Tag: sharing

The Magic Healing Through Words

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Since my sabbatical in November from social media something has been missing. Then came the holidays, a house full of people, and the return of another year. I still felt something was off. There is a sense of imbalance that keeps arriving when I wake to sit in meditation. A nameless sensation of emptiness that lingers. A knowing without destination. It’s bizarre and exhilarating simultaneously.

This morning I found it again waiting for me to respond to its calling. The stories have been piling up without true formulation. I just hold on to them with greed and selfishness…those of folks I’ve met that I want to savor on my own. But, they aren’t mine alone.

I gather words and stories from all walks of life. I tend to them while helping heal my own needs. And then I release them.

I want to hear your stories. I want your messages and snippets of your lives to be heard. I want to connect others to their purpose of what they desire. I crave to help pay forward love in whatever way I can….

How do we do this? How can we help one another?

We do it through groups and support. We do it sitting down and talking face to face. We do it by speaking and/or writing. We heal through connections. We begin to feel seen and heard. We feel acknowledged. We become engulfed by love and acceptance. That’s how we move through it all.

So thank you! For being here. Your words are always courageous. Your sharing is delightful. When you open yourself up you begin to heal me and you and others. Don’t ever stay silent about the things that move you, shake you, or teach you.

I love you.

Sacred Sharing

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I met a Brazilian young woman on our tour of Machu Picchu. She had the tattoo in picture. I told her I loved it. I asked if she was finally free. She pulled me out of the line and shared her story.

She needed to say it out loud.

She has been traveling for 10 months through South America. I asked her how her spiritual quest was going? She teared up and hugged me, answering that question in an intimate level of vulnerability. She said that not many people understand what she’s doing (or the tattoo). She feels judged. I told her that judgment was people’s way of dealing with fear of what they don’t know. Her Spanish was pretty good and she said that it’s been the months of traveling. And…she continued with her story while holding my hand in joy for being understood.

There we were, two strangers climbing the sacred space unraveling in the mysteries of spirit. All she needed was to be heard. She is looking for purpose. Aren’t we all? What a gift to find such emotional stories on a magical place. Cheers to Shelley and her journey ahead!

Stories Connect Us

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Our stories make us. As soon as we share them, each heartache or piece of joy, we begin to release and heal. We start to feel whole again because someone has acknowledged us, recognizing our history, and loving us for it. There is power in acceptance and awareness when it comes through our vulnerability.

Let’s have open ears for others. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on the magic in another. Let’s feel each other through the silence. Let’s keep our hearts wide open as well without judgment, bigotry, or intolerance. We must see, hear, feel and taste love throughout our lives by truly being present with each other. It’s not always easy, but it is doable.

Our greatest teachers are the ones who challenge emotions, patience and understanding. We grow from their reflections.
Love transcends through every word, touch, and presence with another. It’s through those moments that we learn more about ourselves. It’s also then when we realize that we are not alone. Everyone goes through similar experiences.

You and I are connected here, out there and everywhere. It might not always be pretty but it is part of our human evolution.

Reach out to others today. Lend a smile, give a hug and share a sweet word. You might be the angel and lifeline that person needs at that very moment.

A True “Love Warrior”

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A dear friend recently gifted me the book Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton. I finished it last night, slowly savoring every word. It took me longer than most books because I would pause, spread the book across my chest like a shield, inhale and exhale with memories of what could have been my parallel life. It took me time, just like when I first read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, to understand how connected we really are with others. There are a million stories but somehow they can reflect right back to our own circumstances. Let’s face it, we all have stories. We are the sum of every single experience, interaction, and reaction. This book took me to some places I had forgotten. It also enlightened delicious moments that I love to revisit. I have doggie-eared the pages hoping to return once more at a later time. This little author has created a giant love story full of self-forgiveness, awareness, acceptance and compassion. It’s a memoir of self, relationships, marriage, addiction and how faith pulls us towards light.

Tell me what life doesn’t have some juicy substance that makes us gasp and smile and cry and love and forgive?

Tell me how we make it out of here without any experience that is worth sharing and learning from others?

Tell me how we can overcome obstacles without truly being aided by a Supreme Being and loved ones?

Tell me, just tell me how we can withhold truth from ourselves and others…and still make it an authentic life?

Tell me, because I don’t know any other way but to pour out my heart to others and allow others to pour their essence into me so I can drink from their knowledge.

