PoP ~ February Thought Prompts and Discussion

The rules are pretty simple:

  • This is a safe place for you to share your thoughts and ideas on each day’s prompt.
  • Critical thought and poignant questions are encouraged.
  • Any behavior that seems aggressive, abusive or attempts to undermine the efforts of other participants will be banned from the conversation and the site.

February’s Journey is all about … you guessed it … LOVE!!

This month you’ll practice forgiveness, grace and compassion first with yourself and then with others.

Reclaim your energy from your past and your old negative stories. You’ll have the energy and creativity you need to build the life you desire!

Clarity Portion of the Month

(Days 1-10, minus weekends)

It’s time to simply identify the hurtful stories that play on a loop in your head. Maybe they’re from years ago. They could also be a simple argument from yesterday that keeps repeating itself.

Every time you visualize that story you give that pain (the pain that is NOT even happening in real time) energy and attention.
You’re unintentionally creating suffering.

This month you’re going to intentionally create PEACE!!

Day 1 Thought Prompt

Whether they’re decades old or from this morning’s argument with the neighbor, we all have hurtful stories playing on repeat in our heads. What hurtful stories do you play on a loop?

Write them down. Simply identifying them at first will help you differentiate between real-time pain (the argument itself) and suffering created long after the pain is gone.

Don’t worry about deconstructing anything just yet. The following days we’ll start poking at these stories.

Day 2 Thought Prompt

Review the painful stories you identified yesterday.

Which of those stories feel like someone else’s fault? Assign a % of “fault” if need be.

NO judgement here. Just take the opportunity to see what comes up in your mind.

You’ll notice that simply examining your story one level closer already opens your mind to all kinds of possibilities and alternate interpretations. Let those in organically. You’re already planting seeds for a new perception.

Day 3 Thought Prompt

Review the painful stories you identified on Day 1. Add any new ones that have cropped up.

Which painful stories feel like they’re due to circumstances. Again, it’s fine to use percentages if the situation is nuanced. In essence, where are the conditions “at fault” and by how much?

Just notice how new ideas and perceptions pop into your mind. There’s no change that needs to be forced ~ just an awareness that gets to grow.

Day 4 Thought Prompt

Again, return to the hurtful stories you’re now adept at keeping track of.

Which of them feel like they’re your “fault?” Assign a percentage.

I must remind you this is not about judgement. This is about finding out

  • What your stories are
  • What you’re making them mean
  • And finding the specific areas YOU have control over.

By now you’re probably starting to part and parcel out how much of your grievance is simply a matter of perception and with today’s thought prompt you can really dig into where YOU have control over YOU. You don’t have control over others or circumstances … you only have control over how much let others and circumstances determine who YOU are what YOU do.

Day 5 Thought Prompt

Identify any always/never stories that have cropped up as you’ve done this work these last few days. Write them down.

i.e. “No one ever listens to me,” or “I’m always the strong one; I never get to have the breakdown,” or _____________

Our beliefs are strongest where we speak in absolutes. When you come a cross a helpful story, write that one down too!! We can use that to our advantage as we shift toward forgiveness (taking back our power).

Day 6 Thought Prompt

In what ways are you healthy? How does that work to your advantage?

We have a coin. We’ve studied one side of that coin for decades. What’s on the other side?

There are a myriad of ways to experience health. Healthy body, mind, spirit, friendships, career, outlook, skill set, sleep, nutrition….

Day 7 Thought Prompt

What do you already do to prevent accidents and injury to yourself? How can you celebrate your success rate??

Even the world’s worst self-proclaimed klutz has fewer accidents than were possible. You ARE already a success at this … do you feel an abundance dance coming on??

Day 8 Thought Prompt

Where do you regularly show kindness or grace with others?

You’re already giving of your abundance…these small ways add up!

How many times a day do you …

…choose your battles
…see things from their side
…send someone positive thoughts, love and/or light
…do a small favor
…tip a little extra

Add your list in the comments!

Gathering Portion of the Month

(Days 11-20, minus weekends)

Day 9 Thought Prompt

How much time do you realistically have to give? How are you already giving it and to whom?  INCLUDE YOURSELF

If you find you’re giving too much of your time away…how can you reallocate it?

We’re simply gathering what abundance we have. There’s no extra? Then there’s no extra. We’re just taking stock … it’s important to take note of yourself when you answer these gathering questions. You get to receive your own abundance too!

Day 10 Thought Prompt

How much money to you have to give? How are you already giving it and to whom?

Think real-life too…not just ’tis the season type giving. You HAVE money and you’re using it however you’re using it. Sooooooo……how are you using it?

