Akosua Dardaine Edwards's Blog, page 94

Mindset Shift is Everything

most people associate assistance with something external as opposed to guidance from within. We look outward for some force other than ourselves to “come to our rescue” who has the wherewithal to make things better in our life . Carolyn MyssWe were built with the answers. I strongly believe that we are. We have this wonderful sense of intuition that we are born with that is there to guide us at all times. There are terms and conditions of useUsually we are not able to hear the guidance when we listen to the noise. The noise can be denial, distractions, ego, fear. When we get still we are able to hear the guidance very clearly. Many of us are trained to just keep going, to just keep working, to listen to the external, to follow the trends, to pay attention to the world outside of us, then we wonder why we are stressed, over worked, over whelmed and tired.The ability to listen and follow the answers within builds our courage, it builds our discipline, it builds our self belief, it builds our self respect. Those are the tools required on the Journey. These tools help in building our heart's desire.Challenges will come, it is par for the course, and when they do you know once you go within, the answers will be there. So, what are you listening to, the noise or the guidance?Peace

Loving What Is

Dear one, love is like the sun. It doesn’t discriminate between the worthy and the unworthy. It doesn’t bestow its light and warmth only on those who are good. It shines on all alike. When you love what is, you are loving its soul essence, its indestructible goodness. And by speaking to that, from the love and goodness within you, you participate in a process of subtle-energy alchemy that is powerful, though its effects may take a long while to ripen . Hiro BogaLoving what is, a term I have learnt from the wonderful work of Byron Katie. Her philosophy challenged me to look at things as they are, it does not mean that I like it or fancy it. It is really looking at the thing and accepting it as it is without adding on how it should be, how I want it to be and what could happen. That approach is really running ahead without really looking at what is in front of you. Hiro Boga takes it further by saying that loving what is allows you to focus on other's inherent goodness.She is of the view that everyone is born good and that goodness is still buried somewhere deep inside of us.

Loving what is, I have learnt, has allowed me to let go of control, to let go of a whole heap of disappointment when a desired outcome does not happen.
It takes practiceIt demands letting goIt required losing the egoIt finds the good that we all havePeace
Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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Do You Have the Full Story?

Criticism does not make you smarter or better than the one you are criticizing Iyanla Vanzant



There is story behind everything, I truly believe that there is power in our story and what I have learnt is that even before the power there is more to the story than we even know. The launching into judgements, what if's and should's then we can be missing some vital information

This weekend I was giving some advice, unsolicited, no one asked me for it
Lesson Learnt Number 2- offering unsolicited advice without the full story is futile

I went on as if I knew the answers.

Lesson Learnt Number 3 - we usually do not know all the answers, especially when we do not know the full story

I went on and on and put in my own judgements and spin on the event - without knowing the full story

When I got the full story, my jaw was on the floor because I so way off, so out of place. Out of my lane.
Lesson Number 4 - Listen and Support rather than run to a solution

I am now moving forward with these lessons which will allow me to listen, to be compassionate, to drop the judgement and to remember that do not jump to conclusions without the full story because I may be wrong
Peace

Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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Who Is Your Person?

You and your person don’t have to agree on everything. That holds true whether it’s other people, movies, or how to handle any given situation. Julie McClung Peck

When I visited South Africa last November, speaking with my soul sister she said "She is my person"  
I asked her what did she mean by "my person", she went on to explain that your person is the one in your corner, supporting you, cheering you on and vice versa. 
Your person feels like love
Your person is real, they may piss you off with the insight and honesty but you will be told, with love, that you need to get with it!
I have learnt that having a "person" means that you have to be comfortable with vulnerability, comfortable with receiving and have the ability to approach difficult conversations- Self Love is essential!
As always, it starts with you

Who is your person?
Peace
Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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That’s the things with labels

That’s the things with labels. They are wonderful and empowering when you’re the one choosing them. They are an opportunity to be a new person, become a different human and grow into yourself in diverse ways. They’re refreshing and rejuvenating and can become a rallying cry, your own shout for independence and freedom. In essence, it allows you to craft your own identity and image. They can be really beautiful things, but the minute you’re excluded from the process of choosing your label is the same instant they transform into something else completely. They become heavy and distorted, a yolk around your neck that changes the person you are and even the direction your life can take . Salma El Wardany
What do you call yourself? What labels do you add on to yourself and when you add it how do you act?

I am
Two powerful words
They activate much of our power, even when we don't pay attention to how we use it
How do you label yourself and where does it come from?
Do you say to others who put labels on you that it's ok to or do you leave it?
Do you reduce yourself to a label so when something else comes up that does not fit into how you have labelled yourself you feel boxed in or left out?
How you call yourself is how you live
How you call yourself is how others call you
Labels..can be limiting
Peace

Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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My Top 10 Next Level Limitations

“ What if that One thing you're afraid of is the One thing you need, to get Your Big Breakthrough and Go to The Next Level?” ― Jeanette Coron

My Top 10 Next level limitations


Having Tough ConversationsBeing Early and having to mingle with strangersSaying a firm NOSaying a firm YESDisciplined Eating HabitsSharing Personal SpaceKnowing my Worth and Charging for my services accordinglyLooking Myself in the Mirror - without finding a faultDisciplineSetting and Respecting Boundaries
What are yours?Are you willing to share?
Peace

Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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Discipline is a Choice

Discipline is about the self choice to keep doing something that you become a disciple of it, it becomes part of you - Rev Deborah L Johnson

A fresh view of discipline - Self Choice!

