Kristin Larsen

Ideas That Ignite Curiosity To Love With Courage!

Letting Intentions of Our Being-ness Lead

In each moment there is a thought to how we would like to function. It doesn’t always mean functioning in the way we would like. An important factor in functioning in the way we would like requires letting intentions of our being-ness lead.

To allow intentions of our being-ness to lead means understanding what intentions are and what their importance is in day to day life.

What is an intention of our being?

An intention is an idea that you plan to carry out. In order to carry out the intention you must be committed to it’s action. To be committed to it’s action you must embody the true essence of the intention. The intention requires determination to follow through with accompanying actions. It has been conceived in the mind and becomes the focus of being. The being-ness of the intention is devotion to it’s embodiment within.

What role do intentions of our being have in our life?

Intentions act as our guide in life. When they are paired with our values, they form a powerful combination of navigating influencers that lead the way.

Anyone can have an intention. What makes the intention significant is that it coincides with the true way of functioning that someone would like. The epicenter of operation can originate from the intention. Life could be in chaos but living from the intention could be the difference between staying grounded and focused or letting anxiety and disarray be in control.

I feel that, “intentions are the backbone of operating in our reality, no matter what is occurring in that reality.”

Being your intentions

What will be required to BE your intentions?

A commitment, a dedication, being integrity to the desired intentions. An example would be if I choose to be compassion, then my thoughts and actions must originate from that intention. It could mean shifting perspectives or changing my focus from contexts that are happening that don’t align with that intention. It might not necessarily mean I agree with everything that is occurring in that moment. However, it doesn’t change the intention of compassion that I choose to be in that moment.

What gets in the way of being our intentions

In many instances our ego gets in the way. Feeling the need for safety in one or various forms. To affirm self worth, love or finding a feeling of safety in an experience. A need to prove or be validated is what the ego wants to regain control or feel it is in control of the experience.

Coming back to our intentions means comforting the ego when it feels threatened. Soothing it and letting the heart-mind to have a moment to heal and restore. Self compassion could be a door opening intention for that to happen.

Commitment to letting our intentions of being-ness lead

The commitment is a dedicated focus to being the desired intentions. It could be a daily practice that creates awareness. The awareness then forms a choice to follow through on the required actions to be the intention. In time, it becomes a habit.
Moments could arise that displace being the intention. Acknowledging the agreement to be integrity for the intention recommits to embody the intention again without much delay.

The dedication to live by a chosen intention is an embodied integrity, “to be.”

Trust In The Unfolding Journey

The journey is continuously winding through peaks and valleys. It meanders through all types of weather. Various points along the way moving towards each stage of destination. All these paths will appear and be reached throughout it’s own unfolding. The joy often resides in the trust in the unfolding journey.

Does it make the journey any less extraordinary if things unfold differently than what was imagined?

There are parts of the path that seem clear. The steps are visible. The momentum is fluent with motivating guidance to reach the envisioned destination.

Then there are other parts of the path that are unclear. The way forward is not visible. Each step feels like a struggle.

What makes the path seem unclear and feel like a struggle?

Self Limiting Barriers

Inherently, we want to know. We worry about the outer abstracts. The things that either define, validate or fulfill a desire within a self-made construct in which to accomplish or complete.

The attachments to an obsession that it must unfold in the way that is envisioned. The attachment transforms into inner statements of,

“I will be/I will have _____ if ______ only when “X” happens.

These barriers prevent the invitation to surrender to what is being created through the unfolding process. The limitations force a fixed definition that makes an outcome unworthy of being appreciated.

Not Knowing The Way Forward

What if the journey was the objective instead of the destination?

It becomes the objective when the pressure of arriving at a destination in a set time or exact way can be released. Setting intentions that open space to enjoy all parts of the journey. Trust that things will unfold as they will in their own way.

In the welcoming of trust and enjoyment are dedicated intentions that allow them to be openly accepted.

The dedicated intentions such as gratitude, mindful, patient, peaceful, resourceful, courageous, compassionate, etc.

Can you still be with the parts that are painful, challenging, while appreciating the journey for what it is?

Why does it have to be more?

What is creating the thoughts that it has to be more?

