Recently, we explored the big idea in which I asked you what myth are you living. If you’re still ruminating on this, here’s another tool that might help you drill into it: archetypes.
The concept of archetype is something Carl Jung spent a tremendous amount of time exploring and is so rich! Caroline Myss has built on Jung’s work and expounded on how we can access and utilize archetypal energy to better understand ourselves and the world.
A powerful way to help understand where you are on your life path, is to recognize what story or stories are playing out in your life. This is a question/idea that comes from Carl Jung. He famously said:
I was driven to ask myself in all seriousness: “What is the myth you are living?”
I found no answer to this question, and had to admit that I was not living with a myth, or even in a myth, but rather in an uncertain cloud
of theoretical possibilities which I was beginning to regard with increasing distrust.
Happy New Year!
Are you ready for 2025?
It still feels pretty new, which is why it’s helpful to employ some anchoring exercises to support you as you get clear about how you want this year to be for you.
I always start my year by choosing a word or phrase, something to focus on, dive into, and act as a theme or inquiry for the upcoming 365 days.
Some of the ones I’ve chosen in past years include: receive, relax, joy, shine, communion… you get the idea. Once you hit on your word (or phrase), the invitation is to spend the next 12 months deepening into how you can experience it in your life.
I love sharing spiritual tools with you with this blog.
Sometimes it's a poem, mantra, prayer, breath exercise, or affirmation. But each technique is one I’ve tried and tested over the decades and is now part of my box of go-tos. The ones I rely on when I need additional support, assistance or help reconnecting to the truth of myself, which is love.
Today I felt called to share one that I return to again and again. It's a breath I was taught by my guru over twenty years ago called the Chittakash, which is the heart space over the head.
The other day I saw this quote by Stephen Covey:
“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.”
I’ve always considered myself a good listener, how about you?
I enjoy paying attention to what others say, but it’s definitely a different kind of listening when we truly want to understand what someone else is saying!
And despite thinking I was good at this particular skill, I got a whole new perspective a few years ago when I received training from a facilitator who was part of the Compassionate Listening Project
I know you are a kind, compassionate person. You care about others and want only good for them. But these are hard times. And it can be easy to feel overwhelmed.
So what do we do when we fall into sacrifice or feel compassion fatigue?
Humans are actually hardwired to be compassionate. Neuroscience is proving it!
The anterior cingulate region of our frontal cortex lights up when we experience pain and it’s also activated when we see someone else experience pain!
Our amygdala, the part of the brain that warns us of potential threat is alerted when someone else is hurt. Makes sense, right?
I know you use affirmations - because as my friend Wioletta is always reminding me- we are powerful manifestors!
And the best, easiest, most focused way to do that is with affirmation, right!?!
Right!
A few years ago, I stumbled on this incredible format for writing affirmations in an Ernest Holmes book. If you are not familiar with him, he is a new thought leader and the founder of religious science, also known as science of mind.
I hope your seatbelt is buckled tightly, because this wild ride doesn't seem anywhere near finished yet! 😮
Which is why we need all the support we can get right now, yes?
Here's another tool for you - a breath to help release anxiety.
The breath is SUCH a powerful tool to bring us back to the moment, ground us in our bodies, and quiet the mind.
If we can remember, we can use the breath ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. It is ALWAYS available to you!
Wondering where you might be on your spiritual journey?
This might help.
It's a cool tool I recently stumbled on - The 4 Stages of Spiritual Development- outlined by Michael Bernard Beckwith, the founder of the Agape Ministry in Los Angeles. He is also a prolific writer, speaker and profound spiritual thinker.
Between the Covid-19 crisis and the Black Lives Matter protests, we are being called to recognize the pain and suffering people have been experiencing. And we are being asked do something about it, individually and collectively.
One way is by making the unconscious conscious.
This can be done for our own selves as well as for the larger society - as we acknowledge institutionalized racism and bigotry.
Finding yourself struggling with grief?
We all are. It’s collective, from this corona virus.
We're mourning the way we once lived – attending events, visiting friends, traveling, going into the office...
And we know that whatever happens next, WILL be different.
In addition to the weight of collective grief, many of us have had personal tragedies too. Loss of a loved one, a job, financial security…
So how do we manage this pain?
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ stages of grief can help. They are:
Resilience was a hot word when I was in social work school.
We often pondered why some people were capable of weathering all kinds of hardships and others were not.
Was resilience an intrinsic skill or something we could actually teach?
What about you? How is your resilience?
Take an inventory of your life right now. How are you holding up?
Could you use a few tips?
Resilience, like most things, is a muscle that benefits from strengthening.
I woke up the other morning remembering a concept that came to me in my early 20s.
The idea is fairly simple, that there are 4 different quadrants of self:
Mind, or intellect
Emotions
Physical Body
Spirit
What I recognized back then was that some of these quadrants are easier to be in than others.
Take a moment and think about yourself.
All of us are all now fully informed about COVID-19, or the corona virus that initially appeared in China, and has now infected humans across the globe.
And, in addition to that, there are shortages of hand sanitizer, masks, toilet paper and cleaning products!
But here’s the good news. In all likelihood, you will be absolutely fine AND there are simple and constructive ways to stay healthy both physically and mentally.
Here they are:
I was lying in bed thinking about a friend of mine. She's absolutely amazing - beautiful, talented, funny, kind, and single.
Apart from feeling like she wants a partner, it's more the feeling of BEING ALONE that plagues her.
Have you ever experienced that?
I know I have.
And let's be honest. Even if you are in a committed relationship, you can still feel alone. Or lonely. Right?
So what can we do about it?
Tired of feeling alone?
Ready to have some Divine intervention in your life?
Want to feel aligned with Spirit?
You are not alone.
I want that too - even though it’s always been hard for me to ask for help.
Ever since I was little, I always felt like I had to do everything myself.
I never felt like I could rely on anyone to be there for me. Naturally, life kept providing opportunities to prove that this was true (ugh!)
It’s January and everyone is scrambling to get those resolutions and promises in place.
But what if i told you there’s a really simple technique to start your year that would help you truly align with grace and ease?
Ready?
It’s super simple, really easy, and fun!
It can be any word.
Sometimes the word pops right into your head as soon as you sit for a second with it. Other times, it takes a little coaxing.
I’ve been doing this to start my new year now for nearly a decade and it’s become a profound activity for me, as much as my beloved vision board.
This week’s advent theme is faith.
Well, what is faith exactly?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, here are the definitions:
Allegiance to duty or a person; loyalty (lost faith in someone or something)
Fidelity to one’s promises; sincerity of intentions (acted in good faith)
Belief and trust in and loyalty to God
Belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
Firm belief in something for which there is no proof
Complete trust
Something that is believed especially with strong conviction
We bat this word around – especially those of us on a spiritual path.
