LIFE… we don’t know how it will go or end, or do we? Living this LIFE of ours can be such an adventure.  As we make choices our directions can drastically change, sometimes overnight and where we were once headed is no longer an option along our paths.  We close one door but as we do, we’ve opened up another one.

There was a time I flirted with the idea of living in the US for the duration of my life.  Coming back ‘home’ wasn’t even appealing to me.  I believed that everything I wanted to create in life had to be created in the US.  After living there for years I felt I had become too ‘americanized’ to ever be able to come back to a small island in the Atlantic Ocean.  The very idea felt confining and limiting and I guess it ‘scared’ me.  Which was all the more reason to come back ‘home’ and face myself at the very core of my being.  I had ripped myself up from my roots and planted myself in new soil and found I thrived very well and even blossomed in the dry and tough soil of the Arizona desert.  All my BIG dreams seemed to be focused around my new ‘home’ but after having recurrent dreams about the ocean I knew my soul was calling for it’s real home.  All changes start with desire and I began longing for the fresh ocean breeze and the world’s purest water.  Not long after that a dialogue started taking place, and my husband and I began speaking this desire into the Universe.  Then an amazing opportunity arrived and we found ourselves having to make one of the most important choices of our lifetime… “are we going to move our children and us back to Iceland and replant our roots there?”  The answer was, at first a small, but then a strong YES and once we made the decision, the Universe seemed to conspire to make it happen and we found ourselves in Iceland before we could even find the time to slightly doubt our choice.  Which I am glad to say we haven’t done.   Yet, the transition hasn’t been all too easy, but then again, it has been easy enough.  The last month has been very busy for us, settling in and focusing on the basics of everyday life; getting acquainted with a new job, new place to live, new schools for the children and then looking for a car and a home to live in on a more permanent basis.  Our ‘things’ are not here yet as they are still slowly sailing across the ocean yet there is absolutely nothing missing in our lives.  We have each other and get to experience this life change together.

I guess the big lesson for me was to simply ‘let go’ and ‘allow’.  What was meant to be was already meant to BE.  As soon as I was able to let go of old, and perhaps outdated dreams and make room for new ones, everything seemed to just flow.

I can thank my coach and mentor for helping me out with the little resistance I was feeling.  He also helped me re-appreciate what I do for a living and see how amazing it is to have a coach to push and pull you forward, even when you want to stand still and resist all changes.  I leave you with the following words that were written by this amazing man, Richard Seaman;

“You can choose to go, be, and have… and in the end you’ll exclaim, shocked and bewildered, that because of all the synchronicities of your life, all the “clicks” and “coincidences”, and the many happy “accidents,” your bounty and good fortune must have been your destiny”.

“Misery is an indication that you are going astray, a natural indication that you have lost track of truth. Bliss simply says that you are falling in line with the whole. Things are becoming harmonious, the garden of the Beloved is coming closer: the air feels cooler, winds bring the fragrance of the flowers, freshness, a new thrill, a new enthusiasm. Then you are moving towards the garden of the Beloved. Maybe you cannot see yet, but the direction is right.
Sometimes it happens that you become one, in some rare moment. Watch the ocean, the tremendous wildness of it — and suddenly you forget your split, your schizophrenia; you relax. Or, moving in the Himalayas, seeing the virgin snow on the Himalaya peaks, suddenly a coolness surrounds you and you need not be false because there is no other human being to be false to. You fall together. Or, listening to beautiful music, you fall together. Whenever, in whatsoever situation, you become one, a peace, a happiness, a bliss, surrounds you, arises in you. You feel fulfilled. There is no need to wait for these moments — these moments can become your natural life. These extraordinary moments can become ordinary moments — that is the whole effort of Zen.

Don’t wait for some great bliss to descend on you. It never happens. Great bliss is nothing but small pleasures accumulating in your being. The total of all the small pleasures is the great bliss. Eating, enjoy it. Drinking, enjoy it. Taking a bath, enjoy it. Walking, enjoy it. Such a beautiful world, such a beautiful morning, such beautiful clouds…what else do you need to celebrate? The sky full of stars…what more do you need to be prayerful? The sun rising from the east…what more do you need to bow down? And amidst a thousand and one thorns a small roseflower arises, opening its buds, so fragile, so vulnerable, yet so strong, so ready to fight with the wind, with the lightning, with the thunderings. Look at the courage…what more do you need to understand trust?”

~Osho

So here’s my story…

After 12 years in the beautiful Arizona desert I have moved back ‘home’ to Iceland. It is the place I’ve always called ‘home’ even though my house and home have been in Arizona for a large chunk of my adult life. Arizona is the place in which I went to school and received my bachelors and masters degrees, started my companies, had my children, made some of my greatest friends and in any way possible, ‘found’ myself and discovered who I really am.

