Autumn is Peaking… Time to Let Go & Live!

The leaves are falling and the sky has taken on that decidedly November hue. I realize that  Autumn is peaking! As I breathe in the crispness and pile on the layers, I feel the cold nipping at my being. Soon the trees will be bare, and the naked truth revealed. 

With the unveiling comes a sense of urgency that ruffles my complacency. It nudges me to wake up. With a groan I shake myself awake and peer into this new, increasingly barren world. What does the March into Autumn have to tell me? I discover the message by listening with my being. 

“The time is now,” I hear whispered through the crinkling leaves. “The time is now,” shines through the blustery clouds. “The time is now, do not forget,” Autumn twines into my being.

The time is now for what I ponder? To peer into the changing season with all of my senses. To breathe in the possibility that is already twining through my being. These possibilities nudge me awake. The time is now to joyfully, gratefully walk down my life path. To celebrate my harvest.

Deep within my soul a spark flares. It connects me to the daring, the curiosity, the courage that edges me on. I know that my path doesn’t stop at the harvest. In many ways, my work is just beginning. Now I enter into a time of deep reflection.  

As I peer outside my window, I see the reflection of my soul in the changing season. Nature speaks, and, within my soul, is an echo of this beauty. I cannot help but listen to the invitation to reveal who I am.

With all my being, I look at the increasingly barren trees. My sight does not stop there. I peer just beyond them into the mystery of what is coming. Where before the growth prohibited me to look clearly into this place, I can see clearly now. 

My dreams once hidden by the glorious growth of summer, are now revealed. All that is left is for me to shuffle through the crinkling leaves and walk toward the horizon of my dreams.  

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.

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

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 / ©2021

A Day Unlike Any Other

As I look outside, I realize that soon all the leaves will  have transitioned to a carpet of detritus crackling as the squirrels dance through it. But, that is soon — not today. Today is a day unlike any other. It has never been before and shall never be repeated. In this knowing is a letting go. Today is a letting go that lays bare what was and invites us into deep contemplation of what truly is. 

What is true for you? Sometimes we spend so much time chasing the illusive that we lose sight of who we are in the moment on this unfolding journey. As a friend told me — we’ve got to stop chasing the next shiny thing and be who we are. In the chasing we fail to realize that shiny thing may be what we want but not what we need. It is not a reflection of who we are; it is an illusion of how we want things to be.

Letting go creates this wide, wondrous, expansive space of exploration. Within it we are free — that thing, that person, that situation no longer hauntingly clings to us. Breathing into this space stirs motes of possibility. In deep reflection we notice how our divine sparks glint off these motes. Through discernment, we choose which motes to make our own.

To separate the shiny things and the motes of possibility by letting go takes courage and resolve — both fuel discernment or decision making through deep contemplation. Discernment is a heart-head activity the integrates reflection with introspection. We dive deep into who we are — our beliefs, motives, judgments, agendas — and in this knowing, step more fully, more firmly into who we are. 

Letting go is an outward expression of non-attachment. But, we don’t stop there. In addition to being nonattached, we reflect without judging or defending. We recognize that life is not a rigid road that takes us from here to there. Life is organic and evolving. It grows even when we are not paying attention. Though discernment we trace its course and decide our next steps. We open to what is occurring.

We create a wonderland by letting go. Here we have the courage to face our fears and the resolve to discover our path step by step. That is what is important. There are so many possibilities out there. How many of them look great on paper but just don’t resonate with us? Unless we let go, we are unable to truly discern what is really possible and what is wishful thinking. 

Today is a day unlike any other. In this moment what do you choose to let go? How is that letting  go instrumental to moving forward? 

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 for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / @fyrserpent / ©2020

 

Be Still: The Art of Juggling & Letting Go

When juggling, sometimes you just need to let the balls drop. Let them crash to the ground. Be still. Let go. Survey the debris. 

I have discovered that I am not a master juggler. Sure, most days I seem to keep the balls in the air, but every once in a while, I drop one or two or three. This slippery balls bounce off my fingertip crashing to the ground. Maybe those falling balls provide a moment of respite and regathering. 

What follows may be a good old, messy cry. Those tears release the angst, the fear, the frustration and bring calm. Only in that moment of calm can we really look at the debris littering the ground of our being. With new eyes we are more discerning as we ask our self, “what do we really need?” And, “what do we no longer need?”

Before we answer those questions, we practice self compassion. That alleviation of suffering actually began with that messy cry and our refusal to act as if everything is okay. It continues in every act of kindness toward self. Perhaps we savor a cup of tea or nibble a square of chocolate. We go for a walk. Each act eases our suffering and brings us balance.

Then we answer the questions beginning with what we need; what is working in our life. Focus on the positive first. It lays the foundation for the hard reflection later. Find ways to celebrate what is working — the balls that you want to pick up and juggle yet again. No matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, name it. 

Next, ask what you no longer need. Now, this is tough, because we wouldn’t have got to the place of dropped balls if we knew deep inside what we didn’t need, what we are willing to let go. Name it. Even if you believe that you cannot let go, be with your desire to not need whatever is causing suffering. That is the tough part. Trust that in time, when the suffering is rubbed clean, that you will be able to let it go. 

Celebrate the fact that you are able to juggle. Now everyone has such an agile way of meeting life. You obviously do. Pick up the balls that need to be in the air and juggle away knowing somehow, some way, you got this.  

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.

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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020