Monday Mantra :: Grounded

We are constantly surrounded by information at our fingertips.  Articles to scan, social media pages to scroll through, video clips to watch, and a plethora of other distractions or important knowledge to consume and digest.  It's amazing that within seconds we can look something up we need to know or find directions of where we need to go.

With all of this, we very easily start to live up in our minds and miss the connection to our bodies, unless we make a conscious effort. When you are in need of clarity or have the desire to hear your own truth (rather than what google tells you), GROUNDING comes into play.

And grounding can be super simple.  This week, I encourage you to take note of your feet.  Set an alarm on your phone, write it on your calendar, post a reminder to your bathroom mirror, do it when you get out of bed in the morning, when you're eating a meal, and/or before you drive your car.  Do it once a day or do it multiple times a day:

Take a deep inhale and exhale.

Feel the bottoms of your feet on the earth.

And say to yourself: I am grounded.

That's it!  Where awareness goes, energy flows.  Just by bringing your awareness to your feet, your energy begins to ground.  The more you practice this, the easier it is to move about the world connected to both your beautiful mind and your beautiful body.  

This week's mantra: I AM Grounded.  

Monday Mantra :: LOVE

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

2017 brings the return of the blog... little love notes each week for empowering, inspiring, and supporting you in coming home to yourself. 

{artist :: Silvi Alcivar, @poetrystore}

The above picture posted on Instagram on NYE reminded me of an experience I had a year or two ago when I participated in a group breathwork workshop at my favorite healing center in Brooklyn, back when I lived in New York.  At the very end of the session, I had a powerful visualization.  For me, breathwork brings about lots of images and other-worldly journeys.  During the quiet of the normal breathing this particular time, I had a vision of my adult self sitting in the hospital bed with my dad when he was dying.  For those who haven't heard this part of my story, my dad died from cancer when I was 12, but in this moment post-breathwork, in my mind and heart, I was bringing the past into my present for healing. All of our family and his friends were around us while the two of us were sitting up, side by side, in his bed.  In this dream, I asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell all of us, since he had made it to the other side.  Some words of wisdom or comfort he'd like to impart to us now that he was one with Spirit.  He said this:

"Love.  Just love.  All you need is Love."

At the end of the day... the bottom line... when we reach the end of our road... all we need is... simple (although perhaps difficult and challenging at times).  We need love.

My wish for you this 2017 is for more love.  To love anyway.  To love always.  
Love is love is love is love.

Start with yourself.  Shower yourself with love.  And this will cause a ripple that showers the rest of the world with love.  

This week's mantra: I AM Love.  

Moon Lessons 2: Which Trail To Follow

Several weeks back in January, the Minnesota weather tested my endurance to cold by throwing us some awesome -8 degree weather, which actually felt more like it was in the -20 degree department.  So,  in order to prove that we are made of hardcore northern Viking material, my man and I bundled up layers of clothing, hats, mittens, scarves, wool socks, and put yak tracks on our boots.  By the time we arrived at the dog park with puppy boy, all you could see of our skin was our eye balls.  

The best part about the particular park we went to on this late Sunday morning is the hills and trails.  While your dog is off leash running anywhere and everywhere to check out all the smells, you can hike up and down these steep pathways and work up a pretty good sweat.  Moon Boy is pretty darn cute and will run ahead and explore, but will always stay at a safe distance where he can check in to make sure we are still there following behind.

At one point, we decided to veer off to the left and head up another path we had yet to take, so we called out to Moon, who was of course already ahead of us, as we trudged on in the new direction.  What happened next caught me by surprise.  I had expected Moon to turn around, come back along the path he had already been on, and THEN make his way up the same path we had just begun.  But instead (!), he crashed through the trees and brush to make a straight beeline from where he was as he sprinted to the path ahead of us.  Rather than retrace his steps, Moon forged a new path to get from point A to point B.  

This broken expectation, while a super small blip in a moment in time and could easily have gone unnoticed, got me thinking!  How often in my life have a followed a course of action just because I already had it mapped out and not necessarily because it was the most efficient or healthy option?  How often do I trudge on because it's "what I'm supposed to do" instead of looking for other ways of doing things that might be more direct, ease-ful, or enjoyable?  How often do I ignore my instincts and intuition because it's not as clear cut or perfectly paved?  And what holds me back from dashing towards my end vision or dream that I can see in my minds eye?  Fear?  Uncertainty?  Old thought patterns that don't give me the room to see a new way?

Now, there's definitely something to be said for sticking to a plan and following through with it to the end.  There are absolutely times when completing a course of action or standing by a decision is valuable and essential.  But this experience also showed me the value in taking pause to EXPLORE what's working and what's not.  Giving the opportunity to DECIDE to stay or DECIDE to change it up.  What is in my best interest and what is harming me?  Where might there be other options or paths that would get me to the same outcome but in a more ease-ful or more exciting way?

