This week I was teaching my latest group of Reiki Master students, and I had a realisation about a key step in my growth.
I have a confession ... I was ashamed of my past ... and now I have reclaimed my shame.

We were talking about energy and life choices, I realised that during the process of following my spiritual path, travelling overseas, running my own business and writing my book (Finding my Soul at Sea) I’ve been gradually facing the truth about myself.
Each time I took a step out of my comfort zone a new level of understanding was gained.

Most significantly, this past year has been about launching my first book.
There is a lot of personal development that happens during the writing and publishing and marketing process.

I discovered that the reason it felt so hard to take the step of actually publishing my memoir ... it was because on some level, I felt ashamed of my actions, in the past, and particularly while working on board ships. 

You know how you only share certain things with certain people in your life.
Some stories for the family, some for your best friends and some for your work colleagues, right?
Well, this book is my truth ... on a platter ... my heart ... out there ... my whole self for all to see.

Obviously, NOW I get why my publisher and mentor (Ocean Reeve) told me that personal development is STEP 1 of the publishing process. You’ve always gotta come back to that or you won’t be able to do the rest of the steps.

I’ve got to admit that I was a bit too dismissive of his comments at the beginning.
I mean I’ve got lots of personal development tools and I run a business in spiritual coaching and wellness...
I thought "I can easily handle this."

But at times during the publishing journey I felt like my head and heart would explode ... with fear and shame and vulnerability and anxiety ... there were times that I lay in bed and thought “I can’t do it ... I just can’t show this to (insert names here)... I can’t let them hear the truth ...“
**Note: I’m not sure if it’s the same for fiction writers. Perhaps my author friends can reply and let me know. 

My whole way of presenting myself to the world was tied up in NOT telling those ship stories.
And anyone whose worked on board can attest to this ... we think that people who’ve never worked on board can’t fully understand the alternative universe that it is.

However, I’ve discovered ... not only DO people understand my truth ... they also resonate with it ... and have had similar experiences (in other environments) ...
And they've even told me they felt a shift in THEIR level of shame, by me sharing my truth.

Ahhhhhh that’s why we do this!
That’s why we write.
That’s why we share our stories.
That’s why ...
To help ourselves and others to shift, allow, accept and forgive ...

Your story is just as perfect as mine.
Your journey is equally valid and true.
Your message will heal you ... and others.

Write it because it’s true, it moves you and it takes you to a deeper knowing of your Soul  ... not because it might make money.

By writing my book, I learned the reason I didn’t tell my story before was fear of being rejected and judged ...
But I was doing the rejecting and judging of MYSELF.
I was comparing myself to an old version of me and I wasn’t that person anymore ... there is no comparison.
As you grow you transform.

Now I have reclaimed all the parts of mySelf ... the sexy parts, the funny parts, the physical parts, the magical parts, the spiritual parts, the lonely parts, the emotional parts, the crazy parts, the shy parts, the adventurous parts, and the caring parts.

Shame is an indicator emotion for me that I’m not claiming a part of myself.
Are you ready to reclaim your Shame?

Please, feel free to share your insights by replying to this email or you are welcome to comment on my Facebook page (Pip Coleman - Conscious Courses and Therapies)
Blessings
Pip

This week I'd like to talk about strong emotions ...
We all have them.  
Particularly now, with this worldwide situation that is at hand. 
The question I have this week is, how can we use our strong emotions to be more healthy, productive and happy? 

When I was working on board ships there were situations that really burned me up.
I would get so angry about the food not being very healthy; or the immigration process being so long and drawn out for the crew; or the passengers not doing what we asked them to do during boat drill. 

It all seems silly now, I mean, who cares if the passengers don’t want to put their life jacket on? 
Why can’t they eat a slice of pizza and drink their cocktail, while I tell them the safety instructions? 
The ship probably won’t sink this cruise. Right? (read more in Finding my Soul at Sea)

Right now there are LOTS of strong emotions being expressed within our families, within our communities and in the world. 
Anger. Frustration. Fear. Anxiety. ... 

Strong emotion ... what does it mean? 
Well ... essentially it means ... THIS matters to me! 
It means I care about this person, job, situation or relationship ... A LOT. 

I’d like to offer a suggestion ... based on the teachings of Abraham Hicks. 
Together let's practice revelling in the positive AND the negative emotions ...
The idea is to REALLY sinking in and feel both. 

Squashing the negative emotions only makes it worse. Right? 
The more you try to stop being angry or afraid the more you feel.

So, why not practice ‘milking the juice’ from ALL of our emotions ... 

