New Leaf Mentoring … new thought. new health. new life.

Posts tagged ‘Andrea Thiel Connell’

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Relationship With Sacred Spirit


HSSA_Rainbow_logo_SmallSeveral years ago I asked a friend to design a logo for me for a special project. The logo was fantastic, the project bombed. It started with Sacred Self; that’s all I really knew…the double S’s appeared to me in a DNA double helix design and was light filled. Paul, my magic making logo designer, created the shape, the prismatic rainbow light and shine. I knew it had to do with our earliest beginnings, a core pattern that underpins a sacred quality of light, like stained glass church windows, on a cellular level. So now I had a logo and just as a good logo should do, it compelled me to action. The logo called me in to work with it and had always seemed to whisper a secret to me. I kept trying to listen and I got clues. Sacred Self, Sacred Soul, Sacred Seed? Yes, it was all that and more. And all would go quiet again for a time.

In time it occurred to me that the special project was in fact me, not something I had to do for others. At the time I was just beginning to understand “sacred” as a quality to being; that all of life and all expressions of creation have an intrinsic value that is sacred and that we are all shamefully disconnected from this phenomena of ‘Sacred’.  It had taken me years to surrender to the fact that my brain was not going to answer my deepest longings, loneliness, and fear. I’d really thought I could think myself happy and safe. It dawned on me that my worries, anxiety and stress had rooted in a deep, dark, mucky place within me and they wouldn’t un-root through hope. My conundrum was that I was naturally a hopeful person, with an optimistic outlook. Up until my mid thirties I thought this was a matter of perspective, a condition that developed out of years of positive thinking training and applied metaphysics. It was logical to me to focus on the positive – after all focusing on the negative just resulted in more pain. It was as simple to me as determining not to cry over spilled milk and setting your focus on the bright side. I believed fully that I had pulled it off, and so, unconsciously, my heart and brain continued to war and navigate me through my world alternately through filters of despair and optimism. I stumbled around in a paradoxical state for years. Possibility collapsing into despair which in turn collapsed into possibility. And some more time went by.

One night as I sat in on a transition town meeting people were lamenting how few people were actually using blue boxes and actively participating in recycling. In that moment I realized that people weren’t ever going to change their outer habits until they could profoundly grasp that they were sacred beings and in a symbiotic sacred relationship with earth. That the earth was an extension of themselves and visa versa. This thought got my attention. So what did that mean really? It’s not the plastic that has to be managed  – it’s the acceptance of life being sacred that had to be embodied which perhaps then could allow there to be a functional alternative to plastic period. The light brightened and some of the muck dried up.

Earth-Bound Spirit

I’m not a religious person, never have been. I long ago established myself as a deeply spiritual person decidedly determined not to pay homage to any god/goddess type figurehead of any description. My everyday spirituality has nothing to do with the heavens and everything to do with the blessed earth. My spirituality starts and ends in the dirt. It’s visceral. I resonate with trees, plants, rocks, birds, animals and the elements.  My spirituality is rooted firmly in my connection to all things of this realm of reality. In nature I witness magic and miracle, perfect order, mathematical precision, evolution, death and re-birth. Through nature I have learned about communication, consequence, relationship, compassion, listening, kindness, trust, surrender, faith and love. Although I love the use of metaphor and mythology to illustrate a great teaching I don’t need a religious hypothesis to explain my existence. I am here simply because it was my time to be here. I arrived in perfect timing and I will exit this life in perfect timing as will and do we all, contrary to what our hearts wishfully desire. I am a synergistic expression of all life and consciousness as it is continuously creating and unfolding in harmony with all other life at this time. Perhaps one day I will feel compelled to reach to the heavens for answers but for now I have enough to contemplate witnessing the world I walk in. And I am grateful, so very grateful. This is not a giving thanks kind of gratitude toward a deity for blessings received. This is a well-spring of energy that is powerful and dynamic and causes my heart to swell. Gratitude is a condition that becomes noticeable through heartfelt appreciation. It flows upward from the earth through my feet, to my heart and out into my universe.  I offer this force of energy with intention back to life as nurturing creative juice via my thoughts and my actions. My spirituality is grounded in wonder and awe of the incredible synchronized interplay of intent, free will and action of all conscious life forms and sentient beings.

earth vibeIn my evolving growing spirituality I feel as deeply affected by a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of this beautiful planet as I do a new seedling shooting up toward the sun deep in the rain forest as I do a fellow human being or animal being experiencing being slaughtered mercilessly in some unnamed nation. What is in one is in all, what affects one affects all. Just as my state of mind and heart affect them. These are sacred relationships. I know I am never without company, I am never alone or just me. My mind can easily separate me from all else, isolate me if I need to be and pretend that I’m a rogue aspect independent of all creation but through my heart I feel deeply my connection to all life.  When I allow my awareness to tap into that sacred matrix of energy mysteries unravel, secrets are revealed, emotions and experience become shared, I become cognizant of a sacred spirit that flows endlessly and is homogenous to all creation.. I get to know what you know. That is a sacred relationship. Through my sacred relationships I contribute to and perpetuate a sacred spirit that is omnipotent.

