If you've been waiting for a sign that it's time to do that thing you've been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to, well, this is it. 

You see, everyone comes with their own built in special aptitudes and gifts to share with the world. If you haven't yet uncovered where your own talents lie, look for those things that come so naturally to you that you don't even give them second thought. Our greatest internal gems are often hiding in places that are obvious to everyone except for us. 

So many of us are reluctant to accept these gifts that are innate to us and to in turn share these gifts with the world, because doing so might seem impractical or inconvenient. We may also be unknowingly waiting for some person or external event or circumstance to give us permission to act upon these callings. We say that we'll create that product when the economy picks up or we'll write that book when we feel more qualified to do so. 

The catch to waiting for the perfect external person, place or thing to give us the permission to do what we came here to do is that, more often than not, this permission slip never comes. Thereby we pose the risk of going to the grave with these gifts still inside of us, left unopened. 

When we bypass the permission slip that we believe we need to move in the direction of our dreams and get started now, we step into our power. If you must, grant yourself permission and go for it. The important thing is that you get started.

Greetings Conscious Inkers!

The new year is upon us and with a new year comes a renewed sense of possibility. Why not welcome the new year with clear intentions? Ultimately, a new year's resolution is birthed from an intention to expand into a more preferred version of ourselves--whether that involves shedding a few extra lbs or old habits that are no longer serving us.

I view intentions as the tour guides that work to set us in the right direction and create the overall experience we are hoping for. Here are a few guidelines for setting intentions that are clear and effective in their ability to guide us toward the destination we wish to land on.

Intention Setting As A Road Map For Success 

Begin by picturing a GPS map of your life, marked with where you currently are at the moment, the route outlined on the screen and the destination that you want to arrive at in the near future. Now ask yourself the following questions:

1. Where am I now?

In order to arrive upon your desired destination, you need to first have knowledge of the starting point--that is where you are today in parallel with where you want to go. What is working well for you? What would you like to change? What are the consequences of staying put where you are? Grab a notebook and answer these questions for yourself.

2. Where am I headed?

Habit loops are creating our lives whether we are aware of them or not. Take a close look at the current habits you have and the results they are giving you. Ask yourself: If I continue to do this regularly, where will this habit lead me in the next year? If these habits aren't serving you, they will need to be swapped out with habits that will help propel you towards your desired destination. 

3. Where would I like to go?

Now that you have a good idea of your current whereabouts and the habits that are driving your results, it's a good time to evaluate where it is that you actually want to go. It's important to feel into this answer rather than letting the mind take the lead. Our minds can be rational to a fault. Leading with the mind can lead us to ignore the higher call of the heart, which ultimately knows what it is we really want--not what we think we should want or what we feel we need to do in order to feel like worthy, lovable humans. 

4. What are the habits that will put me on track towards my desired destination?

As mentioned earlier, habits are major proponents in the process of creating lives that we love to live. We become what we repeatedly do. If we wish to land on our desired destination (or if not our initial desired destination, someplace better), then we need to put in place a system of habits that will lead us in the right direction. Think of these habits as the series of micro-actions that gradually pull you towards your destination, like the consistent turning of the tires on a car.

When put into action, these four questions can serve as powerful stepping stones into a bright new year. 

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year!

Amanda Brown

The word "happy" is one that comes bearing gifts, these gifts being the different set of sights, sounds and smells that we associate the feeling with. For some of us, happiness is found in the scent of salt hanging in the air and the sound of ocean waves rolling onto the shore. Others will draw up an image of a favorite memory, perhaps strolling down a street lit up by Christmas lights or playing with a puppy. These perceptions of happiness vary from person to person, but its origins are the same--happiness is always something that comes from within. 

This seems to be something that is forgotten in Western society, as many of us are told that in order to feel happy, we must first tick an item off of our achievement list or purchase the right clothes, car, house, etc.. 

In reality, the more that we place an emphasis on acquiring external things and outcomes in order to feel happy, the more that we make happiness inaccessible to us.

Happiness is often put off for a later time-- when we lose the weight, when we buy the house, when we have published a book, and so on and so on. As time passes and we hit the external markers of success we have set for ourselves, the feelings of joy and satisfaction are fleeting, as our visions expand and we set new, increasingly higher success markers. 

So, what if instead of chasing things in order to obtain positive emotion, we pursued the feelings we are after and allowed the material things to come as a byproduct of feeling good?

While it takes an investment of time and resources to acquire external things and achievements, happiness is available to everyone in this very moment. It all simmers down to a matter of choice.

Regardless of our external circumstances, we can choose to reach for feelings of happiness, gratitude, abundance, joy, love and well-being. 

It's as simple as returning to the first set of sights, sounds and smells that come to mind at the mention of the word "happy". 

Amanda,

Conscious Ink Staffer 

Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.

Our "Life Goes On" Manifestation tattoo serves as a reminder that regardless of what has unfolded in our lives, life will proceed and the pain of the past will eventually lessen.

The truth is that morning will always come, it simply has no choice in the matter. Never mind the seething of our open wounds, the sun will still rise, the moon will continue to illuminate the night's shadow and the earth will keep rotating on its axis. And with time, these open wounds will turn into scars, tangible remnants of times in which life failed in its quest to break us.

Some wounds cannot be fully healed, they still ache with time as a reminder of what was lost. As time goes on, however, the beautiful moments that are gained begin to pile onto the pain of the past. If we're scrappy, we can blend these aspects together, the lightness and the darkness, into something appreciable-- a life rich in meaning. 