Abraham Hicks suggests that we practice sitting with and rolling around in our strong emotions ... 
When you feel angry, sad, anxious, fearful ... try to take a moment (a small step back) and say: 
“ohhhhhhh I’m soooo angry right now ... or I’m sooo sad right now ... or I’m sooooooo anxious .... I’m soooooo .... aaaaarrghhh ... I could spit fire! I feel like I might burst!! ... I really, really, really feel (your emotion) ....” 

NAME it ... SPEAK it ... HONOUR it. 

And your inner being will say “Ohhhhh this is gonna get good ...” 
When there is conscious awareness of your emotions (and therefore your desire), you can use it as a springboard to shift forward. 

When we feel strongly about something it means there is A LOT of momentum behind it ...
And there's no point trying to stop a car once it’s off the cliff. It’s best to just ride with it. It’ll be over soon. No point in chastising yourself either ... “you’ll have an opportunity to start again real soon.” Abraham Hicks jokes. 

The point is once you get going on a negative story, the best way to get through it quickly is to allow rather than resist it. 

So, first, allow it ... sit with it, accept and see if you can enjoy rather than resist.
 
Second, go and have a nap, or distract, and soothe yourself to lessen the resistance. 
**importantly, (and this might seem odd for a psychologist / counsellor / healer to say) please ... DON'T talk to someone else about it. You will only get confirmation and agreement of your negative vibes and keep it in your heart. DON'T beat the drum of bad. 

Third, during your normal day do deliberate feel good activities like meditation, laughing, walking on the beach, watching sunsets and sunrises, sitting in the grass ... and cultivate a dominant feeling of well-being. 

**please DO go to see a psychologist / counsellor or healer to help you with step 1 and 3 ... To practice letting go and feeling good. Get tools and skills and strategies, to stay healthy, connected and well.  NOT using them to justify your life's dis-ease. 

Then when you have resistance or a situation come up, that doesn’t feel good, you know how to reset yourself back on course.

Your negative emotion is a gift from the Universe. It tells you there is some tweaking to do in your vibration to move forward. 
Your vibrational world improves when you have a fit of negative emotion. 

Are you ready to move towards your desires or will you continue to stand in justification of not having what you want? 

“Your inner being sees you with much more loving eyes than your small self.” Abraham Hicks 

Blessings Pip xxx
​

​This morning I was listening to the audiobook of Uncharted by Colette Baron-Reid ... and she said “your intuition is not the sixth sense ... it’s the first sense”  ... it’s the one that happens first.
The gut feeling.
The inner ding.
The inspiration of the soul. 
The ripple of an excited shiver.
That vibe we get to tell us we are going the right way ...

Then I saw on Facebook Ocean Reeve (my publisher) has posted a quote:
“We are born creative. It is our nature to dance, sing, write and play. Share your story to the world. You never know who it will inspire.”

And it occurred to me  ... that’s the amazing thing about creativity ... inspiration is the source of it AND the outcome. 

Woah! Did you feel that in your heart and soul, like I did?

You know how it feels to be inspired.
You remember ... maybe it was yesterday, or last week ... or maybe it was when you were a child ...
We were ALL inspired creative beings then.

That’s why every coach I’ve EVER had says (at some point) “what was it you wanted to be as a child?” ... or “what did you love to do as a child?” ...

Our children and our inner child are a wonderful source of truth and wisdom.
If we tap into that wisdom and listen, we can really shift and heal our lives.

You might say “Well Pip, I loved to swing on the monkey bars and roll down grassy hills until I threw up. Am I supposed to do that as a career now as an adult?”
And I say “Yes ... smartass!” *grin*

Sure ... you might be a gymnast, or an acrobat, or a clip n climb instructor ... or a landscape gardener ... or perhaps just someone who likes to be outside.
Do you go outside into nature every day? No
Do you work outside now? No
Maybe your inner child is calling you to go outside.
Follow the clues. Be open to the wisdom. 

When I was trying to discover my perfect job, I listed all the things I loved to do ... and they were: travel, talk to people, laugh and get paid. So I looked for things to do that fit those criteria. And I got the job as a social host on a cruise ship.

Then I wanted to stop travelling and have time on land, help people be happy, have deep conversations but still have a laugh and get paid. So I did my Reiki Master training and started a business in wellness classes.

Then I wanted to share my story of spiritual awakening and help people be happy further than my local community. So I wrote and published a book (Finding my Soul at Sea) and now I’m talking about what I love, with people who inspire me and getting paid.

Ask yourself those questions above and REALLY listen.
Then follow the guidance. Try it ... you won’t regret it.
Your inner child is SO excited right now. Can you feel it?

Blessings Pip