I few months ago, I was scrolling through my inbox and came across a podcast from Sounds True. Sounds True is a great resource for online courses, recorded books and lectures. They where advertising a podcast that they had recorded with Lissa Rankin on Love and inner guidance https://www.soundstrue.com/store/weeklywisdom?page=single&category=IATE&episode=13715
I am always keeping my ears and eyes open for healthy messaging for my mind, body and heart. So I tuned in, and by the end, I was looking this woman up to find out more of what she did. It turns out, she had written a book on the topic of FEAR. Which happen to be the first topic to address with my BUILDING RESILIENCE series. So I decided to download her book on Audible.com and begin my journey with her.
I would HIGHLY recommend those who find themselves effected by the media and aroused by current political issues to check out this book. For myself, this was helpful in supporting me in my edge of growth and maturity.
Being that Lissa is an MD., she is able to talk about the physical and physiological effects that fear, and the stress of fear has on the body. She sites several references and offers personal story for this discourse. She also brings up the topic of fundamental fears that are cultural and ancestral. I, for one, found this point to be incredibly essential for shed light on how fear effects our unconscious behavior.
What was most helpful of all, and the number one impetus I have for reading this book, is the plethora of exercises laid out for you. On this journey of discovery and healing, all the help and inspiration we can find is essential. It is nice to have a game pan for not only fortifying your spirit, but also strengthening your relationship to courage and self reliance. There where so many exercises, resources and suggestions mentioned in the book that I couldn't possibly share them all. But I will share one, in order to give you a taste, and hopeful, spark your interest enough to either buy the book or check it out at your local library.
COURAGE CULTIVATING EXERCISE #17:
1. EXAMINE the beliefs you’re telling yourself in a situation. Perhaps your belief is “ This will never pay the bills” or "I’m too old to do what I love.” If you can, narrow your belief down to a single sentence. (If you have more than one belief, you can do this exercise many times.)
2. EXAMINE what you wrote and ask yourself what’s true about it. … ‘Call upon your inner wisdom’ and put to use your powers of discernment to consider which aspects are useful. On a separate list, write down what is true.
3. EXAMINE what you wrote and ask yourself what’s not true about what you wrote. ‘Call upon your inner wisdom’ and put to use your powers of discernment to consider which aspects are not useful. Write down what’s not true.
4. Take a moment in silence with your eyes closed to allow your mind to hold both sides.
5. See if holding the paradox allows for any creative solutions to bubble up.
If you have any great resources to share on the topic of cultivating courage, please add in the comments below.
XO Raquel
