It’s Raining: Messages for the Moment

It’s raining those chilly drops that don’t quite seem to clean the grime of the world. Instead, the rain puddles and laughs as the cold wet seeps through my shoes. It’s raining, and I can’t help to wonder why the rain cannot be the fluff of snow dancing from the sky and painting the landscape in flurry white. 

But, then, the realistic optimist inside of me says that this rain could be sleet, and I could find myself pinwheeling never quite gaining my balance. At least this rain creates reflection puddles! What would I find if I peered deeply into the pitter pattering rain? To discover that answer is a challenge for a cold, wet day!

A friend of mine says that everything happens for a reason. Maybe these chilly drops and those freezing puddles remind me to look at the world anew. The damp is most certainly waking me — pay attention, Van, they seem to say. But, maybe the rain need not mean anything but the earth is taking a long, cold drink of water pouring from the sky. 

Whether or not the message is for me or for the parched earth, I have to be sure of the message falling from the sky. So, I center myself, look at the altered landscape, allow the drops to dampen my shirt, and breathe deep. Once inside, I boldly peer out the rain smudged window. I see the hush outside reverberating into the marrow of my bones. With daring, I open the window. What greets me is the smell of cool crisp mid-winter. 

I am reminded that we are still in fallow times. The rain seeps to where we cannot see and nourishes seeds that we may not even know are there. In that reflective moment I wonder what seeds buried deep within my soul I am nourishing in this moment. 

The rain is a trickster messenger. It may not clean the grime, but drop by drop it changes the landscape of our being. The rain offers us opportunities to see what we could not see before. How do we dig deep into the intuitive message of the rain? The first step, for me, is to reframe the laugh of the cold wet seeping into my shoes to a not-so-gentle reminder to pay attention to what is occurring in this moment.

Paying attention may mean learning to skirt the metaphorical puddles and traverse dry land. Or, it may be an invitation to live in wonder and splash in a puddle or two. Maybe it’s a call to forget the discomfort of being wet and engage fully in childlike wonder of nature. Maybe it is just saying, “Be in the moment. That is all you need to do.”

It’s raining and those drops pull me from a rather mindless meandering into a moment filled with absolute wonder of being. What message does the rain share with you? 

 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. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / @fyrserpent 

©2021 

Righting A Tilting & Sliding World

Once upon a time the world tilted. It took a slide and was never the same again. If you are like me, the world has never seemed so uncertain. Do you find yourself grappling for balance? Looking for solid ground? Or, maybe you just shake your head and say, “What the heck do I do now?”

Maybe this world and finding our places in it is less about having definitives or living in certainty and more about living into the moment. How do we “live into the moment” and what does it even mean? 

Living into the moment requires being open to what is happening. It is about not getting stuck in your own agenda of what should happen. It is about consciously responding instead of reacting. It is about being okay with what is happening even if it is in direct opposition to what you think you want. Instead of fighting what is, we live into the possibilities as they present themselves moment by moment.

Living into the possibilities. I am a master at reframing. Give me a situation, and, in five or so minutes, I can name the positive, the potential, the learning inherent in that situation. Now, that skill didn’t manifest overnight. It took practice and fine-tuning of optimism. 

So, let’ reframe that tilt. What if we viewed the uncertainty as an opportunity to rediscover or even re-choreograph this dance we have with life? With any uncertainty comes a rhythm, a melody that invites us to uncover our true, real self and share that self with the world. Think you can’t change the world? Never underestimate the power of being your real self. 

Realistically optimistic — that’s me. Maybe it is you, too. So, don’t rush in. Take moments to gain balance in this tilt-a-whirl world. Really feel your reactions and responses. Listen to the messages whispering and shouting from your being. Notice how your body is impacted by the internal and external messages. Get a multi-sensory panoramic view of your current reality. 