Sacred Spirit runs timelessly and tenaciously connects us all in one thread, interlocking our fates as one with this earth of ours. A sacred energy born of you and me and all other forms of life that in a single breath unites our destiny.

This morning I was reminded in reading an interview that the fate of our civilizations and humanity will not be saved even if every one of us practiced good sustainable actions. And in that I was reminded again that only by welcoming and stepping into a sacred relationship with sacred spirit can we regenerate our world and only then will it matter.

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Written

on October 27, 2015

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Be Colourful, Generous and Loudly Grateful! It’s Autumn!


fall leavesEvery year in the days around the autumnal equinox, in the mornings, around 10:12 precisely,  the trees around my house fill with hundreds of small little black birds very excited to tell me of their journey thus far. They jump about, twitter and call and talk and jabber for about 1/2 hour and move on. They’ve got places to go and obviously other people to see. They make me happy.

This is without question my favourite time of year though I do love every change of season regardless. Each change brings with it a specific energy and dynamic that is unique of the other three. Warm days and cool nights, colours becoming extraordinarily bright before disappearing altogether. This time of year brings us into the wisdom of harvest, gathering, and putting up stores for the winter. The crows and jays loudly commenting on the goings on and yelling at squirrels frenetically running here and there and back again trying to hide enough nuts for the months ahead, lazy butterflies resting longer and longer as they light upon fall asters, beebalm and echinacea conserving energy for their long flight home and dozy yellow jackets drunk from supping on fallen fermenting fruit.  The high energy of spring and summer are slowly giving way to a slower reflective pace. But right now is a time for community building, coming together, getting chores done, bringing in the harvests, and celebrating our abundance together. It’s a loud and bold time of year. We share food, wine, beer, storytelling and fellowship because intrinsically we know that we can not survive in isolation. We are pack animals. We may come to need those relationships during the months ahead so it’s a good thing to join hands in fellowship and revelry- 6 million visitors to Munich every October for Oktoberfest can’t be totally wrong!IMG_0391

Nature as always is there to reflect back to us if we care to look and recognize our symbiosis. If we want to survive the winter well we need to understand our true perennial nature and look to the viability of our roots, fruits and seeds as we begin the autumnal journey toward winter.

It is through our fruits and seeds that we share our authentic selves forward. Our truest thoughts, emotions, belief systems and behaviours will determine the value of what we have to share with others. Everything inauthentic will whither and fail. As the fall progresses we will become more aware of our decaying nature, our losing of energy, our inevitable entropy but for now we feel more alive than ever. This is the season of ripening, of showing off, of generosity and of celebration! We are throwing our seed! It is through understanding the fruits grown of our labour that we can begin to grasp what will carry us forward. As we come to take stock of our gardens and pantries we may also take stock of our offerings to our communities, our friends, and families.

Ask yourself:

  • What have you nourished and nurtured in the past few months that is available to help others now?
  • Do you have the awareness to understand that you will and must share of your self easily to stay part of the natural abundant flows of energy? If you close yourself off from others and their energy systems nothing flows out perhaps but also nothing can flow in.
  • What have you cultivated and harvested?
  • What do you share?  This is the time to charge the ripening seeds of your thoughts with life force vitality that they may germinate and take root come spring for new regenerative growth.
  • Does the fruit of your actions provide sustenance to others along your path or only for you?

In fall when the outside world is decaying, ending a cycle, we need to become aware of our roots and thus our stamina to go the distance. The winter months are long and dark, so only if we can be in touch with the deep vitality that rests in our roots will we survive.

So now ask yourself this:

  • What makes you tick?
  • What values hold you stable and strong?
  • What is the lineage of your ancestors that feed your soul and help you with day to day living?
  • What kind of root system do you have?

By understanding how we are rooted helps us understand how we can resource ourselves. A long, thick, deep tap root anchors deeply into one place, it’s a private way of being that hunkers down and feeds meagerly on minimal resources. Shallow, thick and tubular roots provide many sources of anchoring and many sources of nourishment and vitality allowing you to be more outgoing and sharing yet still staying close to home. A root system that is fine and mycelium like in nature is able to reach far and wide connecting to a network of resource that is based in communal type thinking and living, offering a more inter-dependent life support system. Each of these systems requires different resources to survive yet all must survive.

preservesOver the course of the coming months the nights will get longer, darker and colder. We will gradually move into a natural cycle of rest and hibernation. But for now we celebrate and live loudly in gratitude. Revel in the sunshine, let autumn breezes blow your grateful prayers far and wide, walk around barefoot as much as possible and connect to the earth. Walk in the woods and connect with your roots. Set up your big harvest banquet tables and tell stories while breaking bread. Sit around an autumn bonfire singing folk songs and rounds. Sit with Nature, eyes wide open, watching her play out the last days of autumn with all her joy and exuberant energy. She is investing in herself – giving it all for the winter coming. Invest in her also…don’t be in a hurry to clean up your gardens just yet, let the birds, bugs and critters get all they want first; the winter is long for them too!