Where We Get Lost In The Process

Being able to trust and appreciate what is unfolding allows a view into what wants to emerge. What wants to emerge in ourselves, along with an invitation to what wants to emerge in our life.

What is the guiding belief or thought that it has to be more than what it is?

We want our experience to be more than it is, and at the same time, we acknowledge the potential of what it can be. It really doesn’t have to be more. Our focus is usually attracted to the perception that it doesn’t meet our expectations. Within that, we are also acknowledging the possibility that our own potential did not meet our expectations. Where the paradox presents itself is when our judgement of what is happening in our experience is right or wrong, and good or bad.

If we let go of this, what can be invited in?

Shifting Perspective In The Unknown

There is acknowledgement that awaits in each step of the journey. We don’t need to have everything figured out to appreciate the magic, mystery and wonder in the unfolding.

What are the gifts that the journey is offering?

What will help to see what wants to emerge?

What will help us to acknowledge our potential within what wants to emerge?

Examples might include;

  • the connection being made to the emotional and mental state within self
  • the learning that is assisting with growth and understanding into our own beliefs and perceptions
  • the perspective to see the opportunity that is available in the experience instead of dwelling on the perceived negative effects

Could it be a shift in self that invites transformation into a new way of functioning from the commitment to another inner state of being?

The opportunity to transform curiosity over fear. Having trust in the unknown. Letting go of control to be in flow.

To acknowledge what wants to emerge means accepting where we are at in the moment. Viewing the current moment as a part of growth and evolution in who we are becoming. There are opportunities to explore the inner questions that are circulating in the mind. Trust in taking steps in the unknown which may feel uncomfortable. Choosing opportunities that align with growth and evolution of self. Continuing to embrace the ideas that are being called into existence. Living the passion of the path that is unfolding with a purpose that combines the talents and abilities that we possess.

Opening up to the guiding light that illuminates the way to our truest self.

A shift in self happens when trust guides the readiness towards the embodiment of what wants to emerge within the core of our being.

Expanding The Inner Capacity For Unease

Many meanings could be derived from the word “unease.” A few meanings that come to my mind when I think of unease are stress, tension, struggle, and discomfort. I have thought about how someone is capable of expanding the inner capacity for unease in the moment.

As I reflect on my own experiences, I acknowledge one area of focus which helps reduce unease. It is the nourishing actions that can be taken to navigate the stresses in the experiences. The other invitation is to expand the inner capacity to be with the unease.

What could expanding the inner capacity to be with unease mean?

Staying Stuck in the Unease

In that state of frustration, helplessness, powerlessness, it is not reasonable to imagine or see the possibility to have the capacity to be with unease. It can be extremely uncomfortable. It might feel like something must be wrong. A strong-willed judgement about what is being experienced.

An inner subconscious voice says it is something that must be solved. There are steps that must be taken to relieve the suffering as if resembling some sort of systematic equation.

It feels like there is relief when a result is produced. It could be a desired outcome, remembering when a desired outcome happened, feeling belief in something, feeling accepted by others, feeling connection with others, the ideation of being right, honoring one’s own values. *

Getting Unstuck From the Unease

Something that remains constant in the discomfort of unease is choice. The ego wants to have input towards if the choice will be legitimately helpful or safe to move away from unease.

What can be helpful in transforming a disempowering experience into an empowering experience is dedicating focus to habits and behavior.

Taking the time to understand what habits support being with unease and navigating in it’s space. Some habits may include practicing self compassion, meditating, praying, slowing down to be in silence, journaling, exercise, yoga, or simply getting outside in nature.

Creating awareness for behaviors that nurture the evolution of healing and empowerment. Authentic self expression that enables acceptance for vulnerability. Having accountability for the intentions being lived into. Allowing trust to encompass being within the experience.

Being With The Unease In Grace

The discomfort is setting in. I am feeling helpless. I am not seeing choices. I am feeling the stress of this experience. I notice my breathing speeding up. My awareness offers a choice that I now see. I place my focus on my breath. I take a moment to slow it down. Giving my attention to deep inhales and exhales. My awareness is expanding. I notice the tension in my body. With each exhale, I give myself permission to release the tension from my body. In this release I give myself compassion. This is a moment of struggle. May I give myself love and understanding right now. I will let this be ok, I will be ok.