What happens when we take a moment to get our bearings? We gain a different perspective. With that view sometimes we see the possibility while other times we have to take a breath as grief washes over us. There are times in this crazy, uncertain world that we just need to allow our self the luxury of being in the fear that lurks in the uncertainty. (I may even take a nap to allow my body to reset; to allow myself to become calm.) No matter what we choose, we remind our self that we can’t help anyone, including  our self, when we are tilting sideways in this uncertain world. 

Once reset, relook at the situation. Open to the magic in the moment. Even if the potential is not evident, will our self to see the potential. Consciously and intentionally will the tendrils of hope to reach into the uncertainty and twine with the possibility. Maybe that hope will twine with the despair of another and raise them into hope’s possibility. 

Think you cannot change the world? Think again. Small actions have big consequences. 

With an eye on the possibility-prize, we can navigate the fog of uncertainty. We can choose one action that shines our light in a bleak world. We cast a light on our growing circle. In doing so, we recognize that a simple action is all we need to accomplish to make minute changes in the world. And, that action is enough to stop the tilt and bring us to balance.

Life is uncertain. The world will always tilt in big and small ways. But, we must never give into the uncertainty. Instead partner with the uncertainty. Engage the rhythm that invites us to dance. Through the dance we unravel the worrisome knots and live hope in a turbulent world. 

May you be the hope that unravels the uncertainty. 

Van

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. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / @fyrserpent / ©2021 

No More Running, No More Hiding

I have spent the last six days reflecting upon national events and then running from what I found only to return again to reflecting. This has been tough time for one me. I generally have an optimistic view — I can usually reframe most any situation. 

I admit to having difficulty understanding how some people will go to outrageous limits to incite the anger in others. And, that some people will go to even more outrageous limits to express that anger. Honestly? It has been a tough week to be an American. 

I wondered, “How did we as a nation get to this point?” After a review of history, I can cite a series of events that led us here. I could also cite individual and collective responses to those events that exacerbated what we are experiencing. I could talk about how disturbing the past four years have been. I could even point fingers and make a lot of people really angry at the results of my critical thinking. In effect, I could throw more gas on our wildfire.

Instead, in order to understand how my life experience has evolved these past four years, I dug into my past — my blogs from November 2016. As I reviewed them, I asked, “Where were you emotionally, spiritually, and mentally during that time? How did that impact the sharing of your vision with others? How has your vision changed?” 

Let’s begin: 

November 8, 2016: #weareinthistogther

We are at a point at which we can no longer ignore the polarization that has become increasing more evident over the past year or so. Good people, really all of us, have been hurt in some way or another. But, we often do not have a way of channeling the hurt. We get stuck in an endless cycle of being hooked, lashing out, and being hooked yet again. This gap between us and them will continue to widen until we stop our personal cycle.

In this place of less than peace, we are not aware of how our judgments and beliefs create our fragile personal reality which is comprised of both the authentic and the illusory. We get so stuck in fear that we cannot even identify the illusions. The only way to increase peace in our self and the world is by courageously identifying our wounds, our illusions, and our authentic.

How do we step into this place of peace? That begins simply and perhaps not so easily with our self. 

While I still know that we are in this together, the polarization has grown. I am not sure how “inthistogether looks like any more. I even admit to edging farther left even though those steps have, at times, been a painful recognition of illusions that I have fostered. 

What I have witnessed is that instead of creating a country where we can all lived together, certain factions have tried to create something in their own image. And, what we have got as a result is a version of #inthistogether that certainly is not a welcoming community. 

We have the tools to be an inclusive, equitable community. Building that community begins with challenging ourself, individually and collectively, to name what is true and what is illusion. We must courageously meet this challenge no matter how disconcerting, no matter how embarrassing. 

The question to ask over and over again is “what catches me?” In that answer, we discover what is preventing us, individually and collectively, from creating a nation that is aware of injustice and inequity and take steps to resolve the injustice and inequity. Within that answer is an implicit agreement to work together to create a community that is comprised of people who are #inthistogether.

