Single Most Important Skill

This week I had an amazing opportunity. I went to my stakes conference. Brother Ron Bartholomew was the key speaker. He is an amazing institute speaker at UVU and BYU. The topic he focused on was Personal revelation, Step 10. 

It was so beautifully perfect I had to share:

He quotes Sister Beck: “The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.” ( May 2010 “And Upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit”)

How we can prepare our minds and hearts to hear the spirit? 

We need the following 3 things:

Natural Darkness: absences of video. absences of phone. 

Natural Silence: absences of audio distraction, any sound at all!

Personal Solitude: absences of personal thoughts. 

He then explain why having all of this absent from our live is important. 

3 Nephi 11. It starts out explaining that a group were gathered in a temple and “they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one with another the great and marvelous change which had taken place…conversing about Jesus Christ”. They were engaged in something wonderful! They were not doing anything that would clearly offended the spirit. 

The scriptures go on to explain that as they were talking they heard a voice “from heaven, they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard…it being a small voice….they heard the voice again, and they understood it not. And again for the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and is said unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased in whom I have glorified my name- hear ye Him”. Then Christ Himself descend from heaven (3 Ne 11:1-11)

Brother Bartholomew explained that they could not hear and understand the voice until they stopped talking and stopped looking. 

His talk touched my heart so much, I will definitely be sharing more of it sometime. I am so grateful that he had the spirit with him while he spoke. I took away so much from his talk. What a blessed man he is. 

I hope that we can all adhere to President Monson’s when he said, "The boy prophet Joseph Smith sought heavenly help by entering a grove which then became sacred.  Do we need similar strength?  Does each need to seek his or her own "Sacred Grove”?  A place where communication between God and man can go forth unimpeded, uninterrupted, and undisturbed is such a grove." (Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Choose You This Day, Ensign, November 2004) 

My personal "grove" is waking up before any else is.  Being completely alone, silent: no music, no TV, no phone, absolute silence. I am so thankful for that time I have. I don’t use it ever day. I hope that I can, because what a beautiful gift it truly is. 

Much Love, 

Rachel 

Inspiring Podcast(s)

What uplifting podcasts do you listen to?

Podcasts are AMAZING! I listen to them every day and they are free. I usually listen to: 

- Take control of your money. By: Dave Ramsey (Financial  counselor)

- Inspiration with Val; “get inspired, unstuck and happy” (just  starting listening to her. She has guest speakers come on that  are inspiring for sure! 

- Life Habits by: Karel Vredenburg. Super inspiring. 

- Believe in yourself/Confidence on the Go by: Trish Blackwell

The last one that I mentioned has been a favorite since Day 1! Trish is a recovery from an eating disorder. She is now such an inspiration for others and I really admire her for that. She now spends her time as a personal trainer, author and coach. 

Every episode Trish has a "listener of the episode". On Feb 12th I was the listener (she shared part of an email I sent her). The last 3 minutes she talked about it and thanked me for sharing my story and for changing. I was jumping up and down. I rewinded it probably 5 times. NO JOKE! I was so happy that she would share a tiny bit about me. It helped me see my progress. 

I am so grateful that the Lord is changing who I am in His own time and in His. As I rely on Him with all my might, mind and strength. I love Him. I am so grateful that everyday I get a chance to make a difference and to learn more about who I really am through the Lord. 

I hope that I can add more good to my day. There are so many good movies, book, songs and podcasts that can change your day. Get rid of ANYTHING that puts you down, triggers you or doesn’t invite the spirit. 

What podcast or books have your guys read/heard that you inspire you? I would love to know. Post them below. 

Have a wonderful day. And know that things will get better. 

Much love,

Rachel 

I will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.

2013 was a roller coster. Last January I started to feel ill. Little by little it got worse and worse. I was in and out of emergency rooms. Every test in the book was being ran and I was sent from specialist to specialist. Unfortunately, all the tests and blood work came back normal.  Leaving me with no answers!