Written

on September 25, 2015

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Grounded in Nature…Naturally!


5 year old meWhen I was 5 years old my parents moved us from Toronto to Markdale, ON, a rural community some 2 hours north of the city. They had discovered a relic of an abandoned and ‘haunted’ house on an overgrown 10 acres of land out in the country that filled their hearts and minds with starry-eyed dreams for the future. Fortunately nobody else could see the place like they did and they were able to pick the place up for a steal and they proceeded to work their guts out every weekend until it reached a suitable standard of living to move their young family into. I remember being happy and free out on the farm in the middle of nature. In kindergarten back in the city, our teacher asked the class who went to church on Sundays. When everyone except me had raised their hands the teacher asked me for some insight. I responded innocently enough as only a 5 year old can, “We don’t have to go to church, we go to the farm.” The child in me recognized even then, (though the adult forgot), that Nature’s kingdom would be my spiritual haven all my life.

Over time, as I grew up, the farm also grew to 100 acres of forests, meadows and gardens. I remember being happy and free on the land, in the woods, in the fields, in the swamps, in the barns, working, camping out and exploring but it wasn’t for many, many years that I realized how deeply soul nurturingly important it was for me to be there nor did I understand the importance of the lessons and teachings I unconsciously learned while there. As an adult I understand that it is so often just plain human nature to take things for granted and take advantage of situations – children are not exempt from that. Although I knew I loved being there at the time I was mindless to what I actually learned and received in my enthusiastic emergence into nature.

Learning How to Live in Harmony

As a child living and working on a farm is different from being an adult. As a child I did chores as I was told but as an adult you make decisions, plot out a plan, take control. By the time I had returned to farming as an adult I had a lot of other things in my life that laid claim to my daily attention and available energy. I had to learn to rock and roll, deal with squeaky wheels first and do the best I could the rest of the time. I found it much easier to prioritize my days if I let Nature lead the dance. Living with the seasons taught me about being in the moment of life. Nature doesn’t wait, plan or hesitate. Nature expresses and produces in every moment. To rise to the task of planting, harvesting and the myriad of tasks in between I had to learn to be with Nature as fully as possible in every moment as well. As my willingness to participate with the natural flow of life around me developed I learned to also appreciate various other natural phenomena.

I became intensely aware of our journey around the Sun from season to season, of the Moon’s push and pull month by month, of the insects and their cycles in my garden and of the influence of various animals that made regular unusual appearances. Nature began speaking to me more clearly. Relevant messages were transmitted to me every day through all of her manifestations. It took patience, practice and surrender to hear properly. I learned to listen to the plants; flowers, weeds and trees, to the wind, and to earth with my feet buried in her soil. Birds and animals became messengers and harbingers of change. When Snapping Turtle began to appear at my door step followed by Snake and Turkey Vulture I learned to pay attention; change was afoot. All I knew for sure was that I was to keep my eyes and ears open for a messenger, one that would help me discover a foundation stone in my life in a new direction. I also knew that I would have to be ready to release any old attachments at any give moment and leave behind what needed to be for my and my family’s highest good. I continued on with my work, my herbs, my gardens until one day my messenger appeared. The question he asked was simple “Had I ever heard of Reiki?” The answer was even simpler…”No – and I wasn’t interested!”

Fortunately, my messenger was persistent. He became a good friend. He guided me through meandering pathways to explore my universe and world in ways I had never considered. Eventually he posed the question again…this time I was ready to crack the door a bit.  Through him I met my Reiki Master and through his teachings and support I began to open to new possibilities yet again. And once again nature came to me presenting herself in new ways. I began to experience the energy of nature, initially as energy patterns flowing and then as form presenting as deva, as fairy, as spiritual beings. Just as I had learned to develop relationship with the physical aspects of nature I was now learning to hone a relationship with the spiritual side of nature. My garden flourished beyond belief and reason. And I flourished in my garden. I grew, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Reiki became an integral part of my family’s life. I began to witness the life force energy in my clients and friends. I also began to see how an individual’s life force energy invigorated when in direct communion with nature via trees, plants, crystals, animals or exposure to the elements of air, water, fire and earth.

A new synergy began to motivate my life. I began practicing Reiki full time. We moved. More gardens were built along the way. My natural connection with spirit grew and expand into my consciousness. I began to understand how Spirit flows through all things and that all things hold varying degrees of consciousness. Furthermore, all “things” with consciousness flow together in one divine perfectly ordered field of energy. I craved sitting in the outdoors immersed in the energy of trees, water, wind and sunlight. My awareness grew in the knowing that the sensations I had when in Reiki sessions were stimulated the same way when I sat immersed in nature. I took another look into what Reiki was really all about.

