Illusion vs. Reality: Creating The Life You Want

Have you ever been so fatigued that you were  stuck in stasis? The changes you wanted to make seemed so out of reach that you shelved them for another day? Maybe you just needed a booster shot of hope and belief in yourself to move from fatigue into a festival of hope.

2020 — a new decade filled with new possibilities. For several weeks emails have dropped in my inbox that highlight the potential in this new decade. All signs point to the 2020s being a time to step out of illusion of who you believe yourself to be and into the reality of who you truly are. The next step is to join your light with others to illuminate hope in the world. 

I know that you are tired. So am I. Sometimes it seems impossible to shuffle out of the shadows and relight our spark. We may not like where we are, but it is familiar. We are stuck in the illusion of it might not be what we want, but it is okay until something happens. That happening makes it more difficult to remain in stasis. It becomes easier to change. We find the energy to take one tiny step into our truth.

How can we let go of our illusions and take that step? Start small. Acknowledge one belief that limits you. It doesn’t matter how inconsequential it may seem, name it. Own it. Ask yourself, if it were not true, what would you do differently?

For one day, live as if the illusion is a lie. Then live your differently. At the end of the day, reflect on the illusion and any light that was shed on its fallacy. As the days turn to weeks, continue to dig into the illusion and live with the gusto of differently until the illusion no longer has a hold on you. 

Dispelling illusions seldom happen overnight. It takes time to change beliefs into a system that best reflects who you are. With each illusions banished, we place another tile on the bridge to living our truest self. Creating this way of life offers us not a quick fix solution, but opportunity upon opportunity to fulfill our soul purpose. 

Ready to live your soul purpose? Contact me for a catalyst coaching session.  

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019 

Consensus on the Bridge Between Head & Heart

The longest night of the year wrapped me in her warm embrace whispering, “it is time.” And, I wonder, “for what?”

As we near the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century of the common era, how would you to “it’s time” as an individual and as part of community? The answer is fashioned by how we are living in the moment. 

I believe that we can all agree deciphering the meaning of “it’s time” is tough. The first step in forming an answer is to navigate the longest distance we will ever walk — that between our heart and our head. What we want logically is not always met with enthusiasm in our heart. We cannot always figure out why our emotions pull us in a particular direction. 

Through discernment, conscious reflection and introspection, we shift through the debris littering the between of our head and our heart. Crossing the bridge, we reach internal consensus. Now, I bet you are thinking, I didn’t know I could reach consensus with myself. Well, you can. When head and heart collaborate, we change our consciousness. The magic of the seemingly impossible manifests. 

We create a bridge between head and heart. On this bridge we create strategies that encourage us to be our best self without extravagance of too many wants. We are gentle and compassionate to our self as we create a space of joy and gratitude by exploring “it’s time” with our four aspects:

• Physical/body aspect: ask yourself: do I really need another sweater, that piece of chocolate, or some other material thing?
• Emotional/heart aspect: ask how you are getting caught in drama be it yours or someone else’s.
• Mental aspect: what thought(s) fling(s) you onto the hamster wheel of judgments, assumptions and mindlessness drawing you away from this moment?
• Spiritual aspect: where is your connection to the sacred manifest in your life? Or, how do you live with compassion, joy, and gratitude? 

So, it is time — not to create another movement of resolutions that may bring about change in the new year. No, it is time to create a way of life in which you listen body, mind, spirit, and heart to the  wisdom that speaks on the bridge connecting head to heart.

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019 

Compassion: Igniter of Fires

Last weekend I facilitated a discussion focusing on current events and and what Thomas Merton would say about them. By the fourth session, the participants warmed to the idea and brainstormed some creative ways of living.

One theme of the day was that we need to stop living on moral outrage and stand in our own power. We need to act. And, while it is fine to take personal responsibility, we are not responsible for the actions of others. One important realization is that we may be unable to change the behavior of others or even mitigate the outcomes of their actions. We are only in control of our actions.

