From Forgiveness to Freedom

 How does it feel when you forgive someone?

How does it feel when someone forgives you?

Forgiveness creates better emotional health and can grow deeper relationships. If we hold grudges, we may be perpetuating emotional and mental blocks due to the lack of forgiveness. By practicing forgiveness, we create peace, provide a model for spreading goodness, and lighten our energetic baggage as we move forward in our lives. 

For the month of May let's plan to take a few moments each day and bring in the energy of Forgiveness. Let's understand the benefits of forgiveness and our role in forgiving people in our relationships, as well as requesting or accepting forgiveness from people too.

A few wonderful forgiveness methods include:

• saying the Ho'opono'pono prayer
• placing individuals or groups of people (including ourselves) onto a forgiveness altar in our mind's eye
• writing a letter of forgiveness to someone (they can be deceased or living) and burning it. 

Incorporating a daily forgiveness practice helps us release the hold the past may have on us, and gives us permission to move forward, lighter and freer than the day before. 

Allow the magic of Forgiveness to harness the Freedom you've been yearning for!

The Present Moment of Now

Think of a time when someone started talking to you when you were in the middle of an email, or trolling on your phone, watching TV, or in the middle of a conversation. When you experienced this interruption, were you able to stop what you were doing and fully engage with the person? 

When you're reading a book or have some downtime, do you find you're thinking about plans for later in the day or the week? Or are you fully engrossed in the current moment?  

The importance of being ever present in the current now, brings us to a different level of existing. We spend less energy splitting our time or corralling our thoughts back to focus. 

Let's make sure we love ourselves enough to be present in our activities, tasks, and downtime this month. See how certain things fall way, who steps up, which connections deepen, and how we feel as we release the grip our plethora of responsibilities have on us. 

For many of us, this presence means slowing down a bit and allowing the flow of life to be, which may be contradictory to how many of us live most of the time. Hopefully we can all find areas in our lives where we can be present and over time, with attention, we can bring that presence to another aspect, and another, until we are consistently present in our lives. 

Wishing you all Love and Peace this month!

Strength

When was the last time we acknowledged someone who has helped instilled strength within us?  Parents, coaches, teachers, mentors, friends, and pets could have all contributed to the strength we possess today - whether it be the strength to get through a situation, pick ourselves up after we make a mistake, or to deal with a tough emotion or person.  

When we find there is a little more depth to us that we may have realized, we can turn to external factors that created an internal decision to be strong - whatever that means to us. To me strength is, and certainly isn't limited to: 

knowing when to speak up and when to act

knowing when silence matters and when allowing flows

going within rather than lashing out

releasing responsibility that is not your own

realizing an illusion

including self-care

communicating needs and desires

celebrating self

celebrating other's progress and successes

expressing kindness in the midst of discord

being grateful 

Who would you say has helped cultivate your inner strength? Know that strength takes lots of different forms, each uniquely beautiful. 

I appreciate the strength it took you to bring you where you are today.  

 

New Beginnings II

It's interesting how new beginnings occur several times throughout our lives.  In reality they're happing almost daily - each day is a new beginning, each meal, workout, conversation, job, relationship, etc. New beginnings are happening all the time. The below is another reflection on New Beginnings. 

New Beginnings are happening all around us and within us - all the time. Our cells are constantly dying and regenerating, new days are upon us every 24 hours, new food comes in our home and bodies, new opportunities, relationships, experiences, travel routes occur on a minute-to-minute, day-by-day frequency. 

While we may be caught in a routine of things, there is still an amount of newness that pervades our existence - a new way of being, responding; or even thinking. Perhaps when you see the term "new beginnings" you find yourself longing for something new and different. Or maybe you feel a knot in your stomach when considering the next new beginning.  

New beginnings require an amount of trust and surrender to what was and what will be. New beginnings enable us to not know all the answers, which can be frustrating and refreshing. New beginnings may also show us where our stability lies - whether outside of the things that are changing or the change itself could be our rock.
 
Regardless how we interact with new beginnings in our daily life or in new chapters of our lives, one thing is certain - change in constant. We must be sure to savor the change and the growth that comes with it. Know that without change our depth of potential cannot be reached nor can our magnificence as unique divine beings shine forth.

How will you embrace change today?

   

Peace of Mind

We talk about having peace of mind when it comes to safety, healthcare, financial security, and a lot of other things. We purposefully put measures in place - checks and balances - in various parts of our lives to ensure that we mitigate or eliminate concern so we can go freely about our lives in other capacities.

Many of us are distracted by our own routines, jobs, workout schedules, volunteering, paying bills, caring for others, home/chores, etc., that true peace of mind may escape us for long periods of time. We may constantly be worried about getting everything done, how others perceive us, or some variety of persistent thoughts. 

What if we were to elaborate on the concept of peace of mind, and increase its priority to be in every aspect of our lives? At first it may seem daunting, and when we consider for a moment what peace of mind looks like in all ares of our lives, of course, most anyone would want that.

Where does peace of mind come from - what is it driven by?  Do we claim or pursue peace of mind to allay fears versus opening up to the wonder and goodness of this world?  How do we keep this seemingly protective layer in place so we and others can be mindful of our own and each others' peace? 

