Sparks in Wisdom's Fire

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Is There a Message in a Memory?

Is There a Message in a Memory? Of course.

Misty color water memories of the way things were.

Memories. We all have them. Sometimes we remember the joy-filled, the celebrations of our life. Other times we remember the hitches, the sorrow and grief.

I’ve always loved the line from the Barbra Streisand song, “misty water color memories of the way we were.” Of course, when I sing that line, I change the “we” to “things.” Sometimes, more often than we like to admit, our memories are misty water color — they represent how we see what happened and not always what is real. Our socially constructed reality blurs the real.

There are scientific studies that provide blueprints for how we remember what we remember — this includes the misty water color blur. I have a hunch as to why memories surface at unexpected times. I believe that they are the vessels of intuitive messages. So, when we remember, our intuition is speaking through the memories.

Memories aren’t the easiest bringers of intuition. Memories can be hard. Memories can be painful. They bring up high emotion times in our life. It is easy to shut them down. What happens if we don’t shy away from a memory but experience it fully? I am not talking about traumatic memories that are best explored with a therapist; I am speaking of the memories that rise into our consciousness unexpectedly.

When those memories are intuitive messages, they knock on the window of my consciousness again and again waking me to the message. Only then can I peer into their misty watercolor depths. When I step into the memory, I take care not to be caught, entangled, in the memory’s emotions. Objective, I peer into that window while welcoming any emotions into my presence.

How do we intuitively listen to the message in the memory?

Anchor yourself in the moment. Once simple way is to visualize your breath flowing throughout your body.
Envision your body, mind, spirit, and heart as smooth with no glitches on which something can get hung up.
Welcome the memory through your words, thoughts, and actions. You might envision a smile and a beckoning motion with your hand.
Allow the memory to wash over you knowing that it cannot snag you, trap you, or catch you in any way.
Open to the intuitive message.
As it flows over you, notice any sensations including emotions, words, understandings. Don’t force the message, be with it.
Intend that the meaning behind the memory surfaces. Be patience. It may take several resurfacings of the memory before you actual understand the message behind it.
Ask yourself how best to act upon the message.
Act!

Let’s make this real! I had a memory wash over me this morning. I clearly realized that this memory, really everything in my life, was from my perspective. I can’t wear the lenses of another’s experience. No matter how hard I try, I may never understand another or their experience. I clearly saw the holes of misunderstanding within the memory. This misunderstanding was built upon this lack of awareness. With this realization I recognized that it was okay. It needed to let it go.

The memory was like a practice of tonglen. (Check out this video for more on tonglen.) This is a core contemplative practice for bodhisattvas or compassion warriors who conquer the world not through violence or aggression but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge. It is a way of mindfully sending and receiving compassion. It awakens our natural empathy which is at the foundation of compassionate action.

So, I breathed in the memory. As it became lighter, the suffering dissipated. Beneath the suffering was the message that I had been waiting for…no fault…time to let go…time to open to what is…

What is the message in your memory? And, how might tonglen help you move through the misty watercolor memory and understand the intuitive message?

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, February 16, 2021

Gifts from the Unexpected

So, this past summer I did a thing. I cut my hair really short. Well, really short for me. I have been enjoying wearing hats because short hair doesn’t stick out in unsightly tuffs!

Searching for the perfect hat, I came up disappointed. A friend posted pictures of her works of crochet art. I remembered the afghans I crocheted decades ago. I am sure you can see where this is headed. So, I did another thing — researched crochet patterns, asked for advice from my crochet artist fried, and bought yarn and hooks. So, that might actually be three things.

My reasoning about creating my own hat was how difficult could this be? Yes, famous last words. The first attempt I created a doily. I bought additional yarn and more hooks. The next attempt was lopsided. Next, I practiced crocheting by hooking a scarf for my son.

I found another pattern and began anew. The first hat was the size of a small basket. So, this was an unexpected gift! I am using it for my crochet projects. And….I may just have to crochet some Easter baskets. I’m just finished my next hat. It is a win!

On the Crochet Journey

On my journey to crocheting a hat, I knew that I wouldn’t stop until I had a hat. I fully expected the unexpected as I attempted to make a hat that fit. Each time I didn’t quite succeed, I learned from my mis-hooks. I also told myself that if I couldn’t ever figure out how to make a hat, well, I would use that yarn for something else. No matter what happened as I hooked the yarn through the stitches, I was living in the moment.

This journey of crocheting has been a practice of mindfulness and a foray into the unexpected. Counting stitches I notice how often my mind wanders from the moment. When I breathe into the flow of the hook, I relax and the stitches are more even. Crocheting is now on my list of contemplative practices.

Crocheting, Mindfulness, & Risk Taking

But, more than that, living in the moment is an exercise in risk taking. It is a willingness to meet the unexpected by being okay with the outcome. It is about not giving up or giving in to frustrations. Even though I am secreting hoping for THE outcome, I am open to where the path leads me.

And, I am not just talking about crocheting. Each time I begin a new venture, I open to the evolution of my plans. Each time I pen a book, wax a reflection arc, or paint an aura portrait, I practice meditation and contemplation. Through focusing my attention, meditation, and listening to my inner voice, contemplation, I fully am in the moment. I am trusting that my intuition will guide me over the hitches into exactly where I need to be.

The Call of the Unexpected

The unexpected calls us into the moment; calls us to take a risk; calls us to listen to our intuition. Life really is in the journey. Each moment of that journey is a way station destination of awareness and realization. Each moment calls us over and over again to be exactly who we are.

So, the unexpected can be a place of fear where we startle at every creak. Or, it can be a place of curiosity and daring where we explore the world anew. What will you choose?

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Change isn’t coming. Change is here.

Change isn’t coming. Change is here. A subtle shift in the wind. A lightness of being. A shiver down the spine. How will do you respond to its invitation? If you are afraid, that is totally okay. Because anytime there is change, there is fear. Maybe it is not change that we fear; it may be the fear of responding the right way.

Sometimes we focus so much on what might happen that we make change harder than what it is. We can make it simpler. When we center, connect to our core, and listen to the voice within, change is not so daunting. What is this inner voice that guides us through the morass of change? Our intuition.

We need our intuition now more than ever. We are in this wild, expansive time of transformation. Even when we do not actively pursue change, it weaves its way into our life. Change is inevitable. Lately, my intuition is pinging — hints of change drop into my inbox, curious articles pop up on social medial, conversations with friends take unexpected turns.

My intuition is whispering, “Listen. Change isn’t coming. It is here.”

And, then, a bit cheekily, Change asks, “What are you going to do about me?”

Now that is the conundrum! I feel it the winds of change and my intuition riding upon them. Can you? If you are unsure if you are, a symptom of both include feeling out of sorts in one moment and, in the next, slipping easily into balance.

Life may seem like a roller coaster ride. How do we manage the dips and sudden turns? Through self care and self compassion. Because, really, intuition cannot grow without compassion.

Intuition is a guide to transformation at your core. Breathe deeply into the wonder that you are. Know that no matter where you find yourself, there is nothing wrong with where you are. Every moment, every thought, every word, every deed is all part of the journey.

Recognize that any fear you feel is just the old, your stasis, holding on tight in an effort to stay. But, nothing lasts forever — not the old, not this transition time, and not the new. We are constantly growing into our best, most authentic self.

Your role is to learn to ride that roller coaster with glee just because how could you not? Life is to be lived and enjoyed.

Back to self care and self compassion — the way to pamper yourself in the moment. Go for a walk, read a book, savor a piece of chocolate. This is your life. You decide what you will do! No matter what you choose, really engage in that moment. Be awake to every nuance. Perhaps you will even whisper to yourself, “Show me. I am listening.” And, trust that intuition is responding.

Now that you have soothed some of your ruffles and re-engaged your journey, set aside time to listen to the peace as it settles into your bones. Be alert for images, words, sounds, smells, tastes. What you hear speaks of the next steps you take on the path. These messages are intuitive navigators that help you learn lessons, meet challenges, and live with soul purpose.

