By Maria Mar

I’m talking on the phone with a great international artist. I congratulate her on the success of her current exhibition. Suddenly I hear a shocking confession.

“Yes, I know. It’s been well received. But you know what? I really do not FEEL like a success.”

For months now I’ve been on the scent of a mortal enemy of women’s success and wellbeing. This Inner Enemy brings a scent of despair and diminishes a woman’s intrinsic value. It minimizes her contributions. It transforms a woman’s self- perception from success to insufficiency.

The long history of denial that women have experienced collectively is embedded in the individual energy patterns of each woman. The problem is not that we consciously rate ourselves as a failure. Most of the women I interviewed knew the objective value of their achievements.

The problem is that many women do not give ourselves emotional permission to succeed. Our denial of the permission to succeed is subconscious, emotional and implicit. This denial works as a hidden interference to our conscious intent to create a fulfilling life.

I have discovered seven Basic Permissions to Succeed that women need to give ourselves in order to experience success. Without the tangible, emotional experience of success, we make success the unknown. Our subconscious has a tendency to distrust the unknown, so we alienate ourselves from success. We make it “the other.” We need to make success familiar. When we feel and experience success right now it becomes familiar. From “here,” we can make it grow. We can easily get “there.”

From a shamanic perspective, time is not linear. All times happen simultaneously. This means that in some dimension, your future is happening now. If this is true, then why are you not already living your dream?

Follow me into a journey “back to the future,” as I set up to visit the dimension where I am already living my dream in full. I close my eyes and see the threshold to the future shining to the left of my energy field. I immediately doubt it. I ask:

“If this is not the portal, then show me the portal.”

Another portal opens to my right. Now there are two portals. The left portal is glowing from the other side, but it seems to be flickering. The portal to the right is dark, but it feels more tangible and immediate. Doubt sets in. I align with my Divine I Am (My Universal Self) and declare:

“Illusion dissolves. I see the truth.”

The second portal dissolves. I walk through the first portal, to my left, to find myself floating on the warm waters of a crystalline ocean. In this future, I have several teams supporting me in my professional and personal needs. I am shocked at how easy success is with all this support.

This experience revealed what I am missing “here” that I have “there.” What I am withholding now is trust in the support that I am constantly given to make the journey easy and effortlessly. My belief in doing it alone, all by myself and with effort is the hidden interference that misaligns me with my “future” reality, throwing me out of my dream.

We tend to trust our Comfort Zone when in fact it may not be comfortable at all. Our familiar reality often contains the limited beliefs and fear-based emotions that are holding us back.

While the familiar feels safe and real, by itself it does not take you to the new shores of your dreams. Just as you need to make success familiar, you need to reframe your familiar, ordinary reality by aligning yourself with your Divine I Am. In the universal dimension of your Divine I Am, you already ARE a success. There doubt, fear and limited perceptions dissolve; as did the false portal.

There are Seven Permissions to Succeed that help women align ourselves with our Divine I Am, making success our immediate, familiar reality. They are:

1. Permission to deserve what you want.

2. Permission to do what you want.

3. Permission to achieve what you want.

4. Permission to unleash your greatness.

5. Permission to deserve love.

6. Permission to be happy.

7. Permission to be.

This week, make it your mission to track down how you doubt that you already ARE a success. Once you see the doubt or false belief that exiles you from your dream, you can release that hidden interference using the practice below.

1. List seven ways in which you already ARE a success.

2. Create a jingle or mantra with these seven items.

3. Sing it as you walk every day. Give yourself permission to smile from within and even to laugh as you walk and sing your success.

Watch yourself crossing the portal to your success!

RESOURCES:

Free Ebook Series. I have compiled the Seven Basic Permissions to Succeed in a series of free ebooks. To immediately enjoy the first ebook and be notified of the other six ebooks in the series, which come out once a month, subscribe here.

Online Fiesta. Enjoy free videos, gifts and prizes in the “I Want to Flourish” Online Fiesta, helping you to release the hidden interference to your success. Click here .

Maria Mar is an author, poet, healer and spiritual teacher whose life mission is to inspire you to achieve personal freedom, unlock your creative potential and live a life of magic and delight. A PBS-featured performer and visual artist, Maria has freed her vast creative potential and helps you do the same, designing a life and work experience that fulfills your soul’s purpose. Maria marries her artistry and imagination with her wisdom and energy tools as a shaman to offer powerful tools for self-transformation, healing and manifestation. If you are interested in mentoring with Maria Mar, visit http://www.dreamalchemist.com.