Become an Instrument for Love | Design Life

Hello and welcome to the DesignLife blog where we discuss Holistic Beauty, Personal Development and a little bit of Magic!

It's a really good thing to have goals in your life and to actively pursue them on a day to day basis. It provides a sense of purpose and direction, especially when your goals are aligned with your values and ideals. When you know yourself and what you want from life, it's easy to set goals and much more satisfying when you achieve them. I have dedicated a lot of my time and energy to discover who I am and what my Divine Purpose is, so that I could set goals aligned with my true self and create my ideal life. As a result, I can honestly say, working towards goals that I have set for myself, as opposed to working toward social ideals, is a deeply satisfying and inspiring experience.

However, I have come to the realization that their is a far, far greater experience that I have been missing out on, because I was so focused on setting the "right" goals for myself. I was so earnest to create opportunities that I might pursue these goals, that I forgot to surrender myself and my dreams to the Infinite Love and Knowledge of God (the Universe, Source, Higher Self or whatever you prefer to call it). You see, after spending the time to get to know myself and what I wanted from life, I was so excited to "get there" that I tripped over the "hows" and the "whens" and the "wheres". I failed to remember that the plans I have for myself and my life are part of a much bigger picture and that even that which I see for myself, pales in comparison to what God sees for me. 

Often we get so fixated on how we want things to work out and what we think should happen next, that we close our minds off to the infinite, creative possibilities that are available to us. Whenever you are single-minded about what "should be", you limit God's ability to work miracles in your life... We were granted the gift of free will, so God will not intervene unless we surrender our desires, our plans and our dreams to the Infinite Wisdom that is Source. God not only knows what is best for you, God (your Higher Self, Source, the Universe) knows what is best for everybody involved and the perfect way for it to unfold for the highest good of all. That does not mean God is not going to give you what you want, it means that God will give you what you want at the perfect time in the perfect way so that it benefits the world - so that your happiness benefits the world, too. 

We are all in this together and each person's happiness contributes to the Light and the Joy of the world. God wants you to be happy, the Universe wants all your dreams to come true (you wouldn't have a desire if it were not possible), because when you are truly happy, you shine a light so bright, it casts away the darkness. Light and dark can't exist in the same space at the same time, it's impossible. So when you are thriving, when you are living your life with hope, love and faith, you are literally God in motion and you become an Instrument for Love. Your life becomes a testimony for others that they, too, can follow their dreams, overcome their obstacles and live a life in Love, free from fear. That is why we are here, after all. To learn how to Love as God loves - unconditionally. 

If you rely only on your own power to set goals, hustle your heart out, create opportunities for yourself and move mountains in an attempt to achieve Greatness, your progress will be slow and you will often feel tired, frustrated and unworthy... But when you surrender the struggle, the hows, the whens and the wheres to the Universe, not only will the path open itself up for you, it will open up for others too. Surrendering to the Universe creates a ripple effect of changes, patterns and loving seeming-coincidences from which all will benefit. When YOU shift your approach to life, from a place of surrender (to faith, Love, God), rather than a place of obsessive control (of circumstance, people and outcomes) it shines a light onto all. 

As Gabrielle Bernstein writes in her book, The Universe Has Your Back, "There is no greater experience than allowing the presence of love to move through you". It's great to set goals and feel motivated about actively pursuing them and making something happen in the world... But don't forget to tune into your Higher Power. Pause for a moment and be willing to be an Instrument of Love throughout your life. When you surrender your desires to the unlimited power of the Universe, and let Love direct your life, your dreams will come true in magnificent ways. It will open the floodgates for miracles and Truth, which will break down the walls others have built around themselves and cast a bright light, driving out our fears, our doubts and all hate. 

Light and dark can't exist in the same space at the same time, it's impossible.

Become an Instrument for the Love of the Universe. Bernstein writes, "Begin each day with a prayer, How will You use me? then step back and allow. Let love direct your life." When you are willing to do this, you will feel Love working through you. You will think like you have never thought before, speak like you have never spoken before. You will persevere where previously you would have given up. You will receive guidance, support and protection. It's a really good thing to have goals in your life and to actively pursue them on a day to day basis. And it's a magical and exciting experience, when you let LOVE direct your path. 

Leaning toward Joy is not our default | Design Life

Hello and welcome to the DesignLife blog where we discuss Holistic Beauty, Personal Development and a little bit of Magic!

