Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: respond

Showing posts with label respond. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Name It. Reframe It.

The world is a wild, wonderful, gentle, ferocious place. Yeah, it’s a place of contractions. Both external and internal. Do you feel the internal contradictions simmering? Do you feel them boiling, edging closer to the rim of your being? Maybe they slip over the edge and splash into the contradictions of the world.

When that stuff boils over, it scalds away our veneer of illusion revealing a truth that cannot be denied. I am not sure this is the truth we want or even expect. This truth sheds light on our imperfections. I know, imperfection is not a pretty word. It is one that we like to hide from.

What is an imperfection any way? Two definitions: An undesirable feature. The state of not being complete. But, what if we expanded these definitions? Instead of seeing an imperfection as undesirable what if we viewed it as part of the road map the leads us deeper into who we are? An imperfection isn’t something that makes us incomplete; no, an imperfection is a tool that leads us to our authentic self — it makes us whole.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve committed to stop running from my imperfections. There is no escaping them. I like to believe that each imperfection that I uncover serves a purpose in my life. I believe that when we name and reframe our imperfections, we live into who we are and better understand the world — people and situations. To sum it up: we become more compassionate to our self and others.

Okay, so the world is filled with contradictions. We are in this world, so we, too, are filled with contradictions. I see these contradictions as imperfections. I named it (contradictions). I reframed it (imperfections). How do we use the energy of our imperfections to shine the beauty of our soul?

Go a step further in naming/reframing.

Name your imperfection. Just name one thing that you don’t do perfect. It doesn’t matter how big or small — just name it.
Then dig into the imperfection. What are the limitations? What are the benefits? Take a sheet of paper. Draw a line down the middle. Put a + at the top of one side. Put a - at the top of the other. Set a timer for five minutes. Just write. Don’t think about it. Create a list from what comes to you. There is time for reflection later.
After the five minutes, take a look at what you wrote. Find the truth behind each limitation. Reframe the limitations into learning moments. How do the limitations help you to shift your behavior?
Acknowledge the benefits of the imperfections. Then ask: Is there another way to get these results other than reacting from the imperfections? Name how to get the results you want by reframing your reactions to responses.

The world is a scary place. I think that our imperfections are some of the scariest parts. It is what lies at the root of our so called imperfections that force our reactions. So, how can we shift from living with imperfections to thriving through imperfections? Now means not running away; taking charge. It is about being in the moment and staying in the moment no matter how difficult naming and reframing your imperfection is.

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is a Master Reframer. As a contemplative coach, an intuitive-coach-catalyst, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating those scary places. The result? Reframing imperfections into personal transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Just for Today: The Practice of Living

When I think about living in the moment, I remember my Reiki training. In every class I teach, I share the Reiki principles. Each principle begins with the same phrase, Just for today. Students are invited to live from those principles in each moment of everyday. Just for today is a reminder to be mindfully present wherever, whenever, and however you find yourself.

Although it may not be called mindfulness, many traditions invite us to focus on the moment. We are advised to be aware of opportunities that flit in and out of our consciousness. I have heard mindfulness referred to as “focusing your awareness on the Sacred.” What happens when you focus on the moment? I believe we discover that this moment is all we have.

Our life is comprised of rolling moments one seamlessly flowing into the next. Unaware, we lose focus on our hopes, our dreams. We miss nuances of opportunity. Instead of responding, we react. But, all is not lost. In the next moment, we can regain awareness. Then, mindfully, we reset our intent by focusing on that moment and those moments that roll from it into the next.

Developing a rhythm of moving from one moment into the next takes practice. For me, there are three types of practice:

Practice is formal. You may meditate, walk, practice tai chi or yoga. These activities empower you to focus your attention in the moment as you connect with the world around you. This practice occurs at regular times throughout your day

Practice is informal. These are check-in moments. Perhaps you are feeling frustrated or something just doesn’t feel right. You may be distracted. You take a break — focus on your breathing, go for a quick walk, play a game of solitaire. These activities serve as a disconnect from what is distractive and pulls you from the moment. They mindfully reconnect you to present moment.

Practice is spontaneous. These are those moments when the extraordinary catches your attention and you mindfully engage it. You hear the laughter of a child and fully engage the joy. You notice the beauty of the sunset and breathe into it. Living in the moment, your senses come alive. You feel the sacred found only in that moment. The resulting energetic boost gives you the power to stay in the here and now for increasingly longer periods of time.

Using those three powerful words, just for today, decide what actions edge you closer to your hopes, your dreams. Then take those steps knowing that you have the power to realize exactly what you need. That realization happens only in the present moment.

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive-Coach-Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

A Brief Moment in Time: Experiencing the Pause

Rhythm is found not in musical notes but in the spaces between them. Meaning is found not in the words but in the silence between syllables. Understanding of Tai Chi body/mind/spirit connection is not found in the inhale/exhale but in the space between them.