Obtaining and maintaining peace of mind requires:

• Awareness of all our emotions and thoughts and addressing those emotions and thoughts to fully let go of them. Yes, although this can be a bit time consuming initially, it will become easier as we continue the practice. 

• Permission - us giving ourselves permissions to not only take the time to reflect and process what we need to mentally and emotionally, but also permission to let go, trust, and allow ourselves to truly be in the moment releasing any concern. 

• Commitment to ourselves that we are worth the investment of time, attention, and growth.

Peace of mind may be subjective and personal, so feel free to take some time to identify what peace of mind feels and looks like to us individually and collectively. Then dare to bring that peace of mind with the help of our angels and guides to clear the path of experiencing peace of mind as a gift to ourselves on a daily basis. If we employ the assistance of others too, this peace of mind concept may very well be contagious. 

Beauty Within

I love the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast. Aside from its surface love story and endearing characters, there is a wonderful deeper meaning to it all.

Many of us struggle to keep our more unwanted features and aspects of ourselves hidden from others, and many times even from ourselves. It's normal to initially look upon these characteristics and qualities with disdain, frustration, and anger. Yet behind all those discordant emotions, there lies a depth of beauty - an opportunity to learn and to grow right there within ourselves. 

In the animation movie, Bell saw beyond the physical appearance of what she initially perceived as a ghastly being. She learned that the Beast was more than what he portrayed on the outside - that he had great beauty within  as well.

As we experience life, we sometimes find our patience wearing thin when dealing with ourselves, coworkers, family members, and neighbors. It is in those times that it's helpful to try and step back and see beyond what's shown to us on the surface. Feel what is going on beneath the actions and words. 

Beauty and the Beast can be likened to our own human struggle for self-acceptance, with all our perceived flaws. As we learn to love our flaws, they seem to dissipate into something more beautiful than we had originally imagined.

What perceived Beasts will you look beyond to find the true jewel and Beauty within?

Higher Ground

What better way to overcome the seeming trappings of this world than by seeking higher ground?

 

Higher ground provides a perspective to see with a wider lens, catching nuances or aspects we hadn't seen before. Higher ground gives space and potential objectivity, bathing us in a chance to breathe and calculate a meaningful response rather than reacting. Higher ground allows a path to be kind and let people have the benefit of the doubt. When we take this opportunity we may refrain from speaking unkind words and perhaps, instead, uplift someone or a situation.

 

The next time we feel caught by an overwhelming emotion or believe we are trapped by the perceived confines of life, seek and find that higher ground - whatever that looks like for each of us. Once there, open up to witness the expansiveness and wholeness of who we are, and in that space define next steps or approach for ourselves. 

 

The world requires and is in need of our participation. It is comforting, inspiring, and empowering to periodically, yet consistently, view our participation from the higher ground as the results are usually light infused.

Truth

The definition of this word seems to deepen as the years pass.

When we are young, truth is focused on not telling lies, being honest and telling the truth. 

 

In teenage years, truth develops into expressing ourselves in ways that have significance to us.

 

As we move into the 20s and 30s we consider what livelihood(s) matches our values and priorities, expressing truth in a new way.

 

Throughout all this we also consider not telling the truth because someone may take it to heart, they may disagree, be disappointed, or feelings may be hurt.

 

As we grow, we continue to realize the core values and truths that drive us. Living our truth becomes paramount in a deep, self- aware perspective.

 

We seek members of our "tribe" - people who also feel the call, the need, the desire to live their truth - which may not always be aligned with ours, yet we respect one's ability to live their truth as well. For it is in our brilliance and uniqueness of the values and inspirations that drive us to live truthfully that allow us to flourish as a human race.

Where are you living your truth?  What spaces can you create to express your truth, compassionately - to fulfill a passion within and inspire others who dare to listen, who dare to watch, who dare to be inspired to live theirs as well?

Intuitive Eating

In the past decade there have been a number of eating lifestyles that have gained popularity  - each with its own benefits and challenges.

With the internet and society's food focus, everyone can educate themselves on the foods they bring into their homes and bodies. Certain ingredients may require more research than others, however, based on the extent of our research, we can gain knowledge that helps us make the right choices for ourselves.

I, myself, have tried a variety of eating lifestyles including a raw diet, gluten-free diet, and vegetarianism. As a result, I have found that my body needs a balance of most foods and eliminating one or more food types does not serve me well. I have however, decreased a number of old standbys and increased my whole food eating. By listening to my body and experimenting with different options, I know now what works best for my body, mind and spirit to function really well.

For instance, on a good day, clear of high stress and emotional eating 😄, I will intuitively eat, being open to the varied options available. Many of us already do this when we're cooking without a recipe or shopping without a list. I liken it to going crystal shopping and purchasing crystals we feel drawn to or that draw us to them, but with food.

That may mean being drawn to a more selective diet for sure. There is no one size fits all eating regiment. We must each be responsible for our own well-being and respect other's food choices as well. Regardless what your eating lifestyle is, I encourage you to try intuitively eating if you haven't already - see what fascinating, tasty creations you're capable of making!