What Do You Do With Fear?

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Laurie Buchanan

In August my friend, Kathy Drue, published a post about fear in her thought-provoking blog, “Simply Here.”

Earlier this month my friend, Daisy Hickman, published a post about fear in her warm and welcoming blog Sunny Room Studio.

If you don’t already know these two wise women, please go introduce yourself—they’ll make you feel right at home.

Fear can be debilitating—it can cause us to freeze in our tracks (emotionally or otherwise), cutting us off at the knees.

Fear can be a leverage point—(emotionally or otherwise), helping us get from Point A to Point B.

One of my clients recently said, “Laurie, how can you possibly relate to what I’m going through? You have the perfect life—you don’t have anything to be afraid of.”

I’ll be the first one to say that her perception of me is not accurate. But as I shared with Kathy, I’ve always found it a good practice to set my fears down so that I can stand on them, and step up into joy.

Fear - A Leverage Point by Laurie Buchanan

What do you do with fear?

Guarding One’s Rice Bowl

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Laurie Buchanan

After eating, each of our three dogs typically inspect each other’s empty bowls. This morning, Willa actually lay down—paws on either side of Lexi’s bowl—and guarded it. Her behavior brought to mind a true story that I share in my manuscript:

Guarding One's Rice Bowl

The owner of a yoga studio had an instructor working for her who was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that the owner started working from a place of envy and fear.

You see, the owner feared that the instructor was even better than herself. As a result, she didn’t promote the instructor’s classes. In fact, she squelched them. As you can well imagine this impacted two things:

1. It diminished the owner’s income (a case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face).

2. It provided the amazing instructor with the opportunity to be mindful of the shifting circumstances. Being mindful—without being fearful—gave her the final push she needed to launch her own yoga studio.

The individual sitting at life’s banquet with their arms wrapped protectively around their “rice bowl” is missing out on the joy, conversation, and interaction with the other people at the party. They’re functioning from a place of lack.

When we sit back in a relaxed position and share our time, talent, praise, and support, giving freely from our “rice bowl,” our life is rich. We function from a place of inner wealth.

Have you ever cut off your nose to spite your face?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
— Laurie Buchanan

www.HolEssence.com and our Facebook page

I Love My Writer’s Block!

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Laurie Buchanan

I Love My Writer's Block! by Laurie Buchanan

Most writers—people who put words on paper in order to survive; people who write because they know if they don’t they’ll either implode or explode—have a fear of encountering a Writer’s Block. For most writers, that means anything that stops the flow of writing.

After the last conference I attended at UW-Wisconsin’s Writer’s Institute and watching other people getting wide-eyed with fear about this “dark inner-demon we would all encounter at some point,” I decided to make a preemptive strike and get myself a Writer’s Block so I could shift my perspective and embrace this thing, rather than run scared.

I had just put my intent out to the Universe when Dave Birr—a friend with a phenomenal collection of crystals—gifted me with a small basket of gemstones. Hidden among the treasures was an oblong piece of olive-colored Nephrite Jade. My writer’s block!

Jade (or “yu” as it’s called in China), is rich with tradition. It symbolizes the five virtues of humanity: wisdom, compassion, justice, modesty, and courage.

I love my writer’s block—it’s all about flow!

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
– Laurie Buchanan

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Laurie Buchanan

Inner Gardening by Laurie Buchanan

My friend Sandi is a Master Gardener. Not strange then, that last week we were talking about gardening. But not your typical gardening. We were talking about woe-is-me gardening; the type that some people cultivate in their inner landscape that yields a bumper crop of weeds including self-pity, short-sightedness, fear, lack, low self-esteem and complacency.

That same week I shared with Terrill of Creative Potager, a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright, the father of organic architecture. He said,

“The reality of a building is the space within. And what you put into that space will affect how you live in it and what you become. Don’t clutter the place with stuff that does not ennoble it.”

His point is that it’s the details that express the whole. I believe this is equally true of our inner landscape; our inner garden. If we want to live a life that’s positive, uplifting, constructive and healing, it’s here that we need to cultivate a bumper crop of emotions, feelings and values such as peace of mind, compassion, joy, courage, gratitude and humor.

So tell me, how does your garden grow?

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
~ Laurie Buchanan

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Tag Archives: fear

What Do You Do With Fear?

Guarding One’s Rice Bowl

I Love My Writer’s Block!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary