“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Universe will always provide, because the Universe always has.

Has there ever been a point when the Universe has not provided? In truth No, because if that were the case you would not be here now.

When you get the true sense of the magnitude of this you will be filled with awe and wonder -

For I’m not simply talking about the Universe providing for you throughout your lifetime – though it has, else you would not be here now.

I’m talking about during the lifetime of every one of your millions of ancestors, for whom the Universe provided so you can be here now.

I’m talking about every process and every life form throughout evolution, for whom the Universe provided so you could be here now.

I’m talking about the creation of life on Earth, for whom the Universe provided so you can be here now.

I’m talking about the creation of our Solar System, the Sun, our Galaxy, the Stars, the entirety of the Universe itself, for whom the Universe provided so you could be here now.

If the Universe has provided all of that which has gone before to enable you to be here now, don’t you think you can trust it to continue providing for you – regardless of how things may appear?

The Universe will always provide, because that is what it does…that is what it is.

For the Universe is Life – that is it’s very nature – and not for a single moment has it ever been, or will ever be, otherwise. If you can trust in nothing else, trust in that.

In truth our state of well-being – a state of peace, fulfilment and true, deep-seated happiness that is quite different to the feelings of pleasure gained from external circumstances – is down to one thing and one thing only: our alignment (our being and doing) with who we truly are.

When we honour ourselves we have a sense of fulfilment and peace even when circumstances seemingly go against us. Conversely, when we dishonour ourselves we have a feeling of discontent and lack even when things seem to go our way.

I’ve seen a great example of this over the last couple of weeks watching Australia’s campaign in the World Cup.

In the Socceroos first game against Germany they went in without believing in themselves and played a game they thought “tactically” would give them the best chance, even though the game plan went completely against who they are as a team. They were demolished.

In the next game against Ghana they went back to playing as themselves – to honouring who they are as a team. They had an early goal and looked like keeping their campaign alive, then soon afterwards received a red card and a penalty against them. They fought valiantly for the remainder of the game, resulting in a draw which left them with a very small window of hope.

The window was so small most people wrote them off, but thankfully the Socceroos still believed they could make it. They played a brilliant game against Serbia and gave themselves every chance of getting through, and in life that’s all you can ever do, as the only way you have a chance is by going out there and giving it what you’ve got. As they showed in the game against Germany, when you don’t believe in yourself and don’t honour yourself then you’ve lost before you even set foot on the pitch.

I’m not talking about talent here. What I’m talking about is an attitude that is far more valuable to all of us as Human Beings than any physical talents we possess. What I’m talking about is living with passion and courage, of giving it your all to the best of your ability and never giving up. What I’m talking about is being true to who you are in your heart and soul, not your head.

The amazing thing is this attitude often surpasses any physical or tactical ability. In the end, that’s what the Socceroos showed us.

And sure they didn’t get through to the round of 16, but they bowed out with a grace far-surpassing that of previous World Cup finalists France, and so they have a Nation behind them that couldn’t be prouder of them, as opposed to a Nation that feels disgraced. I bet I know who’s hearts are lighter when they look back over their campaign!

And maybe the grander purpose of the Socceroos World Cup campaign goes way beyond any possible sporting achievement. Because maybe there are people out there watching who saw the lesson of being true to yourself and will now live their life differently because of it. None of us can ever really know the difference we make in the world.

I for one am completely inspired, because in the end, as the saying goes, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.”

Often we get so obsessed with results we forget that the most important thing is not about being true to anyone or anything else – including the outcome – it’s simply about being true to you.

I thank the Socceroos for the reminder!

At the same time, I have almost always believed my singing wasn’t very good. Maybe not terrible, but still not something people would actually choose to listen to.

I remember a few times as a child and teenager being asked, “If there was one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be?” And each time replying, “My voice.”

I wished I had a beautiful voice that people would love to hear as much as I loved singing. I remember saying to some friends about seven years ago that I believed I was one of “those people” who’d never be able to sing well – that people would never really like to hear me – no matter what I did.

I believed that but I always hoped I was wrong.

Things began to change around four to five years ago after I started playing the guitar, learning some songs to sing along with and then writing a few songs of my own. I still didn’t believe I was very good but my desire to sing had grown greater than my beliefs that were suppressing it, and on the odd occasion I would even sing and play a song or two for a few people, in-spite of my doubts and fears.

For many years I’d thought about having singing lessons, but I kept putting it off for the fear they mightn’t make a difference…it’s funny how we ensure the outcome we fear most by listening to the fear and allowing it to stop us!

