Fear. Anxiety. Nerves.

We’ve all been there.  These feelings are completely normal, but sometimes they can keep us from living as our Highest Selves.

What would your life look like if you felt the fear and went for it anyway?

How many opportunities for transformation are waiting for you right now, in this moment?

I wanted to share a little bit about what happens when we show up for ourselves, to take opportunities that we otherwise wouldn’t take.

In my family, we are a family of very talented musical people.  Entertainers.  Pretty much everybody has something to share.

I was gifted with my voice, and I loved to sing. I also loved to Hula dance, but sometime during adolescence, I started to feel really nervous about getting up in front of people.

Nervous to the point where the sensations were completely controlling me mentally, emotionally and physically.

I would literally run to pee my pants when someone would ask me get up in front of people. Sometimes, I would start to shake. Sweat. Overwhelmed with anxiety.

Even when I was dancing Hula, which is totally my heart and something I love to do, I would begin to shake. Shaking that came from the inside-out. My hands didn’t want to do what I wanted them to do.

It was SO frustrating!

At that point, I decided “You know what? I’m just going to keep showing up. No matter what. I’m not going to let this anxiety, control me.”

I decided to say YES.

Whenever anybody asked me to do something, even though I was uncomfortable, I just said yes. I kept saying yes.

A speech?  YES.

Sing in front of people?  YES.

Get on stage and act?  You know, I’ve never even really acted before, right? Okay…YES.

One of my teachers asked me to lead our Hawaiian sweat lodge, house of purification, we call it Hale Pulo’ulo’u.  I was terrified. I didn’t think that I could do it.

But I said, “Yes.”

When I got inside the sweat lodge, it was completely pitch black except for the embers coming off the fire.  I began to share. While no one was looking at me, in the dark…I found my voice.

My voice that wasn’t the voice trying to squelch the anxiety. It was really my voice.  Speaking from the heart.

That’s where I started doing the chanting.  That’s when I started doing the sharing that I’m still doing today. Only now, I don’t have to be completely in the dark. I was finally free from that anxiety.

By the time my teacher told me, “Okay, now its time for you to go teach”, I was ready. I had already been teaching and sharing spiritual teachings, leading people in meditations and chanting in the sweat lodge.

I truly believe I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t made the decision to show up for myself and really overcome those fears that sometimes we give our power to and allow to overtake us.

Last week, I was in Barcelona. I was at Park Guell with my beautiful friend, Roxy who shared a really inspiring story with me. Two years ago, she came to Maui for our month-long immersion.

She spent two years working and saving with this dream of coming to Hawaii to learn Lomi Lomi! 

During the month-long retreat, we have five classes.

• Lomi Lomi Fundamentals
• Lomi ‘Ili ‘Ili Hot Stone Therapy
• Hapai Lomi Hawaiian Pregnancy Massage
• 4-Hand Lomi Lomi Tandem Flow
• Hawaiian Medicinal Therapy

While she was super excited about all of the classes, the one that she wasn’t that excited about was pregnancy massage.  The thought of pregnancy, labor and delivery, child rearing in general was something that made her very uncomfortable. In her own words, “It was the worst!  Ewwww”.

But then, a pregnant mommy came to her table. A blogger, who had a transformational experience and wrote all about it on her blog – Always Alexie.  (Read the full article here: http://www.alwaysalexie.com/a-weekend-away-at-watergate-bay/)

Roxy was kind enough to share her experience with Hapai Lomi in this video.  It’s a beautiful window into watching someone face her fear and show up for herself.  Witness the beautiful expansion for yourself:

Each of us have different fears. Those fears feel really, really big. However, when we allow ourselves to be open to the different opportunities there in front of us, magical things can happen. 

Life is waiting for us to just step in. 

When we do, Spirit has the ability to move through us in ways that we couldn’t have otherwise imagined. It becomes a gift.

I encourage you, if you’re feeling nervous or anxious or if you find yourself in a situation and you’re not sure whether or not it is for you, just go for it. 

Go with the flow and find the transformative experiences waiting for you on the other side of that decision to Just Step In.