The pause is found in every thing we do. It is vitally important to how we respond or react. How often have you missed the meaning within a pause? How often was a trigger being flipped before a pause was identified? I know that I have flipped triggers more often than I comfortably admit.

Through the pause our intuitive awareness activates. We notice nuances, even patterns, and find meaning within them. Those pauses are the weave that connects the essence of who we are to our intent and action.

Perhaps one of our greatest challenges is learning to live in the pause. We can only be in that space when we are in the moment. The past no longer pulls us at with its regrets and remorse. The future’s lure of hopes and dreams loses its allure.

Now, I am not saying that the grief of the past should stay unresolved or that we should never have hopes and dreams. What I am saying is that we cannot afford to be any where other than the present moment. For when we are here now, we find the energy to carefully nurture the seeds of possibility that are found only in the pause.

What I am proposing is that we acknowledge what pulls us from the moment and muddies our connect to the present moment. Part of the acknowledgment is to take opportunities to feel the poignancy of what intrudes and then heal those parts of us wounded by the past.

As for the hopes and dreams, let’s ask our self what we can do, in the moment to nurture the seeds of hopes and dreams. It is not enough to admire our hopes and dreams; we must find way to bring them alive in this moment.

How we resolve our past and bring fruition to the future are birthed in the pause. For within it, we are able to understand without logically knowing which is the best path on this journey. Using this understanding we discern how to move from each moment while creating the life we are meant to have.

So, how do you get to a place where you comfortably and actively engage the pause? Here are just some suggestions. Each practice session need only be 90-seconds or so.

Listen to how the rhythm of music is impacted by the moments of pause.
Listen to how the pause impacts a conversations.
Walk and find the pause in your gait.

This practice helps you develop an awareness of how the pause presents itself to you. Through practice your awareness of what opportunity presents itself in the pause increases. Notice:

In music: how does the pause shift your energy?
In conversation: what meanings do you grasp within the pause?
In walking: what does the pause tell you about your physical balance?

Recognizing the pause is a way of welcoming richness into your life. The pause is the home of transformation. Using the information gained in the pause shifts your reactions to an increasingly uncertain world to responses.

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Falling into New

Life changes in an instant, but mostly change happens bit by bit. The old erodes leaving us with potential for growing new. But, change is uncertain. We are not assured of the outcome of anything. We are only certain that things will not continue as they are as the capacity for change grows.

I have often said that it is not change that it hard but the thought of change. Years ago I rode the log ride at an amusement park. The log shaped canoe meandered around the water tube until it reached a conveyor belt. Inch by slow inch the best drew the boat nearer to the top of a great fall. The thought of change, for me, is like the tottering of that boat before it tipped into the plunge toward the water below.

Those moments before the excitement of the plunge perfectly describe the anticipation of change. When the externals are shifting so rapidly, we may get stuck in what is happening instead of noticing how our life changes with each thought, each word, and each action. In fact, we may make choices not fully aware of their ramifications.

Sometimes I feel very small when I recognize all the change going on around me to other people — new jobs, new relationships, deaths, births. Then I examine what is happening on a communal level — locally, nationally, globally. The changes that impact me are staggering. What is even more staggering? The feelings of a lack of control over that impact.

Change marches on with or without our consent. So, what can I do? What can you do? The answer to both is found within our ability to be a change agent. When we are an entrepreneurial change discerner, we do not change for the sake of change; rather, we adapt and grow and become who we are meant to be because we cannot help but sing in harmony with the song of change. Singing our song forth we use the impetus of change to realize our soul purpose. In doing so, our thoughts, words, and actions resonate soul purpose.

Change asks each of us to be flexible, find ways to live with purpose no matter however, wherever, whenever, and whoever we find our self. Change reminds us that while life is not always easy, it provides challenges and lessons for us to live with soul purpose.

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Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Blossoming Hope in a Desolate Land

I have a good feeling; no, I have a great feeling. Things are changing. With courage, we are shining our lights on our individual and collective imperfections. Naming them, we find ways to heal. Through these actions we, individually and collectively, are growing and transforming into who we are meant to be.

We cannot stop at the realization that as we change, the world changes. We’ve only taken a few steps out of an arid field filled attitudes, beliefs, and judgments that have caused this drought. Some are nuisances while others are barriers that prevent us from living from the fierceness of our heart. No matter how small or great, those attitudes, beliefs, and judgments stop us from living authentically.

From the recognition of the unsustainability of an antiquated system grows the delicate, fragile sprouts of a movement. We have the momentum. To transition from a movement into a way of life, we must grow the roots of this movement deeply in our collective garden. It is through our awareness that the roots of a nonviolent, equitable way of life grow.

About 3 1/2 years ago I began to use #inthistogether and #compassioninaction in my social media posts. These times call for us to embrace both. Awareness of the uncertainty and the malice that threatens to topple this fledgling movement is necessary to turn from a self focused life to one of community. The next step is to form a response that binds us to one another through acts of compassion.