Then one day about 2 1/2 years ago I finally bit the bullet and organised some lessons. I can safely say it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life…finally honouring myself and my love of singing and allowing myself to free my musical expression.

The day of my first lesson I was petrified, and I believe my singing was even worse than normal! In fact the entire process of the singing lessons was an interesting insight into my self-judgements, beliefs about myself and fears.

I had lessons for 4 months, over which time my teacher taught me many things about singing – correcting my technique, my breathing, my phrasing.

The single biggest thing she did though – the thing which really turned my singing around – was to keep pushing me to sing fully, to give it my all, to stop holding back, holding on, because of fear.

One day when I was learning a new song with some high notes that I kept hesitating over for fear of not making them, my teacher told me something that’s stuck with me because of its enormous power and wisdom, not just for singing but for all of life:

“You just need to go for it. If you go for it you’ll probably make it. You may not, but you probably will. If you don’t go for it you won’t make it.”

I realised that a lot of my beliefs around singing had come from wanting a beautiful, soaring, feminine voice, rather than the voice I have, which is on the low side (for a woman). Once I came to embrace my voice just as it is, to stop wishing it was something that it’s not, I was finally able to see it’s unique beauty and expressiveness.

At the beginning of this year some friends started going to karaoke – the type where you get up on a stage at the front of the pub, with lights on you and a book the size of the yellow pages of songs to choose from. I realised this was my chance to take the next step in my journey of freeing my singing self-expression and conquering my fear of singing in front of others.

The first time…and most subsequent times actually…I feigned self-confidence, didn’t allow myself to think about what I was going to do, and just did it. Those first times I’d get off stage and realise I was shaking like a leaf!

Bit by bit the fear is slowly getting less, and in-spite of the fear I really do love being up there singing.

And so onto the next stage of the journey…a karaoke competition! Uh oh, people judging me…some more fears and beliefs to face!!

It took me three attempts to get through the heats to the semi-finals, and each time was a learning experience about the judgements I hold about myself. In the end I got through almost by default, but I was then determined I would get through into the final.

The semi-final was on Thursday night, and in attempting to reach my goal of the final I had to push further out past the edge of my comfort zone – firstly in asking friends to come and support me, and then in not just singing but performing…of getting into the song and expressing it with more than just my voice.

I chose to sing “I Touch Myself” by The Divinyls, and getting up there in front of a room full of people to play the part of a sexy, self-assured woman was waaaay outside my comfort zone.

And guess what? I made it! I got through to the finals!

I’m so grateful to get through as I’m planning to sing one of my favourite songs and really appreciate the opportunity to share it with people. I’m going to do everything I can to win (first prize if $1000!), but really the greatest victory for me is being there in the first place – in honouring myself and not giving up, in altering my beliefs about myself, and by continuing to go outside my comfort zone for something I love.

The final is this Sunday May 2 at 9pm at Howl At The Moon in Broadbeach mall on the Gold Coast. The winner is determined by the audience, so if you’re in the area and haven’t got plans for Sunday it would be absolutely awesome if you came down and showed me some support!

While really it’s the person with the most and noisiest fans that is going to win, I’ve heard all the people sing that are in the final and everyone can sing well. And you know what? I now finally believe that my singing is good enough to be worthy of being in the finals too.

And on Sunday I’m going to put my heart and soul into it and give the audience something that’s worthy of winning, whether I take home the prize or not.

I’ve shared this story about my singing journey (which has really only just begun!) because I believe it’s something everyone can relate to…that it’s really a metaphor for life.

It’s about how we allow our beliefs and fears to limit us and create a reality other than what we truly want. How we resist what is, rather seeing the beauty that’s right in front of us and making the most of it. How it takes courage to step beyond all that, and how when you do the world opens up to you. How the only way to get it is to go for it!

And how the rewards of living outside your comfort zone are the joy of life itself, lived to the fullest!

What do you love that you’ve not allowed to exist, to grow, to soar, because of your beliefs, fears or self-judgements?

Today is the first day of the rest of your life…a life that I encourage you to live outside your comfort zone, as there’s nothing more rewarding than being true to you!

You can only be happy. And being only exists right now.

True happiness is a state of being…actually our natural state of being – possibly better known (and less mis-understood) as joy.

Joy is non-resistance; surrender to the perfection of the moment – whatever that moment is and however it feels.

Joy requires nothing - no thing to be other than what it is – in order to exist. All joy needs is love, which is who we really are anyway.

Joy is not a lack of “negative” emotion, it is a lack of resistance, as joy is embracing the fullness of life – the laughter AND the tears.

Do we really want to live a sanatised, mono-chromatic life, bereft of its full spectrum of colours?

