It is not our essence or our spirit, but is our ego that carries the belief that we each need to either constantly be giving love or receiving love. On this week in which our culture is so focused on Valentines Day my focus is on me being love itself . Mother Theresa used a phrase “seeing Christ and all his distressing disguises.” When we allow ourselves to see each situation, people our ego likes and dislikes, objects, and experiences as our “ Beloved” , love empowers us to surrender our critical judgements.The energy behind Our thoughts and actions affect not only ourself but also the planet constantly! By striving to be love we are co-creating a kinder, more loving universe.It is necessary for me in my personal life to practice being the love for practice makes progress. Here are practices that continue to help me come closer to being the best version of myself:– Forgiveness— As long as I drag around a sack of hurt and pain, I cannot be free to be a complete version of love. Forgiveness never changes another… it frees each of us inwardly.-Self Love— When I am willing to do daily acts of self-love I claim the love for all parts of ourselves, including the dark shadow personality aspects, and this self-love will flow from the heart center out to all beings.-Resist judging others—When I find myself judging another I take out my huge spiritual eraser as soon as I am aware of my inner / outer criticism, erase the negative thoughts and send love, good energy, and blessings to the person I have judged. This cancels my judgment of them. Through practicing the resistance of my need to judge others it is possible to create within myself less times I want to point the finger at “THEM”. In reality when we judge another, we are really judging ourselves.Being a human still , I never do these acts perfectly I do the best I can and keep setting intentions to be The Love.The results for me and wanting to be the love has been a phenomenal shift in my reality. Sending much love filled light from my heart to yours this Valentine’s Day week and every day.
Appreciation Of Winter
When I began to choose to live as close to the wisdom of the Ancient Elders and Ancestors as possible, one of the teachings clearly has been to love each season for the differences and unique offerings of each.
I never used to be a fan of colder weather. I griped about it, and I was often in my mind jumping ahead to be impatiently waiting for the arrival of Springtime. I now have accepted and even love winter and her gifts.
The Spirit of Winter a few years ago summoned me to create rituals that hold the potential of an antidote for my previous winter blues and a calling to embrace with love, this slower paced season with heartfelt gratitude and genuine respect.
Think about hibernating animals. They engage in a slowing down period . Their body temperature drops to match the environment’s temperature. Their heart and breathing rate slows down. The slowing way down period of time is positive…there are no ill effects in partial or even total inactivity. Perhaps we can learn from animals in this state by slowing down instead of a constant need to be on the go, constantly staying busy. We might use this time to do deeper inner reflection and retrospection, meditate more, read those books we put on hold when we were so busy in the other seasons.
Loving the cold temperatures may not be so much about staying chilled to the bone, but rather wrapping up in a snuggly blanket in front of a delicious fire. Creature comfort, I am calling it , is the time of year my mind, body, spirit craves to replenish relaxing into the moment and enjoying each second of this slower rate of existence as my energy is being restored for busier times in the future!
The days are shorter and dark comes sooner. We could take advantage of this time to light candles, turn on glowing lights of a Himalayan Salt Lamp, and feel the light entering our inner selves. I love the very dark nights in the woods where I live for the stars seem brighter and closer as I stand in the brisk, chilly air as I see my breath while connecting with the Night Sky. It feels very magical!
Finding and focusing on those things that really matter is a glorious gift of Winter. I can say no to new projects and decline new invitations to join groups and activities. Using this time in eliminating all those committees, meetings, and focusing on that which adds real peace, harmony, and joy is crucial . By doing this practice without feeling something is wrong with me if I am not constantly busy, constantly productive, and never taking time to slow down, I am rewarded with quiet inner peace and tranquility without feeling bad about my Human Hibernation of Spirit. It is in this phase of the year new ideas come into my consciousness and I am given an opportunity of restoration and potential re-birth. How can I find anything negative about the three months of precious Winter! Thank you, Winter! You are amazing!!