Change is here. Pay attention to where you are called. Be wiling to explore as you reconnect to your core. Really engage the voice of intuition whenever, however, wherever it manifests. The more you listen and respond the greater your connection to your inner world.

Connecting to your intuition isn’t difficult. It is the magic of changing your consciousness at will. And, in that magic you find the way to navigate through the moments of uncertainty into lasting change. Change isn’t coming. It is here. How do you respond?

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

A-Get-Back-On-Track Month: February

Hush. Listen. The world is coming alive. So are you. The Goddess Brigid. Imbolc. Candlemas. St. Blaise. February begins with a bright flash of light drawing our attention, guiding us home to our self.

The brilliance of illumination lights your world. Like a flash of lightning across the terrain you can see the path clearly — the way and the obstacles. So, what do you do? Do you burrow into yourself throwing the cover over your head or do you take those tentative first steps into the light of who you are?

I have found that the small steps, not the grand gestures, bring me closer to a goal. It is really the small, sometimes seemingly inconsequential actions that awaken intuition. I clearly hear the messages that call me into the next step. But, this listening requires that you peel back those hidey-hole layers, climb out of the burrow, and take those first tentative steps on the path. This is not for the faint hearted. Courage and daring are both needed on your path of purpose.

How do you take steps down this path? First, decide what you want. What is your focus in the short term? Maybe you want to be healthier, write a book, deepen a relationship, secure a new job. Remember this is your dream. There is no wrong way to achieve it…just choose. You can always revise the path to your dream!

Get quiet, breathe into the moment, ask the questions: “What is my dream? Where do I begin in this moment to attain that dream?” Listen to the answers.

Some examples of what you might hear:

You may say, “I want to get healthier.” In answer, maybe you begin by taking a sugar sabbatical for a week. Do away with all the overt processed sugar — candy, baked goods, etc.
You may say, “I want to write a book.” You begin by writing a thesis statement about the subject followed by writing a first draft outline for the book.

These initial steps are only the beginning of your journey to dream realization. Each step gives you the impetus to go deeper. As you take those tentative steps, listen to where your intuitive guides you. The external light is not the guide; it awakener of your inner wisdom.

As you listen to your intuition, be prepared to take the next step and the next step and the next step until you are dancing through your life with purpose. Who know what your dance will look like — one step forward, slide to the right or maybe to the left, sashay forward, one step back, spin, dip. Who knows where your dance partner intuition will lead? When intuition is involved, wherever you go is sure to be in the direction of your soul purpose!

Leaning into the light from within is about coming awake to your dreams through intuition isn’t about succeeding in every moment of every day. It is about responding by listening to your intuition, navigating through your life challenges, and somehow, somewhere along the way living your purpose in the big and small moments.

So, February is a month where we begin with a flash of light and see the light grow noticeably longer as we edge into spring. Like the growing year, we can edge deeper into an awareness of who we are and live from that knowing.

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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

It’s Raining: Messages for the Moment

It’s raining those chilly drops that don’t quite seem to clean the grime of the world. Instead, the rain puddles and laughs as the cold wet seeps through my shoes. It’s raining, and I can’t help to wonder why the rain cannot be the fluff of snow dancing from the sky and painting the landscape in flurry white.

But, then, the realistic optimist inside of me says that this rain could be sleet, and I could find myself pinwheeling never quite gaining my balance. At least this rain creates reflection puddles! What would I find if I peered deeply into the pitter pattering rain? To discover that answer is a challenge for a cold, wet day!

A friend of mine says that everything happens for a reason. Maybe these chilly drops and those freezing puddles remind me to look at the world anew. The damp is most certainly waking me — pay attention, Van, they seem to say. But, maybe the rain need not mean anything but the earth is taking a long, cold drink of water pouring from the sky.

Whether or not the message is for me or for the parched earth, I have to be sure of the message falling from the sky. So, I center myself, look at the altered landscape, allow the drops to dampen my shirt, and breathe deep. Once inside, I boldly peer out the rain smudged window. I see the hush outside reverberating into the marrow of my bones. With daring, I open the window. What greets me is the smell of cool crisp mid-winter.

