Strength… not always what it appears to be!
When our Sanctuary group met after the first of the year to do a little planning and spend some time together, each of us was asked to choose a word that might be a guiding principle for the year. Because of a variety of reasons, the word I chose is strength.
Honestly, when I chose that word, I bought into it for its traditional definitions and connotations- “the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor” (from Dictionary.com). I, especially, was hoping for some of that “vigor” mentioned in the definition given some health concerns I had been dealing with in 2011. However, as I’ve lived with this word and lived with the first month or so of 2012, I started to realize that strength comes in many guises.
We have a culture of “powering through”- illness, discomfort, pain… And, as a longtime sufferer of migraines, I’ve done my share of powering through, with or without medications. And, really, it may have done a bit of short-term good- an appointment not needing to be rescheduled; a project not being put off- but I’m not any better off for having had the strength to power through, generally speaking. What I’m increasingly becoming aware of as I travel on the journey of my life is that sometimes the greatest strength is in knowing when to have a different kind of strength- the kind of strength that requires much more subtly and willpower than the traditional kind of strength.
Many of you who are familiar with my coaching and writings, know that I am a collector of quotes. My favorite and most consistently guiding is the Buddhist, “Be still and know.” I first encountered it within the writings of Thich Nhat Hahn and have since become acquainted with the Psalm 46, “Be still and know that I am God” but I prefer the Buddhist version. To me it symbolizes the practice of mindfulness and taking stock of all that is right in one’s life. Often a much greater strength is required of the act of pausing rather than pushing forward. And haven’t we all been in a situation where it took the greatest amount of strength to not participate, or let a situation unfold, and just be? Oh what you can learn by pausing!
So, instead of the powering through kind of strength that maybe I was hoping for regarding this year, I am paying close attention to the messages I receive when having the strength to “be still and know.”
Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy 2012!
Cathy Posner
Career and Transition Coach
Aura Pulsing to Balance Your Energy!
I’ve been taking some amazing classes on working with energy and one of the techniques I learned was how to balance the Auric Field. It’s a very gentle and simple technique, but really powerful! I shared about it here: Aura Pulsing
I hope you find it helpful!
I also pulled a couple of I Can Do It! cards by Louise Hay for all of you. Here are the affirmations that fell out of the deck:
“Enduring loving relationships brighten my life.”
“I have unlimited potential. Only good lies before me.”
Have a great day!
Nancy
www.SanctuaryAtCrossroads.com
www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com
Love, Support, and Free Gifts!
My personal goal for this year is to experience 365 days filled with love and support. Would you like to join me?
Below are some ways to participate!
Free Month in the Soul Friends’ Community:
Below is a list of the benefits available to you through this gift…
- 20% Discount on Intuitive Life Coaching (Empowerment Readings and Programs)
- Abundance Fun Club- Experience the joy of giving and receiving by setting abundance goals and sharing abundance with the other members
- Paranormal/Intuitive Club- Share and discuss Divinely guided messages, dreams, and paranormal experiences with other members
- The New “You” Self-Care Coaching Club- Set goals and receive support in taking wonderful care of yourself this year!
- Barter Board- Exchange a book, CD, or expertise mini-session with other members
- Interactive email list with weekly Divinely Guided Messages to empower you
- Two Empowerment Calls (see details below)
This Month’s Empowerment Calls (calls are recorded for those who can’t make it live)
*Calls are free for Soul Friends’ Community members and $15 for non-members
2/12/2012: Love and Support Empowerment Call with Mini-Readings, 7 PM EST (60 minutes)
Led by Intuitive Life Coach, Nancy Nicholas
Participate in a guided meditation where we will invoke Divine love and support for a relationship, health issue, career goal, or other personal wish. Following the meditation, Nancy will be doing mini-readings for volunteers to provide guidance on what you need to know to help this manifest.
2/26/2012: Immaculate Immunity, 7 PM EST (60 minutes)
Led by Wellness Coach, Buddy Ann Ross
Learn how simple changes in your daily choices can boost your immunity, as we cover topics of hydration , nutrition, supplements, sleep and the mind/body connection. You will have an opportunity to ask questions about your immune-related concerns.