I personally have created much unhappiness in my life “trying to be happy” and denying the “negative” emotions – attempting to push them away and make them wrong.

When I remember that what I feel is not who I am – when I let my emotions just be without judgement and listen to the messages they hold for me – I miraculously find happiness even in the midst of what I’ve often labelled as negative.

It’s in loving life - ALL of life…the light and the dark; the up and the down; the happy and the sad – that we actually find true happiness – the joy of life that actually is life.

As someone once said, “The stars shine brightest when the night is darkest.” And all of it is life…just as you are.

Don’t deny yourself and the world any of the life that you are.

Just allow yourself to be that life, be that joy, whole and complete and perfect, just as you are.

And you’d be right…sort of. You are human. As am I. As is Nelson Mandela. As was Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa. As was Siddhartha Gautama. As was Jesus Christ.

But there’s no “just” about it.

Jesus’ purpose here wasn’t to be worshipped after his death – to be held up as more than a man.

He came here to show us the truth of who we all are.

He came here to show us who we all can be; what we all can do.

We are all Human Beings.

Our failure is not in who we are. Our failure is only in forgetting the magnificence, beauty and power that lies within us all.

Our greatness doesn’t lie in skill, ability, talent or knowledge; it lies in belief and choice – no more, no less.

Remember well that…

“Man is what he believes”
~Anton Chekhov

“We are our choices”
~ Jean-Paul Sartre

Belief and choice are the only things separating us from the likes of Jesus. The only things.

The brilliant thing is that whatever your beliefs and choices yesterday, today you can make new choices; today you can have new beliefs.

So what do you believe?

What do you choose?

For what would be the point to life if we had all the answers? If there were no mistakes or surprises? If we already knew it all?

There would be no wondrous journey of discover, and so much of the beauty we find in the world would not exist.

Like when you hear an exquisite piece of music for the first time and it just seems to transcend all Earthly bounds – taking you to a wondrous and beautiful place you hadn’t even imagined – and how no subsequent listening can ever quite compare to that first time when you were completely ignorant.

Newness, freshness, innocence, is all part of what brings great love and joy and beauty to life.

It’s the unexpected adventure of imperfection which actually represents the perfect life.

To the amazing person that you are, on this day I want you to know:

You are one-of-a-kind – like no other being that has ever been or ever will be – and that’s something to celebrate, for the world is a different place because of you.

Did you know that your smile can change a day and your love can change a life?

In fact, every life you come in contact with you leave changed forever. The change may be big or it may be small, but their life will always be different because of you – just like mine has.

Never underestimate the little things in life – their effect is far greater than you even suspect.

You are more powerful than you know, more loved than you feel, and of more value to others than you can guess.

Life is too short for self-pity and too long for blame.

Always remember that you are the source of love in your life, for love is who you truly are.

Regardless of whoever you’ve chosen to be in the past, you can always choose to be something completely new in this moment.

And most importantly, you do not need to be, do or have a single other thing in order to be perfect – not even if it’s being happy, doing what you love or having your dream life – for you are perfect right now, just as you are.

Whether I’ve known you a day or a lifetime, whether I know you a little or a lot, whether we’ve met in person or online, I want you to know my life is richer for you being in it. And I know there are many, many others who feel the same.

Thank you for being you!

Love, Lisa

PS As well as giving you this letter I wanted to share with you why I wrote it…

I came to write this letter due to the underwhelming (to my ego) number of friends who chose to become a fan of my new “Transforming the Lives of Thousands” page on Facebook, featuring a cause that means a huge amount to me.

The cynical part of me asked, “Do people just not care about others anymore?” But what my ego was really wondering was, “Do people just not care about me!?”

After spending a bit of time with how I was feeling, letting go of my initial ego response and becoming grateful for the people who did become fans, I started to wonder, “Maybe they just don’t get what their support means to me? Maybe they just don’t get what they mean to me? Maybe they just don’t get the difference they can and do make in the world?” (yeah, just like I don’t!)

Yes, maybe you don’t know that even a tiny show of support, or just a few words of encouragement, means so much to me…most probably because I’ve not told you!

And so I decided to write you this letter, so maybe you can start to get some idea of the value you are, not only to me, but to all the people in your life.

And just to let you in on a little secret, sending this message out to everyone scares the crap out of me!

Like many people, I have that little voice in the back of my head that says things like, “What if they think it’s crap? What if they think I’m crap? What if they don’t value me? What if what if what if…??”

There’s most definitely a part of me that wants to pick and choose who I send it to, not due to their value to me, but because I want to only send it to the “safe” people I feel will appreciate it and not reject it/me…(does that sound at all familiar??)

