. All those good habits disappear and you or they, begin to swing in the opposite direction for the rest of the year.

This happens for 3 reasons:

1) You are motivated by external results and reasons, and therefore you become bored and unfulfilled by your “Why” behind getting fit and making life changes.

2) You go way to extreme, looking for fast results, and therefore get burnt out and sick of starving.

3) You set yourself up for failure by creating a schedule and regimen that is not realistic to maintain on a daily basis as your new healthy “Lifestyle.”

Notice what I said in #3…LIFESTYLE.  Yes, this is because in order to transform your body, your mind, your spirit, and your life, it takes some time.

It takes commitment, and it takes passion, and it takes willingness to stay the course and do whatever it takes to unlearn old patterns and bad habits, and to replace them with habits and behaviors that serve optimal health and well-being in your life.

Afterall, when you have optimal health and well-being, you will naturally manifest the physical results of this inner state. You will naturally begin to just look healthy and fit all the time, due to the way you live your life.

Therefore, it takes a shift in your consciousness around exercise, and nutrition, if you want to achieve results that last a lifetime. I know for me, I had to get off that roller coaster of dieting, bingeing, exercising way too much, then not enough, feeling great, then feeling gross. It was exhausting!

You must come from a healthy mindset around food and exercise, in order to transform your body in a way the lasts forever.

Here are 3 tips for you to begin to create a healthy relationship to food and exercise, and therefore begin to manifest results that last forever:

1) Find your WHY behind getting fit. This must be for you. If you are motivated by something temporary, then when that outside motivation is gone, you are back to square one. Why do you want to get fit? Do you want to feel sexy from the inside out? Do you want to light up a room every time you walk into one because you feel so full of love, energy, and vitality inside? Do you want to be able to look the world in the eyes, and know that you are worthy of greatness, because you act lovingly toward yourself and live a life you are proud of? Find your WHY, and make sure you feel so much passion and are so connected to it, that it moves you into action. Trust, that when you live to accommodate your WHY, your hotness factor will naturally go up.

2) Choose thoughts, actions, foods, and relationships that support your WHY. Take an inventory of your life. Make sure you are surrounding yourself with people who only want the best for you, who support you and lift you up, rather than pull you down and suck your energy. Guard your thoughts like your life depends on it, because it does. Be aware of heavy, negative thoughts that make you feel bad and tired, that do not serve you, and when you notice them, shift immediately to thoughts that make you happy. Example, if you are worried about something, or someone upset you, begin to imagine yourself hanging out with your favorite person, or doing your most favorite thing in the world and feel that fun, the love, and the comfort you feel when you are around that person or doing that thing. Lastly, stay conscious of the foods you put into your mouth and the actions you take. Ask yourself before you eat or do them, “Does this serve my WHY?” It is up to you to decide what it is you want more than anything, and then align everything in your life, to help you get there.

3) Practice progress, NOT perfection. Be patient with your process. Let the pressure off yourself, and allow yourself the time and space you need to unlearn all the unhealthy ways in which you’ve been living your life. We all have to unlearn the ways in which we have been programmed. Take it one day at a time, and just do the best you can. As long as you stay committed to living a life with optimal health and well-being, the rest will unfold, as you transform one day at a time:)

If you have any questions for me, or would like to share your experiences, successes, or struggles with me, please comment right below this post!

Also, if you are interested in learning more about how I can help you as a Health Coach or Personal Trainer, just email me at ErinLanahanMethod@gmail.com.

Please Share this article below, with your Twitter and FB friends if you believe they could benefit from the tips! Thank you!

Namaste,

Erin

Filed Under: Fitness, Food · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 18, 2011

Heart Fitness: When Our Heart Breaks We Can Choose To Break Down, Or Break Open

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I have been thinking a lot lately about the topic of  LOVE. Maybe because this week began with Valentine’s Day, or maybe just because it is something I have been contemplating my entire life.

I think it’s stating the obvious when I say, LOVE is something we all contemplate in one way or another. I have been really learning a lot about it however, in a BIG way, on many different levels. I recently shared my feelings with someone who has been a special part of my life. Telling him that I had deep love for him was totally scary, yet it has opened a whole new world for me. Through the experiences I had with this person, and the interactions, feelings I had to process, and all that I got see within me as a result, I have been blessed with the ability to be vulnerable, and to truly have genuine love, compassion, and respect for myself.

To be able to love deeply, takes fitness of the heart, mind, and spirit.

When our heart gets broken, we have 2 choices. We can break down, or break open. It’s kind of like when you were a kid. Remember playing in the shore at the beach and getting slammed down into the sand by each breaking wave. I was one of those kids who may have gotten slammed down and maybe cried the first time or two, but eventually I learned that if I hung on too long to the pain, I would miss the entire experience and opportunity to gain the courage, strength, and excitement I needed to do it all over again. You see, there was always another wave coming right after the one that knocked me down, and therefore, always another chance to ride gracefully to the shore on it. So I learned to quickly jump up with a big smile and playfully dive right into the next wave.

That’s how I am choosing to see love these days. Each wave is new. No wave is ever the same as the one before it, and with every slam we get into the sand, we get better at not breaking down from the fall, the fear, and the shock, but instead we learn to jump up playfully, and dive right into the next one.

What do you choose to do when your heart breaks? Do you break down, closing off to the next wave, or do you break open, and playfully try again and again until you find the perfect wave for you?

I am grateful that I love as deeply as I do. This is a gift, not a curse, although I would have argued this in the past. Now I can see, that life IS relationships, and being in a loving relationship with a partner is the best stress relief, and one of the most powerful medicines that exist on the planet.

So, until I am in this kind of connected, loving relationship, with another soul I can grow and heal with, I will keep jumping up and diving into each wave, again and again, playfully enjoying the ride. To me, love is worth it.

