faith – Ruthann M. Wilson

Daily Acts of Faith: Empower Your Journey

I believe life is a personal journey of faith and process of empowerment.

Simply stated, faith is our ability to move forward with positive expectancy. What is positive expectancy? It’s belief and trust in a favorable outcome.

Faith enables us to dream big, set goals, and trust the process of bringing our dreams to life. It also enables us to stay open to more than one outcome. If things don’t go as planned, trust (a key component of faith) enables us to ask “What did I learn?”, “How did I grow?” and use the lessons learned to keep moving forward in faith that you are being guided to your highest good.

Staying focused on your goals and staying open to more than one outcome is not easy. It requires trust in the process and guidance from within. I believe we cultivate and strengthen our connection to inner guidance through a daily practice of silence. I invite you to read my post Give yourself the gift of silence if you would like to learn more.

So, what are daily acts of faith? They are actions that you take on a daily basis to stretch and grow out of your “comfort” zone. Acts of faith are rooted in a vision of a desired future state.

Suggestion to get started:

Think about one area of your life where you feel stuck or discouraged.
Envision a desired future state and write it down or find an image that captures what you envision. Give yourself permission to dream BIG.
Create a powerful affirmation that aligns with your future state and work with it on a daily basis. I invite you to watch my video on The Power of Affirmations (Video) if you would like to learn more.
Each day, for the next 30 days, commit (in writing) to taking three actions to move toward your desired future state.
Hold yourself accountable by reviewing your commitments and actions at the end of each day.
Create time and space to listen to inner guidance.
Assess your progress using this process in 30 days.

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All the best,

Ruthann

Renew Your Faith: Steps to Personal Growth

I believe life is a personal journey of faith and process of empowerment.

Simply stated, faith is our ability to look forward with positive expectancy. It is not something we find outside of ourselves, it is an inner resource that we awaken to and renew through our thoughts, words, and actions.

Faith empowers us to create our future—individually and collectively. It is deeply personal and influenced by many things—thoughts, beliefs, trust, and experiences.

Renewing your faith is an intentional and ongoing process. There is no right or wrong way to do it. I’ve made a few suggestions based on my own experience and what has helped me along the way.

Reset your mind—release/let go of thoughts and beliefs that limit you and replace them with thoughts and beliefs that enrich, expand, and empower you to create the kind of life and world that you desire.
Trust life as a process—the nature of life is change and transition for the purpose of growth and evolution. Every ending is a new beginning if you are willing to trust the process.
Stay open to possibility—there is more to life than what you can see. Create time and space in your day to prayerfully ask “What is possible for my life?”.
Choose your words wisely—words carry power and energy and shape your life.
Keep moving forward—if things don’t go as you planned, ask “What did I learn?”, “How did I grow?”. Use your lessons learned to help you keep moving forward. If you feel stuck, ask “What is the best thing I can do right now to move forward?” and then do it. 🙂

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All the best,
Ruthann

Be Prepared to Receive: Trust, Prayer, and the Practice of Asking

“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.”

—Maya Angelou

I love this quote by Maya Angelou. It is a great reminder that we should not only ask for what we want but believe so strongly that it will happen that we prepare to receive it. The degree to which we prepare for something to happen is indicative of our belief and trust that it will actually happen.

Making requests/asking for things is a part of our everyday lives. We ask for information, directions, meetings, assistance, etc., on a regular basis without much thought or risk. There are times, however, when we need or want something that is beyond what we can see or control. It is during these times that we often go to a deeper place of asking/requesting through prayer. When we pray and prepare to receive, we create conditions for what might seem like magic to happen in our lives.

This week, I invite you to think about the requests/prayers that you have for your life. Are you clear in what you are asking? Do you trust that what you are asking will actually happen? Are you preparing/taking action in anticipation of it happening? Are you open to more than one outcome?

Ask for what you want and be prepared for it or something better to happen.

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All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

As Within, So Without: Understand Your Reality

Are you familiar with the phrase “as within, so without”? It means your external reality (i.e., physical reality that you see) is a manifestation of your inner reality (i.e., thoughts, beliefs, and emotions).

Your inner reality affects how you live your life each day. Many of us are operating on auto pilot, not fully paying attention to how our inner reality is shaping our lives day to day. If your external reality is not what you desire, take a step back and listen to your life to help you make changes from the inside out.

Questions for reflection (best accomplished in writing):

If my life reflects my inner reality, what is my life telling me right now?
- You can make this question specific to an area of your life that you would like to improve (e.g., if my finances reflect my inner reality, what are my finances telling me about my thoughts/beliefs about money right now?)
What seeds (thoughts/beliefs) have been planted in my mind? Are they seeds of faith or seeds of doubt?
What thoughts/beliefs do I need to replace to create the life that I desire? Affirmations are an effective way to replace disempowering thoughts/beliefs with empowering thoughts/beliefs.

Get clear and take action:

Get clear as to what you would like to change, why you would like to make a change, how and when you plan to make it happen.
Take consistent action and trust the process.

All change in the physical world begins with a change in your mind. Take time to listen to your life. It can help you make changes from the inside out.

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All the best,

Ruthann

Stand For, Not Against: Focus on what you want to grow

Take a stand for what you believe and magnify it in your life.

When we know what we stand for, we spend time and energy creating what we want instead of fighting against/resisting what we don’t want.

Resistance can feel good in the moment and give us a sense of power, however, resistance is not solution or growth oriented. When we are in resistance mode, we are focused on what we don’t want; rather than creating what we want.

Take time each day to renew your connection to your heart to help you stay focused on what you want to magnify in your life and in the world (e.g., peace, love, joy, etc.).

Global change begins with personal transformation.

In preparation for the week ahead, I invite you to reflect on the following questions.

What do I stand for?
How can I magnify it in my life?

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All the best,

Ruthann

How Intention in Prayer Fuels Personal Growth

When you pray, move your feet.

—African Proverb

When we pray with a goal in mind, we are engaging the power of intention in the context of all things being divinely possible.

The word intention comes from the Latin word intendere which means to “stretch out”, “to extend”. Intention inspires vision and guides action.

If you believe your prayers reflect what is best for your life, affirm your beliefs by living your prayers. For example, if you are praying for peace, envision what peace would look like in your life and commit to thinking peaceful thoughts, speaking peaceful words, creating and maintaining peaceful relationships, and creating and maintaining a peaceful environment. If you are praying for a new job/career opportunity, envision your new job/career and support your prayer with actions like updating your resume, creating a list of companies to send your resume, networking, and so on.

Prayer that is outcome focused and not supported with action is empty prayer. It is important that we pray and take action.

Engage the power of the written word to help you manifest what you desire. Create a plan of action that will enable you to move from where you are to where you would like to be. Consider using images and/or symbols as visual reminders (vision board) of your desired outcome.

Work toward your goals, but don’t be attached to a particular outcome. Being attached to a specific outcome can get in the way of you receiving an even bigger blessing than the one you had in mind.

The essence of prayer is faith in a divine presence working in and through our lives. As such, stay open to guidance and trust that you are being guided to your highest good.

Question for reflection

What is one thing you can do this week to move your life in the direction of your prayers?

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All the best,

Ruthann