So that sounds easy enough right? Yeah. I really want that 10k. Done. I feel that 10k coming into my bank account, I can see it there. Got it. *~Aligned~*
But, what ends up happening for most of us is the resistance and disbelief around our desires. The blocks, stories, and fears we have. That pulls out of alignment. So it’s sort of like this battle between what we believe we want, and what we actually believe we are capable of having.
The practice of intentionally pushing past those fears, blocks, stories and fully believing we are capable of having, or already have what we want… that’s the practice of alignment.
When I say, I’m getting into alignment it can mean I’m physically doing a variety of things. It may mean I’m going on a walk, or I’m meditating, or I’m journaling. What I truly mean is that I am working through my shit and trying to expand my mind to a place where I move fast fear, doubt, uncertainty, etc and into a place where I feel confident and grateful and happy both with where I am and where I am going.
I can’t tell you exactly how you will get into alignment, because we are all different and have our own unique processes — but, I can tell you what I do and I can encourage you to take time and explore what works for you.
In my practice, I’m working towards a feeling. I can recognize the feeling, when I am in it, but to try and describe it to you may be a little difficult. When I feel really aligned I feel satisfied. Not satisfied like, ohhh I just ate a bunch of food and now I’m full, but satisfied in that you don’t even realize you’re smiling but you kind of are just a bit. It feels like that moment you get the last piece of the Sudoku puzzle and you know the rest of the spots are easy, not thought-requiring but just filling in the blanks. I’m basically always striving to get to that feeling and becoming more and more aware of when I’m not feeling that way and feeling like things are hard or complex or overwhelming.
The thing I believe about life in general is that it’s all a big puzzle or game. It’s meant to be fun and enjoyed. Now, you could claim to be a person who hates puzzles, and have a miserable time, or you could acknowledge that it’s supposed to be fun — and let it be fun.
Perhaps, your feeling of alignment is different than mine. I have absolutely no way of knowing. But maybe you’re someone who loves running, or reading, or doing yoga — you know those moments when you totally lose yourself in those things? When you feel totally in flow and nothing else around you matters? That might be what alignment feels like for you.
When I feel aligned, when I am in alignment, the idea that I want anything isn’t scary. The idea that I’ll try new things isn’t scary. Nothing is scary, it just… is. Growing up my grandma was always very matter of fact, I think in the way that people who have experienced and seen a lot can be. So if something felt scary, or hard, or intimidating she would matter of factly tell me, “it’ll be scary, and you’ll do it, and you’ll move on”. And you know, maybe that sounds a bit straightforward… but that’s what alignment is for me, too. It’s like “okay. You want to offer coaching services. That’s scary. But you’ll do it. And that’s that. And it’ll work out fine.” and being in alignment helps me to not shift into the negative thoughts like, “what if it doesn’t work out” or “what if no one hires me”. It just becomes facts: you’ll do it and it’ll be fine. And I appreciate that sort of matter of factness honestly. There’s no room for fear in that statement.
So how do I get into alignment? And how, potentially, could you?
First: I get clear with my goals and what I am working towards. This is the step that so many people skip over because they think it’s really obvious. Of course I want money and success and happiness and blah blah blah. But, to be honest, those aren’t really good enough answers. Money could mean a penny or a dollar. Success is completely subjective. And happiness is just a state, you could be happy just by thinking about a happy memory. These aren’t goals.
So for you to get into alignment with what you want, you have to first determine WHAT you want. Specifically. I have an episode of EffortLess about this if you want to listen to that, click here. But we want real, specific, tangible things. I want to make 15k this month from my coaching services. I want a pink Away suitcase with the battery charging thing. I want to be able to run a 5k by November.
Then: Understand why you want these things. I want 15k this month from coaching services because I want to replace my graphic design business revenue. I want 15k this month from coaching services because that means I’ve impacted and helped 5 people. I want 15k this month from coaching services because I want to push myself to grow. Dive in. I know you’ve seen so many times, “find your why” — but it’s actually important, y’all! If you don’t know why you want something, when the moment comes to take the action and do the work you may find it harder to commit to doing it. You may find yourself finding excuses or feeling “lazy” because you don’t actually know why any of these things matter.
Next: Actively work and push yourself to believe that the things you want are coming to you. This is, potentially, the “hard” part. The part where you have to push past the fears, doubts, stories, blocks, etc. and put yourself in an energetic match for what you want. It doesn’t have to be hard though! Telling yourself that getting into alignment is hard is a story, and you can decide right now that it is easy to get into alignment. It’s easy to feel like an energetic match. It’s easy to attract what you want in your life.
This can be done a lot of ways and you’ll eventually find a practice that works best for you. For me, I can get into alignment pretty quickly by journaling. This is probably because I’ve just done it so many times now that it’s like a muscle memory, right? So let’s just say I make a decision I want 15k this month from coaching. I would take time everyday to journal about it. To picture myself with that 15k. So see it in my bank account. And I would pay attention to the things that come up for me… the resistances. And I would actively work through overcoming those, so that eventually when I thought of 15k it was just facts. It was there. I had it already.
Maybe I’d recognize a resistance in the form of feeling like “who would want to work with me” and instead of getting mad or frustrated or feeling like UGH now I am OUT of alignment, UGHHHH… instead of all that drama and uselessness, I would instead either talk to my coach, or journal through why that feeling came up. Where I developed that story. And what I wanted to believe instead. I’d move myself back into a place where that story isn’t true and the one where I feel good, and happy, and satisfied, and fulfilled is the main story again.
This isn’t like a one and done thing. You will see things come up again and again. And when you think you are past one story or block you may find that new ones come up. But the practice of recognizing the stories or the resistances and actively pushing past them and working through them to get back into alignment is the gold. That’s where the magic happens. That’s where the growth happens. It’s not bad to have a bad thought. It’s not going to ruin everything to feel negatively. You just recognize it for what it is, and decide to work through it.
I think a big problem in this world of manifestation and mindset work and law of attraction is that the message of “good vibes only” is pushed too much. It’s not about constantly feeling AMAZING. It’s about actively working through your shit and recognizing where negative thought patterns are and intentionally bringing it back to feeling good.
Other things that help me besides journaling are:
Going for walks and being in the sunshine
Talking things out with my coach
Taking a nap (I’m serious!)
Reading a good fiction book (Harry Potter, usually)
Listening to Abraham Hicks on YouTube
But yours can and may and probably should be totally different. How will you find them? By paying attention! So many people go through life completely unaware of how they feel and why they feel that way and what they are thinking about. Start paying attention. See when you naturally just feel good. Is it after a long run? Or during savasana? Or while cooking an elaborate meal? Pay attention to the things that put you in a relaxed, satisfied, good state. And purposefully bring more of that into your life!
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Cheers to that!
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