All You Need Is Love

 

 …a not so trite blog 

What is love? Is it really all you need? I answered those questions — or at least asked the questions and discovered a few answers — as I developed my March Bellarmine University class: All You Need Is Love.

Love is…

Instead of love being affection or desire, let’s see love as allowing someone to be themself. Caring for someone unconditionally. Giving them the room, the opportunity to grow into themself.  This is a paradigm shift in which love as unconditional takes on a whole new meaning.

At our core is a spark of love. The origin of our spark of love, is the creator, the sacred. That spark at our core flares a connection of love across the abyss to the Sacred, the All Spark as it were. When we ignite the spark at our core, a highway of connections is made visible — between our self, the sacred, others, and all of creation. Moving along this highway, we give and receive an infinite supply of love.

We need this love

The world is a wild, fierce, beautifully uncertain place where we get bombarded with so much stuff. We get fatigued. Sometimes the last thing we want to do is love — our self, another, creation. When we are at our lowest, we remember that love is an energizer. When we consciously and intentionally share love, hope blossoms. Barriers break down. Silos dismantle. We connect to others. 

Love is the great transformer. Its energy ignites our forgiveness. It turns our attention to suffering. Wakens our compassionate heart. Shines the light into the shadows of possibility. Makes the world is a better place.

Love is a game changer

Love is not for the timid. It asks us to move out of our shell, beyond our comfort zone. To courageously live in a world that is not perfect. Not nirvana. Not heaven on earth. By igniting the spark of love, we fully engage life understanding that we are in a great classroom not of chosen lessons but of challenges and surprises that call us to be our best self. We show up as our best self by choosing love. 

Each time we choose to be an igniter of love, a receptacle of love, a sharer of love, our perception shifts. We see past our judgments, into the heart of another, the heart of a situation, the heart of our self. We feel the woundedness of the world and know that the greatest healing power is love. When we see life in this way, when we act from this knowing, life is never the same.

Love propels our leap across the chasm

That chasm is just an illusion that separates us from our life work. That work?  To share love with one another. Unconditionally, compassionately, truthfully. This is not the love of enabling but the love that holds each of us to our highest self. And, that is what we are called to do over and over again. 

As I love dearly and completely,  I realize that love is all there is. Wanna live a life where love is all there is? Wanna join the love squad? I dare you. I double dare you to join me in a world where love is all there is. 

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. 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.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2022

Wanna be a walker between worlds?

Walk between the worlds 

of the mundane and the sacred 

of what is and what could be

of your intuition and distraction

of whenever, wherever, however 

Walk between the worlds 

knowing you are enough

The chaos, the uncertainty, of the last couple of years have spilled over into this year. The first month was a wild ride across the margins. It invited me to have one foot in the mundane and another in the extraordinary. 

No matter where I found myself, each gallop provided different ways of seeing the world anew. Chaos and uncertainty aren’t necessarily “bad,” but the past month did call for awareness and its outgrowth, flexibility.

If you’re like me, I do not set resolutions. I have aspirations. I listen to my intuition as guide through the uncertainty. Through it, I decipher the messages, reflect upon them, and then respond to the world. 

Don’t consider yourself intuitive? If not, maybe you have inner wisdom or hear whispers of the sacred within. Maybe you have epiphany moments or calm resolute. No matter what, I am sure that you have a voice that echoes through your being. That voice guides you on your walk between the worlds. 

So, what are these worlds?

A world can be defined in many ways. When you walk between worlds, you are walking between two aspects of being: the mundane-ordinary and the sacred-extraordinary. These manifest in your personal life, professional life, relationships, in chaos, uncertainty, peace, calm. Walking between the worlds you are asked to show up as yourself no matter whenever, wherever, however you find yourself. 

For me, that’s being contemplative while actively engaging in the world. Sometimes that is a leap! I show up as my contemplative spirit, sharing my compassion in moments that are uncertain and broken. Walking between the worlds I stand witness as a light of hope in a darkened world. As I walk between the worlds, I am never lost: my light is a beacon that calls me home to myself no matter where I am.

Walking between the worlds is about being aware.

No longer going through moments hurrying from one to another, I turn off the autopilot. I notice the unfolding moment for itself. I am in the rhythm of being present gliding from one moment to another. I am aware of how each moment calls to me. And how my intuition is the navigator through the margins as I balance the knowing I gain from each world. 

Walking between the world means being who you are. 

This trek through life is very different for each of us. How I experience my walk between worlds is probably different than how you experience it. For me, it is a weaving of the sacred-extraordinary into all that I do. On this jaunt, the extraordinary teases the mundane into becoming more.