To sign up for this free gift (there is no charge the first month, then $5/month after that. You can easily cancel your membership if you decide not to continue): JOIN
Article on Our Divine Nature
Here’s an excerpt:
It is my belief that spiritual enlightenment comes when we begin to experience this same intense love for the Divine and are able to see our true reflection from this source. Over and over, Spirit has told me that the answer to any question is love. This is something which seems so simple in theory, and yet so hard in practice. How do we love when we feel misunderstood or hurt? How do we love when the person we feel this love for does not return our affection? How do we love when we are afraid? Loving the Divine allows us to love free of ego attachments, misunderstandings and fear. It allows us to love cleanly and purely. It is a love that needs nothing more than to be given and received. Imagine if each of us brought into this life a spark of God that is here for us alone. This spark would still be of the same Essence…
Read the rest of the article here: Our Divine Nature
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Nancy
Nancy Nicholas is an Intuitive Life Coach and the Owner of Sanctuary at the Crossroads
www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com
Dancing With Life for 2012!
Happy 2012!
Every year, my colleagues and I choose a theme to focus our writings around for the year. This year, we’ve chosen to focus on “Dancing With Life.” We will be focusing on a song, poem or quote that is meaningful to us each month and sharing inspiration to empower you all year-long. Below is my article for January!
It’s All About Us!
In an earlier article (A Message for 2012: The Year of the Butterfly), I shared about a vision I had of evolving into a new version of ourselves this year. The metaphor showed a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. The song quoted throughout this writing is called All About Us by He is We. I chose it because it feels like Spirit calling the butterfly within us all to come dance and to trust in Divine support to keep us from falling. For me, this is the time of really learning to rest in the Divine.
“The room’s hush, hush And now’s our moment Take it in feel it all and hold it Eyes on you, eyes on me We’re doing this right.”So how do we “do this right?” I asked for a message to help each of us with this new way of being and this is what came through:
Keep your eyes on the beauty in your life. Savor the sweet tastes and smells. Embrace the precious moments. Let the darkness slide from you by keeping your face to the sun. What is precious and delightful in each day? Make a note of it so that it stays forever in your mind. Let the fears and worries wash off of you. That is not your dance this time around. Instead, feel my love wrap around you. Hold it close within, for you are LOVED.
Again, the lyrics illustrate this feeling so beautifully…
“And every heart in the room will melt, This is a feeling I’ve never felt but, It’s all about us.”And more from Spirit…
I see a door slowly opening before me. Light is pouring in around the door frame. The door opens away from me and I find myself holding my breath as it opens all the way. Someone waits for me. He smiles and offers his hand. I take it and step into the sunshine. There are things to do here he says. Work to be done. Just let us guide you and you will find your way. Let the remains of your shell be scraped off so that you can move more freely. Keep your heart open. Look for joy and fun. Life has been hard, but it doesn’t need to be. Watch. We’ll show you how to move forward with ease. Follow what you love.
“Suddenly, I’m feeling brave. Don’t know what’s got into me, Why I feel this way. Can we dance, real slow? Can I hold you, can I hold you close?”I see a child on a swing attached to a huge old oak tree. She is pumping her legs very hard and raising her face to the sun. She is laughing in pure delight. The breeze is warm. The bird song sweet. She soars through the air with no fear of falling.
”Be like her,” Spirit whispers.
“Do you hear that love? They’re playing our song. Do you think we’re ready yet? Love I’m really feeling it. Do you hear that love? Do you hear that love?”Listen closely to what you feel. That is how we will speak to you. Listen. Not to your mind, to your heart. Love leads, fear distracts. Remember that…
“And every heart in the room will melt, This is a feeling I’ve never felt but, It’s oh, oh, It’s all about us.”I see a beautiful yellow butterfly flying up near the top of a hemlock tree. It is so high up, it is a yellow dot moving in a blue sea. It soars over the top of the tree and disappears from view…
Much Joy to you on your journey!
Listen to All About Us by He is We: http://www.purevolume.com/new/HEISWE. I adore this group! All of their music is pure delight.
Wishing you an abundant, joyous 2012!
