WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:05.839 Hello, I would like to discuss a few ideas with 2 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:11.240 you about healing, about life, and about learning to cooperate 3 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:15.359 with the universe instead of fighting against it. You know, 4 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:19.519 so many people come to healing only after they have 5 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:25.600 become very tired. They have pushed and struggled and argued 6 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:30.079 with life. They have said, this should not have happened. 7 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:35.000 I should not feel this way. My body should be different, 8 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.039 my past should be different. People should have loved me better. 9 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:46.200 The timing should be faster, and my dear, I understand that, 10 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.560 I really do. We all have moments when we want 11 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:55.280 life to change immediately so that we can finally feel safe. 12 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:00.399 We think, if this situation changes, then I can relax. 13 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:06.519 If this person apologizes, then I can have peace. If 14 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:11.120 the money comes, then I can trust. If the body 15 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:16.040 heals first, then I will love it. But you see, 16 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:20.480 that is often the very place where we get caught. 17 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:25.159 We place our peace somewhere outside of us, and then 18 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:29.000 we wonder why we cannot reach it. We wait for 19 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:33.519 life to become perfect before we allow ourselves to breathe, 20 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:39.120 and life, in its loving wisdom, keeps inviting us back 21 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:45.760 to the only place where healing can truly begin. Here now, 22 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:51.120 inside ourselves. I want you to consider something gently with me. 23 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.439 What if the struggle is not proof that life is 24 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:59.480 against you. What if the struggle is only showing you 25 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:04.280 where you are still resisting love. That may sound strange 26 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.599 at first, because we have been trained to believe that 27 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:12.319 acceptance means giving up. We think if we accept something, 28 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:16.080 we are saying it is wonderful, or we are saying 29 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:20.639 it should stay forever. But that is not what acceptance means. 30 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:27.319 To me. Acceptance is not surrendering your power. Acceptance is 31 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:33.199 becoming quiet enough to see clearly. Acceptance says, this is 32 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:36.919 where I am today, This is what I feel today, 33 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.360 This is what my body is telling me today. This 34 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:44.879 is what life is showing me today, and I am 35 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:49.240 willing to meet it with love instead of war. That 36 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:54.280 is a very different energy. When you fight the present moment, 37 00:02:54.800 --> 00:03:00.280 your whole body tightens, your breath becomes shallow, your mind 38 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:05.240 begins to race, your heart closes like a little flower 39 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:10.560 in a storm. But when you say, even softly, all right, 40 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:16.759 this is where I begin. Something inside you loosens. The 41 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:21.800 body hears you, the nervous system hears you, the little 42 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:26.599 child within you hears you, and the universe hears you too. 43 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:31.000 We do not need more anger, my dear. We do 44 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:35.599 not need more self punishment. We do not need more criticism, 45 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:41.120 more pressure, more mental whipping, more endless conversations about what 46 00:03:41.319 --> 00:03:47.360 should have been. We need more self acceptance. We need 47 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:52.159 more self love. We need the gentle courage to say, 48 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:56.280 I am where I am, and I can begin here. 49 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:01.120 It is like cleaning a house. You do not stand 50 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:03.800 in the doorway and scream at the house because it 51 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:07.639 is dusty. You do not say I will only love 52 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:12.319 this house when every room is shining. No, you pick 53 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:17.000 up one cloth, you open one window. You begin with 54 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:22.279 one corner, one shelf, one little drawer, and if you 55 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:28.199 keep going with patience and kindness, eventually the whole house 56 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:32.279 begins to feel different. Your mind is the same way, 57 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:37.680 your life is the same way. Your healing is the 58 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:41.759 same way. It does not matter which room you begin in. 59 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:47.879 Begin with one thought, Begin with one breath, Begin with 60 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:54.040 one soft sentence. I stop fighting life, and I begin 61 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.399 to heal. Take a breath with me now, not a 62 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:04.800 perfect breath, not a spiritual breath, just a simple human breath. 63 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:09.680 Let the air come in and let the air go out. 64 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:13.480 You see, you did not have to argue with the breath. 65 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:17.279 You did not have to force the next breath to arrive. 