Two weeks ago I was talking about Slowing Down. 

Were you able to incorporate any of those “slow down and stay more present in your life” tips I offered in my blog.?  If you tried out a few tips, let me know how it worked out for you.

Here are the “Slow down/be present” tips that I used over the last 2 weeks:

• I cut my to-do list in half (and no one complained!)
•  gifted myself with more rest (and really slept in a few days, which my body wanted and it helped me recover from my cold)
• let go of some things that aren’t really that important and decided that “good enough” was good enough
• asked for help on a project I was working on
• called a friend for some support
• every day I grounded and  took deep breathing breaks… and if I had a nice soaker tub, I would have been luxuriating in it! [yes, a soaker tub with Jacuzzi jets is on my manifesting wish list!]
   

The message to Slow Down is still valid. Astrologically we are now in the sign of Aries, which urges us to take Action. However, if we don’t slow down and take time to know what to take action on, we might be taking action for the wrong reasons or on the wrong things.

Busyness and doing-doing-doing will be easy to slide into if you allow it. Just be mindful and aware. Are you taking aligned actions with what your heart wants or are you back in the land of Shoulds?

Notice what is driving you or calling you forward. Action is fine… aligned action moves you in the direction you want to go. Inspired action is spirit calling you forward, pointing the way.

In addition to slowing down, catching your breath, and taking good care of yourself…  

the other theme that has been showing up for many of my friends and clients (and me too in some cases) is around boundaries.

Those of us who are givers, helpers or people pleasers can have a tough time maintaining healthy boundaries. Heck, it can be hard to even create boundaries. Or to even realize that you have no boundaries.

I’m not suggesting you build walls and isolate yourself from others. I do suggest you draw a line somewhere between what you are willing to do and what you are not willing to do. And once you’ve drawn that line, honor it, respect it, and don’t let people jump over it, erase it or tell you that it is wrong for you to even suggest they respect your boundaries.

Boundaries are one of the things we are working on in 2013 as it is part of the 6 vibration of love. And 2013 from a numerology perspective is a 6-vibration year.

Boundary issues show up in our family relationships, our workplace, and with our friends and communities.

Here are some ways we get wishy-washy with our boundaries (or neglect them completely!):

• over giving, especially to the point of depletion
• saying yes when we mean no
• doing things because you want people to like you, accept you, or think you are a good person
• not doing things you enjoy or want to do for fear of being thought of as selfish, or fear of losing someone’s love and approval
• being a doormat, letting people walk all over you
• people-pleasing… especially when it becomes a way of life
• not speaking your truth or expressing yourself for fear of what others might think of you
• helping others is hurting you in some way (lowering self-esteem, impacting your health, causing you to not like yourself, feeling resentful and angry)
• letting people push you around or bully you into submission
• allowing others to treat you poorly, disrespect you and hurt you (physically, emotionally, psychologically)
• always doing for others and never asking for help for yourself
• dating people who are only interested in sex when you really want to be loved
• trying to be what someone else wants you to be instead of who you are
• being a workaholic can sometimes be a boundary issue
• not charging enough for your services or products
• not being able to receive (help, support, money, compliments, anything)
• consistently letting people take up more of your time or hospitality than you had agreed to
• working overtime without being paid

Yes, I admit that I have done a quite few of these boundary busters myself.  My fear was that people wouldn’t like me or approve of me and then I’d be alone. Happy to say I’ve healed most of them. Yet there are a couple of boundaries I am still working on beefing up.

There are probably many more ways we impact our sense of self-worth and self-esteem by not creating or honoring our boundaries. What are some of yours?

You may want to journal on them and understand why you don’t have boundaries in place or are wishy-washy with the boundaries that you do have.

Here are some affirmations you can try:

“I create and maintain healthy boundaries”

“I honor and respect my boundaries”

“I give and receive equally, creating a balanced energy exchange”
 

Create strong boundaries and honor them! You may encounter resistance from the folks who trample your boundaries now, ignore them and know it is a sign you are making the right choice for you. 

As you get stronger in your boundaries, your self-esteem will improve and you may find that people treat you better and crap in your life shifts for the better too!

Honor yourself and your boundaries. Allow balance to return to your life. Be open and willing to truly Love yourself!

Love and blessings,

Karen

PS. If you’re looking for some support in getting unstuck, slowing down, creating and maintaining boundaries or deciding what to focus on, I also offer private consultations: spiritual counseling, intuitive consultations, numerology services and past life therapy.