How you use your money is a reflection of what you value. It’s your CHOICE to spread your abundance the way you do. So what does that look like? Where are you more generous than you realized (housing, groceries, health insurance)? Those become a new kind of abundance because you’ve exchanged your skills for the money, and the money for the ____________ <— fill in the blank.

Let me know in the comments!

Day 11 Thought Prompt

How much attention do you have to give? How are you already giving it and to whom?

Attention already IS. You don’t have to manufacture it or discover it. That is a type of abundance that you have at all times with that privilege of possession you get to choose where you aim it.

Truthfully, financial abundance is like that too it’s just harder for some to tap into because we have so many hidden stories around it. There IS a ready flow of money out there ~ ready for you to dive into it’s rising tide.

Day 12 Thought Prompt

Forgiveness is the conscious work it takes to reclaim your energy from old, hurtful stories.
Grace is the ability to avoid creating a hurtful story in the first place.

Where is grace possible? Where are you, others or your circumstances just simple, wounded, ill-timed participants who are also just doing their best?

It’s totally ok if you can only have grace with the people whose stories you know or you feel like you have enough information to “let it go” real-time. Just notice THAT you give grace in those times and get curious about where else you might be able to extend that grace. The rude woman at the grocery store? The jerk you cut you off in traffic? No? … well, maybe some day. 😉

Day 13 Thought Prompt

Forgiveness is the conscious work it takes to reclaim your energy from old, hurtful stories.
Grace is the ability to avoid creating a hurtful story in the first place.
Compassion is the STATE OF BEING that reacts to the world without temptation to create a hurtful story.

Where are you easily compassionate? This is not momentary acts of compassion (though it’s wonderful to track those too), this is about compassion as a default reaction to yourself, others or events.

Lost kittens? Babies crying? Where do you do good and feel good without feeling a hurtful story?

Keep an ongoing list. The more you pay attention to how often you just naturally show up with compassion the more often you’ll naturally do it AND celebrate it as a win!

 

Day 14 Thought Prompt

Think of the story(ies) you identified on Days 6 & 7

Where will forgiveness, grace and compassion take place in your new story?

Visualize your new story taking place. Think of a scenario where your old story arises and visualizing responding with your new story. The more you visualize yourself showing up in the world with this new level of forgiveness, grace and compassion the easier it will be for you to actually show up that way. VISUALIZE OFTEN

 

Action Portion of the Month

(Days 21-End, minus weekends)

It’s time to take action on all of those resources and opportunities you identified in the Gathering Portion.

Day 15 Thought Prompt

Who did you identify as a safe person to process this transformation with?

Recruit/hire/contact/make plans with them.

You might have already taken this step but in case you needed someone to tell you to get off your ass and do what you know you want to to do … that’s me, telling you. 😉

Day 16 Thought Prompt

Integrate the tools you identified in the gathering portion into your schedule. Ideally these tools are used on a daily basis but put them in where ever and as often as they’ll fit.

The better you get at processing and transforming your story, the more peaceful life becomes and the faster you can build success and happiness into your life. Soooooooo….the more often, the better!

Day 17 Thought Prompt

 

Remember those opportunities you identified as possible times for reflection and processing?

Take one or more of them. Schedule them in if you have to.

Make a habit of prioritizing yourself in this way. It’s a giant part of your personal evolution.

Day 18 Thought Prompt

Forgiveness practice:

When you catch your old story start to replay, replace it with your new one.

Imagine all of that energy that has been spend in the old hurt come rushing back to you transformed, renewed and ready to use for your new, more empowering, story.

Visualization works wonders. Take the time to picture it from a first person perspective.

Day 19 Thought Prompt

Grace: Begin exercising grace (in the ways you identified) at every opportunity. ESPECIALLY in the areas where your hurtful story gets triggered.

If you didn’t get it quite right in the moment, that’s just an opportunity to practice grace with yourself!

If you can’t quite do it in during those triggered times then at least visualize yourself being genuinely gracious when it’s most hard. Visualizing your success helps you create it.

 

Day 20 Thought Prompt

Compassion: on the heels of the forgiveness and grace practices you’ll notice how often you just show up AS compassionate ~ where it doesn’t take a conscious thought to stop a story in it’s tracks…the story just doesn’t appear at all.

Everyone is worthy of Love (with a capital L). You see that truth more and more so what would’ve looked like digressions in character to your old self, simply ceases to have any negative meaning or impact.

This is where true peace of mind comes. With peace of mind comes better problem solving, more energy and creativity. THIS is where you find the well of passion (even if you don’t know where you’re directing it yet).

 

Day 21 Thought Prompt

Notice how often you’re playing your NEW story. Notice, too, how effortless it seems now that you’re practicing these Loving tools of forgiveness, grace and compassion.

Take note of the evidence that your new story IS, in fact, true. Your new thoughts, habits and beliefs will be built on that proof.

 

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