66 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:21.399 Somewhere within you, there is an intelligence that knows how 67 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:24.639 to breathe you, how to beat your heart, how to 68 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.160 renew cells, how to bring you through nights you thought 69 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:32.959 you could not survive. That same intelligence is part of 70 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:37.560 the great intelligence of life. Some people call it God, 71 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:42.439 some call it spirit, some call it the universe, some 72 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:45.839 call it the higher Self. The name is not as 73 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:50.639 important as the relationship. Can you begin to trust that 74 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:54.600 there is a wisdom moving through your life, even when 75 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.680 your little human mind cannot yet see the whole picture. 76 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.439 Can you begin to trust that life is not punishing you, 77 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:06.360 but teaching you. Can you begin to trust that what 78 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:10.720 is delayed is not always denied, and what is removed 79 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:15.720 is not always a loss. Sometimes life takes something away 80 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:21.000 because you have outgrown the old room. Sometimes life slows 81 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.160 you down because your soul needs to catch up with 82 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:29.160 your desires. Sometimes life repeats a lesson because there is 83 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:34.680 still a frightened little place inside you asking to be loved. Now. 84 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.600 I know, the mind may say, but Louise, I don't 85 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:44.360 like this. I don't want this lesson. I don't want 86 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:49.800 this waiting. I don't want this pain. And I would say, 87 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.879 of course you don't, darling. We are not pretending that 88 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:58.519 pain is pleasant. We are not putting pink paint over 89 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:02.680 a wound and calling it healing. We are simply learning 90 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.759 not to add more suffering by fighting what is already here. 91 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:11.759 There is the situation, and then there is the story 92 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:16.639 you tell about the situation. There is the feeling, and 93 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:19.680 then there is the criticism you place on top of 94 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:23.240 the feeling. There is the delay, and then there is 95 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:28.439 the belief that life has forgotten you. There is the change, 96 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:31.160 and then there is the fear that you will not 97 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:37.000 survive it. Healing begins when we separate the fact from 98 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:41.600 the fear. Healing begins when we say, this is happening, 99 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.800 but I do not have to hate myself through it. 100 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:49.000 This is difficult, but I do not have to abandon 101 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:53.839 myself inside it. This is uncertain, but I can still 102 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:57.920 be kind to me. I have seen again and again 103 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:03.439 that people are willing to accept almost anyone else before 104 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:07.920 they accept themselves. They will forgive a friend, they will 105 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:12.000 comfort a child, they will speak tenderly to a pet. 106 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:16.040 They will water a plant, feed it, move it into 107 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.319 the sunlight, and say, oh, you poor little thing, you 108 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:24.639 just needed some care. But when it comes to themselves, 109 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:29.600 they say, what is wrong with me? Why am I 110 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.879 not better yet? Why am I still afraid? Why am 111 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:38.759 I still repeating this? My dear? That is not healing. 112 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.159 That is old training. That is the voice of criticism 113 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:49.399 pretending to be improvement. Criticism never healed anyone. It may 114 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:54.799 frighten us into temporary action, but it never creates deep peace. 115 00:08:55.720 --> 00:09:03.960 Love heals, love teaches, Love opens, love dissolves the hard places. 116 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:09.559 Love says I see you, I hear you. I am 117 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:14.519 not leaving you because you are unfinished. And perhaps that 118 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:17.879 is the sentence many of us have been waiting our 119 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:23.000 whole lives to hear. So let us practice a little acceptance, 120 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:27.240 not as a concept, but as something you can feel. 121 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:31.279 Place your hand over your heart, if you can let 122 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:35.200 your shoulders drop just a little, Let your face soften. 123 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.200 You may not realize how often you hold your face 124 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:44.440 as though you are preparing for bad news. Soften the forehead, 125 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:49.320 soften the jaw, let the tongue rest, Let the belly 126 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:54.759 be allowed to exist. And now say quietly, perhaps only 127 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.360 in your mind. At first, I accept myself as I 128 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:04.840 am today. Notice what comes up. Perhaps the mind argues, 129 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:10.679 Perhaps it says, no, not yet, I have too much 130 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:15.759 to fix. That is all right. Do not fight the argument, 131 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:21.320 Just notice it. Then say again, a little more gently. 132 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:26.919 I accept myself as I am today, Not because I 133 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:31.879 am finished, not because everything is perfect, not because I 134 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:37.879 have all the answers. I accept myself because I exist. 