The Gratitude Equation

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”~ Melody Beattie There are times when it is easy to get down, to feel sorry for ourselves, and to only be able to see our glass half full. What is hard is to get out of that rut! To flip the coin and see the other side, even when we know we should. Being pessimistic is contagious too. How many times have you been in the company of someone who was the “Debbie Downer” and you find yourself viewing your day through that negative fog? It is so hard to shake.

I work at not going there. I put effort into keeping my perspective focused on gratitude. That does not mean I walk through life with rose-colored glasses on or that I don’t understand that bad things happen to good people. I am realistic. I am grounded. And I work with people every day who come to me because they are in need. They need someone to help them see the other side, someone to help them refocus, to heal or to gain a fresh perspective. It is my job as a spiritual life coach and a shaman. So that said, I begin each day with a focus on gratitude. It helps keep my vision clear and my heart open.

When you begin your thoughts for the day with gratitude you discover yourself in a place of abundance. There is a way to find balance. You create a relationship immediately between what you have and have not. And you begin to take back the power you would have otherwise given to the have not side of the equation. You find yourself completing sentences like, “I may not have the best job for my skills, but….” or “I may not have a life partner, but…” or “Today I don’t feel very good, but…” This conversation unfolds naturally because your soul has been inspired by your thoughts of gratitude to bring to mind what you do have, or will have or what is. Your soul steps in and fills the empty gaps that you would have otherwise filled with a negative point of view if you had not taken your daily dose of gratitude.

Try this simple exercise for one week. Begin each day, before you even hop out of bed. Think of 3-5 things that you are grateful for. Then launch your day. As you begin to move through the motions you will find areas where the contrast presents itself, but now you are armed with an awareness that shifts the perspective. Now you see that there is more to you and your reality than just the deficits, the negatives or the pains. This awareness helps you move through the landmines of life with a dance of grace and a heart filled with appreciation of the possibilities.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

You Are Love

Can you believe that many love you? The fact that you are loved by those in your life may be easier to accept. But what of the love of those you do not know? What of the love of those you will never know? Can you believe that many love you? Can you believe that this love is what brings you into your Being? Walking. I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands. ~ Linda K. Hogan Love is the energy of the cosmos. As long as beings have been on this green globe there has been love. And I have to believe that out in the beauty of the stars and galaxies there exists a love equal to or even more profound than that we know of. It is within this love that we are all created.

Our essence is born of the ancestor’s breath. They breathe us into Being. They fuel the fire of our souls and quicken the embers within us to blaze. Within this fire the passion of our life is born. All our possibilities crystallize into form. All our gifts manifest. And within our birthing heart is gently placed this gift of love to carry forth to others.

Love is meant to be shared. It is the most valuable offering we have. And there is always enough love; we just have to be open to see it, to receive it, and to then give it to the next. It is within this relationship that it becomes stronger and stronger still.

If we listen closely to our hearts, in this deeper way, we can hear of the path our love has traveled. Our guides, our angels, our ancestors … they all have a role in the story of the creation of our love and our coming into our truest self. It is this love that makes us shine with brilliance and beauty. It brings to our presence the gifts of compassion and grace. It opens our hearts to forgiveness and understanding. Love helps guide the way to our authenticity and calling.

Be still and listen. Know that you are a being of love, created from the love of many lifetimes before this. Know that the celebration of your being was observed throughout the Universe and the moment of your first breath, the promise of more love to flow and follow was born. Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

The Richness of Ritual

“This is what rituals are for. We do spiritual ceremonies as human beings in order to create a safe resting place for our most complicated feelings of joy or trauma, so that we don't have to haul those feelings around with us forever, weighing us down. We all need such places of ritual safekeeping.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert So what are the rituals that are a part of your life? Do you turn to them in times of loss and pain? Do you seek them to honor and celebrate? Have they become part of your spiritual essence and bring a depth to your practice and a beauty to your life?

Our current culture has its rituals, though we do not often call them that. For some reason that word does not flow so comfortably from one’s tongue as it could and possibly should. Yet, look around you and you will see the many rituals that we have in our day. We have rituals to honor our country with the pledge of allegiance to the flag, we have rituals around our birthdays with the singing of the Happy Birthday song, and we have rituals around our holidays with the lighting of a Menorah, the decoration of trees and homes, and the attendance to religious ceremonies. We also have rituals tied to certain meals that we make and clothing that we wear. All of these rituals are done to bring special attention to a life event, a specific holy day or a right of passage.

But what other rituals have you looked for or even created to honor situations in your life that the more traditional does not cover and society accepted rituals do not address? In our home we celebrate the summer and winter solstice and spring and autumnal equinox of the year. We honor the cycle of the moon. We have rituals around intention setting and more. We have created very personalized rituals around specific rites of passage for our children and our role as parents.

For myself, personally, as a shaman many of my rituals use tools that are in direct relation to my practice whether it be the use of my soul stick to gather and send energies, the use of other altar tools to set intentions, the observance of symbolism or the reading of runes or cards to interpret messages and meanings. Rituals aid in setting a specific tone and draw in the essence of what we are seeking. Additionally, rituals act as a release to the emotion and presence that surrounds what we are honoring. Ritual connects our body, our mind, our hearts and our soul together as one. In this union we combine the humanness of who we are to the spiritual of who we are. In the energies created within this amalgamation we cross from the ordinary of our everyday to the sacred and revered of our life’s journey. Bringing ritual into our daily life creates spiritual space and presence within our regular everyday.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade

The Value of Soul Care

You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy. You have to resist the demands of the work-oriented, often defensive, element in your psyche that measures life only in terms of output ~ how much you produce ~ not in terms of the quality of your life experiences. To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, 'prove-yourself' values of our culture, and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution. ~ Jean Shinoda Bolen As a society we place our value on production, accomplishments, and material manifestations of our efforts. More often our greatest achievements are those that are not immediately visible, often are not tangible and are not usually identifiable with a monetary value. Yet, having true inner peace, an appreciation of our authentic self, and acknowledgement of our personal growth are life’s greatest treasures.

Finding the time to honor, celebrate and place focused attention to these types of areas of our life, this soul growth and expansion, and this purposeful spirit care is often an overlooked space on our day’s timeline. We place more value on so many other things and this act of spiritual attention lags behind. Yet, when we do make the time for this part of our personal maintenance, we find ourselves empowered, we have an inner calm, we find beauty before us and we have an inner confidence that allows us to soar through the day.

So how do we make a point to include this soulful upkeep? How do we create an appreciation for the necessity of this time in our life, so that others do not balk when we incorporate it into our schedule, or include it in the day’s routine? Perhaps the steps need to be consistent yet small. Start with a simple morning ritual that gradually evolves into more. Try to set aside a day of the week that has a more expanded gift of self-care within it whether it be connection with nature, a day of spiritual service to others or a meditative practice. Find opportunities to celebrate your spiritual beliefs by creating days of honor. Then begin involving others. The more we model and share this act of soul care, the more it becomes understood, recognized and valued.

Just as it is with eating healthy food choices or making room for exercise, it begins with intentions and small consistent efforts. Repetition and placing value in the actions sends a signal to our body, mind and soul of the necessity of it. We begin to value the intention and look forward to its role in our day. The positive results that come from these efforts then spur us on for more efforts. The feel good factor reminds us of why the small cost is worth the quality of life it brings.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Lisa Meade