Tag: noticing

Featured

A Chance to Remember…

On By fawncaveney7 Comments

As a young girl I loved to sit at my small dark wood desk, resting underneath the solo window of my bedroom. A breeze spiraling in with sounds of the outside world. I would sit in that quiet reverie contemplating life, listening to the birds, the trees, the layers of silence. Feeling safe and held by the home which had stood strong since its construction during the great depression. I often wondered about the hands and hearts that built the large log cabin I lived in. They were on the road, away from family, working physically hard every day to send money home to those they loved. The Civilian Conservation Corps set up during the depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt left a trail of crumbs across this nation in the form of log cabins, tree plantings, bridge building, forest fire fighting and so much more. I was gifted at age nine to move into one of these historic homes, it cradled me with stoic wisdom. In my heart, I shall always feel, hear, smell and resonate with the home and land that “built me”.

  • Childhood Home
  • My kids and I in front of family home fireplace
  • Sister’s, cousin and I out front of family home…
The home and land that built me…

Today as I sit upon my fifteen dollar wicker garage sale chair, I am blessed to feel the soft caress of a spring breeze, watch the ripples on the pond and hear the song of birds intermixed with the distant buzz of traffic. This sweet little sanctuary is tucked in the center of a busy city, a diamond hidden in the hard concrete that swaddles it. I watch and listen as people walk by on the nature trail across the pond, they meander a path sandwiched between the Boise River and the planned suburban neighborhood. I wonder what they are thinking at this interesting time in our world. The dogs with them merrily celebrate the chance to play with their human being, living completely in the present moment as always in joyful glee and curiosity.

  • Sanctuary…
  • In the raw
  • The innocent NOW moment
My sweet sanctuary…

I get to sit here doing what I love, putting word to page, because the world is on “lockdown”, a time of shutting away to protect ourselves and each other from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a sad and scary time and yet it is also an opportunity to slow down, reflect, feel and notice what is most important.

In the last few days I have noticed more families than ever before on the nature path. I have actually observed teenagers and young people, a rare sighting in the wooded arena. The natural world has become the safe zone, a place we can stretch our legs and allow movement to soothe the inner nagging fears. In the last few days I have watched my own children who are now young adults, play games, create art, read books, and for my son, prepare to finish his junior year of college online.

  • Forgotten books, dusted off and brought to life…
  • The sun sets and rises on new possibilities…
  • My son’s online classroom becomes…
Embracing the gifts of home and family….

Personally I have found myself deeply searching what truly matters to me. While I am blessed to be off the treadmill of daily expectations and busy-ness, I tour what beckons my heart and soul? What do I dream to live and experience before I leave this planet? What makes me smile and feel vibrantly alive?

I have chuckled at the answers to these questions, for they are not a surprise. Instead they return full circle to the same dreams as that young girl sitting beneath her windowsill at her little wooden desk. I am still a simple person, a content introspective quiet soul. I find great joy in noticing the subtle changes in a flower that has started its blooming journey. Peace rises and percolates within me for the consistent grace and flow of nature, its tenacity and on going perseverance. Its exudes courage and strength as it bends and furls in response to the impacts of humans and mother nature. Like us, it is often at the mercy of what gets hurled upon it. The ebb and flow of tides perpetuate across the globe despite the human struggles at this time. Nature endures, we endure…

  • The interconnection is infinite…
  • We share this space…
  • We need each other…
The spinning orb in a galaxy beyond our sight…

Nature mirrors for me what is possible.

To sprout and become in adversity.

To radiate beauty in the midst of chaos.

To serenade in perfect harmony amid the onslaught of man’s machines.

To acquiesce with perseverance and complete faith…

Like a fallen leave floating in forced surrender upon the turbulent waters of a fast moving river…

In time it shall eddy in quiet stillness, catching it’s breath, taking in the view…

Rising, falling, twisting, flipping, floating, where and when shall its journey end..?

Only to begin again…

~ Fawn Caveney
  • Each journey is unique…
  • In the quiet stillness we can hear…
  • Every moment is new…
The journey beckons us…
  • In this unexpected challenging time, what are you noticing about yourself and the life you live?
  • I am curious what you might be discovering as you are forced to slow down and BE?
  • Are you able to feel into gratitude for the hidden blessings?
  • Has your compassion expanded or contracted?
  • How can you use this time to reconnect to the self, ignite dreams?
  • What are the creative ways you can connect with others?
  • In the surrender can you find the inner peace that resides within?
In the darkness and unknown we can bloom…

For me, in this moment, I have been allowed the time to remember. To come home to the quiet little girl dreams. Sure, I could go down the path of fear, it is there tapping on my door. How would that serve me, or those I love? As I breathe in deeply, feeling the truth that each moment is pure grace, never to return again, I choose to hear, listen, feel and notice. How do I wish to spend the next moment? As always we are at choice to BE or react.

To you and yours I wish health, safety, and love.

Sweet Surrender… – The Beingness Project Vlog

On By fawncaveney1 Comment

Stop Fixing – Start BEING

You are Enough! You are Worthy! You are Perfect!

I chose to Surrender when creating this video – Elected to just BE…

Surrender is a word charged with many different reactions. It means to give up, to let someone else win, to stop fighting for, and yet it also graces us with the sweetest release, to open to the flow which aligns with our very Being.

When you look at the Dictionary definition of Surrender it makes one feel weak to Choose such action.

verb

  1. cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority. synonyms :capitulate, give in, give (oneself) up, yield, concede, submit, climb down, give way, defer, acquiesce, back down, cave in, relent, succumb, quit
Surrender opens the flood gates to expansive joy…

The kind of Surrender I am referring to is best described as Spiritual Surrender – see article.

Sweet Surrender is the opportunity to stop swimming upstream against the flow of life. It is an invitation to enjoy the grace and flow of Being. To fall back into the arms of your own heart and soul. To let go of the judgments, limiting beliefs, self criticism and need to control life. There is so much missed along life’s magnanimous unfolding if we regulate everything.

Surrendering into the grace of our own BEingness awakens the natural state of love

Our creativity resides in the space of energetic flow, which becomes constricted and shut off when we are stressed or frustrated. Only in the freedom of Sweet Surrender can it rise, nudging you with inspiration. An artist, musician, athlete, dancer, writer, etc.., Surrender into the grace of flow, while simultaneously expressing through Inspired Action. It is a razors’ edge between that which is and that which is becoming through the paradox of Surrender.

Join me this week to explore Surrender, it will be a Spirit, Mind, and Body opening. Join us at The Beingness Project for more.

Download the Worksheet to truly explore your experience of Surrender.

Your Desired Emotions Move Your Life…

On By fawncaveneyLeave a comment

On this final day of exploring “Our Emotions” before we move into Expectations, I wanted to offer and recap some of this last weeks offerings. I share the video from “The Beingness Project” Vlog as a reminder that all we have to do is BE. In the chaotic world of today we have grown detached from our inner truth, racing from one “To Do” thing to the next, barely breathing, as we march through life without knowing what we truly feel. The ironic twist of it all, is that we are ultimately driven by “What We WANT to FEEL”, so why do we run from that which we seek, a Domesticated Paradox.

Answer these questions from the heart:

  • Why are you working so hard?
  • What do you want to achieve? Why?
  • Why do you want a lot of money?
  • Why do you want to have nice things?
  • Once you have everything you “want” – what then?
  • Why do you seek love?
  • What does a nice home and possessions give you?
  • Why do you desire to travel?

