Awareness

Some people spend their days learning more about others than themselves. It is true. For many, it is blindness, avoidance or hesitancy. It is challenging to dig deep and bring our awareness to who we are and why. It is challenging to find our patterns and to question if they serve our higher good or not.

To learn who we really are, beneath the roles and labels placed upon us, beneath other's expectations and even our own, we need to become aware. How do we do this? We pay attention. We listen to the messages of our body, from our soul, and within our heart. We also have to learn to watch ourselves in action, day by day, relationship by relationship and note the patterns to our reactions, the needs we fill, the responses we make and the things we shun.

So much of what we do in life is out of habit. We do it without giving it much thought. For the most part this serves us well. Who wants to give full concentration to putting on our socks or wiping down a counter. But what about the parts of our day that we are on autopilot and we would benefit from bringing more awareness to? Examples would be how we react to our child complaining, the time we spend eating a meal, the critical voices we listen to in our head or the way we receive a compliment.

Habitual behavior and patterns can keep us stuck in life. It is not until we become aware of how they are doing that and decide to change them that we see things begin to shift in our lives. When we make a conscious decision to change and do or approach something differently we alter the energies around us. People may react differently to us. Obstacles seem to move out of the way. We find solutions where we thought there were none.

Change can also be unnerving. The tried and true is comfortable. Doing something new feels risky. We can feel unsettled by the change. That is why being gentle and approaching this slowly, checking in with our self and listening to its needs is important.

With practice and patience we become the author of our story and step aside from the labels and roles that we do not want upon us. We live a life that is authentic to us. We call in our desires and act upon them. We let go of things we no longer identify with and have only been carrying around out of habit. Life becomes freer and feels much more in alignment with our heart and soul's callings.

Blessings, Lisa

Silence Seeks the Gold

One of the deepest skills I have worked on in the past years is that of silent listening. Creating sacred peaceful space for one to share in. Whether it be a story of pain or celebration, questions asked in anxious energy or demands made in frustration, or whispers spoken out loud of possible dreams or deep rooted fears, the blank space of silence is needed and appreciated.

My shamanic mentor, Robin Rice, taught me to add to this silence the meta skill of having no opinion. If you are listening to someone and find your self thinking of your answer, judging against your life experience, problem solving or offering sympathetic words of advice you are not only failing to bring your fullest attention to the one sharing with you, you are muddying the energies instead of keeping the vibrations clean and open to the easy and gentle flow. You can prevent the person sharing the opportunity to find their own clarity. You may be leaning against the very door that important lessons and messages are trying to come through.

As you listen with open ears, you listen with an open heart as well. You can be fully present, be of love, see beauty in the darkness, witness hope where there was thought to be none and so much more. As a shaman I have learned this is my most valuable skill I can bring to my soul mentoring. Serving as witness to someone is a sacred honor. Often it is the exact medicine that they need most.

The don't need rushing waves to come in and cleanse them. They don't need someone verifying they have been in the perfect storm. They don't need someone to help them bail the water out of their ship. They need someone to listen; deeply, fully and openly so that both the listener and the speaker create an energetic still canvas. Within this sacred canvas possibilities surface, wisdom shines, healing is accessed and life unfolds. The uncomplicated-ness of it holds tremendous beauty. Its blankness beckons new creativity, opportunities and choices.

Keeping perceptions and opinions out of the communication is vital for the potential treasure trove of gold to be found. In the silence one finds their answers, their insights, and their truth. In the energetic exchange of the speaker and the listener the soul's story is shared and witnessed. The guides visit, the angels bless, Spirit heals and the soul breathes it all in. The alchemy is pure magic. It has stood the test of time; our ancestors listened with very different ears than most of us do today. The silence seeks the gold and allows it to shine as brightly as it needs to.

Blessings, Lisa

Rising Above the Rules

Life is filled with rules. They surround us and our actions. From the time we are young we are taught the rules. We are expected to abide by them and to allow them to create safety and order in our life. To go against the rules is frowned upon and sometimes even punishable. Yes, there are some very necessary rules in life. They serve us well.

But, let's face it, there are times when we create so many rules in our life that we keep ourselves small, we box ourselves in, we create a false sense of safety from them. Knowing that these rules are our ego's attempt at bringing expected order to our life, to ensure we don't live too fully, expand to much, create with abandon or explore with adventurous delight. The ego of our being cannot handle that much fullness in our life. So we create rules.

Sometimes we need to rise above these self created rules. Perhaps there was a time they served us, but evaluation and reassessment is key to growth. There may be a time to put the rules aside. To question where did these rules come from? What were they protecting? Where they born of judgment or expectation?

Rules can kill spontaneity. Rules can deflate surprises. Rules can wash away our exuberance. All aspects of a full life. Are your rules wide and deep enough to allow these to be within you? Sometimes we have to push pause on our rules and take a good look around.

The soul thrives in the richness of life, in its beauty, in the everyday miracles and wonder. It is imperative that we make sure our rules support this. Possibilities make room for growth and discovery in life. Choices are important to our practice of balance. Bringing our authentic truth and soul's wisdom to the conversation of how our rules are serving us will bring clarity and awareness. From there we can make powerful decisions about our rules.

Blessings, Lisa

The Unique of You

Society often is uncomfortable with those who do not conform. Conformity creates a sense of stability, order, and known expectation. Yet, if you were to ask anyone are we not all unique, don't we all bring our own personal gifts to this world, or are we not all beautiful individuals, we would get a resounding yes. So how do you thrive and shine within this paradox?

You have tremendous energies that have been passed onto you from your ancestors that shine brightly in your DNA and make you who you are. You carry archetypal vibrations that are as unique as your swirling fingerprints that are part of your beautiful and wondrous identity. And yet, you are encouraged again and again, from a very young age, to conform. You are told how things are, how they should be (if things have gotten out of order) and how you fit within it all. Everything from your looks, your roles, your living styles, or your beliefs are encouraged to fit within this definition of normal, acceptable, beautiful or correct.

But a dynamic force resides within you! It stokes your passions, it tickles your sense of wonder, it plays with your imagination and calls to you each day. This energy is uniquely yours and yours alone! It is the creative ingredient that you bring to everything. It is the powerful voice that you lend to conversations. It is the amazing special touch that you share with others. It is exactly what this world requires of you and longs for you to bring to the day. Your special one of a kind essence is what the Universe has been waiting for!

Conforming does not support this aspect of you. It does not encourage it to grow or expand. Following the standard just adds more of the same to what already exists. It keeps things constant, but it also keeps things from growing, evolving, spreading and reaching, from birthing and releasing....all things that the vibrancy of life needs. All things that you need to be your fullest self. Staying small, silent, and average does not bring your highest self to the forefront. There are times and places for that, most certainly, but it is important to not make that your norm. Find ways to stretch. Explore ways to share your voice. Encourage others to shine bright. Join forces with those who are ready to take on the adventure of newness and possibilities.

As more and more share the unique and amazing nuances of who they are, the more the levels of creative energies rise. Consciousness awakens and change occurs. Amazing acts of healing, teaching, beauty, giving and creating are waiting for your exclusive energy to step forward. Bring it on!

Blessings, Lisa