[00:01] Hi and welcome back to Read, Reflect, Rise with Will Struthers-Cooper.
[00:06] This is the space where a powerful passage meets a practical pause so you can carry wise
[00:11] words into your week.
[00:13] I’ll read a short excerpt written by an author, guide a reflective journey, then we’ll
[00:17] close with a simple, memorable affirmation to help you rise as the week progresses.
[00:23] Have you ever felt a quiet yes tugging at you so small that it’s easy to ignore?
[00:29] Today we’re exploring the whisper with Rebecca Campbell’s Light is the New Black and how
[00:34] to turn tiny sparks of light, tiny yeses into a brighter, maybe even braver, purposeful life.
[00:44] Rebecca Campbell is a writer and a spiritual teacher whose work encourages us to follow
[00:48] our inner light one step at a time.
[00:51] Light is the New Black blends gentle guidance with short practices aimed at aligning our
[00:57] daily choices with what truly lights us up and helps us follow our soul path.
[01:02] The core message I would say is that when you say yes to what lights you up, life can
[01:06] come into alignment and I think Rebecca Campbell is a wonderful example of someone who lives
[01:11] a life of alignment.
[01:13] I’ve been through this book so many times and I’ve gone deeper with Rebecca’s teachings
[01:18] over several years.
[01:19] Her approach is gentle, she’s a really wonderful spaceholder for growth on so many different
[01:25] levels.
[01:26] There’s a beauty and a softness, a gentleness about her work and for a seeker who knows
[01:35] that they want to change, this work is bite sized, it’s doable, it’s perfect for busy,
[01:42] beautiful, messy, real life and if this one’s a fit for you, she’s got so many wonderful
[01:48] other things that she’s brought out since publishing this book.
[01:52] Let’s move on to an extract.
[01:58] Number one, be the light.
[02:02] To be the light you need to follow the things that light you up so you can show up in life
[02:08] filled up and whole.
[02:11] You don’t need a special job to be the light, in fact you don’t need any job at all.
[02:17] You can be the light in the grocery store, you can be the light while cooking dinner,
[02:23] you can be the light on the world’s most boring conference call, you can be the light
[02:28] while updating your Facebook status, you can be the light by being there for a friend or
[02:33] a stranger who needs a smile.
[02:35] Two, be authentically you.
[02:38] There is no perfect path, only a perfect authentic you, full of contradictions, uniqueness and
[02:45] gifts.
[02:47] It is your you-ness that allows you truly to light up the world with your presence.
[02:51] Your you-ness is lifetimes in the making.
[02:56] It is your flaws, your quirks, your weirdness, your ancestral history, your gifts, your humour
[03:05] and your imperfections.
[03:07] Your light and message will come through you regardless of what path you choose.
[03:13] Your authentic self emerges when you follow what lights you up or, in other words, when
[03:19] you do what you love and then do it in a way that only you can.
[03:27] Our soul is always calling us towards what will light us up.
[03:33] Our ego tries to trick us into thinking that it has to be more complicated.
[03:39] It cannot understand how it could be so simple as following what lights us up.
[03:45] But when we follow what we love over and over again, we stumble upon our calling without
[03:51] even realising it.
[03:54] When we lose ourselves in the doing, we step out of the way and allow the light to flow
[04:00] through us.
[04:01] And it feels freaking fantastic.
[04:13] I read that with a smile on my face because even thinking about doing things that light
[04:18] me up, lights me up.
[04:22] Doing this actually does light me up so this is definitely part of my soul’s calling.
[04:26] We’re going to go into a practice now.
[04:28] Do check the show notes for more details on the book.
[04:31] Let’s go into a practice now.
[04:34] Here’s my piece to support you in finding your light.
[04:41] Consider it a reset.
[04:42] Something you can do on a walk, during nap time, before bed, between meetings, folding
[04:47] the washing, doing the dishes, wherever.
[04:51] This is real life.
[04:53] We’re doing it together.
[04:58] If you’re able to, I’d like you to press down on the soles of your feet.
[05:04] Allow yourself to settle for just the briefest of moments, the tiniest pause to stop, to
[05:17] gather, to reset.
[05:22] You are in this very moment and no other.
[05:28] You can feel your feet beneath you on the ground.
[05:33] Your hands are engaged in doing something, wherever they may be, whatever you may be
[05:38] doing or not doing.
[05:40] And in this moment, you are listening to your body.
[05:47] Perhaps your eyes are open and you’re watching your body move.
[05:52] Perhaps you’re seated in stillness, observing the feel of your body as it breathes in, as
[06:03] it breathes out, as it does all of the amazing things it does in every millisecond of every
[06:11] day without us even noticing.
[06:19] I’d like you to bring your focus to your heart, to your lungs, to your rib cage.