I want to join the warriors of love and light to continue changing the world with spiritual vibes. This, I know, I want for the rest of my life.

Every single soul out there has a story. If you are willing to listen you will find yourself immerse in some of the experiences. This book is definitely worth exploring during the holidays. There is a reason why it’s a number one best seller! It will shake you, take you, and make you…want to continue sharing your own stories. Remember that every single thing you’ve experienced (bad or good, lovely or shameful) has brought you to this very moment. You get to decide what you do with your history to change your present and future self.

Glennon also has a wonderful blog: http://momastery.com/blog/about-glennon/

She’s a true inspiration. Go find her and follow her wisdom. Let’s all become Love Warriors as well…I love you!!!!

 

The Sum of Stories

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We are the sum of our stories. When I began my blog and writing publicly a few years ago I feared sharing anything too personal. But, as I met other writers I let go of the fear and began writing from a place of vulnerability. It’s never easy to let go. At times I have shared way too much of the scars, the rawness and the sensitivity. And in those times I have received some amazing heartfelt private emails from folks in different parts of the world saying, “Oh my gosh, I am going through this too!”

The act of writing is based on releasing all expectations. I don’t write for anyone. I write because something inside pushes and pulls me to release. And, sometimes I need to step back and recognize that there are things too private to also share with the world because once it’s out there I can’t retract them. There is such a thing as hanging your dirty laundry for the world to see.

Here, I tell you…the only thing you can do for your soul is to create from a place of truth and wonder. In this place there is an endless source of awareness and love. Write, paint, create all that’s inside. We will always teeter in the unknown. Don’t create to be liked. Don’t put things out there that you think will be accepted. Put your work out there because it is coming from a spiritual connection with humanity. We have the most awesome opportunity to inspire others every day and receive endless inspirations in return.

We tell others to be brave because we know that it is a conscious choice. Bravery is a commitment between your spirit and the heart to keep going. It’s a relationship that requires acceptance while releasing any sense of victimization. So next time you whisper to someone, “You are brave! I love your strength!” Feel it in the core of your own existence. Courage comes from falling while not allowing yourself to permanently stay there having a pity party.

You are courageous every single day. It isn’t until we see it in others that we remember our awesomeness. And if you don’t recognize your greatness when you are with loved ones then you need new folks in your life. Like, seriously! Look at your circle of friends!!!

You are magnificently created to be in oneness with others. We become mirrors of one another. Creating and sharing are art forms for seeing the uniqueness in our hearts and souls.

Thank you for the constant source of love and support. Thank you for showing up and being with me on this Mystical Journey. Mucho love!

Gathering of Souls

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Every single time I meet Someone it becomes an opportunity to open shelter for amazing stories: the dreamers, worriers, artists, parents, children, healers, damaged, scarred, mischievous, adventurous, therapists, creators, believers, artists, doubters, skeptics, searchers, lovers, haters, naturalists, teachers, optimists, poets, spirits…on and on.  
We classify ourselves with labels. Who we are has little to do with what we are and what we do. And when you ask someone about themselves they will have categories. We relate to the titles because that’s the way we have been programmed to perceive our status in society.

I am always deeply surprised at the stories of those who are willing to share their truth. The superficiality skims off, sliding to the sides and the light in their eyes shines brighter than any star.  
These are the ones who interest me beyond mysticism. I am always in awed at those souls who do not see their light but make no excuses for who they are. They are certain of their journey. I love them! They teach me something about what I don’t see in myself. The reflectors illuminate the way. I step back and think, “How can I be more like this? How can I find my purpose and truth with certainty?”
If most people knew what was around them, the beings they carry with them: the guides, teachers, and souls who have passed on, they would release so many fears. We are always taken care of and watched over. The paradigms of our belief systems have conditioned us to live in boxes. We have been taught to follow the masses and not ask questions. Many hide behind religions, political views, and narrow-minded prejudices.  
I am so thankful for those moments when I meet truth via a new soul.  
I forget how laughter, creating, and sharing allow our spirits to soar. This beautiful forum of posting and engaging has helped us find many who understand. Thank you! Thank you for such a beautiful reminder of what is truly important in life: the simplicity of being present among another and interchanging experiences. May you find that one thing that lights your spirit on fire this week!