I am reminded that we are still in fallow times. The rain seeps to where we cannot see and nourishes seeds that we may not even know are there. In that reflective moment I wonder what seeds buried deep within my soul I am nourishing in this moment.

The rain is a trickster messenger. It may not clean the grime, but drop by drop it changes the landscape of our being. The rain offers us opportunities to see what we could not see before. How do we dig deep into the intuitive message of the rain? The first step, for me, is to reframe the laugh of the cold wet seeping into my shoes to a not-so-gentle reminder to pay attention to what is occurring in this moment.

Paying attention may mean learning to skirt the metaphorical puddles and traverse dry land. Or, it may be an invitation to live in wonder and splash in a puddle or two. Maybe it’s a call to forget the discomfort of being wet and engage fully in childlike wonder of nature. Maybe it is just saying, “Be in the moment. That is all you need to do.”

It’s raining and those drops pull me from a rather mindless meandering into a moment filled with absolute wonder of being. What message does the rain share with you?

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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

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

No More Running, No More Hiding

I have spent the last six days reflecting upon national events and then running from what I found only to return again to reflecting. This has been tough time for one me. I generally have an optimistic view — I can usually reframe most any situation.

I admit to having difficulty understanding how some people will go to outrageous limits to incite the anger in others. And, that some people will go to even more outrageous limits to express that anger. Honestly? It has been a tough week to be an American.

I wondered, “How did we as a nation get to this point?” After a review of history, I can cite a series of events that led us here. I could also cite individual and collective responses to those events that exacerbated what we are experiencing. I could talk about how disturbing the past four years have been. I could even point fingers and make a lot of people really angry at the results of my critical thinking. In effect, I could throw more gas on our wildfire.

Instead, in order to understand how my life experience has evolved these past four years, I dug into my past — my blogs from November 2016. As I reviewed them, I asked, “Where were you emotionally, spiritually, and mentally during that time? How did that impact the sharing of your vision with others? How has your vision changed?”

Let’s begin:

November 8, 2016: #weareinthistogther

We are at a point at which we can no longer ignore the polarization that has become increasing more evident over the past year or so. Good people, really all of us, have been hurt in some way or another. But, we often do not have a way of channeling the hurt. We get stuck in an endless cycle of being hooked, lashing out, and being hooked yet again. This gap between us and them will continue to widen until we stop our personal cycle.

In this place of less than peace, we are not aware of how our judgments and beliefs create our fragile personal reality which is comprised of both the authentic and the illusory. We get so stuck in fear that we cannot even identify the illusions. The only way to increase peace in our self and the world is by courageously identifying our wounds, our illusions, and our authentic.

How do we step into this place of peace? That begins simply and perhaps not so easily with our self.

While I still know that we are in this together, the polarization has grown. I am not sure how “inthistogether looks like any more. I even admit to edging farther left even though those steps have, at times, been a painful recognition of illusions that I have fostered.

What I have witnessed is that instead of creating a country where we can all lived together, certain factions have tried to create something in their own image. And, what we have got as a result is a version of #inthistogether that certainly is not a welcoming community.

We have the tools to be an inclusive, equitable community. Building that community begins with challenging ourself, individually and collectively, to name what is true and what is illusion. We must courageously meet this challenge no matter how disconcerting, no matter how embarrassing.

The question to ask over and over again is “what catches me?” In that answer, we discover what is preventing us, individually and collectively, from creating a nation that is aware of injustice and inequity and take steps to resolve the injustice and inequity. Within that answer is an implicit agreement to work together to create a community that is comprised of people who are #inthistogether.

How have I changed in the past four years? I can no longer go back to sleep or be silently complicit in the beliefs of another by agreeing to disagree. So, in the fragility of the world, I say, “I hear you, but I do not agree with you.”

November 15, 2016: Compassion’s Visible Commitment

Wearing a safety pin, for me, represents an intentional and tangible way of closing a gap of separateness and uncertainty while offering compassion and support. So, I bought safety pins — quilter safety pins in honor of my mom who was a quilter.