What I would love to chat about in this blog is something that I came across while reading The Universe Has Your Back, written by Gabrielle Bernstein. This book really found me at the right time in my life. I've been taking a lot of big steps toward building a solid foundation for my business and, even though I'm only about halfway into it, the book has really given me a lot of strength and even a sense of relief. I love Bernstein's casual, yet eloquent, writing style and she offers practical guidance that I have been able to apply instantly into my life. 

I think Gabrielle is an amazing writer, no need to even point it out! Her books have changed thousands of people's lives and she has done so much to make the world a more loving and beautiful place, but one thing I read today kind of caught me off-guard and I have to say I don't agree with it. Or at least, I don't agree with my understanding of what I read, because I have no idea of what her true intention was when she wrote it, but I have chosen to write about it today, to give myself a chance to understand it and play with the idea. Even when you love another person (or writer, or movie, or whatever) that doesn't necessarily mean you have to agree with everything they say (or write) or everything they believe in and I think that someone like Gabrielle would understand this. So I'm writing this blog not to discredit her work, but merely to give myself a deeper understanding of my own thoughts and hopefully reach others who resonate with the same thoughts. 

Bernstein writes, "Leaning towards joy is not our default", meaning that we have to choose to lean towards joy consciously in order to make it more natural to us. I wholeheartedly agree that we do have to choose joy as often as we can, but I don't agree with her choice of words. You see, I do believe that joy, success, love and well-being IS our default. It is our natural state of being and when we truly let go of our need to control and manage and manipulate people, situations and emotions... We would naturally ease back into our default - which is joy, ease, and love. 

We have, however, been trained to think that people are inherently sinful. As young children one of the very first things we are taught is that Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden for sinning and that there is a mighty god in the sky, judging our every move and evaluating whether we are worthy of entering through the gates to the promised land. Subconsciously we believe that we are inherently sinful (or bad) which has a profound influence on our lives. If you are of the opinion, especially deep in your subconscious mind, that you are an inherently sinful being, that will inevitably lead to other assumptions, like "I am not good enough" or "I don't deserve happiness". 

A belief does not necessarily mean something is true, but if a person believes that it is, it will influence everything in their life. If there is a subliminal belief in your mind that you are intrinsically bad (and therefore you don't deserve good), that is going to set the tone for the rest of your life and influence every part of it. You will step into relationships that don't serve you and you would be more inclined to allow emotionally or physically abusive relationships in your life. You will settle for a job you don't love, because you don't believe you could do (or even deserve) any better. You are more susceptible to things like over eating, not eating healthy enough, not taking care of your body through exercise you enjoy and possibly smoking or excessive drinking as a form of self-punishment, because of this crazy belief that you are a sinful, bad, repentant being (because of something that two people in an enchanted garden did wrong). 

"Leaning towards joy is not our default". I disagree with this statement, because (personally) I feel like it suggests that our default is to lean towards despair, trials and tribulations. Which is not true. Sure, we are trained, from a very young age I might add, that we are miserable beings who make poor decisions and that are constantly destroying the only planet we can live on and we're in dire need of saving from our scandalous sins caused by our own sinful nature... But that doesn't that mean we are. In fact, what did people think was going to happen? 

"Let's teach kids that they are inherently sinful human beings and they need to repent for their wicked ways to an angry god in the sky and then we'll just expect of them to grow up confidently with a strong sense of self-worth (you know despite us having just told them they're inherently bad) and I'm sure they will make good decisions that will benefit the planet and the well-being of others. Sounds like a good plan." 

NO. If you were to raise a perfectly healthy child with the belief that he will never be able to walk, he's not going to be able to walk. If every time he tries to get up, you scold him and tell him he can't walk, he must crawl, eventually he's going to accept this as a fact and he won't be able to walk until someone else comes along and helps him change his deep-rooted belief that he is unable to walk. The same thing happens when a child is raised in an environment where he or she is constantly told that they are stupid - they will believe it and it's very likely that (if no other authority figure in his/her life is there to help them believe otherwise) that child will not do well in school, because there is an unconscious belief present that they are not capable of understanding schoolwork. I'd like to point out that the child was not born without the ability to learn, but their unconscious belief that they are not smart enough will block their capabilities and limit their perseverance to learn and grow. 

Similarly, I believe saying "Leaning toward joy is not our default" is a limiting belief that we need not agree with anymore and it's something that I will stop using as an excuse. If you believe that leaning toward joy is not our default, you will find it difficult to think positive thoughts and make better decisions in your day-to-day life, because you'll be stuck in the subliminal patter that you are inclined to be miserable. 