Life gets easier

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I am still coming down from a tremendous high from the past weekend. Sitting with friends, sharing, laughing, and lifting each other up…what a treat. There is something magical about gatherings. We get real. We become more of what we hide during the hours that society demands life responsibility. We reach a level of awareness, feeding the soul in the most outstanding ways, and then setting it free to roam in the darkness while chasing critters and fairies.life-gets-easier

Make Playtime A Must

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Last weekend I led a workshop on releasing the inner child near Atlanta, Georgia. It’s taken me a week to process all the yumminess and deliciousness from the fantastic souls who came out to play. I have found that within these 7 days, things from my own childhood crept up and visited. I have enjoyed the reminders and memories and tended to some of the desires that have come up. That’s the beauty of joining with others, exchanging stories, sharing ideas, and memories. It takes some time to process your own answers. Because, let’s face it, the little child in us is always needing attention. We have a habit of shutting it down and repressing the playtime because we are adults with responsibilities. Who has time to run off and get toys to play? The answer is…there is always time. You MUST make the time!

I gave a sheet with some simple questions asking about childhood. One question was, “What toy did you always want and never got?” Even though I came up with the list of questions, I didn’t answer them ahead of time. I sat with these sweet ladies to answer them for the first time as well. And, to hear all the magical answers as we went around the room, was delightful. I never got my Barbie Dream House. But, here’s the thing, I’ve spent a lifetime buying houses and decorating them as my dream house. There was something incredible about the answers to the questions and who these souls have become. Others talked about the Easy-Bake Oven and how cooking, now, is a form of joy. I had forgotten some of the most wonderful toys way back then. We traveled back in time with those answers.  It was sweet and tender!

You don’t just let go of your inner child as you grow. That little girl or boy stays there accompanying the adult in you. If you don’t take time to play, laugh, and embrace the wondrous joys of childhood you will get lost in a maze of anger, resentment, and regrets. We have such a mystical source of magic available at all times: imagination. Our imagination creates, manifests, and transcends. We think only children have access to it. But, as adults we can create the most magnificent things with this form of consciousness. It’s only a thought away!  Albert Einstein said,

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

In a workshop, class setting, or session, there is one thing that clients need: to be heard. We all want to know that we matter. That starts from the moment we are born. Each time you are given the chance to participate in a group setting, you have the magic wand to show and re-create love, acceptance and awareness. These ladies answered questions that they had forgotten from childhood. They revisited a place of joy and sometimes not so loving. They recognized things that went lost, some great disappointments and the ability to see their journey and how they got to where they are now. They’ve survived. They endured. They loved. They cried. They returned to a place of simple times. And, they are able to recognize that the little girl in them is still desiring things: places to travel to, adventures, toys, joy and so much more.

We have the ability to return to the past with one thought. We do not have to stay there. We also have the ability to move forward and enjoy this very moment. Thoughts transport us anywhere we want. Memories are time machines. We visit them through old songs, places, smells, taste, and words.

You don’t have to attend a workshop to entertain your inner child and play. You can do this every day, or every week, by allowing the little child in you to go on play dates. Make a point to take her or him to a park, a movie, a hike, pick rocks from a creek, walk barefoot in dirt, make mud-pies, go to a toy store, etc. Wear your cowboy hat, the tutus, the crowns and join the fairies and other imaginary friends. If you didn’t get your toy back then, perhaps it’s time you go find it now. Buy it, build it, make it happen and you will see a happy soul taking flight. Do not, for one minute, think that you are too old to play. Age has no limit.

I am the happiest when I am dirty in a creek collecting heart-shaped rocks. This simple act of play is a form of grounding and collecting joy. I don’t know what works for you. For me it’s being in nature. My mother didn’t allow me to get dirty. If she saw me in dirt I was immediately pulled out and sent to bathe. At nearly a half a century young, you better believe that I take advantage of dirt as much as possible. Now you…go do the things that make your heart skip a beat. Be in the moment. Embrace the child in you and love it the way you would your own child. Be gentle and caring and available to listen to the whispers and the secrets.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

**Note: To all the beautiful ladies who came out to play, I thank you for allowing me to enter your past and present. I love you!

