Wisdom From a 27 Year Old Philosopher

   

  
Writing from the Airport Resort and Spa Phuket (Thailand)

 I’ve studied life and purpose for as long as I can remember. As I travel, I have solidified a few wise sayings…here I go! 

1. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s worth it- not all free things are worth taking. Sometimes it comes with a cost. 

2. If it belongs to you it will come to you, if it doesn’t, it will eventually leave (even if you try to control or manipulate it). Same goes with people. If you attained something with force or manipulation, it will leave with deceit since it has to. 

3. You attract what you think you’re worth- hard work is out the door, i have worked with clients that had lots of debt but know how to create wealth and live a high standard of living- eventually the debt will disappear because worth outweighs debt. They are simply using debt to create wealth. 

4. I was eating noodles outside 7 -11 and saw a banana pancake moving stall, I wanted to chase after it but thought “no I’m eating noodles now, I will be present with it. If I’m meant to have a pancake, it will stop”. The stall didn’t stop so I figured a better one will come along or I’ll have one tomorrow. 

What’s yours don’t need chasing, it will come in the perfect time. You must be present for what’s in front of you.

5. Now I noticed I often rushed to get to somewhere fun or what I call relaxing and realize I should relax NOW. 

You must relax the whole journey- not when you get there, but every moment. 

I once ate with a lady who was constantly on her phone while we talked. Now I was helping her and giving her wisdom about her relationship, she had an emotional affair with a guy and her husband left her because of it. 

I thought to myself, here I am, a wise woman spending precious time to help her and she is downloading games on her phone. 

When we were done eating she said she had a hard time being present, in fact her mind was already planning her next event and which way she was going to walk to her car.

How sad. 

She would never see me again, because I knew she wouldn’t appreciate the presence that is me and I wouldn’t waste my time with someone who can’t see my worth. 

People who are not able to appreciate the present will not see a goldmine or a prince if they yelled at them. They will not see an opportunity even if it was flying in their face. 

People who are not content with themselves or see their own worth will not be able to see other peoples’ worth. 

6. Luxury, design does make a difference. Yah I live out of a bag but I’ve been voted best dressed traveller. A big bed, bathtub, cleanliness, light shielding curtains, ac, quiet, coffeemakers, amenities make a huge difference.

Comfort= Sanity 

Is it worth paying more for sanity sometimes? Yes. If it means you will feel better inside out so that you can be a magnificent being. 

Cheers! 

You can get my ebook here http://www.rebekkalien.com/lovemoneywork 

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You’ve Been Living A Lie

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Well, not all of you. Hopefully not the majority. But I sense that you are reading this because you want a life of authenticity. You’ve been living a lie, the lie that because you are NOT ENOUGH, you have to keep striving, to be someone, to be great, to be successful. It’s all a lie. Indeed, we are not perfect, thus we are not enough on our own. We are not enough, but we are enough in the eyes of the infinite source that sustains us and keeps the universe running, the one who keeps the stars up, the sun shinning everyday, the moon appearing at night. If us humans can build such beauties as the eiffel tower, who built the ocean, who built the mountains?

Yes, rush around, rush around. The message of the day is – you are not enough, so you must try harder, work harder, put in more hours. Isn’t it? We need to attend to this urgent matter because we will lose lots of money and after 30 years of trying harder, we fall into our death bed, or we rush around with panic attacks, soon getting into a car accident which then cost us everything we’ve worked so hard to earn.

I hope this will wake people up. It all seems very positive, “all success takes hard work”- that’s a lie. How about someone who wants to be a CEO of a company and he works very hard scrubbing toilets, yet never putting into action what he really wants to do and wasting crucial years of his life. How about “BE harder”. I know that sounds strange.

Be- stop everything and be and breathe. The birds of the air do not store up what they’ll eat next, they trust and take it one day at a time. Be, because who you are attracts everything that you are- including quality people, resources, wisdom, wealth.

Some of us have been told growing up that we are not enough. Some of us, like myself, were also told that “you should be thankful, I could have left you or given you up for adoption”. I felt like a burden. I’m sure you’ve felt that way, that you were a burden so you needed to work hard to prove you were someone of worth, or that you could be independent and not be a burden on someone. I started working when I was 14. Actually I started when I was in 3rd grade.

