I adore Danielle LaPorte, and consider her one of my greatest teachers, but not in the traditional sense; she truly helps me remember my own beliefs, to the point where I become unstoppably re-inspired by them. Nothing she says is hugely revolutionary (to me), but at the same time, the simplicity of her philosophies… kind of is.
When I read her words- or, preferably, her voice in my earphones- her language hits me right in the heart. Boom. Boom. Boom. And it’s almost as if I start nodding my head to the same drum. There is so much yes in the way she expresses her essence, and I mean it when I say I really do see and feel my greatness reflected back at me through her teachings.
This blog post is about my experience with her phenomenal resource; The Desire Map.
Digging for my Core Desired Feelings (Danielle’s metric for success and happiness, abundance and flow) was a process that lasted a few weeks. I cheated (well, at least I tried to). Even though I’d invested in The Desire Map, I thought I might be able to prematurely unfurl the very desires of my soul.
Oh, how wrong I was. Patience, Tara…
On the last bend of my Desire Mapping journey, there it came- the gorgeous, elusive word that’s I’d been seeking the whole time- LUCID.
This is a buzz resource, but I was specifically inspired by my girl Susana Frioni. I love the way she encapsulates her desires in this post, and to be honest, it looks as though her internal Desire-Mapping processes went similarly to mine (great minds…).
Every word really is its own planet, so with this in mind, please allow me to walk you through the jungle that is my brain, as we uncover my Core Desire Feelings, what they mean to me, and what I need to do this year to experience them.
FREE / FREEDOM
What this word means to me: Financial freedom. Unburdened. Unencumbered. Flexible. Roomy. Spacious. Alive. Comfortable. Abundant. Affluent. Ease + flow. Entrepreneurship. Sovereignty. Living a life of choice. Presence. Joy. Gratitude. Free of resentment and bitterness.
What do I need to do to feel FREE? Skateboard. Meditate daily. Have my own space (helloooooooo Burleigh apartment- it’s less than two weeks till we move!). Witness the sun rise, often. Work in an office (not my bedroom. Terrible Feng Shui). Spend less time on my computer; disconnect regularly. Brainstorm on the beach with salty skin and wet hair that smudges the ink on my page. Move + sweat. Embrace white space. Get everything on paper (and out of my head). Leave my worries in the dirt. Pay with cash and savings (bon voyage, credit cards). Buy organic. Drive with the windows down. Get regular massages and blow-dries (just ‘cuz).
OPEN
What this word means to me: Present. Grateful. Useful. Connected. Intuitive. Channel. Loyal. Reliable. Abundant. Approachable. Honest. Spirited. Valuable. Creative. Straight up.
What I need to do to feel OPEN? Meditate daily. Coach amazing women. Give value. Give shit away. Write meaningful stuff. Trust my intuition. Let go. Detach. De-Clutter every damn day. Take action. Tell the truth (even when it hurts). Real spectacular books. Call my friends a little more often. Streamline work (quality over quantity). Solo nature time. Say thank you non stop. Walk my talk. Clean up my diet (even more). Switch off Sundays. Write more poetry. Give to charity. Invest in healing and seek out my support team (chiro, kinesiology, homeopath, yoga studio). Regularly update my vision board. Get more comfortable with prayer (even the word still weirds me out).
BRAVE
What this word means to me: Bold. Take the risk. Breathe. Step forward. Make fear my friend. Courageous. Play bigger. Valiant. Big. Strong. Powerful. Unwavering.
To feel BRAVE, I need to: Get on stage. Speak in front of a large audience. Invest (heavily) in long-term coaching. Surf. Host a teleseminar. Self-publish. Write a 4-figure cheque for charity. Become a full time entrepreneur. Contact the ‘un-contactables’. Dance class (terrified!).
LUCID/ LUCIDITY
What this word means to me: Vivid. Expressive. Creative. Clear. Easily understood. Flowy. Vibrant. Bold. Bright. Zesty. Ease. Fluidity. Poetic. Articulate. Transparent. Sharp. My dictionary defines the world ‘lucid’ like this- showing ability to think clearly, esp. in the intervals between periods of confusion or insanity– I’ll cheers to that definition!
