Integrity and Energy

People step in and out of integrity. It is not always an easy path to travel. Our emotions, our ego, our pain and our fear can often cause us to misstep. I have found, though, that when I am not in my integrity I feel more strained than the effort it takes to stay in it. Energies, it keeps coming down to that. Have you noticed when you are in a bad mood it is so easy to think negative thoughts about this or that? And if someone does just one thing that is not in line with your intentions, your needs or your way ... well, enough said ... we know what kind of thoughts you will have about them. You step out of your integrity and think negative and ill intentioned thoughts. Integrity and energy.

Have you noticed when you do not practice good self care, making sure you are in balance with body, mind and soul that you begin to cut corners, make exceptions and rationalize your ideas, your excuses and your efforts? You end up wasting a good amount of energy to try to cover up your missteps, your mistakes and your misunderstandings. You lose integrity with yourself and the honoring of your body temple. Integrity and energy.

Have you notice when you are out of control, filled with angst, worry or fear, the drain it puts on you? You are exhausted by it. It becomes part of a daily struggle. It impacts your relationships and the energies that are a part of them. You find that the bonds that connect become weaker. You lose sight of the integrity that created your relationships, with the best of intentions and heart. Integrity and energy.

Learning the connection between your integrity and energy you can begin to pick up on the red flags, the warning signs and the identifiers of imbalance. You are being of immeasurable energy. Everything you do, think, say and are is a part of this energy. Your energies flow with the intention that you bring to them. If you are bringing negativity, fear, blame, shame, judgment or anger to them the end result will be an energy that mirrors that. This then shadows over your integrity. So if you are able to look for these early signs, you can bring yourself back into alignment. You may have to develop skills that will support that, but half the battle is won simply by seeing the energies shift.

What signals do you recognize in you when your energies are moving away from your integrity? Make note of them and when you start to see or feel the shift, check in with your soul, listen to your heart, talk to a respected friend, get quiet and listen to your truth...find a way to re-direct your energies so that this effort saves you from the enormity of undoing the wrongs that will eventually result. You are far more powerful than you know, and with these efforts, your path of good intention and your walk of integrity will be that much brighter and lighter.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

The Shaman's Compassion

In all the work the shaman does, it is her compassion that weaves through the energies and brings a calming essence, a loving presence and a wisdom surrounded by beauty to her client. Without compassion we do not see the heart of our client clearly, we do not understand the pain fully, and we cannot identify the loss specifically. A shaman is able to bring healing and return of the lost soul through the realms by holding this energy tenderly in an embrace of compassion. Compassion is a vital ingredient that is necessary when one is in service to others. It is the bridge that makes the connection. It is the medium that helps soften what has been made hard with time. It is the balm of understanding and witnessing. A shaman knows this and brings her compassion to each interaction she has.

Compassion is not to be confused with being soft, quite the contrary. Compassion, when mastered and understood, can be the strongest tool one has. It breaks apart untruth, it burns through judgements, it pries open blockages and it can fiercely stand up to anger and fear. Compassion, when understood and used properly, helps bring clarity and perception to the situation.

Soul work requires a good deal of understanding of the energies that we surround our lives with. Additionally, there are the universal energies that interact as well. Often times, the misunderstanding of these energies will create confusion and fear in someone. They will feel shame for not knowing, experience blame for not being able to master the events of their life and will often shut down. A shaman can bring the key of compassion to this work and is able to open what has been closed off. Compassion along with the many other skills and tools acquired through her training and experience, become effective ways to restore and heal the energies of the soul by the shaman. Gently, with compassion, yet powerfully with understanding of the work done within the realms, the shaman's perspective sees all the possibilities.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Cleansing

Many times the change of seasons inspires me to do a physical cleanse of my living space. A good cleaning, a removal of what does not serve me any longer, a reorganizing of space and a redistribution of belongings to awaken energies and to bring brightness into some dark spaces is important. So it is also with my soul space. My energetic fields benefit from being cleared of the old, releasing what is no longer of any need and making room for what is to be brightened. This means taking the time to recognize what thought patterns need to be refreshed, any baggage that needs to be released and any fears, worries or pain must be swept away for the freedom of my energies to circulate again and my consciousness is able to grow. It takes awareness of what is authentic to my truth, my story and my vision.

There are many methods that can be used to cleanse one's energies from breath work, cleansing of the chakras, drumming, power dance, chanting and more. How you choose to do so is a personal choice. I like to switch it up and do not use any one method. I have also learned over time that certain cleanses work better for me depending on what needs my attention. But regardless of the way in which you do it, the important fact is that you do it!

Deliberately setting the intention and creating the space to cleanse one's energies is an important part of one's spiritual practice. We all need to be attentive to our soul's needs. Remembering that we are faced daily with outside influences, other energies, challenges, conflicts, and relationships, not to mention the ongoing world wide events that surround us, we have a responsibility to our relationship with Source and our soul to be mindful of its needs. Once done, everything feels lighter, more vibrant, in alignment and free. I feel open to what is next on my path, I have the room to receive it and the clarity to see it.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

Today's Soul Work

I had a client recently who came to me and asked if there were anyway we could work on a plan to help her clean up the messes in her life so that she could then begin to do some work with her soul. She felt there was just no time in her life to even consider working with her soul and its needs. I gently told her that the working with her soul could be a part of working with the mess and the time could be found there. She was puzzled, genuinely, and said she thought her life had to be in a much better state before she could ever begin to start something as sacred as getting to know her soul. Quite the contrary, I told her, and so we began. There will never be an end to the "To Do" list in our life. And even as we complete task after task, take on challenge after challenge, we do not get a big prize at the end of the day because we have finally cleaned up the junk drawer or paid our bills or sorted through the basement, other than our satisfaction. The ordinary life and its messes will always be there and to put off the sacred work of our soul just does not make sense. Especially because this work can be found within the ordinary of our day, within the tasks at hand and the satisfaction at the end of their completion. I often say doing the dishes can be a sacred act if you approach it that way!

Sacred work is in the present, the here and now. It is in the regular routine parts and pieces of our life. When we can find the sacred in our everyday, even when we are up to our elbows with life's challenges, we discover a new way of moving through our life. Our perspective changes, we hear things differently and our approach is impacted. We learn the importance of the sacred in our life, and so we set out to embrace it in the ordinary of our life. To show up day after day we recognize the importance of soul care, of self care, of quality over quantity and then what we value shifts.

Waiting for the perfect day to address her soul's needs quickly got tossed out the window for my client. We dove in. She began to understand that her intentions were often fueled by her inspirations. Her inspirations were gifts of her soul. She began to give them the attention they needed to become a reality in her life, a force to dip into when she needed a recharge, a beauty to be recalled when she felt overwhelmed. She began to recognize her soul's needs. For her, quiet space and time were a big part of what she was hungry for. The desire to feed that hunger gave her the energies and insights as to where this quiet time could be found in her busy life. She creatively set out to claim ways to begin embracing this in her life.

Working with your soul need not wait until the perfect day, the right moment or when all conditions have been met. That day will never come! Working with your soul happens here and now, it can be done while we are in the mess or in the beauty of life. The soul will respond to our attention, regardless of the life events that surround us. It is waiting for our touch, our call and our awareness. It will respond with delight, inspiration, beauty and wonder. And with that new energy brought to our day, life's flow will shift in our dance.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade