Marian Buck Murray

EFT and Matrix Reimprinting for Sensitive, Empathic, Creative People. Step out of the shadows and share your gifts and talents.

Getting Unstuck, When You Don’t Know Where To Start

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Many of us are going through some heavy challenges right now.  A number of my friends and clients are either at a crossroads, or feeling incredibly stuck, and unable to move forward.

It’s during these trying times that we yearn to know what’s next.  We feel frustrated that we don’t know what ‘next’ is, or how to get there.  Often we get so mired in what might happen in the future, that we immerse ourselves in piles of worry and confusion. Needless to say, it can be a very uncomfortable place to be.

What’s important to realize is that when we can’t see ahead, it’s time to look right in front of us.  Not backwards, or forwards.  Rather, right here in the present moment.  It’s here, in this moment,  where we’re able to course correct and clarify our vision.

Sounds good, but how do we do that? We start, simply, by tuning in to ourselves.  We notice what’s going on within — our emotions, our needs, our desires.  By making this internal connection, we’re able to determine what we need in order to move forward.  This is the first crucial step.

We equip ourselves for the challenge ahead by asking: ‘how can I help myself right now?’ — and by committing to the answers we find.

This might mean getting more sleep. Or eating a healthier diet.  Or meditating more often. Or releasing pent-up emotions.  It might mean reaching out to a trusted friend or healing professional.  Perhaps it’s finally reading that book we’ve been meaning to read.  It could mean anything.  Only you will know what’s most meaningful for you right now.

Any time we move forward, we need to let go of something in order to lighten our load.  For example,  letting go of what we think will happen or what we think must happen.  In addition, letting go of resentments, grudges, and pent-up emotions will serve us enormously.  By letting go of what clouds our vision, our vision begins to clear.  Seeing more clearly eases our way forward.

If you’re feeling stuck right now, pause, and tune in. Listen to your inner wisdom. Take action to care for your needs.  Get clear on what’s most important to you.  Determine what you need to let go, and begin the process. Once you begin to clarify your vision, it will become easier to take the steps towards transformation.

Some Useful Tools to Help You Get Unstuck:

Meditation.  There are many ways to meditate.  Find what’s best for you.  If you don’t know how, there are many helpful books and teachers on the topic.  Insight Timer  is an app which offers a vast array of guided meditations and meditation music, along with a timer for silent meditations.  Regular meditation will help you access your wise inner guidance.

EFT Tapping.  EFT tapping is a wonderful tool to help you release the emotions and beliefs which are clouding your vision.  In addition, tapping helps to reduce cortisol, making your brain more efficient.  Efficient brain function, and a calm nervous system will do wonders to assist you in finding solutions to face any challenge. To learn more about EFT Tapping, contact me.

Heart Breath.  The Heart Breath meditation will help you drop out of a depleting, defeating, mind loop.   By calming your heart, you will help calm your mind, and open up to new possibilities and solutions.  For a free download of my guided Heart Breath Meditation, enter your email in the Heart Breath box to the right of this post.  Or, find me on Insight Timer, where I’ve posted a number of meditations, including the Heart Breath.

My best wishes for your road ahead.

Peace,

Marian

 

 

 

Awaken The Sloth: How To Build Momentum and Motivation

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I’ll admit it.  Sometimes I feel as slow as a sloth.  Sometimes I move as slow as a sloth. It’s been hot this summer, humid, and sticky too.  Add to that the drag of Covid, and the seemingly endless barrage of distressing news.  All of this was a seductive invitation for me to step back, slow down, and sit quietly for a while to process.  Not knowing quite what to do, I surrendered to stillness.  So, apart from the daily necessities, lots of reading, and my work with my clients, I’ve been somewhat off the grid.

Now, as Autumn approaches, a refreshing breeze reaches beyond the gathering inertia of my mind.  And I’m clear. 

It’s time to awaken the sloth.

What I know, is that even when it feels impossible to move forward, there are things we can do get the proverbial ball rolling again.

What I’ve noticed with myself, and my clients, is that getting stuck often starts with resistance.  Resistance to change.  Resistance to uncertainty.  Resistance to discomfort.  And the longer we stay in resistance, the more likely we will lapse into inertia.  We can get used to it, it’s comfortable. And, after a while, it’s easy to forget what we’re resisting in the first place.

Resistance is like a big fat bundle of thoughts that scares us into staying stuck.  A thought bundle that gets bigger and more forceful as time goes on.  Because this thought bundle seems so big and unwieldly, it feels too hard to tackle. So, it’s much easier to just to stay stuck.  And then wait, and wait, and wait…for motivation.

And, more times than I’d like to admit, I realize that motivation rarely, if ever, drops into my lap.  In fact, waiting for motivation usually creates far more frustration than actual motivation.

This said,  motivation is actually not incredibly difficult to find.  That’s because it’s often found on the other side of action.  Sometimes just one step will help build the momentum of yet another, and another step. This momentum leads to the motivation to keep on going.  These steps can include anything from a plan of action, a paragraph on a page, the outline of a project, or a preliminary sketch.  The goal here, is to start something, even when you don’t feel motivated, to gradually build momentum, and motivation.

This might not be new news.  But sometimes we (I) need to hear it again, and again.

Here are some tips to build momentum, and motivation.  During times like this, I like to keep this list handy:

Change up hypnotic routines. Include new, or rarely eaten, foods in your diet.  Take a walk in a completely different direction.  Add ritual and variety to your evening routines.  Make a new social connection.  By doing new things, you will help reduce resistance to uncertainty and unfamiliarity.  In addition, this will help activate your brain, making it easier to generate new ideas.

Awaken hidden talents.  Engage in enjoyable activities which will awaken aspects of yourself that may have fallen asleep. Think back to what you loved to do as a child, and would love to do again.  Begin with small, manageable actions to access this place within you.  Experiment with activities within music, art, literature, physical pursuits, or spirituality to spark your creative flow.  Awakening your hidden talents, with patience, and acceptance, will help you feel more alive, eager, inspired, and motivated to move forward.

Break goals into very small tasks, and write them down. This will help you break out of built-up resistance to big, impossible-feeling goals. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment as you check things off your list.  This sense of accomplishment will help you build momentum and motivation to do more.

Get comfortable with discomfort. Moving out of your comfort zone simply means you’ll feel uncomfortable.  And that’s okay.  We can all handle discomfort. It’s temporary.  Plus, moving through to the other side of discomfort feels GREAT!

Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how ‘small.’ When we only celebrate our biggest accomplishments, we devalue what it takes to get there.  Stay motivated by acknowledging your progress, step by step, along your way to reaching your goal.  When we’re aware of our progress, our goals feel much more accessible.

Give yourself enough structure. Structure will help you contain and focus your efforts. Finding the right structure, especially if you’re resistant to structure, is essential.  This might mean a schedule that fits your style, or some type of creative set-up for your workspace.  Organization and structure will help you clarify what works, and what you want.  And, clarity feeds motivation 

Show up. Have faith in your own creative process to help bring you forward. The creative process requires your commitment to take action, and show up, again, and again and again.

Though I didn’t include it on the list, EFT Tapping is a powerful way to release the fear and resistance that keeps us stuck.  In addition, tapping facilitates effective brain function, improved mood, and enhanced creative flow.  All of these, of course, are essential for forward movement. Contact me to learn more.

WIshing You Peace and Wellbeing,

Marian