Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: June 2021

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Just Around the Corner

How have you been reintegrating? That feeling of too much is slowly dissipating for me. Maybe I am adjusting to the brightness in the world, the poignant smells, the breeze on my naked face — hurrah! No mask! This weekend instead of ordering a carry out meal, I had an early sit down lunch in a restaurant. Yeah, my world is slowly getting back to normal.

All of this is happening as we step firmly into the summer months — the heat, humidity, the people out and about. The cicadas have all but disappeared only to be replaced by fireflies who are doing their dance in the dark just outside my bedroom window. I am amazed by the growth of the plants in my container garden and am hoping for tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchinis soon.

This is a time of year when change is happening so rapidly — I swear I can see and hear the tomato plants growing. There seems to be yet another change that I cannot quite see. I find myself wondering with some trepidation what is lurking just around the corner of my life. What waits just around the corner is the anxiety producing pondering. I have lost count with the number of times I have reminded myself to breathe!

The thought of things we cannot see often scares us more than what we come face-to-face with. What we don’t see, we can embellish with our fears and runaway imagination until it grows into something that it never was. And, in the face of this scary unknown, we stand paralyzed unable to take a step forward or even a step back.

Maybe we even delude our self by believing that if we scrunch our eyes closed and don’t move, well, we do not have to engage what is just around the corner. What is just around the corner won’t find us if we stay quietly still. But, sooner or later, if we do not round that corner, the corner will round on us. If we do nothing, change creeps up on us. Caught unaware, we react.

We don’t have to live this way. Breathing into the moment, step-by-step, edge closer to the corner. With awareness notice the terrain. Notice how the world shifts and how you are invited to shift with it. No longer timid but resolute with courage round that corner. In those steps we are as prepared as we can be to face whatever lies just beyond our line of sight.

Just. Like. That. We engage what is just around the corner and grow into who we really are.

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating those scary places. The result? Creating a blue print for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition. 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, June 22, 2021

It’s Time To Get Real

It’s time to get real. To look beyond who others think you are — who you think you are — to be that person who is patiently, and not so patiently, waiting in the shadows of your soul. You know that person. In fact, I am betting that you get a glimpse of them every once and in awhile. And, that glimpse give you the energy to sustain yourself through the hard times.

This part of you empowers. At one point or another, we’ve all felt that power. Maybe you need to dig deep into your memories, but I am sure you will find at least one occurrence of that feeling. When have you felt aligned to the power at your core? If you are uncertain, think of a time when your words and actions aligned. You felt greater than yourself. You connected to something bigger than yourself. And, that connection felt great.

I remember when I was on a panel at an international conference. I was worried about what I would say. Yeah, people would say I was an expert, but I was an expert with imposter syndrome. But, then, something amazing happened. I opened my mouth and the words that flowed came from a place deep inside of me. That is the place where I am connected to the Greater, the Universe, the Sacred — call it what you will. I felt the power at my core surge. My words came out elegantly.

In subsequent years, I have felt this power surge over and over again. I wondered how I could being connected to my core be the rule instead of the exception? For me, it’s about trusting — knowing that wherever I am, whatever I am doing, that my intuition is waiting to twine with my consciousness. That twining reveals my best self.

It is easy to say that this is about believing in yourself. Believing in yourself is only the beginning. It is about tethering who you present to the world with to who you are deep at your core. And, that is a big challenge.

How do you tether? Name who you are at the core. This is not creating a wish list of traits. No, this is asking yourself how you truly show up in the world. It’s about acknowledging how you present yourself. Then ask yourself what is stopping you from being that person.

Realize that this discernment is not a one-off. No, this is an ongoing practice to discover over and over again the nuances of who you are — and noticing the detours your reactions take you on. It’s about taking action to realign your journey with your purpose. Wow. That is big stuff.

Getting real is not for the timid. It requires that we act over and over again in ways that bring us to a place of response from our core. When we are real, we expect nothing less from our self.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

An Emotion Is Only An Emotion Until We Give It Power

There is a brightness in the world, a turning of perception. Can you feel it? I can. I am not sure what it means, but the world appears different — it pulses with opportunity. I feel change within each breath.

But, change is a tricky thing. Just when you are certain that every thing has slipped into place, you discover another piece of the change. As change realigns, the whole image of what you believe is happening shifts. Sometimes that realignment is really tough to move through.

What do you do in that moment? Do you give up? Plow through the unexpected? If you are like me, you spend a long moment filled becoming almost overwhelmed by the frustration of plans thwarted. Then, after allowing the frustration to rise up and then slid off your being — you know, let it ride its course — I get back onto the new path of change.

Let’s back up. How does frustration run its course? For me, it begins with identifying the feeling. Saying to myself, “I am frustrated!” Although it is really hard, I need to find a way to be okay with the frustration. An emotion is only an emotion until we give it power over us. So, I don’t cling to the frustration. I am objective about it. I don’t make it any more of a part of me than the passing emotion it is.

I notice the emotion while not judging it as good or bad or not-this-again! I don’t defend my right to be frustrated. I just notice the frustration and how it is attempting to get its grappling hooks into me. In this noticing, I do not give the emotion any real energy. Yes, being objective is as hard as it sounds. Remember, this is about practice making our skills permanent not making our execution of these skills perfect.

For you see, when I identify the emotion instead of identifying with it, I no longer take it so personally. It is just another challenge on this journey of transformation. I curiously and objectively enter the change with all its twists and turns. My daring and courage propel me into exactly where I need to be.

Change is rarely straightforward. It is messy, uncertain. In the unknowing comes the power to be who I truly am — who you truly are. Feeling an emotion is about finessing it, learning from it, and using the power behind it to be the change. That is what is so desperately needed in this world.

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Finding The Pink New Shiny Me…How ‘Bout You?

Have you ever been through a particularly rough patch in your life? I am guessing that we have all been there at one time or another. And, some of us have had longer rough patches than others. The last 8.5 years have been tough. It felt like I had a lot of false starts only to be pulled back into yet another challenge.

I got to tell you, there have been some pretty discouraging moments. But, as a master reframer, I have usually been able to find the challenge, hear the message, and take the next step on my wild, uncertain path. Although it is has been scary at times, this journey has been an incredible one.

In early May, during a particularly trying time, I found a job while surfing the web. While I would usually find reasons not to apply, I decided to shush the “Am I qualified?” whisper. I applied for it. Now five weeks later, I am posed to start a new job; a new venture.

Of course, the “Why now?” rears its head. Because I am an introspective person, I find myself wondering why now instead of at some other time earlier in this almost decade journey. If I believe that there is no such thing as a coincidence, then, “Trust that this is the right time,” is my only response.

Who really knows the answer? Maybe the remnants of the answer lies in the challenges that I have met; in the lessons that I have learned. Maybe the answer is found in understanding who I am and how I view the world. Maybe I needed to meet some challenges and really integrate this life lessons. And, maybe I am finally ready to make that giant leap back into recognizing who I am.

As I move from Target Lady to Church Lady, I have to tell you that working retail is the hardest job that I have ever had — even harder than that brief stint I had as a waitress. It is more than physically taxing. Although it is hard on your body, working retain is also emotionally trying and mentally exhausting.

Working through the fatigue, I confronted my socially constructed reality. I peeled away a lot of illusion and recognized that there was even more illusion waiting to be released. I can see the shiny, pink of my true self peeking through the battering of illusion.

There have been some great experiences of the past almost four years. I’ve met great people, learned more about social justice, and had some tough introspective moments. I’ve learned a lot about the world — and about myself. I have to tell you that I’ve come out stronger, more resilient.

And, on this other side, I am more in tune with my empathy. I am aware how it helps and hinders me from being compassion’s presence in this uncertain world. I am looking forward to moving on. Meeting new challenges and learning new lessons. But, mostly I am looking forward to being the best person I can be in each moment.

So, where are you on your big challenge? How have you moved through the long night? Have you find the other side? Let me know!

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Growing Anticipation in Fields of Joy & Grace

We are in that time of year when everything seems to be bursting forth. The growing season is here. Those cherry tomato plants I bought on Mother’s Day have quadrupled in size. The wooded area behind my house has greened up. The sun creates dappled patterns as it slips through the leaves of the trees. It is a time of growing anticipation.

With anticipation comes joy. In this joyous time, it seems that life cannot be contained. And, from this growth hope spills into my life. How can I not be hopeful when everything is so full of life? For me, the key is in balancing the hope with the distress that I see in the world.

Sure, I do things, like read the news, that cause despair. I cannot seem to end that particular addiction! I have interactions with grumpy people — and sometimes people interact with the grumpy me. But, when I stop to breathe into life for a moment, my awareness slides through the uncertainty, the fear, and into the wonder of life.

In that wonder, I can anticipate change whether it be like the growth of a tomato plant or whether it moves along at a snail’s pace. I have hope that change is bringing the transformation that I need at this time in my life. If I focus too hard on suffering and despair, then the hope that comes with compassion is hidden in the undergrowth of my life. In each moment I practice compassion, I alleviate suffering and clear the way for hope to sprout.

Maybe, just maybe, when we become aware of the wonder, the potential that exists within us becomes the roots that bear the stems of our hope-filled actions. Those actions herald transformation. Remember that transformation, much like the roots of our potential, is an inside job. It is that tiny eternal flame inside us that propels us though life’s messiness into a space of transformative grace.

For me, grace is the ability to stay positive, believe in forward movement, hope for a better outcome. Grace shows me how I get stuck and lights the way to getting unstuck. Grace is the light that shines upon the cracks in my wounded soul and powers the healing that brings me back to myself.

This year is a year unlike any other. We have been through the dark night of Covid and are nearing the dawn of new day. As we enter this brave, new day, we are asked to breathe deeply into our soul and ignite the flame of grace that propels us through the uncertainty, through the fear. Into our respond. That response is to act from the depths of our courageous self.

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