Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: January 2022

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

whenever wherever however: thank you

Gratefulness is seeded in our awareness. Blossoms from intention. Is revealed during reframing. Gratefulness shows up when least expected.

The pure joy of gratitude blossoms without conscious thought or action. Often, I am not sure what seeded this sudden joy-filled thanksgiving. It seems to magically appear…but really it does not. The gratitude blossoming in our interior garden is a result of awareness.

Gratitude is a celebration. During it, I recognize that my life is beyond blessed by people who show up — my son, furry companions, family, friends, colleagues, and the intimate stranger. It is sparked by the beauty of a sunrise or the playful antics of squirrels. When I focus on the beauty of what is right, the world becomes magically extraordinary.

When I am aware, the effervescence of gratitude shows up everywhere. I pass through a mundane existence into mystery. In this place of magical extraordinary, I am grateful for everything…even what isn’t particularly warm and fuzzy.

At other times, gratitude is elusive. It is easier to focus on what I do not have or what I do not want — the sorrows, the grief, the wants or needs that go unmet. For me, that is when the power of the reframe comes in.

Through the eyes of my heart and with the wisdom of my soul, I can reframe the thorn on life’s stem. I can move past that pointy thing to see the blossom at the end of the stalk. Through this change in perspective, I see the necessity of the thorn and the blossom. It is in that reframe that gratitude blooms.

For me being grateful is a cultivated way of life. It’s having a heart wide open to possibility. Benedict of Nursia, in his little rule, reminds us to listen with the ear of our heart. For me, listening with my heart is key to recognizing gratitude. My recognition of gratitude is complete when I respond from the wisdom of my soul.

Of course, it is easier to be grateful when life is smooth, calm, easy — to revel in moments of simple joy. But life is not always smooth or calm or easy. Life is uncertain, complicated, messy, and tangled. Even those circumstances are something to be grateful for. I mean, who wants to live without any upheaval? Okay, maybe sometimes that would be nice.

Then I remember that the upheaval gives us opportunity to flex our gratitude muscle. When I am mindful, I see the tangles more objectively. When I peer closely, the reasons to be grateful sparkle on the tangles. In fact, those sparkles guide me to untangling my life. In the untwining I find a bouquet of blessing with or without the tangles.

Gratefulness, for me, is found in the reframe. Within a change of perspective, I find the rolling sparkle-seeds of thankfulness. For that discovery to happen, I must be in the moment aware of whatever is percolating; whatever trigger is waiting to be flipped.

Gratefulness means showing up in those moments when I am not perfect and appreciating the thorns of my imperfections. What is gratefulness for you?

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating those places may scare us. The result of time with Van? Creating a blueprint for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature.

Van 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, January 18, 2022

what makes all the difference

surrender to what is

acknowledge the fear

kindle the embers of courage

trust in your ability to move through

The world is covered in a dusting of snow. Everything is more beautiful with this thin winter veneer. In the quiet, the world whispers: surrender to what is, acknowledge the fear, kindle the embers of courage, trust in the ability to move through.

That seems like a tall order, doesn’t it? If you attempt to master all the suggestions at once, yes. But, begin with surrender, and moving on to acknowledging, kindling, and trusting become more doable. You know, put one foot in front of another or the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Surrender to what is

Surrender doesn’t begin with the actual letting go. It starts with recognizing and naming what is holding you in stasis. Surrender is possible only when you recognize how you are attached — what you cling to or what you push away. It is about understanding that you cannot have an objective perspective until you surrender to what is.

Surrender doesn’t meant giving up; it is about gaining a new perspective. When you surrender, you begin the untangling process. Knots loosened, you are able to fully breathe into the moment by focusing on what truly is.

Acknowledge the fear

Once you surrender, uncomfortable things happen. All of these ignored or hidden emotions rise to the surface. If you haven’t quite surrendered into the moment, this onslaught may overwhelm you. But once you surrender, you can dive deep into whatever emotion is lurking in the deep. Surrender-swim through the emotion to the root. Connect objectively to what is causing consternation.

More often than not, my uncomfortable emotions are rooted in fear. Acknowledging the fear no matter how uncomfortable brings a new awareness — the awareness of the embers of our courage.

Kindle the embers of courage

To acknowledge our fear is to kindle the embers of our courage. This kindling is only the beginning. Courage sparks deep into the recesses of our being shedding light onto our illusions. With courage we see the reality of fear — maybe life becomes less scary with this new perspective or maybe through the scariness we devise a way through the illusions.

Trust in your ability to move through

If these past few years have thought me nothing else, they have shown me that life is uncertain, chaotic, and disconcerting. I don’t know about you, but I often navigate through this challenging time imperfectly. I’ve learned that perfect or imperfect, however I show up in the moment, is really okay.

An amazing thing happens when I trust in my ability to move through a given situation. I realize that no matter how I navigate through the moment, I am doing exactly what I need as long as I am aware. Sometimes I need to feel the evenness of getting it right — being as perfect as I can be. Other times, I need to own my imperfections and learn from my missteps. That learning and owning require that I trust in my courageous ability to surrender to the uncertainty.

