Living Life The Happy Way - Rachel Stokes

💜 Taking a Little Time to Recharge! 💚

Starting today, I’ll be taking the week off to enjoy some time away, relax, and recharge my own batteries!

Just as I encourage each of you to make time for yourself, I know how important it is to do the same.

I’ll be back and ready to welcome everyone to S.I.P. on Friday, October 16th!

Until then, remember to take a little time for YOU!

You are worthy. You are loved. You are enough. 💜

Living Life The Happy Way

I love when Facebook memories pop up and remind me just how far I’ve come! 💜

This memory is from 2016—my very first retreat! It was a weekend experience, but not an overnight retreat like the ones I offer today.

My journey of helping women began back in 2011. In 2016, I took another step and hosted my first retreat. Then in 2021, I took an even bigger leap and hosted my first full overnight weekend retreat!

Looking back over these past 15 years, it’s pretty incredible to see how much has grown and evolved. Not just my work, but ME too!

One thing that has never changed is my WHY. 💜

Helping women recognize their worth, discover their strength, and understand that they are enough just as they are.

What started as a desire to help women has grown into something so much bigger. A beautiful community of women connecting, supporting, encouraging, and holding space for one another.

And the beautiful part? I’ve been growing and learning right alongside them.

I know in my heart that I am living my purpose. And I am so grateful for every woman who has trusted me, joined a circle, walked a labyrinth, attended a retreat, or simply allowed me to be part of her journey.

Here’s to 15 years of following my heart, 10 years since that first retreat, and all the beautiful chapters still to come! 💜💚

You are worthy. You are loved. You are enough.

CREATING A NEW BELIEF ✨

Tuesday we asked, “Is it still true?”

Wednesday we talked about why our brains hold onto old beliefs simply because they’re familiar.

So now what?

How do we begin creating something new?

We often think we need to replace a negative belief with a big positive affirmation.

“I’m not good enough” becomes…

“I am completely confident and I know my worth!”

But what happens if you say those words and somewhere inside you immediately thinks…

No, I’m not.

That doesn’t mean affirmations are bad. It may simply mean the new thought feels too far away from what you currently believe.

So instead of trying to leap from one belief to another…

build a bridge.

If the old belief is:

“I’m not good enough.”

Maybe your bridge becomes:

💜 “I’m beginning to see the good in myself.”

💜 “I’m learning that I don’t have to be perfect to be worthy.”

💜 “Maybe I’ve been harder on myself than I deserve.”

💜 “I’m willing to consider that this old belief might not be true.”

Those thoughts may feel easier for your brain to accept.

And then comes another important piece:

Look for evidence.

Every time you speak up when you normally stay quiet…

Every time you set a boundary…

Every time you try something you once thought you couldn’t do…

Every time you treat yourself with compassion instead of criticism…

Notice it.

You are giving yourself a new experience that challenges the old story.

Changing a belief usually doesn’t happen because you said one beautiful affirmation in the mirror.

It happens little by little, when you begin thinking differently, choosing differently and noticing the evidence that the old story no longer fits who you are becoming.

💜 Thursday reflection:

Take one old belief you identified this week.

Instead of forcing yourself to believe the complete opposite, ask:

What is one new thought I can believe TODAY?

Start there.

You don’t have to rewrite your entire story today.

You just have to stop letting an old chapter tell you how the rest of your story has to go.

You are worthy. You are loved. You are enough. 💜

WHY DOES MY BRAIN STILL BELIEVE IT? ✨

Yesterday we talked about questioning the old stories we carry about ourselves.

But what if you know something isn’t true anymore…and part of you still believes it?

There’s a reason for that.

Our brains learn through repetition and experience. When we hear something often enough—or experience something powerful enough—our brain can begin to treat that belief like a familiar path.

Maybe you were criticized over and over.

Maybe you learned that keeping everyone happy kept the peace.

Maybe you were embarrassed once and decided, “I’m not good at that.”

Maybe someone else’s words became the voice you eventually started using on yourself.

Over time, the thought becomes familiar.

And here’s the important part:

Familiar doesn’t necessarily mean true.

Your brain often reaches for what it already knows because familiar patterns require less effort than creating new ones.

That’s why simply saying, “I’m not going to believe that anymore,” doesn’t always make an old belief disappear.

Changing it takes awareness, repetition and new experiences.

Each time you notice the old thought and challenge it…

“Wait. Is that true today?”

…you’re interrupting the old pattern.

You may have traveled that old road thousands of times.

Be patient with yourself while you create a new one. 💜

Wednesday reflection:
Whose voice do you hear when one of your old beliefs shows up?

And is it time for your own voice to become louder?

Come back tomorrow. We’re going to talk about how to begin changing those old beliefs—and why simply replacing them with a positive affirmation you don’t actually believe may not be enough.

You are worthy. You are loved. You are enough.

What a FULL and beautiful day. 💜

We spent the day with the women from ADA Women’s Center, beginning on the beach with a labyrinth drawn in the sand—a powerful experience of releasing, gratitude, and remembering that love begins with us. 💗

From there, our day unfolded with a beautiful women’s circle, lunch together, and creating glass labyrinths with the wonderful Barbara Parker. Annette Martinez then led a powerful session on the weight of the things we carry—shame, guilt, trauma—and reminded each woman that she is worthy, loved, and enough.

We ended with a peaceful sound bath and, of course, pizza together. 🍕💜

Today was about creating space—to release, to be heard, to heal, to create, and to remember our worth.

My heart is full. What a beautiful day of women holding space for women. 💜

✨ IS IT STILL TRUE? ✨

There are things we believe about ourselves that we’ve repeated for so long, we’ve stopped questioning whether they’re actually true.

“I’m not good enough.”

“I always mess things up.”

“I’m too much.”

“I’m not smart enough.”

“I have to take care of everyone.”

“I can’t change.”

But here’s something worth thinking about:

Where did that belief come from?

Was it born from something someone said to you?

A difficult experience?

A mistake you made years ago?

A version of yourself that was simply trying to survive what was happening at the time?

Sometimes we continue living by an old belief long after we’ve outgrown the experience that created it.

So today, when you hear that familiar voice telling you who you are, don’t automatically believe it.

Get curious.

Is this actually true?
Or is this just a story I’ve told myself for a very long time?

You are allowed to question the old story.

You are allowed to see yourself differently.

And you are allowed to become someone your past never gave you permission to imagine.

💜 Tuesday reflection:
What is one thing you’ve believed about yourself that might not be true anymore?

You are worthy. You are loved. You are enough.

What a great night! 💜

The weather had us switching things up a bit, but sometimes the unexpected turns out to be exactly what we need.

We are so grateful for each and every one of you who showed up tonight—for yourselves and for one another.

Our double sound bath under Shawn’s studio turned out to be the perfect space to settle in, let go of what no longer serves, and simply receive. The beautiful vibrations were so calming, and the standing singing bowl became the perfect substitute for our labyrinth—giving everyone a different way to slow down, release, and move inward.

Thank you for trusting us to switch things up and for making the evening so special. 💜