How have I changed in the past four years? I can no longer go back to sleep or be silently complicit in the beliefs of another by agreeing to disagree. So, in the fragility of the world, I say, “I hear you, but I do not agree with you.”

November 15, 2016: Compassion’s Visible Commitment

Wearing a safety pin, for me, represents an intentional and tangible way of closing a gap of separateness and uncertainty while offering compassion and support. So, I bought safety pins — quilter safety pins in honor of my mom who was a quilter.

I believe that my Mom, a women with a big, compassionate heart, would have probably worn a safety pin of solidarity and offered a haven for anyone in need. You see, my Mom was the manager of an elementary school cafeteria. She had this knack to see past the surface illusions and into the heart of each child. Mom served a smile and a spoon full of compassion with every meal.

So, I wear this simple metal piece positioned just to the left of my heart, near my shoulder. That safety pin is a quiet beacon that people notice. The connection with intimate strangers is more immediate than before. Our conversations are rich as we share our commitment to the meaning of the safety pin. How it provides a tiny point of light in the dark for the wearer. How we hope that light connects with others and provides solace. How this symbol illuminates us and others with fragile rays of compassion.

I sometimes happen upon a sweater that still has one of those quilter’s pin on it. And, I wear it with the pin attached. I wonder what my Mom, who although not political and would have worn that pin, would think about the chasm that divides her own family. I could get stuck in that rabbit hole of wondering, so I stop that meandering. 

The safety pin is a symbol of my fragile belief that all should be welcome to the table. The belief that while we need to protect those who are hated and feared for who they are, we can come together. It will take a lot of work, but that crazy optimist in me believes even after what has happened that one union is still possible.

That safety pin is more than a welcoming symbol. It is a clear reminder to me that I have an obligation to stand strong, to be compassion, in a world with a growing divide. That a I am a light in an increasingly dark world. That light glints off that safety pin in a message of hope.

Wearing that pin is an act of daring, a response of courage. I realize that may not be able to pin the world together, but I can pin myself to others through compassion, respect, and awareness. And, pin by pin by pin, we can create a more equitable, a more just, a more compassionate world. I realize that while this may not happen in this moment, we must begin in this moment. 

So, I commit to being the pin that connects one another and even pricks the unaware until they awake from their illusions and stand in the truth of what could be. I will not stop until we have a world that is safe, just, equitable for everyone because we are #inthistogether.

November 22, 2016: A Brave New World

I’ve had a reality check. You know, one of those hair sizzling jolt that shakes us in the ground of our being. Collectively and individually we have been shocked; we are awake with a new awareness. Eyes open, this new view is not an easy one for me to see.

But, within me is a growing awareness that we have a choice. We can choose to continue the path of divisiveness and be paralyzed by fear or we can choose a new way, a brave way of navigating our reality. I see possibility seeping through the cracks and crevices of this new reality. It encourages us to live courageously, daringly, and curiously.

How we live from those possibilities frame our new world. We are called not to be lights that banish the dark — cockroaches scatter in the light but do not leave. Our bright being is called to be a spotlight on what must be changed. The courageous choices that we make in this moment and the coming moments will frame this brave new world.

The last four years have been one reality check after another. Much of it has been painful — I cannot/will not understand why people do not live the reality that we are #inthistogether. Why does the color of skin, ethnicity, religion, gender — I know that I have left something out — makes such a big difference to some people?

I am going to reference my mom again. She was a simple woman with a big heart who didn’t believe in judging people based upon anything other than what was in their heart. She was quick to help those who needed assistance. She was a light that shone in the dark and scared away a cockroach or two. 

During these past four years, we have all made choices — some have brought us further into the light; some have got us turned around in the dark. A lot of people have woken up and are now shining brightly. No matter where we find ourself, in this moment, each of us can commit to being that spotlight that has the cockroaches scurrying away. We are the possibilities, the potential, that can reframe our world into a place where we are #inthistogether.