Taking time to contemplate these questions once a month (or more) is super valuable to make sure we are living a life that feels authentic and true to our highest selves.  Sometimes things change for us and sometimes staying the course is what feels best because dedicated time on a project or purpose or goal is what is needed.  With the fast paced, busy lives we lead, we can forget to evaluate, so having a regular check-in with ourselves helps remind us that we are always a work in progress and there's always room for growth or movement.  

Using Moon's namesake here as inspiration can be helpful as each month the moon becomes dark in the sky.  The new moon is an invitation to go inward... to check in with your heart, your core… to examine how you feel on the inside versus what's going on in your external world.  What feels aligned for you and what feels out of balance?  What good changes are working and what still need some adjusting and editing?  Maybe with that quiet moment with yourself you realize that your job makes you really happy or grounded right now, even if it wasn't what you thought you'd be doing.  Maybe you discover you'd rather do an in-person class, because the on-line course you've been taking isn't lighting you up like you thought.  Maybe you realize that your body needs better nutrition before you incorporate so much exercise.  Maybe it's realizing you need the joy and thrill of a new adventure to mix up the day to day normality.  Or maybe it's finding that you are super content with the way things are right now, so you're just going to enjoy and savor where you are.

This Monday, Feb 8th, 2016 is new moon time.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to yourself.  Light a candle.  Pull out a journal if that's your thing.  Close your eyes gently and place a hand to your heart.  And listen to what your inner guide tells you about what's happening for you.  Then you can make a choice…. you can keep going in the direction your headed or you can veer off to the left to take a new path or you could sprint through the trees to add a little spontaneity to your journey.  There is no right or wrong answer.  Your inner wisdom will know exactly what to do for you. 

**MN loves, if you're wanting some guidance or clarity about your journey or decisions in life, come join me for a Breathwork Healing Circle on Friday, Feb 26th, 2016 and let the breath help clear some space for contemplation.  More information about it here on the event page.  Private sessions also available for long-distance sessions.

Wolf Wisdom (For the Full Wolf Moon)

Image repost from @goddess_rising)

Today, I attended a Dreamwork Workshop where I gathered with a few women to share dreams and interpretations, lessons, inspiration.  We meet once a month and today one of the women shared her experience of the New Years retreat.  The theme was *The Wolf You Feed* and today she brought with her copies of the story that inspired the theme of the retreat.  Considering it's a Full Wolf Moon this month, I thought it appropriate to share.  You may have heard of this story before.

"One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.  

He said, 'my son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.  One is evil.  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.  

The other is good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kinds, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: 

"Which wolf wins?…"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "the one you feed."

This part of the story, I had heard before with mixed feelings about it.  Powerful, yes.  But anger, evil??  Really?  Anger doesn't feel too hot when I'm experiencing it (actually, it feels REALLY hot, as my anger resembles fire… but I digress), but evil is such a strong word.  The story, however, continues and actually ends a different way:

"The old Cherokee simply replied, "if you feed them right, they both win.  You see, if I only choose to feed the white wolf, the black one will be hiding around every corner waiting for me to become distracted or weak and jump to get the attention he craves.  He will always be angry and always fight the white wolf.  But if I acknowledge him, he is happy and the white wolf is happy and we all win.  For the black wolf has many qualities - tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong-willed, and great strategic thinking - that I have need of at times and that the white wolf lacks.  But the white wolf has compassion, caring, strength, and the ability to recognize what is in the best interest of all.

You see, son, the white wolf needs the black wolf at his side.  To feed only one would starve the other and they will become uncontrollable.  To feed and care for both means they will serve you well and do nothing that is not a part of something greater, something good, something of life.  Feed them both and there will be no more internal struggle for your attention.  And when there is no battle inside, you can listen to the voices of deeper knowing that will guide you in choosing what is right in every circumstance.  Peace, my son, is the Cherokee mission in life.  A man or a woman who has peace inside has everything.  A man or a woman who is pulled apart by the war inside him or her has nothing.

How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life.  Starve one or the other or guide them both." -Cherokee Story

Now this sounds inspiring to me.  I can use my feelings to fuel my growth and transformation and healing.  Or I can allow them to sabotage or block or get in my own way.  The anger I'm feeling can blind me to rage… or I can use it as a flag of my inner truth trying to get my attention: "huh, I'm feeling angry right now… what is causing this fire?  Where do I feel unfairly treated or not listened to or where does action need to happen to change this situation causing me frustration?"  Emotions themselves are not "good" or "bad".  Emotions are energy in motion that can be used as tools to create an intimate and honest relationship with ourselves, as long as they are allowed to do what they do best… be in motion.  

So let it flow!  Breathe, feel, allow.  Reflect.  Cry, scream, yell, giggle, dance it out, write it down.  Rather than starve your body from feeling your emotions by stuffing them down or numbing out, guide them.  Listen to them.  And THEN let them go, if they no longer serve you.  

Point to ponder:  What feelings to you tend to avoid feeling?  How might you support all aspects of your multidimensional human self?  What are some tools you can use to develop a healthy relationship with your emotions?