As I surrender to this moment I feel a sense of peace. I am at peace. Possibility enters my vision. Gently, I ask myself what I need right now.

Subtly, I realize I am now with the unease in a greater capacity.

Awareness awakens the possibility to surrender in the moment. The invitation to kindly ask “what is available to give to self.”

*Information referenced from National Library of Medicine, (article) The Unease Modulation Model: An Experiential Model of Stress With Implications for Health, Stress Management, and Public Policy, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6567485/

The Urgency To Live

Clarity About Urgency To Live

The convergence of urgency and comfort invites an opportunity to shift an experience with an altered perception of time.

A perception of time could be swayed by thoughts or feelings on both extremes of the spectrum.  One perception is the distorted illusion of unlimited time and the other extreme could be the belief of being stuck in moments or experiences.

When I think of time, from the standpoint from beginning to end in the current life, it does not seem unlimited. I also think of time as being infinite. The belief that time has no end. It seems like a confliction of what time is. It could be subjective if someone believes that physical life may end, and the spiritual journey continues.

To focus on the specific physical presence in life would suggest there is a path to the end.

When the end appears, there can be an assumption that there are many reflective insights that arise for the time lived.

Documented thoughts from others near the end of their life include appreciations, regrets, forgiveness, remorse, love.

Why it takes a lifetime to realize the reflective insights

The false reality many people hold in their mind is commonly mistaking they have unlimited time in their life.

At what points in life do people start thinking about time as a precious gift?

Usually there are disruptions or reminders that interrupt the false reality of unlimited time.

It could be when someone close, like a best friend or family member passes away. A revelation for the physical end of life. A gentle prompt of reality for aging and mortality.

It may or may not persuade one’s perspective of time. It definitely infuses the curiosity to think about it.

 Curiosity could then lead someone down a tunnel of despair thinking about everything they “must do now” with a maintained focus on the ending.

It isn’t about the time urgency to do tasks. It is about the time urgency to be the person you envision being in your life.

Am I taking the time to love others and myself?

Am I taking the time to appreciate the moments in life?

Am I taking the time to live with inner peace?

Looking deeper into these individual questions, the answers reside in the question, “what does this mean to me?”

What living with urgency really means

I believe it is a simple philosophy.
To live with integrity. To live in your values. To love deeply. To care for yourself. To care for others.

There can be many temptations that get in the way of someone not following this philosophy. In most cases, following the ego leads us astray.

Attachment to the thoughts of anger, disappointment, failure are some of the major attention grabbers for the ego. Depending how intense the attachment is will determine how long the ego will be followed on the journey. Gradually taking someone further and further away from the simple philosophies they want to live by. The perception becomes; they no longer seem simple.

Days, months and years pass. Not realizing the habits and perceptions have denied the proper love and caring that was always wanted.

This includes escaping, avoiding and running away from challenges that life is presenting. Respect must be given for the current state someone is functioning. However, that does not preclude the potential and possibility of shifting that state. Regaining focus and realigning commitment to the things that are most important. Those “things” of importance are what become urgent to care for.

There is a responsibility to act with urgency. Being accountable not only to oneself, but to others that encompass the ripple effect in life’s sphere of connection.

Redemption of integrity is tightly woven into the values of love and caring. It requires being prompt in those aligned actions.

Bring Awareness In The Body

Bring awareness back in your body to stay focused in life

To stay focused requires minimal distraction in the mind. It is interesting how chaos could ensue around someone, yet they are able to maintain focus.

I wonder why that is?

A typical day in life for example, getting lost in all the intricacies of tasks, obligations, responsibilities.

How can someone stay focused with so much going on?

Being in tune with our senses of what is occurring in our body can help to maintain focus on the joy of who we are, what is happening in our perceptual world.

It is a form of appreciative acknowledgement. Accepting what is happening without resistance.

The awareness in our body connects us back to ourselves.

It is a grounding into the current moment.

Tune into the moment without the chaos diverting our attention somewhere other than what is happening right now.