I’ve always been entrepreneurial, but I wonder when that entrepreneurial free spirit then became a burden when I felt that I had to use it to prove my worth. My gifting became a curse because of the fearful motivation beneath it all.

I felt that I was not enough alone, as a human being, imperfect yet brilliant, a design, a marvelous light of energy. 

I trust that this post will open the hearts of many to sit down and think.

You see, everyone identifies with something, a label. Whether it is a son, daughter, mother, father, designer, architect, writer, etc..none of that matters. We are often given a role and have expectations put on us. Some of these expectations are preconceived, from many years of society telling us what it should look like, some of these are purely manmade, reflections of what another person lacks and needs.

In the eyes of infinite source, we are magnificent, and we should create our life work, our life expression out of authenticity, out of being, out of wanting, out of desire, out of passion, not out of pressure. You see, the sun will still rise, the sun will still set everyday. What are we rushing around for? When we are rushing around, we are not living in the moment and before we know it, we’ve spent 80 years of our lives, rushing to our deaths and not remembering one minute of it. 

Get away from all the voices and be still.

What do you hear?

Feel free to comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

Share this for 25% off How To Make Money Doing What You Love – My newest Ebook! 

And to end with a song I think resonates with what I wrote:

When You Feel Faint

In our weakest moments, we find the twinkling light, a faint inspiration, maybe life is worth living, maybe I can get up off this floor, maybe I can run the last stretch, maybe I can love again, maybe I can allow myself to shed a tear, maybe I can connect my emotions with my head, maybe my legs won’t shatter into a thousand pieces after running after faint illusions of what I thought was my path
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We run until we are homesick, running and trying to fly
only to be stuck on this earth
hoping that we can go home some day
wherever home is, the adventure heart
often when I am home too long, I start to feel faint and
I realize, I need to fly again
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My friends’ cats in Sao Paolo, Brazil 2012. We will come home.

What Is Synchronicity?

Synchronicity is when you let go,

let be.

Synchronicity happens when you stop trying and let the pages fall into place.

Synchronicity is when you give yourself a break after pushing fiercely in the beginning and know you have done everything you can

to make it happen.

Synchronicity is when you don’t care anymore how and when it will work out.

Synchronicity happens when you chill and breathe.

Synchronicity happens when you choose to be happy in spite of all the gray colors.

Synchronicity happens when you learn to enjoy life and you stop planning how IT SHOULD happen in your mind.

Just do your best and let the rest fall into the beautiful place it wanted to be in anyways.

Where there is fear and hesitancy, the universe resists. Where there is 110% unwavering faith, the universe flows to meet and greet you. Faith is actually not a feeling, it is belief in yourself, in a bigger being, in imagination and creativity. If you can imagine it, it will happen. The key is to be joyful in the process, because you are only losing energy by being stressed. 

I know this because I go through this all the time, the expectation of something to fall through. It is only when you don’t care too much about the results, that things fall into place….when you learn to have fun and celebrate in the process, things happen easier.

There are lot of doors closed, but we focus on knocking at one door when just behind us is an open door. 

This is where creativity kicks in, we should always use our critical and creative thinking skills- there is more than one way for things to happen, I have experienced this in the past. The beautiful thing about life is that things can happen anyway we allow them to happen, ALLOW, yes, not want, but allow. And sometimes when we allow doors to fling open, we are not dead panned on one door opening, we will flood our lives with blessings that are beyond the human eyes.

 

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Photos by www.shotbystarrkidd.tumblr.com

Speak Up Contest!

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Art by Justine TF- Visit my friends’ websites, she is an amazing artist with something amazing to express! “http://facebook.com/TheJustineTF

Anyone who likes, comments, and/or shares this blog post “Speak Up” until Friday, April 11 at 11:59 pm PST will be entered to to win a “Speak Up” art print by Justine TF.

Her artwork Speak Up inspired me to speak boldly for my life, my desires and my dreams….I thank her for influencing me with her creative expression. Thanks Justine!

Here’s a poem and blog post dedicated to SPEAKING UP!

Speak Up-

When all feels dim and your thoughts are cluttered, speak up and don’t wait until it is too late.

Let your words flow from your heart, words that are true, words that are raw, let yourself be,

be vulnerable, be wanting, be sad, be romanced….

Let your words be true, speak up.