My perception casts a kaleidoscopic light on the world. As a margin dweller, this new ways of perceiving empowers my unapologetic living from my own core. Standing in the spark of my truth, this balancing act while not quite easy, becomes a bit more harmonious. 

Wanna be a walker between worlds? 

Each of us has our own unique way of trekking. Maybe you are in the margins. Maybe you are smack dab in the middle. Most are somewhere in between. On this trek, you discover how you walk between the worlds. And, just when you figure out the navigation, I am betting you will be called to up your game. To walk between the worlds whenever, wherever, however you are called.

I’m walking between the world…wanna join me? 

Van Hurst, ms, is an intuitive-coach-catalyst. As a contemplative coach, she uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for navigating the mundane and extraordinary. 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.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2022

You Are

Have you ever reflected upon the question, “Who Am I?” I mean, really sat with the question? Dug deep — past your roles, past the illusions you cast, past the illusions others cast upon you? If so, what did you discover at the core?

I have taken a deep dive into this question. More than once. I am sure that I will do it again and again and again. The questioning is part of a lifelong journey of self-discovery. What have I discovered? I am dynamic and evolving — as more of who I am is revealed, I know that there is more to uncover. 

Maybe what I have discovered will nudge you deeper into self-exploration. I believe that within each of us is a child of light, a dancer in the dark, a traveler through the veil, a harvester of wisdom, and spark of transformation. Maybe you will see these aspects of yourself, too.

A child of light

Within each of us is a spark that shines so bright that it cannot, will not, be extinguished by suffering. Sure, when we suffer, our light dims. But, when we acknowledge suffering, we awaken the spark of compassion within. Awareness of suffering is the first step in sharing compassion. 

Find your way through suffering by breathing deeply. Feel the suffering. Surround suffering with your breath. Allow your breath to flow to the ember glowing at your soul. Blow upon the ember. With a whoosh your spark ignites. Through your exhale, compassion flows from your being incinerating suffering — yours and others.

A dancer in the dark

Life is lived in moments of light and in moments of dark. To shy away from the shadows means we live by half measure. To live fully is to enter the dark. Stepping into the shadows takes courage. With each courageous step into the shadows, we develop our rhythm. Soon we are dancing in the dark.

This is the dance of eyes wide open. The dark cannot scare us when we know what gifts it offers. With awareness engaged, we find the root of a challenge, discover a gem of wisdom. Aware, we act upon our discoveries. The dark is no longer a desolate place for our sacred spark burns brightly illuminating the treasures within.  

 

A traveler through the veil

Dark. Light. In between. The veil invites us into the between where everything appears clearer. We notice what catches us, what we shove away. We choose to not to be caught in tangles, we are objective about what is happening. 

This traveling through the veil requires nonattachment. This doesn’t mean that we live in the gray of our life. If anything, when we are nonattached, we feel more strongly. We are aware of how we are impacted by our triggers. We choose how we respond. Traveling within the veil gives us choice.

A harvester of wisdom

No matter where we find yourself on this journey to our self, there is wisdom to be had. At the end of Zen and the Birds of Appetite, Thomas Merton tells us, “It would be good if we would open our eyes and see.” When we see with our entire body — all of our senses — we open our self to wisdom. We become wiser. 

Wisdom floats just out of our reach, is wedged in the crevices of our being, whispers in the wind of our soul. Wisdom is present in every moment of every day. To be a harvester of wisdom is to open our heart, our mind, our soul. Within those openings spring forth the wisdom we harvest.

A spark of transformation

At our core is a spark of divinity. A glowing ember that connects us not only to the sacred but also to everyone, every creature — all of creation. The light is no longer separate. We are aware that we are the light as we bask in the light, we share our light, we reflect the lights around us. The dark is no longer a scary place. Within it, is the stuff to kindle our ember. 

Within our spark, dark and light twine to create who we are. It powers our journey through the veil. Within the veil we see with everything we are. We harvest the wisdom that calls to us both within and without. Within the wonder in the world, we gather wisdom seeds to our core. In the gathering we transform.

How are you a child of light? A dancer in the dark? A traveler through the veil? A harvester of wisdom? A spark of transformation? How is your life uniquely, unequivocally, daringly you?

