Joyfull Living – by Louise Lavergne, JoyFull Yoga

LouiseLavergnePresentIf everything you ever wanted showed up at your door, would you let it in? When something good happens, does the fear of it being too good to be true block your ability to receive and enjoy? The Ego is very skilled at holding on to the stories that limit what is possible based on the past. Beneath it all is a feeling of unworthiness which is at the core of most challenges and crises. It blocks our ability to attract and receive what we want, even when it’s within our reach. To overcome the pain caused by unworthiness, external forces are often created to distract, blame, justify or protect. Unworthiness also shows up as the fear of not being good enough, of being unlovable, feeling like an outsider, feeling less than, feeling like we have to earn or justify people’s love by doing something. It is the unspoken fear that if we let people see who we really are they might not accept or love us. This results in a mirage of feelings rooted in powerlessness. The Ego looks for ways to overcome this unbearable feeling in creative ways:

  • With entitlement, making demands.
  • Stepping into the role of the victim to receive external approval, justification and sympathy.
  • Looking for someone to love to compensate for lack of self-love.
  • Tending to several charities to create an external sense of self-worth.
  • Creating an entourage of needy people who are less than we feel we are, economically, physically or emotionally.
  • Dominating another person through force &/or disempowering with verbal abuse, bullying.

All of the above numb the pain of powerlessness and create an external feeling of self-worth. Every time we look outside ourselves to get approval or begrudge another person’s success, we are blocking our ability to receive. This also cuts us off from our true nature of unconditional love.

I still prefer to give than receive, but I have opened up to receive so that there is more balance in my life. With years of spiritual practice, going deeper within myself, letting go of attachments and with the gift of getting older, I have come to a place where I am better able to receive in a way that nurtures my self-worth and to give from a place that empowers others. It’s not about “not caring” what people think, but rather not depending on that for self-worth and peace of heart.

There is a spiritual practice called Karma yoga that can transform any service opportunity into a healing force for both the giver and receiver. It is the art of taking action without attachments. Actions and service are not conditional or attached to an outcome of receiving compensation or approval from anybody. We all deserve the gift of receiving and giving. We are on this planet to help each other find our way to unconditional love.

By going below the surface to identify the external forces that have been driving our personalities for most of our lives, such as anger, jealousy, vindictiveness, superiority, inferiority, over or under achieving, etc.…we can begin to break down the old ways once and for all. We can then take back the reins of our mind and ego with love and compassion and align with our higher good and the higher good of all. When we take responsibility for our happiness by focusing on changing ourselves from the inside, instead of focusing only on the external and the world around us, we begin to heal and be free once and for all from the anguish of unworthiness. If we want to live in a peaceful world we must begin with ourselves.

As we come to this time of receiving and giving, it is a wonderful opportunity to look at what is driving our life and observe our ability to give and receive unconditionally, making way for us to end the year with a renewed relationship with ourselves and the Divine Creative Force of the Universe. That will be the focus of our one day retreat on December 29th.

As we express our good wishes to each other, Peace on earth and good will to all, let it begin with you and your life…. Just as we see the power of thousands of little lights illuminating our sweet town, let us bring the opportunity of lighting up the world, one inner light at a time. Namaste.

© Louise Lavergne, 2001-2013

Louise Lavergne

Louise Lavergne of JoyFull Living Wellness Center

Louise is an international inspirational speaker, author, creator of JoyFull Yoga and JoyFull living coaching. She owns JoyFull Yoga LLC in Jacksonville where she offers private sessions and group classes. Email us your questions at info@joyfull-yoga.com. www.joyfull-yoga.com 541-899-0707.

Posted December 6, 2013