We can look at the external works and say that what is occurring is a reflection of our internal turmoil, and it may be. But, sometimes what is happening has nothing to do with us. Sometimes the uncertainty in the world reflects in us glinting off kindling in our soul creating a fire in our heart. 

In the combustion of our sacred spark we are startled from our blindness and wake to the world’s uncertainty. Unable to return to inertia, we ask, what can we do? How can we make a difference? Those answers are found on the path of compassion. As we trod upon this path, we lno longer judging, ignoring injustices, or get stuck in the quagmire of “I cannot do anything to impact change.” We are compassion’s presence.

Compassion, at times, is not always easy, but it is most definitely necessary. With it, we root out the malignancy of the world and create a safe space for all to thrive. We begin by acknowledging our own imperfections. Through learning from them, we connect to our true self. Authentic, we do what we can to alleviate suffering. This means loving no matter what; loving enough to walk through suffering as difficult lessons are learned. 

When is the world reflecting our imperfections and when is it igniting a fire inside of us? That is for each of us to discern as we navigate through the quagmire to recognize the difference. Once we know how the world is reflecting itself we are able to ignite flames of transformation of our self and others. 

Perhaps that is what Merton would say, and what I would encourage each of you to do. Don’t take on the uncertainty of the world. Own your imperfections. Leave the imperfections of others to them. Learn to recognize the difference. Share your message with the world through each compassionate  act. Be the light in a darkened world. 

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

Nonattachment: The Art of Free Falling into Me (or You)

Last night as I journaled, the words “free fall into me” etched onto the page. Instead of feelings of danger, the words resonated with fierce courage and lightness. With this epiphany a voice whispered, “How do you free fall into yourself?”

This question has been nudging me ever since I left a Tai Chi class a couple of weeks ago. I saw a maple leaf floating in the air coming to rest on the roof of my car. In my mind, I heard the lyrics of Carrie Newcomer: “leaves don’t drop they just let go and make space for seeds to grow.” The why of the free fall was answered in that moment. 

Free falling into our self is about letting go by living the art of nonattachment. While I have given presentations and written about nonattachment, a whisper suggests, “Maybe you didn’t quite get it. Maybe you haven’t been so nonattached after all.” 

The definition of nonattachment is simple: not clinging or casting away while being objective about what is happening. Being nonattached is being aware of what catches us in the moment. We discern how we get caught and create living strategies that untwine us from our attachments. 

How do you get to the place of nonattachment:

• Begin with recognizing what catches you. Think about that — how can you be nonattached if you don’t recognize the depth of your attachment? 
• Dive deep by asking yourself the whys of nonattachment — dig into your thoughts, emotions, and physical reactions to what what you cling to or shove away. Remember that clinging or shoving away are both signs of attachment. 
• Forgive yourself, in the moment, for the times you are unable to let go. Find joy in the moments of free fall for they happen more than you realize.
• Ask yourself what can I do to cling less, to have less aversion, to objectively be in the moment? Create strategies, little and big, so that letting go happens with greater awareness and becomes a simpler endeavor.
• Rejoice in the moments of letting go. Create mental, emotional, and somatic memories of these experiences. Recall these memories when you get tangled in attachment.
• Celebrate each moment of free fall knowing that you are not hitting rock bottom. Nonattached, you are falling into the loving arms of yourself.

Experiencing free fall during the art of non attachment is making space for seeds to grow. And, this transformation is the change that you share with the world. 

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

On Being an Artisan of Joy

I have a part time retail gig. I am a people watcher. During this season that can be a potent combination that triggers both reflection and introspection as I look at faces and engage guests in conversation. I listen, I watch, but mostly I reflect upon what I see and hear — who brings a joyful spirit to the experience and whose face is lined with shopping stress.

We can live with joy or subsist on stress in our approach to life. Some people are cheerful and optimistic. Others are methodically realistic while weighing the odds. I think most of us ping between these two poles. Most often we find our self somewhere in the middle.

