Coach Bernadette Boas interviewed me for her “Shift to Riches” program about how to overcome adversity. I share the video of our conversation here for your benefit.
“Only when it is dark enough can we see the stars.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Without a doubt, 2020 has been nothing short of a doozy for just about everyone I know.
The degree of drastic change in our health, finances, relationships, education and work has been unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.
As a medical intuitive healer, I find myself constantly encouraging my clients to be patient with themselves, to be compassionate with themselves and others, to allow space to breathe as together we sort through the collective weight of all these transformations.
With so many challenges in every area of your life, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed.
How can you overcome adversity?
- Choose a goal.
- Discover the emotions that have held you back.
- Name the theme you’ve been living in.
- Connect to your resources.
Step One. Choose a goal.
Setting and accomplishing goals changes your brain chemistry.
According to brain expert Loretta Breuning, when you accomplish a goal you raise the level of your serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for making you happy.
Whether the goal you set is life-changing or infinitesimal, when you make a choice to go after anything you move your energy forward.
You get out of your stuckness.
Goals may be short term:
I’m going to exercise 20 minutes every day.
I’m going to pray every morning.
Goals may be medium term:
I’m going to lose 5 pounds.
I’m going to find a new service to add to my existing business.
Goals may be long term:
I’m going to make new friends.
I’m going to find a new job.
Whether you set a short term, medium term or a long term goal you begin to create a picture inside your mind of something better.
As you fill in the details of this inner picture and it becomes more clear in your mind, you give yourself hope, purpose and enthusiasm.
Whatever size goal you pick make sure it’s something you can be truly excited about – something that moves your soul to action.
NOT I guess I should reorganize my sock drawer.
INSTEAD I’m going to create order in my home to provide the space to feel centered and at peace.
The more enthusiasm you can express in your goal the more energy your soul will put behind moving forward to something better.
Step Two. Discover the emotions that have held you back.
You may feel 100 emotions on any given day but more than likely there are one or two that prevail.
These set the prevailing tone of your entire life.
Your emotions create your outlook.
A good way to think about emotions is that they are like rooms.
When I’m in my kitchen I tend to cook and eat.
When I’m in my bedroom I find myself sleeping.
When I’m in my living room I watch movies or read books.
When I’m in my office I work.
If I don’t want to keep eating, I better get out of the kitchen.
If I need to take a break I ought to get out of my office.
If you feel depressed, get out of the room.
If you feel anxious, get out of the room.
If you feel hopeless, lost or suicidal, for God’s sake, do whatever it takes to get out of that room.
Your emotions are literally vibrational patterns.
The vibrational pattern of your emotions permeates your entire energy field, affecting your physical health, energy system, thought processes and may even affect your spiritual outlook.
These vibrational patterns get stored in our organs, creating either health or disease.
What we feel gets projected out into the world.
We constantly look outside ourselves for confirmation – yes, there’s another reason to feel depressed, anxious, hopeless, lost or suicidal – or yes, there’s another reason to see the light, to see the hope, to see the solution.
Too many of us feel trapped by the emotions we’re feeling, not understanding that in fact they are best understood as energy in motion.
If you don’t like the way you’ve been feeling do something positive to get out of that feeling.
Put your energy into motion and find yourself experiencing something entirely different.
What does it look like to put the energy of your emotions into motion?
- Acknowledge what you are really feeling.
- Express your feelings – talk to a friend, write in a journal, create a song or a poem, roll up the windows in your car and yell. If you can’t put your feelings into words, practice breathing exercises to move the stuck energy. I’ve been giving away FREE copies of The Little Book of Breathwork and have now shared my book to people in 16 countries during the coronavirus pandemic. If you would like a free copy, simply email me at catherine@catherinecarrigan.com and I’m happy to share it with you.
- Change the channel by literally going someplace else – go for a walk, sit under a tree, stroll beside a river. The more you move the more you will release.
Step Three. Name the theme you’ve been living in.
Most of us are so deeply embedded in the story of our lives that we fail to recognize the theme.
If I’ve been living the Cinderella story – waiting for my prince to come, feeling I’m under the thumb of my evil stepmother – I’m going to keep seeing myself and everyone around me as characters in this fairy tale.
