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Doing The Thing Big

Dana Quade — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:32:20 GMT

Here we are again, May 25, 2012

Random ideas that may be very useful:

Life is like a riptide ~ we can fight it and struggle, or relax and go with the flow.

Feeling sorry for someone does not help them. It focuses on the smallest part of them. Faith is believing in what we do not see. We all have a divine spark. Grow faith in this. Focus on that BIGness in yourself and others and watch things change.

Disease happens when we are at odds with ourselves (pretty hard to find a wide scale cure for that). The cure is to reverse the cycle of being at odds with oneself. The cure will come for each individual inside them. Hating the disease does not help. It just builds another wall of blame. Take responsibility. Learning to be kind to yourself is a simple start in healing.

Be your own best friend today,
Dana

Doing Your Thing

Dana Quade — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:57:18 GMT

Greetings!                                                                                            May 19, 2012

This time...fall in love with yourself!

But wait -- Isn't self-love selfish?    Yes.   It is constructively selfish, and it is time.

It is said that if we just spend 20 minutes a day focused on learning something, we can master it. My gentle challenge to you is to spend that time learning about yourself.

Why?

I believe that for anything you want: love, forgiveness, approval, safety, happiness, health, even riches...

You must start with you.

"Love thy neighbor" -- How can I love my neighbor if I can't love myself?
"Forgive & forget"    -- Can I forgive another if I don't forgive myself first?

If you think it is better to give than to receive, start giving to yourself what you long for. Start softening yourself to allow and receive what your giving to you. This will create a foundation inside you for the best philanthropy the world has ever seen.

What do you think? I would love to hear from you...

Do Your Thing with Love,
Dana

Doing The Thing with Death / Hospice

Dana Quade — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:11:59 GMT

Good Day! May 4, 2012

I hope you are well and happy.

Here is what I'm learning about death and life through my hospice work...

~ Facing death helps us live more fully.

~ It may be the biggest growth process in life.

~ Death is the ultimate 'Letting go' / Surrender (which always feels really good).

~ Death is harder if you are still carrying baggage. The more bags, the harder it is.
[ Fear is a very heavy piece of baggage and may contribute greatly to dementia ]

~ Facing death can bring out the best in people.

~ The death process holds potential for expansion, growth, power, even pleasure.

It is an honor for me to be part of this process with people. Maybe the most important thing I am learning that I want to share with you is:

Let's experiment with and start using all this information while we are still in
the vibrant process of living.

Much love, health, wealth and happiness to you,
Dana

Doing The Thing with Self-reliance

Dana Quade — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:06:30 GMT

Hello, April 7, 2012

When something 'happens' to someone, it triggers me to handle any unresolved parts of myself.

We have very dear friends who seemed like the happiest of families / wife, husband and little one.

Just recently, something happened to the wife. Her husband (and best friend since junior high) told her he no longer wanted to be married. She had no idea there was anything wrong.

What this did to her:

devastation, loss, heartbreak, and all that goes with it...

What hearing this did to me:

shock, disbelief, and probably some of the same emotions that she felt on a much smaller scale. I asked myself, "What would I do if this happened to me?"

But as usual I am here to convert anything I think is negative into its opposite. I can't help it. It is just what I do. I am here to learn through joy or heartache.

Here is what I am learning from this news:

~ People in our lives come and go (sometimes like my father did), not on our timing, but on theirs.

~ We may temporarily or permanently lose a parent, friend, spouse, or child.

~ There are no guarantees coming from anyone else.

~ ~ ~ But, the best part of all this is you have yourself! ~ ~ ~

This story highlights the critical importance of "Doing The Thing" which means to build a relationship so strong with yourself that you can count on you for anything.
Even if it feels like your world is falling down around you, you can count on the relationship you've built with yourself to keep you going with faith in the process of self-reliant living.

In Unconditional Love,
Dana

Do The Thing Healing & PTSD

Dana Quade — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:38:58 GMT

Hello, March 18th, 2012

My husband and I had a meaningful dinner with friends last night.

Mixed into a fascinating conversation about Armor (Chapter 4 in "Doing The Thing")
and how it gets in our way, our friend mentioned the extremely high rate of suicide in
Veterans.