Please share your experiences with me here, and if you like this article, please SHARE it below with your FB and Twitter friends:) Here’s to the fitness of your heart, mind, and soul.

Love,

Erin

Filed Under: Fitness, Thoughts of the day · Tagged: , , , , , ,
Feb 14, 2011

Until You Can Love Yourself, Act As If.

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Hi friends. Happy Valentine’s Day! I felt inspired by this day of love to talk to you about my journey and how I have learned to really appreciate love and to really feel deep, authentic love for myself. When we love ourselves, we can truly see love in all things, and therefore, love finds us everywhere we go :-)

I hope you enjoy!

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Feb 8, 2011

Spark & Hustle Inspired Me!

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Hey guys…I wanted to share what I’ve been up to this past week. I am truly inspired by Spark & Hustle, and Tory Johnson and her crew. Thanks to you ALL! I encourage anyone out there who wants to turn their passion into profit to got to: www.SparkandHustle.com!

Check this out…

Here’ To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

Love,

Erin

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Feb 8, 2011

Love Your Life!

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Feb 2, 2011

Erin Lanahan: On Crowding Out

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Hey guys, ok…so I couldn’t wait till Monday! I actually already had this video filmed so I’m posting my first vlog now! I wrote an article last week on this same subject, but who cares, LOL, this is the video version :-) Let me know what you think! Love you!

Also, if you have any questions please ask me…I am happy to answer them!

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Feb 2, 2011

Letting Go: Be A Vessel

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Hi there! How are you? Things over here are definitely moving along and many cool doors are opening. I am now writing regularly for Tiny Buddha and Positively Celebrity, and you can check out some of those articles to your right, in the green column under “My Articles-Inspirational and Educational.”

I am really excited about writing for these sites and for the projects that I am working on launching over the next few months, and I apologize if all the extra new work has pulled me away from here a bit lately. I am still getting used to all the new work and my new schedule and deadlines LOL! I’m sure you can relate, there can be days that feel really overwhelming. Every day, but especially on those days, I really work at maintaining focus on all the good that is happening. When we begin to receive more of what we want, it comes with new responsibility and it requires us to step outside of our comfort zone too. I just wanted to write this today, to remind both you and myself, that we must not forget that life comes through us.

When I remind myself that I am a vessel, a channel, and messenger, then it allows me to get present and to get out of my head and focus on how I may be of service in the world rather than what I can take from the world. It also takes off some of the pressure of feeling like I have to know all the answers or have things figured out. Instead, I can just do the next indicated action, and take my life one day at a time. This helps me a lot. I hope it helps you too.

I am going to start video blogging soon! Hopefully by next week:) This way, you will get to see me face to face, as well as enjoy written articles. I am looking forward to getting my first vlog up. Keep checking back, because I’m hoping to have my first one up by Monday. Also, I just added a new page up top called “Welcome To E.L.M.” where I posted a welcome video to you. It’s my first video up on this site so I’m excited. I feel like it’s a good way to connect with you…and hopefully you enjoy this new way in which I will be communicating with you! Here’s the video:

Todays Lessons: Just for today, let go of everything you think you know. Let go of everything you think you are, and just allow yourself to be a vessel. Let the wind blow you, and feel what wants to come through you. Let inspiration fill you up and pull you into your next indicated action :-)

Thanks for dropping in here at Erin Lanahan Method. Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

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Jan 20, 2011

Crowding Out:Getting Fit The Easy Way

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When the clock strikes 12 am on January 1st, the majority of the world continues to party, knowing that once they wake up later that day, they will find themselves beholden to their New Year’s resolutions. This creates a pressure, one I’m sure we have all experienced, to “perform perfection.”

Do these look familiar…

Did you know that 95% of people give up on their resolutions by January 10th? As a long-time trainer and Health Coach, I have my own beliefs and philosophies about why this happens, based on my own life experiences and those of my clients.

One of the worst things we can do for ourselves is put loads of pressure and expectations on our every move. This is what tends to overwhelm us, and therefore causes us to give up before we even have a chance to honor our beginning. When we make out long lists of things we need to change, which somehow always seems to be everything LOL, we end up with feelings of confusion over where to even begin. So…we decide it’s just easier never to begin. Therefore, something I like to teach my clients to use as a super applicable method for reaching optimal health, hottness, and well-being, and something I also use daily, is a method called “Crowding Out.”

Crowding Out is exactly the opposite of dieting or going on some extreme exercise program. First of all, I am a huge fan of physical, mental, and emotional transformation. However, I believe in accomplishing transformation in a way we can maintain long-term, and therefore avoid the roller coaster of gaining and losing, gaining and losing our goals.

Instead of focusing on what things you must take away from yourself, Crowding Out focuses on what things you can give yourself. In other words, crowding out means you will begin to add in the habits and behaviors that support your overall goals, and thus allow the adding in to crowd out the habits and behaviors that do not match your goals.

So, for starters, take one unhealthy meal or snack, and replace it with a healthy one. The key here is to start small. You don’t want to feel too much pressure or else you risk “rebellion.” Make sure the first few healthy habits you add in do not feel too hard to maintain on a consistent basis. Remember, we want to create healthy habits that last. Make one realistic change per week for 12 weeks, and I guarantee you will feel much less pressured along the way, and will more than likely end up being able to maintain the new lifestyle you created for yourself.

Ok…here’s a good place to start…

If you’ve been eating something like this for lunch:

…try replacing it with something closer to this instead:

Do this for one week and see how you feel. More than likely, you will begin to feel more energy, vitality, and have a bit more of a bounce in your step, which will just make you crave more of that feeling. That’s how it works. After the first week, keep that one healthy shift you made, and then add one more.

