When I look around and watch and listen to people around me, it appears that everyone’s life is over-full with activities, worries and a variety of stresses, and it seems impossible to keep up with everything appearing at the doorstep. Does that describe you as well?

We are at a time when many energies are building around us. Observing the earth events over the last couple of years clearly demonstrates that major shifts are taking place. We cannot separate ourselves from these changes, and it is easy to get caught up in the ever-increasing intensity of life events.

For this reason, it is becoming that much more necessary, in my opinion, to create ways of establishing a buffer between you and the world outside. Without this buffer you are likely overwhelmed, reactive and unfocused as you deal with information and ‘demand for attention’ overload in many areas of your life.

I invite you to consciously draw a line around yourself and establish a boundary. Imagine yourself inside a kind of bubble, separated by a permeable membrane of discernment and self-empowerment from the happenings outside this demarcation. This bubble is not based on fear. It’s purpose is not to keep things out that are ”bad”, it is there to create a spaciousness around you that allows you to choose what you want to engage with.

Now, imagine that this bubble is your home and observe:
Do you have all the windows and doors open,exposing yourself to the elements, being at their mercy, may it be heat, or rain or snow? Are you allowing bugs or bigger animals in and shrug your shoulders, feel bad and hard done by?

Or, are you practicing discernment? Are you taking the time to check what is going on outside? Perhaps you open one window, not all. If you don’t like bugs in the house, a window screen will keep them out. Before opening the door, you may look through the peephole. Discernment is not fear- based, but a choice made from your heart, expressing your inner knowing what decision is in alignment with your soul purpose.

So, what do you allow to pass your threshold? Can you be conscious in separating what is nourishing to you and what is stressing you out? Not everything needs your attention! Just because you can be available any minute through your phone and hear of everything that is going on in the world through the TV and Internet, does not mean you have to take it on and make it part of your life!
When you are unconscious, old belief patterns and habits determine what crosses your boundaries and your decisions and behavior are automatic and therefore rarely in alignment with your true self. You feel lack and emptiness and often try to fill your life with more distractions to keep yourself from looking deeper.

When you are conscious, you move yourself into the place of creating empowered choices that are in alignment with who you truly are.

What nourishes you? Look out the bubble window to find it and open the door to receive it.
What activities, food, people, information make you feel more whole and bring a smile to your face? If you are kind to yourself, what choices do you make?

We are beings of flow, living in a world of flow. We are affected by what we allow into our lives and it determines what we send back out into the world. If you can practice conscious discernment and are choosing more and more to only interact with what is supportive to you, you will feel more peace, love and joy in your life. From this place of fullness, it is becomes easy to send loving kindness and acceptance back into the world.

And we can all use more of that!

What does it mean to you to be creative in life? Do you actively express your creativity in all aspects of your existence?

There are innumerable ways of defining and expressing creativity.

For me, creative manifestation is really the foundation of our life. This is our journey. We are given certain parameters to work with: female/male, a particular family, society and language to grow up with and a unique set of skills and talents. What we do with them is an expression of our own creativity.

So as you are creating your life, what are you conscious of in the process? Do you lean more towards being a passive observer, feeling that life is happening to you and you have little choice but to deal with it as best as you can under the circumstances? Or are you engaged in the process, actively looking to create the best life you possibly can?

Creativity is deeply connected to your life flow and self- nourishment.
When you are allowing yourself to regularly receive insights and ideas and take action on them, you will support yourself on many levels. You connect to your trust, empowerment and truth and your skills and talents are brought forward ever more clearly.

Creative ideas or insights, the “AHA” moments in life, are not taking place in your mind. The mind only recognizes the AHA after the fact. Einstein recognized that when he stated that the mind that is creating a problem can’t solve it. Something has to come in from the “outside” to create a shift in perspective.

The way I see it is that in particular moments we access an expanded consciousness that is beyond time and space as we know it. In this expanded awareness, all information, all knowing is available. We dip in and come out with a nugget that we then can use freely. We generally can’t go there at will, so it is a special gift we are receiving.