Reiki; Nature’s Healing Art

disney tree of lifeReiki is a hundred year old tradition that was brewed through the mindful meditations of one Mikao Usui, a practicing Zen buddhist , as he continuously immersed himself in nature and his own childhood cultural upbringing informed by Shinto – a form of Japanese shamanism. His spiritual belief that the Divine could be realized and experienced in all natural manifestation is central to the hands on healing art of Reiki. The symbols, precepts and mantras all reflect the presence of light and bountiful natural energy as our inherent privilege if we were to surrender to it. So it began to dawn on me that there were some important relationships to note here. The practice of Reiki has a unique ability to connect us to our natural life force energy. It presents our imbalances, then re-balances, then inspires us to discover a peaceful way to be in the world. It causes wellness as an expression of harmony. I spent the next 20 years practicing Reiki with clients. In those years deep questions arose over everything, I always ended up back in the garden, under the trees, syncing my personal energy field with the plants, the earth, the elements and the spirit of nature. My busy mind would calm, the stress in my body would dissipate and I would be able to come back to work realigned, strengthened and regenerated.

Nature Spirit Calling and Illuminating A New Path

Many years ago I was asked to speak at a new age type gathering, my topic was to be “The connection between herbs and spirituality” It stumped me totally at the time. My mind didn’t even remotely understand the link and have pondered the topic ever since. Today I get it. It’s simple. Nature is the connection. We are all made of the same stuff; carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen and we mutually depend on one another. It is often said that nature would do just fine without us interfering, that she will revive after we have destroyed as much of her as possible before our own demise and I believe that is true to an extent. But I also think that nature with us co-operating with her in harmony will create outstanding things that we haven’t even begun to imagine yet. I believe that our educations systems, our health care systems, our communities, our architecture and our technology will developed in such extraordinary ways as we learn to mimic the ways of nature. Nature seems to thrive in the reflection of humanity and visa versa. My garden grows well if left alone but when I help Nature grow my garden with understanding, love and creative vision my garden responds with overwhelming abundance. When I step into my garden projecting gratitude and happiness the vibe returns to me ten fold. When I nurture my garden as I would my children, with love in my heart, gentleness in my hands and ears eager to hear the story of its life unfolding I am rewarded with the energy of an intimate being that loves and understands me back and literally can’t wait to share.

We may sit as a foreign entity upon the earth believing that we are superior and have dominion,  separate of her being and indifferent to her power or her needs. Or we may surrender to her energy that flows to us and through us via all of her expressions and harmonize willingly. As we learn to re-connect to our beautiful Mother earth and ground deeply with our natural wisdom we will also learn to experience ourselves as emergent growth bearing fantastic fruit. Our ideas and dreams are not mindless impulses but deeply transmitted bio-diverse energies needing to find rich soil to grow in. The mind and heart of earth’s combined humanity has the ability to foster new seeds of thought to unprecedented realities. The Earth is inspiring us now with new possibilities, by furthering our connection with her, grounding in a mindful way our dreams can take root and co-creatively we can bring a new world to life for our future generations to build upon.

See Also: Dream a New Day Women’s Retreat

September 18-20th/2015…..read more https://andreathielconnell.com/mystical-retreat-for-women/

Written

on August 21, 2015

2014: A Year of Conundrum


Man meets Destiny!

7 the year of the Chariot, a time to get moving in the direction of your dreams – no excuses any longer! You will find this year will offer boundless support for whatever your heart/mind desires; the difficulty is that we mere humans tend to get all balled up trying to figure out what is going on between our hearts and our minds. We feel too much and we think too much. In our attempts to be conscientious human beings we feel our way through a wide bevy of emotion ranging from starry-eyed love to debilitating fear and think our way from logic to worry and everything in between. It can leave us in a place of unresolved conundrum, with time slipping through our fingers.

ImageThe energy of the number seven will bring you to your destiny, and while we fantasize and quietly, fervently hope that there exists some master plan and divine purpose that is personally chosen for us, we never seem to quite know how to trust that we’ve actually found it or even the path toward it. We struggle in this dualistic world to consider all mitigating factors weighing everything against our wavering feelings and long for a heaven sent message via anyone; guides, angels, friends or strangers who can say they know what we ourselves do not.

The problem is that you and only you can and in fact must determine your own path and purpose. Only you have the insight and wisdom that is needed to face all your weaknesses with all your strengths.

Light and Dark; Strong and Weak

The energy of 7 affirms our inner sense of victory, of alignment and validates that we have achieved a true awareness. And for a moment we feel crystal clear and positive that we are on the right track. In the next moment however we begin to wobble. There is a surreal quality to the energy this year where reality and fantasy seem to overlap and present us with doubts and confusion. You will face your demons this year – the ones that steal your success and power right out from under your nose.

