Shadows and Light

I have this tattoo. It's on my left shoulder blade. I've always described it as two souls intertwined. Today, a new knowing emerged. It isn't two separate individuals at all. It is one. My own. The dark and the light parts of me. Those that I reveal to you and those that I have hidden even from myself. 

This week I've been delving into my shadows. Not the shadows of the world, simply my own. 

The Shadow is where the light is hiding. - John Newton

I've had this tattoo for 20 years. Today, for the first time I understand why I was so called to the artist's design; compelled to permanently mark my body with this expression of rapture, this linking, full-body embrace. The spirit body. My Spirit body embracing, loving, accepting all of who I am. 

The shadows are where the light is hiding. The other day I jumped into the darkness. A visualization, of course. What I found there was beautiful. What I found there wasn't a shadow at all, but the truth of my light. It is our light that casts the shadow, my loves. It is the contrast of life. these contrasts, as Esther-Hicks talks about frequently, that move us to discover more of ourselves, move through more of our growth, reach for our higher and highest states of Being. 

When you willingly open yourself to all of the things you think are your shadows, when you look, you'll see that there is nothing there at all. The shadows are the fiction of your Mind. Your light is the truth of your heart, your soul, your I Am. 

Deepak Chopra asks us to sit in meditation and simply as the question, "Who am I?" Ask until you know the answer. It isn't a finding out of the answer or a discovery, it is a revealing of all that you are. You are Love. You are the light. You are, simply, light. 

Until you can clearly see and feel that, keep shining your light into your shadows. See what you find. 

Connecting with Source through Movement

Do you feel disconnected? Disjointed? Unable to focus and achieve peace of mind and calmness of the body? Are your moods up and down and left and right? Do you find yourself snapping at others and feeling tired?

Among everything else that contributes to those feelings, you're probably experiencing a disconnect in your relationship with Source. Source, Source Energy, God, the Unified Field, the Universe... these are all different ways of calling the same thing - that which is all... all things, all life, all energy. 

A "Passion" that comes up for many clients is this desire to have a deeper relationship or connection with God. We want this because we want, more than anything, to feel good.

You can pray more, you can read the bible or other religious text, or a deeply moving devotional, or you can move. For me, my connection with Source Energy is strongest when I turn inward and flow through movement. 

If you want to have a deeper connection to Spirit, you have to move your body.

Your body is the package in which your spirit has chosen to manifest in this incarnation of itself. Your body is the house of your spirit, the house of your soul and the house of God, because God-energy flows within and throughout us. 

Cherish the house of your soul. Care for it, love it, and when you want to hear the voice of God clearly, move your body to silence your mind. 

My favorite way to do this is through a slow-flowing yoga with beautiful music in the background, or Kundalini Yoga - an intense form of yogic meditation. "Yoga" in Sanskrit actually means "union." Some sources translate it as a "union with the divine," and this is exactly what it feels like for me. 

How about you? Do you meditate to achieve a deeper connection with Source? Or are you still in the "thinking about it" phase? Wherever you are, it is exactly where you are meant to be. Please, share your thoughts and comment below. 

Authentic Choices

Lately, I've been struggling with a choice. There is so much to consider and as big decisions tend to do, whatever I decide will effect more than just me. 

So, how do you make a choice? Do you stay in your head, weigh the pros and cons and think through your decision? I used to do that, too. Over the past few years, however, as I delve deeper into my spiritual practice, The Passion Test and meditation, I've begun using my heart as my guide. 

Some call this intuition. I am one of the some. But it is even more than intuition - it is concrete knowledge which exists both outside of and within ourselves.

Everything in the world, when broken down into its smallest form, is energy - even thoughts. Therefore, all of the knowledge I require to make a choice resides in the unified energy field, the Universe. God. The divine holds the key and the divine resides within us and all around us. 

Because of this divine and dynamic connection, when we make a choice through the use of meditation to allow ourselves to hear our inner voice, the choice is right for everyone involved. 

When you connect with that space within a choice so that it is authentically and lovingly the pure right decision for you, it is by natural extension right for all of those in your life who are effected by that choice. 

It is impossible for it to be a bad or wrong choice for anyone involved. The lessons that will be learned are what we are meant to learn to become more of who we are meant to be in this life.

Once one accepts this truth, the burden of making the "right" choice is lifted. All that is left is to connect to the divine, willingly accept the answer that comes through and take the next step. 

Are you struggling to make a decision in your life? Share it with us. Sometimes writing allows your mind to rest and lets your heart speak your voice. Leave a comment or share this post with my thanks. 

Welcome to my New Website!

For the past few weeks, my affirmativethought.com website has been off-kilter. I'm a creative, not a technical type, so since I was busy with other things, I just let the weirdness that was happening go for a few days. Before I had to bother with support, I was able to log in and update as usual. 

Little did I know, I had been hacked. No matter what I tried, I could not restore my site back before changes were made (that redirected mobile users to a decidedly naughty website), so I decided it was a sign to start fresh! So, here we are. The new site will allow me more flexibility to grow and for you to grow with me. 

I am here to serve women - we are the foundation of our families. So, by extension, I want to serve couples and families as well. The site is currently a work-in-progress, like we all are! It should be fully updated by mid-October, so watch for expanding services as I step more deeply into coaching services with a greater emphasis on couples, families and spirituality. 

Monday Minutes will continue to be a staple, as I believe there may be no greater thing than for women to truly love and embrace who they are and recognize how much they matter. By taking the very best care of yourself, you take better care of the people you care for and about. 

Let us be a living demonstration of love and together, forge a happier world. I love you!