This journey that we take? It is about me…it’s about you…it’s about how each of us navigates through this life. In the end our abilities to surrender, acknowledge, kindle, and trust are what makes all the difference in our world.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Totally own who you are

Sometimes I return to my Reiki roots and the intentional practice of mindfulness. Those three words that begin each Reiki Principle: just for today bring me into the moment. These just for today words tumble from my intuitive core: just for today totally own who you are, be your own person, shine your light, the world needs you as you are.

Let’s break down that intuitive message.

Just for Today: Totally own who you are

I don’t know about you, but I seldom totally own who I am. Yeah, I can embrace the me reflected in moments of listening, being compassionate, practicing patience, listening my intuition, and exercising. But, those other ways of being: impatient, frustrated, ignoring my inner wisdom, and overeating, are times that I don’t even want to acknowledge much less own who I am.

On my good days, I can see how all parts of me — the light and the shadow — create the total picture. The shadow represented by my frustration, impatience, ignoring, and overeating gives me opportunity to pay attention to what is triggering these reactions. In befriending my shadow, I can understand how my peaceful self gets blotted out by all those triggers.

When I totally own my loud brash as well as my quiet calm, I can appreciate that those that ways of being I’m not so thrill about are actually powerful. Their energy helps power the parts of me that are more shy and reserved about showing up as my best self. That loudness reveals not only the weeds but also the rutted path of my growth.

Just for Today: Be your own person

Will I ever be a calm gentle listening person 100% of the time? Will you ever be the person you most desire? I hope so for both of us but probably not. Owning all parts of myself creates that wildfire of me — you know, being my own person. Through those sparks within the fire, I see more clearly who I am. I can choose where I place my energy and how to temper the wildfire energy in parts of my life that need change.

Just for Today: Shine your light

In the light I can be my own person. I set boundaries. I am gracious. I share compassion. I learn to be comfortable within the shine of my body/mind/spirit/heart. I can enter the shadows knowing that I am my own light. Whatever I find in the shadows become opportunity. While I feel fear, I also call upon my courage to transform into my truest self. Yeah, shining that light means being my own person no matter what I find in the corners of my being.

Just for Today: The world needs you exactly as you are

I am not perfect. I am wounded like everyone else. Without an awareness of our wounds, we navigate our self into one detour after another. But, it need not be that way. Might I recommend the book I wrote about navigating our lives in awareness of our woundedness? Imperfect in an Uncertain World.

The world cannot wait for us to do everything just right. We don’t have the luxury of getting everything right. We are imperfect, wounded beings who are here to make the world a brighter place.

In the crazy of the day the uncertainty of the moment, the world needs us to show up and be the compassion, the peace, the light that makes the minute changes that truly transform the world into a better place. I hope you will join me.

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

2022: The Year of the Self

A message for the New Year: Lots of clearing this year. Don’t hold tight to anything but the truth at your core.

This year is about you letting go of what prevents you from being your true self. This is a year to focus on YOU — not in a selfish, self-centered way that excludes everyone else, but in a way that connects you to your core. This is your year to become strong in who you are; to shine your best self into the world. To clear the way to the truth of your core.

The really cool thing? When you connect to your core, your relationships with others, the sacred, and all of creation become better. They really do. When you show up as your best self, you encourage others to do the same. Win-Win.

Committing to a year of self isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Breathe. Remember you have twelve months, 52 weeks, 365 days. Okay, so you have fewer days and a week less now…but you’ve got all the time that you need to strengthen the connection to your core.

Never forget that life is an ebb and flow. During this year, you’ll have moments when you truly connect. Moments, well, when you feel disconnected. Moments when you aren’t even aware of a connection. Whatever you feel is perfectly okay. A lot of awarnesses happen on the path to strengthening your core.

How do you begin this journey to self? First, be aware that you have always been on this journey. Own your journey no matter where you find yourself.

Then, try this. Get into a quiet space. Breathe through the moment. Ask your breath to flow to your core. Become part of the flow. Ride your breath to your core. Once at the core, notice. Use all your senses. Get a clear picture — create it based upon what you sense: hear, see, smell, taste, feel what is at the core.

You can ask these questions: Does my core have a particular color or colors? A texture? Something else? Then, notice whatever calls to you. Create a picture of what you see. This image can be a word description or a visual image. Remember this is your year, create in ways that work for you.

Next, celebrate using these questions (and others if they come to you). What do I like about me? How do I more easily connect to my core? Recall times when you liked yourself and when you connected to the core.

Be with this knowing. Celebrate your connection to this wonder part of you. Celebrate the person that shines forth from the core. Celebrate YOU!

Add this celebration to your visual or word drawing.

Then ask: What do I yearn for? How would I like things to be different? Just be with whatever arises.

Add your yearnings to the drawing.

Maybe what you discovered makes you uncomfortable. Maybe it fills you with exhilaration. Maybe you feel a little bit of both. You are a journey of awareness of your self. A wild wonderful trek that grounds you into the incredible you. Let’s take this journey to self together. Ready. Set. Manifest.