For example, if you are doing something like this on your Saturday afternoon:

Try replacing it with something a bit closer to this instead:

If you are adding in one healthy habit a week for 12 weeks, that’s 12 more healthy things you are giving yourself in 3 months. That’s a lot! Also, it’s good to acknowledge that as a result,  you will experience many of your  unhealthy habits falling away just because there is no longer any room for them. It’s practically magic:) Keep your focus on the new things you get to GIVE yourself rather than what needs to fall away, and as you begin to feel better and look better, you will find it easier and easier to continue doing more of the things that support your overall goal.

That’s it…that’s all you have to do to experience physical and habitual transformation. Too many people get caught up in the negative aspects of reaching health, hottness, and optimal well-being, and that can be extremely counterproductive. It’s ok to have goals, and to make lists…just don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to change everything at once. Changing your body, means changing your mind and your perception about what feels good to you. It is a process, and one that can be deeply profound and beautiful if you are gentle and loving towards yourself along the way. Your journey towards living a life you love in a body you love can begin right now. All you need is the willingness to commit to one healthy addition to your life per week. Those who commit, get fit!

I encourage you to begin your first week of crowding out. What healthy habit are you going to add in first? I’m exciting to find out! Please share with me here!  Here’s to your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

Filed Under: Fitness, Food, Mind Body Spirit Thursday · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Jan 13, 2011

Use What You Got To Get What You Want

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Use What’s Available To You Now, To Be Available For New Possibilities.

Wow, I have been loving this new way of looking at things lately “Use What You Got To Get What You Want.” This is the most current lesson I have been putting into practice in my life. How it began? Last week, I was on the phone with my life coach, and I was explaining to her that there are certain ways in which I want to expand my business and my life. I told her that  receiving ideas and inspiration were not the problem,  but that my circumstances were.  More often than not,  I feel like I get stuck due to my current access to resources, and therefore I do not end up following through on the ideas and inspiration. In other words, I have a story in my head, and what happens is, I get all inspired and excited about life and then ideas begin to pour in from the ethers. What happens next however, is I begin to feel super frustrated and bad because it appears as though I do not currently have the resources it will take to move forward with my ideas. My life coach explained to me that this simply is not true.

Our higher selves KNOW and are aware of what our current circumstances are. Therefore, if our intuition urges us in a particular direction, that means there IS A WAY. If there weren’t, we wouldn’t get the intuition to begin with. It is very important to follow our intuitive ideas and creative flow. Our bodies are brilliant, and they send us powerful messages about where to go and what to do. If we pay attention, and follow these messages, we will experience amazing things unfolding in our lives. The problem I’ve been suffering from however, is that I keep telling myself that I cannot follow through due to this, that, or the other circumstantial reason.

My life Coach shared a really cool story with me, that has been useful ever since. It’s about Moses. When Moses knew he was supposed to lead his people across the Red Sea, he had no idea how he was supposed to do such a thing. But he knew he had to right? He was being guided to do so. So he asked, “How will I ever get us across this sea?” God said to him, “Pick up a stick and hold it high.” So Moses picked up a stick from the ground beside him, lifted it high above his head, and the Red Sea parted down the middle and they were able to cross through it. So, what was the point of the stick? Why couldn’t Moses have just lifted his arm above his head really high? The moral of the story is, when you are being divinely guided, and it appears as though you do not have a way to follow through with the guidance you are receiving, all you have to do is pick up something you already have and use it to take you to the next place. Infuse what you got, with God Power, divine knowing, and use it to get what you want.

If we can remember this, than nothing can stop us from moving forward. For me, I have had a strong intuition to do a bunch of things lately. Some of which are things like,  investing in seminars for my business, attending Kundalini yoga classes on a regular basis, and going to dance classes on a weekly basis! What has been happening is, I get these strong messages to do these things and then the story follows immediately saying, “How can I do all these things with no extra time” or “It’s too expensive” or “I can’t get to the classes I like because work conflicts,” and so on and so on. Then, the inner child, my spirit, gets really sad and begins to feel defeated. So I go from feeling really good and inspired, to immediately feeling bad and defeated.

Not anymore however!  Hearing that piece of the story of Moses, with that perception, has helped me tremendously. We don’t always have to do things the way we think they should look like. The point is to just do them the best way we can with regard to our current circumstances. What’s important is that we don’t deny our Spirit of the freedom and expression it is currently seeking. By allowing our Spirit these things, we allow ourselves to move closer to having and becoming everything our hearts desire. Like the old saying goes…”Where there’s a will there’s a way.”

As a result of this new perception of mine, I have been doing this. I have been using what I’ve got to get what I want. Example: Yesterday I was on my usual run in West Hollywood and an awesome song with a good beat was playing on my I-Pod. I just wanted to break it down…to dance right there, as I ran down the street. So… I DID. As I was running, I was dancing and popping, and just moving my body freely to the beat and it felt AMAZING! I felt completely and totally fully expressed and in alignment with Source. Of course my head wanted to get me all afraid of looking stupid, but I ignored it because I was way too committed to letting my Spirit have the freedom and expression it was demanding of me right then and there. I may not have had the time to hit a dance class yesterday, but I sure had the time to dance!

As far as Kundalini yoga goes, I intend to pick up a DVD I can do from home in the early morning before my day begins. I also had an awesome client send me information on a scholarship program for an entrepreneurial conference in February. Once again I picked up What I had, which was the opportunity to go for a reduced admission, and I got the scholarship! So now I will be attending a conference, that is a HUGE investment for my business, and I was only required to pay a minimal fee to attend.

So, Dancing…Check. Kundalini Yoga…Check. Investing in my business…Check!