To feel LUCID in 2013, I need to: Make better quality videos. Bring more people on board to support Such Different Skies and my business. Ramp up my vocabulary (3 years travelling the world as a snowboarder saying Yeah, sick man! has definitely taken its toll on my intelligence!). Journal- always (tap into that sacred type of creativity). Spend time with sexy, intelligent people. Look people in the eye. Never stop saying the F word. Ever. Get a public speaking coach. Attempt to translate my dreams. Make sure my throat and third eye chakras are polished and shiny!
BLISS/ BLISSDOM
What this word means to me: Joy. Peace. Gratitude. Fulfilment. Love. Patience. Kindness. Grace. Heaven. Presence. Fizzy. Inspired. Wholesome. Feminine. This is what my thesaurus says: heavenly joy, divine happiness (aahhhh! Feels good in my bones!).
To embody BLISS, I need to: Eat dinner by candlelight. Eat whole foods. Live a simple life (again, quality over quantity). Write love letters to Glen. See more live music- sober. Snowboard- anywhere. Start taking beautiful photographs again. Laugh. Girls nights. Sleep in when my man’s home. Find a yoga studio to call home. Handwrite blog posts (always). See more movies on the big screen. Support my soul sisters. Marvel at the world around me. Sweat with the world around me (never step foot inside a gym again).
PLAYFUL
What this word means to me: Spontaneity. Mischievous. Off-the-cuff. Free. Bright. Silly. Fun.
This is what I’ve gotta do: Play golf with Glen. Jump in the car and drive nowhere in particular. Book last minute holidays and weekends a way. Google Rebel Wilson. Have dinner parties. Take the scenic route. Wrestle. Try new things! Get amongst (more) happy people. Go to festivals and live gigs. Get a sacred geometry tattoo.
THE CARDS GUIDING MY YEAR
I especially loved this idea of Susana’s (brilliant!); here I’m using Doreen Virtue’s Life Purpose cards.
To sum it all up. It’s the year of:
FREEDOM + BIGNESS
Full time entrepreneurship
Prioritised healing
More love
Louder and more painful belly laughs.
What about you babe? Have you narrowed in on your Core Desired Feelings? How have they changed your relationship with goal-setting? I’d love to hear all about it below.
PS. The Party Girl’s Guide to Peace community has come alive! We’re a few weeks off starting the program, but already, the conversation is flowing and the pre-course bonuses are inspiring our girls into action. It is such a joy to witness, and numbers are growing by the day. Join us, lady!
Oh what a beautiful post and so very inspiring, I went back and read it twice!
What a beautiful thing to say Bex. Thank you honey! x
Stunning babe! Love those Doreen Virtue cards. You already embody those beautiful qualities. REally looking forward to working with you some more this year! XX
Holy guacamole woman!!! That was freaking AWESOME!!!
I loved reading your’s and Susana’s processes. Unreal stuff. Gives me goosebumps. Oh, and anytime you wanna go do a dance class together, I’ll be there in a jiffy. Love that shit. :)
Oh my gosh we should totally do it. Ahh I’m squirming just thinking about it. YIKES!
And, thank you beautiful. It was a radical process, that’s for sure :)
Hahaha. It’ll be the bomb! :D
Tara, I gotta tell you that that post was so inspiring. The descriptive words you poured out and the goals you envision were read with such resonance to my soul. Truly. Keep them coming. You are flourishing so beautifully and are inspiring me on how I can do the same in my own way.
Grateful for you enlightening me this evening.
OX Melissa
Gorgeous post, Tara. Thank you so much for sharing :)
I’m still working through my core desired feelings – I want to skip ahead too but I realise it’s all part of the process, hey? I’m taking my time with it, so I’m very clear on my core desired feelings and I too kinda know everything Danielle LaPorte is talking about yet how she’s put it together is having a profound effect on how I reach those feelings :)
Big core desired feeling right now is FREEDOM but still working with what it means and what do I have to do to reach that feeling :)
Again, love your post and you always shine so bright ♥
Such a fantastically brilliant post Tara! So inspiring! x