135 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:43.879 I accept myself because I am learning. I accept myself 136 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:48.159 because love is the soil where all good changes grow. 137 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:52.759 If we wait until we are completely healed before we 138 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:58.240 accept ourselves, we postpone healing. If we wait until the 139 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:02.039 body looks different before or we bless it, we deny 140 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:05.720 the body the love it needs now. If we wait 141 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:09.720 until the bank account is full before we trust life, 142 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:14.320 we keep teaching the mind that safety is always somewhere 143 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:18.799 in the future. If we wait until everyone understands us 144 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:23.639 before we feel worthy, then we give our power away 145 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:29.320 to people who may not even understand themselves. No, darling, 146 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:35.720 we begin now. We accept ourselves. Now, We bless life. Now, 147 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:41.120 We cooperate with the universe. Now, and then change comes 148 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:46.639 not from panic but from peace. The changes we make 149 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:52.519 when we love and accept ourselves are always positive. Always. 150 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:56.480 They may be small at first, but they are real. 151 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:02.799 A kinder word, a slower breath, a better meal, a 152 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:08.960 little rest, a drawer cleaned, a boundary spoken, a mirror 153 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:13.960 looked into with less hatred. These are not small things. 154 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:18.480 These are the first shoots coming up from the fertile 155 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:23.000 soil of the subconscious mind. And when you see them, 156 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:27.799 do not say that is not enough. Say oh good, 157 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:33.399 here it comes. Life is moving. I am changing, you see. 158 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:38.279 Accepting how the universe works means we stop demanding that 159 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:43.120 life obey our fear. We stop saying it must happen 160 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:47.000 this way, at this time, through this person, or I 161 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:51.879 cannot be happy. That is not trust, That is control 162 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:57.120 wearing a spiritual costume. The universe has avenues you have 163 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:02.200 not thought of. Life has time. You cannot always understand 164 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.120 while you are standing in the middle of the lesson. 165 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:09.919 Very often, when something does not happen the way we planned, 166 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:14.480 we think we have been rejected. But sometimes we have 167 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:20.759 been protected. Sometimes we have been redirected. Sometimes we are 168 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:24.759 being prepared for a larger good than the one we 169 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:29.039 were clinging to. This does not mean we become passive 170 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:34.720 it means we become receptive. We still take steps, we 171 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:40.559 still make choices, we still speak honestly. We still care 172 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:45.559 for the body, the home, the work, the relationships. But 173 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:50.679 underneath it all, we stop fighting life. We begin to say, 174 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:56.759 life is not against me, Life is teaching me. Life 175 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:07.159 is arranging itself for my greater goods. Have you ever 176 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:11.039 planted a seed, my dear, and then become angry with 177 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:15.360 the soil because the flower did not appear the next morning. 178 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.399 Have you ever looked at a tiny green shoot just 179 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.679 beginning to push through the earth and said, this is 180 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:27.159 not enough. You are too slow. You should already be blooming. 181 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:31.960 Of course not. We understand when we look at a 182 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:36.480 garden that life has a rhythm. The seed goes down 183 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:40.559 into the darkness. First it opens where no one can 184 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:46.159 see it. It breaks quietly, it softens, it sends out 185 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:49.320 a little root, before it sends out a little leaf. 186 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:53.679 And for a while, if you are standing above the ground, 187 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:58.759 you may think nothing is happening at all. But underneath, 188 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:04.919 my dear, everything is happening. That is how healing works, too. 189 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.919 That is how the mind changes, That is how the 190 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:14.799 heart learns to trust again. You may say an affirmation 191 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:18.559 for three days and then wonder why your whole life 192 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:23.440 has not rearranged itself. You may choose one loving thought 193 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:27.639 and then feel disappointed when the old fear comes back 194 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:31.159 again in the afternoon. But this does not mean you 195 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:35.480 have failed. It means the old roots are being met 196 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:40.279 by new seeds. It means your inner soil is learning 197 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:44.279 another way to grow. So let us be very patient 198 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:48.120 with ourselves. Let us stop pulling up the little seed 199 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.159 every morning to see if it is working. Let us 200 