That’s right…it’s that easy. Use what you ALREADY have to move you closer to what you want! You will surprise yourself as you begin to experience more freedom and self-expression.

What are you currently wanting to move toward? What can you pick up right now, to act as the bridge to get you closer? Please share your story with me here.

Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

Thanks for being you,

Erin

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Jan 5, 2011

Align With Nature: Retire When the Eating is Done

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To keep on filling is not as good as stopping.  Overfilled, the cupped hands drip, better to stop pouring.  Sharpen a blade too much and its edge will soon be lost.  Fill your house with jade and gold and it brings insecurity.  Puff yourself with honor and pride and no one can save you from a fall.  Retire when the work is done; this is the way of heaven. -9th Verse Tao Te Ching

I decided to share the above with you,which is the 9th verse of the Tao Te Ching as spoken on Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life Audio Book,  because it touches on something that we all experience or have experienced at one time or another. We live in a society that is addicted to more, more, more.

We have become disconnected with the ALL THAT IS within us.

Deep within ourselves, we know when enough is enough,and that we actually already have everything we could ever need. Connecting back to this, is to be like the Tao, knowing exactly when to stop, and to just let go and enjoy the fruits of our labor, knowing that all is already perfect.

There was a time in my life when I could never get enough anything. There was never enough love, enough money, enough weight loss, enough food, enough alcohol, enough drugs, enough attention, enough validation, enough achievements, enough success, enough beauty, enough fun, enough freedom, enough talent…never enough anything! In fact, the more I consumed of these things or of the things I thought would bring me happiness, the more I wanted, and although I became satiated quickly, I continued to over consume. It was a very ugly and vicious cycle. The more I consumed, the more I wanted. I was desperately seeking everything outside of myself to make me feel better, to tell me that I was doing a good job, and to give me some kind of anchor or feelings of safety in the Universe. I was so far removed from the truth that resides within me, that I was actively participating in the “more is better” and “more will bring happiness” movement. I got sicker and sicker as a result.

My life became extremely unmanageable, and ultimately, I was no longer able to live in the world and function healthfully.

When it became too difficult for me to show up for my family and friends, and for my own life, in a way that felt honest and authentic, I knew it was time to take a real look at what I was allowing into my experience. My obsession with the overconsumption of everything had its hold on me, and I was no longer an active participant in the creation of the life I came here to live.

Overconsumption was my solution, and I’d been consuming whatever I could to relieve me of the feelings I didn’t feel strong enough to face. I was trying to avoid what awaited me, and I finally realized that it would continue to wait for me until I confronted it. Afterall, my solutions were not working anymore, and therefore it was time to deal with the real problem…me and my stinking thinking.

You see, I had to come to terms with my own abusive behavior and lack of self-love before I could be available for healing. I had to come to terms with the “radical concept” that  Enough IS Enough, and that we can never get enough of what we DON’T actually want, so we must find what we are really looking for. If it’s happiness and freedom we seek at our core, then money, relationships, beauty, and success, will never feel like enough, because ultimately they cannot bring us those feelings of peace, joy, and freedom within. We must arrive at those places within ourselves FIRST, and let the rest manifest from there. Otherwise, we end up with a whole lot of stuff on the outside, with nothing but pain, suffering, and feelings of being broken on the inside. Hence, stuff does NOT bring happiness, but happiness certainly can manifest great stuff.

I needed something much bigger than myself to help me see things differently, because I was screwing things up nicely trying to do things on my own, and in my own way. Therefore I landed in a place of pure and utter humility. Coming from a place of ostentation and overconsumption, humility was actually the perfect place to begin a transformation. As a result of this humility, I was willing to do whatever it took to get better physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Only then did a paradigm shift begin to take place in my life.

Here are 5 things I did to embrace this shift in consciousness and to support total transformation in my life:

1) I stopped the use of all mind altering substances. For me, I just cannot stay connected to Source when I am using something outside myself to cope with life. Therefore, it was my path to seek help so I could begin to make different choices. Staying connected to Source means, I remember daily who and what I am, and what my purpose is in this life. It means that I live in alignment with nature and the Tao as best I know how on any given day, because for me that is living in accordance with my soul’s plan.

2) I began to seek the tools I needed to help me reconnect with the ever-present, ALL THERE ISness, inside of myself. I used and still use meditation, prayer, different forms of yoga, a life coach, lots of self-development and spiritual books, and became a part groups of people who were involved in the community and sharing a similar healing and spiritual path as me. I find community is a huge resource for healing and I truly believe that if we stay connected to others, we stay connected to Source.

3) I made a committment to CONSTANT and CONSISTENT Awareness. I began looking for answers in every conversation, every experience, and everything that crossed my path. Healing takes true courage and commitment, to stay with your process even when you don’t want to or it feels way too intense. I just kept asking for guidance, and then I opened myself wide open to receive it. I also had to work on, and still have to work on, practicing patience, so I can wait for that which I want from a state of excitement and anticipation, rather than focusing on it not being here yet. This helps me enjoy the ride, just like I would on a plane :-)

4) I began to find ways that allowed me to feel more fully self expressed. I knew that a large part of my addiction to more, was because I was not in alignment. I was out of balance with Source, and with my purpose and passions. So I started blogging first and foremost. I also made sure to honor my body, eating only the foods that nourish and nurture me, and I stayed committed to exercising regularly. Feeling healthy and being creative were the best ways for me to feel fully expressed in the beginning, and those loving acts toward myself lead to many other outlets for me to be even more fully expressed. Being fully expressed is what our hearts and souls long for, because this is our birthright. By taking one small step at a time, I was able to express myself in small ways, slowly getting more connected to who I am, my truth, and the message that resides within me. I gave myself permission to listen to the language of my heart, and to speak from that place. It just gets easier and easier to connect to your heart, which leads you to who you are, the more you allow yourself to do it. ”

 

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” -Lao Tzu

 

5) I got brutally honest. I just stopped. I called it complete. Enough was enough. Through my committment to awareness, I began to realize how bad I felt when I over consumed things. Even after I stopped the use of mind altering substances, I was still over consuming in lots of ways. I was using things like sugar, caffeine, food, work, and I was interacting and engaging way too much in unhealthy relationships. However, awareness took the numbness away that had previously allowed me to ignore the pain and destruction that resulted from my behaviors, and I could no longer continue. So I got brutally honest with myself and with others, and that was the beginning of my reconnection with Source and the remembrance of who and what I truly am.