But yesterday was the anniversary of my friend Greg dieing, and this afternoon I’ve felt it quite keenly.

I remember how it felt the week after he died, regretting with every fibre of my being having been too scared over the previous 2 months to just give him a call.

And I remember how obvious it was to me that week that the fear didn’t matter at all – that what mattered was he’d died without having the faintest idea of his value to me.

I also remember sitting at his wake thinking how ridiculous it is we wait until someone’s died to say just how wonderful they are to us.

That’s not something I want to happen again, which is why I’ve sent you this letter.

I know I’m still not as good at it as I could be, and maybe there’s times I’ve not supported you as much as you’d like.

You see the stupid thing is, even with that memory, I’m still really scared to let people know I care. I guess that’s what it is to be human.

…often comes disguised as a challenge

When faced with an unexpected challenge it’s quite normal to feel some “negative” emotions like anger, grief, overwhelm or fear.The important thing is to allow yourself to feel them but not get stuck in them, otherwise you might miss the opportunity that’s surely going to come.

As the old saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining”, and it’s vital to our personal happiness to go looking for that lining. And the larger and more painful the challenge, the more you truly owe it to yourself to use the challenge to create the life you truly desire.

Intention For The Week

When you face a challenge, whether big or small, go looking for the opportunity that’s hidden within it.

Simple Empowerment Steps

1. Use the art of Surrender and trust that, in the whole grand scheme of life, the challenge is actually perfect.If it seems that life has taken something away from you, have faith that you’ll receive something even greater back.

   If you go looking for the bad, you’ll find it; if you go looking for the good, you’ll find it; so why not look for the good?

2. Ask yourself questions like, “How can I use this situation to benefit me?” and “How could this actually help me get what I want in life?”

My Personal Perspective

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places! I created the Opportunity message last night after I found out yesterday that my hours at my part-time job have been cut back to only 6 hours a week.

I had a call from the boss to come and see him before I went home, and after I got off the phone I wondered if I’d be finding out I didn’t have a job anymore. I promised myself that whatever happened, I’d see it as perfect.

On my drive home I didn’t feel angry – for financial reasons the company needs to do it and I can understand that – however I did notice a fair bit of fear coming up. Fear because I’m not in the strongest of financial situations at the moment, and my wage, though not large to begin with, was my safety net, and now that’s been largely taken away.

In spite of the fear (or maybe because of it), I stood in a place of surrender to the situation, and started looking at ways to make it work for me.

I realised that I only need to sell 20 copies of Love This Moment a week to replace the wage I’ve lost. That’s very do-able, so will be my immediate focus – and I’ll finally be putting into action various ideas that have lain dormant for probably far too long!

I fully expect to look back and see this as a turning point for my business and my life – that it’s just the kick up the backside I needed to get on with creating the life I truly desire. Life has a funny way of pushing you along your path if you drag your heels for too long!!

And one final example about finding opportunity in challenge. Anyone signed-up for my newsletter will be familiar with the full story that follows – I just wanted to share this part again from the perspective of the message of Opportunity.

The morning after I’d found out my friend, Greg, had died I woke up and couldn’t stop crying. I was washing my hands in the bathroom when I heard in my head some words he’d emailed me a couple of months before, “Life is too short to wallow in self pity”.

At that moment I made the decision I was going to look for every good thing I could find from Greg’s life and his death and I was going to be grateful.

In other words, I went looking for the opportunity in the challenge. I don’t know if I’ve ever made a more important decision in my life!

By choosing to look for the opportunity I’ve remembered that the most important thing in my life is to simply be happy now, without needing a reason why.

By looking for the opportunity I’ve created and published my book Love This Moment.

By looking for the opportunity I am now creating the life I truly want to live, not the one I think I should!

Greg’s death was one of the most painful experiences of my life, so I’ve made the commitment to myself to use it to make my life happier and more fulfilled.

I’m sure you’ve had your own equally painful challenges in life.

You owe it to yourself to take those experiences and use them to your advantage – to create the life of love and joy you truly desire in your heart and soul!

I’ve been contemplating that question a fair bit lately, including the several times over the last few weeks I’ve sat down to write an Inspirational Message of the Week, only to find myself lacking the vital ingredient of inspiration!

I want my newsletters to be of value to you, so even while I want to give you a newsletter regularly I won’t write one unless I actually have something to say!

So in keeping with the question above, it’s actually perfect I have nothing to say right now, as instead I can share with you some great wisdom from a special guest author!

