24 Wise Questions You Should Ask Yourself – The Year Gone & The Year Ahead

By Bernadette Logue

THE greatest block in your life is YOU.

The greatest solution to that block is also YOU.

If you do not learn from your experiences, and take control of your own energy (your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and actions) then you will surely continue to reap the same results and repeat the same patterns.

If those results and patterns are working for you, then great! 

If they are not, then below are 24 questions to help you tap into your own inner wisdom for the answers that will propel you ahead as a clearer, more inspired, empowered and insightful you.

Everything in your life stems from your energy and the paradigm through which you view the world. So it’s time to own that and POWER UP.

24 Questions

Grab a pen and paper, and answer these questions in relation to the year now gone and the year ahead:

1. What have I been doing, and continue to do, in my life that I know is NOT working for me?

2. Why have I not yet taken action to ‘course correct’ my journey in order to get different results?

3. What am I procrastinating about doing?

4. What negative habits do I have that I know I need to let go of? Click here to refer to our list “28 Habits that Block Your Happiness & How to Let Them Go”

5. Regarding the greatest challenges that I faced last year, what lessons did I learn that I can apply this year for my benefit?

6. Is there anything I intended to achieve last year which did not eventuate?

7. Did I invest my attention, time or resources into my personal growth, knowledge, well-being and/or happiness in any way?

8. What goal, dream or aspiration do I have for myself for the coming year that I’m ready to make happen?

9. Where is fear currently controlling me?

10. Am I feeling professionally fulfilled?

11. What would I most like to learn how to do or be for the year ahead?

12. How have I been using my “free time” and has that helped me feel inspired, vibrant, healthy and fulfilled?

13. Are my current habits for eating, drinking and exercising working for me or against me?

14. Am I holding any resentment towards others or myself?

15. How could I be of service in the year ahead in a way that will make the world a better place?

16. Which of my relationships need more of my loving attention to prosper?

17. Which of my relationships are toxic and no longer serve myself or the other person?

18. What have been my strengths and achievements in the past that I can celebrate?

19. Am I living a life that is meaningful to me?

20. Am I proud of who I am, how I behave and what I offer into the world?

21. What feelings dominated my experience of life last year?

22. What feelings do I most want to experience as I look ahead?

23. What I am most passionate about in my life that I’d like to do more of?

24. If I could improve one aspect of my life, what would it be? (e.g. relationships, career, finances, health, state of mind, emotional balance, adventure, self-expression…)

Set Your Vision

After you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to create a vision for yourself.

Let your answers above inform your vision for what is most important to you, in terms of how you want to be and what you want to do, what you want to achieve or to change, what actions are a high priority, and what positive energy and success mindset you want to enter… so that it flows on to create the results you deserve and desire.

Write your vision down! Make it real by taking it out of your imagination and putting it on paper. That act is one of declaration, taking something from an idea and turning it into a tangible written vision. This focuses your attention on what you want.

Article source: http://tiny.cc/bms3bx

How To Make Your Dreams Come True

By Justin Harmon

“Children see magic because they look for it.” - Christopher Moore

What is it to dream?

Consumed by the chaos that surrounds me, my life is but a mere echo of a faint cry for true freedom and a dream to come true.

I’ve been stuck in a catatonic state of dismay fueled by the fire to dwell in my ever growing abyss of despair.

Will I ever reach the destination which rests in my heart? The place where majestic wonder and perpetual fortitude for life’s greatest pleasures resides? 

OK. So my desire for a poetic entrance has been fulfilled, yet the relevance of the words remain unchained in my persistence towards my own dreams.

I believe there is a dream within all of us. A desire for a future that leaves us free to live openly, fully, and without the constraints of any cultural restrictions we’re presented with.

To dream means so much more than just having a visionary fantasy. Dreaming is a gift we have all been given. A way to envision our greatest desires and aspirations.

There is a problem though. Most of us have come to think of dreaming as an imaginary state reserved only for thought and not meant to become part of our reality.

I disagree with that premise. I believe our dreams can be the catalyst for our life’s transformation into reaching our greatest potential.

If we use the desire towards our dreams for fuel to move us towards them, we can bridge the gap between our dreams and our own reality.

It took me a long time to realize just how much is possible in this world when we put our dreams into action. 

It’s not easy, especially when there is so much skepticism towards being able to achieve our dreams, but I now know it’s possible.

I know it’s possible because I’ve turned one of my long time dreams into a reality, well almost.

When I was in fourth grade, we had a published author, (don’t remember her name) come to our school and give a workshop on writing.