Often the creativity is expressed in linking two or three items together in a way you did not notice before. Remember Pet Rocks? Rocks, pets, painting – there is no obvious connection, at least in my mind. However, after someone else shares a creative new idea or material item, don’t you find yourself sometimes saying: “Why didn’t I think of that?” because it now seems so obvious.

These ideas and inspirations are available all the time. If you allow yourself to be open to receiving and then expressing them in some form, you will feel naturally supported in all your endeavors.

As a child you are continuously and spontaneously creative. Children can keep themselves entertained for hours with very simple objects like pieces of wood and stones and often do not even need those to connect to and express their imagination. As the socialization process continues, that natural expression of creativity often starts taking a back seat. Trying to fit in and looking for acceptance by conforming can quickly move creative expression on the back burner.

As you get older, you may even begin to see creativity as something that is separate from you and more of a luxury item that can only be expressed when you have extra time and money. Or you may assume that leading a creative life means that you have to live “on the fringes” of society and are less likely to create an income that would fully support you.

However it is impossible for us to not create. The question is: How much do you want to be in charge of your creative process? Are you willing to look at your life and notice where you are actively creating and where you sit back?

How many habits have you created in your life that are, by definition, unconscious actions and devoid of creativity?

Are you allowing yourself to carve out little spaces of time and quietness where you can be in touch with who you are, expand into that greater consciousness and receive AHAs that can transform your life?

Lots of questions – designed to shake things up a little, open the door to something new and creative. Now, go out there and play!

AHA!

I have been thinking about fairy tales lately. It originated from an experience I had in Guatemala last month, and the theme has stayed with me.

Why do we seem to have such a fascination for Fairy Tales?

Fairy Tales can draw you in as they closely mirror your life experience. The story line is basically always the same;

1. You are introduced to the main character living a regular life
2. A crisis appears
3. The main character becomes incapacitated or challenged in some form
4. A hero or champion appears to rescue the main character
5. Action is taken
6. The monster/obstacle/ challenge is successfully overcome
7. The reward is: living happily ever after.

Sounds like a regular day in my life!

All kidding aside, fairy tales truly are just a fanciful elaboration of cycles that we live through regularly.

In life, you face challenges, usually more in one area than another. For example, you may have a tendency towards experiencing health issues, or you may be primarily affected by relationship troubles or possibly finances may be the main concern.

The challenge builds up over time, causing you anxiety, worry and stress. Initially you may sit at the sidelines and watch the story unfold. It often feels like too much of an effort or too scary to change your life in order to reduce the stress. Your mind likes and promotes a predictable, safe world, even if it is not perfect, and tells you to stay put. Usually though, at some point, the situation becomes so uncomfortable or you are so ill that the challenge cannot be ignored anymore. You go into “crisis mode”.

Now you spend time and resources to discover ways to “rescue” yourself from this situation. Who or what can offer that relief?

You look for your “hero”: perhaps a new technique, medication, person or simply “time out”. However, perhaps consider that the true hero or champion you are looking for is already with you: your Higher Self or Soul that is just waiting for an opening to connect more deeply with you. The gateway to your Higher Self is through your heart only, not your mind.

We all know people who changed their lives dramatically as the result of a personal crisis they experienced. That was the result of an inner transformation not something you can think your way through.

Putting your hand on your heart in acknowledgment and breathing a few conscious breaths creates a spaciousness that allows access to your intuition and the messages of the body, heart and Higher Self. This information creates the opportunity to align yourself with who you truly are and offers trust, courage and empowerment to take the next step.

Taking action is the “clincher” in your rescue. You cannot just sit at the sidelines and watch!

By changing habitual patterns of response, altering your perspective and/or connecting more lovingly with yourself, you can overcome the challenge that life has offered you. You may involve others in the process, however, in the end, success is only experienced when the change is initiated and carried through by yourself.

So, how about the ” happily ever after” part???

Whenever you have embraced something in life, it becomes an integrated aspect that will not trigger your emotions and beliefs anymore. You become more whole. The more whole you feel, the less needy you are. Being less needy, you experience peace and joy more easily and often. So, acceptance and integration create the pathway to living “happily ever after”!

