Day 

📖Daily Reading

 Romans 13

🎥 Video  

Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.

 

📝 Reflection 

 Romans 13: 8

“Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.”

You knew there was a catch right??  We owe each other love, that is it. In fact, if we can do this, then by default we will fulfill the requirements of the rest of the law. This is great news! Life just goes better for us and we enjoy it more when we can love ourselves and love each other. It is pretty simple, but not always easy to live out. Our ego’s are always clamoring for our attention and causing us to take everything personally, which definitely does not result in loving ourselves or each other very well.

The easiest way to practice this is through non-judgement and having no expectations. You might be reading this and saying to yourself that this doesn’t sound easy at all!  This is also why I use the word practice. It takes a lot of practice, and the more you practice, just like anything else the easier it gets. With practice you get feedback which brings confirmation of the benefits through experienced rewards or positive consequences. Besides the Bible and understanding that God’s essence is love, another tool that helps me is the Enneagram. 

This amazing tool has helped me see myself in a more honest way and it has also really helped me to see that we all see the world so differently. We all have different motivations and fears and ways that our brains see and process the world. Not just a little different but a lot different. Part of the reason we all take things so personally is because we project our way of seeing the world onto other people. We judge and have expectations of others based on our motivations and fears. We see someone do or say something and we think I wouldn’t do that, and therefore we respond with ‘what’s wrong with you?’, ‘why would you do that’, ‘your so….’, blah, blah, blah…

The enneagram shows us our false self that the ego is trying to create to defend and protect itself. Bu the really cool thing is that it also shows us who we truly are who we truly can be when we ‘die’ to ourselves and lay the ego down, it shows us our Virtue or Holy Self. We can use this wisdom tool to also help us see each other that way too. See that their behavior that is not so good and what we don’t like is just their ego doing the same for them. We can see past this for what it is and see who they truly are. This takes practice and a lot of compassion and deep understanding, but with love (God) it is possible. 

When you are able to allow people to be who they are, then you can bring all of that resistance energy back to yourself. One of my favorite coaches Brooke Castillo can often be heard saying on her podcasts something like this “I decided to allow people to think whatever they want about me. Wasn't that nice of me? I did. I gave them permission. I didn't even tell them. Just permission. I give you all permission who are listening to the podcast to think whatever you want about me. Isn't that nice of me?”  The truth is people are going to do, think and say whatever they wan’t anyway. So it is kind of ridiculous that we get so worked up about it, take it personally and make it mean something about us when you really stop and think about it. 

Remember we are all tuned into the station WIIFM, “what’s in it for me’. We all have life experiences, beliefs systems and our own personal way of seeing the world that shape our behavior. We all have reasons for doing what we do. The problems arise when my belief about what you should do according do my experience and beliefs does’t align with yours and then I use this as justification to step out of love and into judgement. This is everything that Jesus preached about and role modeled for us. He saw people as they could be when their egos were put aside, he saw their truest self and treated them accordingly and therefore called it forth for those that responded. He allowed them to make the choice. Imagine that…

So when you can operate in allowing, non-judgement, no expectations, trying to see beyond the ego you get freedom. That is a pretty big benefit if you ask me - WIIFM - Freedom through love, win win! I get love and I give love. I owe it to myself, which means I also have to extend this to myself- I have to see myself for who I truly can be when I get my ego out of the way. I free myself from my ego and ‘unleash the power within’ as Tony Robbins would say! Then I can help free you too, but you have to also engage in the process for yourself. 

BTW, it is important to note that allowing, non-judgement, no expectations does not mean that you are in agreement. I think this is another big misconception we all have and a lie that we all believe that can keep us stuck in our egos. As Paul reminded us in chapter 12“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.”  What we are really doing when we are judging, withholding love, holding people to our expectations is trying to control others. We are trying to manipulate others behavior through approval and belonging, this almost always back fires. This also invites people pleasing into the scenario. 

People pleasing is another form of manipulation, lying and deceit. It has a nice ring to it, and those of us who engage in it can easily deceive ourselves that we are just so darn nice and good. Not so much.. I can talk about it because this is my struggle. If you are a people pleaser then reach out to me, I can help! The only way out is brutal honesty, honestly looking at yourself and your motivations. The enneagram is a great tool for that too!  Anyway, I could keep going, but I think we have a lot to consider so far with the book of Romans. Look forward to discussing chapter 14 tomorrow!

 

✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt 

How does knowing that the only think you owe to yourself and others is love? It is your only obligation and through it you fulfill all the law? Are you withholding love from yourself? It is hard to give what you don’t first possess, right? Is it time to accept the truth that you are loved, there is nothing you can do to earn it, deserve it or separate yourself from it?

📖Tomorrows Reading

 Romans 14 

Coaching Opportunity

There are still a few spots left for the October 2022 Inaugural OWN IT! For Good! group & 1:1 coaching opportunity. Let's make 2023 the year of YOU by spending the last quarter of 2022 laying a solid foundational mind set! The world needs what only you have to offer! Give yourself the best gift ever, the best version of you is ready to rise & shine!

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If you have stuck with me this far, then you are not reading this by accident, I believe God has a plan for you and is calling you forward!😉🤩

 

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