7 is a number of creative power and wholeness. 7 encompasses the whole of our spectrum of living, 7 musical notes, 7 chakras in prismatic colour, 7 days of the week, etc. In the energy of 7 we are blessed with knowledge of the whole of a situation and are presumably thereby able to make informed decisions and take decisive action. However, with hard work comes avoidance, with vision comes blindness, and with survival comes challenge. Ultimately this will be a stressful year, rife with equally grounded arguments for opposing points of view.

To overcome this year of contradictions you will have to master your willpower, your self-control, be patient as never before and driven as though steering a chariot through the gates of hell toward your dreams.

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The Most Sacred Spot on Earth Lies Within


You’ve come to earth, to this universe to learn teachings that are only available here. Specifically, you have come to learn how to manage the power plays that are created in a dynamic of opposite energies. You sit here on our little emerald planet as either male or female and hold a particular perspective that ultimately enables you to behave one way over another. You are here to learn about freedom of choice, personal authenticity and the power of love, all while living in a sea of consciousness that is created by others doing the exactly the same thing. It is boggling to live even the simplest life.

In Quantum theory we are coming to understand that while on a subatomic level we all merge as one flowing expression of consciousness, in our dense physical world we are separate individuated beings. Often this comes right down to one against the other. Conflict, difficulty, power struggle are part of the daily program that makes us deal with others while we try to express our own truth. Inevitably we lose a degree of self-awareness and personal power.

We’re all going somewhere…though unfortunately most of us don’t know where. We grow up doing all that is expected of us and may even reach a moderate level of success. However, unless we have somehow become magically heart-fully and mindfully engaged in those building years, regardless of the success we experience, life can feel empty and void of meaning. We strike out searching for ways to touch something or to be touched by something meaningful.

The Journey Inward

For most people it begins with a lonely broken heart. A quest for true love usually ignites a need to get moving. The heart is a transmitter receiver with a built-in radar system always looking to receive a signal back from a resonant source. The mind inherently looks for problems to solve, to be useful and to improve the condition of humanity. The physical body yearns for health and comfort. The search can be lonely because it truly is an individual journey but if we open to our true world we see that we are not alone and that there are others wandering and searching for the same things we are. At least then we see that we can have companionship on our journey; like-minded adventures also striking out on a new path. Bravely we get to travel a road of discovery with others and share our experiences and teachings. It becomes easier. And so we learn we can embark on a metaphysical trek to find our whole complete selves with heart-minded consciousness in good company. We will discover our truest power, our deepest understanding of ourselves.

The first great spiritual truth is that all the answers, all the power and all the peace you desire lie within.  Our highest potential is to learn to communicate truly with your highest self, listen with real intuitive wisdom and find peaceful resilience and power deep within your own soul! The journey inward is littered with obstacles and “good reasons” to let sleeping dogs lie and they are stubbornly obstinate. Eventually you will learn to recognize the persistent obstacles that stand in your way and the tools you already have to get them out of your way. In time you will capture and lead the true, strong and beautiful life you came here to live!

Written

on April 18, 2012

Affirmations – Language for the Sacred Soul


Many, many years ago when I consciously first decided to embarked on my own healing path I had a very “strange” healing session with a woman who believed in some things very “strange” to my very left brain way of thinking at the time. But I liked her so I did what she told me to do. I also knew that all the ‘normal’ things I was doing to get on a better life path weren’t working. It was time for some ‘strange’ medicine. Her medicine included chanting, long purifying baths infused with specific essential oils and crystals, and repeating long affirmations that she gave to me. I had nothing to lose. My life needed a kick in the pants and I wasn’t going to let a little weirdness get in the way!

The thing that strikes me these days about those days is how I ever thought those things weird – they’re not anymore! I’ve seen the light! I found my way! Scented purifying baths are marvelous, as is chanting, as are affirmations! But more than just feeling good – they work!

Today in my own healing practice and energy classes these elements are essential to the work my clients do for themselves at home. In fact when we are trying to restructure a belief pattern or long-standing habits affirmations are the surest way to get there.

By-Passing Our Illusions

The main idea of using affirmations is to replace a negative belief pattern with a positive one. By changing the belief pattern we in effect re-program the way we think and feel about a particular situation. Affirmations are more than just positive thinking though. Specifically, they are a way to vibrationally attach to the truths hidden within the most  Sacred aspect of ourselves. In using affirmations we appeal to the Divine, using truth to trigger positive responses in our unconscious psyche.

When working with affirmations you are not communicating with the illusion part of yourself that believes in fear and your weakness. You are learning to establish a vital relationship with the divine you that hasn’t forgotten your truth. This may, in some case, only be a small spark, but it still exists none-the-less. Affirmations appeal to higher truths – DIVINE TRUTH not PERSONAL TRUTH !