How can we be artisans of joy this season and beyond? The answer is simple — by being mindfully real about the day. When I am in the moment, I am more likely to identify the little joys and recognize life’s bumps and boulders. I can choose to carefully navigate those bumps and borders instead of getting stuck in them.

When I am mindful, I feel the inflammation of aggravation edging me closer to the trigger. When this happens, I focus on my breath. With each breath, I acknowledge the underlying irritation. I breathe into the rising reaction to discover what hides within it. Each breath rubs away the rough edges until all that remains in its core of fear. With compassion I befriend this fear, loving it into peace.

While I may not be able to resolve the issue, I can find peace within myself. Within my sacred calm, the exterior world no longer triggers internal upheaval. I am twined by peace. Along this ribbon of peace slides joy.  I am more creative, more compassionate in my responses.

We can paint with bold strokes of joy regardless of where we find our self or we can choose spindly spikes of aggravation in this moments of reaction. Mindfully we choose. This season I hope you find your self painting the world with the bold vivid strokes of joy. 

 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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019 

Gratitude & The Other G-Word

The hectic pace of this holiday season kicks off in just a few days. It all begins on that day that is centered upon gratitude. On Thanksgiving, we focus on what we are grateful for — those things that we appreciate in our life. But, during any holiday season there is another g-word that creeps in, often when we least expect it. Grief washes over us with a tsunami of emotions.

Grief is a byproduct of many situations. The one commonality is loss. We may lose a person, a belief, a job…the list is endless. What twines within each loss is the knowing that nothing will ever be the same. While death is swift and permanent, all too often when an ending happens, the situation or people involved remain. We yearn to go back and fix whatever went wrong. We want to wave a magic wand and return to another time. 

Instead of trying to fixing anything, we choose to wade through the tumble-jumble of grief. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross defines the experience of grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. As someone who has experienced grief, I can tell you that grief is a nonlinear roller coaster ride of these five emotions. Any of these, at many points in the ride, might slip into the seat beside us. We do not begin with denial and end with acceptance — we experience each in whatever order and as many times as we need to to process grief. 

How do we celebrate the holidays with grief as our companion? Start by accepting not the loss but whatever stage you find yourself in. Be nonjudgmental and non-defensive about how you are feeling — what you are feeling. Those two stances empower you to be nonattached. Being nonattached means that you no longer ignore the grief nor do you cling to it making it your identity. Distanced from the pain, you listen to what grief is saying.

This listening is feeling what you are feeling. Try this: set a timer for 90-seconds. Allow whatever wells up to cascade over you. Notice without judgment, without defending how it feels. Notice where you are impacted in your body, pay attention to your thoughts, and identify what other emotions are triggered. After 90-seconds, thank your grief for its monologue, roll up the residue, and blow it from your being. 

Maybe that g-word is asking you to live consciously through the other g-word. Be grateful for each acknowledgement of your sorrow as you connect with your grief. Remember, it takes strength and courage to welcome grief into your life and befriend it. This holiday season, if you find yourself overwhelmed by grief, well,  maybe your acknowledgement of that grief is what you will become most thankful of. 

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019 

Bridging Uncertainty: Creating a Nonviolent, Compassionate World

We live in two worlds — the uncertain, where our  fears and angst are driving forces, and the extraordinary, where we power our actions with compassion. Within the uncertain, acts of violence percolate; within the extraordinary nonviolent revolution is birthed. We bridge these worlds by responding with compassion to imperfections and uncertainties. There is nothing magical about this bridge. It is crossed by our intent to be compassionate. 

Uncertainty is exacerbated by inattentiveness. We fear what we do not know. When we are mindful, we better name our fears and see the extraordinary, a place where nonviolence is possible, shining in each moment. With an awareness of how we can be extraordinary, we shift from reaction to response. Through our lived experience of the extraordinary, we become change agents who use the power of our transformation to integrate the extraordinary into the uncertain. 

