Being gentle with ourselves
Being gentle with ourselves helps us survive the challenging times in our lives. When we feel tired, stressed and overworked, our energy may be depleted, weakening our immune system and leaving us open to catching a cold or the flu.Rather than pushing ourselves to do more at times like this, we want to ease up and give our body a chance to rest and recuperate. A friend calls this “exercising exquisite self care.” It includes nurturing our body by getting enough rest, exercising, eating healthy, and drinking water to stay...
Using rattles to access our inner wisdom
The repetitive sound produced by a rattle can help us enter a trancelike state and open to hearing our inner wisdom.Begin by experimenting with different styles of rattles. Some have a higher, shriller sound. Some have a lower, deeper sound. Some are quieter, some are louder. Keep trying them until you find one you like. Rattles can be purchased at many spiritual stores and online sites.Try different ways of holding the rattle, even different hands. Maintain a loose grasp in order to be comfortable holding the rattle for several minutes. Some...
When our prayers are answered a different way
During my former life in the corporate world, I managed a group of about ten employees. Conflicts inevitably arose, as they will in any workplace. I felt completely unprepared and at a loss, going out of my body whenever faced with a contentious situation. I wanted to run and hide.So I prayed for the conflict to end. Over and over again, I prayed. Imagine my frustration when the amount of conflict in my life actually increased.I could see that prayer wasn’t helping, so I switched. I now asked to be gifted the ability to manage the...
Expressing heartfelt appreciation
I’ll never forget the first time I was praised in a way that felt good to me. It was in my former life as a graphic designer for a catalog company. My mentor, a person I held in high regard, looked me directly in the eye and told me what he liked about working with me, citing three or four specific examples.It wasn’t so much what he said, but the way he said it. He maintained eye contact the whole time we were talking, which told me he was sincere and cared about me as a person. His words were not prepared in advance yet carried...
Acknowledging and honoring our family gifts
Through our family genetic stream, we receive much more than just our height, hair color and bone structure. We also receive energy in the form of family gifts.I’ve spent several large blocks of time at home recently, and it’s been informative to see parts of myself reflected in my parents and to track where certain abilities come from.From my father, I got a strong sense of geographic direction and the ability to find my way in unfamiliar territory when traveling, along with an observant eye for spotting wildlife and birds. I...
Doing the best we can
In any given moment, we do the best we can.Most of us realize that. But we get confused because “our best” fluctuates. It shifts from day to day, even from moment to moment. Our best effort today is not the same as our best effort yesterday, nor will it be the same as our best effort tomorrow. Our moods vary, our energy levels vary, even our abilities vary. We may be more in our body and more in our heart today than we were yesterday, or we may have more information today than we had yesterday.We forget this, which can lead to...