All Will Be Well Or So Julian Says

Image courtesy of Hordur Vilhjalmsson/freedigitalphotos.net

Recently I was talking to a friend as she was waiting for the results of her medical tests. I texted her, “Julian says all will be well.” And, all will be well came for her in the form of negative, disease-free test results.

Later I found myself reflecting on the second half of that quote from Julian of Norwich, “in the manner of all things all will be well.” I wondered that if I truly believed all would be well, how do I find the “well” amid the turmoil and tumult in my life? In those moments I am challenged to look beyond the discord and find the pockets of grace — those pockets of “well-ness.” Often I discover these pockets by reframing the challenges — finding and celebrating the positive even if it is to recognize that the outcome could have been worse. Re-patterning is finding the grace in increments.

Early this summer I was called the “queen of spin” because I reframed some not-so-sweet happening in order to reveal the grace that lay waiting to be discovered under the muck. For me, the search for the grace was a choice: I could choose to flop around in the mud and wait for a miraculous downpour to wash my life clean of the challenge.  Or, I could experience the muckiness and discover the beauty and grace that lay hidden just beyond my misery.

When I allow myself to wallow in the muck, eventually the sun comes out. That pesky sun dries the mud. Have you tried to dig yourself out of dirt, hardened clay? Not a pleasant or easy proposition. Instead of waiting, I can proactively take a long, loving look at the muddy real and search intently in “the manner of all things” for what is well.

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gubgib/freedigitalphotos.net

In those moments when I look beyond the surface and discover the benefits hidden in the mud, I am amazed at what I see. The mud is not just a goopy-filled watering hole. The mud is something to apply like a clay facial. A clay masque applied to your skin has many benefits. As it hardens, impurities are drawn out and our skin is firmed and toned.

After the facial, I shine with the same internal light, but the illumination is cast is a different, profound way. I am touched in grace-filled ways by the mud that hardened and then washed away.

What is being released and revealed by the mud of your challenges?

In the manner of all things how are you well?

Peace & All Good, Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

Intuition: Activating Our Inner Knowing

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Sometimes when I sit quietly, I hear the wind whispering through the willow branches in my quiet mind.  In the silence the sounds become comprehensible, and my intuition translates the rustling rub of leaves. In this interpretation, I know and trust in this gentle knowing.

I have been asked if intuition was an innate talent or a learned skilled. The answer? While some may be born with a greater ability to recognize and respond to intuition, we all have the capacity to nurture a garden of blooming intuition. The fruits of intuition, like the fruits of the garden can only be harvested at the right time. This time? The present moment.

What are the keys to unlocking the gate of your intuition, entering the garden of knowing, and reaping the fruits of intuition? Being awake, being aware, and being alive unlock the gate, scatter the seeds, and nourish them to fruition.

The first key, being awake, has less to do with physically snoozing and has more with being fully present in the moment. Being awake means you no longer consciously lose time moving from point A to point B. Threads of conversations are not lost. All your interactions are consciously engaged. You listen with the ear of your heart.

Being awake is the foundation of being aware. Not only are you fully present to each activity, but you also hear the nuances of what is being said and notice what is not said. Life is experienced with all of your senses. When we are awake, and our senses engaged; intuition rises to the surface of our silence. Within the quiet mind we sense the message of the rubbing leaves and translate it into an understandable language.

Intuition acknowledged and translated may languish in our quiet mind unless we are fully alive. The next key is to activate our inner knowing. Simply put, the roots of our actions and words are based in those intuitive nudges. Fully alive requires that we courageously engage and act with curious daring. There is no room for fear or temerity. Intuition guides us into compassionate response. Denying our intuitive nudges creates the environment of fear-filled reaction.

Intuition lies dormant within us until we awake. When we are aware, it gently bubbles to the surface. We open our eyes and our ears to understand the melody of the bubbles reaching the surface. We are alive and respond with the effervescence of joy. Intuition asks, “How can we not respond to the gentle nudges of Spirit guiding us along the path?”

Awake, aware, alive we experience a life without boundaries and full of hints to navigate our challenges. Intuition — an innate talent, a learned skilled — is our companion and earnest guide.

How do listen to your intuition?

Peace & All Good,

Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

Boulder or Pebble?

Splash! Heave a boulder into a pond, and we will get drenched with the backsplash. Toss a pebble into the same pond. A drop or two of water may land on us. Life challenges are like the crash of a boulder or a drop of a pebble. It all depends upon our perception. By shifting our perception, we can view a challenge not as a burden but as an opportunity to deepen awareness of our life purpose.

When the emotions triggered by a challenge overwhelm us; the challenge seems insurmountable. We are unable to get past the façade of the boulder. By peering closely into the challenge we see that the boulder is, in fact, only an inflamed pebble. While a pebble may be an aggravation, it is small enough to resolve.  

With our perception shift, the boulder diminishes to pebble size; something we can hold lightly in the palm of our hand. We hold the pebble and become aware of its weight, size, and shape. We toss the pebble and create a new rhythm of our life. This pebble of challenge becomes our dance partner. We learn the lesson through the dance.

In the final dance steps, the music of the pond calls to us. With a flick of our wrist, the pebble sails from our hand into the pond. It skips across the water. One, two, three…do you see? Lessons learned; no bridges burned — only wondrous light of the iridescent glow of accomplishment settles into our being.

Boulders or stones…the lesson is the same lesson no matter how we perceive the package. Challenges don’t exist to bring us to despair; challenges are full of inspirations that bring us joy and growth.

What does the vehicle of your challenges hold?

Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com