Yearnings
Co-creation is a natural action when we allow our soul’s blueprint of destiny that lives within to guide and inspire us and live our true purpose. Our life mission is fed by the yearnings that speak to us from within. The secret is to listen to our deep yearnings! Do you even know what they are?
Not for a minute do I believe there is a being sitting in the clouds on the throne with a magic wand waiting to fulfill my every wish that I plead and beg for.
Do you know what you desire and deeply yearn for in your life ? If we don’t know what lies deep within we may have spent a lifetime looking outside of ourselves to get our deepest dreams and hopes met. When we continue to expect our deep desires to be fulfilled by those who do not or cannot “ see” the amazing wonder we are , we will continue to feel invalidated and empty, always searching for fulfillment in another place , job,residence,situation , or person.
Our true yearning is beyond simply wanting or desiring. It is the deep need(s) within. Discovering our yearnings is taking a step to understanding ourselves. When I understand me, the passions of my heart are clear and my connections and relationships with others will be strengthened because I will know without a doubt what I want, desire, and need to feel whole. I will have concrete evidence it is an inside job. Knowing this deep truth will inspire me to take self loving actions and make appropriate decisions in many areas of my life.
Some examples of my deep yearnings are to love and connect with other people, to feel safe and nurtured, to be respected and seen for who I really am, to be heard, and to be appreciated.
What do you yearn for?
Your 2020 Word Of The Year
There is magic abounding when we embrace and claim our personal mantra: our personal word of the year!
Resolutions typically fall into proverbial cracks . The practice of setting conscious intentions anchors our creative power to guide and keeps it flowing under a directed path we mean to follow.
By choosing a word of the year we will create an internal compass that motivates our focus, decisions, actions, and guides us as a touchstone step-way for the unique person we truly want to be.
My word of 2020 is commitment . I want to embrace, respect ,and walk my talk as I talk my walk as I show up in all areas as the best version of myself possible.
Perhaps your word has been revealed to you already . If you have a mega list of words and cannot decide on one or are clueless as to where to start, I offer you a few suggestions:
*1. Get in a quiet reflective state of mind
*2. Remind yourself you are being an intention setter of which you were free to choose and even change your mind!
*3. Don’t overthink the process! Consider the qualities and characteristics you resonate with and feel are important to YOU.
*4. Ask yourself what do you need to demonstrate and show evidence to yourself who you want to be and feel.
*5. Make a list of several words that call you.
*6. Write your intentions in the present tense . Examples : I am trusting the unfolding path the Universe presents to me or I am setting healthy boundaries with my friends.
*7. Look for any themes of intentions that pop up.
*8. Write your word.
*9. Put your word on several postcards and decorate them. Place them where you will daily see your word – – the fridge ,bedside table, car visor ,desk ,phone or computer home screen , the front of your journal ,even your wallet.
When you see your word it will awaken the awareness of your intentions and the fluid flow of creative motivations will flood your essence, your mind, and influence your thoughts, decisions ,and actions! Have a great year!
PARTNERING WITH OUR NEW YEAR’S INTENTIONS
As we welcome 2020 I encourage us each to take the time to communicate within ourselves the truth of our authenticity. So often we are allowing our internal disconnection within to create de focusing activities such as texting ,emailing, social media ,and noise generating participation. We have blocked so often our own communication with ourselves.
The sacred setting of intentions, once we give ourself the gift of getting quiet and choosing to move mindfully and consciously into the new year, has the potential to create a true partnership with our amazing being of self love and self compassion as we practice being the best version of ourself.
Once we are clear on our mindful intentional choices we have a golden opportunity to improve meaningful relationships, act on developing the emotional and physical health we desire, and surrender more deeply the specific areas we wish to shift from prior patterns and stale beliefs.
Unlike resolutions that feel more like controlling demands we place on ourselves, conscious intentions we partner with our true essence ,can help us to align with the ideas and actions we want to utilize for manifesting what we desire in our life.