I've been studying Post Traumatic Stress Disorder off and on for years in my work of helping people heal from traumatic injuries. In one small article I read about PTSD and Healing, it said, "If the doctor does nothing more than listen to a patient, the patient will be better."

Upon awaking this morning, I thought of a non-profit organization that is dedicated to this cause. Maybe one exists, but in light of the problem, we can do more.

Maybe it is as simple as paying more attention to ourselves / how we are feeling, and to the people around us and how they feel about life. If you can...

~ Be there quietly to listen with non-judgment when someone needs to talk.
~ Talk if you need to express what your heart longs to say.

We all have experienced trauma in our lives. It's time to speak up and time to listen with compassion and love. We can get better every day.

In Well-being,
Dana

Doing The Thing with Anger Now

Dana Quade — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:26:11 GMT

Hello,                                                                                               February 11, 2012

When someone messes with you, you get mad. Anger is designed to help you get back to feeling good again / to solve problems.

Expressing anger in a healthy way is about feeling valuable enough to stand up and say "Hey, treat me right!", or to get fired up enough to start solving a challenging problem that is in your way.

We are here to be creatively / successfully human.
New anger helps us be this in the moment.

                                            Here are the 2 main lessons:
                                    ~ growing into knowing your worthiness
                                            ~ standing up for yourself

As you grow into knowing your worthiness, it is easier to treat yourself with respect. As you do this it becomes easier to stand up for yourself. Others start treating you with more respect. It becomes a beautiful cycle. Try it!

Is it possible that instead of bullying being the problem, the problem is shared by those who can't productively use their anger to stand up for themselves.

And, it is not just the kids who need to learn this. We all have these challenges.

Kids deal with bullying at school. You may deal with bullying at your work or even in your home.

Since most of us have not been trained in how to use our anger in a healthy way, small steps may be needed to re-raise yourself to do this. Practice with yourself or with a friend / role play before you tackle the intimidating people or problems in your life. Go back and review earlier blogs in this series. It is understandable to feel fear even thinking about standing up for yourself in tough situations. If too much fear is in the way, start with releasing the fear to find your courage. What would you do if you weren't afraid to do it?

We will see a decline in everything we consider "bad", from bullying to Cancer, as we get to know our worthiness and learn to stand up for ourselves.

What are your thoughts on anger?

If you had a chance to attend a class on healthy anger, would you go?

Do The Thing with Love,
Dana

Doing The Thing with Old Anger

Dana Quade — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:04:04 GMT

Hello again!                                                                                           January 29, 2012

Who really wants to spend time with anger!?

I do, and you may want to too.

Here's why:

~ We want to be happy and healthy.
~ We want to have fun, joy, pleasure.
~ We want abundance of all that is good.

If old anger is inside us, and not able to get out, it stops our fun and our health. If new anger arises and we don't express it constructively, the same thing happens. This weakens us.
But remember...anger is not bad. Anger is not the problem. Misunderstanding anger, and using it in an armored, destructive way is the problem.

Look at yourself with curiosity and make self-discovery a priority. One idea here is to see yourself as a boiling kettle that needs to let off steam so it doesn't explode. You can safely drain bits at a time to help you feel better emotionally and physically.

When you drain your anger make sure you are being safe and kind to yourself and all around you. Most of these anger releasers I do alone. I try not to direct them at anyone. We want to get our anger out / not take it out on others.

Here are solutions that I have used and do use to safely drain old armored anger:

[ These ideas may sound strange to you. They did to me at first. I have had training with this, so now it seems normal, helpful and healthy to me. Take it slow. Pay attention to how you feel about what you are doing. Let your feelings be your guide to do what works for you. If you feel like it's not right for you, try a different approach]

*  Yell  * Stomp around * Bite a towel (like a dog playing tug-of-war) * Punch pillows

or a punching bag * Swear *   Pelvic thrusts *   Make ugly faces *  Let your eyes

glare   *   Throw a "2yr old" tantrum   *   Kick box

When I feel tension in my jaw, It may prompt me to release some stored anger in there.
You can get to know your body well enough to feel where the anger is stuck.
Try to always be aware of how your eyes are feeling. If they feel stuck / blocked / confused, wait until you feel some freedom and clarity in your eyes before doing more with anger. In our armored world, it is normal to fear anger. If you feel afraid of this anger, try seeing the fear in your eyes in a mirror. You are safe. If you can allow this fear to move on, it will help your process.

