lifestyle
Find The Eye Of The Storm
Your relationship is falling apart, you have lost your job, your finances are in a shambles, you suffer an unexpected loss due to a global pandemic. Chaos comes in many forms and at times it touches multiple areas of our lives at once.
The ripple effect starts in one area and then spreads insidiously, until every aspect of your life begins to look very bleak. Your emotional reserves are drained, confusion sets in and you feel stuck, powerless…reeling from the shock.
When things turn bad in your life this way it can have the force and power of a hurricane or tornado. It can be devastating.
Perhaps you sensed it coming. Your intuitive radar was ‘pinging’, sensing imminent danger, or maybe it caught you completely off-guard. Either way, the results are the same.
Now what? How do you get your bearings, recover your sense of direction, recharge your battery and get the inner strength to move forward?
All tropical storms have a center, or an eye. The stronger the storm the calmer the eye, which is characterized by lighter winds and a clearer sky. So, take a breath – a deep breath – and find your center. Find the eye of your storm.
Making decisions from fear or chaos always increases the strength and ferocity of the storm. Remember, all storms do pass. The beauty of life lies in the newness and change each moment offers us.
The Law Of Sacrifice
Are you in a rut? Not getting what you want out of life? Pandemic fatigue getting you down? Whether you are hoping to achieve something on a psychical or emotional, or even spiritual level, it is my believe that we must always give up something in order to achieve that which you desire.
There is always going to be some form of sacrifice necessary for what you want in life. The most typical sacrifice often required is that of time – time that you must sacrifice to get that career or relationship or whatever it may be.
If you have a goal in mind for travel plans or a vacation, for example, you may need to put aside time to plan accordingly, or put more time in at your job to generate the money necessary to fund your trip.
If you are married or in a committed relationship you will know that most days you must sacrifice something. You may be required to be quiet when you wish to speak or you may need to meet your partner halfway, when you would rather not. In order to make it work, to make anything work, you must always sacrifice something.
If you value something enough, then it’s worth the wait or the effort. The sacrifice that you are willing to make in order to have something, whatever it is, shows the value of what it is you want to attain.
Know that to work hard for what you want is not always easy. It shows your desire, your drive and your determination. When you get what it is you set out to attain, it makes you want to keep working for it, for example a relationship.
The Spiritual Power Of Sweet Solitude
In a meditation circle the other day, there were many of us who got the same message from spirit: that solitude is of vital importance for soul growth and for tapping into our spiritual well-being and psychic potential.
It reminded me of my childhood. I was expanding my psychic awareness and started tapping into my psychic abilities at a very young age. I remember vividly spending time in a tree house, meditating and feeling so free and relaxed.
As I grew older, I began recording my psychic perceptions and spiritual insights in a journal, which at the time I simply thought of as ‘my diary.’ Reading back in later years, I discovered that I had unknowingly recorded many predictions that came to pass.
I would spend a lot of time in solitude and quiet contemplation. I would focus on a certain things or persons that were important to me at the time, and I would then receive intuitive flashes about what needed to be done, as well as what would come to pass, or not.
Discovering the power of solitude and quiet contemplation at such a young age made all the difference in my psychic development and personal spiritual growth. I can hardly imagine where I would be without it today, had I not cottoned on to this in my youth.
If you can spend just a few minutes in sweet solitude every day, or even a few times a day, you will boost your mental and physical health and reduce your stress levels. You will find you will hear your body better for what it needs for healing and well-being.
Spiritual practice in solitude will also empower you to become more creatively inspired and you’ll receive more insightful messages and guidance from spirit. If you want to connect with your intuition and psychic abilities, it is vital that you spend more time in alone in meditation.
The Spiritual Life Lessons Of The Spider
I recently saw with my own eyes a burly, grown man run screaming from his garage because he saw a spider! I could not help but wonder what he thought might happen to him? Was the tiny spider going to pounce on him and consume him entirely?
Of course, in some places in the world there are indeed deadly little creatures that could cause irreparable harm, or even death. However, in the area where we live there is really not much chance of this ever happening. Instead of running away screaming, the arachnophobic lumberjack should have appreciated instead the spiritual wisdom and life lessons his petite visitor embodies.
When we look closely at the life of a spider, we must recognize and respect its truth. It operates in a world that is dictated only by nature and honest survival. It makes its living by adhering to the laws of nature.
The spider creates creates a home for itself where it can be safe and comfortable by applying formidable patience and diligence. It takes infinite care in this process with extreme precision.
The spider does not have a strict deadline as to when it’s home must be complete. The web is carefully spun after a perfect spot is chosen that will be most advantageous. This miraculous, fragile home must be able to withstand rain, sleet, snow, extreme winds and any other element that nature sees fit to throw it’s way.