As a recovery addict being sick is a HUGE TRIGGER. Today as I was watching New Testament videos I watched the one about the women with “the issue of blood”. Tears filled my eyes.

I was so frustrated this week trying to do every single thing that I could do to get rid of headaches. They have been coming on for the past week constantly. I let Satan step in because of my frustration. He tricked me into thinking that God was not helping me anymore. Telling me it had been a year and what has come of it, well as I tried to reach for God's help, He showed me what has come of it:

The Lord guided me to this video. I was reminded that God has power to do all. We must have faith. In Mark 5 it says,” Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague”. How beautiful! 

In last April Conference Elder Erying gave a talk called "In the strength of the Lord":

“The combination of trials and their duration are as varied as are the children of our Heavenly Father. No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same, at all times in our lives and for every person: will we do whatsoever the Lord our God will command us?

Knowing why we are tested and what the test is tells us how to get help. We have to go to God. He gives us the commandments. And we will need more that our own strength to keep them. 

..The restoed gospel makes plain the simple things we need to do. And it gives us confidence that the help we need will come.”

I can bear my testimony that God knows me better than I know myself. He has given me challenges, as well as all of us, because He knows you can handle it. We can do it with Him, we must have faith. Deep in my addiction this scripture used to make me so upset: 

 1 Corinthians 10:13: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I used to think that God was mad at me and gave me this addiction and struggles. I could not understand it. I am so grateful to be reminded today that I choose to come down to earth and go through EVERY single trial because I loved my Father in heaven so much that I would do whatever it took to return to him. 

Today was a hard day, but I will do anything to get back with Him. I know it will be worth it. Day by day, moment to moment always, always rely on Him. A great reminder for today and every day. 

Thank you Lord.

Much Love, 

Rachel 

“The test of a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us.”

Look Within

In the LDS 12 Step Addiction Recovery Manual Step 10 focuses on daily accountability. 

Throughout Step 10 it asks some questions, such as:

Am I doing too much or too little?

Am I taking care of my basic spiritual, emotional and physical needs?

Do you serve others?

A few weeks ago I listen to Trish Blackwell’s pod cast, Confidence on the go, highly recommended. I love love love her!! She really does bring me confidence, very grateful for her. 

In this podcast she stated that she asked herself these following questions:

   

    What are three core values?

    What are my three core strengths?

    What are my three core weaknesses?

    What is out of balance in my life and am I willing to address it?

    What do I think is really possible for me?

    What would I do if I could really accomplish anything?

    What holds me back, fear of success or fear of failure?

    What makes my heart sing?

    What doesn’t make my heart sing that I keep doing anyways?

    What am I really doing with the gifts and talents I have been given?

    What was my biggest disappointment of 2013?

    What will I celebrate most in 2014?

I love these questions! I am so grateful that as I have worked the steps and that now the Lord can help me look within. LDS Addiction Recovery Manual says,” We realized how much our addictions had robbed relationships and robbed us of sense of worth”. (Step 1, pg.1)

In my addiction I compeltely lost who I was. I am so extremely grateful that these questions can help me look within and be in tune with me, the real me. 

Much love,

Rachel 

Feelings Mean Something

I wrote a story of who I was a long time ago. My truths in that story are not reality, but a heavy weight that I have lived with for a long time. They still hold truth deep down in my heart. They are painful. And I want to re-write my story.

You see I invalidated my thoughts. Example: I will start feeling fearful. I would

tell myself that it was “dumb” or “stupid” to feel that way. When I invalidate myself, or when any of us do, we are putting ourselves on a slippery slope to darker place sin our mind.

I know I am not the only one who beats themselves up. As I talked to my therapist she told me to be more Mindful.

“Mindfulness:

is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.”