[06:29] It will be moving softly.
[06:34] It might be moving at speed.
[06:39] There’s no judgment or control, simple observation.
[06:50] When you feel that you’re grounded, that you’re attached, that you’re connected with your
[06:57] body, I’d like you to journey inward into your heart space.
[07:06] And if that feels unmanageable just now, you may wish to put your hands gently on your
[07:16] chest, perhaps applying pressure or perhaps onto your cheek or wrapping your arms around
[07:23] yourself.
[07:26] Or if that isn’t manageable, perhaps you’ll picture a hug from someone else.
[07:35] Allow that feeling of comfort, of warmth to travel inwards into that heart space.
[07:49] And with that comfort and soothing feeling, with that warmth, you see and feel a brightness
[08:02] within you.
[08:10] And in that brightness, your very core being is everything you need to know about yourself,
[08:20] about your life.
[08:22] And it may not communicate with you in words and thoughts.
[08:27] It may not even communicate with you in pictures.
[08:30] And that is all okay.
[08:36] But this warmth, this comfort, this brightness, perhaps even a straightness of posture, perhaps
[08:47] even a small smile on your lips, this is you.
[08:52] This is you.
[08:54] You sophisticated, wonderful, amazing, complex, beautiful, flawed, imperfect, compassionate
[09:03] human being.
[09:06] This is who you’re here to be.
[09:09] This is what you have to offer.
[09:19] Allow yourself to bathe in that for just a moment.
[09:27] And in that space, allow one thing to bubble up, one thing in the world that you can do
[09:38] that harnesses and encompasses that feeling.
[09:42] What fills up your heart space?
[09:46] Or what pours out from your heart space into the world?
[09:55] And now I’d like you to picture yourself doing that.
[09:59] And if nothing arises just now, that’s okay.
[10:03] Set the intention to notice when it does arise.
[10:09] There will be times in every day, in every week or in every month where you’ll feel this
[10:18] feeling in your heart when your light turns on.
[10:28] Now bringing your focus back to your feet, back to your hands and noticing just how
[10:38] brightly that light in your heart space shines.
[10:42] Knowing that you could put your hands back onto your heart at any point in time this
[10:46] coming week and bring yourself back to it, back to the centre, back to this home.
[10:52] And with that, if your eyes have been closed, slowly open them.
[10:57] Allow yourself to become present in the moment.
[11:02] Allow yourself to carry forward that light and notice times in your life when that light
[11:07] grows and shines.
[11:16] Here’s what I’m carrying forward.
[11:19] Clarity on our soul purpose, on our life purpose and how we want to be and how we want to turn
[11:24] up and what we want to achieve.
[11:27] It grows and it grows from tiny honest yeses.
[11:31] It’s not necessarily always dark heavy sheddings.
[11:36] It’s not always grand gestures or life changing choices.
[11:40] In the day to day it’s just about taking the next aligned step.
[11:44] And sometimes that step is a yes and sometimes that step is a no.
[11:48] That’s not the path for me or that is the path for me.
[11:51] And when life goes dark as we enter the dark nights of the soul as Rebecca says, that can
[11:58] really be the invitation to practice finding and tending that inner light in your heart
[12:03] space gently and consistently.
[12:07] So for anyone that needs permission to shine, to be the light in the dark, start small.
[12:18] Because step by step that’s how we climb the mountain.
[12:29] And here’s our affirmation for the week.
[12:32] Say it once out loud, once in your heart, once while moving, walking, stretching, washing
[12:37] the dishes.
[12:38] Let it live and breathe in your day.
[12:42] I begin to notice when I light up.
[12:47] I say yes to growing my light.
[12:51] I begin to notice when I light up.
[12:55] I say yes to growing my light.
[12:58] I begin to notice when I light up.
[13:02] I say yes to growing my light.
[13:07] Let it echo.
[13:09] Let it shine.
[13:11] Let yourself shine.
[13:17] If today has supported you, please follow the show and share this episode with a friend.
[13:24] For show notes, links to the books mentioned and to join my mailing list for weekly reflections
[13:28] and resources, check the link in the episode description if it feels like a fit.
[13:33] You can also please suggest future books and topics to me because I love hearing from you.
[13:38] This is week 24 now.
[13:40] You know, we’ve covered a lot of my favourites.
[13:43] So I am on the lookout for new suggestions.
[13:46] So if you’ve got something that’s really helped you, I’d love to hear it so I can read it
[13:51] and I can do what I do with it and pass it on to share with the world.
[13:55] I’ll be back next time with another excerpt, another reflective practice and a fresh affirmation.
[14:00] But until then remember folks, there is magic, medicine and power in the words we weave and
[14:06] wield.
[14:07] Choose wisely and choose to follow the light.