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:55.159 water it with love, give it warmth, give it time, 201 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:59.840 and trust the invisible work of life. I allow my 202 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:05.200 healing to unfold in divine right time. There is a 203 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:10.759 very gentle discipline in trusting the process of life. It 204 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:16.399 is not laziness. It is not sitting back and saying, well, 205 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:20.360 I shall do nothing and the universe must do everything 206 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:24.960 for me. No, that is not what I mean at all. 207 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:30.000 Trusting the process means you do your part with love, 208 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:34.279 and then you release the timing. You plant the seed, 209 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:38.440 you water it, you let the sun reach it. You 210 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.639 remove a few weeds when you notice them, But you 211 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:46.120 do not shout at the seed. You do not demand 212 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:49.799 that the rose become a rose. Bud before it is ready. 213 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:54.039 You do not compare your little garden with the garden 214 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:58.320 next door and say life loves them more than it 215 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:03.480 loves me. Your path is your path, Your timing is 216 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:08.559 your timing. Your healing has its own divine order. And 217 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.319 sometimes the part of you that wants everything now is 218 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:16.519 not really asking for healing. It is asking for control, 219 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:23.119 because control feels safer than trust. So when you feel impatient, 220 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:29.240 do not scold yourself. Just say, oh, there is the 221 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:33.319 frightened little part of me that wants proof. Then give 222 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:39.759 that part love. Tell it we are learning. We are safe. 223 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.640 We do not have to rush the universe to be 224 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:47.559 loved by it. This is how we begin to loosen 225 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:54.079 the old habit of forcing life. We become cooperative, We 226 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:59.279 become receptive, We become willing to grow, little step by 227 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:04.160 little step. You know, many people get very discouraged when 228 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:09.200 their desires do not appear immediately. They say, I asked 229 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:14.920 and nothing happened. I affirmed and nothing changed. I tried 230 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.519 to be positive and life did not reward me. But perhaps, 231 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:23.880 my darling, something did happen. Perhaps you simply do not 232 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:28.319 recognize it yet because you are looking only for one 233 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:33.400 specific form. Life may be moving people out of your way. 234 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:38.079 Life may be teaching you a boundary. Life may be 235 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.200 strengthening your sense of worth so that when the good comes, 236 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:46.440 you can actually receive it. Life may be preparing a 237 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:50.359 larger answer than the little one you were insisting upon. 238 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:55.039 I have learned not to call every delay a denial. 239 00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:01.039 Sometimes a delay is protection. Sometimes a delay is preparation. 240 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.640 Sometimes a delay is the loving space in which your 241 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:12.119 consciousness grows large enough to hold what you have asked for. 242 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:16.599 If you ask life for a new relationship but still 243 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:21.079 believe you are unlovable, then perhaps the first answer life 244 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:25.680 gives you is not another person. Perhaps the first answer 245 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:29.119 is a mirror. Perhaps the first answer is a book. 246 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.759 Perhaps the first answer is a quiet morning where you 247 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:37.160 finally say, I am willing to love myself, And the 248 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:40.680 mind says, but that is not what I asked for, 249 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:44.720 And life says, oh, but it is what you need, 250 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.920 so that what you asked for can stay. So when 251 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:52.359 a desire has not yet come, let us not be 252 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:57.240 cruel to ourselves. Let us not say I am unlucky, 253 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:02.279 I am forgotten. Nothing works for me. Those are very 254 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:06.400 powerful words, and they do not nourish the garden, they 255 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:13.079 trample the tiny shoots. Instead, we can say something deeper 256 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:19.279 may be forming, something wiser, may be arranging itself. I 257 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:25.000 am being prepared, guided, and strengthened. You see, my dear, 258 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:29.680 The universe is not a vending machine. It is not 259 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:34.880 a cold little mechanism where you insert one affirmation and 260 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:40.960 demand one perfect result by Friday. Life is intelligent, Life 261 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:45.920 is responsive. Life knows the hidden corners of your heart. 262 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.920 Life knows what you are ready for and what you 263 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.559 are becoming ready for. And very often what we think 264 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:59.400 is a closed door is only a hallway. We are moving, 265 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.160 We are not stuck. We are in transition, and in 266 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:07.920 transition there is often a lot of back and forth. 