Your Valentine’s Day Gift: Self Acceptance

On Uprooting Oneself…

Most people have excellent intuition. The challenge arises when they are called upon to trust it and heed its guidance – even when it means moving to the other side of the country.

Here I was, living in Ontario, with a thriving practice as an intuitive and as a yoga instructor, when I began at the start of the year to sense that I was no longer where I belonged. It started with feeling displaced, as though the town I had been calling home since the mid-90′s no longer felt that way. People continued to be friendly and welcoming, and indeed, there was no end of work for me. I could have tried to stay in Kingston and continued doing what I was doing, but the call to move was too strong. I had no choice but to listen. I kept hearing the word “Kelowna” in my mind.

Now, this is where an intuitive has no choice but to put her money where her mouth is. I had to listen to my intuition and make the move and accept whatever changes that brought forth in me, or I would become a disingenuous person, giving advice to my clients that I was not myself willing to heed. I committed to making the move, but my ego wanted a safe, cushy period of time to prepare for the shift. However, once I had stopped deliberating and the decision was made, circumstances made it so that I had less than 30 days to do the deed.

This is not uncommon when we make a decision based on intuition. The universe gives us a test. Often, the time period to accomplish the task is sped up. It’s as though God is asking how serious we are about our decision. Will we act even though things are occurring outside of our conscious control? Will we go anyway or will we cling to the familiar and miss our opportunity? I knew I had to go, even though it meant leaving friends and family behind, and embarking on a journey to a place where I knew no one and knew nothing about where I was headed.

Packing to leave Kingston

There was no time to spare. Within 24 hours of getting clear on my decision, on August 2nd, I had arranged to stay at a condo at Big White Ski Resort and had purchased a plane ticket to fly out on September 3rd. Next came organizing movers, finding work in BC, and packing my stuff. I won’t say that the move was easy. Plenty of tears were shed for the folks I was leaving behind, and it was a scary proposition to uproot myself and go to parts unknown. But, what an adventure!

The Rockies from the plane

Kelowna from the air

I had never been further west than Manitoba, and here I was, flying over the Rockies, in awe of the magnificence of this mountain range that just seemed to go on and on…  The hours spent on the plane, watching the landscape pass by below, gave me time to wonder at the monumental decision I had made. Here I was, moving on my own away from the province where I had spent most of my life, having moved to Ontario from Quebec when I was five years old. What was I doing, moving to BC? All I knew was that I was moving where I was being called to go, and I would have to trust that, even though I knew next to nothing about Kelowna.

Touching down in my new hometown, I realized that I had been given a tremendous gift – the opportunity to live in a place of such beauty in all directions, with people who welcomed me before I even arrived.

Near the top of Big White, looking at the chalets below

During my last month in Ontario, I had sent out emails to yoga studios and other contacts provided me by friends in the know, and I felt encouraged by the responses I received. Brenda Wowk of Kelowna Hot Yoga Studio was the first to connect with me. Her warm welcome made me feel right at home, and I began teaching Yin yoga at her studio the week I arrived.

My first night in Kelowna, I drove for an hour up the dark mountainside to Big White, making hairpin turns, passing steep dropoffs, and dodging deer. In the morning, I walked to the top of the mountain and surveyed the range, marvelling at the green expanse before me. For several days, I drove up and down the mountain, exploring Kelowna and looking for a place to live, since the condo was a temporary rental before the start of ski season. My ears popped each day, during the sharp descent into the Okanagan Valley. I came to realize that the wildlife own the roads in these parts. One night on my way back up the mountain, I had to stop half a dozen time for deer crossing the road. During my forays into the city, I would drive around the ducks near city park. They are quite clear on their ownership of the road and are not the least bit fussed about traffic.

The ducks own the road.

In that same first week, I found a carriage house to rent in West Kelowna surrounded by vineyards, fields and mountains, bought a car, and began to make friends in my new community. I hiked in the mountains with Brenda, and with my yogi friend, Dawn and her three rescued dogs. I attended the Wise Women Festival in Penticton, where I became gloriously lost in the dark on the way home, finding myself at Okanagan Lake at midnight. I found a park near my home where I could sit on a bench and look across the water at Kelowna and take in the beauty of the lake and the mountains. I found myself laughing at the flocks of quail that would run along in front of me and hide in the bushes where I passed, looking much like old ladies in cocktail hats toddling off for their afternoon tea.