Once this arduous and time-consuming task is completed, the next phase is just as critical. The spider will then take on the task that all creatures, man and beast, must comply with and that is securing a source of nourishment.
Take A Moment To Breathe!
In today’s harried, hurried world we all too often go through life just going through the motions. In our actions and in our words, day in and day out, we rarely take the time to stop and smell the roses. We get up, we go to work, we take care of what we think needs our attention the most, often neglecting ourselves in the process.
Then one day you become burned out. You have no energy to do what you used to be able to do. Your energy seems ‘all clogged up’, rather like a blocked drain, and you can’t breathe. You may feel suffocated. The answer lies in all the excess and adverse energy that you have taken into your body over the years, or over a certain period of time.
Our muscles have what is known as ‘muscle memory’ and we inadvertently have become used to doing what we do, day in and day out. And our bodies remember the feelings. It happens with amputees a lot where they often complain about pain or itching where the missing limb used to be.
It can be triggered by stressful situations, things that bring fear or some sense of trepidation into our lives. Our necks begin to tighten; perhaps your jaw starts to lock up from the stress of not saying what you really want to say. The blocked, burned-out feeling comes from this place of tension and remembered circumstances, and it can be cleared by the power of your breath. We hold so much in psychically that taking some deep cleansing breaths to help us expunge the energy taken on during our daily life.
Do some simple breathing exercises for five minutes when you awake in the morning, to prepare the mind for the day ahead. You will be pleasantly surprised at the results. If you are able to take a break during the middle of your day to practice some additional cognizant breathing, that would be great!
Thriving In The Winter Of Our Discontent
Enduring a harsh winter with extreme weather, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, is not an easy feat. It reminds me of the ‘winter of our discontent’ that Shakespeare refers to in the first line of his play Richard III. This winter-pandemic combo is certainly a ‘double whammy’ that could potentially break any camel’s back! But how we choose to deal with these times will determine how it will serve to improve our lives in the long run.
Winter is actually a great time to think about spiritual and personal self-care, especially in places where there are extreme weather conditions. Where I live, in the state of Maine, the winters weather conditions can be severe, making it a time to just surrender, to give myself permission to rest my body, mind and spirit.
It is a time to go within, to meditate, to read, write, paint, to do things that feed the soul. It is good time to connect deeply with our inner being, the subconscious mind, the higher self. It is a time to retreat, allowing the mind to regroup, and to replenish your body, mind, and spirit. When we take the time to get acquainted with ourselves again, we find truth, wisdom, mental and even physical healing.
If you are going through a snowed-up winter right now where you live, use this time to review your bucket list. Reflect on all that is good about your life. Think about things that are not working for you anymore and the best course of action to move forward. Give yourself time to process it all.
The past year has also been a time of getting to know who we really are and what matters to us most. The global pandemic had some major shocks and surprises in store for those of us who had lost touch with ourselves and the people around us. I have been helping many clients working through these challenges.
For many the pandemic has notably been a time of intense solitude. A time of learning to be comfortable in your own company. In the beginning, the hope was that life would go back to normal in just a few months. But as time has gone on, we have had adjust to the so-called ‘new normal.’
Helping Others Is A Great Way To Help Yourself
Ten years ago was a very difficult time in my life. I had a lot of time to reflect and put my own needs in perspective. My experience with that stress gave me coping skills that I want to share with you in today’s difficult times.
We all have choices in life when we believe that we have hit ‘rock bottom.’ We can choose to stay at that bottom and focus on that negative energy, or we can look for the positive side and see that there is nowhere else to go, except back up to the top.
A decade ago my mother was fighting cancer. She was strong and healthy and had always focused on a healthful and active lifestyle. Why did this happen to someone who does all the right things in life, when there are so many people that do not take care of themselves and then live a longer life?
In those days, I could choose to focus on such negative thoughts about how unfair life was, or I could choose to find the positive in that situation. Spending time with my mother, taking her to doctor’s appointments, cooking her favorite meals and offering my listening ear instead created a positive spirit for both of us.
I tried to spend as much time with her as possible, giving her time to live, love and laugh. We focused on one day at a time, but also made plans for tomorrow. Keeping busy and reminiscing over the positive memories we shared, truly helped me through that very stressful time with my mother.
On top of dealing with my mother, I also had a nine year old Doberman dog that was very close to me. He had just been diagnosed with liver disease and his prognosis was not good. The added stress of my dog’s health made matters even more challenging. I still think sometimes that if it wasn’t for bad luck, I would have no luck at all! But I make an effort to snap out of this kind of thought process as quickly as possible. It serves no purpose in the long run.