 

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 places may scare us or bring us joy. The result of time with Van? Creating a blueprint for your life through a deeper connection to your intuition and contemplative nature. 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 

A child of light

A dancer in the dark

A traveler through the veil

A harvester of wisdom

A spark of transformation

uniquely, unequivocally, daringly you

I am garden

Within me is what I need to grow and thrive. Somedays I don’t feel that way. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone outside of me hoe the garden? Pull the weeds? Even choose which seeds to plant and which to let go for another day? But, I am the seed, the rain, the soil — even the compost of my garden. And, you are yours.

Now, I am not saying that there are no outside influence. We are people, not terrariums! Although we can make choices, there are a lot of outside influences that pull at us in many directions. This means that we need to be open to what is happening and be willing to grow within our circumstances. 

Lately, I have been seeing life as a garden. I can choose what to plant within my life, but I am never quite sure what will take root. And, sometimes, I find that a bird has dropped the gift of another seed when I was not looking! That different growth requires creative flexibility!

Those little gifts grow the excitement of living toward a dream. They remind us not to give up in the moment. To be open to where we are being guided. To not only grow our dreams but to grow the pockets of silence as well. Within those pockets we listen to our internal guidance.

Now, what is internal guidance? I call it intuition. Some call it the Voice of the Sacred. Others refer to it as spirit guides. I have found that the source doesn’t matter as much as the intentional relationship you have with that quiet voice of guidance. Through this guidance we receive the sustenance — the hope, the daring, the courage — to make our dreams a reality. 

So, how do we do this? By focusing our intent and riding on the winds of our actions: 

I am a seed. 

The seed is a kernel of your dream. What you want to grow in your life. What is your dream? Name the dream. Create a tiny pocket in your heart space. Whisper-drop the seed into your heart space. 

I am rain.

Water is the stuff of emotions. What do you rain upon the seed? Perhaps it is hope, joy, anticipation. Drip these emotions, and others, into your heart space. See the seed take root.

I am compost.

Compost is the hard stuff that you’ve been through or are going through. You know, the stuff that allegedly makes you stronger. Work in these learnings into your heart space. Ask how they help you realize your dreams. Act upon those learnings.

I am soil

Of course, your heart space is the soil. The place where you grow your dreams, turn your sorrows and sufferings into compost. This is where you grow into your best self one seed at a time. Look around. Name the seeds that have grown into fruit bearing plants. Celebrate what you have nurtured into being.

I am garden

We are in this life for a season. Not the typical yearly cycle of growth. This season is the entirety of our life. In each moment, we — you and I — have opportunities to choose seeds, feed them compost, and water them. We nurture them in the garden of our heart space one breath at a time. 

You can do this, I can do this, one seed, one dream, at a time.

 

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

Don’t Cling So Tight (The Art of Letting Go)

I grew up in an era where the phrase “let go, let god,” was the way to connect with the Sacred. Seldom did I experience what I thought was letting go: a total fall into the arms of the Sacred. I wondered what was the matter with me until I understood it wasn’t me — it was my interpretation of those four words.

For some time I have grown more and more tangled in a situation. No matter how much I tried to let go, I found myself more tangled. The tightening bands of attachment cut deeper and deeper into my spirit. I despaired that I would ever be able to let go. Taking a step back from this experience, I recognized that I was clinging too tightly. 

After a particularly bad moment that resulted from clinging to what I could not change, I finally had the talk with myself. I could not continue on the path I was on. I knew that I needed to take two steps back from the situation that had me so tightly tied in knots. I needed to be objective about the experience before I could find a way to slip from the knots that bound me. 

The stepping back began with reflection. I objectively reflected upon what triggered my clinging. Then through introspection, I gained an understanding of why I was clinging so tightly. What followed the identification and understanding of what was triggering my clinging was the difficult part — paying attention to how I was getting hooked over and over again. I used the power of my breath to flow through my addiction-like tendency to get trapped by the tightening knots. Through my breath I discovered in real time how and why I was being caught.

This was not easy. As I reflect upon the past several weeks, I see that things have lightened — knots have loosened. Instead of my frustration morphing into anger, I now identify the frustration at the root of my clinging. It doesn’t have anything to do with another; it has everything to do with my reaction to the situation. So, I ask myself, “What you can do in the moment to alleviate your frustration?” I listen to the answer wafting from my intuition. Then, I act upon it. Any potential reaction is neutralized. The energy of letting go powers my response.

Slowly by slowly the grip of my clinging has lessened in this situation. I have discovered that letting go is less about flinging myself into an abyss and trusting that I will fly and more about leaning into my awareness with courage, trust, and resolve. When I lean into awareness, I catch the thermal of letting go and ride it on sacred wings.  

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.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook 

Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020