We live in a fear based illusory world that is constructed in finite ways to solve finite problems. The ever niggling and corrosive problem to this way of solving problems is that we are not finite…we are infinite. We human beings are dynamic expressions of infinite, unparalleled power. When we begin to believe in our small determined boxes of life we quickly become stalemated. Our bodies begin dying and decaying. Our minds become smaller and more rigid. And we become dull, emotionally bitter and disappointed. It is our evolutionary purpose to grow and flourish. The body is designed to regenerate and survive. When we limit our potential expression the soul becomes anguished expressing itself through painful bodies and heart brokedness!

Firing Up New Possibilities

The energy of the creative forces of our universe are positive, dynamic and light filled. Every molecule enabled by positive energy creates more life. To step into a cycle that affirms life, creates health and presents possibility we must learn to open doors and build pathways, in fact neuro – pathways. The brain hard wires where it fires.  Only by allowing new thought and new solutions will the brain stay flexible and healthy.

Positive and affirmative words align us with the forces of creation, and as such they claim and appropriate all that is yours by Divine right. We have unfortunately been conditioned to believe that there are ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ in society and that we fall into these groups more by chance than by planning. In truth we have a choice on how to approach life and further how we can attract and experience the life that we want.

Be clear on this; you – by your words, your actions, and belief systems are already creating the life that you have. Therefore if you don’t like what you have and think you would prefer something different then you must choose to express yourself differently. It’s that simple. We determine the quality of our life by the way we align ourselves with all that is possible, good and bad, positive and negative. Remember that everything is a matter of vibration, and like attracts like.We exist in a dualistic world. There is equal unbiased possibility and opportunity of living life either in a positive expression or a negative one. To transcend our dualistic world is a matter of choice of influence. Our thoughts, words and actions will determine to which end of the spectrum we will gravitate. It is easier and more natural than you might assume to become positively orientated. It is our natural state of being. The human organism is a creative machine. It’s entire physical function creates and recreates on a second by second basis. It is really quite astounding to realize that we are more likely to get in our way than go with our natural flow. Shifting towards a positive expression is like lighting a candle in the darkness. Affirmation is the match that initiates the flame of our inner candle. Once lit, the way becomes clear.

Benefits of Using Affirmations

Through repetitive affirmation man gains conscious awareness and insight to innate intelligence.

  • We awaken the mind to recognize what is already working at a sub-conscious level in the body – cells, tissues, and organs.
  • We accelerate the need to harmonize and respond to positive situations and results
  • We begin to witness how the body is the servant to the mind, malleable to thoughts and words
  • We control the mindless chatter of negative thoughts
  • We create discipline, focus and one-pointed thinking.

An affirmation is a statement that expresses life, health and wholeness. By using affirmation we stimulate a positive consciousness in the body; arousing the power of the mind in the body and calling it into action. As the positive mind becomes established in the body, healing is moved into action and immediately begins to rectify any imbalances in the physical.

Fake It ‘Til You Make It!

It is not necessary to believe an affirmation when you begin. In fact the really important faulty believe systems that you are challenging will fight tooth and nail to maintain their position of strength in your mind.  The purpose of using affirmations is to reprogram a faulty thought pattern gently, unobtrusively, slipping under the wire appealing to your higher, finer divine self. Like a weak muscle you will gently coax strength back into a forgotten truth and bring it back to conscious mind. Initially you must fake it ‘til you make it. You are not lying to yourself, you are just side stepping the false programming you hold.

Persistent positive affirmation will uplift consciousness out of negativity to allow for health filled patterns to take root. As the subconscious shifts towards light so will the body. When the heart mind consciousness becomes infused with light it will finally realize its sacred power.

I AM a Sacred Divine being with unlimited potential! And So Are You!

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Metaphysics

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A Promise to Myself


Several years ago I discovered that I needed a blueprint that I could follow on a daily basis to build my spiritual growth by. Some of these things I was already easily doing, others I needed to remind myself of. I put them all in a list, pinned it up on my wall and read it many times a day! I promised myself to follow my list. I noticed that the days I felt low and crappy were the days I wasn’t following my promise. And I also noticed that following my ‘promise’ list would pick me up out of any depression and immediately shift my mood into a happy, stable place again. Try it for yourself!

My Promise to Myself

Today I will…

~ meditate 10 minutes in mindful awareness and silence.
~ journal one thought, idea or feeling.
~ express gratitude.
~ notice one beautiful thing.
~ appreciate someone else for something.
~ receive a blessing.
~ let go of something.
~ meet another with compassion.
~ do something kind for me.
~ pray for the wellbeing of one other person.
~ have faith that everything is in good hands.

