soul age

I have to share a couple of great links provided by my friend Kim that I think the like-minded will find interesting (and validating!)

The first site regards the soul ages and levels that each of us pass through during our many incarnations. It is very comprehensive and may help you to discern what soul age you are engaged in presently, based on what life challenges/lessons/situations you face, your personality, what you are most passionate about learning/doing in this lifetime. According to the site's author, a collective spirit group called "Michael" (similar to "Abraham" for those of you who ascribe to the Law of Attraction books and Abraham teachings), we each find ourselves as a part of one of the following: infant souls, baby souls, young souls, mature souls, and old souls. Within each soul age there are seven levels that we experience chronologically. Each of the soul ages and each of the subsequent levels presumably take many lifetimes for us to experience. Apparently, soul ages tend to incarnate together geographically, so there are pockets of soul ages around the world.

The second site is equally exciting, also authored by a Michael - hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Newton - "The Journey of Souls." He conducted a series of hypnotic studies on subjects to determine their hidden memories from the "hereafter." Check out the key findings bullet-pointed - I find them to be entirely reassuring. The key findings discuss soul groups, spirit guides/angels, heaven, telepathy, karma, spirit colors, incarnation tendencies, and so on. The findings are really comforting and beautiful; I encourage you to read! This study reminds me of Dr. Brian Weiss's acclaimed spiritual read "Many Lives, Many Masters," a psychiatrist who previously strictly believed in traditional western practice of medicine and psychiatry, and then had a patient come along who recalled tremendous past lives events through hypnosis, changing his entire worldview.

Thanks, Kim, for sharing these inspiring and spiritually informative / exciting links!!

love your body

The sun brings me more clarity. Despite the fact that this extreme difference in weather from one week ago (and, one year ago!) just adds to the growing powerful reaction from the earth from its years of neglect (in my opinion), I can't help but be happy for the warmer weather, even though its implications may be wary. Regardless, I know that we'll all be safe and happy, no matter what the implications, and no matter what the outcome. So there is really nothing to fear.

Today I reflect on something very important that I constantly observe both within myself and those closest to me: body image and body appreciation. Too often conversations between friends leads to self-criticism regarding external appearance. Too often I myself stare at the mirror in disdain, wondering why I cannot be my 18-year old self again. Too often we judge one another strictly based on what we see. And while it is ever-important to take care of yourself, treat your body right, eat healthy, life-giving foods, and exercise, it is also ever-important to look in the mirror and shower yourself with love and affection. This is where affirmations can be powerful. Try looking at yourself in the mirror each morning, chanting "I love myself. I cherish myself. I appreciate myself" - or something along these lines, over and over again. I take this from Louise Hay, a powerful healer, author, and affirmations coach. As you'll see, the more you love yourself, and replace a showering of daily self-criticism (which most of us are guilty of) with a showering of daily love, what you see in front of you will be beautiful, healthy, and alive. The more you love yourself, the more apt you are to treat yourself well, nourish your body with living foods and eat for fuel, not for comfort and pleasure. The more apt you will be to go on long walks, to practice yoga, to exercise - whatever works for you, whatever gets your body moving and full of life. We need to each make a commitment to total self-love. Self-love is greatly lacking - and in order to fully love others, you need to firstly be able to love yourself!

I encourage all of you to begin reciting these daily self-loving affirmations. See yourself as beautiful. Bite your tongue when you begin your daily self-scrutinizing, and replace this criticism with something beautiful about yourself. Grow to love and honor yourself. Your body is a part of you, do not neglect it. Treat it right, it has carried you for all of these years. Your body will respond to the love that you give it. Try to incorporate more raw foods into your diet - food from the earth. Your body will respond lovingly. Be outside in nature and take long strolls. Stretch and become one with your body each day. These are all great ways to love your body. Make sure whenever you look in the mirror, you thank your body for all that it has given you, for the physical power and beauty you've been granted in this lifetime, for mobility, for strength, for fuel. Remember that your body is part of the trifecta of who you are. Love it, and love yourself.

Reiki Distance Healing and zaanti

Today I am embarking on a 21-day distance Reiki healing to prepare myself to be attuned at the master level with my mentors Delphina Aldama and Maria Kahle on April 7th. They have just begun an amazing new Reiki center in Chicago called zaanti that I am very excited to watch unfold! These two are incredibly gentle and giving spirits and so gifted. If you have the means and would like to treat yourself to some beautiful healing, I encourage everyone in the Chicago area to book a Reiki session at the new center, or to take a Reiki attunement class! You will not be disappointed. I took my first classes with the two of them last May, 2011 - and it was one of the most life-changing, moving, healing, loving experiences of my life.

As for the distance Reiki treatment, if you would like to be included, please let me know! It is basically a beautiful prayer for anyone who would like healing in various parts of their life. I write down your message of healing and perform a distance healing each night for 21 days. You can also participate in this healing by meditating on your message of healing for the 21 days. It is really a beautiful process, I love including friends and family and anyone else who desires to be a part of this - it allows us all to remember how connected we are as spirits, and I feel honored to have you share a part of your soul with me.

This is an absolutely beautiful day, and I hope you all enjoy it. Let the Reiki energy healing commence!

the people are smiling again

It is so inexplicably amazing what a little bit of sunlight can do for humanity. Living in the midwest all of my life, I have witnessed and myself fallen privy to the ups and downs that go along with the extreme weather we experience. And every late February / early March, a restlessness befalls my midwestern folk as we eagerly anticipate the spring that surely will make everything better and happy again. So, it snowed like crazy on Sunday and was absolutely freezing. Today, two days later, it is 60 degrees, coats and winter accessories have been abandoned, and miserly faces replaced with unpreventable smiles. All of us who had been hibernating have taken to the streets, the bikers have returned, and there is an overall sense of beauty, of peace, of joy that has spread, all because of a little glimpse of sunlight.

Would this feeling of spring, new beginnings, of fertility and joy, be quite the same and have quite the same effect had we not experienced the opposite, wintry extreme? If I lived in sunshine and temperate conditions all year round, would I appreciate this coming-of-spring sensation? I'm not so sure I would. Part of the midwest's glory lies in its distinct seasons. I wouldn't be quite so grateful for this beauty all around me today had I not emerged from a somewhat desolate winter. Even my body feels different: lighter, more active, more beautiful - instantly. Yesterday it was freezing and it took so much effort to leave my apartment. Today, I'm jumping for joy to go outside and to smile at everyone and appreciate nature. And although the raw foods journey has been getting easier and becoming more habitual with each passing day, today, there was no question that I would stick to it, no temptation for richer, cooked foods/dairy/gluten/meat. Ah, life is good. The solitude of winter has allowed this gratitude to again catch fire as we again appreciate the sun, appreciate our bodies, appreciate one another.

Have a sunshine-y day. :)

tree huggers unite!

I love trees. So much. I guess, who doesn't?! My favorite part about going on walks - anywhere - in the middle of the country or in the middle of a city - is viewing and appreciating the various trees along the way. Every tree is so unique, so beautiful, so loving, so indescribable. Trees represent the ultimate form of grounding, of stability, of connection to the earth, of embracing all of the elements of nature and still remaining strong, true, and beautiful. Of love, really. There is something just so majestic and magnetic about every tree.

Want a quick pick-me-up? Go outside and view the glory of any tree. Hug a tree. Even google image trees - they are so fascinating, and all around us! Nature is so glorious. Here's one blog with photos of beautiful trees where I found the following beautiful picture.

To live in a place absolutely surrounded by trees, rolling hills, flowers, the endless sounds of wind and animals and flowing water - that is the ultimate dream. That is what I intend to make happen in my own life. This summer I have the absolute honor of living in and working at my absolute favorite place in the entire country - Ishnala Supper Club on Mirror Lake in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. It is far back in the woods, isolated, situated on the end of a beautiful sandstone cliff, overlooking a no-wake lake, surrounded by beautiful trees, blooming flowers, far away from modernity. Here's a picture of this gem:

I hope we each find the creative powers within us (that we all have) to manifest dreams into reality. I love you guys! Have a spectacular beginning to March - a new month for new beginnings and a chance to love!

happy leap day 2012!