Of course when we slide momentarily away from the intentions we have set we can always remind ourself we are only human and we can begin again without self punishment. A mistake is only a mistake if we refuse to learn from it. We can always stop, re-group, and begin once more moving forward.
Deepak Chopra once said that “intentions are the starting point of every dream —the seed of creation.”
Here are some ideas to get you started on setting 2020 intentions. Before you even start writing I invite you to get quiet and look at 2019 and decide what needs to be released . Also embrace all your accomplishments in 2019 and the amazing way things turned out well in the end!
Set your intentions that are perhaps out of your comfort zone but not an impossible challenging struggle. If the intentions you are setting feel like they are going to deplete you and make you feel unworthy, then stop and go back to your original drawing board.
The Radiant Opportunity of Winter Solstice
For thousands of years cultures all over the world have celebrated Winter Solstice. It is an ancient celebration of Celebration of the Light , the shortest day and the longest night Of the year. It is the sacred transition as Fall ends and Winter begins. Embracing the powerful magic of the Solstice, our ancient ancestors knew it was the time the Moon gave birth to the Sun! It is the slowing down time in which our part of the world wears a loose garment of quiet energy. Take advantage of this opportunity to embrace the Light as it turns into transforming darkness.
I suggest placing lit candles in jars all over your home during the daytime. Drink in the radiance of the Light. As the sun begins to fade and darkness begins, extinguish the candles and turn off all lights. Try to sit for an hour in darkness, and engage in deep reflection of who you are, where your true spiritual home within you exists, and what your heart truly yearns for in all areas of your life. By entering the stillness in the dark, we are more able to access our deep inner wisdom.
Light a candle, sit with pen and paper, and begin reflecting on your proverbial bag of stale and false beliefs, fears, and resentments you have drug around with you that now you are ready to let go of. Since this Solstice is marked with the end of a decade, reflect on anything you have and are still hanging onto over the past ten years! Once you feel complete and confident it is all there on paper, take your paper to either a sacred fire outside or burn it in a safe space. The Fire Element creates an alchemical transmutation of energy of releasing and surrendering.This is a life altering ceremonial experience as you watch the burning Of what you willingly are surrendering being transformed in the fire as you are walking into your personal freedom . This is the gift of releasing that which no longer serves your Highest Good.
Next light all your candles once again and write by the candlelight your specific intentions for 2020, focusing on honoring the amazing re-creation of the best version of yourself that you desire to witness in manifestation in the New Year!
The Spiritual Awakening of the Winter Solstice is an ancient opportunity of reflection and re-creation of the Light and Darkness as we each prepare to step into the Powerful Pathway of 2020! Remember we chose to be here now to co-create an incredible new world together.
Honoring Ourselves By Creating Our Unique Holiday Traditions
It is my heartfelt belief we each deserve to celebrate this time of year in the way that reflects who we are in the present. That means celebrating, choosing to be alone, celebrating with family or friends, celebrating with spiritual groups, or not celebrating.
Being a creative spirit who marches to the beat of her own drum, several years ago it occurred to me that my true self did not require the past holiday traditions of my culture or family of origin. I decided it would be a self loving act to create my own unique holiday traditions. To determine what would work for me, I asked myself some questions.
– Were there any childhood holiday traditions memories that stood out as happy thoughts?
– What did I want to include in my new traditions?
– Did I want to include others or just include myself?
It became crystal clear I no longer chose to be trapped emotionally in the stigma of the holiday traditions of others. After all, I do not live my current life based on the way others live theirs, so why would I choose to experience the holiday season with the traditions of anyone else? Of course, if I wanted to do what others were doing, that would be appropriate, too!
So, here is what I created:
1. Because I am so connected to nature, I went into the woods and requested the elementals and nature beings to help me honor them. I was gifted with pine boughs and pine cones, holly and red berries, and a small log. I added candles around these treasures, creating an holiday altar on my hearth.