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Metaphysics

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Spring: Rising Up Out of Winter’s Dream


Every year we witness the cycles of growth and decay through which life on earth expresses its self and every year we excitedly experience the inner surge of rising energy as new dreams blossom within our own consciousness. Just as the sap rises and falls, so do we feel the natural ebb and flow of spring energy deep in our own bones. Our own inner rhythm enlivens us once more with the life generating vital forces that are needed for new life to erupt. As human beings we are destined to feel Spring’s fever pulsing within our own systems stirring our creative energy out of its long hibernation.

Deep down in the frozen soil a new magic has begun as the earth prepares to germinate new life. As spring eases into our lives and begins to mature fully into longer days, budding flowers and sprouting greenery everywhere remind us to bear in mind the careful preparations that will be needed for the successful growth of new life during the next several months. This is the season for conceptualizing. We may now effectively flip the ‘what–if’ possibilities over in our minds and consider the consequences of our intentions. But remember this is all still happening internally, in the mind and in the heart.

Waking Up

In spring we are reborn. The push is on for letting go of the old and allowing a new fertile season to take hold in our lives. Resurrection is at hand. Be clear on what you wish to bring back in to your life. Patterns are stubborn; they survive for the sake of themselves. They can be powerful assistants to our dreams and they can also be the destroyers. It is your choice how you allow them to hold power into this new year of possibility. Be conscious of what you truly wish to empower and see prosper. Ensure you have the proper conditions in place to support the dreams you are building.

It is time to stretch and yawn, release the toxins of the long night of winter and move toward the morning light of spring. With the passing of the Spring Equinox we become quickly aware of the lengthening daylight hours. Encouraged by the sunshine and longer days we are eager to bring our visions out of the nebulous dream state and into reality. But dreams are not strong enough to survive on their own in the harsh dualism of reality. They need to be coaxed along with proper attention and care to details.

Get Gently Physical!

Spring is the time to begin a walking, yoga, or other movement program if you haven’t already done so. Be aware of your changing health patterns. Are you providing yourself with enough fuel to move into a new season? The demands of spring are different from those of winter. You need more high energy foods and less comfort food. It’s time to peel back the layers of blankets and waddling to be able to move about more freely. Encourage your inner need to get moving but do it sensibly. Build a meditation practice into your new movement plans. This will help ensure that your foundations are strong enough before you try to build dream mansions. All mansions will fall if the underlying intentions aren’t strong enough to support them. Take the time to know your true heart and mind.

Hold your dream for your life in your mind’s eye as a holographic model; see the world as a surging place of dynamic energy ready to be recreated into the world of your choice.

Category:

Healing, Metaphysics

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Beating Stress


Beating Stress While Creating A New Balance

Life is crazy busy. It can be a real juggling act just trying to keep things floating along relatively smoothly but sometimes it’s impossible! Sometimes it seems that no matter how you try to plan and try to stay organized there’s just no way and before you know it you’re chasing your tail, burning the candle from both ends, and feeling defeated before you even got out of the gate. That balance beam you are usually walking on suddenly turned into a high wire act without a safety net. Suddenly you find yourself in a situation that is possibly dangerous, probably not worth it, and definitely stressful. Stress is the greatest side effect of trying to maintain balance in our hectic lives. Stress is the major cause of illness, breakdowns, and ultimate failure in our lives today.

The problem though, is this; people don’t understand balance and don’t value harmony enough in our modern-day life. There are 3 main obstacles to achieving balance.

* Trying to please too many other people; Learn to say ‘no’. It’s nice to receive recognition from others but once we start this game of looking after others’ needs we will soon find that praise doesn’t cover it when we are sadly falling behind in our own duties and chores and struggling to catch up. Find the value for yourself in all that you do before you do it or just say no.
  * Prioritizing; letting the tail wag the dog. Running around putting out fires, dealing with the wrong things first, letting others determine what needs to be done in a day will leave you exhausted before you even get started. Make a list of 6 things that you must achieve in a day, start at the top and plow through them until they are finished. You will realize a sense of personal accomplishment and feel stronger to take on the other tasks that are of less priority but are important to your sense of well-being. Take charge of your life and learn to be the dog wagging his tail.
* Not honoring personal need requirements; relinquishing down time, i.e. naps, meditations, massages, etc. Somehow we have learned as a culture that it is too selfish to look after your needs first. You are the center of your universe, which does not mean that if you sit down for 5 minutes your world will collapse. It means that you get to choose to take care of you too.

When we don’t keep these three things in perspective we can lose sight of our selves and our health very quickly. When we become exhausted we work less efficiently, less effectively, we lose our good humor, we become pessimistic, and eventually, gradually start causing pain and discomfort in our lives. Health, wealth and happiness suffer in a life without balance.

Taking Back Control
To become empowered in our own lives we must establish ourselves as being worthy of self-care, we need to accept ourselves as being as important as everyone else and we need to learn to honor our own feel good requirements as imperative to our well-being. As you become stronger in looking after your needs better, you will find your stress levels going down, time expanding and life becoming more enjoyable.