Let us celebrate the beauty of this day! Here we each have the chance to start anew, to seize the day! We have an extra day for the year - do something risky, something bold, something beautiful! Appreciate nature, see beauty all around you and within you - because it is there, in everyone! Go and hug a tree! Pick up some trash on the ground when you go on a walk - help take care of beautiful Mother Earth!

Here's a nice uplifting blog post for the day, in honor of February 29th. I too agree that Leap Day 2012 has special spiritual meaning, and is a really awesome chance for everyone to feel fully alive and embrace life.

I hope you all have wonderful days. XOXO

look within

This is going to be a doubly-referenced post. Today I stumbled upon this great blog post from intuitive Laura Bruno via professional astrologer Electra Jung. I highly encourage everyone to read it - it explains the present Mars Retrograde in Virgo (January 23 - April 13, 2012), and might even shed light on some inner energy you've been experiencing lately. The theme to take away regards focusing inward versus outward - rediscovering your authentic self, stripping away external expectations, perceptions, and judgments. So, set yourself free from the binding, self-imposed constraints of the past and the future, and work with the Mars Retrograde to really focus on what it is that you desire, on what is your truest path, regardless of any non-you influences. This is an uplifting post and, of course, focuses on the Law of Attraction, visualization, eliminating negative thinking that holds you back, and doing what it is YOU want to do, completely undistracted by what everyone else wants or thinks you should do. What is your soul's deepest desire? What brings you great joy? What fills your entire being with love and light?

a balancing act

My last post regarded emotional eating and the power of raw, living foods, and how this lifestyle can positively change your life. Just to add a bit of human-ness to this blog, I want to recount my weekend experience with falling off the new lifestyle bandwagon. It was my first real fall (with the exception of snacking too much over the holidays :)). I visited my ol' recent, and not-so-recent stomping grounds in the Dells, and had a really fun night with friends I used to work with. Because I hadn't seen these people for a few months, we stayed out all night, and my usually treasured sleep took a backseat to a seriously awesome 90's music, car jam session. It was great and I do not regret having a fun time with old friends (it reminded me of the importance of friends, connections, spontaneous fun, and the joy of music and dancing!), but the sudden and extreme shift from my recent focus on overall health (paired with a little bit of poor nutritional planning) really affected my body in an intense way.

But, as always, every experience is intentional, needed, and can facilitate a greater examination into one's life. And such is this one! I believe that in light of the good time I had with friends, my fatigue and hunger for the next day reminded me of just why I have enjoyed reaping the benefits of a high raw lifestyle. On the drive home from the Dells, I broke my high raw-streak, even breaking my vegan streak, and ordered Wisconsin CHEESE CURDS! Haha. Well, they were certainly delicious, but I was certainly aware of just how off my body felt after consuming them. I resorted to feeding my body for pleasure, comfort, and convenience, as opposed to for health, vitality, and fuel. As soon as I got home, I was so tired that I did not get to really enjoy the full breadth of day - and I went to sleep early, for a very disrupted sleep (due to my negligible diet, too-much drink, and sleep!) I had this experience so that I could remember the difference in how my body, mind, and spirit feel when I fuel my body with living foods, am hydrated, and get good sleep, as opposed to how I felt all yesterday. It was fun, and all of life requires a balancing act, but I understand now that if I want to feel consistently good, I can. I can spend more time pre-planning meals, always having water on hand, and having healthy snacks in my car. As far as the lack of sleep goes, well, that will happen - it was necessary in order to enjoy some seriously awesome singing with seriously great people! I'm just grateful I had a whole day to decompress. :) I now realize that I can have both the fun lifestyle of times past, with my new lifestyle of health - I do not have to go back and forth between the extremes! Thank you, Universe, for reminding me the beauty and importance of balance, and thank you for helping me to see this light.

combat emotional eating...with love!