To be honest it seems like an impossible task, not judging what I am thinking?  But as I have read more and talked more about it I came across something that means a lot:

“Imagine a house, and a fire alarm going off in the house. The sound is loud. The problem isn't the sound. The sound is a warning that something else is happening that needs to be addressed, quickly. Moods are the same; they are the warning alarms that we need to take notice of the situation, so that we don't get "emotionally" burned. So, judging your feelings can silence the warning sound, which puts you in danger.”

(Source: unknown)

To me this makes total sense! My feelings do mean something. They are trying to tell me something. This does not mean they need to control my life.

Feelings have movement. They come and go. We may have the same exact feeling come back depending on the situation. Yes, feelings are not a one-time things. Yet, each time a negative feeling comes back we have another opportunity to understand it and react to it differently. We get a chance to empathize with ourselves and explore where our feelings and thoughts are coming from and in turn this gives us a new deeper perspective, which results in us understanding them in a way that you know healthily soothes.

Our feelings aren’t always logical or sensible but when you take time to recognize them over time that logic can reveal itself or it can be a very deep gut reaction that keeps you out of harms way, or keep your from getting “emotional burnt”.

I came across this on Pinterest:

There are 7 letters. Each day this next week I am going to focus on one. So tomorrow, I am going to live moment to moment. I am going to really let the Lord guide me.

I want to let myself love me for me, and let my husband in on the painful story I wrote a long time ago. I can change, we all can.

It took me 15 years to write my last story; it isn’t going to change overnight. Day by day I can re-write it, always need to remember that.

Much Love,

Rachel 

Patterns of Emotion: Focus

Finishing up the Triads from Tony Robbins.

The last one is: Focus. 

Focus = Feeling

Whatever you focus on you’re going to believe. "Focus equals reality to the individual, even though it’s not reality in actuality." When I first heard that I thought it was confusing, but really Tony Robbins is right. For some many years I told myself that I was not worthy of love, so I acted that way. It was my truth, even though reality was…I was a daughter of God who was very loved. 

Ever heard the story of the four-minute mile? For years people believed that it is impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in 1954. Within one year, 37 runners broke the belief barrier. And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing. Amazing what a change of perception does! What do we need to change our perspective on? 

Placebo effect: People who are told a drug will have a certain effect will many times experience that effect even when given a pill without those properties.

No one is born with beliefs. Beliefs are acquired from a young age and through our life experience. The things you were told and how you were treated when young, become the way you think about yourself and the world, and become your beliefs, whether empowering or defeating.

The great thing is this doesn’t mean that our beliefs are actually true. Just because someone told us we can’t be somebody or do something doesn’t mean we have to believe them.

Challenges your beliefs. Your truths may not be reality. 

I am so grateful for this inspiration. I know that I have many beliefs that I need to challenge. I am so grateful that the Lord is helping me to see myself as He sees me. I am so thankful for the perspective that Tony Robbins was able to give me. Really hope that I can become more mindful and positive, taking complete control of my thoughts. 

Any tips or things you have all done to help you to be more mindful, positive, in tune with yourself? Would love to hear it. 

Much love,

Rachel

Patterns of Emotion: Physiology

On my last post I talked about Tony Robbins, a life coach. He talked about "Triad: the three patterns that create emotion." Last post I focused on Language, now Physiology, so what your body does. 

Tony Robbins uses an example. He says something along the lines of: If behind curtain number one there is someone who is depressed. What is their body doing? How would you know they are depressed? Of course we can all answer that. They would be slumped over, shallow breathing, to themselves, etc etc. 

He then explains a study in which the patients with clinical depression smiled at themselves in a mirror 20 minutes a day. After 4 weeks every one of the participants were not clinically depressed anymore. I don’t remember if he stated the university that did the study and I have been unable to find it. Sorry! But even though I haven’t found it I know it would work and have read many amazing studies and insights about the power of smiling. 

This Ted talk explains a lot of amazing studies:

Ron Gutman: Hidden Power Smiling

I know it may all seem hooky, but what would it hurt. :D 

“I never will understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.” - Mother Teresa 

Much love! 

Rachel