What we choose in this moment, individually and collectively, ultimately changes our future moments. We’ve got a long way ahead of us filled with uncertainty and, unfortunately, violence. Each of us needs to make a decision about the root from which all our actions stem. So, at the root, how will you choose to respond to the cataclysm in this country and the echoes in the world?

As always, I am a work in progress. In this moment, I choose to respond the way I have lived these past years: with the compassion of enough+, through relationship, being nonviolent, and listening to my intuition. 

Let me know what you choose. Van

PS If you would like the three blogs referenced in their entirety, send me an email. 

 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. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook 

Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2021 / blog / vlog

Navigating Life’s Twists & Turns:

It seems that the uncertainty of 2020 has leached into 2021. Maybe you’re thinking, “If I can just get through these next weeks, life will even out.” But, what if you do not find balance? What if these twists and turns are the only certainty that we find in 2021?

Take a breath. It will be okay. This isn’t a doomsday scenario — this isn’t an all out despair message. No, this is about taking a long, loving look at your real. This is the time to acknowledge where you are. It is time to survey the lay of your land and decide where to go from here. 

Where to go from here. That is a biggie. Take another breath. Let it flow through your body. This survey of your land is not so onerous when you connect to your core. At your core is an internal GPS better known as your intuition. You are not expected to navigate the twists and turns alone. That voice within is your life guide.

We are all intuitive. Maybe you believe that. But, some — maybe you are in this group — have been conditioned to not listen to their intuition or to even deny its existence. Or maybe you fear that listening to your intuition will bring you three more steps into the mad uncertainty of life. 

Maybe you believe that being in a relatively uncertain yet stable life is better than taking the risk of acting upon your intuition. Maybe in the the short term it is. While the moment is all we have, listening to our intuition in the moment paves the path of blossoming hopes and dreams. Risks are to be taken. Life is to be lived. Intuition is to be listened to and responded with. 

Back to the long loving look — this look begins by intuitively listening to our body’s conversation. With the long look comes the understanding of the many ways our body helps fashion our responses. When we listen to our body, we actively engage in a dialogue with our intuition. 

Are you reading to take that long, loving look. Let’s return to the breath. As you inhale, follow your breath throughout your body. Visualize its course. Feel the breath as it encounters blocks, moves through them, and whispers into the nooks and crannies of your being. Taste and smell the aroma of your breath as it enlivens your being.

Then, ask yourself, “What is my body saying?” Perhaps it is something mundane — you may be thirsty. Or, it may be a tingling or another way that your intuition is attempting to get your attention. 

Have that drink. Hydrate yourself so that you can better hear the voice of your intuition. Then, say to your body, “What do you have to tell me? I am listening.” Notice from where your body is speaking. 

Let’s move into the tangible with an example. When I did this exercise, I felt my shoulders pushing down and a heaviness in my solar plexus. So, what was my body saying to me? 

• The shoulders pushing down were a reminder to get back into my body, to pay attention to what was happening to me physically. The movement cautioned me to be more aware of me. I need to stop ignoring physical issues. And, of course, it was a gentle reminder to practice more Tai Chi.
• The heaviness in my solar plexus came with a series of queries: Am I standing in my own power? What can I do today to recommit to myself? How am I taking care of myself? How am I practicing self compassion?

So, I listened. Now it is time to respond. To take care of me. To be and act in ways that my spirit shines forth into the world as a beacon of peace. 

This simple activity reconnects you to your intuition. Taking that long, loving look by listening to your body provides you with knowledge and the ability to take steps in the moment that make all the difference in your future. 

We are intuitive beings. The next blog will take a long loving look at intuition and our heart or emotions aspect. 

Because being intuitive really is as natural as breathing, Vanessa

 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. Her most recent book, As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive, is available on Amazon. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs. 

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook 

Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2021