To find balance and establish harmony give your self permission to weigh each demand on your time and energy by asking yourself these 4 simple questions;

i) Will this make a positive difference to my life or someone I care a great deal about?

ii) Will this simplify my day or complicate my day?

iii) Will this add to my happiness or to my stress level?

iv) Will this add to the overall quality of my life today?

I challenge you to keep it simple. Refrain from over complicating your life with a lot of ‘yeah but’s’. Stop falling for the excuses that keep you away from experiencing peace of mind, balance and harmony. Decide right now to have a great day!

Written

on March 22, 2012

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Crossing Bridges


Our journey through life takes us down many roads and pathways occasionally augmented with bridges. Bridges take us from here to there. Usually they traverse an otherwise un-crossable chasm of some description. It’s a short cut in many ways. A high and lofty path. Yes – every once in a while we are lucky enough to come across a bridge. Bridges, metaphorically speaking, are mystical things. They are neither here nor there. They are ‘in between’ places. They take us from one reality, one expression of life, or one understanding to another. Anything or anybody can present a bridge to us. They can also appear anywhere and anytime; in fact, in the most unpredictable places and in the most unexpected moments.

Standing in the middle of a bridge is similar to sitting on a fence. It can be really nice to stand on a bridge for a while. We get to witness the whole scene as it unfolds around us and see both sides of the proverbial coin without being attached to either outcome. They are usually peaceful places where we can take some time to build our confidence in our ultimate right to choose the direction of our next step. We can take all the time we need crossing the bridge. We can daydream, zone out and just rest for a bit but eventually to get anywhere we have to get off the bridge and go to either one side or the other. We can either go back the way we came or we take a chance and move on to the other side. Unlike a fork in the road where both paths may lead us to equally unpredictable paths a bridge presents us with a kind of parallel reality. It will take us to the other side of something that is eerily similar to the side we just left but somehow clearer.

These days my work is about building bridges and guiding people over them. I have earned my stripes as a bridge tour guide. I have stood on many and sat on either side of many too. I have also missed many bridges, failed to recognize them or not trusted in their safety. I have found that the worst thing to do when a bridge is offered up is to ignore it no matter how risky it looks. You can end up literally miles out of your way, confused and lost and then when you finally resolve to go back and try to find the crossing over spot again it seems to have disappeared. Bridges will rarely be found again in the same place twice. They seem to be more connected to right time and not necessarily place. When the bridge you didn’t take has disappeared you have to wait for another one to appear. This waiting may take a significant amount of time and we are an impatient species.  But the magical appearance of a bridge isn’t determined by our desire or impulses. Bridges seem to appear when we surrender, when we let go a goal of an outcome. They appear when we have sufficient faith that there must surely be another way.

Bridges are Personal Things

A bridge that appears to one person may be completely invisible to another. The opportunity to cross to another reality depends largely on our personal preparedness to change. Not everyone you care about may be ready to cross at the same time with you – not even the people you love the most. It’s a difficult conundrum to have to face going it alone for a time, leaving family and friends to explore something new that may seem undeniably important to you but ridiculous to them. Crossing a bridge may seem the fools journey or the hero’s journey in the same breath, and the truth may not be known until after you have crossed but the pull to cross is irresistible.

The main thing to remember when standing before a bridge is that you are being offered a two-fold opportunity. It offers you an opportunity to address a new potential of yourself and simultaneously that you are being allowed to cross over an obstacle that has appeared before you. The obstacle could be emotional or physical, psychological or spiritual, but which ever it is you will feel saved from a foreboding fearful outcome. A bridge may appear as a one time win fall, an unexpected influx of money for example that can safely carry us to a reprieve before financial ruin. Or it may show up as a new job or project that saves your brain from terminal boredom allowing you to grab hold of a new lease on the same life you already had. A bridge can be simply a helping hand that restores a lost faith in humanity. Whatever the case, whenever you choose to cross a bridge you will experience a deep sense of relief and gratitude for the path taken. A bridge gives us a chance to take a different road with potentially different outcomes.

I have crossed many bridges in my career, in my personal life, and in all my relationships. I am grateful for those bridges. In moments I have crossed from times that felt as barren as a desert to as rich as a rainforest. I have felt the pressure and fear of ominous, unspeakable danger and have crossed to places of radiant, loving peace in the space of a breath. I have been given spontaneous insight into right action when I’ve been hopelessly mired down in quicksand thinking. Suddenly a bridge appeared that allowed me to climb up and over safely to a new way. I know now that when I am in need of a bridge it appears. I am never left stranded. My faith in my universe, in omnipotent love, and in our inherent shared oneness ensures that a bridge will be spontaneously built when I need it – all I need to do is have the eyes to see it and the brave heart needed to cross it.

see also: https://andreathielconnell.com/2010/05/05/the-perils-of-fence-sitting/

Written

on March 6, 2012