Dealing with this old stored up anger is different than dealing with new anger that comes up today or tomorrow. Next time let's talk about that too, because it all blends in together.

Please feel free to ask questions about any of this, or share what you are going through. We are learning every day.

Getting back to pleasure,
Dana

Doing The Thing with Anger

Dana Quade — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:36:38 GMT

Hello, January 28, 2012

Anger has a bad rap.

In the last blog we touched on how anger may relate to peace, and that anger can be used as a constructive force instead of a destructive one.

Anger as a pure natural emotion is designed to get us back to feeling good again.
It is a constructive force, even creative.

When a baby cries because he is hungry or wet, it is not the expression of grief. The baby is crying to express a discomfort and is making a forceful attempt to get her needs met and get back to feeling pleasure.

Anger and other emotions store up in our bodies as stress which turns into tension, pain and disease if they aren't expressed in clear, healthy ways. This is armor.

It is no wonder that anger has a bad reputation. We fear it -- because most of the examples we see are examples of destructive armored anger. It is expressed toward the self as guilt or depression, and expressed toward others as resentment, coercion, bullying and violence.

More than anger management; we need safe ways to get the anger out / to drain it.

Can you feel your body holding onto some of this armor?

Do you want to feel better?

What can you do to express your old armored anger?

Start with a desire to get to know yourself better, and next time I will share some specific tools that have helped me. In the meantime know that you can be in charge of your emotions and your health.

Do The Thing courageously,
Dana

Peace

Dana Quade — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:54:17 GMT

Greetings, January 18th, 2012

Around Christmas time I experienced a profound and lasting (for about 2 weeks) sense of Peace. With it came thoughts like, 'I have everything I need.'

At this same time I became highly aware of how many distractions we have in our lives that pull us in different directions. They pull us away from Peace.

I believe that distractions are covering up the Peace that lives in the core of us.

One morning I awoke at the height of this Peaceful feeling. I was inspired to spend the day weeding out distractions like clutter around my home and on my computer.

That very morning I discovered that my email had been hacked. After going through the steps to recover my security, I went back into my email to find that everything was gone; all my files empty and no more contact list.

I know how to get angry when I am, but I truly felt this as a blessing in disguise. I felt a sense of relief, a fresh start. I know that Peace is still at my core (and yours too!), but the distractions are creeping in again. It's possible that the biggest one is our thoughts and how they take us away from all the amazing things we are: Peace, Love, Creativity and Complete Well-being.

Anger is one of the most misunderstood emotions that can help us get back on track / back to ourselves. I think we can learn to use our anger constructively instead of destructively. Let's talk about that piece of the puzzle next time and see if we can get closer to feeling Peace of mind and body more often.

"Doing The Thing" can help you get back to yourself. Find it on Amazon, B&N, area stores and on my website www.doingthething.com.

Yours in Peace,
Dana

Do The Thing Power Series 3

Dana Quade — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:17:50 GMT

Happy New Year!                                                                            January 1, 2012

If I were to teach a class on Power/God training, it may start with a discussion on what power or god means to you. Even though we tend to blanket things together, everyone has their own perception and attitudes about these 2 grand topics.

I suspect many people are intimidated by power because the word conjures images of power struggles, ugly politics, power-suits, corporate greed and war. These are examples of armored power.

As my intimidation of power has given way to open-minded curiosity, the word power brings images like a new-born baby, Jesus, the sun, and Peace.

I feel my power when I feel:

~ Happy
~ Connected to everyone and everything
~ God-like
~ at Peace inside myself no matter what is happening around me
~ Completely responsible for my life
~ Self-sovereign = I am in charge of my thoughts and emotions instead of them
     running me. Plus, no blame. I blame no one for "making me" mad.

You have divine power. You are divine power. It is not about money or control or influence. It is about awareness of yourself, and how you interact with yourself and all around you.

My life has been a process of going from fearing my power and running from it. {=living life in the passenger's seat}...to learning about my power and facing it {=living life in the driver's seat}. Through this process it has been very important for me to remember that I am the driver of my life only.

Here is what can help us with our power:

Self-awareness ~ See yourself as a cool science project and be fascinated by what you can learn about your body and psyche. Just learning how to breathe and relax more fully has helped me access my power and embrace it in a safe feeling way.

Simplifying life ~ There are so many distractions like TV, news, fear/worry, focusing on others problems, advertisements, competition, pettiness, guilt. These keep us from getting to know our power. Step by step, eliminate what you can.

Face your fears ~ start with small steps and practice. Make mistakes. It's okay. It helps me to say to myself, "If you weren't afraid to do -----, what would you do?"
Courage feels really good. Practice courage. It accelerates your power.

Sexuality ties in with Power in a big way. Begin to question how your body and more specifically your pelvis is connected to your power. Feel it. Move it. Healthy sex is a connector. Doing The Thing with your sexuality is a topic unto itself we can explore down the road.

Take some quiet time for you. Breathe. Tune in to your amazing core. There is no one in the world like you. Be kind to yourself. Allow at least 15 minutes a day with your passion and build on that time. Whether it's walking in nature, cooking, playing a sport or instrument, helping others or just discovering who you are...what feels good to you is your divine power.

And remember, don't always believe what you think!
Sometimes things we think are wrong with us, (body or psyche) may be improvements in the making. They may be adaptations to our ever changing environment. So instead of focusing on what you think is a problem, ask yourself what opportunity you are being presented with to greater express the powerfully unique being that you are!

What do you want to talk about in the coming year? What are your fears, hopes, visions and plans?

How will you live your Divine Power in 2012?

In Love,
Dana

Do The Thing Power Series 2

Dana Quade — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:17:54 GMT

Hello!...                                                                                                        Dec. 10, 2011

And welcome to this imperfect and sometimes very emotional blog.

I came across a business blog entitled something like: "Don't let `em see you sweat."
It promoted a mechanistic approach of no emotion / no mistakes. This is based in fear.
I understand the thinking behind this idea Especially in business, we want to come across as very professional and having it all together.

Emotions and mistakes are very human. They are part of who we really are. They help us learn about ourselves and how to be here. They are keys to our evolution and our Power.

I am using the above blog to highlight what I think is the key to our suffering as humans:

We walk around with an underlying feeling that we can't be or show who we really are.

If I don't feel safe in business or personally with my emotions and my mistakes, I will probably try to hide them / cover them up. We all see evidence of lies and cover ups from in our own homes to corporate and government. We see the damage it does.

Here is where my passion comes in:

~When we can't be real in business-it promotes fear of competition, cover up of mistakes and lies. If my business operates from fear, I am prone to greed.
~ When we can't be real personally, it makes us sick.

It is the inability to know and live our divine power that makes us suffer in this range...

        *---------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------------------------*
    simple discontent                            quiet desperation                                    cancer

...and everything in between

We have to talk about power because we have it. We need to learn about our power because what we don't know is hurting us.

The best part is that the solution is in your hands for you.
Here is where Doing The Thing comes in. Your suffering ends when you know that you are totally responsible for your own well-being. Cancer is not the enemy. Instead of waiting for the cure, I can find ways to live now that promote my own healing. I am not telling people to abandon the doctors or treatment plans. I am encouraging us to get to know our selves well enough to see how in charge we can be to know our own answers, follow the perfect plan for us. Consider that thinking that someone else has the cure for what is happening inside you, may be giving your power away...the power you need to heal.

The reason I am so passionate about this topic is:

~ I am tired of suffering (physically and emotionally) / living in fear / holding back my power (who I really am) / waiting for the cure of whatever it is.
~I'm pretty sure you are too!
~ I want you all to join me / I want the world to join me

The solution is knowing that I am responsible for my body / mind well-being. So, I am no longer a victim. I am in charge of my self. I can start to find ways to live that will give me relief and help me heal.

It is how you feel about yourself deep inside that dictates your body status and total well-being. It starts with your emotions. It starts with your training. Like we talked about last time, we were not trained in our power. We can learn how to use it.

