Sparks in Wisdom's Fire: peace

Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts

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.

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, December 28, 2021

A Tale of Tattered Edges

In the quiet of the moment, in the stillness of the night, I hear the determined uttering of calm in a chaotic me.

Yeah, you heard/read that right — chaotic me. I bet you thought I was going to say chaotic world. I thought about it. Then I realized the chaos of the world wouldn’t impact me so much if I was calm at my core.

The eye of a hurricane. That is what the core is. I wish to be within the calmness of the core as the storm rages around. I realize that as the storm encroaches my core, the edges get a bit tattered. That is inevitable. But, when my spiritual core is strong, I notice the tattering before it destroys too much of my core. With that noticing, I turn within. Awareness, I listen to rustling of calm.

Let’s talk first about how to cultivate calm. Within each of use is a kernel of calm, a sacred spark that ignites our awareness and awakens our objective observer. While our objective observer is always present, It take time and lots of effort to cultivate a connection to the calm — the power behind our awareness. It takes awareness to minimize the impact of irritation, aggravation, fear, and anger — the winds of storm that batter the edges of our core.

So, how do we mitigate the effects of the storm’s ravaging to move into stronger connection to our core? How do we cultivate calm? It is all about being awaken and aware. Until we consciously attend to the world around us, we miss what we judge as good, bad, and indifferent. With awareness we move away from the labels into understanding how these emotions and situations trigger feelings in us.

My goal, one day, is to be so awake, so aware that I live totally in the rolling moments. That I do not hold on to past hurts or am poised to leap into a hoped for future. To be here now and respond in ways that recognize the beauty in me. And the recognition powers the connection to my core.

And, the really cool thing? Through my core, I connect to the sacred, others, and all of creation. Through my core I am part of the Great All. Within my core beats the courage to venture into the brewing storm knowing that it can only superficially touch me. The core affirms that I am invincibly calm and prepared to respond to whatever life presents.

Cultivating calm isn’t easy. In fact, it is really hard. Cultivating calm is a moment-by-moment, lifelong endeavor. It requires that we attend to what is happening in the world and what is happening in our self. Bi-listening you are fully engaged internally and externally. I would even say that when you are bi-listening you have mastered the art of bilocation!

The key to cultivating calm and strengthening your connection to the core is living in the moment. Not holding on. Not pushing away. Acknowledging not absorbing distractions. Not acting out of judgment. Being nonviolent. Being in the determined calm is attending to who you are moment by moment.

In the storm-filled tattered edges, I wish you moments of determined calm.

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

It Is What It Is. Or, Is It?

It is what it is. Now that is a phrase that means different things to different people. Some believe that it is a statement of defeat. Others believe it is an objective statement of life that hold the possibility of growth.

Where is the truth? It is one or the other? Is it both? It might be one or the other. It could be both. It depends upon how you see life. Is life dynamic and ever-changing or is it static? Can you live into your best self or must you live within the narrow straits you find yourself in?

Here is another thought: do you believe that fate is unchangeable or do you believe that you control your fate? If you are like me, you believe that to a certain extent, you control your fate. I believe that while I can’t control the externals, I can control how I respond or react to them. I can find the loopholes through which to leap into my best self.

It is what it is. Sometimes we are in situations in which we feel paralyzed. There is no way we can see to change them. It is easy to spiral into a dark moment as suffering and futility wash over us. Once we are in the downward spiral it is really hard to reverse the trajectory and move toward a better place.

Do you like being stuck? I don’t. I’d like to suggest another way. It is the way of a Buddhist vow: to take life as it is. This vow invites us to identify the suffering in our life and move from this dark place to a place of healing through compassion.

Taking life as it is is not about complacency or giving up. No, within this slogan is the energy of compassion swirling into our being. It lifts us out of the darkness and into hope. How do you breathe into compassion and turn suffering into opportunity? Let’s practice.

Reflect upon a situation that seems tough. A situation that isn’t as you would like it to be but one that is. A situation in which you feel really stuck or trapped.

Notice how the experience is impacting you physically. Do you feel a heaviness? Are you tight? Do you feel an absence? Notice and name without judgment.
Notice your mind — thoughts, images, memories — those things that are mentally drawing your attention. Notice and name without judgment.
Notice your emotions. What is crying from your soul about this situation? Notice and name without judgment.
Notice how you feel spiritually. Name without judgment.
Breathe into what you notice. Go to any place within your being that feels tangled. Ask for guidance on how to release the suffering. Ask, “What one thing can I do to release my suffering?” Listen to the answer.
Breathe the light of compassion into your body. Feel the tangles letting go as compassion permeates your being. Invite peace into your being.
Now at greater peace, look at the situation. Ask yourself where the opportunity for change is?
Name the change.
Vow to do one thing that will make your world a little less dark.