How de we shift from a movement into a way of life? We begin with our self. We reflect upon how the external world resonates in our internal world. While external events may in no way mirror our internal life, we notice what the vibration is breaking free within us. We identify the cracks and plastering raining down upon us. We create a compassionate response to the resonance.

Next introspect. We become aware of how we are uncomfortable with prior reactions and/or responses. We name how we react to the external world. We develop strategies to shift from reactions to response. There is no method or one way to respond. Each of us chooses a response that draws us out of our comfort zone while growing our sphere of influence.

Finally, we integrate what we have learned in reflection and introspection into the way that we live our life. We live knowing that each #compassioninaction reflects that we are truly #inthistogether. Perhaps, if you do not have that great feeling in this moment, you will in time as you live a life of response..

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Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Peering down a darkened tunnel, a pinprick of light shines. Step by step I edge closer until it becomes a light so bright that I am temporarily blinded. Eventually my sight returns; my vision shifts. With new eyes, I recognize that light at the end of the tunnel. It isn’t out there; it emanates from the core of my being.

Imagine that. The light that teases us, beckons us forward is us. Its rays are intuitive messages that whisper, “Be yourself.” And, then it provides hints how to reconnect to who we truly are. Within the light is the power to be our self; the power to transform; the power to shed the darkness of doubt and illusion.

Perhaps you are doubting that you have that light of potential within you. Trust me. It is present within each of us. It ignites with each formed thought, each uttered word, and each relayed action. It can also be tamped by a thought, a word, or an action. Mindfulness is key. Transformation comes as we foster our connection to the light though our awareness. We listen to its message and respond.

But, first, we accept that we are the light. How does your life change when you know that you have the capacity to shed light on difficulties, obstacles, barriers — those things that prevent you from realizing you soul purpose? Through this light opportunities are revealed. Your life shifts when you realize that this brilliant light reflects your truth.

Accepting this premise, that we are the change in our life, is not for the faint hearted. In fact, it isn’t even the end of the tunnel. We don’t suddenly realize this and transform. Within this acceptance we gain the courage to take the next step and the next and the next. With each step, we become more curious about what that journey offers and more daring in how we respond to those offerings.

You may be asking, “How do I begin?” Feel, with all your senses, your inherent goodness. Remind yourself that you are enough. Name what ignites your light. Identify what tamps it down. Open yourself to the message that flickers in the light. Act with courage, curiosity, and daring. Know that no matter the outcome each step is a success. Bathe in the light that makes you whole. Own who you are.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

The Storm is Fierce, Breathe Deeply

You never know when the unexpected with shower you with whatever you need. Life is about listening to the shadowy storms and responding in the bright sunshine.

The world is this scary, uncertain place that shines so brightly with the power of possibility. But, life is hard and sometimes we edge so deeply into the shadows, we forget who we are and the power that simmer deep inside of us. Instead of facing the storm, we wait for it to abate never realizing that the storms are always present.

We can grope in the shadows shrinking from any thunder while hoping to find the latch that releases us from our dark or we can breath deeply into the storm’s fierceness. With our breath we connect to our fears that form a seemingly insurmountable barrier to igniting the power of possibility. When we move between the barrier and those possibilities; sometimes we realize the possible, other times we retreat further into the shadows.

So, what can we do? I propose turning that little spaces of darkness into a places of learning, places of respite, places of coming home to the real inside our self no matter how messy, how imperfectly perfect we find our self in those moments. Within that space we can be who we are. We can separate the authentic from the illusion. In doing so, we live in the freshness present after the storm.

How do you do this? Begin by acknowledging where you find yourself in the moment. Recognize that there can be no shame in the darkness when there is most surely no shame in the light. Both the dark and the light are needed to grow — each provides sustenance for the evolution into your truth. If you believe nothing else, believe that.

Next, use your greatest life tool — your breath — to anchor and center yourself. Breathe deeply into those part of yourself that seem to be hopelessly frozen by some nameless emotion. Even if you believe that nothing will release them begin a wordless conversation with your fear, your angst, whatever you find hiding in the shadows. Listen to the reason, the root, that birthed the emotion. Respond to what you find at the root.

The next part is scary. Okay, maybe scarier then what you’ve just done. Befriend the fear, the angst. Ask yourself what small act you can do to turn the force of your feelings into the power of transformative action. Remember, a journey begins with a single step, so does your movement from the shadows into the light.

Then act. Just do it without judgments or defenses. In your action you ignite the spark of your light. Listen to its guidance for your spark illuminates the message from all your senses. As your spark burns brightly, you gain a clear picture of where you find yourself.

In time, the dark you find yourself in comes less scary. It becomes a place to face your fears, gain respite, and rejoin the world with actions that a echo the power of your authentic being.

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