When confidence begins to fade, it isn’t just an inside job.  It doesn’t only wear away your inner resolve. Loss of confidence also affects your ability to communicate effectively, to ask for what you need, and consequently, to co-create your life’s dreams.

There’s no doubt that life throws curve balls our way, and there are times when disappointment and rejections pile up to overwhelm us.  Sometimes, just one more challenge, and it feels like everything is coming apart. That’s the time when, more than ever, we must put some basic principles into action

Here are mine:

1.  Balance Life Energies –
If you are reading this, you have probably done lots of ‘self’ work, including therapies, processes, workshops and seminars, and have taken advantage of lots of self-help possibilities, like books, tapes, etc.

Many of you may have ways to take a deeper inner look.  For me, I do this by working with the Elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire for balancing of my ‘realms’ (read on) and my masculine and feminine axes.

In the study of Natural Rhythms, Earth represents the Physical Realm of all that we see, feel, touch – creations of man; creations of Nature.  Water is the emotional Realm whose current we want to run clean and clear just as we do the water we drink.  Air is the Mental Realm of thought, imagination, focus, and intention. Fire – well, fire is the Action Realm of running full life force.

If you think about it in terms of Nature, you know that life cannot be sustained without the balance of earth to produce the food needed by all humans and animals; water to nourish us all; air for breath, and the sun’s fire to warm the earth.  Water, too, is moved by the heat of the sun, the winds, and the moon.  Air and the winged ones pollinate plant life, and on and on it goes.  Remove just one element, and our world as we know it, collapses.  So it is within us.

If I am out of balance, it is because I have allowed one or more of the Elements to get out of balance within me.  As within, so without; as above, so below.  That’s the time to call on the Elements to help me find where I have allowed one element too much, or too little, influence over me.

2.  The second step toward renewing confidence is Co-Creation with Spirit.  For me, all the good that has come into my life has been as I connect with Spirit in the way that is meaningful for me.  TOGETHER we put in place what is meaningful and in alignment with my Life Purpose.  If my plans aren’t working out or I cannot get the answers I need, I realize that I have not aligned with Spirit in my process.

3.  In study after study, it has been proven that belonging to a like-minded community is essential to creating renewed confidence.  In life’s Third Act, especially, it is easy to disconnect from those who can best support us.  Our community, more than even our children or other family members, understand what we are experiencing at this time.  Knowing that others share some of our experiences gives us insights and support that is crucial for our well-being.  Often these friends can help us find a way through our issues.

And, while you are at it, reach out to those who need support.  It’s amazing how great you will feel about yourself when you do.  Whether it’s a peer, a community member, or total strangers, ‘doing good’ is a sure way to increase confidence.

4. Take Small Action – That’s right.  It doesn’t have to be big … it all starts with the single step.  Start with a written plan, or take the first step that you had outlined.  You can even just pick up the phone and make a call to get the energy rolling.  It doesn’t have to be the whole ‘to do’ list … Just start!

5.  Release the Outcome with Gratitude – We want what we want when we want it, don’t we?  How often are you really in control of the outcome of your plans?  You can set the plan, ask for co-creation with Spirit, and even work the plan.  After that, it’s time to release the outcome.  Spirit and the Universe may reward you beyond your greatest dreams.  But, not if you have a choke hold on the outcome.

To learn more about my individual Breakthrough Platinum Program. “Self Doubt to Radiant Self”, contact me at bsalamon@autumnsfire.org.

Mid-August, the days are a bit dusty, a bit hot, but in the mountains of North Georgia, the evenings and early mornings are cool, and fall touches the air slightly.  It is the turning of the wheel once more.   

The Celtic holiday of Lughnasadh (and cross quarter day on the wheel of the year) passed 2 weeks ago, and final harvest will be coming soon.

What have you harvested this growing season? 

What will you sow under to make your next harvest even more glorious? 

As summer draws to a close, maybe you wish to consider your plantings and what grew for you.  That will provide great clues for you, and the next planting time.

Home again!  It was a meaningful visit to Paradise, an ancient land where heritage is everything, and kindness is the everyday norm.  Equally wonderful is the Paradise in which I live:  rounded, soft mountain peaks; lush trees and foliage; sweet southern drawls; grits and black-eyed peas.

It’s great to go, to visit other cultures, learn new ways.  AND, I am always grateful to return HOME!!

Water, and the emotional realm, dominate here.  There is no escaping the beauty, and the power, of Water’s strength.   

Gaia, Mother Earth, presents herself in myriad ways on Kaua’i… from the smallest to the most complex, to landscapes that take your breath away.  No where have I ever felt closer to Her.  Our physical world holds so many secrets.

Some days are meant for sitting on the Lanai, watching the storm clouds chase the white clouds out over the Pacific.  As quickly as the pounding rain comes, it recedes again, leaving only the droplets on the Showering Rainbow Trees with any trace of the storm.