Your personal bill of rights. Yes. That’s right.

Walking is a very grounding experience.

It’s the day after Christmas and a fairly blustery day. I had choices this morning. I could have stayed in the comfort of  the warmth of shelter or brave the cold and venture out.

Most people who know me would have guessed I would have chosen the warmth of shelter over braving the icy wind and icy streets, as winter is not my thing at all. I’m glad I chose to experience a walk under steel grey skies and crunching ice and snow. I set off  on my frozen journey feeling especially happy that I could feel the cold on my face.

With no other intention but to experience the aliveness of cold, my thoughts turned to becoming grounded with nature . I imagined roots growing from the bottom of my feet into the ground below, hooking me to the earth. In this grounding and being present to the sky, the earth and the cold I had  a sudden incredible insight. At least I think so, and I’m hoping you do as well.

2012 has been such an incredible year, full of twists and turns, loss and gains and all coming at the speed of light. Many others that I know personally also have experienced this same wild ride. Have you?

I have been chanting affirmations daily to counter act any fears and worries I have had on a daily basis. Being a practiced observer of my thoughts and feelings has taught me to shift my thinking surrounding any thoughts that are not of my highest self or for my highest good.  Chanting  affirmations daily has helped to transform those anxious feelings about the future, the unknowns and have brought me back to center at least for the moment that I am experiencing those thoughts and emotions.

Today on my frosty walk however, a thought surfaced which turned into a series of one line sentences which turned into my own personal “bill of rights“. “What do I have a right to have in my life?“, I asked myself.  The answers like water came flooding in rather easily. More easily than setting annual resolutions that tell me what I “should” do differently. You all know how effective those tricky should s and shouldn’t s are, don’t you?

I also thought about all the things that had transpired in 2012 and despite my positive frame of mind, affirmations, meditation, studies, still my life seems fairly unstable and uncertain. Thinking about the practice of affirmations and not wanting to lose faith in all that I believe is true for me, I wondered what more I need to do to become fully actualized, to live my truth.

What do I have a right to have in my life? What do you have a right to have in your life?

So just to get you thinking about your own bill of rights it might be helpful to review what Wikipedia tells us it is : The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public.

If I were to apply this meaning to my own life I would rewrite this description as such: My personal bill of rights for my life serves to protect me against my limiting thoughts, ego negative self-talk , fear and worry and guaranteeing me unlimited freedom to choose whatever I think I have a right to have.  In addition there isn’t a single thing outside of  myself that can interfere with my personal bill of rights, because I created them and I also create anything that is in opposition of them.

This mornings walk and  insight helped me to understand better why endless  chanting  of affirmations, meditation and staying present in the now in order to observe my thoughts and emotions have yielded some results, but at the same time  the practice is like washing your hair, shampoo, rinse and repeat. What is creating these blocks? What is keeping me from accessing what is rightfully mine to have?

Don’t get me wrong I love affirming. It serves to immediately shift me from any negative thoughts I may have about myself, others and my life. However, I’d like to share what I came up with on this mornings freezing cold, crunchy grounding  walk; my personal “Bill of Rights”.

My hope is that whomever reads this will craft their own personal bill of rights that they can use in place of weak resolutions and vows to change. The reason I say this is because  I believe you have a right as well as every person on the planet has a right to experience their life according to what you think you deserve, what is rightfully yours to have.  Consider carefully what you think you deserve because this is what is creating  your current life experience.

This is what I came up with for my personal “bill of rights” These are mine. What are yours?

My personal bill of rights:

I Sue Birkam as a member of this universe, this divine place where all things are possible if I choose to deserve them, have hereby today created my personal bill of rights. I will remember these and read them often when I forget who I really am.  I am free.

• I have the right to be happy.
• I have the right to be creative.
• I have the right to be loved and be loving.
• I have the right to forgiveness and to forgive.
• I have the right to be successful.
• I have the right to know my value and worth and to eliminate anything that is in opposition of  that.
• I have the right to be free and live in full expression of this freedom.
• I have the right to prosper and use my abundance for myself and to share my abundance in service to others.
• I have the right to share my gifts and talents.
• I have the right to my emotions, passions and dreams.
• I have the right to experience receiving as well as giving.
• I have the right to be in full acceptance of myself, the good, the bad and the ugly.
• I have the right to be in full acceptance of others, the good, the bad and the ugly.
• I have the right to be healthy and to do the things I need to do to remain in good health.
• I have the right to be beautiful and to not allow what others define as beauty to affect how I think about myself.
• I have the right to be cherished, respected and considered.
• I have the right to be visible, to be seen and heard.
• I have the right to clarity in my life and when I receive clarity I have the right to choose differently no matter what that clarity provides for me, bravely.
• I have the right to the freedom to be me.
• I have the right to stumble, fall and make big mistakes.
• I have the right to laugh at my mistakes and to begin again.
• I have the right to personal expression of my feelings and beliefs without being judged.
• I have the equal right to treat myself the way I treat and give to others, with kindness, love, non-judgement, acceptance and with gratitude for all that I am and have become.
• I have the right to surround myself with people who are supportive, caring and loving.
• I have the right to amend my bill of rights and to expand it at anytime

I am thinking that if  I can live by this personal bill of rights in 2013, I’m guaranteed to have every thing I deserve come my way. I also think that I have a choice to abide by my “bill of rights” or understand what an injustice it would be to myself and others to ignore it.

What is on your personal bill of rights? Are you willing to create your own and begin to manifest what is your right to have? I sincerely hope you feel inspired and moved enough to provide feedback here and at the very least consider crafting your own 2013 bill of rights or at least think about what you deserve.