Yes, You May

Give yourself permission…How do you feel when you hear those words? Relieved or stressed? A little of both?

What do we need permission to do?

• Feel sad
• Ignore the haters
• Love without condition
• Eat Oreos
• Force yourself out of bed at 5 a.m. to exercise
• Take a break
• Push through the stress

In order to do anything, we must first give ourselves permission. If we don’t consciously give ourselves permission, we will manifest something “out of our control” that gives us permission, such as traffic, a headache, or food poisoning.

Don’t believe it? Whether or not you think you are indeed the creator of the things that happen to you, Eckhart Tolle says, “Act as if you did create those things.”

Today’s inspiration: Discomfort

How to use it: Are you experiencing something uncomfortable, physical or mental, that just won’t go away?

1. Consider whether you might be using it as an excuse to give yourself permission. What does this discomfort give you an excuse to do? Rest? Avoid? Put off? Relax?
2. Silence the judging voices…Stop being a baby. Don’t be so lazy. This is a third world problem.
3. Believe this is what you really need.
4. Give yourself permission to do whatever it is you are doing because of this external factor. You don’t need an excuse, like a headache or a car accident. You can give yourself permission RIGHT NOW.

Example: I had an amazing experience the other day that illustrated to me exactly what happens when you honestly give yourself permission. I have cramps with my period sometimes, and I have been trying to figure out the pattern. Is it food? Rest? Stress? This month, I was tired and overwhelmed, and I got terrible cramps. My thoughts went like this…Perhaps my body can’t process well when I’m tired, and that’s why I get cramps…Cramps make me slow down…Maybe I just need to slow down. Period. (So to speak)…I don’t need cramps to make me slow down.

I decided I would slow down for the rest of the week, even if my cramps went away. AND HERE’S THE INCREDIBLE PART…about five minutes later, my cramps disappeared. Completely. I kid you not. Gone. Never to return this month. And hopefully ever. As soon as gave myself permission to slow down without the cramps, they disappeared. I didn’t make the decision thinking it would affect my cramps at all. I just made the decision to listen to my body’s desire to slow down, cramps or not. And poof, no cramps. It was like my body said, “Cool, you’re going to slow down. No need for these anymore.”

Listen to your body because it knows everything. Permission is a state of mind. If you practice, you will improve.

Be inspired. Go forth. Create your day.

Read Renee Trudeau’s article “Permission Granted” and check out her new self-care teleclass.

“Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.”

-Eckhart Tolle