Deciding to to do something, usually on your own, so much so, that it becomes a part of you.
Every day, making a choice, all on your own, with no one else there to prompt you or baby you into doing that thing.
People who achieve their goals are disciplined
They choose daily to do something towards what they want to achieve, until it becomes a part of them.
Things may change goals may change, life may shift but the ability to choose discipline can remain constant, the ability to choose to make that thing a part of your life can remain a quality of your life.

Previously, I looked at discipline as a chore, at times as a punishment. With this fresh view, I have learnt that discipline is the daily choice to show up for myself and my vision.

Peace

Have you read any of Akosua's work?


What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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A Different Definition of Praise

So long as you have YOU, you can face starting again. You may have to confront illusions you have about yourself, such as holding on to titles and certain salaries and privileges. Those, too, are illusions – big things that are really small. The truly BIG thing is You Carolyn Myss

I was in a state of in between cussing and walking away. I wanted to tell them off, I wanted to curse, I was plain ole frustrated.. Have you ever felt that way? I feel it when things are not going the way I want them to go.I've learnt that ,all of the lessons of Life are good; ]Listen, at no point along, the journey is more wondrous than another. There are no greater or better lessons to be learned in one place or the other. You fret so much about making the “right” decisions all the time, as though there is a wrong turn, a detour that could be made along the road of your journey, to a spot where your ancestors will not be, where you cannot turn to your highest self. They are everywhere; your highest self is IN YOU whatever turn you make.There is always a lesson to be learned wherever you are. What are you fussing about? To be right? To look good? To be in control? For whom exactly?For what purpose?Praise the ones who you are with. Praise what you like and what you don’t like. You may say, well isn’t that giving the situation life? If I praise what I don’t like, aren’t I helping to create a space that produces more of it?
Praise is not about bringing things to realisation; it is not for the purpose of approving or not approving of any outer thing. Praise is for the purpose of recognising and accepting spiritual virtues that are present in you no matter what appears to be happening outside of you. If you are so worried about being right, being in control that you become so busy hiding from things, running from them and resisting them, then by your efforts to get away you are providing more fuel for the fire that you say you want to quell. Praise life.Praise each other.Praise yourselfDo it and see how much more you are a blessing to the world and how much the world will be a blessing to you 
Peace!!Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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Follow the Signs

Intuition is defined as an ability to understand or know something immediately based on your feelings rather than facts. The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning- Unknown


I know, I know, it makes no logical sense!
I know, doing something like that can be tough
It can be frightening, as well as, unnerving
Just imagine having absolutely no past or current evidence, no proof, no validation about something extremely important but wanting to do it, or doing it anyway.
Humans love facts, and control, and reasons as to why or why not.
Many times that gives us the comfort we need to justify our movements
Life is not always laid out like that, there will be times where there are none of the facts, the control, the evidence
What do we do then?
Nothing?
Sometimes yes
But when there are other signs guiding us, the smart thing to do is listen and pay attention to the signs
When we pay attention to our intuition despite the external noise there is a type of inner peace that cannot be explained - the peace that passeth all understanding
When we pay attention to the ego, there is confusion and chaos.
Oprah Winfrey said that every successful decision she made came from the guidance of her intuition. ( and she is a billionaire who lives on purpose too!)
There are many artists, poets and musicians who say that they cannot explain it down to anything but their gut where the inspiration comes from.
I have started paying more and more attention to my intuition, I have learnt that following my intuition takes courage, faith, and a little bit of a sense of humour
All great qualities that can come in handy for the journey.
Peace


Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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Courage - the Mother of All Virtues

And if you're the person withholding clarity from someone hoping they get it together eventually, or they figure it out, or that the situation will just resolve itself on its own... dig a little deeper for the courage to be clear. Examine why, exactly, you're not sharing your truth and saying what needs to be said. It'll release you from this tether of guilt, and it'll release them to what's next, which is what everyone deserves to begin with .Maxie McCoy

The great Maya Angelo said that courage is a strong virtue that we require if we are to become our best self.  For many of us, to achieve our goals, to move ahead, courage is required.
How do we initiate a difficult conversation without courage?
How do we move to a new city or country or job without courage?
How do we get that first date, or make that first move without courage?

It is the mother of all virtues.
How do we find and keep courage?
It is a process, doubt is a feeling that comes up when we are about to step out of our comfort zones. We want to be in control, our ego is a protective mechanism that believes its responsibility is to protect us from danger and the unknown
Courage comes in to push us out of the comfort zone, propel us into the an unknown place where we cannot control, it always inevitably for us helps us to grow.
I have learnt that:
Courage is feeling the fear and choosing to act despite
Courage is showing up knowing that you may not have all the answers
Courage is having that conversation that may not turn out well
Courage is taking a risk
Courage is following your passion and heart rather than the status quo
Courage is standing up for what is right
Courage is questioning core beliefs and taking a stand when it no longer serves you
Courage is leaving when we know it's time to leave
What are some of your definitions of courage?
Peace

Have you read any of Akosua's work?
What Did I Learn Today? Lessons on the Journey to Unconditional Self LoveNyabo (Madam) - Why Are You Here?Daily Lessons on the Journey - A Journal
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