So, I take this adventure a day at a time, humbled and grateful to have been led here, looking to continue learning what my higher wisdom wants me to know, and recognizing that I am indeed taken care of, and that God/the Universe/All That Is reaches out to me through my mind, my heart, the mountains and the wind, and every smiling face that welcomes me, and all those in kindness who wish me well wherever I walk the earth. Namaste and blessings to you all.

The Unseen Influence

When people take my Channeling Healing Energy workshops, it’s always a beautiful thing to see the surprise on their faces when they realize for the first time that they can feel someone walk into their energy field – and that they can feel it happening more than 10 feet away from their body.

With little difficulty, most people can learn to tune into the subtle shifts in their field caused by the influence of others. The more sensitive in the group even report a feeling of pressure against them and more rapid breathing as they feel the person approach – even though their eyes are closed during the exercise.

We are energy beings living in a sea of energy, and as such, we exert a profound influence upon one another. For example, women who share a home as roommates eventually find that their menses cycles synchronize.

It’s said that over time, life partners start to look like each other. We are energy that is capable of great change, depending on the state of our consciousness. Even our DNA is affected by thought (read Dr. Bruce Lipton’s book, “The Biology of Belief” for more on the subject).

In her book, “Why People Don’t Heal, and How They Can”, Caroline Myss talks about energy leaking from our fields to others when we think about them. She counsels her readers to be careful of spending too much time worrying about other people, because it depletes our energy and provides them with energy they should be finding for themselves. Those readers who have a companion who is a constant complainer, who leaves them feeling worn out after a conversation, know what I mean.

Aware of the influence our field has on others, we can choose consciously what thoughts and actions to take to protect our field from leakage and offer loving energy to others.

Taking the following steps will ensure your vitality and generate a calm environment around you:

1. Whenever you encounter something stressful, let the energy of it drop down your body and out through the energy centers in the soles of your feet. That way, the energy can be recycled by the Earth.

2. Draw universal energy into your body through your feet and the crown of your head, meeting at the heart, to ensure your vitality. Do this whenever you feel anxious, angry or fatigued.

3. If you encounter someone who is in a bad mood, having drawn that universal energy in, send it back out to that individual with love. If they’re having a bad day, they deserve your compassion. This action also protects you from energy loss, since engaging in negative emotion creates fatigue.

4. Be here NOW. When your thoughts wander into the past or become anxious about the future, your energy is not available to you in the present moment. Come back to where you are and just work with what’s in front of you.

5. Quit worrying about your loved ones. You have no control over their karma. Their path is their path. Instead, project a feeling of confidence in their strength, their ability to cope, and if it’s your children, their ability to use the tools you’ve given them to get through life. Even the youngest child does not benefit from worry. Having an anxious parent just makes them worry too, and lose confidence in themselves. Bless them and gradually let them go, with love. Their soul has chosen their path. Trust it.

6. Sometimes, people ask me how to protect themselves against psychic attack. There are really only two emotions operating in the world – love and fear. Someone who attacks you does so because they think you’re a threat. Love truly does conquer all. Bless them, send them love, and free yourself from the trap of giving back as good as you get. It only lowers your vibration to react to attack with fear or anger. Stay in a higher vibration so you can offer a lifeline to those who are in fear but looking for a way out.

We as a species are shifting paradigms, moving out of an age built on fear, needing to believe in the security of material goods. We are evolving into a species vibrating in love, becoming a community built on spirit, sharing, and mutual strength and well-being. How you choose to resonate your energy now will determine how easily you move into the new paradigm. Namaste.

What I’ve learned about love…

Something has shifted on a deep and significant level for me. This may be a result of my Yin yoga practice. It may be the effect of major shifts in my life during the past several months. It certainly is having my soulmate hold a mirror up to me and my patterns around love.

Whatever the contributing factors, I’ve come to the realization that there is only one way to love, and that is unconditionally, without reservation, and without regard to the outcome.

To some, that may sound self-sacrificing; yet it isn’t. I continue to ensure that I meet my needs, including expressing them to others if their involvement or cooperation is required, and I’m happy to move in and out of situations if they don’t feel right for me, whether that has to do with my home, job, or relationship.

However, I’ve discovered that there is incredible freedom and joy in loving someone for the opportunity of expressing that love. It moves me out of “what will you do for or to me?” It stops the question, “Will you love me or hurt me?” It shifts it to, “How can I understand you better? What can I give you?”

This shift moves us from grasping to giving, and it’s only when we have an open hand that we can receive the gifts of the universe. It also sets up a wave effect. As we freely allow Love to flow through and out of us, it rushes right back in through beautiful and unexpected channels.