Sometimes life is a river

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There has been some intense vibrational energy moving on overdrive the past few days. I have felt dizzy, nauseated, one minute hot and the next with chills. I’ve had a low fever at times while experiencing the in’s and out’s of time. The challenge has been in keeping track of my day. I don’t know how I would have done it had Matt not taken care of the baby all weekend. He left with her Sunday for a few hours so I could sleep. I was awake and then I was not. Same throughout the night.

A little while ago I took a salt bath with lavender. I am now sweating whatever has been activated. I haven’t had any alcohol since I began the Prozac over a month ago. The best thing I have ever done was rid myself of the occasional wine. And, once we sell this place the anti-depressant will be in the garbage. This is all well and great while going through the process of eliminating and shifting. It’s a band-aid over a wound that needs healing. Eventually I need to let it breathe. I am all for medication as long as I understand it isn’t going to fix the end result. It is aiding me in getting back to my truth. No one can know what goes on in another’s soul. I believe help arrives in many different ways. There’s no need for judgment.

A week after I began taking the pills I was in the French Broad River with friends white-water rafting. In the middle of paddling and being instructed…”one, two…” I heard nothing. The voice in my head had somehow stopped. I felt that sense of being outside of me. Finally the medicine hit me and out in the wilderness of the unknown. What a metaphor! It’s one of those things that was so apparent that I had to pep talk myself to the edge of the river to get off and come back into me. The anxiety was gone. It was as if someone took my head out of my ass and I was breathing normally again. I was able to see and hear and enjoy the river without having to control the thoughts.  I had been on such a tremendous panic mode for so long that I didn’t realize how sick I had become. For the rest of the day I got quieter. Friends asked if I was okay. I couldn’t really say what I was and I was not ready to share that I was taking medicine. I was feeling the release of everything that had me so tightly held inside while being on that gorgeous river. With each dip and level I was able to find Millie again…the level-headed woman who can focus.  I found love for me through the scenery of nature.   

Anxiety is born from fear of the unknown. The need to control a situation begins to escalate and before you realize it your world spins out of orbit. It’s not an emotion I do well. I used to live like that but I had not for a long time. What it created was the injustice and unfairness of not following my spiritual truth. No, the pills don’t bring me spirituality. My spirit, my essence, my knowing bring me back to spirituality. My authentic truth is regained through the process of eliminating the fears of what will be, what might happen, and what can I do. The only thing I can do right now is heal. There is room to breathe. Depression, sadness, anxiety and the weakening of mentality is a HUGE cry for change. I am glad that for the third time in my life I have said, “Okay, I can’t do this alone. I need something to help me get pass this event.” Each time after a few months I recharge and find my center.  I am not a good pill taker.  I am not consistent with anything but love and my spiritual practice.

Since Friday afternoon there has been energy in vortexes outside. I have opted to stay indoors. I can hear the expansion of something happening. Old paradigms get activated when we try to rationalize what is going on. So I don’t. I move through forgiving myself for anything that has caused me discomfort…for allowing the ego to take the wheel.  My mind and spiritual body know better.  I forget at times.  When it doesn’t feel right I continue allowing and honoring my spirit by staying quietly in my room. Whatever was passing through cosmically seems to be ending. This is the gift of an empath…the knowing that everything passes with time. I don’t feel the buzzing of intense energy vibrating at a totally different rhythm. I feel me again. I have sweated and purged so much in the past three days: emotionally and physically. I have prayed, meditated and listened to fantastic Chakra music.  I have allowed Spirit to guide me through this small retreat. I have released what had been suffocating and strangling within the cellular levels of my knowing. I know the answers to me. I am finally able to revisit the calmness. It’s not a pretty sight to go through crap without really knowing how it will show up at the end. I cannot verbalize what I don’t understand while moving through the healing. I need the space alone to do so. Luckily, I have folks who understand this about me. I am blessed.

Last night before I finally fell asleep I asked consciousness to get rid of anything that isn’t for my highest calling. I have been releasing ever since. We forget that we have the power to demand our bodies to heal. We have the knowledge and the know-how but refuse ourselves the decency to feel the strength inside of us. We forget. We forget that we are God, divine wisdom, spiritual beings in human form. We need reminding every so often. I have to give myself a pep talk every so often to remind me that I hold the key to my life: health, abundance, growth, body, mind…everything. I got this! And, like me, you have the answers to all you need! You are not alone in this journey…there are many of us weaving the fabric of humanity to change! It’s magical…it’s Godly…it’s us!