Excerpt from Lisa’s Henriksson’s book, I Was Supposed to Be Happy: An invitation for you to find and choose WHAT IS TRUE FOR YOU
As I approached the villa in the posh Stockholm suburb, I expected to meet a wise woman who would pinpoint what was wrong with me and tell me what to do different to be happy. She had a nice room for the session. Through the large windows I saw a small creek with big birch trees along both sides. I felt remarkably calm when she started to ask me questions. She had so many of them and some were not that easy to answer.
“What do you long for? If you had ten seconds left to live your life, what would you choose? If you could do anything, what would you do? How do you justify to yourself that you’re not choosing what makes your life greater and more fun every day? If you were to make a list of what you prioritize in life, where would you be on that list? Fifth place? Tenth? Are you even on it? Is it time for you to include yourself in your life and start creating everything you’ve always known is possible and true for you beyond anyone else’s expectations?”
This coach, who was also an Access Consciousness® facilitator, didn’t tell me how to respond or what to choose. In fact, she didn’t give me a single answer to anything. She only asked questions. “You see, only you know what’s right for you,” she said. “Every person has his or her own truth, their own knowing of what works for them. There is no objective right or wrong answer I can give you.”
These ideas made my head spin. I’d spent my life trying to fit in, to be right.
“Lisa,” she said, “start listening to your body and trust the information that it gives you,” the facilitator advised.
“But how do I do that? How do I know what it’s communicating?” I asked.
She responded, “You could start by doing this: for every choice you’re about to make, ask yourself whether choosing it makes you feel light or heavy. You and your body are intelligent and aware. You know what you require deep within without using your mind to figure it out. Your body communicates energetically.
“Here’s an example: Your friends ask if you want to go on a trip with them. That question will bring up an energy for you. Be aware of it. Do you perceive a sense of lightness or a sense of heaviness? If you perceive a heavy feeling, it’s an indication that something inside you—YOU—is telling you not to go, or perhaps that something needs to change for the trip to work for you. You always know what’s true and right for you, you only have to start to ask yourself questions to have the awareness. As you start listening to what you know you can start guiding yourself on your journey through life.”
I felt hesitant. From practicing yoga, I knew of building a connection to my body, but this was taking it a bit further and sounded a bit too easy and a little weird. But there was something that hit home and I wanted to take a closer look at it. What would happen if I started to explore what was right for me, what was true? I asked myself, “Who am I, really, if I stop buying into what everybody else thinks is right for me?” It did sound wonderful—or was this just more self-help mumbo jumbo that had no real relevance for my everyday life? I was really torn.
Lisa Henriksson, author of I Was Supposed to Be Happy, shares her own journey to true choice and happiness. Co-founder of Wisdom Stockholm, an Access Consciousness® Certified Facilitator and the founder and CEO of Egen tid, the first yoga studio offering babysitting services in Sweden, Henriksson finds pure joy in aiding others to grow and blossom. Henriksson travels the world speaking, coaching and facilitating individuals and groups by inviting others to a new reality. More information at: www.lisahenriksson.com .