When the lights are dimmed and the bugs creep up the walls of my fermented heart, I let oxygen in, breathing deeply, I allow the vocal chords to open up and that fresh voice, so long abandoned, sings.

Courage, to be.

Courage, to feel.

Courage, to speak, up, up higher than we can ever know, up, up higher than we will ever reach, eclipsing.

We are allowed to be who we want to be, at the end of the day, speak up, don’t speak when it is too late to rescue the forgotten hearts.

Relationships don’t work because of fear, when someone does not bring 100% to the table because they are scared to get hurt, the relationship fails. Love is boldly loving 100%, love is self-sacrificing ONLY when it is based on love, not fear. Love is speaking TRUTH and speaking what is on your heart so that fear does not creep in and get the better of you.

I find that as humans we often hold back who we truly are to please people. For that moment, we are granted temporary acceptance, yet we have caused our hearts to die a little more. That once beating heart, slowly losing tempo…until one day, we have ceased to feel. That is the biggest tragedy we will have encountered. I hope that you never let that happen, because a life that is worth living is a life that you FIGHT for, that means you FIGHT for your voice and yourself. When we live in the authentic expression of who we really are, we will also allow others’ soul to soar and sing. Then we will have done our job as human beings on earth.

Will you allow your spirit to soar? Because you are worth it, you are a bird wants to be free. How many people crave the truest expression of their hearts, yet struggle to be who they really are? You can find it in love, there is absolutely NO fear in love.

Rebekka – your freedom fighter

http://www.twitter.com/rebekka_lien

Instagram- Rebekkalien

Anyone who likes, comments, and/or shares this blog post “Speak Up” until Friday, April 11 at 11:59 pm PST will be entered to to win a “Speak Up” art print by Justine TF. www.facebook.com/justinetfart

At The End Of My Life…

At the end of my life, I want to say that I lived fearlessly. 

At the end of my life, I want to say that I grasped each moment with vigor.

I want to learn from each lesson and live with boldness so that I have tried all solutions, all desires, all impossible feats, I have tried. So that at the end of my life, I won’t be an old lady who sits at a chair and mopes about what I did not do and what I wish I had done.

No, I want to be a fire and life filled old lady with electric blue dyed hair who enjoys her beach side home hanging out on a hammock with live bands playing by the fireside. I don’t want to submit to the structure of this world, a script that I never wrote…I want to define each moment of my life so that I am living on my own terms and not on the words which bellows out of the lions’ den. 

I want to be good to myself, women- it’s a message for you. You put you first and the rest comes. If you are depending on other people to make you happy, forget about it. Your happiness is not going to last. 

At the end of my life, I want to say that I enjoyed every year of my life. Maybe I had really horrible years, but I learned to have fiestas with my circumstances. I learned to see the beauty in mistakes and pain. I don’t want to live in a bubble of plastic situations and man-made synthetic fabrication of “what should be” or “steps a, b, c” or “because he/she told me to”. Let my life be original….so that when someone writes about me or makes a movie about me, it is not identical to others, but uniquely me. 

At the end of my life, I want to say “I loved myself well” and because I loved myself well, I was able to give the gift of me to others, whole, 100% authentic me without BS. 

I want to have lived in the present, embracing wholly that which the moment gives, sound, light, color, energy, positivity. I let the negative feelings of bitterness, anger, sadness, guilt, shame….dissipate into the abyss. I let light seep into my every pore so I am entrenched and filled with liquid love. At the end of the day, you have you and you have love. And that, is really what matters. 

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If you were speaking to your inner child, what would you say to her or him? 

Are the things you say to yourself something you would never say to your own self when you were 3, 5, 10??? 

Would you say the same things to your own child?

If so, start speaking truth, love and hope into your inner child. These are words you should be speaking to yourself, because that is love. 

Wealth Comes From The Heart

Wealth comes from the heart. 

Somehow I have been given this unique gift of sensing the heart…I have found that wealth comes from the heart.

Counterfeit wealth is veiled with splendor, bling, things that look wealthy, but comes from the spirit of poverty.

In the eyes of a young woman, sitting and eating my tacos, I saw a homeless person with his bike, in his own world. Half crazy, yet half happy, content in his reality. Then I saw families, buying tacos, happy and content. I went to a beautiful house and saw that wealth hardens people, and that there was poverty in both poor and wealthy. Even though everything was shiny on the outside, new, replicas of ancient furnitures, I could sense a spirit of poverty. This ever seeking of “not enough”, I am not so sure of. My deeper philosophical mind wants to ponder this disparity, yet I could only start to count my blessings.

