Coyote Alert!

Coyote alert! I pulled Coyote from my animal card pack yesterday morning. Coyote medicine is all about the trickster! I use this deck as a way to find guidance, inspiration and help in finding answers to life's questions. The cards draw upon ancient wisdom and tradition to teach the healing medicine of animals. This particular day I just asked for some guidance and advice for the day ahead. As I read the texts related I was pretty sure the card was warning me to watch out for tests and tricks. Funnily enough, that day already just about everything that could have gone wrong did. And it continued in the same vain.

On days like that it’s good to have a mantra and and one I find helpful is; "This is an opportunity to be happy!" I first heard it from a friend who used it during a long and uncomfortable appointment with the dentist. It certainly helps with your sense of humour to have a phrase like this in mind when the things go wrong and life seems like its tripping you up. When the computer crashes, or you realise you are late for an important meeting, or a fine comes through for a bill you have overlooked...etc. etc. Seeing moments like this as opportunities to respond in a different way and strengthen those neural pathways for joy and a tendency to see the glass half full even more. It was a fun way to put the coyote message to good use.

The card also served as a reminder that whenever we are focusing on creating a new, healthier, happier habit, there is that part of us that wants to keep things as they are. It will raise it’s sleepy head at some point and want to roar itself awake! The part that just wants to carry on doing what we have always done because it is familiar and familiarity brings a feeling of safety simply because we know it. Even if that 'safety' is painful, uncomfortable or miserable it and is a better option that the unknown as far as our survival system is concerned.

You may find you go from being on a wonderful roll to feeling really irritable and down in the dumps or suddenly realise you just keep forgetting to do that practice that was really working for you. Sometimes we can go from being fully engaged to feeling disconnected and not quite able to grasp the enthusiasm that was there in abundance only a few days before. That is the time to recognise that old trickster and re affirm where you want to put your attention. Use the tools you know and most importantly do it with a sense of playfulness and joy. That way, we meet the energy of the Coyote and use the 'medicine' being offered as an opportunity to strengthen the new healthy habits we are creating. Note: Remember that reprimanding yourself is a way of adding to whatever took you off track in the first place.

Have you ever noticed that when you give in to irritations, frustration, sadness there is a part of you that enjoys it? What we practice we get really good at, we also get addicted to the emotions that become familiar. When we stop feeding our bodies the emotions that cause us stress there is a period of time where we feel uncomfortable without them, that is when unconsciously we can create ways of creating those feelings in order to get that fix.

Keep making the feeling good the priority above all else, smile, dance, sing and get yourself back on that horse!

P.S. This practice of strengthening our ability to feel happy and peaceful is not about putting a plaster on a broken leg. There are times to deal with trauma, acknowledge all of your feelings and, if needed, to work with a professional in order to uncover past experiences safely. However being conscious of our default settings and choosing to bring focus on the positive is a wonderful way to build resilience, strengthen our ability to bounce back, break habits of negativity that no longer serve us and raise our happiness set point.

P.P.S. Our membership platform is a wonderful way to help you learn ways to create healthy habits that bring more joy and fulfilment into your life. Choose wisely and live well with life coaching techniques that help you create a life you love! Check us out here