Cheryl Hannah - The Power of Self-Awareness

Cheryl Hannah is a very intuitive practitioner of Natural Bioenergetics who is able to help people show up in life as they truly are, and she does it in a way that heals and comforts others. She is a Best-Selling Author, Award-Winning Educator, Natural Health Advocate, Doula, Wife, Mother of 12, Grammy to 21, and terribly busy. Besides working with clients, she enjoys mentoring new students. 

In your experience, what is the critical ingredient for higher levels of well-being?   

I believe that the ability to experience higher levels of well-being starts with self-awareness. This is the ability to see things as they really are in contrast to the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. The greater your self-awareness, the more grounded you are. You leave the fantasy world behind and begin to engage with life authentically.    

Self-awareness allows you to transform past traumas and regrets into something valuable. This is a powerful place to live from that creates influence in positive ways. One of the important by-products of this is how your physical health improves as your mind and spirit come more into alignment with who you were designed to be.  

What are some of the mistakes you wish you could have avoided?   

My lack of self-awareness and the blindness it inflicted caused untold amounts of trauma and grief that affected those I loved most.   

Dysfunctional patterns of behavior and lack of boundaries tend to be passed on from one generation to the next. It was disturbing to see in-fighting with my family, boundary-busting activities, lack of trust where there should be love, and unhappiness in family members that directly resulted from my dysfunctions. I had reproduced myself only too well! The hope-filled news is that I was able to change direction with help from others and forgave myself and those who helped me create those results. I implemented and modeled explicitly new and healthy patterns for myself and my family. Beneficial change has been taking place for all of us now.  

It was only after I learned to see my life for what it was that I was able to create something better than I could pass on. My family initiates kindness and care for one another without input from me. They are impacting others outside their own families with these new patterns as well. This is the legacy I wanted to leave behind me, and I am starting to see it take place now. This is a huge personal win for me.  

Self-awareness allowed me to create a life that was built on the lessons of my failures. My family is learning that failure doesn't need to define your life. It can be transformed into a lesson learned that can also build bridges with others. We don't give up on each other now.  

"Our deepest wounds come from relationships, but it is also within relationships where we find healing." - Bruce Wauchope   

What actions could someone take to get started on the journey of healing?   

In the words of Stephen Covey, "Begin with the end in mind."  

Most of us stumble around life, creating messes for ourselves and others and not liking the results. We sow the seeds of entitlement, wrong priorities, dysfunctional behaviors, poor eating habits, and a lack of exercise, and then pray for a crop failure.  

Take Self-Inventory:   

If you don't like what you have, it is time to make a fearless inventory of every part of your life -- your physical health, your relationships with others, your spiritual life, your work, and the trajectory you are on if you keep doing what you are doing.  

Designing Your Life:   

After that inventory is complete, it is time to ask what you want to create with your life. For example, what do you want in your closest relationships? What would you be if you were successful and fulfilled? What satisfies your deepest longings? Does your life have meaning, or has that escaped you?  

Letting go of Limiting Beliefs:   

Ideas have consequences. The consequences you are currently experiencing are the results of the beliefs you are living out. Someone once told me that if you wanted to know where someone was coming from, don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. So what are your actions saying about what you believe?   

There is nothing better than a life well-lived. Getting there is worth it and usually is done in a relationship with the right people. Find someone who loves you as you are, SEES YOU, but also loves you enough to risk the relationship to help you do better.