I believe that my Mom, a women with a big, compassionate heart, would have probably worn a safety pin of solidarity and offered a haven for anyone in need. You see, my Mom was the manager of an elementary school cafeteria. She had this knack to see past the surface illusions and into the heart of each child. Mom served a smile and a spoon full of compassion with every meal.

So, I wear this simple metal piece positioned just to the left of my heart, near my shoulder. That safety pin is a quiet beacon that people notice. The connection with intimate strangers is more immediate than before. Our conversations are rich as we share our commitment to the meaning of the safety pin. How it provides a tiny point of light in the dark for the wearer. How we hope that light connects with others and provides solace. How this symbol illuminates us and others with fragile rays of compassion.

I sometimes happen upon a sweater that still has one of those quilter’s pin on it. And, I wear it with the pin attached. I wonder what my Mom, who although not political and would have worn that pin, would think about the chasm that divides her own family. I could get stuck in that rabbit hole of wondering, so I stop that meandering.

The safety pin is a symbol of my fragile belief that all should be welcome to the table. The belief that while we need to protect those who are hated and feared for who they are, we can come together. It will take a lot of work, but that crazy optimist in me believes even after what has happened that one union is still possible.

That safety pin is more than a welcoming symbol. It is a clear reminder to me that I have an obligation to stand strong, to be compassion, in a world with a growing divide. That a I am a light in an increasingly dark world. That light glints off that safety pin in a message of hope.

Wearing that pin is an act of daring, a response of courage. I realize that may not be able to pin the world together, but I can pin myself to others through compassion, respect, and awareness. And, pin by pin by pin, we can create a more equitable, a more just, a more compassionate world. I realize that while this may not happen in this moment, we must begin in this moment.

So, I commit to being the pin that connects one another and even pricks the unaware until they awake from their illusions and stand in the truth of what could be. I will not stop until we have a world that is safe, just, equitable for everyone because we are #inthistogether.

November 22, 2016: A Brave New World

I’ve had a reality check. You know, one of those hair sizzling jolt that shakes us in the ground of our being. Collectively and individually we have been shocked; we are awake with a new awareness. Eyes open, this new view is not an easy one for me to see.

But, within me is a growing awareness that we have a choice. We can choose to continue the path of divisiveness and be paralyzed by fear or we can choose a new way, a brave way of navigating our reality. I see possibility seeping through the cracks and crevices of this new reality. It encourages us to live courageously, daringly, and curiously.

How we live from those possibilities frame our new world. We are called not to be lights that banish the dark — cockroaches scatter in the light but do not leave. Our bright being is called to be a spotlight on what must be changed. The courageous choices that we make in this moment and the coming moments will frame this brave new world.

The last four years have been one reality check after another. Much of it has been painful — I cannot/will not understand why people do not live the reality that we are #inthistogether. Why does the color of skin, ethnicity, religion, gender — I know that I have left something out — makes such a big difference to some people?

I am going to reference my mom again. She was a simple woman with a big heart who didn’t believe in judging people based upon anything other than what was in their heart. She was quick to help those who needed assistance. She was a light that shone in the dark and scared away a cockroach or two.

During these past four years, we have all made choices — some have brought us further into the light; some have got us turned around in the dark. A lot of people have woken up and are now shining brightly. No matter where we find ourself, in this moment, each of us can commit to being that spotlight that has the cockroaches scurrying away. We are the possibilities, the potential, that can reframe our world into a place where we are #inthistogether.

What we choose in this moment, individually and collectively, ultimately changes our future moments. We’ve got a long way ahead of us filled with uncertainty and, unfortunately, violence. Each of us needs to make a decision about the root from which all our actions stem. So, at the root, how will you choose to respond to the cataclysm in this country and the echoes in the world?

As always, I am a work in progress. In this moment, I choose to respond the way I have lived these past years: with the compassion of enough+, through relationship, being nonviolent, and listening to my intuition.

Let me know what you choose. Van

PS If you would like the three blogs referenced in their entirety, send me an email.

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