I remember being in awe of the entire experience and being obsessed with the fantasy of one day being a famous published author.

That dream, like most in life, faded as I grew older. I became subjugated by the status quo and the restrictions society placed on me.

I reluctantly got a job, then another, then another … After 30-some jobs and still as lost as I had ever been, I decided to settle. I found a job and decided to stick with it no matter what.

That just hasn’t done it for me, so two years ago I started a blog. I forgot how much I still loved to write. I decided I would write a book, so I did.

I wrote not one, but two eBooks. Then I decided I would write a book to be published and I did. I didn’t do it alone.

I enlisted the help of my newly acquired friends who were making their dreams come true to participate.

After all was said and done, 20 of some of the most remarkable people I know helped bring the long-time dream to life.

I finished the book in August, successfully funded an Indiegogo campaign to help with publishing costs, and then something unexpected happened.

I was contacted by an independent publisher who was interested in turning my once childhood dream into a reality. We worked out an agreement and the book is now in the process of publication.

If all goes as planned, it should be released around the beginning of the New Year.

It’s by no means what I dreamed it would be like, but just by believing my dream was possible and taking some steps towards making it real, I was able to actually make it happen.

I believe anyone can turn their dreams into a reality, even you. I’d like to share some of the things I believe made a world of difference on my path.

Perception

Above all, the way you see what’s possible for your life will be the determining factor to whether you start a journey towards making your dreams real or just continue passively dreaming of 'what ifs'.

If you are up for it and can get past the negative feedback from the naysayers who would never believe in their own ability to turn their dreams into a reality, you can absolutely learn to see your dreams as an inevitable future destination.

Begin to connect and surround yourself with others on a similar path as you and you’ll begin to see how much your perception changes. They will be your inspiration and support, as you will be theirs.

Dedication

You may have heard this before, but I’ve found it to be true. The bigger your dream, the more work you need to put in to make it real.

There is no substitute for hard work except maybe for the dedication to keep working through the most difficult of circumstances.

I came across many pitfalls with periods of low ambition, lost faith, and just plain old laziness.

Those may have stalled my progress from time to time, but I remained dedicated to persist in my efforts and in the end, it was worth it.

Don’t ever stop chasing. Even when you come across a roadblock, it’s OK. Accept it for what it is and keep moving forward. Dreams don’t come true overnight. Sometimes it can take years, even decades.

Strength of Purpose

Not until I came up with a good enough reason to convince myself that going after my dreams was going to be worth it, did I actually make a dedicated commitment to start pursuing them.

The reason I came up with was that I wanted to make some sort of impact in the lives of others.

I had finally come to believe in the possibility for my dreams to come true and I wanted to help others see it for themselves.

Don’t ever underestimate the power of purpose. It can push you through trying times. When you begin to question whether or not you should continue on and you ask yourself what the point is, you’ll know.

Are there more things you need to know to achieve your dreams? Sure, absolutely there are. But you know what? You continue to learn and grow as you move forward towards your dreams.

Just remember it’s all a journey. You can either strive for your dreams or not. The choice is obviously yours.

Will you take a chance on yourself and your dreams?

Article source: http://tiny.cc/DreamOn

What does your HEART want? A simple exercise to find out…

By Aine Belton

VERY often deciding what you want, plans, and goal-setting are a left-brain process. Perhaps you sit down, think about what you want, and write down a list (if you take the time to do that).

Aine Belton

 This can be valuable as with any goal-setting, but how much of what you think you want is what you REALLY want at the deepest level?

Asking your heart what it wants can reveal dreams, goals and desires beyond those you may be consciously aware of, and ones that will always most benefit your life (and others).

I share a very simple exercise for asking your heart what it wants below, along with how asking mine led to some recent trapeze lessons!

There’s no ‘right and wrong’ with goals – you have free will and can create your life as you choose – but there may be goals and dreams that are most serving to you and the world at this time – things that will most reward and fulfill you and others, bring greatest joy, enhance your energy, and engage and express more of your gifts and true nature.

I’m not the most left-brain goal-setter! Some of my goals are far from conscious plans. The Global Love Festival, for example, began in a night-time dream in which I was organizing a festival followed by several other dreams, and many waking-life synchronicities.

I didn’t sit down and think “I know, I’ll organize festival”. I don’t think I would ever have consciously come up with the idea, not least because I knew nothing about putting on a festival! With the sheer extent of what’s involved, from a purely logical perspective I would probably run from the idea.

