Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: journey

Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Life is a Journey (or maybe a highway!)

Life is a journey or maybe a series of journeys and way stations. Sometimes I am excited to be on this stretch of life-way; other times not so much.

Journeys can be well thought out, planned. We know when they begin and exactly where they end. We know how we are getting from point A to point Z. Other times the journey is more uncertain. We take that first step not even aware that we are beginning a trek. Only later do we realize where we are.

Even if we do not recognize it, each journey has a pivotal moment of beginning. That moment could have happened with a seemingly inconsequential decision. This beginning altered life in phenomenal, far-reaching ways. Each step on this journey comes with the opportunity to make a radical shift in your life.

Journeys offer a wealth of new possibilities. We may begin eager to make changes, to shift the path’s trajectory, and find a part of our self that we’ve never lost. As we edge deeper into the journey, perhaps the enthusiasm wanes until each step becomes less a foray into adventure and more of a lackluster attempt to sustain a path that just isn’t working for us.

We may find our self buried in the necessities of the daily and forget to revel in the joy, the wild tenderness, the fierce beauty of each moment. In unfolding, we don’t take time to celebrate the twists and turns and dips of the path.

Do we end the journey? Maybe. But maybe not. It might not be the journey that has us stuck but the illusion of what we should be experiencing. As we shift our awareness to the moment, what we experience changes. We consciously the next step. In doing so, we discover the slightest nuances of joy and curiosity and rightness.

This journey is unfolding, evolving. It invites us into courageous curiosity. We may not know where we walk or even when our steps draw us onto a different fork. Newness, oldness, the destination isn’t what is important; it is the journey…each intentional step.

I invite you to embrace the wonder of this life. Live with curious abandonment. Know that this journey leads us exactly where we need to be. Enjoy the twists and turns, the joys and curiosity, the being on your journey.

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? Being the change you want to see in the world by 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, June 21, 2022

These Times Are A Changing

These Times they are a changing…what are they changing? Us — me & you!

We are in a wonderfully amazing, fiercely terrifying, possibility-filled time. Yeah, there are times that I jump past the wonder and amazement through the possibility and right into fierce terror. These times might be chaotic, but do I really need to get caught in the snare of my fear?

With that question, I mentally/

emotionally back up to get a clear image of what is happening. I remind myself that this is my wisdom year. It is not every year I celebrate my croning! This is my year to explore the wonder, breathe deeply into my core, and exhale wisdom into the moment. There are times when I feel that I didn’t get the message about being the wisdom keeper that I shared with everyone else.

Then I remember that shenpa is part of each of our journeys. This is the word that Buddhists use for what catches us. I ask myself, “What catches you?” The answer is simpler than getting untangled from the result! When I am not aware, the list of triggers to my reactions is endless. When I am aware, I can see those snares and sidestep them.

So, ask yourself: “what catches me?” If you aren’t quite certain, spend time paying attention to what is triggering you. There are no wrong answers to this question. Each answer echoes in what is impacting you in the moment.

Why is identifying your shenpa important? If I have learned nothing in the past six decades, it is that I need to identify what catches me before I can go forward. Unless we — you and I — identify the stuff that lures us into a sticky web of reactions then we are going to continue to walk right into it.

What is that thing that catches you? Name it. Then do a deep dive to the root. You might discover an aggravation, anger, fear, or something totally different. To neutralize the shenpa, you’ve got to name it! That naming starts at the root where you eradicate the tangle of shenpa.

Mindfulness — being aware in the moment stops you from getting caught in shenpa and reacting. In those moments that you just are not present and get caught, don’t beat yourself up! Afterward find a time of silence. Reflect. Identify what tangles you. Remember, knowledge is power. Power helps you to navigate what catches you in the moment. That navigation leads to a life of transformation.

So, these times are a changing. I hope that you and I are changing in ways that make us more resilient and aware.

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.

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.

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.