With time, comes clarity. It's as if we are hiking along a trail, on our way to the top of a mountain. As we move along, we gain the gift of hindsight and our past experiences become more comprehensible. We see things from an elevated perspective, one that can put together the dots of our past experiences and see the way in which our greatest losses may have in fact directed us towards our most profound gains. 

If you find yourself having a hard time bearing the pain of a recent experience, hang in there. Life will go on, the aching of your wounds will dull and time will help you to make sense of it all. 

Amanda,

Conscious Ink Staffer 

Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.

It's likely that many of us want to transform some facet of our lives. After all, the main task of existence is to expand and expansion entails change and transformation. To exist is to strive, to inch further along the path of self-actualization. This journey of self-actualization is one that will never cease to be so long as we continue to inhale and exhale. 

That being said, transformation requires audacity. Whether the goal is to quit sugar, write a book, or run a marathon, embarking on the path ahead can seem to be an intimidating task. When we get ahead of ourselves, self doubt begins to creep in. We may worry about what could go wrong and wonder how we will pull it all off. 

The good news is that it isn't necessary to plan so far ahead--there is no need to tackle the hows and the what ifs if we are rooted in our personal whys. If we not only know, but can feel in our bones the why behind a goal, it is already ours. The only thing we need to do from there is to break things down into digestible chunks and take it day by day, moment by moment. 

Saying that you are going to quit sugar forever can feel daunting. The idea of sticking with anything forever is loaded with expectation and fear. However, opting to bypass the cheesecake at the end of dinner just for today feels doable. The more attainable success feels, the more hopeful we will feel while pursuing a goal. 

As time goes on, the days add up and we begin to build track records of success. Days turn into months which turn into years spent moving in the direction of our goals. If we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of our goals, it's a good time to take a step back. Instead of focusing on, for instance, running a marathon, writing a book, or quitting sugar, let's run a mile, write a page, or skip dessert, not forever, but just for today. Ultimately, the person who will rise up to the task at hand will be a wiser, stronger and utterly capable version of ourselves, because they will have been incrementally working towards this one day at a time.

Amanda,

Conscious Ink Staffer 

Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.

Life-changing moment anyone? Conscious Ink founder, Frank Gjata and "Live Frank" Podcast Host, Downtown Amanda Brown, explore how to invite life-changing shifts!

When put into practice, focus is a super power. It is focus that empowers us to create our own realities. At the root of this ability to bend reality is the human mind's capacity to assert meaning onto life experiences. Our minds are meaning-making machines. This is why two people can go see the same movie and walk away with entirely different interpretations of it. 

Focus, then, becomes a key player in helping us to form meanings that serve our highest good. What we seek is what we find, likewise, what we focus on is what we create. If we walk into a situation intending to find chaos, our minds will highlight the chaotic elements of that situation. On the other hand if we were to go into that same scenario intending to find ease, the likelihood of things flowing smoothly rises phenomenally.

It's helpful to periodically ask ourselves where we're placing our focus. Is it directed towards that which brings us joy and helps us to expand into more of who we are or are we finding ourselves consumed by mind-draining minutiae more often than we would hope to? Where we direct our focus gives energy to whatever it is we've honed in on, making this object of our attention expand to fill in the crevices of our lives.

Amanda,

Conscious Ink Staffer 

Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.

Breath is the animating factor that distinguishes a living being from organic matter occupying space. In other words, breath is the marker of life--an inhale declares our arrival into this world and an exhale serves as the signature of our departure. 

Those of us who have ever mingled with depression understand that in those moments, when depression has unfurled its cloak of gray onto all aspects of our lives, it can feel like a slow suffocation--a suffocation of who we know ourselves to be. In this way, depression can be exceptionally life-sucking. 

Inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert, our "I'm Right Here" Manifestation Tattoo is a reminder that even in our darkest moments, there is a divinity present within all of us that is ready and willing to help when we seek it out. This inner divinity witnesses our lives from a birds eye view and knows the right next step for us to take.

Breath is the thing that will connect us to our inner divinity. Think of it as a 24 hour hotline to all things divine.

As we link up with our breath and in turn, the divine part of ourselves, we may be nudged intuitively. Such nudges can be as subtle as the call to go to a certain store for groceries or to write down the name of a business. Regardless of how subtle, these nudges can deliver substantial changes in our lives.

Maybe a harmonious business partnership is waiting to unfold in the aged cheese section at Whole Foods. There's no other way to know where these instincts are leading us than to follow them as they arise. 

There is always hope, even when the bright side isn't readily observable. Breathe in deeply, listen closely and know that the divine is right here to lend a hand if you should ever need it. 

Amanda,

Conscious Ink Staffer 

Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.

Fear is an emotion that many of us try to block out. This is understandable, because it's deeply uncomfortable to feel afraid. However, fear is also necessary if we wish to live richly satisfying lives. 

Courage by definition is "the ability to do something that frightens one". Without sitting in the emotion of fear, then, we can never fully step into courage. 

Ironically, the greatest act of courage for many of us is to show up as our true selves. This means taking the reins of our lives, speaking our individual truths and making decisions that align with who we really are. 

It's scary to be real, to step outside of the facades we feel comfortable hiding behind. But...it's also exhilarating. 

When we stop limiting ourselves to the script that we believe the people around us want us to adhere to, we begin to write our own scripts and that's when the world opens up to us. 

There are endless opportunities to loom over what could go wrong. It's human nature to seek out potential danger, this is a tendency that has helped sustain our species. On the contrary, this tendency in overdrive is the greatest cause of lives that go unlived. 

Courage is the antidote to the paralysis that accompanies fear. When we feel the fear and do the thing anyway, we unleash the many possibilities awaiting us on the other side of fear.  

Amanda,

Conscious Ink Staffer 

Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.