So you can imagine my surprise when I recognized that I was smack in the middle of my own tumble and fall.

It happens. To everyone. The key is to be aware of where you are so that you can examine what brought you to that place so you can turn yourself back around.

A downward spiral starts with an event or two that sets off a trigger.  This charge stirs up old outdated coping behavior that only serves to add energy to the emotional roller coaster. Events in and of themselves do not cause stress. It is what we have these events mean for or about us that ignites the fall from grace.

In my case it was the notification and the cold realization that my Father won’t be with us for very much longer.  He lives 3,000 miles away and I only see him a couple of times a year. I fly in and fly out as quick as I can for the obligatory visit. We were never very close.

I made my peace with my Dad years ago.  He’s 94 years old so I’ve been well prepared for this day for a few years. Even with a good attitude, the life he’s living now hardly able to walk with very little eyesight or ability to hear isn’t what he wants.   So why was I on such a downward spiral, unable to get out of my own way?

I stopped everything that I was doing so that I could quiet my mind.  In the silence, that calm inner wisdom, what I playfully call the Inner Wizard, spoke to me. It told me that I was not reacting to the eventual death of my Dad, I was beginning to mourn the loss of not having a warm loving close relationship with my Father – ever. If he was gone, then it is certain, I will never know what that kind of parental relationship feels like.  This pain, this profound sadness, had been buried deep within me all these years without me realizing it. And now that pain was bubbling up to the surface. I allowed myself to feel the deep inner pain of that realization.

After some time, I turned my attention to the lessons I learned as a result of the dysfunctional parental upbringing I went through. I understood that my Father, too, never had much of a childhood.  He came from a very poor family, raised himself on the streets of East Orange, New Jersey and became a recognized expert in his field.  His personal life was riddled with his own downward spirals, major crashes and severe burns.  I learned a lot of valuable life lessons as the observer of his life experience.  I also knew that he was always well intention, just very misguided by his own inner pain, his jabbering Inner Critic.  How could my Father express his love for me when he couldn’t even love himself.

As a child I thought he considered me to be a disappointment, a moron. His word for me, “lamebrain”, echoed in my mind.  Through my own personal journey of self awareness I realized that everyone is doing the best they can with the light they have to see. My Father was just misguided and misdirected. Even as a brilliant neurologist, he was missing several batteries in his flashlight when it came to his own perception of himself and the world.

What I discovered as a result of having gone through the experiences, the pain, the sadness, the anger, resentment, the self-loathing enabled me to turn all of that into forgiveness, peace, joy and unconditional love. I discovered that he really did, and does, love me. I would not be who I am today without my Dad. I may not have reached a point where I felt so lost and shut down to muster up the courage and the strength to do something about it.  I became committed to claiming my truth, owning my power and commanding my life direction.  I love who I am and what I do in my life today – teaching others how to do the same.

Wow. My Father went through a lot of pain to give me a priceless gift. He gave me the gift of empowerment and self-actualization. We are complete. I now feel nothing but love for him.  At peace, and off the downward spiral, I booked a flight to see him so I could tell him, in person, how much I love him and thank him for all that he has given me.

You have the power within you to turn around irrational coping patterns that manifest as emotional tornadoes of angst. Downward spirals are a signal that you have a tremendous opportunity to rise above, reach even greater levels of expanded awareness and possibility. If you are in such a state, love and value yourself enough to get the gift in the profound lessons you can learn to heal and grow.

Exciting News!

My gut, my intuition, my Inner Wizard has been calling me to allow it to come out and play, to boldly and fully express herself.

The day has arrived. The Inner Wizard now boldly expressing herself at Moxie Therapy. This is the last blog I will be posting at InnerWizard.

For those of you who are new to this blog, the Inner Wizard is your unique expression of the human spirit. Some people call it a Higher Self, Inner Being, Soul, Heart-centered God force, or any number of other names that describe the voice of authenticity, intuition and the source of inspiration within each and every one of us. I playfully call it the Inner Wizard.

The Inner Wizard is:

Worthy
Inspirational
Zealous
Authentic
Responsible
Deliberate

When you show up in your life fully expressing those attributes, you’ve got Moxie!

What do those who achieve extraordinary success – Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, J.K. Rowling, Bette Midler, Mary Kay Ash, Angelina Jolie, Howard Stern, Danica Patrick and Ellen DeGeneres have in common?

Moxie

Those who rise above mere success to create an extraordinary life have the guts, fortitude, Moxie, the confident courage to achieve authentic greatness with unrelenting drive and passion.

“When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it – don’t back down and don’t give up – then you’re going to mystify a lot of folks.” – Bob Dylan

You are here to mystify a lot of folks. As such you already have within you everything you need to astound, amaze and electrify your world. You were given these gifts as your birthright:

M – ability to Master your opportunities

O – Omnipotent; having unlimited power to create

X – the “X” factor – your Authenticity; who you really are; unique purpose

I – Intuition: inner wisdom

E – Energetic expression: boldly thinking, speaking & acting with intention

In a word, you’ve got MOXIE!
“We are all divine, but I was the only one who had the nerve to call myself that.” — Bette Midler
To apply this formula you must first ask, acknowledge and honor what would make your heart sing. If you don’t know the answer to this question or are feeling miscast in the story that is your life you may be on a path that is not your own.

Unless you are tapped in to your Nature, your authenticity, instead of your Nurture, your conditioning, you cannot express your MOXIE.

To achieve, maintain and enjoy extraordinary success you have to stand centered in the truth of who you really are. You must think, speak, act and renew your commitment to express your Moxie as you live and breathe each and every day.
Join me to Claim Your Truth, Own Your Power, Command Your Stage at http://www.MoxieTherapy.com to Muster Up Your Moxie!