 

“The only way to get what you really want, is to know what you really want. And the only way to know what you really want, is to know yourself. And the only way to know yourself, is to be yourself. And the only way to be yourself, is to listen to your heart.” -The Universe


What the 9th verse of the Tao Te Ching is helping us see, is that we must “Retire when the eating is done.” Eat, but stop when you are full.
“To continue stuffing food into a satiated body, is to be trapped into believing that more of something is the cause of your happiness.” -Wayne Dyer
The same goes for stuffing yourself and your life with any false sense or artificial symbol of success.
Be like the Tao:
1) “To keep on filling, is not as good as stopping.” Enough is not only enough, it is in alignment with the total perfection of the eternal Tao.
2) “Seek the joys of your activities without focusing on the ego’s agenda.” Ego will have you imprisoned in gathering more, more, more for your actions, for as long as you allow it. Shift. If you are in a loving state and feeling appreciation for all that is, then you are in a state of letting go of worrying about how everything might ultimately benefit you. This is true freedom.
Do the Tao- Practice with your food. Practice portion control and pay attention to your motivations behind eating, or consuming anything for that matter. After several bites, ask yourself if you are still famished and if not, just stop and wait. If no hunger appears, then call it complete, and practice humility rather than overconsumption. At this one meal, you will have practiced the last sentence of the 9th verse of the Tao Te Ching. “Retire When the Eating Is Done, this is the way of heaven.”
Are you struggling with the more, more, more mentality? Are you using food, work, alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, or something outside yourself because you still believe that is the answer? Enough is Enough. I am here to listen to you, so please leave your questions and comments below for me. Thanks for visiting. Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!
Love,
Erin
Filed Under: Favorite Quotes, Fitness, Food, Thoughts of the day, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Jan 1, 2011

Happy New Year:5 Things I Wish I Had Known Earlier In Life

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Hi! I am reporting here from the California coast, and we have exactly 6 hours and 50 minutes, and counting down, until we transition into 2011.

I have been inspired by a personal development blog to write about some of my Life Lessons and things I wish I’d known earlier in my life. I feel like this is the perfect time to reflect on the past, as I make a conscious decision this New Year’s Eve, to feel gratitude for all that has been, to bless it with love, and to let it all go, putting it all behind me.

Tonight I contemplated going out on the town with friends, and believe me, there was no shortage of options for me to choose from. However, when I really got quiet and tuned into my own gut, heart, and listened to my intuition, I was able to feel certain that tonight is a night for me, to sock in, to get clean and dressed in my comfy pj’s, with a notebook and pen. I plan to write a letter to all the things I’m letting go of, and then I will move to my next lists that will acknowledge all my accomplishments in 2010, and list out my intentions and goals for 2011. Then, I will make a vision board, exercising my creativity of course :) , and finally, end the night deep in meditation as the clock turns from 11:59pm 12/31/10 to 12:00 am 1/01/11.

Tonight I plan to get super clear about my vision for this coming year because I feel the excitement as it nears closer. I know that I have so much to look forward to and I am already welling up inside with gratitude.

I have grown into a place in my life, where I really have no regrets anymore, because I truly believe that everything up to now needed to happen exactly how it did. However, life would have been a lot easier for me in the past had I known the things I know now.

Here are 5 things I wish I would’ve known earlier in my life, that if I had known, would’ve saved me lots of suffering.

I wish I’d known…

1) That my body is sacred. I did not feel this way about my body as a child or teenager, or even up until recently (and I’m 31 now). If I had known just how sacred my body is, I wouldn’t have treated it the way I did, or allowed others to treat it the way they did. I am grateful that I finally do know that my body is beautiful, wonderful, and a sacred place for me to live in and inhabit, and therefore, I will treat it so. I will feed it foods that nurture it, I will give it exercise, I will only engage with people who treat it with love and respect, I will keep it free of emotional, physical, and mental toxins, and I will appreciate it exactly the way it is every day.

2) That I AM love and deserve nothing but love. Most of my relationships were not very healthy. I have always had good friendships, but romantic relationships are a different story. I have come to learn that they were a mirror for me. They were showing me where I did not respect or love myself, and however painful it was at times, I know that I learned from all of it. It would have been nice to know this earlier in life, but I am just happy that I know it now, and moving forward, I will recognize when someones treatment towards me doesn’t feel right in my body. I will pay attention and I will use it as a tool, to ask myself what it is showing me about myself. Where do I still judge myself or where am I still unable to feel validated and good enough? Then I will let that person go who does not have my best interest at heart, and I will do my own work on why I even attracted them in the first place.

3) That life is happening for me. I use to feel like a victim a lot. It always felt like life was happening to me. This disempowered me in a huge way. This is the perception that there is no higher meaning or purpose or plan behind the things that happen in life. For me, I just cannot live that way. I have to believe there is more, there is depth, purpose, meaning, and a reason for all things. So I choose to know life as happening FOR me and FOR us. This perception allows me to see all things, whether they are scary, painful, challenging, joyous and amazing, or less than ideal…as opportunities for me to continue to break down the barriers within myself that keep me from fully showing up in the world as my truest, most authentic self, living my most amazing and best life. These opportunities give me the inspiration I need to continue searching for meaning and helping others do the same. Some days, that’s all we have. I choose to be inspired vs. intimidated.

