Listening

Do you truly listen to others?  Here is a little exercise you may want to challenge yourself to.  It is a great way to sharpen your listening skills!

When someone is talking to you about a problem, issue or concern give that person the space to speak what is on their mind without interruption.  Listen closely to what he or she (from now on referred to as she) has to say, because the next thing you will do is repeat to her what you heard her say without any comment or judgement.  You are just making sure you heard what she was conveying to you correctly.

This is a bit tedious, but it has three great benefits: 1. It makes you really pay attention and 2. The person you are listening to feels good about the attention and space you are giving her and 3. The chance of misunderstandings and personal interpretation (where you mingle your story with hers) is minimized or at least reduced!

When I did this exercise for the first time, it was amazing to me that despite the intent listening there were still clarifications that had to be made and things I even misunderstood!  It is a great way to achieve more clarity and deeper understanding.  Give it a try!  You will be surprised at the results.

Cleaning Your Energetic Field

Your energetic field is exposed to many other energies when you spend time in public places that are frequented by many people (like an expo, a  show, a museum, etc.).  Even if you take preventative steps, it is always beneficial to take a few minutes when you are back in your sanctuary or in a peaceful place to cleanse your energy field.  There are many ways to do this and here are a few:

1. Pray to your angels and ask for an energetic cleansing.

2. Go for a walk in nature.  If you are lucky, the wind might be blowing!  The wind is a wonderful cleanser.  3. Do a breathing exercise:  Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.  Focus on + signs in and - signs out.  Or think: In with the good and out with the bad.  Use the words and/or images that work for you!

4. Physically cleanse your body - take a shower or even better an Epsom salt bath!

5. Use your focused intent and your hands to have all unwanted energies detached from you.  Fill the energetic gaps with Light and Love.

6. Use a crystal such as a smokey quartz or a dalmatian jasper to remove and transmute negative energy.

Are there any techniques you use that you would like to share?

Commitment

"Commitment is an act, not a word." by Jean-Paul Sartre

You can gain a lot from committing to an act that you believe in.  I have had to discipline myself to regularly blog.  Not always do the words flow.  At times I am also exhausted and can't find the energy to write about anything.

And yet, when those times come, I take a deep breath, relax my mind and body, and open to the happenings of the last 24 hrs or so.  I let images, events, words, whatever comes go through my head and trust that a topic will emerge.  I have learned that everyday is full of lessons.  We simply need to find the willingness to seek and understand them.  :)

The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto

Today I want to share the following text with you that was sent to me by a dear friend of mine.  My hope is that every parent in this world will embrace these words.  If every child gets to experience this, the world will truly become a better place.  Blessings to all children.

The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto
by Brené Brown

Above all else, I want you to know that you are loved and lovable.

You will learn this from my words and actions—the lessons on love are in how I treat you and how I treat myself.

I want you to engage with the world from a place of worthiness.

You will learn that you are worthy of love, belonging, and joy every time you see me practice self-compassion and embrace my own imperfections.

We will practice courage in our family by showing up, letting ourselves be seen, and honoring vulnerability. We will share our stories of struggle and strength. There will always be room in our home for both. 

We will teach you compassion by practicing compassion with ourselves first; then with each other. We will set and respect boundaries; we will honor hard work, hope, and perseverance. Rest and play will be family values, as well as family practices.

You will learn accountability and respect by watching me make mistakes and make amends, and by watching how I ask for what I need and talk about how I feel.  

I want you to know joy, so together we will practice gratitude. 

I want you to feel joy, so together we will learn how to be vulnerable.

When uncertainty and scarcity visit, you will be able to draw from the spirit that is a part of our everyday life. 

Together we will cry and face fear and grief. I will want to take away your pain, but instead I will sit with you and teach you how to feel it. 

We will laugh and sing and dance and create. We will always have permission to be ourselves with each other. No matter what, you will always belong here.

As you begin your Wholehearted journey, the greatest gift that I can give to you is to live and love with my whole heart and to dare greatly.

I will not teach or love or show you anything perfectly, but I will let you see me, and I will always hold sacred the gift of seeing you. Truly, deeply, seeing you.

Reprinted from Daring Greatly by Brené Brown by arrangement with Gotham Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Copyright (c) 2012.

Unknown

Instead of waiting for something to happen, what if you took some action, even if you didn't know the outcome?  What would it be like to step into the unknown as a regular practice instead of once in a while, if at all?  Would your life become fuller, more adventurous, more conscious?

What do you think?  This concept really resonates with me especially with respect to spicing up your life, breaking out of the doldrums and routines.

Take a chance, make a change, wake up to new possibilities and fully embrace life.

Hand Chakras

Did you know that there is a chakra in each palm of your hand?  The hand chakras are mostly used for healing purposes once awakened/opened, though they can also be used as conduits.

In Tae Kwon Do we learned an easy technique to physically feel energy and it involved the hand chakras (though I didn't realize it at the time).  This is what you do:

1. Rub the palms of your hands together 10 times or so, as if you were trying to warm them up.
2.Then open the palms up so that they are still facing each other but are shoulder width apart.
3. Slowly bring the palms back toward each other and feel the energy.

Once you feel it you can experiment with it.  By moving your hands as if you were playing an accordion back and forth, you can feel it change.  It starts feeling like an elastic ball.

This is one way to start opening/activating your hand chakras.  They are both directly linked to heart chakra. I often use them to choose an Aura Soma bottle/essence for myself.  I "look" with my hand chakra.

Crystals can also help open these chakras.  I learned that the other day with the Mookite Jasper I was holding in the palm of my hand.  Now I only have to think of the stone and my left hand chakra energizes and heats up very significantly.  This energy is healing energy.  If I hover the hand over my heart chakra it feels very soothing. :)

What Would Make You Happy?

Today I was asked what would make me happy...  I had to stop and think about it.  What was interesting was that at first I tried to look into the future to see myself in a happy "state".  It didn't feel right though so, I decided to think about what would make me happy right now.

The answer came quickly to me:  What makes me happy is to be me, the true me without any masks.  No looking away and stuffing problems, no more avoiding conflict out of fear.  I don't know what the future will be like, but I do know what my now is.  I am alive now and I can only be happy in this space.  When I am centered, truly centered, I am happy no matter what happens around me.

So what would make you happy?  How would you answer this question for yourself?