After 12 years, Arizona had become a ‘home’ to me and it was a place in which I was in my ‘comfort zone’ and I knew pretty well what my days would bring. I have a great job in Arizona as a coach and amazing, wonderful clients and it was a bit surreal to one day have to plug myself out of that ‘reality’ and plug into a new one.

There’s been A LOT going on in my life these past few weeks so I haven’t been posting much. It all started with my husband being approached and asked if he was interested in exploring a job opportunity in Iceland. We didn’t see ourselves moving back just yet but we had said to each other (and to the Universe) that we were open to ‘change’ and open to a new adventure. I guess you have to be careful what you wish for:) Then, sort of like out of the blue this Iceland job comes up and he was very interested in the job itself and said Yes to exploring it, thinking one shouldn’t exclude anything and it was good to look into opportunities for we could always say No if we ended up not being interested.

To make a long story short, he was offered the job and felt he simply had to accept it for it was something he really wanted to do, and of course I wanted him to follow his heart. So, as soon as the decision was made, we packed up our whole ‘lives’ in just a few weeks, sold many of our belongings and loaded the rest into a container and boarded a one-way flight to Iceland!

We just landed here yesterday and for me this whole thing is still so odd for I sort of feel like I’m here for a little visit, just like I used to. The fact that I’m here to stay is still pretty darn weird to grasp! Iceland has changed a lot in the past 12 years and everything feels different yet in a way, still the same and so familiar.

I’m pretty excited about this adventure that we’re in for and can’t wait to re-experience my amazing home country through my children’s eyes who are both born in Arizona and have only been here to visit. For them this is a BIG change for they are literally leaving ‘Life’ – as they know it! They are saying goodbye to the house they were brought up in, and to their school, their teachers and school-buddies and to our ‘chosen family’ and to all of the friends they’ve grown up with.

I realize that all of this looks different through their eyes and I’ve tried to really prepare them for this by keeping them as aware and involved in the process as possible, at least for little kids to comprehend. I am still amazed at how calm and non-chalant they’ve been about this whole thing. It’s like they somehow ‘know’ that this is mean to be. My daughter who’s 7 has shed a few tears for the friends she’ll miss and for the cat we left behind with friends of ours but she’s been quick to sort of ‘deal’ with everything and has been great about focusing on the ‘positives’ of this move which to her are grandma, grandpa and all the cousins but mostly this; “In Iceland, I can walk to school by myself, go to the store and to a play-park by myself and play outside all the time!” (She’s a very independent little person:))

So, here we are, in the country of the ever-changing light, and while everyone is fast asleep at 3am in the morning, I’m up again and wide-awake for my body is like “excuse me, woman, it’s 8pm in the evening and you just had a nice, long nap but shouldn’t be sleeping for the night just yet”.

We’re staying with my mother for a few days until the furnished place we rented becomes available and then we’ll start looking for a more permanent living arrangement as our ‘home’ makes it’s trip across the US and then sails across the ocean to meet us here in Iceland in a few weeks.

As ‘normal’ and familiar as this country is to me, there is nothing ‘normal’ and familiar about our lives right now. It’s a little odd being in ‘The Gap’ yet I’m excited to learn what the future holds. We were meant to come back ‘home’. I don’t really believe in coincidences and this whole process has been amazingly fast and quick and also so smooth, and easy that it feels like it’s somehow ‘led and guided’. All we had to do was say YES to ‘change’ and to new opportunities and here we are! We’re the same people we were yesterday but now in a completely different location on the planet. Everything is different yet everything’s the same….for wherever you go… there YOU are!

Whatever he says is all true for ME too… this is why I’m so excited to be moving back to Iceland…

Viggo Mortensen is inspired by Iceland from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

Anyone can travel the path towards enlightenment. It can be as easy as a decision. Enlightenment is not something that is reserved to a special few or to the extraordinarily intelligent and wise. We are all powerful beings, gifted with countless opportunities and the ability to make countless choices. Why not choose to practice stillness and transcend our spirits to higher levels of consciousness? Life in modern day society can be pretty chaotic and hectic yet within all of that hustle and bustle rests the still and present YOU, quietly observing it’s Ego Self that may be caught in lower levels of consciousness than your actual Real Self. You may not achieve enlightenment in an instant (although I’ve heard it’s possible) but you can lift your spirit up a few levels when you choose to be still and notice.

The levels of consciousness are sometimes referred to as (and in the order as follows); shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace, and enlightenment.

Where is your consciousness resting in this very moment? And, where would you like it to be? Where are you choosing to go from here?

Inspiration 365 Days a Year | Inspriation 365 Day a Year Movie.