Taking life as it is does not have to be a grower of suffering. It can and is a way to move from the darkness of suffering into the incredible lightness of being that fills us with compassion.

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Of Dust Bunnies & What Ifs

The winds are blowing through cracks in my soul. I can feel the chill of uncertainty seeping into the dark corners of my being. Long-hidden dust bunnies of fear twirl lazily on a cold gust. I shiver in the wafting fear as the dreaded questions of “what if” and “is this all there is?” rise into my consciousness.

In that paralyzing instance of fear, I rest in the space between heartbeats. In this place of nothingness, the silence calms me pulling me deeper into myself. The winds don’t stop; they continue to gust. Calmed, I catch a thermal, slip past dust bunnies all the while knowing I am protected by the peace whispering within the silence.

The peace soothing my spirit reminds me that I need not be stuck in uncertainty. I need not give into fear and impotence. Peace urges me to breathe through the moment. As my peace-filled breath permeates me, I relax into a peculiar way of being. I hear peace chant within me, “let go, let go, let go — be who you are.”

So, I let go. This is not a free fall into the uncertain. No, I catch a thermal and ride it into the sky of my soul. As I soar, my perspective shifts. Those dust bunnies of fear are no longer raging monsters that threaten to overwhelm my being. They are inconsequential bits of fluff that invite me to explore what is stopping me from climbing the mountain of transformation.

In this exploration, I hear the question echoing in my mountaintops, “what if?” And, I wonder: What if I stop letting fear guide me down my path? What if I stop hiding from those dust bunnies? What if I reach for the heights of those mountains in my soul? Because, if I stop getting caught by fear, I recognize where I truly am — I am perched someone in a crag on that mountain top. And, maybe, step by step, flight by flight, I will discover a home within myself.

Answering this question brings a response to the second question: “Is this all there is?” Of course not. Life is to be lived in the depths of fear, the heights of joy, and in the between. When I truly realize that, I move from a cognitive place to a space where emotional and mental merge. In this place of possibility, I soar into my soul mountains. I gain the energy to explore the mountains of my dreams.

Awake to the pure joy of being, I recognize that this isn’t this all there is. The world is a wild, wide open space. I just needed to open my eyes and see. I wish you to live with eyes open, too.

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.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Righting A Tilting & Sliding World

Once upon a time the world tilted. It took a slide and was never the same again. If you are like me, the world has never seemed so uncertain. Do you find yourself grappling for balance? Looking for solid ground? Or, maybe you just shake your head and say, “What the heck do I do now?”

Maybe this world and finding our places in it is less about having definitives or living in certainty and more about living into the moment. How do we “live into the moment” and what does it even mean?

Living into the moment requires being open to what is happening. It is about not getting stuck in your own agenda of what should happen. It is about consciously responding instead of reacting. It is about being okay with what is happening even if it is in direct opposition to what you think you want. Instead of fighting what is, we live into the possibilities as they present themselves moment by moment.

Living into the possibilities. I am a master at reframing. Give me a situation, and, in five or so minutes, I can name the positive, the potential, the learning inherent in that situation. Now, that skill didn’t manifest overnight. It took practice and fine-tuning of optimism.

So, let’ reframe that tilt. What if we viewed the uncertainty as an opportunity to rediscover or even re-choreograph this dance we have with life? With any uncertainty comes a rhythm, a melody that invites us to uncover our true, real self and share that self with the world. Think you can’t change the world? Never underestimate the power of being your real self.

Realistically optimistic — that’s me. Maybe it is you, too. So, don’t rush in. Take moments to gain balance in this tilt-a-whirl world. Really feel your reactions and responses. Listen to the messages whispering and shouting from your being. Notice how your body is impacted by the internal and external messages. Get a multi-sensory panoramic view of your current reality.

What happens when we take a moment to get our bearings? We gain a different perspective. With that view sometimes we see the possibility while other times we have to take a breath as grief washes over us. There are times in this crazy, uncertain world that we just need to allow our self the luxury of being in the fear that lurks in the uncertainty. (I may even take a nap to allow my body to reset; to allow myself to become calm.) No matter what we choose, we remind our self that we can’t help anyone, including our self, when we are tilting sideways in this uncertain world.