Today I want to write about an issue very near and dear to many of our hearts: emotional eating. I can only comment on the emotional eating that surrounds me in this country, in this culture, and in my own sub-cultures, but I am inclined to believe that it is quite widespread.

 

 

One of the reasons I’ve embarked on a personal raw foods journey is to combat emotional eating! Food – eating – going out to a nice meal– meeting friends for a meal – celebrating with food and drink – holidays – we are immersed in a culture of food, food, food! This reality, paired with our fast-paced go-go-go cultural mentality, leads to meals of convenience (and, often, meals that are nutritionally deficient!) Subsequently, we become addicted to the sugar-laced foods, the preservatives and chemicals used to “enhance”our meals, and the high sodium and fat content of typical U.S. American grub. Moreover, it’s difficult to find health foods stores – especially in more rural and impoverished areas – and when you do find organic produce, it’s often so expensive.

Regardless of these setbacks, in the past couple of months one thing has been made clear to me: no matter the cost and the inconvenience, transitioning to living foods, or at least striving for a diet that encompasses more food from the earth, can make a huge difference! I’ve experienced heightened energy, lightness of being, and a greater connection to the foods I eat. What has always been difficult for me is refraining from eating for comfort and for pleasure – and instead eating for sustenance, for life, for my body’s nourishment! I will say, in the raw foods sector, my tendencies to eat a savory meal for the wrong reasons are dissipating, as I choose to fuel my body, versus feed it. It is an ongoing journey, but a journey that promises to be beneficial– physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Small milestones have proven this.

If you are an emotional eater (and most of us are, truly!), I encourage you to try a raw foods lifestyle, even for a week (perhaps in detox-style, or, aim for 50% raw!) Even on the raw foods lifestyle, if you do typically overeat or eat for pleasure/comfort, it is much better to engorge yourself with apples and bananas, right? And, as you continue on your journey, the pleasure-eating syndrome will slowly leave you, and be replaced with the desire to treat your body kindly. Your taste buds will even be positively impacted, and you will crave the goods of the earth. If you want more information on going raw – I am a newbie – but I can direct you to resources I’ve used, food that I eat, and supportive blogs I’ve read. I wish you the best of luck if you pursue this journey, and in all your journeys of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health and balance. For that is the ultimate goal, is it not? J Happy weekend everyone.

an inspiring poem excerpt

I See

In the beams of the moon
I see my beauty's face.
In the rays of the sun
I see my duty's race.
In the flames of the sky
I see my oneness divine,
I feel my oneness immortal
With my Pilot's Nectar-Embrace.
-Sri Chinmoy

New Year's List of 4

Happy New Year everyone! 2012 has already gotten off to an epic beginning, and there is no denying that this will be a year of great change. It is a year we've all been waiting for!


To start the new year off right, I am borrowing energy healer Mona Wind's 4 steps to the 2012 transition. I encourage you to do the same. :) So, take out a notebook or write in your own blog, and have a happy start to this new, beautiful year.


1. Write down 100 things you are grateful for - about yourself.


2. Acknowledge all the ways the universe has supported you this past year - both the little ways and the big ways.


3. Instead of writing down the traditional list of new year's resolutions, write down what Mona refers to as a "Magic List." This list regards what you choose to experience for the fun of it. For example, Mona writes that one year she decided that magic was swimming with dolphins. Write down as few or as many as you would like - decide on a list of things you would like to manifest, things that for you are magical. Then, surrender this list to the universe, and allow the Magic to happen.


4. Dance, dance, dance!! Move your body, enjoy your body, treat your body!! It has always been a rock for you, supporting you, loving you, grounding you - trust it, appreciate it, love it. My friends and I find that this bodily magic best occurs with the help of salsa or bachata music. Find your niche, love your body, dance with your loved ones, dance alone, dance in the new year.


If you are interested in seeing an example of implementing the above list of 4, I invite you to read my gratitude blog . Happy 2012, everyone! May your lives be blessed with endless joy, love, and peace. Be that joy, love, and peace that you seek. :)