The mind connects back with the body.

You take the time to feel your feet on the ground. You allow yourself to be open to observation as time was taken to notice.

To feel the sensations, the energy in your body.

Where are they being held, stored, restricted?

Taking small steps to incorporate awareness in your body throughout the day will provide advantages of focus in life.

You may notice yourself stepping out of fear based thinking, listening with greater intention, less frustration, overall appreciative awareness for right now.

3 Ways To Create Awareness In The Body

  1. Body Scan
  2. Movement
  3. Intentional Reflection/Expression

The body scan is a technique used to intentionally bring attention to individual parts of the body without judging them.

Movement when done mindfully helps to connect yourself back to your body to truly feel the various areas of the body in greater appreciation.

Intentional reflection offers a form of expression that creates a conscious awareness of the things that benefit the body in it’s functioning and movement while also identifying what obstructs it’s effectiveness.

Connecting back to the body is a choice that aids in the life healing process. It allows feelings and thoughts to surface that would otherwise be suppressed.

As the practice becomes stronger, so does the efficiency of how quickly someone can tune into their body.

After experimenting with the sensations in the body, bring them into awareness and feel a powerful experience of focused presence within you.

Connection to the body is a conscious awareness to the residing messages below the superficial functioning in life.

The Transformational Journey

What is a Transformational Journey

The transformational journey could be sparked by a moment or experience that elicits a profound shift to follow an unknown path of exploration. This winding path unearths many discoveries within self and through the lens in which someone views life.

Sometimes it can feel like a “calling.” Other times it can feel like an opportunity for change mixed with confusion, fear of the unknown but knowing the next step is necessary. Inner knowing is acknowledged and reasoning or rational contemplation is accepted even though the path may not be clear at the time.

It can be a spiritual unraveling. An intensified connection to the “change” that is about to occur. It could feel like something is missing. A revolutionary awakening within ourself. The confrontation of fear and overcoming it for the necessary growth to learn or heal along the path to BECOMING.

Arising to a vision of higher self.

What Makes The Transformational Journey Exciting

  • who you become in the process
  • following your values
  • accessing your higher self
  • utilizing your gifts
  • overcome fears

What Makes The Transformational Journey Challenging

  • an unknown end or destination
  • surrendering to trust and faith
  • letting go of old/outdated/misaligned belief concepts
  • habit change
  • navigating emotional turbulence

In the book, A Shift In Being, author and Transformational Coach, Leon VanderPol shares how the stages of the transformational journey begins with an awakening of two forces. “A disruptive inner earthquake or “crisis of integrity” that begins to shake up the status quo, and an inner impulse or call that says “there is more to who you are than you have come to believe – it’s time to know thyself.”

In his explanation he continues to say that these forces guide someone down the path of transformation with the assistance of two actions which are;

Letting Go and Letting Come.

What this means is letting go of our constructed self concept that does not align with our emergence of selfhood. Growing into the expressional experiences of the newborn ascension of selfhood.

The perception of the journey also seems difficult because of the feelings of being alone and isolated throughout the process.

Throughout the process is learning to disseminate elements of true self while recognizing recurring ego patterns.

What To Remember When You Are In It

The journey could be filled with many steps. It is important to acknowledge each step and appreciate that each step is an important piece in the transformational process. A small step could make a drastic impact in the tides of change.

Allow the openness to explore new concepts, ideas and perspectives. The transition might require different ways of thinking, different ways of viewing things, and different ways of choosing how to function.

Choose to remain in the present moment. Placing too much focus on the outcome or end of the journey will undoubtably remove the joy and gratitude in the cycle of inner metamorphosis.

Receive the messages of “what can I learn”  and “what is this teaching me” with open arms. The curiosity reduces judgement and replaces with a focus on vast opportunities for powerful intentions.

The spiritual path of enlightenment is a revelation in the discovery of awakening to true self. It does not discriminate against fear but welcomes trust in loving surrender.

Journey Into a New Year

Where the journey starts and where it continues

This past year was a journey through many experiences. The navigation through the need to accomplish, rest, contemplate, reflect, realize, awaken. They all assisted to connect to the inner motivation to feel content and complete.