2. Each morning during December I dedicate time, compassion, and food to the animals I co-exist with in my wooded residence.
3. Each night I made a commitment to sit in front of the fireplace and write in my journal , honoring the Fire Element, by expressing the things and ideas that ignite me that I am passionate about. I also offered thanks to each aspect of what/who is present in my life , gathered all that love into my heart, and sent it out into the world to all beings.
4. Lastly, I made a decision to take myself to a Winter Solstice Celebration with like hearted people.
Reclaiming our holiday by creating our original, unique traditions and rituals can be a loving way to avoid stress of old memories that do not muster peace, and is a gift to both our inner children and adult presence.
Barefootin’
When I was a little girl it was my greatest pleasure to take off my shoes and socks and run through the grass, mud, and ground. My Grandmother was forever telling me my feet were going to end up so wide that no one would find shoes to fit me! If that was meant to be a deterrent, it certainly did not work!
Zoom forward several decades and almost daily, regardless of the weather (rain, snow, sun, hot, cold) one of the first things I do in the morning no matter where I am is to run outside, getting rid of my shoes and socks and do earthing on the grass and ground. It is one of my spiritual disciplines that feeds my soul.
When I first started barefootin’ and earthing I had no idea it went way back to indigenous roots, and I had no idea that science would study the effects of what I loved as a child to present evidence of how beneficial it actually is on our mind, body, and spirit!
It has been reported that as direct contact with our earth gradually faded out from the time our ancestors walked barefoot or in moccasins/sandals Feeling the earth , we began experiencing electromagnetic instability.
The Journals of Inflammation Research and Environmental-Public Health report free radicals are generated through inflammation, infections,stress, and our now toxic environments. These force our immune systems to respond . If we have an active immune system, more free radicals are produced. Add in the fact industries and all things technological have cast us into a vortex of electromagnetic fields, leading to the disruption of the cellular electrical balance! An oversupply of free radicals, unstable charges in electromagnetic fields, inflammation, and our immune systems activate to rescue us from this chaos are directly responsible for chronic conditions such as autoimmune diseases, chronic pain syndromes, cancers, and cardiovascular diseases!
Earthing is a free, easy way to fight these forces. We absorb negative electrons from our beloved earth when earthing which , according to Nobel Prize physicist, Richard Feynman, equalizes the electronic potential between our body and our earth, creating a body as an extension of the magnetic field around us; thus, pushing and pulling the magnetic field away from us!
Earthing improves sleep, reduces stress, improves immunity and inflammation according to multiple studies. You may be interested to know leather, cotton, metal, and non-stained concrete are excellent conductors but pavement, wood, plastic, rubber, and synthetic materials every step block the the healing negative charges from Earth. You can do earthing in socks or in moccasin like footwear.
In addition earthing brings us back to the present now moment ! Just 20-30 minutes a day of barefootin’ starts the process of healing. Get out of those shoes and socks, get thyself to the grass, the dirt, the forest floor, the sand, or the wet ground and do what many of us as children knew intuitively works! Maybe my theory that the wisdom of the ancestors flows through our DNA is not so crazy after all! See you later..I am off to do some barefootin’.
In Honor Of The Wind
As I continue to recover from an unexpected abdominal challenge, each day I improve. Recently one night it seemed a re-visitation of Feeling overall sickness for whatever reason was necessary. Because I am so very connected to the Sacred Elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, often one or more of these help me heal. It comes from my intention to connect with the wisdom and teachings of the Ancient Ones in civilizations so many have forgotten . As I sat on my couch focusing on wellness and affirming only a feeling of wellness, the magnificent wind began speaking loudly outside my home.
