I hope that you’re well today and that the past 4 weeks have given you a chance to explore, or at least think about your soul, and your stardust, a bit more. Because now it’s time to get down to business! Woo hoo! It’s time to start tapping into the unique + wonderful ways that we can literally create the life that we want. ‘Cuz I truly think that it’s possible to live the life we want.
First, though, a little recap, so we know exactly where we’ve been. Plus… life is busy and I need to look back through all the past This Is Me letters just to jog my memory. Just keepin’ it real. Hehe.
Week 1: All about retreats + setting up a space and time where we can be with ourselves. Making time apart a priority in our lives.
Week 2: What happens we we are alone. The fears of being silent + alone, the importance of reflecting, and a challenge to just sit + breathe + listen to our souls.
Week 3: Tapping into our soul. And discovering that our souls are what connect us to each other + to the mysteries of the universe. We are all stardust. And when we meet each other soul to soul, I to Thou, then we are in a sacred, true space.
So, there you go. Three weeks of being with our souls. Of carving out some time to be silent and alone. And of listening + pondering the magic and beauty that lies within us all.
Solitude is the foundation
Slowing down and retreating to a place of our own is, I believe, the foundation that we need in order to move forward. And, let me make one thing perfectly clear. The silent, solitary moments we’ve spent with our souls is meant to be a continuous ritual and habit. Every single day we need to tap into our soul, if only for a few minutes. We need to meditate, pray, sit, ponder, and just be alone + silent. It balances us. Brings us back to our inner truth.
Creating space for the practice of solitary moments is key to creating the life we want. It’s not a one time, three week thing. It’s a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly discipline. Because without diving deep into our souls, we lose contact with the core of our being.
Now, how this solitary time looks for you is exactly how it looks for you. We’re all different and that’s totally fine. The key thing is to be alone, in silence, so you allow some white space into your life in which to listen, feel, and contemplate. And to find that space every single day. Some days (like work days) it may be only a few minutes. Some times you may set aside an entire day for a self-retreat. And every now and then, it may be possible to squeeze in a weekend or a week-long retreat.
However it looks for you. Just commit to it. It is the foundation to what comes next. And it sustains us day in and day out so that we live with a bit more harmony and peace.
So, what comes next?
Well, in the stories of all of those contemplatives I talked about in week 2, the time that they spent alone + apart ending up thrusting them into their calling in life. Into what they were meant to be and do. So, moving ourselves forward into claiming the life that we are called to is exactly what comes next.
Ultimately, all of life, I believe, is meant to be a journey of becoming who we already are. (Back to the sacred thou that we are deep within our souls). We already are light + love. We already are stardust. But, we forget that. And we don’t know how to sprinkle our own special stardust into the world.Sometimes because we don’t believe that we have anything to give. Sometimes because we are caught up in seeking power, money, security, and other outside things to fill us… when we actually already have all we need within.
And, sometimes we just feel lost. Tempted. Challenged. Beat down. Uninspired. Bored. Afraid. Pressured.
That’s why getting alone is so important. Alone time, retreat time, reminds us that it is our ego talking when we feel all of those things. And that the truth is that we are that freaking sparkly stardust meant for great things.
Buddha, Jesus, MLK Jr., Patti Smith (back to my icon/hero), and countless others throughout time, all have faced the same fears and thoughts. True story. Buddha sat under a tree until he suddenly felt his calling. He just knew. But, he had to sit there first. Then, he went to teach the world about enlightenment. Jesus was out in the desert for 40 days alone. Tested. Tempted. Tried. But, in the midst of that, he felt his calling rising up from within. And, then, he began teaching + spreading a message of love and inclusiveness. Native cultures teach the same thing to young natives. As a teenager, one is sent out into the woods or wilderness for days to survive + discover their unique gift/purpose to be used in the tribe.
Just like all of the above, in the wilderness periods of our life, we are tested. But, alone time can be used as a catalyst to help us get our shit together. To realize not only who we are, but what we want, and how we want to live. And not some shallow answer, but a deep, true, soul-filled answer.
That’s what we started the This Is Me retreat by connecting with our soul.
Only when we meet our soul can we truly answer the questions: Who am I? What do I want? How do I want to live? What stardust can I sprinkle out into the world?
Now, for the next 3 weeks, we are going to focus on these questions. We’re going to explore that life we are called to create. And, from our souls, we are going to set intentions + visions for making that shit our reality. Sound good?
First, we need to know about our own special stardust
This week, though. What is the plan for this week? Well, it is to begin to consider who we are. Our unique personalities + ways of being. What we like, what we are drawn to, what makes our soul sing. Our priorities. And that’s where our own special, unique, individual stardust is found.
So to start to tap into all of that, this week, I want to us to hunker down in our little sacred spaces + answer some questions. These questions are meant to help us understand + ponder our unique and beautiful selves. It’s important to take note and think about them so that we begin to create a picture + a vision of the kind of life we are called to, the kind of life we want to create, the kind of life that will help us to live as our highest, truest selves.
I’ve divided them up into days, so as to not overwhelm us. Take some time each day + write down your answers. Or create a collage or mood board. Use images. Use words. Make it your own. I’ll also be sharing the questions on Instagram throughout the week. So feel free to join me there!
SATURDAY/SUNDAY
→ How do I feel at the moment? Right now.
→ When do I feel my life is the most meaningful?
→ What do I need more of in my life?
→ What makes me feel bad ass?
→ What are my 3 most significant achievements in the past 6 months?
MONDAY
→ How do I like to relax?
→ What area of my life most needs simplifying, and what’s one way I could simplify in that area?
→ What is one step I can commit to that will bring me closer to my soul, my true self?
→ What is my favorite song this year? Why?
TUESDAY
→ Are there any ideals I would be willing to die for?
→ Who is someone that I admire? What qualities do I like about that person?
→ If I was in my 90s, what memories would I like to have? What stories do I want to tell?
→ What do I love to do for, or give to others (not an object – something from my personally)
WEDNESDAY
→ What excites me?
→ Let’s say money is no object. What would I do?
→ What habit would I most like to establish in the next 6 months?
→ How do I want to be remembered in life?
My dear friend, it is possible. Creating the life that we feel our soul calling us to is so freaking possible. All we have to do is stay open, grounded, connected, and mindful. So take time this week to answer the questions above – and stay patient. We’ve got 2 more letters to come, which will help us discover + unfold exactly how we want to live and exactly why it matters that we live the life that we desire.
And that, is when the sprinkling of our stardust commences. That is when when begin to understand that living the life that we desire is the perfect way to be exactly who we are + live out exactly our own personal legends… giving us deep inner peace + creating a better world all around us. Simply by being who we were created to be – ourselves.
Weekend blessings to you, my fellow stardust friend. xoxo. liz.
Let your friends know about this journey. Anyone can hop in anytime.
Have you missed the previous This Is Me retreat posts?! You can find them here:
I have been following along with these letters through email, but I thought I’d comment here. I was very happy to see that you had given us questions to ponder on. I have often told some of my closest friends that I don’t feel like I know who I am, even at my age. They always reply that I do know, but if I do I don’t feel fully aware of it and I certainly don’t know exactly what I want out of life. I know who I want to share the experience of life with. I know some basics, but I’m hoping your questions will help get me closer to knowing what I truly want. No pressure! haha 🙂
Soooo glad you like the questions. I totally need to do that more often! I hope that these help you dig a little bit deeper. xoxo