It is my unwavering faith in this Power that gives me boundless hope for you, me and everyone else in our world. In the next part of this series, I will share the ways I am learning to live my power. There is no doubt...we can do this together.

Do The Thing with Power,
Dana

Do The Thing Power Series

Dana Quade — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:32:03 GMT

Hello!                                                                                                       November 26th, 2011

                                    I am feeling very powerful. How about you?

My intention is for this to be a 3 part series on Power.

In keeping with my unconventional nature, we will start at the end / the solution / the happily ever after, and find our way to the beginning. Here it is...

                                        You and I are Gods living among Gods.
                                                This is how powerful we are.
                                           We are infused with divine power.
                                       God is not outside us / God is within us.

This understanding is humbling because it connects us with everyone and everything in the Universe. We are part of the fabric of the Cosmos. I like to think of it as cosmic teamwork.

"Okay Dana, if this is all true...how come we aren't all superstars living in paradise?"

Problem = Fear / Armor (page 20 of "Doing The Thing")
Our single biggest challenge as humans is that we fear our power.
It is this fear that makes us feel separate from God. It makes us feel isolated / powerless.

Fear breeds misunderstanding, closed mindedness, judgment, arrogance, complacency.
Fear warps the purity of divine power. It brings thoughts and feelings like 'power is bad', power over others, power struggles, power trip, abuse of power, or power as brute force.

We have not been trained to understand and use our power. Because of Armor, we are trained to fear it. I even feel a bit of fear in writing about power and you may feel a bit of fear in reading this.

Our Science Fiction of good and evil, plus our Superheroes come the closest to training us in our power. Maybe this is why Star Wars, Harry Potter, Superman, Wonderwoman, and Spiderman (just to name a few) are so popular.

When I am not running - in fear - from my power, here is what it feels like:
Love (unconditional) ~ calm ~ within myself ~ in the moment ~ in good contact with those around me ~ I can do anything (one step at a time) ~ inspired ~ expansive ~ vitality ~ truly happy for others success ~ in a state of grace ~ connected with ALL.

There is a BIG reason that I am so passionate on the topic of Power. And, it will be talked about in part 2 of this series.
This topic challenges all of us. I would love to hear from you whether you agree with me or not.

Do The Thing with Power,
Dana

Doing The Thing Lost & Found

Dana Quade — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:50:27 GMT

Good day to you!                                                                                    October 23, 2011

What is Doing The Thing?

My lifestyle of DTT was set in motion at a very young age. It was born from a need /
a strong desire. I am a problem solver by heart.

I desperately wanted my home environment to be harmonious. It was not. As a child, I tried to make it so. I wanted things to change. I wanted people to change.

When my efforts did not work, I felt frustrated so I tried ever harder (I can be stubborn).
In high school I longed for a punching bag to hang in the garage. My not being able to fix things left me feeling powerless. I was lost.

I could have stayed in that feeling and lived my life as a victim...blaming my circumstances and the people around me. No fun!

I chose to continue to look for solutions. I looked for role models to help me feel safe. I did not find them.

Here is what I found:

If I couldn't fix my home life / change them / or rely on anyone around me, at least I had me. So, I started there. I started in small steps to find what I had that I could work with. What could I shift / change / and count on within myself?

                                                        This is Doing The Thing.

What if I became my own role model? If I had found role models I was looking for back then would I be as self-contained now? I suspect it would have taken me longer to find out who I really am. This is one reason I look at problems as helpers / opportunities.

I am convinced that what we call problems are our fastest path to evolution. They are trying to help us step up and move past our struggles, so we can simply feel good.

                Can you identify with any of the feelings I describe from my childhood?

The reasons I am so passionate about DTT:

It helped me go from weak to strong.
It helps me feel at peace inside me no matter what is going on around me.
It reminds me what I do have power with = me
...and what to let go of trying to change = others.

Sometimes solutions start simply with a shift in perspective.
If you look at things in your life in a different way, what might you find?

You will always have you. Start there. The rest is just icing on the cake.

Do The Thing with Love,
Dana

Doing The Thing with Ease

Dana Quade — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:11:28 GMT

Greetings to you...                                                                            October 16th, 2011

Do you ever have periods of time when things just seem to flow.
When this happens to me, it feels effortless. It feels like Heaven on Earth.
This feeling is what I want. The flow is where I want to be.

