Celebrating the holidays without expectations can be challenging even for those of us who live an authentic life. How many of us dread the holidays because we have difficulty saying no, declining an invitation, or setting firm boundaries with our family members? Whether it be family traditions we feel obligated to continue, or relatives we feel we must visit, our minds are filled with endless to-do lists, expectations, and obligations at this particular time of year. Instead of it being a time of beauty, quiet reflection, and a celebration of our hearts, it becomes stressful trying to live up to the expectations of ourselves and … [Read more...]
Say Yes to Vulnerability & Embrace Your Courageous Heart
"We don't think or feel our way into being courageous--we take inspired action." From my personal journal It takes courage to be who we are in the world. Courage comes from the Latin word for “heart.” To be courageous is to be open-hearted, speaking our truth honestly and openly with our whole heart. In other words, sharing our most intimate thoughts, feelings and experiences that comprise our true being. Loving ourselves enough to reveal our deepest vulnerabilities is the most courageous choice we can make. Unlike bravery which is externally motivated, courage comes from within. It sources deep within our hearts as self-love, acceptance … [Read more...]
Peeling Away the Layers of Old Patterns to Reveal Your Inner Light
Personal transformation requires that we continuously peel away our layers. Like an onion or the Turkish pastry baklava, with its fragile phyllo dough layers, the subtle layers of our patterns must be peeled away on an ongoing basis. In fact, we generate life experiences that reveal the next layer of a pattern to peel away, a process that occurs throughout our lives and is essential to our physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. Using conscious awareness to recognize the layers of our patterns gives us the power to step outside of any situation, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable, and release our destructive reactions. This healthy … [Read more...]
Spiritual Alchemy: Rising from the Ashes
Sometimes a crisis such as an illness, trauma, or loss forces us to open to intense transformation. In some ways, change—even the hard change of healing old wounds—is easier when the alternative is unthinkable. But for many of us, daily life isn’t enough to trigger that kind of radical transformation. Instead, the pain is left to build up for years, even decades, because it’s easier to ignore it than to let go and lean in. Without release, however, these old wounds create chronic distress that can manifest as depression, anxiety, or physical illness. Our vulnerabilities offer us a great gift because when we lean into them we initiate an … [Read more...]
Be the Light and Shine, Shine, Shine!
“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” —Leonard Cohen As a human community, we are beginning to experience light energy through our hearts as the physical expression of love. To truly know our essence, we must become aware that we are each the source of this energy that flows through us—also referred to as light, God, higher power, universal energy, or divine intelligence. The idea of God as the source of all that we are and will come to be, while often difficult to imagine, is an acknowledgment of light and love in ourselves and the world. Ultimately, light energy expressed through our hearts radiates unconditional … [Read more...]
Inviting in Love and Connection During Difficult Times
“You have to love yourself because no amount of love from others is enough to fill the yearning that your soul requires from you.” ~ Dodinsky Inviting love into our lives allows us to experience our sacred connection to others and to humanity as a whole. When we are born, we temporarily forget our divine magnificence; consequently, we spend much of our lives trying to remember who we are. Before we uncover that remembrance, we spend much of our time and energy seeking out the inner connection which we crave on a soul level without even really understanding why. In other words, even before we remember what love really is, and where it comes … [Read more...]
10 Questions to Ask Your Heart
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry By listening to the guidance of our hearts, we discover that we are love. When we open our hearts, we become conduits for transmitting and receiving divinely inspired information which directs us to use this love for the benefit of ourselves and others. Thus opening the heart not only helps awaken us to our authentic selves, but also leads to self-healing. Although each person tunes in to this energy and information differently, we all tap into the same divine source. It is not our “ability” or “talent” which … [Read more...]
Holding the Space of Love Dissolves Negativity
“Your entire life has unfolded for your heart's ascension to love.” ~ Bryant McGillTo facilitate a shift in our current consciousness, we must transcend fear, anger, and negativity, and ascend to the soul of love. We can do this by learning how to avoid reacting from these emotions, and instead connect to a higher power or divine source (whatever that means to us) through our hearts.Like a periscope in a submarine, we must lift our gaze out of the shadowy aspects of human consciousness and obtain a more elevated, spiritual perspective. We must be clear that we are, first and foremost, spiritual beings navigating the sea of human processes, … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Invite in Love and Connection
“You have to love yourself because no amount of love from others is enough to fill the yearning that your soul requires from you.” — DodinskyInviting love into our being allows us to experience our sacred connection to others and to humanity as a whole. When we are born, we temporarily forget our divine magnificence; consequently, we spend much of our lives trying to remember who we are. Before we uncover that remembrance, we spend much of our time and energy seeking out the inner connection which we crave on a soul level without even really understanding why. In other words, even before we remember what love really is, and where it comes … [Read more...]
Being Vulnerable Opens Us to Being Love
“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; the word is love.”—SophoclesThe more we lean into our vulnerabilities, the more open we become to love. The areas of our lives in which we feel most vulnerable are health, relationships, and finances. Whether or not we had a healthy and loving childhood, we all experience some form of emotional pain as a reflection of the human condition. Our subsequent pain, when left unresolved, keeps us living in habitual, protective ways and inhibits us from co-creating a fulfilling and happy life.Leaning into our vulnerabilities requires spending time alone so we can confront the source of those … [Read more...]