In these moments of integration, we attune to the incredibleness of life unfolding. Although we live within the uncertainty, we see possibility shining from everything. Creating a nonviolent, compassionate world is no longer a maybe — we step along the pathway of nonviolence and compassion with our actions, words, and thoughts. The gate of nonviolence — a place of engaged compassion and peace — is revealed. 

This gate is not just for a few who are able to experience it. It is available to all. The gate isn’t a doorway to the great beyond. It manifests with peace and compassion in the here and now. In the present moment, we enter this gate through a shift in perspective. We accept that while we may always be imperfect and the world uncertain, we can choose to respond compassionately and nonviolently. This perception shift requires focusing our attention beyond the commotion to what really matters. 

What really matters is our connection to one another and the vein of the sacred that flows through this connection. (For the purpose of this workbook, let’s define the sacred as what we hold in great reverence.) Even if we cannot see the sacred in a person or situation, our response is an acknowledgment of what is there but not seen. With this acknowledgement, the gate of nonviolence is visible. 

How do you reside in this gate of nonviolence? Learn more in Imperfect in an Uncertain World: Your Life, Your Message. (Blog is an excerpt from the book.)

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019 

Compassion Asks, "Is it all in the presentation?"

The holidays were spent with two sets of grandparents whose lifestyles were very different. My father came from a relatively small, affluent family. His mother prepared food that was beautifully presented. The meals were epicurean delights. They tasted as good as they looked. My other grandma was the parent of eleven children. Her meals were hearty and homespun; meant to fill you up.

Both created memorable holiday feasts. Each meal was thoughtfully prepared. While the presentation was different, the same essence resonated within. The food was prepared and served with joy, love, and gratitude. 

Have you every found yourself yearning for something to look a certain way only to be disappointed in how it presents? And, I am not talking about food. I know that I have had visions about how something was supposed to look only to be disappointed. I wanted to leave the situation without a backward glance yet something called me back. “Take one more look,” it whispered. 

An amazing thing happens when we look beyond the surface to the very core of what we are given. As we peel back the layers, we find what is hidden at the core. Instead of being disappointed, I often find exactly what I need. At first glance that need might not be what I want. It may be a difficult challenge that I fear I will never meet. That’s where joy, love, and gratitude come in.

It’s the joy of knowing that I am strong enough to attempt to meet the challenge no matter how it is presented. Self love impels me to learn the lesson rooted in the challenge. And, gratitude I feel for the resources to try one more time. The true gift is realizing that I am not a failure if I attempt to meet the challenge. The knowledge that I will learn something is enough to nudge me into transformation. 

Life gives us many challenges. Some are wrapped beautifully. We yearn to tear the paper off and try that challenge on for size. Others we cringe when we see them. “Oh, not again,” we think. And, we strategize how to regift them to someone unaware. But, no matter what the wrapping, each challenge demands that it be owned no matter how it presents. In the owning we create a life well lived. 

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

Self Compassion: The Practice of Spiritual Kintsugi

A hurt so deep cracks our being. Snaking deeply  into our soul, we fear a part of us will break off shattering into tiny pieces of hopelessness. Maybe we ignore the crack’s gap as it widens until we can longer leap across the growing illusion of okay. We fall into the recognition that something is askew in our life.

Eventually we take a breath and survey the suffering the crack has caused. This survey is the beginning of spiritual kintsugi. We remember that each of us is a spirit in an incredible vessel birthed after nine months in an earthly kiln. It is inevitable as the years turn to decade that our vessel cracks.

From birth, we are meant to experience life and, so, we do.  Each experience impacts at least one of our four aspects: body, mind, spirit, and heart (emotions.) When we are aware, we understand the lessons. Unfortunately, we sometimes sleep walk. In those moments the cracks form.

All experiences have the potential to make us stronger even those that crack the vessel of our being. We may even find that a piece or two of our self breaks off.  But, these pieces are not lost. When a breakage occurs, we engage in spiritual kintsugi. A simple definition: the repair an aspect of our vessel using the gold of our true self. We are stronger as a result. (Kintsugi is the process of repairing a piece of raku pottery using gold. The result? A more durable, stronger vessel.)