We can have this more often.

                    It can be useful to examine the opposite of what we want.

Here goes...

A man I was talking to the other day, said he had a mild heart attack recently. There is a history of this problem in the men of his family. This (understandably) made him worry for his life. His story is one you may have heard before. He works out. He eats right, doesn't smoke or drink. But, he had a heart attack. It leaves people confused.
What went wrong?

Focus on the body is not enough. Being physically healthy is important, but being over-taxed mentally and emotionally puts a strain on everything. We need a balance of body, mind, emotions and soul. It is time to learn to relax the mind / emotions, and calmly trust in soul. When one of these is ignored, it will talk to you. If you can't hear it, it will speak up in a variety of ways until it gets your attention. This is what is happening to this man.
My response to what he told me was: "This mild heart attack is your helpful wake-up call to care for those areas that are in need."

We are not used to seeing what we call problems as helpful, but it can make all the difference if we begin to shift our perception this way. Problems bring solutions.

                                        Okay, let's get back to the basics.

Here is what I'm learning about being in the flow:

It happens when...
~ I relax my body and my mind and my emotions.
~ I trust in the process of life.
~ I fall back in faith that love and well-being prevails.

This feeling stays away if...
~ I am trying to hard, or trying to 'make' things happen.
~ I am thinking too much.
~ I am feeling worry or guilt.

I am not religious, but I have found that faith and prayer is my bridge between being stuck and being in the flow. When I pray, I simply ask for help to get what I want. I ask the Universe. I ask helpers that come into my awareness. And, then trust the process.
Prayer is the supreme relaxer. When we relax, life gets easier.

It does not matter what or who we believe in, as long as we believe in something that gives us comfort, relief from our resistance and hope.

Do The Thing with Ease,
Dana

Doing The Thing Short & Sweet

Dana Quade — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:52:36 GMT

Hello!                                                                                                    10 / 11 / 11

It has been awhile.

When you don't hear from me, it is not that I don't have anything to say.
It is usually because there's so much, I don't know where to start.

So here we are!

Today's blog will be very short and sweet.
Next time we meet I will have more for you.
I have several ideas for what we can talk about next time, but I would love to hear from you on what you want to discuss. What is a topic that you might want to bounce around with me?

In the meantime...I will leave you with these words / ideas to ponder:

        breathe                   keep it simple                            pay attention

   love (as a verb)          unconditional self-love                         confidence

acceptance of what is            hope                shift to better frame of mind

perspective                freedom from being hindered by other peoples opinions

you know                clarity            peace                joy                   we are all connected

My love to you,
Dana

Doing The Thing with War & Peace

Dana Quade — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:59:21 GMT

Hello, Sept. 11, 2011

Doing The Thing with War & Peace = Find the peace you have inside, cultivate it, share it, and the rest of the world will come with you on that path.

It is not about defeating the enemy "out there".

Let us first look at the enemy within ourselves; that part of us that either mildly doubts, or savagely tries to destroy us from the inside out.

This enemy looks like self-doubt, criticism, judgment, fear/insecurity, self-loathing, jealousy, rage. All this going on inside us creates the dis-ease we feel. It also creates the full blown diseases that we as a society tend to blame and seek destruction of.

Do you see the cycle happening?

Can we really expect Peace on Earth if we don't see it in ourselves?

Salvation lies in attempts to understand and care for ourselves for better and for worse.
As we grow in understanding ourselves, our view of the enemy may shift.

What I used to as my internal enemy (the self-sabotage part of me), I now see as my tough-love teacher.

No matter what race, country, politics or religion...We Are All One.
The more we accept this, the better life will get.

Start with you.
Peace,
Dana

Do The Thing Learning

Dana Quade — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:57:35 GMT

Hello! Sept. 4th, 2011

Here are some things I've learned (or still learning)...

Threats and punishments don't work. Creativity and improving communication does.

Breathing helps everything get better.

It is helpful to know when to speak up vs when to be quiet.

Children are our greatest teachers.

Disease can be a great teacher if we can see it this way.

