Inside Out Series ~ Your Relationship with Money

I saved this post in the Inside Out Series for last and I must admit I have struggled with verbalizing this portion of the series. I feel that money is an extention of what feelings and emotions we are dealing with on the inside. How we relate to ourselves and others is often translated in our relationship with our money.

I believe that our relationship with our money gives us some of the most valuable insight into our core beliefs and most people are terrified by what they will uncover. Our relationship with money is one of our tougher relationships because it is so personal and revealing. Once we develop an awareness around our relationship with money, this will become a catalyst for change.

As I was doing some research on money I came across an article by Joan Sotkin called "Money Feelings" that addresses this very concept extremely well. I couldn't have written it better myself!

Here's to working from the Inside-Out!

Until next time....

Inside Out Series ~ What Does Your Car Say About You?

In continuing our "Inside Out" Series we are going to move on our focus to our cars (or vehicle). While our attention for this part will be on our cars I want you to tuck away this information in relation to other possessions as well.

First, I am going to ask you: What does your car look like?


Now, I am not talking about what type of car you have, but what condition your car is in. Is it well taken care of? Regular maintenance: oil changes, tune ups, car washes? Is it clean? Vacuumed? Is it free of clutter?

OR

Does it look like a dusty road ate it up? Your traveling closet? Your moving trash can? A car needs oil?

Our care of our possessions, such as our cars, can be reflective of our care for ourselves.

How so?

As mentioned at the very begining of this series, what is going on on the inside is manifested on the outside.

Think about the condition your car is in right now.
What might be some of the reasons for the condition it is in right now?
How is the care of your car similiar to care of yourself?
How is it different?
How might the care of your car/possessions add to you accomplishing your goals?
How might it subtract from you accomplishing your goals?


Again, I would love for you to add to this discussion - what's your thought?

Until next time...

Inside Out Series - What We Can Learn About Ourselve By Looking At Our Homes

As I mentioned in the earlier post we can learn a lot about what's happening within ourselves if we take a closer look at what's happening externally.

We're going to spend some time considering our home or environment in which we live.

Energetically our environments have a huge effect on whether we are really living up to our potential and can often times be part of a self-sabatoge cycle.

Clutter Queen VS. Neat Freak
This area is one that I really want to address. I feel that a lot can be learned by taking a look at which label by which you would define yourself.

Clutter Queen: The collector of clutter. You would fall into this category if you have things in your house that you don't know what to do with so you pile it on a table, shove in a closet, fill a drawer or leave it on the floor. You tend to be overwhelmed by the term "organize" and panic at the thought of creating systems to accomplish organization.

Clutter creates a huge blockage of creative energy which prevents one from moving forward and embracing their full power. This is especially true when a big fear is being tapped into. Most people will find that their clutter prevents them from doing something they know they can do. For example: If there is a fear of success then you might find clutter factoring into paying your bills late and creating financial difficulty, therefore preventing financial success.

So, a few questions to consider:

• Where are you limiting yourself with your clutter?
• What fears might be at play here?
• What would happen if you were to eliminate your clutter?
• What scares you about that?
• How would you have to change your thinking in order to change your enviroment?
• What would it take for you to let go of the clutter?

Neat Freak: You would fall into this category if you have a system of organization for everything in your house, you go through your mail immediately and have a place for all items in your home including your car keys. The one thing that generally will drive you nuts is if something is NOT in it's designated place.

While clutter can create a blockage of energy, a Neat Freak will often find it hard to release and let go. When a person is unable to release or let go they close themselves off to new opportunities. This person may be unable to fully experience the present because they are so focused on something that needs to be done or put away.

Questions to consider:

• What opportunities would be available to you if you were to let go of your expectations of how things must be done?
• What are you "missing" out on?
• What would happen if you were to fully experience the present moment?
• How would you have to change your thinking in order to do that?
• What would it take for you to accomplish that?

Somewhere in Between: This category applies to you if you find you are one way or the other depending on the area/room in your house. You might be a Neat Freak about the kitchen, but a Clutter Queen in your bedroom.

Depending on the room you can gain valuable insight into different parts of yourself. For example if a person is a Clutter Queen in the bedroom there may be a fear of intimacy or a feeling of low self-worth.

If you find yourself in this section, start by determining which category applies to each room in your household. After you have examine the questions under each category and add the questions:

• What does this room represent for me?
• What does me being a Clutter Queen OR Neat Freak in this particular room tell me about myself?

I hope you have enjoyed this first article in the "Inside Out" series. Please share your discoveries and thoughts about yourself in relation to your home with me in the comments area. I look forward to the discussion!

Until next time...

From the Inside Out

We all know that sustainable changes happen on a core level. Meaning that in order to make lasting changes they need to come from the inside out. Sometimes determining what changes need to be made can be hard to figure out.

What's going on internally is often reflected externally. We can gain some valuable insight into what is going on with our thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors by taking a look at ourselves from the outside.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks I wil be examining five different areas and what they say about us from the inside out.

We will take a look at:

• Our finances


• Our homes


• Our vehicles


• Our physical appearance


• Our self-care

Stayed tuned for the 1st post in the Inside Out Series!

Until next time...