If I keep telling myself I’m a victim of climate change, racism, conspiracy theories, political chaos and the emergence of an evil new world order, I won’t be able to see myself as the hero in my own life story.
The theme of your life creates your mindset.
You can continue to live out a mindset of adversity or you can choose a new theme for your life that sets you on a path of hope, healing and recovery.
Here are a few examples of themes you may be finding yourself living in right now and the alternate themes you could choose instead:
Chaos/Order
Overwhelm/Centering
Victim/Personal Power
Illness/Health
Loss/Rebirth
Struggle/Ease
Difficulty/Triumph
It seems so obvious to say but the largest cult in the world is difficult.
You could continue to believe that it’s difficult to be healthy, wealthy, happy or prosperous and as long as you continue to participate in the cult of difficult your life will be – as a friend I grew up with once expressed – one Chrysler after another!
What would it be like if you chose a new theme for your life?
Name it.
Choose it.
Own it!
Step Four. Connect to your resources.
Indeed there are times in the darkest night of our souls when we do feel that all is lost, that there is no hope, that it’s actually all over.
That’s why I love teaching people how to talk to your angels.
When you actually realize the amount of divine love that is here, now, always and forever available to you then you will never feel totally lost or alone.
No matter where you live on the planet, if you are within the sound of my words, you have resources.
These could include your inner resources:
Stubbornness, a.k.a. that beautiful quality of tenacity, of never giving up no matter how tough life has actually been
Intuition, a.k.a. the guidance you’re always receiving from your soul
Intelligence
Kindness
Resourcefulness, that marvelous quality of trying one thing after another until you find something that works
These could include your outer resources:
Your angels, both in the spiritual realm and in the people around you
Your friends
Your loved ones
Your pets, the furry friends who love you no matter how many mistakes you think you have made.
Your resources may just amount to a phone number, a connection to someone you heard about who might know someone who could help you.
Just recently on Twitter I received a message from a man named Shawn Taylor.
This is his story:
“Hi everyone my name is Shawn. I have been struggling in life recently because I went into septic shock and I was on life support for 3 weeks. I had to gain my memory back and I also had to learn how to walk again. I was also diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease and neuropathy in my arms, hands, legs and feet. I’m going through a lot even strikes with depression but I can’t give up now because God has given me a second chance at life. I just need a little help and support, that’s why I’m reaching out to the community. I really don’t have family for support but I would appreciate any help or support if possible. Thank you and God bless.”
I know Shawn Taylor’s story because even though he has gone through hell he had the inner resources to set up a Go Fund Me fundraiser and to connect with me on Twitter asking me to share his story.
He set up the fundraiser Sept. 2 but nobody donated for nearly two weeks.
Nevertheless he kept tweeting the link and two days ago reached out to me for help.
Please help me help Shawn Taylor by donating at this link.
One thing I can attest from personal experience is that I would not have gotten through 2020 if it had not been for the love, support and kindness of those around me.
There are angels everywhere.
The world is full of good, loving and kind people.
The universe truly is a friendly place.
Together we can get through this challenging time.
Recently I connected with an editor and copywriter from Watford, England on LinkedIn, Melanie Silver.
She had quoted me in one of her posts so I wrote to thank her for sharing my work.
We ended up texting back and forth about writing.
I shared a few resources with her that had helped me write and publish 10 books.
“Thanks Catherine – very generous of you to share your knowledge,” Melanie wrote back to you.
“Melanie it’s my privilege! “ I responded. “Right now and always I feel the only way we get through life is by pulling together! Sending you love and light.”
You can help yourself right now by helping Shawn Taylor, by being a friend to someone who has been a friend to you like Melanie Silver, by realizing that you yourself may be the answer to someone else’s prayers.
Pay it forward.
Create a wave of kindness, realizing that the law of karma is perfect, that whatever you put out into the universe is exactly what comes back to you.
In giving, we remind ourselves of how blessed we actually are.
We connect soul to soul, linking together to remind ourselves of the brotherhood and sisterhood of mankind.
What is healing? Healing happens when you make up your mind you can overcome any adversity.
To set up an appointment for a medical intuitive reading or healing work, please email catherine@catherinecarrigan or call 678-612-8816. If you are calling internationally, please call me at the same number through WhatsApp so I can return your call toll free!