NO. You have been trained to be miserable, to believe that life is hard and that love is difficult to find. Your true natural state, however, is the opposite! Once you remember that your natural state is one of well-being and joy, it will be all the more easy to choose joy more often every day of your life. And the more you choose joy, the better your life will be. As Bernstein writes, "When joy becomes your priority, making decisions becomes easier, relationships become more loving and you start to trust that the Universe has your back." 

Unfortunately, many people believe that suffering is a virtue and that a meaningful life requires struggle... These are only more limiting beliefs that are shaping your life and holding you back from greatness! In reality, when you are happy and confident in your sense of self and self-worth, you are able to do so much more for this world and your presence will shine a bright light for those still trapped in the dark. 

Leaning toward joy is our default. You don't have to do something or overcome anything to become worthy, by virtue of your human nature, you are worthy. You are a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars. Your natural state is happiness, not because of what you do, but who you are. 

The Power is within You | Design Life

Hello and welcome to the DesignLife blog where we discuss Holistic Beauty, Personal Development and a little bit of Magic!

Have you ever felt like your own worst enemy? As easy as it is to blame others for your mistakes or misfortunes, I believe that we all know (even if we try to hide it from ourselves) we are ultimately responsible for the course of our lives and the state it is currently in. Too many people have overcome their demons and dramas and came out better and stronger on the other side for anyone else to have a valid excuse not to do the same. Yet, how often do we make excuses?


"I'm too shy."

"I didn't have the money to do what I want."

"I didn't know how to do it."

"I didn't have the time."

"I'm too old to start now."

"But what would people have said if I did that?"

"My partner/parents/friends didn't support me/let me down."

"I already tried and I failed."


How many of those excuses have you used? There are many, many more and people (myself included) use them every day. The problem with using excuses to blame someone (or something) else for any situation in your life at all is that it is a literal relinquishment of your personal power. When you give that power away, to whoever or whatever, you give up the opportunity to change and to have things work out in your favor.

Any mistake or misfortune can end up being your greatest blessing if you keep yourself from labeling it as a curse. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, or in plain English, the words you speak have power over your life experience. If you use your words consistently to complain, worry, express fears and condemn others (or experiences), life will reveal to you nothing but more things to complain about, worry about, fear for and condemn.

Regardless of what has happened and the current state of your life, if you can speak in positive words of hope, faith and positive expectation, life will reveal to you solutions, serendipities and awe-inspiring experiences. You see, the words you speak are making an impression on your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is the part of the mind of which you are not fully aware but which influences your actions and feelings. It's not subjective, like your conscious mind, so whether you are condemning yourself, or someone or something outside of yourself, it doesn't matter, you are imprinting the inherent quality of condemnation onto your subconscious.

What is your subconscious mind indented with? Doubt? Fear? Failure?

It's true that as children our subconscious minds are imprinted with the thoughts and beliefs of those around us, but as we grow into our own mind we are all given the choice, every single day for the rest of our lives, do I keep thinking as I have before, or do I choose to think new, more empowering thoughts? Albeit it seems as though we are the result of the things that have happened to us, in truth, we are the result of how we choose to react to the things that has happened.

Do you choose to see your mistake as a failure or a lesson? Therein lies your power. What do you believe, is life happening to you or is life happening for you? Which statement empowers your mind and which statement enslaves it?

Therefore it  really doesn't matter what anyone else says or does. You are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul, because nobody can think for you or speak for you. Take back your power by accepting responsibility for your thoughts, your words and your attitude. Change your thoughts and your words will adjust - this will transform your life. Happiness, success, health and wealth is your birthright and nobody but you can keep yourself from it. Life is not happening to you, life is happening for you and if you will allow it, it will be the greatest adventure.

Take a moment to consider the current state of your life. The external world is a reflection of the internal you. If things are not as you would like them to be, don't use this as an excuse to blame yourself for not thinking right either. You have done the best you could with what you knew up to this moment. When you know better, do better.

What do you believe about life and why? Where did your beliefs originate? Are they empowering or detaining? In other words, are they serving you or holding you back?

"I am willing to learn and grow." Empowering.

"I am not smart enough to do something like that." Detaining.

"There is always a solution and it will be revealed to me." Empowering.

"The world is filled with trials and tribulations." Detaining.

Nobody can think for you. Nobody can speak for you. The power of life and death is in the power of your tongue. Nobody can hold you back, except your own thoughts, your own beliefs and your own actions (or lack thereof). Get out of your own way by changing the way you think. Impress upon your subconscious mind thoughts of happiness, success, health and wealth, regardless of the current state of your external world. Change begins within, if you cannot change the way you think, life will continue to give you more of the same.

Forgive others for their disbelief and forgive yourself for your own ignorance. You know better now, so do better. The Power is within you.