If you really answer the above questions, you will discover that at the root of them ALL, is the desire to “FEEL” a certain emotion. Such as, freedom felt through financial abundance. Acceptance and a feeling of being chosen, when we are loved. Pride with a sensation of success when we achieve a certain status. Joy, connection, and curious wonder as we travel to new places and meet new people. Peace, contentment and an inner sense of feeling safe when we relax within the comforts of our own home. You get the idea…

Downloadable Worksheet

When we accept the truth that we are driven by the DESIRE to feel a certain way, we open up to the true power of our human spirit. If we first embrace the emotion we wish to experience, the rest will start to become. We must first feel joy within ourselves, to then truly experience it. Freedom is evoked from our own heart and soul, someone does not give you freedom. Peace does not reside outside ourselves, it comes from within. All that we seek exists inside us, once we Choose to own and BE in our desired emotions, our life experience begins to unfold for us.

raychan-682352-unsplash
What you desire, is driven by how you want to feel…

It gets back to the simple practice of Noticing what you are feeling, Breathing deeply and Choosing what you desire to feel. Then BE it.

A Box of FEAR…

On By fawncaveneyLeave a comment

A strange title for sure, however I hope it made you curious to read more, for I want to share a game that may help to change your life.

  • Have you ever wanted to do something, but fear got in your way?
  • Do you have a dream for the kind of life you want to live, but you’re too afraid to go for it?
  • When you look back on your life do you wish you had taken more chances? Have regrets?

melanie-wasser-233297-unsplash
You either fuel the fire of fear or put it out…

Are you ready to stop letting FEAR rule your life? If so let’s undertake this project together. 

A Box of FEAR!!

  1. Find a box, or container of some sort that you can decorate with inspiration. If you prefer your container to be on the computer, then create a space where you can place words or phrases.
  2. Cut up some paper to write words, sentences or descriptions. If on the computer skip this step.
  3. Now think of one thing in your life that you have wanted to do or say, but FEAR has kept you stuck.
  4. As you think of this thing/sharing explore what you fear (See example below), identify the specific fear, write it down.
  5. Now, look at the specific fear you wrote down, really see it. Take a deep long breath, honoring that fear – then tell it in your own words, “You no longer control me”- place the fear in the container/box.
  6. As you place it in the box/container you are letting it go.
  7. In place of the fear choose a word that is empowering, often the opposite of the fear.
  8. Then CHOOSE one action step that you will take towards what you want to do/create/share.
  9. Write this action step down on a piece of paper or computer. Put it where you see it many times throughout the day.
  10. Take your action step!! (This does not have to be a big step, many little steps lead to the same destination)

hello-i-m-nik-616779-unsplash
Fear can become a friend you welcome, for it lights up a path of growth and becoming..

Examples:

  1. I was terrified to send my first article off for publication to a magazine. As I looked at the fear it was based in “fear of rejection”. I gave “rejection” over to the Box of Fear and in its place I chose “Acceptance” with the action step of sending off the article. As a side note, it did get published :-).
  2. I was scared to go back to college full time in my forties as a single mom with two young children and no car. My base fear was “fear of failure”. I let go of this fear, placing it in the box. In its place I chose “Courage” and “I am ENOUGH”. My action step, enroll, apply for financial aid and start back full time. Find a job on campus and get good at riding my bike. I completed my Bachelors degree.  

Use this process to discover that you are brave enough, you are courageous, you are worthy, you can do it!!

Once you have built up your muscle of self-worth and self-love, you will no longer need “The Box of Fear”. Fear does not go away if you are living a dynamic passionate life, however it will have no control or limiting impact.

sammie-vasquez-549428-unsplash
Fear only has power if you decide to feed it…

Fear is the grand gift that can propel you into the direction of your heart’s desire.

Embracing Nothingness…

On By fawncaveneyLeave a comment

I find there are days or periods of time when I feel detached, as though I observe the world from a distance. I observe the hustle and bustle, feel the chaos and sense immense anticipation. I identify this emotion for me as an almost vast nothingness. I am not sad or happy, frustrated or free, just in a suspended weightlessness. I embrace that all is in process and transforming.

nguyen-mei-573699-unsplash
The grace of surrendered BEING opens up caverns of unknown possibilities…

Like all emotions, the sensation of “nothingness” shifts. If I allow myself to feel all the nuances and subtleties, I discover that it is actually a very fine space to BE. It unfolds for me the wisdom of patience, faith and surrender. Learning that I do not need to change it, force it to be something else, deny it, or stuff it away.