With love,
Nancy
Happy Holidays Free Meditation: Step Into Your Divine Power
Happy Holidays Again!
Another little gift…
I offer a monthly Empowerment Call as part of my Soul Friends’ Community. The call features a guided meditation which teaches you how to connect with your own spiritual guides and Angels as well as providing spiritual insight. The hour calls are free for Soul Friends’ Community members and $5 to purchase the meditation portion after the call. This month’s call was about Stepping Into Your Divine Power. As a holiday gift to you, my friends at Sanctuary, you can download the meditation for free at this link: FREE MEDITATION
And speaking of communicating with your Spiritual Support Team…here’s a quote from Doreen Virtue’s Message from Your Angels calendar for today:
“Whenever you struggle, you put earplugs into your spiritual communication link with heaven. You must relax and let go in order to hear us better.”
Hopefully, the meditation will help you take out the earplugs if you need to!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a tremendous 2012!
Nancy
Winter Solstice Message
Happy Winter Solstice! This day marks the turning point as we work our way back to more sun and less darkness. I find myself filled with a fresh burst of optimism today. Personally, I’m also celebrating my 43rd birthday and if you’d asked me if I’d feel optimistic today a year ago, I would have said no. Why? Because since I was 13 years old, 43 has been my “unlucky” number and 44 has been my “lucky” one (and yes this was based solely on the number on the basketball uniform of the boy I liked at the time!). Despite the whimsy of my choice of these numbers as a child, I’ve found for me that they have become much more. They have served as a touchstone over the years…a means for my Angels to give me a heads up when I was allowing my thoughts or actions to lead me in a direction that I didn’t want to go. For years, I’ve had a vague unease at the idea of a whole year spent with 43 attached to it. So why the optimism now? Because I realized that my 43rd year of life has just come to an end! 2011 absolutely was a 43 year for me. Tons of amazing learning brought by some very challenging life experiences (which thankfully all turned out much better than they could have!). So as I begin my 44th year of life, I breathe a huge sigh of relief and look forward to a magical year ahead! I invite you all to join me. Let the fun begin!
I asked for a Divinely inspired message for all of us as we begin this new year. You can read what came through here: 2012: The Year of the Butterfly
Wishing you all a beautiful holiday season and an amazing 2012!
Nancy
Bringing Joy into our Lives
How can we bring more Joy into our lives? Very often we look outside ourselves for emotions such as joy and happiness. We tend to count on people and things around us to evoke these sometimes very illusive emotions. A very dear friend of mine recently made a long journey to ask questions of the Oracle at Delphi. Once there, armed with questions and an open heart to the answers, she was given only one answer: “The answer is within”. Joy and happiness are emotions you must find within. Searching anywhere else outside of your own journey will yield, -0-, zero.
What a great place to begin or end! Zero is the number given to the tarot card The Fool. Zero contains the two extremes of having the potential for everything or nothing at all. The Fool knows it depends on your perspective and what you want to focus on. He knows that trust in the process of life and self reliance will bring him joy. Our Divine Source needs us to create and live in joy, laughter, and celebration to expand ourselves, our lives, and the Divine Source itself. We must be The Fool and have open hearts, perfect trust and self-reliance to find the emotions of joy and happiness in our everyday journey. We need to set our intention to find joy and happiness then learn to relax and let life happen so we can sift through it and focus on the best parts. Keep focused on the parts we want so our Divine Source can give us more!
Sometimes, to learn and grow, we need to step out of our personal boundaries and take a leap or start a journey with complete trust in the love our Divine Source has for us. A love so great it makes the landing safe and sound. The Fool knows he is always in the right place throughout his journey and will end up where he needs to be.
So, relax and trust that our Divine Source loves us and wants us to live in joy! If you need a long journey to relax in call me for a Hot Stone Massage!
Tina Zalewski, LMT, thehealingroom1.com, 330-635-0684
Receive 20% off your 1st Massage Gift Certificates also available!!
Inner Joy
Yoga teaches us that happiness is always available to us, no matter what our circumstances. It is actually possible to feel happy regardless of how bad our situation is. Understanding what the joy is inside of us is crucial, though. So, what does inner joy mean?
