awareness | Liz Cirelli

Daydream Believers Podcast hosted by Liz Cirelli

Take a leap of faith

I find myself reflecting and contemplating a lot – especially when I’m travelling. For the last two months I’ve been in California – I came out here to attend a music production and licensing retreat hosted by my music production mentor, Gary Gray. When I booked my ticket, I booked it with the intention of going on a ‘music mission’.

I hadn’t really given much thought to the details of how that mission would unfold, but one thing was clear – I wanted the trip to be all about the music – and I wanted to stay out in California long enough to build long-lasting connections and relationships.

Let me backtrack to just before I committed to come out here. I had a little money come my way which meant that for the first time in 10 years, I was able to put something into a savings account. When Gary told me about his retreat, I wanted to go, but the fear of financial lack arose within me like a hungry snarling dog.

I use the analogy of a snarling dog, as that’s what it felt like. The ferocity of this fear was so strong that it almost totally blotted out my desire to go, to follow my heart. I say almost because an instant after I felt the ferocity of this fear, another sensation swooped over me – and this sensation spoke to me louder than the fear. It said: “you have to make this journey, Liz.” I knew this was the voice I had to listen to, not the voice of fear. The snarling dog had to be put in its place.

Despite knowing deep down that I had to say yes to the retreat and to coming to California, I still felt the fear inside me. I had more money than usual, yes – but in practice, not enough to sustain a longterm trip to the States. I didn’t know how this would work, but I knew I had to take the leap of faith.

So I did. I booked myself a one-way ticket to LA, trusting that Lady Luck would support me. Remember what I said earlier about my intention to make the trip a music mission? For it to be all about the music but that I hadn’t really given much thought to the details of how that mission would unfold?

Well, being out here and letting go of my need to be in constant control has been like me diving head first into a cornucopia. Me deliberately taking a step back and not having everything planned down to the finest detail meant that I allowed vital space for Providence to sweep in. On a practical level, I met people – who were initially complete strangers – who welcomed me into their homes and not only offered me a place to stay, but also really looked after me. These people have subsequently become very dear and special friends. Bob – I cannot thank you enough for everything!

On an artistic level, I have met some incredible people who have inspired me and helped me re-focus and redefine my goals as a music artist. New collaborations have been formed and new and very long-lasting connections have been made. I feel like my creative juices have been given a shot of turbo-powered superfood. I’m so excited for what the future holds.

I consider having goals extremely important in any endeavour, but especially when it comes to having a successful career as a creative. At the same time, I consider it important to be flexible with how those goals are achieved, and to also constantly learn and grow along the journey, redefining your goals as you go.

The people I have met, collaborated with and connected with here have reminded me of what inspires me and what my natural gifts are. This has helped me redefine my goals in accordance with what I believe to be my life’s purpose – the call of my higher self rather than the call of my ego.

Of course this means working with music, continuing my own career as a music artist, but doing it from a place of deep connection with my community (if you’re reading this email, it means you’re a part of that!) and working in a way that ultimately inspires other people to follow their dreams. I love seeing people happy, so I want to work in a way that will enable me to help more and more people along the way. I would love to eventually contribute to institutions (or set up my own!) that help children from troubled families follow their dreams of working in the music industry.

I would not have learned the lessons I’ve learned, become clearer on my goals, nor made the beautiful connections I’ve made had I not taken that leap of faith and listened to the voice of my heart over the voice of fear. Your heart will often tell you to do things that may seem crazy to you. You must listen to it. This the voice of wisdom talking to you – the voice that guides you to realise your life’s purpose.

Have the courage to take leaps of faith – it is only when we leap that we discover we’ve had wings all along.

These posts exist to provide you with the knowledge, inspiration and motivation needed to pursue your dreams. If you’d like to have your say on what topics get covered AND have your questions answered by me and/or our expert guests, simply join our community on Patreon. We really look forward to welcoming you to the family.

The magic of gratitude

25/06/2017 by LizCirelli

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awareness, blog, consciousness, development, gratitude, growth, humility, progression

Gratitude. It goes so much deeper than simply being polite. When we are able to shift our minds into a grateful state, it changes the energy we emit – which therefore changes the energy we attract.

Of course, it’s easy in theory, but life can be challenging and hard. A lot. Plus, our social conditioning doesn’t exactly do us many favours in most cases.

I spent a large portion of my life residing in emotional states that were anything but grateful. Arrogance, bitterness, anger, resentment, jealousy were frequently if not permanently on the menu. I expected everything, but, according to my perspective, received nothing. And guess what? This just made me even more angry, bitter, jealous and resentful.

These negative emotional cycles controlled me because back then I didn’t know any better. I hadn’t yet developed the awareness needed to change. Then slowly, information started coming to me that freed me from my bondage.

I realised I had a choice. I realised I was actually the one who was in control of my mind – and not the other way around. I began to understand that the way I was choosing to behave – the emotional states I was choosing to reside in, were destructive and were not serving me or anyone surrounding me. I chose therefore to begin the process of change.

It was uncomfortable and painful, because choosing to change meant that I first had to acknowledge those darker aspects of my personality, then I had to stop fighting them. Over time I began to realise that these emotional states were obstructing me from experiencing true happiness, were preventing me from receiving and experiencing the magic that is life.

Slowly but surely, I learned how to get out of my own way…I made a conscious choice to let the arrogance go, and I started adopting humility. That was scary for me, because I had built up the arrogant side of my persona as a defence mechanism to prevent me for getting hurt. But then I came to realise that if people chose to take advantage of my humility, that is their issue, not mine. I realised I could choose whether or not to be hurt by someone.

The more I embraced humility, the more I was able to become grateful. And the more gratitude I was able to exude, the more beautiful life became. I came to fully understand the nature of the expression that one must become humble to be able to stand before God. Or, to put it another way, one must become humble in order to experience the magnificent beauty and magic of life – to experience love in its purest most potent form (and I’m not referring to human love here, I’m referring to the love that is the Divine).

Humility is the key for the gate – and gratitude is the energy that swings the gate wide open.

Humility also enables us to acknowledge that life always gives us exactly what we need, even if it isn’t what we want. If we are able to accept it and be grateful for it, rather than resist it, we will find that what we’ve been wishing for is contained within the experience. It will always provide us with a valuable opportunity for growth – which can even serve to help us help others.

In a hurting world where individualism and selfishness are rife, gratitude and humility are, from my perspective, the antidote. After gaining the knowledge of how to use the gifts of humility and gratitude, our focus should not be on material gain, but rather on how we can serve as a collective to heal the hurts of the world. The Divine intelligence in all things knows best – and if we are able to submit to humility and gratitude with a pure heart, we can rest safe in the knowledge that this infinite intelligence will guide us along the right path. Not just for our own self-gain, but for the benefit of all.

Thank you so much for coming here and taking the time out to have a read. If you’d like to get early access to all my blog posts, musical output – and get access to my coaching community, please join my Patreon page by clicking here. It’s where all the action is happening! You can sign up quickly and easily and as a patron, you’ll receive some really lovely rewards. Big love, Liz.