This offering up of love does not restrict itself to a romantic relationship. Indeed, as conduits of Divine Love on earth, we can freely provide that energy to everyone we meet, whether they are ready to receive it or not. It’s really none of our business what others do with the Love we offer. It’s just our role to let it move through and out of us.

Often, when I’m struggling with a particular stage of my personal growth, the Universe speaks through someone that day, giving me the exact guidance or support I need. Indeed, it wants to communicate through us all, if we just get out of the way and allow it.

What’s tremendous about this realization is that it takes the emphasis off of receiving from someone in particular. How often do we become angry and bitter because we felt that someone should treat us in a particular way? When we surrender to the Universe, and accept that our needs will be met through a greater wisdom than our ego can summon, we move from blame to compassion, realizing that others may be suffering and unable to offer anything that day… but that it will come to us through the appropriate channel at the right time.

Knowing this, we can freely offer up love, opening our hearts to let it back in from wherever it’s destined to come. We can cease grasping and clinging and simply resonate with the compassionate, all-encompassing vibration that is the Universe. All that truly exists is Love. With that vast ocean surrounding and permeating us, why focus on the smallness of the illusion that we are separate and somehow removed from the All?

I prefer to live in Truth, knowing that my sole purpose – indeed everyone’s purpose – is to be Love expressing itself today. However you do it, you are the Love of the Universe… and the Universe/God/All That Is doesn’t play favourites and doesn’t care if anyone loves it back.

Sharing your Heart – The Page/Princess of Wands

The Aquatic Tarot. Author/Artist: ©Andreas Schröter 1995-2002

We naturally attract people and abundance to us when we are heart-centered in our approach. Whenever we are in the mode of loving ourselves and the world around us, people smile back on the street, the phone rings with tempting offers, and opportunities of all kinds just seem to open up around us. Everything blossoms.

The challenge we face in tough economic times is to continue to blossom and to stop ourselves from going into warrior-survival mode. We can feel the difference at our heart chakras when we are in that mode. Our chests constrict; we walk with our heads down, barely noticing passers by; we’re internally focused, trying to figure out what’s wrong with our lives. We’ve moved out of our hearts and into our rational minds.

The Page or Princess of Wands beckons us to approach our lives with honesty and sincerity. That means accepting when we’re scared or unsure and letting that feeling move through us, perhaps talking to a good friend about what’s upsetting us. This reaction to fear doesn’t constrict the heart but opens it up. It’s only when we think we can resolve these problems through suppression and rationalization that we move away from being honest with ourselves and others.

The Page of Wands is a soft, open-hearted person. When he’s hurt, you know it, because he can’t hide his feelings. When he’s happy, he shows it, and any room he enters seems brighter for his presence. He welcomes you in all that you do to stay open and present with your emotions, stay connected to the people around you. Realize that we’re all in this together, and we can share in the difficulties and lighten each other’s load – but only if we’re honest with each other.

Take time today to stop what you’re doing and just feel what’s happening inside of you. What emotion is present? Take a moment to completely surrender to that feeling. This is as important as reminding yourself to breathe. Then, realize that no matter what your emotion, there are others nearby feeling the same thing. You’re not alone. Take comfort in that.

Creating Connection During the Holidays

Hello Everyone,

I’ve switched my blog at blogspot to WordPress, because it’s so much prettier! You’ll see below all my posts for December. Enjoy!

It’s early morning. The dogs are curled around my legs as I lie in bed, and James, our manx cat, has not yet woken from his favourite perch on my office chair to tell me that it’s his breakfast time. I want to savour the quietude, but my brain is already abuzz with its list of tasks for the day. There always seems to be something to accomplish – and the holidays create a blender effect of escalating duties that fill the imagination, crowding out the tranquility of the present moment.

It’s so easy at this time of year to get caught up in holiday preparation and lose our connection, not only with others, but with ourselves. It’s often difficult to shut down that anxious voice in our heads with its list that seems to be longer than the one Santa reserves for good children. Rather than try to shut it down, I suggest you take that extra few minutes in the morning to feel that tension to which the mind gives voice. Experience the fire in the body that stress creates. It’s interesting to see how that anxiety shifts and slows when we give it attention rather than fight it off.

Take time, this season, to stop a moment in your bustling about and acknowledge your feelings. Don’t worry about labeling them or figuring out where they came from. Just stop to feel – the same way we’re often told to give pause for breath in yoga class. Just feel for a moment and allow your body and its emotions to come to rest. You’ll continue into your day with a different perspective by being patient with yourself and your feelings each morning and whenever you can during the day.