267 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.119 One day you trust, the next day you worry. One 268 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:16.720 morning you feel peaceful, that evening an old fear comes up. 269 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:21.839 Please do not use that as evidence against yourself. You 270 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:26.519 are not failing because an old thought returned. You are 271 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.480 practicing a new one. You are learning to live in 272 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:34.960 a new house of consciousness. And every new house feels 273 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:40.799 unfamiliar at first. Be patient with yourself, build yourself up 274 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:46.240 instead of beating yourself up. Delay is not denial. Something 275 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.519 deeper may be forming. Now, let us talk about something 276 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:54.960 very important, and I want you to listen tenderly. Here. 277 00:21:55.759 --> 00:22:00.559 The words you speak are not small things. Your words 278 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:05.519 are little messengers. They go out from you, and they 279 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:11.000 also go into you. They tell your body what to expect. 280 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:15.359 They tell your mind what to search for. They tell 281 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:19.400 your heart whether this is a safe place to open. 282 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:24.920 Every complaint is an affirmation too. It may not be 283 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.079 the affirmation you want, but it is still an affirmation. 284 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:35.400 When you say I am terrible, life hears the energy 285 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:40.079 of that. When you say I never can, the mind 286 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:45.000 begins gathering proof that you cannot. When you say I 287 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:50.759 am broken, the body contracts around that command. We often 288 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:54.240 use our own voice as a weapon, and then wonder 289 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:58.319 why we feel wounded. But the voice can become medicine. 290 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:02.599 The same mouth that has criticized you can bless you. 291 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:07.160 The same tongue that has repeated fear can begin to 292 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:11.799 speak peace. The same breath that has carried worry can 293 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:16.799 carry a new decree of love. This is not about pretending. 294 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:21.839 This is about choosing the language that helps you heal. 295 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:25.359 I would like you to begin noticing the little phrases 296 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:30.160 you say without thinking. They may seem harmless because you 297 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:34.079 have said them for so long. I can't do this. 298 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.440 I am so tired of my life. I always mess 299 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:44.279 things up. No one helps me. My body is against me. 300 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:50.799 I am too old, I am too late. Things never 301 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:56.480 work out for me, My dear, These words create an atmosphere. 302 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.960 You would not choose to live in a room filled 303 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:05.279 with smoke and then wonder why you cannot breathe. Yet 304 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:10.880 many people live in a mental atmosphere filled with criticism, hopelessness, 305 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:15.079 and complaint, and then they wonder why their hearts feel heavy. 306 00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:19.400 We are not going to shame ourselves for this. We 307 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:25.079 are only going to become aware. Awareness is the beginning. 308 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:29.519 You cannot clean the room if you refuse to turn 309 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:33.920 on the light. So we turn on the light, not 310 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:38.599 to punish ourselves, but to see what needs love. And 311 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:43.839 when you hear yourself say I can't do this, pause, smile. 312 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:48.680 If you can, then say I am learning one step 313 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:53.359 at a time. That is a very different atmosphere. It 314 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:57.319 gives the mind a path instead of a wall. When 315 00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:02.319 you hear yourself say I am so broken, pause again 316 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:07.279 and become very tender. Perhaps what you mean is I 317 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:12.559 am hurting. Perhaps what you mean is I need gentleness. 318 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:17.119 Perhaps what you mean is I do not yet know 319 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:20.720 how to hold this part of myself. So let us 320 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:25.480 not call ourselves broken. Let us say I am healing. 321 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:32.000 Gently feel the difference. One phrase shuts the door, the 322 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:36.480 other opens a window. When you hear yourself say nothing 323 00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:41.240 works for me, try saying life is opening new ways 324 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:46.240 for me. The mind may argue, of course, it may 325 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:50.400 say where are they? I don't see them, And you 326 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:55.079 can answer, I do not have to see every way today. 