Written by: Pia Antico, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The life every single, empty nester businesswoman over 40 deserves...
Ok! hands up whose been guilty of taking themselves & their lives super seriously this past year.
Yep, me too! Oh gosh, if breathing was as 'intentional' as smiling, I wouldn't have survived to the next minute.
Heck, I suspect that corpses are smiling more than I have been this past year.
My mistake was believing that smiling was deliberate & intentional, something that I had to remember to do, something that was the by-product of doing pleasing activities.
But smiling is the same as breathing, just like how we just go about breathing without having to remember or perform a specific set of actions in order to breathe.
Breathing is a function of being.
Well, it is the same with smiling... smiling is a function of being in our factory default setting of heartful wisdom. Joy, ease, freedom & fun are all a function of flowing in our wisdom. ...and a Crone Life is the energetic phase for single, empty nester women over 40 to redirect their focus away from outward caregiving toward effortlessly claiming their unapologetic authenticity. When we trust the guidance of our Higher Self intuition & deep knowing we no longer have to set hard boundaries to defend ourselves from the differing views of others. Claiming our unapologetic authenticity is not about going into battle forcing our will on others. Because, when we know in our bones that our inner wisdom guided life doesn't need others' validation or understanding; then we free ourselves to be in our joy & let others be in their joy. A Crone Life is truly carefree, but not careless. In fact, when we are following our heartful wisdom we get to show up in the present moment with an open mind, open heart & open arms; even for those 'difficult' people in our lives. Especially, toward ourselves when we have moments of being 'difficult'; after all we are human too. You might be thinking Pia! Ok you say ‘smiling is a function of existing just like breathing' But my life sucks & I don't feel like smiling! What about the serious stuff going on in the world? We can't smile in the face the decreased visibility of ageing women in a youth-obsessed society, loss of prior identity as a mum now the kids are grown, financial insecurity post-divorce in mid-life & fear of an unknown future alone? So, here's the thing you are still breathing even with all those 'serious' things happening in the world. You don't tell yourself that you should take half as many breaths while there is loss & pain in this physical world. Here's something interesting... if you focus your attention on your breathing and have a particular story going on in your head giving meaning to what you see 'out there’; then you override the automatic mechanism of being & may well hold your breath or hyperventilate. Notice! It is not the actual outside events changing your breathing, but it is your thinking about those events. But if not focused on the story in our heads then we return back to our default setting of existing - breathing returns to automatic ebb & flow; we are resting in the luminous space of our innate wellbeing & wisdom. Well, the same is with smiling... When stuck in my head, fixated on effortful doing & achieving – brow furrowed & forehead heavy with thinking – of course I don't 'feel like' smiling. When I look out on the loss & suffering that is the impermanence with fear & loathing, judging & defending; then of course I don't feel like smiling. When I fixate on my flatlining bank balance & the unfilled blocks in my schedule where client bookings 'should be' then yeah, I am caught up in a story of past failings predicting future catastrophes. I am caught in solidifying as fact the story in my head & projecting it onto the world & reacting as if the answer is in changing my physical world. If only I... Then I will be happy & free to have fun. And even worse, I made the mistake of believing I must change the circumstances in order to be happy & able to smile But that is simply not how it works... the outside is not the cause of inside experience. So, if the 3 tips for freedom & fun in 2022 have nothing to do with changing your circumstances then what are they?
Tip 1: RELEASE
Leave the past back there when it happened, stop reliving it in your current thinking
Let go of your worries about the unknown, you don't need to logically know the all the answers. You true guidance system has nothing to do with the story in your head.
You can't think your way into wisdom!
Now the awesome truth of how our psyche works, is that you don't have to do anything to release, it’s not about tools & strategies.
You don't have to get in your head digging around with what you are thinking or why you are thinking it in order to let it go.
It's purely a matter of awareness THAT it is your thinking in that moment creating your experience & a new thought is just a moment away. No effort.
And when we realise this as truth, we get to rest in our heartful wisdom.
Tip 2: RECHARGE
Being reenergized, filled with enthusiasm & joy is our factory default setting.
It's only that we think otherwise.
You don't have to do anything to make yourself sparky & happy, it is the natural by-product of trusting & following your heartful wisdom.
Tip 3: RECEIVE
Well you might be picking up on a sequence here ...
Receiving is being open in the present moment to the guidance of your heartful wisdom.
When we trust in our intuition/inner knowing we get to be our unapologetic authentic selves AND we get to embrace others without fear or judgement. Again, we don't have to perform a ritual or follow a strategy in order to receive. We are set to Receiver Mode when tapped into our present moment Higher Self wisdom. Single empty-nester, businesswomen over 40 imagine a 2022 where you are listening to your inner wisdom & following your heart's desires.
Releasing, Recharging & Receiving! If you would like more inspiration & encouragement from likeminded women then join my private Facebook community Crone Life: Freedom & Fun Over 40. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!
Pia Antico, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
“In the middle of a storm, it is possible to find peace and strength when we tap into our innate Spirit-led wisdom and step heartfully into the present moment.” – Pia Antico. Pia Antico is the Founder of Essential Awakening Mentoring, a Relationships Reset Mentor/Coach/Trainer, Speaker, and Author. Pia is also in a Creative Partnership with the charity “More to her life,” contributing a percent of her sales/fees to inspire and support women to dream and build beyond domestic violence.
She guides and encourages unfulfilled women over 40 who have spent their adult lives looking after others and following ‘the rules’ to courageously step into the second half of their lives with a total ‘Joy Reboot’ using her signature AWAKEN Model © of joyful living, based on a 3-step transformational journey embodying the 6 key elements of joy. This allows her clients to respond to any situation with calm, clarity, and confidence, enabling them to live and love fearlessly in the present moment.
Pia holds three degrees in Psychology, Counseling Training, and Certification in the Inside-Out Paradigm. Additionally, she learned how to thrive after two toxic marriages and following an accident that left her with a life-altering brain injury; all while she raised a resilient, courageous, and creative daughter who has now stepped into her own light and soulful marriage.