In the past I have even cancelled plans to cuddle up with this emotional sensation, for I know on the other side of it I will awaken to a sweeter depth of BEING. It is an opportunity to love that which is and thus allow life to become and unfold. So often we force change, demand instant gratification, running from the awkward discomfort of not knowing.

daniel-clay-1395325-unsplash
To welcome the unknown is to open up the raw potential for more…

Today is one of those days for me. I take a nice long inhale, hold it, and smile softly as I gently exhale, for I know that much is happening for me that I cannot see. Some would call this blind faith, others I suppose would see it as stupidity. I see and feel it as surrendered trust, the ultimate faith that all is unfolding and becoming exactly as it is meant to BE.

Do you ever have moments of unknown, unidentifiable emotion? Have you allowed them to BE, or forced yourself into a new emotion?

kilarov-zaneit-1006794-unsplash
In forcing, we miss that which is trying to become for us…

Today, I invite you to celebrate and BE in whatever emotions you are graced to experience. Allow the flow to unfurl, swirl, and dance. I encourage you to welcome the feeling of “nothing”, for it can open up some of the most amazing Ah-Ha discoveries.

I hope to see you at The Beingness Project for more fun exploration, free worksheets, videos and…

 

Creating The Safe Place, Starts With YOU..

On By fawncaveneyLeave a comment

This weeks exploration of “Being In Our Emotions” at The Beingness Project, delves into the truth that as humans we are emotional. What I hear and see is people denying their emotions, stuffing them away, pretending that all is “good” or “fine”, while underneath the surface diverse emotions are circulating.

alex-radelich-497577-unsplash
What lies within, surfaces- how this happens is your choice…

As we discussed last week in our Domestication exploration  we are taught to ignore our emotions, shut them away behind the exterior wall of our “everything is good” going through the motions existence. Thus we manifest a life of Reaction versus Choice.

I don’t know about you, but I can honestly say I prefer a life of Choice. A life where I honor and love who I AM in all my moments. In our crazy, chaotic world, this may require some attention, definitely awareness to YOUR Truth.

brittani-burns-1483346-unsplash
Choice…Choosing to BE yourself or what others want you to be… Emotions are expressions of the unique self YOU are!

Today I challenge and invite you to BE! Explore how freeing it is to recognize your emotions as they show up. Notice how beautifully they flow, when allowed to be. As soon as you feel into them, you will experience them shifting, releasing their intensity to move you into what comes next. This genuine way of BEING YOU, will open you up to the grandeur of an expansive life. A life full of texture, grace, adventure, creativity, connection, and pure JOY in BEING.

The Simple Steps to Be in Your Emotions:

  1. Notice and welcome them.
  2. Breathe deeply into all the sensations.
  3. Feel the layers with gratitude, for even the “negative” emotions have powerful gifts.
  4. Thank them for the opportunity to experience BEING alive to feel!
  5. CHOOSE to release them, dig deeper, expand them, share them, etc…

brittani-burns-1483347-unsplash
Freedom awaits in BEING – express and BE YOU…

Have FUN!! Celebrate all the dynamic emotions that BEING human blesses us with! Allow them to help you create a life of passion, love, joy, grace, wonder and….

 

Breathe Into Your Truth…

On By fawncaveney6 Comments

Today I wish to chat about the most powerful force we have to change any given moment – BREATHING…. Yes, the simple physical process that keeps us alive can also transform.

esther-driehaus-1402929-unsplash
An inhale with intention, graces all in its gentle exhale…

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to breathe when you are angry? Or how at night your body actually relaxes as you take in slower, deeper breaths?