Most of the moments emerged in their own way. It was simply about letting them emerge. It may not have felt like it was the “right time”, but there was no denying their importance in the journey.

There could have been a choice to resist or avoid. They would have still emerged at another time.

Transform the experiences

To allow presence of the experience, shifts one’s perspective through gratitude while acknowledging the blessings.

It could be argued that other choices may have altered the experiences. That is also true, and that would lead to a different path on the journey.

There is a reason this journey is meant to be. There is something to be appreciated and something to be learned.

A Calling For Connection

What wants to be realized and what wants to be revealed?

What will be possible and who will I get to be in the process?

A sense of trust develops. A knowing that everything will be ok.

Personal growth and transformation are part of the journey.

Surrender to the process.

Let go of outdated beliefs and ideals that no longer serve.

Cultivate the necessary empowerment to thrive.

Functioning with focus in a clearly defined vision.

What will help to realize the potential of self?

What will help to execute actions with alignment and integrity?

What will help to see clarity for opportunities?
What will help to ignite the craving of the soul?

What is required

  1. Daily supportive habits that nourish the mind, body, soulful spirit.
  2. A disciplined mindset that welcomes resilience and love.
  3. Consistent intentions that fuel motivation and inspiration.
  4. A purpose that connects with your heart.

Take a moment and reflect, where has your journey brought you to this moment of here and now?

Where will be your continuation and starting point when the New Year begins?

The challenge most often resides in the acceptance that there is no wrong place to be on the path.

What if, you believed that each aspect of the journey was a gift that was unveiling something about yourself. Revealing your higher potential. Unearthing unlimited possibilities through broadened perspectives. Guiding an energetic force of passion towards your daily efforts and actions.

Approach each day as a praise of gratitude for the many gifts and opportunities that are ready to be acknowledged. Cultivate the awareness of what makes everything extraordinary. You will witness other perspectives that extend an invitation to live into an astonishing life overflowing with joy.

The emergence of each experience is a blessing to be honored. It is a selfless journey that has no end.

The Path To Inner Peace

The path to inner peace has many distractions along the way.

The Distractions

The distractions are creations of hostility, distress, agitation, frustration, anxiety,
agony, despair, fear, misery.
On the path there are obstacles that will challenge the most inner way of being.
They are distractions because focus is not on the dedication to inner peace.
Stress is a major obstacle that could start off with small irritations and they
gradually increase. Many factors lead to the increase and take someone further away from
inner peace.

The question comes back to, “who is responsible for having inner peace?
It is an important question that transforms possibility and choice.

Another powerfully effective question would be, “who is responsible for being
inner peace?”

It is impossible to have inner peace without focusing on the intentions of who you
choose to be in the moment. It starts with personal awareness.

What is taking you off the path?

Where does your attention need to be to stay on the path?

How long will anger, resentment, fear, despair keep you traveling along a different
path?

Being able to process emotions helps to overcome any obstacles that might get in
the way. Presence with those emotions creates the option to release attachment to them
through required actions.
The required actions coincide with the definition of what inner peace is. That
definition includes some form of love. Love for self, love for others, and love for the life that is
given.

The ways love embodies inner peace in someone’s life

Self care. Taking care of personal needs for wellbeing, physical, mental,
spiritual.

  • Living in core values that bring alignment in life
  • Self compassion
  • Giving self love, respect, appreciation, forgiveness
  • Giving thanks to everything
  • Accepting of discomfort
  • Offerings of kindness and connection
  • Trust or belief in something greater than self

Inner peace is a never ending path in life.

How you choose what that path looks like is dependent upon the devotion you have to stay on the path.

The most basic concepts bring inner peace when accompanied with empowered intentions.

The concepts include having gratitude, practicing forgiveness, mindfulness and
processing emotions to surrender and let go of tightly held resistances in the mind.

They are habits that need to be continually practiced so the stressful moments can
be handled with grace and inner resourcefulness.

Remaining focused in the present moment is the pathway to inner peace which is
always possible. A daily commitment to ensure the necessary actions maintain the vision of
inner peace.

hat is a Transformational Journ

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