Once reset, relook at the situation. Open to the magic in the moment. Even if the potential is not evident, will our self to see the potential. Consciously and intentionally will the tendrils of hope to reach into the uncertainty and twine with the possibility. Maybe that hope will twine with the despair of another and raise them into hope’s possibility.

Think you cannot change the world? Think again. Small actions have big consequences.

With an eye on the possibility-prize, we can navigate the fog of uncertainty. We can choose one action that shines our light in a bleak world. We cast a light on our growing circle. In doing so, we recognize that a simple action is all we need to accomplish to make minute changes in the world. And, that action is enough to stop the tilt and bring us to balance.

Life is uncertain. The world will always tilt in big and small ways. But, we must never give into the uncertainty. Instead partner with the uncertainty. Engage the rhythm that invites us to dance. Through the dance we unravel the worrisome knots and live hope in a turbulent world.

May you be the hope that unravels the uncertainty.

Van

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.

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Forgiveness: An Inside Job

Have you ever felt a deep shame or overwhelming grief over something that you had done? Unacknowledged, the memory returns again and again until it turns into an impenetrable knot. It weighs you down, wears you down, until your only action is reaction to that memory.

The memory does not have to control your life. Forgiveness quiets the voice of that memory while triggering breaks in the threads of shame and grief. This is not the forgiveness of an outward action during which you ask for forgiveness of another; no, this is an internal response of self-forgiveness.

Through self-forgiveness, I’ve realized that sometimes we make life much more difficult than what it is. Through courageous action, life is not difficult. It is only when we cling to the despair of coulda, shoulda, woulda, we get trapped in an endless cycle of what if. The twining of that knot into our core seem so entrenched that we cannot unravel from it.

An amazing thing happens when we forgive our self. We don’t have to untwine that knot. Through self-forgiveness that knot disintegrates. We feel lighter, more energized. From the dust, we the power to own the beauty of who we are.

Forgiveness is an inside job that impacts our relationship with the external world. It is a difficult action — make no mistake about it. Self forgiveness involves more than forgiving yourself for hurting another person. Self forgiveness is an acknowledgement of the grief and shame you carry. It means forgiving yourself for engaging in situations that culminated in your being hurt. Self-forgiveness is an affirmation of your worth.

How do we forgive our self?

Acknowledge to yourself how the action that was hurtful — to yourself or to another person.
Feel how and where the hurt has lodged in you. Describe it with all of your senses.
Ask yourself what is behind those feelings of hurt. (Stuck? Some words: betrayal, abandonment, unloveable). What are yours?
Hold those feelings in the palm of your hand. Breathe love into them. Connect to your heart. Allow the well of your compassion to surround them. Own how you feel. Consciously forgive yourself. Continue until you feel peace.
Surrounded by peace, ask “How can I change?” Small steps grow into great transformation.

It may take time for this peace to become a stable, integral part of you. Remember this. Be gentle with your self as you shower love and compassion on yourself knowing that when stuff happens, forgiveness is key and you matter.

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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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Through the Rabbit Hole into the New Normal

I used to wish that I was normal even in those moments when I wasn’t quite sure what being normal meant. Normal, for me, seemed to be stability, a respite from uncertainty, unconditional belonging. This normal seemed elusive.

But, I never stayed fixated on this “normal,” for long. Little successes and big dreams jolted me from the desire of that perceived normal and into a comfortableness with my own skin. I saw the ways that normal didn’t fit into my lifestyle. I liked the ways that I wasn’t quite normal.

Then Covid-19 happened. In an instant the door to the old normal slammed shut. The world changed in ways that I never would have imagined. There are some stressors for sure. But, there is a wide openness, a flexibility, an opportunity to draw from the center of our being. To be the person we were meant to be all along. To discover what normal means for each of us.

Now, I am not saying that these aren’t scary times. They are. Unless you are fortunate to have transitioned into a work-for-home situation, times are financially scary. If you have a pre-existing condition, times are medically scary. If you work in an essential job, each moment at that job brings the fear of uncertainty. But, then a voice says: Stop. These not-so-normal times are times of opportunity. Each of us is called us to gather our courage and face our fears.

Maybe, just maybe, that is what this new normal is about. Not spending our day yearning for what was, or in my case, what never was, but being courageous and curious in the midst of our fears. It is abut naming our fears and then discerning what is working. It is about being daring as we try new things. It is about responding with curious daring to the question, “This is the real and how am I going to live in it?”