4) That I AM worthy of great things, and if I believed that, then I wouldn’t be trying so hard to prove it to others. My entire younger years were spent running around, winning this or that, accomplishing, achieving, proving, and at the end of the day…I still didn’t feel like enough. I blamed others for a long time for not granting me the validation I longed for, poured my heart out for, and gave my blood, sweat, body, and tears over for. Then, recently, I woke up. I realized that I am the ONLY person who can validate me and allow myself to feel worthy of great things. The fact that I was trying so hard for others to do this was the evidence I needed to show me I did not believe it to be true within myself. Now, as soon as I see myself people pleasing and looking outside myself for validation, I know right away that I am really seeking my own validation, and I actually have an inside job to tend to :-)

5) That ultimately everything we do, mistakes or not, will be used by a power greater than us, for the greater good…the bigger picture plan. I use to feel so much guilt or regret or suffering over choices or decisions I made, or about things I did that I was not proud of. I spent years of my life feeling shame, self-loathing, and disappointment over “who” and “what” I was, defining myself by how perfect or imperfect I was in my own eyes. I don’t do this anymore. I have learned, or chosen to believe, as a result of my own journey and self-development path, that EVERYTHING gets used to heal the whole. Even if we do something awful or terrible, just to learn never to do it again, there’s a source bigger than me that will make it good, and all is always forgiven. This helps me forgive myself and others, because I know it is not up to me to understand everything, except that all will be made good.  I know this in my heart of hearts, that all is always made good.

So these are some of the things I’ve learned, and although I may have saved myself suffering had I known earlier in life, I consider myself to be blessed and lucky to know what I do know now. I am grateful.

Thank you all for participating with me here. I appreciate you. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2011, filled with all our hearts desires.

5 hours and 40 minutes and counting…

I love you,

Erin

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Dec 28, 2010

Breathing Courage In 2011

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Good morning friends. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday thus far. It’s been so nice moving a little bit slower these last couple weeks hasn’t it? I am grateful for the time to breathe, reflect, and recharge. Something I wanted to talk about today is Courage. I heard a quote the other day that I LOVE…

“Courage is not having no fear at all, but feeling the fear and doing it anyway.”

Personally, this is a relief to me because I always feel fear. Fear comes up for me every time I go to train a client, before every coaching call with a client, every time I sit down to blog, when I think about all the changes I want to make regarding my business and website, and when I think about the future and visualize it being filled with abundance, prosperity, optimal health and well-being, my enchanted love, children, traveling the world, writing books, public speaking, and having multiple passive revenue streams through all the ways I choose to be creative and express my message with the world. I feel fear around these things because they are all things I want so badly and feel so passionately about, and I can feel this desire to have them and be good at them to my core, in the deepest part of my soul. There’s a powerful article on Tiny Buddha, called Cracking Your Comfort Zone: How To Face A Fear, and in this article, the author shares something he heard, that I find very helpful. He says “Fear is excitement without breath.” Wow! This totally resonates for me because when I am afraid, it’s usually because there is something I really want, and have never had, that requires me to do something I’ve never done. I immediately feel excited and then, I tense up all over and experience feelings of paralysis. Of course I do…I am not breathing, and the thoughts sound a little something like this… “But what if I can’t or don’t know how? What if this is just way to big for me? “Who am I? Do I really have what it takes? How can I possibly be smart enough or creative enough or talented enough? There’s way too many people out there who are already doing this better than I ever could,” etc, etc, you get the point. However, this gets me no where, and I cannot work from this place. Therefore, next time I feel fear, I am going to implement what this author was talking about. Instead of getting all carried away and caught up in those thoughts that do not serve me, I will observe them, reject them, and then breathe into the excitement that I am really feeling about becoming my expanded self, achieving and experiencing things that are all new to me. I may not know if I will or can do all the things my heart desires, but right now, I do know I CAN breathe and lean into the unknown with excitement and OXYGEN:-)

What are your fears? What plans do you have for your life, and what are some things that could support your vision this year? Are you afraid to step outside your comfort zone? We all are, but as long as we do it anyway, fear cannot hold us back. Please share your experiences and fears here with all of us. Your input is appreciated!

Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

Love,

Erin

 

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Dec 21, 2010

Inspired Yet Again

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Hi Everyone…Happy Holidays! How are you doing out there? I know this time of year can bring up SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for us. Personally, I am feeling so many feelings, from the past, present, and future, that have literally got me holding on to my seat so tight, that some days I have to remind myself that I can be grounded if I breathe and find my feet. You know, there are definitely days that feel like they may just swallow me whole, but since I have survived all of those days thus far, I am learning to find inspiration in them, and to even laugh at them more often than not. Ahhh, INSPIRATION. Sometimes, when there is nothing else to hold on to, I can always count on this, because if we really commit to our process, and breathe, and look around us in every moment with awareness, INSPIRATION will always be there, waiting for us to unwrap it just like a gift. As many of you may already know, from blog posts and my FB statuses, I am on an intense journey. I have no doubt that all of you are on one as well…in fact I KNOW we all are on a truly profound ride. There can be really bumpy, rocky parts on this path we are on, but you are ok right now right? In this very moment, we are all ok. Here are 3 things that help me find Inspiration in what feels like even the darkest of times:

1) Stay committed to your process NO MATTER WHAT. Never forget that life is happening FOR you…in your FAVOR. I know it really doesn’t look like it OR feel like it sometimes, BELIEVE ME I know. However, if you stay committed to this perception throughout your journey, you will begin to see things very differently, and ultimately, you WILL find Inspiration at the end of the day :) Inspiration saves me every time. To understand more fully about how life is happening FOR you, see my article on Tiny Buddha “Life Is Happening For Us: All Things Are Gifts.”