In Sanskrit, there are four words for happiness, sukha, santosha, mudita and ananda, each of which points to a different level of happiness. Sukha is a Sanskrit word that is often translated as happiness, pleasure or ease. The meaning of dukha, or the opposite of sukha, includes suffering, pain, and sorrow. An example of this is the story by the writer Katherine Mansfield that described a young wife who was giving a dinner party and as she surveys her beautiful house, the wine, the mix of guests and her nice husband pouring drinks, everything seems perfect and she is completely happy. Then she sees her husband whispering in the ear of a female guest in a suggestive way and her happiness suddenly turns to pain. Ordinary happiness or sukha is linked to its opposite dukha or suffering and can be fleeting.
The next level of happiness is called santosha or contentment. Implicit in santosha is the idea of accepting who we are without feeling that we need anything extra to make us happy. The real meaning of santosha is ‘to accept what happens’. A commentary on the Yoga Sutra says: “Contentment counts for more than all sixteen heavens together.” Santosha comes when we try to look at those who are worse off and who are less fortunate than we are. A Christian saint said: “I cried for boots until I saw a man who had no legs.” The more things we require for being happy, the greater our chances for despair and disappointment.
Practicing santosha calms the mind and helps us to move deeper into our inner joy. When we calm the mind we are able to reach the next level of happiness – mudita or sympathetic joy. It means seeing the good in others and learning to recognize and admire what good there is. Envy and jealously are the opposites of mudita. Too often we are more ready to sympathize with the misfortunes of others than to rejoice with them in their good fortune. We can begin practicing mudita by bringing to mind someone who is experiencing happiness and say to ourselves, “May your good fortune and happiness continue.” Sending love and compassion to others does not diminish our supply, but they are strengthened and multiplied in the sharing.
When mudita deepens until it becomes so pervasive throughout us, then we find ourselves in touch with the next level or ananda. It is usually translated as meaning bliss. However, that translation may not convey its true meaning. Ananda means joy from all sides and is the pure and unqualified bliss attained through union with the Highest Self. The purpose of spiritual activity is to turn the mind away from our senses and to turn it inwards so that the mind and the ego are dissolved into a state of bliss or ananda.
By understanding that joy is actually inherent in us and by developing practices and attitudes of joy, we can open ourselves up to our inner joy. Here is a simple way that can be practiced anytime:
“Close your eyes and remember a time when you felt really happy. Then take yourself into that moment. See if you can get a feeling-sense of yourself in the situation. Perhaps you’ll do this visually-by remembering where you were, what you wore, who was present. Perhaps you’ll do it by invoking the feeling, asking yourself, ‘What did that happiness feel like?’ and then waiting until the feeling-sense begins to make itself present in your body. Stick with it until you actually feel the happiness-even if only a little. Then remove the memory of the scene or situation and just feel the feeling. Find the place in your body where the feeling is centered, then let it expand until it fills you. If you’re very visual, it might help if you give the feeling a color-a warm one, like gold or pink. Or you might work with the breath, breathing into the feeling and letting it expand on the exhalation.
Sit with this feeling of happiness. See if you can hold it. See if, for this moment, you can let the happiness become your primary feeling. This is a glimpse, however small, of your true reality.”
(from Joy Story by Sally Kempton in yogajournal.com)
By: Polly Legenza, yoga instructor, associate polarity practitioner and elemental reflexologist
Sources:
Joy Story by Sally Kempton in yogajournal.com
Love and Happiness: Sukha and Dukha-Rise Above Them by Dipankar Khanna
Mudita in Catalyst Magazine
The Joy is in the Journey in jogajournal.com
Evoking the Sage Within
Throughout the year, the Sanctuary group has been focusing on different aspects of the personality called Archetypes with the help of Carol Pearson’s book, Awakening the Heroes Within to learn how to live a heart-centered life. This month’s archetype focus is the Sage. The Sage is the aspect of the personality whose goal is truth and understanding. It is the part of us that fears being deceived. It brings the gift of non-attachment, wisdom and skepticism.