For me, this new normal invites me to live in the real while being very aware of how illusion’s siren call attempts to seduce me into believing that things, at some point, will return to the way they were before. We don’t have the luxury of believing this. The only luxury we have is believing in ourself.

So, ask yourself, what are the little ways that you can find peace in these trying times? How does courage call you? How will you connect in ways that create a new normal? It can be as simple as asking for help or responding to a request for help. That help doesn’t mean you need to drain your bank account or do something that just isn’t you. For example,

I asked a friend for a mask. She sent one.
I sent a donation to a local animal shelter in response to their bid to receive a matching gift. (My gift was small, but it helped them secure the $35,000 matching gift.)
I made some simple masks, had some extra hand sanitizer at home. I’ve given them to people who have asked for them.
I have discovered my inner artist and expanded my business painting aura portraits.

None of these would have happened without the courage, the daring, to live within the new normal. And, each simple response to the uncertainty has increased my ability to live in this new normal.

So, no matter how much your new normal differs from your old, I wish you the courage, the curiosity, the daring to live with joy in each moment.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

On Being an Artisan of Joy

I have a part time retail gig. I am a people watcher. During this season that can be a potent combination that triggers both reflection and introspection as I look at faces and engage guests in conversation. I listen, I watch, but mostly I reflect upon what I see and hear — who brings a joyful spirit to the experience and whose face is lined with shopping stress.

We can live with joy or subsist on stress in our approach to life. Some people are cheerful and optimistic. Others are methodically realistic while weighing the odds. I think most of us ping between these two poles. Most often we find our self somewhere in the middle.

How can we be artisans of joy this season and beyond? The answer is simple — by being mindfully real about the day. When I am in the moment, I am more likely to identify the little joys and recognize life’s bumps and boulders. I can choose to carefully navigate those bumps and borders instead of getting stuck in them.

When I am mindful, I feel the inflammation of aggravation edging me closer to the trigger. When this happens, I focus on my breath. With each breath, I acknowledge the underlying irritation. I breathe into the rising reaction to discover what hides within it. Each breath rubs away the rough edges until all that remains in its core of fear. With compassion I befriend this fear, loving it into peace.

While I may not be able to resolve the issue, I can find peace within myself. Within my sacred calm, the exterior world no longer triggers internal upheaval. I am twined by peace. Along this ribbon of peace slides joy. I am more creative, more compassionate in my responses.

We can paint with bold strokes of joy regardless of where we find our self or we can choose spindly spikes of aggravation in this moments of reaction. Mindfully we choose. This season I hope you find your self painting the world with the bold vivid strokes of joy.

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Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Bridging Uncertainty: Creating a Nonviolent, Compassionate World

We live in two worlds — the uncertain, where our fears and angst are driving forces, and the extraordinary, where we power our actions with compassion. Within the uncertain, acts of violence percolate; within the extraordinary nonviolent revolution is birthed. We bridge these worlds by responding with compassion to imperfections and uncertainties. There is nothing magical about this bridge. It is crossed by our intent to be compassionate.

Uncertainty is exacerbated by inattentiveness. We fear what we do not know. When we are mindful, we better name our fears and see the extraordinary, a place where nonviolence is possible, shining in each moment. With an awareness of how we can be extraordinary, we shift from reaction to response. Through our lived experience of the extraordinary, we become change agents who use the power of our transformation to integrate the extraordinary into the uncertain.

In these moments of integration, we attune to the incredibleness of life unfolding. Although we live within the uncertainty, we see possibility shining from everything. Creating a nonviolent, compassionate world is no longer a maybe — we step along the pathway of nonviolence and compassion with our actions, words, and thoughts. The gate of nonviolence — a place of engaged compassion and peace — is revealed.

This gate is not just for a few who are able to experience it. It is available to all. The gate isn’t a doorway to the great beyond. It manifests with peace and compassion in the here and now. In the present moment, we enter this gate through a shift in perspective. We accept that while we may always be imperfect and the world uncertain, we can choose to respond compassionately and nonviolently. This perception shift requires focusing our attention beyond the commotion to what really matters.

What really matters is our connection to one another and the vein of the sacred that flows through this connection. (For the purpose of this workbook, let’s define the sacred as what we hold in great reverence.) Even if we cannot see the sacred in a person or situation, our response is an acknowledgment of what is there but not seen. With this acknowledgement, the gate of nonviolence is visible.

How do you reside in this gate of nonviolence? Learn more in Imperfect in an Uncertain World: Your Life, Your Message. (Blog is an excerpt from the book.)

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