I'm a big fan of Brene Brown. I love her research and writing and watching youtube videos of her speaking engagements. In fact, when I read her books now I read them in her voice in my head. She talks about the stories we tell ourselves, and the impact they have on our own mental health, as well as the impact they have on the relationships we engage (or don't engage) in.

Don Miguel Ruiz was recently introduced to me as well. A couple months ago I read The Four Agreements, and now I just started on The Voice of Knowledge. I've underlined much of it already and I'm only half way through. But here's something in particular that really hit me hard. It's similar to what Brene Brown writes about with the stories we tell ourselves...

"This is how I learned to create my story, and because I had faith in the story, the story became truth for me. And the story, even if it is full of lies, is perfect. It is wonderful and beautiful. The story is not right or wrong or good or bad - it's just a story, that's all. But with awareness, we can change the story. Step by step, we can return to the truth."
-Don Miguel Ruiz, The Voice of Knowledge

There are things I tell myself through observation of the world around me, or things people have told me, outright or inadvertently. But that doesn't mean these things are true. They're part of my story, but the story can be altered.

Over the last couple days I've been trying to catch myself with how I speak to myself, the lies I believe and the stories I have made my truth, but are false. It's easy to get carried away in our minds. It's similar to what I learned through The Power of Now. When my mind runs wild, I'm not present. When I catch the craziness going on, when I call it out and name it, I'm usually able to come back into the now, and see the story for what it is.

"You can change your life by refusing to believe your own lies. You can start with the main lies that limit the expression of your happiness and your love. If you take your faith away from these lies, they lose their power over you. Then you can recover your faith and invest it in different beliefs. If you stop believing in lies, everything in your life changes..."
-Don Miguel Ruiz, The Voice of Knowledge

xxo