Emily Downward

Tag: emily downward

  • My Personal Tutor: My Hip

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    My teacher Martha Beck stresses the importance of listening to the wisdom in our bodies. Our bodies are talking to us all the time, and I’ve heard that the body is primarily how our souls communicate to us. Of course, it’s a more subtle conversation than the constant chatter of our minds. Over the past…

  • Making It Easy

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    We all have things to do that we don’t necessarily enjoy. Some of us have A LOT of things in our life we don’t enjoy. Some of us look around and have so much in our life that is making us unhappy, we wonder how we got to this place. It seems like we’re stuck.…

  • The Messy Side of Becoming

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    [My lovely teacher Martha Beck developed the Cycle of Change model that describes the process we go through with any major change. It begins with Square One: Death & Rebirth. I’ve been experiencing a lot of major change this year and getting intimately familiar with Square One. I thought I’d share my experience in hopes…

  • Energizers vs. Drainers

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    There are two kinds of people in this world: people who energize you and people who drain you. Those who energize you leave you feeling better. You catch a sense of their confidence in you and find yourself thinking more positively. You find time with them just flies by and you can’t wait to spend…

  • Instead of Worrying

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    I’m writing my blog post early this week, as this Wednesday I’ll be getting oral surgery. Eek. Probably one of my LEAST favorite things to do, and unfortunately, I’ve had my share of dental procedures over the years. I can describe the procedure to others, and when I see their reaction – wincing or pretend…

  • Five Steps to Move Past Self Doubt

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    What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? This will never work. How the hell am I going to do this? I don’t know what to do next, but I should do something. What am I supposed to do? Who do I think I am? What if I make a mistake (AGAIN)? What…

  • Counting My Blessings

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    “Is your life as fabulous as it looks on Facebook?” I was recently asked by a friend I hadn’t spoken to in awhile. So I’ve decided to come clean: Yes and No. How my life isn’t as fabulous as it looks on Facebook: I’ve had some crappy days lately. I don’t post about that. Actually,…

  • Catalytic Events

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    Early on in my career, I had the privilege of working with a sassy, sweet and inspiring group of breast cancer survivors. Coming in at the age of 22 with my freshly printed college degree, I was hired to manage a group of volunteers who ranged in age from 35 to 65. Thankfully I had…

  • Everybody

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    We often say “everybody says…,” “everybody will think…” or “everybody knows…” but in reality, our brains are generalizing this mythical Everybody based on the opinions of a few people.  As Martha Beck explains in Finding Your Own North Star, “Our social nature makes us long to fit in with a larger group, but it’s difficult…

  • Trusting Through Change

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    I was recently watching an educational video that included time-lapse video of a flower blooming. I love watching nature unfold in time-lapse. It’s fascinating to me to see the progress, which normally occurs so slowly over time that you hardly notice it. The narrator said, “You can’t make a flower bloom more quickly.” It reminded…