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Shifting Energy

6/25/2018

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A few weeks ago, I shared strategies for shifting from head-centered living to heart-centered living. In this post, I want to share some additional tips for managing energy, how to set yourself up with energy that is in alignment with your intention, how to keep it in alignment throughout the day, and how to positively impact someone else's energy. 

What are your energy shifters? Do you know how to shift yourself? Do you know how to positively shift others? There are many ways to shift energy. I've shared several different options in past posts. Having options in my toolbox that resonate with me has been important for me in living an intentional life.

The most important part of my energy practice includes setting my intention first thing in the morning. Part of how I do this is to affirm each morning things like...I am healthy, I am strong, I am happy, I am love, I am enough, I am forgiving, I am compassionate. I repeat these (whichever feel needed) throughout the day whenever I feel like I am stressed or frustrated, modifying them as necessary to address a particular experience that I am having.

Gratitude is also a go to energy shifter for me. It is also something that I practice every morning, as well as throughout the day and before bed. I love how my view on life, the lens through which I see the world, has shifted since bookending my day with gratitude.

Another energy shifter that I frequently use is putting my hand over my heart and focusing on filling my heart up with love and gratitude. It's feels great to take that feeling, that energy, and push it out into the universe. I inhale deeply and on the exhale envision sending out that feeling of love and gratitude into the world. 

I also love using the STOP technique as a shifter. S...stop, T...take 3 deep breaths, O...observe how you feel and your environment, P...practice gratitude. Whatever options work best for you in establishing your daily intention and then carrying it out during the day and using it in the moment as needed to stay in alignment.

To positively shift the energy of someone else consider smiling at someone, maybe tell them that they are a really great person and that you appreciate them, or tell them that they have great energy. Then pay attention to how the energy shifts and changes, with them and with yourself. 


Another easy and quick in the moment energy shift is simply to laugh. Even if you have to fake it to make it. It's not always an option, but it's a great way to release stress, raise the vibration  and shift energy.

You have the ability to change the energy of a space, a place or a person either positively or negatively. Everything is energy, we are made of energy. It's important to remember that all energy is entangled. You cannot separate energy. It looks like my body has an end and your body has a beginning and that we are separate, but we really are not. Why is this important? My cells and energy and the energy field around me comingles with your energy and your energy field. There is really no place where I end and you begin.

The conscious mind is all energy. Thoughts are energy, they can actually be energetically measured. The invisible force of energy is more powerful at shaping the physical realm than the physical realm itself. Consciousness is the shaper of the universe in which we live, thought is what shapes the world. Scientists are finding that e
nergy is more important at shaping your biology than chemistry is, that has amazing implications to our overall health and well-being. 

I invite you to practice positively shifting your energy and the energy of the space, place and people around you. By staying heart-centered and outwardly expressing love, kindness and gratitude you are shifting energy and positively shaping the world. 
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I Want To Share Something Important With You

6/19/2018

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I just want to take a moment to say something, to acknowledge something...you are AMAZING, you are an INCREDIBLE person, you are ENOUGH, yes you truly are! YOU are kind and caring and lovable and generous. You are a REFLECTION of our creator. Yes, each and every one of you is truly AWESOME!

No matter how you feel at this moment, or what is going on in your life, just pause and take a moment to let those words sink in...to FEEL them. Maybe put your hand over your heart-center and take a nice deep breath in and out and feel the words in your heart. 

Remember that we are good, that we are a spirit having a human experience, that we need to be gentle with ourselves and with the other kind, loving, gentle souls that we interact with in this lifetime. We are ALL one. We are ALL here learning.

You, at your core, are deeply good. You don't need to operate from a place of fear. You are bigger than that, your light is brighter than that, you are more powerful than that, you KNOW within you a better way, it's called LOVE.

Don't be quick to judge...be quick to listen, to empathize, to be compassionate, to apologize, to forgive, to love.

Don't be quick to be right...be quick to understand, to hear another perspective, to be open to a different way, a different thought, a new direction, to love.

Don't be quick to bully, to manipulate, to control, to compete...be quick to collaborate, to compromise, to respect, to partner, to love.

