April's Shine, day 2/30: Stepping up

Welcome to day 2 of April's Shine!

You may know this: in May I will be releasing a brand new program focusing on SHINE.
With it we will be going deeper and deeper into it's 5 pillars:

Stepping Up
Honoring
Igniting
Nourishing 
and 
Empowering

day 2: stepping up, piece of a collage by Ioana

n order to give you a sneak preview and help everybody get on board the "feeling fabulous and sparkling bandwagon", I am hosting this free April's SHINE 30 days challenge here on the blog, and I am so glad you joined me. If you are thinking about friends who could also be needing some shine, it is not too late to let them join us.

Back to you: yesterday we celebrated our commitment to let ourselves Shine. 
Some of you shared their rituals and commitments with me, thank you. 
Beautiful! 
i feel humbled that you share your inspiration with me.

Today, we’re stepping up and in.
And a bit of "telling it how it is" is in order:-)

This 30 days journey is organized like a spiral. 
It will seemingly go through 5 circles, so 5 times through the 5 pillars, 
We are starting today with Stepping Up.

Because it works like a spiral it goes upper and deeper so a circle is not a real circle, it brings us onward everyday. Focusing and expanding with every new step, when you will find yourself at the end of a 5 pillars cycle you will be changed and thus have a new base to go further.. 

That is not to say that if you missed a day you should not go along with this journey any more. The energy of the  group will support you and bring you further even if you skip one day entirely. 

Also, especially because we and our bodies work in cycles (and I am so aware of mine) there are 3 days of rest laced into our structure. 
For the ladies amongst us, you might be aware of your own bodily cycles: use these 3 days accordingly. 
For the gentlemen as well, with the mentioning that your body works differently and its signs are less easy to read. 
Usually men are also less inclined to listen to their own bodies (I can hear some of you saying in your head that this is BS :-) ) but if you will follow this program for 30 days you will probably also have days when you will want to have a break from it. 

The 3 days time-out are just that, a break. 
You can take them whenever you feel like it during these 30 days, you could even bulk them. 
Just be aware of the bulking - and ask yourself is it's not a tendency to procrastinate or some resistance. somewhere to taking care of yourself. 
I would gently nudge you to get back on track because this program is for you. It is your journey and your discovery. 
I am going to just suggest tools and it is you who chooses to use them or not - for your own good. 
It does not take an enormous amount of time, you can do it all at home and stay comfortable..

And yes, it is you who does the work:-) No work, no change, I suppose..:-) 

Getting back to the structure of the program, I will soon put up on the blog the posts for the 3 time-out days so you can take them whenever you need to.

And then there is the 30-th day, the Celebration of reaching the April's SHINE destination, the fire-works and the sparkling Kombutcha with a bit of raw cake on the side:-)

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My other prompts for today, Day 2:

• my  love journal; (honoring Life)
  
• my creative journal page; (igniting)
  
• my green smoothie; (nourishing yourselves)
• my "detox" tip (empowering you to take care of yourselves)

Queen me - painting by Ioana

So today we begin our journey by looking inwardly. 

We are all at different stages in our lives, as well in our Shine so please do not compare yourself to others.  it is all about You and only You.

Please start by being aware of what shining means to you; why would YOU want to whine and why and where you cannot / would not. 
Where there things you did not do in the past and you wish you did? Was it because a lack of shine?

Write about it in your journal, take a picture, make a collage or just think and feel around it.  
Where and how can you step into your shine?







And because I talked about Marianna Williamson's amazing poem, as a reminder, I give her the word:
(..and if you flinch at the word "God", just read it as "World", "Life" or whatever Bigger Thing you have in your life)

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? 
You are a child of God.

Your playing small 
Does not serve the world. 
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking 
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, 
As children do. 
We were born to make manifest 
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; 
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, 
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 
As we're liberated from our own fear, 
Our presence automatically liberates others.

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