I first met Nigel Coates a couple of years ago at a meditation group. Today he runs a wonderful website helping us to fully explore meditation. Nigel has been kind enough to share a great introduction to meditation with us…enjoy!

When people first think of meditation, they usually visualize someone sitting cross-legged on the floor for hours on end – bolt upright and motionless, possibly chanting the eternal humming sound of… Ohhmmmmmmm.

And they think to themselves, “I could never do that, it’s too uncomfortable!”

And rightly so! But rest assured, Meditation is not about the physical.

Meditation is ‘A mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the ‘thinking mind – into a deeper state of awareness and relaxation.’

If you are struggling to bare the pain of pins and needles, or wondering how on earth you are going to get up off the floor when you are done, you are not likely going to float blissfully on a cloud of relaxation.

So eliminate any pre-conceived ideas that strict posture is needed for meditation. Think of how you are most relaxed… Sitting in a comfortable chair, or laying face up in bed are both fine. It’s best not to fall asleep, (though it often happens to beginner’s, does you no harm, and leaves you refreshed and feeling great), but it doesn’t really develop the ‘mental discipline’ component of the definition.

There are many different techniques used to reach a meditative state.

Some methods, such as Vipassana, Buddhist, Zen and Taoist have been practiced throughout the Eastern world for thousands of years. Students of these forms can spend their lifetimes devoted to practice (which was a lot more common a thousand years ago than now).

Guided Meditation has become a very popular form, and is an excellent method for beginners, or those who only practice on occasion. A Guide leads you through the entire process. As you listen to the recording, the guide will draw focus to your breath, relax your body, and then lead you on a journey. With your mind captivated by the words it helps to reduce conscious thought. You can receive all of the benefits of meditation with ease and convenience.

In essence, each form of meditation has the same goal – to provide an opportunity to connect with your true self, spiritual purpose and universal knowledge. Independent of religion or belief, or even the technique used; the benefits to the mind, body and spirit are universal.

There you’ll find further information on:

• How to Meditate,
• The different Types of Meditation you can practice,
• Guided Meditations you can Download
• and Meditation Videos

Nigel has an informative newsletter that breaks learning into bite-size pieces, to assist your meditation practice and spiritual growth.

When you subscribe to the newsletter, Nigel’s also giving you immediate access to the Guided Meditation MP3, ‘The Magical Colour Shower’.

Nigel describes this meditation as “A simple recording designed to introduce the varied elements of meditation; Relaxation, Breathing, and Visualisation. With just 10 minutes you can feel refreshed, connected, positive and centred. 10 minutes well spent!”

Sign up for Nigel’s wonderful newsletter at:

www.exploremeditation.com/newsletter.php

I also highly recommend checking out Nigel’s other resources at his website:

www.exploremeditation.com

As for me, now I’m going to meditate on the question I first asked… What if the only thing wrong is the belief something is wrong?

The Challenge has three main objectives:

1. To raise $100,000 for Opportunity International’s India Program.

This will allow the creation of between 5,250 and 6,750 businesses in India over 10 years, which gives people the opportunity to make a sustainable living for themselves, so taking themselves and their family out of poverty.

Over 10 years this will transform the lives of between 26,250 and 33,750 people – How awesome is that!?

2. To inspire people to live their dreams and Love This Moment!

The Challenge isn’t just about transforming the lives of people living in physical poverty. It’s also about transforming the lives of people living in spiritual poverty – in other words, people who aren’t loving their life.

Looking around the developed world it seems there’s no end of people not loving their life – the evidence being in all the violence, drug and alcohol abuse, crime and suicide…and that’s only the most obvious signs.

Many more people live in almost silent desperation – feeling unfulfilled, angry, bitter or depressed, then carefully covering it up so the world won’t know.

This Challenge is about saying, “Life doesn’t have to be that way!”

We can live the life we truly desire in our heart and soul. A life of love and joy. The life of our dreams!

This Challenge is about showing that it’s possible, providing simple and powerful messages to remind us what is possible, and creating the means for people to make it possible.

3. For me to realise one of my major dreams in life and travel to Antarctica.

For many years I’ve had a burning desire to experience Antarctica, and this Challenge is my way of finally making that dream a reality.

After the trip I’ll create a new book containing lots of beautiful photos of Antarctica, as well as the story of the Challenge and the trip itself. My intention is for the book to inspire people to live their dreams by “looking outside the square” and seeing how they can help others by achieving their dream. I’ll also be using it to raise more funds for Opportunity International, hence I’ll be using this Challenge as an example!

To find out more about the Challenge and to take part go to www.lovethismomentchallenge.com

I’ll be posting updates about the Challenge in this blog, so be sure to check on how it’s going!