Have you ever taken the time to notice how the people around you breathe? It is an interesting game to play. Today while you are out and about with others, notice their breath. Is it deep and slow, shallow and fast? Is there a connection to how they are moving, what they are doing?

elijah-hiett-240333-unsplash
Between the In Breath and Out Breath lies the truth of your contented peace…

It’s been my experience that people who are anxious, worried, angry, frustrated, etc.., breathe in shallow, choppy breaths. Their body’s are tight and their movements are rigid and hurried.

When I observe a person who seems at peace, happy, content, calm, etc.., I see deeper breaths with slower relaxed body movements.

Try this for yourself – as you go through your day, stop and breathe deeply and slowly. Hold the breath between the inhale and exhale for a few short seconds and then release very slowly. If you do this during a moment of frustration, you will experience the opportunity to shift, to let go, to release and choose to BE.

If you want to experience a short guided audio on this practice go to – The Beingness Project

robin-benzrihem-1354596-unsplash
Breathe into your magnificence…

Don’t Get So Upset…!!

On By fawncaveneyLeave a comment

What do you feel and think when you hear the above statement?

What about this one, “Why are you so mad, it’s not that big of a deal?”, or “Get over it”, or “Can’t you just let it go”, or….

andrew-neel-137513-unsplash
Emotions flow if given the space to express…

What would happen for you, if you felt safe to feel the emotions that come up? How would life change if you did not feel judged when you felt sad, angry, hurt, etc..?

nathaniel-flowers-485615-unsplash
The Human Journey is one of feeling….

Today I invite you to feel your emotions, do not allow others to shut them down. Instead lean into them, experience them, sink into their expression, as you do, they will release.

I also encourage you to experience the powerful connection available to you when you Truly Listen to someone sharing their emotions. Creating the Safe Place for them to BE.

jordan-whitt-145327-unsplash
In BEING heard, we unfold into our Magnificence. In Listening, we touch the heart of another.

Emotions make the world alive and dynamic – Being in our Emotions is the dance of life!

Check out the videos and worksheet for this weeks exploration of Emotions at – The Beingness Project – click on the VLOG

Being In Our Emotions….

On By fawncaveney3 Comments

Have you ever denied what you are truly feeling? Have you ever pretended to feel one way, when in reality you felt very differently inside? Have you ever lied about your feelings?

This week at The Beingness Project we are digging into Emotions. I sure hope you will join us and download the free worksheet to explore even more.

Watch this video for a sneak peak – Truth is easy…

One of the grandest gifts about being human is the kaleidoscope of emotions we are graced to feel, share, and express. Why do we squelch this experience? Put a limit on its grand fullness?

peter-conlan-687333-unsplash
Feeling is Being, they are intrinsically woven…

Let me ask you a few simple questions –

Do you prefer to share time with someone who is joyfully engaged in life, or someone who is just going through the motions?

Do you enjoy spending time with someone who is honest with you about what they are feeling, or someone who always leaves you guessing?

Do you envy people who laugh freely, dance without fear, sing with joy, and are honest with themselves and others?

What are you sharing with the world?

zac-durant-302752-unsplash
All moments are yours to BE in…

 

 

Unraveling to hear….

On By fawncaveneyLeave a comment

Today let’s dig a wee bit deeper into  the exploration of quiet, Being, and listening. If we stay in a distracted, busy, DO mode, it is impossible for our heart song, our inner passions and desires to surface. They struggle against the onslaught of energy that pings against you like a ping pong on steroids.

alexandra-kirr-322679-unsplash
In the chaos, one can ignite the pure joy that ALWAYS is…

Stop!

Be Still!

Breathe deeply and slowly…

Quiet the inner voice (I know this can be hard, however it gets easier with practice)…

Listen!

And BE…

Aren’t you curious to hear what might bubble forth from within you? Don’t you want to hear your inner truth? What is your song…?

If you didn’t get a chance yesterday, give yourself the gift of a guided meditation by checking out yesterday’s post at The Beingness Project – click here.