What is the gold of our true self? It is compassion woven with hope, courage, and wisdom. Flowing from a strong desire to understand, spiritual kintsugi demands that we forgive our self, first and foremost, for what has occurred in our life and how we reacted or responded to the happenings. Then, we identify the challenge or lesson inherent in the crack and find peace in our current circumstances. Only then can we begin to heal.

Within this peace is the power to seal the cracks with the gold of our true self thus creating a new pattern of existence. The melding of gold offers a new way that plucks our dreams from the realm of the impossible and ignites our potential. The result? We live the life we are meant to live reflected in the gold of our experience. 

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

Compassion's Power Dance: Response

Each moment of every day is an opportunity to  make choices that draw us closer to who we truly are or cast us in to the murky shadows of who we do not want to be. I believe that most of us would say that we do not want to be “that person” who lives in the margins of reaction and struggles to step into the sunny warmth of response. All of us spend time in those gloomy shadows because, unfortunately, sometimes our triggers get the best of us. 

At the root of every reaction and every response is a trigger — something that a stirs our emotions. This catalyst may catapult fear or anger or some other unsavory emotions to the surface of our being. Caught unaware it informs our thoughts, words and actions. We react. This subsequent reaction hurts our self or another. The dankness of those shadows surround us.

A trigger does not always bring about a reaction. Sometimes our triggers are noticed before they wrap us in reaction. We feel the churning of uncertainties and feel our imperfections rise to the surface. But, we are aware of the potential for reaction. Instead of allowing this percolation to burst to the surface of our being, we lovingly acknowledge it. We gently make peace with it. We choose to respond with compassion. Just. Like. That. 

Each time we are aware of a trigger and choose to respond we are empowered. There is a Reiki symbol that means “put the power here.” For me, each response is a way of affirming that we need not be manipulated by our triggers. With each response we recognize that we can live a life of compassion. With each responsive thought, word, and action, we power our self with the light of our authenticity. 

How do we get there? The power of response is seeded in the silence of our quiet mind and nourished by the clarity of our spirit. As we learn from our triggers, we get better at listening to their cries for help.  We understand that they are not bad, but lesson-imperfections that guide us to being our best, highest self. 

So, be forgiving. Be compassionate. But, never forget the triggers that force a reaction from the depth of your being. Don’t give away your power that shines the way of your true self.  

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

Fatigue & the Twining of Self Compassion

I know that you are tired. So am I. Let the fatigue wash  over you. Own it. Really own it. Feel it to the depth of your being. Seek it out. Don’t ignore it. Fatigue hides in the corners and crevices. Listen as Fatigue speaks, “Know me. Love me. Befriend. Once you do, you will see a way forward.”

We all have those moments when the weight of our life crashes down on us. Acknowledging our fatigue is the first step to gaining the power to rid our self of its miasma. The second step is discovering the cause(s). The third is creating strategies to clear the fatigue. The last? Transformation. 

The strand that twines connecting the steps to one another and the whole is self compassion or the recognition and alleviation of suffering. What do you do in your life to heal the aches caused by mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering? Whatever you do is an act of self compassion. 

Maybe you think you do not have time for self compassion. Even the littlest acts can be self compassionate ones. Let’s go through the four steps:

• Acknowledge your fatigue: recognize that your reactions are life depleting. They zap your energy until you cannot respond to the world. Stop ignoring what is preventing you from living a vital life. Name your reactions.
• Discover the cause: begin with full body listening to gain a clearer image of your fatigue. Use your five primary senses to describe your fatigue symptoms. Identify the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual components of your fatigue. (You may find components in one, two, three, or all four aspects.)
• Create strategies: name one or two things you can do to blow away the fog of fatigue. Don’t overwhelm yourself with an anti-fatigue prescription of musts and shoulds. Start small and build with more self compassionate acts.
• Transform: make small changes in the moment that add up to a big difference. You do’t have to accomplish the ultimate goal in the moment. Compassionately walk toward it. 

