Live with Meaning and Purpose

by Lisa H.

Hi, My name is Lisa. I am a mother, girlfriend, blogger, runner and happiness seeker.

I started blogging in March 2010 as a way for me to grow and help others by sharing what I learned.

My personal development journey

My personal development journey began about 15 years ago. I decided that I wanted more out of life than the dull existance that I was experiencing.  This is not to say that there weren’t good times, but I knew that there could be more of them and that they could be even better; I just didn’t know how to get them. And then one day I was watching the Oprah Winfrey show and she had Gary Zukav (author of The Seat of the Soul) on.

I was completely captivated by his message. It was the first time that I had heard any one talk the way that he did. It was like he was an alien from another world, speaking a foreign language; but strangely enough I could understand it and it made total sense to me. It was through Gary that I learned that our soul isn’t inside of us, that it is actually all around us.

Put another way, we are not human beings with a soul inside, we are great souls that are having a human experience. Every Tuesday for the next several months Oprah had Gary on and I made sure I was right there to see him. When his run was over, six things were clear to me:

        • I had to love myself, imperfections and all
        • I am connected to all life.
        • I am not what I own or what I do.
        • The universe rewards action.
        • I am a great soul.
        • Every moment is a holy moment.

Ever since then, I have been a student of Zen. Zen to me is feeling content and at peace; it is feeling capable of handling any challenge that comes my way; it is being humble, simple and honest with myself and with others; it is having the courage and conviction to create the life that I want.  And most of all, it is about being present.

To read about some of the more recent accounts in my journey, check out the following:

The Getting to Zen Manifesto

        1. Empathize with others
        2. Ask for help
        3. Express myself creatively
        4. Live simply
        5. Perform my own investigation of truth
        6. Be true to myself
        7. Show love abundantly
        8. Take care of myself
        9. Love my work
        10. Be the change I wish to see in the world

 Some interesting or not so interesting things about me

        • I swam competitively for 15 years
        •  I am a long distance runner (5k to the marathon)
        • I have another blog called Ten Bulls Running
        • I Became a vegetarian in August of ’07
        • I enjoy working out, cooking, eating and spending time with my family and friends
        • I am a cat person
        • I love finger foods
        • I can be really silly
        • I enjoy helping people
        • I like making people laugh
        • I am too hard on myself
        • I am too easy on myself
        • I love time alone
        • My favorite movies are The Shawshank Redemption, The Kite Runner, Napolean Dynamite, Dances With Wolves, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and yes, Dirty Dancing. I could watch each of these over and over again.

See you on the blog.

Let’s Get to Zen together!

Take care
Lisa

Disclaimer

I am not a licensed professional, master or knower of the meaning of our existence or anything of that sort. I am a student in the classroom of life sharing strategies, tips and perspectives on my journey of getting to zen. I am also an entrepreneur so there are affiliate links sprinkled throughout the articles on the blog.

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