3 Top Tips to better listen to your soul

Isn't is curious that we often feel anxious, antsy, and short of breath when we're at rest, and that these feelings are unnoticeable when we're busy? Or sometimes, it's the opposite: we complete a big task and although we're proud we feel there's something missing. We might revert back to our inner teenage self and want to scream, "I'm bored!"

Here's a little secret: the voice of your Soul is very subtle. It can be heard in whispers. It nourishes you through beautiful sunsets and waves on the beach. It talks to you through the wind, the flight of butterflies, the curious activities of animals around you. It's too difficult to notice these subtle clues from your soul's interaction with Spirit when you're so busy being a "human doing machine". Let's face it: that's what most of us have been trained to be -- and to such an extent that many feel worthless, useless, unaccomplished or worse when we don't have a huge to-do list to check off every minute of every day. And who's voice is that - the one that screams out loud all these less-than-desirable things about you? Or who measures your worth based on the extensiveness of your list? Yep: it's ego. Ouch.

When we don't allow ourselves to stop and listen to our soul, we feel depleted. We feel trapped. We feel we're a slave of the system. We feel we need to conform to the rules to please and appease everyone. I don't know about you, but when I feel this way, I'm one unhappy mamma.

So what can we do today - right now! - to listen to our Soul? Here are my Top 3 Tips:

1. Take a DEEP breath. Don't just pretend to breathe... Notice if you're holding your belly tight as you breathe, or if your neck is hurting when you inhale. If so, your muscles are holding stress and tension. Inhale deep into your belly; watch the rise and fall of your abdomen and your chest. Allow your shoulders to fall away from your ears. Remember to exhale completely too! Take at least 10 breaths like this 3 times a day. It's easy to do at the computer, driving, commuting on the bus... no excuses!
2. Notice the world around you. Take at least 5 minutes to really SEE what's around you. How bright is the sun? What is the feeling of the temperature on your skin? What are you hearing? How are you feeling? This awareness will help you notice the subtle clues of your soul.
3. State one thing you're grateful for. This is like magic when we need to change the nasty voices back to a positive mindset. Set a timer on your electronic device, and when it chimes, state the first thing that comes to mind for which you feel grateful! When you make a game out of this, it truly feeds the joyful and light energy of your spirit!

To read more on awakening your soul, click here to read a blog article I wrote last year. It covers more of the physical symptoms you might feel when your soul is stirring.   Need more help, support and techniques? I have a system that has worked wonders for many women, helping them move from stressed and trapped to joyful and empowered.  Book time with me to chat if it's a good fit for you.

Sending you blessings of Love!

I've been beating myself up again...

Dear Diary,

I've been beating myself up again.  I've been working too hard, taking very little breaks.  I love working and creating so much, and I get so deep in my creations that I forget to sit back and admire the work.  I forget to enjoy the creation.  In fact, when I get away from work and creation, it's like a postpartum: there's an empty space, a void, a what now that is so uncomfortable it's almost unbearable.

And then, because I'm so tired, all those beasties come up to play tricks in my mind.  I'm not good enough.  I'm not doing it right.  I'm not getting the results I was going for therefore there is something fundamentally wrong with me.  I'm a sorry example for a human being.  What the heck am I thinking of being a Lightworker and trying to show others how to light their lives.  I should just crawl back in a hole, curl up in a ball and stay there.  Why did I have to incarnate again, just to feel this misery and the heaviness of the human condition?  I don't think I'm up for the challenge.

Oh, the dark recesses of my mind.  They keep me up at night.  They shut me down during the day.  It's like no one can understand just how dark and gloomy it can be.  Just like the sun can't shine through thick stormy clouds, not much joy can come through when the mood is so gloomy.  And because it's dark, it feels heavy and lonely.

But just like I know that the sun is always shining behind those thick dark clouds, I know that Love and Joy are still there behind the veil of the negative mind tricksters.  I can recognize them when they show up.  And now I'm going to do something about them.

First, I have exposed them by writing about them.  Aha - now they're out in the open, and they don't like that.  Like mold, they prefer the dark damp corners of fear and doubt.  They don't like fresh air.  Take that, beasties!

Then, it's time for a long hot shower using a sea salt scrub.  I love this ritual.  Scrubbing the body clears the mind and emotions, and the sea salt absorbs and removes the charged ions in my energy.  I feel refreshed and rejuvenated, in body-mind-spirit!  I will also enjoy using a mix of citrus, sage and sweet grass after the shower.  When I bless my body, I bless my soul.  It's a reminder that my body is the holy house of my spirit.  I need that reminder for otherwise it would be difficult to care for my body.  Speaking of caring for my body, I will also do yoga and get proper nutrition today.  I haven't been very good at caring for my body lately.  Body: please forgive me.  I love you, and thank you.

Then, for every beastie that shows up, I'll assign two angels to escort them out of my mind and into the open, fresh Light.  I'm asking for help from the angels to replace each negative thought by two loving thoughts.  What works well?  What have I learned?  What I have done to bring a smile to someone?