In addition, creating a “sacred relationship” with your champion, the Higher Self, will allow you to bring authenticity and alignment into your expressions and provide spontaneous experiences of “unreasonable joy”.

From this perspective, life becomes a journey of experiencing ever refined cycles of being confronted with a challenge, of taking action to overcome the challenge and then integrating the event. As you release the old patterns, habits and beliefs that created a challenge or crisis in your life, you lighten up. Feeling lighter, your capacity for joy and peace increases. You are on your own unique journey towards embracing all experiences that our world has to offer.

Once you embrace All-ness, you move into One-ness or the ultimate “happily ever after”: BLISS!

Do you have an “Island in the Sun”?

This morning I woke up with that question in my mind. Perhaps it was brought on by a week of severe winter weather during which I questioned my wisdom in calling Calgary home. However, I am not a lying on the beach kind of person either, especially if the temperatures are above 26 C.

So, what was this all about? What came to mind was my ability to visualize. I have led many people through visualizations and while visualizing itself is not necessarily an ability that everyone shares, most people can usually follow along by substituting “feeling”, “hearing” or “sensing” for “seeing”, if needed.

Often visualizations begin by asking you to find a place where you feel safe, where you can relax and let go. This may be a beach, a meadow, a forest, a mountain or just simply a chair in your home.

Once you have connected with this safe place, you are guided to go on an “adventure” that allows you to explore, to experience something in a new context and/or encourages new behaviors. There is a sense of expansion, and when you return from the visualization, new perspectives and choices may be available to you.

Now my question to you is: Do you have an “Island in the Sun”?
When you feel into it, where is it, what is it? What provides you with a feeling of safety, an opportunity to relax, to be in the present, a chance to let go of the push and pull of everyday life? Is it a location or is it a practice like yoga, meditation or listening to music? Can you feel it just by placing your hand on your heart and breathing consciously?

Give yourself permission to explore this. Perhaps there are even several Islands available to you. Go and check it out.

Allow yourself to acquaint and familiarize yourself with your island(s). Visit when you feel good and in particular when you get caught up in life’s challenges. When you become busy, irritated or tired, take “a breather”! Imagine, feel, sense or see yourself being surrounded and filled with golden, loving Divine light. Breathe it in by taking 3 slow (Avesa) breaths. Say to yourself: “In this moment, I am safe. I am present to myself as an unlimited Divine being and I am grateful for…”

In this expanded, peaceful place you bring yourself back into the present moment. You can access your inner wisdom and connect with new possibilities. And who knows what will come of that?

Ready for some Island hopping?

When I was sitting quietly with myself the other morning, I asked myself what I needed to know for that day. One of the messages that arose was: “You can never be wrong being yourself.” This was surprising and a fun project to explore a bit further.

To start with: How do you know when you are “yourself”?
Answer: Your feelings will tell you!
By placing your hand on your heart, you can check in:

• Do I experience tightness, fear, self-judgment, anxiety or a need to be right?

In this scenario, the mind is likely providing you with a running commentary. Although it is tempting to buy into it, the mind it is not who you truly are. It is filled with rules and beliefs that originated in your upbringing and that surface to exert some kind of control, predictability and safety. This creates your persona or personality, but is not who you truly are.

• Or am I feeling expansive, open, in flow, at ease, present?

In this situation you are connected to your heart, which in turn is the gateway to your authentic beingness. There is no judgment of right and wrong, but an intuitive knowing that guides you. Depending on how much you have allowed your mind to run the show, it may take some practice to re-establish the connection and trust in the heart.

The sentence “You can never be wrong being yourself” is an invitation for me to connect more often with my heart, to listen carefully and trust the guidance I am receiving. The more often I step into this authentic and expanded experience of myself, the easier it becomes to let go of my limited personality and all the judgments that come with it. It is actually quite self-motivating as I experience more freedom, peace and joy. I definitely love having more of that in my life!

Being truly myself is a good thing. How do you feel about being truly yourself?

P.S.The photo was taken in Guatemala after I received a new hairdo from the local women. : )