You don't need to be those things, you are okay, you are safe, you are enough. Take the time to pause, to connect to your higher wisdom. Be gentle with yourself and be gentle with others. You may not know the state of their life and the impact, either positive or negative, that you may have on them.

Create a ripple, but let it be a positive ripple. One that emanates outward and creates more beauty, more love, more empathy, more compassion, more forgiveness along the way. There is enough harshness in this world already, spread more softness. You can never be too soft, too loving. Harshness creates more harshness. 

Spread more of who you are into the world this week. Open your heart wide-open and share with the world your incredible spirit. Be gentle with yourself and be gentle with those other incredible spirits whose lives you will touch this week. Your heart, not your mind, is your greatest source of intelligence. Operate from your heart. 

Go ahead and shine your big, beautiful, bright light. Be the reflection of God's light and love as you journey through this week.
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Living A Heart-Centered Life

6/12/2018

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Did you know that scientist have discovered that our heart is a "little" brain? Our heart contains sensory neurites that cause it to function as a second brain. Our heart contains memory of our experiences and carries its own intelligence. Growing evidence suggests that the heart and brain work together. 

As Gregg Braden states in his book, Resilience From The Heart, "
A growing body of scientific evidence now suggests that the pumping of the heart, as important as it is, may pale in comparison with the additional functions that have been recently discovered. In other words, while the heart indeed pumps blood powerfully and efficiently through the body, the pumping may not be its primary purpose."

Our heart constantly sends signals to our brain, however our brain sends much fewer signals back to our heart. By harmonizing our heart and our brain (heart-brain coherence) we can tap into deep intuition, heart-based intelligence and wisdom. 

Signals generated from our heart to our brain determines what chemicals our brain tells our body to produce in response. Our body can produce stress induced chemicals or chemicals that promote feeling good, health, well-being and social connection.

Signals generated by the heart have the capacity to affect not only ourselves, but others around us as well. Our heart creates an energetic field which travels out from our body impacting the outside world. 


For me, living a heart-centered life means tapping into this "little" second brain, this heart-based wisdom and intelligence. It means working to set aside my ego and approach life from my heart-center, which is a place of love and compassion. To be heart-centered is synonymous with tapping into our higher-self. Living from this state of being is optimal for health, healing, wisdom and intuition.

To stay heart-centered is an actual physical practice, and like all things by practicing we get better at it. We build strength and stamina. The practice includes pulling your awareness, from your head center (or your ego) to your heart center (or your higher-self). 

The heart center is the area behind the sternum/breastbone, up to the top of the sternum (just below the Adam's apple) and back to between the shoulder blades. This whole area is considered your heart center. 


​Where you touch your awareness goes. Simply by placing my hand over my heart center for a few moments brings my focus and attention to my heart, which automatically creates a natural shift in my thoughts, feelings and energy. Where  attention goes, energy flows. Go ahead and give it a try and see how it feels. 

Now that your hand is over your heart center, steady or slow  your breathing and bring into your heart space feelings of care, gratitude, compassion, or love for someone or something. Conjuring up these feelings, embracing them, savoring or sustaining them in your heart space while placing your hand over your heart center is key. 

​Next, if you would like, ask your heart a question. Maybe there is a decision you are trying to make but can't decide what you should do, ask your heart for the answer. Instead of making a list of pros and cons or using our brain's intellect, our heart-based intelligence knows what is in our highest and best good.

The wisdom of your heart already exists within you. It can be trusted and relied on to guide your life. It holds the key to your deepest truths. I invite you to practice using your heart-center more to guide you through life versus relying on your brain power. The wisdom carried in its guidance will best serve your highest and best good. 


Gregg Braden, author of Resilience From The Heart, offers the following steps for accessing your heart’s intelligence:

Step 1: Focus Your Heart
Action: Allow your awareness to move from your mind to the area of your heart.
Result: This sends a signal to your heart that a shift has taken place—you are no longer engaged in the world around you and are now becoming aware of the world within you.


Step 2: Slow Your Breathing
Action: Begin to breathe a little more slowly than usual, allowing five to six seconds for your inhale and exhale.
Result: This simple step sends a second signal to your body that you are safe and in a place that supports your process. Deep, slow breathing has long been known to stimulate a relaxation response of the nervous system (the parasympathetic response).

Step 3: Feel a Rejuvenating Feeling
Action: To the best of your ability, feel a genuine sense of caring, appreciation, gratitude, or compassion for anything or anyone.
Result: The key to success here is for your feeling to be as sincere and heartfelt as possible. As described previously, it’s the quality of this feeling that fine-tunes and optimizes the coherence between your heart and your brain. While everyone is capable of this experience, it’s one of those processes that you may need to experiment with to find what works best for you.


Step 4: Ask Your Heart Intelligence a Question
Action: The previous three steps create the harmony between your brain and your heart that enables you to tap into your heart’s wisdom. As you continue to breathe and hold the focus in your heart, this is the time to ask your question.
Result: 
Heart intelligence generally works best when the questions are brief and to the point. Remember, your heart doesn’t need a preface or the history of a situation before the question. Ask your question silently as a single concise sentence and then allow your heart’s wisdom to respond in a way that works for you.

Step 5: Listen
Action: Become aware of how your body feels immediately as you are asking your question. Make a note of any sensations such as warmth, tingling, ringing of the ears, and emotions that may arise. Everyone learns and experiences uniquely. There is no correct or incorrect way of receiving your heart’s wisdom. The key here is to know what works best for you.
Result: For people who are already attuned to their bodies’ and their hearts’ intelligence, this step is the easiest part of the process. For those who may have less experience in listening to their bodies, this is an exercise in awareness.
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Miracles

6/5/2018

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I'm sure we've all at one time or another asked for a miracle. I always considered miracles to be something extraordinary, something that required divine intervention. Wikipedia defines miracles this way, "A miracle is an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws. Such an event may be attributed to a supernatural being (especially a deity), magic, a miracle worker, a saint or a religious leader."

My view on miracles has shifted as I've been reading and studying the book A Course In Miracles (ACIM). Chapter 1 covers 50 principles of miracles. I want to share one of the principles for you to ponder. It has been thought-provoking for me and created a shift in my thinking. The other principles are equally thought-provoking and intriguing. If you are looking for a challenging and life-changing spiritual book to read and study this is a great one! 

Principle 12 - ​"Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent the lower or bodily level of experience, or the higher or spiritual level of experience. One makes the physical, and the other creates the spiritual."

So, what does that mean? According to ACIM teacher Kenneth Wapnick it can be interpreted to mean this, "A miracle is a change from the ego's thought to the Holy Spirit's thought. Miracles are thoughts because everything is thought. Nothing has existence outside our minds. The miracle is the thought that corrects or undoes the ego's thought of separation."

He goes on to explain, "There are two kinds of thoughts: the ego thoughts, and basically it is those ego thoughts that made up this world, and the Holy Spirit's thoughts. The ego's thoughts reinforces separation. Thoughts that are right-minded come from the Holy Spirit, which undo the separation of the ego. It is basically saying that there are two ways of being in this world...one is the ego's and one is the Holy Spirit's."

We are conditioned in our society to think thoughts of the ego. Thoughts of separation, of survival of the fittest. This conditioning may seem like it serves us in the short-term, but it is not in alignment with who we are and how we were created.  Ultimately, it creates more challenge by steering us away from love and from the message of God.

The thought system of the ego is a thought system based on fear. And when fear dominates we end up with distress and dis-ease. It's amazing how much work our ego will go through to try to convince us that we need to protect ourselves, to be fearful, justifying its position repeatedly in our minds. 


We don't have to be totally free of all thoughts of the ego and separation, but we must be willing to surrender our thoughts and turn them over to the Holy Spirit in order to open our minds to the miracle. Even if we are only able to briefly open our minds, in that moment the miracle can occur. If we then revert to our habitual ego-minded way of thinking and our judgments, the miracle will be retained in our memory, and therefore we do not completely revert to the old identification with the ego’s thought system of separation. Each time we allow a miracle, we loosen the chains of the ego with which we have bound ourselves.

I find this to be an intriguing way to look at miracles. I write and teach a lot about how important our thoughts are and the difference between thoughts based on love and thoughts based on fear. I just never thought of it in terms of being a miracle. Like I wrote in last week's blog post, always do your best, no more and no less. Each time we allow for the shift in our thought and open our minds to the miracle we are taking a step forward toward loosening the grip of the ego. 
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