Motivation doesn’t last…. well bathing doesn’t either, that’s why its recommended daily!

Warning: This TED talk may inspire you to be more playful and creative!

Life is not as much about finding yourself as it is about creating yourself!

When we want to “find” ourselves we electively embark upon a personal growth journey and push ourselves out of our shells, continually trying out new things, exploring the world and ourselves in it and incrementally we grow by expanding our comfort zones. This is how we learn that we can be bigger, better and happier than we previously thought possible. It is a given that pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone can be quite intimidating at first, otherwise it wouldn’t be called a “comfort zone” now would it? But, anything worth achieving is quite often very scary at first.

People who hold onto their fears and always choose to “play it safe” simply do not grow (at least not electively so). They merely respond and react to whatever life brings along and for the most part try as hard as they possibly can to stay exactly where they are at. Which will bring more fear and unhappiness to their lives since the only thing given in life is that everything evolves and changes… always! Plus, “playing it safe” and resisting change doesn’t sound like a recipe for a fun life now does it?

So the question is; Who are YOU really when you’re not holding back?

The answer to this question applies to any and all areas of our lives. What could you create and what kind of relationships would you have if you did not care about what other’s thought of you, if you were not concerned about being judged or about receiving someone’s approval. I ask myself those same exact questions when that little doubtful voice wants to pop up, the one I call “little me”. What if you always lived, acted and created as the “BIG ME”? So who is the “BIG” YOU? Who would you BE if you weren’t trying to hold onto what you know and what feels safe and comfortable? Is it possible that you’d be more YOU? Utterly amazing, wonderful, laid back, joyful, fun-loving, creative and carefree YOU!

If you feel its time to Create a New YOU, you can start by letting go of all the made up inhibitions that no longer serve you. Who are YOU when you are not attached to The Story of You? Who are you when you let go of the need for other people’s approval?

If you let go a little, you will be happy a little. If you let go a lot, you will be happy a lot. But, if you let go completely… you will be FREE!

Have fun letting go…

There are sayings that start with; “blessed are the simple…” and whether they end with ’simple in heart’ or ’simple in mind’ there is great truth in those words. It seems that the people who suffer the most are not necessarily the ones who are living in the poorest of situations but the ones who THINK the most.

It so happens that we have this neat, little organ in our heads that we call our brain and it really, truly likes to think! Which in principle is perfect for that is exactly what it is designed to do. Our brain does its job so well that it can even do it without noticing what it is doing and without seeing its job as ‘a job’. Our brain is continually scanning, reading and interpreting whatever reaches its way through the stimuli’s of sight, sound, touch and smell.

The glitch in this otherwise perfectly designed system is that it is so perfect in fact that we often may not know how to use it. Instead of us using our brain as the clever and productive organ that it is, we end up finding ourselves being ‘used by our brains’. If we buy into, believe and react to every whimsical notion that will inevitably be produced by this amazing organ, we will be nothing more than slaves to our creative minds. But, why worry about that! “Worry is a misuse of the imagination”.

Instead, it may be time to fundamentally examine where your thoughts are coming from. Even the simplest of thoughts come from somewhere. Our sensors are influenced by our own unique perspectives or the filter from which we in essence view our lives from. Our perspectives are based on our past experiences and it seems accurate to state that none of us have had the same exact life experiences. We are born into different countries, cultures, families, values, and beliefs and in effect have quite a few filters through which we are taught to view the world. So who is to say that your specific perspective is the absolute true perspective? Is it possible that your brain plays many tricks on you?

Over-thinking, over-analyzing, and over-identifying with your thoughts will only lead to unhappiness. If you did not have the thoughts you have now, how would you be feeling differently? Could it be that everything in your life is really perfect and wonderful but your filter is flawed and blurry?

Byron Katie says; “Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don’t have to like it… it’s just easier if you do.”

Byron Katie’s famous teachings called “The Work” asks people to examine limiting thoughts by asking the following four questions:

1. Is it true? (That is the ‘thought’ or the ‘belief’? If the answer is “No,” move to #3)
2. Can you absolutely know (for certain) that it’s true?
3. How do you react, and what happens, when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you BE without the thought? (How would NOT having this thought feel?)
Turn the thought around. (Restate the thought by turning it around such as “My mother doesn’t love me” to “My mother loves me” or even to “I don’t love me”)
Find three genuine examples of how the turnaround is as true or truer in your life.
Can you find other turnarounds?
How are these turnarounds true in your life?
Give examples.

Byron Katie’s “The Work” is actually a very simple, yet effective way of examining your thoughts and limiting beliefs. If you want more information about The Work you can visit www.TheWork.com. For a free excerpt from her book The Work you can click here.

So what are YOU really, truly thinking??!!