I know that bone numbing tired feeling seems to have no end. Sometimes it feels that the miasma will never go away. But, it can and does diminish. The goal is to identify the symptoms and roots so when it happens again, and it will, you can take quicker steps to alleviate your fatigue though self compassion.  

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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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

A Pilgrimage of the Heart

The heart yearns and the soul listens. The  response is a pilgrimage to a place where the song of your spirit sings with unfettered joy. With a yearning heart, a listening soul, and a joyful spirit, I undertook such a pilgrimage on my birthday.

Into the sunrise, I drove the almost three hours to the Great Serpent Mound, the largest earthen effigy in the world. My  eager anticipation, mimicked the lightening of the sky lightened and the sun peaking over the horizon. I wondered if the Serpent Mound of memory would be as wonderful as reality.

Of course, Siri decided to direct me down a different path. But, what is a pilgrimage unless it is tinged with the unknown and unexpected? As I turned onto Tranquility Pike, I chuckled. Did I ever need tranquility! The road was scarcely bigger than a path and had so many twists and turns. It felt like I was riding the serpent to the mound! 

Once I arrived, I breathed in the beauty of the place. After weeks of hot weather, I was graced with a fall day. I walked the mounded, practiced Tai Chi, and journaled, but mostly I let its serenity permeate my bones. I felt a resolute connection to the land and the mystery that pulsed from it. My jagged edges were soothed. I connected to my sacred spark and my spark connected to that of the Mound.

Was the pilgrimage a magic balm that made everything right in my world? No. The pilgrimage allowed me to touch upon the sacred created by an unknown community from the past. The energy of the snake twined around me and rooted deeply into my heart igniting the sacred spark within. 

That is the true nature of a pilgrimage. We travel outside of ourself not expecting a miracle, but as a means of paying homage to the divine spark within. This spark connects us to not only the the sacred but to all of creation. The pilgrimage is less a panacea for what ails us and more a gentle reminder that within  us is the capacity to live our sacred purpose in the many ways we are invited. 

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive Coach, 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, keynotes, programs, and intuitive consultations.

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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019

We live in a time of effervescence — a joyous  never-ending rising of possibility. If we are mindful, the pop of our action follows. We must remain vigilant for we never quite know when the bubble of possibly rises and where potential pops into our life. If we listen intently to our inner wisdom, we hear the rising fizz and prepare to ride that possibility bubble to the height of our potential.

There is so  much happening in our life. When we are so in the moment, we cannot miss an opportunity when it arises. In those moments when we breathe in the anticipation possibility and potential merge to create the path of purpose. Through our breath, we experience the joy and incredible lightness of hitching a ride on that bubble. We living our soul purpose.

Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes we slide off the bubble and wind up where we never thought we’d be. This can trigger a time of despair and soul searching. We may ask, “Does this mean that we are a failure?” Certainly not. It is means that the bubble provided an autocorrection in our life. We wound up exactly where we needed to be. We meet a challenge or learn a life lesson.

Isn’t it exciting to be cast out of a mundane, not so reliable existence into a place that is wildly daring and curious? In a place where we daringly ride the bubble of possibility? I think so. For this place resonates with possibility when we open our fierce heart and courageously try one more time. And, one more time. And, one more time knowing that this “one more time” is the rhythm of our journey. 

In this effervescence of living, we understand that we control nothing but our response. It takes vulnerability to accept that within every emotion, every situation, every person is the power to change us. It takes humility to accept that another may not be changed by the interaction. Fiercely remind yourself that you have no control over the healing of another. You can only heal yourself. 

So, choose to heal. Practice self compassion. Forgive yourself and others. Give your self permission to release any grudges while not forgetting the lesson. Know that the next effervescent bubble is beckoning you to be your best, truest self.  

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive Coach, 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, keynotes, programs, and intuitive consultations.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2019