Finally, I will take the gratitude challenge and state out loud all the things, personal attributes, relationships, and opportunities for which I am grateful.  I am taking responsibility for my joy and happiness.  I'm done blaming myself, others, the environment and even God for the mess I'm in.  I'm clearing all that up.

Dear God: thank you for helping me see clearly through this new challenge.  Thank you for giving me the strength and courage to pick myself up again, to find meaning and purpose again.  May your work be done through me, in me and by me.  As I pick myself up again and learn to play more, relax more and listen to you more, may I be able to lift others up as well toward your Loving Light.  And so it is.

And now: play time.  Maybe I'll go to the spa today?  That would be a refreshing break after my long walk in Nature.  I hereby declare that work is done for the day!

Dancing the Heart Chakra

“Moving toward inner peace and understanding”

Since I started my journey with Chakradance TM nearly one year ago, the dance of the Heart Chakra remains one of my favourite. The dances of the Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus chakras are physical, at times choppy, and often uncomfortable as we connect to the body’s energies – and that’s no small task for spirit-workers and overthinkers! The dances of the Throat, Forehead and Crown are a connection to a higher wisdom, beyond the veil and they are absolutely fascinating. The dance of the Heart, the dance of Love… it’s centre. It’s the path to inner peace. It moves us to more self-love and self-understanding.

Every time I teach the Chakradance TM Awakenings 9-week cycle, I am amazed at the transformation I see in my students. Their eyes glow a little more. The muscles in their jaws, neck and shoulders show less tension. Their breathing becomes slower and deeper instead of the shallow anxious breathing they’re used to. They linger after class, wanting to sit in this energy just a bit longer. They want to talk just a bit more. There’s a change happening within that they can’t quite put their finger on yet; it’s just at the cusp of manifestation and they want to slow down, wait and watch for it to happen. They know they’re just about to find something they have been looking for, and they’ve been searching a long time…

What is waiting for them? Their authentic self. It’s been there all along, but was buried under that mound of “shoulds” and “ifs” and “whens”. It’s been buried under social and personal expectations. It’s been set aside due to a drive to “do” and perform instead of living the enchantment of “being”. With the dance of Love, this hidden part of the self is lifting that corner of the cozy blanket it’s been hiding under, looking at you with a mischievous but happy smile, saying, “Here I am! You’ve been looking for me? I was here all along!”

When I first danced the Heart Chakra, I saw myself as a ballerina – that was my happy place when I was 7 years old up until my teen years. I was on stage doing pliés, ronds de jambe, pas de chats… nothing complicated but I was thoroughly enjoying being fully present in my dance and remembering how to smile from the inside out. I love how I have been able to reconnect with that part of me, and I am thrilled to see how this connection, this remembrance has opened up doors for me which I didn’t even know existed – or which I had forgotten.

It is so easy to forget who we are at our core. It is so easy to get swept away under the weight of family needs, work, and community responsibilities. This is your invitation to reconnect with that part of you that has been dormant for a while. The creative, sensitive and very wise part of you. The one who loves you unconditionally. The one that makes your soul sing. The one who sees the miracles and magic of everyday life.

Are you ready to lift the corner of that blanket and see what’s been hiding under your nose all these years? Are you ready to love yourself more and move toward inner peace?

Join me in Brossard this weekend for a full weekend dedicated to the Heart Chakra.  My colleagues and I are here to facilitate and ease your journey.  There's no where else where you can find this combination of yoga, meditation, Reiki and Chakradance.  This will be an uplifting and transformative journey, and we are looking forward to it!

Sending you blessings of Love!

An invitation to heal your heart - August 23-24 2014

What if you could spend time with like-minded folks?  What if you had a rejuvenating weekend away from all your obligations and you could walk away feeling refreshed, invigorated and having a strategy and tools in place to help you manage your stress when you return to your daily grind?  What if you gave yourself the care, time and attention you normally give others -- just for a weekend? I am thrilled to have partnered with two amazing ladies - a yoga instructor and a relaxation promoter - to offer you a wonder-full weekend.  You'll journey into your heart space to find healing and inner peace.  Read more here. We are looking forward to welcoming you on August 23-24! In this wonder-full 2-day workshop you will: boost your self-love and self-healing learn Vinyasa yoga sequences to open the heart chakra experience healing meditations receive Reiki energy explore your heart chakra space receive messages from spiritual guides experience Chakradance ...and of course meet like-minded women, and possibly new friends! It's the perfect time for this workshop and to take a pause to nurture yourself between the busy-ness of summer and the return to the school routine. We have so much to offer between Yoga, Reiki, Chakradance, Meditation and spiritual coaching...   And we're ready to give you even more! RSVP today and receive these gifts -- a $600 value for only $197! Your ticket to this wonder-full weekend journey (value $197) A 30-minute clarity session (value $75) A 15-minute Angel or Oracle Card Reading (value $25) One ticket to the 4-weeks Mentored Reiki Online Training Program (value $297) A small crystal (value $6) Our mission is to provide you with the tools, experience and knowledge on your journey to wholeness and self-love. Let's journey together! Thank you for purchasing your tickets in advance.  Register with friends and save even more - and everyone who registers receives the gifts listed above! Number of tickets

1 Person $197.00 CAD  You + 1 friend = save $300.00 CAD  You + 2 friends = save more! $360.00 CAD

 

Dancing With Calypso

“Women are as changing as the seas”  (Old complaint...)

