The Bliss Mistress Guide: Can You DIG It?

I love words. They fascinate and enthrall me. I enjoy playing with them and the ways in which they dance across the page and roll off the tongue in conversation. Acronyms are among my favorites, since we can read meaning into anything we choose.

Last night while at a local book store, I picked up a copy of Brene’ Brown’s book called The Gifts of Imperfection. I had heard about it when it initially was released in 2010; this user friendly tome of temerity to stand up and face our less than desirable aspects that could have been sucked directly out of the recesses of my overactive brain.  She is a social worker and researcher who works in the areas of shame, vulnerability and authenticity with TED talks  and Super Soul Sunday appearances to show for it.  When she speaks and writes, I find myself nodding along.

Much of what she shares is about acknowledging our humanity and the common thread of inner critic thoughts that plague us. When I read about her dramas around unworthiness, about what she perceives as flubbed presentations, and the‘shame storms’ that ensued, (which turn out to be REALLY good teaching tools that she uses in subsequent lectures and speeches and teaches), I am gratified to know that I’m not the only one who second guesses and ‘shoulda woulda coulda’s’ herself.

One of the tools/techniques that Brene’ uses to promote Wholehearted living is called DIG and she breaks the letters down for those who desire to DIG Deep:

Deliberate in their thoughts and behaviors through prayer, meditation or simply setting their intentions;

Inspired to make new and different choices;

Going. They take action

Hmmm… I mused. I’ve been doing all of those things for many years. When once upon a time, I was a dreamer and visionary, now I take inspired action to see my dreams turn into magical reality. When there were years during which I sleep walked through life, now I am (mostly, with an occasional nap) wide awake and alert to what is going on around me and within me.  When I used to be on fear-based auto-pilot, not wanting to make the ‘wrong’ choices; now I step boldly into them as I trust that as long as what I am doing is for the Highest Good and does no tintentionally harm anyone, then I am on the right track. Paradoxically, I also pushed too hard, expected too much and was often times overwhelmed but didn’tdare express it out loud, lest I be thought unreliable. Now I am feeling much safer to admit that I can’t do it all, be it all or juggle it all. I’ve dropped a few spinning plates and balls in the process. 

The soil into which I have been digging is not always malleable and so I need to go deeper with a bigger shovel or ask others to join me in the excavation. I still hang on to the ridiculous belief that I shouldn’t need too much help, since I am resourceful and resilient. In conversation with a longtime dear friend today, I was reminded that asking for support is not a weakness, but a strength which is the polar opposite of what we were conditioned to accept as gospel. Not no more! Since the heart attack, I am living a ‘new normal’ in nearly every way and that includes being willing to ask for and receive what I have requested.

These days I am doing a whole lot more Grazing in the Grass and definitely digging it.

EdieWeinstein, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, inspiring speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, radio host –It’s All About Relationships (www.vividlife.me), and the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary. She is an opti-mystic who views the world through the eyes of possibility.  www.liveinjoy.org