I could only start to appreciate the way I grew up, I could only start to appreciate all the hardships I have gone through, working full time while going to school to pay off tuition, selling makeup under school desks, jewelry in trunks, I could only start to appreciate the little things. I could only start to appreciate the beautiful nights dancing away my simple life, the days backpacking and snorkeling in exotic parts of the world, adding up the bills I had to pay and wondering where the money would come from, not knowing how I would survive, but still having that faith that could throw a mountain into an ocean…I could only appreciate my simple creativity and zest for life. I could only appreciate having the wisdom to understand any persons, from 0 to 100, being able to relate on any level, listening and appreciating the human story of pain and joy.

Sometimes I feel cursed that I can read someone so well, with just one conversation.  I can feel their misery, their secret story of “not enough”, their constant strivings, their secret joys, their dreams…maybe someday they think…I hear these stories softly being spoken with nonverbal glances. Seek and you will find, I say. True treasures lie in your heart. 

And I continue, writing my heart out, so I can share the wealth that is within me.

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I had a dream the other day about going to someone’s house. I interpreted I was not letting my true self out, that I was suffocating. It’s okay to come out and let the world know who you really are. Where is your house? Where is your heart?

What Is Your Definition of Freedom?

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Define freedom. 

I am sure most Americans believe that they are free, free to FREE speech, free to be, and I also wonder how many people in this world long for true freedom within. The majority of humanity is longing for something more, whether it is happiness, freedom, peace. Even though we are given the human rights to speak up, to earn a living  and to be with whoever we want to be, do whatever we like and want, many are still living in FEAR, COMPROMISE, and CONFORMITY. 

When I was in my teenage years, I did not fit in and longed to fit in with all my heart. I tried hard, but to no avail. I was not meant to fit in and I accepted that. When I started creating my own opportunities in life, creating the life I wanted to live, I received a lot of criticism. 

The criticisms were either that I was NOT patient enough to sit at a desk from 9 to 5 or that I should JUST accept reality. This reality that people painted for me was not pleasant. I wondered why people would sacrifice their own happiness to conform to this dreadful reality. 

What is my definition of Freedom?

1. Freedom is knowing and accepting all of who you are and loving who you are created to be. It is listening to your desires and your ideas and allowing YOURSELF to be the fullest expression of who you were created to be. Many of us have abandoned our true desires and have tried to fit in to appease those around us.

2. Freedom is accepting others for who they really are, not for the expectations we have of them. It is loving them for who they are, but also understanding that you CANNOT change a person, you can only influence them. 

3. Freedom is letting GO of societal expectations and what people think of you. If you listen to yourself enough, you will hear the true desires in your heart versus the voices outside of you. When we embrace who we are, we start to walk in the fullest confidence of our being…we then no longer need peoples’ approval.

4. Freedom is LIVING out the fullest expression of who you are. The great thing about living in freedom is that you will start to meet like-minded people that speaks your language of vision and creativity. Live in the wisdom that comes with being you.

5. Freedom is ALLOWING yourself to fail to create something great. I have probably failed many times in my entrepreneurial career, but I never thought of them as failures….I thought of them as free education. I knew that every step was a step up, a puzzle piece fitting into the perfect picture that was to come 10, 20, 30 years down the line. 

6. Freedom is allowing yourself to be YOUR NAME _________________, and not the title the world has given you. Status is so important in America, it defines your worth. That is a lie that we have believed in, but need to replace with the truth of our worth in __________(your name). Our worth is infinite, beautiful, sacred. Our worth as human beings are spiritual, eternal. Today I connected with another entrepreneur and was so inspired by his story of building up his insurance business from scratch, in that moment, there was beauty….not because of what he had accomplished, but in the goodness that was in his actions and heart. I was impressed by the way he treated his employees and how he gave with an open heart, we need more goodness in this world! I believe it is because he has accepted the true desires of his heart to be a giver and a gift to the world. 

What is your definition of freedom? 