I began to understand as in those times when the logical mind cannot explain away supernatural and spiritual experiences. To my beloved Wind, I paid tribute as my wellness returned:
“Oh Sister Wind, I honor you as you let your presence be known as a rustling shower of movement rushing through the Sacred Guardian of the Forest. As you kiss the dancing leaves I bow in reverence to the sweeping away of old residue of released energetic memories. Oh Sister Wind your breath adds fresh focus upon my changing heart! “
I will include this tribute in my upcoming Meditation Book, “Messages From The Canyon” .Perhaps while waiting for the published version, my tribute may assist and inspire you.
The Importance of Listening And Cooperating With Our Inner Messages
For a few years I have known in my heart and mind that we hold all our own answers within. We receive continuous messages from our intuition, our cells, our organs, every part of us. The Ancient Ones in past civilizations and cultures knew this crucial fact, and taught this sacred knowledge to all. We have often forgotten.
I consider myself healthy in my diet, my exercise regiment, and my daily spiritual practices. Recently I became quite ill and could not tolerate much of anything solid in the form of food. I am a Reiki Master, Sound Healing Practitioner, Daily Meditator, and practice Ancient Shamanic modalities. Of course I offered my body,mind, and spirit my own practices and reached out to other healing facilitators I have trust in. I also received unsolicited and unhelpful advice and suggestions as to why I was sick.
I incorporate and welcome Western Medicine with Alternative Medicine . My illness began two months ago and gradually progressed in a downward spiral. I went to my Integrative Medicine Doctor who suggested diagnostic tests, and , as always, he honored the fact I listen to my own body and intuition.
My body was telling me it was my time to come to a resting place, to receive instead of my usual M.O. of giving help to others and holding Sacred Space for the Collective in our time of world chaos. As if I had a choice, and it became clear I did not, I stopped my activities. My body became weaker each day. I lived for close to a month on green juice, water, and broth. I did have a C-T scan, bloodwork, and an endoscopy. Most of the tests showed nothing was wrong with me. I listened without judgement but was weak. My body slept 10-11 hours a night. I experienced incredible Dreamtime each night, and even slept and dreamed during the day. I did finally receive a medical diagnosis of an abdominal, curable condition.
Through this experience I was not afraid, but at times was frustrated ; however, I continued listening to my dreams, my inner messages, and welcomed the support of my large tribe of friends and loved ones.
The messages of the Ancient Ones kept telling me to honor the change from Summer into Autumn, to be like the Wise trees that serve as my protection and guardians on the incredible property on which I live. I felt, just like the strong oaks, willows, and pines I was shifting in my beliefs, perceptions, and energies. When we allow ourselves to let go of trying to figure out logically what has no logical answers, and to trust the Ancient Teachings ,Wisdom of Nature ,and Natural Laws to unfold, incredible events come to pass. Our world has changed and those who try to use prior ways to work through current situations just may discover those ways are now archaic, and no longer valid. Using the old ways will bring more fear, more anger, and more frustration. We must be willing to embrace a new paradigm if we are to live in peace and harmony today.
As I recently have begun able to eat food again, and returned to a gentle yoga practice, I see the necessity of this illness. I wonder maybe sometime 
I asked for clarity, for inner answers to questions I did not consciously know to ask. I am grateful for the sickness that brought me to a screeching halt for it came with great gifts and blessings of surrender, of detoxification, of deeper trust and faith. I did release a couple of people I thought were supportive friends during the short illness when I discovered they really were not supportive at all. My vibrational level has changed…theirs had stayed back in the past. I do not judge their path. Those relationships, too, have been part of my Autumn clearing and awakening.
Each experience I am blessed to witness continues to be an opportunity, a catalyst of ascension toward a new world, for we who have awakened, and to those gradually joining us. Sometimes we just have to stop and let natural cleansing lift us out of our old skins, and into a new sense of wonder. It does require mustering courage to be vulnerable enough to be transformed into a better version of ourselves. I often do not see the Warrior I was born to be for the purpose of sharing my experiences.. to lead another soul out of their own shadows..until I finally find the hidden doorknobs and walk into a brighter light. We are in this together, my friends. Let’s not give up just yet.