I suppose it isn’t surprising that two of the three of the Sage’s qualities are a bit difficult for me. I’ve always been a very sensitive person who becomes attached easily to loved ones and outcomes. I love deeply and I want those I love to be well (and I want that for myself too!). I am realizing though that to truly be wise, we also have to be objective. When we are looking at people or situations through the lens of our emotions,what we observe is always colored by our own experiences. I don’t think we can ever be completely clear of this (nor would it be highest and best to do so), but we can invoke the Sage within to help when clarity is needed.
So how do we do this? Below are a few suggestions to help you find the path to wisdom through non-attachment and a healthy dose of skepticism.
EVOKING THE SAGE WITHIN
1. Be Centered Within Yourself: To help see the situation through the eyes of the Sage, take a moment to gather yourself. Breathe slowly and deeply and turn your attention within. Focus on your solar plexus and feel the warmth of your own power. Ask the Angels and your Spirit Guides to help you stay centered in your own system as you look at the situation.
2. Point of View: I always think of hawks when I think of the Sage. A hawk flies over the Earth seeing the world below from a distant perspective. Hawks are focused and see with great clarity. While they are flying over the world below, they are looking at the big picture and watching for movement in the scene below. To invoke your own inner Sage, ask yourself how the situation would appear if you were just an observer with no emotional ties. Write down the facts (and be sure no opinions creep in!).
3. Authentic Action: When we have a clearer picture of the situation, it is time to ask ourselves what action there is to take. Is there something that is yours to do or is this a time when no action is the best course? A good barometer for this is to notice how you feel when you contemplate the action. If there is any element of fear in your decision, look closely. Are you sure this is yours to do? Are you sure this is something you want to do? Would it be better to wait? Sometimes it is a matter of timing. Listen to the wisdom of your body for clues to the wisdom of what you are considering.
4. Healthy Skepticism: Finally, look more closely at your own emotions about the situation or person. Why are you feeling the way you are? Are you telling yourself the truth? A wonderful tool to help you see things more clearly is the Inquiry Method by Byron Katie. The method is explained at this link: Relationships and the Inquiry Method. By teaching ourselves to question the truth of our thoughts, we are able to look at the situation more objectively.
Looking for some more help with this?
Join me for this month’s empowerment call on Sunday 11/13/2011 where we’ll be evoking an animal spirit guide to help you evoke more clarity so you can move forward in living your life purpose. Details about the call are available here: EMPOWERMENT CALL
Have an amazing day!
Nancy
Nancy Nicholas is an Intuitive Life Coach and the owner of Sanctuary at the Crossroads (a holistic consortium offering services and products promoting personal and spiritual growth, holistic health, creativity, natural living and community outreach).
October’s Theme: Personal Power and Order from Chaos
This year’s themes are all centered on the twelve archetypes or personality qualities that make up our psyche (see Carol Pearson’s book, Awakening the Heroes Within for more information on the archetypes). We have all these qualities, though some we express more easily than others. Somehow, I got the topics confused and last month we talked about the Ruler. Personally, I can see why it worked out that way based on what was happening in my own world. Perhaps, others needed the energy of the Ruler last month to help them express their deepest self and create a life that is harmonious and peaceful. If you, like me, weren’t quite able to get to the harmonious and peaceful state, no worries! This month, we are going to combine the energies of the Ruler with the energy of the Magician and together, they pack a powerful punch!
The Magician is the archetype whose goal is the “transformation of lesser into better realities.” Its gift is personal power and it uses it to transform or heal things in our lives that aren’t working for us. So what isn’t working for you? Where would you like to create order from chaos? Watch for some great articles to help empower you on these topics! In the meantime, check out this powerful recording with a simple technique to raise your vibration and rise above fear: Rise Above Fear.
If you are in the area, be sure to sign up for Linda Stalvey’s “An Evening with the Dreamweaver” class. I’ve been hearing many wonderful comments about her holistic talk and mini sessions with the Dreamweaver from our Sanctuary event. It’s a very powerful tool to help you move into a new energetic space! Here’s the link to the information if you missed it: DREAMWEAVER
Happy October!
Nancy
Nancy Nicholas
Intuitive Life Coach
Owner of Sanctuary at the Crossroads and Crossroads Coaching
www.EmpoweringLightworkers.com