Finding Home In LA- What Family Looks Like To Me

“For 20 years, she worked at her job, bored”- she said. “But for some people stability is what they want”. She, is Maiko, a stranger I met at Starbucks. She had these harem pants that I loved and commented on back in January. The strangers I meet all over the world, never cease to amaze me. Perhaps these strangers become strangely acquainted, then they become friends, with the same vision to pursue a life worth living. The universe never fails to bump people together.

In a few days, my friend will be flying to Hawaii by herself, in July she’ll be going to London to pursue her dreams of perhaps becoming a designer, a hair stylist…the journey can lead her anywhere. We sat, sipping our green tea.

I said “don’t ever give up, don’t ever settle. Also remember I’m here if you go through hard times and need a friend, call me.” Those who choose their own path- need people like them to keep them going. I know how easy it is to give up. I could have already given up and chose to work at a corporate office and live off my biweekly paycheck instead of recycling bottles and eating tofu for dinner. 

But I ain’t giving up now, knowing that there are others going before me. This weekend a shift will happen in our house. For once, I am the one staying. Friends will be stopping by from Oregon, some will go to San Francisco and Hawaii, others will come to LA. For once, I’m finally growing up and willing to settle, to find community and to be taken care of.

What does settling look like for me? Being okay with having a home. In LA. I’ll always travel, but LA will always be home for me. I’m okay with staying and having long term relationships here, to be part of a family. For once, I get what family is. They’re there for you even when you can only offer ramen noodles. 

Thanks to Clare, Shaina, Jane, Jessica in Boston, Alex who is about to go to SF, Andrew my love,  Kuku, Lauren, Heather, Maiko who is leaving, Sarah/Ben, Janna, Lois/Kurt, Jaymie, Jeanne…for showing me what family looks like. Of course, MANY MANY more friends that have shown me you’ll ALWAYS be there.

We may be worlds apart, but we’ll always be family. Join me as I go to Ecuador to see my sponsored kid! 

During my BDAY!

This is probably most reflective of my friends and I- we are nuts, we are insanely passionate peope.

License of a Higher Order of Beings

The winds are particularly strong today.

Loneliness can be such an unsettling disease. At first you are okay with the things that complicate your life, the art that stimulates your eye, the décor and the clothes. Those exterior fancies seem to come and go, the hand, the human interactions are what resonate in our mind. Someone breathing, smiling, eyes alive compared to a room full of things. It is also unsettling how little I can get rid of.

I keep selling my things off and for some reason, it looks like I have more. The things keep haunting me. For most of us, our lives become more and more complicated, intricate, interwoven, spun faster when we get older. Responsibilities pile, social media boggles our mind day and night, technology tends to complicate rather than simplify.

The rat race is tiring.

Sometimes my brain would stop thinking, but when I’m alone the question of life forces their way into my head like h20 seeping through cracks in wooden doors. Now I realize, work isn’t everything. Without love we are prone to become robots and machines, without affection, we are but heartless creatures. What does silence have to say about us human beings?

A hunger for the good life lies deep within us all. But it requires an honest evaluation of who we are and how we are living. Some manage to avoid these hard questions for years, or even for a whole lifetime- diligently going with each year’s flow without pausing to imagine other possible destinations. With the passing of years, our childhood dreams are pierced by reality. Our daily lives are filled with obligations and pressures. As we grow older, we drift away from “what could be” towrad a life shaped not by personal vision or calling but by circumstance and compromise”- Life Entrepreneur

“You need to understand that the world you see outside of you is a reflection of what you see inside of you. If you see only problems and darkness and despair, that’s all it’s ever going to be. If you are a person who sees hope and opportunity and the face of God, then you can be one with the people who make real change”.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexppected in common hours. He will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings”. 

Pictures taken in Australia

+ Take Time to Grow– Herbs and nature take time to grow, so do we! We need time and space to be nurtured into beautiful beings.

+ Live life in truth– without truth we live a lie, we must love truthfully, speak truth in love, and let love guide us.

+ Lean into your pain– do not run away, escape or deny your pain. Those times of hurt, lean into it. Lean all your might, your being into the pain because in pain, you will encounter truth. In pain, you will find again who you were before the lies robbed you of your rights, your inheritance.

Events coming up– Me playing on cello and selling my jewelry (http://rebekkalien.storenvy.com) March 17th (Honey Badger Cafe in Alhambra). This will be an innovative, totally random, fun even consisting of music, fun and art with Justine Tsayfan. More info coming up soon!! Hope to see you there!