BUT, I so believe in the dream and am so passionate about it, I am fully committed, despite challenges and steep learning curves.

The ‘Ask Your Heart’ exercise below is a waking process you can use to access visions, dreams, and desires beyond those you may consciously hold.

It’s not an intricate meditation or specialized technique, it simply creates the space to listen to your heart so you can give it a go right now.

I recently began taking some “Ariel Skills” classes (i.e. trapeze)! This certainly isn’t out of any desire to do it publicly or professionally (if you saw my lack of knack at it you’d see why ), but I am having a blast. I love it! Aside achy muscles and flailing attempts to actually get onto the trapeze, once up it is such fun.

Why am I doing Trapeze?

Earlier this year I asked my heart what it wanted. One of the things my heart said it wanted was “to fly”.

This was quite unexpected. Then came flooding to mind a dream I used to have of flying an airplane or helicopter in my twenties. I used to be really passionate about the idea and even looked into pilot lessons, but I had little funds at the time and it just fizzled out.

Since hearing my heart say “I want to fly” I’ve had a lot of synchronicities around flying lessons – hearing an advert for flying lessons on my car radio (never heard that before!), hearing my friend talk about flying lessons he had not far from where I live, and perhaps the funniest, a neighbor that purchased a­­­­ mini helicopter he loves remote-flying that I’ve been seeing whizzing about. I am now booking flying lessons.

Then came the news about someone nearby teaching “Ariel Skills” classes. My heart lit up instantly. I was on to it

My heart shared several other ‘recommendations’ that weren’t on the conscious radar at the time yet have led to very rewarding experiences and new ventures.

Your heart is a gateway to the loving wisdom of your Higher Self and Source. What your heart wants will always most serve you (and all). You can ask what your heart wants in general, for its guidance in a specific area, or on a daily basis even.

Ask your heart when you wake up what it wants for your day ahead, for example. This will always be something that honours yourself and others and brings greatest love, joy and success.

"Listen for the voice of love in the crowded house of mind, soft it speaks yet endless are the blessings of this treasured find."

Your heart always has the answer

ASK YOUR HEART EXERCISE 

1) Get quiet, relax, take a few deep breaths, settle yourself and close your eyes (after you’ve read these brief steps so you can read them ). 

2) When in a peaceful calm state, place your awareness on the area of the center of your chest behind the sternum bone – this is the area of your heart chakra.

What does it feel like to place your attention here? Get a sense of the energy here. How is your heart feeling? 

3) With your focus on this area of the center of your chest, allow yourself to feel your love – the love you have for yourself, for someone you know, for nature, or any wonderful experiences that you are fond of, for example.

Whatever comes to mind, allow your heart to open and feel your love, gratitude and appreciation. As you do, see if you can sense the energy in this area of your chest expand and become more alive and tangible. 

4) You are now going to ask your heart what it wants.
You might like to imagine a mini-you inside this area of your chest – the loving, joyous, kind person that you truly are residing here in the center of your chest.

OR, you may just imagine asking this area of your heart in a more abstract way what it wants – asking the love you feel inside for its wisdom and response.

Whatever feels right to you, simply ask: “Dear heart, what do you want?” And then pause to receive a response.

You may prefer other words, or to extend the question for more specifics, such as:
“Dear heart, what would most serve me in my life at this time?”
“Dear heart, what do you desire today?”
“Dear heart, is there something you would like to share with me?”
“Dear heart, what would enhance my health/happiness/love-life/success at this time?” 

5) Listen to what your heart has to ‘say’. You may hear words, feel feelings, have thoughts, inspirations, images, ideas, or just get a sense of awareness and knowing. Just be open to what comes after asking your heart what it wants. Then thank your heart.

This exercise gets stronger the more you practice it and connect to your heart, so don’t be put off if you don’t feel an instant connection or get a clear response. Like any muscle, it gets more adept with use.

SUMMARY:

* Relax and still your mind
* Sense your heart area
* Open to and feel the love in your heart
* Ask your heart what it wants
* Open to receive a response

Try asking your heart what it wants right now, even in a simple way as with the summary just above.

Be open to whatever arises. It might not be something practical or tangible. Your heart may say “I want you to forgive yourself/your mother/your ex”, “I want you to share your feelings more with your friends”, or “I want to go outside and enjoy nature more”, etc.

Anything your heart revealed with this simple exercise? Any insight, inspiration, revelation or awareness?

Love and joy,

Aine Belton

Article source: http://globalloveproject.com/2013/07/ask-your-heart/