Self Love & Sisterhood

Tara Bliss, Melissa Ambrosini, Amanda Rootsey & Jessica Ainscough
Photo credit via Earth Events

Self Love = Soul Satisfaction ~ Tara Bliss

Walking into this packed room for the event Self Love & Sisterhood took my breath away. I could feel the uplifting energy and looking around at the sea of eager faces was awwwwwwwesome! And this was before the panel ladies even stepped out onto the stage!

This is the world I have been longing for since I woke up from my sleepwalking life. Over the years I've made some amazing one-on-one connections with like minds, but seeing a sea of sisters in one place was truly encouraging - this heart-centered, authentic-life, soul-sista, make-a-difference community is truly growing. I'm excited to see what Earth Events has in store for us in this vein.

So, who were these magic ladies?
Tara Bliss from Such Different Skies, Jessica Ainscough of the Wellness Warrior, Melissa Ambrosini from Path to Wellness and Amanda Rootsey from AmandaRootsey.com.au. Amanda was one of the early followers of this blog and I got such a buzz realising that!! (hi Amanda if you're reading this!).

Me & Amanda - gorgeous girl - gorgeous dress! Photo quality - average ;)

These women are truly living their authentic lives and inspiring others to gracefully (and messily!) dive through the muck and magic and be our well, real, divine, wonderful selves.

I came away from this event inspired. Not only to earnestly practice my version of self love but to gain more confidence in putting myself out there and growing in the direction my heart desires.

The panel format was engaging and provided spontaneous wisdom and heartfelt sharing.

You know me and my love of paper and pouring my heart out onto the page, so, in typical Arienne-fashion, I took copious notes that I had a hard time deciphering! I took down words and phrases that captured me and left me nodding with my heart. I may not have gotten every word right but it the gist that counts right girls?!

In response to 'What does self love mean to you?'
Accepting and having your own back no matter what. - Jessica Ainscough (JA)
Having gratitude for what you have now - Amanda Rootsey (AR)
Everything doesn't work without it - JA
[if you don't have self love you're] Building yourself up with sticks instead of bricks - Melissa Ambrosini (MA)
When you love yourself you want to drink green smoothies....- MA
Working the Self Love Muscle - MA
One first step is awareness...see how you speak to yourself - JA
[affirmations are important in self talk] I deeply and completely love and accept myself - JA
We wouldn't be here if we'd not been so messed up - Tara Bliss (TB)
I have a choice in this moment - TB
What does the mean girl say in your head? Write it down. Look at it. No one else would talk to you like that so why do you allow it? - MA
Doing things for someone else brings self love back
No amount of darkness can ever blow out that candle of awareness and choice 

How do you practice self love?
Remembering who I am in quiet time. - TB
Meditating and connecting - MA
What I put in my body are acts of self love.
What soundtrack I choose to play in my head each day?
Getting to know myself without all the external labels (ie party girl) - JA

 How do you support the Sisterhood

Compare no more. Support and encourage others. There is an abundance in the world

Acceptance and love of where you are now

How do we make self love fun?Be gentle and forgiving of yourself
Do things everyday that you love. I've designed my life to make everyday and every moment fun - JA

Self love is not selfishness to the detriment of others. It is realising the importance of taking the time and effort in loving yourself so you can truly love and support others from the right place and from the best reasons.

I went with one of my besties and healthy influencers Miss C and caught up with Ashley - Physio and Pilates girl extraordinaire! 

The beautiful and vibrant Jessica Ainscough of The Wellness Warrior

Some of the takeaways and reminders that I am taking action on now:

• Sitting in stillness or journaling to connect with myself more regularly
• Becoming more aware of what I put into my body
• Stepping up into my own brilliance so I can shine and reflect that to the women shining around me
• Reminding myself that I chose the way I am now living my life and to allow myself more fun and lightheartedness in this.

I love Tara's quote that I highlighted at the top - Self love is equal to soul satisfaction. That's what it is all about - doing the things that make your soul truly light up.

How do you practice self-love?
Make it as you wish,
Arienne

Ch..Ch...Changes and Patience

There is a lot of change going on in my life. Changes that I am responsible for and excited about but that also can be exhausting!

I have been working towards a lot in the area of my career and business. Wonderful things have started to take seed and build momentum. People and things are appearing to help me, to support me and show me that this life I am building is right.

