Hi! and welcome to the Dream Big & Bloom blog for creating a life you absolutely love.
I’m Mardi Lynn, certified DreamBuilder Coach and I believe
- You are capable of far more than you know
- You were created to have an amazing and fulfilling life. It’s your birthright.
- You DON’T HAVE TO SETTLE for just “good enough”
- You are more powerful than any circumstance, situation or condition
- You absolutely can create the life of your dreams.
And I’m here to show you how.
Today I’m talking about the benefits of Challenging Situations.
I haven’t received any new questions or requests to be a guest on the podcast so I’m going to talk about the benefits of challenging situations because my sense is that most of us are currently experiencing some.
Yes, I did say, the “the benefits.” Does that surprise you? Well, every challenge has gifts for us. We just can’t always see it at the time.
If you think about times in the past when you’ve overcome a challenge, you’ll probably see that there was a benefit — a lesson learned, a motivation to move in a different direction, a relationship to let go or something to forgive.
In the DreamBuilder program, there’s an exercise that I think you will find interesting. I invite you to take a little time later today, to think about some challenging situations you have experienced in the past and write them down. And then think about the benefits you gained from those experiences and write them down. You may not have been able to see the benefit at the time, but looking at it now with hindsight, you might be surprised at what you discover. And you might find it helpful to refer to them someday when you feel challenged in the future.
In fact, right now, you are probably finding the Covid-19 situation challenging and maybe you have some issues related to the holidays.
For the purposes of this lesson, I’m going to share a personal experience that I’ve had recently that really challenged me AND had a big benefit as well.
I made a very expensive investment in a 12 week marketing program that turned out to be not at all what I had expected. I was torturing myself with thoughts about having wasted so much time and money, about how wronged I felt to not have received what I’d been promised, and feeling like a fool to be duped by advertising. It was exacerbated by several futile attempts to talk to the owner and several rancorous emails.
I knew better than to stay in that negative energy and invest time and money in a lawsuit, and realized that I was going to have to forgive her and myself and move on.
What you focus on expands and I wanted to get my focus back on the positive, on my vision and on the new direction I had decided to take and trust that I would earn back the money later.
I was having a hard time with it though. I would feel better for a while, but the negative feelings would resurface from time to time.
On an intellectual level, I accepted, that she was doing the best she knew how and that she wasn’t able to see things from my perspective — that she had promised more than she was able to deliver. At the same time I was willing to accept my responsibility to release and let go. It wasn’t just a matter of forgiving her for a promising something she couldn’t deliver, but more a matter of forgiving myself for having spent money unwisely. (for more about forgiveness see episode #11: Restoring Peace and Healing Relationships in Troubling Times.
And, as I asked my Higher Self for guidance, it came to me that actually I wasn’t unwise. I was wise based on the information I had at the time. And I could choose to be proud of myself for being willing to invest so much time and money in my mission to reach women who can benefit from my programs and coaching.
I believe that there are no mistakes, only lessons. You move in a direction and when it doesn’t produce the results you desire, you pivot and move in a different direction. And if that involves the loss of a lot of money, we remember that we are always supported by Source and always provided for, as long as we stay connected and don’t let fear or worry get in the way.
However, even when you know and believe this, it can still be challenging to get your energy back where you want it to be — focused on the spiritual truth and feeling good about yourself. You have to be dedicated to the practice. It does make it easier though, when you realize that there is a benefit in every situation. And The main benefit is often that you become stronger in your faith and more confident in your ability to handle whatever comes up. A challenge produces more growth and confidence.
So I was focusing on the truth and trying to let go and move on, but every once in a while I would feel off — like a cloud hanging over my head. When this happens I pause and look at what thoughts are under there. And I noticed that there were still feelings of regret and judgement of her and of me.
Because I’m committed to living my best life, I know what is required, and I want others to benefit by my example, I kept working on it by asking my Higher Self for answers and staying open to hearing.
And I experienced one of those synchronicities that so often happen when you are connected to Source and open to answers.
One of my coaching clients was feeling extremely challenged by something and in my search for resources for her I came across one of my favourite books, Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes. I started re-reading it and it it really got me back on track.
This book was part of a correspondence course that Holmes wrote years ago for people who couldn’t come to Los Angeles in person and take the Science of Mind classes. And I discovered that the whole correspondence course is still available on Amazon. I’d love to teach it someday. It’s so powerful!
I was actually a certified Science of Mind Practitioner for awhile. It required completing a two-year certification program and passing written and oral exams. One of the reasons I love Mary Morrissey’s DreamBuilder Program is that it’s based on the same universal spiritual principles that Holmes taught. And…it’s easier to understand than the Science of Mind textbook. LOL
So my higher self led me to the resource that would support me in getting back on track. And who knows the other good results that may come from it. Maybe I will teach The Science of Mind course one of these days.
So this just goes to show you that even experienced practitioners of these principles and practices need to continue to study and review the truth, because we are always growing and expanding. And growth may challenge us to grow stronger in our faith and our practice.
So that is always one advantage of challenging times. You grow stronger in your faith and practice.
Some challenges you will be able to get over fairly quickly and some of them may take longer but if you persist you will learn and grow and become stronger in your faith and ability to turn things around.
And so I’m feeling very grateful and happy and confident that all is well and will continue to be well in my life.
You know, there’s marriage advice that says that every time you face a challenge and you’re able to overcome it your relationship becomes that much stronger. And it’s the same with your relationship with your Source/Higher Self.