Celebrating divine feminine independence and empowerment

She has been flying – or perhaps swimming – low on my awareness radar for a few years, with water parks, dances, and a Jacques Cousteau vessel named after her. She entered the realm of my imagination with increased impact after the Pirates of the Caribbean movies under her bayou voodoo priestess guise. But it is only while dancing the Sacral Chakra, the connection with the inner divine feminine, that Calypso made herself insistent with a message that I need to share.

“Would you love me if I were anything but what I am?” asked Calypso to her lover Davy Jones in the “At World's End” Pirates movie. He was accusing her of not being present when he went to see her for their once-in-every-ten-years reunion. On that fateful day, she was dancing with the wind, or working up a storm somewhere else. She was not in her womanly body waiting faithfully for her lover to return from a long journey at sea. She was following her instincts, elsewhere. “It is in my nature to be changing,” she explains. But he did not appreciate that changing nature – especially when he wanted to possess her. And he conspired to imprison her soul in a human form.

I haven’t found many good research documents on Calypso, yet most sources state that she is one of the first feminists “on record”. She speaks up for herself. She told Zeus that he was using double standards when judging the behaviours of gods and goddesses, allowing personal and sexual freedom to the gods and denying the same to the goddesses; allowing gods to have affairs (and rape!) women while goddesses were forbidden to love men. Calypso has suffered for this, banished to a small island and fated to fall in love with men who could not be her consort, or who could not understand and fully appreciate her true nature. She has also been silenced in history, oppressed in the patriarchal society.

Oh yes, the feminist in me is now awake. I can feel Calypso’s seas, her moods, her changing nature. I feel her need for social justice - regardless of sex, race or religion.  I feel her plea to allow humans love who they want. I certainly feel her strong yet loving need for independence and free speech. I feel appalled that our society still condones double-standards. I weep the pressure women are under to always be consistent and joyfully submissive – when they are not, they are systematically “medicated” at best; shunned or brutalized in the worst case scenarios.

In my dancing meditation, Calypso affirmed that it was in our divine nature to be changing like the seas.  We must embrace our independent nature.  We have to stop trying to conform to a regime that oppresses our emotions, and start embracing our true selves: our calm waters AND our raging seas. When we deny ourselves the sacred time and space to be fully and authentically who we are, we are missing a big part of our potential. That is typically when clients come to see me with concerns about feeling empty, lost, and overly emotional about the little things. What we deny within ourselves usually comes out elsewhere, and unfortunately it often manifests out of our Shadow in a self-destructive way.

I am grateful I have learned tools, like Reiki, Chakradance and guided visualizations to help women find their path to wholeness. Just this morning again, a client told me how more calm, centered and connected to Spirit she feels thanks to the journey she has done with me. She notices the small miracles and synchronicities in her life, she is more joyful, and her fears are diminishing. I love receiving such testimonials! I am so grateful that Spirit can do this work through me!

If you take a deep breath now to check within – how do you truly feel? Is there space for more self-love and self-acceptance? Do you feel there’s a big dark door that you are fearful of opening? Are you trying so hard to keep things together when you feel the call of your inner seas? Are you ready to journey toward wholesomeness and authenticity? I’m here to journey with you – and so is Calypso. You need not be alone or lonely in your journey. Please reach out, talk to me. Let’s see if the stars and the seas are favourable to a journey together. I’m ready to set sail – are you?

Sending you blessings of joy!

Oracle Reading and Spiritual Coaching for August 2014

Just a quick note to let you know that the August 2014 Oracle Reading is ready...  and I am migrating all my Oracle posts on an other blog in an attempt to find simplicity - I have come to the realization that I offer many services that I tend to bundle up together and it brings to confusion.  Even I am confused about what I do!  I am working with a business coach and one of my tasks for the past few months has been to "figure out" what I do and what I offer...  I always stumble on that.  In my mind, I'm still "just this girl with a dream but nothing special, who does what she loves"...  I am humbled and grateful that I am helping so many, and thanks for letting me know that what I do makes a positive impact in your life, too!

Summary of this month's Reading:

Week 1: Find ways every day to move toward serenity. Take at least 15 minutes daily to do something just for you, just because.

Week 2: The summer has been so busy with an abundance of activities and social gatherings... on your path to serenity, make sure you schedule "YOU-time"

Week 3: Have you noticed resistance to saying no to invitations, or resistance to asking for help? Set yourself free from the prison of your mind.

Week 4: If you've worked on all the soul lessons presented during the first 3 weeks, you will feel more balanced, body-mind-spirit.

Watch the video on the Lightworker Oracle blog!

Do you want to know how these lessons apply to you, or if you have other soul lessons and assignments this month? Follow this link to see my schedule and book time with me!