Sometimes through all of this (even though I know in my heart of hearts that I am heading in the right direction) I still have those vulnerable moments. Those moments where self doubt surfaces. Where I ask if I am enough to help others. Where I question if this is worth all the 'stuff' we have to go through to be the master of our own destiny!

I had one of those days this week. Then, literally the first picture I saw the next morning was an illustration about not giving up during the struggle. The FIRST thing I saw when I opened up good old facebook as I started to wake up to the day. Wow! I truly believe that wasn't a coincidence. I choose to recognise that as a sign of something amazing supporting me.

It reminded me that I need to be patient with myself. That even though I have planted seeds and am tending vigorously to my garden, it will take time for my flowers to blossom - to build myself and my business up. That some of the people I have been comparing myself to have been in business for years. That just because you start working out, it doesn't mean you will see results straight away..

A lot is happening at once - which is absolutely wonderful. But I just need to breathe through some of it. I'm also being more understanding with myself - that even though I plan for a lot, it doesn't always all HAVE to happen now. Yes, I have to work hard, but I can work hard in a way that helps me, not in a way that overwhelms and negatively effects me.

I'm proud that there are some extremely important things than I have managed to maintain amidst the craziness. I'm sooooo proud that I've maintained regular workouts because I know how important that is to my general health and how much stronger I then am to deal with everything that goes on.

So this week I am reminding myself of the positive things I can do that will support me - exercise, spend quality time with quality people, setting up the 3 most important things to complete each day and take positive action towards them and giving myself only 2-3 outcomes for the week.

And I'm aware of not doing the things that ultimately hinder me - overscheduling/overcommitting myself to others, planning in too many tasks for myself then getting into overwhelm and doing 'busy' work that really gets me nowhere.

What are you doing that supports you and are you aware of the things that can hinder you in the upcoming week?

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Your True Life Vision Takes Courage

Found On

When you start acknowledging that you want 'more' in your life, it can be scary. The questions start to come up. Does wanting more mean you need to change everything at once? Does it mean all the good stuff will change too? Does saying it out loud mean you need to make drastic changes immediately?

Then that bloody unhelpful voice kicks in saying, "you can't do it silly, you don't have enough skills or confidence or knowhow AND you're waaaaaaaay too lazy/stupid/unworthy. Besides, even if you did attempt it you would probably fail, fail, FAAAAAIIIIIILLLLLLL!!!!!!"

Does any of that sound familiar?

These questions, answers and thoughts often overwhelm us so much so that we stay in inaction.  The result is that you are left yearning for the wonderful possibilities out there but feeling like you just don't know how to reach them. That gap then exists between where you are now and where you would like to be and that void is often a source of unhappiness...

Does any of that ring a bell?

Change can be daunting. It is the unknown! Is full of uncertainty!  Breaking out from the status quo often is. It means stretching out of your comfort zone when sometimes staying in the 'zone' is well...comfortably warm and safe - like those favourite gungy trackie pants you have (comfy but really not really all that exciting). Plus, the future can feel like it is fraught with potential challenges and 'danger'.

But is it really safe to stay there? Well, if you want an 'okay' life then yes it is. But if you want an amazing life, one that you are truly enamoured with, then the comfort zone becomes a dangerous place to be. It becomes unsafe because you are already aware that there is a better option of life for you out there while you are where you are now. In my experience, if you know it but ignore it, 'things' (blocks barriers, frustration, mediocrity, sickness, unhappiness, unease) happen until you pay attention.

You have to ask yourself if the vision you see in your dreams is worth leaving the status quo and making the effort to get there:

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin

All I know is that I want a great life. A great life on my own terms. A life I can look back on and say, "Wooooohaaaaaa I gave it my all! I tried and I got more than I could ever dream of. Sometimes I attempted something and even though I was reaching for the stars and I ended up catching the dreamy moon and other times I tried and and I 'failed' but I learned and at least I wasn't left wondering...what if and kicking myself because I didn't have the guts to give it a go."


I am finding the courage to make my life the way I want. I am stepping out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there into the unknown. I am being brave in the face of difficult questions and challenging situations.  I am looking things in the eye and trusting myself that I will find a solution. It is not easy and I get scared. I question myself. I sometimes wonder if another way would be easier. But because I TRULY know it is worth the effort, I'm building my strengths in self-belief, courage and taking forward action. I'm enjoying my today while putting things in place for my tomorrow. For this I am being rewarded with so much magic and so much support showing up in my world.