327 00:25:55.880 --> 00:26:00.279 I am open and receptive. When you hear your self 328 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:04.759 say I am not enough, place your hand on your 329 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:10.359 heart and say I am worthy right now, not later, 330 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:17.440 not after improvement, right now. Worth is not a prize 331 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:22.160 handed to you after you perform well enough. Worth is 332 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:28.079 your nature. You were born worthy. No baby ever looks 333 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:32.039 in the mirror and says I must earn the right 334 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:38.079 to be loved. Babies simply exist. They breathe, they reach, 335 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:42.640 they receive, and we spend so many years trying to 336 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:47.160 return to that innocent knowing. Words can burden your life 337 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:52.559 or bless your life. Today we choose blessing. And I 338 00:26:52.599 --> 00:26:56.039 want you to speak to yourself as you would speak 339 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:59.960 to someone you truly love. If a frightened child came 340 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:02.640 to you and said, I don't know if I can 341 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:08.079 do this, would you say you are right, you are hopeless. No, 342 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:13.000 you would kneel down, you would soften your voice. You 343 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:17.839 would say, let us try together. One step. I am here. 344 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:22.680 If someone you loved was healing from pain, would you say, 345 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:28.240 hurry up, you are taking too long. No, you would say, 346 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:33.799 take your time. I am proud of you for beginning. Then, why, 347 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:37.839 my darling, would you speak to yourself with less mercy? 348 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:43.640 You are with yourself all day long. Your own voice 349 00:27:43.880 --> 00:27:47.880 is the one voice you cannot escape. So let it 350 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:52.160 become a kind voice. Let it become a home. Let 351 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:56.519 it become a healing hand on your own heart. Say 352 00:27:57.119 --> 00:28:01.400 I bless my mind, I bless my body, I bless 353 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:06.000 my timing. I bless this day. I bless the lesson. 354 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:11.519 Even before I understand it, this is not silly, This 355 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:16.880 is powerful. You are retraining the atmosphere of your consciousness. 356 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:23.000 New words create a new inner atmosphere. Let us practice 357 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:28.960 this now, very simply, very gently, take the old words 358 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:33.079 and let them soften into new ones. I can't do 359 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:38.000 this becomes I am learning one step at a time. 360 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:44.000 I am so broken becomes I am healing gently. Nothing 361 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:49.119 works for me becomes life is opening new ways for me. 362 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:55.279 I am not enough becomes I am worthy right now. 363 00:28:56.039 --> 00:29:00.480 I am too late becomes I am moving into fine 364 00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:06.680 right time. I always ruin things becomes I am willing 365 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:11.480 to learn a new way. My body is failing me 366 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:17.440 becomes my body is communicating with me, and I listen 367 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:24.039 with love. The universe has forgotten me becomes life is 368 00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:29.759 arranging my good in seen and unseen ways. Can you 369 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:34.000 feel how the body responds. It may be very subtle, 370 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:38.799 A little breath, a little softening, a little space in 371 00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:44.160 the chest. That is enough. Do not demand thunder and lightning. 372 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:51.359 Sometimes healing begins as a tiny quiet yes inside the heart. 373 00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:55.039 And if the old words come back, do not panic. 374 00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:59.880 They are only old habits looking for a familiar chair 375 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:03.880 to sit in. You can smile and say, oh, I 376 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:07.720 know you. You are the old way. Thank you for 377 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:12.039 trying to protect me. But we are choosing differently now. 378 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:16.640 We do not need to hate the old thoughts, We 379 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:20.599 only need to stop feeding them. If you have spent 380 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:25.160 years saying I am not enough, then one day of 381 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:30.440 saying I am worthy. May feel strange. That is natural. 382 00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:34.240 The new thought is like a new pair of shoes. 383 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:38.720 At first you are aware of it. You may wonder 384 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:42.400 if it fits, you may feel awkward walking in it. 385 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:46.759 But if you keep wearing it, it begins to feel 386 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:52.039 like yours. So repeat the new words. Write them down, 387 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:56.799 put them on the mirror, Whisper them while making tea, 388 00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:01.119 say them in the car, say them while washing your face. 389 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:05.960 Let your everyday life become a little temple of new language. 390 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:12.599 Your subconscious mind hears everything. It hears the criticism, and 391 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:17.880 it hears the blessing. Let us give it blessing. Now, 392 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:22.000 I would like to offer you five thoughts to carry 393 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:26.000 with you as you learn to accept how the universe works. 394 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:30.440 Do not rush them. Let them be like five little 395 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:35.200 seeds placed gently into the soil of your mind. The 396 00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:41.200 first is I accept myself exactly where I am today. 397 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:45.240 This does not mean you will stay where you are. 398 00:31:46.119 --> 00:31:51.359 It means you stop attacking yourself for being there. The 399 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:55.359 second is I trust the process of life to guide me. 400 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:59.039 This means you are willing to believe that there is 401 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:04.359