It is better to be open than to be right.

Seeing my success as part of cosmic teamwork creates magic, whereas thinking I
have to "make things happen" creates frustration.

It is human to forget we are divine.

You are never done.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What are you learning?

How are you?

I would love to hear from you on anything important to you.

Do The Thing with Heart,
Dana

Armor & Doing The Thing

Dana Quade — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 04:01:14 GMT

Greetings!                                                                                        August 21st, 2011

Chapter 4 from the book "Doing The Thing: How Finding Your Shine Will Brighten Our World."

                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                            ARMOR
                                    Why don't we know who we really are?
                                   Why aren't we everything we want to be?
                                                  What is in the way?

    The concept of Armor was developed and studied extensively in the work of Dr. Wilhelm Reich. This term aptly describes what is in the way. A very simple explanation: as babies and children we toughen ourselves in response to emotional and physical stressors around us. This acts as protection to help us cope with growing up. The problem is, as adults we no longer need this protection but the armor is still there. Holding onto and carrying it around becomes habit. As time goes on, it begins to feel normal. When the armor has been with us for a long time, it covers up our core and we forget the true essence of who we are. We think the armor is us.

    Have you ever been doing so well that you somehow sabotage yourself to get back to the feelings you are used to? Or, when you are feeling content and you think of something that brings you down. That is armor! It is no longer protection. Armor is keeping what you don't want in, and what you do want out. Now it acts as limitation. It shows up in your body as tension, pain or disease. It shows up in your psyche as mental or emotional suffering, or simple discontent.

    You can read the most inspiring words, attend motivational seminars and get fired up! You can learn all the worlds greatest secrets. But if you don't clear out what is in your way, you tend to stay stuck.

    Let us unload as much armor as we can for our welfare and for the innocent bystanders in our wake. We can learn to take off the armor and find freedom by having a willingness to look at it, a curiosity to question how it got there and an openness to wonder how life can feel without it.

                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was my main motivation for writing the book. In it you will find solutions and ways I have used to unload my armor as I go. My greatest hope is for you to use this book to find the ways that work for you.

Do The Thing in Peace,
Dana

In Chaos-Doing The Thing Helps

Dana Quade — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:43:49 GMT

Hello! August 6th, 2011

I am going through a difficult time. Many of us are.

I want to share what is helping me, just in case any of these thoughts / words may help you or someone you know.

It helps me to change the above word difficult to challenging. This reminds me that I am here to learn and every situation helps me evolve.

The funny thing is...My human brain and body sees this trial as "Yuck, this is hard! Who needs this!?
Nothing is going the way I want it too."

But, the bigger, peacefully powerful part of me that is God and is connected to the energy of the Universe, says, "Way to go...an opportunity! Everything is happening exactly as it is meant to. Trust. Have faith and persevere."

I believe what I'm going through is a huge step in my growth. It is teaching me to let go of control. It is teaching me trust and faith in the process of life. It is moving me toward grace.

Here is how I go from small and scared to big and calm:

I get quiet in my mind and body so I can hear my heart and soul.
I breathe and try to feel the subtle energy moving in my body.
Sometimes I need to actively move my body first with dance or walking or making love.
I talk to a friend who reminds me that it is all okay.
I drink water and take care of myself.
I tell myself that I am worthy and loved just by virtue of being born.

Take care of yourself. Love yourself. Know that we are all in the same boat. We will weather these storms together and find peace of mind.

Relax into Doing The Thing with Love,
Dana

Doing The Thing Today

Dana Quade — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:43:50 GMT

Hello! July 19th, 2011

In a quiet moment...rise above the details of your day and look at yourself objectively.
See yourself as a stranger might see you. Look past the outer shell of ego and insecurity
to the core of calm understanding.

Observe a glow of love and light radiating from this very core of you. This is who you REALLY are.

Can you see it?
Better yet, can you feel it?

Even pretending to find this part of you helps it rise to the surface.
I found it in myself today. As I relax into who I really am, I am left with feelings of:

Peace ~ Strength ~ Completeness ~ a new depth of Comfort

and...a Knowing that All is Well.

It is my wish for you,
that you can feel this too.

Do The Thing with Love,
Dana