How to Truly Sparkle!

I am a Nature fanatic! I love all the ways she calls to me to notice her magnificence.

The birds (my favorites are hummingbirds, hawks, and herons), flowers (orchids and roses), trees (the dogwood and Norfolk pine), and environments (the beach) are ever present for us to experience.

The seasons signal with their own specific energies. There is always something to give loving energy to. It’s fabulous! It’s as if Nature is a fashion show and it’s constantly getting all dressed up. She sparkles!

Like her, I feel extra sparkly when I dress up. Getting ready to go out for an evening of friends, food and fun is filled with wonderful anticipation and desire for the perfect combination of experiences, including surprises, that make the evening one worth remembering with great pleasure.

I giggle at the many hour-long solo fashion shows I have to answer the most important question of the moment: “What should I wear?!” My bed littered with the options that were too big, too small, wrong statement, or “I wore that last time.”  Then finally coming up with the perfect reflection of my personal mantra of “simple elegance.”  I feel that same resounding “Yes!” when I look at the bold blooms on my roses or hear the wingsong of the hummers visiting my feeders.  Nature is always sparkling at me.

I’m reminded of how much time and money I’ve spent in the past “looking great” externally. The jewelry, shoes, designer this and that, coiffed hair, perfectly-done make-up, and all the matching accessories beautifully complementing my outfits. Every little outer detail perfect, exuding confidence, contentment, happiness.

But on the inside there was a much different story going on.

How many of us are still in that dream today? Sparkling on the outside, but dealing with shadows and darkness on the inside? You don’t have to be depressed or mired in chaos and turmoil to be dressing-up fear, sadness, loneliness, hurt anger, guilt, blame, or shame. They can be there, just below the surface –  the part of the iceberg you can’t see, even while on the outside, you tell yourself and others that things are “fine,” “good,” or even “great!”

This illusion of sparkle can hold you back from fully experiencing the magnificence within and around you. Whatever conscious and subconscious aspects of you that you keep hidden behind masks of material success, knowledge, skills and other appearances, may be the very aspects that need your loving attention so you can thrive.

Here’s the thing:  life is an inside-out journey. There is no amount of external “dressing-up” that can truly hide or mask what is going on underneath the surface of you. Why? Because you are energy, and through the Universal Laws of Attraction and Reflection, your overall vibration (meaning the conscious and subconscious) is attracting to you its like; what’s going on within you gets reflected back to you in your outer experience.

If you spend time deeply reflecting on the results you are creating in the world, you can discover how much of your outer sparkle is anchored in personality, identity, and beliefs, that are more about being accepted, secure, connected, or loved rather than about expressing your deepest intent – the Truest you.

The best way to truly sparkle on the outside is to reach your authentic sparkle on the inside.  That’s you free from the past, trusting your Heart and inner wisdom, in love with all of you and aligned with your Highest Consciousness – your Divine State of Being as Peace, Joy and Unconditional Love.

You can be that. I call it your Happy to Be ME!^© state. It takes commitment, courage, creativity and heart. Here are the steps that can get you there:

1. Wake-Up to the Truth of who you are: Get clear on who you’re really being in the world – is it time to wake up from an illusion? Are you simply propping up an external personality and identity, or are you expressing from your inner authentic self? Are there things you are doing that are really a form of self-sabotage or self-abandonment, anchoring you in repeated experiences of what you don’t want?
2. Shake-Up and release all that is not in alignment with the Truth of you: Open your eyes and heart to the ways you are being the “NOT self,” understand why you’re attached to them and consciously choose to release them. Lighten up and let go because they are you holding you back.
3. Make-Up a new story of the way your life will be: Explore your deepest desires because they are how you truly sparkle in your life. Make yourself the star of the story and be more focused on you. As you let go of what’s not your True Self, many new opportunities will present themselves to you. See how you can create a new story of happiness, success and fulfillment in your life by breathing life into them.
4. Take-Up the reigns and go live it: Keep yourself moving in the direction of your dreams by adopting daily practices and connected, conscious relationships that support you.

This formula is how I went from stressed-out, driven, drill sergeant pushing to make things happen and find happiness, to conscious, connected, “Heartful,” fun, and free.  The journey into your authentic inner sparkle can be the most rewarding trip you ever take.  I encourage and invite you into it now.

Many Blessings!
Valerie

Photo Credit: Layoutsparks.com