And your relationships with Your Higher self is the most important one you have. It’s the one that supports you in every other aspect of your life.
So, it’s not just a cliche or a platitude to say that challenges make you stronger, they actually do. This is what it means to me when people say “Everything is in perfect Divine Right Order.” Things may not seem perfect in our lives right now, and there may be things happening in our society or the world that we wish were otherwise, but all is in perfect order because the Universe is set up to work for us and we just need to work with it.
We create something with our thinking and our attention and that produces a result. When we like what we produce it’s great. And if we don’t like something, we can decide to look at it with a different perspective and/or move in another direction — to take another action. We may learn important lessons and we always become stronger and wiser. As we change our perspective and rely on the spiritual truth of who we are and how empowered we are, we can be peaceful, productive and happy at all times. It’s up to us.
You must be committed to the practice and, at some point you will need the support of a teacher and coach because the paradigms — the habitual ways of thinking are strongly entrenched and constantly being reinforced by influences in our environment.
It’s also important to study and develop a firm belief in the foundational principles in order to cement your faith in the validity of it.
And it helps to have a strong reason to change. Sometimes pain is the motivator. You can be pushed by pain or you can be pulled by a vision. Sometimes we have to be in enough pain to risk changing. The DreamBuilder approach is to ignite your vision so that you’ll be pulled by your vision.
And even after you make a commitment to yourself, you may find it a very challenging to overcome the paradigms of your habitual thinking, your history, the way you were raised, the news, what’s going on in your community, and all those influences that are in contrast and opposed to the spiritual truth that everything is working for your highest good. At some point, you are going to need the support of a teacher and coach.
I’ve had the support of many teachers and coaches on my spiritual journey. Although I never met Ernest Holmes, I consider him one of my favorite teachers because he did so much research on the history of philosophy, the world’s religions and the science of the way the mind work. He distilled the universal spiritual truths that transcend religious orthodoxy and devised a powerful affirmation practice called “spiritual mind treatment”
Mary Morrissey included a version of it in The DreamBuilder program. In fact, those of you familiar with The Science of Mind will recognize these universal spiritual laws of the universe in the DreamBuilder Program.
So this is the gift in every challenge you face — an opportunity
- to deepen your spiritual understanding,
- to strengthen your connection with your Source, Your Higher Self and
- to harness your power in the service of what you would love.
Isn’t that exciting! You become more proficient in manifesting your dreams and with more ease and peace.
So what about you? I loved to know how this has operated in your life. I invite you to share in the comments section about challenges you have faced that turned out to have had benefits in them for you. You can post them in comments on this page below.
And, if you choose to read Living the Science of Mind, I’d love to know what you think about it. It’s available as a Kindle book and paperback book on Amazon.
And, as always, I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about what I’ve said here.
In closing, I’m going to leave you with a powerful guided meditation from Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes. You are welcome to download the podcast transcript or copy, paste and print it so you can say it daily if you’d like.
I KNOW there is a Power for Good which is responding to me and bringing into my experience everything that is necessary to my unfoldment, to my happiness, to my peace, to my health, and to my success. I know there is a Power for Good that enables me to help others and to bless the whole world.
So I say quietly to myself: There is one Life, that Life is God, that Life is perfect, that Life is my life now. It is flowing through me, circulating in me. I am one with Its rhythm. My heart beats with the pulsation of the Universe, in serenity, in peace, and in joy. My whole physical being is animated by the Divine Spirit, and if there is anything in it that does not belong, it is cast out because there is One Perfect Life in me now.
And I say to myself: I am daily guided so that I shall know what to do under every circumstance, in every situation. Divine Intelligence guides me in love, in joy, and in complete self-expression. Desiring that the Law of Good alone shall control me, I bless and prosper everything I am doing; I multiply every activity; I accept and expect happiness and complete success.
Realizing that I am one with all people, I affirm that there is a silent Power flowing through me and them, which blesses and heals and prospers, makes happy and glad their pathway.
And realizing that the world is made up of people like myself, self, I bless the world and affirm that it shall come under the Divine government of Good, under the Divine providence of Love, and under the Divine leadership of the Supreme Intelligence. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Ernest Holmes – Living the Science of Mind
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If you have a burning question you’d like me to answer, or if you’d like to be a guest on the podcast and receive one-on-one coaching, let me know here.
If you’re finding the ideas on this blog useful and you would love in-depth personalized support for overcoming any challenge and creating a life you absolutely love, I invite you to apply for my DreamBuilder Coaching Program where we take all the things I talk about here and apply them to you and your life. Just imagine you and me together every week for 12 weeks laser focused on how to feel happy and fulfilled and create a life you absolutely love. By the end of our work together you will have the tools and practices so that no matter what happens in your life, you can live with peace and joy.
Book a complementary Discovery call. This is an actual DreamBuilder Coaching session where we’ll get clear on exactly where you are right now, where you’d love to be and the next best step you can take to move you forward in the direction of your dreams.
I look forward to talking with you soon!
Bye for now!
Here are the next steps you can take
- Join the conversation in the comments and and post any questions you may have.
- Listen to my other podcasts, especially #7 – 9
- Be a guest on the show and get free coaching? Click here
- Get the full DreamBuilder Program with coaching support? Book a complimentary Discovery Session on my calendar. We’ll get clarity on exactly where you are now, where you would love to be, and decide if we’re a good match to work together.