Trust me, you want to do it without the need for life/death experiences to wake you up to what life can be.

Wake up now if there are parts of your life that are just okay. Wake up now if there are parts you love and parts you hate. Wake up now if it all seems not so fabulous. Because if you do, if you really stand up and look for it, there is a lot of great out there and your life can be so much more than you once thought was possible.

I say all of this as a person who was once in the darkest hell hole you could imagine and is now living in much more sunshine. I'm still on my journey with all its challenges and all its glories but I am so grateful I gave life a go.

What is something you can do today to take a step towards where you want to go and who you want to be? What could you acknowledge or admit that feels true to you without necessarily having to do anything about it yet? How can you give your life a go?

Make it as you wish SSSs. MAKE. IT. AS. YOU. WISH.
Arienne xo

I'm Making The Leap

Photo Credit

For years the Universe has been pushing and prodding me in a certain direction and while I have taken some heed of it, I've made the changes half-heartedly.

Always with one foot still in the status quo. In the 'safety' of what is 'normal' or what I 'should' be doing. But that safety never lasted long. Things keep rearing up and slapping me in the face to show me that I can't stay that way. They make me so uncomfortable that I can't help but do something drastic.

I have to stand up, take a deep breath and leap into what is authentic for me.

I know when I do that, the Way, the Path, will show up. When I am committed to my authentic direction, the Universe will help me.

So I am walking to that cliff edge, knowing the 'what' but not exactly knowing the 'how'.

I trust that the how will show up.

So come with me as my tentative steps become determined strides.

Let's jump!

Start Here! SSSs Areas of Life

I'm constantly coming up with different ways to break our lives into areas so we can have a clear overview of what to pay attention to. It may not be all encompassing, but I think it captures most of the important parts of our lives. It may need to be rejigged for different people, but I've created 13 different areas.

I've then decided to break the different blog labels into these 13 different areas. At least for the moment. Who knows, I might rejig it once a better system is made clear to me!

The 13 areas in no real order are:

1. Physical Health - diet, exercise, hydration, vitamins, checkups
   
2. Emotional Health - stress, meditation, sleep, emotions, self confidence
   
3. Self Care - beauty regimes, hair, makeup, style, fashion
   
4. Relationships: Partner - love, dating
   
5. Relationships: Family - parents, siblings, extended family, traditions
   
6. Relationships: Friends - BFFs, socialising
   
7. Finance - budgeting, savings, investments, spendings, net worth
   
8. Professional - entrepreneur, path, career
   
9. Giving - volunteering, donating
   
10. Spiritual - gratitude, rituals, the universe/source/god
    
11. Surroundings - home, car, clutter
    
12. Interest & Activities - hobbies, travel, reading, crafting
    
13. Personal Development - books, habits, courses, creating confidence
    

If I've left out an area or if you need any clarification let me know at savvysassyshe[at]gmail[dot]com.

Out of this, I've created a 1 A4 page that summarises what I want to do in each of these areas for 2011. I put a picture of myself on the page as well to envision myself doing it. Then I print it out and put it on the wall above my desk as well as in my organiser that I refer to all the time. Look at it everyday to ensure you're staying on track and that all your actions are bringing you somehow closer to them.

I've posted this below - sorry the formatting is all squiff!!:

My Major Objective for 2011:

Master my Health

My Life Purpose:

To Build Confidence and Inspire In Others Positive Actions in Style

My Action Question:

In How Many Ways can I Continue to Build Confidence and Inspire Positive Action in Others?

My Master Skill:

Taking action and the Cycle of Completion

Physical Health –Exercise 5x week –Breathe Freely by March –Plan my meals 1x week –Massage 1x fortnight	Emotional Health –Write daily in my morning pages to work thru things –Stop and breathe regularly – 2x day	Self Care – Have a pamper session 1x month –Regular Hair, Nails, Beautician upkeep
Finance – Automate my systems –Implement my financial plan –Live & track a workable budget	Professional – Embrace activities out of my comfort zone and learn –Deal with things once –Be confident in my decisions and activities –Be a great manager	Giving – Give regular microloans – Give time, energy and attention to what/who is in front of me
Spiritual – Proactively give gratitude 2x day –Maintain open communication –Practice compassion	Interests and Activities –Artist’s Date 1x fortnight –Plan & save next European Adventure by September – Spend time in artistic creativity 1x fortnight –Adventure away 4x year	Surroundings – Declutter 5mins/day –Start collecting inspiring & beautiful things around –Stay organised –Clean car properly every quarter
Relationships – Partner – Have a date night 1x week –discuss thoughts and feelings 1x week –Really celebrate occasions	Relationships – Family – Have a Sissy Skype catchup 1x month –Call and email Dad 1x fortnight –Call mum 1x month –Have family dinner 1x week	Relationships – Friends – Plan interesting activities 4x year –Be in contact with distant friends 1x month via phone or email esp. for occasions
Personal Development – Read 1x book a month – Create happiness project	Principles – Focus – Complete tasks – Put things away	Track and Measure – 365 day journal – Photo a day – Schedule in Organiser

Make it as you wish SSSs!
xo

I love this Blog

One of the only blogs I currently follow (and have followed for a few years now) is Kimberly Wilson's musings at her Tranquility du Jour blog

I can't describe how much she lifts me up. When I am feeling down or stagnant I read one of her posts and it gets me out of myself and focussed on something often wonderful.

She has a wonderful way of looking back and reflecting on her accomplishments, of looking forward at her myriad of tasks and events and infusing tranquility into her now. I really want to take a leaf out of her book and try to do this in my crazy life.

I know I often crash my way through my week, trying to be organised and trying to hit all my targets but I really rarely sit down and allow myself to see what i've actually done.

I also really love planning my week, but rarely stick to the priorities or refer back to the plan! How crazy is that?!

There are definitely small changes that can be made that will drastically increase my effectiveness.

So this week I am going to start focussing on a few things:

• Daily journalling - first thing in the morning (Hello Morning Pages! Remember me?!)
  
• More regular sharing - every couple of days
  
• Plan, then take action from that plan - refer to it every morning and evening to plan priorities and check things off. Ensure I am making time for things I love rather than all the things I feel obligated to do (reminder to self! do not overcommit self!!!)
  
• Make time to look back at what I've accomplished, big and small, fabulous and mundane. - make time on Sunday morning to look back on the week and look forward to next week
  
• Keep reading Stephanie Dowrick's Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials. - I'm putting it my handbag and grabbing snippets when I can

Let's see how I go!

I have to make it as I design!
x

Perfectionism

So...I've let my perfectionsim take over a little - but at least I'm realising it and catching myself when it happens and that's half the battle (and those of you who know me well are probably wondering ...what perfectionism????)

My little notebook has received A LOT of entries to do with ideas for blog posts, but I keep wanting them to be perfect, so I look at the subject from all angles and keep re-drafting and then not posting.

So I've made a decision. I will post anyway! They may not be perfect and answer every possible question you may have at that moment, but I hope they will capture the gist of my meaning and the essence of what I'm saying comes through.

Which means you will be privvy to a whole lot more (are using those three words together redundant??) SSS posts Ladies!

Make it what you wish SSSs!

Arienne x

Waiting for everything to be perfect...

Do you ever find that there is a moment when a cliche you've heard numerous times over the years start to make sense?

A penny drops, something comes and smacks you in the face or you realise you've been struck by a dawning realisation, and you say...AHA! I really UNDERSTAND what that means now...

Well my cliche-to-reality is 'Don't wait for a time when everything is perfect' because that time will never come! I've tended to fall into over-planning and never actually doing, or having the paralysis of analysis disease. I'm sure some of you know that feeling - having to dot every 'i' and cross every 't', have a Plan B (and then a Plan C-H as well), that you'll actually start once you've finished ....insert 'x' here...and then you never really get anywhere because the perfect moment, the perfect time, the perfect plan isn't there...yet.

Of course there needs to be a balance between being under-prepared and over-prepared but, sometimes you just need to get started. Take a cautious plunge! Dive in head-first after checking the depth!

So without a website, business card, logo or special photo but with a lot of spirit, ideas and enthusiasm (and a Facebook account - details to come!) I have decided to start here. Step 1 of Savvy Sassy She. It feels good, no actually it feels great!!!

So, get invovled and get thinking! My question to you is: What do you finally need to start? Leave your answers in the comments section.