Even in the midst of all the chaos surrounding us right
now, have you noticed how many people have been opening
their hearts and becoming more compassionate? Remember the
outpouring of compassion for the victims of the Tsunami a
few years ago? As we open our hearts, we deepen our
experience and perception of compassion.

In our evolution as spiritual beings, opening the heart
allows us to access the energy of the throat chakra at a
higher level. I have noticed that many people being drawn
to my workshops are beginning to open their throat chakra
and explore some of the issues and opportunities for growth
this presents to them.

The throat chakra represents how we communicate our truth,
our integrity, our will and willpower. How we make our
choices and their consequences, even understanding the
consequences of our thoughts and beliefs. It is also the
home of some of our greatest fears and the place of
surrender from personal will to your higher purpose.
Because it is the home of surrender, it is also the home of
control. Quite a mouthful, isn't it?

One of the greatest fears most people have is speaking (or
performing) in front of others. It pushes major buttons
like: What if I screw up? What will they think? I don't
want to make a fool of myself in front of others, so I just
won't do it. What if I say something they don't like? I
might get fired. God forbid if they know what I really
think. And this is just the short list.

Many of us have a bucket full of these what ifs. My journey
with my own personal bucketful has brought some valuable
experience. Teaching and performing the classical guitar
has given me the opportunity to be in front of others for
about 30 years. Being a good organizer, I have also been
asked to serve on the executive of a number of
organizations throughout my life and that meant being in
front of the group as their representative. You wouldn't
believe the number of times one or more of these what ifs
in my bucket broadsided me with feelings of humiliation or
failure. But even after feeling broadsided, something
within me was driving me to get back up on stage and do it
again.

So I started to take a closer look at my bucket of what
ifs. Avoidance sure wasn't working. Where did all this
stuff come from anyway? And what is it within me that kept
making me get up to do this over and over again? After a
few years of observing myself and stirring up this bucket,
I ended up staring at a bunch of negative thoughts that had
been repeated so many times in my mind I was actually
believing what they were telling me. So the next question I
asked was: Is all this stuff really true?

I also recognized that the inner drive sending me back up
on stage over and over was my spiritual essence giving me a
kick in the butt. Ok, so I am a slow learner. Getting back
up on stage kept the big fears right in my face. When I
quit kicking and screaming and decided to face the fear
with the intent of understanding its source, I was amazed
at the crazy logic behind the fear. How could I have even
considered that some of this drivel I was thinking was
actually true?

Choosing to take responsibility for your thinking is a huge
step towards integrity. As you change your mind, you change
your life and begin to live with higher purpose. It
certainly gave me a different perspective on my bucketful
of what ifs. As I become more committed to understanding my
purpose a lot of these old beliefs get examined with the
following questions. Does this really serve me? Where does
it come from? And from a deeper understanding I choose to
behave from a place that empowers what is really important
to me.

Truth, to me, is looking deep into another person's eyes
and recognizing the amazing soul that lives there.
Encouraged by this, I learned to use my intent and will to
take a good look at my fears, one by one. And now, when I
look deep into the eyes of the person in the mirror each
morning, I recognize the amazing soul that lives in there.

About the Author:

The combination of Sharon Carne's expertise in music and
sound, spiritual transformation and her inner guidance has
led Sharon to her soul work. In her workshops people learn
how to dissolve stress and experience how sound heals. Her
CDs offer support for those who are removing negativity and
old patterns of thought and behavior from their lives.
http://www.mountainrosemusic.com