2) Lean into the unknown, uncertainty, and insecurity. Tiny Buddha has a GREAT quote up on the site today that I love:

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” ~John Allen Paulos

I believe having faith, is when we can believe even when we don’t see how things could possibly turn around or end up ok. It is in the times of darkness that it is most important for us to turn to Source, Spirit, the Universe, a God of your own understanding, and to turn here FIRST. We so often try everything our way first, and try to fix things, and make things go our way before we actually get humbled enough to surrender and ask for help. Lean into your unknowning, uncertainty, and insecurity, and turn to something bigger than you FIRST. Seek, ask, and be open to what comes.

3) STOP…Find your feet…take a DEEP breath…let out a big laugh…and look around. When you notice you are spinning out, crazy, anxious, worried, hating on yourself for not being all that you think you should be, blaming others for your suffering, beating yourself up, judging your life, your relationships, your own success or lack thereof, and making decisions about how worthy or unworthy you are of being loved…

a) STOP- just quiet your mind, check in with your body, ask your body how its feeling. Tell it you are here, you are listening, and it has your full attention. Just BE with yourself.

b)Find your feet- Get present. You only are where your feet are. Find them and stay there, Free Yourself.

c) Take a DEEP breath- Bring your attention to your breath. Big inhale, long exhale. Feel your heart rate slowing down and the race inside you slowing down.

d) Let out a BIG laugh- Observe your own craziness and don’t take it personally OR seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself and at life…it really is funny:) We ALL are going through it with you!

e) Look around with committment and awareness- What is available to you in every moment? Be like an infant who was just born, or a child who is meeting its first animal. Have this level of curiosity and desire to explore and experience what is right in front of you and all around you.

Ok my beautiful friends, please share your experiences, questions, challenges, AH HA! moments, and inspirations with me here on the blog! Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vitality!

I love you!

Erin

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Dec 14, 2010

What Are You Holding On To That Needs To Be Released?

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Hello Everyone! How are you? I hope you are inviting in your opportunities today. In my last post, called What Being Fit Means To Me, I said I’d be back to write this article, so here I am :)   I talked about the Vacuum Law of Prosperity in that post (so check it out if you haven’t already), and I gave you access to a cool clip on You Tube that I found interesting, informative, and applicable. So…What are you holding on to that needs to be released? Like the Vacuum Law of Prosperity states…we must clear the way, to create a vacuum, so the universe has space to deliver something new.

Over the weekend, I applied this Law  to my life in many ways. I began taking inventory of the people, places, and things that I had been unwilling to let go of up to that point. I noticed how much stuff I had lying around, filling up drawers, closet, and my brain. I decided to give my house a complete makeover and I vowed that I was finally ready to LET GO of the past. I was ready to uncover, discover, and discard. So all day Sunday I went through drawers, closets, bags, piles of papers on my desk, and I was brutal! As I tossed things into the “GO” pile, I noticed how each thing, whether it was an old photo, a card of birthdays past, an old plane ticket, a pair of shoes an ex bought me, or a jacket I bought myself  for my first job, there were feelings attached.  A lot began to surface for me. I took a trip down memory lane and it stirred up all the feelings attached to those periods in my life. That’s when I realized the power of clearing out and making space. It’s not just  about the stuff. It’s about the energy the stuff creates in our environment. These things of the past are like anchors, keeping parts of our consciousness where it use to be. As I cleared and cleansed my house, I cleared and cleansed my heart, my soul, my mind, and my body. I not only made space in my external world, but I created space in my internal world, and I made a very clear statement to the Universe that says ”YES I am available, open, and ready to receive your gifts”. I believe that our external world is a reflection of our internal world, so I couldn’t deny that my house was mirroring back to me, all the people, places, and things that I was remaining emotionally attached to and unwilling to release. As I took a look around, and noticed that every nook and cranny of my place was filled, I could see why I’d been making it so difficult for the new to enter my life. Actually, a lot of the stuff I had, was not anything I even really wanted or used anymore. It’s just that I had always been afraid that if I threw it all away, I wouldn’t get anything better to replace it, and then I’d have nothing. This fear was coming from Limiting Beliefs and LACK. I was basically telling the Universe that I didn’t trust it to bring me something better, and so of course it could not. I have NEVER filled so many trash  bags, at one time, in my life! For whatever reason, I was ready…ready to let go and let God. Today, I sit here, open, available, aware, full of space, and in awe of the gifts that are already pouring in. I am grateful…oh so grateful.

What are you holding on to that needs to be released? If you are feeling stuck or like you just cannot move past certain patterns and behaviors, consider letting go of the things that are sitting around, both internally and externally, that no longer serve your highest good. I’d love to hear your thoughts and process around this. Here’s To Your Health, Wellness, and Vacuum Vitality!

If you seek Health Coaching, please email me at ELM.Coaching@yahoo.com.

Happy Holidays!

Erin

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Dec 9, 2010

What Being Fit Means To Me

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What Being Fit Means To Me- I have talked about this with all of you in previous posts. It seems to be something I ponder often. I think this is because I realize on a daily basis, that being “FIT” means so much more than we give it credit for. Yes, it means the obvious, like healthy eating and exercise habits, but to me, REAL FITNESS shows up in our ability to be resilient and flexible in the face of adversity, transition, and what appears to be an impossible obstacle to overcome.

Lately I have been undergoing some major changes. Some expected, some totally unexpected, some I wanted, others I wouldn’t have even considered. I am being divinely challenged to “Clean Out” my life, in order to make room for what wants to become of me. I recently was reminded of the Vacuum Law of Prosperity, which states that “Two things cannot take up the same space, and therefore we have to let something go in order for something new to replace it.” Well, I am relieved by this knowing, otherwise I may start believing that I’m loosing everything. It certainly can appear that way at times. However, I know that Divine Intervention is up to something in my life and in the lives of all of you. It is actually exciting, almost like Christmas…I know I am receiving many gifts, but I do not know what they will be just yet. I am looking forward to opening each gift, as they arrive in all their uniqueness, right in front of my face.

Being fit is having the strength and willingness to keep a constant state of awareness. Fitness is endurance for life. It’s a consciousness, a philosophy…an attitude. It’s the way in which you get up out of bed each day and move through the moments that confront you. Being fit is definitely external, but even more than that, it is internal. How internally fit are you? Remind yourself that everything in your life is meant to be there or it wouldn’t be. Think of that trust game, you know the one where you totally relax and fall backwards, trusting the person behind you to catch you? Live this way. Breathe deeply, completely relax, surrender your will and your power, and turn it all over to something bigger and greater than you. Allow yourself to take the “fall” and watch how grace steps in to catch you.

I hope you all are making the most out of your circumstances, friends and families, and every single day. Happy Holidays my friends.

Stay tuned for my next Article…”What Are You Holding On To That Needs To Be Released?”

Love,

Erin

Watch this cool Video on The Vacuum Law of Prosperity!

Filed Under: Fitness, Food, Mind Body Spirit Thursday, Thoughts of the day, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 6, 2010

Staying Grounded

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Hey everyone…it’s been a little while! Last week totally got away from me and I just realized I haven’t blogged since Thanksgiving…eeek! I guess I have been enduring a silent phase. I find these phases are a natural part of one’s progression and transformation. I know for me, there are times when I’m very “out there” and externally generating and creating, and then there are the times when I am a little more quiet, a little more internal. It’s as if I need time to allow all the new information I am currently receiving, to download and have the time to be digested, assimilated, and integrated. That is where I have been…downloading, digesting, assimilating, and integrating. How about you? For me, the challenge is always staying grounded. Do you know what I mean? When we are expanding and our consciousness is raising as a result of our self-development and healthy habits, what inevitably happens is a routine “house cleaning.” When we come more into alignment with source energy, the universe, and with our purpose, what is no longer in alignment with us MUST FALL AWAY. This can feel like our world is literally flipping upside-down. That is why it is important to do what we can to stay grounded. I find that I can really anchor myself in certain things such as doing what I know I CAN do rather than focusing on what I CANNOT do.

There are the tools we have collected along the way, that keep us inspired, nurtured, healthy, and feeling loved. What are these things for you? When times are challenging, in any way, good or bad, it is easy for us to justify not taking care of ourselves because we are “too busy” or have to deal with “bigger issues” or “can’t afford it.” However, the truth is…when times are tough, the MOST productive thing we can do is keep ourselves healthy, feeling good, and therefore taken care of. There are plenty of ways to take care of ourselves that are not expensive. Also, when we stay committed to living a healthy life, we will always find that our healthy habits or “tools” help us access more energy rather than less, and we are therefore more capable of getting the tasks at hand, and then some, accomplished. For me, the most important and beneficial thing I can do to support myself through the duration of a transitional period, is to PICK UP MY TOOLS!

What are your tools? Some of mine are, eating food that loves me back, like lots of organic fruits and veggies;drinking lots of water and taking my supplements;exercising at least 4 times a week;staying connected to my blog;reaching out to friends to share with another person what I am going through;scheduling at least 1 day/night in a week to do something fun that has nothing to do with work or self-development or spirituality;praying;meditation;surrounding myself with healthy, positive people;reaching my hand out to someone else in need; and participating in groups that support what I am doing in my career life and personal life. I find that COMMUNITY is a HUGE resource and tool to turn to when life is doing its thing:-) There are many things I CANNOT do. There are definitely things I CANNOT control…but these are the things I CAN take responsibility for. I can stay focused on them, lean into them, and anchor my feet in them when the ground beneath me is falling away. When our current foundation falls away, it was never that strong to begin with. When the new one is laid…we will have more security, stability, and safety. This is exactly what we want. YES?

I hope you all are staying warm, dry, authentic, but most importantly…grounded. Worry no more…We are exactly where we are supposed to be.

Stay with it…Live Strong:)

Erin

Filed Under: Fitness, Food, Thoughts of the day, What I'm up to · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Nov 25, 2010

Thank Goodness for Humility!

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are enjoying this day, wherever you may be, whether you are surrounded with loved ones or by yourself. This morning I spent a good few hours with a couple different families, neither one of which are my birth family. In the time I spent with them, I was reminded of the POWER of community. We shared with each other everything we are grateful for, and although I AM SOOOO grateful for so much…what I am most thankful for today is humility. I was reminded of this as I took part in a group consciousness that is aware of what it really means to live with humility.

You see, for me, if I do not live each day humble, in humility, then I am not teachable or in receiving mode.  I can really want something, but until we have the WILLINGNESS to do whatever it takes, we will not achieve the things we desire. I talk to my clients a lot about willingness, but today it hit me. We cannot even get to a point of being willing, until we have humility. Humility is the key that unlocks willingness, and willingness is all the Divine needs to enter our lives and to begin transforming us. I use to live life from a very ego place, and I made many attempts to create a life that felt good to me. I also failed many times. I still try this sometimes, and fail every time, but then the POWER of community helps me remember this main ingredient to living a happy life, which is HUMILITY. Today, I connect with othe